Tis the season

I must start out with the hilarity that is my dog at each Christmas. My wonderful in-laws always take care of her with a new "baby." (This year there were 3 that we are choosing to give her one at a time.) Well, Christmas night, we came home and gave it to her. This is what went on for at least an hour:

(I hope it works) 

She doesn't let it leave her side. This morning, I woke up and Soco and I were in the living room when suddenly she started walking around the house very distraught. I just watched her and she came prancing out of our bedroom with her baby in her mouth. 

She also makes sure she has it when she takes naps on the couch. 

 

Right now, she's snuggled up against my leg, sleeping with her baby right in front of her head. It's really sweet until she gives it too much love and the stuffing comes out. 

...at least she has 2 more when this one's is over-loved. The weird thing is that even after we think we've thrown away all pieces of babies, months later, she will bring us a random ear she had hidden somewhere. 

*******

Our Christmas tree started out as a butt of a joke for Derek and me. Last year, our tree stand broke. Despite our MANY efforts, we couldn't fix it and had to go out and buy a new tree for the year. We opened the box with great anticipation because of the "awesome deal" we got on a pre-lit tree only to find that you can see right through it. From every angle, no matter how much fluffing is done, you can see the stem of this tree. We laughed it off, decorated it and were thankful we had a tree for the year. We also had a goal of buying a new tree after Christmas when they were on sale. 

Well.... we forgot. We took our tree out remembering the wonderful pre-lit-ness of the tree and began fluffing. Then it all came back and we started laughing at how Charlie Brown it looked, especially with no decorations on it. Since our Friends' Christmas is at our house, and was only 2 days later, we decorated as best we could and made a promise to buy a new tree this year after Christmas. (We still haven't)

Well... here's our tree. It doesn't look so bad in pictures. :-) 

What you don't notice in these pictures is that Derek and I are both about a foot taller than the tree. 

Here is a picture from last year of Soco in front of the tree 

She looks enormous, but the tree is just so small. 

*******

Who knows if we really will get a tree, or if we'll just forget about how small and sad this tree is once again until we open the box next year. 

One thing I do know... next year there will be much more excitement surrounding Christmas. We'll have a 9 month old baby to celebrate with! 

a head in the shower

I forgot to write about my first and really only HUGE emotional breakdown of pregnancy. It's quite hilarious when I look back on it. 

A few weeks ago, I was taking a shower. I was washing my hair and my eyes were closed because I was rinsing shampoo. Well I opened my eyes to see a HEAD in the shower with me! Derek snuck into the bathroom and poked his head in the shower, pulling the shower curtain tight around his neck and making a weird face at me. I gasped and he was about to laugh when....

I immediately started SOBBING. I'm talking hyperventilating, tears streaming down my face, coughing, and in between breaths and realization that I was being overdramatic, I would laugh. I literally could not stop sobbing for the rest of my shower. It was like when a little kid cries and for 10 minutes after, they have that sad breathing thing where you think they're done and then they have this hard breath/cry sound that comes out. 

I guess my weirdest fear was realized that day. I remember when I was little, I had a dream, or my brother tried to scare me, or something that someone was standing in between the shower liner and outside shower curtain. I forgot about that until that day. 

Moral of the story: Don't scare your pregnant wife in the shower.

My rotisserie baby...

I can't believe there are 15 weeks left. It's flying by so far! Here's my belly this week: 

I think my former PJ shirt needs to be retired until the baby comes because for some reason, it's just not quite as comfy anymore. It seems to have gotten a little too small. 

It's super crazy that next Christmas, we will be putting gifts under the tree for the baby, too! 

The baby has chosen to hang out on my right side these days. About an hour ago, actually, I felt its entire back along the right side of my stomach. I felt like I was holding the baby or something because I could feel so much of it. 

He/she has also been acting like a rotisserie chicken. That's all I can think of to compare this feeling to. It feels like it's spinning around in there and it's almost nauseating. I don't mind it though because movement is comforting and helps me remember he/she is doing good! 

Ugly sweater party time is almost near, so I must go get tacky.... 

Five foods

Five Foods... this should be fun! 

5. Cotton Candy Ice Cream

This ice cream is not only delicious, it is also medication. I have been on a cotton candy ice cream kick for the last month or so, and one day, I had a horrible headache. I took tylenol, I rested, I drank water, I drank caffeine, I turned off all the lights, nothing. Head throbbed. When I had my nightly bowl of this wonder, the head ache immediately disappeared! Meijer, the wonder ice cream! 

4. Greek Salad

I haven't had this in a while because feta is a pregnancy no-no, but I will admit, I had two of them since getting pregnant. I always get this sans olives and onions, but, the picture doesn't show beets and banana peppers. I can't perfect this salad at home for some reason. Maybe because I never have all the ingredients? lol 

3.  Panera bread. 

It's so exciting to go to Panera since Derek passionately hates it. Apparently it is not enough food for his growing body. But I looooove it. I could eat it everyday. I always get a turkey sandwich on asiago bread with broccoli cheddar soup. 

2. Arabic Food

I love me some garlic. We go all out when we eat arabic. It started in high school when I'd go with my girlfriends. We would easily take on two bowls of garlic with out meal. Who cares if we stink for days after? Now I have recruited Derek to be in on the fun. I get the same variation of foods each time I go. A chicken shawarma sandwich, fattoush salad, rice with almonds, grilled veggies, and of course, the bread and garlic. I don't get all of these, but the sandwich and bread are a consistent part of the meal, the rest are my choices for sides. Yum! 

