1/4

Are we seriously almost 1/4 of the way through 2012? Did I miss March? I mean, obviously not, there are 10, now 11, posts to prove that it was here at some point. I feel like time is in fast-forward and I can't keep up. Before I know it the school year will be over nd Stella will be here! Now, don't get me wrong, I am totally psyched about Little Miss finally joining us, but I don't like it when time flies by, it makes me anxious. Nervous that I'm missing something. Nervous that I haven't done everything I'd like to. It's about this time in the school year when I begin lamenting the fact that many great ideas never materialized, finished, or just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. Well, maybe next year. I'm always having sudden and random ideas of things to do, I just obviously can't do them all. Maybe I should start writing them down. But I digress.

March is almost over and that means that it's almost April. Yes, I know I jus posted about the Blogging A to Z challenge on Monday, but I am still pretty excited. That and I've got to drum up some interest about the challenge here! I've even taken several pictures already for my posts! I've got "B", "L", "M", and "P" done. All I have to do now is begin to write and schedule the posts. Well, that and take lots more pictures. 22 to be exact. Over the week I've second guessed my theme for next month. Will it turn out the way I want it to? Will people enjoy it? I guess only time will tell.

So, I guess that's about it. I'm exhausted and don't think I can stay up much longer. I've been fighting sleep since 8:00 but I hate going to sleep before 10, I don't know why. But there is no way I am making it to that minimum tonight. It's been a busy week and tomorrow night is our bi-annual Gala! It's a Mardi Gras theme so I can't wait to get my laissez les bon temps rouler on! So I guess it's time I wrapped this random, stream of consciousness post up. I had so many thoughts in my head beginning the post but I think it's clear I'm more tired than I thought, it's turned out to be somewhat rambling and disjointed! My apologies! So it's off to bed to think and dream about alphabet pictures and postings! Maybe I'll get some good shots tomorrow at the Gala?!

All is well, rambling along, in Drosche Land.

Challenge

Ok, so you may remember way back when I was still on the topic of New Year's Resolutions I wanted to blog more.  Remember?  Well, then I stumbled upon the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and that seemed right up my resolution alley!  Well, a post each day in April seemed like a fun and simple idea, way back in January.  However, we are staring down April and it's downright daunting.  Especially since I have yet to think about/plan/schedule anything.  Freak out!  I follow their blog and have been reading it since then, but April seemed so far away.  Until now.  So I've spent the last week thinking about it and wondering what I will do.  Clearly every veteran of the challenge is right, scheduling the posts ahead of time is the way to go, but even that seems too much without a theme.  A theme?  Do I really need one of those.  Again, those veteran challenge bloggers proved right.  A theme will help get my mind ready!  So, this past week I've been thinking/worrying/anxiously putting off everything challenge related.  I still want to do it very much, but wow, what an undertaking. 


Until today.  So, I'm sitting here at school (yes I know I should be grading or planning but I've got blogging on the brain!) and it hits me!  I'm reading  their blog and looking through other people's suggestions/tips when I realize I should do some sort of photo-a-day post!  Right?  I mean I already do it on Instagram (LOVE it and that's a post for another time, see my link under the "About Me" page) and that would meet another New Year's resolution and give me more reason to have fun taking pictures.  So i think I have my theme.  A photo a day, going through the alphabet.   A little blogging about the photo and its subject matter and bam!  I'm set!  So, the challenge starts this Sunday and now rather than being anxious, I'm pretty stoked once again about it.  I still need to start scheduling posts though, but now that I have a theme that doesn't seem too troublesome.  


So, just wait a few days and join me on this challenge!  I'm looking forward to having a lot of new people stop by and visit Drosche Land in the next month and who knows?  Maybe a couple will start following the adventures!  Awesome!  Here's to the challenge!


All is well, with a challenge plan, in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot - Clothing Optional

Now, I realize that the title of this post may seem a bit TMI, but trust me, it's not what it seems!  So, safely read on.  


