Pregnancy Brain...

There once was a time when I thought "pregnancy brain" was an urban myth. Something pregnant women say to make themselves feel better for being so stupid. Well, folks, I guess I have joined the ranks of the stupid people.

Monday was picture day at school. I had my kids all lined up and they had their envelopes with picture orders in their hands. A couple of them came up to me and said, "Where's my envelope?" So I explained that they only had an envelope if their parents were ordering pictures, so if they didn't have an envelope, then their parents must not have ordered pictures. They looked a little confused, but didn't argue {because they are smart enough to know how smart their teacher is}.

On Thursday morning, I received an e-mail from a parent saying that her daughter told her she didn't have a picture envelope. The parent explained that she sent it the first day of school and was hoping that her daughter was mistaken about this.

My thought process while reading this e-mail: What? I never got an envelope. I would have put in my desk drawer and it's not there. Maybe B {the girl} left it in her backpack. I'll check when she gets to school. Or maybe S {the parent} is going crazy. I know I never got one. Maybe she sent it with K {the girl's brother}. I'll check with his teacher.

And then I went about my morning business. I randomly decided to re-organize my desk with the few minutes I had during Spanish that morning. I cleaned up extra worksheet copies that were on my desk, I collected some papers that needed grading, etc. I picked up a manila file folder to put it away and out falls not one, but three picture envelopes, including B's. I felt like such an idiot, but promptly e-mailed the parent telling her that I had the envelope {I left out the part about me losing it}.

I seriously can't think of an explanation for this. Now, it's not impossible for me to lose something. But generally if I do lose something, I remember receiving it in the first place. And I never misplace something important like that. My only explanation for my stupidity is this strange phenomenon referred to as "pregnancy brain."

Because if it's not due to pregnancy, then I'm just going senile. And I prefer to be temporarily stupid than getting progressively stupider for the rest of my life.

Good Advice...

A friend of mine, who just had her first baby in August, sent me a whole list of advice. She said she wanted to get it all out while it's still fresh in her head.

I found it all pretty useful {and some of it pretty comical} and thought I'd share. Number fourteen had me laughing out loud...for a long time. And number fifteen sounds pretty cool...I think I'll start that a little closer to Baby's arrival.

1. Don't buy too much, people go nuts at baby showers!

2. Register for everything you want, even if its pricey or you aren't 100% sure, you will do lots of returns/exchanges.

 3. If you guys are going to have more kids, buy gender neutral swing, pack N play, bouncy seat, high chair etc.

 4. I know they are kind of unattractive, but having about a dozen or so of the cloth diapers on hand is helpful. They are the perfect size and can be bleached in the laundry.

 5. And having those thin recieving blankets is helpful.

 6. Wipe warmers just dry out your wipes. My opinion, go without.

 7. Start buying diapers now. So far we have liked the Pampers Swaddlers the best ( I tried to go cheap and buy the Walgreens brand, all I got were major blowouts!)

 8. Don't buy cheap wipes....its like cheap toilet paper, your finger WILL go through them!

 9. Make sure to have maxi pads and breast pads on hand before you go to the hospital, nothing like springing a leak and not being prepared like I was.

 10. And buy some granny panties that are too large for when you are in the hospital, you will need the room.

 11. Expensive bottles are not necessarily better. I have had the pricey ones leak probably more than the cheap ones.

12. Plan to have your peanut's pictures done when he/she is about a week old. It's overwhelming to plan something right away, but if you want professional ones done they are the best when the babies are still brand new. (I waited until 3 weeks and I should not have.)

13. Oxyclean spray gel works on both end stains, the spit up and the poop.

14. Dont shave what you cant see once you get bigger. A couple of my friends found this out the hard way.  There are some places that bandaids just dont go!

15. Start an email for your peanut. Something simple like babynowak2012. This way you can invite friends and family to help you document baby's milestones. Email letters, thoughts, pictures and when he is old enough you can give him the password to read it all. :)

16. When/if your water breaks it is the same color as urine so don't be confused. I thought I peed.

17. And although losing yor "mucous plug" doesn't mean much as far as going into labor, it is weird looking. Imagine an odd colored piece of chewed bubble gum. Gross, I know but things people might not tell you.