1. Sweet Potato Fries

Not just any sweet potato fries, but the ones from The Barrel Room in San Diego. I'm not even surprised that they had a picture of these delicious fantasies on google. I dream of these and I am salivating as I stare at them. Anyway, we went to this restaurant while we were waiting for our friend to be done at the emergency room on vacation. (long story) I thought I was going to starve that night because the menu is mainly burgers and I was burgered out at that point.... not to mention the RABBIT SAUSAGE and mac and cheese dinner that was a specialty at this particular restaurant. (SICK!) I opted for sides. I ordered a side salad and sweet potato fries. Hands down, this was the best meal of the entire trip. 

This was a tricky game for a pregnant lady to play today. Needless to say, I am now starving and have very particular ideas on what I'd like to eat. If it weren't Black Friday and I know most places I could go to get these things will be jam packed with holiday shoppers, I would be in my car right now...or on a plane on my way to San Diego. The grilled cheese I had planned for lunch just doesn't sound so appealing anymore. Ah, well. I'll use my imagination. 

6 places

I just realized I never completed the "10 days of you" blogging from way back in August. I ended with 7 wants, and now I have to do 6 places. So I'll continue! I'm not sure exactly what this one means, so I'm going to make it my own. 

Places I want to go back to: 

6.  My wedding. I would love to go back to that place. It was honestly the funnest day of my life. Here is a video example of the fun. I don't know how to post just the video up since it's not mine, it's my cousin's. (I have to explain that the tradition in my family is that the men roll up their pant legs during shout. You look like a fool if you don't roll your pant legs up. I love my family.)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=736618259165 

5. Mine and Derek's first date. I just want to be a fly on the wall and feel like I felt on that day. I don't want to go back and stay there, because I love where we are now, but I'd love to see us then. It's hard to believe that was 7 years ago! ...this picture is our 1 year anniversary of dating.

4. My house where I grew up. I don't just mean visiting the house because it's only 5 minutes from where I live, but I'd love to go back and live a day in the life of me as a 7 year old on Lucy Street with the crew of kids my brother and I hung out with. We had the best street, there were so many kids and we were always outside playing. It was awesome!

Places I've Been. 

3. San Diego. I would love to go here once a month if I could! I've been there twice now. Once for our honeymoon and once this past summer for a vacation with friends. It's so beautiful and just means relaxation to me. Palm trees equal vacation. I don't know that I'd want to live there, because where can you vacation that it looks different from where you live? (Of course you could vacation in the northeast, but who wants to vacation in the snow?) Maybe we will retire there someday. 

2. Aunt Carol's condo in Florida. The warm pavement of the driveway under our fresh, non-calloused feet that are used to cold winter and socks, oh it's calling to me. We did 2 family spring breaks there, it was in Fort Meyers, right by the beach. I had one great spring break with Mandy and my family there. Driving there was so fun because we would watch the temperature rise from the 20s to the 80s. Driving home was awful because it went from the 80s to the 20s, but the fun part was making fun of Ohio (of course that meant we had to drive through Ohio and we hated that!). Derek also went there with us for Senior year spring break in high school. 

A Place I Can't Wait to Go. 

1. My baby's birth. I can't wait for the excitement and fear that place will hold. I want to know where I'll go into labor and who will be in the waiting room while we wait for our precious arrival. I can't wait to see Derek's face when he meets his son or daughter. I can't wait to see my dad holding my baby. I can't wait to see my mom fall in love with another grandchild. I can't wait to see Derek's parents lay their eyes on their first grandchild. I can't wait to be in that place when my brother becomes an uncle and my sister-in-law becomes an aunt. Most of all, I can't wait to be in the place where I'm first a mommy. That place. That will be the best place. 

A well behaved fetus

I'm officially 20 weeks and 1 day... over halfway there, right?! 

We had our ultrasound today and Gunther behaved perfectly. The ultrasound tech kept saying, "Wow, this baby is giving me perfect shots and doing just what he or she needs to do for measurements." She even took an extra picture for herself of his/her aorta. Way to go, baby! 

Here are our newest pictures of baby Shupe. 

 

I can NOT wait to hold this little bean in our arms and know if I have a son or a daughter. I know I could have found out today, but then we wouldn't hear, "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!" When he or she arrives. I can't wait for the best surprise of my life. 

we have a kicker!

I didn't have work today, so when Derek left for work, I watched the news in bed for a little while. As I laid there, I suddenly felt a small jab in my stomach, but just accounted it to gas since Derek and I were joking about kicks this morning. I didn't think anything would happen like an hour after our conversation. Well, about 10 seconds later, the same thing in the same spot! Then again a few seconds later! 

Ahhh! We've got a kicker, ladies and gentlemen! I want more, I feel like an addict now. I seriously didn't move from that position for 10 minutes hoping that I'd be kicked again, but no such luck. Hopefully that isn't the baby's choice time for kicking because I'm always at work by then. 

getting fatter and fatter everyday

Derek and I registered today and, wow, did it make everything seem so much more real. These things are for a baby that we are going to keep forever... and we made it! And it's growing in me! 

