Put the Lime in the Coconut

At twelve weeks Baby Hami is now about the size of a lime! According to BabyCenter- the most dramatic development this week is his new reflexes. His fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Later this week (Thursday) we will go for another ultrasound and some health testing to make sure Baby Hami is growing nice and strong. I am so excited to compare the pictures from our first ultrasound, in which he looks like a tiny little blob, to the ones this week! He will definitely look a lot more human this time around and we might even be able to see his sweet face. In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting the end of this first trimester because hopefully it means the end of morning sickness (or in my case, all day sickness!)!

In other news, two very exciting things happened this weekend in terms of our nursery. Our incredibly loving, supportive, and generous parents purchased some furniture for the newest addition! My in laws bought us a crib, and my parents purchased his beautiful dresser! With these two pieces, the room is nearly complete! I already had a comfy rocker that my mom gave me for my birthday this past year. It was meant for our guest room, but with the addition of some arm pads it will be perfect for Baby! We also had a gorgeous white baker's rake that used to be in my parent's kitchen that we will use for storage and display! The only thing left is decorations and bedding!

It's exciting to have all of this taken care of and now we can just wait patiently for it all to be delivered in October! I will most likely wait until then to do any more decorating, because hopefully towards the end of that month we will know if Hami is a boy or a girl. Linc and I knew, regardless of the sex, which kind of furniture we wanted and the basic theme we would go with, but I think we will wait to decide on the final color palette until we know for sure! It's such an exciting time and we have so much to look forward to! Don't forget to check back later this week to see new pics!

Birthday at the Aquarium

Yesterday we celebrated my nephew's birthday at the Georgia Aquarium! Ethan just turned three and was amazed at all the different fish and animals he could see. He really enjoyed the different touch tanks and watching the whale sharks swimming above him in the tunnel. We ate lunch upstairs and enjoyed a little cupcake for dessert! I loved watching his reaction to each of the different rooms we went into, but his favorite part by far was the whale slide! Afterward, we gave him his birthday present which I think was a big hit- a battery operated baby dinosaur that made noises and moved around! It was so adorable and I even had fun playing with it!

My favorite part of the aquarium is always the coral reef room and watching all those colorful fish swimming about. For the past couple of years I have gotten to take my classes on field trips to the aquarium. We were so fortunate to go on a behind the scenes tour two years ago where we watched how they make the waves in each of the salt water tanks and saw how scientists grow the algae and different plants that are introduced into the habitats. There is also a hatchery were all the babies are born and some different views of the Beluga Whale tank. If you ever have the opportunity to go "behind the scenes," definitely take the tour! It is unbelievable to see how much goes on in the aquarium!

We had so much fun and even Baby Hami
was feeling good that day!
You can see in the picture my SIL Alena is
pointing to my ever increasing bump!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

This week Baby H is about the size of a fig and is perfecting his water ballet inside my tummy! Although I haven't felt him yet (and won't be able to for a while) there are a lot of changes going on both inside and out! This past week I had to bust out the maternity jeans for our spirit wear Friday since the Long and Leans are just a bit uncomfortable to button now. Thankfully, all my other clothes fit well but to be honest, I am actually really enjoying the elastic waistband!! They are so comfy!

Since I don't take a photo of my rapidly expanding waistline every week, I thought it would be neat to compare the ones I have so far and see if I've grown. Linc and I found out we were expecting when I was only four weeks along so I have been trying to track my progress since then. This weekend I layered a seven week and ten week photo of my belly to compare what has happened! Take a look!

I have only gained a couple of pounds in the last seven weeks (thanks to some lovely "morning sickness" that tends to strike anytime I brush my teeth...) so you wouldn't think that little bit would be enough to have to give up my jeans! But, it's the growth right at my belly button that makes them uncomfortable to keep closed. Perhaps I'll break out the Bella Band soon and see how they feel then! But for now, I will say good bye to the Long and Leans and hello maternity jeans!

The Daily Grind

Teachers in my county returned to work on August 3rd and I cannot believe that it is already the third week of school with the kids! We have had a lot of ups and downs in the few short weeks since the year began and are anxiously awaiting the hiring of a fifth second grade teacher. Our school did not anticipate the number of students attending this year and even though we began with five teachers on our grade level, we "lost" a teacher to first grade during pre planning.

Shortly after, enough kids enrolled to fill an entire class in second grade! These past few weeks have been a bit stressful trying to find enough desks, materials, and supplies for all the extra little bodies. I haven't been thrilled with how the county handled the situation, but a solution is in sight and a new teacher is scheduled to begin this week. It will be nice to have a smaller class and more manageable numbers! I am also excited to not have to wait any longer to transition the kids, since the longer we wait the harder it will be for them to leave.

