Unemployment

Today is my first day of unemployment. Yesterday went really well. We didn't have much to do for post planning yesterday, and what we were supposed to do kept getting pushed back because there was a delay printing report cards. They eventually decided that report card printing was going to be postponed until later. I'm sure there is some office staff that is going to be doing it later this week or next week. I was sad when I turned off the lights in my classroom and left for the last time, but I was so tired because I wanted to stay up and see who won Dancing with the Stars Tuesday night. I don't know why they couldn't announce it before 11 pm, but I think we all knew who was going to win (and it wasn't my top pick).

Luckily the day was just a half day, so the middle school teachers popped in on one of the art teacher's retirement party and then I picked up a former teacher to go to lunch with us at Bahama Breeze! We are all so excited that we have a Bahama Breeze so we don't have to go all the way to Orlando to eat there. It has been a tradition among the teachers to go to Bahama Breeze one night during the ACSI convention, but our school didn't go this year and it doesn't sound as if they are sending teachers this year. Lunch was a fun way to end the day, and I know we'll get together a couple of times during the summer. I didn't feel bad about saying good-bye because I know I'll see most of the teachers again next year even though I won't be working with them, unlike Crystal who is moving to Kansas. My motto when saying good-bye was "you'll see me again, it's not like I'm moving to Kansas!" When I finally got home I went straight to bed!

Eventually, I'm going to come up with a schedule that doesn't involve 12 hours of tv watching or computer playing, but I told Matt that I am at least taking the rest of the week off. Matt's mom is coming up tomorrow for the long weekend. Matt will need the help laying sod since I'm not much help. One of the perks of pregnancy! :)

Here's a pregnancy update. I have really felt great for the entire pregnancy. I think it's up to 3 bad days, but in 15 1/2 weeks, that's not too bad. Easy pregnancies must be genetic, because Lisa had it easy with both of hers and mom did too with all 3 of hers. Trust me, I'm not complaining! I have been getting stuffy at night, which I was blaming on allergies until I read that pregnancy can make your nasal passages swell and increase mucus production. These are not the things that new moms talk about!! I can't say for sure that I have felt the baby move. I think it has been more of wishful thinking than anything else. I have read that mom's feel the baby starting at 16 weeks (next week for me), but it can be earlier if you know what it feels like from previous pregnancies. I am not in maternity clothes, but the jeans I bought that fit perfectly pre-pregnancy are almost too tight to wear any more, other pants are starting to feel tight and even t-shirts are starting to pull around the middle. Matt said last night that he thinks I'm starting to show. I told him I feel like I'm in that transition stage, like when you are growing out a hair style and you're in that weird in between stage. I also said that it's a good thing everyone knows I'm pregnant or they may just think I've let myself go now that I'm not going to be working any more!! We find out June 7th if we are having a boy or a girl. I keep telling the baby that he/she better cooperate because we really want to know!! I am still thinking that we're having a boy and Matt thinks we're having a girl, but neither of us are too concerned what the gender will be. We're just hoping for a healthy baby. (I know that sounds so PC, but it's true nonetheless!) We don't have any names picked out, so I'm hoping that finding out the gender will help in the naming process.

Last day of school!

Of course I have been looking forward to the last day of school, but I have also been denying that it is coming. I have had a great year and a great group of students. I will miss them next year. I'm also going to miss the teachers that I work with.

My day didn't start too well, though. As soon as I was ready to get out of my car, I dumped a glass of ice water in my lap. Good thing I wore a white skirt! I called one of the teachers that lives nearby and asked her to bring a blow dryer. It felt so good because I was cold! I did great the first half of the morning. I started tearing up when one of the mom's brought me a diaper cake, but I did well through the 8th grade completion ceremony and handing out my awards. We came back to my room for the party and the mom's had put together a diaper bag and filled it with gifts and gift cards. That's when I had to pull out the tissues! It was so sweet! I have to say that my favorite card was the one the kid wrote "I enjoyed getting in trouble in your class because you made it so fun." It's probably because I would throw markers or erasers to get their attention.

I don't usually do this, but I took a picture of all of my wonderful gifts. I also included the 2 gifts that I got earlier this week.

Last Doctor's Appointment

I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday. At my office, they rotate the doctor's that you see because when you go into labor the doctor that delivers the baby is the one that is on call. The appointment went well. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. Very exciting! It had been suggested that I take prescription prenatal vitamins by one of the nurses when I first found out I was pregnant, so I looked into the cost of prescription prenatals and I can say it's not in our baby budget. I told this to the doctor and she said there is no reason why I have to take a prescription one and over the counters are just fine. I told her that I have been taking samples that I have collected and really liked Prenate, so she had the nurse grab me a bunch of boxes of samples. She brought me enough for 2 more months!! But the best part of the visit was scheduling the anatomy ultrasound when we will hopefully find out if we are having a boy or a girl. I say hopefully because we all know that babies don't always position themselves in a way to best see what they are. June 7th is the big day. Just over 3 weeks away!

Here's the video of the baby's heartbeat. I feel bad for the nurse because I'm sure it doesn't thrill her to be in the video, but she was a good sport. I know she has to deal with crazy new moms all the time, I just try not to be the worst of the worst!! :)

For Jenna!

The Eikelands' Visit

Matt and I were lucky enough to have the Eikelands over for the weekend. Lisa had the great idea of taking the kids to the zoo so they could see some of the bigger animals than they have at the Junior Museum. Of course, Brian was really just along for the ride. We let Kayleigh make some of the decisions about where to go or what to see, though she did get overridden a few times just so we weren't back tracking. The zoo also had a playground and a small water park. While Kayleigh was splashing around, Matt and I took Brian into the restaurant next door to cool off. Highlights for me were petting the sting ray and feeding the giraffe. There was one giraffe that kept eating all the food, and I tried to feed the other one, but the greedy giraffe took it from me! After the zoo we drove to get shaved ice. It's so good! Plus it was a great way to cool off after being outside all afternoon. We came home to the plan of making fettuccine alfredo, but ended up sending the boys to get Zaxby's. It's a good thing we went to plan B, because I tried to make the alfredo sauce Sunday night, but it never thickened. Matt was a good enough sport to run to Publix to buy a jar of alfredo sauce, so it wasn't a total waste! Sunday we had breakfast at the house. Kayleigh found her special seat, which was great, because she is a messy eater!! They left a little after 10 so we could go to church for baby dedication Sunday. We had at least 5 friends up front with their babies. I took a nice nap Sunday afternoon. I love my Sunday siestas!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

A cute video of Brian and Kayleigh:

The FURminator

I don't know if the rest of you pet owners are suffering with the spring time shedding that is going on, but it is certainly been annoying here, especially with Simba sleeping in the bed and leaving his furball mark wherever he lies. Anyway, one of my teacher friends was talking about this same problem with her dog, but said that she bought a FURminator. It's a pet hairbrush that "removes the bottom coat without damaging the top coat." Usually a bath takes care of the fur, but not this time. I was getting desperate because my allergies were acting up, so I went on eBay and bought a FURminator. (It was $13.50 and worth it!) I love it! Simba has always loved being brushed, but we are getting huge hairballs off of him. It's a bit on the ridiculous side, but it explains why every time I pet him I'd get a handfull of hair. Juliet is not as big a fan of getting brushed, but if you knew Juliet, you would know that you can only do things on her time table.

Here's a picture of the FURminator:


This isn't a picture of my cat, because I haven't been keeping the hairballs, but this is seriously close to the amount of hair we've been getting off Simba. He even looks skinnier!!