I can't wait to be a mommy. Only 140+ days until my nightly belly time on the floor feeling my bump will become time holding my little one in my arms. :o) 

I have to put some memories down so I don't forget them. 

These are quotes from my students who will be making me laugh everyday until this baby comes. They are all bilingual, and for some reason much more immature and naive than the monolingual students in the rest of the school: 

Mohammed: "Mrs. Shupe, you're getting fatter and fatter everyday!" 

Gamelah: "Oh my gosh! Tell her no offense!" 

Mohammed: "Oh, no offense!" 

...LOL 

When I wore my skeleton shirt with a baby skeleton on it shown below: 

Student: (I can't remember who, dangit!)"Umm, Mrs. Shupe, I thought someone told me that the baby has that string going to it's belly so it doesn't choke on the food you eat. How come your baby (the one on my shirt) doesn't have one of those strings?" 

Me: "Well, it's a just a shirt. This isn't my real baby." 

Student: "ohhhh." 

...hilarious comment, not to mention the fact that the baby has a string so it doesn't choke on my food. I'll have to address that someday! 

Once again, a quote about the shirt. As I walked by a fellow teacher's class, she says, "Hey everyone, look at Mrs. Shupe's Halloween shirt!" 

Her student: "Ummm, I know! You ate a dog!!?" 

Sumieh: "I'm not trying to say you're getting fat, because you're supposed to get fat right? But the baby is making you fatter. Like your belly is getting fatter all the time. But it's the baby, so I'm not calling you fat. It's good that you're getting a big belly, right?" 

Me: "Yes, Sumieh, the baby keeps growing in my belly and it's going to get even bigger!" 

...this one always talks WAY too much for one sentence haha. 

I couldn't have any other job that would make me happy both professionally and emotionally. 

I told my students

"Are you pregnant Mrs. Shupe? Because someone said you're pregnant." This is what I was asked while we were at library last Friday and I didn't know how to answer because I didn't want that to be the way I announced it. So I said, "Wouldn't I tell you something like that?!"Another girl walks over and says, "You look like maybe you're pregnant." I got a nervous feeling in my stomach and decided, 4th graders aren't as naive as I must have thought.. especially considering most of my students have a pregnant mother or a new baby in their homes. 

I decided then and there, I would tell them the following Monday. Originally I was going to wear the previously mentioned shirt with the skeleton and baby skeleton to announce the news to my kiddos. Well, that wouldn't fly because it would be a week before Halloween and no one is wearing skeleton shirts on random days in October. 

So I decided I would introduce the game "Hang Man" to my students. To my delight, they knew the game (some didn't last year and being that they're mostly newcomers to the country, you never know what games they may or may not know.) So I put up the following: 

___ ____ ___       _____ ____ _____ _____ ____    

____ ____       ______ ____ _____ _____ _____ _____

____     _____ _____ _____ _____

They're guessing and finally they had something like Mrs Shupe is    ___a___ing    a    ___a___y. 

I start hearing whispers, "Is she having a baby?"   "Do you think she's having a baby?"  "I think Mrs. Shupe is having a baby." Then they solved it! 

They bursted with questions! What is it!? are you really having a baby?! What's it's name?! Can we name it? When is it coming?! 

And my three favorite questions: 

3. "Aren't you supposed to be big and fat?" (Love this kid forever for making me feel good lol) 

2. "So can we really have a class baby?" 

and the number 1 question that still makes me giggle now....

1. "Does Mr. Shupe know?" 

LOL!!! ... He does. 

They're super cute and are asking me questions about the baby already and giving me name suggestions as well as suggesting a name suggestion jar that they can add to whenever they think of names. There has also been a request that Mr. Shupe please come in and let them know when the baby comes so they can find out if it's a boy or girl. 

Oh and my nerves were settled when the only controversial question that was asked was, "How did you know you were pregnant? Like, how did you actually know a baby is in there?" A simple, "The doctor told me," solved that one and the questions were done! Thank God! 

...Now I'm off to my most visited place, the bathroom. At least I made it through typing this whole thing out!

just an update

I feel weird to admit that at this point in my life, I love going to the doctor's office! I hate the fact that Derek can't get off work to join me at all of the appointments, but the fact that he was there to hear the first heartbeat and see the first ultrasound at 8 weeks makes me happy. The 16 week appointment was wonderful. I was in and out in about 30 minutes. The heartbeat was in the 150s and the doctor said he could hear the baby moving and kicking. I don't now exactly what that sounds like, but since I was hearing the same thing as him, I must have heard him/her kicking, too! 

I can't wait until November 10. It's the 20 week appointment which includes and ultrasound! Yay! Derek is also getting off work to come to that one. I can't wait to see that little bean again. This time he/she probably won't look as much like a derby car like last time. 

My dad bought me the Halloween shirt I wanted. It has a skeleton torso and in the belly area, there's a baby skeleton. It's too funny! I love my daddio, he still spoils me. I'm so lucky to have such a great family... including Derek's family. I know not everyone is so lucky to have wonderful in-laws, but mine are fantastic! This baby will be so loved! 

16 weeks

Helloooo 2nd trimester and hellooo baby bump! Well, you can't exactly see it yet unless I'm laying flat on the ground, but I can feel it really good when I'm laying there, too! Each night, I lay on the floor and feel the bump.

