Too long

I know, I know, it's been too long since I've posted anything. What excuse can I give this time? The remodeling project has been busy, the school year has begun, I'm trying to enjoy the last few weeks of beautiful weather before the inevitable cold sets in? Really, none of these will suffice because all it takes me is five minutes to sit down and write about how wonderfully busy life is :)

The remodeling of the front entryway is slowly but steadily moving along. I have to admit that we were a bit naive in our expected timeline, but we are learning as we work! We are now into the drywalling stage and have it all hung and the first layers of mud and tape applied. This week we'll be sanding and applying another layer of mud...then sanding and applying another layer of mud...etc. I feel like when this drywalling stage is complete, the project will move along much faster. We already have purchased the paint, the tile for the bathroom, and the lighting, so all of that can start to go up once the drywall is done. Hopefully, we'll pick up the pace a bit, as I'm starting to worry that we will never get started on the nursery with all the work we have left to do in the entry. We'll post some pictures of the progress soon.

I went back to school on August 24th, but the students did not start back until September 1st. I feel like now that I am in my third year of teaching, I finally have the hang of it and I'm not scrambling as much to put together lesson plans and organize my room. I have to be careful not to get too comfortable with my practices or I'll become "one of those teachers" who never grows or makes any changes, but it's nice, especially this year, to have a groove to flow with. My students are a little rambunctious, but what seventh graders aren't? I am filled with optimism about the teachers I am working with this year as there have been a lot of changes in the seventh grade. This year feels fresh and different, which is a welcomed change. Talk to me in a few weeks, though, when the paperwork starts to pile up, and I may have a different attitude ;)

Finally, lots of changes have started happening inside me, which I don't mean in a psychological or attitudinal way, but in an actual physical way. My baby belly is now prominent enough where I don't just feel "fat" and about three weeks ago I started to feel our little one moving around. It feels, as they say, just like tiny butterflies in my stomach. In just the past few days, a new exciting change has happened and I'm actually able to start to feel the baby moving on the outside of my tummy. Just last night, I was sitting and watching TV with Jason and nonchalantly had my hands resting on my tummy. I felt a swift movement under my hand and it startled me out of my reclined position. I could hardly believe it, because I knew it couldn't have been me that made that movement, so I put my hand back where it had been . Sure enough, a moment later, the same movement was there again. Dumbfounded, I took Jason's hand and put it where mine had been. It took a few minutes, and I we were just about to give up when suddenly our little one made his/her presence known again by swiftly tapping Jason on the hand! It was super exciting for both of us.

As reality slowly sinks in that there is actually a living, breathing person growing inside of me, I find I am asking Jason silly questions like "how do you feel about our kids having cell phones," and, "how comfortable are you with me breastfeeding in public," and, "what age should we sign little baby up for preschool." My mind is suddenly flooded with "what if's?" and "how do we's?" As future parents, my mind races with questions I had never thought of before, and I hear echoes in my mind saying "you sound so much like your mother," which I have to admit, wouldn't be half bad. At least she had all this stuff figured out, or maybe more importantly, appeared to me as a child to have all the answers :)