31 and 32 Weeks

This picture is kind of misleading- If I'm standing straight and look down, I can't see my feet. If I'm leaning a little bit forward and talking to Maggie, the toes are visible :) 

How far along? 32 weeks! About 8 weeks left- I can't believe it! 

Total weight gain: I have an appointment tomorrow, so I'll see then! On Monday, a third grader asked me if my baby was going to be skinny when it grew up. I said I didn't know. He told me that it was probably going to be skinny because other than my belly, the rest of me was still skinny and some pregnant people just get fat. Haha! He wasn't trying to be nice- just honest. Kids are weird. 

Maternity clothes? Yes. I still wish I could wear leggings to school (and everywhere) every day. Even though maternity pants are comfy, leggings are comfier :) 

Stretch marks? None that I have noticed!

Sleep: It's usually good from about 5:45 until I have to get up (which is supposed to be at 6:00 but lately has been pushed back to 6:10). The rest of the night is full of ups and downs- I get up to use the bathroom. I try to lay back down. I get up to get some tums. I snuggle back down. I get up to get some water. I attempt to lay back down. You get it. 

Best moment this week: Getting our recliner- it's so comfy

Miss Anything? Sleep. Not knowing what heartburn feels like. 
Movement: So much! She is so strong!

Food cravings: Frozen raspberries have taken over first place. Custard and donuts are a close second. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I think onions and/or garlic cause major heartburn lately. I don't want to experiment and find out exactly which one it is, so I've been kind of avoiding both :/ Cigarette smell/smoke still disgusts me. 

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 still pretty much how it was. The top part of it pops out sometimes and other times it's flat-ish. Sometimes it's in. 

Wedding rings on or off? On. It was SUPER hot in my classroom yesterday and I think my fingers got a little swollen from the excessive heat and my rings got a little tight. I was worried I was starting to swell, but once I got home I was fine! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy!

Looking forward to: The second part of our birth class, brunch with Dan's family and lunch with mine this weekend, relaxing . . . 

Weekend Goodness!

What a busy week! 

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I had to stay late after school to help interview potential subs for when I go on maternity leave. I was too tired to do anything but get my stuff ready for the next day, eat, and go to bed by the time I got home from school. 

Dan and I had part one of two birth classes on Thursday. I had to rush home from school and then we had to leave right away for the class. We didn't get home until about 9:30 and I pretty much went to bed as soon as I could. Aside from specific information on where to check in when I'm in labor and practicing different laboring positions, I didn't really learn anything new. The focus of the first class was what to expect during the different stages of labor. I've always been really interested in birth and babies, so I've known what to expect in a typical birth for a while. 

The instructor of the class did a good job of keeping the partners involved and letting them know what they can do to help along the way- such good information for Dan :) We're going to learn more about medical interventions next week- I have a basic understanding of these but not as much background knowledge as I do on birth, so this part should be helpful. Only about 2 months until our little one makes her appearance! Woah! 

I made a bunch of little french toast bites for breakfast on Saturday morning.
And I did taxes. . . which I secretly think are kind of fun.  I know- I'm weird :)
I use turbo tax and like answering the questions. And I get money at the end. 

My mom and dad came over to drop off the glider they got us for a baby gift!
Putting the glider in the living room ended up taking way more work than I anticipated.
The chair was too big for the set up we originally had, so after rearranging the furniture many (many) times, we finally came up with something that worked! This is an 'after' picture. I didn't take a before picture (because I didn't think I would need one).

This is also a partial 'after' picture. We moved the tv from he stand to the mantel- I felt like it was a baby death-trap down low. Now all I need to to do is find a new coffee table (the rusty metal wheels I found at a barn sale were also a death trap for a crawling and/or teething baby) and find some sort of bookshelf or two to go in front of the fireplace. 

I went to World Market for tea (which I got).
I ended up getting a few boxes of botan rice candy.
 I may or may not have eaten all of them in the car in the way home. . . 

Chrysanthemum sleeps either right by my side or on top of me every night almost all night. 

I stayed up too late and woke up too early on Sunday. I vacuumed the house and did a few loads of laundry before Sarah, Steph, Alli, and I got a delicious brunch. I organized some baby clothes, scrubbed the floors, cleaned the bathroom, and cleaned the baseboards in the kitchen when I got home (nesting, anyone?). Dan is making me rest now :)

Maggie is always up for snuggle time. 

Weekend Goodness

Shamrock shakes are back!!!!