A few nights ago, I was sitting on the couch with Derek and I felt this feeling in my low stomach like bubbles fluttering around in one spot. I thought, I wonder if this is the baby?! It continued to happen for about 20 minutes and of course, I googled it, and it seems that it likely was the baby moving around! Wahoo!

We've chosen a girl's name that we're set on and finally decided on the middle name for the girl. It was between two and we've got the right one now. We have a boy's middle name picked, but no first name. Derek and I can't find one that we agree on... or I find names and Derek doesn't like them. He's only come up with one contender for a boy and I grew out of it. So this baby's name with be Gunther if we don't come up with a boy name since that's what we've been calling it lately. We're being big stinkers and not telling anyone our baby names because we want them to be a surprise AND there's always someone who knew someone who had that name and they killed the whole city or something horrible like that. So we're keeping the names to ourselves and if people dislike it after the baby is here, too bad! Because it's going to be a super cute baby and no one makes fun of a super cute baby's name!

funny memories

I have some memories I don't want to forget... 

My students love to get into my personal life and find out everything about me. They asked me in the beginning of the year if I have kids, but recently, they asked if I have babies and I told them not yet. One girl raised her hand and asked, "Well maybe if you do have a baby this year, if it gets old enough, could you bring it in and we could have a class baby instead of a class pet?" LOL 

A few days later, three of my girls were talking to me and said, "I hope you have babies soon. But I hope you don't have a baby this year because last year a teacher had a baby and she was gone for the last month of school and we don't want a sub!" Aww... how sweet. Sorry girls! 

I don't know when to tell them, yet. When is too early? I was thinking of wearing this shirt for Halloween and see what they say.

I have some that it would go completely over their head, but others would probably get it. I just don't know if that's too early to tell them? I'll be 19 weeks I think? I guess that's a good time to tell. 

Anyway, another funny story... 

I'm starting to lose my mind already. Derek was showering the other day. I went in to use the bathroom, washed my hands and left. He finished his shower and I hear, "Are you kidding me?!" and I also heard a weird noise coming from the bathroom. Well... it turns out I left the faucet on after washing my hands... and turned the light off! I totally blame him for not telling me to turn the light back on, but WOW, how did I forget to turn the water off?! haha... this baby is eating my brain already! It's ok. I'll let him/her eat my brain.

zombie-itis

I'm a total zombie today. I'm tired, I guess, but mostly I'm too drained to do anything today. I had an awesome teaching day. My students were great and I just feel accomplished on that part of my life. However, I was no social butterfly. At lunch, I may have said 5 words in total. I hope this goes away!

It's been a while since I've written, so I'll catch up on the pregnancy front.

I am no longer getting queasy as often, or really at all. I still can't believe I never actually got sick. I thought I'd be one of those unlucky ones who had horrible morning sickness. The dishwasher is still nasty and meat isn't great, but I've eaten some.

I'm 14 weeks 5 days today and I can feel a little bump in my lower belly. :o) That makes be super happy. I can't wait until it's visible. I have a belly up higher, but it's not baby. I wondered what it was because it's not soft, so I didn't think it was just fat. I found out it is most likely my organs that have been pushed upward because of the growing baby in there. Interesting! I will definitely be posting belly pictures once this belly looks more like a baby belly. I want to remember all of this and I think this blog is a great way to keep record of it.

Well, I guess I better go stalk all the blogs I love since I'm finally on the computer again. :o)

it's official

We're Facebook Official

On September 15, I posted a new album called, "1,2,3... say Emily's Pregnant!" And I posted the photos we took of our family members when we announced to them and put the ultrasound picture in there too. Wow! The comments came in quickly! It was so exciting and sure made everything official because now everyone knows. We aren't hiding it anymore and it feels good!

I did find out that there's nothing like announcing a pregnancy to give you body issues. LOL. I've had many teachers at school say to me, "I wondered if you were. I kept looking at you and thinking, I think I see a belly." ....I've gained 4 lbs and I think it's all in my boobs, so I must have just stopped sucking it in lately! Oh well, I'm only going to get a bigger belly.

The question I've gotten most is, "How are you feeling?" and I almost feel bad to answer. I haven't thrown up once. I have felt sick and queasy, but no puking, thank God! I could forget I'm pregnant if I didn't think about it all the time.

The other day I did squat down to put some books away at work and my pants pushed up against my lower stomach and I felt them pressing on something I haven't felt before. Baby?! I think so! :o) I almost ran across the hall to tell the teacher over there that I think my pants hit my baby. I held it together.

Now... how and when will I tell my students!?! I think I'm more nervous and excited about that than I was about telling all the adults in my life!

I just haven't met you yet

And I know that we can be so amazing
And, baby, your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility

Promise you, kid, I'll give so much more than I get,I just haven't met you yet

I just keep singing this song in my head over and over again.

I had my 12 week appointment today and heard my baby's heartbeat... 160 bpm. I think I fell in love today! It's seemed so unreal for the most part until today, it just clicked!

