Weekend Goodness: Thanksgiving Edition

I love holidays. I love the little traditions that go with each one and I'm especially excited this year because I think about how next year I will have my own little one to include in those traditions. My sisters and I like to watch the Macy's thanksgiving day parade and eat snacks together. Dan and I brought over donuts, puppy chow, and bloody mary supplies. My parents had a selection of snacks of their own. We chatted and watched the parade while my dad and Dan watched football in the kitchen.

My Dad is the main cook in our family, so he makes the majority of our Thanksgiving meal. This year, we had turkey (the crispy wings are my favorite), green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry relish, brussel sprouts, and sweet potatoes. Everything was so delicious and I was definitely thankful to have such a great meal. For dessert, we had cranberry fluff and french silk pie. 

I tried to get a good sister picture, but ended up with this! Haha

Molly making parade snacks :) 

We brought Maggie and Nella over to play while we hung out. My parents' dogs, Meagan's dog, and our two dogs spent the entire morning chasing each other around the backyard. By the time the afternoon came around, they were wiped out! 

We rested for a little while at my parents' after eating and then took the dogs home before heading to Dan's aunt and uncle's house for Thanksgiving part two.

We didn't do any Black Friday shopping this year, but we did do some crafting that day! Dan took the top off this little counter/cabinet thing we have next to the oven and put a new wood top on instead. I made a sparkly deer head to go on the mantle. Things are slowly getting festive in our house! 

Saturday night we celebrated Dan's Sister's birthday and then I went over to Sarah's house for a while.
I spent Sunday at Dan's mom's house, helping her babysit my nieces and watching the Packer game in the afternoon. 

This long weekend went by oh-so-fast! Only a few more weeks and then it will be Christmas :)

18 and 19 Weeks!

Here's an update on the past two weeks, since last week was busy with life and wedding things. . .

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain: I don't really know- I might just get rid of this question because I don't really keep track. Based on how clothes fit and how I look, I've gained weight in the belly region (obviously) and boobs. The rest of me is pretty much the same.

Maternity clothes? I was at goodwill last week sometime looking for a dresser or buffet and decided to check out the maternity section, just incase. I'm so glad I did! I found a bunch of maternity t-shirts that were brand new, tags still on! They are so nice- most of my tanks are getting too short, so having some shirts that actually fit my growing belly is great!

Stretch marks? So far, none. .  we'll see if that continues!

Sleep: It's been pretty good lately. I usually have to get up either in the middle night or very early morning to pee, but that's mostly my fault because I drink a lot of water before bed. If I drink less before bed, I don't get up, but then I feel dehydrated in the morning which isn't good either. I also am getting more and more uncomfortable attempting to sleep on my tummy- I pretty much just don't anymore and do a semi-side/semi-tummy thing.

Best moment this week: Pat and Emily's wedding was a good one! Also, having a short school-week this week and Thanksgiving tomorrow is great too!

Miss Anything? Warmer weather :) We have a long way to go before I'll feel that again though, so I'll stay bundled until around the time baby arrives! 
Movement: Almost every time I sit, lay down, or stop moving I can feel the little one moving around- I love it! I can't wait until it's more consistent and stronger. I know that Dan is anxious to be able to feel some movement too. . . it will probably be a little while before that happens though. 

Food cravings: Donuts, cupcakes, custard. Mmmm if someone wants to bring me a scoop of chocolate in a dish from gilles or culvers, I would be just fine with that :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Bacon cooking and cigarette smoke is still gross to me.

Gender: I'm still not sure! We got a few predictions at the wedding. Hopefully we'll find out at our next dr's appointment!!

Labor Signs: I hope I have no signs anytime before I'm supposed to.  

Belly Button in or out? Innie still.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Still mostly happy with a fairly regular bout of moodiness (well, crying at random things like puppy videos or commercials with old people falling).

Looking forward to: Thanksgiving food (especially crispy turkey skin, cranberry fluff, stuffing, and cold turkey dipped in salt- a weird thing I do haha). Also, finding out if we're having a boy or a girl. I can't wait! 

I Am Thankful For (4K Style) . .