The weather this weekend was so beautiful, finally something spring-like and cool rather than unseasonable hot and humid.  To enjoy this weather, after Amy finally started feeling better (that's a post for another time, trust me!) we had lunch and dinner out on the deck today!  It was nice and breezy and the boys really enjoyed it.  However, in between the meals al fresco, the boys played outside.  Somehow though, Amy and I noticed that their basketball game required no uniform.  In fact, it required no clothing at all!  For some reason unbeknownst to us, they decided to play sans pants, and sans shirt for Jack as well!  Ahhh, the joys of having two young boys in the house.  Jack is, and has been nearly his entire life, in a perpetual phase of only wanting to wear underwear.  So, I snuck out with my iPhone (since I have yet to get everything organized and squared away with pictures since the computer disaster of last week) to get some pictures for this post.  They hammed it up for me and played their game.  Sadly though, the photoshoot, and game, was cut short as Jack fell and scraped his knee.  Thus a hard lesson about wearing clothes when playing sports (apparently that is a lesson some of us need) was learned.  Still though, I caught a few pictures of these silly boys and their odd habits!  Ahhhh, boys will be boys!


All is well, fully clothed or not, in Drosche Land.

Braeden ready to play some basketball!

I love this shot of them!  Notice Jack's choice of undies and tennis shoes!

The game!

Traveling!  Yes, I know you're impressed I knew that!

Countdown

I don't know why, but I gave up sweets again this year for Lent. Maybe I've already mentioned this but I can't remember. It's probably the lack of sugar having a detrimental impact on my memory. I know the purpose of giving up things for Lent and I totally get it. But man is it hard. I know what you're thinking, "Um, it's supposed to be a struggle!". I know, you're right. Believe me, it is a struggle. But that doesn't mean I can't miss my sweets. And miss them I do. Do you know that Lent encompasses several events that focus on sweets?

For one, it's Girl Scout cookie time! We ordered 8 boxes this year! That was way back when Lent seemed forever away and I hadn't given any thought to what I'd give up this year. Oh how innocent and naive I was. Needless to say, I haven't had a single one of those cookies. Amy and the boys have though. And I've watched them. Thin Mints, Caramel Delights, Peanut Butter Patties, Shortbread, etc. I'm salivating. Luckily my lovely wife has been saving a few of each kind, as they polish off box after box, for me. I'll be gorging, I mean eating, them on Easter!

Secondly, Rodeo season! We jusT finished this glorious time of year and again I did not get to partake in any fried sweet indulgences! Fried cheesecake on a stick. Fried Twinkies. Fried cookie dough (on a stick). Fried Snickers bars (on a stick). Fried ice cream. Again with the salivating. Ahhhhh carnival food! You name it, they can fry it. I just can't eat it. On a side note though I did indulge, twice, on some of my favorite fried (savory) treats: catfish, hush puppies, french fries, and fried green tomatoes!

Thirdly! Although it's not technically an occasion, I feel it still bears mentioning. I'll refer to it as Pre-Easter candy. You know what I'm talking about. It's the Easter candy you buy early because you want to be sure to get some before they run out at the last minute. You tell yourself it's for Easter but as the holiday get nearer the supply is rapidly dwindling. Or maybe you buy it early so you can eat it throughout the entire season? The same can be said for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine's Day candy. I know I can't be the only one who does this, you know you do too! Reese's peanut butter eggs, jellybeans, Cadbury creme eggs (my fave!), chocolate bunnies. Yes, you guessed it, salivating.

Again, I totally get the reason behind the act of giving something up for Lent and I totally support it. I don't regret it, mostly, because of what it stands for. However I do also take things on. Namely reading the Bible. I always take on a new reading plan for the Lenten season and did so again this year. It's to help with the giving up and remembering why I did so in the first place.

Ironically posting about my sweets withdrawal, which is not getting any easier over this 40-day period, has actually helped a little. I feel a little stronger. My resolve it not as weak. I'm inspired again as to why I did it. But I am also hungry. Next year I don't think I'll be givng up sweets again. Maybe I'll try something new. Some other addiction to deprive my self of in order to strengthen my faith and bring me closer to Him. Remember the true reason for the Lenten and Easter season. But I have a year to think about that. In the mean time, I'm busy planning, and looking forward to, my Easter binge!

Did you give up anything for Lent? Take anything on? If so, how's it going? Tough? Rough? Easy? Regardless, stay strong dear readers, we're over halfway there! We'll celebrate together in 16 days. Not that I'm counting.

