Busy next few days...

Michael and I have our schedules full the next few days.  I have to work today and Michael is going to work on getting the house all ready for the party this weekend.  Tonight we're headed to Topeka for a short visit.  We will hang out with Glenn and Linda tonight and tomorrow.  Then, tomorrow night we will go and watch Payden play t-ball and give him his birthday present.  After the game we will have to head back to Wichita because I work again on Friday.  Michael will go to the store and get all of the groceries and supplies we need for the party on Friday.  Then if we're feeling up to it, there is a get together at Uncle Ed and Cathy's Friday night to welcome baby Brooke to the world and introduce her to the family.  Saturday Michael and I will put finishing touches on the house, put balloons up on street signs and corners, and Saturday night we will welcome everyone into our beautiful new home to see the house we are so proud of, and to announce the sex of our baby!  What an exciting few days!  I must say, I'm glad we have decided to tell everyone what we're having, because keeping this secret is hard!!  I think I will be able to keep the name a secret though, because we aren't even set on that part.  We have had the first name picked out for a while now.  It was easy to decide, but the middle name is giving us some trouble.  So we're still on the lookout for that one.  Hope you will join us on Saturday!  Love you all!

Every Morning

Every morning I wake up, lay on my side in bed, and check my emailed while I'm forcing myself to stay awake.  I check my facebook and see what's been happening with people.  I read my baby blog and see if there is any new or useful information being posted.  I peruse the internet for any articles or stories that catch my eye.  And as I lay here my baby taps and kicks me, reminding me of the amazing blessing and the beautiful miracle I have growing inside of me.  Not only am I reminded of the baby's presense, but I am reminded that the baby is healthy and moving and squirmy.  I rub my belly and feel the little movements.  I talk to my belly and tell the baby good morning, ask the baby how well it slept.  It's a quiet bonding moment.  I love it.  I can't believe that I am so in love already with this strange thing growing inside of me.  This is going to be quite the adventure.  I can't wait.  Another tap reminds me that the baby prefers to eat very shortly after I wake up, or else I pay the consequences.  :P  So I had better be done for now.  Can't wait to introduce you all to our little miracle.  I can tell you already, it's going to be amazing!  :D  Only 129 more days to go!

This is the day that the Lord has made

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

:)

Happy Monday.

Michael's Job Situation

** Caution: This post is going to be long **

So, as most of you know, Michael had some job problems this last week.  Everything was resolved and figured out very quickly.  I am very thankful for that.  But for those of you who are looking for the whole story, here it is...

Wednesday was Michael's and my 3 year wedding anniversary.  We were very excited to celebrate and had big plans for our day.  Michael had to work on Wednesday, but I had the whole day off.  So the plan was for me to go have lunch with him at work, work on cleaning the house for our company this weekend, and then when he got home after 5 we would give our gifts and go out to dinner and a movie.  Well, I was getting ready to go over and see Michael when he texted me and told me not to come for lunch, because at work they were having a meeting over lunch.  I was disappointed, but went to see Mama and Dayton instead.  While I was over there, I got a call from Michael.  He said, "It's bad."  I asked him if he still had a job.  He said no.  :(  Obviously I began to cry and get upset.  I told him I would see him at home and hung up.

On my way back to the house I cried a little bit more thinking of the bills we have to pay, our mortgage, and what this meant for our lives, especially with a baby on the way.  My mind flashed to ruined credit and us having our house repossessed because we couldn't afford it anymore.  By the time I got home I convinced myself that we would survive.  Michael and I have learned a lot of financial survival techniques the last few years of our marriage.  We have also learned how to mentally and emotionally deal with those situation.  I decided that getting myself worked up wasn't going to help, it wasn't good for the baby, and it would only make Michael feel worse.  So I took some deep breaths and went out and laid in the hammock waiting for Michael to get home.  He got home and joined me in the hammock.  We made a plan about applying for unemployment and who all to talk to about following up on new jobs. 

