Time Flies When The To-Do List is Long!

For some reason you can count on me updating my blog around report card time. I seem to write as a distraction from the pile of work that I really should be doing. Although, at this point I have a couple more comments to write, and a few things to do tomorrow at school, so I am pretty much done. Of course I should also plan for tomorrow and maybe take a nap, I guess all in good time!

I spent a great couple of days in the city this week. I hadn't seen mom and dad in a while so it was nice to spend time with them. We went to visit my Grandpa, who recently was moved into a nursing home. It being Remembrance Day it was nice to visit with him, he was in the Navy in WW II and has some pretty remarkable stories. We moved around his room so he could watch TV and laughed at his sarcastic and witty comments.

After the visit I hit my shopping list. I needed new shirts as I am slowly outgrowing all of my pre-pregnancy shirts. I also needed a ton of stuff for the house, gifts for bridal showers, and some books for school. It was a long day in stores and at the mall but it was nice to scratch so much off the list.



As for Walnut he/she (my feeling is boy) has begun to kick, or punch, or elbow me on occasion. Pretty much every day I feel him move. What a weird and wonderful feeling. It happens the most when I am sitting or lying down, and less when I am up and about. I am very much enjoying pregnancy now. Up until week 16 it was characterized by puking and nausea, now I am enjoying not feeling sick, a popping stomach, and baby movements. If the whole thing was like this you could convince me to have eight kids! I feel great, and have a lot of energy, am sleeping pretty well, and am loving it! Time is flying by and by next week I will be half-way through this pregnancy, time flies! We are looking forward to seeing baby a week from this coming Thursday on the ultra sound.

I guess I should get back to those report cards!

17 Weeks!!

As the 17th week of this journey begins I realize how wonderful week 16 was! It started with hearing the heart beat and ended with four puke free days (in a row!!). I actually was even able to do dishes last night without the running to the bathroom bit!! I also "popped" and am definatley looking pregnant now! I also think Walnut said hello on Saturday by tickling me a couple of time. Not sure if it was the baby or something else but I am leaning towards the baby.

Because I have had a rough afternoon, complete with a stubborn student, and a splitting headache I am taking a couple minutes to think baby and go to my happy place!

Pregnancy Week 17
About the mommy:
Name: Sarah
Age: 28
Is this the first child?: yuppers!

About the daddy:
Name: Jay
Age: 27
Is this the first child?: See my answer above :)

Finding out:
What day did you find out you were pregnant?: August 8th, 2010, I know I said the 4th in an earlier post but the 8th is right!

How did you feel when you found out?: A little bit of shock, "really I am pregnant?", a whole lot of excitment "YAHOO", and a little bit of trepidation "you mean I will be responsible for raising a Godly, respectful, etc. human".

Who was with you?: Jay

How did the daddy react?: He wasn't really surprised, but excited for sure!

Telling the grandparents:
We told both sets together, we gave them picture frames with a wedding picture that Jay doctored to say "watch this space" over my stomach. The frames said something about Grandkids completing the circle of life.

How did you parents react?: Pretty excited!

How did his parents react?: yup excited too! June whipped out a shawl that Jay's grandmother had made years ago for Jay's baby and Jay's old baby blanket. I think both parents had an idea that this announcment was going to come sooner rather than later!

How often do they call to check on you?: i talk to my mom pretty often, and facebook messages out to everyone after doctor's appointments. Jima nd June talk to Jay often enough to know what is happening, I am sure as we get closer we will hear from everyone more and more.

About the pregnancy:
When is your due date?: April 10, 2011
How far along are you right now?: 17 weeks
Have you had an ultra sound?: Nope, not yet, but will on Nov. 25th
Have you heard the heartbeat?: Yes, last week, more to come!
Sex of the baby: Unknown
What do you want. Boy or Girl?: A healthy, happy, baby would be our prefrence, girl or boy doesn't matter! We won't find out until on or around April 10th.

About the birth:
Who is going to be with you?: Probably just my Jay, the nurse and hopefully (unlike my sister-in-law) the doctor!
Are you going to video tape it?:No, I can't imagine the birth being a very flattering time!
Natural or medicated?: I would like to go natural, but I am not going to be too hard on myself if drugs make it into the picture.
Do you think you will have a c-section?: hope not, but if needed then it might happen.

Do you think you will cry when you first hold your baby?: Hmmmm, maybe, I have no idea how I will react, seems too far away to even picture at this point!

Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold it?: Haven't thought about it yet, give me some time!
Are you scared about the labor?: Not really, I mean every mother before me has done it, I figure I can get through it too! Pretty sure it will hurt, but I am also pretty sure it is so worth it!


Names:
Do you have a name picked out?: Yup, if you know us you know the planners that we are, I think we had it narrowed down before we even knew for sure that we were pregnant!
Is your baby going to be named after anyone?: First names no, both middle names yes.
Did the daddy help pick the name?: That is like asking if he helped make the baby, of course he helped pick the names!


Other random questions:

Have you felt the baby move?: Not sure, but i think it said hello on Saturday, at least I am sticking to that story until proven otherwise!

What was your first symptom?: Nausea, seriously I was sick before I even found out I was pregnant!

What is the baby's room theme?: Orange, yellow, blue, and green dots, bright colors, black furniture... we have to move the comic books downstairs before we can put it all together but most of the pieces are already here!