All is well, drooling, in Drosche Land.

Lost

So yesterday I learned several very valuable lessons. 1 - back up all of your pictures, frequently. 2- don't keep personal pictures on your work computer. 3 - if you don't follow #2, at least back them up on something personal like an extranal hard drive, the Internet, or DVDs. 4 - if for some reason you don't follow the first 3 rules, have an awesome IT guy who will do everything he possibly can to help, even if none of it works.

Yep, your deductive reasoning skills are sharp and by now I'm sure you've guessed what this is about. Yesterday my computer crashed and I lost a lot. First off though I'll preface this by saying everything could have been avoided if I'd followed the aforementioned steps from above!

See I'd been meaning to back up all of my 4,600ish pictures from my work computer and clean them off of there. At the insistence and advice of my lovely wife. At the insistence and advice of my awesome IT Guru. But laziness proved to be my Achilles heel! See Amy and I don't have a home computer anymore, we have our iPad and her Nook. We have our work computers from Trinity that began our love affair with everything Apple. Since we didn't have personal computers I've always uploaded our pictures to mine and then backed them up on an external hard drive. But I'd gotten lazy with that. I'd been meaning to do so again since it's been a long time since I last did so, and was actually going to do it over Spring Break. Once that was done I was going to take them off the computer altogether. Obviously this did not happen.

Wich brings us to yesterday's tragedy. My computer suddenly said it was running low on space. I have no clue why, it was fine just the other day. It kept going down and down and I panicked! I shut it down thinking that would help but then it wouldn't turn back on. More panicking ensued, along with frantic texts to said IT Guru. Turns out, try as he might, he couldn't get into it and had to wipe it clean. Panic overload. All of my documents were on the school's server so they were safe. I have all of my music on my iPhone and iPad so (hopefully) they'll synch back when I reconnect, at least the purchased music will, I may have to import others from CDs. But the pictures were the greatest loss. Over 4,600. Gone. Well, maybe not exactly that much, I'm not sure when I last backed it all up. Suffice it to say, though, that a lot are gone. I was flabbergasted (isn't that a fun word?). I was depressed and mad but had no one to blame but myself so I couldn't be too depressed and mad. The more I thought of it though, I found a silver lining to the dark cloud, albeit a thin one. Thanks to social media I have a lot of the pictures unintentionally backed up via Facebook and this blog, then there's ones I've uploaded to Snapfish to print (have you tried Snapfish? It's pretty awesome!), I also havetype of my camera's cards full, and Amanda texted me about the DVDs I burned for her so there's a ton there. So, not all is lost, but a good chunk of the last 3 years are.

I know what you're thinking. How can a techno-savvy genius like me NOT back things up? I'll shamefully admit again that it comes down to laziness! Yikes, that's a tough pill to swallow. I just never made the time to get around to doing it. Trust me though when I say that I'll never make that mistake again. Ever.

I'm truly grateful to the two people who could have given me a load of "told you so", Amy and my IT Guru. But they didn't, at least not too much! :) Amy just reminded me of our backup plan, which I hadn't followed, and let it go. My IT Guru busted it to get my computer up and running again in less than a day and I owe him big (if you're reading this, trust me, I'll pay up!)!

So, in conclusion dear readers, learn from my mistake and back up your stuff! Do it now! Hopefully though, you already do and are shaking your head at me in disbelief! I know I am. This weekend I undergo the task of finding, organizing, and backing up everything we do have and getting a system in place so this never happens again! Hopefully it'll be done in time for the Sunday Snapshot. That or I'll just have to use my iPhone and Dropbox to upload via the iPad. Wish me luck!

All is well, lesson learned (the hard way), in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot - Reclaiming the Jungle

Our backyard has been in a sad state lately.  See, it hadn't been mowed for a while, a long while.  Rain and laziness worked against me and eventually it looked as though nature would take over.  After a long discussion, Amy and I decided to hire a lawn service.  It was a hard decision for me, I had to admit to failure since the yard-work was technically my chore.  But it just wasn't getting done.  It's definitely not my favorite thing to do and I have very little desire to ever get it done.  But it was time.  The boys couldn't play in the backyard and the dogs were wading through shoulder length (their shoulders not mine!) grass.  It was a sad state.  So, over a two-day period last weekend I went at it so when the lawn workers came we wouldn't get charged an "overgrowth fee".  It was hard work and the mower threatened (and succeeded) several times to give up on me.  But, the knowledge that it was my last time to do it kept me going.  Monday the workers came and they did an excellent job and we were very pleased.  Now my only outdoor work left to do it attempt to kill all the weeds and get grass growing once more.  

