What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day, everyone! It is another gorgeous Wednesday here in good old North Cackalacky, and I could not be more excited for the arrival of warm weather! Now, if only I could shake this cold so that I can go outside and enjoy said warm weather!

Per usual, I'm linking up with the lovely Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm loving the fact that Spring Break starts in T minus 2 days! My kiddos have been amazingly not crazy this week leading up to break, although I'm sure I jinxed that the moment I typed it!

I'm loving that we finally get to kick off the wedding festivities for my college bestie, Beebs, with her shower this weekend! It's going to be so much fun! I'll definitely be blogging about it, so stay tuned!

I'm loving that Kyle got up extra early (well, I should say was woken up by my obnoxious coughing) to make me pancakes! Such a sweety!

I'm loving that we treated ourselves to some yogurt at Sweet Frog not one, but two times since Sunday this week! I'm operating under the "it feels so cool on my sore throat" theory! Delish!

I'm loving the Mad Men started back on Sunday...Don Draper es muy caliente...did I say that right!? Probs not!

I'm loving that taco salad seems to be a weekly thing here in the Lulu casa...so easy, so yummy, so healthy (if you make it like we do-- ground turkey breast, lettuce, salsa, low fat cheese, and any veggies you'd like!). I think Bob Harper would approve!

And, I'm loving that my other college bestie, Ash, is turning 25 on Saturday and that we got to celebrate early by going to see the Hunger Games and grabbing dinner this past Sunday! We're also planning to celebrate again over our Spring Breaks! Yay!

This was us on my 22nd birthday...now we're 25! Eeeeek!

Have a lovely rest of your Wednesday, y'all!

Newlywed Game

I always thought Kyle and I would be a great couple to go on the Newlywed Game, ya know, since we're high school sweet-hearts and all! But, since that didn't happen, I will happily settle for a little blog edition! I'm linking up with Megan at MackeyMadness for...

                                                    Here's how it's going to work:

1) There are 5 questions to answer (see below).

2) Ask your significant other to answer these questions about you. 

3) Then answer these questions about your significant other.

4) Put both answers together in a post and link up!

Here's the 5 questions to ask/answer:

1) What do you think my best quality is? 

2) What would be your ideal date with me? 

3) What was your first impression of me? 

4) What is your favorite memory of us? 

5) What do you see for us in the future? 

My Answers about Kyle...

1) What do you think my best quality is? 

You are very thoughtful and caring. I love the way you take care of me when I've had a bad day, am sick, or just need a hug! I also love the way you dress and your taste in music!

2) What would be your ideal date with me? 

Hmmm...lots of ideas come to mind, but some of my favorite dates with you are sitting outside of Tyler's, you with a beer, me and my diet coke, splitting nachos and just talking! A picnic in Paris wouldn't hurt, either!

3) What was your first impression of me? 

I remember thinking you were kind of nerdy because you talked about Science Olympiads in Mrs. Merrit's class (keep in mind we met in 7th grade!).  But I also remember you being a really nice guy...kind of shy, very tall for a middle-schooler!

4) What is your favorite memory of us? 

Driving away from the reception on our wedding night...we were totally on cloud nine, feeling so blessed, and so excited for our life together! 

5) What do you see for us in the future? 

Fun travels, starting our family of little "Lauras" and "Kyles", being the ultimate team, lots of love and happiness!

Kyle's Answers about Me...

1) What do you think my best quality is? 

I love that you have such a great sense of humor. You are a lot of fun to hang out with because you don't take things to seriously and love to laugh as much as me.

2) What would be your ideal date with me? 

 Doing something active like hiking or playing sports during the day, a wonderful dinner and a concert afterwards.

3) What was your first impression of me? 

Well since we met in Middle School and you were "Ms. It" and I was the New Kid, I thought you were just too cool to hang out with me. Oh and your bangs were ridiculous! 

4) What is your favorite memory of us? 

So many to choose from, but I would pick our honeymoon. It was really great to experience so many new and worldly things with you. It was a lot of fun too.

5) What do you see for us in the future? 

Lots of adventure! Oh and probably a couple of kids, most likely boys. 

Ultimate Wedding Week-- Rehearsal Dinner!

Happy Hump Day, everyone! In my teacher-world, today is really like Thursday because we have a work-day on Friday, so I'm in an extra good mood!

