Baby Shower Weekend!

Well, this was the weekend for baby showers! I have to say, I have been blessed with so many "mini-showers" along the way! (Baylor family on vacation, friends in VA Beach, Cohort at Trinity and then this weekend my class threw me a shower on Friday during school and Katie and Lindsay threw me a shower on Saturday!)  

As I said, my class (and their parents) got together and planned a meal and shower for me during school on Friday. In Holy Family fashion, they served fried chicken, Macaroni and Cheese, and greens. It was delicious!

The kids had so much fun. They sat sooo QUIETLY and ate (now I know the secret : I just need to stuff their faces :)
I got some really cute outfits and some other sweet "baby things".

Then on Saturday, Katie and Lindsay (and another girl from my church) planned a shower for my church friends, school friends, local friends and family.  The cookies below were made by Katie and Linds. Sooo cute!

This was the food - just absolutely stunning! And it was so yummy too :)

I got some really great things that I needed still (Praise the Lord!)

Here are some of the gals from church

And some of the gals from Holy Family Lutheran School

My mom and my twin sister decided to make the drive out (12+ hours) just for the day! They are too sweet! Rach organized my family by sending out e-mails and asking everyone to send her whatever they could towards a shower gift. Then she went to Babies R' Us and bought us a crib, mattress, car seat, and stroller!  Thank you Jordan family! You rock!

And lastly, just wanted to give props to Lindsay and Katie for planning this shower for me. I know how much time, money, love, and effort it takes to coordinate something like this. So thanks so much ladies!

And I cannot end without thanking the Lord for His love and provision. He is so good! 

32 week Belly Shot

Here I am at about a week ago at 8 months (32 weeks). I am feeling well for the most part - just getting a little tired and uncomfortable (as is to be expected!) I am excited because I only have 7 weeks left of teaching (which is actually only 31 days of actual teaching days!!!!) Madison Hope will be here before we know it :)

Surprise Baby Shower!

On Saturday I had a class at Trinity (one of the last I am taking before Madison arrives).  The class was from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm.  Tim drove up with me to Trinity so that he could work in the Library (he said).  Actually, my cohort had planned a surprise baby shower for me and for Andy and his wife (who is due a week before me).  After class was over, I was getting ready to go when everyone was getting out food and talking about being hungry. I asked what was going on and they said they were throwing a surprise shower for us! Just then Tim walked in. He was in on it the whole time. Since January I have been in the same cohort with the same 12 people for each class. We have really gotten to know one another well and have grown to really care for one another. 

The first picture is a picture of all of our class together (not on the day of the shower).

 

They had a great spread of food out: Pork barbecue, salad, deserts..mmm...mmmm!

Tim was so sweet to take time out of his crazy Saturday to come and be with me and meet my friends and classmates.

yummy!

Christina trying to take the camera from me - what a wild woman!

We all chilled for a while, enjoyed the food and enjoyed the fellowship. The class all pitched together and gave us a nice gift card.  I am so thankful for good friends!

Glenview Farmer's Market

From June through October, Wagner Farm hosts a farmer's market in our area. It is every Saturday morning from 8am - 12pm. I love going. I got up this morning and headed over. I had such an enjoyable time. It was just a gorgeous 70's day and all of the Fall produce was out.

I love that young and old alike come out for this. It is such a family affair.Vendors from all parts of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin come to sell their fresh grown produce. I love seeing the same farmers each week.

I bought some Fall Indian corn for some decoration in my house.

Here are my buys : A gallon of Apple cider (so so fresh and tasty!), 5 lb bag of honey crisp apples, 5 mini pumpkins and gourds, 5 ears of Indian Corn, a head of garlic, and raspberries (one of my favorite finds- so yummy!)
This is the little arrangement I made to bring some color into the house and to celebrate Fall!

28 Weeks - Holy Cow - that is 7 months!!!

I had parent/teacher conferences tonight - so I thought I would get some pics while I was dressed up :)

Black is so slimming, isn't it - ha ha ha!!!

Ok so this pregnancy has seriously been flying by.  I think heading back to teaching again has really consumed me - I just can't believe I am in my 3rd trimester already!   The Lord has been so good. Things have gotten a little bit better at school. The kids are still a handful, but today I met with each and every parent at parent conferences, and they were very responsive to me.  It is so good to know that I have supportive parents.

To all moms (and dads) out there - PLEASE support your child's teacher - it will be the best for his/her education!  It makes my job of training and educating children so much easier!  I only had a few that were what I would call "difficult" conferences -but even those were not terrible.

Again, I am so thankful for the Lord's goodness.

26 Belly Pic and update on life

Well, I made it through my first two weeks of teaching. It has been quite a challenge as I have 19 fourth grade students this year that are QUITE the handful! And - as you can see - I am starting to get pretty big. So I have been coming home pretty tired at night. With this group of kids, I can't really find much time to sit down. So my ankles are starting to swell and those lovely varicose veins are popping out (yuck!).

Tim has been great when I come in the door and just collapse on the couch for a half hour before making dinner. And of course I am super emotional - so a couple of nights a week, I come home crying saying that I will never make it through!
And then the next morning after a good night's rest, I feel fine. So I know that I can do it. I just have to trust in the Lord to find new strength and patience for each new day.

Other than that - things are going very well. Tim got a part-time job at the church working with the college kids and he is still working at Starbucks part-time. He is taking 10 credits this semester. That means next semester he will only have one more class and a thesis to write. Lord willing, he will GRADUATE MAY 2009!!! We are so excited at that prospect.
The church says that they would like to evaluate their budget in January to see if they can offer him a full time position with benefits. So you can pray about that.

I guess that's about it for now. I hope you all are doing well as we head into this Autumn season.

