Thirty-One

I am obsessed!!

I love to organize things and have little containers and bins for things so I would, of course, love the company Thirty-One. Have you heard of it? I got their Thermal Tote at the 2011 HPE Silent Auction. I love it so I decided to get a their Soft Wallet about a year ago. I love that too!! I've been toying with the idea of going into the Thirty-One business, but I am not a sales person so I am not sure how it would go!!


Anyway, I have been looking for a great bag for work and have been considering the Organizing Utility Tote.

I have seen MANY posts about this bag, but the three that really sold me on it are from Tiffany at The Nest Effect, Jen at i heart organizing, and Tiffany at Teaching 2 Many Diligently. These ladies, among others, talked of how they fell in love with this bag because of how useful and stylish it is.

I am also getting the All-In-One Organizer, the Mini Zipper Pouch, and the Wristlet Key Fob for school. I am planning on putting things in the Organizer for {parent} volunteers and will keep the Mini in it with pencils, highlighters, etc. I am SUPER excited to see these items in use and think it will help the {parent} volunteers when they come in.

The last item I am getting is the Littles Carry-All Caddy for home. I think we're going to try to hold our crazy amount of remotes in it, but I'm not sure! We'll figure something out!!

One of the best things about getting all of this, two of the items were Customer Specials for the month of July!! The Mini and Little were $5 each! Plus, I got a few of the items personalized for $5 each, another Customer Special! Oh my goodness, I am SO excited!!

Conferences

This last week has been crazy!! I had conferences, Adelle had a doctor appointment, Brian is hunting this weekend, I am scrapping/stamping this weekend... it's a mad house.

One thing I am very happy about is the fact that conferences are over. I don't really mind them once I am actually DOING them, but it's the anticipation for them that gets to me. Then, there is always one that I worry about. This year's was a doozy, but it all worked out in the end. Thankfully!

The one conference I worry about always makes me feel like I am not doing my job, but I work my butt off and I am great at what I do!! It has taken me a long time to believe that. I have been teaching for 7 years but haven't always felt as though I have gotten the support and guidance I needed. I am not saying I need constant compliments or hand-holding, but I do value the occasional, "nice lesson" or "good job."

My Dad has a saying at the bottom of his emails that I simply admire. Usually these are pretty hokey or sentimental but my Dad's reads,

"NEVER, underestimate the power of positive reinforcement!"

I couldn't have said it better Dad!

Last Day of Summer

Today is the last official day of my summer vacation.

This is very sad for me and I am taking it kind of hard! I love being home with Adelle and I love being able to watch her grow and discover. She has changed so much in her 8 months, and I am very fortunate to have had these few months, but it still makes me sad.

Don't get me wrong, I am passionate about teaching and I love what I do. I am excited to get back to it, and meet my new students too!

Adelle will also be starting a new daycare on Monday. We are happy about this because she will be 3 or 4 blocks away from me, but there is always a nervousness about starting something new. Maybe that is just with me?! We need to make sure we have things ready for her to go: immunization records, diapers, wipes, formula, extra clothes. I hope I don't forget anything!!

Today though is for us. We will make the most of it and have a blast! We are visiting Daddy for lunch, a tradition we started when we first got together, and Auntie Angie and Cousin Lila will be visiting this afternoon. It will be a happy day indeed!

The Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school - with students. WHAT A GREAT FEELING!!! Don't get me wrong, I really liked my class this year (like I do most years) but I am happy to be able to spend some time with my Sweet Girl!

We had a wonderful celebration during the morning with our entire school. Our third graders sang, "Under the Boardwalk" and, "The Sharing Song" with the second graders. They did a great job! The cutest were the kindergarten and first grade singers. They did a couple of super cute songs and the kids themselves were entertainment. There was one little girl in the front row who was dancing so much she flashed her undies a couple of times and two other little ones who got SO into the songs they were making funny faces. It was awesome! After that we cleaned a bit then ultimately ended the day by watching a movie.

I will miss my students from this year. They were funny, sweet and curious. They will all make fantastic 4th graders!

