Eila's Going to be a Big Sister!!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: At a physical store had to have for my new school that I had at the very end of summer I weighed 120 lbs. . I typically weigh around 125 lbs. and at my appointment today I weighed 132. So I'll say I'm up 7 pounds so far!
Maternity clothes? Im pretty much wearing all maternity pants and leggings these days. I can fit into my regular pants with a belly band, but that's not very comfortable to me- especially chasing around a busy toddler and my 3 year olds at school! I'm wearing a combo of maternity shirts and regular shirts.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: it's been okay. I've been waking up about once a night to pee and/or eat a snack. My doctor said I should be munching on a small snack in the middle of the night to curb the morning heartburn/nausea I was getting. It's been helping! 

Best moment this week: i had a bedside ultrasound at my appointment today that I wasn't expecting- it was really fun to see my little one! 
Miss Anything?  Energy! It's tough to teach really busy/needy 3 year olds all day and then take care of a toddler when I get home. I could probably go to bed at 7:00 every night if I didn't have so much to do! 
Movement: I started feeling little bubbly feeling a couple weeks ago and have been consistently feeling little pops and fishy-like movements for the past few days! 

Food cravings: random things! I'll have a craving for something one time, eat a little of it, and then not want it any more. For example: Cheetos (super random!), apples, dumplings, peanut butter sandwich, hot chocolate... I like to eat raspberries, granola bars, and ice on the regular :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of cigarette smoke and weed (a bunch of kids at school have backpacks that smell like this ugh!). Meat- especially beef and pork products. The sight of raw meat makes me want to puke! So gross. 
Gender: Still don't know! Hopefully we'll find out in a monthish.
Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? In.
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy with random moodiness here and there.
Looking forward to: Christmas break! Only three more days of school and then I get a little more than a week off to be with my Eila Lu! :)

4th of July Festivities!

Happy 4th of July!! 

I've mentioned in the past that the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  Every year, my family and friends have a competition. In the past, it's been a costume contest. The first year, the theme was "most patriotic" and I was the statue of liberty. The second year was "Favorite amendments" and I was the 9th amendment, and the third year was "favorite American song" and Eila and I were "I'm Just a Bill". This year, we decided to just dress up in red, white, and blue and everyone brought a treat. I made cheese stars and oreo truffles.

We took part in the annual spot saving extravaganza. Check out the link at the top to find out more about it. 

The parade started at 7:00- one hour past Eila's bedtime. We left the house at 5:30 so we could get to our parade and spot and eat snacks and celebrate a little before it started. 

We weren't sure how Eila would do with staying up so late, but there were lots of treats, so she was a trooper.
This isn't even all of the snacks and treats! So much food! 

She lounged with Dan and did some munching before trying to run up and down the street. 

I think she had more fun trying to run all over and wave at everyone sitting in their parade spots than actually watching the parade :) 

Once it started, she was pretty tired. Every time a band would go by, she would bounce up and down a little- it was super cute. And she LOVED the horses. 

Snuggle time with dad :)
We left right after this. The parade wasn't over, but Eila was so tired, we wanted to take her home and let her sleep. 

I love fireworks and was worried that I wouldn't get to see any! 

But it turned out great! I could see the professional ones and I could see professional sized ones shooting off in all directions around me. I was surrounded and it was awesome. 

Eila slept in until 8:00 (she usually wakes up at 6:00)  and then we had a very lazy morning spent in our jammies, reading books with Auntie Molly.

Strawberry Picking

One of my favorite things about being a mom is starting new traditions and/or doing fun family activities. I feel like strawberry picking is going to have to be one of those new traditions! 

It was just strawberry season here and since Dan had the day off work, we decided to go strawberry picking on a whim. 

Eila is still a little too young to get the concept of picking strawberries, but she was a pro at taking them out of the basket and eating them! 

I felt like she was eating them as fast as we were picking them! She was in strawberry heaven. This kid loves to be outside and loves fruit, so this was probably a dream situation for her :) 

Sweet Summertime

No easing into summer this year! The first few days were packed with activities!

