December 2011

December was a fun month! Sean got to take off a lot of work during the holidays so it was nice to spend time together. Sean broke his finger on Thanksgiving while playing football. I think he did it so he could get out of changing diapers, but he swears he didn't. A surgery, pins, and several hundred dollars later, he was good to go! I told him that he is banned from playing football and needs to start playing disc golf. We paid more for his broken finger than we did for me to have a baby.

Christmas was a lot of fun! Not only was it Brody's first Christmas, we got to spend a lot of time with our families. We went to church with my parents on Christmas morning and were able to visit Sean's family and my extended family.

Here are some pictures from December:

November 2011

Brody was born on 11/1/11. Sean really wanted his birthday to be 11/11/11 since I was due on 11/9/11, but I guess 11/1/11 will do. 11/1/11 was the day our lives changed forever. When we brought Brody home, my mom stayed with us for a few days to help out. Being a new mommy was tiring and I am so happy that my mom was there. I didn't take Brody out too much in November with all the viruses going around, but we did get to go to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister-in-law's house and then to my aunt's house for dessert. Here are some pictures from November.

**Blue Eyed Boy**

I always wanted a blue-eyed baby. When I married an Ortega boy, I decided that it wasn't going to happen... which is why I was shocked when our little blue eyed boy was born on 11/1/11 at 7:40pm. Brody Sean Ortega was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20.75 inches tall.

Sean and I both have blue eyes on either side of our family, but it was still a shock for us. Many people told us that his eye color could and probably would change. Well, his eye color has changed. His eyes are even more blue. :)

Birth Story:

On Halloween night, we were at a friend's house talking about having our babies as our due dates were quickly approaching. That night, Sean and I went home and ended up going to sleep late. I woke up at midnight with mild cramping. I didn't know if it was just mild contractions or if it was the beginning of labor. I decided to start timing them and they were becoming more regular. I decided to let Sean sleep because I knew that if we were having a baby, I wanted him to get some rest. I called my mom around 6am letting her know what was going on. She came over to help me make sure I was ready for everything. Sean was so excited all morning, he couldn't contain himself. We went to the hospital around 12:30pm (I couldn't take the contractions anymore) and I was almost 5 cm dilated. After being in triage for about an hour (and listening to a lady next to me violently vomiting while trying to concentrate on breathing), we finally got into a room and the epidural ordered. :) At this point, I was about 6 cm dilated. I still need to thank whoever invented the epidural because that allowed my sister to put makeup on me (HA!) and sleep for a few hours before it was time to push. The nurse came in around 6:55pm and I was ready to go. My epidural had worn off and I could feel everything. :( However, I only had to push for 45 minutes and he was here! I'm not going to go into details, but let's just say that the recovery was NOT fun and still isn't (3 months later).

Once he arrived, I instantly fell in love all over again. They immediately took him off of my chest and brought him over to clean him up. While over there, they noticed that his breathing was abnormal and had to take him out to the nursery over night. They brought me into my room and I only had pictures to look at of my little guy. I was so exhausted I didn't really think much about what was going on. My mom came in around 2:00am to tell me that they were bringing him to the NICU because he had been on oxygen and it wasn't helping. Still, very exhausted, I kept sleeping. Sean was able to go in and see him regularly and kept me updated as well. The next morning, I got to see my little boy. He was hooked up to many tubes, oxygen, IV, and everything imaginable. It was then that everything sunk in and I broke down in tears. That was the most emotional day ever. My dad and Sean gave Brody a blessing and he immediately started to turn around. They took x-rays of his lungs and found that they were hazy so they took a blood culture to see if there was an infection. He had to stay in the hospital for a few days to wait for the testing to come back. Luckily, it came back negative and he was able to be released 4 days later. I am so happy that my mom had connections at the hospital because Sean and I got a room to stay in while our little baby was in the NICU. I was able to go down and feed him and hold him when I wanted to. The only thing the doctors could come up with is that he swallowed fluid or something because there wasn't any reason why his breathing should have been abnormal.