The kids were buzzing today- they were all excited for thanksgiving! I'm never exactly sure how to talk about holidays with my kids. . . I mostly avoid directly talking about them because not everyone celebrates and many of my families are low-income families and might not have celebrations, but they were all so excited, I couldn't ignore it :)

I made a 4-year-old appropriate yet accurate (as I could be) smartboard story about the first thanksgiving. We talked about if and how their families celebrate.  The kids' answers were very diverse (as expected)!


One girl said that she's going to her dad's house for thanksgiving and then when she comes home to celebrate, they will have turkey sandwiches with mom and grandma.

A boy said that his uncle makes a turkey outside.  (Maybe he deep fries it)

One boy's dad makes the tuna fish they have every thanksgiving.



We read a book called "Bear Says Thanks" and talked about what being thankful means. During one of  our stations, the kids made a handprint turkey and said what they were thankful for. They are adorable!

Add caption

I like the wishful thinking in this one! haha! 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! What are you thankful for?

Weekend Goodness- Pat and Emily Edition

This was from Tuesday, but it goes with the wedding theme so here it is :)
The finished bottom layer of the cake! 

Rehearsal dinner!
Delicious food, lots of family, and a bundle of excited for the upcoming day.

I was on baby duty during the ceremony while these two little ones' parents were in the wedding.
They are probably the cutest babies yet.
And will be such good cousins for my little one :) 

Me and the handsome best man (who's speech was wonderful, by the way). 

The cake that my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, made.
It turned out beautifully! 

The tables looked lovely!

I always forget to take as many pictures as I want to. . . this is one of the few I got of the bride and groom. 

I got a shout-out on the menu :) 

And my mom is awesome.
I called her earlier in the day in a stressed-out panic.
She picked up dog food for Maggie and Nella, let them out for us, cleaned our kitchen, put our fish in a new bowl, and got me a couple of treats. 

It was such a busy week! Between cake frosting, last minute dress shopping (which was way more stressful than it should have been), and general life things, I didn't have time for blog updates.  But the cake turned out great- and got lots of compliments! My bump is just a little too big for most regular clothes and a little too small for most maternity clothes. . . After going to target, kohls, old navy, tj max, a bunch of stores at two different malls, I finally found a dress at H&M!  The wedding was beautiful, the food at the reception was tasty, the cake was delicious :) , and I got to talk with a bunch of people I don't get to see often enough. Now onto a couple days of school and then a short (but much needed) break for Thanksgiving!

Weekend Goodness

Dan and I babysat our nieces on Friday night :) 

I love when she makes this little face so much! 

Pancakes with honey for breakfast!
Mmmmmm

I was busy cleaning in the morning and lay down on our bed to rest for a minute.
Nella, Maggie, and Chrysanthemum joined me for a surprise nap and Dan took this picture :) 

We celebrated my friend Steph's birthday on Saturday-
This was the only picture I took :(
But it was of the first snowfall that stuck! :)
Happy birthday, Steph! 

I made a prefect batch of chocolate chip cookies. 

Maggie found a new spot to (try to) get comfortable :) 

On our way to my parents' house to watch the Packer game.

Maggie is obviously a Packer fan. Nella can't handle that responsibility yet :) 

It's going to be another busy week this week! I have a cake to frost and deliver, a dress to shop for, and Pat and Emily's wedding this weekend!

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

"Ms. McElwee? I like your skirt. BUT do you ever wear a butterfly skirt with a heart tattoo on your cheek?"



"Ms. McElwee. After school you can go to your house and get your pajamas on. Then wait outside- my mom will come pick you up and bring you to my house. Then we will watch some movies and have a sleepover!"



"What's your middle name? What your mom's name? What's your dad's name? What's your brother's name? What's your sister's name? What's your cats name? What's your dog's name? What color is your car? How old is your dad? How old is your mom? How old is your brother? How old is your sisters?" She would have kept going, but we had other things to do :)



One of my kids took the bathroom pass and came running back to the classroom. I asked him if he went and he said no and looked scared. I asked him why he didn't go and he said, "There's a monster in the bathroom." I was pretty sure there was not a monster in the bathroom, and my 4ker was being completely serious, so I walked to the bathroom with him. He opened the door and said, "See! A monster!!" I could see the custodian's shoes peeking out from under the stall :) I told my kid that it wasn't a monster. "It's not a monster? Then it has to be Santa!"



