Ramblings . . .

Let's see here, I wanted to document my birth story so just FYI-- this may not be for the faint of heart...I am SURE this contains WAY too much information for the general public!!!

Well...sweet little Haddie-Girl came 4 WEEKS EARLY!!!Photo by Emily Porter

How life gets in the way of blogging.

I'm not quite sure where to begin since it has been so long, so I'll give a brief recap of the past few days.

I am on bed rest. Boo. It all started when I was leaving work on Wednesday and felt a little dizzy. Being the supportive hubs that I have, he suggested I stop by my OB's office in case it happened to be high blood pressure. Well, my Dr. wasn't there because he was in surgeries all day so some of the nurses that work for him made me go ahead up to triage because it would be possible for me to have more tests done way more quickly there than what they could do in his office. By the way, at this point of the day my legs were so swollen they resembled tree trunks more than actual legs. Boo again. So I get to triage, they put a fetal monitor on the baby and a contraction monitor onto me and of course the baby is perfect, me-- not so much.

My Dr. ended up keeping me over night for a 24-hour urinalysis to check for preeclampsia and to watch my swelling. After 24 hours, and an additional 3 hours for the results to come back in I was discharged to strict bed rest, meaning I can only get out of bed to go to the bathroom and or to go to my Dr.'s appointments. When meeting with my Dr. throughout this experience, he informed me (from my ultrasound) that sweet little Haddie girl is already 7lbs11oz so if I don't deliver her soon (i.e. before 37 weeks) she will not be able to be delivered vaginally and therefore I must have a c-section which I hope to avoid at ALL COSTS.

So, here I am, writing from my recliner and trying to talk this little baby into coming into the world on Tuesday because that would work with every one's schedule, including my Dr.'s--haha...so now it is just a waiting game.

PS- from the ultrasound, this little chunk in my belly has the chubbiest cheeks and the pouty-est lips...I am so in love!

Well, I haven't posted in a very long time YET again...I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but here I am again. Once again I am going to post a brief recap of what has been going on since my last post.

1. I am huge. No two ways about it, everybody says I look like I am "going to pop" even though I keep assuring them I have about 7 1/2 weeks left.

2. I left my job at a year round school to pursue a career in half-day head start. I am very much looking forward to this job, but I don't get students until September 1.

3. I am taking a huuuuuuuge pay cut to be able to stay at home with Haddie for half the day, something that I think is totally worth it, even if I did shed more than 5,287,362 tears over it.

4. My sister is going back to work tomorrow (2 days a week) for the first time since her oldest was born and I am pretty sure my mom and I may feel almost as nervous as her.

5. I will be keeping one of my nephews in the afternoons while my sister is at said job, even though I will be 7-8-9 months pregnant and then on maternity leave, I would have it no other way. I would keep him (and the older one too!) all day every day if it meant somebody they knew would be with them, but things don't work out that way so 1/2 day will be good enough until the little one gets potty-trained!

6. I am slowly beginning to realize I am terrified about giving birth so I have been avoiding the topic at all costs.

7. I am hoping *at all costs* that I will go full term with this baby. I keep reminding her that 37 weeks is ok with me, but I really don't want her to come out before that unless she ABSOLUTELY has to. My oldest nephew was 7 weeks early and luckily he was healthy as a horse, but still had to stay in the NICU for a week...I really don't want to have to go through that.

8. I just want a healthy baby. Whenever she gets here, however she gets here, as long as she is safe and happy!

9. I am beginning to feel "first-trimester sleepy" again so goodnight all.

ps- I will try to post a "belly pic" soon so you can see just how huge I am getting!!!

1. I am still alive and well.

As I have mentioned before, one thing I am really looking forward to is being able to breastfeed Hadleigh. Throughout the first trimester, everyone I would meet would ask me what books I am reading in order to prepare for our tiny baby. I would always casually respond, "Hubs and I do everything by the seat of our pants, we probably aren't going to start reading parenting books now!!!" But recently I have become obsessed with knowledge about birth and breastfeeding. I began reading the book, "Bestfeeding" after borrowing it from our library and it has only made my passion to nurse that much stronger. I must admit, however, that I do not have unrealistic expectations about breastfeeding. I watched my sister feed my nephew for what seemed non-stop until he was weaned. I am certainly scared that I will give up and say it's too hard, opting for formula, but I honestly believe with a strong support system I will be able to endure the physical and emotional demands of breastfeeding. In order to strengthen this support system, I am going to attend my first La Leche League meeting today. I know I have about four months left in this pregnancy, but this will be the only meeting I am able to attend until the month before sweet baby is born.

