Prenatal Class #2

Tonight we had our second prenatal class. It was actually quite nice.

1. Sean got to give me a back massage... and I got to give him one, too.

2. Sean got to give me a hand massage... and I got to give him one, too.

3. I got to practice pushing my pelvis up on all fours... and Sean didn't have to.

4. I got to sit on a birthing ball... and Sean did, too.

We are in agreeance... we're buying one of those balls for our house. We may have to get two though. I have a feeling it will be fought over more than the remote control. Ha!

A few observations from our night in class...

1. The high school girl in our class liked the ball the best.

2. The PE teacher from Ankeny that is due the same day as me is super small... I may be *ahem* a tad jealous of her.

3. The woman who sat in front of me was wearing boxers... wonder why I know this? Refer back to #3 above... there are just some things that a pregnant women and her husband should not have to do in a room with other pregnant women and their "partners".

4. Our instructor suggested ways to increase our chances for labor to start. Several of you may know where I'm heading with this comment... she said eat a certain kind of pizza in bed and ya know... but be careful because it could get messy.

Really? Do I need to hear this from some random woman while sitting in a room full of strangers? I don't think so.

Next week's topics: more comfy positions on the birthing ball and learning about medications to help with the pain. WOOT!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!

Take me out to the ball game...

Thursday, Friday, and today were FULL of baseball games! MAN I love summer and baseball!!!!!

Thursday started with taking my students and the second graders at school to an Iowa Cubs game. My class had SO.MUCH.FUN!!! I think their favorite part was the music (they played the Spongebob SquarePants theme song... you'd think they'd all won $1 million dollars they were so happy!!). Here we are enjoying the game...

Standing by the gates before finding our spot to sit.

Enjoying the game. Holly (my associate) must have thought she wouldn't be in the picture. Ooops!!!

Lynamland by the big t-shirt :o)

Thursday evening was Sean's first game of the season. They played Ankeny... coached by one of my good friends and former colleagues from Stowe, Mr. Starr. It wasn't the prettiest of games for Sean's guys, but I will say this... they scored a run!!! This was the first time in 4-5 years that they scored a run in their first game. Truly... I was very impressed. Sean's guys never gave up and kept playing until the end. I know if they keep working hard they will end up having a nice season.

During the game, I had a chance to talk in person with J's wife, Missy, and see their oh so cute 3 kiddos. Missy and I have been blogging and Facebook friends for quite some time now, so it was very nice to actually TALK talk to her :o). She was very kind to show me how to use a peanut shell sling, ya know, since I have ZERO experience with that aspect yet! I think I'll be getting one when Keelyn comes around.

Here are the two coaches having a mid-game pow wow...

Friday night I went to watch the North Varsity team play against #3 ranked Ft. Dump Dodge. It wasn't a very pretty sight for the poor Polar Bears of North, but it was fun to watch the guys play... and talk with their parents. You see, that is the group that Sean first coached and they are one of those groups of kids that every coach wants. They try hard, work together, and never give up.

Today brought up the tail end of the opening weekend for baseball with Opening Day for the Miracle League, the baseball league for special needs children. 4 of my students and 2 other boys that I have worked with are on the team. It was SOOO fun!!! I truly feel that EVERY person should go to one of these games... it is THEE happiest place on earth! Check out their website from the Miracle League hyperlink. Click on the 2009 Season to find the schedule... if you couldn't tell, we are the Cardinals. Here are some pictures to capture today.

The beautiful new scupture.

Leon & Joey before Opening Ceremoies. Apparently Joey did not like the fact that I made them face the sun for this picture.

Part of the team watching the first pitch.

What's a baseball game in Des Moines without Cubbie Bear?

Leon was quite the catcher for the first inning.

Now it's time to do some much-needed laundry.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today (Thursday) is my mom's birthday!!! And lucky her... she gets to start her summer break on her special day. Needless to say, I am VERY jealous of that fact, but I know she deserves it. Hope you have a great day Mom :o)

Happy Anniversary!!!

Today is my Mom & Dad's 37th Anniversary! Congratulations on such a long, wonderful, happy marriage.

Another Busy Weekend

Whew! I love a good 3 day weekend like the next girl, but boy was it a busy one!!

Saturday I did some laundry, cleaning, and I think I may have taken a nap. I can't remember anymore!! Then Mom & Dad came down to visit.

