3 Months

I really need to get on here more often. I miss blogging. It's nice to go back and remember what happened! And this little man turned three months on Friday. He will be 14 weeks tomorrow... ahh!

Ok, I know I am biased, but I have a cute kid. Look at those little toes!

Let's get to the update!

Height: No doctor's appointment, so I'm not really sure. I know he has to be almost 23, because 3 month pants are fitting him pretty perfectly length wise. 

Weight: Two weeks ago he weighed 10.5 pounds. He lost a little this month due to a bug, but I'm pretty sure he's at eleven now. I feel like he packed on the weight over night. 

Sleep: ::knock on wood:: We have a decent sleeper! He takes naps regularly throughout the day (have to watch for those sleep cues, or else we are screwed!) and at night he goes down about 9:30 and gives us a 5-6 hour stretch. He wakes up around 2 and then will fall back asleep until I wake him at five.

Eating: We are still exclusively breastfeeding! :) We ended up taking him to a CST therapist for some massage to help his jaw muscles relax. It worked wonders and I have no pain. He takes three 3 oz bottles when I am at work. Pumping has been interesting. Up until today three pumps was only getting me 10 oz. But today, after adding some brewer's yeast to my oatmeal (along with a ton of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla!) I pumped 9 oz at two pumps. 

Mommy: I feel much better, because I have him figured out. :) Plus sleep always helps. I am back at work and that helps to. I like having a routine, my job keeps me distracted throughout the day, and then I come home. We are super blessed to have my mom be able to watch him, which helps my feelings too. 

Daddy: J is an awesome dad! He loves to make Samuel smile and is willing to help me out with the nighttime prep for pumping the next day. He even made my lunch today!

Favorites: Samuel still loves his mobile, but he has become a big fan of anythng that lights up and plays music. It can calm him down like no other. He loves to look at books (I think it's all the colors) and he is a big fan of tummy time, especially when there's a mirror. He loves looking at himself in the mirror. Oh and he is a big fan of mommy and daddy. 

Dislikes: Being held under the arms for too long. He is also not a fan of constant stimulation at once. He likes to just observe first. 

New things: He can hold his head up while we are holding him. At tummy time, he can hold his head and chest up. He rolled for the first time from his tummy to his back on Sunday and did it twice today when I got home. He smiles at me when he first wakes up and will smile when he sees J or me. He coos and likes to babble at his turtle on his play gym. He has started to reach for some things, but currently his hands are usually in his mouth!

Oh and he met Santa!

I still have moments when I can't believe he is ours and I can't believe we are parents, but it really is such a blessing to see this little man grow up!

2 months!

Hello out there! I've been MIA because you know I've been taking care of a baby! A baby that I had two months ago... say what?

It is completely mind-blowing to think this little man has only been in our lives two months. Two long, exhausting, fun, and crazy months. I meant to do a one month update (it's still sitting in drafts, but oh well!)

Height: I have a feeling when we go to the doctor tomorrow, he is going to be 21.5 inches. His newborn pants are pretty short.

Weight: As of Saturday, he was nine pounds six ounces. Homeboy has gained over four pounds since he was born. :)

Sleep: He will give us a decent four hour stretch when we first put him down. I discovered that he needs to be swaddle TIGHTLY so I went out and bought some swaddleme swaddles. Even though I think my technique is pretty good, the Aden and Anais blankets just weren't cutting it anymore. He did awesome last night woke up at 1, then 3:30 then 7. :)

Eating: Man to say breastfeeding has been a journey is an understatement. He's been able to get my milk, but man was it hurting. Made me dread feeding him that first month. We kept taking him to a lactation consultant at the hospital who helped. I finally decided to go with my gut and get him checked for a tongue and lip tie (google it if you don't know what they are!). Went to Dr. Myers out in the middle of nowhere aka Middleburg. Turns out he had one of the most severe lip ties he had ever seen (and this man is a guru!) It's been better since, but we are still working on exercises that show him he doesn't need to bunch his tongue anymore.

Mommy: I've been doing much better. The first few weeks were no joke. I've started to figure out his cues for sleeping and differentiate between the reasons for his crankiness, so that's helped me. I'm sad because time is winding down until I go back to work. I'll be back in my classroom the Monday before Thanksgiving.

Daddy: To say J has been a wonderful dad is an understatement too! He has been wonderful. It's cheesy to say, but I definitely fell more in love with him seeing him with Samuel and how supportive he's been of me. We've bumped heads a few times, but this has actually made our relationship stronger. He gives him a bottle in the morning so I can sleep, and takes him in the middle of the night on weekends so I can rest too.

Favorites: Samuel loves being on his changing table, (once he's changed of course!) He loves looking at us and makes the best cooing sounds. He loves his mobile and fans. He finally enjoys being on his play mat and he's that rare baby that doesn't fuss that much during tummy time. He also loves being out and about, he's always happy when we are running errands.

Dislikes: Being cold. When we had that freak cold snap, diaper changes and clothing changes became a pain. He hates the stretches I have to do for his tongue tie recovery. But other than that, I can't think of too many dislikes!

