The last 2 weekends

Mike and I have been pretty busy the last 2 weekends, mostly thanks to the increased energy that I have been feeling lately. I am 17 weeks today, so here's a new picture (the baby really seems to be growing a lot lately...)

The baby has also been moving like crazy, I feel him or her several times throughout the day, and Mike even got to feel the baby move for the first time on Sunday night--he was pretty excited about it!

Mike gave me one of my Christmas presents this past weekend--it's from a web comic called Sheldon Comics, and it is one that Mike and I both enjoy to read. This comic is a flow chart about whether or not to eat a cookie, and the end result for all the answers is to just eat a cookie!

On Saturday, we had the Schimmel Family Christmas in Ankeny. In Schimmel tradition, the gifts were hidden throughout the house, and we had clues that we needed to follow to find our gifts. This year the clues were in word scrambles and codes, so things got interesting... turns out I'm better at word scrambles than Mike ;)

We also had a delicious dinner! Bruce made prime rib and baked potatoes for dinner and creme brulee for dessert--it was absolutely AMAZING!

Before we left Ankeny, Mike and I stopped by Kohls. My mom had sent me a gift card to buy myself some maternity clothes, and holy cow, you can get a lot of stuff at Kohls for $50! I got a long sleeve black t-shirt, a button sweater, and some new socks.... and we still had $8 left over, so we picked out some onesies for the baby :)

Here's a random picture of Meatloaf looking very relaxed while Mike petted her.


As I am getting more of my energy back, I am also getting more of my appetite back. I can finally say that I have gained weight for the first time in this pregnancy--I weighed myself this morning, and I have gained half a pound :/ Its not much, but it's a start. So as I was saying, food is finally looking and sounding good... not all foods yet, but some foods, which is more than what it had been in the past. Mike got a HyVee gift card a few weeks ago from work, so we treated ourselves to some crab legs--and expensive beer for Mike, sparkling grape juice for me--and we had ourselves a little stay-at-home date during the snowstorm last Saturday. We watched National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, and just relaxed... it was nice.

On Sunday, I made my mom's beef stew for the first time.... something about snowstorms gives me the urge to make soups, so I called my mom and got the recipe. It tasted just like my mom's!

Movement

I have reached another milestone in the pregnancy--I can feel the baby move! I first felt it on Friday after school, and wasn't quite sure if it was the baby, but I've been feeling it ever since, so I know for sure it's the baby. I can only feel it when I am sitting or laying down--I would guess that's because I'm not moving and can feel his or her movement better that way?

Everything I read about the baby moving said it feels like flutters or bubbles, but it doesn't feel like that to me... mostly it just feels like something bumping the inside of my lower stomach. It is still too early for Mike to feel it--we tried, but failed... maybe in a few weeks when the baby is bigger and stronger :)

15 Weeks

We had our 14 week appointment last Monday (and I have been meaning to blog about it since...), and Dr. Leeds says everything is looking and sounding good. We got to hear the heartbeat again, this time for a little longer than last time, and he measured my tummy and told us that I am measuring right where I should be. I had lots of questions for the doctor about my appetite (because I have almost none), weight loss (because I am still down 11 pounds from my starting weight), exhaustion (because I sleep 10-12 hours a night and am still tired), and mouthwash (because brushing my teeth has turned into quite an experience)... and his response to all of them was, "You are pregnant, that is normal." I really like the doctor that I have chosen... he is very calming, and I always feel reassured and less worried when I leave his office (thanks to all the girls who recommended him to me :) )

Our next appointment is a big one--the ultrasound!! We will finally get to see our baby!!

Here's what I look like at 15 weeks.

For the fun of it, my sister got a gender predictor test for us. She happened to find them on sale for $2 (and I checked on Amazon--people pay $30 for this test normally :/ ) According to the package, it is 90% accurate, according to the directions on the inside, it is 82% percent accurate, and according to all the angry reviewers on Amazon, the test is only sometimes accurate... So long story short, we took the test, and it says that we are having a BOY. My sister took the test, and it says she is having a GIRL. By the end of the month, we will both know what we're having, so we'll see if it's right...


On Thanksgiving night, Mike and I made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some cream cheese, and we ended up buying a bunch of baby clothes that were on sale. We had a lot of fun going through the racks and seeing what we could find, and this is what we came home with.

