Week 14

Hello Second Trimester!!

Hoping for better days and that "GLOW" I've been frantically looking for:)

Alright, let's check on that BABY!

What are you doing this week baby? Baby is about the size of your fist. The baby's neck is becoming straight, so that the chin doesn't have to constantly rest on his/her body. The baby might be growing some hair on their head, but they are beginning to grow eyebrow hair and body hair. Did you know that body hair the baby is currently growing in called lanugo and its job it to keep the baby warm. Later on the baby will accumulate body fat that will take over the job of keeping the baby warm. The baby is also about 1 ounce and measures about 4 inches from head to rump. Interesting fact: Baby can make a fist and bones are beginning to strengthen(and will continue for the next 8 weeks)

Let's check in with mama....

Mama: Belly has made significant growth in the past 2 days, which is crazy. Apparently I will be trading in my nausea for abdominal aches and pain, naturally because the uterus is growing, and other things are getting moved out of the home they have had for the past 28 years.

Baby Preparations: The closet organizer has been agreed upon and we will begin "construction" (because we kind of have to change the closet doors a little) soon.

Other current events.....EVERYONE wants to know if it is a boy or girl...oh my!

Week 13

This is a big week...last official week of the first trimester. Let see what the baby is up to....

Baby: The size of a peach, only 3 weeks ago baby was the size of a prune! The baby is 3 inches long. Until now the intestines have been forming inside the umbilical cord, but this week they will make their way into their position in the baby's abdomen. The baby is also developing his/her vocal cords. And just for a little catching up, arms, legs, hands, feet, fingers, toes, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are all formed and visable. The eyes are however moving closer together.

Mama Body: Belly is expanding and getting firm. The uterus has moved to the front of the abdomen...maybe the reason it feels firm?

I was soooo hoping to make it through the summer in my shorts. So far everything is still ok, but most of my shorts do not button anymore and I have made an investment in a belly band to enable me to continue wearing my shorts as long as possible.

Symptoms: I'm tired, and do not sleep well. I must eat when I feel a little hungry. I do not like meat. morning/afternoon/evening sickness is still inconsistent. Baby is taking a little bit of a toll on mama's skin, so most of the time I am not wearing make-up, sorry! Heartburn - yes. Occasional headaches - yes. Wondering what the baby is doing in there - yes!

Preparations for baby: none really.....we looked and debated about closet organizers, but that's it.

A Quick Overview

As the book "what to Expect When You're Expecting" says..."every pregnancy is different, here are so things to look for this month..." or something like that.
Yes, I know every pregnancy is different, but it seems like all my friends who have had babies had an easy, wonderful glowing pregnancy...where is my glow??? Hahaha:) Here is a quick break down (in case you saw me in the last couple weeks and wondering what in the world was wrong:)

Week 4: Took about 4-5 at home pregnancy tests....just to make sure. EXCITED!!!

Week 5: EXCITED....pretending everything is normal because I can't tell anyone.

Week 6: Oh my gosh! What happened? Everything was going so well. Why do I feel like death? Laying my head down on the reading table while a student reads to me and eating saltines and drinking ginger ale - glowing green:)

Week 7: Believe it or not, WORSE than last week!!! week 6 and add disgusted by most food. TJ was out of town this week. I tried to be good, but it was impossible. I would make a nice healthy dinner, sit down to eat, and package it right up and put it in the fridge...it wasn't happening.

Week 8: Getting better....had our first ultrasound, heard and saw the heartbeat. What a miraculous experience! Feeling better that the baby is doing ok, and starting to eat....pizza, yep, thats pretty much it, just pizza:) We also had the excitement of telling family....that experience was much more special that I thought it would be.

Week 9: Borderline...some days are good and some days are not. This was also the last full week of school...all in all I am thankful it was nothing like weeks 6 and 7.

Week 10: Last week of school!!!! Feeling great! I surprisingly had energy, eating pizza and a few other things, but still mostly pizza, clothes are still fitting, and still being fairly patient with my students:) Had 2nd ultrasound this week, which was really just a physical, but they couldn't hear the heartbeat from the outside, so they did a quick ultrasound to check everything out. That's when baby was being SO GOOD and waved to mommy and the doctor and the nurse. Baby is doing great!

Week 11: Taking Baby to San Diego. Baby did really well. Mommy was only sick 2 days I think, and ate more than just pizza! Me and Baby did lots of walking and let me tell you, Baby does not like to be too hot or too cold and does not like to have an empty or almost empty stomach. So, I spent much of the week keeping baby perfectly happy. We had a great time, but I needed 3 days to recover when we got home....did LOTS of sleeping!