New things: He's able to coo like no one's business! We've seen a couple smiles here and there and he's holding his head up pretty well during tummy time. He follows me which is really sweet.

I am excited to see what the next few months continue to bring us! Being a mom isn't easy, but it's definitely been worth it.

So I had a baby...

Introducing Samuel Oliver!

He was born on August 28, 2014 at 12:14 a.m. He weighed 5 llbs 3 oz and measured 18 inches long. Here's his birth story... (it's kind of long, because you need some background info)

Around week 32, my blood pressure started to creep up at the doctor's office. It would go down to normal after spending time sitting down in the exam room, so my doctors weren't too concerned. I continued to eat a ton of protein.Oh and I should probably mention that my baby had a marginal cord insertion, when the cord inserts on the edge of the placenta. I'd been having growth scans to check his growth because low birthweight can be caused by this.

At my 35 week check up, BP was high again, so they checked again. The doctor (I have four) decided to send me to the hospital to be monitored. They hooked me up. Baby was good, BP came down and they sent me home.The following week, at baby's growth scan his blood flow in his cord was highish so they checked my BP and it was normal.

At my 37 week appointment, my BP shot up to 156/103, the highest it's ever been. They rechecked it, and once again off to L and D i went. This time, it went down, but not enough, so they had me do a 24 hour protein test. My doctors took me out of work at this time too.

The next day, I turned it in and went to my work to check on things for my sub. I didn't hear anything for a few hours, so I thought we were in the clear. Not so fast! My doctor calls me to let me know I had protein in my urine and that since baby was 37 weeks, our best bet was to induce the next day. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia.

SO the next day. J and I trekked to the hospital. They checked me and I was dilated so at 8 a.m. they started me on the lowest dose of pitocin. They only increased it in increments. They were really manageable. My nurse even allowed me to move around at first, but then they would lose baby's heartbeat. I ended up sitting in a chair for a good portion of these contractions. The nurse seemed impressed at how I was handling the pain. Honestly, they felt no worse than my menstrual cramps. 

My doctor came in to check me out. I was dilated 3 cm, so they decided to break my water. (This was the worst part so far!) I labored with Pitocin/water breaking contractions for almost an hour. They were AWFUL. I literally felt like someone was just twisting my insides over and over.  Jimmy did an amazing job trying to keep me as calm as possible. But I finally had to ask for some medication. My nurse told me that I did great, and that if I had gone into labor naturally, I probably wouldn't have needed any medication.

The anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural. Didn't feel a thing but the pinch of numbing. Right side numbed right away... left side... not so much! He had to do it over again. Let's just say that my back killed me for the next few days. 

After that labor progressed really well. At 9, I as 9 cm. They were really hopeful he'd be here in an hour, because he was so small. But I had a cervical lip (nurse was impressed I knew what that meant and that I knew positions to use :)) because baby was OP (i.e. face up). Seemed everytime he pressed down on my cervix, his face made it not want to dilate. 

Here's where I get hazy. Doctor kept trying to maneuver baby to rotate, I remember the contraction monitor not working, so I had to tell them when I was having a contraction. (Which let me tell you, not so easy when you are completely num Finally it was time to push. HIs heartrate kept dropping and then coming back. Doctor asked if she could use a vaccuum, because she really wanted to deliver him vaginally. We did BRAINS and agreed. After some tough pushes, Samuel was born at 12:14 a.m.

He scored 8 and 9 on his Apgar. He weighed 5 lbs 3 oz, which was exciting because it meant he could stay with us. He was perfect!

I on the other hand, was not. My BP had gone all over the place, so they placed me on a magnesium drip. I was finally able to move around the next day at 2 (and eat real food too!!!) My nurse came in right at 2 (bless her!) and my parents showed up right after with my Subway sandwich and a Cherry Coke. 

My birth didn't go as I wanted it to, but at the end of the day, I was healthy and baby was healthy. And that's all that matters isn't it? 

31 Weeks!

Yea, so I've slacked just a wee bit on these updates. I can't say I haven't had the time, because I have. Just been doing other things I suppose!

How far along are you? 31 weeks

How I'm feeling: Typical third trimester complaints... back hurts, feet get swollen if I'm not chugging water constantly. 

Total weight gain:  I hit 23 pounds this week. I have an appointment tomorrow, so we'll see if I'm doing alright. I think I am, because I haven't even hit the low end of the range my OBs want me at. 

How big is baby? A pineapple! Mind blowing. 

Boy or girl?: boy!!! :) Samuel Oliver

Maternity clothes: Believe it or not this is a non-maternity shirt. Target Merona T's for the win! I can still wear my non-maternity shorts with the belly band. So it's still a good mix of maternity and non. I might go buy some leggings here soon, especially for back to school time. 

Wedding Rings: I'm down to just wearing my wedding band. Which stinks, because my anniversary gift was a matching wedding band to complete my set. It's just not worth fighting to take them off!

