school's almost out

Only four more hours...although I have a list a mile long of things to do today, I am also still very thrilled to be getting out of school for a week and a half. I had some major anxiety issues last night though. I don't know what it was I just woke up at 3:15 am and couldn't go back to sleep because I was too busy making lists in my head and "remembering" things. I finally fell back asleep (I don't know when) and never woke up when Jonathan got in the shower. Thank goodness he woke me up before he left. Besides, Julianna was so active yesterday it did make it a little more difficult to sleep.

Well, we are going to look at some carpet next week and maybe we'll have the sofa and carpet in January. We'll also probably get some trees cut down in January. I'm trying to convince Jonathan to have Lasik eye surgery before the baby's born. It will just work out really well if they can finance it for us like they did for my surgery. It just makes sense for him at least to go have the 2.5 hour consultation while I can drive him and since I'll already be there next week for my one year follow-up appointment that would make it easy. I just know that once this little girl is born all of our money will go to her and while we can we should try to do things for us. I don't want that to sound selfish I just want to be realistic about our spending in the future. A long time ago we had a "list" anyway of things that we wanted to do for us before we had children. If we can get some of these things done for January then I would say that we did pretty well. We haven't done everything we said we'd like to, but we certainly made a dent.

Today is Karen's birthday so we'll probably go out to dinner tonight. Tomorrow morning I have to take the glucose screening test where they make me drink this sugary sweet liquid and then test my blood sugar levels every few minutes to make sure that I don't have gestational diabetes. My only concern is that the doctor advised me to not eat an abundance of carbs the day and morning before and not to fast before the appointment either. She suggested a breakfast of toast, eggs, and maybe bacon. Well, I don't really eat any of that so I'll have to be careful in what I eat tonight and think of something halfway decent for tomorrow morning. It's really hard not to eat carbs this time of year though!

So I've been meaning to get by Babies R Us and fix our baby registry since the dumb thing got messed up - long story. I might take the time this afternoon since we have a half day to go by there and ask them to delete the old registry. I was also thinking about looking at their gliders again and asking if there's any way that they can order a Dutalier glider. That would be nice since I know that we will have gift cards from there and I would love to order it shortly after Christmas. Most things require a six week lead time and I want to make sure that we have it by March.

I started on my lesson plans yesterday afternoon. I accomplished something, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't seem like much. I got 7th grade plans done through the first week in March. Seventh grade is the easiest since I've already had one group all the way through and I can just repeat the plans. I am going to try to finish the 7th grade year's worth of plans today and already have them in a notebook. Then I will move on to another grade over break. I have scheduled myself two full days dedicated to working only on lesson plans. I have also scheduled one whole day of scrapbooking. YIPEEE!

OK I know I am starting to ramble. I will go now. more tomorrow...

where did the year go?

I can't believe that it's almost 2006. I am really starting to feel old. It's strange to think that Julianna will think that the 1900s were so long ago and that she will never experience the 20th century. That's right, isn't it? The 20th century? That sounds weird. Anyway, I only have one day of school left. We get out tomorrow at noon and I cannot wait. I am so very excited! I remember what it feels like to walk out of your last exam and that weight is off your shoulders. That's one reason why I love being a teacher - I get to experience that every fall and spring. Plus it's nice to have that time to recharge.

The head of the hospitality committee just came to me to let me know that they're planning a baby shower for me and the other teacher on staff who's wife is pregnant. She said it would be on January 16th. Yippee skippee! I wish the people here didn't feel like they were obligated to do that for us, but I know that that's the purpose of the hospitality committee and I figured that they would. It is very nice.

January seems like it will be a busy month. That's one reason why I guess I'm starting to feel a lot of pressure to get my lesson plans done before then. I only have 13 weeks left and the websites are saying that I should start reading up on the signs of labor and start packing for the hospital just in case. I can't believe that it's time to think about that already! I did sign Jonathan and I up for that Birth and Beginnings class at the hospital for two hours every Monday night in January. That should be interesting. We are also supposed to get our new couch at the end of January. Whooo-hoooo!

Well, I don't know anything else today. Hope everyone has a great day!

happy 8 years, baby!

I enjoyed a couple of snow days and delays last week, which was very nice. I had a busy weekend and wasn't feeling very well so I especially appreciated the extra time off. It's also nice because I don't have to make up any of the days that we miss since I will be out on maternity leave. :) Of course that means days without pay, but at this point I don't care.