I have also become obsessed with learning more about having a natural childbirth. Now this is where I think I am losing my mind. After watching my sister labor for hours on end and the pain that she was in WITH an epidural, I begin to think I am crazy to even consider going natural an option-- I just want to see what is out there and learn about whatever is best for the baby...but I'm sure I'll be posting more on this later...Now, off to shower and off to my meeting!!

I know I have said I would post a pic of my belly for some time now...actually, I think I was planning on posting when I was 14 weeks pregnant...and here I am, 20 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Crazy how time flies...

These are a couple pics from a lil while ago; I think I was almost 16 weeks in the first pic and I thought I was big then...sheesh.


This pic is when I was almost 17 weeks pregnant...I think there was a big jump from 17-20 weeks!
Here I am tonight...20 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I can't believe it has flown by so quickly...I also can't believe I am going to be approximately double this size. And here is a pic where hubs had to help me up off the ground after it was taken because it's clearly getting too hard to move from the ground to standing on my own...
I am still feeling her move all over the place and I absolutely love it, I am pretty sure there isn't a better pregnancy feeling than movement! And, if I haven't mentioned it before, her name is Hadleigh Ann and we can't wait to meet her!

I can't wait to get out of town!!! We have been having our statewide standardized testing ALL.WEEK.LONG. and I am MUCH more than over it! I have been looking forward to this camping trip long before I was pregnant, so we will see how much I enjoy it toting a couple extra lbs now... Hopefully it will be no big deal, but we will see how comfortable I am while sleeping.


Mostly everyone will be arriving tomorrow during the day, but hubs and I are going up early today to scope out the scene. We will go ahead and set up our tent and canopy, etc. and wait anxiously for everyone else to get there! Hubs and I have already toyed with the idea of taking sweet baby girl next year when she is merely 8 months, but we will obviously see about that later.

I am unfortunately missing a talent show at my school and one of my students asked me if I could reschedule the the camping trip for another time so I didn't miss their dance. As politely as possible, I told her that I would miss almost anything, except for H.A.'s birth to go camping. Maybe next year we can talk my sister and parents into going too...We will see, be back on Tuesday!!! I hope y'all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!!

As you can probably imagine, I am so very eager to get our sweet baby girl's nursery set up. Actually, I can't stinkin' wait!

I could possibly be the hardest person in the world to please so I have been having an impossible time picking out the bedding. I think little girls (and boys!) are so special and individual, so I can't imagine grabbing a bed-in-a-bag that could truly match everything I feel about this tiny baby.

My criteria for the bedding was this;
1. LOTS of colors! I wanted to be able to match solid color crib sheets with whatever we chose
2. NO CHARACTERS! END OF STORY!
3. No butterflies, bugs, animals, etc.
4. Flowers were ok if they were abstract and not strategically placed in rows and or columns
See? I'm a freak. I found some that I liked, and some that I looooooved, but they were either in only brown and pink or $500 for a 4 piece bedding set.

Solution? Ask these incredible people that I am lucky enough to be related to and or friends with to make it for me!!! Yaaaaaaaay!!!



Luckily, my sister is friends with (so I, in turn, am friends with...) the very talented Stephanie of Providence Handmade and she has graciously agreed to work with us and create our own bedding for our sweet little H.A. (I am not sure I am 100% ready to reveal our name...)!



I asked her yesterday if she would maybe consider helping us out...my sister is amazing behind the sewing machine, me...not so much, but she said she would definitely help us out! Sa-Weet!!! Not only is she doing this pro bono, she also put together this LOVELY collage of everything we should include in the room, aahh, the benefits of having an interior designer friend!!! Check out this bad boy--

(Sorry! I can't figure out how to make this bigger!!! )
Needless to say, we can't WAIT to get started!!!

This little girl in my belly likes to move it-move it, she likes to....MOVE IT!

I am feeling her all over the place and it is NUTSO, but 'nutso' in a fab way! Both of the ultrasound techs that saw me recently told me that my sweet little girl is a wild woman in the womb...my mom, obvi knowing me, said, "well, what did you expect??" I guess my mom is saying something along the lines that I was always busy and on the move...God help up all if this baby is just like me!!!

This was, by far, the best mother's day I have ever had, but I am certain it won't be the best ever.

A GIRL!!!! We are oh so very excited! We had an ultrasound today and it was confirmed, I have no penises growing inside of me. I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved watching that little girl on the us. We have a dvd of the whole thing so we can watch it whenever we want.

Well, I have officially felt the baby move. I was pretty sure I was feeling it for the past week or so, but yesterday I was sure.

I went to my 16 week check-up, which, turns out, everyone at the Dr.'s office says I am 16 1/2 weeks, not 16 weeks exactly (as I thought). This was a pretty routine meeting, heard the heartbeat (160!), talked with my Ob, asked some questions, etc.

