Sick day

I finally gave up. I stayed home from school today to try to get well. My doctor, who is the greatest, called me in a prescription for antibiotic this afternoon. I am feeling better already! ; )

Elijah and Mary went to a Chuck E Cheese birthday party this afternoon and the greatest part was that I didn't have to go. On Saturday Brian and I are heading down to Bloomington for a music festival that he and Dallas are going to play in. My mom is keeping the kids all day and even better... a friend asked today if we wanted free Feast of the Hunters Moon tickets for Saturday. So, my mom will take the kids while we are gone! We wanted them to go, but it is so expensive and you never know how long they will last.

So, you see. I cannot afford to be sick this weekend. I love you, amoxicillin!!

It must be Monday

I didn't think I was going to make it through the day. Why is that everything always happens at once? Today I was feeling so sick and really didn't want to go to work, but I just had too many things that needed to get done today to stay home. I took my class to see the Lafayette Frie Dept. Fire Safety show this morning at Jefferson High School and Elijah's preschool class was there too. I got to see him across the auditorium, but we didn't sit near each other. That was a weird thing to be at a function with my son, but not with him at all.

On another note. I have never really had contractions before and I am trying to figure out what they feel like (a.k.a Am I having them?). I am not a nervous person by nature, but I just realized the other day that I haven't prepared at all for labor since in my mind I am having a planned c-section. I figure since I gave up all hope of delivering a baby naturally, it would be the time my water breaks unexpectedly. Every doctor visit I have had has been totally uneventful this pregnancy--no questions, no problems... well tomorrow, let me tell you. It is going to be a different story. I feel like I am falling apart at the seams. Dr. Schafer is going to be getting an earful of symptoms.

I have 5 more weeks of work which sounds like no time and tons of time all at the same time!

Productive Saturday

I have to admit that I have not been feeling the greatest. I am starting to get nervous about finishing 7 more weeks of carrying this baby. Last night my mom took the kids overnight so we could have a night out (presumably to celebrate my 29th b-day which is Sunday). Guess what our plans entailed? Ordering Applebee's carryout and laying on our couches watching Freaks and Geeks. In case you are not familiar with that show, it was a one season tv show that aired in 1999 about high school kids. It has sort of a cult following and just came out on dvd. We were introduced to it by a teacher friend of Brian's who loaned us his box set. I lasted through about 2 episodes and then loaded up on icy hot patches for my back and legs and fell asleep.

So, I actually got good sleep last night and got up this morning ready to get some things done. Brian and I had a leisurely trip to the grocery store this morning. The laundry is almost caught up, the house is relatively clean, and I actually got to read a few chapters in my latest book and play with the kids--inside b/c it's about 90 degrees out there. I am not going outside. Thank goodness for central air.

I am enjoying the smells coming from the kitchen--Brian is making lasagna for me for my birthday dinner--fresh mozzarella and italian sausage included.

The new baby

I realized I haven't been blogging about my pregnancy very much. I guess by the third baby, well, you know...I am 31 weeks along now, and for any who don't know, I have a scheduled c-section on November 28th. It has been a fairly uneventful pregnancy so far. I've been feeling good, just kind of going about my usual business. The last few weeks have started getting tough on my back as my giant abdomen pulls the muscles forward. I've been a big fan of icy hot patches to get me through the evenings.

It's been fun seeing our new nephew to help get me geared up for having another baby. I am looking forward to really enjoying this baby's infancy because our kids are older. Mary's babyhood was a blur because Elijah was practically a baby still himself. So that's the scoop.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Visiting baby Jonathan

Introducing...

Jonathan Daniel Mills, our first nephew
Born via c-section after a rough 30+ hours of labor
6 lbs. 10 oz
20 in.

