My Students Threw Me a Shower!

Today started out badly.  I woke up in awful pain.  I had trouble walking across the room, and I told Matt, "I can't go to school today- I can't walk!"  But I took some tylenol and said- suck it up!

I'm so glad I did.  So many amazing things happened today.  First, after the principal agreed to walk my students to Mass (and I met them later), I was given a surprise from a parishioner.  Just before mass started, an elderly man came up to my pew and gave me a crucifix to hang in the baby's room. He said, "for the little boy who will be going to Steubenville, class of 2036!"  I think he's a Steubenville alum, haha.

Then, I get back to school, and an 8th grader brings me this card.  I tear up after reading it, but I had no idea what was awaiting me the rest of the school day..

So during lunch, I made my way down the hall to the faculty room.  I didn't go downstairs to check my mailbox because walking hurt too much.  One of the teachers tells me that the cafeteria lady needs the 7th grade teachers to report to her at 12:30.  I looked at him and said, "no way, Jose.  I am not walking 3 flights of stairs. Tell her to email me."  He was very adamant that this was an issue we needed to be present for, and told me he would help me walk down the stairs.  Again, I told myself, "suck it up!" and made my way down.  I'm so glad he was able to convince me- in the cafeteria was a surprise party/shower my students (and their parents) put together for me!  I was shocked.  The entire cafeteria was decorated.  There was an adorable cake (I didn't have my camera, so no pics yet), and there was a bowl of blue punch with rubber duckies floating in it.  The kids loved that!  There was a diaper cake, treats, games, and.....a giant box for me.

This is the game they played- every student guessed what the baby's birth weight is going to be.  When I have him, the winner will get a Graeters gift card- how cute!

Here are the cards the kids wrote their guesses on:

Let's hope that Mr. Adam here is not correct....

Diaper cake!

Cute little personalized basket one of the mothers made

Personalized bib and burp cloth.  So many people keep the name a secret, but I'm so glad I shared it!  I now have 2 bibs with his name on them, 2 onesies with his name, and 2 burp clothes with his name!

Adorable little 6 month outfit

Cute little booties :)

Photo album 

This is just great.  One of the 7th grade girls was so excited for me to open her gift because she made it herself.  What did she make?  A little dog out of a dollar, and a little t-shirt out of a dollar.  I love middle schoolers, the random creativity is great. 

Now, they also wrote me little notes.  These are just a few special "gems".  Some of the things they say are priceless: 

Now, for the main event:  the big giant present on the back table was.......

our STROLLER/CARRIER!!!!!!   

I saw it go on sale this week, and we seriously almost bought it, but we wanted to wait to make any more big purchases.  Wow!  My heart is so full and so overwhelmed by the generosity of my students and their parents.  Matt and I are so blessed :) 

39 weeks

Finally getting these edited!

I took these Saturday night (the night before I hit 39 weeks), so this is going to count as week 38 and week 39's belly photos!    :)

Running out of room in there, buddy!

Then, Matt, who is far more artistic and creative, wanted to take his own photos of my belly.  His are far better.

One week to go until my due date!  C'mon baby, I'm ready NOW!  

38 Weeks

Home stretch!  I didn't do a photo for last week, and I won't be for this week.  Not only is it no longer very fun to have your photo taken....I'm also having a difficult time locating a "winter melon" and a pumpkin. 


How far along? 38 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 33 lbs
Stretch marks? Yes

Can you see your toes? Nope. Can't reach them either
Sleep: I'm getting a good amount of sleep.  Every once in awhile I will have something I'm worrying about keep me up, but other than that I am sleeping fine.
Best moment this week: This past week was not a good one.  I'll have to get back to you on the best moment.
Miss Anything? I miss a lot of things.  Sushi, coffee, running, hugging my husband normally, sleeping on my stomach.  I'm ready to be done!
Movement: Some days a lot, some days not so much movement.
Food cravings: Doritos
Anything making you queasy or sick:  No not really.
Labor Signs: Sunday night I thought I might be going into labor, but it ended up just being horrible Braxton Hicks contractions.  They went away after 45 minutes.
Belly Button in or out? It's pretty much an outie now. 
Wedding rings on or off? On still!
Happy or Moody most of the time: So emotional.  I feel horrible for Matt.  Sunday evening through Tuesday morning I feel like I spent the entire time bursting into tears (except when I was at school).
Weekly Wisdom: Got some great tips on breastfeeding and if I want to combine breast and bottle feeding.  I'm starting to think that's the best option for me.  I am a little tired of people telling me what I have to do in terms of feeding. It's better to reach the decision on my own AFTER I have met my baby.
Looking forward to: Meeting my baby!  I'm sick of the questions, the comments, being uncomfortable, the stress, and trying to work too. I just want my baby in my arms and for the outside world to disappear for awhile! 

36 weeks- watermelon!

Sorry this took a few days to edit.  Picture is from all the way back on Tuesday!  I'm starting to look a little rough- in this photo I had not slept in 48 hours.  Don't worry, insomnia is gone now.  I slept 12 hours Wednesday night :) 

How far along? 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 33 lbs
Stretch marks? Yes

Can you see your toes? Nope.  Hopefully Matt will paint them for me this weekend! 

