33 Weeks

I can't believe how quickly the due date is approaching! She'll be here before we know it! I'm 33 weeks and I'm feeling it! Overall, I've really had a breezy pregnancy. These last few weeks, though, I've been feeling..... massive. And she's hopefully going to keep growing for another 6 or 7 weeks?! Whew!

According to www.babycenter.com, Charlotte is probably weighing a little more than 4 pounds, and may be measuring a little longer than 17 inches! While I may feel quite large, it still doesn't feel like I've got a baby the size of a pineapple in my belly, as the website suggests!

I had a checkup today and everything is still good! Two weeks ago when I saw the doctor, I had gained 10 lbs in the 5 weeks since my last appointment! Today, my weight had actually gone down slightly (.2 lb), so that's good. My belly measurements and blood pressure were both normal, too. My most notable symptoms are acid reflux, a belly that shimmies and shakes so wildly at times that it almost makes me motion-sick, and fatigue. It seems that I can only work or walk for about 30 minutes at a time before needing a break. Works out perfectly that I'm a teacher and get summers "off." 

Speaking of teaching... I have amazing friends who helped me get my stuff set up in my new classroom! Our school is undergoing major renovations (the classroom I was in just 3 weeks ago no longer exists), so I moved to a new room. With 3 friends helping for a total of 4 hours, the classroom is 90% ready for my long-term sub and the first day of school! What a load off! I'm glad I won't have that on my mind over the summer, and I'm sure my team is glad I was around to help and they won't have to do it in August when they're trying to get their rooms ready, too! 

In just one week, we'll be moving out of our place in the city... 

into our temporary country home...

These images are both from google maps, and you can't even make out the house in Mackinaw! We're moving into a sweet house in the country with a big yard! I can't wait to sit on the front porch and watch rabbits, squirrels, and maybe even deer prance around! I enjoy the convenience of city life, but I really think I'll appreciate the peace and quiet of country living for the next 4 months. Not to mention the proximity to family!

I'm trying to do what I can around the house to prepare for the move. Again, I need substantial breaks every 30 minutes, so it's slow-going. I also get stuck trying to decide what to pack next. 

This is what's going in storage (excluding furniture and the closet packed with stuff & with a huge pile of boxes in the middle): 

And this is what's going to IL with us (excluding furniture, dishes, bathroom, and cleaning supplies): 

Still A LOT to do, but it'll find a way to get done... it always does! Really the photos are probably 1/2 of what belongs in each category, all things considered. 

Cat Update!!

I haven't had to break up a single cat fight for 5 whole days!! Maybe they've finally become reacquainted and have figured out how to work through their differences?! They're going to get just comfortable enough to really get spooked next week when we pack them up with the rest of the stuff and head north! For now, I caught them cuddling in the closet! 

I hope you're all doing well! 

My Baby's Daddy

Happy Father's Day to my sweet, caring, talented, intelligent, funny, handsome, hard-working, ambitious, and genuine husband, Ben!

Charlotte's not here yet, but Ben's going to be a wonderful dad. He's patient and kind, witty and honest, and can find opportunities for learning everywhere he goes! 

Baby Charlotte will have a very well-educated daddy to teach her all sorts of things! Not only the alphabet, but the state capitals, bible stories, how to play the piano (along with about 2 dozen other instruments), music history, and past & present presidents/kings/dictators/czars/Bond characters. 

  

Ben has a certain charm and sense of adventure about him that I find irresistible. 

Whether we're hiking, 

taking in the sights and sounds (and tastes) of the county fair,

or wearing ridiculous musical ties for laughs, 

it's always a good time when he's around. 

As we prepare for the arrival of our sweet baby girl, we're trying to enjoy these last few weeks where it's just the two of us. We're also trying to get everything ready for when our family grows. Just this week, Ben asked what we would hang on the walls in the nursery (besides the adorable letters to spell out her name). He told me about the art he had on his walls as a child and how he remembers every fine detail about them and how he is hoping we find something great to hang on Charlotte's walls. Little did he know, I had already ordered, framed, and wrapped this print for him for his first Father's Day.

Turns out, he thought it was just as perfect as I did! I love owls for the nursery, and an owl playing the drums is awesome!! 

I'm already dreaming up ways to make Ben's first "official" Father's Day special and memorable. In the meantime, I continue to spy on his quirkiness and child-like investigation of the world... imagining him exploring through his daughter's eyes in just a few short weeks. 

Many blessings and a huge Thank You to ALL of the dads out there!

Movin' & Groovin'

One of my favorite things to do lately is to just watch and feel Baby Charlotte squirming, twirling, and shimmying around in my belly. I wish Ben could enjoy it as much as I do... many times I call his attention, but she's done moving and he misses it. Today I caught her rolling on camera! 

