Sick Day

After dropping off Jude at daycare myself this morning since Gil had an early day, getting to school on time, getting all prepped for the day, and after the bell rang during attendance, I get a phone call from the daycare. Jude threw up. Now what?! He has been doing this strange throw up thing for a while. One week he threw up on and off for almost a week. That was about three weeks ago now. Then again today. When I finally got sub plans prepared and had my mom coming in to sub for me, I went to pick him up. He was playing and acting fine. The ladies working promised me he had really thrown up less than an hour before! I believed them. He threw up again on the way home. Since then he has been watching "Cars." He seems find, but is a little subdued I guess. I just don't know why this throwing up thing keeps happening. Lactose? Upset stomach? A little bug? Wish I knew!

So I have a sick day without being sick. Not such a bad thing, but I only have 6 to use this semester and today is number 3. Plus the last day of school is May 20th and my due date is May 23...hope I make it!

I haven't posted for a while. Life I guess. We have been busy preparing for the new addition by rearranging furniture ownership. We bought ourselves a nice new queen size bed, along with some dressers and a headboard on craigslist (I am now completely obsessed with craigslist by the way. It is probably good that site is blocked at school!). So our bed and dressers will move (have already actually) to Jude's room and Jude's crib and dresser will move to the new baby's room. Jude is still sleeping in the crib though. Not sure how to go about that transition. So far he thinks the big bed is just for playing and jumping on. Plus there is always the problem of him not staying there, never getting to sleep, and of course falling off! Maybe we'll try it this weekend. Today Gil is picking up paint for the new nursery and some boards to finish the shelves he is building for storage in the basement. It will be nice to finally get everything out and put in place. We are still also waiting on our woodwork to get finished in the new room and closet.

In the midst of all of this, our washing machine took a turn for the worse. It doesn't shift cycles and doesn't spin correctly. So today I have a toddler throwing up and no working washing machine (not to mention the massive piles of laundry we have already been accumulating)! I did manage to find a good deal on a couple of front loaders on craigslist as well. We are hoping to go pick all of our new craigslist purchases in Omaha this weekend, but are leery of the predicted rain for Sunday. I just want to do laundry!!! I will have to post pics of all of our new rooms and purchases when we finally get things under control around here.

This past weekend Gil and I were able to take part in another Briar Cliff Antioch weekend. We had a great group of college students and had a lot of fun (despite the fact that I had to sleep on an air mattress while 7 months pregnant!). Jude got to be with my parents Friday and part of Saturday and with John and Carolyn the rest of Saturday and Sunday. He LOVES his nanas and popas and didn't miss us a bit (although I did miss him a little!). I love being able to share in Gil's job as campus minister at these retreats. It is also such a nice time to get away and do something completely different...not to mention focus on God!

What else? Well, I feel like we are going to be so busy that April is almost over before it begins! Every weekend is almost packed. That means baby will be here before we know it. For those of you who don't get to see me often, I can assure you I look very very pregnant. Hard to believe there could be 8 weeks left in there! She is a mover and a shaker and lets me know she is around! The quilt is still under construction. I have it pinned and am going to begin quilting the layers next week. I just hope I don't ruin it! I think I've also been getting into nesting mode because I found a few other crafts to put together and want to just go buy everything I'm going to need today. I have done a little online shopping this morning, but have so far refrained from any impulse buying!

I need to change our main picture on here because despite the recent snow falls we've had in March, the fairly warm weather allows it to melt away fast. Almost no snow right now!!! I have spring fever and want warm weather NOW!

Remodel

Here a few pictures of our very first remodeling project. It is small stuff, but still exciting!!!

This is the front bedroom (new baby girl room) BEFORE. Notice the very slanted false ceiling that takes up so much space.

After day 1 of work. YUCK!
This is the previous place of our dumb-waiter. It was cool, but not very useful. Now turning it into a closet for extra storage.

After day 2 of work on the closet.

Day 2

Day 3
Day 3
Day 4
Skip a few days...now textured and painted!

Closet painted.

Next steps are finishing the floor, shelves, doors, and woodwork. Plus we are getting a railing for the open side of our stairs! Can't wait til it's done and I can start painting and decorating the room (plus clean up all the dust once and for all!).

