The Week in Review

Well, here is one thing I've learned this week: when I'm 34 (almost 35!) weeks pregnant, it takes me a loooong time to recover from a weekend of fun and festivity. I had so much fun last weekend (I don't think I mentioned that my two sisters-in-law and two nieces, my mother, and my aunt came to town for the shower), but I still have that "hit by a truck" feeling. Add that to the fact that it was Graduation Writing Test week and my 10th graders are reading Julius Caesar (which, I'm sorry, I just don't enjoy teaching although I try to fake my love for it), and it has seemed like a really long week.

Other happenings this week: Thank goodness the new fall TV season started. Although I've Fake TiVoed most of my shows and plan to watch them at some point this weekend, I did catch my guilty pleasure, Dancing with the Stars. I wasn't really looking forward to this season because I didn't really care about any of the "celebrities," and I thought it was too soon after the last season, which ended, I think, in late May. I have to confess, though, that I think I'm really going to like it. Most of the celebrities seem likable, and there are some really promising dancers in the mix. My favorites are Jennie Garth (look, I loved 90210 back in the day) and Helio the Racecar Driver. He may be my schoolgirl crush for this season.

Last night, Darryl and I took a Baby Essentials class so that we could learn how the proper way to feed, bathe, and diaper our newborn. It was quite fun and informative. I've changed a few diapers in my life (but Darryl has probably changed more than I have), but I never feel like I'm doing it the right way, and I have NEVER bathed a baby. We have our hospital tour this Sunday, and then next week, we're taking Infant CPR. From that point on, the education--which I'm sure will be quite vast and overwhelming--will be hands on.

Tonight, I'm having the most fun I've ever had doing laundry...I'm washing baby clothes! I have to confess that I opened the washing machine lid several times to look at my pink and white onesies swishing in the water. I'm sure the laundry isn't much fun when it is, you know, soiled by various gross substances that I won't specify, but for right now, I'll bask in this moment of baby preparation.

Yep, that's about it for us. I have a long "to do" list for this weekend...I'm crossing my fingers that I get everything accomplished.

Baby Shower!

Saturday, my friend Jessica C. threw a baby shower for me. I'm having a school shower in a couple of weeks, so this one included some family and some of my non-teacher friends. It was lots of fun...good friends and family, fun conversation, delicious food (chicken salad on croissants, spinach salad, fruit salad, and cake), and very generous and beautiful gifts. I'll say this much--the baby is definitely going to be one sharply dressed gal.

Here are some highlights...

The beautiful cake:


From Left to Right: Darryl's Aunt Carol Sue, my cousin Victoria, my mother, and my Aunt Winifred:



Here's Jessica measuring me for the infamous baby shower game "How Big Is She?":


Here's a shot of some of my friends and family:


This was a bit of a gag gift from Darryl's cousin and his wife. Most of you know that Darryl and I aren't telling the name of the baby, much to the frustration of many of our friends and family. Brandy (Darryl's cousin's wife) figured that since she couldn't get anything monogrammed with the baby's real name, she would just give us a onesie monogrammed with "No Name." Ha!



Here I am chatting it up with my friends Tiffanie and Sheri; my friend Lisa is in the background, talking with my cousin Victoria:

It really was a fun time, and I am tremendously grateful for the friends and family I have. Good times!

This and that

The most eventful thing that has happened over the past few days is that Darryl returned home from a 3-week stint in South Africa. That was officially his last international trip for a while, and I was (and still am) really, really, really glad to have him home. He's also been treating me very well the past few days, cooking dinner two nights in a row while I sacked out on the "big chair."

I'm tired of hearing about OJ.

Funny dog story: Tonight Darryl and I were eating our dinner (grilled pork chops), and about halfway through our meal, Darryl noticed that Abby, our dog, was not in her usual dinnertime spot; she typically sits by the table, staring longingly at whatever we're eating. We immediately jumped up from the table, afraid that our gate was open and she had gotten out, but we quickly discovered where she was: the little boy next door was throwing Cheerios over the fence to her. Daniel (the little boy) loves Abby, and he was so cute taking a bite of his snack and then throwing part of it to her. I'm not sure how Abby felt when she realized she missed out on pork chops to have Cheerios, though...

The glass half full

I guess I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning because I am in a really good mood.

I just returned from Dunkin' Donuts (don't judge me), and the thermometer on my car said 66 degrees. It makes me think that fall might actually be on the way. Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. Fall festivals, county fairs, Homecoming at school, pumpkin patches, sweaters brought out of their summer retirement...I love all these things. To top it all off, I'm excited about the tremendous life change that Darryl and I will experience in November. I know from all my friends and family who have kids that this will also be a time of being overwhelmed, exhausted, and perhaps even "blue" from time to time, but I'm still excited about it.

I also can't complain about school these days. My mother commented the other day that when she asks how my day was, I'll reply, "All right" or "fine" instead of saying it was really good or great. Honestly, the only thing that keeps it from being good or great is my constant fatigue. Taking a break from seniors, however, has been a drastic improvement. I have a good group of juniors who have helped me remember why I like teaching. My honors sophomores have been a bit of a struggle in the sense that they don't seem very academically motivated, but I'm hoping they'll come around.

So all is good. I am about to grade essays, though, so I'm not sure how long this mood will last...note that while I did say I like my students, I did not say they are great writers. :)

Random Thoughts

I don't think I can put together a coherent paragraph, but here are some random thoughts...

1--I'm so very tired when I come home from school. I confess I've done nothing the past two evenings except watch TV and read magazines. And eat. And nap.

2--Why does Rosie always want to create drama?

3--The Fat March finale was last night. It's time for new fall TV.

Why do four-day weeks...

...seem longer than a full week? All the people in my lunch group seemed especially tired today, and we all agreed this week seemed longer than usual.

This week has been quite busy with grading and class prep. Next week is going to be easier for me, thank goodness; my juniors will be watching The Crucible (I'll think of you, Jen!), and my sophomores are going to be working on a research project.

I just looked at my stomach in the mirror and I think it actually looks bigger since this morning. Is that possible?

Ugh

I have to grade essays and I don't wanna.

The Past Few Days--Baby Shower and Parents' Visit

Thursday, my 2nd period 10th grade honors class threw me a surprise baby shower. Now, before you are completely overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness, I must say that I think part of this was motivated by a strong desire to have a party. Regardless of the motivation, though, they did give me two gifts--one was an arrangement of towels, bibs, booties, blankets, and diapers designed to look like a cake, and the other was a goody bad for me full of bath/spa products. (I took a picture of the "cake" arrangement, but I realized after I loaded the pic that I had also captured the card with my full name on it...so I don't really want to post it here. I'll take another pic soon and post it, though, because it is really cute.) And there was cake. The students were all very sweet.

You may notice from the pic how enthusiastic the boys are about their first baby shower. Also, I constantly tell this class that they remind me of a 6th grade dance because the boys sit on one side and the girls on the other. Now, if I could only get this class to put as much preparation into their reading and essay writing as they do into their party planning...

In other news, my parents have been here since Thursday. Darryl had to work out of town this weekend, so they came up for a visit. I have enjoyed having them here. We've been eating well (Friday, my mom made roast, mashed potatoes, okra, peas, cornbread, banana pudding...yum!), and we did some shopping. My dad also put together a closet organizer for the baby's room. My mother already has purchased a bag of clothes for the baby, and she couldn't resist buying the baby her first pair of jeans the other day while we were at Kohl's.

Oh, one last thing...you must go to Jen C's blog and read the diary entries she's posted from when she was 15 years old in 1987. Hilarious!