I had a great weekend too. Despite being sick I managed to make it through the student council party Friday night and my dear husband was nice enough to chaperone with me. We had a wonderful lunch on Saturday to celebrate Whit's graduation. She has her second interview with a Forsyth County school tomorrow and maybe will have a decision by then. Then on Sunday we went to church and another Christmas party. Only 2 days left and school is out! I can't wait because I have to have some time to get started on these lesson plans.

Today should be a great day. Eight years ago today, my hubby and I went on our first "date." It also helps that I only have 2 classes today because of high school exams and a 6th grade field trip to see "The Chronicles of Narnia." Even though I have to work at curves tonight I should get a lot done because of the extra planning time. I want to try to get my grades all done and entered into the grading system. Then I should be able to start on lesson plans for March.
Well, I was up to 20 lbs this morning. It makes me sad, but I suppose it could be worse. Maybe after Christmas I will "lose" a pound or two. At least I haven't had any nosebleeds since we got the humidifier and nasal spary last week. On Thursday last week Whitter helped me move a lot of the baby stuff into the nursery. We organized all of the baby clothes that I have gotten and now I just need to start washing them. A friend that works here for the church came and offered me two nice infant car seats this morning. He said that the church gave them to him last year when they had their baby and she's already outgrown them. I thought that was really nice and we haven't gotten any of that kind of stuff yet so I am excited.

i can't wait to meet my little girl

My doctor's appointment yesterday went very well. I got to hear the heart beat again which is always fun. I have now gained 18.5 pounds which she said wasn't bad. I just hope I can only gain 0.5- 1.0 pounds per week for the rest of the pregnancy. I want to only gain a total of under 30. They also told me that my blood pressure was good and that my belly was measuring perfectly. When I asked about all of the nose bleeds she said that I need to get a humidifier and put it in the bedroom and also use some saline nasal spray about ten times a day which sounds oh-so-exciting. Anyway, I go back in about ten days for the glucose screening test for gestational diabetes.

I put the rest of the pictures up from the girl's baby shower for me. Most of them are blurry, but they're still worth looking at. I have a lot going on for the rest of the week and I'm really not sleeping very well. I will be very thankful when next week gets here. I have a long staff meeting and student council meeting today. Tomorrow I work at curves. Friday is the Middle School 7-11 Christmas party and Saturday Whit's graduation thingy. Sunday is the Glenola Christmas play and Memamma's get-together. Only 5 days of school left and under 100 'til we meet Julianna! :)

the weirdness that comes with pregnancy

During my first class yesterday my sweet 8th grade girls class planned a surprise baby shower for me. I had no idea they were doing it and it totally caught me off guard. I'm shocked that they managed to keep it a secret from me since I overhear their conversations every day. Anyway, just before class another teacher came and got me and said, "Come with me for just a minute." While she took me down the hall making odd small talk the girls set up my classroom. Apparently they had asked the Middle School Principal to call me out for a bit but then when she got stuck in a meeting they just asked another teacher to do it. So I came back around the corner and the lights are out and I can hear them all giggling in my classroom. They screamed, "Surprise!" at the top of their lungs (which I am SURE that everyone in the school heard) and showered me with gifts and attention the whole period. Even if it was just to get out of doing work, I was honored and thrilled. I love my kids. They had gotten cake squares, made punch, sprinkled confetti all over the place, bought gifts, and even taken up a collection for a gift card to Babies R Us. And when it was time for class to end several cleaned everything up and others took the gifts to my car and tied balloons to the antennas and put the banners on the windshield. They are so sweet and as much as I hate to say it, I am going to miss them in April and May. I did get a lot of offers for babysitting though. Check out the pictures page; I put a few pics up last night. :)

I keep reading about how you're supposed to enjoy all of the attention that you get when you're pregnant because that is one of the last times that people pay attention to you instead of the baby, and I sure am enjoying it. I can imagine how Julianna is only going to get more attention when she arrives, but I can't imagine how that will bother me that she's getting the attention and I'm not. Ok, I know, I say that now and you think I will regret it later, but we'll just have to see.

Last night I looked in the mirror and noticed all of this nasty facial hair that I have started accumulating around the side burn area. At first it was hilarious and Jonathan and I had a good laugh, but then I kept looking at it and it just became disgusting! I look like a wooly mammoth! At least it's not dark though!

