Happy Birthday Tim!

Today my baby bro is 27!
Yeeesh... where does the time go.
He's about to be a first-time uncle.
In late May, early June, he'll be a Daddy.
I love this guy and I'm proud of the man he's become.
Happy B-day Timmer!

P.R.O.M. Queen

P.R.O.M., in medical terms, stands for the Premature Rupturing Of Membranes. Basically, this means that the water breaks without contractions and slowly leaks out of the mother until the baby decides to come.
Hmmm... didn't know I would learn about this on my way to motherhood.
I woke up rather soggy yesterday. I didn't know what to do because I didn't feel anything. I eventually called the Health Line and was told to go immediately to the hospital - Labour and Delivery. I quickly packed my bag, called my husband who rushed home to get me. We hurried over to the hospital to wait, and wait and wait. We were given our little lesson on P.R.O.M. and were allowed to choose to wait for spontaneous labour or be induced. We thought we'd let Baby do things when it wanted and now... we're waiting... and waiting!
I get to do fun things like go for ultrasounds at the hospital to monitor fluids (Baby still has a healthy little swimming pool to play in), take my temperature (I'm now at risk for infection) and do a fetal kick count twice a day.
Trevor's decided to soldier on at work. Fergus is looking after me well enough at home. Baby's still dancing up a storm.
We have friends and relatives all keyed up and nada from Baby. The status of my pain (or lack thereof) has never been more interesting to other people. I have to break the news to many sweet people that no, I am not in any pain. Then, I audibly hear them sigh in disappointment.
Well, maybe I'll go eat some spicy food while doing lunges up and down my stairs after my long, long walk. We'll see if that kickstarts anything (at least I'll tucker myself out for a good night's sleep).

Ready or not...

Baby Laundry √
Car Seat - ready to be installed √
All blood work and other tests for Dr. √
Jill and Trevor discussed wishes for "Birth Plan"√
Nursery - ready to go √
Read "Baby Whisperer"√
Stroller on order √
Told Fergus about all the changes coming to his feline life √
Have swaddlers made (thanks Tilly) √
Bought all baby paraphernalia nesting Jill desired √
Found a "take-home" outfit that should please grand-mas √
Taking regular naps √
Baby's bag for hospital √

TO DO:
-pedicure appt. :)
-massage appt.
-one remaining prenatal class
-hospital tour
-bake banana loaf
-make lasagnas for freezer
-make chicken noodle soup for freezer
-make muffins for freezer
-clean oven (I found a chemical free way)
-take more naps
-take car to SUDS for a full cleaning before bringing baby home
-pack stuff for Trevor and I for hospital

Baby... we're waiting. We're in the process of doing all we can to be ready for you. Reality is that, we'll never fully be ready for you... :) Please come soon!

Footloose and Fancy Free

I locked the door to Room 112 and turned in my keys.
I gave my last lesson, sat down and sighed.

Today, I am footloose and fancy free. No more "work" for me until April 12, 2010!

It's a little surreal.
It just feels like I'm on regular Easter holidays like everyone else...
except for this enormous belly. :)

I guess it's time for me to clean, cook and nest.
This has been my impulse for the past few weeks.
Now, I am no longer distracted by directing a play, correcting like a mad-woman,
prepping for 2 different people to handle my mat leave, prepping report cards and spending 8 LONG hours doing parent/teacher interviews.

I get a whole year to be a wife...
and a MOMMY!
YEAH!

(Let the naps begin in earnest now because... I'm not sure how much this little one will
let me sleep in the near future!)

Well Played!

I'm 37 1/2 weeks pregnant.
I just finished my stint co-directing a fabulous One Act Play with a more then stellar colleague. He was the tech director; I was the creative director.
We performed at One Act Regional Festival last night and we rocked the house! The audience was in stitches laughing so hard.
Today, we were adjudicated. The judges loved us. At the awards ceremony, we received 12 awards. :) Best of all, we came in as Runner-Up to the Best Overall Production. (Secretly, this is almost better then coming in 1st. The 1st place show now has 2 more weeks to tweak their show and in order to compete at Provincials. With the baby coming, I wouldn't be able to go to Provincials with the kids. We just get to rest on our laurels!)
I only have 3 days left of work (2 of those have Parent/Teacher/Student Interview nights).
After our great show, I feel like I'm going out with a bang! :)

36 1/2 weeks

Just 3 1/2 weeks to go!

