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!

Backstage blur

It's that time of year again folks... it's the annual school musical. This is the time of year where I foolishly volunteer to be the back stage lady. Fortunately, I have such a sweet crew of girls (I call them ninjas because they dress in black and move the set with great agility). Silly back... I can't lift of move a thing. I feel like the stereotypical union supervisor... I do a lot of delegating and not a lot of the labour myself.
This weekend was a bit of a blur... I spent it all at school. Two late nights this week and I'm done!
Well, I hope the kids break legs and the show's a success.

Pain in the...

I woke up on Tuesday morning and could barely move to get out of bed. I stumbled around my room and the walls of my house getting ready for the day. Owch! Trevor was so sweet and helpful!
I have insane back pain. There had been tension there before and a stabbing pain every now and then but, this was pretty bad.
Now, I know that pregnancy does cause some back pain. I don't think that this was normal. I spent the rest of the day walking and moving like an old lady. My co-workers suggested that I was suffering sciatica. I looked that up and panicked... I do not want sciatica. I found pelvic girdle pain and hoped for that instead. I also booked in with my doctor to solve the mystery.
Today was much better. I have the slight twinge and I need to think through my movements (I'm getting good on pain avoidance movement strategies) but, it's not constant. I also talked to my doctor. She suspects an inflammation of my SI joint. This is related to my already uneven hips not reacting well to the 8 pounds I've gained so far. I get to continue with my pain avoidance strategies, do some stretches and see a massage therapist on a regular basis.
Poor baby, he or she finally starts to make an appearance and I can finally start to feel him or her move :) and all I can think of is "my baby is a pain already..."... what an introduction to motherhood.

Wide Wii Mii

Trevor and I really like our Wii. My favorite game is Wii Fit. Lately, Wii Fit is making me a little sad. The little version of myself (my Mii) is gaining weight... all over. My Mii does not have a cute little bump like I have. Instead, I am a chubby Mii. The game told me that I'm close to overweight. :( I feel fine, I look fine but, this game is making me sad.
So, I wrote an email to Nintendo asking them to put a pregnancy setting on their next release of WiiFit. I know it will happen... most major corporations tend to do everything I ask. :) A girl can dream...

Sustainable

Today, my enviro club and I went to a cute little prairie town to see their sustainable living project.
It was an amazing trip. We learned about composting toilets, solar energy, straw bale walls (insulation), non-chemical water treatment, geothermal energy and local dining. My kids were riveted. I came home with a pile of ideas. If I had a million dollars, I'd build the most amazing little house... (Right now, we'll settle for some new siding in the spring... maybe.)

Today was also cool because as our van drove down the highway, the kids sang and sang (they're also the choir kids) Christmas carols. This was the perfect way to usher in the snow of winter/08-09. This made me think that when this snow melts... I'll be closer to being a momma. :)

I ended this fine Wednesday with a high tea at the church's Pioneer Girls Gal/Pal night. My little pal and I dressed to the nines (I realized that I'm growing when I could barely find a bridesmaid dress or other fancy dress that fits). A fabulous evening to a great day.

The bump that is our baby

The day we found out!

Excited shock???!!!!

7 weeks

12 weeks - we could finally tell people

16 weeks

Well, here is the bump, in all it's splendor.   I'm not really showing all that much however, I'm not my normal skinny self either.  I'm in the "in-between" stage of looking "chubby" but not quite pregnant.

Whump, whump, whump

Today, Trevor and I met with the doctor who will delivering our baby. She let us hear the baby's heartbeat. Definitely the highlight of my week! :) The baby was there and then disappeared so that we couldn't hear it anymore. It's cool to think that I have a little person swimming around inside me.
I also checked out a local store that sells cloth diapers. I've been doing a lot of online research but, it was really great to actually talk to someone and see and feel the diapers. There are these great diapers called Bummis.
There was no school today. Actually, I'm not going back to school until after Remembrance Day. :) Today was payback for our absurdly long hours on Monday and Tuesday when we were conducting parent teacher interviews (11 interviews in 8 hours - lots of prep time for Jill). Today makes up for it.
Now, I get 4 days with my sweet man! Yippee!

