Lazy Summer Days

Well, my oh so good intentions of spending my summer with the perfect blend of relaxation (a.k.a. "doing squat") and being productive (a.k.a. organizing for the upcoming school year and getting my house spotlessly clean) have gone to poo. Mostly I've just been "doing squat". haha I had envisioned myself being motivated seeing as there is a baby on the way and I want everything to be perfect, but alas this has not been the case. 4 weeks left to get my butt moving...

I have done a few things though when a burst of energy hits. I have started working on binders for the upcoming school year. I'm trying to get organized and think of the easiest ways to collect data and keep up with all the unending paperwork. After spending hours on Pinterest I have not come up with too much, surprisingly. So it's up to me and my thoughts on how to make last year better. I have decided on 5 main binders: Sped binder, planning binder, reading data binder, math data binder, and RTI binder. I may do a post when I figure them all out so all of my teacher friends can add comments and suggestions and such. I'm still really trying to figure out how to organize the reading and math binders to hold the data I need for each individual student's goals.

One thing I have seriously enjoyed this summer is the time to catch up on reading! And if you know me at all, you know that I love reading children/young adult books. I found a list of the top 100 children's chapter books on Pinterest, ( check it out here: Children's Books Guide) and have decided to work my way through this list. I found the list to be pretty thorough although I would have to disagree with the placement of a few of the books. After reading through the list I found that I had read 21 of the books or more. I say or more because some I had read as a kid and am choosing to reread as a refresher. I have just finished rereading The Secret Garden which is one of the ones I read growing up. Before finding this list I was reading the series Maximum Ride by James Patterson so I will be returning to that now and reading one more before hopefully diving into Bridge to Terabithia. 

And now...

BABY UPDATE!!

Not too too much to report when it comes to Aria. The day is drawing ever closer! We are now at 36 weeks and counting. On our last doctor's visit we found out (in a very uncomfortable manner I might add) that Aria has finally decided to turn her little self around and get into position. Thank goodness! I was so worried because she had decided to stay breech for so long.

I think we are as ready as we will ever be for her arrival. The nursery is done. Her clothes are washed and ready to be worn. And the hospital bags are packed! (Which was a task that should have taken an hour tops, that I stretched into weeks of not being motivated to get it done.) All I have to do when the time comes is throw in my makeup bag and straightener. Oh, and the phone charger, cannot forget that one!

Her movements are much more pronounced now and are very very uncomfortable for me. I'm ok with it though because it lets me know she's ok in there. I don't think it has fully hit me yet that I'm going to be a mom. I can see myself now in the hospital and when I start pushing that's when it'll hit me. Holy Crap I'm having a baby!!!

The Shock and Aftermath of Birthing Class

Ok, so my title may be a little over dramatized. haha We actually went into the class and realized we were more knowledgeable than we had previously thought. And after two sessions of 3 1/2 hours each, we were on information overload.

There have been many things that I have had to complain about the military hospital here when it comes to our care and their bedside manner, but I have to say that I am very grateful that we had the chance to take this class as well as the breastfeeding class I'm taking on Monday. It was very informative and at least now we know what to expect as to what is specific to this hospital's labor and delivery.

I'm very excited that Tripler doesn't have a nursery so Aria gets to stay with us the whole time. They also highly advocate for skin on skin immediately after birth. At first I was a little put off by the obvious mess that this will be. If you know me, you know that I can heave at almost anything remotely disgusting. But I am actually very excited about the thought of her being close to me those first precious moments of her entrance into the world. That's something that only she and I will get to share and she can be as messy as can be and it's still going to be the greatest moment of my life. I cannot wait to look into her eyes and bond with her immediately! If, by chance, I need a c-section Ethan will go to recovery with her immediately and do skin to skin.

