aaacchhhooo.....

I have felt like more of a drama queen the last 14 weeks--- then the first 31 years of my life combined! I feel like everyday is a new adventure in the world of pregnancy and health. I am truly turning into one of those people that you don't ask "so, how are you doing?"... because you don't have the time for my answer.

Let's just say getting pregnant when you're already chubby is quite a challenge. No wonder people usually get pregnant in their early twenties when they're still in shape! How come no one tells us these things? I spent all of this time worrying about the right maturity level... the right relationship... the perfect time to start a family... never once did I think of the perfect 'starting' waistline. Instead, I wait until the chubbiest point of my life and then decide-- what the hell, might as well embark on a journey to gain more weight. So now, all of my fat pants don't even fit. And the baby has pushed the pot belly up and over the top of my pant line. Instead of a cute, hard ball of baby beginning to emerge... it is a cute hard ball of baby hiding beneath a thick layer of ten years of drinking and eating bar food! And we won't even talk about what the baby has done to my chest size, because I know that my dad reads this...

As if the struggle with clothes and the bulging belly were not enough, now I have a cold. Three of my students were very sick on Thursday. One stayed home from school, while the other two brought their fever and vomit to school. Go figure, on Friday morning I woke up wishing school had burnt down so I wouldn't have to go. My head is stuffed, my eyes are watering, and throat hurts. I'm warning you again... don't ask me how I'm doing... just smile and say... "you look great!"

My emotions have been pretty stable so far, at least from my point of view :) I've only had one major break down, and that was a few weeks ago. I have class until 8:30 on Thursday nights, which is also the night of my favorite TV show, "Grey's Anatomy". We have DVR (that recording thing on your TV) that lets me set up to record my favorite show when I'm not going to be home. Well, on this unfortunate night, the 'set up' did not work. So... there I was... calling Jason on my way home from school at about 8:45 to make sure the recording was working... he was trying to corner a mouse that was trying to get into the basement... so he was distracted and not really paying attention to my weepy, tired, cranky, just-want-to-know-if-my-show-is-recording-self. So, I pretty much hung up on him... because he wasn't paying enough attention to my bratty self. Then, I arrived home at about 9pm (already weepy because I was so tired) only to find that my show did not record. That, of course, sent me into a hysterical bawling fit... in which I just went to bed sobbing until I fell asleep... with poor Jason trying to console me... (beating himself up for not checking to see if my show was recording). Otherwise, I have had pretty good control of my emotions-- except, of course, for a few sappy country songs here and there-- and I don't even listen to country music.

School is at the peak of crazy these days. This coming week is our 1st quarter conferences. We changed our report card style from a grading system with checks and pluses and proficiency kind of stuff.... to a narrative... a 2 page (legal size) narrative to be exact... for every child! I worked on the first one for three hours today and I'm still not done! Of course, the first ones are always the hardest... there will be quite a bit of cutting and pasting on the other eighteen... and they are due on Monday, so 3 hours a piece just isn't going to cut it tonight and tomorrow!

We are actually going to be social tonight! We are meeting a few friends for dinner at a funky place called, Cafe Lulu's. It's in the Bayview neighborhood near Milwaukee. They have great sandwiches and soups and water... and I've convinced the group to meet at 6pm so I'll still be fun... because lord knows I'm not worth much of anything past 8:30! And to think I used to be one of those crazy rascals who could drink and dance until the liquor was gone--- (or my teeth and lips were stained red from the wine)--- back when I was young and foolish (4 months ago) :)

Surprise!

I bet you've been thinking that I've given up on this blog completely---- well, think again! I'm back! There is no particular reason why I haven't written in 3+ months, because there has been plenty happening in Brockville.

First of all, we moved. We are now living in Waukesha. Mom bought a house here (that was a duplex at one time) and we moved in with her to save money to buy our own house--- and so far, so good. Our only problem is that Waukesha is not Brady Street. We keep waiting for that moment that we think, this isn't so bad... Brady Street isn't that great... but it hasn't happened yet.

Secondly, I am teaching a 2nd and 3rd grade split class this year... and I love them! It was a little crazy at first... I had to move my classroom the weekend before school started... but I love it! There is a HUGE difference between teaching 'upstairs' at our school with all of the 'big' kids and 'downstairs' in our school with all of the 'smaller' kids! These kids love to sing and be silly and learn--- that's right--- they actually LOVE to learn at this age! And behavior--- it's not even an issue compared to some of the disasters of the previous years. I can actually just give the kids 'the teacher's eye' and they're back to perfect!

Thirdly, I'm in school again. That's right, I can't get enough! About half way through my last program at Stritch, I started to realize that grad school wasn't quite like undergrad. I was thinking that once you had a 'Masters' that you could just add on some additional classes for additional certifications (like Director of Instruction or Administrator...etc). However, that is not the case. But... I was too far along in that program to change. So... I am in the Masters program for Educational Leadership at Stritch now. It is an 18month program (just like before). I will graduate from this program in May of 2008 with a second Masters-- with the hopes of moving into an Administrative role someday soon.

And now--- saving the best for last--- we're also pregnant again! Today marks 12 and a half weeks-- which is supposed to be the end of the 1st trimester. And so far, so good. We had an ultrasound at week 9 and we saw the baby and the heartbeat! It just looks like a little bean with a huge head! Then the following week, I went into my doctor's office and got to HEAR the heartbeat. She put this little doppler/ microphone on my belly and then the whole room could hear it! I couldn't believe you could hear it so loud and clear for a baby so tiny! My next appointment is in about a week and a half-- week 14. I wish we could go every week to hear the heartbeat and have the reassurance that everything is still going great. The due date is set for mid May-- the 16th or 17th--

so, keep baby brock in your prayers or meditations or thoughts or keep your fingers crossed that he stays strong and keeps growing-- and that we can all meet him in May (because I think it's a boy)--