To end MY day, the three of us went to my co-workers house for a celebration. D is such a wonderful person who has a huge heart. I love having her as my teaching partner and think we work well together. Her husband is Italian and makes delicious sauce, meatballs and sausage. The sausage has a kick to it - I couldn't eat the one I took! Thank you for throwing us the party C's food was awesome, as usual!

I'll go back on Monday to wrap things up and get ready for summer school. Until then, I will relax with my family and soak in the beginning of summer!

Cafe Latte

A co-worker has been "bumped," and today her lunch bunch bought her a couple of cakes. We have pretty great lunch bunches here, and that first bunch is AWESOME! The people in it are super fun, and they really know how to make someone feel special!

The cakes they got were from Cafe Latte, here in St. Paul. For those of you who don't know the area - the cakes are fantastic!! I had a piece of their Turtle cake and am still eating it two hours later, it is so rich. They also had a Raspberry Torte that was amazing and lite. No, I didn't have a piece from both cakes, but a friend of mine had the torte and really enjoyed it. The pictures really don't do them justice!


As for the person who was "bumped," I will miss her a great deal. She is fun, sweet, smart and I have really liked working with her. It's a great thing she still lives close to school and that her kids are still here!!

Good luck S!

7 Weeks Old = First Day Back Already?!

I am so very lucky to have been able to take off 7 weeks to get to know our beautiful little girl! I am very blessed to know she likes to be held close when she is fussy and facing outward when she is awake. I am happy to know she doesn't mind 'strangers'. However, I was completely devastated to be away from my Sweet Girl!

I love my job. I love getting in front of the kids and interacting with them. I love teaching and I missed it while I was gone. I also missed my students - they are kind and enthusiastic which helped! Another thing that helped was talking with my friends! Knowing they have been through this, or are there to support me is a great feeling!!

It's a good thing that we are having friends watch her at first - instead of a day care. I think that would have traumatized me! By the way, we've found a great day care not too far from the house. She's young and very organized. We found her through our friend, Kelly, who graciously posted a message at her work. We didn't even know about it! We are SO blessed to have such caring friends! Anyway, Adelle will start at Grow With Me Family Childcare in April when a spot opens up. Until then, she is with Gina and her adorable twins (Jeremy too at the end of the day)!

Again, we are blessed!

39 Weeks = Vacation

I wasn't sure what write about! There are a lot of things I could have written about... the pressure/contractions that come along, the excitement I am feeling, the amazing gifts we got for Christmas, but I am going to write about my last vacation without kids!

Wednesday was the official first day of our winter break! It didn't really feel like it to me though because I spent the morning at school getting things ready for my sub. I like things to be a certain way and wanted to give her as much detail as I could before I left. To be honest, I am still thinking about all of the plans I wrote and if they are alright. Should I have left materials out for her, or is it ok that left them in bins?

Another thing I am thinking about is my class. They are such a great group! I am going to miss all of the stories of their winter break, hugs, and their unique personalities while I am away. Aww :(

Today, however, FEELS like the first day of break! My last break without kids of my own. What should I do? Well, there are a few things I need to do... Scratch that! There are a few thing I want to get done today, so I think that is a great start to my last break sans kids. Maybe I'll even lie around and watch movies. Eat at a fancy restaurant with Brian - just because! I love it - no pressure to get things done. No plans. Whatever happens, happens!

I think this feeling will last for the next couple of hours, then I will be back to my old self making lists of things to do! I really do enjoy checking things off of my lists! We'll see!

Leave a comment: What did YOU do right before you had kids? Was there a favorite outing, restaurant, thing?

Adelle is growing:
Adelle is waiting to greet the world! She continues to build a layer of fat to help control her body temperature after birth, but it's likely she already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. The outer layers of her skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath. ISH! Only 7 days left!!

37 Weeks = Pain and Pressure

This week has been very busy for me and I have been super sleepy when I get home. It's actually kind of annoying because by 8pm I would like to go to bed and sleep the night away. However, that doesn't always work. Especially when I have an after school program to run, it decides to blizzard, and I have lots of planning to do.