I have another doctor's appointment today. I also go back in a week and a half for the glucose screening test and then in January my appointments start every two weeks instead of every four. My arm hurts from the flu shot yesterday and they're going to tell me that I'm super fat today, but I guess I can't do anything but complain about that.

complaints, flu shots, belly pics

I just got to school and was bombarded by this other teacher who needed all of these files she emailed to me burned onto a CD by 1st period today. Well, I didn't even know that my computer had a CD burner and then she asked if I could go downstairs and get some CDs from the high school computer lab to put them on. Is is me or are people just appalling in some of their expectations of others these days? I mean why did she start all of this right after the bell rang for class today and furthermore, why does she expect all of us other teachers to do her job for her? It's not like we don't have classes to get ready for this morning too or anything. OK sorry for the ranting and raving. I just had to get it out of my system. I can tell that today is going to go about as well as this weekend did.

On that note, I must say that this weekend had potential of being a great one. I did get a lot of things done and it was kinda relaxing, but it really wasn't as good as it should have been. Besides, Jonathan and I had some issues that we still haven't dealt with and I can feel it all building up inside of me and just making everything blughhh. Anyway, I did manage to get a flu shot this morning. I set my alarm for a little earlier than usual today. I don't know why. I just felt like I needed to start being better about getting up and getting to work earlier. I was getting ready and saw on the news where it said that the Forsyth County Health Department was holding a free flu shot clinic this morning at 7:30. I had time to get there I just didn't know if I'd be able to make it to work on time afterwards. I never get a flu shot and then 2 years ago I got the flu so bad that I vowed to get one the next year. That year was, of course, the year that they ran out of them and I never got one. So this year I'd been reading about how important it was for pregnant women to get one and then all of a sudden by the time I got a chance to double-check with my doctor it seemed too late. I thought they had already run out and figured I wouldn't get one. So I jumped at the chance this morning when I heard they'd gotten more. I'm glad I did. I don't have a 1st period class this year so I knew that I could be a little late to school with no problem so I went on. I got there a little after the place opened at 7:30 and there was a very long line, but it moved so quickly that I was in and out of there before 8am and I made it to work before the bell rang at 8:15. The shot didn't hurt and it was free for everyone. I have to admit that I am a little concerned just because I've never had one before and they say that some people get minor flu symptoms from the shot. The last thing my body wants to deal with right now is flu symptoms, but I'm sure I'll be fine.

I am going to try to put up my belly pictures tonight. Only 101 days left! I can't imagine how much fatter I can get in those 101 days, but we'll just try not to think about that one today.

so much to do, so little time

It's finally Friday! I'm free again! Got my motor running for a wild weekend... Well not really. A slow weekend, but when you're almost 6 months pregnant a slow weekend becomes a wonderful one! Last night I was sooooo soooo very sick again. I think it was the fact that I drank over 36 ounces of white grape juice at work yesterday and that made my stomach very unhappy. I feel much better today although last night was awful! I REALLY didn't want to work at Curves, but somehow I managed.

I had a hard time finding something to wear this morning. It's getting to be that I only have a select few pairs of pants that really fit. Then you have to find the kind of coordinating shirt that will go over top of it and cover the maternity waist band. Ugh. Why did I ever think this would be fun?! I also had another small teary eyed evening on the couch when I got home from Curves. I was just feeling so terrible and I'm so emotional that I couldn't help it. Then I waited too late to get up this morning because I thought we would have a 2 hour delay, but of course not. So I was already late and then I spent forever trying to find something to wear that didn't make me look too much more like a wide load.

The babycenter website said yesterday, "Your baby weighs about a pound and a half and is around 13 and a half inches long. She has more hair on her head, and if you could see it you'd know what color and texture it is." How cool is that? I know that she will probably have dark, straight hair and dark eyes. And she'll probably be chubby! :)

I am almost to the 100 day mark. I can't wait! I think I will be fine once school gets out for Christmas though and I can sleep late and then take my time getting ready to go wherever it is I need to go. Then I will worry about January, February, and the beginning of March. I just know I need to start on my lesson plans soon. I also want to get the birth announcements finished and start stamping and return-addressing thank you note envelopes. Maybe I can work on that some this weekend or at Curves tomorrow morning. Nothing much else is going on. This afternoon mom and I are going to pick up whit's graduation gift. What fun!

the Goodyear Blimp & birthing classes

Yesterday was a good day. I got a lot done and it went by quickly. We had a nice dinner last night with the whole family and I got to go by and see my grandmother. I really didn't sleep well last night though. I had several really bad leg cramps. They were so bad that I had to jump out of bed and do a jig and try not to fall at the same time. I'm up 18 pounds now and it seems I can't stop growing. Today I am wearing the most "maternity-like" shirt that I have and I look like the Goodyear Blimp. Oh well.

