Missing it?!

I have a confession to make. I think I am starting to miss teaching.... but just a little! Up until this point, I have been so enjoying my freedom to do what I want when I want that I haven't felt even the least bit sad about not teaching this year. I keep reminding myself about the report cards, lesson plans, meetings, early mornings, late nights, papers to grade, patterns to cut out, etc... and that has kept me from feeling any sadness about it. Teaching is SUCH a hard job!! There are so many people to please at once.. you want your kids to be happy and learning, you want your principal to be happy with what you are doing, and you want your parents to be happy with how you are teaching their children. It's exhausting.
Last night I was looking through some pictures and I stumbled across pics from Polar Express Day with my kiddos last year. We all wore our PJ's to school and drank hot chocolate and rode on our imaginary polar express while reading the book. How fun was that?! I started to think about teaching and realized how much I miss having my own classroom full of eager little bodies, ready to soak up all you have to offer. I miss the hugs and the smiles and the pictures they drew me and watching the amazing transformation a child goes through in just nine months. When I was in second grade I decided I wanted to be a teacher and I never once changed my mind. It was my dream to have my very own classroom full of children. Despite my many complaints, I so enjoyed my four years of teaching and right now I'm really missing it.
One of my super-fantastic parents from my last year of teaching had my kids fill out these little cards at the end of the year saying their favorite thing about first grade and their favorite thing about Mrs. Schumacher. I found that last night, too, and was cracking up at some of their adorable comments. My favorite was, "My favorite thing about Mrs. Schumacher is that she always knows what to do." Oh, the sweet innocence of a first grader.
Wow, I didn't realize I would miss it this much, but as I sit here, I'm reminiscing about all the kids I was blessed to teach over the last four years and I'm getting teary-eyed... pregnancy hormones? Maybe. Enjoying the memories and feeling sad that for now that part of my life is on hold or maybe over?? Definitely.

99 Balloons

I saw this story on Oprah about a little baby born with Trisomy 18. This video is a tribute to his life. I'll say no more... just watch, but beware: you WILL cry!

32 weeks and false contractions

Last night I had my first experience with those darn Braxton Hicks (AKA false) contractions. Each week I get an email from a baby website telling me that this week I should be experiencing certain things while my baby is now a certain size. For the past several weeks, the emails have mentioned that by now I've been experiencing false contractions. Well.. until last night, I kept reading it and thinking, "No I haven't!" Justin and I went shopping last night and every so often I would feel this pain and pressure in my lower abdomen. They would stop as soon as I stopped walking or sat down. I talked to my doctor about it at my appointment today and she said not to worry - these were false contractions. My, oh my, we are getting closer everyday!
Today I went in for my first non-stress test. They sat me in this nice recliner and hooked me up to the monitors while I watched The View. I talked to my doctor after the test and she said the results were "gorgeous". Apparently they look for two rises in the baby's heart rate in 20 minutes and Baby Shoe did great! My doctor also said that she talked to some other high risk OBs after my ultrasound showed the abdominal cyst last week. She said not to worry.. that this cyst is an indication of nothing. That's great news! We are still praying that it will disappear before birth, though.
8 weeks and counting.... Before you know it, these blogs will be much more interesting and filled with pics and antics of Baby Shoe!

Saturday morning

Fall + Family-style breakfast in Amana = Good times!!

31 week update

Yesterday we had a follow up ultrasound to the one we had at 18 weeks. The main reason for the ultrasound was the check the cysts on baby's brain and make sure they were gone. Good news -- they were! We were very relieved to learn that they had completely disappeared. Praise God! Baby Shoe was sleeping when we first started the ultrasound, but after awhile, she woke up. She greeted us with a nice, big yawn! It was adorable. She was sucking and sticking her tongue out. She put her hands in her mouth at one point.. it was so cute! Look at her precious little profile....

