Enjoying My Time Off I'm so releived to not have to work anymore! I enjoy working and staying busy, but I was very ready for a break. I know that I'll have my hands full when Alyssa comes so these next 2 or 3 weeks off I'm going to soak in and enjoy. I'm just taking it easy and doing some things that I needed to do or wanted to do, but never really had time for. My favorite thing I've done so far is my sister painted my belly like a Lady Bug (since that's been my theme with Alyssa) and we took pictures outside. I will put them up as soon as I get to a computer that will let me resize them. I don't know how on this one at my parents' house, and mine is crashed right now. When I go to Nick's parents' I can use theirs. Anyway... I love the pictures. I'm going to start her scrap book this week, and I can't wait to put those in it. I'm going to make a page with her ultrasound pics, a page with belly pics, and a couple of pages with the different showers. Then I'll have to wait for her to come out so that I can start putting in all the "first's" like her first ride in the car, first bath, first cuddle with daddy.... you get the picture (no pun intended). I really can't wait! I'm surprisingly feeling great these days, it must be the added rest from not working, and I'm sure it has a lot to do with not having to dress up any more. From here on out it's comfy clothes for me! Nick and I are getting much closer to being homeowners, and I'm so excited about it! The mortgage company finally figured out their end of the deal (FINALLY!) and so now the paper work is being looked over by the company that owns the house, and they will be setting a date very soon hopefully! It should all be a coast downhill from here. (HOPEFULLY!) We're really thinking that we could close as early as this Friday (which would be wonderful!) or maybe it will be some time next week (Monday or Tuesday or even Wednesday). Our main goal after we close is to get the remodel stuff done so we can get moved in. And we really would like to do this before May 1 so we don't have to pay rent again, but that may not happen as planned. It would be perfect if we could close on Friday and then Nick and his friends, and my mom and his parents, and ANYONE THAT WANTED TO could all get in there and paint and lay floor and get it done. I really think it would just take working like that over the weekend and a few evenings next week and we could be all done and ready to move in. That would be perfect. Then I would have a week before my due date to unbox stuff, and to set up our house and (very importantly) the nursery. However, just in case we do have a make-shift area set up for her at the condo now which makes me feel much better. We set up the craddle in the spare bedroom (it's so close to our room we'll hear her) and we setup her changing pad and a basket full of things we'll need for the first few weeks on a desk in the spare as well. So it may look a little "ghetto" but it will get the job done if needed! Since I'm feeling pretty comfortable right now, I really am hoping she'll hold off on coming until we are good and ready.... even if that means her coming a little late. I think it will make our lives a lot lesss stressfull! So anyway that's what's going on here lately. I'll try to get those pics up asap because they are amazing and I love them (not to sound braggy... seriously my sister did the painting and my mom took the pictures..... they did such a good job it looks like a professional did it!) So thanks Mom and Tiff!!!
2008-04-17 (37 weeks)
Last Week Teaching Well this is my final week teaching here at the middle school. Luckily I get to go out with a bang. I'm subbing for the chorus teacher that I did my student teaching with so I'm actually getting good practice at what I want to do next August. I'm working with the choirs on their fun music for the chorus concert (it'll be May 5th, so I don't know if I'll get to make it). They already know their more difficult classical music because they went to festival to compete a few weeks ago. So now they are learning some fun songs like "Hey Jude", and songs from the movie "Hairspray", and Disney songs. It's fun doing stuff like that with them, and they get so in to it! So this is a good way to end out teaching this year. The fun thing is Knox County pays a month behind so I'll get paid April 25th and May 25th. That's always nice. Well I'm trying to take it easy. I had been stressed, and still am a little about the house stuff, but you know I guess this is just the way the cards have fallen and being upset about it won't change anything. I just have to make the best of the situation. Nick's going to help me tonight to move some stuff around in our condo and begin to get it "baby ready". It will probably take us about a week to get everything done there that I would like. haha then watch us get things like I want then close on the house and have to move. You never know I guess. I'm just trying to roll with the punches.