For those of you who are not as close, Michael has not been happy with Dell for some time now.  They hired him for a project with Pioneer out of Iowa.  However, that project had fallen through a couple months after Michael began working there.  They allowed him to do training for a while until the upper management at Dell insisted he needed to be working on a project or not working (He was a contract worker and was paid an hourly rate, so if they didn't have work, they sent him home and he didn't get paid.).  That was when Michael went a week without work around the time we were closing on our house.  That's when my anxiety level with Dell increased significantly.  Suddenly I felt like this job that was such a God-send was not as stable as I had been led to believe.  However, the people in Michael's office liked him and wanted him to be able to work, so they scrambled together and got him on an AgCo project out of Minnesota.  This required Michael to spend 2 week stints in Minnesota.  As an emotional pregnant woman, I did not care for that arrangement at all!  But I was working 70+ hours/week and Michael was working and getting paid, so I tried not to complain too much.  Well, it happened again and the AgCo project fell through too.  This time, it was nearing the end of Michael's contract, and they didn't have any more work for him.  So they made a business decision, and Michael, being the engineer with the least experience (not the one hired last), was let go.

On his way home from work that day, Michael called a few of his engineering contacts at other companies, explaining the situation and asking if they had any leads on other jobs.  One of the people he called was my Uncle Ed, a senior mechanical engineer currently working for Aerospace Turbine Rotables.  Michael had interviewed with AeTR before he got the job with Dell, but since he was related, the company chose to sit on his application instead of pushing it through.  Well, after hearing what was going on, Uncle Ed went to his boss and pushed to have Michael hired.  After convincing his boss, the two of them went to the head person in the office and explained the situation and the relationship and asked if it would be ok to hire Michael. 

I got the call from Michael that he had lost his job at noon.  He got home and we talked.  We made a plan.  We prayed.  And we decided that God would not give us more than we could handle.  We decided that we would not fret, but turn things over to God and know that He had our best wishes in mind.  We were worried, but knew that we had many people praying for us, and that we would get through.  We decided to enjoy our unexpected afternoon together, and we took the puppies to the dogpark.  It's been months since we've been out there.  The girls had a very good time.  We planned to go out to our movie that evening to celebrate, but not get dinner, as we needed to cut back on our spending now that Michael was unemployed.  While we were out at the dogpark, Uncle Ed called Michael and told him that the AeTR would be extending him a formal offer the following day by email!!  We were absolutely elated!!!  Michael asked if it would be ok to come in the next day and meet people and see the place he would be working.  He also made plans with Uncle Ed to take him to the airport the next day.  Everything fell into place very quickly.  Praise the Lord for good timing, because He knows I don't do well with waiting.  ;)  By 4 o'clock that same day, Michael knew he had another job.

This was a stressful anniversary, but having everything figured out in only 4 hours was entirely a work of God.  We had to wait 11 months for Michael to find his first engineering job here in Wichita, but this one came quickly and without incident.  We are so extremely thankful for that.  What a huge blessing and relief!  God is so very good.  :)

That night Michael and I went out to see "What to Expect While You're Expecting" and we were able to get dinner with our movie as well.  It was nice to be able to celebrate without the stress of wondering how we were going to pay for the evening.  We had a wonderful anniversary together (after the drama settled down).  I got Michael a new Tungsten wedding band and he got me 2 Blake Shelton CD's and an hour long massage!  What a blessing that man is to me.  I am so thrilled to have spent the last 5.5 years of my life with him, and the last 3 years that we have been married have been the best years of my life.  He is absolutely amazing.  *sigh*  :)

Michael begins working at AeTR on June 4th.  He will no longer have to be going out of town for extended periods of time.  He will be a salaried engineer, which means his paychecks will look the same whether they are having a light or a heavy week of work.  He will get paid every 2 weeks, which means 2 months of the year we will have a 3rd paycheck.  He will have benefits and 401K options.  The job is stable and not something likely to change, which is good, because Michael can stay with them for several years and work on getting some practical experience, which will make him more marketable when he's looking for another job later.  They will reevaluate him and his salary after 90 days, at that point he could get a substancial (several thousand dollar) salary increase.  Then he would probably go to a yearly evaluation and raise schedule.  This job will be so great for him and our family.  I'm glad to know I won't have to worry about the stability of his job.

Michael will be reverse engineering at his new job.  That means, he will take a part from an airplane that has failed.  He will analyze the part and figure out what went wrong.  He will redesign the part to fix the area that failed.  His company will then go back to the manufacturers and sell the new and improved design.  Those newer, better parts that Michael designs will be manufacted and sold to the companies that build the planes and those new parts will be incorporated into the design of the plane.