Cars...

Jude has recently had the opportunity to see the movie "Cars" a few times. I don't know what it is, but he LOVES them! He got a bunch of hotwheels for Christmas, so we have them all over the place. Plus he's had this "Cars" book for a long time. But now that he's seen the movie the toys and book have taken on a whole new meaning to him! Here he is reading "Cars" to himself.

In other news we (Jude and I and baby) are getting along well with Gil being gone (even though we miss him lots!). He left for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi last Thursday. Despite the drive through a blizzard and rain storm all in one day across Missouri, they made it safely to their destination. They are staying two miles from the gulf and have gone swimming a couple times. Their house is on stilts, which I think is so cool! They even took a day trip to New Orleans (during Mardi Gras!!!). But what they are really doing there is a Habitat for Humanity project. He says they work hard and after he calls me around 9pm he goes to bed at night!

Jude and I have kept busy. We went to my cousins Joelle and Dani's district final game last Friday (good luck at state tomorrow girlies!), stayed in CB with Gil's parents the next two nights, I got to hang out with my good friend Kelly on Saturday and Mitch and Minette Saturday night/Sunday. Then Monday night was my cousin Trenton's district game in Laurel (they lost by 5 in a great game), Tuesday night was MOPs, and tonight I went to the Pizza Hut in Wayne with mom and dad and a bunch of the Koester Klan. Grandma Mary Lou's 80th birthday celebration is coming up Saturday so we are getting a head start on the partying:)

Also, our remodeling projects are underway!!! Each day I come home from school to find new and exciting progress. I can finally picture my finished nursery! Pictures to come!

Well, it's off to dreamland for me tonight...

sweet emotion

The first pics here show a striking contrast. Thanks to the BEAUTIFUL weather of last week, our snow is almost gone. Look at the wonderful yard we now have uncovered!

This second picture is from last winter at about this time. See what I mean?! Gil is out walking by the same tree because our car is stuck in the drift right in front of our house. While we have had plenty of snow and cold temps this winter, and will probably still get more, I don't think anything can compare to the wrath of winter 2009/2010!!!
I didn't realize this picture was sideways, sorry! One of Jude's new favorite things is wearing big shoes! Oh, and the superman jammies are courtesy of my friend Alaina. Aren't they adorable?!
Here is what I have done on the quilt so far. The front is basically completed. I didn't take a close up of the mitered corners on the outside border. It's probably a good thing, because they look pretty good...as long as you don't look too close! Backing, batting, and binding is up next.
Here is a video of my new favorite trick of Jude's. He is so emotional!

Progress

Due to the fact that I always forget my camera (among other things...pregnancy brain I guess!) when I go to mom's to work on the quilt, I have no pictures to prove my progress. But progress I have made! I now have the entire middle sewn along with the inside border and half of the outside border. It looks better and better the further I get. The most challenging part so far has been the outside border due to the fact that I am mitering the corners. Mom and I had to look up YouTube videos on the topic to wrap our minds around how exactly to do it. I accomplished one of the corners Wednesday night and I think it turned out okay. Since I am not the "make sure everything is done perfectly and precisely" type that Gil is I tend to just wing it and hope it turns out. So far so good though I think! Next steps are finishing the outside border and then I guess on to quilting the batting and backing to it...yikes! Still don't know how that is going to work. I'm thinking I'll purchase a pattern and draw it on and then follow it. Any tips!? I'll have to get a pattern and a quilting foot before I start that though.

Teaching is going well. I've gotten into a routine now and THINK I know what I'm doing most of the time. Math is still a challenge. It's all a challenge really. So hard to teach such a big group of students with such a wide range of abilities. The story of a teacher's life! Then there are all of the social and behavioral problems that complicate things further...Oh for a perfect world!

Jude is doing fabulous. He is talking so much and seems like everyday there is something new he is doing or learning. Yesterday it was nice enough for us to go outside after school and even swing (although the snow is still a good foot above the ground in that spot!). As he was swinging I asked him to show me scared and he gets a frightened look and shakes. Then I asked him to show me happy and he laughed. Then I asked him to show me sad and he did a little fake cry! It was hilarious! He can also show his muscles. We weighed him last night and he has broken the 30 pound mark. He is 30 lbs. 6 oz. He has discovered Veggie Tales ("Bob") and wants to watch it EVERY DAY! He knows that we can play it whenever since it is a DVD. But he also is getting more imaginative with toys and books. His favorite toy is probably a balloon right now, but his most favorite is the bath. He isn't afraid of the water at all. The swimming pool should be fun/interesting this summer:)

Major Accomplishments!

