I cured my fat ankles!!!

Thank you, God, for book club.

This is our little set up for the big night.  Every seat was full, save one.  It was so nice getting together with other ladies (lots of mammas!) and discussing things we found interesting.  Of course, I felt like I couldn't remember anything from the book--even character names.  It was sad how my brain was working.  I guess because all of my energy went into work for the day and then making sure I had things ready for food/cleaning prep that I just had no cells left to retain book information.  It was still a great evening.  I met some new ladies and caught up with "old" ladies--it was really great.  I enjoy a good book club--I need to remember this so that it's not another year before I go back (I hadn't been in a year....eeeek).

We got word that B didn't get the job in Tennessee.  We are horribly disappointed and sad...but not much we can do.  At least we'll be in one spot for the birth of our baby and will get to be close to family.

Work is going........interestingly.  I am so overwhelmed that I've given up on putting together a schedule and am just going to go randomly see classes for now so that I'm getting some time with my students.  It is impossible to have a schedule for gifted inclusion (unless you are assigned to either one subject area or one teacher...or perhaps one grade).  Doing four grades and up to four content areas each is insane.  I am going to pick and choose periods and just go see some kids.  The kids are what make teaching so great, so time for some greatness instead of brain wrack and stress and paperwork.

In way more exciting and happier news:  Mrs. B is well on her way to finishing the baby bedding!!!!  It is unreal!  All she has left are the bed skirt (which is a serious pain to make in general--God bless her) and the ties for the bumper.  Here are some pictures!!!!!  YYAYYY!!!

Yes, she even made the sheet!!  I will get a close up of the pattern on the bumper when its finished.

Just a little taste--I love it.  The cream fabric has tiny pink flowers on it, so it's not too plain.  It's so old fashioned and simple and sweet--and it matches the crib beautifully!!  It goes well with the rest of the room too, which is awesome since I had no idea if what I was picking out would go with the bedding.  She's a talented seamstress--she made our sister-in-law's bedding too (baby bedding--they're due September 15th!!) and its awesome too!  She also makes beautiful gowns and she's making curtains...I mean, she's just great.  More pictures as things develop!

Oh--I cured my fat ankles!!  I discovered that on the weekends I wasn't having nearly as much swelling, even though I was sitting/walking/standing approximately the same amount as during the week.  I figured it had to be something I was eating--and voila!  I was having decaf coffee every morning for work (as though it would be the same as regular--ha) and wasn't having any during the weekends.  I tried it out Monday, and even though it felt like my feet were hurting and were tight--they were still only half of the size as the previous week.  Today too--hardly any swelling by comparison.  I suppose coffee was dehydrating me so I was retaining fluids instead of flushing fluids?  Anyway--I can do without decaf if it means less gross feet.  It's too hot to slap boots on!

Survival of the Swollen...

I made it through a full week of work, although only three included lots of me working.  Next week I may not make it.

My ankles were....hmm...elephantile today.

B:  "You officially qualify for a cart at Walmart"  (meaning the electric ones...so I can ride around--nice!)

My feet are elevated to the max, and I'm about to read and crash (I've already eaten and showered--it's 7:05pm).

I am finally getting some idea of what inclusion will look like for gifted students, and it's making things way happier for me.  Next week I'll actually get to go into classrooms and be productive with students.  WOW--that's fast.

In other news......

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bruh...my GUMS!

I went to the dentist today...8 months pregnant....

Aren't dentists aware of sensitive gums during pregnancy?  They all kept saying, "You know when you're pregnant your hormones are all out of whack and your gums become sensitive."

HELLO--if you know that, why are you stabbing them with metal hooks??  Do you hate pregnant women?

I also heard, "and pregnant women cry all the time."....hello....you are talking to a PREGNANT WOMAN.  Did you think that would make me laugh?  Plus, I will have you know, I haven't been emotional in quite some time.  Happy, yes.  Sometimes very irritable--but not sappy lately (although, of course I went through this stage a while back and may go through it again soon).

Not only were the hooks going after my gums, but then while polishing my teeth she was resting the metal handle portion of the polisher (is there a technical name?) on my teeth!  She rested a rapidly vibrating piece of metal on the tips of my teeth.....can that really be good for teeth?  Isn't she supposed to be concerned about my teeth more than me?

That's my dentist vent.  I'm home recovering now.

I made some brownies for my Mother-in-law and the crew at her house because seriously...dinner last night couldn't have been more appreciated!  Now I just have to manage to drive myself over there....and it's not lookin' good.  Maybe tomorrow?  Hm...maybe later tonight I'll have a burst of energy.  HAHA.  I am more than happy to bake in exchange for dinner.  I know that seems silly--why not just cook instead of bake?  But I can bake super fast; I'm not so good with cooking and it messes up tons of dishes.  As you may have noticed by the comment from a great person on my last post--I am lucky enough to be surrounded by awesome people, so I will be baking a lot in the future.

Work's going well.  Met some more kids today, talked to some teachers...meeting with the rest of the kids tomorrow and some teams...hopefully being productive.

