2 to go!

This title has a double meaning. We have 60 days left until our predicted due date. That means 2 months left to go! We are officially in our 8th month of the pregnancy and the baby is busier than ever. Our childbirth class teacher said that the baby's brain does most of it's growing and developing this month, so I guess that means no Doritos for me at the 4th of July BBQ! I have to focus on super healthy eating for the rest of the time. I have been keeping track of what I eat and I've noticed that I have a lot more energy since I've been eating the recommended 80-100 grams of protein everyday. I do have to be careful not to eat up in th 100s everyday because that has been shown to cause people to have big big babies. The other meaning has to do with painting in the house. We have 3 rooms left to get ready before the baby comes (or 2 if we run out of energy to paint the bedroom) and we've painted 1, so that means we have 2 to go! We'll start on the bathroom soon. We're going to Port Orchard for 4th of July and it would be nice to give the bathroom a couple of days to dry while we're out of town. We picked a deep blue color. I think it will look really sharp. Well, I am getting started baking some pies for the 4th, so I'd better get going!

I am a bad parent already!

Last night was a fairly warm evening, so we put a laundry basket in front of the door and left it open to enjoy the nightly cool down. We periodically would yell "No!" at Todd when he would try to hop over the basket, but he mostly hung out in a cool spot underneath our bed. I had just finished helping Andy move the last few little pieces of living room furiniture to their new places and I went outside to take a few clothes off of the line. The door wasn't closed all the way around the laundry basket. There was about a 6 in. gap on the right side. I asked Andy if he had gone outside. He said no and we both looked around the house for Todd. I am typically over-paranoid about the dog, so I assumed he was safely under the bed and that I was just being a worry wart. He wasn't. We both threw on our shoes and headed out to look for him; not knowing how long ago he had left. Luckily, he was on the sidewalk near our next door neighbor's house and he stopped walking when he heard Andy tell him to come back. Is this the guilt that a negligent parent feels? I jokingly told Andy that perhaps when we have a toddler in the house a laundry basket won't be the best way of keeping them safely inside. With our dog safe and sound we were able to finish up the last few things we wanted to get done yesterday and head for bed. This morning when I got up and Todd was stretching his legs in his little dog bed, I went over and gave him a good scratch and realized how much I love him. I know that the love for a dog is completely different than the love for a child and I started to get really excited that we are going to have an opportunity to experience that love and eventually to get love in return from an actual growing, changing person. I just hope our hearts are ready.

31 weeks

Here I am today at 31 weeks and 4 days. I'll be 32 weeks on Wednesday. It was pretty hot here today and I am enjoying having the windows open and all of the fresh air coming in. We painted our hallway today. It's a terra cotta/reddish color and looks pretty cool. I'll take some pictures tomorrow in the daylight. I'm sure it would just look dark if I took a picture right now. We are both tired after painting and being in the heat most of the day. I had a staff meeting with Dancing for Joy this evening and we shared some feedback we had gotten about the recital. Most all of what we have heard has been very positive and we are all ready to teach our summer classes and get started on the Christmas show. There is one piece of "bad" news. The only date that Mt. Baker Theatre could give us for our Christmas show is either a Thursday (Dec. 21) or Friday (Dec. 22). We're trying to figure out the best way to still have 2 shows in the same day and make them as smooth running as possible. We'll see what we come up with. Mostly we need to pray about it and realize that God will use this situation for the best and we need to just give up our pre-conceived notions of when we would have liked to have the show. Luckily Kurt and Maluhia (our directors) seem calm about the whole thing and aren't making a big deal out of it. Well, Andy's out in the yard throwing a ball around and it's probably not much fun to play catch alone, so I'd better get out there and catch it for him. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Home Alone. Aaaahhhh!!! (a la MacKaulay Culkin)

Andy is at work today in Everett. He should be home around 4:30 or 5:00 and I should be finished with Lindsay's baby shower about that same time. I've spent my morning alone making cookies and chicken salad sandwiches for the shower. It should be a lot of fun. I'm making her a felted teddy bear and I'm almost finished with it. I just need to stuff it and sew on the eyes and buttons. It has turned out really cute. I'll take some pictures at the shower so you can see all of the fun stuff she gets for the baby. Yesterday we sold our Toyota Tercel for $500. That means (since we paid $740 for it 3 years ago) that we only paid $240 to use it for 3 years and we actually GOT PAID $1560 to use the car if you count the check we got from the uninsured guy who hit me 3 years ago! Not a bad deal if you ask me. Andy was at work when the lady came by, so I had to do all of the "car talk" by myself. Luckily he came home right when we were almost finished since I didn't know where the title was. In the file cabinet...what a novel concept...we actually put things away sometimes? Today someone e-mailed about looking at Andy's bike he won earlier this year. They want to give it away as a birthday gift this afternoon, so they need to come by before noon. It looks like I will be playing the role of salesman again today. I don't mind. It's all money in the bank.