Busy Weekend

Mike and I have had a busy weekend! Saturday, Mike cleaned out the garage and put up all the summer stuff for the winter (bags, camping stuff, my bike, etc), and I cleaned up the plant beds. I began taking down the fence for our garden, but my stomach started to hurt from all the bending over, so Mike finished the job for me :). Mike also hung the outside Christmas lights.

Sunday, we both worked on putting plastic on the windows.... I know it looks so classy :/, but it really does keep our horribly insulated, drafty house a lot warmer in the winter, so its totally worth it. We also put up the Christmas tree, and I made chocolate chip cookies and homemade cheesy potato soup.


Potato Soup with bacon, cheese, and sour cream--amaaaazing!

Our tree--the cats think that the ornaments are fun dangling cat toys waiting to be knocked off the tree. (And I feel dumb admitting this, but I just learned how to spell ornament--I honestly thought the word was ordament, with a D sound, I have been saying it wrong all my life :/,--Mike teaches me so much ;)


This is the new ornament that my parents brought to me on Friday when they came to visit my classroom. Its me and Mike, having a baby :)

Our lovely plastic--it really does work!


Our outside Christmas lights


And finally, relaxing on the couch with kitties in our laps :)

12 Weeks

I am nearing the end of the 1st trimester, and looking forward to the 2nd trimester with its promises of less nausea and more energy :) I can't wait!

I am beginning to develop a small bump--here is the picture, and I promise not to show my bare tummy every time--I just did it this time because you really can't see it when I'm wearing clothes, and I am just so happy its there, I can't help but show it!


I am not quite into maternity clothes yet, but Maurene and I went shopping on Sunday and to get me started so I am ready for when my clothes stop fitting. Here are the things we got--4 pairs of "school" pants, 1 pair of jeans, and 3 shirts.


And this is the cat that made it difficult to take pictures of my clothes because he so desperately wanted to be in a picture. So here's a picture of Charles.

Our Baby

We're having a baby!

Mike and I went to the doctor on Monday for our first prenatal visit, and we got to hear our baby's heartbeat and movements on a Doppler monitor. The doctor told us that everything is looking and sound great. I am at 10 1/2 weeks right now, and due to have the baby around May 30th. The timing should work out nicely with the end of the school year, giving me an extra long maternity leave for summer :) . . . (that is, of course, if everything goes as scheduled--which I know doesn't always happen with babies or school years).

I am beginning to feel a lot better as I am getting closer the the end of the 1st trimester. I have been nauseous since week 3, and the last 2 days I have felt the best I have felt since September--Mike and I even went on a date last night because I finally felt like leaving the house for a meal. I have been eating a lot of fruit because that is one of the few things that sounds good too me... food in general just hasn't sounded good for the last 8 weeks--which is the complete opposite of how I usually am--I LOVE food, so it's strange to have the thought of food make my stomach turn for 2 months.

Other than the nausea, I have had the other typical pregnancy conditions--exhaustion and moodiness (mostly caused by the exhaustion and feeling nauseous for 2 months straight--and maybe some hormones too ;) ). My husband is a wonderful, patient person who has put up with my tired, crabby self, and I am very thankful for him! He has had PB & J for countless dinners because I didn't feel like cooking, he has run to the grocery store to get Mac & Cheese for me after me crabbing at him because there wasn't any in the cupboard when I thought there was, and he kept the house clean and laundry done because I felt like just laying around or sleeping. He really has been great through the whole thing, and I appreciate him very much!

In addition to my baby, my sister will also be having a baby in May, so we will be adding two more grandkids to the Gries family, who already has Ashton. For the Schimmel's this will be the 3rd grandkid--Isabella and Kaylen are both still under a year. And for the Entner's this will be the 1st grandkid. Our families are very excited, and so are we!

Sick.

I have been sick for a week now with a cold. I have felt absolutely awful this whole time--except for Wednesday--I honestly thought I was getting better Wednesday, but I was fooled. Since Monday I haven't been able to use my "teacher voice." I had a talk with the kids on Monday about my voice sounding funny and scratchy, and the rest of the week I had kids telling me that they thought they were getting a cold too because their voices were scratchy too--it was cute.