Here's my thing this year:  Get some serious publicity!  I emailed a ton of people at the local university to get some contacts going and maybe get some cool presentations or projects for my kids.  We want to get the word out and make the program worth something so that we can get our numbers up and make the program better each year.  I am way excited about that.  Having a baby right at the beginning of my year will make it tough, but I'm going to try super hard to get things in motion before I leave and at least maintain them while I'm out.

Now on to dinner with Dr. B, the great.  He cooked.  I guess he can have a brownie.  I get one too, since I have no cavities.

Back to school....back to school...

Back to your old high school to feel like a big ole fool.

Yeah...I have no classroom and no real department, so I just kind of wander around and leech onto the English department for now.  My 9th grade English teacher is department chair (she's got a great sense of humor and I remember really enjoying that in 9th grade--I always felt like she was my smartest teacher), so her and the rest of that department are pretty cool.  I generally just don't know anyone else, so where else would I go?

I hate that!  I miss having a classroom.  And, a set schedule, for that matter!  I will be making my schedule up based on kids' needs, class schedules, and minutes per kid.  It's going to be insane.

I'm meeting my first student tomorrow (a day before the kids get there) to talk to him about what he'd like to do or get from the gifted program.  I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not sure how mature he'll be about it--how many kids would say, "I'd really like to learn more about..." in high school?  Maybe I was just super lazy, and kids are actually like that.

Anyway--this wasn't technically my first day since I was in meetings all day Thursday and Friday, so I'm still counting this as summer.  Wednesday will officially end summer.  Especially since I'll have to be AT WORK at 6:55....versus today (8:30) and tomorrow (8:00).

AT WORK AT 6:55!!!!?????


I have some serious concerns about this.  SERIOUS.  I will let you know how successful I am after week one.  I am sure nerves and excitement will get me up for the first few days...but when that wears off....what then??

After work I had a doctor's appointment.  All good news--healthy as a horse.  Doctor asked about birth plans--told her we want to go natural and I found out that you can birth in the tubs now!!!  Yayyy!!  I may have a water birth like a total hippie (no offense--especially since that'll be me now)!  I'm so excited!  We went to a birthing class associated with the hospital a week ago and they said you couldn't, but it has JUST been approved.  This is big news for South Louisiana.  We're moving into a less medicated era!  :)

We've also discussed the squatting position for delivery and using the "birth bar" for that.  That seems like the most natural position to me, but I'm not sure my thighs can support my weight in that position while using so much energy for so long....I don't want to collapse or anything.

After the doctor I went shopping.  I have an addiction.  It's rough.  It's cardigans.  I bought another one....and some colorful tanks to wear underneath.  I currently own black and white everything, so I figured I should spice it up so it didn't look like I was wearing the same outfit daily at work.  We'll call it a work wardrobe.  The cool part was that I didn't have to buy a maternity size and some of the stuff was too big--even at 8 months pregnant.  WOW.  This is the skinniest I've felt in a while (boy does that tell you something).  I think it's because I opted to eat just one piece of pizza today for lunch instead of the 3 I wanted.

Good job me.

(really i just didn't want to retain 8 pounds of water for my doctor's appointment in the afternoon)

Lastly:  Video games.

I hate 'em usually.  They suck my husband in for hours and I miss him.  Well, tonight we took the PS3 to mom and dad's (they're not here tonight) and hooked it up to their huge tv to play.  It was a fun little date idea.  I think I drove B insane because I'm horrible.

It's too much going on--I can't keep track of which character I am or which way I'm facing or how to turn around fast enough to react.  It's so overstimulating that I get stressed out and cuss like a sailor.  Even simple games.  It's sad really.  However, now I get why students are so bored with classrooms--there is absolutely nothing going on in comparison to how much is going on in a computer game.  Sheesh.

B's playing "Flower" now--it's really a pretty game.  You are the breeze, and you blow petals through fields and each time you hit a flower a little musical cue plays and you pick up more petals.  As you go through the game you pick up lots of petals and watch them blow through the air and you get rid of dead grass patches or ruined industrial garbage.  It's pretty--and the music is pretty.  I think it'll be a cool game for him to play with his little girl one day.  Awwww.  So far this is the only game I've really approved of for our child.

Side note:  We don't have cable/watch tv at all.  I'm way excited about this for our baby--I'm hoping we can really get her into reading and activity.  However, I do want to get the Sesame St. Old School DVD's (some of them) for her--those were always so awesome.  That way we'll have something when she gets older that we know we like.

Okay--LOTS of words tonight and no pictures.  Here's a picture of the cardigan I bought.  :)

Oldnavy...they apparently have a billion cardigans for sale right now....which is bad for a cardigan junkie.  I don't know when I adopted this style, but I could wear a cardigan every day...and almost do.  Sorry future coworkers.

Field Trip

I didn't skip a post yesterday because I was still grumpy--don't worry.