My appointment was less than thrilling for 90% of the time I spent there. I waited in the room for about a half hour reading Us Magazine. Thank God they had magazines in the room. The doctor came in and asked if I had questions then felt my belly and said, "Yep! That's a baby." Then he took out his heart listening thing (technical term) and started to listen. I looked at him for cues that was I was listening to was, indeed, a heartbeat. He just looked at me with a straight face. I tried prompting him to tell me what I was hearing by giving him a big smile and he FINALLY said, "That's your baby! 160 beats a minute. I'm guessing girl, but I'm wrong 50% of the time." Good odds. ha!

I left the office and called Derek to tell him about our little Gunther, as he has lovingly named the baby for the pregnancy. When I hung up, I changed the stations on the radio and heard the Michael Buble song I quoted earlier. I was thinking, "I love how fun this song is!" Then, about 20 seconds later, I was crying in the car thinking about how the song was for my baby! I love him/her already, I just haven't met the little one yet! If anyone saw me, they probably would have thought I was crazy, singing, laughing and crying in the car. Oh well! I'm in love.

pregnancy stuff :o)

Now that I'm out to the blogging world, I have to talk about it!

I'm happy to say that as of now, I haven't thrown up once, although that is not to say that I haven't felt queasy most of the time. I was freaking out at first because I had no morning sickness, then my mom told me she didn't with me or my brother either, which made me feel better.

My weird issues:
The dishwasher.

Pure evil. The smell of this haunts me, especially when it's clean or in mid-cycle. I didn't realize this was my personal issue until my dad came over and I appologized for how bad my house smells. I told him our dishwasher must be broken and he said he didn't smell anything. I thought he was being nice until I smelled their dishwasher and it was just as disgusting. Sometimes I feel like the whole house smells like it and let me tell you, it is absolutely the grossest smell ever.

Raw meat.

Almost as gross as the dishwasher. Honestly, I can't really eat meat that is cooked either. I've had a little bit of chicken in the last few weeks, but that's it. Yuck!


I guess that's it. I thought there was more but I guess those 2 things take over my life right now. My head feels awful thinking about both of them!

I'm proud to say that I've only gained 2 pounds so far and I'm 10 weeks. I am actually still in my zone of normal weight, but at the top of it. I don't want to gain more than 1 more pound before 12 weeks. If I do, oh well, but that's my goal. Everyone keeps saying "I bet you'll only carry in your belly," and I totally feel pressure about it! It stresses me out!



Fun pregnancy story:

My sister in law, Rachel, sent me a text today that she had a dream I had a baby boy named Liam. In her dream he was crying and in real life, her baby girl was crying. LOL

The weird part of this is that when she was in her early pregnancy, I had a dream she had a baby girl named Georgia. Weird that we both had names for the baby in our dreams. Hers ended up being a girl for real, so maybe we'll end up with a boy!

it's official...we're a family of 3 plus a dog!

It's official!


We've got a little derby car in the oven. I swear that's what it looks like... a bird's eye view of a derby car. haha

 I'm officially 8 weeks 6 days today. Due date is March 28, 2012. That is 9 days after my birthday and 6 days after Derek's birthday. March = birthday month for us!

On June 16th, I woke up and took a test and there was a super, duper light, barely there second line. I was super excited because it was there and I knew that meant positive! So I got back in bed and didn't wake Derek up because I had a plan for when he woke up. I was going to tell him in a very casual way, "We really need to get that gate fixed so it's by the side door so we don't have to let Soco out the baby's bedroom door." There I sat, waiting for Derek to wake up, very patiently, and ready to catch him off guard when he woke up.

He woke up soon after, and immediately says, "Did you take a test?"

UGH! He totally ruined my way of telling him! haha. I just smiled really big and said, "Maaaybe," and we giggled together and I showed him the test. It was a little scary because it was so very faint, but....

I decided to go a little overboard and take lots of tests! I had just bought a 25 pack and figured, "Why not!?" So almost every morning after that I took a test and the pretty little line got darker and darker. Good job baby!

We've told some people so far. My 2 month old niece was the first one we told while we were babysitting her. Then we told my brother and sister in law:  (1,2,3.. say "Emily's pregnant!)

About a week later we told our parents:

 (I love mom's face! haha!)

Then we told Derek's grandma and started telling our friends. It's starting to feel more real! We were a a little less planned out with everyone else, but it was super fun to capture our families reactions with the pictures.

Our lives are about to change and we're so excited about it!

seven wants

7. I want to rearrange my living room.

6. I want my basement to be finished so I have somewhere else to go. My living room is driving me crazy lately! LOL

5. I want a live in cook for dinner. I'm fine with making breakfast and lunch, but a cook for dinner would be perfection.

4. I want to be done with all of my grad classes. I guess that means I should register for fall, huh?!

3. I want to do something fun that I can take pictures of to make my blog more interesting. hah.

2. I want my husband to have a normal work week. Real bad.

1. I want tomorrow morning to get here!

my calling in life

I'm taking a quick break from the describing myself posts because I had a laugh out loud while by myself moment today. I'll start at the beginning.

I was walking my dog this morning and saw a tiny dog on the other side of the street, so I walked over to look at its collar and hopefully return it to its home. Well, just as I got to the dog, these people walked out of their house. I was relieved that they were coming out because I assumed this was the dog's owners. Nope. They said they knew the owners though and I thought they would bring it back to her (I found out the dog's name was Daisy) home. Well, instead, I had to pick up the pup while holding my dog's leash and walk with the girl who knew exactly where the people lived. Daisy's very diverse family (an African American woman, a white woman, a baby, and a few little girls) didn't know poor little Daisy had gotten out. How would they? Their house was full of people. "Mama," as the eldest woman called the much younger lady in the kitchen, didn't even move from her place and asked me to put Daisy inside for her. So I did and we were on our way.