Chrysanthemum might have been having sympathy pain in her feet and wanted to soak hers like I was soaking mine :)

Valentine's day pancakes with my brunch-enthusiast counterpart :)

Dan and I spent Valentine's day afternoon shopping for a rocker or glider recliner. . . it is hard to find something that isn't huge and/or ugly! We didn't have any luck in stores but found some online that might work! Dan made delicious steaks and salad for Valentine's dinner!

I wish I would have gotten a video of them play- they ran back and forth under the coffee table  for so long! It was hilarious! 

Skype session with Elizabeth!

Bangers and eggs for dinner while watching SNL's 40th anniversary show- what a good way to end the weekend! 

Things Kids Said on a Thursday: Valentine's Edition

We didn't have an actual Valentine's Day party in either of my classes, but we did pass out Valentines! I like to make mine :) This year, I happened to find some cute little dinosaurs at Target in their Valentine section. I washi-taped the the dinos to some scrapbook paper and wrote "I think you are dino-mite!" on each card. They turned out pretty cute and the kids were excited about them!




Onto things kid's said today. . .


"When is your baby gonna have her birthday?"
Probably near the end of April- on the day she's born.
"Can I come to her birthday party?"
No- I think it's going to be just me and Mr. McElwee at her birthday this year.
"Only two people?! Why is her birthday gonna be so small? Cuz she'll only be zero?"
Yep :)



A little girl found a box of chocolates in her backpack. She took the box out and said it was for me and my assistant to share. About half way through the day, she told me that she was going to give a chocolate to each of the kids who are being good (there were probably 4 chocolates in the box).  Near the end of the day, she almost started crying and said, "I made a mistake! That's my box of chocolates. It's not for you. I think my papa gave it to me!" The chocolates went back into her backpack :)



I got a lot of, "I love you, Ms. McElwee!" and a few, "I love you, baby!"s

We made cards for the kids' families. They made handprint hearts on the front, toilet paper tube stamped hearts on the inside, and copied the words "I LOVE YOU!" onto a piece of paper that we glued into the card. I think it's hilarious that one little girl wrote the word "yawn" on her card. We're learning about the letter Y this week and she knows "yawn" starts with a "y". She asked me how to spell yawn and before I knew it, she had written it on the front, inside, and back of her card! Haha!

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! 

30 Weeks!

How far along? 30 weeks! Woah. . . only around 10 more weeks to go! 

Total weight gain: I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll find out then! 

Maternity clothes? Mmm hmmm

Stretch marks? Nope. 

Sleep: Is tricky. 

Best moment this week: Dan and I helped watch our nieces on Sunday. They are just so cute! 

They are such happy, smiley babies. We spent the afternoon chatting away :) 

Miss Anything? energy, sleep, sushi, bending over easily haha!
Movement: Oh yes! 

Food cravings: Custard with raspberries! Ok, so I haven't had that yet, but it sounds delicious. 

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? Kind of the same as it was last week. It's mostly flat with an occasional pop here or there

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy!

Looking forward to: Possibly rocker/glider shopping this weekend. 

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

My little spanish-speaking kid came up to me very angrily and said, "She's being funny to me!" I said, "Why is that making you angry? Being funny should make you laugh- it should make you feel happy." He responded, "She said 'ha-ha'' (in a teasing voice). "Oh, you mean she was making fun of you!" We talked with the girl about how that wasn't nice and how that made him feel upset. We have come a loooong way since the beginning of the year with him!



A couple kindergarteners, who were in my class last year, were arguing in the hall as they were walking towards me. When they got to me, one said "Ms. Minster- are you having a baby?" I said yes and the other kid said, "See, I told you." Then the first kid asked, "Is it gonna be a black baby?" I told her I was pretty sure it was going to be a white baby since I'm white and the baby's dad is white




"Mrs. McElwee? Can you come over to my house? If you come over, I'll give you chocolate ice cream!"




"Ms. McElwee. . . Does Mr. . . . Mr. . .  umm Mr. McElwee! Does Mr. McElwee have any tools I can borrow this summer to build a go cart? I'll give em back when I'm done working on it."




We were doing yoga youtube video as a class and at one point, we were supposed to lay on backs and lift our hips in the air. One little guy was puffing his belly into the air instead of lifting his hips up. He noticed how big his belly looked and said, "My belly is getting so big! I think I'm gonna have a baby too!"





What day of the week is it?     "OCTOBER!!!!!"    (not sure where that came from)

29 Weeks!

sorry for the bad classroom lighting. . . 

How far along? 29 weeks!

Total weight gain: Probably somewhere around 25 lbs still. 

Maternity clothes? Oh yes!