B and I took a trip out of town to visit my bro, sis-in-law, and nephew.  We were supposed to visit some other friends as well, but a miscommunication botched up one visit and our other friends were super busy and tired because of Ramadan.

We had a good trip, but that is definitely the last road trip I take before Camille gets here.  WHEW!  Well, last trip that's over an hour and a half at least.  I wore my granny compression stockings to keep my feet from becoming ridiculous again, but it was very uncomfortable.  My back will take a while to get back to normal.

Great visit though--Love them.  We are fortunate enough to have most of our family other than them in town with us.  Plus they don't live too far, so we get to see them fairly regularly.  They are also expecting a baby--in December.  Wahoo!

This is my nephew with his safety glasses--he was helping his Papi build some chairs.

We took a trip to IKEA--I was thinking I'd find a chair for pretty cheap that was kind of funky to add to the nursery.  However, they were about the same price (or more) than most of the chairs I have found elsewhere.  I was big time disappointed.  I came away with a set of play ice cream and play breakfast:

Breakfast fixin's

Ice cream cones, cake, and cookies

These are like little stuffed animals, only food--and they velcro together!  They're for ages 3 and up though, so we'll have to wait a while to play with them.  I just didn't want to pass them up because they were cheap, and boy or girl, I think our kids will love these!

Our nephew, T, was much more talkative this trip and he gave us so many hugs!!!  My bro took us to a Thai place with some seriously authentic food--SO good.  We also watched Avatar--hadn't seen it--and it was pretty good.  Seems like any story that includes love makes me appreciate B more.  I guess I was supposed to take away something more political from the movie, but really I just love my husband and appreciate that he's here.  Sorry Mr. Cameron.  My bro also cooked up a serious breakfast for us this morning--pancakes, eggs, and sausage.  Wow.  Spoiled.  Then me and my sil chatted about pregnancy things.  She went natural with T, so it's great to hear about her experiences.

Now we're back--came in today and am grumpy again.  :/  I guess it's just being tired/stressed.  We officially work all week this week, but the kids won't come until Wednesday.  There go my late sleeps and my naps and my lazy days.  I have a feeling I'll be in bed around 7 every night this week.  Maybe I won't put on weight--I won't have time to eat much and I'll be busy; plus I'll be shaving some hours off of my evening by going to bed so early.

Once I have some idea of what I'm actually doing at my job I think I'll be less freaked out.  Let's hope I figure it out quickly once the kids show up.  I keep hearing "inclusion", but with gifted I just see that set up as so distracting to the regular class taking place.  I also don't want to bug all of the teachers too much by asking them tons of questions about their schedules for class and what not.  Not much way around it though...

The beautiful gown was a gift--so pretty!

Of course--who can be mean to a pregnant lady??  :D  The belly is continuing to grow and grow.  I thought I'd hit a stage where it was just big and I was uncomfortable, but it seems that you hit this stage and keep expanding.  Today I could feel her entire body and its location and what organs it was hitting.  I have two months left???!!!  I'd wager she'll come a little early (or I'll really hate myself).

Isn't it amazing how your body isn't your own when you're pregnant?  I've never felt more like I'm just occupying a shell than I do right now.  I have almost no control over my body--it's a weird feeling to have.  Luckily I still control some major functions...I'm not saying we're having THAT many problems here.   Hehehehe.

I'll stop before I further embarrass myself.

8 Months Pregnant....WHAT?

Time is running out!!!

I feel like she'll be here any second...even though technically I have two months left.  They don't tell you about this whole "10 months" of pregnancy thing until you actually get pregnant.  And why do we count that first month as part of our week count...you're not really doing much in those four weeks, and then down the road when you say, "I'm 32 weeks" people freak out and run away from you.

Is being grumpy part of pregnancy hormones???

I came home happy from work today--great time with my coworkers and got some work done.  I also found out who my students were and how many I have.  I didn't find out much about them, but next week!

I even came home so happy that I wanted to bake!  I made some peanut butter filled chocolate cookies--yum (as if I need to eat these right now, right?).  I cooked dinner--turkey fillets with brussels sprouts---too!  However...in the midst of all of the cooking it suddenly hit me how hot I was and how much I was sweating and BAM....the bad mood hit.  It hit fast too.  I was mad at the cookies, mad at the air conditioner, mad that I hadn't bought a fan, mad that our oven was putting off so much heat, mad that I was cooking...I mean...it was out of control.

I made B finish up the meat while I put my feet up (everything else was done and I even washed all of the dishes that weren't being used for the meat/sprouts).  Poor man.

Now I am very strongly considering going to bed to read and going to sleep early.  Perhaps I'm just tired.   Of course...I will have to have a couple of cookies before I crash for the night.


Here's a link to the recipe for the cookies:

They are delicious and not hard to make.  Plus, they're sort of rich so you won't eat too many at one time.  Make sure you have some milk to enjoy these with...I have a feeling I'll be mad again soon because I know we're low on milk.  Ugh!  Goodnight!

Family--what it's all about!