Auntie Jill and Uncle Trevor

Yipppeee! Not only do we get to be Mommy and Daddy this spring, we also get to become an Auntie and Uncle for the first time!
Congrats to Tim and Karri! They're due in late May. This will be one fantastic spring for my family. :)

By far not the worst...

For those of you who remember my Feb/o7 field trip from Hades, today made up for it.
Today, I took 14 lovely Senior students to see Midsummer Night's Dream. My students were fabulous. We discussed the characters during intermission and I watched them take in a new experience. There were no fires lit, no change thrown at other audience members and, we didn't have to haul the kids back to school during the second act.
Unfortunately, there were about 13 other classes from my school with us. I ended up having to sit by a little yahoo who couldn't figure out why his loud whispering was being heard 10 rows down. We had to relocate a few individuals and one of my colleagues had the pleasure of taking one student out for his own foyer field trip.
My question is this: WHY? Why do we as educators do this to ourselves? We get excited about introducing the students to a new experience. We discuss what a great cultural opportunity this is. We plan and invest. Then, ~18% of the students we take wreck it. Why?
I always want to err on the side of the positive and think that, even though we don't see it now, the kids will take something away from this experience. They will have grown through a cultural field trip. Today, we gave them an opportunity some of their families might never have provided. However, tonight, I have a splitting headache. I loved the theatre's rendition of this play and the acting was delightful. Why am I still so disheartened?

A whole new world

Today, I am typing from my bed... on my spiffy new Mac lap top.  It's so sweet.  We ordered it on Friday night and here it is today... in my house already.

I already love how cute it is (it sleeps when we leave it alone) and how shiny and durable the aluminum case is.

We're livin' the high life.  We may even have to watch a movie this weekend... anywhere we like!

Feist

Feist was pretty awesome last night. She had some really neat visuals that made the concert an excellent experience. I liked that this set her a part a little from any other concert I've seen. She's also quirky cute and I always admire that.
If she comes to town again, count me in!

Yummy...

Tonight, I'm making roast (organic, free range, locally grown) chicken from http://www.farmgatefood.ca/. It was going to happen last night and didn't... ah well, nothing like a slow Sunday for a chicken dinner. It's a good way to celebrate the Riders' win.

Tonight, we're going to rock out to FEIST! I took a good nap. This is the latest I've stayed up in a while. I'm pumped!

Well... the cat's out of the bag

It's nice to finally have our big "secret" out in the open now. :)
Baby is now 13 weeks along and all is going well. I'm now finding all the locations of all the bathrooms in malls, restaurants, truck stops and grocery stores. I still long for naps (mostly during P5 French) but, I'm hoping now that I'm in trimester 2, I should get some of my energy back. I've developed a little pooch belly that I notice. I don't think I'm really showing but, it's strange to have a little belly... I'm sure the big belly will be only stranger.
It's been fun telling people. We can hardly wait to introduce our little person to the world...

Grateful

My 200th blog post happens to fall on the Thanksgiving weekend. I've decided to write about what I'm most thankful for.
1. My most excellent husband! He always knows how to make me smile and brighten my day.
2. Family - I've been so lucky to have such great parents and kid bro (and his little wife). It's cool to be an adult who's friends with her family.
3. Family-in-law - Not only do I have great in-laws but, Trevor comes with this AMAZING extended family. This past weekend, we were able to go to Winnipeg to celebrate his Oma and Opa's 60th anniversary. How awesome is that?
4. Fergus - Enough said, his little fur face is great (even when he's grumpy).
5. My job - I love what I do; how many people get to actually go to work every day and have crazy adventures?
6. My friends far and near - I never get the time I want to spend with you all.
7. My little house - it's cute and cozy (and now that there's snow... warm).
8. My church - I was away this weekend and I missed it lots.
9. My health - I know I was complaining a few weeks ago but really, that's pretty minor when I think about it.
10. Our BABY! Yep... you read right. My little bambino was officially 12 weeks on Friday and all is well! We're excited (and nervous and scared and then excited again) about his/her arrival in our lives in late April/09!

