bumps

So today I ventured to Tucson to finish Jameson's registry and to buy more maternity clothes as my pre-preggo wardrobe is getting harder and harder to fit into as each day passes. Both events were slightly disappointing. First the maternity clothes.

I like to think of myself as a somewhat fashionable and was dreading the fact that I may have to put that to the side during my pregnancy. I stumbled upon H&M in New York over the summer and was super excited to see one open up in Tucson. They have super cute and fashionable clothing for super affordable and this fashionista is and forever will be a hardcore shopper who has to do it within reason so I love that this store marries the two--super cute with super affordable. While I love that they are very affordable I also love that they have a maternity section. When I stumbled upon this find I thought, "My prayers have been answered...I don't have to give up being fashionable just because certain parts of me are getting bigger." Now, granted the maternity section is literally a small section of a wall thrown in between baby gear and the entire section would probably fit into my closet...I was still super excited. That is..until today. I've bought maternity clothes from here previously and had a lot more success but now that I've gotten more baby shall we say and today was not a good day. As my mom and her friend were passing me clothes in the fitting room, we noticed a trend of me needing a size large. This instantly reduced me to tears and a quiet crying in the fitting room while I'm squeezing into pants too small or putting on tops too big. I know there is nothing wrong with needing to wear a size large but for someone who hasn't ever needed to buy a shirt or sweater in size large unless it was a sweatshirt it was quite jarring. Out of all of the things I tried on I ended up with a blue and white pin stripe shirt and black dress pants that I can wear to work. I was so upset that all I wanted to do was pay and get out of the store and mall.

It's time for a bathroom break and I end up sitting on the fountain in the middle of the mall crying to my mom about how I'm not one of those cute pregnant ladies. I'm actually ugly and huge and so not cute. My mom is trying to explain to me that buying larger clothes doesn't mean anything bad all it means is I'm going to grow and if I buy bigger now it'll save me money and time down the road. I know she's right but again...all I can think of is how huge I am and how ugly I am. She assures me I'm neither and asks me if I think other pregnant ladies are ugly and I say of course not...they're ALL cute...it's just me.

Anyway, she coaxes me to going into Motherhood to look for more clothes and she and her friend were literally running circles around the store pulling anything cute. I ended up with a decently sized wardrobe that can be mixed and matched and will last me until this baby decides to enter the world. It did help that they had a baby bump that I could put on and once I did that I understood the point of buying larger sized clothes. All stores that offer a maternity section should have these pretend baby bumps. It just makes the process much easier and more satisfying.

I know that I'm not fat I just have baby but it's very hard to see your body change and grow when you're not used to it or when you don't always feel so cute and pretty pre-preggoness. I know that this is only temporary and the gain is so worth the changes but it still doesn't make it any easier..at least not for this mommy-to-be.

Now...on to the registry. After leaving the mall with a decidedly cute wardrobe we made our way over to Babies R' Us to complete the registry only to find it closed due to a gas leak. Seriously...not the way to end the day. Oh well, guess this will have to wait until later in January.

I will say I'm so glad my mom was there to talk me off the ledge. I know I'm hormonal but she gets and understands me and is there to offer encouragement and rub my back when I'm crying in the middle of the mall. You're never to old for your mom.

make over

No, this isn't a post about me making myself over, although I have had the urge to dye my hair chocolaty brown for a few weeks now and cut it off in a new cute do but they say this urge strikes in pregnancy and to ignore it until you turn into your sane self again. No, this post is about the make over to my 2nd classroom which really was just my junk room and is now going to be turned into Jameson's room.

We've been in this house for I think 2.5-3 years now and my room slowly became a landmine. It was fine and manageable until I was finally evicted from my parent's house and all the junk that was in my room there was put into boxes and brought to this house. Then the weekend we got married we hosted a family BBQ and Robert and his mom and brother David cleaned the house and put all of the junk into the closet and somehow more junk just accumulated. There was literally a path from the door of the room to my computer. No room to move around. Nonetheless, with baby Jameson on the way it was time to get it together and cleaned. And I've been having insane moments where I just need to clean. So cleaning out his room seemed fitting since I've got 2 weeks off of school and I've been needing to get it done. I imagined stretching it out over the 2 weeks, doing a little here and a little there but no..this insane pregnant person has taken over my body and the room was cleaned out in 6 hours. The process made the room look like a hoarder's fantasy.

Now when I'm cleaning or organizing I usually will debate over every item deciding if it REALLY needs to go or if I could somehow use it again...well not this time. If I hadn't touched it in the time I've been in this house it was gone. I have 7 boxes of books that I need to take to Bookman's. I found all of my college papers and a pair of mittens I've been searching for for years. Three giant black Glad bags of trash later and two giant black Glad bags of donations the room is finally organized and cleaned. It's ready for me to move my junk out of and start painting and decorating, which I'm so excite to do. His room is going to be super cute! The only hold up is my hubby's man cave. It desperately needs to be cleaned out and organized...which may be my project next week. Wish me luck...

