8 Years Later......

And I'm still hot for him:

Happy Anniversary Babe!

*photos compliments of Casey Perkins*

As Promised.....

Photos of the ever-elusive Steve-o, on the eve of his 30th birthday. :)
The entire "shoot" took all of 6 minutes - and he hated every one of them.

I am Sooooo clever.
LOL :)

This was his reaction when I told him to stare directly into the camera and "look badass"

:)

Birth Day.....30 Years to Date

Let's start things off by talking about...well, ME.

Steve and I both have milestones birthdays this year.....turning thirty.
THIRTY.
Leaving the comfort of our 20's in our wake, we drop the "young" off "young adult" and I suppose that now we're just.....well, regular adults. It somehow seems so much more serious and imposing.
While I approach this milestone with alternating bouts of depression and sheer panic - Steve on the other hand is very calm and nonchalant about it.

So, how do you feel about turning 30 next week?
Fine, doesn't bother me at all.

Can you believe that in 3 days you'll be THIRTY?
Yeah, I guess so. It doesn't seem that different to me.

(20 minutes before the clock strikes midnight and his birthday is official): You STILL feeling good about turning 30?
Yeah, I feel fine. It really doesn't bother me. You're going to let me sleep in tomorrow right?

Okay, he didn't actually SAY that last part. But he was thinking it.

So today....as he's sleeping in, as a 30 year old - I draw courage from his calmness about the whole thing. Maybe turning 30 ISN'T that big of a deal, ...maybe you're NOT knocking on death's door, maybe you're NOT leaving behind your inerrant coolness to pick up the nerdiness of being a mom, a dad, a responsible parent. He's still cool, right? He's still a fantastic dad, a great coach, a beloved teacher. A loving husband, a levelheaded man, a fair parent, a fun guy. Nothing has changed between yesterday and today, save for a number to tag as his age.

So to my husband....my 30 YEAR OLD husband: Happy Birthday - I love you more than you know and I'm glad I've got to spend the last 12 years of my life knowing you.
And I'm glad I'm still younger than you for another 6 months.
:)
--------------
Side bar: Stay tuned for PICTURES of Steve on his monumental birthday. He's letting me take some pictures tonight to document the occasion of another decade of his life. Okay....so "letting me" is a bit of a stretch. It's more like I'm making him, and he's not complaining TOO loudly about it. Should be fun. :)

Videos for Your Viewing Pleasure

Here's some semi-recent videos for the fam up north (and anyone else who cares to watch):

Dinner and A Nap: Starring: Tyler Nowack as....Himself



And Tyler Again, In Dinner and some Music:


This one is titled: Thank you Uncle Rob and Aunt Manda and CREW for my Early Birthday Present....Starring Owen Nowack. With guest appearance by AJ Nowack.


Here we have initial sword fighting with daddy:


And finally, The Triumph of Obi-Wan-Kanobi:


Enjoy. :)

You are Most Compatible With....

So...I found this online quiz/html thing that I thought would be fun to imbed in the blog. So I take my blog address, enter it in and then they say that before I can see the results/get the code, I have to sign up to be a member of this site. I consider not doing it, but I have nothing going on for the next 15 minutes so I figured, "what the heck" it can't hurt - right?
Well, weird thing is....it ended up being a singles/online meeting people place thing. So after I sign up and enter in a bunch of false info and get a login, etc. etc. (I'm still looking for the results of that quiz thingy) it posts people who could possibly be good "matches" for me.
And here they are:

pjbb84 57 years old from Valparaiso

maddcow78 30 years old from eden prairie

RJK 47 years old from Clinton Township

crankincraig 42 years old from upstate ny

crc7310

35 years old

from Atlanta

juslukinforafriend

50 years old
from Dublin

What the heck?? Either I am an old soul, or 29 is crossing the age barrier, but all the people they think would be good matches for me have a median age of 45!? What the ---?
Although on second hand...juslukinforafriend is from Dublin and it'd be nice to travel....
And what's up with the screen name of pjbb84? Peanutbutter-Jelly bed and breakfast 1984?
The initials of him (Paul Jungo), his dog (Bugsby Bittman) and the last time he went on a date (1984)? Feel free to speculate on that one in the comments....