Sleep: Can't tell you the last time I've slept through the night. I take a nap every day though and that helps give me energy. 

Best moment this week: Seeing the nursery come together! I'll try and post pictures when we're done.

Worst moment: Crazy lady throwing her coffee at my car at Publix?? Plus there are moments when I'm unsure how much I feel him and that freaks me out. 

Movement: I think he has a pattern, but it's hard to tell. He kicks up a storm after I eat or drink a lot. Cool but weird to see my belly ripple!

Food cravings: Nothing. Blows your mind right? If I see something I want, then I ask for it. Like an ice cream bar. But once I get it, I'm good. No need to go out and buy more ice cream bars!

Food aversions: Still veggies. Trying to sneak them into various meals. 

Miss anything?: A good old Coke. and a deli sandwich that's not heated. I already told J that my post delivery meal needs to be a Subway Black Forest Ham and Turkey on Honey Wheat with a Cherry Coke. :)

Belly button in or out:  Belly button is still in. Amazingly. 

What I am thankful for: J. He's just been so incredibly supportive. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

What I'm looking forward to: My shower is on Saturday. Can't wait to see what my mom and her bff have planned!

9 weeks until we meet little guy! I cannot wait. :)

One year...

So I can't sleep. Pretty common ailment among pregnant women, especially in the third trimester. I figured I'd do something while I am awake, so why not write about today?

One year ago, this happened:

ONE YEAR AGO. It's so mind-blowing to me when I think about that. At this time, one year ago, I couldn't sleep either. I was too darn excited to get the day going. Wondering how everything would fall into place. Hoping that my wedding would be everything I wanted it to be.

So many people tell you things might not happen how you want it to... but for J and I we got exactly what we wanted. A celebration of us and the best party ever!

Now I suppose here's where I tell you how crazy this year has been, how hard, and what I've learned. And all of that is true. The year flew by, we had some tough moments, and I've learned a lot about myself and J. But it's been 100% worth it. I'm forever grateful and feel so damn lucky to call J my husband. (and cue the tears, thanks pregnancy hormones!) In about two months, I know I am going to be feeling lucky that he's our little boy's dad.

So here's to celebrating today and looking forward to many, many more anniversaries together!

Life update!

Man it's been awhile since I've written here! No particular reason, just haven't been around a computer enough to type something up. Let's update shall we?

J, my family and I (minus my brother) took a trip to Puerto Rico! By far my favorite trip there yet. My family is a group of the most caring people and made sure we had a blast!

That would be J and I in front of one of the waterfalls in the rainforest. We saw lots of fun things and ate a ton of yummy food!

Pregnancy is going well. I will be 30 weeks on Monday... say what?? That would mean ten weeks until the big day. This pregnancy has really flown by. We've been taking Bradley birth classes, which have eased my fears of childbirth a ton. It's been nice to get to know other couples too.

I'm at the point of my pregnancy where I will be seeing my doctors every two weeks. We took a hospital tour and I think we made a great choice in having the delivery at The Family Birth Place at St Vincent's Southside. We have another growth scan next week, and maybe we will be able to get another shot of baby boy's cute face!

Oh and did I mention he has a name?

I've also been working on a few things for the nursery. I saw these art prints at Pottery Barn Kids, but they were sold out of most of them and kind of pricey:

So I decided to make my own:

I think they came out great! Plus WAY cheaper and a lot more fun to do.

Our house is coming along too. We have a contractor coming out to do our backsplash for our kitchen and another to finish up the drywall in the dining room. My project next week is to order photos and prints for our gallery wall in the living room. Oh and find a rug too!

So that's life in a nutshell. I hope everyone has a fabulous Fourth of July!!!

Five on a Friday!

Three posts in one week??? Say what???? Go me!

This week was so darn SLOW. Seriously, I woke up everyday complaining that it wasn't Friday. And now Friday is finally here. Let's go it shall we??

1. THREE DAY WEEKEND! YES! Now while it will be INCREDIBLY difficult to go back to school on Tuesday, I need a break. I need to just get away and relax. J and I are continuing our tradition and heading up to his parents' place outside of Savannah. Even if all we do is lounge around and play board games, it will still be great!

2. I wish I had a screen capture, but it was really so GREAT to catch up with a few of my high school friends. It's exciting to see how great our lives turned out and how at heart we are still the little nerds we were in high school.

3.

10 SCHOOL DAYS LEFT! I really did love my class this year, but I'm ready to say bye-bye to them. 

4. 

J and I went to rookie mini camp last weekend. 6200 fans showed up! For a ROOKIE MINI CAMP! I can't wait for football season to start, even if it means I'll be watching most of the games during the season with my little one in a Jaguars onesie. :)

5. Did I mention three day weekend??? :)

Do you have any plans this weekend? How was your week?

Linking up with Lauren

Technology is an amazing thing

In this world we live in, technology can be a bad thing. So many people have their faces glued to their phones while they are at dinner. Other people can't go two seconds without some sort of "major" life update on Facebook. (In quotations, because many FB life updates are not major!) Even blogs which connect people can cause drama.