18. And sign up on lots of diaper/formula websites. They will send you lots of freebies!!!

I Stumbled Upon...

This box of deliciousness at Target.

And, boy, am I glad I did!

It wasn't in the grocery aisles, but by the Halloween treats. It's super yummy!

My only complaint is that it doesn't make very much.

Pregnancy: 21 weeks

09.28.11

I've discovered that I'm not very good at centering myself in the frame. But hey...what can you expect? I'm taking these MYSELF {with the help of a remote, of course}.

There’s not a whole lot different this week than last week. I’m still not really craving anything in particular, and I don’t have many food aversions. Still sleeping great and feeling wonderful.

However, one change is that I haven’t felt my little one move as much this week. Last week, it was almost constant when I was sitting or lying down. This week, it was practically none. I went days without feeling anything, and I’m not going to lie, it scared me. A LOT! I spent much of the last week nervous that my sweet boy wasn’t alive anymore and that I would miscarry. But I had to kind of put those thoughts in the back of my mind and realize that no matter what, there is nothing I can do about it. Thankfully, the last two days, I have felt him kicking again. It’s not quite as obvious as before, because instead of kicking out, towards the front of me, he’s kicking down. He’s basically using my bladder as a trampoline. And I’m not complaining for one second. I’m so thankful he’s moving, no matter where or how he’s moving.

We have pretty much settled on a first name for our sweet boy. We call him by that name and have told a few people. Of course, we could always change our minds, but we both seem pretty much in love with it, so we’ll probably stick with it. It’s one that I have mentioned on here, but I don’t want to announce until we have a middle name {which could be a while}. I like John {my dad’s name} or James {my brother’s name} for a middle name. Dave, however, thinks both are too common and simple, and he also doesn’t want him to be named “after” anyone.

I’m going to register this coming weekend. I’ve started registering for some stuff online- big stuff like the stroller, car seat, etc. I’m excited to register for all the other stuff. Dave doesn’t really want to go, which I totally understand: shopping for hours for things you are clueless about and coming home with nothing {it would be like me spending an entire day in the Home Depot}. He said he would go if I really want him to, but my wonderful sister-in-law, Melinda, said she would go with me, so Dave is off the hook. I’m excited for a girl’s day and for Melinda’s help. She’s the kind of person that will give me helpful advice, but not be overbearing with “do this, don’t do that” kind of stuff.

I have an appointment tomorrow! Can’t wait to hear my little pumpkin’s heartbeat.

Feeling A Little Naked...

For some reason, my wedding band is smaller than my engagement ring. We had it sized when we bought it, but it somehow came out one-quarter size smaller than my engagement ring. I can get it on and off, but sometimes it's difficult. And if I wear it when I'm walking or jogging, my fingers swell and it gets really tight.

For years, I have planned to have it resized, but never really got around to it. I love my wedding band and don't want to go without it.

The other day, I went to get it cleaned, and struggled to get it off. So I decided not to wait anymore and get it resized. The man said it would take a few days.

So right now, my ring looks like this...

It looks so lonely all by itself. My hand feels a little naked. I can't wait to have my other ring back, and for it to fit as nicely as this one.

Favorite...

Something I love about my job is the great relationships I get to build with people. I love getting to know my classroom families, and I have a strong relationship with each of them.

There are a few that I am able to spend time with outside of school, and some that I am friends with on facebook, and I really sincerely like all of them. I don't think that happens all the time, but I just really enjoy the relationships I have with my students' parents and even siblings.

I guess everyone has their "favorites." The people you look forward to seeing and catching up with. But I have to say I have many favorites. They're all my favorites in different ways.

This week, we had a welcome night for new families so that we could give them some information and they could ask questions. While we were discussing snacks, I mentioned that we ask students to eat their healthiest snacks in the morning, and save the sweet treats for lunch time, when they have other things to go with it.

One dad jokingly said, "So I shouldn't send my daughter with a candy bar for snack?"

To that, I replied, "Well, if she does bring a candy bar, she should share with her teacher!"