One of my favorite bloggers, Valerie, had mentioned that she and some other lovely ladies were hosting an "Ultimate Wedding Week Link-Up," and today's topic is the Rehearsal Dinner, so I thought I'd link up!

Kyle and I had our rehearsal dinner in the banquet hall of his Dad's church, and a group of his family friends ended up throwing us a big "after-party" for all of our out-of-town guests and close friends and family to continue the festivities! It was such a fun night! Kyle's mom really wanted to make the rehearsal dinner reflect us, and she knows how much we love to play games with family and friends, so she tried to incorporate that into the decorations, and I think she did a really cute job! 

Here are some pics from the night! Noticeably lacking will be the pictures of the actual rehearsal! I don't even know if we got any from that! Whoops!

Wilmington friends!

The dinner set-up!

Grinning ear-to-ear...did we even stop smiling that whole weekend!?


My grandparents and me! Aren't they precious!

Mom and Brother!

My MOH and me!

Wedding party gifts!

In these little boxes were picture puzzles of Kyle and Me!

Monogrammed cookies! Yummy and adorable!


College best

We sat at the "Scrabble" table! And Kyle, of course, had to bash the Red Sox!

We heard some wonderful toasts, and Kyle's mom even gave us back his "blankie"!


My sweet Daddy during his toast!

Picture puzzle complete!

Teacher friends! Love!

It was an incredibly special night and got the wedding weekend off to a great start! Man I wish I could relive this weekend! Happy sighhhh...

Manic Monday

Kyle always teases me and says that I can't multi-task to save my life, and most of the time, it's true! I always have to make him rewind our TV show because I'll be trying to blog at the same time and miss something! And gosh help me if he's trying to have a conversation with me while I'm doing something because there is about a 3% chance that I am comprehending what he's saying, let alone remembering it!

But, today, I proved to myself that there are times when I can multi-task like whoa! Let me set the stage for you...it's 2:27pm and the bell rings at 2:30pm. It's just me with my 20 kiddos because my TA was home with her sick kiddos today. Mind you, I have to be at my "lady" doctor's appointment at 2:45.  We're packing up, doing our fancy end of the day line-up stuff, and the fire alarm goes off! I am a hot mess running around the room grabbing my stuff as well as all the crisis stuff you have to bring out (you know, that sexay fanny pack full of medical supplies!), yelling at my students to line up, and I'm shoving them out the door, when one of my students comes towards me. And he has vom all over his face. And his shirt. And his hands. And it's dripping on the floors. And there's already a big pile from where he lost it 3 feet prior to getting to me. Meanwhile the alarm is still going off (pretty deafening, if I must say!), and students are hustling outside.

And like the Super Teacher I am, I swiftly heard my students around the "mess," escort them all to safety, have the student wipe himself off with the clean part of his shirt. I arrange for my kiddos to get taken to their buses and cars with another teacher. Wait for the "all clear" announcement, and rush my student to the nurses office, not even stopping as I yell to the secretary to get the janitor on clean-up duty. Scramble to find his mom's phone number. Get someone to call. Run out and make sure my car-riders made it to the correct spot. Hop in the car, and promptly arrive at 2:50...a few minutes late, but still...crisis averted!

It was one of those days where I think to myself, if I can handle this, I can handle anything!


Just another manic Monday! Hope yours was much less crazy!

Weekend Recap

I have to tell y'all, Sunday nights are the absolute worst! My mom told me that she always felt the same way, so I take some comfort in the fact that almost all of us working folk must feel this way...end of the weekend blues!

Since I was still on the mend, I needed to have a relaxing and restful weekend, and luckily, there was plenty of March Madness basketball to keep me entertained! Kyle and I had to cancel our "pot-luck" on Friday night because it was just too much to pull off after the week I'd had, and I was still in a lot of pain. I got to see my Tar Heels win and Duke lose, so it was a great night!

On Saturday, Kyle and I did venture out to the mall just because I was going a little stir crazy! We ended up seeing 21 Jump Street, and I loved it! I adore Jonah Hill, and Channing Tatum is certainly not bad to look at! Plus, I needed a good laugh, even if it made my chest hurt!

We were so excited that St. Patty's day was on a Saturday this year so that we could go out, but pretty much knew that was a no-go earlier in the week. I really wasn't thinking I'd be able to do anything at all based on how I'd been feeling, but luckily, we were able to have our friends, Matt and Anna, come over to just have a lazy evening of watching the Saturday night games and eat pizza! Kyle debuted the beer that he'd home-brewed, and even though I am not much of a beer drinker, I thought it tasted good, and he was super pleased with it! I was very proud of him!