However, when I was leaving, the ultrasound tech (who is a family friend) asked if I wanted to hurry back and "peek" to see if we could find out what the baby was. Did she need to ask?!?!? A FREE ultrasound?!?! OF COURSE! So, we hurried back into the room and turned out the lights and tried our hardest to get that baby to stay still. I realized I was feeling the kicks/hits/flutters or whatever when we saw him/her moving on the screen and the nurse said, did you feel that? It was a big one! So I have officially figured out what a baby kick feels like and let me tell you, it's phenomenal!

So, I bet you may be wondering just what it is aren't you? Well, I am not going to tell yet. And, if you know me IRL, don't tell either. I am going to another place today for an ultrasound and I am hoping I can get a definitive answer. We were in a hurry at my Dr.'s office so we couldn't say for absolute sure, but the tech was pretty sure it was one way and not the other...

I'll post answers as soon as I have a proof positive ultrasound pic...and until then, I am trying not to get too excited one way or the other!!!

I am embarrassed. That is basically all I can say right now. I am looking at my "before" pictures and they make me want to hurl something across the room. Let's look at the facts;

1. Hubs and I have never been the neatest people. When it comes to us, we are always well groomed -- showered, clean clothes, hair done, nice nails, etc. Our house is a different story.
   
2. We are also the exact same person split into two different bodies, so we are both basically the most stubborn person in the world at any given moment.
   
3. We would rather do whatever we wanted when we wanted to do it rather than clean any time of the day.
   
4. We are having a baby in October, I believe I have started this "nesting" thing.
   
5. My sister is cleaning her house following simplemom.net and I am not one to turn down a challenge.

So there you have some simple facts. Our "before" pictures have our living room/dining room looking the absolute worst it ever has, this is mainly because I decided to clean out what will be our baby's room which was chock full of crap. A lot, and I mean ALMOST 99% of the junk in the pictures was moved from our bedrooms to the living room over the weekend. But, as my sister pointed out, these pictures should "keep it real" so I didn't lift a S.I.N.G.L.E. thing, so trust me, while our house is seldom ever clean, it is always, always, ALWAYS better than my before pictures.
Hubs seems to think we would win a competition from worst to decent. After looking at my "after" pics I can't believe how much more I love my house when it's clean. It is so nice and relaxing to sit on the couch and not have anything to complain about (at least in terms of cleaning--), and what was even better was waking up and walking into a pristine living room and dining room. We even ate our breakfast at the dining room table together, something that we have never done.


Today is living room: part 2, so we may tackle our living area in our basement, but it is not a very pretty space...we will see.

Keep your eyes posted for a couple important posts coming up in the next couple of days!!!

Um. I can't stop thinking about what is growing in my belly.

Actually, I am currently obsessed with finding out what is inside.

Thing is, I won't have another ultrasound (the BIG ultrasound) until I am 20 weeks pregnant. That is exactly six weeks away. Now, I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but I am dying inside knowing that this munchkin's little genitalia is fully formed and I don't know what it is. My fire was only fueled by the fact that Blair posted this gem today...

So, in true "copy cat" form, I decided to try the methods listed on her blog...

Labor of Love: Girl

Just Mommies: Girl

Bump.com: Girl

Babyman: Girl

Sexratio: 55% Boy, 45% Girl

Tvoy Baby: Girl

And of course there are innumerable old wives tales that I could look at to determine, but I'm not really far enough into this to decide if I am carrying low or high and I am craving everything; sweets, sours, meats, cheeses, blah blah blah...so I can't find a pattern there either. Maybe I will try the wedding ring test sometime...

The thing is, I could technically find out the baby's sex tomorrow. There is this place in town that specializes in determining the sex of your baby. You lay back in a lazy boy and the ultrasound tech goes to town finding the goods. It is only open on Fridays and you have to call and schedule an appointment through the lady's cell phone. She is an ultrasound tech that has Fridays off so she bought an ultrasound machine and determines the sex for $50, a fair trade in my opinion.

The only thing stopping me; well, the only two things stopping me are the fact that I know and really like the ultrasound tech @ my obgyn's office. She is a family friend and I pictured her telling me what my baby would be. Secondly, even though I am pretty sure this wouldn't happen, I am nervous that they may tell me the wrong thing. What if they tell me girl and I invest in tons money in girly things, and then find out from my ultrasound with my obgyn that it is a boy!?!?! Or vice-versa!?!? My sister's sister-in-law reeeeeeally wants me to go find out, and I kinda want to too...oooooh, decisions, decisions!!!