Sunday, Sean's mom, aunt & sister threw me a family baby shower. While Mom and I traveled back to Panora for it, Sean and Dad hit the golf course... imagine that!

The shower was very fun!! I learned a few things... Sean's grandma can spit a plastic pacifier farther than me with false teeth; my circumference is 12 squares of toilet paper at this point, and Sean's cousins wife is very knowledgeable at all other baby shower games.

Here are some pics of the fun we had. Enjoy!

Me with my cake & presents.

Me opening presents.

The oh-so-yummy Kandis cake :o)

Babies made from Play-Doh.

Me and my sister-in-law Mandy.

After the shower, Mom and I did what most normal red-blooded American women do... we went shopping! Picked up some new shoes that *ahem* are very teacher-like (Clarke's... YIKES!!!) but very comfy :). Sunday ended with a trip to my FAVORITE steak place... Texas Road House. Mmmm-mmmmmm I love the rolls & butter. Nothing better!!

On Monday, we hung out, did some weed pulling (well, Mom did that while I stood back and helped watched), washing the window paint off my van from Friday, and a trip to our favorite family store... Menards.

We also had the chance to talk to Owen, Jason and Ann on Skype to wish Owen a great, big Happy 2nd Birthday!!! Can't believe that little bugger is already 2!!! Where has the time gone?!?!??! He was pretty cute dancing to his nifty Handy Manny musical birthday card, and like any typical red-blooded American boy, he threw the clothes to his Daddy while scrounging around the boxes for the toys. HA!!!

Here is a picture of him I stole borrowed from Ann's website...

All in all, I'd say it was a busy, but fun weekend.

Funday Friday

Today was one of those days I will remember for the rest of my life. Today was the day that I took my students to Ames to participate and cheer each other on in the State Special Olympics games. What a fun day!!!

All of us got a bit choked up a few times. You see, they have the athletes walk up on the podium just like at the Olympics, and they play the Olympic song when they are doing it. A state trooper or a county sheriff (didn't pay that close of attention) put the ribbons & medals around the athletes' necks. How special!

I'm so proud of all of them for the accomplishments they have made this year. Here are a few pics from today. I hope you enjoy as much as we enjoyed being there.

Right before we left for the day. Emily went with her Mom & aunt... we met them there.

Kind of hard to see... but... Fabiola is the girl in yellow on the far left and Emily is the girl in yellow on the far right. Look at them go!!!!

Fabiola getting ready to throw the softball.

Fabiola on the podium. Seriously... can anything be cuter than this?!?!?!?

Our 2 state competitors. I'm soooo proud of both of them!!!!!
The crew on the way home. Can you tell I'm an enthusiastic teacher? Check out the windows. Yep... I wrote all over them just for the girls.

I think I already feel sorry for Keelyn. Just imagine... I do all this for my students, what will I do for my OWN flesh & blood?!?!?!?!??!?

A fun day

Today we went back to Panora to help Sean's cousin Jenny celebrate her graduation. She recently graduated from DMACC as a lab technician and just got a job at the Guthrie County Hospital in Guthrie Center.

After the party, we went across the street to Sean's parents' house and played with our nephew Marshall for awhile. Here are a few lot of pictures that I took. I even got to take them with our brand, new camera!!! Yeppers! I got us a new Nikon Coolpix. I'm pretty happy with it so far. You'll have to let me know what you think.

Here's what we did this evening...

Uncle Sean giving Marshall a ride around town on the lawn mower.

Getting ready to put it away.

"Lawn mower away?" This did not make Marshall very happy :o(

"Onions come up" said Marshall, while he showed Uncle Sean and Papa his garden.

Marshall was having fun running up and down the small hill in the front yard.

Peek-a-boo!!!

Thoughtful Thursday

Here are some thoughts I've had so far today (or this week) that I thought I'd share with you all.




1. You KNOW it's going to be a good day when you flip through radio stations and hear Ace of Base's "I Saw the Sign" on your way to work. Ahhh... it takes me back to the days of middle school shop class, jammin' out to the best of the 90s.






2. Keelyn gave me her very own Mother's Day present... my first stretch mark. Leave it to my child to do something like that.



3. Educators use a lot of abbreviations for things... IEPs, FBA, BIP. Oh wait... that would be special educators. I don't feel any smarter knowing what those mean.



4. 4.27 minutes with an OB/GYN = hundreds of thousands of dollars in THEIR pockets... and none in mine. How is that fair?