So the other night I heard these loud noises that sounded like they were coming from downstairs. Jonathan go up to go look at what it was and we remembered that we'd left the cat inside for once since it was so cold outside. He couldn't find the cat until he came back upstairs and heard him in the nursery. We went in and looked and the cat was all sprawled out in the crib. I guess he found a warm place to sleep, but must have tried several times unsuccessfully to get in because he had made quite a racket. So we popped him and put him out. Now the nursery door stays closed when we're not there and we are going to have to start training him with a spray bottle to stay out of it when we're home. I have heard stories about cats getting in cribs and such, but hopefully it won't be a problem.

I signed J and I up for the "Birth and Beginnings" class at the hospital for January. It is a $90 class for 5 weeks in a row where they teach you all about delivery techniques, give you tours of the hospital, talk about breastfeeding, etc. Let the baby bills begin. I just hope that it is worthwhile because I have heard that some are not.

another to do list

It is going to be a good day. I can tell. So far this morning I have already cleaned the kitchen up a bit, started some laundry, paid bills, and made it to school on time. For some reason I am feeling very rested this morning and ready for the day. This afternoon I am going to see my grandmother and help her with some computer stuff after the LONG Student Council meeting. We had a nice dinner last night with Karen and Travis and hopefully I can get home in time to make something for dinner tonight too. That will be 3 nights in a row - a new record!

I do have a lot of papers to grade. I am getting further and further behind on school stuff. I am way ahead with Christmas stuff and way far behing with work stuff. Anyway, at least this weekend should be another kinda slow one. I have to work on Saturday morning and I have stamp club on Sunday afternooon but other than that I should be able to catch up on school work, sleep, and house cleaning.

Nothing new is going on with the baby. I just feel like a marshmallow. Just not a squishy one.

Ugh!

I had the worst nose bleed ever last night and then again this morning. It was absolutely disgusting and I couldn't get it to stop and now the icky taste is in my mouth. All of these things are preparing me for having to take care of a baby I guess.

Well, I can already tell that today is going to be a busy day. The morning has flown by and although we had terrible roads on the way west into winston today we were not on a delay. Maybe on Friday... I don't care how many snow days we have this year since I will be out on maternity leave.

I don't have much time left before my class so I gotta run. Hope you all have a terrific day!

weekend re-cap

Julianna is about 13 inches this week. Here is a picture of what she should look like. She has been a great baby lately and not caused too much trouble although she is growing fast. He he. :) My uterus is supposed to be the size of a soccer ball this week and I think it looks more like a basketball even though Jonathan said it looked smaller. I just know that my back has really started to bother me a lot from carrying the extra weight. At least I did exercise on Saturday.

This weekend was a great one. We didn't do too much which was fabulous! Saturday I cooked and cleaned all morning and then that night we went to the Sunday School Christmas party. That was a lot of fun. We ate yummy food and played Dirty Santa. Some of the gifts were hilarious! Sunday we went to church and then afterwards Jonathan and I more or less finished up all of the Christmas shopping. I only have one or two very small things left to get. I don't think I have ever been done this early. We spent last night being lazy and relaxing. It was just great. Only twelve and a half days until Christmas break and I am ready! I plan on getting lots of my maternity leave lesson plans ready over Christmas break so that I don't have to get it all together in month nine.

Oh I also had another nice surprise this weekend. I got my Curves paycheck for over Thanksgiving and I was paid 8 hours for the holiday. That was really nice and I wasn't expecting it. I work there only tonight and Thursday this week and although I have tons of Student Council stuff to work on this week it should be a good week too. Tomorrow night Karen and Travis are coming over for dinner I think. Also I am supposed to have my lasik one-year follow-up appointment this week which is good because I have started to notice my eyes being a lot drier this week and I wanted to ask about it. Then I noticed that the baby websites say that dry-eye is a common pregnancy side effect and apparently based on the swelling last night you can call me Big Foot for the next three and a half months! :)

Happ Birthday TTRS!

Happy Birthday, Whitter! I wish you were here, but I hope that if you read this you are having lots of fun! Julianna and I sure are glad that it is Friday and that it's your birthday (she told me so). :)

Well, I was down a half a pound this morning which made me very happy. I have really got to start eating better.

It's now 1pm and I've started writing this blog about 5 times so far today. As you can tell, I haven't gotten very far. It has just been a busy day. I spent most of my morning putting up a bulletin board for Student Council. At least I got something accomplished. Anyway, back to what I was saying. I've got to start eating better. Since I haven't really walked since last Saturday (even though I said that I was going to try to walk three times a week) I am going to get up early tomorrow morning and try to do it then. We'll see. I am so excited that it's Friday and that I have a good weekend ahead of me instead of a busy/crazy one!

to do list

Yesterday we celebrated my little sister's birthday. I can't believe she's 25 and of course it makes me feel very old. It was nice though to have all of the family over. Instead of going out to eat we ate Panera soup and bread at home and then had some cake from Ketchie Creek! MMMMMMMMMMMMMM! It is a busy time of the year and Whit is sick so I think that staying home was a wise idea.

