28 Weeks!

How far along? 28 weeks- the start of the third trimester! Ahhh! Only about 3 more months until baby McElwee makes her appearance- where did the time go?!

Total weight gain: I (finally) paid attention when they weighed me and as of this morning, I weighed 150 lbs. Pre-pregnancy, I'm typically around 125 (although I don't pay very close attention. . . that's around what it has been at yearly check ups). So I'm up 25 pounds. My doctor hasn't mentioned anything at all about my weight at any of my appointments. She did, however, mention that she thinks my little one isn't going to be a very big baby, but not too small either and that my belly is measuring perfectly!

Maternity clothes? Mmmm hmmmm!

Stretch marks? None, so far- a little girl tells me pretty much every day that I'm going to get them because my belly is getting so big and that's what happened to her mom. 

Sleep: It's noticeably worse this past week :/  I just can't get comfortable and my pillow nest only helps until I want to move. I've been having super weird dreams lately. Last night I woke up at 1:14 and was super hungry. Sometimes when I wake up hungry, I drink a little water and then am able to fall back to sleep. Last night, I rolled my belly out of my pillow nest, got some water, situated my self comfortably back in bed, and tried to sleep. My stomach wouldn't let me. So out of my nest I rolled again, made a peanut butter sandwich on a bun, and got as comfortable as I could (with sandwich in tow) back in bed. 

Best moment this week: Hanging out with so many people I love this weekend! I was so tired after all of the activities, but it was worth it! I also love how strong and active my little one is getting- I can feel her little foot side around a little above my belly button. :) 

Miss Anything? Comfortably sleeping, energy, sushi.  (I know I could probably eat it- I'm just worried I'll get food poisoning or something, so I've been avoiding it)
Movement: All the time! I'm starting to figure out her schedule. Between about 7:00 and 8:00 at night she has a quiet time- I can still feel her move then, but not as wildly as other times. . . I wonder if the schedule she has now will be similar to the schedule she has when she's first born

Food cravings: My list officially includes donuts, custard, frozen mangos, and frozen raspberries. I am munching on a bowl of frozen rasps as I type :) 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Same old, same old

Gender: She's a girl! 

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

Belly Button in or out? The top half of it popped out this weekend! Haha! The top was so out, that I thought it was out to stay. . . well it wasn't. Currently it's pretty flat. Sometimes during the day the top pokes out- it just depends on how I'm positioned and how the baby is positioned I guess. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time! Thinking about baby things  (my own, my nieces, or my niece-and-nephew-set) can make me a little teary eyed- I just love them all so much! 

Looking forward to: The weekend :) Do you sense a theme? Haha! One of my kids' parents asked me how I have so much energy still- she said that there is no way she would have been able to teach 4K when she was pregnant because we're so busy! Although my energy level is lower now than it was pre-pregnancy, I do still feel pretty good. Maybe it's because the little ones keep me moving and busy :)



I had an appointment today. I had to do my glucose test before the appointment and although the drink was very (very) sweet, it wasn't as horrible as what I've read. It tasted like a slightly syrupy, flat, lemon-lime soda. I put little lines on the bottle for how much I wanted to drink each minute and had to finish the whole thing in 5 minutes. I was a little worried about it because other than water and milk, I don't drink anything fast. Well, I sucked down about 3/5 in 2 minutes- then the sugariness hit me. I made a conscious effort not to think about it and keep drinking (and snap chatted a couple people to distract me). I didn't throw up or pass out. I did get kind of jittery and then really hungry since I couldn't eat anything for a while. I'll find out the results on Monday- hopefully no gestational diabetes for me.

Cheers to the third trimester! 

Weekend Goodness!

We had such a busy weekend! On Friday night, my mom, dad, Meagan, Shirley, Dan, and I went to Paddy's Pub to listen to a family friend play some Irish music. We had fun chatting and being goofy and were out until about midnight! It was a late night for me :) (I stole this picture from my mom :) )

On Saturday, I spent the morning cleaning and then Dan and I picked up his mom to go to the Hmong market. We met my dad, Meagan, and Shirley for lunch and then shopped around a little. I had (super delicious) eggrolls for lunch and of course had to get some spring rolls to take home. I tested out this mango roll cake too- it tastes like pound cake with whipped cream inside.