Well, you might be thinking, this is a strange story of returning a dog. Nope. This isn't the thing that got me to laugh to myself. An even stranger returning a dog story came to my mind.

About a year ago, Derek and I were walking Soco around the neighborhood when we saw a puppy Golden Retriever. This poor puppy was very close to a super busy street, so we went over to it to look at its collar. No address. So we went door to door to ask people if this was their dog and of course no one answered. So we ended up back at the house that the puppy was closest to when we saw it. And there was still no answer to our knocks. So, we went to the backyard to see if there was any evidence of a missing puppy. We saw brand new looking dog bowls and toys and finally a part of the fence that was lifted up just big enough for a puppy to get through.

We decided to knock on the door again before putting the dog in the backyard. There was a car there, so we thought maybe someone was home, but no answer. So we put the dog inside the fence and Derek found a milk crate on the side of the house. He gave it to me to put in front of the lifted part of the fence so hopefully the dog wouldn't get out again. Just as I was creeping through these people's backyard with a milk crate, the homeowner walks out the backdoor.

So I said, "Your dog got out and we're just putting it back," as their dog stands there INSIDE their backyard safely and I'm holding a milkcrate creeping through their backyard on the outside of the fence! He says, "Ummm, ok? Thanks?" Grabs his puppy and goes inside.

Derek and I DIED laughing. It totally looked like we were trying to steal their dog using their milkcrate.

So people, the lesson here is to always put your address and/or phone number on your dog's collar! Of the 4 dogs I've returned to their owners, ONE of them had addresses on their collar! Phone numbers don't always suffice either, because when you're on vacation in California and you find a dog, the owner doesn't always pick up their cell phone for a Michigan phone number. Yep. Learned that the hard way too!

eight fears

Today is supposed to be "Nine Loves" but since I just posted this  a few days ago, I'm going to go on to eight.

Eight fears.

8. I'm not afraid to admit I'm completely afraid of the dark. When I have to go to the bathroom at night, I turn on the little lamp by the bed. If I ever sleepily forget to turn the lamp on, on my way back, I jump onto the bed practically from the bedroom doorway so no killers will grab my ankles as I get into bed. Of course, this would only happen at night.

7. Anything with more than 2 legs.... err actually, anything with more than 4 legs? Or wings. Spiders, centipedes, bees, etc. If it's not supposed to be on my ceiling, in my house, or in my shower, I don't like it! Thank God for my husband and vacuum cleaners! If he's not home, it will usually get sucked into the vacuum where I imagine it dies from fear.

6. Creepy basements. I remember in music class at about 7 years old, my music teacher asked, "What are some reasons we have music?" I promptly raised my hand and said, "To comfort us when we're scared." This is my first realization of embarrassment. My mom had always told me to sing or hum to myself when I was scared, which I would always do when I would go into our basement. Well, the music teacher's mother obviously never told her this method because she looked at me like a weirdo and said something like, "Ummm, ok, any others?" Mortified.

5. Public Speaking. I'd rather..... hmm. I'd just rather not. It's probably the worst fealing in the entire world. I get shakey in voice and body. No matter how much I try to talk myself out of it.

4. Natural waters. You never know what is under there! Sea weed may or may not wrap around your ankles and pull you down. Or a dead person may or may not grab your ankle and pull you down. (Yep. Just realized I must have some kind of ankle grabbing issue.)

3. I'm going to get arrested. Every time I see a cop anywhere, I'm 99% positive they are going to arrest me. I'm not sure what I did, but I feel like I hold my breath every time I see a cop.

2. Everyone around me is going to die in some sort of crazy accident. Yeah, I'm getting deep now. I have this fear every time I hear an ambulance that it's going to get someone I love and something is severely wrong with them. If I don't hear from Derek while he's at work for a while, I immediately think the worst. I think I need therapy.

1. I'll get back to you. I can't think of another. I must have another fear but maybe I'm afraid to admit it? ...lol

10 secrets

I politely stole this from a fellow blogger who always has really fun, great things to say. So of course, I wanted to borrow a great idea!

Ten Secrets:
10. I wish I could get into my classroom even though it's summer vacatation. I have all these great ideas in my head that I want to get out, but I can't get the motivation at home. I can't admit this to anyone because I will surely be laughed at.

9. I'm still in my pajamas. Well halfway. I changed my shirt and washed my car this morning. But it's 1:10 pm and that's my only accomplishment. My pajama shorts prove it.

8. I watch Teen Mom. Yeah and I love it. Ok... I don't just watch it, I even rewatch it. I swear last week, I watched my DVRed episode, then later when Derek got home, I was flipping through the channels and it was on, so I stayed and watched it. D thought it was my first time because he commented on a part of it and I wanted to say what was going to happen next, but I know he'd make me change it if he knew I saw it. Althought I think he secretly likes it too!

7. My poor friend must think I use her. She's a nurse and about 90% of my phone calls and text messages to her have been something about me or someone I know being sick or injured and what her advice is. Hey, she told me not to google those things since google is usually wrong.