Normally I don't go to the doctor for a cold because I get colds all the time, I teach Kindergarten--it's going to happen. Thursday morning I was awake from 2-5 because I couldn't lay down and breathe without feeling like I was drowning on all the stuff in my lungs, so I decided it was probably time to go to the doctor for this one. Turns out I have bacterial infection in my respiratory system, probably from the cold (duh). I was given an antibiotic and sent on my way. I took a sick day half of yesterday and then today as well. Today is an inservice day at WM, so I at least didn't have to get things ready for a sub. I slept in until 11 today, and I am hoping the medication starts clearing out some of this stuff from my body soon. We are heading to Harlan this weekend for Ashton's 2nd birthday party, so I am hoping to feel better for that.

Quiet! There's a Canary in the Library

Today I had a moment of pure happiness. I was in the library with my class for their weekly check-out time when a student asked where the Corduroy books were. Mrs. Pelfrey, our librarian, was busy checking kids out, so I said I would look for the Corduroy books. I found the Corduroy book right where Mrs. Pelfrey said it would be, by the Don Freeman books. After I pulled out the book, I looked at the book beside it, and I saw the book Quiet! There's a Canary in the Library--I couldn't believe it!! I immediately pulled it off the shelf, and it looked just like I remembered it. When I was in about 1st grade, this book was my favorite book. I would check it out almost weekly from the New Park School library. I would bring it home, and my mom would say something like, "Quiet! There's a Canary in the Library, again?!?" I absolutely loved that book!! Until today, I had not seen that book in probably 20 years (I can't believe I'm old enough to say I haven't done something in 20 years). Like a child I got really excited and told Mrs. Pelfrey all about my find, and I had to check out the book.

This afternoon, I sat down with my class and told them all about why the book was special to me. We had a talk about how they have favorite books the like to hear over and over again, and Quiet! There's a Canary in the Library was my favorite. Then I read them the story, and it was just like I remembered it. I was so happy to read it to them! Later, I texted my mom a photo of the cover and asked her if she remembered that book, and of course she did. She asked if I told them about how much I loved that book when I was a kid, and I said of course I did.

I don't want to sound completely cheesy when I say this, but finding that book made me feel all happy inside. It just flooded me with memories of being a kid, and reading the book with my mom. There aren't very many things that can bring that kind of simple joy.

Life Lately

It's been a while since I posted.... We've been busy, but we haven't really been doing anything. Let's see... what have we been up to...

I tried a few new recipes, chicken tortilla soup, a sweet and snappy chili, and shrimp Alfredo with mushroom, and they were all amazing.

I have fallen in love with avocados. I mash avocados with chopped tomato and red onion, then mix in a little salt, and I am in heaven--I could eat the whole bowl every time I make it if Mike didn't insist that I save some for him.

The number of mosquitoes has finally dropped so it is once again enjoyable to walk the trails through the wooded area near our house. Mike and I went on a walk last night--I absolutely LOVE this time of year, the leaves are changing, the temps are cooler, and did I mentioned the mosquitoes are finally starting to die down.

I have a great class this year. I absolutely love my job!! Anyone who knows me knows I love my job. I am amazed all the time at what the kids learn and say. When the year started I wondered to myself how the kids make it so far by the end of the year, but they do, and my kids are already on their way. The kids have already begun reading books and writing sentences, and both are things that they weren't able to do a month ago.

Now after explaining how much I love my job, I am going to say that today was not a good day, and you will have those. Since the first day we have been talking about good choices and bad choices. Today there were a lot of bad choices--way more than normal. At one point I felt like giving the kids my crazy eyes and yelling, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" But of course I didn't, I just stayed calm and firm and let them know that their choices were bad choices. Every teacher has these days, and today was mine.

I have conferences next week on Monday and Wednesday (I think.. maybe its Thursday--I better check on that). I really don't mind conferences--I like talking to parents, and they go really fast because they are one right after another... the only downside is not getting home until 8:30 and then having to go back 11 hours later and teach again--I just end up feeling exhausted by the end.