Tonight I have to work at Curves and then tomorrow I have nothing after work. Yipppee! It will be so nice to have an evening at home with nothing planned. I need to get caught up on my school work. I keep getting farther and farther behind with all of the stuff that has been going on. I have lesson plans to do and grades to get entered into the computer. I also need to update the assignments section of my class website. In addition, I have tons of work to do for Student Council. I can really tell that my priorities have changed since the news of this baby though. Although it has certainly been unintentional, several things have been pushed to the back burner such as school and Curves but then things like sleeping and spending time with my family have become more important. I guess it happens to a lot of people and it's cliche, but bringing a new life into the world makes so many other things seem trivial.

On a positive note, I have almost gotten all of my Christmas shopping done. I need to just tie up a few loose ends and then I can use the Christmas time to just goof off which will be wonderful. I still have a lot that I want to do to the house before school starts back in January. I know that then it will almost seem too late to have enough time to get everything ready for the baby.

the holidays are coming!

Oh goodness it has been a crazy week so far. The holiday season is definitely underway. I am still up 17 pounds and that makes me sad. I thought that a pound or two would come off pretty quickly after the weekend, but maybe not. And today is the first "Christmas party" of the year. The school's staff get-together is today after school. I think tonight we are going out for Whit's birthday which will be fun. Sometime I will have to find time to exercise to make up for all of this eating! :)

We got a Christmas tree Monday night. Actually, Jonathan went and got it and Whit and I decorated it. It is SO PRETTY! With all of the lights in the windows the house actually looks decent. I guess I will try to work on the nursery some more this weekend. We don't have a lot going on except the Sunday School Christmas party on Saturday night.

I have slept so much better the past two nights. Yesterday mom brought me Whit's old body pillow to borrow. I slept with it last night and I really think it helps. I put it in between my arms, under my belly, and between my legs and it helps with the back pain. I told Jonathan the other day that I am now ready for Julianna to be here. I don't know how my poor body can wait another 16 weeks! But I guess since all of these people have gone before me and had to deal with it then I can too.

random musings

It's going to be a long week! It was so hard to get up this morning even though I went to bed at 8:30 last night. I was just so tired and I couldn't hold my eyes open after I laid down. I really didn't sleep very well any night at the beach and I thought that I could make up for it last night in my own bed, but it just didn't work that way. I tossed and turned all night long. Anyway, I had a great Thanksgiving. Lots of good food and family. I gained a LOT of weight though! I shopped on Friday and Saturday and walked on the beach with Whit and Dad on Saturday for a little over 30 minutes so that was good. At least I didn't sit the whole weekend. I have got to do better this week though. I have now gained 17 pounds as of this morning and Julianna only weighs a little over a pound now! So I am starting to count the days until Christmas break - only 3 1/2 weeks. I got quite a bit of the shopping done early which should make the next few weeks easier. We couldn't buy a Christmas tree last night because it was raining so hopefully after work at Curves tonight we can get one and start decorating it. Jonathan and I moved the twin bed into Julianna's room last night. With the chest of drawers in there it might actually start looking like a bedroom soon. Well, that's about all I know today.

life is good

Last night I was home by myself while Mom, Dad, and Whit were at the beach and Jonathan was helping his mom with some ebay stuff. I got most of the Christmas decorations put out (with the exception of the tree and ornaments of course). When Jonathan came home he said, "Am I at the right house?" and it made me feel really good. I know the house isn't that clean and everything but I at least felt like I accomplished something and that's a feeling that I needed.

Now for thebad news of the morning. I was up to 14 pounds gained this morning. YIKES! That adds up to 2 pounds for the 1st trimester and a pound a week for each week after that which is what is recommended. Unfortunately, the doctor told me to only gain 20 pounds total which would be less than the 25 pounds that are recommended. After the baby's born I'm going to HAVE to get this weight off! I am going to try to start walking this weekend and work at least three days of walking into my already jam-packed weekly routine. Ugh. I also watched The Biggest Loser on NBC last night (my favorite show) and it was so good. Those people motivate me so much. At least the weather will be warmer after Julianna is born and I can stroll her around outside.