Congratulations to those of you who are still with me after all of that!  Michael and I are very excited and blessed to have friends and family who love us so dearly and who care about what's going on in our lives.  Thank you to all of you who were praying for us when we didn't know what was going on or what was going to happen.  We appreciate it very much.  We love you all!  Thank you again for your love and support!!

Old Friends and Baby Kicks

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a while.  It's so very exciting to have Meredith, Kylee, and TJ in town!  :)

Meredith was in town for a wedding this weekend, but made sure she was able to come over, stay the night, see the house, and visit for a bit.  Since her and John live in Colorado Springs, it is a rare treat when we get to see her, as visits are rare because of the long drive.  It's so wonderful to see her again!  We probably won't see her again until Christmas or Thanksgiving.  Unless of course, Michael and I decide to make a trip to Colorado, which I would be all for...  Will just have to see how the finances hold out.  *fingers crossed*  Meredith is the one who really organized this weekend and made sure we found a way to see each other and visit.  I'm so very glad for that.  I needed a visit from these guys.  It renews my spirit.  :)

It's been over a year since I've seen Kylee.  Can't believe it.  The last time we saw each other and really got to hang out was when Michael and I were still living in Manhattan.  So much has changed in both of our lives since we saw each other last.  I must say that I'm excited to see her so happy with her new(ish, close to a year now) boyfriend Tim.  Kylee has very high standards when it comes to men and I know Tim makes her so happy and it's so refreshing to see.  I love her!  It has been so great catching up.  It's like the 3 of us are still living together in Royal Towers.  I love that about old friends, the ability to just pick up again as if no time has gone by.

TJ is, well...  TJ.  ;)  Always just a little bit special, but always keeping us laughing.  It's been so long since I've heard him making fun of Kylee for growling at someone or making fun of Meredith for being a spaz.  Truly, TJ is the spazzy one, but he keeps us laughing, so we keep him around.  ;)  Talking last night about stories from Manhattan, letting Virg out of his cage or bright orange puke in the bathtub, oh my goodness, I laughed until I cried.  It's nice having TJ around.  He makes sure the mood never gets too heavy.  ;)

Also, another pleasant surprise for my weekend, Michelle is in town!!!  She is only around for a short time between vacation and a family reunion, but she's making time to stop by and see the house, the bump, and to visit.  I can't wait!  Michelle lives in Denver, so I don't see her often either.  I'm starting to think a trip to Colorado is going to have to happen, there are just too many wonderful people out there to keep me away.  :)
***edit***
Looks like I won't be seeing Shell after all.  Things got busy with the family.  I understand things come up.  I'm sure we will see each other next time Shelly is in town.  :)

Finally, I know I keep posting the same things about the baby kicking and moving, but I am just in love with this baby and this feeling, so I'm going to post about it again.  :D  Yesterday Meredith was lucky enough to feel the baby kick a couple times.  All it took was a little Wild Cherry Pepsi.  ;)  Honestly, it wouldn't have taken much if it hadn't been so late in the night.  The baby has been kicking and moving basically all day now.  The rolling is a bit different feeling, but I'm starting to notice the differences in the movements.  I'm just elated that the baby is moving so consistantly!!!  It's such a relief to this stressed out and worrisome Mama.  :)  We're also at 21 weeks now, getting closer and closer to meeting our little one.  The time is going by very fast.  Can't wait for our little autumn baby to be here!  Life is changing fast.  I hope I can keep up.

Well, that's about all I have for now.  I will try to post later about Michael's job and everything that happened there, but for now I'm going to get up and make breakfast for my guests.  :)  Have a wonderful Saturday!!

Kick, Baby, Kick!!!

Still can't get over it!  This is just the coolest feeling in the entire world!  Those little bumps and taps give me a peace that everything is ok and that my healthy little baby is happily swimming around in there.  I think I will miss this feeling.  However, I'm sure having a perfect infant with Michael's eyes and my nose will make up for it.  But in the meantime, I love the way that baby feels in there.  Too stinkin' cool!  :D

