Thankful

I can't believe how much can change in a year. Not even a year ago, Sean and I were trying to get pregnant and had no idea why it wasn't happening. I guess we had been trying for several months at that point, and I was getting pretty frustrated. Not long after I made that post (and after the urging of a friend who thought "something wasn't right"), I went to my new doctor, was diagnosed with a uterine fibroid, and had surgery.

And now, here I am, typing this while my unborn son wiggles all over in my belly. I've got a crib in the bedroom down the hall. Next month I'll be going to my very own baby shower. My son will be here in less than three months. I can't believe it. I am absolutely floored at how my prayers have been answered totally and completely.

With Thanksgiving next week, I know exactly how much I have to be thankful for. I am amazed. I can't wait to see what another year brings!

Top Ten Thoughts This Week

1. Acid Reflux
Sucks.

2. Breech baby?
I'm feeling lots of crazy-low movement. I think this little stinker is breech. I hope he moves... but on the other hand, I am totally freaked about pushing him out, so maybe a c-section wouldn't be so bad?

3. Did I just get hit on?
I met a very friendly dad at Open House the other night. It is very possible that he was interested in more than his child's progress in math class. But that can't be possible, right? I mean, I'm seven months pregnant!

4. My Dog is Horny
Jet had his way with a blanket yesterday. This poor dog needs a girlfriend. There's a really good chance that he'll be a daddy sometime next year... so cute little Jet puppies will be available! Let the line start here!

5. The Real Housewives
Holy crap- the OC wives are so hot! I'm so glad I live in Richmond, Texas and not Coto de Caza! I can't compete with that! Just thinking of how much time they must spend grooming each day exhausts me.

6. Organizing, is it worth it?
I decided to organize my recipes. I'm now thinking that this is way too big of a job and maybe I should just shove all this stuff in a box. These are also my feelings on scrap booking.

7. Should I be buying stuff?
I don't have any baby stuff. Should I be buying stuff, and what?!? This boy will be here in less than three months and I am not prepared.

8. I should live in Venezuela.
I had the sweetest mom tell me how she "knew I was expecting a boy, because I'm getting prettier and prettier!" Her son agreed. Ha! She said that "in her country, everyone knows if you're having a boy your skin looks amazing, and you glow!" I think I should live in her country. Or in Mexico City- because one of my brother-in-law's friends, Juan Pablo, said the same thing. I love it!

9. Tired and Mean.
I picked a stupid, ugly fight with Sean last night. I think I just got too tired and took it out on him. I feel terrible about it. I hope I'm not always this mean. I don't even know what to say now. It was that bad.

10. Holidays.
I love, love, love the holidays. But it's starting to become obvious that with my parents separated, things are going to be different this year. I'm OK with different, but I don't know if my whole family is OK yet. I'm a little nervous about what to expect.

Pregnant Rambling (That's right, I'll blame it on pregnancy as long as I can!)

I'm 29 almost 30 weeks... and so OK. I know I look pregnant at this point. But, really...

Girl 1: Mrs. Hale, your belly is so big!

Girl 2: Yes, you know, we were so worried about Mrs. Bass. (Mrs. Bass is also expecting)

Me: You were?

Girl 1: Yes! I mean, your belly went from here to here (imagine her showing about a 2 foot growth) and Mrs. Bass' belly only went from here to here (imagine her showing about a 2 in growth). Right now, you look like my mom did right before she had my little brother. (Reminder: I am not due until Feb. 8)

I say: Well, you don't need to worry, Mrs. Bass' baby is perfect, and everyone's belly looks different when they are pregnant, blah, blah, blah...

I'm thinking: WHAT?!? Seriously? Can I get a break?

(We actually ran into Mrs. Bass as the girls were telling me this, and we both had a good laugh! Mrs. Bass is a petite woman, and her belly has definitly grown more than two inches! I may still look huge... but I don't look like I'm about to give birth, right?)

Kids really have a way of keeping me humble.

So, Sean is away deer hunting and it's just me and Jet here at the house. It's a little lonely. Even though Sean just wants to watch football and surf the internet either on the laptop or his phone (he's not picky) I still like him here. You know, someone to talk at.