Are you ready to be a mommy?: Yikes, big question! I am so looking forward to it, in fact have been for years! I also realize that being a mommy is something that you can do only so much to prepare for. I am not sure you can ever be "ready" for such an intense, all-consuming job.

What do you think the baby will be a "daddys girl/boy" or a "mommys girl/boy"?: Pretty sure it will end up being both. Daddy will be a pretty amazing daddy so I am sure that Walnut and him will have a pretty terrific relationship!

Life in the Boaz's World

It is clear that the Fall schedule is up and running. Meetings fill several nights a week, marking, and planning take up time, and we fill the rest of our time with "stuff". Eating dinner together is a gift, but it happens only a couple of times a week. Facebook can be our best (as in most reliable, and most easily accessed) form of communication for a day or two as we pass each other in our sleep. Yup, life in our world is the same as always! It really is a good thing we both enjoy our jobs, otherwise we woudl be unhappy people!!

Of course our lives are also focused on Baby Boaz, affectionaly refered to as Walnut by my students, and I find myself using the name too. We spent last weekend in the States shopping for furniture and materninty clothes (Jay got some dvd's too), and we finalized our bedding choice. This baby has begun to rule our lives, and it is only the beginning, it will be there for the rest of our lives!

Today was the day I had been waiting for for a few weeks now. I went to the Doctor for a check-up. I was so happy to hear Walnut's heartbeat for the first time. It is comepletly unreal how God creates little people! It was pretty easy to find, and to hear, and was right in the normal range! So exciting to reach milestones like this on. We are currently at 16 weeks, only 24 more to go :) We are now looking ahead to our next "big thing" the ultra sound next month. Until then I will enjoy growing a belly and look forward to the first movements that I know are movements!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage....

Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!

While I haven’t posted in three months it isn’t for lack of excitement around here. Rather, the need to keep secrets can be blamed for my lack of blogging. You see these three months have been full of new developments. Apparently I have grown a second heart, a second pair of lungs, and another liver. Of course that has taken a little bit of work, but I figure the end result is worth the work!

On Aug. 4th Jay and I discovered that we were beginning a new journey, a journey toward parenthood. A journey I have been longing to start for years! We know that this journey will change our lives completely (in fact in many ways it already has). This baby is so terribly wanted and loved already, I can’t imagine what feelings I will experience on or around April 10th!

We are dreaming, planning and anticipating the arrival of our little one, yet realize we have a six month journey still ahead of us. Until then we will to enjoy the journey!

Two Years Ago

"In the presence of God and before our family and friends I Sarah choose you, Jay, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, secure in the knowledge that you will be my constant friend, my faithful partner in life, and my one true love. I promise to share with you in times of joy and in times of trouble; to talk and to listen; to honor and appreciate you; to provide for an support you in trust and in love. You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always"


These were our vows that we said to each other two year ago. I am pretty good at the talking part, maybe not so good at the listening!

It has been a full, and busy two years, with plenty of ups and downs, but never once do I regret marrying Jay. He really is a pretty great guy !!

We spent our anniversary weekend enjoying some time together camping at Otter Falls in the Whiteshell. Quality time together is always a nice reminder of why we got married in the first place! I love weekends away!

School's Out For Summer

Summer has begun! My report card got completed, my classroom got cleaned, and I have put all teacher thoughts away for the next couple of weeks. I have spent the last week catching up on sleep (when did I get this exhausted?), picking up new habits and beginning my other job in earnest. Summer has begun.
Lindsey and I have began jogging in the mornings, we meet at the end of the road and are working towards being able to run for 20 minutes, right now we are running intervals. Last week we ran 1 minute and walked two, this week we ran 1 and walked 1, should get interesting as we run more and walk less! If only this would cause weight loss... but alas it isn't happening!
My "other" job has started, I am working at a store/cafe at Spruce Sands campground. Basically I scoop a lot of ice cream! I decided that sitting around being unproductive and lazy is not the best way to spend my summer. This week I am working a lot but most weeks I will only work 20-30 hours. In the end I am hoping working a little bit will keep me motivated to use my time off to do something, anything other than sitting at home waiting for Jay to come home.
Of course I want to also make sure I have some fun and go back to school rested and ready for another year. So I have plans with mom, Ashley, Mika, and Jo next week. It feels like forever since I have seen my family so I look forward to visiting with them. I am pretty sure my niece will have changed a ton since I last saw her in May! Jay and I also hope to go away for a couple of days for our anniversary. Going away means no phones, no work, no demands, and that makes me happy!
Maybe my summer will be balanced, some fun, some work, some relaxation, some time with friends, some time with family, some time with my husband... sounds good to me!

In the Mood for Change!

Yup, sometimes I like change, I could even go so far as to say I love it. Seeing as some changes are much easier than others I thought I would make an easy one (my blog look). I need to shake things up a little and not sure what or how to go about doing that at this point in my life... Don't get me wrong I actually really like my life, I have a great husband, who is really pretty amazing, a good job, my family is pretty terrific, I like living where I live... really things are pretty good, but I am still in the mood for change. My parents moved enough in my life for me to like moving (not the packing part but the new part), being settled seems sort of stagnant, and I don't really like that feeling. I just need to figure out a way to shake things up within the confines of my life... maybe I should change around the livingroom furniture!