Well, I don't know what else besides the fact that I am counting the hours until Turkey Day begins! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have lots to be thankful for!

belly buttons and such

Jonathan and I examined my Chinese belly button last night. It is so tight that you can hardly get your finger in it without prying it open a little bit. The sad thing is that the baby websites say that it may pop out over the next few weeks. I don't want it to! I've always been an "innie" and I don't want an "outie" even if they do say that it will return to normal after giving birth!

I am getting really excited about Thanksgiving now. Only one day of work left since Wednesday is a half day. I can't wait to go to the beach and just relax. It is getting so hard to move around like normal now. It takes effort to get in and out of the car and also to walk up stairs, not to mention just pulling up my pants and tying my tennis shoes when I have to change clothes at Curves. But my counter says only 121 days left!

another weekend re-cap

Whew! I had a busy - but great - weekend! We ran and ran all weekend and somehow managed to get everything done. Friday I was a little piggy and I ate a lot. Then Saturday I wasn't feeling too well so I didn't eat too much but i did get a drink and popcorn at the movies which I never do. Anyway, it serves me right, but I was SO sick Saturday night around dinner and afterwards with indigestion that I almost went to the doctor. I was in such pain that I just cried. When we got home around 10:30 Jonathan looked up on the internet what pregnant women could take for indigestion and luckily I was feeling somewhat better after 2 Tums and within the next 30 minutes or so. I slept propped up on pillows and started it all again on Sunday. I got a great night's rest last night though and I am glad to have the weekend behind me.

The good news of the weekend is that at Tgiving dinner with the Tuckers we talked to Mike and Kelly about getting a new sofa. He said that he had no problem getting whatever we wanted and we will pick up the fabric swatch book sometime this week. He just told us to go on the website and pick out the sectional style that we liked. So last night we measured the living room and Jonathan designed how the sectional would fit in the room in AutoCAD and we emailed Mike. Here's the best part though - they are wanting to sell their house and they have Marsh cabinets in it that are getting pretty beat up. They want to re-do their cabinets before they sell the house and he mentioned a possibility of us trading cabinets for the new couch. What's awesome is that Jonathan can get $25 tax free taken out of his paycheck each week to pay for any cabinets that he buys. I'm trying hard not to get my hopes up but I think we might have a new couch in the next few months and I'm super excited because I've been wanting one for SO LONG! Who cares if Julianna is going to puke on it! :)

Thank goodness it's a short week. We are headed to the beach on Thursday for a long weekend with the family. Lots of eating yummy food and shopping. I can't wait! We are going to watch movies, play cards, walk on the beach, knit, and play bocce ball! Whoo-hooo! Next Thanksgiving we will have a baby to take with us and I can say to the people, "The baby's in the car." He, he!

AGHHHH!

I should never have talked about how well I was handling stress because all of a sudden it hit this morning. I left the house early to go to the ATM to make a much needed deposit and got in major traffic. People were flying so crazy around Forsyth Tech near the ATM machine that three people almost hit me - all at different times! Anyway, we're having more car trouble and with all of the stuff that's going on this weekend that is the last thing that I want to worry about. Plus, we really don't need the financial strain that having car trouble causes. So I just called Jonathan and cried for a little bit. I feel better now and I will feel much better when this student council pizza junk that I gotta do today is over with...

Anyway, this weekend is a busy one. I have to volunteer after school for the babsketball tournament security. Then I have to get home and wrap a gift and be ready to go to a surprise birthday dinner in Lexington. Tomorrow morning I have to worry about getting the car to the shop (AGAIN) and picking up mom and dad's van and then pick up the food for tomorrow night. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to see the Harry Potter matinee - fun! Tomorrow night we are going to a dinner party with Jonathan's work people and Sunday we have Thanksgiving at the Tucker's. Somehow I have to find time to fix something for that.

So last night Julianna was performing her usual acrobatics when I laid down to sleep except this time she was alternating a period of kicking with a period of some weird sliding/scraping. It was fascinating to feel. It felt like her foot or head was sliding along like she was trying to turn around or something. Anyway, it was cool and I just laid there mesmerized for a while. I can't wait to meet her!

the most boring post ever

I went to the doctor yesterday and saw Dr. Thompson. He was a really nice looking young doctor and I was very happy to meet him. :) Both he and the nurse said everything was looking great. I have gained a total of 10.5 lbs and I will be five months tomorrow. My blood pressure was good and my belly was measuring normal. I also got to hear Julianna's heart beat again and she commented on how strong and loud it was. She told me to go to Build-A-Bear and get one of the recordable devices to put inside and bring it back to their office and that they would record her heart beat for me. Funny. Whoever thought of that? My next appointment is on December 13th and then I have to go back on December 22nd to take the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Ugh.

