Here we go

I have been thinking about getting this blog back up and running for quite a while now..I've really been meaning to inform people of my pregnancy progress throughout most of this experience, but I've just been too busy (lazy) and trying to keep busy (sleeping) has made me exhausted. Either way...better late than never to dust this thing off and get it going!

Last week I hit the 21 week mark! Woot! It is hard to believe this "experience" is half way done. Whoa! Where has the time gone?! I think the thing that has helped the time go by so fast is that I don't feel pregnant. I just feel like a lady who has gained some inches in her midsection. My weight is holding steady (no gains yet...) but I can tell that my pants are fitting a little tighter. At my last doc appointment, I was told I have an anterior placenta which explains why I haven't been feeling any movement or kicks, but at my 18 week sono, I sure could SEE a lot of movement! Here is a pic from that sonogram. Holy crap! There is something alive in there!

Bruce and I absolutely wanted to know the sex of our baby so we are happy to report that we will be having a little boy!! Bruce had definite opinions on what his name would be, but unfortunately we have yet to agree on that. ;) We are still working out the kinks!

Once we found out the gender, I headed to Lowe's to purchase a can of paint. I had already painted most of the walls a light gray color and we wanted to select a gender related color to accent. The green might seem a little bright, but once we get things hung up on the wall, I think that will help mellow things out. 

Bruce and I are so lucky to already have most of the furniture for the room! A lady I used to work with just had kids a few years ago, and she was looking to get rid of their furniture so she sold it to us for a very cheap price! Awesome!! 

Have a great Tuesday!

MB

Being creative

Lately, I have been on a creativity kick. Of course, I spend too much time on Pinterest and think that I can make EVERY craft project under the sun. I have pinned a few good things that I will DEFINITELY try to pull off this summer, but everything else is just dreaming.

While working at Archivers, I always wanted to purchase one of the shadow box trays that they sell. A friend of mine announced her pregnancy so I thought it would be a great time for me to purchase a tray and get to work! Here is a picture of the tray before I got started.

She informed me that she would be having a little boy, and lucky for me, I had a paper pack with papers that had a mix of light greens and light blues. Without trying to be too gender specific (because not everyone likes blue for a boy and pink for a girl) I also tried to add some yellows in there. Here is the final product!

I added some space for the little boy's "stats" as those are usually fairly important when a baby is first born. I also left some of those larger openings fairly bland so pictures could be added. 

I can't wait to have another excuse to make one of these shadow box arrangements!!

MB

It's been awhile

Well it has been almost 10 months since my last blog update. I am sure all (3) of my followers have long forgotten about my epic posts. Oh well...

It has been a great school year!! After my TERRIBLE first year, this second year has been such a turn around...I am so thankful for this incredible blessing. Thank God for Lee Gruss and her recommendation that I fill her position since she was leaving. It has been a wonderful experience and I have learned so much. This time last year, I was so checked out. This year, I was excited to come back after spring break and begin the 4th quarter. I still cant believe it is that time of the school year. Crazy. After all that negativity last year, it is nice to be around so many positive people and positive things. And for those of you wondering about my principal from last year...he put in his resignation after Christmas break this year. He (finally) admitted that "this isnt the job for me" and he said he missed teaching. Whatever. The world is a better place that he came to that realization.

Anyway, I worked for Archivers last summer and into the fall. Eventually, I had to quit. With teaching, my grad classes and Archivers, it was just too much. But, while I was working there, I learned about this super cool new technique that focuses on color blending. LOVE IT! All I used was a minerals based liquid and some colored pencils. Woot! I stamped this image and used the Gamsol (minerals liquid) to color blend. I really like the finished product this gives.

The process can be fairly time consuming but I think it is worth it. I would like to say that I would use this for a Christmas card or something...but we will see. I need to start making my cards NOW if I plan on using the Gamsol for every card. 

M to the B

Workout

So I have been known to play a lot of indoor soccer. Before I started coaching, I would play at least 2-3 days a week. Once coaching began, I never had time to play soccer and in turn, took a 2 month sabbatical from the game. Well now that the school year is over and coaching is done, I have gotten back into it. One of the first games I played...I felt TERRIBLE. I just didnt feel healthy and my body hurt. Sure I know that I should have kept up with some sort of workout (besides just coaching) but I never thought I would feel THAT uncomfortable playing soccer again. YIKES! Thursday night outdoor has started again so hopefully I can get back into it...but for now, I am trying to lay off the soda and any extra unnecessary calories. We will see how this goes...

A week in VEGAS!

Well, almost a full week in Vegas. Bruce and I woke up bright and early Sunday morning (day before Memorial Day) to head out to KCI to catch our flight to Vegas. This trip has been in the works since the beginning of February. Bruce and I like to make a yearly trip to Vegas and since I was teaching, I knew it would have to wait until the end of the school year. What a perfect time and place to blow off some steam from the end of the school year! Woot! We took advantage of not only 3 shows Vegas had to offer, but we also signed up for a bus tour to the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. Bruce wasn't as excited about this trip and I was, but I am so lucky he agreed to go. Here is a picture of our first stop; the Hoover Dam. We only had about 30 minutes with this stop, but it was nice to see!

 Next we headed to the Grand Canyon. Here we had about 4 hours to walk around and discover different parts of the canyon. 4 hours actually seemed to be a little too much time. Bruce and I were back to the main depot station about an hour prior to departure. Oh well. It was still a great sight to see.

We spent most of the trip seeing shows and exploring the different Sports/Books rooms in other hotels. The last full day we were there, we spent some time on the casino floor. I really got into the self-service Roulette station. I always get so nervous with the fast paced activity at the live roulette tables, so this type of Roulette was much more to my liking.

Now we are back in KC, and I am working hard on my grad classes for the summer. I start my part time job (ARCHIVERS!!!!!!) on Monday so my summer is off to a good start!

MB

End of the first chapter

I can't believe I made it through my first year of teaching! It started off on such a great foot and ended a little rocky, but I learned a lot and wouldn't change a thing. I was so lucky to have a great 7th grade homeroom class. They certainly were challenging from time to time but it was a fun year. Below is a picture of me with most of the kids on the last day. Two were missing but everyone else is there!

A little artwork

Today I had a special delivery from one of the second graders. The whole second grade class made "The Best Teacher" posters and two of the second graders picked ME as the best! Below is a picture of the drawing one of the students did! Definitely a keeper!