The waiting is the hardest part

My sister-in-law Megan went to the hospital to be induced this morning. Even though when I was induced with Elijah I didn't progress and ended up having a c-section, I was hoping Megan would speed right along. Unfortunately here it is 3:32 pm and she is only 1 cm more dialated than she was before she went in. Also, if I would have been working today the time would have passed faster...but, no. At 7:15 this morning when I was combing Mary's hair, what did I find? LICE!!!!! Oh, yes, head lice. So I proceeded to freak out, then dropped Elijah at preschool, took Mary to school with me while I scrambled up some sub plans and waited for a substitute to come. We bought the super-expensive RID kit and for the next 2 hours I proceeded to wash her hair, and pick nits out using this really fine toothed comb. The whole time she screamed and cried because the medicine was stinging her head which has scratches all over it (should have been a tip--she has been itching her head a lot lately). I also did my own head and Elijah's too, but haven't found any more bugs yet. Well, I better get back to the laundry!

Date night

I don't know how it has fallen by the wayside, we used to go out all the time, but nothing helps me get through the week like knowing that I am going out with my husband on a Friday night. I am trying to figure out what we are going to do. There is significantly more pressure when we don't go out as much. I can't wait to have dinner at a restaurant with no play equipment and maybe go for a walk in the cool night air.

Best Buy called yesterday

Can you believe they left a message on my machine that said that after careful inspection my camera's trouble is caused by corrosion and is not covered by the warranty. Hmm. I think that is interesting considering my camera worked fine until one day I took it to the beach and it probably got some sand in the moving parts of the lens. Why did I even bother with the warranty? So aggravating! Especially since my sister in law is going to have her baby any day now and I will not have a camera!!!

Still waiting on my camera

We had a nice visit with our family and had lots of "lasts" for the season. We took our last dinghy ride through the channel over to the beach, our last swim in the marina pool, our last time to play on the playground. It really is a fun place for our kids to go, how blessed we are to be able to go each year and have these memories.

Today it was back to work. I think it might have been the hardest day yet of the year. My students were noisy!! and not wanting to behave. It was frustrating for me and I am sure they saw a side of me that they haven't before...the mean teacher. The teacher who gets angry, shouts to get their attention, and doesn't put up with any garbage.

Mary is sick. It has been three weeks, what did I expect? She is congested, coughing and generally feeling bad. We've been trying to give her extra TLC and sleep. Hopefully she will bounce back soon.

It sure was nice having an extra day off. I cooked our meals for the week and got the house picked up, so I actually went to the gym after school today. Too bad every weekend cant' be a three day.

A fun weekend outlook

One more trip to the lake for the summer. My brother and his girlfriend are visiting from Florida, so we are heading up to my parents boat in the morning. My grandparents are coming for the day too, so it should be really fun. The weather looks good and Brian actually gets to ride with us in the van this time. (I think it might be the first time all summer.) I have got the swimsuits and sand toys packed. It's amazing to me how 3 hours away can seem like another world.

I am going to Best Buy today

to get my camera fixed. It is driving me crazy to not be taking pictures. Every time I look at my blog I see all the text with no pictures!!!

Everybody's Workin' for the weekend

I am going to need a break from my weekend before I can go back to work on Monday. It was a fun Pampered Chef party last night and then Megan's baby shower today. That was super fun. I am so excited for our kids to have their first cousin! She got a lot of great gifts for baby.

We did her shower in a Peter Rabbit theme. I thought it turned out so great! We had everything all done up like a garden with fresh veggies and stuffed bunnies as centerpieces. We made "seed packet" labels for the food, like "Mr. McGregor's Vegetable Patch" for the vegetable tray and "Stay out of the dirt" pudding. She requested children's books instead of a card (a great idea for anyone hosting or having a baby shower any time soon) and got so many great books--classic picture books, board books, funny books, and advice books. It was really a lot of fun.

Happy Birthday Elijah

I honestly can't believe it. Five years ago we said how much we loved being parents and couldn't imagine our little precious baby ever being, say...five years old!! I suppose the next time I wake up I will be at his high school graduation. What a fun five years it has been. I can't imagine my life without him. Happy Birthday Elijah Alexander (Jehovah is God, Protector of Men)!!!

our crazy new life

What a whirlwind last week was. Brian and I both went back to work; he at his new teaching job and me at my old teaching job. We crashed every night in our messy house, ate pizza for dinner like 3 nights last week and went to bed most nights at 9:30. It was kind of like slamming on the brakes of our summer life and leaving a big skid mark on the road.