Sleep: This was a bad week for sleep. I didn't sleep for 2 whole nights because I couldn't get things off my mind.  I was miserable pretty much Monday- Wednesday this week.  

Best moment this week: This past Friday Matt and I went out to dinner at PF Changs (yay discounted dinner plus a gift card!) then we went to the mall (yay more free things due to gift cards), and then we went to Babies R Us!  It's an annoying place, but our trip was so wonderful because we completed everything off our "to buy for baby" list. We had a $100 store credit, plus our rewards points, plus a 15% off your order coupon, so we got A LOT of things for that $100:  a diaper genie, genie refills, 2 J&J bath and lotion sets, a baby laundry hamper, a car seat protector for the car, another pack of Dr. Browns bottles, bottle travel caps, a travel wipeum container, and a nice thing of baby powder. We spent only $12 of our own money!  :) 
Miss Anything? It's been sunny and warm these past few days, so running!  It's been so hard. I also miss being normal-sized. 
Movement: Lots of movement this week!  

Food cravings: Cheese and potatoes.  Skittles. 
Anything making you queasy or sick:  I didn't sleep well this week, so I spent about 3 days with constant nausea from being exhausted :(
Labor Signs: No, but I know he has dropped!  
Belly Button in or out? It's pretty much an outie now. 
Wedding rings on or off? Yep.  No finger, feet, or ankle swelling for me! 
Happy or Moody most of the time: I spent about 3 days in a constant panic attack. I've never felt that way before.  I talked with many close friends and coworkers who were able to help me lighten my work load at school, so I'm really feeling a big sigh of relief now.  Sunday and Monday of this past week were really rough though. I was so worried, and my biggest worry was how much time I was spending worrying!  What a vicious cycle! 
Weekly Wisdom: Wow, I feel like this week was a week for wisdom.  We picked up some great tips on feeding and making a schedule, diapers, swaddling, etc.  I do think the most helpful piece of advice was: "quit worrying about all these deadlines and projects at work- if someone was in a car accident or went away suddenly, the jobs would get done! So, when you have a baby, everyone whose here will make sure the jobs get done, and you will not be worrying about a thing"  After that, I put my school and work stresses behind me! 
Looking forward to: My due date!  After this past week, getting all my projects finished, maternity sub lined up, plans all in place, ahead on my lesson plans, grades completed, baby's room finished, car seat installed, all supplies bought- I am READY.  He can come any time he wants now :) 



Here is my favorite NEWBORN outfit we received from Aunt Laura and Uncle Dave!  I have lots of favorites, but most of them are all 3, 6, or 9 month old outfits.  This one is the tiniest, and I'm going to bring it to the hospital as his going home outfit.  There is a chance he may not fit into it though since it is so tiny!  :)

Big day-Surprise baby shower #3 and a finished basement!!!

Today was a BIG day!!!  After school we had a faculty meeting (on our Tiger pride T-shirt day-I'm so cool...) and I walked into the room and it was decorated for a baby shower!  :) 
I was caught completely off guard!  We still had our meeting, but first there was this yummy Servati's cake and a few gifts to open.  I never would have guessed the faculty would do this, and I am overwhelmed by their kindness.  

Diapers and Pins the Fun Begins!  :)
Cute cake!

A "Rock On" onesie from a teacher-friend who also happens to be the music teacher  :)

A super comfy snuggly suit for the cold






















These are really neat:  a personalized onesie, an "N" bib, and a monogrammed birth cloth.  What awesome ideas!  So creative! (I can't expect any less from a team of teachers though)

I was also excited to get my new Thirty-One diaper bag in the mail.  It's just the size I wanted and in my #3 choice of print (#1 and #2 were vetoed by hubby for being too "girly").  This print was the agreed upon choice so both mommy and daddy could carry the bag.  

  

And now....presenting.....
the BASEMENT with FLOORS INSTALLED!  

Our basement has been under construction and the floors have been concrete for 18 months....and now, it is a space we can actually live in!!!










Here is the top of the upstairs looking down- these stairs haven't had anything nice on them in FOREVER!  Now, carpet, and a vinyl landing :)







Here is the rest of the stairs going down into the basement.
Carpet on the stairs and vinyl at the bottom coming out of the garage.

Here is a look inside the bathroom/laundry/utility room.  This will get finished much later, but at least it has a floor!  

A look from the main living space in the basement.

35 Weeks (A Coconut) and Baby Shower #2!

35 weeks and Baby is the size of a coconut!  Rather than buying a coconut that we would ultimately throw away....we used the family heirloom we received last Christmas, an ugly decorated coconut!  :)  That was a fun pic to take!

Forgot to post a pic of this- Baby Boy's first OSU jersey.  Maybe next year he can wear it for another undefeated season (and hopefully this time a bowl game too!)


Last night Matt put up the letters Allison and Uwe brought us from Germany.  They look adorable hanging on his door.  Thanks guys!  :) 



I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of friends/college roommates.  The four of them threw me an adorable baby shower over the weekend!  There were friends from college, neighborhood friends, cross country friends, and Riverbend friends. Here are some pics of a few of the gifts (lots of cute clothes, but I put them all in the wash before getting a photo!)
 

My body may never be the same...

.... And that's ok, because for 9 months my body was your home :)