Childbirth Class Week #2

Well, I forgot the camera, so there won't be any pictures with this post, but I will tell you about what we learned. This week we talked all about nutrition and why it's important to eat healthily. It was very inspiring. We eat pretty healthily, but we can always do better and I want to make it a priority. The teacher said that the baby's brain develops most during the 8th month, so now is the time to make sure I'm getting all of the proper nutrients and fats. We also practiced a new relaxation technique called Progressive Relaxation. For our normal relaxation exercise, Andy semi-massages my body from head to toe and reminds me to release any tension that he feels or sees. With Progressive Relaxation, he just talks to me and goes through all of my body, head to toe, and reminds me to conciously relax each part. I really enjoy the relaxation exercises and they help me get to sleep sometimes when I'm having insomnia. Here's my list of exercises for this week if anyone cares to join me!
Tailor sit (sitting crosslegged or feet together on the floor): often
Squat (to pick things up or do work close to the floor): often
Butterfly (Andy holds my knees together while I push them apart): set of 5 1X a day
Pelvic rock: (on hands and knees arching and lowering back): set of 20 4X daily + 40 @ bedtime
Kegel: 100X a day
Walk: 10 minutes (minimum) 2X a day
Relaxation practice: 10 minutes 2X a day
That's about all. We also have some reading to do and a worksheet to fill out. All in all, very fun and informative.

Back to life, back to reality

Andy and I got home last night from spending 3 days with our parents and families to celebrate Father's Day. I had the double dance recital on Saturday (which was really fun!) Here is a picture of me in my "teacher dance" costume! My yellow unitard was a big hit! People love a pregnant woman who is comfortable with her body. I guess I figure there's no point in being embarrassed by it. I can't change it, right? After the shows were over (about 9:30pm) we hopped in the car and drove to Port Orchard. We spent our first 3 days of summer vacation there visiting, having a BBQ, shopping with my mom (me), riding "the Vashon loop" with Dougdad (Andy), and sleeping over at the cabin with all of the Lewises (except for Danny) and Dave and Lydia Roseberry. It was a great start to the summer! Unfortunately (personally speaking) and fortunately (financially speaking) Andy had to start his summer job this morning at 8am. He's working for a moving company and it looks like they're going to keep him pretty busy for the month of July at least. Well, I don't work today, so I need to go make a plan for what I want to get done around the house. I hope you're all enjoying your Wedesday. We'll have our 2nd childbirth class tonight. We'll try to take some pictures for you to meet all of our classmates.

Tha-Tha-Tha-That's All Folks!

And thus my first year of teaching has come to a close. I finished report cards last night and am heading to school this morning to drop them off for other teachers to fill out. After dropping them off I'm also heading to a family from school's house to help them move.

This year went by in about three blinks of my eyes. It was always busy, but in a good way. There are tons of things that I've learned and there are also many things that I found out I already knew! Right now I'm just thinking about having a couple of months where I don't have to tell anyone to stop talking, chewing gum, taking someone's book, give them back their pencil, stop leaning back in your chair, no we are not switching seats today, you have to wait til break to go to the bathroom, where's your homework, yes I told you about the test last week, where is your calculator, give him back his eraser, yes you do have homework!

I'll be working for a moving company (so today's friend move will be a good warmup) this summer and will enjoy the physically tiring but not mentally taxing work. Mostly I'll enjoy the paycheck since the mortgage company, phone company, electric company, and gas company don't take the summer off!

I feel like I can now look at the reflection of this past year and see lots of good things that happened. This picture kind of is how I feel about the year...

(The patient soul who let me attempt to take this picture for about three minutes (because my camera couldn't figure out where to focus) was my friend and co-worker Taylor - he also looks cool in sunglasses, unlike myself)