The political people came knocking a few weeks ago to see if we were going to vote. I told them that I probably wouldn't in this election, and somehow the man talked me into signing up for a mail ballot--it was probably the most annoying mistake I have ever made. The candidates call all the time--seriously, all the time. I get several calls a day from candidates. I never answer them, so they leave prerecorded voice mails. We keep getting mail saying who we should vote for. I understand that I am an American, and this is my job, but to be honest, I don't want to deal with all the "I say this,and I'm the best candidate because..." and the "They are bad because" campaining that gets thrown at me all the time. I will make a choice based on research, not annoying phone calls.

And the new TV seasons have started... I am watching Biggest Loser on Tuesday and 30 Rock and The Office on Thursdays. We only get one channel--NBC--so we are limited to what we watch. We talked about getting cable again, but really, I just want to spend as little money as possible. I want to save for a house, pay off my car, and focus on bigger goals. We have Netflix, and that keeps us entertained for $9 a month--I think that's pretty good.

So there you have it. A bunch of brief updates about our lives. :)

More Owls

I kinda went nuts on the Owl Quilt this weekend. Since yesterday, I have finished the applique--all 16 owls and 4 trees! My machine was a champ!

These are all my owls (and yes, I know the picture is sideways--it's the right direction on my camera, it's the right direction in the file on my computer, but for some reason when I upload it, its sideways. I've done it 4 times--still the same sideways picture. Its staying that way, I guess)

These are the trees for the center.

Lazy, Rainy Sunday

It's finally cold enough for the Slanket! The cats love it!

Owl Quilt

Last April, my friend Amy and I took an intro to quilting class at the Quilting Connection here in Ames, and I absolutely loved it! While we were taking the class, Amy asked the instructor if they offered any applique classes, and they did--and they happened to be making this adorable owl quilt called Hooterville.

So Amy and I signed up for the class and took it last May. But during the summer, even though I had all kinds of free time with summer vacation, I just didn't feel like quilting--something about making blankets in a 90 degree room doesn't seem right or comfortable to me. But now that the weather has changed to Fall-like, and I suddenly have a strong urge to begin quilting again. So here is the progress I have been making on the owl quilt.

These are all the completed owl blocks that I have so far.
Here is a close-up of one of the owls.

This is an uncompleted block that is ready to get applique-ed (if that's a real word) next to one that is done.
These are uncompleted and completed trees for the center of the quilt.
When I have it completely done, I will post the pictures. This one may take more time though--my sewing machine really doesn't like the zigzag stitch I am using to applique--it jams a lot, but I love love love this quilt, so I keep working on it.

Charles is so lazy...

Enjoying the open windows on the cat shelf.He loves to lay on his back and sleep like a human.

SSSSSOCTOBER!!

New months are always a big deal at kindergarten. Lately we have been focusing on finding words with the same beginning sound, so when I introduced September, I asked if they could think of any other words that begin like SSSSSSSSSSSeptember (and yes, I carry out the sounds forever when I am trying to get them to think about sounds.)

First girl I call on says "stars," "Yes, ssssstars does start like SSSSSSeptember!"

The next kid I calls on says "Sammie," "Yeah, SSSSSSammie does start like SSSSSSeptember!"

The next kid, who has been waving her hand in the air, has nothing to say when I finally call on her. I say "Think hard, what begins like SSSSSSeptember?" Her face lights up, "SSSSSOCTOBER!!" She was so proud of her word I say, "IT DOES! SSSSSSoctober isn't a real word, but if it was, it does begin just like SSSSSSeptember!!!"

Ninja Bed Hunt

Oh, what a week its been at Kindergarten! The first week has been exhausting, but by Friday, it all seemed like it was worth it. I can honestly say that everyday I felt like things were a little better than the day before. The most problematic part of my day all week was dismissal--who's going where, when, and with who? Friday was the first day out of seven where there was no issues-WhooHoo!!

Things that made me smile this week:
On the first day of school, we read the story "The Gingerbread Man" and then we go on a hunt for the Gingerbread Man around the school--this gingerbread hunt is designed to be a tour of the school for the kids. When we made it to the office, one of my little guys tells the guidance counselor, Mrs. Barber, that we are there on a "Ninja Bed" Hunt. Mrs. Barber just smiled and told him that she had not seen the Ninja Bed :)

This year I have a student who has not been to preschool before coming to Kindergarten, and this experience is completely new to me--it requires a different kind of patience than I am used to (and there are times I am amazed by my own patience with kids--I tend to be pretty impatient with things in real life--I'm sure Mike would tell you all about it if you asked). So on with the story, the student came to me a week ago completely unable to write his name, by Tuesday I had taught him to trace his name, and by Friday he had taught himself how to write his name on his own--I am lucky enough to have a job that completely amazes me all the time, and I was definitely amazed when I watched this child write his name neatly on his own on Friday.