The best part about school so far is that I got a new classroom with a Promethean board!! This is something I have waited for for the last two years and am so excited to have this technology available for my students. Another big change is that I am team teaching with my friend Sandy from special ed. We are doing math and reading together and I think it is going to be great for the kids- especially to have the Promethean board to enhance their lessons.I think this school year has the potential to be the best one yet and I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out!

Edited to Add: A Promethean Board has a touch screen and is interactive. You use special pens to do all sorts of various functions. There are also voting buttons that students can use, a tablet so you can interact with the board from across the room, and numerous features that make the technology extremely useful in the classroom. It is a hot commodity in our school since there is only one per grade level, so I am very lucky to have gotten it this year!

Daddy/Daughter Date Night

Last night I met my dad and little sister Alex for dinner at the club! Linc was out of town on a business trip and my mom was in Hilton Head for a ladies getaway so we figured what better time to hang out together! Usually we all go out to eat as a family, so it was such a nice treat to have a daddy/daughter date night! We caught up on conversation, had an amazing meal, and just enjoyed spending time together. It sure beat staying in with the pups on a Saturday night and I hope we get to do it again soon! Thanks dad for a great "date" and for always keeping us entertained! I love you!!

We're Growing!

The Boro

Just before the car accident, I was visiting my best friend from college (aka my twin) Candace. I did not have to go to pre-planning on Friday so I left that morning and drove down to see her. It had been a while since she and her husband had bought their first house, and I hadn't been to the 'Boro in over a year.

I got to town right around lunch time and met Candace at her work. She took me out to lunch and then we hung out at her office until work was over. That night we made homemade pizzas with her husband Jeremiah and even though the original dough got messed up, the end product was delicious! We watched a movie before bed and also sampled a few flavors of ice cream that they had stock piled in the freezer! My favorite was Ginger Snap!

Yeah...you had to be there...

On Saturday we slept in late, had a delicious home cooked breakfast, went shopping, and had an old college favorite- El Sombrero- for lunch. We caught up on girl talk and all the latest gossip and just enjoyed each other's company. We relaxed at her house in the afternoon and then got ready for dinner at Mellow Mushroom. When I first came to Georgia Southern there was a MM right near my dorm. A few months later, much to our extreme disappointment, it shut down and became a bar. Now two years later they brought back the delicious restaurant in a brand new shopping center. It was great!

She's the tan twin, I'm the tall twin! ;)

Sunday morning I woke up to home made blueberry muffins and then hit the road back to Atlanta. If you missed what happened on my excursion home...click the link at the top!! I loved seeing my Candace though and wish they would move closer so we could hang out ALL the time! Thankfully, when Candace and Jeremiah come up for a shower in September we'll get to hang out again. Thanks for a great weekend twinny. I love you! oxxo

Hit and Run

The Sunday before school started I was driving home from visiting my twin Candace in south Georgia. I was making great time on I-75 until we came to a complete stop around McDonough due to a nine car pile up on the highway. After sitting on the highway in 93 + degree heat, my poor little car started overheating and I ended up having to turn off the AC. It was pretty brutal being stuck on the highway with the sun blazing through my windows and not so much as a breeze to help cool me down. I was exhausted, frustrated, dehydrated, and sick of driving! When Linc called to tell me the accident wouldn't be cleared for another hour, I almost lost it! We finally began inching along, but I was so hot that when I got to the first exit I got off to find some water.

After making a pit stop in smalltown nowhere Georgia, I turned my GPS on and attempted to find an alternate way home. There was no way I could sit through all that traffic again, and my AC was finally working properly! I headed down the two lane road going a comfortable 50mph (5 under the speed limit) when the unthinkable happened. A man in a red SUV, who should have stopped at the HUGE stop sign in front of him, plowed right through it just as I was about to pass through the intersection. He was making a left hand turn and had a stop sign. I was headed straight and did not. With hardly any time to think, and his car only a few feet from mine, I managed to slam on my breaks, jerk my car around, and narrowly avoided T-boning his car. I was seconds from a head on collision that surely would have totaled my car and probably caused me a lot of injuries. If only it had ended there!

Unfortunately for the person behind me, they were side swiped by the man in the red SUV who continued to speed on through the intersection. This somehow propelled them forward and right into the back of my little Jetta. Thank GOD I was still moving forward enough that the impact of the crash was not too severe and I managed to stop the car before hitting anything else. I sat in shock for a moment before I realized that the man in the red SUV still had not stopped! After nearly killing me, side swiping another vehicle, and causing a nasty wreck, the person had the nerve to KEEP ON DRIVING!!! Thank goodness there were witnesses to what happened, and one good Samaritan even followed the jerk, took down his license plate number, and followed him to his neighborhood. She returned with the info just as I found my voice to call the police.