What a day!!  I am getting used to being awake for long periods of time again.  Summers off are really great, but they sure throw off a routine.

Today I visited tons of family!

Family Visit 1:
My old family at my previous schools.  Awww.  I will miss them so much.  I got to see the secretary and guidance counselor--two of my favorite people!  They were like my sisters there and I will miss them so much!  I am definitely bringing the baby to visit after she arrives.

Family Visit 2:
Nephew, sisters and mother-in-law!  I wish there was an alternate name for mother-in-law.  I feel like that has a more negative connotation than it should now-a-days.  I really like her and my sisters-in-law a bunch!  We had a great visit--drove over to see my girl Hope who is also pregnant.  She's having a baby girl, Claire, in about 4 weeks (or sooner!)!  We're all so excited!  Henry, my nephew, came along and was as sweet as could be and just loooooved on Hope!  So fun.  Great visit.  Got to visit with Gina, another sister-in-law fresh in from Oregon, which was great since I haven't seen her much with all of the distance and all.

Family Visit 3:
Mom called from Belgium.  Hello stranger!  It'll be nice to have her back in town for sure.  My sister gets back tomorrow evening--I'm excited about that too!

Family Visit 4:
The In-laws' for dinner!  Got to see Henry and Gina again, plus Eric and Mrs. B and Mr. R.  Good times.  Eric and B had a great time playing with some of their old toys and with Henry--so cute to watch.  I was mostly a lump.  I need to get some more energy!  Great visit though.  Henry and I read some books together.  Masters of the Universe.  He has such an amazing attention span for a three year old (or for a human in general).  He went through two WHOLE books--I read all of them and asked questions and asked him to predict what was going to happen.  I mean, he stayed with me the whole time and was all into it.  Amazing.  Eric and Gina are Masters of the Parenthood--they've done an awesome job with Henry.

Now we're home...and I have a meeting for work tomorrow, so I'm going to bed.  At 8:20.  Am I extra lazy or is this pregnancy?  I have a hard time telling the difference between me being pregnant and me being fat and lazy (since before I was pregnant I tended to be fat and lazy).  My ankles are the size of apples all the way around....that ain't cool.

Officially starting work tomorrow!  Can't wait to see what I'm doing this year--the more I know the more I will love it (I hope).

No news on B's job yet.

Working Out the Prenatal Back Pain

I have been super lazy as of late, and my back is definitely reflecting that laziness in the form of pain!  My goodness it's hard to go to bed when you know you'll be uncomfortable all night and wake up with one side in enough pain that you can't walk right away.  I am not sixty!

I realized that the only difference was my level of activity, so I figured I'd better bump it back up!  My good friend leant me copies of Prenatal Yoga, Prenatal Pilates (10 minute workouts), and the Perfect Pregnancy Workout.  I figured that even the heat couldn't be a good excuse not to workout at all when I have these at the house.

Perfect Pregnancy Workout (with Karyne Steben):  Hardcore, but soooo helpful!  The squats and lunges and hip circles and pelvic tilts and "keep it up exercise"--they are all bearable (even for a larger lady like myself) and make you feel so strong and in control of your body.  I highly recommend this one--skip any parts that seem too difficult, and you'll still get a great workout all around.  I like that she works out your arms too--we'll need those for when the baby arrives!

Prenatal Pilates (with Lizbeth Garcia):  Great!!  10 minute bits--do whatever you have time for and want to focus on.  There's a great segment on flexibility that helps fix my back aches and stretch things out so that I feel like that baby has more room to move (and thus--I can breathe a lot better).  Plus, they're short, so you can't really make up an excuse not to do it.

Prenatal Yoga (with Shiva Rea):  I haven't tried it.  I've never done yoga (or pilates for that matter) before, and this one requires a chair, a block, a strap, some folded blankets....I rarely want to take that much time to prep for a workout and our living room doesn't accommodate that much stuff.  It looks like it would be a good idea though.

Anywho--just after doing some of the first workout and then a the flexibility pilates I had no back pain.  It's insane how much they helped and how quickly.  Now I have no excuses to be a lazy moo on the couch.

However....that's what I did today.  B had a big interview out of town and we stayed up all night getting him prepared, then woke up at 3:30 to a really crazy lightning storm, then he left at around 5:30 and I half slept until about 8:30 when I realized he hadn't called to say if he landed or not.  (He had--whew.)  I guess the stress of his interview rubbed onto me and I've been a mess all day--unable to focus on anything.  It's over, he is pleased with how he did, and he'll be back in about four more hours.  :/  Long day!

As far as my job goes:  I have no idea what is going on!  I went to get the paperwork to fill out and will go return it tomorrow.  However, I just found out that there's a new teacher orientation at my school tomorrow.  Seems like I should be there for that!  I don't know when it starts, but I may have to go in.  This is the most unorganized I've ever been at the beginning of a school year, and it's extra crazy because I don't have a classroom and can't plan anything until I meet my students.  I don't even know how much I'll get to see them-it will vary student to student.  Panic.  We start next week.