Stretch marks? Nothing as of this week

Sleep: It has not been so great. I don't think it will be until post-pregnancy. . . and then I'll be waking up for/with the baby- at least (hopefully) my body will comfortable then. Any move I make wakes me up. Sometimes I wake up thirsty. Sometimes I wake up with heartburn (it's a fun new pregnancy symptom I've been experiencing lately ;/). Usually once I wake up to pee. 

Best moment this week: We had a snow day on Monday! It was more snowy near school (which is about 45 minutes away) than it was near home, so Dan and I were not trapped indoors. We picked up some iron pills (I'm anemic but don't have gestational diabetes!), got paninis for lunch, and then I relaxed while Dan painted a bookshelf for the baby's room. Chrysanthemum jumped up on the shelf while Dan was painting and left little orange footprints around the room! I attempted to give her a bath (which she hated) and then trapped her in the bathroom while I cleaned up the footprints. It was a pretty funny situation :) 

Miss Anything? sleeping through the night. . . or at least comfortably! 
Movement: Yep! She's getting SO strong too! 

Food cravings: Still donuts, custard, frozen mangos, and frozen raspberries. I could eat them all the time! 

Anything making you queasy or sick:  bacon isn't so bad any more. The cigarette smoke is still extra disgusting to me

Gender: She's a girl! 

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

Belly Button in or out? Sometimes it's flat, sometimes is out on top, sometimes its just below flat! haha!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Generally happy. . . all of the sappy super bowl commercials got me to tear up a little though!

Looking forward to: Celebrating Alli's birthday this weekend, relaxing, and continuing to prepare for the little one! 

Fruit Finds

I found some prickly pear cactus fruit at the grocery store. They haven't had any new or interesting fruits (at least to me) lately, so I was excited when I saw these!

I've never tasted one before and wasn't really sure what to expect. My prediction was that it would be slightly sweet, pale, and watery- kind of like the white part of watermelon but sweeter.

I was surprised when I cut it open and it was deep red! The texture was similar to my prediction expect that it was filled with hard seeds.  The flavor was close to what I expected.  It was a tasty little snack. 

I also found some currants. I've had these before (someone near my parents' house grows them) and I love them. Another good fruit find:)

Weekend Goodness

Nella, Maggie, and I had a late night snuggle session on Friday night while Dan watched a creepy movie. 

We got a vacuum as a belated wedding gift this weekend! I was super excited and went a little vacuum crazy. There is not a piece of hair nor speck of dust to be found anywhere in this house now! Haha! 

My mom, Meagan, Molly, and I got brunch and talked about baby shower things on Saturday. 

And then Dan and I went to my school holiday party Saturday night. We got there about an hour after is started and were really worried that it was going to be a terrible party (hence the horrible work party snapchat screen shot). It was almost silent when we walked in the room and everyone was sitting at tables. Luckily not long after we go there, they started playing music, we had some food (and a few cupcakes) and played a white elephant gift game thing. It ended up not being horrible!
We went to Dan's mom's house afterwards- she was having an winter indoor block party. We stayed a little longer than anticipated and I was a very tired girl when we got home. Another busy, yet fun, Saturday!

It snowed a good amount on Saturday night/ Sunday. I made some "snow ice cream" (snow, milk, sugar, vanilla) with some nice, fluffy snow :)
And even though it was probably not the best idea, Dan and I went to Target- I was feeling super anxious about getting our house ready for the baby and felt like we needed to stock up on some things- nesting is definitely kicking in around here! 

We spent the rest of Sunday relaxing.

Things Kids Said on a Thursday

For some reason I saved this as a draft instead of publishing it on Thursday. . .



Me: germs are invisible
Girl: Just like God!



4K girl:  Is your baby wearing clothes right now?
Me: Nope.
4k girl: She's not?! Is she wearing panties?
Me: Nope :)
4K girl: hahaha she's naked in your belly? hahahaha




Kid during a story time: Ms. McElwee! He just picked his nose and ate his boogers! That's SO gross!
Me: Do you know why it's so gross?
Kid: It's his nose.
Me: Noses aren't gross- boogers are. Did you know that we have boogers in our nose to help keep us healthy? What are those really tiny things that make us sick?
Class: Germs!!!
Me: Boogers help stop germs. So if you eat your boogers, what else are you eating?
Class: Germs!
Me: Yep! If you eat boogers, that means you're eating germs too- and that is gross. So please don't eat your boogers and keep your fingers out of your nose.




"How come you picked to have a baby girl? You didn't want a baby boy?"
"I didn't get to pick"
"Did the doctor get to pick?"
"No. . ."
"Well who got to pick then?"
"The baby kind of did. . . she is just growing into a girl."