After we had lunch, we went to a butcher shop on the south side. We got some freshly cut bacon and hungarian sausages. Dan made the bacon with breakfast today- it was very tasty. We have yet to try the hungarians, but they look really good.

I was exhausted when we got home and ended up taking a nap! Naps are a very rare thing for me. . . I just can't fall asleep for some reason- it felt really good to sleep and be refreshed for another late night. 

Meagan, Shirley, and I met up with Steph, Alli, Sarah, and Caitlin at the Wicked Hop for some drinks (well, I had lots of water). We stayed out a lot later than I had anticipated we would- I was a party animal this weekend :)
I have learned that I can't do that any more though. . . after two late nights, I was really, really tired today. I woke up at 7:00 this morning, snuggled in bed awake until about 8:30, and then fell back to sleep until about 10:00.  Luckily we didn't have any major plans today! Dan made brunch and then we hung out with Michael, Katherine, and their babies for a little while. 

Dan got me a cupcake treat :) 

We also went over to my parents for a little bit. My mom made curtains for the nursery with the fabric I picked out. They turned out so cute! I'm excited to get everything in her room organized. 

I'm going to relax for the rest of the evening so that I have energy to teach my crazy 4K kids tomorrow :)

27 Weeks!

I met friends for happy hour/dinner after school yesterday- it is always great catching up with them! Once I got home, I was exhausted. . . so I ended up making my lunch, picking out my clothes, and laying in bed until I decided to go to sleep :)  

How far along? 27 weeks and a day

Total weight gain: Still don't know- I was looking at pictures from this summer a few days ago and was reminded of how skinny I was (at least compared to now :)). I know that all the weight I've gained is baby related, but it's still weird having a bump where abs used to be. I do love my bump so much though! 

Maternity clothes? I can wear cardigans, a couple of random shirts and dresses, some hoodies, and sweatpants and leggings. Other than that, it's maternity clothes central over here. 

Stretch marks? Not that I've noticed!

Sleep: Not so good, especially on week nights. Falling asleep is tricky. Staying asleep doesn't happen. Every time I want to move/roll over, I wake up and have to reposition my strategically placed pillows. Weekends are a little better because I can sleep in if I need to :)

Best moment this week: I got observed teaching a couple of weeks ago and met with my supervisor last Friday to discuss how it went. She thought it was great! She told me to keep doing what I'm doing, that she didn't have any suggestions, and wondered if I would co-teach with some teachers who have been having some lesson pacing/classroom management struggles! 

Miss Anything? Energy (it seems like it's very slowly dwindling), tummy sleeping, cocktails :)
Movement: Lots of it! Lately I've been able to feel a little foot (or maybe hand) slide around- it's super weird and super cool. Dan told me that a couple of nights ago, I was sleeping and he was awake laying with his hand on my belly. He said that the baby was moving so much that he couldn't believe I was sleeping through it. I thought it was pretty cute. 

Food cravings: Still custard and donuts- always. But I've added frozen mangos and frozen raspberries to my craving rotation. . . I could live off of those 4 things. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Same old, same old

Gender: She's a girl! 

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

Belly Button in or out? It's almost always flat- it hasn't actually popped out yet and still sinks back every once in a while. 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time! 

Looking forward to: The weekend (maybe seeing Meagan, maybe getting egg rolls, maybe hanging out with some friends, and hopefully relaxing)! 

Weekend Goodness

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day and one of his that I've seen circulating around today is,

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

I love that this is such a timeless piece of advice and wish that more people would decide to stick with love. Not only would individuals be more content, but our communities would be filled with much less violence. Holding on to hate takes a toll on your health- all of that negativity makes people grouchy, quick to react, closed minded, and physically ill. It really is a burden to bear. Stick with love. You'll feel better. Our communities, cities, states, countries, and world will be a better place. 

I usually call Dan on my way home from school. On Friday, he told me that he had a good treat waiting for me when I got home! I love good treats :) Especially when they are waiting on a cake stand. 

Dan and I went to Madison on Saturday morning to get brunch with Meagan and Shirley. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the four of us! We got donuts a s an appetizer (because who doesn't need an appetizer with brunch?). It was a really fun morning. Dan and I went to an outlet mall (Dan found jeans, I found nothing) and we got paint for a baby's dresser/changing table!