The next day, one of my students {the man's daughter} came to school and said she had three things for me. She pulled three candy bars out of her backpack, and said that one was for me, one was for Mr. Nowak, and one was for the baby. It was so cute.

I must say, I officially have a favorite family. ;)

And P.S. Baby Nowak and I didn't share with daddy. He's not a chocolate fan, so we hogged them for ourselves.

Teachers and Weekends...

This week, one of my students approached me and said,"Mrs. Nowak, I bet teachers are really sad on Fridays."

I was a bit confused. I mean, who in the world is sad about Fridays (unless you work weekends). So I asked him why.

He responded, "Well, because they know they won't see their students for two whole days. I bet they miss them a lot."

It was really cute and very sweet. I told him that, yes, I miss my students on the weekends, but that it's nice to spend time with my family as well.

I remember as a child, I thought teachers were sad on snow days and summer vacation. The thought makes me laugh hysterically now. I bet I rejoice more at the news of a snow day now than I ever did as a student. Sleep, sweet sleep, and a full day of relaxation are the best gift a teacher can get.

But I guess I'm glad my students don't realize that. I'm glad they know I love them.

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby,

A few days ago, your daddy and I heard {and saw} the very exciting news that you are a BOY! We both had a feeling that day that you would be a boy, and we are beyond thrilled with the news.

You were so fun to watch on the TV screen at our ultrasound. You were moving all around and then fell asleep and then woke up and started moving again. I just loved watching you; I could’ve watched you all day. We got a few videos of you from the ultrasound, and I watch them all the time. Since that day, you have been moving SO much! You move a lot after I eat and whenever I’m just relaxing on the couch. It’s so fun to feel you move in there. I enjoy all of your little kicks; it's like you're saying hi to me and letting me know that you're doing just fine. Keep 'em coming, my sweet boy.

Your daddy and I have been talking about you all the time. What you’ll look like and what your interests will be {Daddy’s hoping you love tractors and trucks, and he says that you can be handy like him, but you’re not allowed to work construction like him. He says you deserve better than that}.

I’ve been planning your nursery in my mind for years, but now that you’re on your way and I know for sure that you’re a boy, I have such different ideas. I have picked out your bedding and have an idea of how I will paint and decorate your room. I can't wait to put it all together for you and bring you home and put you in your own crib. I just can't wait for you to join us and make us a family of three.

We didn’t talk about your name much before the other day, but now we’re talking about it all the time. We’re not agreeing on many names, but that’s because we want you to have the most perfect name. I know we’ll think of a name for you and that we will both love it and you will make it all your own.

Little one, I can’t wait to see your sweet face and hold you in my arms in just 20 weeks {maybe more, maybe less}. You are such a precious gift from God, and we love you so much.

Love,

Mommy

Pregnancy: 20 weeks...

09.20.11

HALFWAY! WE’RE HALFWAY TO MEETING OUR BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY! {Also, I’d like to point out that it’s the 20^th and I’m 20 weeks…I find that kind of nifty.}

This week I feel like I have grown SO much! My belly feels so much bigger, but I don’t really feel like I look much bigger. According to thebump.com, baby is about the size of a cantaloupe.

Baby has been moving non-stop since our ultrasound. It’s so fun. I don’t feel him throughout the day when I’m moving around, but the minute I stop and sit down {at lunch or the end of the day}, he’s kicking like crazy. I love it. It definitely helps ease my mind to feel him moving. It’s like a little reminder after a busy day that he’s still there and doing great. My favorite thing ever.

The last week, I’ve been pretty much eating whatever. I don’t have any food aversions or major cravings.

I’m sleeping great, with the exception of waking up every hour and a half to use the bathroom. But I have no trouble falling asleep. I’ve been dreaming a lot, especially since we found out the gender. I dream about names and all kinds of stuff.

I am so excited to start registering. I have picked out the bedding and have an idea of how I want to paint/decorate the nursery. I’ve been thinking about this for years, you know. And then really started planning it last December. Now I am excited to finally get to do it. I asked Dave if he had any ideas, because I wouldn’t want to leave him out. Like a good husband, he deferred to me. He said I can do whatever I want. Darn right I can! Actually, he’s great at picking paint colors. I am terrible at it; I always have one picked out that I think will be perfect and Dave will tell me that it’s too dark or too light and he’ll pick a similar color that looks perfect. It’s a gift of his, really, developed from years of building gorgeous homes and seeing many all kinds of beautiful paint jobs.