They said her growth is great.. she already weighs 4 pounds, 1 ounce and is in the 64% percentile. We thought we were going to be able to leave with a great report, but then they found another cyst.. this time in her abdomen. It's about the same size as her stomach and they called it a 'simple cyst.' Although they aren't certain what it is, they said it could be an ovarian cyst. The high risk doctor that came in to talk to us said these aren't all that uncommon in female babies. We now have to be monitored more closely. Even though I'm only 31 weeks and weekly appointments don't normally start until 36 weeks, I'll be going in weekly to be hooked up to the fetal monitor. They want to make sure baby is doing well because if she shows any signs of distress, this could mean the cyst is growing or has turned. I'll also have another ultrasound in 4 weeks. If the cyst isn't gone by birth, they'll likely have to do some testing on the baby right after she's born and monitor her closely. There is even a possibility that they'll have to do some type of procedure or operation. Please pray that this cyst disappears so she doesn't have to go through all of that. We keep praying and hoping for a good report and it's disheartening to keep being thrown one thing after another. Just like last time, though, we are totally trusting the Lord and we know He can heal this little cyst. Thanks for praying with us.

31 down.. 9 to go

31 weeks and counting...

Pumpkin Carving!

Here's our proud Iowa pumpkin!

Go IOWA!!!

Oh what a night!

Well we sure had an exciting night. It was our first trip to labor and delivery! I'm happy to report that everything is fine and Baby Shoe is still safely in my womb! :) Here's the story... Tuesday night I started having some abdominal pain.. it felt kind of like gas pains but I wasn't sure. I didn't sleep at all Tuesday night because the pain continued to get worse. Every time I moved, it hurt. I was hoping it would start to feel better on Wednesday, but it hurt the entire day. Every time I sat down, got up, changed positions, did ANYTHING, it hurt so bad! I called and talked to my doctor's nurse and she asked me all kinds of questions and started to worry me that these could possibly be contractions. I didn't think they were, since there really wasn't any starting or ending point to the pain... it was constant. She called in a prescription for some medication if it was in fact gas/bloating pain. Justin picked it up for me on the way home from work and I finally took it around 5 pm. The nurse said to come in or call if the pain didn't go away or if it got worse. Well, around 7:00, I was still in major pain and my concerned sister called to ask me if I was feeling better. She convinced me that I needed to call the doctor again and be seen. I called the after hours number and was transferred to labor and delivery. They were baffled by what this could be and told me to come in. So.. we made our way to the labor and delivery area and they hooked me up to all kinds of monitors. Baby was active and moving and her heart rate was good, so that was definitely a good sign. I proceeded to have every kind of test possible done over the next 5 hours. They drew blood, collected urine, did two exams, did an ultrasound, checked my appendix, liver, gall bladder, etc... only to find that everything looked good! They finally sent us home around 12:30 AM with instructions to call back if the pain gets worse. I am still having some pain today but I think it may be getting a little better. I'm glad my sis insisted that I go in because I had started to really worry last night after doing some research online. It's so hard to know if you should go in or not, but I'm glad I did. My hubby was a trooper and sat through it all patiently, even though he had some reports to work on at home and had to get up for work this morning.
The exciting part was seeing the labor and delivery area and seeing our little girl on ultrasound again! :) They did the ultrasound to check my placenta but they let us see the baby, too. I had them double check to make sure it was a girl, since they were already doing the ultrasound. They said it was! :)
Justin said he's starting to get a little worried about what he'll be like when we actually do have to go to the hospital for the delivery. When we were leaving last night, he couldn't find his keys, forgot to lock the door and turn off lights, and said he was getting nervous! Hopefully we won't have another adventure like that until the real thing.

More gifts for Baby Shoe!

Our new stroller and infant car seat (thanks to my parents) that we ordered online came yesterday. We were so excited to put it together and try it out. I know Baby Shoe will love riding in it! :) We did so much research on strollers and car seats.. there's endless information out there.. and lots of people with different opinions. We are very happy with our choice! Thanks, JimRho!
Last night was also our very first childbirth class. It was fun meeting so many other couples who are due around the same time as us. Last night we learned all about the signs of labor, preparing for the PAIN, relaxation and breathing techniques, and I even won a coupon for a free 15 minute massage from my hubby! Justin was thrilled about that! :) We have three more classes and I'm most excited about touring the labor and delivery area of the hospital. It was completely re-done a couple of years ago and I've heard it's lovely!