On Saturday we finally got to reconnect and packed up the kiddos for Turkey Run State Park for hiking trails and a picnic. It was wonderful fun to spend time together. This week promises to be just as nuts with Elijah starting preschool tomorrow morning, leaving the house earlier than we're used to so I have time to drop everyone off, my kindergarten students start tomorrow morning, Elijah's birthday is Wednesday (snacks to make? ... no, buy. for daycare AND preschool), and then next weekend is my sister-in-law's baby shower of which I am helping to plan and make food for 35.

I am trying really hard to get organized and plan healthy meals for the week, find time to work out, and keep the house relatively clean. Brian has been amazing. He is so helpful with the kids, cooking meals, and helping clean. I know how tired he is--first year teaching is so draining!

The deal

Here's the deal with the bat. Our very first night at this vacation house, I was coming downstairs after putting the kids to bed. Everyone else was sitting outside. There is a light fixture over the kitchen table and I thought there was a moth circling in it (you know how the shadow sometimes looks bigger than the actual insect...) So as I come down the stairs I think, "oh no, that isn't a moth--it's a bird." So I kind of scurry outside and tell the group that there is a bird trapped in the house. Some of the men go inside and I hear them shouting, "It's a bat!" They spend the next five minutes chasing it around the house to catch and release it, and finally after several failed attempts, they knock it to the floor dead.

Later that night we went outside to look at the dead bat, but it wasn't there. So we assumed it was just stunned and flew away. The next morning I look on the floor of the house and there is the dead bat still attached to the butterfly net. It apparently was stuck and it wasn't outside on the ground after all. At that point we decided we should take pictures (Sam, Brian's animal loving cousin is the one holding it up) and stick it under the windshield wiper of my brother-in-law Everette who was still asleep at 10:00 that morning. After that, I don't know what ever became of the dead bat. It was never to be seen again.

Just a few more vacation shots

We're Home!

What a wonderful vacation with our family. It started last Friday morning when I loaded my children and our van while Brian frantically tried to finish his 50 page curriculum project for the class he took earlier this summer. He mistakenly thought he had until December to finish...oops, it has to be done now or Purdue wouldn't allow him to take this teaching job as his student teaching. He drove up later after he finished the project.

Okay, back to vacation. So. I drove me and my kids to Holland, MI where we rented this huge house with Brian's family including his aunt, uncle and 11 year old cousin. The house is next to the marina where my parents keep their sailboat. So, other than my brother, we had all of our family with us. We spent the whole week on the beach, or fishing, or in the pool, or sailing, or shopping, or just relaxing. The house is a short walk from the beach and marina pool, but we had this great dock right outside the back door. The kids loved to fish there. We loved sitting there at night watching the stars and drinking wine. (Well, not Megan and me. We were drinking prego drinks.)

We also celebrated both Mary and Elijah's birthdays. Whew, what a lot of gifts they got this year! The highlights are (Mary): a doctor kit, one of those heads that is for brushing hair and doing makeup (She says upon receiving it, "I needed one of these!"), and lots of Dora things. (Elijah): a Spiderman web shooter, remote control truck, transformer, and soccer net.

We did have a bit of rain this year for the first time in 3 years of doing this, but it was never an all day rain and we did kind of enjoy just staying in the house and drinking coffee. Oh, and we went to see the Bourne Ultimatum which was fantastic. I am quite sure I never would have gone to sit in a movie theater on vacation if it weren't raining. Thanks to all of our family who helped make this year another successful vacation!

Exciting news!

Brian got a job today! He was supposed to student teach this semester, but Purdue told him that since he already has a bachelor's degree in this field that he could take a teaching job that would substitute for his student teaching. So, he interviewed today at Seeger High School and they offered him the job as the Consumer and Family Science teacher. So, not only will he not have to student teach, since he will be making money and not taking out (more) student loans this year I will most likely get to stay home with the baby for the rest of the school year after my maternity leave. Yay! I will have from December-next August home with my baby.

pictures to add

Here are a couple of
pictures of our backyard
camping from a few weeks
ago. Mary and Elijah eat
s'mores.



Brian successfully makes
Jiffy Pop over the fire.
I was impressed.