Here's the mess and madness that was Jameson's room.

This was the view from the door when you first came in.

Here's Lady wondering what mom is doing.

When I stopped to take a picture of the mess coming from the closet. It was literally packed up to the shelf inside. This was just the beginning of unloading that baby.

Here is the room after the 6 hours of madness. The pile on the chest needs to go to my classroom. Apollo says "Wow, I had no idea you could lay down in this room. We've had him for 2 years and this is the first time he's been able to lay down in here. Don't judge me.

Here's the closet now. The stuff on the right of the picture starting with the blue hamper is stuff we already have for Jameson...clothes and books. The pile in the middle with the gray cart and box needs to go to my classroom. And the pile on the left with the Pyrex box and beyond is stuff that needs to go out into our storage shed. The stuffed animals which can't be seen in this picture are getting bagged and donated.

a baby story

So last week was incredibly insane with work so I didn't have the time I wanted to to sit down and write about our dr.'s appointment. So here it is.

Last Wednesday, we had our 21 week appt. plus the ultrasound to find out what our baby was/is..I guess. I had told my kiddos on Monday that they'd get to find out on Thursday morning what the baby was and they were so excited. All I could hear was "oooh, I hope it's a girl" from all of 1st grade ladies...the boys could care less. One of my girls even told me that she had baby girl and baby boys clothes at home that she could bring me. The parents that know about it kept telling me I hope your baby cooperates and is in the right position and honestly that thought had never crossed my mind. The baby had been so much more active lately that I just assumed it would be in the right position. Nevertheless, now that thought was ingrained in my mind.

Everyone had been asking me what I thought we were having and I really had no idea. At first, when we first found out we were pregnant I thought it was a girl just because I really want to have a little girl but as the weeks went by I thought it was probably a boy since Robert has 2 brothers, although I'm not entirely sure what the significance of that is. Anyway, so with no real thought behind my reasoning, I thought it was a boy.

So Tuesday night finally rolls around and I couldn't sleep because I was so excited/nervous/anxious. More than anything I just wanted to make sure that the baby was developing like it should and that it looked normal. I finally fell asleep after tossing and turning and then woke up at 12:30 with the feeling that "it's a boy". I had a dream and I don't remember it but I do remembering waking with that jolted feeling and then knowing we were having a boy. It's the only time throughout the pregnancy that I've had a strong inclination. Anyway, so my appt. was scheduled for 2:30 and lucky for me we were making gingerbread houses that afternoon so I didn't have to put a lot of thought into my afternoon of teaching. The bell finally rings and I'm chatting with two mommies about when they found out about their kiddos and I'm constantly checking my watch and then finally go, "Well, I've got to get to my appt." So I get to the dr.'s office and do my business and then go sit in the waiting room with the hubs, my parents and his mom. They call us back and get started.

It was the neatest thing seeing the baby on the screen. Within 10 minutes of laying there and seeing the heartbeat and it's little face and arms the lady was able to tell us we we're having a boy! Everyone was excited about it! But the little guy was content on laying in the same position the whole time!!! She finally got a picture of his boy parts for us but it wasn't as good as she would've liked. The only thing he moved were his arms and occasionally his legs but stayed in the same position the whole time. It was very weird seeing his face when he turned his head. He looks like an alien. =) We got a ton of pictures to take home and I already posted my favorite one of him...he's got the cutest little nose. But here are a few more for your viewing pleasure. =)

You can see his little arm resting on top of his face and his little leg is bent. We also were able to see his fingers. =) So precious!

This black spot that looks like his eye is actually the lens of the eye.

Another one with his arm on top of his face. The white parts on him are his bones and if you look by his elbow that weird looking L shape is his umbilical cord.

I just love this one!

oh baby!

We're having a boy!

Jameson Robert Faust

Christmas Around the World

Zalig Kerstfeest! Feliz Navidad! Froehliche Weihnachten! God Jul! Merry Christmas!

So for the past two weeks my kiddos have been "traveling" around the world to learn how other kiddos celebrate this holiday season. This is the 1st year I've ever done this project for the holiday season and oh is it a project. It's very fun and rewarding but it's a lot of work. So far we've learned about Hannukah. We played the dreidel game, learned about the menorah and why it has eight candles, we also learned the significance of using oil to make latkes and we learned about gelt (Hannukah money).