I love my Irish-man!

I started reading The Hunger Games last night and finished it today! It was SO good! I can't wait to read the next two, and I am totally hoping that she ends up with Peeta!

And, I was super proud of the Wolfpack for knocking out Georgetown today and making it to the Sweet 16, as well as my Tar Heels for whoopin' up on Creighton! I'm hoping Marshall will be OK because I think it's about time the Heels brought home another National Championship! The last time they did was when I was a senior at UNC, and it was one of the best nights of my college career!

I hope everyone had a nice, relaxing weekend as well!

Happy March Madness, everyone!

Throwbacks

I saw this link up over at the fabulous Monica's blog, and thought it was hilarious! And, I just so happen to have some embarrassing old pics from the slideshow we showed at our rehearsal dinner!

Here's to a new (well, new to me...not sure how long she's been doing it!) Thursday link-up...Throwback Thursday!

So, I was all cute, ya see...

And then, I had my "phase"...you know, the one where your hair looks like a poof because you hadn't discovered the hair straightener, you have bangs that are equally as bad, and you make questionable choices regarding your clothing and dress up in silly outfits that you actually agree to be photographed wearing...where was my good judgment!?

Halloween...not quite the hula girls you see in Hawaii! 

Overalls...yikes! And the hair...oh my!

My hair was a little straighter when I was in pre-school/Kindergarten...but the swishy wind pants! Ahhh!

Dad always made us take pictures in the flowers at Easter...clearly I was not a fan! But let's talk about that handkerchief on my dress...I blame my Mom for this one!

I don't know what's worse...the dress up outfit, or the real one I'm wearing underneath!

My brother and I used to play "Hardees" and make my parents drive through! 

Glamour party in 5th grade...too ridiculous!

Come on, you know you have some of these photos, too! Or, at least pretend so I don't feel so ridiculous! 

Hope your Thursday is super fabulous!

What I'm Loving on this Beautiful Wednesday!

Whooo-wheee, it is one gorgeous day outside...one that I'd like to be enjoying outside, but I've had a pretty interesting day that has left me resting on the couch! I started having chest pains yesterday after school while I was tutoring, and they hadn't gone away by this morning. I went to run it by my school nurse, and we decided that I should just go to the doctor, just in case. Welllll, the doctor refused to see me and sent me straight to the ER...fun, fun. They ran lots of tests and took blood, and luckily, it turns out that they think I just have inflammation in my chest wall and threw out a bunch of medical lingo, but the good news is that I'm OK...even though I'm not quite feeling OK in my chest... if that makes any sense!

But, I'm not going to let my crummy morning affect the rest of my day, so I'm going to link up with the lovely Jamie and play What I'm Loving Wednesday!

On this beautiful, sunny, warm Wednesday I'm Loving...

1. My super awesome hubby who rearranged his day to be by my side at the ER...I'm glad to know he meant the "in sickness and in health" part of our vows...not that I had any doubts!

2. The fact that I finally am going to get to read The Hunger Games how that I ordered them on my Kindle!

3. How great I feel after really focusing on eating healthy this past week and a half! It's so encouraging to know that when you put your mind to something, you end up showing yourself that you're stronger than you think!

4. All of the Spring dresses I bought at Loft this past weekend! I had been saving up my Saving Cards and Gift Cards for the perfect moment! Now I'm fully stocked for all of my wedding functions for friends coming up this Spring!

5. That it's St. Patty's Day this weekend! We're having a "Pot-Luck" on Friday night for an early celebration and are hoping to go out on the actual night! And thank you Target for supplying me with awesome accessories...now all I have to decide on is Leprechauns or 4-Leaf Clovers...thoughts, anyone?

6. That Giuliana and Bill's new season starts in April...I think they are such awesome people, and I have so much respect for them for how they've handled all of their struggles! Love, love, love them!

7. The arrival of March Madness! It was an intense weekend for ACC basketball (and other conferences as well!), and I'm hoping that my Heels will redeem their loss to Fl. State with another National Championship! I'm also hoping that the Wolfpack do well, too, because they played so hard in the ACC championship, and I know Kyle and my family were SO proud that they made it into the tournament!

