I had such a busy week! Work is work to say the least. Nothing too interesting happened. I did get my 5th period class somewhat civilized, but they still have some barbarisms that need to be worked out. That's next week's mission. Camden has so many updates for this week! Monday we went to get our 4D ultrasound. He did cooperate too much but we still got a peek at his handsome little face. He definitely has his daddy's chubby cheeks and pouty lips! That was definitely the highlight of my week. Who says Monday's are bad?!

Tuesday we went to get his furniture from The Baby's Room in Florence. Of course, we came home and put it together, arranged it, and put his bedding on. This is just a sneak-peek at the nursery. We are in no way finished but inquiring minds want to see what's going on!

Thursday I had to go back to the doctor. My blood pressure was a tad high so I have to go back next week to check it again. That's a little scary, but it seems that this late in the pregnancy things like that start to happen. I mean, I did gain another 4 lbs and doesn't weight make your bp go up?! Mom and I watched some Grey's Thursday night. We finished the gut-wrenching Season 2. I thought I was going to vomit, cry, and pass out all at the same time when Denny died. I mean, I knew he was going to die, but when Izzie crawled into his bed and Alex had to pick her up and get her out...ugh! It killed my soul.

Last night we had our first book club meeting. I was so excited about it and still am! I can't wait to get my book 0rdered and start reading! I also can't wait for our groups to mesh so I don't feel stuck in the middle again! LOL! I know that will happen very soon :) The hard part is going to be refraining from talking about the book to Jaime, Melanie, and Lora whom I talk to every day. Lora and I decided we probably wouldn't even read the book until closer to time for the meeting so we don't talk about it or forget things. Happy Reading to All!!!

Random Thoughts

Well, I survived my first whole week of school but not without its aches and pains! Swelling, fatigue, body cramps, and weight gain (i'm sure) have all increased, but I'm hoping this is just a phase and that my body will get back into the swing of working again. If not, it's going to be a terribly long 8 weeks. Things are going pretty well with the exception of one little bump in the road I like to refer to as 5th period. 5th period makes me want to die twice. This is one of the worst mix of kids I have ever had in my life! I wrote up my first little darling today, and I already have scheduled who I will write up on Monday. Oh, I know that sounds awful and politically incorrect and such, but I have a strategy that hopefully will pan out. Besides 5th period, my day is nice. I have good numbers. For the first time I feel like the majority of the students in my advanced class are truly advanced. The ones who are not are great kids so they are excused! The 8th graders are not as sharp as I would like for them to be, but my job is to teach, and I am really having to challenge myself to dig deep and find a way to get the concepts through to them. It takes a little longer, and I may not finish everything that the state would like for me to do, BUT I am convinced that I have to try my best to teach the concepts and give the students the opportunity to master them and not just move on for the sake of moving.
In other non-school related news, Camden's furniture has arrived with the exception of one (and the most important, I might add) piece that is still THREE WEEKS OUT. But I'm not freaking out...yet! We are going to pick up the pieces that are in on Tuesday and the final piece will be delivered to our home when it arrives. This past Tuesday night I ordered some of the nursery accessories with the money we recieved at the Missouri baby shower. It all came in today! I was super excited, so David and I went to town to get the supplies to hang the curtain panels and valance. It looks so good. I can't wait for the furniture to get in so we can finally post pics of the finished nursery.
Speaking of baby, our 4D ultrasound is Monday at 3:00. I can't wait to get the first glimpse of my baby boy's face. I'm eager to see how big he is. Sometimes it feels like he weigh's about 10 lbs. already. His daddy is just stupid excited about it all! He is so cute. He almost refuses to go to sleep until he feels Camden move. I think Camden is on to the game because when he kicks hard, we both laugh and talk to him. The more we laugh, the harder he moves. It's the greatest thing ever to have those moments with David. I can't imagine being on this journey with anyone but him. I can't wait for our little man to join us in our travels.
Oh and one last thought...book club meets in exactly one week! I'm so excited to get this party started!

New Haircut and Skills!

I have a new haircut, and I like it! I got a wild hair on Friday to cut it so Saturday I had it cut. I do that sometimes. It's pretty short. I felt the need to simplify my morning routine. Right now I value my sleep so much and when my little man comes along, I will not have tons of time to primp in the mornings before work, so it just made sense to make the cut! And all of the "Shear Genius" could have something to do with the need for a change. Pictures will come soon if I can make one that I like! I have been watching a lot of the Olympics this weekend. I like watching the swimming. Since I technically do not know how to swim, it blows my mind that people can swim that quickly. Last night I watched a little of the men's gymnastics even though hubby felt the need to degrade them for being "wimps." I pointed out to him that those wimps could probably beat the crap out of him with one of their massive thighs. (I'm great for his ego, I know!) Then I told him I was going to enroll Camden in gymnastics when he got big enough. I try to get a rise out of him whenever possible! Tonight, I'm watching some of the ladies gymnastics. I am so impressed with all of these athletes, but the gymnast are especially fascinating to me. I have always regretted that I am not more talented. I have made a vow to take up golfing after Camden is born. This is something that my husband really enjoys. I know it's not physically demanding but it requires a lot of skill. David really wants Camden to learn as well. I think it will be a great thing for us to do as a family, and I am SO excited about it. I have already been practicing my swing and stance. David is very patient even though I am not. I do not like not knowing how to do something, and I am very hard on myself. I want to do it perfectly right away! He is very good at praising and encouraging me. I don't know if he's just being nice, but I think I might actually be good at it with some practice. I can't wait to hit the real course!