After this class I feel much better about the epidural as well. There were only 2 women in the class that have the intention of giving birth naturally. Which I commend them for! I never really felt bad about the fact that I knew I wanted an epidural. It won't make me feel like less of a woman or less of a mother. I personally do not handle pain very well. I'm an emotional person to begin with and add pain to the mix and I quickly become a wreck. I would rather not be that way when giving birth to my child. The nurse anesthetist came in and talked with us and showed us the epidural needle and catheter. Ethan swears it's no big deal cause he's had a needle twice as big in his arm from all the plasma giving during college. haha I do plan on trying to go as long as I can without the epidural because I do not want to be confined to the bed. This hospital has a jacuzzi in every room but 2, exercise ball, birth chair, squatting bar... the works. I would like to be able to take advantage of those things and keep mobile as long as possible.

All of the videos we watched were from the 90s. Seriously outdated. I got a kick out of the outfits and big glasses. But the logistics don't really change I guess, so they were still relevant.

I did not enjoy seeing how big 10 cm actually is. (I've been avoiding this. Better for me not to think about it.) Ethan keeps poking fun that his whole fist fits in 10 cm. (duh). It was also hard to sit through the breastfeeding portion of the class when your husband and the husband behind you are cracking up at the baby going at the boob! So immature, but it made both me and the other mom crack up as well. Yes, we were those people off to the side of the room.

There were know-it-alls in there of course and we had to also sit through lots of questions that were kind of duh questions. I got a funny look from one of the girls when I raised my hand that I was going back to work soon after. I was one of 3, and the only one not in the military. I hate that I had to deal with that. But you gotta do what you gotta do and I would go crazy at home. All in all though not too bad of an experience. Nothing so shocking that I wanted to run. Ethan was already prepared to play the role that he will and he knows me well. He knows that the best thing he can do is distract me and keep me laughing. I plan on having as joyful a birthing experience as possible through the pain. With a husband like mine I'm not too too worried. I'm taking this ride one step at a time. No sense in worrying now. It's a tad too late...

Summer Bucket List

Summer Bucket List

 10.  Take a walk (or two) every day with my Riley. Gotta strengthen my muscles for labor!

   9. Read, Read, Read!! If you know me, you know that I love teen fiction novels. Getting to teach 6th grade next year, I will actually get to share some of that with the students. I just started reading Maximum Ride by James Patterson per Ethan's suggestion. So far, so good!

   8. Work on our Hawaii scrapbook. I want to make a scrapbook of everywhere the Air Force takes us. I have yet to start ours for Hawaii and I should probably get a start on that!

   7. Organize binders for next year. I want to make sure that I am super organized for when I return to work. No more scrounging around for important documents and no more last minute preparations!!!

   6. Blog once a week. Gotta keep up with this.

   5. Clean clean clean. I want everything to be spotless and perfect for when Aria comes home the first time!

   4. Finish shopping for Aria. I feel like it is never ending! I keep thinking of things we will need or that I want for her. Or I just find something that I probably shouldn't buy for her. haha

   3. Finish the nursery! I'm still desperately trying to find a few things second hand that I want to add to her nursery. It will not be complete in my mind without these essentials. (Which aren't super necessary except for my imagination.)

   2. Spend some much needed bonding time with my husband. In just a little bit it will no longer be just Ethan and I. It's going to be really important that we get to spend a lot of time together this summer.

   1. And the number one thing on my summer bucket list is...

                 To meet our daughter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

             I cannot wait to hold her in my arms for the first time. To see Ethan's reaction when he first sees her. To know that she is ours forever and always! There is nothing I have ever wanted more than this!!

And there you have it! My productive summer list.
           

One year down...

Today was the last day of school, and the last day of my first year of teaching. It was truly bittersweet. Saying goodbye to my first ever class was sad, but I am more than ready for summer break. Now that I have one year of teaching special education under my belt, I feel slightly more prepared and not quite so lost when it comes to all of the paperwork and procedures that go along with SPED. So I have a goal of getting super organized for next year during this summer.

This year has truly been a great learning experience. I have encountered the good and the bad, and the extremes of both. I have prayed for these kids, laughed with these kids, fought for them, and had my heart break for some of them. I learned a lot while at Liberty about teaching special education, but nothing really prepares you for what it is truly like. I was blessed this year with an amazing team and we would not have accomplished all that we did if we didn't work together so well. I feel good about this past year, despite all the hardships, and I truly think I made a difference, however small.

