back home again in Indiana!

It's official...
Are you ready for it?
Here it goes:
MICHAEL AND I ARE MOVING BACK TO INDIANA IN JUNE! :]

As long as everything goes as planned, Michael will be working downtown Indianapolis for a company called Zesco and I will be working at a private facility called BACA. I will be working 1-1 with children with autism and many other disabilities and also children of all ages. I am a little sad that I will not be teaching anymore (for right now, at least) but I know that Indiana is still a mess and that I had to take other options if I really wanted to move home. This company seems like a great place and even though I am nervous about it right now, I am excited to start a new chapter in our life.

With that being said, we will be living at my grandparents house for the next year. My grandparents were recently moved into an assisted living facility and their house is empty. My parents are working hard to replace all the carpet and paint the walls for us so the house will be a fresh place for us to start over in Indiana. My grandparents are helping us out all while we are helping them out until they can sell their house. Then, hopefully in a year we will be able to buy our OWN house and make it ours before the babies come [settle down ... that won't be for at least 2 years from now].

So good news is spreading and I am ready to be home around family and friends, again. It is hard not to wish the rest of this school year away with my little ones when I know I should be soaking it all in since I don't know when I will be teaching again.  :[   With that being said, this has been a VERY difficult year for me and I am somewhat relieved that there are only 31 days of school left.

Here's to all the big changes happening in our lives and to our future.

In addition, I have been trying to become more domesticated and cook dinner more often for my husband. Even though I enjoy cooking, Michael tends to do the majority of it because I prefer to bake. I don't bake as much as I would like to but that's because if I bake then I "have" to eat it and I am trying to watch what I eat. :]

Tonight's dinner was Taco Cornbread Pie:

Taco Cornbread Pie

1 lb.  ground beef

1 green pepper, chopped

1 pkg.  (1-1/4 oz.) TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Taco Seasoning Mix

3/4 cup water

1 cup  KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 pkg. (8-1/2 oz.) corn muffin mix

HEAT oven to 400°F.

BROWN ground beef in a large skillet. Stir in peppers, seasoning mix and water. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 10 min., stirring occasionally.

SPOON into 9-inch pie plate; sprinkle with cheese. Prepare muffin mix as directed on package; spoon over cheese, completely covering cheese layer.

BAKE 20 min. or until golden brown. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

It was very quick and easy to make and Michael seemed to enjoy it. I also added in some Mexican cheese we buy from the grocery store that is a lot like queso. You could really add anything you wanted to this recipe and in fact, the original recipe called for 1.5 lbs of chicken instead of beef but I thought beef sounded better.

Now to finish with some pictures I have been taking with my camera (of which I am still obsessed with):

 

Our big guy who will be ONE in 2 weeks.

My brother, Mary, and Katie in the family photos I took for them.

Katie learning at an early age that dad's can be EXTREMELY embarrassing.

Look at me! :]

My oldest niece, Lexi. I am still in disbelief she will be 7 in July.

Madeline :) Isn't she adorable?

The boys playing video games together. <3

NEW CAMERA! :]

My wonderful husband surprised me for Valentine's Day and bought me the Nikon DSLR I have been dying for. He informed me (quickly) that it's not just MY camera but OURS. Suuure. So here are some new pictures from my AMAZING camera.

One of my adorable kiddos working on her independent work activity. :]

Our big boy, Cooper. He looks so shiny with our high quality camera.

 My beautiful niece, Katie, at her 9 month check up. Lil chunk.

(not taken with my camera)

Goals. Goals. Goals...

With the new year, Michael and I have decided to set some new goals for ourselves. Hopefully, these goals help bring on some changes (for the better) this year. And no, this does not mean children. That's a hurdle we will jump in 2012.

We have set ourselves on a pretty tight budget so we can get most of our debt paid off quickly (besides my huge student loan which I will probably die with). Our hopes are to get our debt paid off and get some money in savings so we can buy a house in the next year or so. We are sick of living in an apartment and Cooper really needs a fenced yard to be able to run around whenever he wants. This is what I have in mind. :] Although, our budget may not agree...

The first thing I am looking forward to once we get our debt down is my new DSLR camera. I get SO excited everything I think about getting a new camera to play around with. I have always been interested in photography but never realized the difference an amazing camera could make. A few of my friends have been putting pictures up with their DSLR cameras and I am beginning to realize this could be a really sick and twisted obsessed for me. :] I will be like paparazzi with my nieces, nephews, the dog, etc. I've warned you all. Here is a picture of our camera:

In addition to a house, I would like to pay down a chunk on the G6 loan so we can get rid of it and get Michael whatever car he wants. I know he didn't want that car to begin with but we did it to be smart (financially) with his transmission blowing in his Cavalier. I would like to think we could get him a car by next summer (2012). My Nissan lease will be up in the winter of 2013 so that will give us over a year of payments on Michael's new car before I will have to look for a new one. We have already discussed getting an SUV for me so we can haul around children and put the dog in the very back since he is now a HUGE beast. [see picture below]

I know most people do not care about our debt or plan but when I see it in writing, it helps me follow through with our goals. I cannot wait to have a house of our own that we can renovate and decorate however we want to. In addition, I'll have an AWESOME camera by then to take some sweet pictures. :]

Here are some updated pictures of Cooper: