In the home stretch...

Here I am.  Not too glamorous, but I guess that's OK.  I am posting this anyway.

I am 38 weeks in this picture.  Baby girl is growing, but she is not ready to enter the outside world.  I had not made any progress at my last doctor's visit.  She isn't even dropping into position yet.  I have been joking that she might be a procrastinator like her momma and wait until the last minute.  She will drop, I will dilate, and she'll be here.  (It can be that simple, right?  Wishful thinking, I know.)

Friday was my last day at school and a day of mixed emotions.  I have the sweetest, most thoughtful students.  Even a few of my graduated students have come back to give our baby presents!  One students knitted a blanket and crocheted three little hats. It was mostly hard for me to hug my seniors and my student going to NCSSM next year since I won't see them for a long time.  One young lady had tears in her eyes and said, "Thank you for everything you have done for me" and handed me a letter.  Needless to say I couldn't read it right then because I was tearing up with her. 

One of my seniors told me I was her favorite teacher of all time and thank you for always listening and offering advice.  She is a special young lady who despite going through A LOT is one of the most genuine, kindest people I know.

Another senior had to come hug me after every class and at the end of the day.  He is such a good person.

I will also miss seeing my colleagues at school, but I know I will have the opportunity to see them over the summer.  I have great support circle of friends.  :) 

Meanwhile, I am very excited to get to stay home the week before the pending arrival of baby girl.  Matthew's mom helped last weekend with getting the nursery started, and mom and dad are coming today to help with cleaning and maybe finishing up the nursery. 

Only a week and a half until due date!!!!

March into April

Whew! What a whirlwind the last couple of months have been. Let's start with the finishing of the basement.

The spare bedroom has been finished, but now the bed is set up.


We put a bathroom downstairs, too.


And there was much tile, painting, and trim to be done.


The main priority for all of this was to finish a small room which has become Matthew's new office. His desk, printer, and computer have all been moved into this room now.

This is the spare bedroom right now. It is holding ALL the baby stuff I have received so far... actually, there is more because this was before my school shower. Baby girl is already spoiled!

One clean corner of the basement is all I will show you. The basement looks really good. We have a ceiling as of this past week except for the bathroom, but the electrical is all finished.

The nursery is still a work in progress but at least there is a crib! OK. So, we don't have a mattress, but the crib is assembled. :) I will post more pics when the nursery is assembled.

Belly Update ~ 31 Weeks

This is pic #6 because Matthew kept being silly. This is just before the 31 week mark, and baby girl is growing and moving.

Moldy wanted to be in a picture,too, or she wanted to go out or needed food.

I caught my first real cold last weekend. I had taken students up the mountain to Boone, and the change in elevation and dry hotel room exacerbated my already sore throat. I sounded quite sad on Monday, but I managed to take it easy. Needless to say I am feeling much better!

Overall, I am doing well besides starting to feel tired again. My hands are starting to swell, and my belly button may pop soon. Matthew likes to tease me about it.

I am overwhelmed with how everyone wants to give me stuff for the baby! The hard part for us right now is deciding on a crib, dresser, etc. We went to IKEA in Charlotte and saw some potential. Our current thinking is get something light so we can move it into the bedroom when baby gets sick, but we are going to have a Pack N' Play. I looked at the few items at Target. We haven't seen anything that we would want to keep for 20 years. We would rather get something to last 5 or 6 and then decide on something more permanent. I need to look at Babies R' Us again. Don't worry, mom, I'll find something we like. :)

Any thoughts about what you like or don't like? Did you buy something you loved? Regretted? I welcome any advice. Thanks!

Blanket for Baby

Before Christmas, I decided to make a blanket for the baby. I went to the craft store and found a book of different blankets. I was going to knit it, but a friend advised that a crocheted blanket would have a better texture. I had to buy new needles because I have no idea where the last set purchased is located. The blanket has 4 colors: baby purple, baby green, baby yellow, and a veregated white, green, blue.

I don't mind pink, but I didn't want it in the blanket. I have crocheted 9 squares of yellow, green, and veregated. I have 3 purple squares finished, so 6 more to go. When those are done, I will add the edging to each square. You can see it in the pattern's picture.

At first, I had a very tense stitch. You can see it in the yellow. I may end up re-doing some of those. After the edging, I sew the squares together and then add an edge to the whole blanket. This is all new to me because I have never actually made a product by crocheting before. I am starting to get the hang of it, and I hope to learn more stitches. Thanks to Pinterest, I have several ideas waiting for me. I'll take another pic when I have the edging finished. I should be able to start that next weekend!!!

27 Weeks!

So here is the baby update...
I had a doctor's appointment on Monday to do my glucose test and meet another doctor. My appointment was supposed to be Friday afternoon, but that doctor was in surgery. Anyhoo... so I drink my lovely, Sprite flavored sugar drink and head to the doctor's office. I was a little nervous about one nurse who has trouble drawing my blood. Plus she talks to the needle and makes me more nervous/feel like I'm gonna pass out.
Luckily, I was assigned a nurse whom I have not seen since my last "regular" visit. She was excited for me, and she kindly informed me that she would be sticking me which went well. Yay!

While I wait for the sugar to kick in, I get to see the doctor which helps some of the time go by. She was very nice. She got out her little microphone to listen to the heartbeat, but baby girl was being a wiggle worm (I think the sugar hit her, too!). The doctor put her hand on the side of my belly to try and get baby to be still. Instead, baby girl kicked the doctor! Oh dear... we are going to have our hands full! Haha! After recounting this story to Matthew, he said, "That's my girl!"

My appointment went great, and I have not heard about my blood work so all must have been normal! So, yay! Here is a web cam pic soon. Apparently the shirt I wore today makes my belly look pretty large. Yeah... it's the shirt. :)

(By calendar) 13 weeks to go.....

Half Way There

It is hard to believe that I am half way through my pregnancy. The last 20 weeks have been a complete blur! I have been so busy, but luckily all the craziness is finished (for now). I had something going on every weekend since the beginning of October. Some of it fun, and some of it for school.

After 18 weeks of no nausea, baby decides that my stomach is a punching bag. Hello heartburn! It isn't a constant, thank goodness! It seems to be more when I have only water on my stomach (I think). Weird? If I eat a little snack or drink something that isn't water, that usually helps.

And another thing... that whole "pregnancy brain"... yeah, my brain didn't work so well to begin with much less add extra hormones, etc. Oy!

My mom posted a Facebook pic of me at 18 weeks. Here I am two weeks later. I know it isn't a complete side shot (Matthew will learn), but I think I can see that my belly has grown.

Honestly, I have no real complaints. I think the excitement (and fear) of this little one's arrival trumps it all.

It's a...

Girl! Here she is sucking her thumb. I got to watch her stick her thumb in her mouth. :)