But in many ways, technology is an AMAZING thing. I experienced one of those ways last night.

My high school English teacher has been teaching for 50 years! Can we just take a second to applaud that? 50 YEARS. Say what??? She's an incredible human being and to recognize that my old school is naming the English building after her.

Back story: I was in the International Baccaluareate program, basically a really international intense version of AP classes. Since it was just starting, my group was small. I had all the same classes with the same 23 people from sophomore year on. We spent every waking moment together, and needless to say by graduation we were done! We've kept in touch on Facebook, but with the exception of a few I hadn't spoken to many of them since then.

Mrs. Olin was our teacher junior and senior year. She taught us to really think in our philosophy class. Introduced to me some of my favorite books senior year. I definitely consider her to be one of my teacher inspirations. So when a friend of mine had the idea to set up a Google Hangout so that we could record messages to her, I was down.

And here's where technology is amazing... the hangout let us connect people from literally all over the world. One of my friends ended up in Japan. He was able to join us on his way to work! Another friend was in Denver, one was in Baltimore, and one was in NYC. In our typical IB way, it took us a minute to figure out what we could tell our teacher, but it was wonderful being able to catch up with all these people that were such a huge part of my life for such a short while.

I am sure Mrs. Olin will laugh her head off when she sees our video, but I hope she loves it to. I certainly loved making it!

Ever caught up with old friends? How was it?

23 week bumpdate

How far along are you? 23 weeks, 

How I'm feeling: Pretty good. The dry nose is really getting out of hand. It hurts to breathe in sometimes. Need to research remedies for this ASAP. 

Total weight gain:  Assuming it's still about 10 pounds. The people that keep telling me I'm small or I don't look pregnant can go shove it!

How big is baby? A grapefruit. Yea, okay, where?. 

Boy or girl?: boy!!! :)

Maternity clothes: Still rockin' some regular clothes, but with maternity pieces thrown in. My mom bought me a cute dress and jeans from Old Navy maternity. Once I find a cute maternity bathing suit, I should be set. 

Sleep: Eh. I've kind of accepted that I will not sleep through the night. It's all good!

Best moment this week: Hearing (and seeing) that baby is measuring great! And putting together the crib. Yay! OH! and J finally felt him! That was a fun moment. 

Worst moment: Cannot think of one. Good thing right?

Movement: More consistent. I feel him everyday at some point. He was going at it during rookie mini camp on Saturday. I can also see my belly move, which is very, very weird. 

Food cravings: Nothing really, is that odd? I feel like it's odd. I did want a KFC bowl for lunch today, but it wasn't this like burning desire. 

Food aversions: Still veggies. Trying to sneak them into various meals. 

Miss anything?: A good old Coke. I know you can drink a little bit of caffeine, but with his cord issue, I want to make sure he's getting as many good things as possible.

Belly button in or out:  Belly button is still in. 

What I am thankful for: That he is growing and had a healthy heartbeat. I measured 22 cm, which is slightly ahead. Hoping I get just as good news tomorrow!

What I'm looking forward to: We start our birthing classes next week. I'm really intrigued by the idea of being in a small group.

Maybe I will get around to updating more than just my bump. So many fun things to write about!

Craziest time of the year...

People think the beginning of the school year is the craziest time of the year! That would be SO wrong.

May is the craziest time of the year. I've read three posts today from Bonnie, Brooke and Mal who totally agree with me. Let's break it down shall we?

• I adore my class this year. By far the best behaved and sweetest class I have ever had. But May hit and they have lost their darn minds. I knew it when one of my best kids decided that throwing chicken nuggets up into the air and trying to catch them with her mouth would be a great idea. SAY WHAT?????? Or when I get blank faces when I ask them how to solve 35 +20. Or when I ask what the problem in the story is and they give me a blank stare. Or when I ask ANYTHING and they give me a blank stare. Kids are just done by this time of the year, and to be honest I am too!
• EOY Checklists. In real people talk, end of the year checklists. This long checklist that requires signatures from a bunch of random people. I try and start it as soon as I can, because usually when I go turn something in or try and my list signed, the person magically disappears. 
• End of the year tests. This year my district went test crazy! I've been cycling my kiddos through my computers to complete all their online assessments. Then I've been staring at my calendar trying to figure out which kids to test on which days for their big EOY summative tests. Makes me want to cry really. 
• Something else that makes me want to cry? Packing up my room. I normally am a pro at this, but I can't do a lot of it on my own. (All those first grade books and materials are heavy yo!) The only positive to this is that part of that checklist is to create a diagram of your room. This way the custodians can attempt to put furniture back where it goes!

15 schools days, plus two work days. Just like The Little Engine that Could... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

22 Weeks

I know, not being consistent with this thing, but at least I'm trying! I am more than half way done and that's just crazy to think about. We have 18 days (18 LONG days) of school left and I cannot wait. I know this summer will zoom, but I want to enjoy it as my last one before baby comes!