My gut tells me that it's a girl, I have had girl dreams and as you can see, most of the tests online point to "girl"...which reeeeeally leads me to believe it is a boy because I am thinking I am just getting my hopes up for a girl and should be more realistic when I see that penis on the screen!!!

Don't get me wrong, we would love a boy oh so much; I love my nephews and I even like our boy name more than any girl name we have ever come up with. But a girl would be so much fun, unless she turns out like me in middle school, then, not so much-- but that is a different post entirely!

Ok, I am off to go home and get some rest before a date with hubs! I promise I'll post a belly pic later tonight...maybe after my belly is full of dinner and sticking out extra far!!!

Well, I still don't really know where I am in this whole pregnancy game, but I am thinking that I'm in the second trimester now...I am 13 weeks and 5 days (tomorrow) pregnant and I believe that means I am technically in the second tri, but who knows. . .

I am still loving being pregnant, even though I KNOW I am gaining weight too quickly, but I am really beginning to enjoy being pregnant. I spent so much time in the beginning worrying about what could possibly go wrong and now I think I am finally getting comfortable with the idea that I am only in control of what I can control; what I eat, if I exercise, etc...

My mom got me a couple pacifiers, some undershirts, and a bib for the baby for Easter but I just bought the first couple things for our baby yesterday...A few weeks back Hubs bought our stroller and car seat when he was out of town because we didn't have it in our town, but I hadn't bought anything for the munchkin...Well, yesterday I bought two pajama/lounge wear type outfits. They both have birds on them and very cute little hats. One is very definitely "girl" and the other one could be for a boy or a girl. I understand if we have a boy he will not be able to wear the pink one, but it was very inexpensive and I will find somebody to use it if I am not having a girl...but I still have a slight "gut" feeling that it may just be a girl, but who knows...I'd be totally psyched either way!!

And on the belly front, it definitely is getting bigger by the day and I can no longer "suck in" my belly anymore and my tummy is getting harder, it's strange, but I am loving it!!! And I promise, later this week I will post a belly pic, even though it's not so pretty in pictures!!!

Here I sit, 12 weeks and 6 days pregnant, watching my students watch a movie for indoor recess. Something happened this morning, something I couldn't really believe until one of my students pointed it out to me.

See, I teach an all girls class in an inner-city area...so they are pretty wise to the ways of the pregnant woman. When I finally "announced" my pregnancy to them, I got some mixed reviews;
"I thought you just gettin pudgy..."
"I can't believe you did what it takes to get pregnant"
"you could have just rolled over in the bed and said not tonight"
But all of them were very happy. I actually have some students who have relatives that I will share due dates with...I have, however, not become exempt from their pregnancy stories, scrutiny, and "what if" scenarios.

Today, when I was teaching a lesson on the interactive whiteboard (computer plugged into a digital projector) one of my girls raised her hand, I thought to answer a question, and when I called on her, she said, "You know what? Your belly is sticking out further than your boobs!" I pretended to cry and they pretended to console me, but it was a funny observation. Ever since I have had boobs, my belly has been much flatter than my boobies, so this is a welcome little change...remind me in 5 months about the day I enjoyed getting a baby bump, because I am sure it is going to be out of control one day soon!!!

No news from the appt. yet, but I did get to hear the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler again...


179 beats per minute....that little whooshing is seriously my new favorite sound. . .

I thought I would feel miraculously better once I hit the 12 week marker, but to tell you the truth, I can't really tell a difference. I still don't "feel" pregnant, except for the excessive hunger and sleepiness and now the protruding gut I am sporting...but other than that, it has been such "smooth sailing" I have no idea what to expect next.
Going to the Ob today for my 12 week check up, but I think its just a pap for cultures and stuff so I won't be able to see the baby...other than that, I can't wait for the weekend!!!

Well, I don't reeeeeally know how it happened, but I checked my other blog (just something where I write to the future little munchkin) and I realized that I am out of the 200's....then, I opened my google reader and realized that Danse shared the same revelation today! I have officially 199 days left to go in a full term pregnancy! We have the same due date.. weird right? I read her before I was even pregnant...hmmm...cosmic? I think so.

Anyway, I have recently decided that I just have to "let go". Actually, at the urging from some of the women in my Bible study, "let go and let God". It hasn't been easy, but I am trying and doing better. I used to worry about every strange feeling or any terrible thing I heard that could happen to our baby, but I am learning to let go. I am realizing that there really is nothing I can control any more. As long as I keep my end of the deal, eating right, sleeping, exercising, etc...it is totally out of my hands what happens to this sweet little baby. I am just trying my hardest to do everything "right" and we will just see what happens in October. . .