After experiencing that, it made me appreciate our health and that he recovered very quickly. It was the hardest thing to see him like that. I thought of my mom who had my little sisters 3 months early and had to endure having them hooked up to everything imaginable and being in the NICU for over 2 months. There were times when they were told that they didn't know if my sisters would make it. Of course, they are healthy 18 year olds, but I couldn't even have imagined being in that situation.

Now, 3 months later, Brody is healthy and a happy baby. We are so blessed to have him as a part of our family. There was a time when we were told that having a baby on our own would be next to impossible. I have learned that motherhood is a privilege and I don't take having him for granted. After going through infertility for almost 4 years, I realize how truly blessed we are to have Brody. You aren't going to hear me complain about not having enough sleep and not being able to shower. I would take that ANYDAY to be able to have this precious little baby. He is a special boy and has brought so much joy to our lives.

More pictures and blogging to come!

Our Little Miracle...

Baby Orrrrrrtega

November 3rd! (Possibly November 9th if they change my due date)

Perhaps we can have the baby on 11/11/11. I'd be okay with that! :)

Why a miracle? I know that conception itself is a miracle, but for us, it REALLY is a miracle. Almost 4 years ago, Sean and I decided that I would throw out the pill and we would give this whole "baby" thing a try. After the first year of no pregnancy I blamed not getting pregnant on the birth control pill. It totally screwed me up for the whole year. After the second year I thought that there might be something wrong, but I was only 23 and wasn't going to stress out. After the third year I realized that there was probably something wrong and went to the doctor. After several months of testing (and lots of money spent) at the fertility specialist we were told (last December) that the only way we would be able to have children is through in vitro. That was probably the hardest thing for me accept because it it so expensive and not a 100% sure thing. After deciding that it probably would be a long time until we have a baby, I gave up trying...and that's when it all happened.

{We are so blessed and couldn't be happier}

My New Cake Blog!

I know I haven't been posting much, but this is why! I have been crazy busy baking and decorating cakes. Come check out my cake decorating journey from the beginning until now!

www.staceabasecakes.blogspot.com

The Winner Is....

Sara from SweetChic Home Decor!

Congratulations! Email me at stashu303@cox.net with your address and I will mail you the Scentsy gift package!


Since only 3 people entered my giveaway, I have a sweet little gift for Raylene and Laura. Email me your address and I will send it to you!

I plan to do a giveaway next month so stay tuned!

October Scentsy Giveaway!!

Okay, so call me crazy, but I really am in the mood to give away some Scentsy stuff!! When I say "Scentsy stuff", I mean 1 full size warmer, 12 scents, and 2 scent circles!! This is a huge deal worth $85!

Here is what you need to do:

1.Post the following advertisement in your blog:

"October Scentsy Giveaway! Enter and you could win 1 warmer, 12 scents, and 2 scent circles! Visit here to find out how: http://www.staciandsean.blogspot.com/. Hurry quick! The winner will be determined on Monday, October 18th!"

2. Post a memo in my blog letting me know that you made the post.

3. Check my blog on Monday, October 18th to see the winner.

Don't know what Scentsy is? Visit my website at www.scentsy.com/staciortega

Sean Boy's Big Promo!

So, Sean has been working very hard the past year or so to take that next big step within the company. A management position opened (which doesn't happen frequently) and he decided to apply for it. He nailed the interview and called back for a second interview. Did an awesome job on his presentation in the second interview. Well, he didn't end up getting that job. About 2 weeks later, his director called him in to her office and spoke to him about the direction the company was going and asked him his thoughts. Then asked him if he would help her on a very big project. She turned her computer screen around and it said, "I have a management position open, are you in?" Of course he accepted!