I miss having a classroom, by the way.  It's been a long time.  I think I will do well with my gifted enrichment position, but booyyyyy what I wouldn't give to go back to teaching high school social studies in a classroom.  I genuinely feel like that is something I am very good at, and it's something I really enjoy.  It is nearly impossible for me to find a position in that field though with all of the coaches taking priority--gotta have our sports down South.  Social Studies often gets shafted, which may explain why I hated it for so long.

**Of course there are some excellent teachers that teach a variety of subjects that are coaches as well--I'm not trying to peg them all in that hole!  One of my very good friends was definitely born to teach social studies, but also to coach--and he's great at both.  I just know of certain cases where someone who was an athlete was offered a social studies teaching job without even being a certified teacher.  That is what makes me burn up a bit.  I had a science teacher and a couple of social studies teachers in high school who were just coaches (not teachers) and boy could I tell.

Black hole rant of doom over:  Let's go give these gifted kids something to think about!  Time to get ready to challenge young brains!  

Did you enjoy being challenged academically in high school??

My answer:  YES!!  But it didn't happen often enough because I didn't take any of the tough classes; I was lazy and afraid to have to work too hard and end up not doing well anyway.  I feel like that's what happens to gifted kids--they need practice doing challenging things so that they can attack things in a successful way.  I have a goal!

Hand Massage to the Rescue!

Last day of birthing classes today (yes, these were short).  We got to watch some pretty graphic natural births.  The first one was so easy that the lady was just "oooh." and done--and there was some seriously graphic ...fluids there.  Ew.  There wasn't much emotion afterwards and the mom was kissing on the dad, not much focus on the baby...which I thought was odd. 
In the second video the lady was in some serious pain and it lasted a good while, but the dad was doing some great things to help:
1. Massage techniques
2. Cold compress on face (which she batted away during one contraction--hilarious--I can see me doing that)
3. Using warm water in the shower
4. Singing "She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes" to the mom. 
   **** Birth Coaches Everywhere:  Please do not do this unless the mom has requested it or it is a special song to you and your partner. ****
  I would have had to slap this man.

Anyway--the whole class was a great experience, and I feel empowered enough to give natural birth a serious shot.  I feel like we have a great idea of what to expect (although I'm prepared for the unexpected to happen--everyone's different) and I have some really good tools to use to combat pain and distract myself from it.  However--the most important tool I've got is Brian.  Yes, it sounds like I just called him a tool--but I mean that in a great way. 

B is going to be an awesome birth coach--he teared up with me during the second birth video.  When the mom and dad saw that baby they both started crying (the Dad was sobbing) and we were both immediately teary-eyed and both agreed that that'd probably be us.  He's also very flexible with what needs to be done, willing to try many things, isn't a quitter, and keeps me laughing when I need to be and focused and encouraged when that's what I need.  He's going to do an awesome job, and we are both going to be so overwhelmed with love when our little girl comes out that we'll probably be sobbing with joy.  Good thing there will be no cameras--it'll just be Mom, Dad, and Camille...awww.  Maybe one photo (with lots of editing).

We learned about back labor this afternoon and tried out some back massage methods:  they hurt!  Not my thing.  I recommend a hand massage technique referred to as "break the popsicle". 

 You just hold onto the sides of the hand and use your thumbs--start them in the center and slowly press and drag to the outsides of the hand as though you're splitting a pair of popsicles.  LOVE THIS! 

The other technique was a little more complex, but it basically did the same thing--spread the hand (palm side up) while your thumbs massage right around the wrist and inside of the palm.  You have to interlock your pink and ring fingers with their fingers (leaving their middle finger out) and then use your thumbs to massage the palm--hard to explain).  It is amazing how great this feels and how much tension it releases.  I couldn't find pictures, and B's busy so he couldn't demonstrate.

B's got a big job interview tomorrow in another state--we're hoping it works out for him!  Keep him in your thoughts and prayers--safe trip and smooth interview/presentation/interaction!  He's going to be practicing his presentation all night, so I'm going to do some more pregnancy pilates and stretches.  More on that tomorrow (I'll have all day to blog since B will be traveling all day)!

Breathe in...2....3.....4....

Oh yes--birthing classes!  We started today!

I feel way more equipped to birth this little nugget.  It was eye-opening.  The more I learn the more at peace I feel about labor, and I even get excited about the experience.  We are planning to go 100% natural, so we're praying there aren't any complications or challenges that would prevent that from happening.

So far everything is going well.  I loved hearing the doctor say, "her little but is up there"--meaning she's head down and hopefully will stay that way.

We practiced breathing techniques, relaxation methods, massages, and positions.  I am all about the birthing ball and the big tub (I LOVE water!).  We are also thinking of using the birthing bar--which allows you to deliver squatting.  Whaaaat?  Way cool.  The hospital bed does amazing things and goes into tons of positions, so apparently there are lots more options than there used to be.  You can even deliver laying on your side--this shocks me more than squatting.  Squatting makes sense to me...laying on your side doesn't--anyone want to explain the benefits of that?