3 Years...

On this day 3 years ago, I married my best friend in the entire world.  I thought that was going to be the best day of my life, but I was wrong.  Things just keep getting better, every single day.  The longer I'm married to Michael, the more I learn about him and the more I fall in love with him.  He makes me want to be a better person.  In the last 3 years I have begun my teaching career, Michael was at my side cheering me on.  While those first couple of years of teaching were rough, marriage was always so easy.  I knew I always had a partner and a friend on my side, loving me no matter what the ups and downs of my job held.  In the last 3 years Michael has graduated from college.  After dedicating so much of his time to that goal for 5 years, Michael graduated from the college of engineering at K-State!  That meant a lot of late nights studying, a lot of long hours on projects, and a little more time on campus than I would have liked at home, but we made it through.  While some of the classes and time away from each other may have been difficult, marriage was always easy.  I always knew at the end of the day, no matter how tired he was from studying or how early he needed to get up to get to class or begin studying again, that my amazing husband was coming to be with me each and every night.  So while some people say the marriage is hard when you're still in school, I think that only depends on you.  For us, marriage has never been a difficult task.  In the last 3 years I have had my gallbladder removed.  That was a physically painful experience and a financially rough time, but marriage was never difficult.  I had a caregiver who loved me more than anyone, who did his best to make sure I was safe and healthy and comfortable.  The money was never the issue, the importance always remained making me better.  Later, the money was a tough pill to swallow, we certainly learned what good insurance and bad insurance looked like.  But as always, we found a way to make it through, and our marriage strengthened because we were able to grow together in the tough times as well.  Money was hard, but marriage was easy.  In the last 3 years we have had 3 puppies and lost 1.  Definitely one of the saddest times in our marriage, but we clung together and were solid when the other one needed us.  When one of us was falling apart, the other one kept it together.  And 30 minutes later when the roles reversed, the other was able to find the strength to comfort.  Now we have 2 sweet and beautiful puppies who bring a little frustration, but mostly a whole lot of love and happiness to our lives.  We care for our girls together and love our happy little family.  Sometimes the dogs are frustrating, but marriage is always easy.  In the last 3 years we got pregnant.  We are now in the beautiful process of making a baby.  It absolutely blows my mind that there is a tiny person inside of me, who is the perfect blend of Michael and I.  And while our lives have changed somewhat since learning the news, that is nothing like the changes that will occur in October when our little one make it's appearance.  I know for some people, children put stress on a relationship.  Sharing the work and responsibilities can be daunting.  But if history has taught me anything, it's that Michael and I can make it through anything, and the worst trials bring is closer together and make our marriage stronger.  Now, having a baby is certainly not the worst trial, but I believe that the patience and perseverience required of each of us during this time will only bring us closer and make our marriage even stronger.  We have walked through the fire together and come our shining on the otherside.  Our marriage is amazing, it gets better every day.  I cannot wait to see what it looks like in another 3 years.  :)  I love you, Michael.  Happy Anniversary, my love.  :)

Amazing and Crazy!

I was thinking about it yesterday and was completely amazed at what is going on inside of my body.  It's so hard to believe that there is a teeny tiny person inside of me.  The baby is a combination of my amazing, intellegent, handsome, and loving husband and myself.  And the baby is growing and eating and gaining weight.  This baby is such an amazing blessing to Michael and I.  We are so excited to have this child and raise a brilliant, loving, patient, and kind young person.  I'm not naive enough to think that it's all going to be giggles and sunshine, but I am looking forward to the process.  Good times and bad, we have a strong foundation in God and a blissful marriage or love and respect.  With these things, I think the challenges of parenting will be made a little bit easier.  I'm still amazed at the body that God created to do such amazing things.  And while I am not the most patient person, I have enjoyed this time getting to know my body and the baby a little more before we meet him/her for the first time.  It's an exciting ride we're on.  I knew at New Years that 2012 was going to be a good year for us, but I had no idea just how amazing this year was going to turn out to be.  :)  Can't wait for October to get here, and for our little one to arrive!  Then the real fun begins!  Stay tuned!  Big things are happening!  :D

Baby Updates

Hey All!  I haven't updated the baby blog yet because you have to do it from the computer, and for the most part, I only use my phone.  So I thought I would at least update here on what's going on with our baby and how the last appointment and sonogram went.  :)

We began with our sonogram.  The baby's weight was 11 ounces, which is a good growing rate.  At this point (19 weeks, 4 days) the baby could range anywhere from 8.5 ounces to 10.7 ounces.  So our baby is really working on packing on the pounds!  Which is great!  Because I like fat little babies!  :D 

The baby's heartbeat was at 147 bpm.  Anywhere from 120-170 is healthy.  Our baby's heartbeat has been all over the place at our various appointments.  But, the heart seems to have settled a little.  The last appointment was 143 bpm, so at least we're finally getting a somewhat consistent heartbeat (for now).

