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!

The baby's football season attire

This past weekend, our friends Rebecca and Damian came to visit us from Baton Rouge. Their gift for the baby was this fabulous LSU cheerleader outfit. This will definitely be the baby's Saturday attire. Geaux Tigers!!!

More on the stomach touching

Today a random student I don't know walked up to me in the hallway and asked, "Is you pregnant?"

I told her yes, I was, and then she said, "Can I touch your stomach?"

I said, "I'd prefer that you not do that." She said okay and went along her merry way. I'm sure she thought I was a big ol' meanie, but I did not know her at all.

I also have a student who recently returned to school after having a baby six weeks ago. She wants to talk baby with me every day. Now, I'm not one to "shun" these young mothers because many of them have very sad situations and I try to support them any way I can, but at the same time, I don't think we need to be bonding over pregnancy. Kind of strange.

I told TimShady the other day during one of our gab sessions between classes that I'm learning that motherhood is like a club and I'm a new inductee. Suddenly, women who really weren't all that friendly to me want to know all these things about me. When I was married with no kids, I was uninteresting to them. Apparently I'm incredibly fascinating now that I'm with child. Weird.

Pregnancy Brain

I definitely had the pregnancy brain yesterday. My students have been reading and discussing The Crucible for almost two weeks now. Yesterday, I gave several of my classes who were ahead in their reading a Crucible crossword puzzle. Up at the top, I had typed, "The Scarlet Letter, Acts 1 & 2." Even on the board under our agenda for the day, I wrote, "Scarlet Letter Activity." Go me.

School and Stuff

Here's some random stuff from the past few days:

--I had a prenatal massage Sunday. (For those of you who may be curious, the only difference I could tell between it and a "regular" massage is that I was on my back and side for all of it instead of on my stomach. Also, there are supposedly some pressure points that are supposed to be avoided on a pregnant woman.) Anyway, it was WONDERFUL. I told Darryl that I may need to fit in another one of those before November. :)

--I'm really enjoying teaching the juniors so far this year. I know it is kind of soon to speak, but so far, I have no complaints. I do, however, have some complaints with my 10th grade honors class. I'll just say that many of them--heck, the majority of them--probably should not be in an honors class.

--I just had some Publix Premium Monkey Business ice cream. Delicious. (Banana ice cream, chocolate shavings, and chocolate-covered peanuts...seriously.)

--Speaking of ice cream, my new guilty-pleasure TV show is Fat March on Mondays. A) I think it is both impressive and inspiring how much these people are walking. B) The ambulance makes an appearance almost every week. C) It gives me something to look forward to on Mondays.

Yeah, that's about it.

Why I don't like to watch the news...

So I sat down on the couch this morning to watch a little TV to "ease" into my Saturday, and within 10 minutes, this is what I heard about on the local news...

--Vick's involvement in the killing of innocent dogs (something that makes me want to throw up, by the way)
--The discovery of the West Nile Virus in the metro-Atlanta areas
--Armed robberies and assaults
--The danger of OTC cough medicine for young children
--Local car thefts

Happy Morning, Everyone!!!!

Trimesters and School

Well, I've hit the final stretch...the third trimester. Why do I think this will feel like the longest one? I'm feeling okay, but I think the tiredness has returned. I also think this tiredness is combined with the usual tiredness I feel when my body adjusts to starting school again. Anyway, the first item on my agenda when I get home is a nap. Do I really have time to nap? No. But I do it anyway. (That last sentence makes me think of Martina McBride's song "Anyway," except she's talking about big things like loving and dreaming and singing. I just want to nap. Go Martina.)

School is plugging right along. This is my first year without seniors, and I have to admit I'm enjoying the break. Seniors have this certain attitude of "I'm the big, bad senior, so I don't have to do what I don't want to do." I gotta say I'm not missing that. I'm a little disappointed with my two classes of sophomore honors students, and I can't really put my finger on why that is. They all seem like good kids, but both my classes are larger than the honors class I taught last year (last year, I had 13 students, and this year, I have 20+ in each class), and one class--the last class of the day--can be downright obnoxious and loud. Today was a little better, but we still have a ways to go.

My juniors are starting The Crucible tomorrow, and we're reading parts in class. That can either be fun or painful. Cross your fingers for me that it will be the former. I'm looking forward to the line--and fortunately, it takes place early on--when Abigail tells John something along the lines of "Remember when you clutched my back and sweated like a stallion" because that is when the students' interest perks up. :)

Well, speaking of The Crucible, I better start working on my prep. I've taken a nap and I've blogged, so I have no excuses not to work on it. Yay.

Back to School

Today was the "real" first day of school. Overall, it was pretty uneventful, which is good. My seventh period honors class wins the award so far for the loudest class--not bad kids, but they loooooove to talk. Loudly. My quietest and oddest mix of students is my 5th period. I spent most of the class wondering if I should check for a pulse. I guess it's the post-carb-load coma after lunch.

Our school is trying a "standardized dress code" (no jeans, collared or crewneck shirts of certain colors, etc.) this year. I honestly thought it would be a disaster the first day, but surprisingly, most of the students seemed to comply. I'm curious to see how it pans out.

Right after school was over, I was feeling really good, surprisingly energetic. Then on my way home, the exhaustion hit. I had to take a nap this afternoon.