This girl's life can't get much better! :)

Open Letter to My Body

Dear body,
I'm not very impressed with you. Don't you realize that I have to teach tomorrow? I'd rather not do it while hopped up on Pepto-Bismal and Tylenol. Because of you, I think I actually have to take a sick day! Do you know how much prep work is ahead of me? I'm guessing at least a 45 minutes creating a detailed lesson plan, at least 7 emails to colleagues who will have to cover responsibilities for me and a 1/2 hour calling and calling and calling someone to sub for me. Bah! I know that, in most professions, a sick day would require just one phone call to the boss. Not so for teachers! Body, do you understand the mental (as well as physical) stress that you are putting me through?
I really hope that tonight, you let me sleep soundly and don't wake me up with disturbing gastro-intestinal issues again. I did not appreciate at that in the slightest! If you think I'm grumpy with you now, what until you see how irate I'll become if you get any sicker!
Due to your extreme behaviour, you're going to bed right after Amazing Race and don't count on much besides crackers and water for supper!

Tagged...

Amanda tagged me. I need to list 5 unusual things about me.

1. I don't like purple candies. I give all my purple Skittles to Trevor (poor man). Synthetic grape flavoring SUCKS!

2. My high school buddies still make fun of the way I say "spooky" or "milk" or "toilet" or "minute". Something about the way I elongate my vowels.

3. I work through my lunch. I'm kind of a lame teacher that way. Instead of cavorting in the staff room, I'm the hermit in my room marking and prepping. (I just don't want to take anything home).

4. I'm not a phone talker. I always struggle with what to say. I always just want to get to the point so that I can hang up. It's weird.

5. If I eat after supper, I have a 75% chance of 1) getting a stomach ache, 2) having weird dreams or 3) a combination of 1 and 2.

Great... now you know my quirks. I tag...
Laurie
Brandy
Jackie
Colleen

It's apparent that I'm no longer on holidays...

Well, if I look at the last date of my last blog, it's apparent that I am no longer on summer holidays.
School has started of relatively well this year. There's something quite wonderful about returning to the same school and to a set-up classroom instead of the stress of trying to lobby for a job and then start fresh. I teach Senior Modified English, I team-teach Psych 20 with a fabulous colleague, I split some Student Support Services time between a very large Foods 10 class and a very large Visual Arts 10 class and I teach Senior French. I actually really enjoy the flexibility and diversity of my schedule.
I've also started up with extra curr. This year (fingers crossed), I will try not to overwhelm myself. So far, it's just a RISK board game playing club, my environmental club and co-coaching Improv. It's busy but, it's manageable.
For the past two weekends, Trevor and I have been at Dallas Valley Ranch Camp. Last week, we were at the 25th reunion. That was a pretty neat time. We saw a lot of people that we grew up working and camping with. It was pretty awesome.
This weekend, we headed back out to DVRC for a Small Group Leaders Retreat. Trevor and I have been leading a small group since the beginning of 2007. It was really good to get together with other leaders and pray for one another, learn from each other and just goof around together. There was a lot of food for thought this weekend. I know that I've taken away a lot to think about.
Our days are full. Between our small group, my night class and staying on top of school work, we find that our time is just flying away on us. The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind.
Hopefully, next weekend will find us at home, relaxing.

Lu Lu Loopy!

I stood in line for a 1/2 today. I was waiting to get in to the Lu Lu Lemon Warehouse sale. Honestly, I am not a lulu lemon nut. My only yoga is with Wii Fit. I bought a pair of capris in the spring and wore them all over Europe and LOVED them. I thought I could get a pair of pants at the sale.
I was wrong.
I overheard in the line that one woman camped out at 3:45 AM just to be the first there when the doors opened at 9 AM. I also heard that another woman spent over $3 000???? That's an insane price for any shopping trip let alone for just one brand of clothing.
I didn't find any pants.
I bought a touque. It's cute and blue and wool. It was under $10... and 45 minutes of my time.