Other than that, we're just counting down the days until she gets here. Only 10 weeks left.. yikes! This will definitely be the best Christmas of my life!!

Up North

We had an awesome fall weekend in Wisconsin! Our extended family has owned a cabin in Three Lakes, WI for 41 years. My grandparents bought it in 1967 and then 20 years later, my aunt and uncle bought it from them. I have countless memories of family vacations there and it was so fun to finally show the place to Justin. We went up with my parents and the four of us had lots of fun. The trees and fall colors were gorgeous and the weekend went way too fast!

The three of us :) before going out to dinner

Looking back at the cabin... what an amazing place!


The dock.. we had fun relaxing on the bench

Justin took the kayak out and explored a little bit of the channel

We also showed Justin Honey Rock Camp, where my parents met when they were 17! Here they are at Honey Rock 42 years later!!

Justin and I are already planning a trip there next summer. What a perfect place to take our first family vacation with baby girl shoe! Can't wait to go back.

Landscaping

Although we had orginially planned to work on the landscaping last weekend, we weren't able to do it because the city didn't come to mark the gas lines until Monday. So the project was postponed until this weekend. Justin and I went to Lowe's last night to pick out the new perennials for our front yard. Then my parents came over today to help us dig up the old stuff and plant the new!

I forgot to take 'before' pictures to show just how awful the landscaping looked before. Basically we just had a few overgrown, randomly-placed hostas. It was as if they were planted with no rhyme or reason and every time I pulled up to our house, I cringed looking at it!

Here is the new and improved look. We had a perfect fall day for working outside, too! Even though it feels great to have this finished, our 'to do' list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. Each time we do something, though, I feel like we're making this house more into a home suited for us.

Stayed tuned for more home improvements!

Bibs, Blankets, and Bellies

What a fun way to spend my Friday night! So my adorable friend Lindsey started a business about a year ago called Snuggly Baby making and selling the cutest baby stuff you've ever seen! She makes bibs, blankets, wraps, slings, onesies, burp clothes, diaper bags... tons of cute stuff. I recently bought a baby gift from her for a friend and saw some of the stuff she makes and fell in love with it! Even though she doesn't usually do home shows, I asked her to bring her things over and do a little show for me and some preggo friends. We had so much fun talking baby, maternity clothes, names (don't worry... we didn't share ours!), nurseries, and shopping for our babies.

Here we are all lined up by our due dates. From the right.. Bridget is due November 12th, Sharon is due November 19th, I'm due December 24th, Lindsey is due January 18th, and Lacey is due February 26th.

Look at those preggo bellies!

And here we are with our baby-gear expert, Lindsey!

Make sure to check out Lindsey's website to see her cute things. She can custom make things, too! Thanks, Lindsey, for a fun girls night! :)

2 down... 1 to go!!

Today marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester.. yay!! I had to go to the doctor this morning for the lovely glucose test. That orange drink wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated. After I drank the sugary concoction, the doctor came in to measure me and check baby's heartbeat. Baby was squirming and moving like crazy.. her heart rate was really high. The doctor said it was probably from the high sugar drink so we waited awhile to make sure it came down, which it did. She had me worried there for a minute!
I also scheduled my next and probably final ultrasound. I'll go in for that in 3 weeks. The doctor wanted me to have another one to make sure the cysts on Baby's brain have gone away. I'm excited to see this little girl again! :) I invited my mom to come with this time. I think she'll love seeing her granddaughter on screen!
And the last exciting part of my morning is that I was asked to take part in a research study comparing the antibodies in pregnant women to non-pregnant women. All I have to do is have one extra vial of blood drawn at 3 of my appointments. I agreed to do it and got a $20 Target giftcard... score! I need some maternity clothes for this cooler weather we've been having, so I think I'll be heading to Target for that today.. yay!

Here's the ever-growing belly at 28 weeks!