Are we really moving!?!

This blog comes after some frustration. We thought moving to our new apartment down the hall would be easy. And it probably will be when we actually move ALL of our stuff and start, oh you know....living there. We told the owner of our building we would be staying here and moving down the hall at the beginning of July. That means there were two full months to get the apartment ready. She notified us that it may not be ready for September 1st. We were fine with that and told her we planned to move everything during labor day weekend and that we wanted to be mostly settled before I started school. Well, we had our beautiful new bed delivered to the new apartment on Friday and we have not been able to sleep in it yet. The apartment has been painted, the wood floors are refinished, and the new tile in the kitchen is in. HOWEVER, she hadn't been back in the apartment until last Friday...as in the day our bed was being delivered. She decided the dripping toilet needs be fixed, the gas to the stove needs to be turned back on, a light switch needs to be replaced, and the doorknob needs to be tightened...all before we can finish moving in. I am very happy that she wants all of these fixed but I'm wondering why she waited until the weekend we were moving in to find all of these things instead of the two months prior to us moving in. We'll be fully moved in by next weekend...maybe.

The Harbottles Are Moving!

The Harbottles are moving...down the hall. That's right! After searching high and low we have decided to move to a slightly bigger apartment in our building. By slightly bigger I mean an extra 50 square feet. Could you hear me holler, "can I get an UPgrade!?!" We will be going from about 350 sq. ft. to 400 sq. ft. Now I know what you're thinking...Jeremy has too much stuff. While I agree with you, we will have much more closet space for his GQ wardrobe. We also went to IKEA and bought some neat stuff. I'll post some pictures of my handy assembly skills after we move and I put everything together. That's right I will be assembling everything. Jeremy will not be helping and I prefer it that way. We all have our strengths and assembling furniture is not Jeremy's strength. I bring him along for the heavy lifting. Just don't ask him about the heavy lifting from the IKEA cart into the car and the car into the apartment. Its still a touchy subject. Today we went bed shopping and I asked the man if there was a delivery fee for the new bed. While I was annoyed that something that expensive isn't delivered for free I think Jeremy would have offered the man four times as much so he wouldn't have to bring it home himself. I don't know what his problem is. I'm a good helper. After all, I've been working out and I got me some mean strongs!
To all of you who have our current address the only thing changing is our apartment number. Instead of 205, it will be 201. We will be forwarding our mail but you know how the pony express can be. So, to all of you who come for visits, you're more than welcome to come savor our extra 50 sq. ft. with us. Don't get too excited, you'll still be sleeping on the futon.

Summertime and the livin's easy....err, busy

I've been a bad blogger. I know. It's not that Jeremy and I haven't been up to anything lately. The problem is, we've been up to everything lately. This is why the blog has been neglected. Anyway, without further delay...The Harbottle's, Summer Edition:

My last day of school wasn't until June 18 but Jeremy was still taking summer classes. The next day we kicked off summer with a Cubs game. That same night we went to a BBQ with Jeremy's co-workers. I am a teacher but I have definitely NOT had the summer off. My first week of summer I went back to school to work on social studies curriculum planning. We made a trip to Michigan for my bff's son's first birthday party. I've been "babysitting" the daughter of one of Jeremy's co-workers. Last week, I started teaching a summer program at my school for struggling readers. I'll continue until August 19th, have one week off, then start teacher's professional development week, then its Labor Day and the students come back. I'm all signed up to take the GRE on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. Booooooo!

Jeremy's brother and sister-in-law came with our nieces and nephews for a weekend visit last weekend. With seven people in our tiny apartment, it was crowded, but we had a great time. The weather cooperated so we were able to do lots of fun outside Chicago things. We took the kids on the L train downtown to play in the fountains in Millenium Park, we ate Chicago-style hotdogs and pizza. We ate amazing cupcakes from the organic bakery and found out the kids were bigger fans of the train and not so much the bus. On Sunday, we headed down to Lincoln Park Zoo and played at lots of playgrounds. The kids had their first taste of Thai food. All in all it was a very fun weekend.

Jeremy finished his summer classes the third week of July and has been working more. Jeremy and I have both signed up run a 5k to raise money for breast cancer research. We're in training and will be ready to run on September 25 in Grandville, MI. If you want to support either of us you can head over here:

http://race.komengr.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1040&px=1136183 (Tonya)
OR
http://race.komengr.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1136184&pg=personal&fr_id=1040 (Jeremy)

We appreciate our wonderful friends and family who have already given their generous support. We also thank you for your monetary and/or emotional support.

We're both getting ready to go back to school soon. We're not really ready for summer to be over but we do love fall! A new challenge for me this fall, I will be teaching fourth grade this year.

After being in our very tiny (356 sq. ft.) apartment for 3 years, we're getting ready to move at the beginning of September. We will be moving all the way down the hall to a slightly larger apartment.