We've also learned about Christmas in the Netherlands and how Sinter Klaas visited the children on a white horse and brought his friend Black Pete who wrote down the naughty kids names in his big red book. We also made shoes (kiddos in the Netherlands put out their wooden shoes full of hay and carrots for Sinter Klaas' horse) and left them out over night and found a gold coin in them the next day. For this country we also watched a movie called Santa and Pete and we learned that our Santa followed the children over to America and we learned how he got his hat and red coat (from the Native Americans). We also learned why Santa goes down the chimney, and why we hang stockings and don't put out our shoes, and we watched how Sinter Klaas' horse eventually became Santa's reindeer. It's actually a really good movie and I think everyone should see it at some time in their lifetime.

Then we were off to England where we learned that the tradition of Christmas cards started there and it's been around for over 100 years. We also learned about the yule log and why they save the ashes...to bring good luck of course. We also learned that a lot of our Christmas carols came from England as well.

We've also visited Sweden and learned about St. Lucia and that she brings a nice treat of cinnamon rolls to families on December 13. We got to partake in our own cinnamon rolls! We also learned about Jultomte and how he helps Santa deliver presents. We also learned about Dipping Day where the Swedes dip a piece of black bread into soup broth for good luck.

Today we visited Mexico and learned about Las Posadas and that traditionally they don't open presents until January 6 and that the Three Kings bring the presents to the good boys and girls. We also learned the significance of the poinsettia.

Tomorrow we're off to Germany to learn about the tannebaum (Christmas tree) and gingerbread houses. We even get to make our own.

Last but not least the US. We'll make our own stockings to hang up in the classroom to be filled by Santa. We'll also be making Christmas ornaments.

I tell you the past two weeks have been very crazy but so fun and it's really been neat to learn about how other countries and how they celebrate this time of year. After we learn about a country they have to write about it in their Holiday Traditions book. Pictures of that to come. I know a lot of the kiddos have found interesting pieces which I hope they'll remember.

Some of our poinsettias.

Oh...sorry for the random trivia...but in case you're ever on Jeopardy and you win because of one of these facts you can send half your winnings to me..broke teacher. =)

Zoo Lights

This weekend the hubs and I went to Zoo Lights at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson. Neither of us had been before to any kind of Zoo Lights so we thought it would be fun. We got there around 6:30 and found the line to wrap around the Aquatic Center that is next door. With a little apprehension we got in line but found it to move fairly quickly. We were in the line probably about 15-20 minutes. Next time we go, we'll be buying the advance tickets. But nonetheless it was finely our turn to buy our tickets and in we went. It was actually really neat. The way they had the lights strung up. It was very pretty. I love Christmas lights...this time of year, I love to drive around and look at all the houses with their pretty decorations, so this was a treat for me! The only animals that were out were the elephants and they were probably wondering what in the world was going on? Why were all of these people in their house at that time of night? I really want to go to Zoo Lights in Phoenix. We didn't have the fanciest camera...but we did get some pictures. Enjoy!

Poor guys...had no idea what was going on.

I need these guys in my front yard....don't tell my husband. =)

Here I am at 20 weeks.

makin' a list

As it is that time of year...I'm having the hardest time coming up with things I want for Christmas. How sad...this must be what it's like when you're a full-fledged adult. Yes? No?

As I'm surrounded by 26 six and seven year olds five days a week and being that it is Christmas according to them, I find myself thinking about my wish list. I made my kiddos write their letters to Santa, and surprisingly, they actually listened for this assignment. I explained that when we write a letter, we're actually having a conversation with someone. So, no, they could not just write a list of things they wanted but they needed to "talk" to Santa about what they wanted and why, and maybe even throw a question or two in there for him. Nonetheless, they managed to get in a few of their high-ticket items. And this brings me back to my point. Ask any kid what they want for Christmas, and no matter what time of the year it is, they can spout off about a million things. Whereas, I the 25 year old that I am can't think of more than two or three things that I would like to have under my tree this year. Now my husband has been gleefully letting me know for the past month that he knows what he's getting me for Christmas and I have no idea what those things would be. Believe me, I've racked my brain... many times but to no avail I come up empty handed. And surprisingly my husband has a list a mile long...well maybe not a mile long but he NEVER has a list...EVER! So, shopping for him has been relatively easy this year.

This is the only thing that I really, REALLY want.


Yes, I know they're Uggs and I yes, I know I live in Southern Arizona but nonetheless, I have always wanted a pair of Uggs. Not so I can wear them with cut-off shorts ala all the celebrities but so I can just wear them over my skinny jeans or just because my feet are always cold. This is the exact pair I want in this color as well...chestnut. Is anyone else picking up on the *hint, hint.

Guess we'll have to see if I've been a good girl or not this year. =)