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.