5. People should not be allowed to throw cigarette butts out of their car window when someone is traveling behind them. I don't like getting cigarettes thrown at me. I don't find it very nice.


6. I wish that a shoe company would make beautiful looking shoes for pregnant women with

ugly, fat, nasty, swollen water retaining feet. It would make me feel much better.

7. My students' parents are not happy that I will not be starting the year next year. Although I feel badly for the students, it's nice to know when you are appreciated at your job.

That's what some of my thoughts have been this week. What have some of your thoughts been?

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

The start of baseball season is upon us. This is what Sean came home to for supper tonight...a foil-covered plate with his food awaiting his arrival. Sometimes I can hold out and wait until he's home to eat, but not tonight. Tonight, Keelyn and I were hungry. But back to Sean.

Most of you know, but for some of you who may not, Sean is the head freshman coach for North High. I always feel bad for the guy the first few weeks. He's not used to working this late (to note... he gets home at 6:30pm), he's tired from the sun, and well... it's definitely work getting a group of 13 & 14-year-old boys to look like, listen to, and play like high school ball players. He was very happy tonight though... apparently the boys had their best practice to date (fyi: tonight was night 8 of practice for the year).

As for me... well, I am adjusting to his ball schedule. Not gonna lie, it's been nice for these past two weeks. I have had 5 IEP meetings in 7 days, and well, those bad boys don't write themselves. So I've gotten to stay late and work on those and not feel bad about not being home to get supper ready (or picked up from the lovely teenager at the drive-thru window :o). Today was a different story though.

Today, I went in for another check-up--week 31 style. I made the nurse calculate my weight gain up to this point. She probably thought I was crazy, but I wanted to know. When I heard the number, my first obsessions questions were "is that ok? I mean, is it too much? Am I on track?" The nurse kindly answered back "it's fine". I wonder if her "it's fine" is like my "it's fine" when sometimes, what I really mean to say is "no, absolutely freakin' NOT ok! Hello!!?!? Are you even with it?!?"

Ahem... back to the topic at hand. When lovely Dr. Johnson walked in, he said "quick appointment today... belly & heartbeat check, then you're out of here". Sure enough, that's all it was. A total of 4.27 minutes I was in the room with him. Belly check was good, her heartbeat sounds wonderful, and since she's kickin' like crazy, he said overall, things are good.

Good. That's a word I can live with.

When I got home... good was NOT the word I would use. One of our dogs decided to dig a hole in our beautiful landscaping project from two weekends ago. Darn dogs. But being the nice person I am, I left it for Sean to fix :o). And now? Now I'm doing a load of dishes, a load of laundry, and a load of paperwork (remember, someone's gotta write those IEPs).

That's all from Lynamland tonight.

Happy Mother's Day

To start...

Happy Mother's Day Mom!!!! Thanks for such a great weekend.

Happy Mother's Day Pam! We hope you had a wonderful day :o)

To continue...

Happy First Mother's Day (in a way) to me!!!! Sean was super cute and stressed over finding me the perfect mother-to-be present for today. When I got home from Mom & Dad's today he proudly gave me the bag. Here's what he got me...

I LOVE Willow Tree Angels...they are the only thing I collect. Isn't it perfect?!?? Keelyn and I can't wait for Father's Day to get here to repay him for this.

I hope all you mom's out there in blogland had a great Mother's Day!

My Last Graduation

As promised, here are some pictures to prove that I truly did graduate with my Master's of Arts in Teaching Instructional Strategist II--MD degree. Whew! That sure is a mouthful, isn't it?

The day was BEAUTIFUL!! Graduation took place on a large lawn space on campus. The temp was between 65-70, and thank God for the nice breeze because sitting in that sun in a black robe made me VERY hot! Do you think the fact that I'm 7 months pregnant added to the heat? I'm thinking..... YES!

Afterwards, we all went back to Mom & Dad's where, much to my surprise, they had our friends, the Henderson's, tape a huge sign on the garage door. Nice. Oh well... why not, right? You only get your Master's once... well, most normal people only get it once. And, to prove that I am normal, this will be my one and only.

Enjoy the picture overload :o)

Mr. President and his most boring, pointless little speech.

Getting ready.

Diploma in hand... almost done...

Getting hooded.

And I'm done. Check out how huge I look in the robe. Wow! I had no clue. Yikes!!! FYI... Keelyn enjoyed graduation, too. She kicked me for nearly the entire ceremony. I wonder if it was because the speeches were so boring?...