Week 12: Oh, the week I had been waiting for....no more morning/afternoon/night sickness, the glow, etc. NOPE NOPE and NOPE...not yet:) I am confident it is coming...it has to, right? That's what I'm praying for. We had another ultrasound this week and it was lots of fun. My mom got to come along and was very excited, to say the least. We watched the baby sleep, kick, jump, and put his/her hands over their ears while the technician tried to get the readings she needed....she never got them. BUT everything looks great, very strong heartbeat and LOTS of growth in the past month - amazing!

Week 13........we will see what tomorrow brings:)

My How I've Grown

Not me so much, but Baby has really been growing in there. Here he/she is 8 weeks....

A little peanut!

10 weeks....

It's hard to tell, but Baby is waving to mommy!:) It was really cool.

And 12 weeks.....

Arms, legs, facial features, everything. Baby has been so busy in there!!

Buster Has Something to Tell You....

Yes, it's true!! Buster IS going to be a big brother....and NOT to a furry friend, to a real human baby!!!!!!

Does he look excited? Because I don't think he is, but we are!!

 All tucked in for a nap!

 Nice strong heartbeat!

Look at those cute cheeks!!!

 Baby is due to make it's debut January 7, 2013

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

Some Book Reviews

This summer I have done quite a bit more reading then I usually have time for...or rather, make time for. One of the BEST books I have ever read, and I read this summer was The Help. On our way back from vacation, I sat next to a woman on the plane who was reading it. Prior to that, I had seen the book in store windows and so I took the opportunity to ask her what it was about and how she liked it. She said she loved it, and had just starting reading it that day and was already over 100 pages in. When I then a few weeks later happened to stumble upon the book in Costco, I bought it and became quickly engulfed in reading it. I can't wait to see the movie, and if you know me, I NEVER go to the movies, and rarely watch them at home, so that in itself says something about the book. Here are some others:

The Help - AWESOME, touching, inspiring

Mini Shopaholic (part of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series, in which I have read every one) Loved it! It made me laugh, and always keeps me reading. I highly recommend any of Kinsella's books even if you haven't or don't want to get into the Shopaholic series. Recently I have considered reading one of her books again, just for the laugh:)

Heaven is for Real - wow...I cried for pretty much the entire first half of the book, but kept reading....and finished the same day! Very inspiring

Bad Girls of the Bible - me and my community group girls have been doing a study along with this book. I am continually fascinated by my lack of knowledge of the Bible, and the women and the roles they played, however reading this book has been a true learning experience for me in many ways.

Eat Pray Love - this has been sitting on my nightstand for almost a year now. I picked it up months ago and didn't get 50 pages in before I lost interest. I am trying again and am now almost 100 pages into the book. I can't guarantee I am going to finish the book, but I hope to at least make it through Italy and give India a read before I give up (again) P.S. - I didn't see the movie

Those are all the adult books I have read this summer, but "Weird" is still on my list

I also read a few children's chapter books...

My students last year loved Andrew Clement books, especially after we read Frindle and No Talking as a class. So, I took some of my time this summer to read two more of his books....

The School Story - about a girl who writes a story and gets it published

and

The Report Card - A gifted student purposely does bad on her report card so that other kids will think she is ordinary.

I love how his stories relate to young students (about 3rd-5th level) oh, and they are very humorous!!

I also read Missing May by Cynthia Rylant, because I LOVE Cynthia Rylant!!! This book was kind of sad, but very good! It would be a good book to read to a class of 3rd or 4th graders and hear their thinking about what happens.

If you are a parent, or teacher, or just love a great children's book, here are some others I HIGHLY suggest (all by Cynthia Rylant)

The Ticky Tacky Doll (especially if you have a child going into kindergarten)
The Old Woman Who Named Things (I think this one is my favorite)
When the Relative Came
Silver Packages (great Christmas read, once again, inspiring)
The Bookshop Dog
The Cookie Store Cat (love them both)
Dog Heaven
Cat Heaven (I don't read these because I will cry too much)
When I was Young in the Mountains
Gooseberry Park ( I almost forgot about this one - its a chapter book, but such a sweet story!)
In November
Let's Go Home
The Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter and Tabby, and Poppleton series
And many many more....

Happy Reading!

Product Review + Pico

My mom got this for us a few months ago. I finally tried it out and I love it!!!

I sliced up the tomatoes and onions and jalapeno, stuck it under the white top and pressed it down. And.....in minutes....

First Harvest!

Strawberry Scones

This was my first time making scones, and they were much easier than I thought they would be!! You could easily make blueberry, or raspberry, or chocolate chip or any kind of scone with this recipe!

Ingredients

The dough was a little sticky, but if you flour the surface you are working on and your rolling pin and hands you won't have any problem!

Cut them into triangles

Don't they look like the ones in the case at Starbucks...or Panera???? hahaha. They are pretty yummy. Can't wait to try them with some strawberry jam!

Welcome to the family Foster!

Meet Ryan and Loryn's fur baby, Foster. They rescued him from animal aid last weekend. He is a sweet boy and him and Buster were instant friends.