During our morning meeting, one of the kids asked when our friend who was shot was coming back. They know that she got really hurt and had to go to the hospital, but I didn't tell them exactly what happened. I told them that she had to stay at the hospital for a really long time and I wasn't sure when she would feel better enough to come back to school. One kid blurted, "She's sleeping in the hospital? Where does she sleep?" I told them how I visited her and saw her room. . . she has a bed and a couch for her mom and that's pretty much it. "Does she have any toys?" "Does she have a tv?" "Does she get to take a bath?" And their biggest concern of all. . . "Does she get to go to the bathroom or do they make her hold it all day?" I told them that was a good question and wasn't really sure (I didn't want to explain what a catheter is). One kid raised her hand and said, "I know where she goes. The bathroom is around the corner at her doctor's office. Her mom takes her there. That's what my mom does when I have to go to the bathroom at the doctor." I bet you are right :) We miss our friend and hope she gets better soon! Her mom said she is slowly slowly getting a little bit better each day.




I asked a kid what I should get from the grocery store for dinner. He said "Donuts and chicken." Sounds good to me :)



"Ms. McElwee. . . someone farted and it stinks. It wasn't me, but I really need to go to the bathroom."



"Ms. McElwee does your boyfriend like snow?" "I have a husband- we're married, so he's not my boyfriend anymore." "Ewwwwww.  So he likes snow?"



I had a home visit with one of my 4kers after school today. Her mom said that her little one was really disappointed because right before I got there the mom let her know that I would not be staying for dinner or sleeping over.

17 Weeks!

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain: not sure. . .
Maternity clothes? I wore my maternity jeans last weekend! I've still been wearing lots of dresses and using the belly band for all but one pair of pants.
Stretch marks? Not yet
Sleep: It's been good! I've been so busy lately, that by the time I get to bed I crash. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit this weekend because then we have Pat and Emily's wedding, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's (all of which I am very excited for!).
Best moment this week: Finding a Christmas radio station! I don't know if it's pregnancy hormones or what, but I am super excited for Christmas this year. I always get excited, but usually not pre-Thanksgiving. I limit myself to listening to abone song a day (unless there is a really good one on next :) haha).
Miss Anything? I could go for a good bloody mary right now. I know I could have a virgin one, but it's just not the same! I'm still missing my normal energy level too.  
Movement: I've been feeling more and more movement in there :) So far it's only been when I've been sitting still or laying down.
Food cravings: Donuts. Spring rolls. If someone provided a continuous supply of those things, I would be so happy (and probably pack on a bunch of pounds other than baby-related ones)!
Anything making you queasy or sick: still cigarette smoke and cooking bacon. Dan's making BLT's for dinner right now. . . the BLT sounds delicious to me, the bacon that is cooking in our kitchen right now does not smell delicious. I have a few candles burning to try to cancel out the smell (it's not working).
Gender: We still don't know. I love everyone's predictions, but I still don't have my own.
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. They could have fallen off my finger today after dismissal duty- my fingers were SO cold from this cold weather!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy-things about baby animals doing cute things or old people can make me tear up pretty easily these days :)
Looking forward to: Possible babysitting my nieces on Friday and celebrating my friend, Steph's, birthday on Saturday! 

Weekend Goodness: Cake Edition

I had to go to Target yesterday to get some school things, but of course I had to check out what was happening in the holiday aisles :) Ornaments make me happy. Elf on the shelf creeps me out. 

Dan came back from hunting (since Wednesday) on Saturday afternoon. We went to the mall to get the suit he's wearing for his brother's wedding and then went to his mom's house for his brother's birthday dinner. And of course we spent some time with the most adorable little girls in the world :)

Sunday was cake day!
Dan's mom, one of his sisters, and I each are making a cake for Pat and Emily's wedding.

My sous chef in action. 

2 of the 3 tiers cooling in our second bedroom (I ran out of counter space). 

The butter cream calls for a lot of butter.

A pastry layer. 

