Flasback Friday and the End of an Era

Miss Strong with her first class 5 years ago

Today was the end of an era - my last day of teaching for a long while. It was a very bittersweet. I'm very excited to be done with work and moving onto another adventure in life, but sad to say goodbye to teaching and the people I've met along the way. My kids were very sweet and some were emotional as we said goodbye. It will be weird when the fall rolls around and I am not busy getting my classroom ready and meeting a new bunch of faces.

Here's to 5 great years of teaching and to the next years with my job as mommy.

Surprise Shower

Today my second graders gave me quite the surprise

A Baby Shower

The moms in my class planned and told the kids about it last week.

Amazingly, none of them spilled the beans this whole week! That is quite remarkable for a big group of seven- and eight-year-olds! I had no clue!

We had bagels, fruit, and juice, and opened the plethora of gifts they brought. I was touched by the generosity of my students and their families! It was amazing!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day '09 was spent out at the Provo Cemetery working.

It's the busiest day for the employees of the cemetery and I wanted to spend the day with my honey, so I headed out to help him. Sunday night we went out in the rain and moved all the trash cans. Monday morning Dallin was there bright and early and I followed once I got myself up and going. Dallin was stationed under a tent with the listings of where everyone is buried. We helped people locate their family graves and gave them maps to help them on their way. We also made bank selling flags. We were able to watch a flag ceremony and enjoyed a yummy potluck lunch. It was a great day out in the sunshine!

Birthday Fun

Sunday I turned another year older. We did most of our celebrating on Saturday. My wonderful husband took me to dinner and a movie. We saw Angels and Demons and I really liked it (although not as well as the book.) He also took me shopping for some fab maternity clothes to get me through the summer. And of course there was my rocking chair!

When we got home, I was surprised with flowers from my parents. Thank you, Mom and Dad! And thank you for all the cards and phone calls! It was a great birthday!

What Not To Say

Just FYI...these are things that I do not enjoy hearing, so please don't say them to me.

"Are you having twins?"

"Wow, you really popped out!"

And the most common...

"You must be due any day!!"

I've heard all of these in the last week or so, and just to warn you, it doesn't make me feel too good about myself since I have TWO MONTHS left to go!

Flashback Friday

Happy (Almost) Birthday to Me!

Momma's Got A Brand New Chair

I came home today to find a Mother's Day gift combined with an early birthday present.

Ta da...

A brand new rocking chair!!

My wonderful husband was so thoughtful as this will make things more comfortable when the baby comes. I am very excited!

As is Dallin...

Here he is playing with the bassinet. He loves that it has a remote control!

Losing It

So I may be officially losing my mind.  Or rather losing my keys.  

Yesterday morning at school I needed to get into a room that was locked during recess, so naturally I took my keys with me.  While I was out of the classroom, I thought I'd make a stop at the bathroom (one of my fave places these days.)  Unfortunately maternity pants aren't known for their pockets, so I set my keys down in the bathroom.

And...

Seven hours later, as I was gathering my things up to go home, my keys were nowhere to be found.  I wracked my brain, trying to place where I could have possibly left them.  Oh, yeah, I went to the bathroom that morning and never once gave another thought to my keys, even though I stopped by the bathroom and that same stall FOUR more times that day.  Fortunately we have honest teachers and one of them was kind enough to return them to the office.  

I'm blaming this completely on pregnancy - never before have I been so ditzy.  Anyone else have problems like this while pregnant?

29 Weeks Down, 11 More To Go

We are on the home stretch. Just two and a half more months to go.

Today was the 29 week appointment with the very tasty glucose test (yum, yum, not!). Everything looked good. Baby is growing healthy and strong.

He is an active fellow. Now that I am in the third trimester, I count kicks. He should be kicking 10 times in an hour. Our boy generally gets his 10 kicks in about 5 minutes. I can also see some of the movement now as my stomach shifts and moves around.

According to the measurements, he should be about 3 pounds now. Getting big! I can feel that things are definitely getting more crowded in my belly and you can probably tell from the belly shot above.

We are getting excited and are slowly getting things ready in the nursery. Although we have had to restrain ourselves and make sure the rest of our house is unpacked before we focus too hard on the nursery.

Woo hoo, baby coming soon!

To A Better Place

After two years together, Dallin made the decision to say goodbye to Mo. Mo hasn't been getting as much attention lately and will probably get even less attention once the baby comes, so he decided it was time that Mo move on.

Mo is now living with a VERY excited thirteen-year-old boy who has always wanted a snake. He will get plenty of attention now.

(Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this decision. I never said anything, although I may have hoped for it deep down. It was all Dallin.)

Flashback Friday, Mommy Style

Move It, Move It

So it is official. We have moved. Goodbye, house. Hello, condo!

After a busy weekend and several trailer loads, we have everything out of the house and in the condo. The boxes are not unpacked - give me a few weekends for that one - but we are settling in and getting used to our new surroundings.

Dallin's mom was here and was a HUGE help! She was amazing - packing, cleaning, unpacking. We couldn't have done it without her.

Also, welcome back, Kent and Brenda! I'm sure you are so happy to be home. Thanks for letting us be house sitters for a year and a half!

I'll post pictures of our new place once more boxes are unpacked and I have things like I want them.

Flashback Friday

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!