The baby was very cooperative through all the pictures.  The ultrasound tech was great and she explained all the things we were seeing and what that meant about the baby.  I asked her if everything was measuring normal and correct and she tiptoed around the question, I understand, and said the doctor would go over it with us, but "unofficially" she wasn't seeing anything wrong.  There was only 1 picture the baby wouldn't cooperate with, the picture we needed of the 4 chamber heart.  I had to turn on my side and then roll back over trying to get the baby to roll over.  Finally, we managed to get the picture.  The baby was posing through all of the sonogram.  It was fun to watch.  The baby even swallowed while we were watching, so we got to see the mouth open and a little bit of the tongue.  It's amazing what's going on inside my body right now!!

Like I said, the baby was moving and cooperating well for the pictures, unfortunately, I wasn't feeling those movements.  I guess I can feel them, but they only feel like things getting tight in my uterus.  Those movements aren't as fun to feel as the ones where the baby is really kicking me.  Those are the movements I look forward to feeling more of!  :)  I felt a few last night at the movies, but Michael never felt any.  But I sure he will start feeling them soon.  :)  He's anxious to start.  But he's the same way I am, not counting the little movements and pokes.  He's waiting for feel the big movements and kicks that unmistakable that they are the baby.  The baby is getting more and more active every day, though, so hopefully soon Michael will begin feeling the kicks.

We were about to find out the sex of the baby while we were there at the ultrasound.  We are happy to report that we are having a healthy baby _______!  :)  I know, it's rotten for us to make you wait, huh?  Yeah, well, Michael and I are rotten that way.  :P  But if you'd like to be among the first to know, come to our housewarming party at 6:30pm on Saturday, June 2nd.  We will have food and drinks and hang out and show off the house, and then we will open the box and reveal the sex of our baby.  :)  If you would like to come, just rsvp on our baby website: http://JenMichaelBaby.ourbabychannel.com  We can't wait to see you there!!!!

After our sonogram we had our regular doctor appointment that we have once a month.  The doctor said my weight and size were good.  My blood pressure was good too, which is a little shocking after all the sodium I ate the last 6 weeks and all the stress, but I was glad to hear that everything was healthy.  There were only 2 very minor little things from the sonogram that the doctor wanted to talk to us about (actually only one, I brought up the other based on what the ultrasound tech had said).

One item was the placenta was close, but not covering my cervix.  This was the item I brought up and asked the doctor about.  The doctor explained that if the placenta was not a problem right now, it would probably not be a problem at the birth either.  But, just to make sure, we explained that we would have another ultrasound at 32 weeks just to check on the progress and see how things were going and where things were located.  Now, I don't have a medical degree, so I don't know what it means or why it would be bad to have the placenta near the cervix, but my doctor was not overly concerned.  And since I have an education degree and not a medical degree, I am going to go ahead and trust him and not stress about this.  One other thing I forgot to mention about the sonogram, the tech explained that my placenta was in the back, so I would feel plenty of movement from the baby!  Hoooray!

The only other thing the doctor wanted to discuss from the ultrasound was the size of one kidney, it was slightly bigger than the exceptable range.  My doctor explained that he thought the exceptable range should be widened because he sees a larger measurement in 1 out of 5 patients, and that it's usually nothing.  He continued to stress to me, not to worry, and that the amount it was off was only about the size of 2 fingernails, 1-2mm.  Again, he has the medical degree, I don't, I trust him.  So I'm not stressing.  But since we are having another ultrasound at 32 weeks anyway, we will check the size of the kidney as well to see if there are any other problems, or if it was just a measurement error since the baby is so tiny anyway.

That's about all I have to update you on.  Thank you for those of you who stuck it out through my long post.  :)  Our baby is healthy and that's always good news to hear.  Also, the baby is growing at the perfect rate again!  Everything was measuring between 19 and 20 weeks.  So our due date remains the same!  4 appointments in a row now, all saying the same thing...  The way the baby is growing, it will be born October 5th, 2012.  :)  Only 4.5 months left!  Can't wait!!!  Keep growing, Little Pumpkin!  :D

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mommies out there.  Have a wonderful day.  I hope someone takes the time to appreciate you today.  :)

Pokes

I have heard people describe the feeling of your baby moving inside of you as "flutters".  I think that's a stupid way to describe it, because who the heck knows what a flutter feels like?!?!  I have decided that the best way to describe is: it feels like being poked from the inside out.  :P  My 2 cents for the day.  ;)

Life is good. :)

There is nothing better than laying in bed with my hubby to cuddle with.  Nothing.  I am so glad he's home.  :)

Getting Closer!