Slacker!!

I cannot believe I haven't blogged since Monday. I can tell that this is going to be hard to keep up during the school year and even more difficult when my little man arrives. BUT reflecting back to my 101 list, the goal was to blog three times a week, so hopefully I will be able to stick with that. So, I guess I should give updates on my new school year. I have been so scattered because of the randomness of my schedule. I only have three different classes but they are all mixed in together. I had to tape a copy of my schedule to my podium so I would know who was coming to class next! I have first period planning which I will LOVE when we stop having homeroom which cuts my time short. My classes have been very good so far with the exception of the "heart" class known as 5th period. I swear 8th graders behave better than 9th graders and it's quite disgusting! My 5th period consists of about 26 students and that is my biggest class of the day which is not bad at all. The class number fluctuated during the first couple of days and got up to 30 at one point. Plus, I have a special ed. aide and a hearing impaired aide in the room so that makes things extremely crowded! I have already informed that class that they will be "workers" which means I will have to keep them busy the entire 50 minutes of class. FUN! Other than that, I think things will be great. I love my new hall! I love seeing my girls after every class and chatting with them. I'm away from my negative neighbor. I have gained another nuisance but I can handle her. I am looking forward to a great school year!!

Summarizing Skills

Well, I haven't blogged for a bit so I thought I would just summarize what has been going on the past few days. Saturday was such a good day! I took my niece to get a manicure and pedicure and she had the best time! She loved being pampered and trying something new. Saturday we also went to Lexi's birthday party and to the school to do some more work there. Sunday was a pleasant day. My grandmother came to my mom's for lunch after church, and we got to spend some time together talking and munching on mom's taco salad. Mom also sewed my curtains for my classroom while we chatted. My sister and her family did not get to come over like they normally do. I was glad because it gave me some time to chat with the matriarchs (nice word, huh?!) about my fears and such about Camden's arrival. My mom and grandmother are the best medicine for me when it comes to things like that. They have been through it all...especially my grandmother. She had five kids and a deadbeat husband. She worked their entire lives and supported every single one of them. She is such an example to me. It is very important to me that I be a wife, mother, and have a career at the same time. That is what I have always wanted. Talking to her shows me that I can do that. I can have it all!! I am so lucky to have strong women to look up to and to talk with about these things. And of course, after MeMaw went home, Mom and I watched a few episodes of Grey's. Sunday evening pretty much sucked. My hormones are really starting to get the best of me. I wound up arguing with my husband about something terribly silly (on his part, of course!) and it ruined my entire evening. Before I got pregnant, I didn't care if my husband scolded me about something. Big whoop...he'll get over it! But now, it just kills my joy for him to get mad at me. All is well now, as usual. Our tiffs never last too long. I suppose after seven years of marriage I have come to realize that it's ok to argue. It's ok to let someone know when you are unhappy, hurt, or frustrated. If you don't, those feelings will just pile up and turn into resentment and lead to even bigger problems. So that brings me to today, Monday, a.k.a. the beginning of the first full week of work. Lemme tell you...it's getting to me already! Emotionally, I'm stressed about pulling everything together and about my new students I will have. Physically, my body is already giving up on me. I have been super lazy this summer and now my preggo body is resisting the work. Mentally, I'm just grouchy! And it doesn't help when someone who does not need naming keeps trying to get into the circle. I hope I adjust soon. I hope this is not a foreshadowing of what the next 1o weeks will be like. If so, I may get kicked out of the "cool hall" before the hot glue dries on my posters!

The Morning After Blog

OK, so I didn't blog last night. Bite me ;) I had a very long day yesterday and a long evening ahead of me today. Yesterday was our first official day back to work, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. We started the morning off with a meeting featuring our school system superintendent. He had a very positive message about starting over, and being refreshed and positive about our profession. We all needed to hear this message! I was still getting sleepy because he kept turning off the lights and presenting slide shows. Camden was none too happy about working. He kicked me through the entire meeting as to say, "Mom, why are we awake at 9:00? Mom, who is that man talking? Mom, you need to pee. Why don't you just get up in the middle of the meeting and pee? MOM! You have heartburn! Just get up and get your Tums!" (In case you can't tell, sleepiness was not my only issue during the meeting) After the meeting, we had about an hour to work in our rooms before lunch. Couldn't even tell you what I got accomplished there besides a trip to the bathroom and the eating of the Tums. I had lunch with James and Melly, of course, along with our fellow English departmenters, McGee, the honorary English man, and our new science teacher Mrs. Arnold. We ate at Casa Blanca, and it was actually very pleasant. We caught up on our summer adventures. One of the teachers even went to Key West and saw Ernest Hemingway's home and his six-toed cats! Very exciting English Teacher material. After lunch, we worked back in our rooms. Not much accomplished all day but it wore me out just having to be there! After work, my dad brought my niece and nephew to my house. I took them to our cousin's b-day party. Children should not be born in August. Even with a water slide party, the heat was too much for the adults...especially this seven month pregnant adult! My nephew went to spend the night with my mom and dad and Alana came home with me and David for the night. Today, I'm taking Alana to get a manicure and pedicure for her birthday. It was in back in May but she was playing softball and we were afraid it would go to waste, so we decided to do it for back to school. She is so excited...not excited enough to get up before 10 am though! After nails, we have another outside-waterslide party to go to. Then it's back to school where David will help me hang the rest of the things in my room. I'll try to blog tonight with pics from the nail salon, bday party, and classroom. I have a busy afternoon ahead....Toodles!