6. I am an addict. I think I must say "She's so cute" about 65 times a day about my dog. I can't stop. Everything she does is so cute and weird. I have an obsession and if she didn't weigh 45 lbs, I would carry her in my purse and bring her everywhere with me.


5. I haven't bought a purse in at least a year. Actually, I haven't bought a purse for myself in..... I don't even remember! My fabulous mom makes all my purses and teacher tote bags for me with her beautiful talent! She has just started a website that has about 1 picture on it and prices, but it will be updated soon I hope. I'm so lucky be able to say what I want and she magically produces it! This is one of the totes that I happen to have a picture of:


4. I love clocks. If they weren't so darn expensive, I would have a great clock in every room of my house, probably on every wall. I love the really big clocks with the numbers right on the wall and the hands actually nailed to the wall. Those are awesome.


3. On that note I also love those metalic signs that say "Bathroom" or "Kitchen" or "Laundry Room." I have 2 and I want more!

2. I secretly want to do day 2 of this right after I finish this one because I love this kind of stuff so much!

1. This secret is for me :o) I'll tell ya later! ;o)

2 years ago

August 1, 2009

 I love Derek's face in that one.

 Where he proposed.

Seriously... the funnest night of my life!

I know everyone says this about their wedding, but this was the funnest wedding I've ever been to! I wish I could relive it! And I must admit, I'm not the only one who thinks this about our wedding... our friends are always commenting about how we need to recreate that day.


Two years have flown by! I couldn't imagine my life any other way.  It's amazing to think we've been together for seven years now!

Seven years ago today, Derek and I went to the movies and out for dessert where I ordered a "Thrice of Thrawberry pie." I was mortified that I said that. I knew he was a keeper when he immediately made fun of me rather than pretending he didn't notice my mistake.

He was the first person I held hands with in public, and *gasps* he was taller than me! That never happened before him. Not going to lie- the height thing really got me interested. ;o)

Five years after that first date on our anniversary, we went to the park where he asked me to be his girlfriend back in high school. We always went there on our anniversary. As we were walking, I noticed him crouch down and I thought he was going to throw something at me because I saw something in his hand. So, I turned around and screamed. But as it turns out, he had a ring in his hand and asked me to be his wife.

And the rest is history. I wouldn't rewrite a moment of it. And just think of what's to come!

Goals

I have some goals while it's still beautiful summer time:


1. Walk! (or jog!) I need to start getting outside everyday. Too often, I'm sitting inside looking out the window thinking about how beautiful it looks outside. So my goal is to walk at least once a day. I would really like to walk twice a day.

2. Do some kind of outdoor activity a week. I.E. Wash the car, go to D's grandma's pool, get out and pull weeds, etc.

3. Eat all the yummy produce that's so delicious right now. I have been doing pretty good with this, but I'm putting it on my goal list so I continue. Now that I mention it, I really need some garbonzo beans so I can make more hummous for my veggies! mMmMmMm I have a great hummous recipe if anyone wants it.

4. Get my tan back. Oh California- I miss your lazy, lovely times at the beach and the glorious golden hue you provided my skin. I blame my class for being during peak tanning hours (10:20am-2:40pm) everyday! How is someone supposed to keep up with summertime with hours indoors like those? Not to mention keep sane sitting inside for that long. I digress.


Well, I suppose those are my goals. I want to maintain a healthy me. That is my basic goal. Thank God for a dietician as a best friend. I don't think she'd let me be an unhealthy me. (Is that proper grammar? Who knows? I will have been driven crazy by Friday at 2:40pm when this class has finally ended.) And yes, that sentence was an inside joke between my brain and the class. Sad.


I will leave you with this.

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if vegetables
                                                                             smelled as good as bacon.  ~Doug Larson


(OH MY GOD that bacon looks good)

Three things about yours truely

(Thanks MommaMonster for the idea)

What do I love?
I love my hubby, of course!

I love my dog, Soco Maria. Ok. It could be more obsession.


I love my nephew and niece. Such cuties

 

I love when I have pictures that connect with what I'm typing.

I love this picture of my husband and niece.

I love ice cream. 
I love the cold side of the pillow.

I love fastforwarding through commercials on DVR.

I love my life. 

 

 

What makes me uncomfortable?
Talking in front of people- mainly adults. This is strange for 2 reasons. 1- I am a teacher and could talk in front of 100 kids easily. 2- I love attention! But when I realize people are listening to me, I often turn red. Which makes me realize how people are listening and I turn even more red and someone usually says, "Hey your face is red."
What do I think about as I lay in bed awake at night?
Knock on wood, I do not lay awake often at night. Sometimes I do in the morning, and usually at this point, I am thinking about what I should wear.

I'm so happy

I haven't written in a while, there hadn't really been much to write about since I'm on summer vacation and everyone else is working. There is nothing exciting to do by myself! Because of this, I have no pictures to add, which makes me sad. I love adding visuals to my blog, it feels more exciting. Oh well.

Since starting my linguistics class, I've started noticing everyone’s' grammar, in both speaking and writing. It's driving me crazy. For instance, when D bought his car this week, all I could think about were all of the adverbs the man he bought the car from used. I'm also very aware of my own word choice. You may not think this is something that could make someone crazy, but it does.