One more day until the recital

Today is Andy's very last day of school. He has a 1/2 day and then there's an all-school family picnic this afternoon. Luckily I finish my work in time to be there and I don't have my staff meeting at the studio until 7:00. Tomorrow is the dance recital. We decided that it would be more convenient (and cheaper for the studio too) if we had 2 shows on the same day instead of a Saturday and Sunday show. It will also be nice for the families to have Father's Day to themselves. I report to the theater tomorrow morning around 11:00 to have dress rehearsal for the 1st show which starts at 2:00. That show should be finished by 4:00 and the next dress rehearsal starts at 4:30. Whew! A quick turn around. I hope it actually works! The 2nd show starts at 7:00 and should be finished by 9:00. Andy and my parents are coming to the 2:00 show then Andy will go home and make sure we have everything ready to leave after the 2nd show. We're driving to Port Orchard on Saturday night to be there for Father's Day and staying until Tuesday to just "visit". I'm really excited about the show. I think it will go well and the kids are all thrilled to be on the stage. I have 2 classes performing and 1 of them will do just fine. The other class is pretty young (1st-3rd grade) so anything is possible. I just hope they have a good time and don't get too stressed or nervous. This is a picture from the Christmas Recital 2 years ago. We danced at the Bellingham Port Festival about 2 weeks before the show. This is my modern dance class representing the "breath of heaven" as Mary accepts her pregnancy with Jesus and goes to see Elizabeth. I'll put up some pictures from the show on Saturday while we're in Port Orchard. Maybe I can get Andy to stick around for a while after the 2:00 show and take some pictures of the dress rehearsal or I guess I do know how to work the camera myself!

Yesterday update

Yesterday was really good. The La Leche Leauge meeting was informative and I even saw a couple of people that I know (who I didn't even know were pregnant!). There were also several brand-new moms who shared their (sometimes horrific) experiences and made me feel so happy that we transfered to the birth center. Our appt. with Ann went well. She said I'm super healthy and that everything is measuring right on track. Dr. Mallory has pushed our due date forward to Aug. 24th, but Ann pushed it back to Aug. 30th and said that the baby is measuring exactly right on for 29 weeks (which is how far along we are if the due date is Aug. 30th). Sandy, that means you actually have 11 weeks to get "ready". Whatever "ready" is. :) Ann didn't even weigh me. She did all of the other prenatal appt. stuff. It will be nice to be seen by a practitioner her isn't hyper-obsessed with weight. I have to admit that I had to resist the temptation to go weigh myself in the bathroom. She feels that if I look fine, feel fine, the baby is fine, and my blood pressure is fine, then we don't need to worry about my weight so much. I'm sure she'll still weigh me every couple of weeks, but it's nice not to make a huge deal out of it. The birth class was great. There will be 7 couples, but only 5 were there last night. The teacher (Skai) is very funny and upbeat. This week we are supposed to do our exercises (relaxation practice, squatting, pelvic rocks, Kegels, tailor sit, butterfly, and walks) everyday and also keep track of everything I eat. Part of the Bradley method is making sure you're not eating a bunch of junk. This will be good for me because I've gotten into the habit of eating whatever is fastest and easiest. Not always the best choices. They say it takes 12 weeks to form a new habit, so there's just enough time left to focus on eating right for when the baby comes. I'd better go shower and take Todd for a walk so I can start my exercise for the day!

All Baby Day

Today is an all baby day. I don't have work (until this evening), so I'm going to my first La Leche League meeting here in town. This is the meeting where they talk about birth and what to expect for breastfeeding the first few weeks after the baby is born. Mostly, I just want to meet some other people in our area who are breastfeeding and see what it looks like in real practice. After that, I'm going to a store called the Mother Baby Center to look at all the cool stuff and services they offer. They're only open 10-5 on weekdays, so I just haven't had a chance to stop by. At 4:00 we have our first midwife's appt. with Ann. Then at 7:30 we have our first Bradley Method birth class. I've really been looking forward to some of these "the end is near" things to happen. Yesterday we realized that we had our 20-week ultrasound 10 weeks ago and that feels like it was sooooo long ago. We still have 10 weeks left, so I'm sure that won't go by as quickly as I think it will. We are officially 30 weeks today, so 70 technical days to go. Of course, the baby can come whenever it wants to (as far as I'm concerned) after August 1st.

A Sunday Rest

(This is a picture from a camping trip we took to Deception Pass a couple of years ago. We should go camping again before the baby comes. Anyone want to go with us??)

Andy is taking a nap right now. That's very unusual for him, but something I'm always trying to convince him to do. I would probably be napping with him, but I took my hour when we got home from church. For me, Sunday is really about naps. I love to easy-going feel of Sunday (after we finish doing everything we do at church, of course) and the lack of pressure to be productive. We are planning on doing some yard work today, but it's not a necessity. There's always tomorrow, right? Well, I think I'll go read for a while, finish up folding the laundry, and then go wake Andy. We hope your Sunday was as peaceful and refreshing as ours.