On another, much more fun note, I am getting so excited about the holidays!! I swear I may be one of the only adults in the world who thinks about Christmas and my heart skips a beat! I get butterflies when I think about Christmas lights and cookies and egg nog and ham and all the side dishes and chocolate and stockings and decorating!!! I love all the holiday parties and the dressing up and gift giving and getting! I love Christmas!! I also love Thanksgiving- I'm really looking forward to sweet potatoes and jalapeno corn casserole! And stuffing! And cranberries! And having three days off of school! I can't wait to start baking cookies. I already made 240 chocolate covered cherries last weekend. I loved every minute of it. I ate about 10. I have also been having my fair share of hot chocolate lately- the cooler weather begs for it! I will no doubt make some tonight.

And now I really have nothing of importance to say (and I'm not quite sure anything else I've written is all that important) and I'll be logging off. Maybe I'll come up with something interesting to talk about soon... probably not. I'm just totally consumed with being pregnant and all, so I'm getting totally boring.

Kids: Still Cracking Me Up

My belly hurts today. Too much ab stretching? Gas? Not sure.
I was groaning in class today and a kid asked if I was OK...


Me: Yeah, my belly just hurts a little today.

Kids: Maybe it's the baby!! Maybe he's kicking you really hard!

Me: No, I can tell when he's kicking. This is different.

A VERY concerned kid: Maybe he's BITING YOU!

Me: (chuckle) No, I don't think so.

Kids: Yeah! I bet he's biting you!

Me: Guys, he doesn't have any teeth. I'm sure he's NOT biting me. Let's move on.

Kid: Maybe you just need to go to the bathroom.


Awesome. I took the advice and felt a little better. HA!

Our Little Meatloaf

OK, I give in. Here is an official "belly picture." Today, I am 28 weeks. The first day of my third trimester. Time is flying! This picture is truly terrible... but honestly, I haven't taken a picture I don't hate in a few months. (Sean took our first real "belly picture" at 19 weeks. I hated it so much I threw the camera on the bed and told him he "chose the worst angle possible to take the picture." This is the first one we've taken since then. I look way worse in this one. I had Jet pose with me, cause he's cute.)




At school today, a little boy was telling me that his mom's expecting, and he's really excited! He said, "The baby used to be the size of a grain of rice, and now it's a peanut!" I start reminiscing about when the doctor told us our baby was the size of a grain of rice... and I say, "Time flies! Before you know it your baby is going to be as big as mine!" The little boy says, "Your baby's as big as a meatloaf!" He may be right! Ha!


This past Saturday, Sean's friend Matt brought over his brand new eight-week-old black lab puppy! I fell in love. I wanted to keep him. I thought this picture was funny- Jet was SO interested! He had to assert his dominance over this sweet little dog... and after he got in trouble, he just wanted to play. They also took a nap together. Oooooh! So cute!




I proceeded to hog the puppy for the rest of the visit. He was absolutely precious. I want one. I know I'm probably only saying this because I haven't had my baby yet... but I think puppies are cuter than babies. If I see someone with a puppy- I HAVE to go ask to hold it. If I see someone with a baby- I may say, "oh, how sweet!" but I don't HAVE to hold it. Puppies are irresistible.

Jet has been a "momma's boy" lately, as Sean would say. I love it. He's the sweetest dog. While we were attempting to take some pictures for a Christmas card, we snapped this one of Jet just being super cute. He was so patient. We made him pose in several different, annoying poses and he still loves me!

Our friends Barbara and Robert moved to our neighborhood recently and Sean has made a new buddy. This is Caroline- one of their super adorable twin girls. She seems to like him (not quite sure why :)) and he really loves her. Cracks me up how she'll just sit and watch football with him!

The last week or so I've started to get so tired. I have energy in the morning and after I eat lunch, I'm on a downward spiral until I fall asleep on the couch around 8:00. At the latest. I am pretty boring lately. Which is why I need to post a few pictures from my trip to Nac a few weekends ago. I think this was the last time I was interesting! I actually stayed out until 1:00 am! I have no idea how I did it.