2008-04-10 (36 weeks)
1 CM Dialated Well I went to the doctor yesterday. I had some kind of test to see if I'm a strep b carrier. I guess I'll find out the results for that next time. My weight actually dropped a pound from last week. My doctor checked to see if I dialated any for the first time, and surprisingly I was dialated 1 cm and she could feel her little head. How exciting! She said that some women dialate up to 6 weeks before labor and some don't dialate until they are in labor. I'm glad that I have a little bit. It just makes me feel more like the time is drawing near. It's just a little more real to me the closer it gets. I'm so ready though! My ribs are so so sore on all sides. Everytime I move, lay down, or take a deep breath pain shoots through both sides of my ribs on the front and back. My doctor said it's because I'm short and the baby doesn't have anywhere else to go. I also probably won't "drop" like most women since the space is so tight. She said since I'm so short, she's dropped all she can and will still be up in my ribs. So it's not fun to have a little body right now. I think I may try sleeping in a recliner tonight so I can breath. I'm havig a little trouble with that these days. Well I guess really Alyssa could come at any time now, but even as uncomfortable as I am I'm hoping that she'll stay in long enough for us to move. We still haven't closed. It's the most frustrating thing ever. This lender has got to be the slowest person in the world, I don't know what the deal is with them. We are hoping and praying that we can close soon. The sooner the better. If Alyssa came at this time we'd have to scramble to get some stuff set up for her at our condo. I guess Nick or my mom would have to dig her stuff out of the boxes and get her a little craddle set up in mine and Nick's bedroom. Hopefully it won't come to that. We're obviously not planning on that yet, but I almost think maybe that's making the house buying a little more stressful on us because we're not ready at the condo for Alyssa. Hopefully we'll close and move in before she comes, but oh man... we've got so much to do between now and then to be ready!
2008-04-07 (35 weeks)
A Month to Go!
I'm just thrilled I have only a month to go until Alyssa's due date! The time has really flown. I know I've said that over and over, but it's so true. Now I'm quite uncomfortable and ready to get her out, so I'm guessing this will be the longest month. Now that I know her lungs are ready and if she were born now everything would be fine, I'm pretty much ready.
I had my last shower on Saturday and it was such a special time. I can't say "thank you" enough for all the gifts that have been given. My Nana bought Alyssa a beautiful dress that I've now decided will be the dress that she comes home in. I was going to have her wear mine, but this way she will have her own and I can put it in a shadow box for her (since my mom will want mine back). Alyssa will also wear mine sometime. Also to come home from the hospital she'll wear a pearl bracelet that has a little silver cross on it, and she'll be wrapped in the blanket that my mother wore home from the hospital. So special! And there are many more meaningful gifts we recieved. Nick's papaw made a craddle a few years before he passed away and we are going to use that for Alyssa in our room until she grows out of it and needs to move to her baby bed. And Nick's Mama Dot (grandmother) made a beautiful quilt and pillow for Alyssa. My Nana made a beautiful blanket for her. We have so many personalized and handmade gifts, I love those because I know they will be treasured for years to come. One of my favorite gifts was a group gift from Nick's aunts and mom and grandmother (the Reasor side of the family) and they bought the bedding set for the lady bug nursery. I can't wait to set up the nursery! It's going to be absolutely adorable! So we have everything we need! We are ready! (except the house to put it all in, haha)
Everyone pray for the house situation. We so badly want to close and we thought we'd be closed two weeks ago. There has just been hold up after hold up, and it's so stressful. Please pray that everything would hurry up and go through with our lender, they seem to be taking forever and we're starting to question if our loan officer knows what he is doing. We are so ready to get this remodel and move over and done with. And as I've said before all of our stuff is in boxes already, and so that's an added stress because we really need to put everything in a place so that we will not be living like crazy people in a house of caos anylonger. And paper plates and plastic cups are getting old fast! I'm really hoping we close this week! That's my prayer anyway. So we'll see.
I'm just thrilled I have only a month to go until Alyssa's due date! The time has really flown. I know I've said that over and over, but it's so true. Now I'm quite uncomfortable and ready to get her out, so I'm guessing this will be the longest month. Now that I know her lungs are ready and if she were born now everything would be fine, I'm pretty much ready.