How far along are you? 22 Weeks

How I'm feeling: Pretty good. Besides the constant dry nose that irritates that crap outta me, I really have nothing else to complain about.

Total weight gain:  10 pounds. I weighed 130 at the doctor's office last week. I am pretty pleased with that. 

How big is baby? A papaya. Where in my belly there's something as long as a papaya, I don't know but we will see. We'll get more accurate measurements at our ultrasound tomorrow. 

Boy or girl?: boy!!! :) ( and we may or may not have a name...) :)

Maternity clothes: A week ago, I bought four shirts from Motherhood Maternity. All in the same style, because I'm really not a fan of baby doll shirts. They are super comfy. This paycheck I'm going to invest in a good pair of maternity jeans and khaki pants. I also tried on some regular maxi skirts and dresses at H&M that should do me pretty well too!

Sleep: Been decent. Weird dreams don't really help (like my principal leaving and my grandpa with dementia taking over our school! What the heck does that mean?)

Best moment this week: When we were at our appointment, my doctor checked baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. Right when she put it on my belly, we heard him kick the Doppler AND I felt it! So neat. 

Worst moment: Headaches. Yuck!

Movement: More consistent. Baby boy likes football because he was the most active whenever I was watching the NFL Draft. :)

Food cravings: Still nothing different or weird. I did crave a Philly roll so I ordered one on Saturday. It was divine!

Food aversions: Nothing that sticks out to me. 

Belly button in or out:  Belly button is still in. 

What I am thankful for: That he is growing and had a healthy heartbeat. I measured 22 cm, which is slightly ahead. Hoping I get just as good news tomorrow!

What I'm looking forward to: Setting up the crib! I cannot wait!!!!

Half way there! 20 + 2 Bumpdate

Took this yesterday. 20+1 day. Holy moly! Halfway there! Crazy!

How far along are you? 20 Weeks + 2. 20 to go!

How I'm feeling: Had a raging headache on and off all weekend. I think it was due to dehydration. I just don't drink as much water on the weekends!

Total weight gain:  Didn't really measure myself this week. I'm sure I've gained, because the bump has gotten bigger. 

How big is baby? According to the dad version, he's the size of a whoopie cushion. 6.5 inches 10 oz

Boy or girl?: boy!!! :)

Maternity clothes: I need to invest in a stronger belly band. Maternity pants still don't fit. I bought some longer tops from NY and Co that do a good job of not riding up. 

Sleep: Better now that we turned the AC on. (Side note, turning AC on in April? Complete bullshit Florida!)

Best moment this week: Feeling him move. It' so rare it's such a nice feeling. 

Worst moment: Headaches. Yuck!

Movement: Still on and off. Perfectly normal from what I have read. I try not to freak out when I read other bumpdates where moms have felt their babies. I know I have an anterior placenta and I have definitely felt him move. Just not much today!

Food cravings: Nothing. Is that weird? I did read that cravings indicate something missing in your diet, so maybe I'm getting everything I need?

Food aversions: Vegetables. I have to dunk them in sauce or else I wanna barf them back up.

Belly button in or out:  Belly button is still in. 

What I am thankful for: Feeling him. Makes my worries go away slightly. 

What I'm looking forward to: I think we decided on a crib! So maybe we'll buy it this weekend. Oh and hearing his heartbeat next week!

19 (+3) week bumpdate

Look at that! It's a full fledged bump! The random substitute in my classroom last week questioned if I was pregnant or not. So it's official that it's a bump. Let's get to it shall we?

How far along are you? 19 weeks and 3 days.

How I'm feeling: Pretty good. A bit tired and I've definitely had some stretching pains this week. 

Total weight gain:  I'm up five pounds I think. Started at 120, dropped to 117 and have slowly made my way up. I've been doing a good job of watching what I eat. 

How big is baby? According to the Bump he's the size of a mango! He measured on time last week and weighed 8 oz.

Boy or girl?: boy!!! :)

Maternity clothes: I wear my belly bands almost daily. I wore a maternity top that I got from a consignment store two days. I love the ruffles on it and could totally rock it even if I wasn't pregnant. I'm rockin'  a pair of maternity leggings today under one of my old dresses. So comfy!

Sleep: On a good day, I wake up once to go to the restroom. I had great sleep this weekend but the last two nights have been rough. 

Best moment this week: Finally looking pregnant! Kind of crazy when I look down! The bump came out of nowhere. Oh and buying little man two cute outfits for 3 dollars at Baby Gap!

Worst moment: Last week at our scan, we found out baby has a marginal cord insertion. That's when the cord attaches near the edge of the placenta instead of the middle. Happens only to 7% of moms! A slight one (meaning if it was attached .25 cm the other way no one would be concerned.) Doctor didn't seem overly concerned, and it means I get more ultrasounds. So I guess it's a plus for getting to see the baby more!

Movement: On and off. I have an anterior placenta (found that out last week too!) so movements will be muffled for a bit. Last night I did feel some definite kicks!