I had to unzip... I was H-O-T!!!

My final diploma.
See... I told you they put up a sign on the garage door.

Dad, Mom, Me, Keelyn, & Sean :o)

Dad, Keith, me, Kandis, & Mom

Kirk, Keith, me, Kandis & Kent

I'll NEVER...

I'll never is a phrase I say a lot. I don't mean to say it, but I do.



Example:


1. I'll NEVER leave a load of laundry in the dryer (towels are there as I write this).


2. I'll NEVER wimp out and make my husband do chores when I'm pregnant. I'm tough (nope, I ask him to do things I thought I would always do).


3. I'll NEVER leave my bed unmade (if you could only see the disarray on the bed right now... I'm ashamed to think of it.





But the BIGGEST I'll NEVER that I remember using was 10 years ago was:





I'll NEVER go to the same college where my parents, aunts, and grandma went. NEVER!! Who would want to go to college only an hour away? NEVER!!!!!





Well... the old saying is true. Never say never. Why, you ask?

Tomorrow, my family will be heading from Early to Sioux City where I will walk across the stage to earn my Master's degree from the same college where my parents, aunts, and grandma went. Yep. I'm a third generation Morningside graduate.

Some people think college graduations are lame and didn't walk through theirs, but I confess... I am a dork. I like things like that. I'm not completely pleased with my M'side experience, but I will be MORE than pleased when I start earning Masters +30 pay in 7 months :o).

I'm sure I'll have pictures to prove that I should never say never...

Weekend Wrap-Up

What another long, fun-filled weekend.

Friday night: worked with one of my wonderful kiddos, did an overnight, and waited up until 10:30pm for my mom & Kandis (my godmother) to arrive.

Saturday: took my kiddo home while Mom & Kandis went to the Downtown Farmer's Market, then left to go to my staff baby shower at my principal Dawn's house. The shower was super fun... hot flashes and all :o). Here are some pictures to prove it... and some pictures of all the goodies that these great ladies got for Keelyn (and her Mommy & Daddy, too).

Not the most flattering picture in the world...

Sandy showing us all how it is done.

Courtney & Joni looking on. Seriously cute clothes! Keelyn will be THE best dressed girl in the world!!!

Hemeroid pads & Preparation H. Part of the "unmentionables" gift bag my friend Amy put together for me. I would say it was the gift that got the most laughs... and looks of 'oh, my you are going to need that in a few months' type of looks from the current members of the Mommy Club... and looks of 'oh geez... no WAY' from the members of the Not a Mommy Club.

The display of goodies. Thanks SO MUCH to all my fellow Stowians for such a great day!!!!!

Sunday: today started with breakfast with Sean at Village Inn (instead of our usual take-out), a trip to Home Depot, and the start of yard project season! Unfortunately this year, I am unable to do as much helping as I have done in the past, so I took on the role of supervisor. I like that role :). Sean decided to redo the edging along the fence. He had to shovel up the rocks that were there, then used the tiller to make it nice, then pounded the new edging into the ground. In the process, he decided that he'd till up the corner and said I could put some plants there.

**Newsflash: Sean said he would NEVER let me put plants there, so I KNEW this should be something special.**

When he ran out of edgers, I ran some errands while he began mowing. First, I ran to Target (seriously, who can go a weekend without a trip to the bullseye? I sure can't!!) to get a nightlight & CD player/radio/alarm clock for Keelyn's room. Then I went to Menards to pick up a few things where, like a MORON, I locked my keys in the van :o(. 20+ calls home and Sean finally picked the phone up to hear he had to stop mowing and bring me my spare set. Nice. Luckily he was a trooper about it and didn't seem to mind too much. After that I headed to Home Depot to get the remainder of the edgers and the plants for my new corner!! I came home to finish the edging project with Sean, then get started on the corner. It actually turned out to be one of the better landscaping projects that Sean and I have done together... AND it was a HUGE break-through for me. You'll see when you look at the picture...

The new & improved edging and red mulch.

THE corner. See why it's a breakthrough for me? Like I said earlier... I knew if Sean said I could put plants in the corner, then I needed to make it look good. You can't see them now, but I planted white gladioli in the back. I can't WAIT for them to start growing!!

Well, that was our weekend. Now onto another great week followed by yet another great weekend.