The exciting dates I've been counting down are getting even closer!  Hooray!!

Wednesday was my last 12 hour day working both jobs.  Michael didn't realize how much work it was going to be, or how tired I would be, or how little he would get to see me.  He is insisting that I never work that kind of schedule and those kind of hours again.  Awww.  He loves me so much.  :)

Today Michael is coming home from Minnesota!!!!  It has been a long 2 weeks, but we have made it!  Can't wait to see him tonight when I get home!  And another bit of great news is that he gets to stay here in town for 3 weeks so that he will be here for our Housewarming party!  Can't believe we only have 3 weeks to get ready for it!  Yikes!  :P

Only 4 more days until we have our sonogram and see if our baby is a boy or a girl!  We can't wait!!!  I hope the next 4 days fly by quickly!  It's been 5 weeks since we've been to the doctor, so I'm anxious to hear that everything is progressing as it should, and to hear that little heartbeat again.  :)

Michael and I have a full weekend off together a week from tomorrow.  It will be nice to actually have some quality time.  I think a trip to the zoo may be in order.  ;)

Less than 2 weeks until our 3 year anniversary!  I cannot believe we've been married for so long!  The time has gone by very quickly!  It's also hard to believe that Michael and I have been in a relationship together for 5 and a half years now!  Wow!  That's 20% of my life!  What a joy it is being married to him.  :)  Can't wait for the next phase in our marriage as we bring a baby into the world.

Kylee and Meredith will be in town the weekend after our anniversary.  :).  Looking forward to seeing my friends and showing off our house and bump.  :).  Just wish I didn't have to work so much that weekend.  :(

As I mentioned before, the housewarming party is only 3 weeks away!  Can't wait to see you all there!  We are going to start the festivities at 6:30pm and when you leave is entirely up to you!  :D. Our address is:
1105 S Bracken Circle
Wichita, KS 67207

Well, I have spent far too much time on here, and need to get ready for work.  2 teaching days left!  It's almost over.  :)

Pregnancy Moments....

Not all of my pregnancy moments have been me not being able to think or talk correctly (although there has been a lot of those moments as well).  Some of my pregnancy moments have been discoveries and funny little thoughts.  Here are the highlights from the last week.

One day on my way to school I turned on 13th instead of 21st (a block early for those of you not in or from the Wichita area) because the car in front of me was turning, and apparently I was following him.  :P

After getting off of work at the jewelry store one night, instead of heading to the house, I drove towards the apartment.  I was over halfway there before I realized what I'd done.  Oops!  ;)

At school and the jewelry store I have begun to notice that bending at the waist is getting more difficult.  Normally I could bend right over and touch my toes, but lately I've noticed my belly blocking me and not allowing me to move the way I want.  It's also rather uncomfortable.  :P  I should probably stop doing that, lol!

This morning in the shower I was trying to come up with boy names.  We haven't talked about boy names in months and have been calling our baby a girl and have her name picked out and everything.  Well this morning, this little gem of a thought popped into my head, "If he has a penis, that will be about all he has, cause he sure won't have a name!"  Oh the things my brain comes up with.

I hope you've enjoyed my pregnancy funnies.  Tune in next week to giggle at some other silly pregnancy moments.  :D

Countdowns!!

2 more days of 12 hours shifts!!

4 more days until Michael comes home!!

5 more days left to teach!!

7 more days until we see our baby again and find out if we're having a boy or a girl!!

11 more days until I have a full 2 day weekend off to relax and spend time with my hubby!!

15 more days until our 3 year anniversary!!

It is going to be an exciting next couple of weeks!  I can't wait!

Sunday Rambles... Again....

Well, it's Sunday again and I don't have to be at work for another hour and a half.  I could get all ready and then spend some time cleaning up the house before work, but I think I'll blog instead.  ;)

Michael was gone all week this week.  And while I miss him, I didn't have much time at home anyway, so even if he'd been here, I would have been spending less than 2 hours of good quality time with him each day.  That just stinks.  But we are in the final stretch and all of the hard work and the lack of seeing each other is about the pay off.  :)  He has 1 more week in Minnesota, and then he will be home again!  When I get done teaching on Friday he will be here!  I can't wait!  I don't know how those of you in the military do it.  I admire you, and I certainly don't want your lifestyle!  It will be good to have him home again.