Fill in the Blank Friday!

Yay for Friday finally being here! I'm excited to link up with the lovely Lauren from The Little Things We Do for Fill in the Blank Friday! 

1.  My favorite room in my home is   our bedroom/bathroom  because   it's so big and spacious compared to the rest of our house! We feel like we really lucked out to get such an awesome master!.

2.   My current decor style is   Pottery Barn meets Pier One.  but I wish it were more     eclectic ...I just don't know how! I'm very much a person who looks at a catalog or display at a store and does just that. I wish I had that great eye that can pick out great pieces from anywhere and everywhere and put them together to have an awesome room!

3.  I wish I could redecorate the   office  room in my house to make it more   officey! It's the brightest room in the house, but it was the only room in the house where we didn't buy anything new for it. We have Kyle's desk from college, and our old couch (which I hate!) from our apartment...but there's no point in putting in money in it now when it's probably going to be a nursery in a few years!

4. My dream house absolutely has to have a   a ginormous kitchen with a huge island, a big walk-in closet for me (and a separate one for Kyle!), and a nice porch so I can sip lemonade (or other beverages!) with Kyle and friends during the summer!

5. One house item I am willing to splurge on is   definitely a couch! You sit on it more than anything in your house, it's a HUGE piece in a room, and it should be comfy and look good!

6. A decor trend that I just don't "get" is   all white rooms...I think they look so chic, but I could never do it because I'd be too afraid to touch anything in the room, including walk on the carpet!.

7.  lots and lots of photographs   is a little touch that makes my house feel like home

Happy Almost-Weekend, Everyone!

Monogram Swap & a Guest Post!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a sucker for anything monogrammed! No surprise then that I totally jumped on board when Crystal and Ashley announced that they were hosting a blogger monogram swap!

My swap partner was the fabulous Val over at Wine and Summer! I was so glad to be paired with her, and we had fun exchanging emails about how excited we were for the Giants to be in the Superbowl (because this all went down in the beginning of February!).

Val did such an amazing job picking out my monogrammed gift! I was SO excited when Kyle messaged me in the middle of grad class to say that  a package had arrived for me that I made him open it and send me a picture! And I was super stoked to see that it was an LL Bean large beach tote with my favorite color of pink monogram and accents!  I absolutely love it! We must have had summer on the brain because we both sent each other beach totes!

Val, thanks so much for being an awesome Monogram Swap partner! I cannot wait until I can put it to good use!

Speaking of swap partners, go check out my guest post today over at my awesome Holly Jolly Blog Swap (from December!) partner, Sarah of Simply Sarah 's blog!  I shared some of my "must-have" clothing items/accessories to pack for a Spring Break trip!

Happy Hump Day, y'all!

I Want a Baby, But Then I...

I have moments where I really want a baby, but then I think about it, and I'm like hold up, wait a hot second here and realize that there's a reason why Kyle and I are waiting a couple more years!

But humor me as we indulge in a little game I like to call, "I really want a baby, but then I..." 

I really want a baby so I can finally produce the nursery I've already planned on Pinterest, but then I have to remind myself that Pinterest is really great about providing pinspiration but not so good about financing it!

I really want a baby so I can buy cute outfits, but then I remember that it would mean less clothes for myself...am I really ready to give up Loft!?

I really want a baby so no one else can steal my favorite baby names, but then I have to remind myself that's just not a legit reason to up and get preggo!

I really want a baby when I see my cousin Kathleen and her cute family, but then I have to remind myself that we can have that some day...it just needs to be the right time for us!

I really want a baby so I can take 6 weeks off from work, but then I think about all the sleep I'll be missing out on...it sure won't be a vacation!

I really want a baby so I can eat whatever I want and call it a "craving," but then I think about the stretch marks and other bodily changes and have a little freak out! I'm not quite ready to do that to my body!

I really want a baby because I'm excited to have a "mini-me," but then I remember that there are still some habits I have to break first...like the fact that I consider chocolate an important food group and leave my stuff all over the house!

I really want a baby so I can play peek-a-boo and push one of those cute strollers, but then I think about the days that I don't even have the energy to stop at the grocery store or would rather pay the fine on my overdue library book as opposed to just sucking it up and dropping the book off!

I really want a baby, but then I remember all of the places Kyle and I want to go and things we want to do before we take that on!

I really want a baby...ONE DAY...just not today!!