Did you catch it?? She just kind of bulges out of my belly! Sometimes it's very dramatic, and sometimes it's very subtle. It's always entertaining! So far the movement isn't keeping me up, and it's hardly ever painful. It's more like she's playing, and I'm her jungle gym! As the summer goes on, she'll run out of room to move around so much, and I may become quite uncomfortable, so I'm going to enjoy these moments now! 

I'm also enjoying buying little things for her! I've been trying to hold off on buying a lot of stuff since we're moving, but I did buy a dress for her (although it's for next summer) a couple weeks ago, and today I bought a little decoration for her room! 

I just couldn't resist this cute little daisy pot at Gordman's today! There were tons of these little arrangements, and up until just a few months ago, I could not see myself choosing the pink ones!

Ben and I made a very important purchase for the baby this weekend. We decided a while back that it was time to buy something the whole family could enjoy - Donny and Marie included. We bought a family car! 

It's a 2008 Toyota Rav-4 and we love it! It has plenty of room for a car seat, cat carrier, stroller, and pack & play. It's also roomy enough in the back that Ben can haul his drums without worrying about protecting them from the elements or tying them down in the back of his truck. We haven't had it long enough to really test it, but all of our research tells us this car's gas mileage should be just about the same as my Focus's! I'm already enjoying the power locks and windows, but I'm really excited about trying out the cruise control on our next long trip... I've had the Focus for almost 5 years (almost 50K miles) without cruise control. That's including 2 cross-country trips and probably 15-20 trips up to IL! NO FUN!! We'll be giving the truck back to Ben's family when we head that way. It may not be pink, and it may not have bows, but this was definitely purchased with the baby in mind!

Donny

My friend Carol V. mentioned today that she's been waiting for an update on Donny - sorry I left you wondering!

Donny is doing very well! He's been eating, running, jumping, and playing as usual for a couple of week snow. His fur is growing back on his belly and paw where they had to shave him and, after a bath from Ben and many self-bathing sessions, his fur is back to its normal shade of white.

Donny does seem to be a little tamer since his surgery. He isn't quite as mischievous, sleeps more, and spends more time alone than he did before. Also, his relationship with his sister is much different than it was in the past. If you remember, Marie hissed at Donny when he first came home from the hospital. He smelled weird, looked different, and wasn't acting like himself - she didn't recognize him. Can you imagine this sweet girl hissing??

Yes, that is her tail!

They used to do everything together. In fact, before Donny's surgery, it was almost rare to find them hanging out in separate rooms for any length of time. They ate together, played together, and napped together. When they were kittens, Donny would meow constantly if Marie left his side.

Now, there is an obvious distance between them. They spend a lot more time in different rooms, they haven't been sleeping with us, and they get into at least one ugly cat fight most days. They start off playing, but end up biting, hissing, growling, and swiping at each other - something they never did before. We figured they would go back to normal, but it's been over a month now and it's still as if they're just tolerating each other. Hopefully they'll eventually forgive and forget!

For now, I had to bribe them with toys and brushes just to get them to take a picture in the same place! If there are readers out there who have had a similar experience, please offer some insight!

Countdown to Life

It seems like I always have a countdown ticking away in at least one area of my life. When are report cards due? How many days of school are left? How many days until a holiday? How many weeks do I have left to prepare for the baby? When does our lease end?
I hate the feeling of having a deadline looming overhead, and yet I assign most of those countdowns to myself! In case you're wondering, here are the stats:

* 0 days of school left
* 1 day of PD left
* 2 days until my next Dr. appointment
* 24 days until moving day
* 25 days until our 10 year high school reunion
* 62 days until due date (9 weeks?!?!)
* 123 days until I have to return to work


If you think my countdown is extensive, you should see my (4) lists!!

There's SO MUCH TO DO in the next 3 weeks or so and I have very little motivation or energy to do any of it. Ben and I will be temporarily moving to IL for the summer & fall. Our lease ends July 1st and we will be putting most of our stuff in storage here in KY and moving some to IL. Determining what gets stored, what goes to IL, what gets donated, and what gets trashed is totally overwhelming to me... actually packing it and moving it seems downright impossible at this point. Most of the exhaustion is due to the end of the school year, and I'm confident that my energy levels will return once I'm able to sleep more and worry less about work. But for now, I'm pooped!! The only things we have packed right now are my school boxes.

The end of the school year went well. I will miss my kiddos from this year - they were sweet, smart, thoughtful, and hilarious! Just look at the cutout/picture I got on the last day of school!!

One of my students' moms also put together a lovely little shower with the class. She brought cake and punch and gave each of the kids a present for me to open. They each handed me one of these little bows and we let each kid clip one on to these adorable little hangers!

Ben and I have a lot on our plates right now, but we can't stop being grateful for what we have... an amazing opportunity for the fall, the chance to be near our families when our daughter is born, the health of all 3 of us, and each other. It's important that we stop and smell the roses... or at least the lilies growing in our backyard.