Well besides this, I'm very happy these days. Even with my boredom. J I will end there for now.

write it in the sand

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
"Today, my best friend slapped me in the face."  
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a swim. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.
After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
"Today my best friend saved my life."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone,why?"
The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

I read this in the church paper today and it made me think that you should not only write when someone hurts you in the sand, but your hurts in general. It's a good metaphore for letting go of the things that made you mad, sad, angry, depressed, etc. Yes, you'll still remember those things, but just thinking of them being washed away helps in letting them go.

It makes me want to get a sandbox for my backyard! ...or move to the beach. :o)

Anyway, I haven't written in a while. My life's pretty boring these days. D works, of course, and I've got the summer off. Wahoo? Not so much. I'm bored out of my mind. It'd be different if someone else had the summer off that I could spend time with. Don't get me wrong, I'm super thankful that as a teacher, I get this mini break to refresh my mind. I guess it'd also be different if D wasn't having to stay at work unti 7 or 8:00 every night.

I suppose I will make a list of things to do until my class starts next week!

Happy July everyone!

running nowhere

I had a dream two nights ago that completely explains my life right now.

I was rushing around trying to get ready to leave for some kind of trip with hubs and some friends. Each time I tried to leave, I realized I forgot something, so I'd run around the house to get it. Then I couldn't find my socks and in each drawer there was everything but socks. So I realized I left my socks at my friend's house. Meanwhile, hubs would pop in and tell me to hurry up. So when I left to get my socks from my friend's house, I tried running there, but it was like the sidewalk was almost verticle and I couldn't move! Hubs was next to me walking just fine and easily and I just couldn't move.

Then I woke up.

I totally understand this dream. I feel completely out of control in this whole wanting to have a baby thing. It's mostly out of my hands. I know it will happen when it's supposed to happen, but I love to be in control of my life! That probably has most to do with being a teacher, I like to plan everything out. I can't plan things out on this.

Alright, I've gotten that out. I needed to vent a little. My attitude has been positive for the most part on this whole thing, but I can't hold in the struggle or it will eat me alive! :o)

question for the more blog savvy people out there.

This post is purely to help me understand something, and I need your help!

I'm fairly new to this, so bare with me. When someone follows my blog, how the heck do I look at theirs? When I click on their little thumbnail by "followers" it will give me a pop-up but a lot of times, it doesn't have a link to their blog.

Any help would be fantastic. Thanks bloggers!

Lemonade

I just love reading other people's blogs. Sometimes looking at someone else's perspective on life really helps sort out your own. Today, when reading someone's   blog she wrote, "Life doesn't suck, life is a blessing." For some reason, it really struck me as so simple and so true. I didn't really realize I needed to hear those words until I read them.

I've recently been handed a lemon that I'm not ready, or maybe just not willing, to talk about. Not only was it a lemon, sour and bitter in itself, but it wasn't even ripe enough to make lemonade out of...non-the-less to put into vodka.

So rather than making lemonade this time, I've found a blessing in this lemon. Some lemons are not meant to become lemonade. Some lemons are just there to remind you that someday you can have lemonade.

 

And I will... when life hands me a good lemon.

California... knows how to party.

(Yes, I dedicate my title to Tu Pac, I would put a link to the song on here, but I'm not that tech savvy, so use your imagination.)

Well, it's official. I'm jet lagged. D and I slept in until 10:30 today and the only reason we woke up is because my mom called. We usually wake up around 9:00 when we get to sleep in.

We got back from Cali on Wednesday night, or should I say Thursday morning? Our flight landed at 11:58 on Wednesday and we got dropped off at our house by my awesome dad and went straight to pick up the dog from my in-laws. When hubs and I walked in, there was very much excitement for 1:00 in the morning. I have never seen a butt wiggle more furiously! The dog was pretty excited, too. ha.

I digress. Our trip was fantastic! As you can see from hub's face when we first arrived: (lol)

 At least the back seat was excited!

D obviously didn't want his hair/face to get too tan. Plus, he looked pretty fashionable with his shirt on his head, right?

Obviously, everyone in this picture didn't get the "act like you're laughing" memo. (Yeah, and I'm not the best actress.)


The height difference is hardly noticable....

You might be thinking, why is he wearing so many clothes at the beach? Well, when you forget to put sunscreen on ALL PARTS of your torso, you will get sunburnt in the places you forgot. Therefore, a shirt was neccessary!

We planned to take a picture of each of our meals, but we forgot and only took pictures of this one... halfway through eating.

Yum. Spinach and ricotta ravioli.

The San Diego Zoo. Sadly, I took a lot of pictures on my phone. I need to take the time to send those pictures to my computer so I can post them.

 

As a baby hippo, being next to your mama comes at a cost. His face was so smushed up against the window!

Gosh, do I miss the palm trees!

 

And we're back in Michigan. It's raining. There are no mountains or palm trees when we look outside our window. Hubs would move there in a second, but not me. Nope. Yes, I loved the scenery, the weather, the amount of things there were to do. Sure, I hate the winter here, I despise putting my winter jacket on and would rather wear flip flops year round than have to tie my own shoes for 6 months out of the year. But unless we find a way to move each and every friend and family member with us, I'm staying in this multi-weathered state.

Besides, where else can you point to your hand to show someone where you live?