Thanks, but I'm just fine and dandy with this guy:


Well....you know what I mean.

Tropical Storm Fay = Big Puddles

Yesterday we got hammered with rain all day (as local readers already know-duh) but it let up and was a pleasant deluge every now and then. Here's AJ whoop'n it up in the puddle between our house and the neighbor's house - there's a low spot there and it always FILLS with water and washes into the street every time it rains. Makes for lovely splashing. :)

{as always, click to enlarge}

I think he looks like such a big kid in this photo...

Cooper got in on the action as well

One of the things I love about rainy days is the excuse to stay in. I've come to realize that, over the last few years, (and especially with kids) I've become more of a homebody. Not that I like to SIT around my house and do nothing...because I like to stay busy - but that I like to be home. And rainy days are cozy, and warm, and give me good excuse to just stay in our house and read books, or watch t.v., or bake. And it's even better when it's a weekend and Steve-o is home too.

Here's a snapshot I stole this morning of Steve-o and Tyler on the couch.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Steve - 1, Tammi - 0

Have you ever had a showdown with your spouse.....without them ever knowing about it??

I've been having one with Steve for the past 3 weeks.
Over cleaning our bathroom.

I clean the bathrooms. Save for the occassional, "someone's coming over, go clean the bathroom really quick" - bathroom responsibilites are "my job". Not to say that Steve doesn't do gross jobs around here too....he cleans out the fridge every couple of days, regularly does the dishes, and takes care of the cat litter ("his job"). But a few weeks ago, I got to thinking: Dang it, why am I always the one to clean the nasty bathrooms?? Coming from a household with 4 boys in it...you can imagine the state of our bathrooms. I figured that since my trips to the bathroom are rather...er..."neat and tidy" (i.e. do NOT entail pee sprayed on any portion of the walls, or any portion of the outside, rim, seat or bottom of the toilet) that's it's a little unjust that I should be the one diligently scrubbing pee from the toilets on a regular basis.

Thus, the showdown.

I said to myself, "self, let's see how long the bathroom goes before Steve-0 is so repulsed by it that he cleans it himself". I WILL admit, that in the process, I've realized how much I myself contribute to the bathroom mess....there's quite a few long hairs on the bathroom counter, and various beauty products on the countertop, clothes on the floor, etc. But when it comes to actual FILTH...well. WELL.
It's really, really GROSS.
What is it about men that they are content to live in filth?? It's been 3 weeks. There are whiskers (from his razor) on the counter, hair on the sink (me), toothpaste crusted on the sink, dirt on the floor, pee on the underside of the sink (steve and boys), streaks on the inside of the toilet (just from not being cleaned), the contents of under the sink strewn on the floor -tampons, extra toilet paper, cotton balls, (Tyler keeping busy) etc. etc. I considered taking a photo but the thought of looking at it up close and personal made me throw up in my mouth a little.

So....in the showdown (that he didn't know about), he won.

I'm cleaning the bathroom today.


Tell me I'm not the only passive-aggressive spouse who does things like this.

Tyler and the Sparkly Light

Our back yard has great late-afternoon light. The trees that line the back fence offer nice shade from the setting sun, but are open enough to make for a really nice sparkly light.

Last night when Steve came home the boys and I were in the back yard playing. Steve was holding Tyler when I noticed how nice and even the light was and how it made Ty's eyes sparkle. So I ran inside and grabbed my camera.

He was a little sullen, but this picture is one of my favorites:

{click any to enlarge}

The black and white is nice too....


And some tossing fun....

Here's the Skinny

I've had several people facebook me and email me expressing concern over Steve's employment over that post I wrote the other day, so I'll try to clear things up as politically correct as possible.

...Obviously, if you know me - a difficult task since I'm pretty much a straight shooter,but I'll do my best since I know my honorable and classy husband will be cringing already when he reads that first sentence. Perhaps short and concise would be the best way to do it.