I'm going to assemble to cake tomorrow and then freeze it until wedding time (which is in two weeks!). It was really hard not eating all of the layers as I made them. . . of course I tasted little bits to make sure they turned out okay ;)


Hopefully this week is a little less chaotic and happier than last week. I got an update from the mom of my 4ker who got shot- she's doing better and better each day! They are going to start waking her in up in the next couple of days. The nurses say she is progressing wonderfully!

Send Good Thoughts Her Way

A random number called me a few times on Wednesday day night. I was already sleeping and don't usually answer when I don't know who is calling me, so I let it ring. The person (who turned out to be my coworker) left me a message saying to call her back right away. Weird.

When I called her back, she told me that one of my kids was shot.


Woah.
One of my kids? Who was just in my class earlier that day? Shot? What?


Then I got a call from another coworker. She told me that my student was shot in the head while she was sitting in a car and now she's at children's hospital.



I saw on the news that a four-year-old had been shot, but kids getting shot happens way too much in the Milwaukee area. Other than thinking how terrible that was, I didn't think too much about it.


Now all I could think about was how terrible it really was. I felt so sad for my little 4ker. I didn't really sleep that night and my eyes were puffy the next day from so much crying. No child should ever have to go through something like this. All it took was the couple seconds of someone pulling a trigger a few times and this kid's life is drastically changed forever. She was happy, confident, strong-willed, and sweet. Now she has a brain injury and is laying in a hospital bed.

I visited her on Thursday after school. Even though she was very swollen, her head covered in holes and sutures, and tubes and monitors connected all over her, her mom sad she already looked better than the night before. Although her brain was swelling, her first surgery went well and she was doing well for her circumstances.

Today, she was taken off her ventilator and is breathing in her own. This little one has such a feisty, strong-willed personality, and it's showing even in her critical condition. With so many prayers coming her way, she has to be feeling everyone's love. Send good thoughts her way, please.

16 Weeks

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain: I'm still not totally sure. . . I'm not 100% sure what I weighed pre-pregnancy, but I think I'm up about 6ish pounds.
Maternity clothes? I bought some maternity pants this weekend! I have yet to wear them though. I use my belly band thing pretty much every day and have only one pair or pants that zips completely.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep: Last night I slept terribly! I got a flu shot (for the first time ever) and woke up because my arm was hurting. Then I couldn't fall back to sleep for what seemed like forever. Generally, sleep has been okay.
Best moment this week: Hearing the little one's heart beat at my doctor's appointment this week!
Miss Anything? Still missing my normal energy level! 
Movement: I've felt a little bubble -y feeling a few times. I asked my doctor about it and she said she thinks it's the baby moving around (and not gas! haha)!
Food cravings: Mashed potatoes :) My dad made shepherd's pie for dinner last night, which is topped with crispy delicious mashed potato goodness. It was great.
Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of cigarette smoke is super gross to me- it always has been but now it's even worse. And bacon.
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: The weekend! Teaching a bunch of four-year-olds wipes me out most days. I'm constantly on the go when I'm with them and have pretty much zero down time during the day. Weekend time equals relax and get things done time.

Weekend Goodness

Dan and I voted on Friday evening.
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

The sunsets have been gorgeous these past few days. 

We got donuts for breakfast on Saturday!
Donuts with sprinkles make me happy :) 

I had a busy day at the mall with my mom and Meagan.
Dan had a busy day with Nella. He tried cutting her nails and cut one just a little too short.
He texted me a picture of what looked like a murder scene and asked if we had any of the stuff that stops nail bleeds in dogs. Poor puppy! Once the bleeding stopped, she was just fine!

I took Meagan to my new favorite Hmong market. She's just as in love with it as I am.

Chrysanthemum and I had some quality snuggle time Saturday night.
I was so tired after my day filled with getting donuts, cat food, new pants that fit my growing belly, spring rolls, and visiting my nieces. It was good relax with a snuggly kitten :) 

I felt like 5 year old this morning. Even though we gained an hour, I was still up bright an early.
I made a batch of waffles from scratch in my extra hour. It was definitely a good decision.
Then I went into cleaning mode. Dan was forced into cleaning mode too (thanks for putting up with me, Dan!).

I'm sitting in bed with my laptop right now.  Nella jumped up and is laying on my feet-  I could be here for a while (which is just fine with me!). Happy start of November!