Saturday, March 31, 2012

Spa Day!

Yesterday was an exciting day in the Stenzel household, well for three members, Rhett had to go to work. Boomer, Bauer, and I all got our hair done! Don't worry, not all at the same place! It is sad that their haircuts cost more than mine, though!
Next weekend we are headed for a quick trip to Cincinnati, so I thought I'd do my family a favor and not come with two smelly dogs in tow! Here are some pictures from our day getting pampered!

Boomer and Bauer before:

Boomer and Bauer after



Me, a WHOLE inch taken off later! ( It took a lot of persuasion on the hairdresser's part, I wanted half an inch, they said and inch and a half, we settled on an inch) oh and you can't even tell it's shorter, haha.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Spring Break!

Teaching has many benefits. The chance to see children learn and grow, the satisfaction and rewarding feeling to know that everyday you are making a difference, oh and winter, spring, and summer breaks!
My Spring Break started last Friday and Rhett and I headed off to Arizona to see his parents. We had a wonderful time, soaking in the hot tub, basking in the sun, catching a Cub's Spring Training game, and best of all, visiting with Rhett's parents, grandparents, and aunt! We had such a wonderful time and were very reluctant to leave family and the amazing weather. We got back Tuesday night and I have been slowly trying to unpack and get this place in order ever since!
This Spring has felt a lot like summer, and has pushed me to get out the door and back into running which has felt absolutely wonderful! I'm feeling like my old self and have learned that although I do want to get pregnant and the eastern side of medicine says that running is a big no-no, I feel that if it keeps me sane and happy, that has to be a good thing! Spring is in the air, a sign of life, happiness, and hope of what's to come. I hope everyone is enjoying their spring too!

Rhett's Parent's dog, Buddy Sun Bathing!

Rhett at the Cub's Game

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Little Yellow Room

I think we all have a place in which we escape to in our mind, a tropical paradise, a fond memory, a hope or dream we wish to pursue. I too, have that place and mine is a little yellow room.
Two years ago, as many of you know, Rhett and left our city dwelling and ventured out to Joliet. We rented the cutest 1920's style bungalow, with lots of room, charm, a yard for the boys, and our family right down the street. After eleven months though, of 3 hour daily commutes, we traded all this and returned to the city for more of a quality of life, one in which we actually see each other during the week!
Moving from a quaint (read, tiny) condo to a 3 bedroom, plus den, house requires a lot more furniture, as you can only imagine. We worked hard to fill all our newly acquired space with a lot of help from my mom's expert eye (and extra furniture) and had the house looking like a home in no time. There was one room, however that remained empty. A little yellow room, right next to our bedroom. It had perfect sunlight, space, and a gender neutral color, that would one day hold our precious little one. There would be days that I would walk in there in the morning, coffee cup in hand, and imagine what the room would look like, picturing a rocker in the corner, where Rhett and I would ease our child to sleep, or share bedtime stories. Yes, there were days that simply walking into that room would fill me with a complete sense of happiness and hope.
There were days too, that I couldn't even go in the room, leaving the door closed, as the sight of the empty room was too much for me, it's vacancy reminding me of the vacant feeling that I often would carry in my heart.
Two years later, I carry that yellow room with me, sometimes an escape for me, a lovely place to travel to, a wonderful place of hope of what's to come. Other days, it remains a place that creeps into my mind, that I quickly try to flee from, that all too familiar vacant feeling creeping back in.
I walk through my days, sometimes telling myself that that little yellow room could be many things one day, and maybe the head interior decorator Himself has other plans for that room, and I try very hard to accept whatever design He has in mind, but in my prayers, I do put in my two sense, that a crib, and a rocking chair might look fabulous after all...