Bursting at the seams...

Tonight, I'm bursting at the seams (literally and figuratively)! :)
I'm so proud of my cast and crew. They did an amazing job of their play tonight. We did the school show tonight. Our competition show will be in a week and a half. I can't get over how funny they were! For a school where the kids only get the stage the day they actually perform, they blew me away tonight.
It's nights like tonight where I LOVE what I do! :)

out of joint + good-bye 1985

I went to my massage therapist's earlier this week for a routine back massage (I know... I'm spoiled). My upper back's been bothering me on my right side. I asked her about it. She said that I have a rib that the baby's popped out of place. She massaged it back in but, it'll probably happen again. Yeesh... thanks kid!

Today, we are saying good-bye to 1985. I was in kindergarten in 1985 and my parents bought this fabulous set of brown furniture. This was the furniture I took to Lanigan with me. This was the furniture Trevor and I moved into our sweet little house just weeks before our wedding. 24 years is a long time to exist as furniture. 24 years worth of skin dander, dust and yuckiness just building up. Since my sense of smell has improved so much during pregnancy, I began to notice our furniture more... in a very unpleasant way. Therefore, we decided to splurge on one adult thing (as we also spend on a plethora of baby parephanalia) and buy ourselves some new, brown leather furniture. Tonight, we plan on relaxing in style on our new couch, love seat and Lazy-boy rocker. 1985 served us well but, it'll be great to finally enjoy the 21st century.

Cabin Fever + Dashing DIshes

We're feeling a little cooped up at school right now. My poor mod squad... the garbage truck was such a big hit. They couldn't keep their eyes off of it while we were trying to read Ender's Game.
The kids are starting to get anxious and excited for spring. The parking lot is mud soup and the sun is just tempting us to skip class and hang out outside! (I just have 14 days left until Easter break and I don't plan on going back....)
The first day of spring is coming up this week. Let's hope that that actually means we get some warm weather.
Same kind of thing going on at home. Fergus is demanding outside time as much as he can get.

On a whole other note, I participated in my first Dashing Dishes last night. It was awesome. It's a meal assembly company. They have everything all prepped and ready to go in stations. I registered for 8 different meals in advance. Then, I went from station to station, gathering ingredients and putting them into freezer bags. I split all 8 of the meals (a full meal serves 6 people - a little much for our little house) and now, we have 16 ready to cook meals in our freezer. Yummy! Tomorrow, we're having Tim and Karri over for our first Dashing Dishes dining experience. :)

Enough is enough

I have spent 3 days this week sluggin' through this head cold. I should add that I'm doing it completely druglesss. That means all those lovely potions and pills that normally get me through a work week with a cold are banned. I have taught with my head in a complete fog. I've probably been more then forgetful and a little snappy with les enfants. It hasn't helped that it's been -40 every morning either.
Enough is enough! I decided to stay at home today. This would make logical sense to most. However, if you are not a teacher, you have no idea how much work it is to take a sick day. I spent a good 2 1/2 hours prepping for my sub yesterday. I hope the kids are good to him. I hope I won't have to many fires to put out when I get back
This morning, I slept in. I played mouse with Fergus. I tidied and cleaned a little. Now, I'm tuckered out and I plan on spending the rest of the day on the couch marking, prepping and reading. Maybe, I'll move to my bed for a nap.

My man

Trevor started this fabulous new job in HR. He's covering a mat leave but, it's a pretty sweet gig and he's really enjoying a job related to his degree. This week, the gov't (his employer) sent him to Vancouver for some training. Currently, he's eating sushi and enjoying a balmy -5. Can I say jealous?
I miss him! I miss his hugs after I get home from work. I miss cuddling on the couch while watching the Office. It's always weird sleeping alone... I wake up every few hours and wonder where he is, then I really wake up and remember he's away. Fergus and I do okay but, he misses his aggressive play time... I'm not the best kitty wrestler.
Well... it's not like it's a long time before he's back. I'll just enjoy my simple soup suppers and my early bedtimes.

