Striping (not stripping)

Last weekend, I was begging Luke for a "project." He has been busy planning and making a baby bassinet. We have already painted the baby's room, and without knowing the sex, I can't do too much else creative. I am wanting to do some art for the walls, but I don't know what yet. So...I started Googling nurseries and I found a lot of pictures of stripes.

I decided stripes would be my project. Luke agreed, and we went to Lowe's last Saturday and picked out three colors of paint. I loved the names. Gingerbread (an orange color), Harvest Earth, and (my favorite!) December Starlight. We already had the green background, so that makes four gender neutral colors that fit well with both of the nursery bedding sets we have.

I began taping the stripes around 10 a.m. It wasn't until after midnight when we finally could call it quits, and we still one more color to paint! It was a long and tedious job. I wanted to be really exact with the stripes...I didn't want crooked lines or sloppy paint, so I was really careful. I enjoyed doing something so time-consuming for the baby, though.

The next morning, I painted the brown color...and then waited for it to dry. We literally held our breath for 10 minutes while we peeled off the tape. I was scared that it would look awful and we would have to redo the whole thing!

But, to our surprise, it looks AMAZING! The pictures don't even do it justice. I just love it. It is modern and fun and not too crazy but definitely unique. I am very excited to get it all put together with artwork, accessories, and other fun items.

Take a look!

Taping the stripes for the first color

December Starlight

Adding the Gingerbread (we put sparkle dust in the orange, so it looks extra special)

Harvest Earth

Finished product!

19 Weeks (a little late)

I am almost 20 weeks now, but I haven't had time due to my rigorous sleep schedule to post anything about the 19 week achievement of our baby. I usually fall asleep in the 8 o'clock hour now, which is depressing and fun all at the same time! My only real, true pregnancy symptom has been FATIGUE! I am so tired all of the time, it is INSANE! I can be awake and talking one minute, and then asleep the next! Oh well, I have been advised by other new moms to sleep now while I can!

This has been a fun week because I have felt the baby move a few times. Especially after our ultrasound, I started feeling it more and more. It feels like it is tap dancing in there. I think I have felt it once at least every day since Tuesday this week. I look forward to next week when I think I will feel it even more!

I had a great dinner with my high school friends this week at Cheesecake Factory. Two of them are mommies now, and it is fun to hear advice and stories from them. I have been friends with these girls since elementary/middle/high school, so it is fun to now have an adult friendship (who are we kidding...we laughed and joked and said inappropriate things just like kids)!

Perfection!

Luke and I had our "big" ultrasound today. I had a lot of reservations and anxiety going into this appointment. Of course I was so excited to see our baby, even though we decided not to know the sex until the baby is born. I just couldn't wait to see the baby as a real baby, instead of as an ambiguous blob like the two other ultrasounds before. However, I was plagued with nerves because I was afraid that we would see something we weren't prepared to see-- a missing limb, an underdeveloped heart or brain, a siamese twin!? These "irrational" fears kept me awake from 1:19 a.m. to 4:14 a.m. this morning, which isn't good on my already sleep-deprived body. Oh well. Thankfully, I had a field trip today to keep my mind occupied before this highly-anticipated event took place.

Our technician was great. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she was so reassuring the entire time that our baby was healthy and right where he/she needed to be. The baby measured right at 19 weeks, 2 days, which is what I thought I was. The heartbeat was 143 beats per minute, which was strong and loud.

The best part was seeing this baby move like CRAZY. It did flips. It did flops. It turned its back to us. It put its tiny butt up in the air. It played with its foot. It covered its eyes. It yawned. It was so adorable.

One notable feature on this baby was the length of its limbs. The legs seemed abnormally long for a fetus, and the hands/feet/fingers seemed really long as well. The technician even said that the baby has "daddy's hands."

Luke and I both have a hunch on what sex this baby is. We can't wait to find out if we are right. March will be here so quickly, and I know that we need to take our time and savor these beautiful moments. We feel like super heroes today, and we are so thankful our prayers for a healthy baby have been heard. We will keep praying, as we know that this little one has 20 more weeks to grow and develop, and it most certainly can't stop now!