We hope everyone else is having a great summer!
Here's to hoping I can stay on top of keeping you all up on our super funness and all the great things happening for us.

Memorial Day Family Weekend!

What a fun weekend! Saturday morning we got up REALLY early to head down to Soldier Field. Jeremy ran the Soldier Field 10 Mile race this year. He did a fantastic job but because of the annoying children in front of me who were not being supervised by their father, I missed him finishing. After the race excitment, we headed home so Jeremy could shower and change. We packed up the car and headed down to Louisville. Jeremy's parents were coming from Joplin, MO, his brother's family from Jackson, MI, and us from Chicago. His Aunt Janet knew we were all coming but it was a surprise for his grandma. She had her birthday last Saturday, the same day as me, and we all wanted to surprise her. Well, it sure was a surprise. Jeremy's parents and brother's family got there first but we were only about an hour or two behind. She sure was surprised! We spent all day Sunday funning with the family. All the men were in the pool with all of the kids and the dog. Aunt Janet's dog LOVES to swim. The best part was watching him doggy paddle to push the kids around on the raft. Hilarious! Jeremy and Nate also taught Kodi, the dog, how to "cannon ball," instead of just walking in on the steps. Needless to say, Aunt Janet was thrilled about this. This morning after breakfast, we hugged and said our goodbyes and all headed in our different directions. It was sad to say goodbye but so good to be able to see everyone. All in all, a fun weekend!

Birthday Fun!

Saturday morning, the birthday celebration began. Jeremy and I started with Starbucks on our way to get manicures and pedicures. It was a wonderfully relaxing way to start my birthday. We made a few stops after this, one of which was to my favorite bookstore. I bought two books that I have been wanting. After some midday relaxation, we got dressed and jumped in a cab to go downtown. We had dinner at a fabulous Japanese fusion restuarant, Niu. We started with cocktails and Garlic Butter Scallop Yaki, delicious. Jeremy ordered Pepper Salmon Roll and I had Mango Chicken. Mine was AMAZING. Jeremy's was okay by me but delicious according to him. He did make me try his wasabi sauce which made fire shoot up my nose and down my throat. Must say, not a fan! We shared an amazing chocolate cake dessert thing with ginger ice cream, also amazing. After dinner we walked next door to the movie theater to see the movie, Date Night. It was laugh out loud funny! Other than the cab driver's B.O. on the way home, it was a great day and a wonderful birthday. It was the perfect blend of fun and relaxing.

FUNdraising with FUN friends!

Last night, Jeremy and I attended a fundraiser for autism. Each year, the mother of a student I had last year, puts together a fundraiser. Her family does the Walk Now for Autism in support of her son. She puts together a super fun event at a local bowling alley. For $30 each we get to bowl, eat amazing food, and enjoy the bar for 3 and 1/2 hours. Several other teachers from my school also attend and we greatly enjoy each other's company. I also won a raffle this year! Which was very exciting, as I don't typically win things. I spent $20 for 10 raffle ticket and won "split the pot." For $20 I walked away with $200! It was a great event that raised lots of money for Andrew's Angels. I never doubted it. Every year, Mary is one of Autism Speaks top fundraisers.
As the event was ending at 10pm, Jeremy and I decided to continue the fun with Josh, Diane, Liz, and Bobby. We headed over to O'Donovan's to kill an hour with some vodka slushies and then headed to the Bluelight to see our other fabulous co-worker, Nadine. Late night on the weekends, she shakes a mean cocktail. We had a great time, raising money and spending time with good friends!

Long Overdue Blog

Katie-I know what you're thinking! It's about time! I've been a BAD blogger. Quite frankly, our lives aren't that exciting. That should be changing a little very soon. Jeremy is getting ready to gear up for summer classes. He'll then go straight into fall classes, winter classes and back to summer classes. Yeah, he means business. Time to get this done!

I have also received good news. With budget rumors and speculation looming I was unsure if I would have a job next year. Fortunately, after about two months of not knowing, I found out I would in fact have a job at my school next year. More recently, I found out I would be making the move from second grade to fourth grade. At first I was worried about this. No more first floor classroom that's been lovingly dubbed fun-oh-fun instead of boring old 101. I will not only be learning a whole new curriculum, I'll be doing it after dragging myself up to the third floor. Currently, when I have to walk my class up there, I am huffing and puffing when I get to the top. Perhaps, this job will double as a weight loss plan. After much thought, I am looking forward to this new challenge. Also, I will have some of kids from last year! I'm also looking forward to working with students with a little more independence. I'll also be working with a great teacher who has been teaching fourth grade for three years.

Most importantly, we're looking forward to summer! June 18 is the last day of school and we can't wait to enjoy all the fabulousness that is Chicago in the summer!