Oh, my glucose test results were normal. That's good. Heaven forbid I cut out starches and sugar.

A long day indeed

Today has been the longest day ever. My day began with the 3-hour glucose test. While it wasn't horrible, it definitely was not the way I would choose to spend my morning. The worst part was that all the blood had to be drawn from one arm (four blood draws total) because the other arm wouldn't produce enough to fill the tube. (Of course, that required another needle prick to determine that.) The good thing is that the lab facility let me leave between blood draws, and Darryl (a.k.a. Husband/Baby Daddy of the Week) came along with me, so we actually drove around and ran errands. That definitely helped break up the time.

After the test, I went to school and worked on this and that. It seems that no matter how much I try to prepare, I end up scrambling at the last minute. For example, I thought I had my schedule set for Thursday and Friday, but I found out yesterday that we may have some kind of assembly Friday where students receive/go through their handbooks. Now I need a Plan B. I'm too tired to think of a Plan B.

From four to six this afternoon/evening, we had Open House. I could actually feel my feet swelling in my shoes. Open House also entails constant smiling and cheerfulness. I wasn't feeling it. Several people touched my stomach. I'm not a fan of the stomach touching. If you are a close friend, I am not offended if you touch my stomach. However, if I don't know you well, please do not touch my stomach. Why do people feel that it is okay to touch a pregnant woman's stomach? People don't touch a non-pregnant woman's stomach. In fact, that would be seen as inappropriate. As we were standing in the hallway, Tim told me that I just needed to go ahead and accept the fact that my female students will touch my stomach. Geez. (How many times can I write "touch my stomach" in one paragraph?)

Let me digress here to say that I truly am excited about this baby, and pregnancy, for the most part, has not been bad (so far). I don't want to sound like an angry, bitter pregnant woman. I'm just amazed at the obsession with the belly...and everyone's apparent entitlement to touch it.

I met Darryl for dinner, and while I was completely famished, I felt as though I could curl up in the booth and go to sleep. Speaking of sleep, I think I'll end this blog now. The bed is calling.

Comments I've Gotten Today

1. From Tim: When I arrived to school this morning, he said, "Don't take this the wrong way because I don't mean it that way, but you look more pregnant today than you did yesterday." (Sorry, Tim--I had to rat you out! All in fun...)

2. From the registrar at our school: "Wook at de wittle belwy. I wuv pwegnant belwies!" (This was said as she rubbed my stomach. If this woman weren't one of the sweetest people ever, I would have been really annoyed.)

3. From our friend Blake, over dinner: "You still have three months to go? You're going to be HUGE!"

First Day

The alarm sounded harsh this morning at 6:00.

The first day back to school (for teachers, anyway) wasn't too bad. I'm kind of glad to be getting back into a routine. My stomach--which obviously has expanded over the past two months--received a great deal of attention. I hope that's out of the way and we can all move on now. (I'm not too great with being the "focus.") Kim, Tim, and I had a good lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately, today was the only full day we had in our classrooms; the rest of the time in our rooms will be an hour here and there between meetings.

On another note, I had a call today from my doctor's office that my glucose test results were "slightly elevated," so I get to have the fun three-hour test Tuesday. I've decided that this will be the real test of whether or not I'm over my needle-phobia; so far, I've done well with all the poking and prodding. Let's hope the streak continues.

Tonight I spent my $100 Teacher Gift Card. I didn't buy anything too exciting--pens, Sharpies, a stapler, and the like. It was fun, though--nothing like buying school supplies courtesy of the state.

She's How Old????

This may seem kind of random, but I almost flipped out the other day when I was browsing through an old magazine and discovered that actress Toni Collette is only a year older than I am. Am I the only one who thought she was...older? (Of course, this starts all those questions like, do I look that old? Does the makeup just make her look old?) No offense to Toni Collette (like she reads this blog or something)--I think she is a really good actress. But seriously...she's only 34??

(You can tell I have a lot to think about these days. Maybe it is time for school to start.)

The Last Days of Summer

School starts for teachers on Thursday, so I'm enjoying these last few days of vacation. On one hand, I'm ready for school to start--I'm excited about teaching 10th Grade Honors and 11th Grade American Lit this year, and I'm also excited about having my planning period first period and I also "should" be ending the day on a somewhat positive note because one of my honors classes is the last class of the day. (I say this because for the last two years, my 7th period classes have been not so great--they would leave me feeling defeated at the end of the school day.) All of these things are things I'm looking forward to. I've also been getting a little bored and restless lately, not really wanting to tackle anything that requires effort, but tired of just doing nothing.

On the other hand, I know that once the papers pile up and the grading begins, I'll be ready for a break. And I've enjoyed much of this summer, having occasional lunches with Darryl and other friends, getting the house organized and cleaned out (not fun at the time but feels good now), working on the baby's room, going to the pool, vacationing with family in Pigeon Forge, and relaxing. I've also enjoyed spending time with my girl, Abby:

You can tell that she has enjoyed a lazy summer, too.

So today I plan to have lunch with Darryl, do laundry, and work on some school things, and tomorrow I will have my glucose screening test done (fun, fun!), relax, and then have dinner with my friend Lisa.

Here's to the last days of summer!