Here's how it went down for those of you who aren't in the know:

We are required to be members of X church per Steve's contract at X school.
So, we go to church. But not very often because we don't really like X church.
X church is Baptist.
We are not.
X church is fine and dandy. It's just not our cup 'o tea.
----
X School says to Steve, "Go to X church more often or you can't work here anymore"
Steve says, "We'll think about it"
----
Realizing his job is in jeopardy, Steve looks for other employment. Several options arise, but due to various factors (timing, money, location, etc.) only one is something that he/we are interested in. This particular option is very impressed with Steve and shuffles him quickly through interview process with various people and offers him a job one week later.
----
One month after inital meeting with peeps at X School, Steve meets with them again and says, "Hey, I love teaching at X School - can't we just go to a different church that we like and I can still teach there??"
X School says no. You will go to X Church and you will be very involved or you will not come back.
Steve sadly says: okay then - see you later.
----
Steve accepts job at school across town....X School's former rival and town's prestigious private school.
Steve is bummed, but resigned. He loves kids and friends at X School.

Students and athletes are: confused. angry. sad.

Legalism sucks.
-----
Onward and Upward!

The end.

Because He Rocks My Socks

Every year the smartest kid (based on SAT scores) at all the area schools gets nominated the Star Student, and in turn nominates one of their teachers as the Star Teacher. It's a pretty big deal. They have a dinner at a country club to honor the student and their chosen teacher and each of the students gives a speech about the teacher that they chose. To quote the requirements of the Star Teacher: "...exemplifies the profound influence and admirable qualities of Georgia teachers and dedication to the profession that helps shape the destiny of our state and nation."

Steve-o is Star Teacher this year.
Again.

Yup. 2 years at Sherwood. 2 years Star Teacher.
He's awesome. All the kids at the school love him. And not just because he's "fun" or because he teaches a bird course (you "fly" right through), on the contrary, his classes are difficult and challenging and he challenges them intellectually, and makes them think, not memorize, and he teaches them to think critically, and question everything. He's the ideal Socratic teacher.
And I'm more than a little proud.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to:
my husband.
the father of my beautiful children.
the man who takes me to a demolition derby for a date and we laugh about it the whole time.
the guy who buys me a puppy for my birthday, even though it's ridiculously impractical.
the man who makes me laugh like no other.
the man who knows where I'm most ticklish.
the guy who provides for all 5 of us - financially, emotionally, spiritually.
the dad who my boys absolutely adore.
the guy who builds the best train tracks, and plays the best pretend with the race cars.
the man who still holds my hand in the car.
the guy who changes the cat litter just because i hate to do it.
the guy who has to have all the lights off when he's sleeping at night. and a fan on. in the winter.
the guy who loves Christmas more than anyone I know.
the teenage boy trapped in a man's body who still pines for a video game system (the answer is still NO!)
the teacher that the students adore.
the coach that the athlete's love.
the friend who makes you laugh.

the man that I love.

happy birthday steve-o!

(click the photo to enlarge)

Steve-o takes Sports Radio By Storm

Steve-o has been asked to take on being the play-by-play guy for the Sherwood Football Games. He diligently vegetated on the sofa studied football games on t.v. to listen to the play by play commentary so he could be prepared and his first game was 2 weeks ago. I waited until he had a couple of games under his belt to announce that you can listen to Steve do his football 'thang via Podcast.

Introducing the voice of the Sherwood Eagles on TAG Sports Radio.......STtteeeeeeevvve Nowack!

TAG Sports Radio

Or, go to Itunes, click on Podcasts and do a power search with "TAG Sports" as the title.

Pump It Up

While I've been bemoaning my fatness (see post below), Steve has been hitting the gym with friend Dano and turning his own Flab into Fab, dah-ling. Seeing as how my gym membership was getting dusty the last few months of pregnancy and the upcoming 6 weeks of post-partum, Steve-o willingly (most of the time) has been hitting the gym bright and early at 7 am to work out with Dano and his iron-slinging harem of weight-lifting protégés, under my name.

Check out Steve-o....pumping, firming, and jet-setting the testosterone coursing through his veins like a herd of wild buffalo stampeding across the plains:(photos courtesy of Dano and the Iron Harem)

All joking aside, I'm pretty proud of him for sticking with this and striving towards a healthier lifestyle. He's been noticing the effects of those early morning workouts and is pretty darn proud of himself too. Way to go Steve-o!