Check back tomorrow for a letter from me to sweet little pumpkin.

Random Picture Post...

I haven't been posting many pictures lately...mostly because I haven't been taking any pictures lately. But here are a few that I have taken recently...

One of my students brought me a jar of honey on the first day of school. His family collects their own honey! I thought it was pretty cool. I've never received honey from a student before, let alone honey that they collected themselves.

My mother-in-law rocks! I was having a really hard time finding navy blue maternity pants, so she took these pants...

and turned them into these pants...

They are perfect! They have just enough stretch and I think they will fit me throughout my entire pregnancy, as long as my butt and thighs don't grow too much.

Dave and I got ice cream at the store the other day. We usually get two different kinds, because he doesn't like chocolate and I won't eat ice cream without chocolate. We decided to get this kind, because Dave said he could deal with that much chocolate.

It is SO good! Definitely a new favorite! Dave doesn't like it too much, but that really works out in my favor, because now I don't have to share. Seriously, amazing!

And last, today a student gave me this note she wrote on her typewriter. I have had this girl in my class since 1st grade, and now she's in 3rd grade. She is just the sweetest thing and I love her dearly. 

All of my students and parents are excited about my pregnancy. But the ones I had last year are especially excited, because they know about my miscarriage. They have all been hoping that this pregnancy turns out well. This girl is one that took my miscarriage hard. She couldn't wait to find out today if it was a boy or girl. Oh yeah, and she's usually quite the perfectionist in her writing, but I imagine the typewriter made that difficult. :)

A little story to end my post...

I have several students in my classroom and hallway that go to the same church. It's a small church, and the pastor is the father of my former student. Today, the pastor stopped in to tell me that he was talking with the church youth about prayer requests. They were thinking of people who could use prayers, and the students mentioned me. Kids age preschool to middle school all said that my baby and I needed prayers. I was absolutely touched and humbled and so incredibly thankful for all of these wonderful families in my life. I am so blessed by so many amazing people.

I forget...

So, after reading some of the comments on yesterday's post, I have to apologize if I offended anyone. I tend to forget that people may not have "thick skin" like me and may get their feelings hurt more easily than I do.

I fully realize that people may hate the names I like, and love the names I hate. My response to people when they say they don't like my name choice is, "Then name your kid something different." I don't care if people don't like Cullen or Rowan - I get that they're a little different. But I get tired of so much of the same. Being a teacher, I can't tell you how many kids I've had named Jackson or Henry. I still love the names, but they are everywhere lately. It makes me turn away from them. For example, for a very long time, my favorite girl name was Abigail. But after having three different Abigails in the last three years, I just can't name my child Abigail.

My point is that I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. If you like the name Lynx for example, go with it. If you like the name Larry or Jude, go for it! If you like simpler names like Brandon and Devin, take it away! I just can't see me naming MY child any of those names. But that's why we get to choose our children's names and that's why there are so many different names out there.

I didn't mean to make fun of names...I was just blown away by some of the suggestions I got. Like, when people see the names that I like, what on Earth would make them think that Gunnar would be one that I would like? It is nothing like all the preppy boy names I listed.

And I also didn't mean for people to think they couldn't suggest names for me. That's totally fine. But some people just don't get that we have different tastes. I have several people on facebook that keep suggesting the craziest oddball names and again, I wonder how they came up with these names for me, considering the other names I have listed.

And, while on the name topic, I think today my favorites are Cullen and Keegan...and Leland is growing on me. But tomorrow may be totally different. {Dave still hates Keegan though.}

The Name Game...

Oh, the name game...it's harder than I ever imagined. To be honest, part of me was nervous to find out we're having a boy, because I knew this would be hard. I have many names that I like, but Dave seems to hate them all. Dave doesn't offer many ideas, and often purposely comes up with names that defy my guidelines.