Food cravings: Nothing distinct lately. Though now that I think about it, flautas from Tijuana Flats sound AMAZING!! Or the empanadas from the Race Trac down the street. Random I know!

Food aversions: I discovered in my first tri that my aversions are anything that was fairly new to me before pregnancy. The idea of quinoa and cucumber water makes me wanna hurl!

Belly button in or out:  Belly button is still in. But it's definitely not as deep anymore!

What I am thankful for: J. I lost it at our anatomy scan last week and he kept me calm. He's been absolutely great during this pregnancy and I can't wait to see him with our little boy!

What I'm looking forward to: Buying the crib. I think we've decided on the one we want. Plus hearing his heartbeat again in two weeks.

I wrote earlier this year that my word is TRUST. This pregnancy has taught me a lot about having faith and trust. I can't feel my baby but I trust that he's there. I trust that God is watching over me and him. It's a tough lesson for someone like me to take, but it's one that I definitely needed!

To work or not to work...

I haven't blogged in a bit (not counting my announcements or H54F) but when I saw Bonnie's and Brooke's posts today, I knew I had to chime in.

After I've received congratulations on my baby, I immediately get asked "Are you coming back to work?" It's almost a given. My answer is always the same.

Yes.

My husband is a budgeting genius. You think I'm exaggerating, but it's completely true. I am absolutely sure that if push came to shove, he would find a way to create a manageable and livable budget on his salary alone. It would be hard but we could do it.

But here's the thing. We like the lifestyle our two incomes provide. We like the fact that we will be able to provide many things for our baby without worrying about if it fits into the budget. Corporate world isn't the steady place it used to be. Jobs get cut and departments get shifted. We like the fact that if something (knock on wood) happened to his job, we would still have my steady job to get us by.

Teaching jobs are hard to come by in my district and in surrounding districts. My position would get filled immediately and who knows how long it would take for me to find something. A small part of me has always felt like I have the best job to be a working mom. I'll have off at the same time my kids will. Same holidays and everything. Working part time is an option but it's difficult because you have to find someone to be willing to job share with you. Someone willing to give up their benefits and a full paycheck.

After we had this conversation the other night, my husband told me something that stuck with me. "You are an amazing teacher. There are too many crappy ones for you to stop teaching." And it stuck with me. I love what I do and I think that being a mom will help me be an even better teacher than I am now.

I know I will want to be home with my baby. I'm already fretting over the fact that I'm planning on taking 8 weeks of leave (my district makes you burn any paid leave before you take FMLA and I don't want to be stuck without sick days). But I think something else that eases my decision is knowing that my mother has agreed to take care of our baby. My mother retires in August and won't even let us entertain the idea of letting us put this baby in day care. I know that besides me or J, a family member is the next best thing to take care of our child.

My mother was a working mother my whole life. She made it come together. She never missed a parent teacher conference, a field trip, and stayed home with us if we were sick. Now I know it was a sacrifice to her, but looking back  I never saw that. Only thing I saw was a mom at home making us dinner and getting us ready to go to music or baseball practice. A mom who took care of us and loved us. She also lucked out that she had my grandmother to take care of us too.

I don't knock mothers who choose to stay home and I don't knock mothers who work. We all do and plan to do what's best with our families. Something I've discovered during this whole pregnancy thing is that every decision you make as a mother will be judged. Want to breastfeed your child or bottle feed? Someone will judge you. Want to co-sleep or put baby in a crib right away? Someone will judge you. Want to have a home birth or a hospital birth? Someone will judge you. The list goes on and on.

I for one want to stop that. So I say if you want to be a working mom? Go for it! You'll be a great example to your kids. Want to be a stay at home mom? Go for it! You'll be a great example to your kids too!

I hope you respect and understand my decision. :)

Friday, Friday, Friday!

Oh hello there blog friends who still read this. I promise, I'm alive. Just super swamped. Can I just tell you how pumped I am that it's Friday??? Plus it's a planning day, and I'm such a teacher nerd. I love planning days (and not just because I get off work early too!)

So let's see what my five favorite things were this week!

1. PLANNING DAY = SHORT WEEK

My class has full fledged spring fever. I don't know how many times I had to have them have some quiet time. I have the sweetest, most well behaved class ever, so when they start acting like normal first graders, I lose it just a little bit. :)

2. 

J and I bought a new couch and love seat for our living room. I love them both! We did realize we will have to get rid of the breakfast bar, but these comfy babies are worth it. The couch is a power recliner. I'm not the only who loves it either: 

Silly girl!

3. I hit the 16 week mark this week and I have a visible bump that's actually bump and not bloat!

I also ::think:: I felt baby move a few nights ago. Woke up with some random feelings in my belly but they went away. We shall see. :) I have an appointment next week and then the week after we find out what we're having!

4. I went to the dentist on Wednesday. While I normally DESPISE this, it wasn't that bad! Plus Dr. Anand said my teeth look great and she didn't bitch me out for forgetting to go. SCORE!