This afternoon since the weather was finally nice (i.e. not sweltering or pouring) we all went into the back yard for a while.  Amy and I sat on the deck and relaxed while the boys played.  I'm glad they still remembered how to enjoy the backyard, after having not been out there for so long!  Luckily that is all behind us.  The weeds are fast-growing, the only thing that I seem to be able to grow, but luckily it will all be mowed on a regular basis now!  

So, I'm past any shame and guilt that I originally get for hiring a lawn service to do what I could/would not.  Now it's just time to sit back and enjoy having a backyard again!

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

Soccer was the game of choice this afternoon!

Jack is always willing to stop and pose for me!

Braeden still would rather play than pose!

Jack decided to join the game!

Uh oh, he caught me taking pictures!

Post-score victory!

Practicing our kick

Scooter time!

Racing!

Someone had a little too much fun!

Nothing

No, it's not what this post it about. That would be quite boring right? Nope, instead this post's title refers to our Spring Break and what we've done over it. Or rather what we haven't done. You'll recall I was previously debating what to do for our annual Spring Break Project. At the top of the list was redecorating the boys' bedroom. Well, that didn't happen. Or ideas exceeded both our budget and time frame so we decided to put it off until further notice. Maybe summer? See, Amy only had 2 days off this year so we didn't have a ton of time in which to accomplish a lot. Monday she worked and I headed to the Rodeo with the boys and her family. Tuesday and Wednesday she was off and we decided that 2 days at home, doing nothing, was just what we needed. Well, not nothing actually. We successfully watched the entire 7th season of Deadliest Catch. Totally addicting. It never fails to amaze me what these guys do to get crab and the loads of money they make doing it! Whenever we watch I am left in awe, and hungry for seafood. But I digress.

Today Amy returned to work and I stayed home with the boys. I asked her, as I always do, what she'd like me to accomplish. She said, "nothing". For good reason too, her reason being that soon Stella will arrive and our time to enjoy nothingness will be gone for quite a while. So, going against every urge I had not to, I did just that. Nothing. I sat on the couch and proceeded to work on cleaning off the DVR. I am now caught up on Revenge. Love it! I also pinned a ton of stuff to Pinterest and browsed there a while. Oh, and I also started catching up on writing reviews on Yelp. Laziness aside I did do a load of dishes, one of laundry, and I registered the boys for the next school year. So I wasn't totally useless! It's amazing just how much you can get done by doing nothing.

Tomorrow my plan is much the same. Amy's brother Adam is in town from Nebraska for the first time since going away to college and her family is coming over to the house so she can make her famous pizza for dinner! Then Adam and I have plans on going out. To where I don't know? So my last day of Spring Break will be eventful.

All in all though I think nothing might have been the best option for us this year. It's definitely a first and I do have extreme trouble doing nothing. Maybe I needed the practice? Do you ever find yourself unable to sit, relax, and do nothing? Amy says that I'm often up and running around doing any number of things. It's a sickness I guess. One that I may never overcome, although I think I made pretty good strides this week!

All is well, nothing more, in Drosche Land.