What's really helping encourage us with natural birthing is that my sister-in-law has already done it and had a good experience, plus my best friend is going natural in December, and I have another sister-in-law planning to go natural in just about 4 weeks!  I feel more motivated to stick with it since there are a bunch of people I know and love sticking with it.

I really want to experience the high of those birth hormones after delivery too!

Today while we were practicing our breathing through a "contraction" and practicing using massage at the same time with our coaches, B was counting for my breathing and massaging my jaw.  I had my eyes closed and was focused and relaxed....and then he stuck his thumbs in my nostrils.  I laughed so hard that I think I distracted half of the class--what a goober.  I don't know if him doing that during an actual contraction will be funny or not, but it was a great distraction, and apparently all of our techniques are just distraction methods.  "Smoke and mirrors" to dilute our acknowledgement of the pain.  If distractions work, then we're set.  He definitely made me laugh at other things when I was focused--I hope that's what I need when it comes!

We're going to start packing up that bag-o-goodies for the labor room soon.  Apparently we need to include "5 or 6 pair of socks" incase they get "soiled"....ew.  I'll leave the rest of the details to your imagination since you may not want to know.

One Step Closer!

We have things on walls!  I repeat:  Things are on walls!!  Both of those nouns are plural, which makes me extremely proud and excited and I feel a great deal of relief at not having to worry more about them.

Some of the things on the walls are not finished, but if they don't get finished I won't be crushed--plus it's easier to add things to them than to measure and hang them--I hate that part!  Brian definitely helped out for this part of the work and was so proud of his hammering skills:  "Did you ever think I'd be able to hammer that fast?"....No.  No I didn't.

Those are the main walls.  We'll have her name above the crib (soon hopefully) and there's a little plaque above her closet door--I'll get pictures of those next time.  The empty frames are going to have some little nature scenes that my mom and I make out of fabric when she returns from Europe.  Maternity photos from mustard.seed.photography are going in the pink and green frame (they are amazing photos!!!).  The owls will have eyes and wings--you saw how that was going (bleh so far).  We have some super awesome and funky owl pushpins for the bulletin board, and I think I'm going to laminate an L and an R for breastfeeding help (I have no memory).  Plus we can put pictures up there (laminated) to take and use to keep Camille awake during feeding.  I don't know--we'll come up with something to put up there--it was a forty cent bulletin board--I had to add it!

It feels so good to have some actual color in the room! 

Today I picked up the packet of paperwork for my new job and mannnn what a drag.  I have to go get fingerprinted (I have done this three years in a row already...round 4!), I have to send one form to ALL previous employers, and another form to just one previous employer--and they have to return these on their own.  This wouldn't be so bad if I could fax them over and have them faxed back.  However...I don't have a fax machine and there is no return fax number on the forms.  What???  Really???  2010???  I don't have the brain capacity to keep track of everything right now, so it stresses me out a little bit.  Of course...you can imagine how I feel about a new job that provides very little structure--I kind of make it up as I go.  I am going to be making lists and carrying a calendar like an event planner.  It's madness.

Red onion breath is the worst!  Broccoli salad:  good idea; adding red onions:  bad idea!

I am starting to have a ton of trouble sleeping at night.  I had worked out a system originally with one of those study pillows that has two arm rests--you know the ones?  I had that and then a pillow ramped up to the top of it so I was padded at an angle sleeping on it sitting up.  However, that was not comfortable because I felt like I was sitting, and you know that once you actually pass out you want to be lying down.
Next rig up:  Two giant shams--one under my regular pillow and the other just below it so it was another ramp, but less steep.  Worked GREAT for a week.  Not so much anymore--my lower back is killing me when I wake up. 
Next rig up:  Regular sleeping pillow then a giant sham under my belly to prop it up.  Worked okay for a while, but as soon as I tried to roll to my other side it moved.  I couldn't prop myself up to resituate it so it was a huge ordeal in the middle of the night.  I also rolled onto my back at one point, so I was sleeping on a hill.  Very awkward.
What to do tonight?  I am pretty close to couch sleeping.  I don't want to though--I'll miss B.  Some of our best chats and laughs are while we're trying to go to sleep. 

Example:
Our nephew plays a game with B where he pulls his arms into his sleeves and pretends he has no arms.  Well, I was trying to imitate that last night to show B that our nephew remembered playing that with him.  As I went to pull my arm in my neck pocketed some air into my shoulder and made a huge fart noise.  (There's that Southern Belle Language again!)  It was so loud--and immediately B goes, "Did you rip your shirt?" and kept asking--I couldn't answer because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.  Mostly, I was laughing because he kept asking that so frantically.  Ooooooh it was awesome.  Once I was able to explain what happened he started laughing all over again.  It was priceless.  I don't want to miss out on moments like that!

One of his responses after all of this was, "let's workout tomorrow".  My neck really is getting that fat?!?!!  Hahhahaa--ooooh--I am glad I can laugh at that. 

