Back to Work

The school year officially started last Friday. I got my first subbing job yesterday, which surprised me. I think it will be my only job this week, but it's the first week and I didn't expect much. It's usually pretty slow at the start of the school year. I was pretty excited to get back into the classroom and be with kids again. But when I got there I found out the teacher was an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher and he's still doing prep and testing. So, I wasn't in the classroom and didn't really have much to do. On top of it, the teacher was a guy I graduated with. All my friends have jobs and I'm hearing about others from my class that have gotten jobs. It's a little sad, I want a job and my own classroom too! I know that not applying this year was what I needed to do, and I'll be much happier with my decision when little Nate comes, but right now it's a little depressing. But, I'm happy to be getting back into work, either way. I'm ready. I feel like I've had enough time off this summer and I have gotten many of things done around the house that I've wanted to get done. So it will be good to work for a few months before baby comes.

26 Weeks

Little Baby Nate is about 1 2/3 lb. and 14 inches long, and English hothouse cucumber. His ears are more sensitive and he continues to inhale and exhale amniotic fluid. He's continuing to put on fat, getting ready for the outside. His little testicles are beginning their decent into the scrotum as well. Hey, it's all part of the process.

I had a doctor appointment this morning. I had to drink the yummy orange drink for my glucose test. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would--they say it's gotten a lot better. The worst part was the needle. She hurts me everytime and it hurts the whole time, not just when the needle goes in. His heartbeat sounded good and strong. I'm still measuring ahead one week, at 27 weeks, but the doctor said it's in centimeters and it doesn't concern her up to 3 cm. I've gained 7 lbs since my last appointment 5 weeks ago. And while I hope not to gain that every month, the doctor wasn't concerned about my weight gain. She says I'm right on track and where I should be, and that I'm tall and it wouldn't surprise her if I hit the 30lb. mark before it's all done. What!?! Okay, we'll see. Although I don't think I'll be changing my eating habits any time soon. I like to eat and Nate tells me I should and I have to listen to him. So, if I hit 30, I hit 30. My blood pressure was high (142/62) when I went in, but they checked it again before I left and it was back down (122/62). That worried me a little but the doctor said it was fine and she would only be concerned if it stays elevated. She said everything looks good with my pregnancy.

I hope with his hearing increasing that he will get used to the dogs too. They started barking at a rabbit outside the window this morning and all I could think is, how is this going to work with a sleeping baby? I hope he'll be one of those babies that can sleep through anything otherwise I'm in for long days and nights. Or I'll just have to resort to beating my dogs--haha, just kidding.

Nathan has been busy kicking me and punching me. I used to just feel him on my lower left side, but now he feels all over the place. He's everywhere. Some days he's calm and I don't feel him a whole lot and then I get worried, but other days he's a wild man. I like when he's wild. Well, I do while he's still in my uterus. He can be a nice, calm, cuddly baby when he's born. I fell asleep last night to him doing cartwheels. I love it and I love him. I cannot believe how much I love him already.



25 weeks

My Birthday

Officially another year older. I never feel it though. Well, not all of the time. :) Where does all the time go? Hopefully this next year will pass as quickly as the last and then time can slow down a little bit. Lucas was here this weekend so we spent the day watching a movie, going for a walk, and playing in the water outside-oh boy it's getting hot out there! Jaime came up in the evening and we went out for dinner. We tried a new Japanese place (we usually go to Benihana's). It was good--probably not quite as good as Benihana, but I enjoyed it. I loved watching Lucas' face when the chef was preparing the food. It was so cute. We stopped at Babys R Us because Jaime wanted to get Baby Nate an outfit, which she ended up getting him two! Afterwards we came home for some birthday root beer floats--yep, a candle in the ice cream! And while I missed Michael not being home for my birthday (we were able to chat online earlier that day) it was still a good birthday.

24 Weeks

Baby is just over a pound and almost a foot long, he's an ear of corn! He's still pretty skinny but should start plumping up before too long. His body is continuing to develop to get ready for the outside world. His lungs are developing branches and cells that produce a substance that will help the air sacs inflate. His hearing is also becoming more sensitive and responsive to outside noises, so he's getting used to the loud noises like vacuuming and dogs barking (let's hope so he can sleep through them!).

I'm officially 6 months! It doesn't feel like it though. I don't feel very big--should I be bigger? Some people have their opinion on this. Maybe I'd be bigger if it was a girl and I was carrying higher. Maybe I'd be bigger if I were shorter. Who knows. I used to want to be huge (pre-pregnancy naivety), and still love the look of a round belly, but now understand that bigger means more uncomfortable. Baby is pushing my organs all over the place! He is more active then ever and I can now see him on the outside kicking sometimes. It's incredible.

I went to register today. First at Walmart, which I couldn't do because their gun was stolen and the closest Walmart that does registries now is in Scottsburg, about 45 minutes away. So I headed over to Target. I got this cute little bag full of goodies (coupons, samples, etc.). Then I spent much too long in each aisle deciding what we will need. Some things were easy and simple, others I hadn't even thought about, and some I spent a little more time trying to figure out which one I liked the best. It would have been much more fun to do this with Michael, but I guess that's the way it goes. I also picked up a few more baby things. I said I was not going to buy anything else for the baby until after the shower, but there were some clearance items that were hard to pass up. I got some packages of onesies for $2, a bath towel for $2, some mittens for $1, and an ear thermometer for $10. See, how could I not buy them. So, I left feeling very accomplished and good to have one more thing checked off the list of baby stuff to do.

