craziest week in history

here's what i've got going this week...

• i'm supposed to have my observation...at some point. it's now wednesday, halloween, and i don't think he'll be coming today. i'm teaching sequencing tomorrow which is not the easiest thing in the world and i will only be at school 1st and 2nd period on friday. we're running out of time. i have a feeling he'll be coming to my 5th period to see if i have them "under control" yet. that leaves only today or tomorrow. yesterday, i had a walk-through 7th period from the vice principal. the comment on my form was "this would've been better if your students were paying attention during the instructions." i'm not one of those teachers who needs to have everything in perfect order and silence all of the time. i know i've been too lax up until now for their standards, but this was my ap class. they function well with a little interaction. anyway, that was not a good preview for my observation. so, i'm now stressed again.
• rock the pumpkin is tonight. i'm so happy that we have such an awesome outreach, but the work that goes into it is getting overwhelming. i thought everything was under control and i had everything scheduled and ready to go with volunteers only having to work one 1-hour shift. that was until yesterday. the youth was supposed to take three booths and cover working them. i found out yesterday they didn't have much of a response from the youth. so, at 8:30 last night, i was going back through my volunteers calling and explaining why i needed them for more than one shift. i only have 2 empty spots to fill and i know it will all come together, but on top of everything else, this is crazy. i also had to get the list ready to make sure we have everything needed for each booth and try to remember the general layout of the games from last year so they could be setting up today while i'm at work. it starts at 5:30, and i know i won't be leaving this place until at least 4:30.
• jacob is still sick. my mom came down to stay with him. she has to leave tonight to go back home and take care of my grandparents. i'm hoping he is well enough to go back to school tomorrow. last night, he had another fever and started in with unpleasant side effects from his medicine involving changing many diapers. i still haven't even tried on his costume. i don't even know if we should take him out tonight.
• they were cleaning our house last night...which means it's almost done. we have to go tonight, after rock the pumpkin, and do a walk through. they're supposed to be doing all touch-ups today. we have to go look and see if there's anything else that needs to be fixed. if not, they'll clean again tomorrow and we'll close 10:30 friday morning and move in after that. have i even begun packing?? no. we're supposed to find out sometime today how our appraisal came in and how much we will owe at closing, if any. we're hoping for the least amount so i can go on a shopping spree this weekend! otherwise, you'll be seeing my same old stuff in a brand new house.
• did i mention i'm pregnant?? this little boy sits right at the front of my belly at all times. i can barely put my socks on these days because it's so uncomfortable. my stomach is always so tight, it makes simple tasks very hard to do...like picking up paper off the floor. i've been running around like a madwoman all week and it's not going to let up anytime soon. we'll be busy all weekend and then i'll have to start another week. there's still 2 more weeks until thanksgiving break. i'm hoping i can make it.

so, if you happen to see me and i don't acknowledge you or i look really stressed, know that it's normal and nothing personal. you'll be lucky for me to even notice a bright light on my nose this week!

sickness update

jacob has yet another ear infection!

the doc said we would try this round of medication and come back in 10 days to see if it's cleared up.

if not, we'll be visiting the ear, nose, and throat doctor. which means possible tubes in his ears.

horrible. i do not want to go that route.

thank you for your prayers. please continue to pray that he get well before we go back in 10 days.

in the name of Jesus!

as promised

here's the latest as of yesterday afternoon.

beautiful landscaping...minus the grass


tiled kitchen


almost complete master bath


close-up of flowerbed #1


close-up of flowerbed #2


only 5 days to move-in time!

absent

we won't be at church today.

jacob is hacking his head off!

he can't go 30 seconds without coughing and his nose is running like crazy.

we're going to try to get him into the doctor tomorrow.

please pray for him. he's been sick for at least a month now. he just can't seem to shake it.

not so bad after all...

we have a flower bed...and two trees!

i so wasn't expecting that. we drove up today and it was all done.

we won't have grass, but we'll have foliage!

things are looking up.

i'll try to post pics later. there were alot of people working so we didn't get out.

utterly disappointed

our house is supposed to be finished next wednesday...yes, one week from today.

even though there is not a lick of paint on the walls, stain on the cabinets, tile or carpet on the floor, sprinkler system, or a fence.

but they promised!

we'll be moving in on friday.

the disappointing part?

we won't have grass in our yard until at least APRIL!!