Big, Exciting News

Andy's Uncle Bryan and his wife Kathleen are pregnant!
I don't know if this is news I can broadcast for all to see on the internet, but I figure only family really read this blog anyway, so no big deal. They are due sometime in 7 months or so (this is Doug's very detailed info he gave me this afternoon), so I'm guessing that's sometime in December or maybe January. I'll have to e-mail them and get the real scoop. We are very excited for them. They got married in Oct. of '03 in Hillsdale, Michigan and it was really fun to be able to be there. I wish they lived closer since we'll have kids so close to the same age, but we'll just have to keep in better touch. It's funny that they'll be able to ask us for parenting tips since they are older than us. Life is funny that way. Well, I'd better stop talking about them and actually send them a congratulatory e-mail!!

I need to ride more

Just got back from a ride out to Northwest Fields. 14 miles round trip, but the wind was blowing against me on the way back. I want to be able to push through the wind rather than have it slow me down like it did today.
Rode out there to watch a student's baseball game. He struck out a batter when I got there and then hit the very next batter in the back... ah, little league baseball. I saw more dropped fly balls and missed grounders than you can imagine. However, the real highlight was the "chatter" from those in attendance. It's my guess (and actually almost a total guarantee) that the people sitting on the bleachers are related to the players in some way. This leads to some really emotionally motivated blather and some rah-rah positive crap that actually confuses the kids more than helps.
On one swing a kid fouled a pitch up and it hit the netting above the backstop, so it was a foul ball. However, the pitch was approximately a foot above this kids head. He swung at a terrible pitch. This prompts this exchange between the parents of the batter:

"Okay, (insert kids name here), lay off those high ones. Make him pitch to you." (this is one of my favorite all-time little league parent quotes)

"Well, he did pop that one up pretty good. Good swing honey."

And... bam. All attempts at letting the kid become a thoughtful baseball player have left the building. He now thinks that he should both not swing at high pitches (this is true, just ask Luis Sojo), and he should somehow make sure that he uses his "good swing" even on these crappy pitches.

Other lame comments/arguments of note:

• need for explanation of catcher interference

- This is actually a fairly obscure call, but the parents were most perplexed by it because it was their kid who was catching and got his glove in the way of the batter's bat. According to the parents the ensuing pain he experienced should have trumped the fact that there is a rule stating that it's his (the catcher) fault and the batter gets to go to first.

• no force at home and thus the runner was safe

- This is ridiculously obvious. There was a runner on third who came home on a grounder to short and slid in. The catcher (for the other team) just kept his foot on home and made no attempt to tag him. The other teams parents were perplexed. The side I was sitting on chose to respond in a vindictive tone, "THERE'S NO FORCE, HE'S SAFE! NO FORCE!" It is this spirit of good sportsmanship that makes me enjoy heading out to baseball games being played by 11 and 12 year old kids.

So, it was a fun evening and I got in a good ride as I'm trying to prepare myself for the slightly foreboding STP. It will be fun, but I need to get in some multiple hour rides just to get my body used to being on the bike that long. Sarah's making a pie and I need to grade some papers, so I shall end this excessive post with no pictures. Sorry.

28 weeks

We're 28 weeks pregnant (as of last Wednesday actually) and I'm still feeling really good. I haven't had any weird balance problems, funny backaches, or cravings (except for this time I really wanted to make shrimp pasta, but I was able to wait a day to actually have it). So far so good. If you'd asked me if I thought I'd grown since the 27 week pictures, I would've told you no. Obviously (by the photographic proof) I was wrong. Keep growing baby! 11 weeks left!

That settles it

I told my boss/principal that I'd be back next year. He kind of double checked to make sure I was really serious (do I ever joke around?) and then got really excited. It's nice to know that they'll be glad to have me back.
It really does feel different to know what I'll be doing for the next year. Last year at this time it was pretty much up in the air. We were ready for whatever. It turns out that the whatever was sticking around Bellingham, working with a friend from school, buying a house, and getting ready to have a baby!
The benefits of staying put outweigh the only negative - way less pay than public school. We figure that if this last year worked we can make anything work. It will also be nice to be able to tell my students that I'll be back because they've been bugging me about what I'm doing next year. They assume that since I was looking for other options that I was definitely leaving (and they would also ask if I was leaving because they were bad kids - this is always humorous to hear).
Only three more days for eighth graders and eight more days for the rest of them. The year is really winding down!

Currently I'm enjoying the evening and listening to Sunny Day Real Estate, specifically The Rising Tide, which I really do enjoy. I like all the albums in different ways. It's just odd to find a band that I liked when I was 14 is still musically enjoyable for me. I still wonder which bands will be the Jackson Brownes, the Van Morrisons, and the Paul Simons of my music collection. Which bands will I still be buying new albums of in 20 years? Just a thought. Also, my own predictions would be: Mates of State, Dave Bazan (previously Pedro the Lion), Death Cab (this isn't actually all that likely, but I'm hopeful), and maybe the Old 97's.
Okay, side note over. Enjoy your evening.