Tonight Jonathan is not going to be home because he is going to Greenville for the Ben Folds concert. I think that mom, whit and I are going to make cards together. Hopefully I will get a good start on Julianna's birth announcements. We'll see. Whit also got the rest of the ribbon to hang the letters on the wall in the nursery so maybe I can work on that too. Fun times.

128 and counting...

I feel like I'm accomplishing so much but yet it keeps coming at me. I'm working so hard and running so much, but things just keep saying, "You forgot to do me!" Oh well. At least I am managing my stress well. Julianna's acrobatics at night have gotten worse and I'm having some pretty decent back pain, but at least the one poor night of sleep can usually make me sleep fairly well the next night. My counter says only 128 days to go.

I have my next doctor's appointment today. It's a nothing appointment so Jonathan is not going with me. All they are going to do is tell me that my belly is getting bigger and that I should try to watch the weight gain. (In other words, "You're getting fat too fast.") Samantha saw me after being gone a week on vacation and her eyes bulged and she said, "Well, there's your belly! I knew you'd get one!" :) And yes, it's there. Well, that's about all I know today. More tomorrow.

weekend re-cap

I had a great weekend. It was jam packed, but good. Of course the cheesecake was yummy and I got a lot done. I'm also glad I got to spend at least a little time with Rebecca, Emily, Mom, Whit and Jonathan. I'm glad it's over though. It was non-stop and now I need some rest! This week will probably be the same. I want to try to get a Christmas tree and start decorating. I also have to work at Curves today and Thursday night and Thursday night I have to be at a meeting at school from 7 - 8:30 pm. I guess it's just that busy time of year, but it does seem like I'm saying that more and more often these days. We did move the crib up to the baby's room on Saturday and we put on the bedding. It looks really good in my opinion. I am going to try to work on birth announcements this week sometime so that they are all ready to just be filled in when she is born. How fun!

good eats and miracle babies

Yum Yum Yum tomorrow I get to eat chocolate cheesecake. I can't wait. Why do I get so excited about food? Oh well. Today is Veteran's Day and I wish we were out of school like the public schools. I could use the extra time. I have so much to do. Anyway, last night I painted and painted. I got home from work at 7:30 and started immediately. I gave all the trim it's 2nd coat. Now all that's left to do it paint two of the doors. Maybe if I get home early enough this afternoon I can paint the doors and start putting the room back together. I also made a dent on the house cleaning last night and started some laundry this morning. I should be able to get everything done tonight. I have to work at Curves tomorrow morning though.

I read some stories yesterday at Curves in the most recent Woman's Day magazine. They were sappy stories about miracle babies that were born last Christmas. I boo hooed when I read them. Most all of the stories involved a mother who had either had several miscarriages before and then was trying one last time for a baby or a mother who became deathly ill during her pregnancy and almost lost the child. One mother was even advised by several doctors to end the pregnancy but she didn't and all of the babies were born prematurely right around last Christmas. The mothers considered them miracle babies. Anyway, I got to crying and crying about it (thanks to the hormones) and I'm sitting in Curves looking silly, but I did get to thinking about how much of a miracle birth alone is. I said a lot of prayers after reading those articles that God would protect Julianna (and me!) before and during her birth and that we would be able to give her the best life possible. He does work miracles!

priorities

Today is going to be an exciting day. I can tell already. It's 9 am and I've already gone to pee 5 times since 2 am. Wow. Life is eventful. :)

Jonathan helped me paint trim last night and we made some progress. We're still not finished though. It even looks like some spots may need a 3rd coat. Ugh. If I work hard after Curves tonight and then get home early on Friday to work on it I might have it done by the weekend. I also need to clean the house though and go pick up a triple chocolate cheesecake. :) Priorities.

more complaining

I wonder if leg cramps are a "side effect" of pregnancy. I woke up with three last night. They are so painful. Maybe it's just my lack of routine in my exercising or just a potassium deficiency. Anyway, I hope they go away. My right leg is still sore this morning.
I worked on the trim in the baby room last night. It is coming along. I think one more coat might be enough and hopefully I'll finish that tonight. At least I don't have to work at Curves until tomorrow night. But Rebecca and Emily are coming this weekend so I have a lot of house cleaning to do. I can't only imagine how difficult these things are going to be with a little one to look after too...

i am a giant marshmallow

OK so I feel like an elephant. I keep saying that but it's true. This morning I was up to 10.5 lb gain. That made me sad. I know I ate lots over the weekend though (wedding cake, On the Border, fast food, etc.). Anyway, what makes it worse is that I feel so HUGE. Then I log on to check the daily things listed on babycenter.com to read about how I should be feeling and things I should be experiencing this week and it says, "You're probably feeling pretty comfortable these days. You're not too big yet, and the usual aches and pains associated with early pregnancy are, for the most part, gone. Relax and enjoy it while you can — the third trimester will bring some mild discomfort from carrying a baby who is nearly full-term." Yeah, right. That makes me feel a lot smaller. :)

Anyway, we didn't get any trim painted last night so we are really going to try to work on it tonight. We probably won't finish, but it will be closer to done than it is now.