Don't worry because he found out around 10:00am in the morning and decided that he wasn't going to tell me just yet. I wasn't expecting anything because the original position was already filled and didn't know that another position opened up.
We got new phones that same day and were trying to figure them out. (We aren't used to high tech phones.)
He was texting me on his phone from upstairs and this was our text convo:
Sean: I have a secret to tell you.
Me: What is that?
Sean: That I am going to make $X a year.
Me: I don't get it. Why do you say that?
Sean: There is only one way that I could make $X a year. Please use your critical thinking skills!
Me: I know. When you become a manager? Did you get a manager position?
Sean: YES!!!!!!!!!
Me: (Running upstairs screaming and freaking out for a couple of reasons. First, I was so excited that he got a position because I know he has worked so hard and is ready for it. Second, he knew ALL day and didn't tell me until 6:00pm. He is good at hiding it.)

Anyways, that's our good news! We are both very excited and feel very blessed.

Magnet Board and Princess Tiana Cake

I saw a magnet board tutorial online and decided that I HAD to try it. Not that I really needed a magnet board right by my refrigerator, but oh well!

The pictures aren't the best, but you get the idea. I made the first one for a co-worker for her birthday and since have gotten orders from other people at my work. Not my intention, but I might as well make a little money doing it! :) They are very easy to make and really didn't take that long.

Supplies:

• sheet metal (I purchased a large sheet at Lowe's and cut it to the size I needed. Definitely wear gloves and get really really sharp scissors.)
• Material of your choice
• frame (I found a cheap frame at Walmart and spray painted it the color that I wanted.)

Directions:

• Cut the metal to fit the frame. (Be careful! The metal is sharp when cut!)
• Cover metal with fabric. Glue gun the sides of the fabric on the back of the metal to keep it in place.
• Position in the frame and close the back. (If your frame doesn't have a back to it, just glue it into the frame)
• Add any embellishments to the front, if wanted.

...And...there you go! It's really simple. Of course I had to make matching magnets, but I can post those later.

Last Saturday Maris's 4th birthday party. Of course, I didn't take any pictures, but it was a great turn out. We had her party at my house and, of course, the little princess got everything that she wanted. Including, her princess Tiana cake. A few weeks ago, she demanded a Hannah Montana cake that was pink. I was a little worried about making a Hannah Montana cake, but luckily she changed her mind. She wanted a Princess Tiana cake that was purple and blue. To mess around with her a little, I asked her if a purple Barney cake would be okay. She yelled, "NO!!! I...WANT...A...PRINCESS...TIANA...CAKE!" I learned my lesson: Never mess around with a serious 4 year old that knows exactly what she wants. I just told my sister that she better not change her mind because I had already purchased the Tiana cake topper online.

Nothing too fancy, but I was pleased with the results considering that I did this in less than one hour of decorating.

Long Time Coming...

Yes, it has been over 1 year since I last blogged. I kind of "checked out" of the blogging world for a short time...if you consider 1 year a short period of time. Sean banned me from looking at blogs so I tried not to go on too much. (Okay, so he didn't really ban me from looking at blogs, but he didn't like to see the crying and emotional break downs that came after it.) Every time I would look on blogs, I would find out about someone getting pregnant, having a baby, or blogging about their cute babies. Everything is centered around babies. One might ask, why would that make you cry? It only makes me cry if I am feeling sorry for myself, lacking sleep, or when it is that time of the month. That time of the month that a girl who has been trying to get pregnant for MANY years dreads. (When I say many, I don't mean one or two years, I mean over 3. It may not sound like a lot, but for someone impatient like me, it's been a while.) I have always been one to be in control of situations for my life, which is why this has been the hardest thing I have ever endured. So, if you were wondering why I stopped, that's why. And, no, I am not pregnant yet. I just decided that I need to face this trial that Sean and I are going through. Plus, I wanted to put a different spin to my blog. Instead of blogging about life's happenings, I am going to blog about crafts and fun hobbies that I am taking on. However, I will still be blogging about a few different life events, if anything cool happens.

I have been obsessed with crafting and making home decor. I think obsessed is a little of an understatement. Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and I have become besties. I like to say that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. No joke! I get something in my mind and I have to do it...SOON. I have made picture frames, plaques, letter blocks, etc. Plus, I have definitely improved on my cake decorating ability. The cakes in the last blog were very amateurish. Some girls and I have been getting together every 1-2 weeks to do a new craft. That's how obsessed I am!