Last week my mom kept Jude for us on Wednesday (since that is also my day to come over after school and do a little sewing). When I got there she told me he had taken only a short nap, but most surprisingly that he had managed to climb out of the pac n' play not once, but THREE times! She was never quite able to catch him in the act so wasn't even sure how the little Houdini was accomplishing this task. It didn't shock me too much because he really is a climber (gets that from his dad, not me!). I just thought he'd have to start sleeping on a bed when he goes there or learn to not get up.

That was Wednesday. Saturday he was taking a nap at our house, in his crib. He slept for a long time and when I finally heard him making some noise I slowly made my way up the stairs. He wasn't crying and sounded in a good mood. When I made it to his doorway my jaw dropped and I just stood and stared. He was OUT of his crib and playing by his chair. I really have no idea how he accomplished that, but Gil and I can both imagine since we have seen him climb onto and out of various other objects. He hasn't tried it again since then, but I don't know, I'm thinking a big boy bed might need to come sooner than later!

The next major accomplishment (if that is what you can call these incidents!) occurred this past Thursday night. I was giving Jude a bath, one of his favorite past times! He doesn't usually want to do it if you say, "Let's go take a bath." But if you rephrase it as, "Want to go swimming?" he's all game. And that is what he does. He sticks his face in the water, splashes, likes the shower on, and can now even do a back float. And once he gets in he usually doesn't want to get out. Although his little potty chair is right beside the tub and so once in a while he will hop out to sit on it for like .2 seconds and then hop back in (nothing much has really happened on the potty yet.)

This particular night he had not done his number two business yet (sorry for the TMI!) so I had some fears that it might end up in the bath water (it happens!). While I was watching him do the back float and play with his duckies for minutes on end, the dryer went off. I quickly went to change the load of laundry and on my way back to the bathroom could hear grunting, a sure sign of you-know-what. Oh, great, I thought. I'm gonna get to clean the tub again. But to my astonishment, once again, I entered the room to find Jude NOT in the bath, but sitting on his potty chair. The evidence around his bottom proved that something was really happening in there this time! Sure enough, he had gotten out of the tub and done his duty. I was so happy and gave him some M&Ms as a reward, but all he could say was, "EWWWWWEEE." He doesn't like it when he can see the stuff and doesn't like it in his water which I'm sure is why he had the motivation to get out in the first place. So now we know he knows what it is actually for and that in the occasional situation he has to go during a bath he might use it. But unfortunately we have not seen any further interest. I think he prefers to keep it in his diaper where he doesn't have to deal with it...mommy does!

Off and Running

Well, week one of teaching 6th grade is over and done. But with 2 snow days and a late start to begin the week it flew by really! I have noticed a few differences between 6th grade where I spend pretty much the entire day with the same kids and teach multiple subjects and 7th grade where I had the luxury of only 1 prep. With multiple subjects I really have to stay on my toes and know what's coming next...and be prepared! It's a little trickier planning 15 lessons in a week rather than 5. But on the plus side I do not get bored of the monotony of saying the same thing 4 or 5 times in a day. Each lesson is new and fresh. I have a couple ideas for units in English and Reading that I am excited about. Math is the tougher subject. I'm really having a hard time communicating the concepts (improper fractions to mixed numbers is the hang up right now!). Hope that gets better!

Another aspect that has been surprisingly nice is the time in the morning before school. I was afraid of having to get up at a certain time everyday and have to be somewhere at a certain time again. But really I have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning and since, let's be honest, I thrive on schedules it has been nice to be in more of a routine.

I was able to spend one of my "snow" afternoons down at mom's working on the quilt. Here are some updates of the progress:

The pieces laid out on the bed. The left row is sewn (into three squares, just not together). Now I have six of the nine squares put together.

Here I am working away!
Ok, Jude is coloring the stones by the fireplace, gotta run!