Happiness is...

-A kicking little person inside of me.

-A Friday with no plans or commitments... just my Trevor and me, my slippers and a movie.

-A yummy, home-cooked supper.

-Finishing my homework before going home.

-A purring lap cat (well... close enough).

-Spring in sight... or at least day dreams of it.

-A sleep-in day tomorrow.

-A new book to read that makes me giggle from page 1.

32 weeks

Here are some photos of Thumper and I at 32 weeks.

The top 2 pics are of the seven pregnant ladies of Parliament. We definitely have a good sized Sunday School class waiting to happen! Once Trisha has her's, we'll be having a baby or two a month at our church until the fall. :)

The second 2 pics are of Karri and I showing off the close cousins. Auntie Leone felt left out and decided to make an "announcement" of her own.

Today, my friend Jocelyn and I went to our church's "Old Fashioned Quilting Bee". It was really fun. We pinned and sewed strips for a quilt for a little guy at another church our church partners with. It was nice to sit and talk and sew (by machine) and hang out with ladies from my church. We didn't stay too long but still, it was nice to be a part of a larger project like that.

Today, Trevor and I finished the last coat of paint in Thumper's room. It's just a half tint lighter then the yellow we had before (sorry folks... we won't give away the gender by colour). We had some bad dings we needed to repair so, we thought we'd freshen up the paint too. It's good to have that project done. Just a little less then 8 weeks to go!

Tonight, Trevor and I are heading to my Auntie Leone and Uncle Dels'. They're kind of like my grand-parents. They are two of the most caring, giving and amazing people I know. I'm excited to hang out with them tonight. Also, we know we'll be spoiled by a fabulous meal. :)

All in all, a good weekend so far!

Balmy

My parents are currently entering their third week in Hawaii. They spent the first two weeks exploring the garden island of Kauai. This weekend, they moved over to the tiny island of Molokai. We get random emails from them. They're biggest set backs have been the occasional warm rain and some breeziness. It hasn't stopped them from hiking, snorkeling or just beaching it. Lucky ducks! I miss them. (I have to admit I'm a little jealous - I'd love a 3 week holiday with Trevor on a tropical isle somewhere away from all the little day to day concerns... ),

Quiet

Today was a quiet day around our house. A little cleaning, a little relaxing, a little walk, a little eating and snoozing. All in all, a very quiet day. I feel like I need to savor these days. Soon, we'll have our little one and our days will be a little more full.

People keep telling us things like:
"you'll never have a good sleep again"
"you won't sleep in for the next 18 years
"enjoy eating hot food now... soon everything will be lukewarm"

DUH! We know... we get it... we're in for BIG changes.

We welcome those changes as a new and exciting part of our life together. Our little Thumper is worth those changes to us.

However, it still makes us cherish quiet days like this all the more.

5 Day Bliss

This week, I'm not going to school. It's our Winter Break. I had a lovely weekend and now I have 3 more days to myself. :) Thursday and Friday are P.D. but, that's still a change in routine. It's so nice just to be at home and concentrate on little things here for a change.
I will still be coaching Improv. The Canadian Improv Games is this week. My team is competing on Wednesday and the Senior team is competing on Friday. At least I get to sleep in on the days after! :)

Valentine's Tradition

I think we started a tradition last year for Valentine's Day. Rather then go out for an over-crowded, over-priced, "rush them through" meal, Trevor and I stayed at home and cooked crab legs. They were easy to make and absolutely DIVINE. I'm salivating at the thought already. Last year, I made the crab legs, some rice and a nice salad. We didn't even touch the rice or salad, we were so taken with the crab.