Profile, baby's leg up

Another profile

Front of the face-- kind of scary!

Another profile shot

Just the lower leg and foot

Video of the baby wiggling around a little

Video of the baby yawning. It might be easier to keep it on pause and just drag the bar left to right slowly to see the yawn.

What a GOOD Day!

Today has been stellar! I woke up early on my fall break (my 1 day off- blah) to catch up on my DVR. Love DVR. I LOVE IT! Ate breakfast, got ready, then went to my doctor appointment. Even though the doctor was 30 minutes behind, I had a great appointment. Hearing the heartbeat never gets old! Today it was in the 150s-160s.

I went to Castleton and did some shopping. :-) I went to my hair appointment only to find out my stylist is pregnant and due one day before me! So weird and fun! We talked the whole time about pregnancy and babies. I can't wait to go back for my next appointment and hear about her progress.

Now I am back at the house and ready to go on a cleaning spree to surprise Luke when he gets home. I also want to plan a great dinner for tonight. I am feeling very domestic-- I should go with this feeling!

Let's talk about all the things I am loving right now.

1. Fruit snacks, gummy bears, gummy fish, gummy dinosaurs, fruit juice...anything fruity. I even like real fruit, too.

2. DVR. If you don't have it, you don't know what you are missing and how it can change your life!

3. Any jewelry with rhinestone bows. In the past week, I have bought a sparkly bow pin for my coat or sweaters, sparkly bow earrings, and a sparkly bow necklace. I am loving bows!

4. Maybelline Lash Stiletto mascara. Try it. You won't regret it!

5. Fall scents at Bath & Body Works.

I hope you have a list of things you are loving, too!

Flu Season Strikes Room 118!

Just wanted to report that yesterday, I had 9 students absent out of my 19 kids, and today I had 8 students absent. Crazy! This flu business is serious, apparently! I totally sanitized my classroom yesterday (the best I could), and I am trying my hardest not to catch what they are passing around. It is just so hard to stay healthy around germy kids!

My fall break is on Friday after my parent-teacher conferences on Thursday. I am pumped! I need a day off like nobody's business! I am also excited because I have a doctor's appointment on Friday. My ultrasound won't be until Tuesday, though. I can't WAIT!

I did this pregnancy exercise DVD tonight. It was REALLY hard. I thought it would be easy because it was for pregnant women with big bellies, but it made me sweat. We'll see how often I break that bad boy out and do it. At least for tonight, I feel accomplished.

Return of the Blogger

I do apologize to any loyal readers for my lack of posting here lately. And by loyal readers, I mean my parents... :-) My typical phrase is "things have been crazy!"

I am gearing up for a three day teaching week that will end with a day of parent-teacher conferences and a 1-day fall break for me. I am very much looking forward to my day off. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, a hair appointment in the afternoon, and that is just about it! My weekend is wide open, and I am thrilled!

Luke and I had a really great weekend here recently. We spent Friday night with his mom, his mom's cousin Barry from California, and Abe & E. We ate at Five Guys, which totally lived up to the hype. I kind of wanted it again the next day for lunch. It was a pregnant lady's dream...burgers...and fries...yum. We had Coldstone after, and then came back to the house to watch some Brian Regan clips on youtube.

Saturday morning was Luke's big marathon! He successfully completed 26.2 miles on a chilly October morning. It was thrilling to watch him run and cross that finish line. I was so proud of him. He made it through with only a little pain in his knees. He is currently walking like an 85 year old man, but he should snap out of that soon. We had a great cheering section for him (thanks to Lisa, Barry, Abe, E, and my dad) complete with signs. What an accomplishment! He finished with an official time of 3 hours, 50 minutes, and 54 seconds, which was just under a 9 min. mile pace for 26.2 miles.

The rest of that day, we spent being lazy bums around the house. We had some delicious wings from Applebee's (baby craved them), and then we hung out with Chris & Megan and watched a movie. We really love having friends just 3 minutes down the road from us!