Maggie is a Packer fan. 

Sunday was filled with excitement, stress, and disappointment.
Nella was totally into the game!
:(  Good luck next year, Packers.

We (Dan) needed to be distracted after the game, so we got to work on the dresser.
Good music, talking about our baby, and doing home improvement projects took the edge off just a little. 

We put on the first coat of paint last night, I did another one today, and now we just need it to completely dry so we can put it back in the babe's room. I'll post pictures when it's finished. 

I got my oil changed and then had  to stop by once-upon-a-child and buy buy baby since I was in the area ;)
I added one more diaper to our stash! 

And now I'm going to relax (and maybe make some muffins) for the evening before heading back to school tomorrow! 

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

"Your belly is getting so big! You're gonna get those things my mom has. I kept getting bigger and bigger in her belly and it made her stretched out and you can see where I stretched her out on her sides!"



"Ms MaGelly- did you know you have a baby BUTT in your belly?! Hahahahaha"



Kid 1: You and Mrs. Boy McElwee (she meant Mr. McElwee :)) . . .  I want to know what name you're gonna put your baby into.
Kid 2: It's probably not going to be Hyper. . . is it?
Kid 3: It won't. And it won't be Luna either.



I told a little guy to take his hand out of his pants and he said, "But my butt is so itchy!"



Kid: Ms McKelly, who lives at your house with you?
Me: Me and Mr. McElwee
Kid: Why doesn't your mom and Mr. McKelly's mom live with you?
Me: They live at their own houses.
Kid: Does your baby live with you?
Me: Well, she goes every where I go, so she has to live with me.
Kid: Well my dad is getting a new house and my aunt is moving to Seattle but my brother has to keep living with me and can't live at my Grandma's house.



"If my mom doesn't pick me up, you'll have to take care of me forever!" (I'm not really sure if that was a threat, wish, or concern. haha!)




One of my kids has been gone for a few days because she's been at a funeral. The other kids were asking if she is sick and I told them why she isn't at school. A kid asked what a funeral is and I told them that it's a time when people get together to celebrate the life of someone who died. A little girl said, "Oh! We're doing that for my uncle this weekend! I think he's going to bring ice cream cake!"  Is your uncle dead? "No- I think it's his birthday." Ok, well a funeral is for someone who is dead. "Oh well my uncle isn't dead so it's probably not a funeral then." I think your right :)



As kids were getting picked up, a little girl said, "Bye Ms. McElwee! Bye baby!" and quickly kissed my belly :)

26 Weeks

Conversation when I walked in the door:

Me: Hi!

Dan: Hi, how was your. . . Woah! Did you pop in the last couple of days? Look at all that horizontal! 

How far along? 26 weeks

Total weight gain: Not sure, but the belly (and boobs) continues to grow! 

Maternity clothes? I always pick out my clothes the night before. I planned on wearing the only pair of non-maternity pants that fit me (with the help of a belly band) that I have. Well, the only pair of non-maternity pants that fit no longer do. Maternity pants (not counting leggings and stretchy pants) are the only pants that fit me now! 

Stretch marks? None to be seen so far! 

Sleep: This past week was a little bit rough. I have had a hard time falling asleep and then I've been waking up a few times a night. It's getting hard to get comfortable. 

Best moment this week: Getting our crib mattress and some other baby things! Baby item shopping is so much fun! 

Miss Anything? Tummy sleeping. Getting up and down from the floor is starting to get just a little bit harder. . . I know it's going to get worse! 
Movement: So many! My belly does crazy things :) 

Food cravings: Aside from the usual custard and donuts, my new things have been pomegranates and frozen raspberries. 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Same old things. 

Gender: She's a girl! 

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

Belly Button in or out? It's pretty flat most of the time. Belly buttons are weird! 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time! 

Looking forward to: The weekend! The 4kers were loud and had so. much. energy. this week! I have been so wiped out after school! 

Dan had a dream a few nights ago that I had a 12 pound baby boy. In the dream, he came in the room to hang out with me and the baby and was mad because we had a boy but didn't have time to talk about boy names. I said super casually, "Oh, I already named him Castle!" 