This is my last full week of subbing!  Wooooohooooo!!!!!!  If I can just survive 1 more week, things will be good and I will be in the clear!  I also have to teach the following Monday, but it will be my last day.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be, working both jobs.  But I am definitely tired and ready for a break.  After I get done subbing I will only have 30(ish) hours/week at the jewelry store.  That usually amounts to 4 shifts/week.  This is GREAT news because I will have PLENTY of time at home to let the puppies out and run around (something they've been missing very much the last 5 weeks), I'll be able to work on the house and get everything unpacked, settled, hung up, and cleaned in anticipation of our housewarming party, and best of all, I'll have some time to spend with my hubby!!!!  Life will be very good when I'm down to 30 hours/week.  I'm glad I could help Sis out, and I would probably do it again if she asked, but I'm glad it's almost over.

We are down to 9 days until we find out if we're having a boy or a girl!  What an exciting thing for Michael to come home to!  I know a lot of people want to know what we're having or want to know early, but I'm going to try to be good and not tell until the gender reveal at our housewarming party.  :P  We will see how good I do.  The name is still one thing I'm trying to keep hidden.  Because I think we're having a girl, we have discussed girl names and have a couple options picked out.  But we haven't talked about boy names since before we got pregnant.  So if we find out we're having a boy we'll have some serious work to do in finding a name.  :P  I'm also excited to have another appointment, hear that little heartbeat again, have another measurement to see how big she's gotten, and hear the doctor say that everything looks good any healthy.  The closer I get to each appointment, the more I worry that something may have gone wrong in the last month.  I just like being reassured once a month that everything is fine and that the baby and I are doing well.  :)

Mama and I went garage saleing yesterday to fill some of my time while Michael was gone.  We bought some new books (Judy Bloom and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, brand new!!  The teacher in me couldn't resist!!), a big Scarecrow decoration for the fall, and Michael's and my housewarming gift!!  A new table and chairs for our breakfast nook!!!  It's a glass topped table with oiled bronze metalwork on the table base and the chairs.  The fabric on the chair seats is a neutral beige.  It looks great in the breakfast nook!  Much better than the card table and chairs.  :P  One step closer to having the house ready to show off at our housewarming!  Can't wait!!!!

Michael's and my 3 year anniversary is coming up in less than 3 weeks.  :)  I can't believe it's gone by so fast!  Just 3 short years ago we were promising to love each other forever and get through everything.  We were on top of the world.  I thought that life could not get better than it was that day, but I was so wrong.  Each day has been better and better than the one before.  I'm still learning about Michael and who he is as a person.  He shows me and tells me each and every day just how much he cares for me.  I could not have asked for a better man.  I never would have guessed that life could be this good!  But with him at my side (or metaphorically at my side, realistically in Minnesota) life is even more amazing than ever.  While life has sometimes been hard for Michael and I, marriage has never been a struggle.  It is one of the nice things about my life.  I may have to struggle with other things, but marriage is EASY!!  And joyful.  :)  *sigh*  I love that dorky boy something fierce.  :)

I got an email from Sis yesterday and the free movies at Cinema Alfresco are beginning again very soon!!  It looks like a pretty good line-up this year!  Looking forward to a weekly double-date night with Sis and Adam.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...  On Thursday nights last summer, the 4 of us would go to Oeno (the wine bar in Old Town) for drinks and half priced appetizers in the evening, then go over to the Rock Island Studios (next to the Old Town Warren) and watch a free movie (not something new, but classics) hosted by the Tallgrass Film Festival!  They do it all summer long, and we are already making plans to go back this summer!  I can't wait!  If you live in or near Wichita, or you happen to be in town on a Thursday night and want some cheap entertainment, you should check it out!