I enjoyed the opportunity to work and teach in an inclusion classroom. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. I wish that everyone could see the benefits of co-teaching and inclusion. I've encountered so many teachers, Sped and Gen. Ed. alike, who do not want to share their classrooms. Who only want to work with their gen. ed students, or their sped students. I won't lie, there was a lot about this year that was difficult, but I truly believe our students benefited greatly from having both teachers work with them. We were able to do so much!


Although I am scared out of my mind to move to 6th grade next year, I am hopeful for a great year. I know that it will be another great learning experience and will help to better me as a teacher. The Lord will not give me more than I can handle, so I am being open and trying to be positive about all the possibilities. One thing is for sure, I will be spending some time this summer brushing up on my math skills!! haha

Now for summer!!!! Oh what to do first???

Goodie Bags

Well, tomorrow marks the last day of my first year of teaching. With that being said, I wanted to prepare something for my students as a farewell/what a great year gift. I spent a lot of hours on Pinterest and various websites trying to find good ideas. I have to commend those teachers who go all out and spend tons of money on their students, but with a baby on the way and 24 students I thought something small would suffice.

There are several things in the gift bag. The first thing I added was a Kool-aid packet and silly straw, idea courtesy of Pinterest. I found the gift tags at A Cupcake for the Teacher (what an awesome freebie!). Here it is:

I then added a pack of Chips Ahoy cookies with a tag that I created (but found the saying on Pinterest) that says "You're One Smart Cookie." 

The rest of the bag is pretty simple. After teaching for a year I've noticed that for some reason the kids these days are obsessed with mustaches. So I added a mustache finger tattoo to each bag. (Even the girls!) I also added a bookmark that says Summer and a couple of dum-dums. The bag topper has a cute poem on it that I also found on Pinterest. (Of course!) 

I'm pretty proud of them. They took forever and I couldn't have done it without my wonderful hubby helping cut things out and holding stuff for me as I put them together. I really hope the students enjoy them!! Here's the final product: 

Nursery Sneak Peak

Ethan worked all day long last Saturday, and we both worked all day Sunday on Aria's new room. We are so excited at how well it has turned out. I seriously have the best husband in the world for painting the nursery all by himself!

 We aren't quite finished yet. I am still looking for small odds and ends to finish it off. I really believe she is going to love the bright colors! Ethan has already said he's jealous because he never had a cool room like this as a kid. So I don't want to give too much away but here are a few sneak peaks of the new nursery! 

Only 9 more weeks (or so) until we get to hold Aria in our arms! 

A Crafty Weekend Alone

I started off this weekend determined to do something for the nursery. Knowing I was going to be home alone this weekend I wanted to do something productive towards my dream for Aria's room. All of my previous plans for DIY this weekend fell through, as I was not able to find parts for any of the projects I wanted to try. So I sat in the house for half of the day Saturday trying to get inspiration. After at least an hour on Pinterest I found something! I had seen the little birds and butterflies in stores like Target that you put on the walls and they look like they have just landed on the wall. After seeing it again on Pinterest I had an idea!

I have 4 canvases that I bought last summer on sale and hadn't found a use for them yet. So I set out to make butterflies on canvas. It took forever. (I made it through 2 movies before I was finished!) But it turned out really great and Ethan really likes it too! I found an outline on the google images for the butterflies and traced and cut them out on some turquoise card stock I had lying around. After arranging them, I mod podged them onto the canvas. Here is the result!

I also whipped this up pretty quickly yesterday. I love the frame which I found at Ross for 5 bucks!

Nothing like a little DIY to keep ya busy! Now I just have to do everything else that I put off so that I could whip these up! haha

We are now 12 weeks (or so) away from seeing our little Aria!! It's getting closer but still not close enough! We got a close up look at the labor and delivery department this week. It got me really excited to actually stand in the place where in just a few short months I will get to see my daughter!! She is doing great and is still as active as ever. We actually got a video of my belly moving up and down yesterday. She was seriously kicking the crap out of me. I swear she is already break dancing like her daddy. Nothing too new to report with her at the moment. We are just trying to get everything together and ready for her arrival!