Oh yeah, I have a few guidelines for boy names.

1. No one-syllable names. With a fairly simple and common last name and possible one-syllable middle name, I need a little more excitement in the first name.
2. No super common names. I'm so tired of Adam, Joshua, etc.
3. No names that have become popular in recent years. I don't want to have 5 kids in my class with the same name. Obviously, I will have students with my child's name at some point, but I don't want them every year for the next 10 years. (No Aiden, Jackson, etc.)
4. No names that close friends/family members/co-workers have used. This is hard because everyone around me is having babies and taking up all the good names!
5. My son will be called by his full name. If his name is Nicholas, he will be called Nicholas. I don't like shortened boy names.
6. The name must actually be a name. I'm not making up a name for my child.

That said, here is my list of favorites (I'm not one of those people that keeps names a secret. I don't care what other people think, and I don't care if people steal it later):

• Keegan
• Hudsen
• Nathan
• Cullen (a little nervous that people would associate it with Twilight, since I'm NO FAN of Twilight, but I have liked the name for years)
• Tanner (might not work if the poor boy has my pale white skin)
• Rowan
• Landon

None of them are super common, but they're not weird. Well, maybe Rowan is a little different, but I like it. Dave hates all of these, except for two that he said might grow on him.

Our top 3 choices for middle names are John (my dad's name), Paul (Dave's dad's name), and James (my brother's name)

Dave's list of favorites:

• Henry

Yep, that's the only one he likes. I actually really like it too, but I have a friend who just had a baby in May and named him Henry. There is also a boy named Henry that I used to have in preschool and am pretty close with his family. Dave says that he is the reason he likes that name - he likes that boy. But I just don't want to go there.

Dave did actually come up with a name tonight that might work. It's not my favorite, but I think it could grow on me. He was goofing around and naming nearby cities/towns and laughing at possibly naming our child Buckley or Kingsley (we're completely not considering those names, just to be clear). Then he said Leland and said, "You know, I actually kind of like that." I like it too, but it's kind of weird to me that it's a nearby town. Like I said, it could grow on me.

I'm getting a lot of suggestions from people (most of them unsolicited, which gets a little annoying), and am getting the craziest suggestions. Some names I've heard lately just make me wonder if these people really know me, like:

• Jude - Uhhh...one-syllable and I'm not a Beatles fan.
• Lynx - Is that a name? I'm pretty sure that's an animal?
• Asher - Sounds like an old man's name. Or an ashtray.
• Larry - Really? I'm going to call my beautiful newborn son Larry?!
• Gunnar - Seriously, Mom. Are you freaking kidding me?!
• Kendall - Pretty sure that's a girl's name. I have a girl Kendall in my class, so I'm not going there.
• Brandon, Dylan, Devin - Eh, kinda boring.

I could go on and on with the list of names people are offering me. I think we're better off on our own. But if you have any suggestions of how to convince my husband of any of my favorites, please let me know!

P.S. I promise to eventually write about something other than my sweet baby boy, but for now there's so much I want to share!!!

It's a...

BABY!

A sweet,

adorable,

perfect, 

incredibly flexible {notice his hand touching his feet},

baby BOY!

I was nervous at first {okay, all week long} that there wouldn't be a heartbeat. She had to look at my uterus first, and then when we finally got to see the baby, the picture wasn't clear and I couldn't see his heartbeat. So, I asked if there was a heartbeat, and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she showed it to me.

When the technician told us it was a boy {I kind of had a feeling today}, I looked at Dave and said, "I'm sorry."

When he asked why, I said "Because I know you wanted a girl."

He enthusiastically replied, "Not now I don't!" Ha ha...it was pretty adorable.

Our ultrasound technician was great. I didn't ask about 3D/4D, but she did it anyway. It was hard to get good pictures, because apparently that works better in the third trimester. But we did get one good face shot, and our boy was pretty adorable. She also took some video, which I didn't even know about until she made us the disc and told us.

She had a hard time getting a measurement on my cervix and some of the baby's measurements too, so she had to pull out the probe {you ladies know what I'm talking about}. I'm no stranger to the vaginal ultrasound - this was my fifth or sixth, I think. It wasn't terrible, especially since it allowed us to see our boy better. And she got some better pictures for us, so that was cool.