We had another ultrasound yesterday. It's fun to see little Thumper squirming around in me. It's always a mind blowing thought that, as I sit and type, there's a little person growing and moving in me. We're still predicting the end of April (~23rd or 24th). Just 10 weeks away! :) Now that I'm starting to get bigger, I can see why pregnancy becomes a little uncomfortable!

Trevor finished off his job with AgStability yesterday! :) YEAH! On Monday, he starts his new job as an H.R. Generalist for ServiceCanada. He's filling in for a mat. leave but, we're sure that this will be the begininnings of his career in H.R. We're thrilled! :)

A Lesson Learned

Today, Fergus went outside. He loves to run up and down the sidewalk and stare at the birds in the sky. He saw a bird up in our maple tree so he scampered over the snow and jumped up and did some climbing. He had an intensive climb.
He was scared to come down. I watched as he hummed and hawed before he made his final leap into the snow bank on the tree. He landed in a cloud of cold fluff and got his little self stuck. It was so funny. He started to get scared and make little mewing noises as he "swam" towards the trunk of the tree. He clung to the tree until I put on my boots and waded into the snow bank. When I picked him up, he was shivering. Poor guy! I loved him up and gave him some Snappy Tuna (his favorite treat). He's been a very friendly, mellow little guy for the rest of the day.

As I blog, I am waiting for these to cook. Thanks for the recipe Laurie. I wanted to try something a little different tonight.

The Great Gender Debate

At first, when Trevor and I found out we were having a baby, we had no inkling to find out if our little person was a girl or a boy. As the bump started to grow, I was dying of curiosity. I wanted to know if I was talking to my little girl or my little boy. We'd thought of names and wanted to start calling the baby by name. We wanted to start praying for our little one by name as well.
We had the ultrasound techs check the gender (there were more then one tech in there so, they compared notes for accuracy) and had them write the gender down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope.
That night, Trevor and I went to a cute little Chinese restaurant and had a romantic dinner. For dessert, we opened our fortune cookies and then, our envelope. That was when we found out what gender of baby we're having.
We're not telling ANYONE. Not even our very curious mothers know. Despite a lot of trickery and blatant begging, we still haven't told anyone. It's fun to have our own little secret.
We'd have been content no matter what the gender but, it's nice to know a bit more about this little person who has grabbed such a huge hold on our hearts already.

28 weeks

Eeek... I'm now in the third trimester. I've noticed the transition: I'm more sleepy, I wake up more at night, I'm still craving salmon and oranges... just more and, I'm growing. Trevor put together the crib and change table/dresser. My Mom's been working on bumper pads and a quilt. Things are starting to come together.

Fresh start

Tomorrow is the start of Semester 2. I meet my new set of lovelies and embark on 5 different curriculum adventures. I'm excited and a little nervous... I'm a 7th year teacher and I still get stage fright at the thought of new sets of eyes looking up at me like I know what I'm doing.
This semester will involved a grade 9 French class, a grade 10 French class, a modified English grade 12 class, a Psych class and some Student Support Service time (when I go into a classroom as the learning disabilities support teacher). Should be fun. I'll miss my prep though.
In other news on the work front, I'm 3 weeks away from our big Improv tourny. My One Act play rehearsals start up this week. We're competing the weekend before I go on mat leave.

On other, more fun news, my little Thumper is kickin' up a storm and growing like a weed. I've given up on my jeans and bought some elastic waisted mat jeans. Just 12 1/2 more weeks until we meet our little Thumperoo!

***Update - Buses were cancelled today. I'll probably see 5 students. This'll postpone my stage fright for another night.

Weird kid

Alright, I've faced it: I was a quirky kid. I was the girl with the big bangs and big glasses who had her nose buried in a book most of her childhood. I loved my hyper-colour T-shirt. The year my Mom thought I should start wearing a bra, I rebelled and spent a summer wearing oversized sweaters with my black and neon green spandex shorts. On top of all that, I just re-discovered two of the silliest things I did as a child. First, I've never been a purse girl. The only purse I owned until I was in my late teens was a Smurf purse. I just found it and almost died laughing. I loved that thing! The second thing almost brought tears to my eyes because I was laughing so hard. I found my beloved troll collection. Yep, hideous, wild, neon-haired, plastic trolls of the 80s and I collected them.
Now Fergus has a few new toys. I think he loves them as much as my 12-year-old self did.