At Lauren's wedding this past weekend the Miller's surprised Amy and I with a baby shower! It was fun and I was certainly not expecting it. I got some cute gifts and now I can start writing thank you notes. I also posted pictures on the picture page of my first baby shower. How fun!

blah, blah, blah

Today we are headed to Atlanta for Lauren's wedding. I am excited about eating cake and possibly Checkers. How sad is that? :) Oh well. Jonathan started painting the trim in the nursery last night but I didn't do any. We decided that we'd try to finish up when we get home on Sunday. I just had a headache last night and felt crummy when I got home from work so late. Julianna's kicks are certainly getting stronger though. I hardly notice them anymore because I am so used to them. Mom bought me a cute maternity sweater too. It is fun being pregnant, but I know that in a month or so I will be very sick of it. It definately has it's ups and downs. Well, I better get back to work. I can't think of anything else to ramble about. More on Monday...

the nursery's coming together

Well, we got the crib last night. It is really pretty and I think it will be perfect with the new white trim in the nusrery. We haven't gotten a chance to finish the painting yet, but we might tonight. It is a white sleigh crib with paneling on the short ends. It adjusts to four heights to accomodate the baby as she grows. It doesn't convert into a full size bed but that's OK because we already have a twin bed that will do for a while.

Also, Jonathan talked to his friend Kelly yesterday about getting prices on couches so I am very excited about that. We talked about getting new carpet in the den and painting the walls. Maybe our house will slowly come together after all. Besides, I still want to save up for that nice glider...

we're getting the crib!

This afternoon I am meeting Jonathan at the Mommy & Me place to pick up the crib. I am very excited! I hope it is in great condition and that we can fit it into the van! Maybe after that we will have time to paint the trim in the nursery. We'll have to see how much time we have. I really want to get it done though because we are going to Altanta this weekend and won't have time then.

more on baby furniture

Basically the things that are going on today include Jonathan going to look at the crib we found at Mommy & Me and then call me to let me know what he thinks. Other than that, there's nothing new. We might have decided to go with that white crib and get a new glider and possibly wait for a toddler bedroom suit or a new couch instead of one of the more expensive nursery suits that we saw at USA Baby. It took me a long time to get to this, but I've decided that you can't beat $150 for a pretty crib in good condition plus some other new furniture. We'll see!

cribs and names

Today Whit and I are going to go back to USA Baby and look at the cribs we liked. It will be interesting to see how the prices have changed now that the mattresses are not included with the crib. We might ride down to Rose Furniture in HP to see what they have. I'll keep you posted!

I also emailed Karen (MIL) to let her know that we decided on Julianna Valeigh today. She responded and seemed very excited. I think that it was the right decision for all of us. IMO Julianna Valeigh is perfect and as Jonathan says, that means that the four most important women in his life will share a similar middle name. Plus it is unique and JVT will be gorgeous monogrammed! ;)

cribs and names

Today Whit and I are going to go back to USA Baby and look at the cribs we liked. It will be interesting to see how the prices have changed now that the mattresses are not included with the crib. We might ride down to Rose Furniture in HP to see what they have. I'll keep you posted!

I also emailed Karen (MIL) to let her know that we decided on Julianna Valeigh today. She responded and seemed very excited. I think that it was the right decision for all of us. IMO Julianna Valeigh is perfect and as Jonathan says, that means that the four most important women in his life will share a similar middle name. Plus it is unique and JVT will be gorgeous monogrammed! ;)

first post

This is going to be my first post. Since I am still trying to get this page created it is going to have to be short. Jonathan felt the baby kick this week. She has been getting stronger I can tell. This week I am 19 weeks. My next appointment is November 15th. Other than that, there's not too much news. I'll try to write more later.

first post

This is going to be my first post. Since I am still trying to get this page created it is going to have to be short. Jonathan felt the baby kick this week. She has been getting stronger I can tell. This week I am 19 weeks. My next appointment is November 15th. Other than that, there's not too much news. I'll try to write more later.