i know it's fall and everyone's grass is going to be turning soon, but i still want grass. even if it's dead grass!

i guess i just never thought of the possibility of them not being able to plant grass until certain times.

so, even though we will be living there next weekend, when you come to visit (and you will all be coming to visit soon!) you will see one ugly, weed-infested, grassless yard!

take the good with the bad

as much as i hate the weight gain and the not-so-fun ailments of pregnancy, i love being pregnant.

almost all day, i have at least one hand on my belly. he is moving so much right now and i can't bear the thought of missing one little kick.

it's amazing to feel his movements...sometimes slow and smooth, other times like he's swimming in a race or something, and then there's those not so subtle kicks. they're not starting to hurt yet, but i know that's coming. i'm okay with it. i just love to know that he's growing, prospering, developing.

i can't wait to meet him, but then again, once he's here, this experience will be over. we're planning on not having anymore. we'll be happy with our two boys. i'll be happy being the only girl in the house!

for now, i just relish in the thought of this growing being inside me.

jacob's little brother.

our second son.

thank you, Jesus.

sweet sound

as i was sitting here, trying to think of all the crazy, weird things about me, this is what i hear coming from the other room...

"miska, mouska, mickey mouse! miska, mouska, mickey mouse!"

jacob is singing along with mickey mouse.

all i can do is smile.

tagged!

thanks, ree!

seven things you never knew about me and now wish you didn't. or as you put it...seven strange/weird/crazy things about me. (this is really out of my comfort zone. you people are going to think i'm nuts.)

• i have an obsession with typing. while you're talking, i'm imagining i'm typing your words in my head. sometimes i even move my fingers. i can't seem to shake it.
• whenever i want to clear my mind, i literally imagine (well, there's a paradox for you) a broom sweeping everything out of my head. it's the only way to get it all out!
• i like to dip my macaroni and cheese in barbecue sauce or a-1. whatever's on my plate.
• rather than using fingernail polish remover, i like to pick the polish off with my nails.
• i HATE feet! that's all i can say.
• i love to two-step. i know, weird. i'm a country girl at heart. it's been a long time since i've gotten to "scoot-a-boot"!
• i haven't shaved the back part of my thigh in...YEARS. i would always cut myself, so i just stopped. the hair sorta stopped growing after that. so, no! i'm not a wooly mammoth!

so now, you're going to be watching my fingers to see if i'm typing, wondering what's going through my head, paying attention when i eat mac and cheese, looking at my fingernails, putting your feet on me, asking me to dance, and trying to get a glimpse of my legs (which will never happen!!).

thanks, ree, for exposing me!

i tag ang and kj!

nothing

i really don't have anything to say.

i'm just tired of opening my blog and seeing "disaster"!

i know you are too.

oh, and...

kj, i could definitely use that shopping trip sometime...soon!

disaster

there is no other word for what happened yesterday.

if you read comments on kj's blog, you read that i was supposed to have my observation sometime this past week. thursday, he came in and said, i'll be here tomorrow. something came up today.

friday...observation...no big deal.

that's really what i was thinking. i haven't stressed over it, i wasn't worried, i was confident and just ready to get it over.

1st period, nothing. 2nd period, nothing. 4th period, nothing.

this only leaves 5th, because 7th is my pre-ap and they were going to be gone today.

5th period is by far the worst ever!!

but i was really okay with it. they try to participate...they just get a little out of hand.

so, here he comes, 5th period.

he sits at my desk and i'm joking with him because he's in my way and i need to take attendance.

the kids got a quiz as they walked in the door. they were all sitting QUIETLY working on it.

then came the flood of questions. we're covering fractions. have been for the past week. there are hands up all over the room and people saying, "i don't know how to do this!"

right away, i'm thinking, "great. this shows i'm a great teacher, huh?! these kids have been practicing fractions for a week and have no clue what's going on."

time's up and they turn in their quiz. i decided to do an activity where they use little remotes to relay their answers onto the screen. it was, of course, over fractions.

between every question, they talked excessively. EXCESSIVELY! i couldn't believe how they were acting.

i get more than halfway through class and look at him sitting at my desk.

he says, "do you want me to leave?"

me, not being able to say anything for the tears about to start flowing, shrug my shoulders.

he says, "say yes."