Our little guy was moving around a lot when she was trying to measure, and then when she was looking for his "manhood," he fell asleep. He's already doing the opposite of what we ask...sounds like he takes after me {it's in the Halloway genes}.

After our ultrasound, I called my dad and then my mom, and then we visited Dave's mom at work. After that I sent a mass text message to everyone I knew to tell them. Then when we got home, I immediately hopped on facebook to announce. I just couldn't wait for everyone to know! We are SO excited, and can't wait to meet our precious little boy.

Let the GREAT NAME DEBATE of 2011/2012 begin {and I hope it ends fairly soon...I want this figured out so I can start calling my sweet boy by his name. Also, I don't want to not know when he's born.}.

The tally of votes between facebook and my blog was 19 for boy, 22 for girl.

And here is the tally my class took...

My students, plus two parents and two former students.

12 for boy, 13 for girl

I guess, overall, y'all were wrong! 

Boy or Girl...

In just two days, Dave and I will find out if our sweet lil babe is a girl or a boy. I know I've said before that Dave is hoping for a girl. Part of me is hoping for a girl too, and part of me wants a boy. But I really don't have a "feeling" about which one we're having. My thoughts go back and forth.

Here are a few facts:

The Chinese gender predictor says girl, but almost every old wive's tale says boy. The heartbeat has been 150-160. I started carrying high, but I feel like I'm carrying lower now.

You know that I have no idea. You know what Dave thinks. What do YOU think?

Leave me a comment telling me your guess. Or, if you'd rather, you can e-mail me. I will tally up the votes and let everyone know Friday afternoon when we find out.

Pregnancy: 19 weeks

09.13.11 – 19 weeks

I try to take pictures in the morning, when my hair and make-up are fresh. That didn't happen today...so lazy hair, make-up worn off, and I'm T-I-R-E-D! But...here I am!

Almost halfway there! I thought I would never get to this point. My friends’ pregnancies always seem to go faster the second half, so I’m very excited to get to almost halfway.

We find out this Friday {just 3 days away} if we’re having a girl or a boy. I am so excited to find out! For a long time, I thought I was having a girl, but the last week or so, I’m starting to think it’s a boy. I really have nothing to base this on…just a feeling. I had two dreams the other night that we found out it was a boy, and when I told Dave he said, “Don’t tell me that! We’re having a girl!” Ha ha…it was kind of funny. He says that everyone we know has boys, so we need to be different and have a girl.

I have felt the baby move the last few nights, and it’s really been the slightest movement, until tonight. Now I feel it a lot. I love it!

Surprisingly, this week I haven’t had much salad. It still sounds good, but I got tired of making it. I’m still eating lots of fruit though, including oranges, which is weird because I’ve never really liked oranges. Also big on pasta right now.

Sleep is my best friend right now. I am so tired and I’ve been sleeping great at night, FINALLY! I do have a lot of weird dreams that wake me up {even though I can’t remember them}, but I’m able to fall asleep again quickly.

I had to go buy some maternity shirts this week, because most of mine are too short. Since I don’t need very many, I only got a few. Uniforms definitely help save money on clothes.

I have had a lot of people tell me lately that I’m “glowing.” I never really understood that phrase; I always sort of thought it was something people said to make pregnant girls feel pretty. But lately, I think I get it. I don’t think I look any different, but I feel different, and I think that’s what people mean. For the first time in a long time, I am really, incredibly happy. With my pregnancy, obviously, but also with school and family and just everything.  I can’t stop smiling {not that I want to}, and I think that must be what people mean when they say a woman is glowing – that you can just feel and see happiness around her. And, it could also have something to do with my acne being clear for a few days straight. One of the two, I suppose.

Oh yeah, and baby is approximately the size of a mango now. Sounds big, especially compared to a poppy seed or blueberry, but I would prefer for baby to get MUCH bigger. Keep growing, little one!

First Week...