This first one is of me and my friend Dawson, whose birthday we were celebrating. He wasn't embarrassed to dance with the only pregnant woman who was tacky enough to go to the bar. (Don't worry- Nac is smoke free now.)

Now here's one of me and Brandon- one of my sister's best friends. He graciously let us stay at his apartment and dealt beautifully with my bossiness (he started calling me "Mrs. Hale"). This is a fake wedding picture. Apparently, at one point, he thought we were going to get married. When he met my sister, he introduced himself as her "future brother-in-law." This cracks me up! We had to pose together, just for fun! Ha!

And, here's one of me, Jenni, and Brandon. Jenni is my little sister, but because she's taller than me, everyone thinks she's older. Some of her friends that I met that day were carefully asking questions to figure out whether I was her "just graduated from high school and pregnant" sister. Really! I told a couple of guys that I graduated in 2003... and they said, "from high school?" HA! I also got a few "pity looks" from people as we walked around campus. "That poor pregnant girl" "I wonder if she'll have to drop out of school?" "I wonder if the daddy is still in the picture?" It was pretty funny! I wanted to shout out, "I'm married and almost thirty! Stop feeling sorry for me!"

Another Kid Story...

My coworker and friend, Emily, had a small group of my students in her room the other day and asked them (because she's such a poop), "How is Mrs. Hale different now that she's pregnant?" Here's how they responded...

"She eats a lot of snacks."

"She eats her lunch at snack time now."

"Yeah, she ate a sandwich at 9:30 this morning."

Oh yes, it's all true. I'm always so hungry! Ahhh!

Love What Kids Say

Kids sure love someone pregnant. Everyday I get about 20 questions (18 of those repeated from the day before) about the baby and all things related to it.

"What are you going to name your baby?"
"Can you feel the baby move?"
"Does the baby pee inside you?"
"If the baby pees inside you, does it drink its own pee?"
"When will the baby be here?"
"Will you bring your baby to school?"
"Does it hurt when the baby kicks you?"
"Will you still be our teacher after you have your baby?"
"Can you feel the baby pass gas in your belly?" (My personal favorite.)


If I say I'm tired, a student will say, "Maybe it's because the baby is eating all your food."

If I drop something, a student will say, "It's the baby."

If I eat a piece of cake (happens more often than I'd like to admit), a student will say, "Your baby is going to be really sweet because of all the sugar you eat."

When I told my class the baby is a boy, all the boys shouted, "YESSSSS!" and either jumped out of their seats, or pumped their fists in the air. (Everything is a boy vs. girl contest in the fourth grade. The girls are always ahead, boys. Better to learn it now.)


My baby has already received pictures, letters, and one exceptionally sweet poem (which is now on my fridge).

The baby moving is always a popular topic of conversation...

Little girl: Mrs. Hale, can you feel the baby move?
Me: Yes.
Little girl: Can we feel it?
Me: Not yet, the baby's not big enough for you to feel it. (Lie. Do you want 20 pairs of grubby little hands all over your belly? Thought not.) He's still too little.
Little boy: He doesn't look that little to me.


My belly is another very popular subject...

Little girl 1: Mrs. Hale (slight pause) I don't know if this is appropriate or not, but (another pause) your belly sure is big.
Me: Really?
Little girl 1: Yeah, I mean, at the beginning of the year your belly was only a little big, and now it's huge.
Me: Wow, huge? (And was my belly already "a little big" at the beginning of the year?!)
Little girl 1: Yeah. Definitely.
Little girl 2: Yeah, Mrs. Hale. Isn't Mrs. Bass pregnant too?
Me: Yes. She is!
Little girl 2: Well, you're bigger than her.
(She's due two weeks after me.)

I guess there's no denying I'm looking pretty pregnant these days! My coworkers say how "cute" I look... the kids waste no time bringing me right back down to Earth! Honestly... I love it. I think it's so amazing that kids will say exactly what they're thinking. How can you not love that innocence? They'll be full of polite crap soon enough.