20 days left....But who's counting??

Every year, I have a love/hate relationship with May.

Things I love:
I love the weather--who doesn't want to be outside when it is nice and the sun is shinning? For the last few weeks, it has been pretty raining so the sun is a nice addition to the forecast. I love being able to play with my kids after school--when volleyball and speech are going on, I never have the time. But in the spring, I have NO after school activities and love walking out the door at 3:45.

I love running outside in May. It is so hard to find the motivation to run with its cold and windy. But in the spring, I love to run and have things to look at and keep me distracted from the run.

Things I Hate:
I hate how every drop of motivation and ability to concentrate has disappeared from my students. Giving students work time to write their speeches is pretty much a waste of time. Right now as we are SUPPOSE TO BE preparing to giving persuasive debates, my students are talking about anything besides their topics. I have tried to get them back on task multiple times, but have failed. Why have I failed? Because my motivation has disappeared a little, too. On a nice Friday afternoon, there are so many other things I would rather be doing than disciplining a bunch of 17 year olds. I know I will be disappointed with their debates on Monday, but right now, I'm thinking about the cold, refreshing drinks waiting for me after school. 3:45 can't come fast enough.

So May, even though I love you for so many reasons, I cannot stand being in school during you. Please Make May 27th get here fast!

Summer Project 2011

Well everyone, we've done it. We've been debating on when to replace the windows in our house for the last 3 years and today, we bought them. We have to do it now.

Last year, we decided our windows needed to be replaced and they couldn't wait any longer. They are very worn-out looking on the outside and not the best at keeping the cold out in the winter. We called 3 different companies to come out and give us quotes for replacing the windows. We knew it wouldn't be pretty, but when they sent quotes of 18,0000-21,000 dollars our way, we decided it might have to wait a few years. :)

This spring, we somehow got the idea that we didn't need to pay someone else to put them in. We are smart, young, and totally capable of putting in new windows in our house. (We will see if we still believe this in a few weeks.)

Yesterday, we decided to head to Menards to order our new windows. Chris took some measurements of our windows (after watching a few how-to videos on you tube, of course) and we were on our way feeling ready to tackle this new project.

We begin this adventure wandering around the Windows section of Menards for an hour before we find someone to help us. During that hour, Chris and I have had multiple fights because we realize neither of us know what we are doing. Right before I am ready to head out the door, we meet Rick. Rick is a very knowledgeable member of the millwork team at Menards--he may be a lifesaver before this is all over. He explains to Chris how to properly measure the windows, builds our confidence up a bit and we head home.

Demolition time! Chris starts pulling off all of the trim around our windows and our house now looks like a construction zone. After two more trips and around 41/2 hours spent in Menards, we finally got the correct measurements for our windows and ordered them along with a new patio door.

As this project progresses, I will update you with all of the successes and the failures with this project. Even though I am not looking forward to the headaches, fights, and messes, I am looking for to the finished product: a beautiful looking house. Do we know what we are doing? No. Will we end up with huge holes in our house? Maybe. Only time will tell. :)