January 31, 2011

     Tomorrow is the big day!  I am so excited and nervous that I can't sleep!  We find out if Baby VH is a girl or a boy tomorrow morning (if Baby VH cooperates). Tim and my mom are both going to the ultrasound too. I feel like once we know, it will make everything seem more real.  I am really excited about getting to see the baby.  During my last couple of visits, I have gotten to hear the heart beat, but I haven't gotten to see the baby since it was 8 weeks.  Of course, we just want to make sure the baby is healthy.

     Today author, Lester Laminack, came to school.  It was interesting to see him work with a group of students and then debrief about the lesson.  He is always humorous, and apparently Baby VH liked him too.  He/she was kicking up a storm while he was talking.

I will post tomorrow afternoon with pictures and the exciting news!

Halfway There!

I am 20 weeks today, so we are halfway there!  We find out if Baby VH is a boy or girl one week from today! I am finally getting some of my energy back!  It is nice not being exhausted all of time!  I still feel the baby move but not as much as last week, and I haven't felt any official kicking yet!  We are so excited about getting to see the baby next week.  It has been 12 weeks (13 next week) since I have had an ultrasound!  It is probably a good thing that I don't know what the baby is yet, because I would have already spent a fortune! Everything is either pink or blue.  They just don't make a lot of baby stuff that is not gender specific! Next time post it will be to let everyone know if we are going to have a Brooklyn or a Jackson!

Is it really almost over?

I have to admit that even though I got bored, I really did enjoy having all of last week off of school! (By the way, our deck is still covered in snow. We still had a lot in our backyard yesterday, but most of it melted today!) Friday was a furlough day anyway, so we just have 4 days to make up at some point. I have missed my kids though, and I am longing to be back on a routine. Of course I know I will be exhausted and overwhelmed on Tuesday.

Tim and I had a great Saturday. We started off with a wonderful breakfast at William's Hardware. They have the best pancakes, and you can't beat the prices! We get two cups of coffee, an order of pancakes, an order of French toast, and a plate with bacon, eggs, home fries, and biscuit for under $15. Then we went to Old Navy and bought some baby clothes. They were on sale and then an extra 40% off, so you can't pass up blue jeans for $2. We also went to Babies-r-Us to try out strollers. We actually practiced opening and folding the stroller, and putting the car seat back in the stroller. That helped us make our decision on which one we wanted. We had kind of already picked it out based on Consumer Reports, but this made it easy. We also went to Buy Buy Baby and to the mall. You could tell that everyone had been snowed in, because everywhere was packed! Tim is a good sport about looking at all the baby stuff, so I am very grateful that he puts up with me and the fact that I could probably go to those baby stores everyday and find something new to look at!

Baby News
We have picked out new bedding for the baby. The other ones I absolutely fell in love with, but I cannot bring myself to pay over $400 for baby bedding. (That could buy a lot of diapers!) I am kind of picky about this. A lot of people like to decorate with bedding that has lots of cute little animals all over it or Winnie the Pooh or something. That is all you kind find at Babies-r-Us, Target, or Buy Buy Baby. I just want something different that I won't get tired of. (I mean this is all about me, right?) I have finally found some things that I like at Pottery Barn, and those sets are actually not any more expensive than the ones at Babies-r-Us. Then we will have to buy a rug and some curtains!


Here is what we like for a baby girl. We will paint the room a pale green color and use cupcakes as accents. Tim bought me some cupcake canvas paintings a couple of years ago that would look cute. I also have the stuffed cat and the book If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.



Here is what we like for a baby boy. We will paint the walls some sort of blue. Then we will use monkeys as accents. ( I know monkeys are a type of cute little animal, but they are not all over everything!).

I am almost 19 weeks. I think that I can sometimes feel the baby move especially at night. Usually it is like a little flutter even though last night I think I felt a kick. Of course, it might not be anything at all. I can't wait until I can really start feeling the baby move. Two more weeks until we find out if Baby VH is a girl or boy!

Day 3 No School

So I was not as bored today as I was yesterday. This morning we worked on cleaning out the closet in the Baby's room. We also got all of the baby stuff that we already have organized. It is nice to have that stuff done. I finally got my Grace's chicken club, and it was just as good as I imagined it! Then we went to play with Murphy and Maria in the snow. I think Tim had more fun on the sled than they did! We are both out of school AGAIN tomorrow! I am also out on Friday for a furlough day, and then we are both out on Monday for MLK, Jr. day. Now I need to start planning what we are going to do tomorrow. I suggested cleaning and organizing the attic, but Tim didn't really like that idea!