Four officers were dispatched to help us and two went to go find the man in the red SUV. They went to his house, found the car, but (of course) he did not answer the door. The other lady and I were so lucky that after all that had happened, neither of us required medical attention. I was more hurt emotionally than anything else and had a hard time staying composed. Two hours later, the woman who ended up hitting me and I were able to leave with an official Hit and Run police report. Despite the crash, both of our cars were still working and we were both able to drive away. She was headed to Kentucky, I headed straight for my parent's house!

I bawled the entire way there- half of me still scared to death and the other half just so grateful at the actual outcome. I have never been in a crash before and it is not something I would like to relive ever again. What must have only been seconds in real life, played out in my mind over and over again like a bad dream. I can recall the exact feeling of pure dread when I realized the man wasn't stopping and I was headed right for him. At the speed I was going, I can only imagine the horrible outcome if I had actually hit him square on. Even today, I am still so angry at that man and hope the police are able to find him and give him the punishment he deserves. We are waiting on the insurance people to appraise the damage to my car and hope to have it fixed sometime soon. It may not look so bad from the photo, but the way the lady hit my car caused significant damage to the underside of the car. I was not thrilled when the repair shop gave me an estimate!

There are a million if onlys that run through my head daily- if only I hadn't left Candace's house at that time, if only there hadn't been an accident, if only the Jetta hadn't overheated, if only I didn't need to get water, if only, if only, if only. BUT...after all that...the good news is I am alive, my car, although ugly, still works, and I learned a valuable lesson in patience. I hope I don't have to learn a lesson like this ever again. Ever.

Surviving Day One

Just over a year ago I began posting about my life as a teacher, wife, and mother of two crazy pups! It has been a wild ride and today the fun began again! It was our first day of school and the start to my third year teaching second grade. I am surprised at how quickly the day was over but thankfully I feel like we got off to a good start. My kids know my expectations, we practiced how to behave as second graders, and everyone made it home the correct way! My teacher friends and I always joke that the goal is just to survive the first day and then go from there. I feel like we accomplished that pretty well.

My group this year is incredibly diverse but will probably change within the week to reflect an additional teacher being hired. Our enrollment was a lot higher than anticipated and since we actually lost a teacher last week during pre-planning they'll need to hire someone new! The poor kids have been shuffled around a bit, but hopefully it will all be figured out in a few days. I am excited that my class will be a little more manageable, but am anxious to see who has to leave! All in all I'd say we're in for a good year and I'll end this post like I did last year...

1 day down...189 more to go!

Happy Birthday!

At 5:59 p.m. on August 7th, my best friend Courtney and her husband Kyle welcomed their daughter Leighton Cherry Mayfield into the world! After staying put an extra four days and twelve hours of labor later, Leighton finally made her debut! Thankfully for Courtney (and baby) there were no complications during labor. Leighton came out weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long. She has her momma's adorable dimples and looks just like a tiny baby doll!

Happy Birthday baby Leighton!

I love you Courtney!! I am so proud of you and hope to meet this little miracle very soon! Rest up when you can and enjoy every moment with your new family! xooxoxox

Weekend Recap (sort of)

Ok...really I should do a full week's recap since I haven't posted in a while so here goes...

I have been sick for two weeks SO
Monday-Thursday I slept on my couch all day long.

Friday I went to school for three hours and managed to put up one bulletin board after spending the morning turning my furniture right side up. For some reason when the custodians cleaned my classroom this summer, they put all the furniture back in on its side. The AC wasn't turned on yet so by lunch time I was too sweaty to keep working. I met my mom for lunch and then we did a little shopping. That night we met new neighbors and old friends Robyn, Brendon, and baby Grace for dinner at a brand new Mexican restaurant near our house. We had been waiting for it to open forever and it did not disappoint!

Saturday we all went over to my parent's house for a Nathan-Harvey dinner party. My parents have been friends with the Harveys for what seems like forever and we have grown up hanging out with them. Linc and I are so excited to have Brendon and Robyn a few houses away from us and have another generation of great friends! We had an italian themed dinner and I made some delicious "tortellini kabobs" for an appetizer! They were simple and so tasty! We also enjoyed my dad's famous home made lasagna, Donna's meatballs, and three decadent italian desserts! It was a great night and we're hoping to have many more in the future!

Alex, Mom, Me, Robyn, Donna, Megan, and Grace
We missed you Kris and Ash!!