heart shaped candies and icicles

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven.  

-Author Unkown

Holy blizzard batman!  Missouri is now experiencing some crazy weather, much of which will not be hitting St. Louis too badly, but schools closed early yesterday (yeah, it's weird to have real snow days now that I am back in school) and may be closed tomorrow too.  Not only that, but the weather stations are preaching on the dangers of leaving your home and the stores are bare on eggs, milk, and bread (for some reason people believe they can survive any storm with these three essentials).  So basically we are hunkering down next to the fire and riding out the storm with hot cocoa and some yummy home-cookin'.

It's nice that we are house-sitting (again!) for Uncle Tommy & Aunt Susie and watching Sydney & Trey.  I have to admit Sydney is self-sufficient and Trey just needs someone to make sure he eats and doesn't invite all his friends over on a snow day.

Before I start talking about my exciting first week of school, I have to post some adorable pictures of the serious puppy love I have witnessed lately.

Penny & Buffy are practically sisters.

And Penny & Marley aren't always at each other's throats.

We even saw some deer in the woods behind my parent's house.  They were so beautiful, Bambi & her momma.

School has started!  I have to say I am loving the homework.  I am sure that point of view may change as the stresses of life set in, but for now I am enjoying it.  My classes, well aside from Music Theory which is as difficult as always, are so inspirational.  I came home from the second day of classes beaming.  I told Aaron that I was more inspired in one of my education classes than I ever was in any of my musical theater classes.  

The program is so positive and I am excited to start my observations at the schools and learning how to help those students with special needs within a standard classroom.  Throughout my conservatory training I was constantly reminded of the struggles of living the "actor's life" and the sacrifices one MUST make in their daily life to "make it" in theater.  I was looked down upon when I got engaged, got married, and voiced my desire to have a family and a home life.  Not only that, but the support system is very political and lacks the important foundations I needed to feel supported and happy.

Now that I am in education, a profession that certainly did not come out of the blue as my parents are both educators, I truly believe I have found my calling.  I am inspired and excited to get certified and receive my Masters so I can start sharing my gift and hopefully inspiring kids to pursue music the way they choose.

Class was fun, I feel a little out of place in my music classes as some of my classmates are a few years younger than myself, but overall everyone is nice and very supportive.

In my favorite class, Foundation of Education, we were given this poem at the end of our first class:

You are the molders of their dreams,

the gods who build or crush their young beliefs of right and wrong.

You are the spark that sets aflame the poet's hand,

or lights the flame of some great singer's song.

You are the god of the young, the very young.

You are the guardian of a million dreams.

Your every smile or frown can heal or pierce a heart.

Yours are a hundred lives, a thousand lives,

yours the pride of loving them and the sorrow too.

Your patient work, your touch make you,

the gods of hope that fill their souls with dreams,

to make those dreams come true.

-Clark Malenhoff

Des Moines Register

And then it was time for Jordan's birthday party!  We went over to Becky's, Sydney and I a little earlier because Aaron was busy promoting Better Life products all weekend at Costco.  We got there a little later than everybody else so the girls were dying for us to get there and play with them.  

Aaron and I gave Jordan her very own unicorn pillow pet!  She loved it so much she told her mommy she was going "night-night" and proceeded to get a blanket and pretend to sleep.

Charlotte was even awake for a little while.  She loves her mommy.

After a while, Jordan and the girls got their pillow pets together and rode them around.  Jordan couldn't quite figure hers out, but she sure looked adorable pushing it around the kitchen floor.

We had a wonderful time and then had to get home early for school the next day, a new one for me, and we were all pretty exhausted.

So now we are drinking some cocoa and watching the news while we wait to find out if school is cancelled tomorrow too.  Crossing our fingers!

it's the birthday girl!

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Cassie's birthday party was the first Aaron and I have shared as newlyweds.  I was excited to be part of the preparation and cooking.  My hubby could not have been more helpful and I loved that he joined my Dad at the grill.  I put my domestic skills to the test in the kitchen cooking homemade fettuccine alfredo.

I even got to wear the adorable apron Aaron got me for my birthday!  After the cooking was finished (and let me tell you cooking for 25 people is much different than cooking for 2), everyone came over and I couldn't help but catch up with everyone.  In the midst of my "socializing," I forgot the whole cleaning up part of cooking...oops.  Mom to the rescue!

It was extra special to be living in St. Charles with my husband joining in on a Delicath tradition (now a Weir tradition as well).  Although we are still at the kid's table, we got to catch up with cousins Tiffany and Kevin and their beautiful girls Rachel and Ally.  

Cake time, the best part of any birthday party, was extra yummy since Cassie chose the cutest Hello Kitty! cake.

Needless to say, she was the princess of the day and the cake was very yummy.  She received so many special gifts, including a beautiful pearl bracelet from our Daddy.

As usual I spent a lot of time with little Ally and Rachel coloring and playing with their new glow fairy wands (courtesy of my creative Mother).  We also watched part of The Little Mermaid which brought back memories of childhood Disney movie nights with Cassie and Tad.  

I'm pretty sure we even caught the girls' Dad watching some Disney princess action too...

Guess that's what Aaron has to look forward to if we are lucky enough to have our own little princess someday.  Speaking of kids, I enlisted Rachel's help in taking care of our kids and was reminded that we still have quite a few years before we start thinking about adding another member to the family.  I can't help thinking about carrying on the Diehr - Schneider - Delicath - Tibbs tradition.  

The party was a blast and being part of the cooking and the preparation was such a joy for myself and my hubby.  Makes me look forward to hosting our own Weir family gatherings.

In other news, I was lucky enough to get a job working for the company that created and owns Furminator; the special dog brush.  Penny got a new brush as a gift from the company and I was also invited to the annual chili cook-off at the office this coming Friday.  It is so wonderful to be welcomed so graciously into my new workplace, even though I get to work from home I love knowing I have great people working with me at the office. 

I am excited about my new job and even more excited it will fit so well into my upcoming school schedule.  Homework, homework, homework time is always on my mind when I think about school.

I am looking forward to my first work week and spending my first Halloween as a married woman with my husband.  So everyone enjoy a boo!tiful week and here's to a spooky Halloween and lots of candy corn (my personal fave)!