It probably seems like I don't like snow, but I do. I think it is absolutely beautiful when it first falls! I love to just look out the window, but then it starts to melt. It turns yucky colors like brown, black, and gray. Then I don't like it anymore! Our backyard still looks pretty, but the front is looking yucky! That is why I like snow the first couple of days, and then I am just done with it! Bring on 80 degrees! I am so ready! (That would mean it is closer to Baby time too!)

Winter Storm 2011

We have been out of school for two days, and we are going to be out again tomorrow! We have spent today cleaning our house (It has not been this clean since the summer!) and researching car seats and strollers. Can you tell that we are bored? We are starting to go CRAZY being stuck in the house! The roads are still really icy, so we cannot go anywhere! I have not even been out of the house today. I don't want to slip on any ice, fall, and hurt Baby VH! Hopefully, we will be able to get out of the house tomorrow! I am craving a Grace's Chicken Club. Tim said that he would call to see if they are open, but I doubt they are. Even though it is close by, I don't want him driving on the roads. I made vegetable soup yesterday, so we will continue to eat that, but a chicken club would be sooooooooooo good!

It began snowing in the early hours on Monday. We ended up with almost 5 inches of snow at our house. We took Splash for a walk yesterday, and she loved running in the snow. It has been a long time since we have had this much snow and been out of school for so long! It is crazy that we have already had 2 snows within a month!

Splash is excited about the snow!

This is before I took a shower, so I apologize for the gross picture!

I did make Snow Cream yesterday. Tim had never heard of it or had any. It was really sweet, but it was good.


Fresh Snow Snow with Sweetened Condensed Milk


Snow Cream with Vanilla


Hopefully, we can get out of the house tomorrow! We are going to work on cleaning out Baby VH's closet! I almost forgot! I am 18 weeks today! I am feeling much better. I have more energy that I have had in months! In three weeks we will know if Baby VH is a girl or boy! We can't wait to find out! Then we can go register! We are so excited about Baby VH-we hope June gets here soon!

What a week!

Wow! It has been quite a week! The first week back to school/work was pretty good but very busy!

On a good note I went back to the doctor, and everything looks great! I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, and that is always exciting. The next visit is the one we are waiting for- the big ultrasound to find out if it is a girl or a boy! We also made a final decision on a crib and dresser. After all of my indecisiveness, Tim finally made us make a decision. Here is our crib and the dresser. We also bought a chair and ottoman to go in the nursery. We decided to go ahead and order everything, so it is a big relief. It should be shipped by the end of February.

Unfortunately, we had to put our outside kitty, Little Bit, to sleep. We couldn't get her to move from a spot outside, and she wouldn't eat, so Tim took her to the vet. They found out that she had an abscess in her intestine and it was badly infected. There wasn't much they could do for her. Even though, she had only been hanging around for about 6 months, it was still so upsetting! I cried the next day as I pulled into the driveway, and she wasn't waiting on the front porch for me. Tim and I have both had a hard time with it.

Now we are waiting for the snow to come. We are supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow followed by freezing rain/sleet in the next 24 hours. I wish they would go ahead and make a decision for school! Charlotte, Murphy, and Maria turned their pajamas inside out, so hopefully it will work!

Happy New Years!

Happy New Years! I can't believe it is 2011! I have decided to post my resolutions hoping that maybe since they are listed here, I will do a better job of keeping them! :)

Resolutions:

1. Blog more- With the baby coming, I want to blog more and use this as an electronic scrapbook. I also want our family who do not live in SC to be able to see what's happening.
2. Exercise! We have a membership at the YMCA, and I went everyday this summer. It is hard for me to stay motivated during the school year. This year has been especially difficult because I have been so tired!
   
3. Eat healthier- We have been really bad about eating out at least a few times a week. We are going to work on cooking more and hopefully, saving some money!
4. Paying off credit cards-by this time next year, I should be credit card debt free! I will just be in debt to the hospital for the next couple of years!

These resolutions are a work in progress. I might end up adding more.

I hope that everyone has a blessed year full of happiness and good fortune!