Catch Up

Today we returned from our trip back home for Thanksgiving. It was nice to go back and have more than just a day to spend with everyone. Thursday we stuffed ourselves with two Thanksgivings (one w/ my family and one w/ Alex's) and a lot of laughs- particularly during the board games we played with Alex's cousins. We had no idea his cousin and his wife were board game people as well. They even had one of our favorite games, Ticket to Ride. Finally, after several attempts and one major fit Alex finally won the game! It only took him about 2 years. haha He was so excited he took a picture of the game board. Yeah, I know...... a little silly.

Friday, I got up at 3:00 am (Alex did as well to be my chauffeur) to go Black Friday shopping with Brandy and her mom. (Also, a little silly, but totally worth it!) We had a good time going around the mall and grabbing a few deals.

Currently, Alex is at the Bears game with Fife thanks to Tom who offered his season tickets to the boys for today. Let me just tell you..... it was better than Christmas morning for them. They were pumped! Alex is even rocking my brother's old Bears winter coat, circa 1994. haha

Last week I had parent teacher conferences and I survived! Wahoo! They weren't really bad at all, just a little overwhelming to think I did 32 of them. Yikes!

Alex has been working for the past 3 weeks now. He enjoys his job and is learning a lot each day. He travels a lot to the suburbs during the week, on those days he gets up with me around 5:30, so he can take me to work and then drive out to the burbs. So far, so good. He started going into the courtrooms by himself his first week, and has been trucking away at it ever since.

Well, its hard to believe Thanksgiving is over and Christmas will be here so soon. I have 3 weeks of school until break, however this year will be different since Alex is a working man now and doesn't get all of that time off as well.

Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day and you are enjoying the beginning of the holiday season!

You Can Contact My Lawyer

Because as of yesterday, Alex is officially licensed to practice law in Illinois! And on top of that........ he is an EMPLOYED licensed lawyer! Yes, that's right- three hours after he was sworn in he received a job offer and he happily accepted! He will be working for a smaller firm in the city that does commercial litigation. Basically, he said they deal with a lot of collections. His job will require him to be in the courtroom more than he ever thought he would, but it will be great experience for him!

Clearly, we are soooo excited and incredibly relieved! We were expecting the worse, but hoping for the best when it came to the job hunt- and we are extremely grateful that everything turned out so well.

Below are some pictures from the day. Alex's mom and grandpa both came up for the ceremony. We went to lunch with them afterwards at a great little Italian place near our apartment, and that was where he received the e-mail about meeting with the firm again. His mom and I were both about to jump out of our seats with excitement! haha

It meant so much to Alex (and I) that his grandpa was able to make the trip up here as well. He said that he hasn't been up here in about 60 years. He told us a story about when he was last here, they came up to go see a show at the 6th Street Theater. Afterwards, they went to find a hotel room for the night. They went up to a guy working at the front desk of the hotel and asked how much the room would be for the night, the man replied it would be $19. Alex's grandpa then replies to the man, "We don't want to buy the place, we just want to stay the night!" haha!! Al and I got the biggest kick out of that! Obviously, from his reaction they didn't stay there. They found another place where they paid $6 for the night. What a bargain!!

Congratulations Counselor Dimitt!

We are all so proud of you and all of your accomplishments!

Visitors

This past weekend we had some very special visitors. The Withers came to the big city, and I HOPE we convinced Kyle that this place really isn't all that big and scary. But, then again maybe not.

We spent the weekend eating at some of our favorite places like Flat Top, Cali Pizza Kitchen, and dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. Other than eating (haha-which is what we do best), we went to the Shedd Aquarium. Alex and I haven't been there in several years, so it was nice to go back. Plus, one more perk of being a teacher.... I got in free with my school ID. Wahoo! That saved us $26. (Which is pretty steep).

I have a very short week of "days w/ kids" at school this week. Tomorrow is a professional development day, so my 32 little kiddos get the day off and I get to go sit in meetings (sooo not fair). Then on Thursday I took the day off because Alex gets sworn in. It will be Friday before I even know it, wahoo! Not that I am wishing away days, but I do enjoy the weekends. :)

October was definitely a busy month for us, and November seems to be a little more relaxed, which we are OK with!

The job hunt is still in full swing, even though he has had a couple of interviews-which makes the process a little better. The worst is when you apply, and apply, and apply and get no response. Our fingers are crossed and we would appreciate any positive thoughts you could send our way. Its definitely tough out there!

Congrats to all of the mothers, who either just delivered or are anxiously awaiting the big day, out in our blogging world. We are so excited for you and your growing families!!

Its Friday again, my favorite day of the week. I love the feeling of having the whole weekend ahead of me. On Fridays I usually feel so exhausted from the week, so I spend the whole evening just hanging around the apt. I love this! Its not something I get to experience much during the school year.

School is going well this year, busy and always stressful, but I am beginning to feel more comfortable with things. I have more confidence in what I am doing and enjoying the ability to think a little more outside of the box. I also don't feel nearly as overwhelmed as I have the past two years. Part of it being because this is my second year in the same grade level and my school no longer requires us to do an after school program. Which means I have more time for planning, grading, and all of the other millions of things we teachers do.

Halloween is fast approaching. I miss not being able to have trick-or-treaters come and ring the doorbell. I always liked passing out the candy (and even more receiving it, but that ship sailed a while ago). We get to dress up at school though on Friday, which is always really fun. I am going as Pippi Longstocking. I've always wanted to be her and I started reading it to my kids, so it works out well. I'm keeping it a secret from them, I think they'll be pretty excited. :) I got the red braided wig with wires and all! Hopefully it turns out good, I'll post pictures.

Alex gets sworn in on November 4, so he will officially be a licensed lawyer. I took that day off of work to attend the ceremony. His mom and grandpa are coming up for the event as well. He's busy applying to jobs! He's had two interviews so far, and he just received an e-mail for a second interview with a firm next week. We're very excited!!

We're also really looking forward to a trip we just booked to NYC over New Year's. Not to see the ball drop, but to spend time with my good friend Meredith (who lives in CT) and Miles (our friend from high school). We're going to see a concert with them on NYE in the city, and spending two days in the city. Alex has never been, and I've only been once for an over night trip with Meredith and my cousin Adriane, who lives in the city. I'm really excited to go back and hopefully see a lot more of the sights. We booked our hotel and flight, so we're ready! Thank you reward points because one of our flights was practically free.

Enjoy the last few days of October. I can't believe how fast this month has gone! Turkey Day will be here before we know it!

Happy Halloween!!