Gardening

I have a goal to get the vegetable garden weeded sometime soon. The grass is really, really tall. Andy and I weeded yesterday for about an hour and made a lot of good progress. My goal is about 4 hours per week while still keeping up the areas we have already weeded. I guess if I'm going to do any today, I'd better get moving.
Wish me luck.

and now for something completely different

At the request of my wife (and apparently others) I am resuming my part of the co-authorship for this space. I have been busy this past end of week with a camping trip for school. We took 37 kids plus 14 adults on a trip to Sucia Island. It was a lot of fun and a great time to spend with the kids.
The weather alternated from lame to start the trip to great to end it. We slept in rain the first night, but it didn't even drizzle after that. There is way too much to talk about, but here is a picture of the sand castle the adults finished to compete with the students.
The students did a great job on all of theirs, but were too intimidated by ours and thusly ruled us ineligible for any of the prizes (which were all purchased at the dollar store anyways).

The island was absoutely beautiful. This picture is looking west at Fox Cove. Our campsites were right next to Fossil Bay and there was a great beach with rocks to throw (and logs to throw them at), water to wade in (even in the rain for the goofball kids), and a field to play in.
All of us - teachers, students, and parents - had a relaxing time and were able to appreciate the time away from school but still together. Seeing each other outside the walls of the school is good for everybody!
When we packed up to leave we lined up our gear by the dock. This is only the bags, tents, and sleeping bags. There were countless coolers, boxes, shelters, and cooking supplies that we still had to load on.
Got back yesterday and drove home in beautiful sunshine to home. Then woke up to rain and gray skies this morning. Pretty standard stuff this time of year. Well, I'll be seeing the kids tomorrow morning so I better get going. Only two more weeks of school!!!!! YEAHH!!!!

It Worked!

I tried just making myself go to be last night around 10:30. I read for a 1/2 hour or so and then (can you believe it) I went to sleep and slept peacefully the whole night. How refreshing. Andy and I are running sound at a wedding at church this evening (we don't know the couple), so I went to the rehearsal yesterday. They're a really cute couple. Afterward, Lindsay and I went and tried this new Carribean restaurant on State St. I had the curried avocado. It was really delicious. We had to sit in the bar because they were really busy. I'm sure it was funny to see 2 obviously pregnant women in a bar! Well, the dance recital dress rehearsal starts in 3 hours, so I'd better get all of my morning tasks finished!
It's Saturday!
Andy's coming home!
Yeah!!!

Had trouble sleeping

Andy is out of town.
Can't sleep alone.
Didn't go to bed until about 1:00!
I have to do this for another night?
Better get better at it!
I'll start to bed earlier!!
Hopefully it works!

No one ever told me

*This is a picture from our very first ultrasound back in January. It feels like it was only a few weeks ago. The baby is so tiny here.

P.S. The head is at the bottom and those flipper things are arms. *

People had told me that is was pretty amazing when the baby moved inside of you, but they never told me that I would be sitting here in the living room for a 1/2 hour just staring at my tummy and waiting for it to happen again. They never told me that when the baby had hiccups at night, I would lie awake for over an hour to feel them and how excited it would make me. There is a real person in there and it's only a short time before they get to come out and become part of the family. When we lost our 1st baby last year, we were devastated. Sometimes I still am. Andy gave me a card on that baby's due date and I am so grateful to him for articulating exactly what I was feeling. (12-04-05) "Sarah, It seems like life has kind of been like this for a while now. I hope and pray that it won't be too much longer. Every month brings new hope. Losing our baby is the saddest thing we have been through. I am so sorry that we had to go through this. It really is as hard as it seems to move on. I know that there will be years and years of us being parents, but I just wish those years could have started right now. I am looking forward to that time that will give us new names as Mom and Dad. I love you, Andy" We didn't know for a few more weeks, but I got pregnant that month. I had made a goal of being pregnant again by our due date, but God needed me to get past that deadline and just let go of control. I am still struggling with the control issue. I am glad the baby has become more active because that helps me to worry less. I do still worry, but mostly I am just so excited to meet whoever is in there that I wonder how I'm supposed to get anything done around here! I guess we just have to take it one day at a time. By the way, Andy is gone on a camping trip with his students until Saturday, so I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing today and then being more productive tomorrow. We'll see....