Having said that (a la Larry David):  I'm off to workout.

How can a human body be this small?








It's just hard to picture an actual human child in this--especially since we'll be responsible for her safety and health.  Whew.  Scary.

Most of the baby laundry is done and the dresser's getting packed up!  It's so fun looking at all of the sweet little outfits (that smell wonderful now--yay!).  She is going to be so snuggly and adorable--I can't wait to hold her (if B ever lets me--he is an infamous baby hog; thank goodness we're breastfeeding!  That may be my only chance!).

Today I did a very small amount of research into a pediatrician.  I definitely got some mixed messages on how to go about doing that.  First I was told:  Go, meet, interview; then they will come to the hospital and check her out before you go home.  When I actually called I was told:  Wait til she's born, then call.  ???  Hmmm....maybe a sign I should find another doctor?  However, I've heard many wonderful things about this one, so I'm going to call again tomorrow (with a higher pitched voice) and ask different questions to see if I can get different answers.  I'm glad it's at least easier than I thought it would be to find one that's good and nearby.

B's quote of the day:  "Mannnn...she's going to have a buffet!"  Yes, they're big.  Yes, I'm getting big.  No--that's not necessarily what I wanted to hear, but it was pretty hilarious.  He just keeps the laughs coming!

Step Away From The Baby Clothes...

Steps--see a theme?  It's because it was recently brought to my attention that I have an obsession with my pedometer (which I haven't worn in several days, because I know I'm not getting the steps I should be getting in on a daily basis).

From what I've heard/been told (I haven't researched this at all), people should be getting an average of 10,000 steps a day.  When I was on a recent vacation in Belgium I averaged 12-15,000 a day (approximately 5-6 miles a day!).  When I got home I hadn't gained a single pound (after eating Belgian waffles, chocolates, and french fries almost daily and being 7 months pregnant).  Now that I've been home for almost three weeks I have already gained four pounds!!!  This is because I am averaging only 2,000 steps a day!  It doesn't help that Louisiana is hot like pancake wrapped sausages--all sticky and soggy.  Bleh.

Sometimes I'll walk back and forth to the bathroom just to get a couple of extra steps in.  Every bit helps, right?

Our recent baby adventure has been to get clothing ready.  I have an amazingly selfless friend who hooked us up with three large bags of baby girl clothes for free.  I was super excited, of course, to be able to save money and because a ton of the clothes are super cute.  There's even an LSU cheer outfit and a Tiger costume (Halloween--check!).  I'm also very weird about using things that aren't mine or don't come from people I know directly.  (She received these clothes through a cousin's friend....)

Luckily, another friend of mine (from birth) is pregnant and she's been having these radical successes with Oxyclean.  She managed to get a yellowed from age blanket perfectly white and get fish oil out of a shirt that had been washed already.  Excitement!

Here's how it went down:  We get the baby clothes into the tub to soak with Oxyclean and realize that the clothes smell like cat pee.  It's not too bad at first, but once you add water...it is pretty overwhelming. Luckily I'm a little congested, but my poor husband!  We soaked the clothes with oodles of powder for about 12 hours (this is just batch one).  Next we washed it with Dreft and dried it on high heat.  Batch two:  Same water, more Oxyclean--the water was still soapy.   Here's the water, post batches of baby clothes:

No, that is not Louisiana water's style.  We actually have great water here, so you can imagine how gross this is coming from baby clothes.  Please ignore our old-style marbled bathroom wall--we're still renters.

So far, the verdict is that after soaking and washing (and rinsing twice...and maybe washing just once more) that the clothes are fine.  I have deeply inhaled through some items we've dried and there is no smell left.  Whew.  I'm still thankful for my wonderful friend and for not having to buy tons of clothes that apparently only last for a wear or two.

Happier Picture: we've finished painting our corner shelf and it's in place.  We have a few little trinkets on there, but it'll fill up soon.  We've also cut out some different colored papers to try on wings and eyes for our owl shelves:

I know--they look strange.  The eyes have pencil-colored dots in the center to try to better picture them with black centers.  There will be a white circle, then a black one inside of the colored eyes.  I am also going to make the eyes bigger (maybe).  Pretty good idea of what they'll look like though.  We also have other patterns of paper to try out.

Ladies...here's a question for you.  If you are in the OB's office and aren't feeling well (possibly from morning sickness or from the glucose test), which of the following would you do:

A) notify the doctor that you have to leave because you are that ill

B) sit in the large comfy chairs right outside of the bathroom--just incase

C) sit in the waiting room with a garbage can between your legs--just incase

Well.  Considering I have few to zero readers, I will go ahead and let you in on a shocking truth.  There was a woman in the waiting room (surrounded by other women, children, and some men) with a trash can at her feet.  Sometimes she was even leaning over it rocking back and forth.  I mean...really?  She was undergoing the dreaded three hour glucose test, so I know she wasn't feeling too hot (I don't really know that...the one hour test didn't phase me at all...but I've heard it's awful).  However, does that mean it's okay to puke in front of people at a doctor's office?  How unsanitary is that?!?!!!  I'd like to think that she's in a minority of people.  What happened to Southern Ladies?  No, I'm not really one either...I did just use the word "puke".