Big Brothers

*Note* This post was originally intended as the aforementioned Sunday Snapshot.  Life & Spring Break got in the way!  Here it is!  :)

So, Sunday we ventured out in the rain to take the boys to their Sibling Class at the hospital.  They were excited, as were Amy and I.  This class would also serve as our tour of the facilities and give us a chance to ask some questions.  The boys had a great time thanks to a silly video and free t-shirts!  They also got to practice some ways they can help using a baby doll, one that they got to pick out themselves!  They learned how to hold, swaddle, and feed a baby.  Another great part of the course was when we were showed the toilet paper tube test for small toys.  You know this, if it fits in the tube it is too small for a baby to have because they might choke.  The boys needed to hear this as our feet are constantly coming into contact with rogue Legos, cars, and blocks!  In fact, as I type I have a tube next to me that we will begin working with.  Hopefully this will kill two birds and help the boys to keep their toys cleaned up!  Well, I can dream right?  :)

Right before our tour the boys were able to put on surgical masks and hats, which Jack loved, putting on both!  Braeden opted for just the mask, and only briefly.  They stayed on long enough for me to get a picture though!  The highlight of the trip though, for all Drosches included, was a peek at the nursery!  Hopefully Stella will spend her time here and not in the NICU as her big brothers have both done!  We did though prepare ourselves by asking some key NICU questions!  

Overall it was a great time and I do think the boys learned some.  Of course Amy and I weren't worried about their abilities to be awesome big brothers, they've already shown these skills as we prepare for and talk about Stella, but it was nice to get them some exposure to "professionals" and their words!  

So, one more step down as we get closer and closer to Stella's arrival!  Below are the pictures I took.  As I mentioned I missed the Sunday Snapshot cutoff but I'll link up here anyway because it is so much fun.  Enjoy!  

All is well, picture perfect, in Drosche Land.

The boys, eager to pick out their babies!

Braeden and his baby!

Jack and his baby!

Jack enjoyed inspecting his baby from head to toe!

Braeden learning to swaddle!

Jack had a habit of sticking is finger in his baby's mouth!  Let's hope this doesn't continue with Stella!

Jackson rocking his baby to sleep!

Braeden kept rubbing his baby's head during the video!

Dr. Braeden

Dr. Jackson 

Gimme A Break!

This past week kind of snuck up on us here in Drosche Land. We were not prepared for the hectic nature of it all. Granted, we should have been somewhat prepared, it was National Lutheran Schools Week so that right there was enough to tip us off to the potential busyness of it. But, we must have been in denial or just unaware of the week that lay ahead.

Mind you, nothing bad happened last week, it's just that we were crazy busy every single day. As I mentioned before, it was National Lutheran Schools Week. This is a time when Lutheran schools across the nation celebrate everything we do and stand for. It typically includes themed days with each day having a different fun dress up option. Monday, the entire lower school, Infants - 4th Grade, tie dyed t-shirts to wear on Thursday. This activity was a ton of fun but definitely an undertaking. Amy ended up also staying later than usual that day so we were both exhausted by the time we got home. Tuesday we brought home some of the tie dyed laundry to finish up, after Amy had spent a good part of the day on her feet rinsing t-shirts. Another late night. Wednesday I had a faculty meeting, yes another late night. Thursday Amy ended up having to stay late also to finish some things and it was my last day of the week so again, quite busy. Friday took the cake though, and thus gets its own paragraph.

On Friday the entire school had Skate Day where all the kids, Kindergarten - 8th Grade spent the day at a roller rink. This is always fun and was Braeden's first time ever roller skating (see pics below). I obviously went as a teacher but also was there as his chaperone. He did very well considering he had never put skates on and he only cried once. Friday night we went to the Rodeo. Amy originally was not planning on going, it was just going to be my parents, the boys, and I since Amy's first doctor (we've since switched. Long story for another post.) said she would likely be on bed rest by this time and shouldn't be doing anything like that. However, my Dad decided he didn't want to go so we cleared it with Amy's doctor and she went. I love the Rodeo and we go at least twice a year. When we found out Reba was going to be at the Rodeo this year we knew we would see her! I love her! It ended up being very cold and very very rainy so the kids only got in one carnival ride. But we had a ton of fun walking around shopping and looking at the animals in the Livestock Show. The Rodeo itself was awesome! But all the fun did make for a super long night.

We spent today recovering and resting at home, exhausted from last week and last night. It was perfect too as the cold and rainy weather continued all day. Luckily next week is Spring Break, well at least for the boys and I. Amy will only be off on Tuesday and Wednesday. But we are hoping it will be an easy week for her with so many people on vacation. Our plans are simple: relaxing at home. Adam is coming down from Nebraska so I'm stoked about that! We also are deciding what our annual Spring Break Project will be! You'll recall that last year we put in the tile flooring. This year we are thinking a little more low-key. We are going to try and redecorate the boys' room. It's something we've been meaning to do for a while and I never got around to it last summer. Stella's room is all done for the most part so the boys deserve their space to be finished.

