Welcome to my blog!

I am so happy to finally be writing in our family blog! For almost the past two years I blogged weekly for my Master's program I didn't want to commit to another blog until I had enough time. To start off, let's recap the last few major events:

January 2009- I started an accelerated Master's program with Cardinal Stritch University. I knew I wanted to complete my Master's degree before we had a bunch of little ones running around but I wasn't happy with the programs offered in Memphis. So after a lot of research I enrolled in Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and started coursework to complete my Master's of Education in Instructional Technology. I was the only teacher from out of state but I had a phenomenal experience.


July 2009- I found out I was pregnant!! I found out days before I was supposed to leave for Cuernavaca, Mexico for three weeks (This was also during the H1N1 scare) but Tim and I decided I should go and enjoy one of my last travel experiences without a baby.


October 2009- We found out we were expecting a little girl! Tim and I were surprised but overjoyed. 

November 2009- Tim and I traveled to San Diego, California for the ACTFL Conference. I accomplished one of my career goals of presenting at ACTFL with two other teachers I worked with the past two summers in Atlanta. It was great to have Tim there to support me and we really enjoyed spending time in San Diego and taking a little pre-baby trip together. I also had the chance to reconnect with one of my roommates from my semester abroad in Spain! So all in all, a great trip!


January 2010- Most women start to "nest" when they are 7 months pregnant, we put our first house up for sale. I know, it was a crazy thing to do when I was 32 weeks pregnant but my loving husband knew it would bring me a lot of peace so he went along with the plan. I was afraid that the housing market would continue to tumble and leave us tied to Memphis because of the house. I wanted to make sure we were able to go wherever we wanted once Tim finished school.


Five days after listing our house we got an offer and we began the process to officially sell the home. We ended up closing and moving in February, two weeks before our sweet Sofia arrived. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to the home. It was our first house and Tim and I put a lot of love, sweat, and tears into it. We refinished the kitchen (granite counter tops, cork floors, cabinets), tiled the laundry room, refinished all of the hardwoood floors in the house, and a number of other small but time consuming projects. Although we definitely miss our house, it will be nice to have the freedom to pick up and move when the time comes.


February 2010- Probably the craziest but most exciting month of my life so far. We closed on the house and moved to an apartment and tried to unpack and get settled before our baby arrived. I continued teaching full time, up until the day Tim and I met our beautiful daughter. (I plan to post her birth story later) Tim and I were lucky enough to have a week alone with Sofia so we could get to know her and adjust to our new family. To top it all off, Tim took round one of National Boards two weeks after Sofia was born and he not only passed, but had a great score! I'm so proud of him :)


March-April 2010- I enjoyed 8 weeks of maternity leave with Sofia. It was such a great experience having so much time to get to know her. While she slept, I finished my coursework for my Master's degree, I officially finished in July 2010. We also had the chance to bring Sofia up to Wisconsin to meet most of her extended family. I can't tell you how much joy it brought me to see my family meet her and hold her. Unfortunately, I did have to go back to work for the month of May but our amazing family stepped in to help care for Sofia so we didn't have to put her in childcare so soon. I am also grateful to my wonderful staff team at school who did their best to make my transition back as smooth as possible. I am truly blessed to have so many amazing people in my life!


June-July 2010- Summer break!! I was lucky enough to spend two more months with my sweet girl. Tim started his first externship rotation in a private practice. We were able to do a little bit of traveling as well. We took Sofia swimming almost daily, visited Chicago for a Ruder family wedding, went camping and hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, visited family in Arkansas, hiked at Petit Jean State Park, enjoyed visits from lots of family and friends and finished off our summer with a Sullivan (Tim's mother's side) family beach vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.


Whew! I won't blame you if you didn't make it this far :)


August 2010- I started my fourth year of teaching in Memphis, fifth year of teaching overall. It's been a great school year so far. However, I definitely feel the pull to stay at home with Sofia but I wanted to honor my commitment for the school year, and financially we really need me to work this year.