How do pregnant people contribute to the workforce?? I was FINE yesterday, but today, I can't think straight and aaaaaaaall I am thinking about is taking a nap. It wouldn't be so bad for me if I didn't have to tutor after school...I could *normally* be out of here by 2:50 and on my way to dreamland, but since I tutor I don't leave school until about 4:45...

So far I love being pregnant and I have not been sick at all, but this lack of energy thing is wearing me out! I hope everybody is right about that whole "more energy in the second trimester" thing because I will fall asleep in the middle of class if I have to continue like this! I have NO idea how my sister did it with an eight-month-old in tow...hats off to you!

And on another note, I have recently become obsessed with breastfeeding. I certainly hope everything goes to plan because I can't wait til October to cradle that little baby while nursing...*heavenly*

I have decided to do a sort of "random" post about 13 confessions that have been on my mind in the past week....here it goes;

1. I haven't gone a day in the past four weeks without a nap: I have always loved my sleep, but this is a whole new level. I have no clue how I am going to go back into the work-world without my daily 1:00 nap time.

2. I had my first pregnancy melt-down last night: Hubs called me "stupid" for giving the dog my jelly-covered crusts (he thought it was the whole sandwich that he just made for me...) so I got off the couch, punched him, and then went into the kitchen where I put my hands on the sink and cried like a baby. He felt so terrible, he just kept saying he was sorry-- then he rubbed my feet and back...pretty sweet deal since I was the one that punched him.

3. I have been wearing maternity pants for the past 3 weeks: Yes, it's true. Getting pregnant when you just so happen to be at your heaviest and your regular pants are already too tight is not necessarily advisable. However, I have some adorable maternity pants that you would never know were maternity pants unless you pulled up my shirt and looked at my belly. BTW- if you pull up my shirt and look at my belly I will probably kick you in the crotch and or throat punch you.

4. I have gained weight in the first trimester: All this bull about not gaining weight in the first tri...yeah, I suppose in an ideal world. I quit drinking all my diet mt. dews and water just doesn't fill that void. I have been drinking juice which packs all kinds of calories and non-caffeinated sodas that are also chocked full of calories. Not to mention the very cold things that quench my real thirst, like chocolate milkshakes...yuuuum. I think I have spent a whole 2 years of pseudo-watching what I eat so I just threw caution to the wind and ate whatever I wanted...I have to get back into a better routine now that I am going back to work. ALSO-- (not that I am complaining ooooooone bit--) I have never had a day of morning sickness or throughout the day sickness. Not one episode of vomiting so that means I have kept e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. down that I have eaten...and don't get me started on the constipation...it looks like I am just trying to rationalize the fact that I have gained 1.6lbs...I'll stop now.

5. I don't want to go back to work: I don't need to explain that...I reeeeeeally don't want to go back to work.

6. If we could live on one income, I wouldn't go back to work: Another fact. I have always worked...even when I was in high school, cheering 3 nights a week during basketball season and dancing the other 4 days a week...I always had a job. If we could live comfortable on hub's salary, and he was into it too, I wouldn't go back to work. I would spend my days playing with my nephews and taking naps...awwww, that would be the life.

7. I haven't taken a bath in 6 weeks: Somewhere along the pregnancy line I read/heard that it was unsafe to take baths...well, the steaming hot baths that leave your legs red and almost welted like I love. So, I switched exclusively to showers...can somebody let me know if this is a real or rumor type thing? Something about elevating the baby's body temp? Anybody have thoughts on that??? My mom always took baths when she was pregnant, so what's up??

8. I haven't cleaned my house in probably 10 weeks: It would be cool if I could blame that on pregnancy, but it's just the fact that I don't really enjoy cleaning. Never have. Hopefully this whole "nesting" thing will kick in somewhere down the line and I will like it...until then, I'm lucky hubs knows how to clean.

9. I have cooked about 3 dinners in the past 6 weeks: The thought of preparing food makes me nauseous. And, for some reason, my fridge stinks but I am the only person that can smell it. Hubs and his sister have cleaned my kitchen, thrown out anything that can smell in my fridge, but I still smell it. Also, we have some leftover green salsa in our fridge and the thought of that and or sour cream makes me gag-- which is odd since we ate chicken quesadillas about 4 times last month and none of those things bothered me before...I haven't been able to eat Mexican since I found out I was pregnant...

10. I have made my bank account go up in the past 6 weeks: Since I have been soooooo sleepy, hubs and I haven't been going out after our day at work. We would normally go to wal-mart, or sam's club...or shopping someplace else and I would drop $20/$30 a day...it doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. The other day I checked my balance and I was like HOLY CRAP...not like we have millions by ANY MEANS...but I was surprised at how much my little trips add up to!