5. My mom and I are going shopping for some maternity clothes tomorrow.My pants are getting snug and I want to buy another belly band. :)

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

The first few weeks

I wrote this during my first trimester... just wanted to remember. I'll try posting some bumpdates, now that I actually have a bump! 

January 3
I do NFP, which means I chart my cycles. I've been doing this since last March, so I have a really good idea when my period will come. I figured it would come Monday, so I decided to take a pregnancy test.

J wanted to be there, but I honestly thought it would be negative. Imagine my surprise when the line turned pink! I felt AWFUL about taking it without him. I thought I could keep it a secret, but the minute he walked in the door, I couldn't hide my smile. We figured out I was about a month along and that my due date is around September 14th.

January 10
Since the office manager at my doctor is also a close family friend, I ended up getting blood taken at a local urgent care. The results were positive, so J called this group of Ob-gyns that got great reviews from friends to set up my appointment. My appointment? February 11. SO FAR AWAY! (Oh and I couldn't go to my regular gynecologist because she's not an OB).

5 weeks
We told our parents. I knew that no matter what happened, I'd want my mom to know. She bawled her eyes out, which made me cry! J's parents seem pumped as well. We are waiting on telling siblings until after our appointment. My only symptoms so far are achy breasts and cramps. I also got sick with a sinus infection. I joked with J that I wish I'd get some nausea just to know I'm really pregnant. Well be careful what you wish for....

6 weeks
Nausea hit! Luckily no vomiting, just a heck of a lot of dry heaving and it tends to go away after lunch. It's really annoying actually. My only aversions are to new things I recently took a liking too (like quinoa and cucumber water.) Literally, if I even think of quinoa for more than a minute, I start to dry heave!.

7 weeks
Still nauseous every morning. One day, I even threw up my breakfast (I think I ate it too fast). I've been sneaking saltines at work, trying to make sure my assistant doesn't notice. I've also been drinking water non-stop. When people question it (never much of a water drinker before!) I tell them it's to help my acne. Speaking of acne, I guess the constant high of the hormones has kept it in check. I also got a flu shot this week. I couldn't get it back in fall when they came to work, and just never got around to it (I know, I know). My arm's a bit sore, but it's worth it.

8 Weeks
Nausea dies down during the week, but I think it's because I just eat more during the day. I'm getting antsy to get to my first appointment. I just want to know if everything's progressing right. The only main bother this week was a bad leg cramp I got from wearing crappy shoes.

9 weeks
I threw up at the beginning of this week. It was the worst because I didn't have any food in my system. Plus, I've discovered the smells of cleaning supplies make me nauseous and my assistant cleaned my tables with Clorox wipes. Thought I was going to hurl right on top of my students!
But the best part of this week? Seeing that everything is progressing right! My first appointment was Tuesday, February 11. We had to wait FOREVER but it was worth it to see the ultrasound tech say the baby looked great and was measuring on time. Official due date: September 15th. J and I went and had a celebratory dinner/early Valentine's Day dinner. Went to Cantina Laredo... so yummy!

10 Weeks
Just still that typical morning dry heave. It's the worst! We told my brother this week. I think he was  a little perturbed we kept the secret, but he's excited (I think). I know J's sisters were very happy and excited for us! 

11 Weeks
Nothing new symptom wise. A no real bump to speak of. I'm nervous about next week's appointment. Never knew I could worry this much! Side note: we closed on our house this week! It was fun thinking about which room could be the nursery! I let my best friend in on the secret. Her wedding is a month after the baby will be born. Plus she's a nurse, so she helped calm down a lot of my fears!


12 weeks
We had our NT scan and everything looked great! The tech had a hard time finding the fluid because their wasn't much of anything! The doctor was Puerto Rican and claimed the baby has a Puerto Rican nose, so we'll see! It definitely looks like the baby has J's lips. :) 
I told my boss. He claims he already knew! I'll be teaching regular first grade next year and I found out, I may have enough leave saved up to take all of it paid. I also told my team, and they were so excited for me! I can't wait to let everyone in on this secret.

These first few weeks have taught me so much about having faith and just being positive. I just need to keep those negative thoughts away and fill them in with happy thoughts!

So I've been MIA for a really good reason!

I know, I haven't posted in like 3 weeks! But to my defense, I've been pretty busy. 3rd 9 weeks is ALWAYS a hectic time of year and J and I just closed on our first house! He's been there, pretty much everyday, painting and taking down ugly RED wall paper. But to say that's the only reason I've been gone, would be a total lie...

I'M PREGNANT! I've known since January, and it's been killing me not to say anything! So now you know my little secret. :) I don't know if I'll keep up with bumpdates but I will most definitely try!

Woot! Woot! It's Friday!

Hi all! Feel like I keep ignoring this little blog space of mine. I could lie and say I've been busy, but eh that wouldn't be true. Unless you count watching the Olympics being busy!

Let's get to my five from this week:

J surprised me by bringing home roses and strawberry cheesecake from Publix on Valentine's Day. Because of all the extra expenses heading our way, we had agreed to not do anything major but he broke his own rule. :)

I received my Carabox from Jessie. Can't wait to paint my nails with the fun colors she gave me!