Words of encouragement from my husband that all women should be so lucky to hear:  "oooooh mannnn, you're going to RIP!"....yes.  Yes, he was talking about during labor.  All I can say in response to that is:  He's hilarious, and probably right.  Ouch.  I'm still anti cutting; let's just see what happens.  If I have to get stitches either way, let's just wait it out incase I have a tiny-headed baby (not likely).

Stepping Up

Well, even though it's unofficial (as far as I know), I can't keep a secret and I have to announce that I have a new job.  I am going to be teaching gifted enrichment at my old high school this year!  I have finally moved out of middle school and back into the High School World I love so much. 

It's good to be back working with this age bracket (I haven't started yet, but I can just feel the difference already), but I'm a little weirded out by returning to my alma mater.  There are actually still teachers and staff there from when I attended, and it is very hard to treat them as co-workers rather than revered elders.

Also, my gifted supervisors are my mentors from years and years back and now they want to be on a first name basis.  Not going to happen.

I am excited about a new job, but it's such odd timing.  I'll be out from October to January with my little one, so I'll miss just about the entire first semester of school.  It's going to be hard to establish myself with such a wide gap.  The pressure is on.  I'm the first full time gifted teacher at the school (I think ever??), and it's my job to build the program from scratch...definitely a challenge!  I hope I can step up.

Gifted education is definitely a tricky area with a lot of teachers, which I didn't realize until last year when working with teachers who had no idea what "gifted" was.  It is not typically viewed as a necessary branch of special education by people who have not worked with gifted students directly.  However, if you know gifted students--you know the need some special services!  

I'm not sure on statistics and I did just hear this from a professor in college, but here's a little fact that scared me:  A lot of the people who are homeless and are living that way without seeking help from facilities are gifted.  Again, I'm not sure on the accuracy of that or what "a lot" means, but it made sense to me.  People who are considered gifted are just motivated so differently from most people and are genuinely only interested in what they are interested in; you can't force them to do things just because it seems like a good idea.  Then, there's also the "I'm not used to being challenged" side of things--when things get tough they might panic and not even try because they've never encountered that kind of feeling before.  I can see how those factors would lead to someone living independently on the streets and in their own little world.

That was a random aside, but I always think back to hearing that when I think of people overlooking the needs of gifted students.  They are a special group of people for sure.  Gifted adults are a whole other conversation.

Back to mamma-hood.

I'm definitely making room for my baby girl, and I've got the proof on my belly.  I've juuuust started getting little red lines around the bottom of my belly.  You would know I'd make it to week 31 without any marks, and then BAM!  Permanent skin stretching.  Dang.  She's worth it though--I'll get through it. Luckily, my husband has been great about it and is so complimentary about me that I still feel beautiful and attractive.  It's like he works magic!

Today is baby laundry day!  I couldn't be more excited about washing clothes.  I'm going to clean out the antique dresser and let it air so I can pack it full of soft baby goodness.  Also: finishing all things painted today and adding wings and eyes to our owl shelves.  My Dad cut these out for us--I love them!  Here's a look at the pieces I've got to work on...

Baby Steps

I'm baby-stepping into this whole blog journey. Stepping: that's right.

I would like to document our journey into parenthood (motherhood specifically) and life as it comes to us, but I'm not sure how to approach it or which voice suits me.

Here are some practice voices:

"Oh man, the whole idea of becoming a Mom is pretty awesome. I feel like I am almost becoming a new person and it's so exciting!"

"Motherhood is already taking over my life, and we're still two months away from the due date. I'm overwhelmed by feelings of joy and hope and love."

"How have mothers done this for centuries and not exploded with the intensity of delight and fear that builds up before baby even arrives?"

I mean....those three say the same basic things, but so differently. How introspective do I want to be? How much is just too much? I'm sure it will depend on the mood I'm in at the time of writing. Let's practice the "I haven't slept in 12 hours because Baby's sick" voice:

"Holy crap. Being a mom is hard work, but it is great."--to the point and honest; I like it.

Just to give you an idea about who I am, let's recap the last 7 months, plus a tad more:

I'm Pam, and I never wanted to get married or have kids...prior to meeting my husband, and then my nephews. These fellas all pushed me to be a more loving person and now look at me: Married and Pregnant!  I've always had a super loving family, but I've always liked being free to do what I want when I want.  I guess now I'm grown up enough to make that sacrifice.

I've loved being pregnant and we are so thrilled about welcoming our baby girl (unless there was a mistake in the ultrasound, which we are prepared for): Camille Aline to our family in October. I've never seen my husband, B, more giddy and bubbly. He's become a lover of all things miniature and pink, and he's brought me along with him. We're getting our nursery ready (a major undertaking) and we're learning more and more about natural birth in preparation for our big day.

That information should help sort out any future posts.