Well, I should probably get ready for work now.  Thanks for reading, for those of you who managed to stick it out to the end.  ;)

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Filling Time

Since Michael left I have been working hard to fill all of my time so that I never have a minute to think about the fact that he's gone and that I miss him dearly.  On Monday there was an inservice day at school.  I worked half the day, then had lunch with Sis and went flower shopping with Mama, Sis, and Dayton for a good chunk of the day.  The rest of this week I worked both jobs, putting in four 12 hour days in a row.  My feet and body are achy to say the least (I'm hoping for a massage for our anniversary!).  ;)  Today I work another 8 hours, so Mama and I are going garage saleing this morning until I need to go to work at 1.  I think the toughest part about today will be the fact that usually Michael comes to work to be with me on my breaks, and today he won't be there.  That's a bummer.  :(  Tomorrow I wasn't supposed to work, but I traded shifts with Jil.  As much as I think my body needs a break, I'm convinced that my mind doesn't.  Just want to get through all of the days and my hubby get home!  So I'm working another 7 hours tomorrow.  This coming week is my last full week in 1st grade.  And while we have had our ups and downs the past 5 weeks, overall, I have enjoyed my time with them.  They are teaching me a lot about love and patience, which is very good very a baby on the way, as I am not usually a patient person at all (ask my hubby) and the love can be a little less than understanding sometimes.  Just a couple of my many flaws to work on.  So this week I work 12 hour days on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Then, on Thursday and Friday I only work at school, so I will have Thursday evening to myself and Friday evening with Michael (the Friday shift was what I traded to Jil, and I appreciate so much her being willing to take my hours Friday night so I could get some much needed quality time with my hubby).  I can't wait for him to be home!  When he gets here I will still have a couple of days and shifts to get through, so we might not see each other as much as we would like, but it will certainly beat him being in Minnesota!!!! 

We are down to 10 days until we find out if our baby is a boy or a girl!  I am so glad our doctor permitted us to move our appointment back an extra week so that Michael could be there for the revealing and for our final look at our little one while she's still baking.  :)  The next time we will see her (if I'm patient and don't INSIST we go get a 4D ultrasound, even though the pictures kind of freak me out a bit) is when she is making her big appearance.  :)  We will just have to wait and see.  I still can hardly believe we are almost halfway done with this pregnancy!  It seems like it has gone by so quick!  Yesterday we hit 18 weeks and she has grown to the size of a sweet potato (which can be quite large, but there is so much variation in sweet potato size, that I think it is a silly food to use as a comparison).  Only 22 more weeks to go.  I pray the summer is kind to me as I grow bigger and bigger.

I'm so pumped to go to Iowa at the end of the summer and see Michael's family!!  Tugfest is one of the things I look forward to as soon as we get home.  It's great time with family, lots of home cooked meals, a quaint small town, a carnival, bands, rides, and a huge tug-of-war.  :D  What else could you ask for in a vacation?!?!  It's still 3 months away, but getting closer all the time!  :D  Can't wait!!!!!!

Well, I think that's probably more than enough for one day.  Please continue to pray for me as I work myself silly anxiously awaiting the homecoming of my hubby.  :)

The Best Feeling!

Well, last night I finally felt the baby move!  It only took 17 weeks and 5 days, but I felt her!  After reading lots of baby articles, I began winding down for the night.  Before I want to sleep I decided to try using the home heart monitor again (even though this particular brand is crap and doesn't work worth a darn).  Well, I began listening, hearing little bumps and girgles.  Then, all of the sudden, I felt a little kick (or punch) right in the middle of my belly.  I was a little shocked.  I have probably been feeling her for a while, and not realizing it, but this was definitely her.  There's no mistaking that feeling for digestion!  :P  I am just over the moon excited to finally be feeling her movements.  I think feeling her move will give some reassurance between doctor's visits that everything is fine and she is doing great.  :)  LESS THAN 2 more weeks until we find out if she really is a she!  :P  Everything is moving fast now!  Can't wait for what the next 5 months bring!!!

Unmotivated or Exhausted

Haven't managed to make it out of bed yet this morning.  Sure, I got up and got dressed...  I took the puppies out and fed them breakfast...  But that's the end of it.  I haven't eaten breakfast (which for those of you who know what my morning nausea has been like, know that this is a bad idea).  I haven't packed my lunch.  I haven't done my hair (not that a pony tail is really all that difficult).  I'm just pooped.  I don't know if this morning is me just being lazy, or if the last 4 weeks of working so hard are finally taking their toll.  Who knows?  What I do know is that I need to leave in 20 minutes and I can't drag myself out of my bed.  Lord, help!  It's going to be a long day.