The Last Drop

I know. We have been really fortunate to have all of these showers. I'm almost ashamed of all the attention. I felt like a genuine rock star! Mom and baby have been spoiled to death. Each shower was different and so much fun! Here are a few shots from the final shower last week, held at my other school.

Little Things

I was having a particularly bad day last week. I woke up and the only thought that was going through my mind was how much everything hurt. I slid on my stretchy pants, put a layer of make-up on my 11 month pregnant face, and took 100 baby steps on ice while holding my breath. When I finally slid into work, I strategically placed all of the pillows in my office chair, took one painful seat, and wondered where the strength was going to come from to perform for my kids.

I never dreamed I would get my second wind from a water squirting rubber duck. I heard my door open and was certain someone was there to ask me about a deadline, report or referral. Instead it was one of my students who has a hearing impairment. He uses both his voice and sign to communicate. He brought me my belated Valentine present. In case you aren't familiar with sign, the duck is saying "I love you" with his right hand (and not "I love rock-n-roll" like Matt insists). This student was most excited about the fact that I could randomly shoot others with water throughout the day. Not so sure how much firing I will do with this duck. I think instead it might just stay on my desk forever. It helps remind me why I am doing this. It is amazing how such a little thing can turn around my day.

A Little Request

Please oh please oh please...with sugar on top?

Here We Go Again!

Last year we had an ice storm that left us without power for 11 days. It was 11 very long, cold, stresful days. I remember how happy I felt to come home to our house after power was restored. Matt had every light in the house on and he was running the vacuum and the furnace full blast, with a smile on his face.

We had another winter storm come through our area this week. It looks just as bad outside. We have been very lucky. We haven't lost power (knocking furiously on everything). The roads seem to be worse this year though. It is also impossible to walk on. Matt has threatened me if he finds out I tried to leave the house. He fell flat on his back last night while taking the trash out just a few feet from the garage. So, here I am. Now, I'm not going to go as far as to say I'm bored. I know that I will be biting my tongue here in a few weeks and only WISH I could be bored. I will say, I am running out of things to do. My time has been consumed with the following:

• obsessively worring if the power will go out




• listening to cars crunch while they go down the road




• obsessively worring if I will go into labor early and have trouble getting to the hospital




• clearning all of the baby's clothes again because I can't keep track of what has been washed in Dreft and what hasn't




• trying to teach Roscoe to balance various objects on his head




• baking cookies with undercooked centers because I can't seem to cook anything right these days



• downloading new tunes




• dusting in very unusual places




• wondering if my face can swell to the point of acquiring stretch marks (I think I'm almost there.)




• trying to figure out what my toes resemble these days (vienna sausagues)




• writing in baby books




• reading about how badly you can mess up your baby's sleeping habits and getting my worry on about that




• rocking in my new rocking chair and daydreaming




• watch my belly be kicked around like a soccer ball




• watch hours of Baby Story and Brining Baby Home and crying while my dog looks at me worried




• wonder if you can sneak out without Matt finding out

I have one more guaranteed ice day off tomorrow. Everything in this house is in its place. All baby items are assembled. I wonder what exciting adventures await me for Wednesday?

Raindrops Keep Falling on Our Heads!

The people who work in Matt's department held a shower for us at Panera. It was so nice!




Amanda and her daughter Rowan made this amazing cake!

This shower was pretty laid back which we really enjoyed.

All of the people Matt work with turned out to wish us well. They are all very sweet.

We got a lot of wonderful baby gear that we really needed and had a great time!

Baby Who?

As soon as we found out we were going to have a baby, the name game was on! Matt is famous for coming up with unusual, comedic names. For example, I really loved the name Jack, but he would only go with Jack if we could have the middle name "Hammer". Matt was a big fan of the name Gus for a while. I never quite bought into Gus. (Sorry if your name is Gus or you love a Gus.)

I found that when you start telling people the potential names of your unborn child, all decency and courtesy goes flying out the window. I had people tell me that my child would probably grow up to pump gas for a living. (Sorry if you pump gas for a living or love someone who pumps gas.) I had many people tell me my names were too common. I also heard about every behavior disordered child in our disctrict that ever shared my child's potential name (one drawback from sharing with teachers).

So, I decided to stop talking. Matt and I agreed to keep the baby's name a secret until he arrives. As much as my mother believes this was to drive her to the point of insanity, it really wasn't. However, now I have found that the driving people insane part is just a perk. I have had so much fun keeping this a secret! I am starting to worry though. The more I use the name around Matt, the more I almost slip around others.

For now I will keep it under lock and key and my family will continue to call him "Baby Who" (Nano) and little "mister no name" (Memaw). Just a few more weeks and the cat will be out of the bag!