This one TAKES the cake....oh my WORD!!

I HAVE to post this one.....from Babycenter:

Swallowed Chewing Gum!!! Scared!!! (this was the subject of her post...below is what she said IN her post)

I'm 22 weeks 6 days and I accidentally swallowed my chewing gum today!! I'm scared it's gonna harm my baby. Anyone had this problem??


I'm sorry, I just can't stop laughing.....seriously???

Off to the motherland...

Sophie and I are off early tomorrow for a trip home to Canada. I have not been there since June after my grandma died. I'm used to going up there at least 3 times a year, but didn't make it for Christmas this year as we were in Montana.

So just Sophie and I headed up. It's only about a 5.5 hr drive...and I figure that Sophie did awesome on a 12 hour trip to Montana, so I'm hoping for good things on our trip tomorrow. I'm just so excited to be "taking off" and going somewhere again. I used to do weekend trips up to Canada all the time in college. I miss that independence of mine sometimes, that "free spirit" to just take off when I feel like it.

I am looking forward to getting together with my cuz Tracy and her 2 little darlings, Ruby and Roxy. Ruby and Sophie are 8 mths apart (Tracy and I are 6 mths apart) and I just wish we lived closer so they could have the kind of relationship Tracy and I did (grew up blocks away from each other).

Also, going to hit up the local White Spot (incredible Canadian restaurant)...will try to get there at least twice in my 3 evenings there.

Au Revoir!

Are you FREAKING Serious????

So, after my blog the other day, where I talked about how I wish I could stay home and not have to work anymore and how I'm feeling STUCK in my job, well, there's more GOOD NEWS.

The WONDERFUL governor of Oregon has declared today that he would like all teachers to, ahem, get ready for this, WORK FOR FREE THIS SPRING in order to save the state money b/c of massive budget cuts. Cutting days would hurt the kids (YES, I agree), but working for free?? I am livid.

Echoing what my friend Janelle said in her blog, I feel like this is a huge slap in the face. The HOURS I pour into my job, the HOURS of unpaid time I give to my job, and now, "please work for free?"

If I could add up how much money out of my own pocket I spend on my classroom over the past 7 years, or the times when students don't bring lunch money and I buy snacks/lunch for them out of my own pocket, it would be a huge amount. I go to school and take classes, and spend LOTS of my own personal money to further my professional growth so I can be a better teacher b/c that's what I WANT to be, and then this? Why am I doing this?

Yes, I love teaching and I'm "in it for the kids"...but after taking SO MUCH crap over the years, being totally underappreciated (but still doing the best that I can and WANTING to be a better teacher all the time), this just makes me feel undervalued all the more.

I WON'T DO IT. I'm sorry...It's a HORRIBLE precedent to set to say "yes this is okay". I've done this before with my own job, when I come in on my own time and not get paid, and now it becomes "expected" of you. I'm NOT DOING THIS!

Husbands...

How well do you know your husband?

1. What's he doing right now? At music practice at church

2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch

3. What is one food he doesn’t like? Cinnamon :)

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Pop :) (doesn't drink)

5. Where did he go to high school? Valley Christian School

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10.5

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? guitar picks, LOL

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY (his "staple")

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICHES

10. What is his favorite cereal? Grape nuts

11. What would he never wear? pink

12. What is his favorite sports team? Montana Grizzlies

13. Who is his best friend? me

14. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? spend so much time on the computer!!

15. Who did he vote for in the last election? McCain

16. How many states has he lived in? 3

17. What is his heritage? German and Welsh

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? Oreo ice cream cake

19. Did he play sports in high school? Tennis

20. What could he spend hours doing? playing music

I'm having a moment...

It's been one of those days, or weeks where I am so incredibly sad that I have to work :( I have had so much fun with Sophie lately, going out and doing things like storytime, gymnastics, or just hanging out at home. It has been so enjoyable and Sophie is at this super fun stage right now of just being so much fun. The thought of going to work tomorrow (even for a 2 day week) is making me dissolve in tears.

I've even gotten as far as to mentally start making a list in my head of what we could do so that I didn't have to work...and haven't gotten very far, because at this point, not working is not really an option. We could sell our house, but in this day and market, we'd be losing so much money that it's not worth it.

Do you ever just feel "stuck"?? That no matter what you do, you are in this trapped place? I am so thankful for a job during this scary economic time. But when my wish and desire is to be at home and at this point there doesn't seem to be a logical way to do that, it just makes me so sad...And when my job just makes me so incredibly stressed that I come home a mental case, is that healthy?

A few more zingers

Okay, just have to add a few more "great questions/comments" from the baby site I check out...

1. Is it okay to get a chair massage at 23 weeks?

2. Anyone else NOT getting a new car? -- Umm, are you supposed to get new cars when you have a baby? missed that memo.

3. My prenatals are discontinued!!!! -- this girl was so troubled over this...

4. Can we have a natural birth without taking classes? -- sigh...

Because Rhonda asked...

So after Rhonda asked me to post new pictures of Sophie, it reminded me that it has been awhile since I've posted pics of my little monkey. So here are some new ones from the past few weeks.

Reading---she got her love of reading from Mommy!


Beautiful day at the park!






Bath time!

Are these people for real?!?!

I have to say that I tend to be a very logical thinker. I try to apply common sense to all areas of my life. Whether that is in big decisions or little things along the way.

Like I did when I was pregnant with Sophie, I go on "Babycenter.com" and am a part of a birthclub there of other women due in June. It's a good place to go for questions etc about the pregnancy/child bearing, etc. Obviously this is my 2nd pregnancy, but it's still fun to be a part of a group of a ton of women going through the same things you are.

However, there have been some posts on there lately that make me ask, "Are you for real?" Common sense people...here are a few of my favorites:

1. "HELP. I ate a spoonful of cream cheese icing I found from New Years."---this girl was freaked out that she poisoned her baby.

2. "Is cheesecake okay to eat?"

3. "Frequent ultrasounds... is it dangerous?"

4. "I am going to pick up my crib today. I have no IDEA what type of mattress to buy. I know firm but how many coils should it have and whats the best.. I am so confused.."

5. "Can back pain mean you are losing the baby?"

6. "Are heated back massagers safe?"


I'll be sure to post more of my "faves" when new ones appear :)

so I disappeared for awhile....

Okay, so didn't realize that I hadn't posted in 1.5 months!!! Oops! It's been a crazy few months though, with the holidays, the pregnancy, work....I need to get better about blogging again.

So yes, i am pregnant, if you didn't already know that by now! I am 23 weeks pregnant and due on June 9th. We are watching the baby's right kidney right now b/c it shows some cysts, but we are praying and believing that all will be fine!