Open Letter to Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,
What's the freakin' deal, lady? How much snow does our little city need? How many people need to get stuck (not me... not me... not me) in our back alley before you let up?
Crazy amounts of snow and then ridiculously low temps for tomorrow, what did we do to deserve this?
I know, you gave us a great Saturday. I hear you're feeling like letting up and giving us another great Saturday. It'd be great if you could balance things out a bit.
Anyways, I'd better stop ranting before you decide to drop a blizzard directly on my house.

Aversions and Addictions

Pregnancy does strange things to one's behaviour (or so I've read - no one's had the heart to tell me I'm getting strange). Here's what Baby Thumper's doing to me:
-I have an addiction to navel oranges! Usually, I prefer sweet little mandarins or a tangerine. Nowadays, I need at least one of those citrusy monsters to keep the cravings at bay.
-I have a tea aversion. Normally, I'm a tea granny. Lately, it's been hard to make it through half a cup.
-I cry more. Last week, Fergus (the cat) scratched me. I started to cry because he "hurt my feelings". Yeesh!
-My favorite new past time is playing "Animal Crossing" on the Wii. Yes, I like tocatch fish, hunt bugs and dig up fossils. (If anyone else plays, let me know... we can exchange friend codes and maybe get some new fruit growing in our villages - 500 bells for different fruit!)
-I do a double take every time I look in the mirror sideways... who is that girl with the bump?

Just 15 weeks to go!

Florida - Take 2

Trevor built a sand "snowman" on Christmas Day.

Our visit with Santa on New Smyrna Beach.
Driving on the beach?
Boogie boarding king!
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom.
Lock them away!
Finishing Slash Mountain
Harper's Mill - Tom Sawyer's Island
Barrel bridge on Tom Sawyer's Island
Riding the tram at the Alamo Transit System
Welcome to Universal Studios
Tim and Karri
We caught Jaws - Universal Studios

Florida

For Christmas this year, my family decided to go to Florida. We spent the first half of our holiday at New Smyrna Beach where we relaxed, ate ice cream,visited the Kennedy Space Center, played on the beach and enjoyed a quiet Christmas Day. For the second half of the trip, we took things up a notch and did the DisneyWorld thing where, thankfully, there were just 5 rides Karri and I couldn't go on. The next day, we went to Universal Studios to see just how the movies are made.
All in all, it was a very fun and relaxing break from the snow and cold. It was good to collect freckles and hang out with my family. These are just the New Smyrna shots. I'll post a few more tomorrow when my internet's a bit faster!

Pandora's box

We've opened Pandora's Box and taken a peek at the mystery that is our baby.
Above is the little foot.

Baby's Profile - little nose pointing up

While measuring Baby's head, Baby cranked it's little neck and "looked"
back at us. Hello to you too!

Merry Christmas! Hope your hearts are full of joy as you celebrate the
birth of another precious Baby: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Christmas Bake-a-Thon 2008

Start time: 9:30 am
Chocolate Ginger cookies
Short Bread Cookies
Jam-Jams
Mennonite meat buns
homemade Oreo cookies
raspberry tarts
butter tarts
End time: 4:30

We are amazing!!!

Empty desk

Yesterday, one of my students was killed in a car accident. Today, there's an empty desk in my P3 class. This was by far the hardest day I've ever taught.
My morning was filled with the stunned silence of traumatized teenagers punctuated by sobbing.
I covet your prayers for my kids, for me and for my colleagues.

Baby Bump

Week 18 - This was the week that Trevor decided that I actually look pregnant. I think his exact words while I was cooking supper were "Oh my, I think you're pregnant!" He's just catching on... :)
Week 20 - we set up our tree at the beginning of December. Next year, it'll be a baby hazard!

Fuzzy

Yikes, today I cleaned up after Fergus' fur. I found enough fur to create a new kitten behind my couch. I wish I could shave this guy!