27 Weeks and a Project

I can't believe we only have 13 weeks left!

I definitely look way more pregnant in real life than in pictures, but here ya go:

  

This week I also finally finished my first big baby project. This awesome dresser was given to us by our good friends when they moved.

BEFORE

 

I have wanted to refinish it for the last year but haven't gotten around to it until now. 

AFTER

 I am so pleased with how it turned out. I only spent $30 on the whole project ($12 on knobs, $10 on polycrylic sealer, $8 on brushes, the dresser was free and I already had the paint).

My favorite part is (are?) the knobs! So pretty!

Which Elephant

This picture sums up today pretty accurately:

Which elephant are you? I think I had moments today being each one...
Here's to tomorrow!

Week 24

Hello from 24 weeks! Apparently, Little Girl is now 12 inches long and weighs over a pound. To celebrate the fact that she is now the size of a $5 Foot Long, here are some updates and answers to questions that I get most frequently:

Food
I haven't really had any overwhelming cravings, I just have an excuse to want things that I have always liked, including:
-popcorn
-pizza
-grapefruit cups (from Costco...mmmm)
-sunbelt fudge covered granola bars
-fig newtons
-dill pickle chip dip
-wheat thins
-quesadillas
-Costco hot dogs
-bread, in all it's wonderful forms
-Reeses Peanut Butter Cups 

During my first trimester, I absolutely did not want anything sweet. It was very unusual for me, and Brian said that he realized why husbands gain "sympathy weight"-- because their wives stop eating dessert and the husbands eat it for them!  In the last few weeks I've definitely gained back a desire for  sweets, but I can't handle as much as I used to! So I've learned to be sparing, or I end up sick.

Names
We have a few names we like, but we will wait to tell or decide until after Little Girl comes. Basically the only thing decided right now is that the name has to be easy to cheer at sporting events- because Little Girl will definitely be involved in athletics. :)

Nursery
We have an extra room, but it will double as a guest room because we don't want to get rid of our extra bed, and we love visitors! We're going with a lot of white with accents of turquoise, light green, and pink. Check out some of my inspiration  here, here,  here.

We will probably be traveling a lot in the fall when Brian starts doing away rotations, so we are planning on using a pack-n-play instead of a crib. Then Little Girl will be used to her bed wherever we are.

Right now I'm working on painting a dresser white and replacing the knobs with clear crystal ones. My next projects will be painting the bookshelf white, finding space in the closet, embellishing the white curtains, painting the frame of an oval mirror I got at goodwill, making flag bunting, piecing a baby quilt, sewing matching pillows to go on the guest bed, making a hanging bow/clip holder.... I am going to be busy and have so much fun!

Other Weird Pregnancy Stuff
I've had really weird, crazy, vivid dreams. In one I was trying to drive a car with an infant in my arms. In another, I was teaching my class on a boat at they were all sailors. In another I was really worried about running out of toothpaste. I have always had very vivid dreams, though. At the beginning of every school year I dream about trying to teach procedures but having no control, with students all over the place. I also have recurring versions of dreams where my teeth are falling out in my mouth--I read somewhere that teeth falling out in dreams is a sign of stress. At least I haven't had that dream since I've been pregnant!

I get equal amounts of comments saying "I can't even tell you're pregnant!" and "wow, you're starting to show!"  I'm not sure what to make of either one. You can't tell I'm pregnant? Do I always look this pudgy? or for the other half, wow? Am I that big?  I'm sure everyone is just trying to be nice and tell me what they think I want to hear. So thank you, all you nice people. :)

Our Big News

We are having a baby girl!!! Go ahead and oogle at her cuteness:

 

(this is her profile, she is looking to the left)

 

 

(These are her legs, crossed at the ankle. Her knees are at the top and her ankles are at the bottom.)

 

(another profile)

And now, for the traditional side maternity pose. I haven't taken any yet, because I really just look like I've eaten too many cupcakes (aaaaand frankly, side paternity poses are really awkward). But, for documentation purposes, this is what I look like at 20 weeks:

 

 Halfway to July 27th!   FIST PUMP!!

College Cup!

Vanderbilt Medical School takes "Student Wellness" very seriously. They have all sorts of programs to keep the students as well-rounded as possible while they are studying their brains out. One of these programs is the Advisory College. Before their first day of classes first year, they get "sorted" into one of 4 "colleges." (Harry Potter, anyone?) They are a part of this advisory college for all 4 years of medical school. There are 2 physicians who head the college and throughout the year they do all sorts of mentoring and connecting and general advising. It's great. But the BEST part is the annual COLLEGE CUP: An entire weekend of competitions between the colleges. There is a swim meet, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee tournaments, iron chef, trivia, water polo, and more. Each college does their best to scream louder than everyone else at all times and basically everyone acts like they are in high school. It's a blast. 

Brian's college is "Robinson" (and I even get to participate as a Robinson Raven, too) Basically, they are the equivalent of Slytherin in everyone else's eyes. In their own eyes, they are the equivalent of awesome. (I am holding the Dean of the medical school's head in this picture. Brian is to the right banging some sticks together)

Dr. Pilla, one of the physician advisors (an ex-rock star turned anesthesiologist. No, I'm serious.) even dressed up as Snape for opening ceremonies. (In this picture, Brian is the one holding Dean Rogers' head and I am on the left of him.)

I swam in the meet. 2nd place in Backstroke!

that is a temporary tatoo of a Robinson Raven on my shoulder haha!

We both played Ultimate Frisbee.

 Brian totally rocked as water polo goalie. Only 1 point scored on him in 2 games.

 ...and doesn't he look hot in that water polo cap? Smokin! :)

It was such a great weekend that really made both of us miss the times we were doing competitive organized sports. We had so much fun and Robinson DOMINATED. It's always a plus when your team is the best. :)

Sick Day Saturday

When my students get sick, then I get sick. When I get sick, then Brian gets sick.

Then we spend a whole Saturday snuggling in our sweatpants on the beanbag watching football.

Why do people be teachers?

3:05pm on a Tuesday
Kid waiting for her bus number to be called: Mrs. Wright, what is that?
Me: "It's my lunch"
Kid: Why are you eatin' it?
Me:   "I am eating it because I am hungry."
Kid: No! Why didn't you eat it during lunch time?
Me: (*sigh*) "I didn't eat it then, because during lunchtime I had a meeting."
Kid: Why didn't you eat it while we was at PE?
Me: (in my head: "please stop talking") out loud: "I had another meeting, and I had to grade your writing notebooks."
Kid: *thoughtful pause*. . . . .  Being a teacher's hard.


3:10 pm
Kid: Mrs. Wright? Why do people be teachers? Teachers don't even get paid good.
Me: Well . . . . . . . . .  it must be because we looooooove you so much. And probably because we're a little bit crazy.

 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

"What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali

You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A-­‐ feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time
with anything less than your very best.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won’t I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you’re bored.
And you don’t really have to go to the bathroom, do you?
I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
To the biggest bully in the grade, he said,
“Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?
It’s no big deal.”
And that was noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math
and hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you’ve got this (a brain),
then you follow this (your heart),
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (a piece of your mind).

Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
Teachers make a difference! 

Now what about you?

(source-- http://taylormali.com/poems-online/what-teachers-make/)

watch it HERE