"yes!"

he talks to me for a couple of minutes about how the kids are acting and how i shouldn't put up with it.

i tell him that these kids are not phased by detentions or calls to mom or dad. they don't care if they go to the office.

he said it's because no one has been set as an example.

apparently some girl said something to me that he took as talking back. i don't even know what she said.

i'm so used to those kids in high school who would cuss me out, i'm just happy the kid is still sitting in her chair and not up yelling.

he leaves the room and we still have 20 minutes left in class. i'm trying so hard not to cry.

i calmly tell the students to put up their remotes, get out their paper and work silently!

that's all i could manage to get out.

as soon as the bell rang, i locked my door, sat at my desk, and bawled! i mean, no makeup left for my next class.

he comes back in 7th period to talk to me. again, i'm trying not to cry. my face is as red as a beet. for those who have seen me embarassed, you know what this looks like. there is no hiding it.

he asks if i'm okay and of course, i say yes. he said he understands where i came from and the little discipline support i had there. he's not like that. i shouldn't have to put up with behavior like that.

so, all in all, discipline was an issue.

i'm at a loss.

we haven't even gotten to the teaching part. i don't even want to go there.

that was, by far, the worst teaching experience in my 3-year career.

and i now have to do it all over again.

DISASTER.

hmm...

i was reading chris's blog earlier about getting a package.

i started thinking. i'm over 5 months pregnant. i have less than 4 months to go. (which seems forever away, yet right around the corner.)

i know for sure we're having a boy. (yet jacob tells everyone he's having a baby sister.)

i can't wait to hold him in my arms.

and yet...

i haven't bought a single thing for him! (other than the outfit i bought to tell jerry with.)

this is so unlike me. normally, i would've had his entire wardrobe by now.

i can't find any bedding that i like. i'm not in love with our crib anymore. we don't have a changing table. i found a rocker i somewhat like. i don't know what color to paint the walls. we don't have a name. i don't even look at baby clothes when we go to the store.

something is wrong here.

i'll tell you what it is...

i'm too stinkin' busy! i don't have time to think!

i need a break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jacob's rendition of jesus loves me

my baby

i feel like such an awful mom these days. i've been so consumed with school and being sick, i've neglected taking pictures of my baby.

here are the few i have taken in the past 3 weeks! normally, i would have like 100 to choose from. nope, just the 3.

this was him last night. can you believe how big he is?


we took this a couple of days ago because he needed a family picture for daycare for a project they're doing.


this was a couple of weeks ago before he headed off to "school" in his new pants.
(which, by the way, he had to show off to everyone when he got there. so funny!)


i can't even believe how fast time is flying. it seems like yesterday, it was him in my belly kicking away. now he's 2!

house update

so, we're supposed to be closing on our house october 24. that's less than 3 weeks away!

for some reason, i just don't see that happening. it could be because we go out there every day, and the past week, the most they've gotten done in one day is to hang the kitchen cabinets. the other days, they've hung one or two pieces of molding up or something...literally.

they're supposed to be painting next week, but here's where we're at so far.

this is the kitchen...they will be stained pecan...i think.


this is a view from the corner of the kitchen. the columned room is the office. the big area inbetween is the living area. (that's the wrong front door.)


this is our bedroom...kinda hard to tell anything from it.


this will be the baby's room.


and here's our front door...currently sitting in our garage. it will be black, eventually.

pigs in a blanket

i'm in hog heaven right now...hehehe...get it, hog heaven, pigs in a blanket.

okay, maybe i'm delirious or something.

anyway, jerry had to go to work this morning, so i decided to fix pigs in a blanket for breakfast.

of course, you can't fix a half a can of biscuits, so naturally, i had to cook the entire can.

and they can't go to waste. that would be an atrocity.

and since there's no one here to help eat them...well...you get the point.

(hence, the large belly in the previous post.)

***update***
i didn't eat ALL of them, for the record.

the moment you've all been waiting for...

and the moment i've been dreading...

the 5-month picture! as always with a comparison of the month before.

there you have it, ladies.

and yes, those are the same jeans...just for you.

(for the last time, i might add.)

i would say that our newly pregnant friend, chris, should post the same type of pictures...but that would just be an embarassment to myself.

alright, go ahead, chris. but no comparing to me. this is my second, you know!

***on a side note. when i published this post, i was planning on the pics being side by side. when i went to view it on my blog, they ended up like this. it makes the comparison so much worse. you can actually see how much farther my belly is sticking out than last month! why do i do this to myself??