11. I have been lifting my nephews even though they are above the "safe" limit of 15-20 lbs: I just can't help it. My sister and my mom tell me not to (because the nurse told me it wasn't safe...) but when it is raining and you know your poor, sweet, almost three-year-old nephew hates the rain, how can I make him walk in it? Or when your sweet baby nephew toddles over to you and raises his arms in the air for you to pick him up...how can you deny that??? But I have been trying to be more careful.

12. I a terrified something is going to go wrong with this pregnancy: I have absolutely z-e-r-o reason to think something is going to go wrong, but I a terrified that something will. Every blog I read,k book I pick up, sad story I hear, I am terrified that is going to happen to me. I know I basically have no control over what is going to happen but it is sometimes mind-numbing how scared I get. When I went to the ob for my first ultrasound I was almost SHOCKED when the tech said, there's your baby, here's the heartbeat because I had just read about a blighted ovum and was certain that is what was going to happen to me...I am trying to know that God is in control and that I should just enjoy where I am...but it is very hard not to be scared.

13. I have turned into a sympathy crier: I have always had a tender heart. I mean, something bad happens to someone I know, I break down and cry...but lately, it's like perfect strangers will start crying about something I have no clue about and I cry with them. I know it is partially the hormones, but part of me is just a crier. I can't help it. I joined a new ladies Bible study at church and cried my first night in there...sheesh, sweet first impression Ames...

Well, now you know some of my dirty little secrets...now, I think I need a milkshake!!!

the best part about teaching at a year-round school is the three-week break I get every nine weeks.

I'm officially on my spring break and loving being a lady of leisure for the next three weeks...if I get into anything fun I'll be sure to let you know!!!

Here we are at the end...I have made it to Z!!!!

Let me just say that I love... L o V e ZUMBA!!!

but, unfortunately, due to recent developments, I have not been going to class. :(

I'm too tired and I have noticed my pulse being a little higher than usual...I went to my doctor and he thought I should just take it easy for a little bit and see what happens...

Soon, very soon, I will be back at it tearing up the floor, but until then, I will miss it from the couch.

All of my students seemed to be dragging today so I offered up an idea. I put on some relaxing "soundscapes" type music and told them they could put their heads on their tables or read a book. After the initial whispers, they really settled down. I even had one student fall asleep. It was about the last 20 minutes of our afternoon before my planning periods, so I figured, what the heck, they need a little rest and relaxation. Some chose to read but I just sat in my chair watching them all with envy. See, I am exhausted. Actually, I'm not really sure if that even defines what I feel-- all I want in the world is a nap.

Well -- I did it.

I think I sunk to a new level.

I took a nap at school. After I escorted my students to their related arts class, I came back up the three flights of stairs even more tired than when I went down...found a blanket they I have kept in a closet...laid it on the floor...set a cute timer that I have to check their reading fluency...and fell asleep on my floor. It was only about 13 minutes and if anybody needed me they could have buzzed my room...but I think it was the most relaxing 13 minutes I have had in for-ev-er. Now I am feeling refreshed and ready to tutor my kids after school...

THEN I'm getting a massage...saaaaaaa-weet.

Ok, I am a cheater. I am a big, fat, nasty cheater.

See, sweet SarahBeth posted this exact same post yesterday...but she did get me thinking about *good karma* which I of course always need. . . soooo....

Here I am-- sending out hugs and kisses to all of my dear friends, IRL and in blogland. I hope your hump day is treating you nicely!!!

Hello my long lost friends in blogland.
I had to go out of town for work this week, and while I kept myself updated on my readings, I slacked off on my own posting. So, without further adieu, V is for Valentine's Day.

I have a confession.

My name is Amy, and I love Valentine's Day. I know it is a ridiculous holiday, I know it is commercialized to the nth degree...but I can't help but love it. Maybe it is because I am a teacher, maybe it is because of my stellar valentine, maybe it's because I'm wack. Whatever it is, I love it.

Even though the hubs and I have been together for a couple Valentine's Days in the past, I still think my favorite V-day ever was probably the one time I didn't have a significant other. I honestly think I had boyfriends for every single Valentine's Day except one, my senior year of college.

My roommate Laura and I decided we were going to have a little dinner party, my friends Mary and Jen came over and we made steak (my roommate didn't eat because she was a vegan), salad, potatoes, chocolate cake, the works! It was fabulous. We didn't talk about boys, we weren't depressed because we didn't have anybody to share Valentine's Day with, we were just happy being with people we loved.

I think too many people look at V-day as a four letter word; thinking that it is miserable for anyone who is not in a fantastic relationship. I disagree. I think it is nice to have a day to celebrate someone, anyone, that you love.