All in all though, we are hoping for an easy-going Spring Break because that's the kind we need. We shall see how it pans out though, you never know! Tomorrow we are going to take the boys to a sibling class at the hospital and I am so excited about it! I hope to get some cure pictures for this week's Sunday Snapshot! Wish me luck!

All is well, ready for some r&r, in Drosche Land.

Braeden with his skates all laced up and ready to go!

Using the wall for support! Sorry for the poor lighting, it is after all a roller rink!

Sunday Snapshot - The Shower - Part 2

Ok, as promised here are some more shots from our shower last weekend.  I finally made it through the 200+ pictures and there are so many good ones.  Someone, I'm don't remember exactly who, I think it was Kimberly our friend & photographer suggested that we take pictures with each person and their gift after we opened it.  This takes the place of writing down who gave us what.  Plus we can include those pictures in the Thank You notes!  Love the idea and I am currently uploading pictures to Snapfish to order for the notes!  A fun and different way to keep track of all of the gifts!


So, on with some more shower pictures.  It is still fun to look back and remember.  It gets me all excited about writing Thank You notes and starting to work on Stella's baby book!  Fun!  Enjoy!

So many cute monogrammed things like this adorable pair of bloomers!

Love these centerpieces!

Jack's face cracks me up!

All the kids released balloons, cute and fun!

How gorgeous is my wife?!

Ok, so I know I included this one last week but here it is edited a bit and I LOVE this picture, it is definitely one of my new favorites of Amy and I!

Mysterious Ways

Well, I fully intended on writing this post yesterday but I was busy.  Doing absolutely nothing that is!  Amy and I made, and kept, a pact that we would not leave the house yesterday and we stuck to it!  Everyone in Drosche Land needed a day of rest and relaxation and I think we are the better for it.  By the time evening had rolled around I just didn't have the energy to post.  Funny how doing nothing all day can tire you out!


Yesterday though was a special day for us though.  It marked Amy's 24th week of pregnancy! This may not mean much, but 24 Weeks is considered viability and for us that is a sigh of relief.  I haven't mentioned it much here but this pregnancy has been a roller coaster for us, especially Amy.  I will get further into detail in another post but between hormone supplements, blood pressure, nausea, and doctors it has definitely been an adventure.  So, 24 weeks down is a big deal.  We are nearing the end here on our road to Stella with somewhere between 10-12 weeks remaining if history has anything to say about it.  With the gifts from last weekend's shower and continued gifts this week we are pretty well-prepared for Little Miss, well as prepared as we can be I should say.  We are full-on in the exciting and hectic countdown to C (as in C-Section) Day!


However, viability was not the only special thing about yesterday.  See, it was also Margaux's 4th birthday!  Coincidence?  I think not, HE doesn't really work through coincidences.  Amy and I smiled and took a little time to talk about her yesterday.  It never ceases to amaze us at how she pops up occasionally in our lives, and how she is somewhat tied to this pregnancy.  Stella's middle name, Pearl, is a nod to her and now she shares a milestone with her.  It's funny how God works.  I've mentioned a lot about the verse Jeremiah 29:11 here and it is one of my (and Amy's) favorite verses.  It started as a connection to the adoption process we were beginning so long ago, but over time it has developed into a motto/mantra/words to live by for our lives.  Amy and I often, as I'm sure many of you do too, try to get our plans to work in what we consider to be the right time.  Then HE comes and gently, sometimes not so gently, reminds us that it's HIS plan and HIS time that matters most.  Margaux and Stella are both very clear reminders of this for us.


These two girls will never meet.  They will never know each other.  Margaux will never learn about any of us, although one day we will share the story with Stella.  But these two girls will always be connected in some small way, at least in our hearts.


I was also going to post a Sunday Snapshot today as we got the pictures from our shower last weekend!  However, it is getting late here and I haven't had a chance to look through the 190 photos!  I'm super excited to though and will have the post up tomorrow.


All is well, with mini celebrations, in Drosche Land.