Before getting into all of the crafts, here is what we have been up to the last year:


1. We got our Dewey boy. We got him to fill the void and it really only worked for a couple of months. He has literally destroyed the wood panel on our couches and stained our carpet. Potty training a dog is no fun. Here is a picture of him when we got him. He was so little. Now, he is almost triple the size. I don't want to take a current picture because he needs grooming, bad. I love that Dewey is so excited to see Sean and I. No matter what kind of day we have had, Dewey loves to see us and definitely adds happiness to our lives.

2. Grandma moved in. My grandma has been living with my uncle for some time. Their rental house ended up foreclosing and they moved into a house that was smaller...which meant that my grandma would have been sharing a bathroom with 4 children under the age of 17. She wasn't really down with that, and I'm not sure who would have been. Sean and I received the prompting that we needed to invite my grandma to move in with us. It is temporary until she sells a lot up north. I can honestly say that I know 100% that we were blessed with this house so that my grandma could live with us. Everything has been working out perfectly in our lives to align to getting this house. It also gives me comfort to know that we weren't supposed to have kids up to this point. If we did have a baby, we wouldn't have had as much room to invite grandma. It's crazy how Heavenly Father works everything. I know that Sean and I will have a baby, but it's on His timing, not mine.

3. We celebrated our 4th anniversary! We didn't do anything extravagant, but maybe next year for our 5th we will. It's crazy how fast time flies! I am so happy that I am married to my best friend!

4. I got the Cricut Create. Yes, that is a huge event in my life because that little machine does wonders. I love trying to find new things to do with it. I have yet to do vinyl, but one of these days, I will.

5. I made my first wedding cake. My cousin asked me if I would make her wedding cake. I was kind of freaking out because the most I have ever made was birthday cakes and easy stuff. The reception was last night and it turned out really well! Don't look too close. :) Next time, I will for sure do 4 tiers. I didn't know what to expect so I wanted to start small.

6. Sean started playing in a city in-door soccer league. While I haven't made it to every game, it's pretty fun to go and see the games.

7. I got a piano! I have been very deprived the last 4 years without a piano and would go to my in-laws and parents frequently just to play. I love having my own piano!

8. Sean turned 26! I feel like he is so old. He was only 21 (almost 22) when we got married. I think that turning 25 is a big milestone, but he is no longer in his mid-twenties. At least that's what I tell him. He thought he was turning 25 this year! I had to keep reminding him that he is older than he thinks.

That's basically been the events that took place in the last year! I do not plan to go M.I.A. this time, I just don't always have fun things to blog about. I will definitely be blogging about the crafts that I am getting done. Next post will feature the fabric magnet board and some Halloween decor that I am working on!

Don't Be Jealous... :)

Have you ever walked down the cake decorating aisles at Hobby Lobby or Michael's and been amazed at all the cool stuff? Well, I do that every time I go there! One fantastic time, I found a little ad for cake decorating classes! Four weeks later, I am doing this. Not that this is amazing, but I'm very proud of the fact that I can actually do something on a cake and not just put sprinkles.

Sean decided he wanted a football cake for his birthday so I thought I would practice at my class a few weeks ago.

Of course he changed his mind because he wants to challenge me. He said the football cake was too easy for me and now he wants fondunt and all this other crap. Luckily I am taking a fondunt course in July! Call me crazy, because I totally am. Poor Sean has to put up with me...

Welcome Home Elder Whitmer!

Elder Whitmer returned home on Wednesday from a 2 year mission to the Denver Colorado North mission. We are so happy for him to have made this accomplishment! Here are some pics!This is the first view we got of him coming through the security gates!This is me hugging him.Hugging Grandma!

Do you think he grew?? He is SOOO tall! It's crazy! I swear he wasn't that tall when he left.

Other peeps at the airport:

Chelsea and Steve-O (boyfriend)Stubborn girls! Wadsworth Clan

Aunt Sylvia, Brighton, and Becca (Sorry the pic is slanted)

Sean and I with Aiga and Maris

Dinner at Macayo's(mmmm!) Aubrey and Sierra came home from girl's camp to see Nathan. What a sacrifice! (Yeah...right!)
Maris girl!