Iowa State Fair

Last Sunday, Mike and I went down to the State Fair with Lance, Becky, and Kara--who got us in for free--YAY! I did the usual Fair stuff--walked around in the extremely hot weather, saw the Butter Cow, ate a corn dog, people watched, escaped to the air conditioning of the Varied Industries Building, and then left slightly crabby from all the heat and crowds.

It's super hot!!

Kara finding some eggs at the "Hands on the Farm" exhibit.

This year's new butter thing was "Green Eggs and Ham"

The Butter Cow

The Cookie Mountain, perfect dessert to follow the corn dog.

Wasps

This really isn't something we did, it's just something that I think is kinda interesting... We have an enormous wasp nest above our side garage door--enormous, like 15 to 20 wasps on it at a time.

My Wordle

I saw wordle.com on another blog, and thought I would try it with my "Back to School" entry, here is what it produced. Click on it for a bigger picture.

Back to School

Yesterday was our first day of school! For Kindergarten, we do something called staggered start--which is when half the class comes on Thursday and half the class comes of Friday. Yesterday I only had 6 that we able to come, and today I had 9. And I am exhausted. Monday--and everyday after that too, I guess--I will have the full class of 17.

I know this may sound strange, but I forgot how much they learn in Kindergarten. Two months ago, I ended the year with kids who were, for the most part, independent and ready for 1st grade. Now that I am back in the classroom with fresh Kindergarteners, I realized how much they really learn and how much they really grow in a year.

I am looking forward to this year for a lot of reasons. This is the first time that I get to teach the same grade two years in a row, and I feel like that gives me an opportunity to learn from and improve upon the things I did last year. I am also hoping to focus more on management. In my first year, I learned a lot, but I wish I had time to learn more about behavior and prevention of problems. I spent a lot of time last year just learning what to teach, keeping myself organized, and trying to get everything accomplished. There were a few times that I felt like I just survived the day, and I don't want it to be that way (at least if I can help it). I want to be able to manage my class effectively, so that things run more smoothly in general. Sometimes it felt like the only solution I had was to take time from recess because I didn't know what else to do--and it wasn't effective for the kids that I needed it to be effective for. So my goal for now is just to learn as much as I can--because I know I will never have a perfect class with perfectly behaved children, and I need to know what to do to prevent the behavior and what to do when I encounter problems.

Happy Birthday to the best husband!

Happy Birthday, Mike! I love you!

My Classroom

I have spent a week and a half working on my room and getting ready for the upcoming school year, and I am happy to say, I think I'm ready! Over the summer I read a book about arranging and organizing classrooms, and I spent most of last week just reorganizing all the stuff--and believe me, teachers have a lot of stuff--in my classroom.

My art center is ready to go!

The next photos are pictures of my classroom--I have them posted going in a circle around the room.

Computer and desk area
Book baskets are to the left and the reading loft
Art center and puzzle/game center near the table in the corner
The small group table, my desk, and word wall
This corner has my desk and the large group area where we do calendar and read alouds
The building center, math shelf, and doorway

Summer Weddings

This summer, we've had two weddings--Kelly and Jon were married July 24th in Omaha, and Heath and Rachel were married this past weekend, August 14th outside of Iowa City.

Mike and I at Kelly and Jon's wedding.
Dollar Dance
Mike with Kelly and her brother, Kurt.

Heath and Rachel's wedding--the site was absolutely beautiful! J.B. from Country Landscapes built the stone arch.
Baby Faaborg is getting bigger--I got to feel her kick!
Mike and I before the wedding. You can't tell from the picture, but it was super hot that day!
Mike with some good friends, Ian, Soren, Huston, and Halverson.
AND, they didn't have cake, they had an entire spread of desserts--with homemade whipped cream, which I ate about half a plate of.