I don't think hubs and I even have plans for the big day this year...I did get him a nice little book of my boudoir photos that he will hopefully enjoy, but as for dinner? Maybe I will look into whipping up something nice at home. I would much rather eat at home than going out this year. . .

Whatever you do, wherever you are, I hope you enjoy your Valentine's Day with someone you love, platonic or not!

And THAT could be the understatement of the century.

Our county had a two hour delay today which is always a delight! My principal has been getting on the staff about being there on time; unfortunately, just because students have a 2-hour delay doesn't mean teachers do too. We are supposed to be there on regular time, or at least by 8:00, which is most of the time fine because normal time is 7:20. Maybe to prove a point or maybe because it had to be done, he called a staff meeting at 8:45. A surprise staff meeting? On a two-hour delay? He had already revealed the fact that he was leaving effecting March 1, so what could this meeting be about?

You guessed it (but you probably didn’t guess it unless you know me IRL)—staffing.

Staffing is based on the number of students in your school and the projected enrollment. Our school is very small and about to consolidate with another school with very similar demographics, so it is always a fear that we will lose teachers. This year I could breathe a sigh of relief because I was no longer the lowest on the totem pole. There were two other teachers that had less seniority in the county than I did. Bad news for them -- good news for me. Our school had to let two teachers go! This is TERRIBLE news, but I also received some startling news. As matter-of-fact-ly as humanly possible, my principal said, “ We have to lose two teachers, second grade teacher Ms. Red and first grade teacher Ms. Blue. Amy E. will be teaching first grade”.

::::awkward silence::::

Then he goes on to tell everyone in the building the insane amount of students each teacher will have in their classes because of the cut teachers. The students will all be back to regular classes (no more split gender and no more split grade level) and there will only be one class of each grade level, except kindergarten and first grade.

While this is HUGE in my little world, I am very, very, VERY terrified excited to try something new. I was planning to look for new jobs at the year if I had to stay in a fourth-fifth all girls’ class. They have really worn me out this year. Of course I love them, but my patience is running thin and I can’t subject myself to this year after year. So, as of now, I only have roughly 65 more days as an all-girls, fourth/fifth grade split teacher. I better live it up while I can!

Yay for snow and taking it easy!

How dumb and predictable, I know. But, it just so happens that it fell at the right time for an “S” post.

Hubs and I got back yesterday pretty tired and sad from our visit to my brother’s house. We had a couple superbowl parties that we could have attended, but we decided that we would MUCH rather spend a quiet evening at home watching Troy Polamalu the Steelers play. With my ever-so-apparent love of food, I KNEW we couldn’t watch the game without a couple snacks, but we had been out of town for the past four days and had NOTHING in the house. . .

So, at approximately 5:00pm, I went to the grocery store (after a brief detour to my sister’s house where I sliced open my ankle on her screen door). Yikes. I knew everything would be sold out, but I tried my hardest to be creative.

I have been MIA for the past few days, so I thought I would recap with lots of pictures from my weekend with my brother and sister-in-law!

We sang duets while my husband someone who will remain nameless flipped off the camera.

We went to my brother's office where we did really important stuff with the 3D printer.

We ate 1/2 lb. meatballs @ Buca Di Beppo.

And we hated it when we had to leave. It's always nice to get back home, but it does make me sad living away from my brother and sister-in-law. I wish Jessica could go with me, my mom, and my sister when we go shopping every Saturday, I wish Nicholas could go shoot guns with the boys, or go shopping with us, or even just eat Sunday dinner with us. But their life is there and ours is here, so we have to make the best of it while we can, and we have been known to have some good times when we are together!

Since these have been circling facebook, I knew it was inevitable that I would eventually be tagged. 

Well, in my sweet little county, we had a snow day today!!! So, knowing that I was on P for my alphabet blogging...so I set out to have a day full of P's. But not peas, I don't like peas.

First...I started my morning by pretending.

I woke up at my normal time; about 5:35 to start my morning. The weather people were calling for snow, so I went to my laptop to see if my county had a delay or if they were closed. Lo and behold, we were closed!!! Halle-freaking-lujah! I tried to climb back in bed with the boy, but I couldn't sleep and I was squirmy and coughy, and he wakes up about an hour and a half after me, so I decided to get out of bed. I thought it would be fun to pretend to be a stay-at-home-wife so I tidied the house a little, washed dishes from the night before, and made hubs cheesy eggs and ham, bacon, and toast. It was fun pretending, then he went to work and I was bored.