Hahaha!! Neither of us watch the show Castle. . . maybe Dan saw a commercial for it before he went to bed? Who know, but I thought it was so funny! 

Weekend Goodness

Homemade granola!
It made our house smell so cozy. 

Blackberry pancakes  for dinner
Mmmmm! 

Snuggly kitten on a snuggly blanket 

Curtain fabric for the baby's room :)
I want to paint the dresser/changing table a dark reddish-orange. 

Custard on a 15 degree day! 

Nella thinks she's a tiny puppy still. 

And the Packers won today! Dan was very happy.

Things Kids Said on a Wednesday

Since we don't have school tomorrow, here is some of what I heard today. . . .



"You know you're gonna have to deal with all the poop, right?"



"Which Annie do you like more? Black Annie of white Annie? My brother likes black Annie more cuz  her house is cooler. I like white Annie more cuz a kid snores on the steps and it's so so funny!"



A kid put his ear on my belly and said, "I can hear your baby breathing!"



One of my kids accidentally kicked another kid's nose. The kid who got kicked started crying said, "He  peeled some of my lip off and I think it's still stuck to the bottom of his shoe!"  (Don't worry- her lip wasn't bleeding- I think she was mostly startled)



The 8th graders painted the hallways around my classroom a very bright yellow. As we were walking to our room today, one little girl said, "It feels like we're inside the sun every time we walk through here."



On our way to the bathroom: "Can we pretend like we're in space? And there are aliens everywhere that we have to catch?" Sure- but you need to be very, very quiet to catch the aliens, or you'll scare them away. I'm pretty sure no one talked until we got back to the classroom, and then it was only to tell me how many aliens they caught :)




Stay warm tonight and tomorrow!

25 Weeks

Very tired, post-work picture :) 

How far along? 25 weeks

Total weight gain: I don't know, but I'm starting to feel pretty big! I think it's because every day my 4k-ers say things like "Ms. McElwee! Your belly is getting SO big!" 

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah. 

Stretch marks? I haven't found any yet!

Sleep: It's not too bad. . . I have a body pillow that I usually put on the floor while I sleep- I've been using it more at night, but still can't get completely comfortable. By the time I get used to falling asleep on my side I'll probably be able to fall asleep on my tummy again! 

Best moment this week: Seeing all my 4K kids again! I missed them over break :) I was happy to be back and they were happy to be back. On the first day back, one little girl gave me a hug and then asked if she could give the baby a hug and say hi to her too. :) Also, I got a call on my way home from school saying school is cancelled tomorrow because of the cold weather! 

Miss Anything? Falling asleep on my tummy. Warm(er) weather. . . it is has been cold out there these past few days! 
Movement: Oh yeah! Now that I'm back at school (and not laying on the couch watching my belly move), I don't notice movements as much- kind of a bummer- but she give me some nice strong kicks and jabs to remind me she's still there! 

Food cravings: Donuts and custard still! One of my kids' birthday was this week and she brought in donuts with sprinkles- I may have had one (or two). . . . 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Still cigarette smoke smell! I did make some bacon on Monday (it was an ingredient in a pasta dish) and although it was not super appealing, it was not repulsive! Woo hoo! 

Gender: She's a girl! 

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

Belly Button in or out? Still mostly in- it gets flatter depending on where baby is pushing and how I'm positioned. I think it's kind of goofy :) 

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy for the most part- things that I normally would feel sad/emotional about pretty much immediately make me cry now. For example, Dan and I were driving somewhere this weekend and I saw a man who I'm pretty sure is homeless. He was curled up with a blanket outside and it was pretty cold out- I burst into tears! And I'm starting to feel bad thinking about him because I didn't do anything to help him. Let's move on before there are more tears. 

Looking forward to: the weekend! Going from staying up late and sleeping in to trying to go to bed and wake up early tires a girl out! 

(Slow Drive) Back to School

"But when I get stressed, I tend to default to worry mode: if you give a mouse a cookie style. I'm going to work on not falling into that mode and continuing to find the kind and happy things in life, even in stressful situations."

Famous last words.


Yesterday was my first day back to school after winter break. I had big plans of going to school early, getting a bunch of stuff ready, and starting back on a productive note.

The universe had other plans.