Open Letter to Summer of 2008

Dear Summer of 2008,
I know that today is just the first day we have parted company yet, I miss you already. I miss getting up slowly and eating a leisurely breakfast. I miss reading in the backyard while watching Fergus chase his squirrel. I miss my Mom's random drop ins and her pool.
I will never forget my trip to Germany with Trevor or the rainy Radiohead concert.
I will always cherish the BC trip and the wedding week of Shiya and Marshall.

How come you went by so fast? Where did all those lazy days go?

Ah, sweet summer. Farewell.

P.S. - To all of you non-teachers out there, sorry... I remembered today how much it sucked to get up to an alarm.

Last Hurrah

This weekend is my last hurrah. :(
School starts for teachers on Monday.
I love my job, honest I do. I just love my summer as well.
Sigh...

Some wedding pics

Shiya's dance troupe took her for a pedicure and then made her walk around downtown Victoria in this delightful hat.
The beautiful bride. Look for her cute little side curls!
Lacing her in. Love the black accents.
Shiya and her family (Nathan, Cindy and Dick).
The newlyweds.
Making our own breeze. We loved our twirly dresses and fab scarves.
Pucker up Marshall!
Mel made these fabulous cakes and and cookies.Happy honeymooning guys!

one hot wedding

YEAH! Shiya and Marshall are married and off somewhere romantic for their honeymoon.
I spent ~ 5 days in Victoria cooking for the couple and helping with some prep there. Then (after my second ever ferry ride - prairie girls get excited about ships), we headed for Abbotsford to do last minute stuff to prepare for the big day.
I bet no one could have predicted the incredibly INSANE heat.
The couple was beautiful, the bridesmatrons (yeesh, that sounds old) were delightful, the groomsmen were hot (poor guys in the suits) and the MC was amazing (yeah Trevor). I sadly have very few pics from the actual wedding day but, hopefully I will be sent a few. I'll try to post some a bit later this week.

Remembering...

I'm in Victoria at Shiya's cute litte condo, helping her get ready for her wedding (just a little over a week).
I'm remembering our last week of singlehood...
-we had just bought our house, Trevor had taken possession and, after finding out that all walls were plywood, Trevor was busy drywalling
-we wanted a contractor to mud, tape and sand the newly dry-walled walls and do our ceilings while we were on our honeymoon, so we scraped off all the painted over stucco
-crazy decoration making madness
-signage
-organizing and making food for my lingerie shower
-hosting friends and family
-living in the blur that I exist in for the first few weeks of summer holidays (when that cold catches up and the shock of not having to mark or be "on" every second of the work day hits me)
-longing just to be married

Being back in wedding prep mode has reminded me how HAPPY I am that we're married. Not as glamourous as being the almost married couple but, that's the way I like it. I wouldn't go back for a second!

Jill's Bakery

3 saskatoon berry pies
2 rhubarb custard pies
6 dozen whole wheat muffins
2 dozen bran/saskatoon berry muffins
(3 dozen cookies - maybe...)
Whew... it's been a busy day. I'm so glad that my house stayed cool (I didn't even switch on the AC).

36 hours until I take off to Victoria (and then Abbottsford) to be Shiya's matron (it sounds so old) of honour.

Already?

Really? It's August? Already?
Shucks... I'm already missing the lazy bliss of July.

the berry and the squirrel

In the mornings, I let Fergus outside to play (read "stalk bugs and eat grass) outside. Lately, he's found a new "friend" to play with. For the past 4 mornings, Fergus and this little squirrel have been chasing each other up and down our big maple. They'll take breaks to natter at one another and then the chase is on again. I wonder what Fergus will do if he catches the squirrel?

Before supper, he was such a whiny cat, we put him in the spare room. Here he is trying to make his escape.

Today, I went out to my a farm near my parents and picked saskatoon berries with Karri and Mom. We picked like fiends. I have over 24 cups! On top of the rhubarb Karri gave me last week (21 cups), I'll be busy baking sweet treats for a while. Rhubarb and saskatoons... definately some of my favorite things about living on the prairies.