Next, I decided to give myself a little pedicure. I soaked my feet, trimmed my cuticles, buffed my nails, the whole nine yards. Finally, I painted my pigs OPI's French Chambord-Tini. I won this nail polish at the same WWW where I won my massage gift certificate!

Around 10AM I decided to go to my Mama's house...I think that's one of the good things about living in a one mile radius from your mom and sister; even on snow days you can still hang out with the girls, and boys! My dad drove up to pick up my sister and her boys to bring them down because of the crappy roads. I walked over to my mom's house and began my play day.

My mom and sister made me drive out to pick up the pizza and Sam was excited for his pizza. Joelie ate tons and TONS of pizza, but somehow, I didn't have many picture of him and then he was onto his nap.

Later, Sam and I decided to make peanut-butter kiss cookies! He is starting to be a help in the kitchen! He even unwrapped the kisses for the cookies. Here is a picture of Sam eating another cookie while we were making the other cookies...he has quite the sweet tooth.
Later, Sam wanted to get in bed to "play". I pretended to be asleep and he laid down beside me...then he was concerned about where my feet went. He went under the covers to find my feet and decided he wanted to stay under the sheets. He looked up at me and said, "Amy. AMY. This is so fun!"
After Joelie woke up from his nap, he of course had to have a cookie, but not the peanut butter kind, apparently babies shouldn't eat peanut butter until they are two. It's such a good thing my sister knows everything to know about pregnancy, being a mom, what kids can eat because I am sure I will be totally clueless when it comes to that stuff. My mom was making pinto beans for dinner and Sam said he wanted some. She set some out on a plate so they could cool down for him, he never got to those pinto beans because Joel ate them. Joel who doesn't like to eat anything if it isn't sweet or pizza.
Joel and Sam ended our play day by playing the piano together. I promise they are not really dirty, they just had about fifty a couple Hershey kisses. The temperature has warmed up a little here but it is still icy. I am hoping for another snow day tomorrow, but I am not quite sure I could come up with a day full of "q" activities. Oh well!

Well, not really just Old, but Old Crow Medicine Show. And older is for me.

Seriously, what is going on with all these nosebleeds in Lost???

Luckily lostpedia.com has some insight here...

and for those of you that don't watch lost...sorry, I am obsessed with enjoy it.

Um. Massage. Oh, how I love thee.

Unfortunately, I did not have a fabulous experience two nights ago.

I had a massage Monday night, my first professional one in at least a year and it was less than stellar to say the least. I have decided to outline the high and low points of this massage;

word to ya mother;
1. it was relaxing
2. it was quiet
3. it was dark
4. I could sum up numbers 1-3 by saying the atmosphere was perfect, but I am trying to give him a little more help than he deserved.
5. It was warm, nice and cozy while it was about 17 degrees outside

bites a big one;
1. he spoke very softly, I could barely hear him talk
2. the music was too loud. I mean, it may be relaxing to lay in a rain forest while fairies dance around playing the pan flute, but not when they are playing the pan flute and ungodly decibels.
3. he gave me for-ev-er to get undressed. as he could probably see, I was only wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, I already took off my jacket, scarf, and mittens...I was left alone long enough to take off a lace-up wedding gown with a full corset, garter belt, and thigh-highs. . .
4. when I asked him what he would prefer I do with my hair he said he would like me to put it up...he asked if I had a hair thing, I told him I did, he left for another 5 minutes so I could put my hair in a ponytail.
5. he rubbed me with the intensity of an 82-year-old lady, and not a strong 82-year-old lady; the frail kind.
6. he only rubbed my legs to about 5 inches above my knees
7. he tickled my feet when he rubbed them. and not in a good way.

I guess it wasn't all that bad, I had a gift certificate I won from a Working Women's Wednesday so I didn't pay much for the massage and it was relaxing, for the most part. I would have expected it if I went to a student, not a massage therapist at a pretty upscale salon in my town.

But I have ridiculously high standards due to my previous massage therapist that righted all the wrongs in my world when I saw him. He worked out every single knot, kink, any little thing, he fixed. And, he didn't tickle my feet when he did my reflexology. But he has moved onto bigger and better things and no longer massages, even though now, after a craptastic massage, all I can think about is how good I felt when he worked on my back. Ugh. Maybe I can get him to come out of 'retirement'?

On my way out, Mr. Craptastic informed me of all the knots that I had in my body. I wanted to ask him why he didn't get them out, but instead I just simply said, "uh huh". He then wondered why I had so many knots, I let him know that I am a teacher that only teaches girls between the ages of 10-12. He thought that could be the source of stress on my body...ya think?!?!

After paying and begrudgingly giving him a nice tip he asked if I wanted to go ahead and schedule my next massage...

"no thanks you suck, I'll just call when I'm ready..."