Sunday (today) has been marvelous. We got up, made biscuits and gravy, went to church, and ran about 1000 errands. I even did some "me" shopping, which is always fun and rare and full of guilt...but I decided I deserved it.

Dinner is about to be served...but I just wanted to briefly update and say that I am 18 weeks pregnant today! We go for our ultrasound in just over one week. I am DYING to see this baby-- and yes, we are still holding true to our word that we are not finding out the sex ahead of time. We are going to keep on guessing until March! :-)

Weekend Getaway

In August, Luke and I decided that we would need a little mini vacation this fall. With the excitement and nervousness of the baby coming, me starting back at school, and Luke well into his third year of med school (but, hello....I do see a light, a very faint one, at the end of the long tunnel!), we knew that we would need some time alone to decompress.

We made reservations at the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick. It is very beautiful and has some awesome history. We arrived early Saturday afternoon, after we spent Friday night in Muncie at a Brian Regan show with all of Luke's family. He was super hilarious, and it really struck me that laughter is so therapeutic. I needed it really bad! I laughed so hard that my sides hurt, and I thought I might make myself go into labor.

Anyway -- we walked around West Baden in awe for a few hours, and then we went to dinner at their hotel restaurant, Sinclair's. WOW! It was great. Luke raved that it was the best salmon he had ever had. We got dessert, but we were too full to enjoy it at dinner so we took it back to our room for later.

After dinner, we tried our luck at the casino. I had never been before, and Luke had only been once. He was showing me the ropes of the slots, and at first we weren't winning anything and I didn't think it was that fun. THEN we won $40! I then got hooked, and we played some more until we won $50 more! We quit when we profited $60. We thought we were pretty smart for walking away with cash in our pockets.

We enjoyed our dessert back at the hotel while listening to a jazz musician. It was a great atmosphere, and we had a really special time.

Sunday morning, we got up, ate at an incredible breakfast buffet in the hotel, and then we went to our massage appointments! It was a couple massage, and we really enjoyed it! This was a full-on spa, complete with white robes and "tranquility rooms." It was a great experience, and we felt like movie stars by the end of it.

After our massages, we decided to head back to Indy. We had a beautiful drive home...watching the fall colors and discussing baby names the whole way home.

It was so wonderful to spend that quality time with Luke. He's the best (that's why I married him!).

Oh yeah, and I celebrated 17 weeks of pregnancy over the weekend, too!

16 Weeks

Well, on Sunday, I celebrated being 16 weeks pregnant. I would like to say the time is flying, but I sure don't think it is! I think not knowing the sex, and not finding out the sex, is making it seem longer. We have so much anticipation, guessing if our baby will be a boy or a girl. It's crazy how a baby who isn't even born yet can occupy so much of your thoughts.

I bought a baby name book, and I am focusing on boy names. I think I know my girl name, but as for boys, I am lost. I have made it through A, B, and C of the boys, and found 3 names I liked, two of which Luke poo-pooed, and the third is just OK. Hopefully the other 23 letters of the alphabet bring some good material.

Over the weekend, I also attended Ball State's homecoming. This was my third one after graduating in 2007. I was so happy to be there, despite the fact that I was pregnant and unable to partake in any adult beverages like my friends. I didn't miss it that much. However, when I left, I just felt so sad. I miss my college years dearly. It's not that I want to change my life now-- I just miss all the good times I had. If I could recreate my top 5 favorite moments, I think I would recreate these:

1. Getting engaged at IU

2. "That one night at the bars" that will live in infamy (and my friends know which night this was)

3. The time that Abel & Luke went to Italy, and Elizabeth and I hung out for like 2 solid weeks and ate McDonald's about 10 times.

4. AOII Rose Ball Senior Year

5. The day my roommates and I played in the rain.

I am SURE I could go on forever. How can you pick just 5 moments from 4 solid years? I don't know. I just miss it. I haven't missed it for a while, but homecoming brought it out of me.

Oh well-- here's to celebrating the old memories and creating new ones.

Not loving this picture of me, but Luke is cute

Laura, Jenn, me, Jess, and Allison

Jenn, Laura, me, Allison (Laura-- is that a Colts scarf???)