I had a really hard time falling asleep the night before. Not too big of deal- I figured it would happen since I've been staying up later. I woke up early, got ready quickly, and left for school about a half hour  before I usual. Most days I get to school a half hour before I'm supposed to be there- I was going to have so much time to get things done! Dan called me about 5 minutes into my drive and said, "If you haven't left yet, you should. Traffic is down to one lane." He leaves for work around 5 am and said there was an accident. There were a bunch of police cars at the scene still. I thought maybe it would be cleaned up/cleared out by the time I hit the area. It turned out that it was a really bad accident :( and traffic was even more backed up for my drive. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get to school! Not only did I not get to school early, I was a half hour late! This definitely qualifies as a stressful situation for me.

I really did my best to not burst into if you give a mouse a cookie worry mode. I was going to either be on time (which is late for me) or late (which is super stressful for me). There was nothing I could do about it. I texted my assistant- don't worry, traffic was at a standstill- and let her know I probably wouldn't get to school on time. And then I reminded myself that I was lucky to have an assistant, there was nothing I could do about being late, school would not fall apart without me, and most importantly I was not the person in the accident. I also did my best to not watch the clock. It kind of helped.

I got to school, rushed up to my room, and found everyone quietly coloring while they waited for me.


It was a stressful start but the rest of the day turned out just fine. Everyone was happy to be back at school and I didn't let rough start totally throw off my day- it was a good start to keeping/continuing my resolution!

Happy New Year!!

 Dan and I rang in the new year in one of the best ways possible: we went out for dinner with a few friends, stopped home to put our jammies on, and headed over to Mike's house to play games, eat treats, and hang out with him and Sarah until midnight. It was much more mellow than years past, but I was happy to be where I was!

We talked about how quickly the year went by and made predictions for the new year. Most of our predictions centered around celebrity divorces, deaths, and meltdowns :) I'm giggling thinking about how negative that sounds, but we had fun doing it.


Looking back on 2014, I would have never predicted all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that happened. My top five moments of 2014:

1. I made it through my first year of teaching 4K!  I had a really tough class, not as much support as I needed, and it was my first year in a school. . . but I did it and came back for more :)

2. One of my students got shot in the head (and survived). This is something they definitely do not teach you how to deal with/respond to in college, but how could they? No one ever thinks that a a cute 4 year old girl will get shot. But she's alive and recently got out of the hospital!


3. I'm an aunt of twins! I'm not sure how, but they get more and more adorable each time I see them :) We got to see them at brunch today and it's crazy to think back to how little they were when they were born. Their cheeks are so much chubbier and they have such cute pudgy bellies :) It's so fun to watch them grow!

4. My sister-in-law is pregnant with twins! They are due exactly one week before my little one, but since they are twins, they probably won't go that long. She's having a boy and girl and we (every single family member and friend) couldn't be more excited!

5. We got a kitten.  Dan is allergic to cats, so I was pretty sure we would never get one, but he wanted this little one in his life :) She is so playful during the day and so snugly at night! I think Dan's immunity to her is building- he's not so sneezy around her but he is around other cats.

Ok I need to add a 6th. . . so many things happened this past year!

6. I'm pregnant!  Our little girl is due on Earth Day (April 22nd). So if she's born on her due date, she'll have an Earth day birthday :) I can't believe that I'm more than half way done with this pregnancy- time is just flying by!




Overall, 2014 was a good year! 2015 has lots of big things in store. I'm sticking with my "Be Kind. Be Happy." resolution again this year. I think I get a little bit better at it each year, but it's something I can always improve upon, especially in stressful situations. On a day-to-day basis, I'm really good about being kind and happy. But when I get stressed, I tend to default to worry mode: if you give a mouse a cookie style. I'm going to work on not falling into that mode and continuing to find the kind and happy things in life, even in stressful situations.


Before school starts back up tomorrow, I'm going to eat a delicious fish fry Dan made, snuggle on the couch, and mentally go through my day- it will be good to get back into my school routine.

I got donuts and frozen raspberries as a "last weekend of break" treat. Mmmmmm!

Maggie and Nella are always up for a good snuggle sesh :) 

It finally snowed!! 

This is how Chrysanthemum and I are planning on spending the rest of the evening :) 

Happy 2015!