In Country

Michael made it to Iraq Saturday night. He is still in the process of getting settled in so I don't have a lot of details. He is in a 2-man room, which is made out of connex. The chow hall is about a 10 minute walk, the gym (although not very big) is close, and his shop is not too far. He will have Internet in his room, which will make it a little easier for him to stay in contact with us. Their base is located next to another base (Air Force) and they can shuttle over there if they need to. The mission for them while they are there is maintenance (thank goodness!) and so he will be working in the shop. They are on 12-hour shifts and he will be working the night shift (7pm-7am) for now. Hopefully now he can get into a routine and time will go by quickly. I have sent out an email with his new address, but if I missed you and you want it, please let me know. The mail being sent to that base is extremely slow (one guy's wife sent something 3 weeks ago and it's still not there) and they might not get it that often (he's hearing they might only get it once a month), but I know he'd appreciate mail from home.

A Little Time for the Fair and Family

On Sunday I met up with Jaime and Jeremy and we all went to the Jackson County Fair. It's a pretty good size fair. We started with the animals. Lucas seemed afraid of some, but not of others, mostly the baby animals. There was a pig that weighed over 1,000 pounds and he was fascinated by it, as was I. I love looking at the animals, but it's a whole other experience to do it with a child. Just to watch his little face as he saw them...I cannot wait until I can take my kids to the fair and watch their faces light up with excitement. Jaime and Jeremy took Lucas on a few rides. He wasn't afraid at all-even way up high on the ferris wheel. Such a dramatic difference from last summer when we took him to King's Island. He's becoming such a big boy. I can see just how quickly they grow up. Before I know it he'll be driving over here to visit me (okay, I don't think a teenage boy is going to want to visit his old aunt, but I can be hopeful, can't I?). We ate some yummy fair food and the trip was complete when Jeremy finally found the stand that was giving away the yard stick-his goal for the day.

Monday I went down to Michael's parents to visit. I hooked up their Internet and showed them the ropes. I am really excited that they finally have Internet. Not only will they be able to stay in touch more often with Michael while he is gone, but I will also be able to send them pictures, etc. I just like having one more connection option to people that I don't live close to. His mom made a big lunch for my birthday and we had yummy strawberry mousse pie for dessert. Their neighbor has a little boy who is one and so she gave Denise a bunch of clothes to give to me. She also gave me a wipes warmer and some baby toys. It was like Christmas! I love getting baby stuff. Most of the clothing was 12 mo. but the season for them is right so we should have some clothes for him next fall.

Our combined birthday gift this year from them was a swing for the backyard. I have been wanting one forever and so I was super excited. I came home and started putting it together but didn't get it done before it got dark. I tried to finish it anyway but the bugs were eating me alive and I was afraid if I dropped another bolt and didn't find it I would be kicking myself. So I finished putting it together this morning. I absolutely love it! I sat out there for over an hour talking to Linda on the phone, I read a book this afternoon, and just sat out there after dinner watching the dogs play while my food settled. Let's just say I can see myself getting a lot of use out of it.

I knew I would be able to put it together. This is something else that normally would have been Michael's job. Like a lot of things around here, I know I can do, but it is nice having someone else to take care of them. But it did make me feel proud to do it, like mowing the grass and the other things I have been taking care of. It makes up for the things I can't do. I noticed a window that needed to be re-caulked. So I went to the store and bought some caulk and found Michael's caulk gun. I cut the tip, put it in the gun, and pulled the trigger...nothing happens. So I keep squeezing, harder and harder. Something must be wrong with this caulk! So I take it out of the gun to find it oozing out of the bottom end! I read the directions and it says cut the tip THEN break the seal. The seal!?! What seal and how do I break it!?! So, I still haven't caulked the window. Caulk has been added to my list. Along with ant killer. Ugh, I have ants, big time. I hate them and they gross me out. Not even in the kitchen either, where I would think they would want to be, but by the front door. I found a couple of baits and put them out but looks like I'm going to have to bring out the big guns. They're starting to infiltrate into the kitchen, front room...everywhere! I hate bugs!

The Painted Room

I painted our front room, finally. The paint is called "puppy paws" and it resembles chocolate milk. I like it much better than what the old home owner had (anything to get her out of here!) but not sure if I love it. It will work for now. I was thinking of a more coffee with milk kind of color, but heh, it's done. I finally have curtains on the windows too. I've been living, far too long I might add, with just sheers on the windows in here. Well, now I have beautiful chocolate brown curtains and some pretty blue valances that I made. I have a few pictures I want to hang in here and then I think the room will be officially done. Sooner or later, each room in this house will be complete. Probably by the time we're ready to move again!

It's helping to consume time, all these little projects on my to do list. Some days are longer than others, and it makes it hard to be here alone. But I'm finding that it's okay if I want to have a cry and sleep and do nothing kind of day sometimes. It's not everyday, or even very often, but I think it is okay. For the most part, I've been keeping very busy considering I'm not working or going to school. I took Lucas for a couple of days. We had a great time. We went to a couple of different parks, played outside (he's a good kicker and maybe future soccer player like ol' Aunt Beckie), went to Chuck E. Cheese, and just played. Sometimes it's good just to play.

My next project might be to really work on the scrapbooking stuff. I have 2 pages in the deployment book that are just screaming, finish me already! And I need to catch our book up before the baby comes. The big project though is Jaime's book for Lucas. We have 3 years to catch up on before Landon is born, and so I need to get my creative juices flowing and my, eh-hem, our butts in gear. I would absolutely love a cricut machine, but they're so expensive, I'll probably have to do without. One can dream, can't they?