I had a great first week of school. I have twenty-two adorable kiddos; 5 first graders, 9 second graders, and 7 third graders. Most of the kids are returning students from last year. I have 8 new kids, but most of those aren't brand new to me, because I had two of them as preschoolers a few years ago at Trinity, and I had the siblings of a couple others. So, really only three were students I had never seen before - makes it easy to learn names!

We spent the week getting to know each other, doing community building activities, discussing classroom procedures and getting started in the curriculum. There were, of course, difficult moments, but overall it went very well.

One of my first grade boys is seriously the cutest little thing I have ever seen. He came up to me today and said, "I wanted to tell you something very important all week, but I made myself wait until today." When I asked him what, he said, "You're a really good teacher." Sweetest thing ever...love that boy!

I foresee this year being a good year. My class last year was amazing and they will be hard to top, that's for sure. But I think this class could come close.

A Mover and a Shaker...

09.07.11 – 18 weeks, 1 day

I for sure felt baby movement tonight! Sitting on the couch, doing some school work, I felt a slight kick very low in my abdomen. It was so slight that I’m sure many people would miss it. But I have to say, I have always been very in tune with my body and I notice every tiny little change. {Sometimes that can be annoying because I notice a tiny change and turn it into something huge and convince myself I have cancer. Today, though, I am so thankful for this.}

I got really excited about feeling it and then immediately wanted to feel more {it only lasted a second and it just wasn’t enough. Yeah, I’m greedy.}. And then…I felt more and more. Every so often as I lie here on the couch, I feel a little bump in the same spot.

About two weeks ago, I felt what I thought were movements, but wasn’t completely sure. I’m guessing they were, but I only felt it three times, and haven’t felt much since. I love that this was more pronounced, and I’m hoping that it keeps up. I don’t want to go another one to two weeks before I feel movement again.

This is seriously the best feeling ever!

First Day of School...

Don't you wish you could be dropped of by hot air balloon on your first day of school?

View from my classroom.

Okay, the balloon didn't really drop anyone off. Their kids do go to my school, but they were just floating over to say hi. It looked like they were going to land in our parking lot though. Pretty exciting at 8:00am.



The first day went great. There were a few glitches, such as a fire drill first thing in the morning {I think someone must have pulled the alarm somewhere in the school}, and an injury during a game of "Spiders and Flies" outside toward the end of the day. But what would a first day be without a few glitches?

Overall, my students are wonderful and adorable. I did have to remind myself about halfway through the day - because I seemed to have forgotten - that first graders are so itty bitty and not very independent at the beginning of the year. I have to think of them more like Kindergartners than first graders. But, like I said, SO.STINKIN.CUTE!

I loved that my second and third graders were trying to be leaders and help out my wee little first graders. And I loved that my students seemed excited about starting school. Hoping for a great school year. I had an amazing class last year - it will be hard for any class to match up, but this one might get close.

Happy first day of school, Michigan friends!

P.S. I am beyond exhausted!

Pregnancy: 18 weeks

09.06.11 – 18 weeks

First day of school today, so I thought I'd get a picture in my uniform.

I must say that I find this picture very unflattering. But I'm going to blame it on the uniform shirt that looks like a tent and move on.

I had my first-ever experience with heartburn last week. It was a weird feeling for sure, but it didn’t bother me too much. I’m sure it was a “mild” case considering the terrible things people say about heartburn. I haven’t had it since then, so I have to blame it on the salsa at dinner.

Last week we had our school open house. My students and their parents arrived to check out the new classroom {and new teacher for some}, and most were surprised to see their teacher with a baby belly. Some already knew because I have seen them over the summer, or because I am friends with them on facebook. They were all happy though. My team teacher has a girl named Avery in her class {which is tied with Paige for my favorite girl’s name right now}, so I told the girl that it’s one of my favorite names and might be the baby’s name if it’s a girl. I have a girl named Josephine in my class which will likely be the baby’s middle name if it’s a girl. Both girls thought that was pretty cool.

At the grocery store this week, Dave was staring at my belly with a strange look on his face. He said it was “weird” to see how big my belly is. I don’t feel like it has changed much in the last few weeks, but Dave apparently noticed. I reminded him that it’s only going to get bigger; likely A LOT bigger.