Trisha and James

Aunt Shauna, Grandma, and Briana

Charlie and Lauren (Charlie's Fiance)

We totally didn't get pictures of everybody there, but it was fun!

In Less Than 3 Days...

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...

This little cutie batootie will returning home from serving a 2 year mission. Wow! It's gone by fast!

Sad Day in Room 13!

I will always remember my first day/week of teaching in room 13. There were much tears, anxiety, curiousity, and enjoyment... much like my last day/week of teaching in room 13. Did I shed tears? Very much so. Was I anxious and curious about what will happen next in my life? Um...definitely. There was much enjoyment as well when I realized I had a whole week off to finish unpacking things in our new house.

Sad to say, I was "pink slipped" from the school district. When I received this so called pink slip, they kept telling us they could be calling us back. Considering the fact that Sean and I had just put an offer on a house, I couldn't sit around and wait to hear from the district. On top of that, other districts were letting people go at the same time. Did I want to compete with 500 other teachers who were in search for a teaching job? Hmm...let me think...NO!

Luckily, my really cool husband and I had a backup plan ready to go. For some reason, I had a feeling I was going to get let go. I am going to work with the hubby. Of course not the same position, but the same company and building.

My principal came to talk to me when he heard wind of this new job. I was advised to write a letter of resignation. I felt really good about taking this other job...don't know why, but I did. Long story short...

Wrote the letter,

turned it in,

teachers started to get called back,

found out I would have been one of them,

went through a few seconds of regret,

decided everything happens for a reason,

turned my head and didn't look back

This last week was a LONG week. Besides the fact that we moved from our apartment into a house, I had to pack up my classroom at the same time. You don't realize how much stuff you collect until you have to go through everything!

I was done packing everything and had to go meet with the principal to "check out". Then he asked me, "When you look back to your first year of teaching, what will you think about?" That's when the tears started going. Wow! I did not think I would cry that much. I didn't even cry when I found out I was losing my job. The next day was our staff breakfast/goodbye. I cried and cried.

I took my last few things out of my room, took a good look around, turned off the light, and went on my way.

University of Phoenix, get ready, cause I am coming on board.

One thing I have learned is that things really do happen for a reason. There is a reason why I was able to get another job so quickly and why that opportunity came. While I am still searching for the reasons, I know I'll look back years from know and realize how and why everything worked out.

Hopefully I can come back to teaching. I LOVE it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I will never forget the little stinkers that I got to teach everyday.

What's next on my list?

Going to get my masters. Am I excited? Nope. Will it be worth it? Yep.

Oh, and maybe we'll work on starting a family with little Ortega's...we'll see what the Lord has in store for us.

La Casa de Ortega

It's official! We are home owners! We are so blessed to be able to own a home in this economy. Here is a picture of our humble abode.

The picture is kind of fuzzy, but we LOVE it! More pictures to come!

Mi casa es su casa. Hee hee!

Why were these little boogers ever created?

It actually gives me the heeby geebies to look at it! I am 100% terrified of grasshoppers and it really is ridiculous. Between these nasty creatures and cockroaches, I might end up dying of some type of heart failure because I think I freak out and panic when I come in contact with either of the two. For example, Sean and I decided to go play basketball one night at the apartment basketball courts. Well, after playing a game of one-on-one with him (which he totally beat me and I'm suprised he even enjoys playing with me), I decided I would run some laps around the basketball courts in order to do something while he shot around. Bad idea...there are parts of the court that are more lit than other parts. Well, as I'm running and not paying attention to where I'm running, I apparently interrupted a grasshopper party because they all start jumping around me! I was screaming and dancing around because for some reason, they jump TOWARD you, not away from you. Then of course, Sean decided to have a little fun with me and pick up a fat and short stick (that looked very much like a grasshopper) and was coming toward me with it.