Just think of it, I had two days of training that I had to plan for as well as start planning for when Adelle decides to arrive (which I still hope is during/after break)! I just like things done and want them done as soon as possible it's really hard to do that when you get exhausted so easily.

During one of my training sessions I had this last week I felt a type of pain in my lower abdomen all day! When I walked, when I was sitting, when I was laying... all day! Then I started feeling contractions, Braxton Hicks I am sure because they were neither regular or painful. It was just a pressure that I felt. Both the pain and pressure went away by the time I went to bed (8pm - no joke), but it made me nervous to feel that all day.

Though I want Adelle to come into the world when she is ready and healthy (and during/after break) I am hoping that at our next appointment, on Monday, our doctor will tell us that "I" am making progress. We'll see!

Adelle is growing:
Our baby is full term!! This means that if Adelle arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away (yikes).

She weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard - what is that?!). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz. Just 21 days to go!!!

25 Weeks = Another Meeting? Really?

Since going back to school I have been coming home drained. I am fine while I am at school but I get tired on the drive home and unless I have stuff to do I just want to sit and relax. Well, this week I have had a LOT of meetings. I am not complaining because the meetings I have had were all important and worthwhile, but I have had one -or something- every day after school! Whether it is taking Mom to physical therapy (which I really like doing), going to workshops, ALC or PLC meetings... I haven't gotten home before 5:30 any night this week.

I guess this is gearing me up for when ALC starts in a week. Yes I am still going to run the after school program two nights a week. I have been given the ok to take maternity leave after winter break for the remainder of the year (ONLY for the after-school program) and come back for summer school. Actually, I am really looking forward to it and can't wait for it to start.

I just need to make sure that I have snacks while I am at school that long - darn! :)

Adelle is growing:
Head to heels, she now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. Neat! Only 100 more days to go!!

23 Weeks = School Starts

SO I am a little late in updating the blog because school has started and I get exhausted really easily... I'm pregnant people!!!

Anyway, we started our 23rd week by relaxing on Sunday the 6th and doing some running around with Maria. Then yesterday, Labor Day, we had to go to David's Bridal to pick up my dress for Angie's wedding. I was not too thrilled about going back to that place because I haven't gotten good service when I've been there - excluding my last time there, that guy was AWESOME.

I had to go because the dress I was going to wear for the wedding didn't fit. I went in about two, maybe three weeks ago and asked the guy what we could do because I had JUST found out I was pregnant when I got the dress and wasn't aware that certain parts of me would get this big (and I am not talking about my belly). He said, "Oh sure we'll just exchange it! What size do you need?" Well, I wasn't sure so he had me try on two different sizes and even brought out the alterations lady to take a look and give her opinion. We settled on a size and ordered it. It was going to come in any day.

I went to pick it up and wanted to try it on to make sure it fit. The lady had to look for my dress for like, 15 minutes. Then she came out and seemed put off by the fact that I wanted to try it on. I tried it on but couldn't zip it (in the back - go figure) so Brian tried and couldn't zip it. NOT BECAUSE OF MY SIZE THOUGH it was because there was a fabric change and it had always gotten caught up there. We waited for our lady to return but she never did so I asked a different lady to help and she said she'd be right over. During that time I asked Brian to work on it again and he got it! Then I had to go and bend over to try to pick up some shoes and "RIP!!!" the zipper split!

I am SO glad it happened there!

Long story a tad shorter, I had to pick it up and it was fine. They fixed it for free and I am glad that I will never have to go there again!!! When you get married Maria, I am going to buy my dress somewhere else!

After all of that, today was the first day of school! I have 34 kids and I am exhausted and am going to bed! It was a fantastic day and I am luck to have the kids I have!!

Adelle is growing:
Adelle can feel me dance and move! And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. Hopefully that is true because I don't want her to be afraid of Zack or Zoey!! Only 116 days left!