Dan turned 29 on my last day of school! I made his favorite birthday cake (yellow box cake, chocolate pudding in the middle, chocolate buttercream frosting) and gave him his birthday present (a nail gun).  Happy birthday, Dan! I hope this year is filled with more positives than negatives. Love you! 

We had a wedding shower for my sister. She gets married in July.  It's coming up so fast and we are so excited! 

Not only did we have a wedding shower, we also had her bachelorette party! We got dinner at Maxie's (yum!) and went to Pridefest for the night :) 

Eila and I went to Dan's cousin's fiance's (woah) wedding shower the next day and had some cousin play time afterwards :) I love when these five are together- it makes me so happy. 

Last Day Of School

It was such a bittersweet day. I was super excited for summer, ready to be home with Eila, and needing a break from my high-needs class. But, Urban Day is closing, I don't know if I'll ever see any of my kids again, and last days are always sad for me.  I think the kids felt the same way as me- it was a really fun day with some tears thrown in there.


We went on a zoo trip on the second to last day of school. There were enough chaperones that each adult was in charge of two kids, so it was very stress-free while we were walking around the zoo. The kids in my group were so cute! They really wanted to see the lions (they were exciting) but were thrilled by all of the robins bopping around the zoo grounds. :)

We had an activity day on the last day- it was exhausting and fun! Each class rotated through a variety of stations- hula hoops & bouncy ball things, tattoos & bubbles, lunch & naptime, playground, snacks, and coolest of all. . . the bouncy house!

This teacher's still got it :) 

27th Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday- I love birthdays, my own being no exception! I feel like I always have high expectations for my birthday but then am a little let down when things aren't as exciting as planned (same thing happens for New Year's Eve), but this year was really good :)

The other 4K teachers got me a mocha, target gift card, and flowers. My para got me a coffee and helped the kids make me a birthday card. Dan and Eila surprised me with lunch and a balloon and then hung out for a little while during nap time.  I brought cookies as a birthday treat. My dad made a yummy pasta dish with fresh shrimp Dan got. My mom got some cute sundresses for me. We had angel food cake with chocolate cool whip and strawberries (my favorite!). Eila slept through the night. It was a good day!

26 was a little crazy- full of highs and lows. I'm curious to see what 27 has in store for me.

Some People Say Everything Happens For a Reason. . .

I'm just not sure what that reason is yet!


A couple of months ago, our principal held an all staff meeting and told us our school was closing. We were told that there are not enough funds to sustain the school long term, so they are closing it permanently.

We were all surprised- although I work at a charter school, it has been around for a long time (50+ years) and has a good reputation in the neighborhood. All of the parents/family members were bummed to hear the news. Every single one of them wondered why we couldn't do something, like fund raise, to help keep the school open. The board decided not to go that route, which feels kind of like they are just giving up. It doesn't feel like a good way to end.

End-of-the-school-years are always hard. Kids stay up later since it is lighter, they get wigglier with nicer weather, we've covered most of the curriculum, we know we'll have to say good bye soon, and we're all ready for summer. This year, its even harder. Not only are we affected by all of that stuff, but now we are worried about finding new jobs and wondering what will happen to our current kids.



I go back and forth believing that everything happens for a reason and things just happen because they do. Right now, I'm in the "it happens for a reason" camp. I hope that somehow I am on to better things. (Not that this wasn't good!) Maybe I can better impact kids' lives somewhere else. Maybe another opportunity will pop up that is a 100% perfect fit for me.

 Maybe I'm destined to live at home with my parents forever. That's how it feels right now. So much for saving up to buy a house- We were just starting to be able to save up again since Dan found another job after losing his old one. But now that I am (almost) unemployed, we're can't (safely or smartly) plan on moving anywhere!

I guess we will just have to see where life takes us! My family and I are currently healthy, happy, and safe, so overall we are doing well!