Next experience...I was in my classroom and we were switching classes for our intervention groups. Well, the kids were all coming in and all of a sudden there was a grasshopper flying around frantically. It was a BIG one, might I add. The kids thought it was funny cause I was screaming and running around. Luckily, I have some "macho" boys that were able to get a hold of it and take it outside.

Now, are you ready for what happened tonight? Drum roll...my heart is still pounding due to the exessive screaming and panicing that took place.

Sean and I were walking to our car from a restaurant where we bought gift cards. We get in the car and we were talking about something (I'm sure it was something important, but I can't remember due to the traumatic experience that I had about one second later). I looked down at my leg and saw it! It was big and so ugly! I covered my face and screamed so loud that Sean started freaking out asking me what was wrong. I couldn't respond...I had no words in me. All that came out was a loud scream! (My throat still hurts by the way.) The problem was this: I couldn't take my hands off of my face to point at it because if I made too much movement, it would fly in my face which, at that point, would be uncovered. So, Sean finally saw what I was screaming about and luckily we were at a stop sign. He opened the door and threw it out.

Dear Grasshopper that landed on me,

I hate you. You stink. Next time I see you, I won't be able to do anything because I will be screaming so loud. So, please have some sympathy on me and understand that I might die of a heart attack if you land on me.

Not Love, Not Sincerely,

-Staci

Dear Family and Friends...

In case you were wondering why Sean and I haven't popped out any babies.

This is why...

Bless their hearts...

Not Quite Sure How to Explain That...

With AIMS over and nothing to do, I thought "Hey! Let's actually teach some science that we never have time to do!" So, I pull out a science kit on nature. We planted seeds on Day 1 and on Day 2, we were talking about the life cycle of plants. The second I started talking about the life cycle of plants, all of my students started shouting out, "Oh! We did the life cycle of butterflies last year! We had our own butterflies and we let them go!" Let me tell you, they were thrilled out of their minds to discuss the life cycle of plants. (To be honest, I didn't know what the heck I was talking about! Luckily, Mesa puts together these nifty little kits filled with everything you need to say and do!) After all the shouting and excitement was over, I had one little, cute girl (the kind of girl that you just want to squeeze her cheeks!) say, "Mrs. Ortega, my butterflies always stuck together." If any of you have seen such a sight, I am sure you understand what is going on.

Yeah...about that...not quite sure how to explain that to an 8 year old.
Can you tell I enjoy my job? :)

Mother's Day Promotion!

Place your order by the end of April and receive a free car candle!

Click on flyer for better picture! :)

www.scentsy.com/staciortega

Ahh...the joys of teaching...

AIMS testing started and if you are a teacher, you know the stress that it brings. Apparently my students can feel the stress in me. On Wednesday morning, one of my cute little girls gave me this...

Would that not make your day? :)

Another joy of my job is listening to the extremely silly or inappropriate things that my students say. You know the phrase "kids say the darndest things"? Well, I can attest to that!

I was in the middle of reading a story to them and I couldn't stop yawning! I said to my students, "Wow, I am so sorry I keep yawning! Mrs. Ortega went to bed way too late last night." Of course their reply was, "What time did you go to bed?" After telling them that I went to bed at midnight, they wanted to know why I went to bed that late. (They like to ask a lot of questions if you couldn't tell.) I told them that I was watching my nieces and that my sister came over and then, of course, I had to watch TV with Mr. Ortega. Out of no where, and I really mean no where, a student yells out, "Were you guys making out?" COME AGAIN?!?!?! Can you believe that! I about wet myself when I heard him say that. This comment didn't come from a student who you would think could even possibly know what that meant. I had to tell the class, "Of course not! We don't talk about that in 3rd grade." (Don't you worry, it gets better!) I tried to continue reading when a little girl yells out, "Mrs. Ortega, you passed up a great opportunity!"

What do you say to that? I'm pretty sure my face turned red in embarassment because I can only imagine what the kids are going to say to their parents when they get home! "Mom, we talked about making out and Mrs. Ortega went to bed late cause she was making out with her husband!" CAN YOU IMAGINE!?? Anyways, that was the end of that. Kids really do say the darndest things, right?