Source

I've really been loving watching the Olympics every night. I love that I was able to watch some of the best events live! I'm kind of bummed that the Olympics ends on Sunday. I adore the Winter Olympics. I can watch every event (yes, even curling!). Plus it's just fun!

I went out last night with one of my friends from my old school. It was nice to vent and just catch up with each other!!! Plus this ecard's perfect because we ended up at Chili's!

I don't have a number five, except to say YAY WEEKEND! :)

Where do you go for dinner with friends?
How was your week?

As always, linking up with Lauren!

Why we work

So I love reading Bonnie and Taylor and when I saw them do this fun link up, I knew I had to join in.

Tomorrow's Valentine's Day and I think it's really fun to look back and see why J and I work. We've been together for 3.5 years now (married for 7 months) and I think we really do complement each other.



So without further adieu... why J and I work:

He's black/white and I'm all about the gray.

He's laidback and I'm dramatic. All about balance right?

We both love sports. We've been perfectly content watching the Olympics.

Speaking of,  he loves to watch curling (which is analytical) and I love figure skating (which is emotional!)

We both love food. Simple as that. :)

We push each other. In a good way. I push him to watch his words and he pushes me to be a little neater (I'm working on it!)

Family's number one. To both of us. Watching him interact with his nieces, always puts a smile on my face.

He watches girly shows with me. Not necessarily because he likes them (except for Total Divas!) but because he likes to be with me. Same reason I'll watch Seinfeld with him.

He lets me get cupcakes for my class. And he comes to read to them.

I laugh at his dirty jokes. In fact, he loves to make me laugh and he loves to find the weirdest ways to make me laugh.

He looks out for my brother.

He's always down for ice cream...even when it's cold and drizzly (hello ice cream sundaes!)

We know how to dig at each other. And while we don't always do that nicely, something good always comes out of it.

We're both stubborn but end up figuring out someway to compromise. With both of us being Cancers...that can be tough.

We share a birthday!

 

 

 

Simple. Because despite the fact that we are too of the most stubborn people EVER, we try our hardest everyday to make each other happy. And sometimes that scale can be tilted in one way, we try our best to make sure it tilts the other way.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!



FRIDAY!!!

Is it just me, or did this week crawwwwwwwwl by? Yea, it crawled for me, probably because I wasn't feeling 100% all week. But I can still find five things that made my week:

1. Did I mention that J and I bought a house? Oh yea, we did. We haven't closed yet, but we did hear back that the seller will fix some issues AND that the house is now in a safer zone which means lower insurance. Woot!

2. I killed it on my formal observation. Nice when your hard work is noticed!

3. Did I mention that my student loans are paid off??? THEY ARE! Back in November, I received the good news that 5,000 dollars of my loan was forgiven. Which left me with 700 dollars to pay. J and I paid mine off and it feels SO good to say that!

4.

Yea, it's NO secret that I love football. I really like the Seahawks(mostly because the Jags current coach, Gus, came from there and because I can't stand Peyton) but I also really like Richard Sherman's story. I hated it when all the world went off on him for his rant. His story is one that I would hope for all my at-risk kids. 

We are hosting my family that day and I can't wait to watch a heck of game and eat lots of yummy food!

5. Finally, I'm having a girls' date with two of my closest friends at Chipotle tonight. A carnitas bowl is calling my name!!!

Have a fabulous week!

Do you watch the Super Bowl?

What's your favorite restaurant?

Linking up with Lauren!

What I've learned about teaching...

I haven't blogged in forever. But reading Bonnie's post today inspired me.

I'm a teacher. Everyone knows it. It's a huge part of my life. But being married this year has taught me that it's just a job.

That I can be a good teacher and not spend ten hours at work. I can have amazing conversations with my kiddos (like the one I had today with one of my boys about skeletons and just listening to all of his amazing questions) and not spend my entire life at work.

People may find this bad to say, but I've learned that I can't save EVERY kid that walks through my door. That I have to do my best and work with what I have, but  I have to realize that it may not be enough. That I'll drive myself crazy if I stress out about the fact that little Johnny still cannot tell me that RAT and CAT rhyme. That I need to spend just as much times on those kids that could grow if I spent 10 extra minutes with them and that I need to spend time with my ones who just GET it.

Now that's not to say I'm going to brush little Johnny to the side. I still talk to our ESE specialists about strategies and I meet with Mom and Dad to see what we can do to help (that is, if mom and dad care.) But it means I'll stress about things worth stressing about.

I had my formal observation today and I wasn't nervous. I didn't freak out when one of my kids confused erosion and weathering (even though we've talked about it for days). I know that I'm good and I know that my class is learning. I see it when they run up to show me a table of contents they found or they shout out that they know 100+100 is a doubles fact. I see it when I see former students wave hello or let me know about their day.

And that is all that matters. Because at the end of the day, my very important job, is just that.... A JOB.

Thanks for reading this. :)