Do I even have to say what I’m eating this week? Can you guess? SALAD! Hopefully this means my baby will love vegetables. Still enjoying apples too. And I really want mashed potatoes. Homemade, of course. Also, my sweet tooth is back in FULL FORCE! I have wanted sweets so bad for the last few days. I almost made chocolate chip cookies a few nights ago at 9:00, but realized that I probably wouldn’t want them the next day so I didn’t.

It seems that my acne is something I will just have to deal with for a while. For me, having acne isn’t anything new; it’s just that it’s worse than usual and constant. I seem to get about a day a week where my face is somewhat blemish free, and then a whole new batch pops up. Fun stuff. But, like I said, it’s something I’ll have to deal with. And it’s a small price to pay for a sweet babe, I must say.

Sleep has been great recently. I am able to fall asleep a lot easier than before, and I don’t get up quite as often to pee. However, I wake up every morning to pee at 4:30, and then I have a hard time falling asleep again. But other than that, sleep and I are on speaking terms again.

According to thebump.com, baby is about the size of a sweet potato. The most adorable sweet potato ever, I'm sure.

Classroom 2011-2012...

It took me a long time to get my classroom ready this year, mostly because I had to move classrooms, so a lot of time was spent unpacking and organizing. But also because last week I was in Choice Theory training, and this week was spent in a lot of professional development meetings {we pretty much do all professional development before school starts so as to not disrupt instruction during the school year}.

I was finally able to finish my room yesterday, just in time for Open House. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

View of my classroom from the door. Rug, rocking chair, easel, cubbies.

More of the classroom from the door. The purple paper is the word wall.

My new bookshelves that I bought this summer and Dave put together for me.

View from the other side of the room. Student tables, colorful storage drawers. Under the shelves are games and things for inside recess, individual white boards, and other goodies. The curtain above that covers a window that looks into a small conference room. One of my co-workers gave it to me because she had a window like that in her room last year, but she moved this year, so she's letting me borrow it.

View from student computer area. My desk, supplies drawers, and kitchen area with my bookshelf {the sign above the bookshelf was from my sister-in-law and Ella when I played in the Staff vs. Varsity basketball game last spring}.

View from the kitchen area. My desk, white board {students wrote down where they are going after school, like carpool, hallway pick-up, latchkey, etc.}, and student computers.

View from the front of the room. Math calendar is against the back wall {still missing a few pieces that were being laminated}.

I saw in another classroom that the teacher used fabric instead of paper for bulletin boards. I really liked how it warmed up her room, so I totally copied her. The next two pictures are bulletin boards/displays that I used fabric as the background. It's hard to see it in the picture, but it looks pretty cool. I love it!

A little GTA display. The six character traits on the top of wall are things we teach, and students receive Character Education report cards four times per year. Underneath are the Seven Deadly Habits and Seven Caring Habits, as well as the Five Basic Needs.

Language Arts stuff...punctuation, parts of speech, and proofreading marks. It's hard to tell from the picture, but that is yellow fabric with a small flower print.

I'm pleased with how my room turned out this year. I'm still not as organized as I'd like {behind that purple curtain on my bookshelf is a few piles of stuff to be filed}, but I think it looks nice and inviting.

Open House yesterday went really well. I loved seeing my returning students run into my room with smiling faces and hugs galore. They were surprised and thrilled to see my baby belly. My new students are all excited about starting a new school or new grade and they are all adorable and sweet. Last year's third graders came to see me as well and tell me all about their new classrooms.

 

There's something about a new school year that excites me. I can't wait to see my kiddos on Tuesday and see what kinds of adventures this year will have in store for us.

Oh, and one more thing. One of my students {who has some social difficulties, but is the sweetest, funniest, smartest little thing ever} that I've had for the last two years asked me, "Mrs. Nowak, I'm wondering how you became the teacher for me." I didn't really understand what he meant, so I asked him what he meant. He replied, "I'm just wondering how you became the perfect teacher for me. You understood me from the first day." I thought it was really cute and sweet. I must say I'm already sad that he will be leaving me at the end of the year and moving on to upper elementary.