OLD vs. NEW

This was my classroom last year when I started school in the Fall.

Old Floors, dirty walls, no air conditioning, radiator heat (too hot in winter!), and oh did i mention the mice!

This is my room this year entering the new school season. Our school built a 9.9 million dollar school!  They were able to raise 7.9 million dollars of that!   Everything is new and CLEAN!

I have my own cabinets (that lock) and counter space!
This is the hallway with our gorgeous lockers!
I have a floor to ceiling window: it let's so much light in! I love it!
A nice large whiteboard.

I am so thankful that the Lord has provided us with a new school building.  It will be so nice to start the school year out on a NEW foot:)

I have inservice meetings all this week and then we start with the kiddos on Monday!  Please pray for a good school year.

Vacation - oh so good!

We had the great opportunity to head to the east coast for almost 12 days! We had such a nice time visiting friends and family.

First, we flew into VA Beach and spent all of Saturday (Aug. 

2nd) with old friends. Our schedule for the day was CRAZY - but soo much fun!

8:00 am - We stoped by the hospital to see Dawn and Nate BEFORE Sophia was born - nice to catch up and get a belly shot with dawn.

9:30 am - We met with some of Tim's old students at "Panera" - it was so nice to catch up with them again before they head off to college again.

12:00 pm - We met with old GCA teachers at "The Baker's Crust" - The ladies threw a little baby shower for me - it was so nice!  And it was soo great to see everyone again!

5:00 pm - We got together with some seminary friends at the Trach's house. Those ladies threw a shower for me as  well (that Dawn had planned - so sweet - even if she wasn't able to make it :)

Sunday morning (the next day ) we got up early and dropped by the hospital to see Dawn, Nate, Noah and sweet baby Sophie. 

For pictures of our time in VA Beach click here

After that, Tim's parents picked us up on their way down to Duck, NC and gave us a ride to catch up with the rest of the  Baylor family.

We had a wonderful week in the Outer Banks with Tim's parents, Siblings, nieces, nephes, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. Rachel and Suz (my sisters in law) planned  a very nice shower for me at a local restaurant.  We had such a nice time together!

Pictures of our Time in Duck, NC can be found here

After a week at the beach, Tim and I travelled with his parents to State College, Pa (my hometown). Tim and I drove from there to Pittsburgh, PA where my twin sister Rachael lives. All of my family was gathering there. We had a nice time catching up with my siblings, parents, and nieces. We even got to meet up with Adam, Adrianne, and Owen Thomas (oh and Dan Valentine too). It was so great spending time with them again.

Pictures of our time in Pittsburgh are here

Our Baby Girl's Name

We decided to name our baby girl "Madison Hope Baylor"  Madison is a family name on the Baylor side. And hope is just an encouraging word/name that has the idea of a confident expectation.  

We are thrilled to  know that we are having a baby girl and glad to finally have a name picked out. I cannot say it enough - God is so good and faithful. 

  

We are having a baby GIRL

Yup - that's the news we heard today from the ultrasound technician. Although, it was a little difficult for the tech to get a good picture because she was jumping around so much! We kept wondering why when Tim realized that we had tried a bunch of different "Jelly Bellies" on the way to our appointment. - I had gone on a field trip to the "Jelly Belly" factory the day before and had purchased us a little bag to try together. Well - to say the least our little girl was on a little sugar high :) Here is one shot that they were able to get for us. I love her little face!
This bottom one is a little skeleton looking - but it is still neat to see :)
Other than her swimming around everywhere, our little girl was very healthy: great heart-rate, great size and growth. Everything was great! We were so happy. Secretly, I had known it was a little girl from the very beginning. We are so excited! Tim says he's ready to have "Daddy's little Girl". So bring on the pink!

We almost have a name picked out, but we aren't 100% on it right now - so we will let that cat out of the bag later on.
We are so thankful to the Lord for a healthy growing baby girl. He is so very good!

19 Week Belly Shots

I came home the other night from class looking and feeling bigger than just two weeks ago. Tim wanted to take some pics, so I thought I would post them for those "Belly-pic-hungry readers" :)

P.S. sorry about the random items in the background - still trying to get our house together after the move!

Out with the Old in with the New

Well, as many of you may know, at the beginning of July we moved out of our one bedroom apartment in Glenview into a two bedroom apartment less than one mile down the road in Northbrook.  It was literally a crazy sequence of events. 

We got our keys tot he apartment on June 21st and Tim and I stopped by to check out the place and see where we should put the furniture.  Well - to say the least, we were horrified! It was a filthy mess - not to mention that the new appliances that we had been promised were probably from the early 80's.  

Tim was furious. They had shown us a model that looked great and told us it would be cleaned and painted for us to move in.  It was nowhere near ready for us to move in.  Tim called the leasing office and ranted and raved, but basically no one would hear it. They thought that there was no problem with the state of the apartment. Just to give you a little glimpse of what I am talking about, I will include a few photos.

And seriously - that is just the beginning! So it got to the point where they wouldn't do anything about it and they wouldn't let us out of our lease, so Tim called the local health department to come inspect the place. He called the leasing office and let them know that he had made the call.  When Tim arrived to the apartment the next afternoon with the health inspector, the place was painted, cleaned and there was a note letting us know that they had ordered ALL new appliances ( dishwasher, stove, air conditioner, and refrigerator.)

What a blessing! This all finally came together the DAY before we moved in!  I will post some pics of the new place soon. It's turned out to be a nice little place. We are enjoying decorating and planning the baby's room!  Which by the way we find out if it is a GIRL or a BOY next saturday (July 26th)!!! 

17 Week Belly Shots

Ok - well, since everyone has been bugging me to put up some belly shots - I had tim take a few. I have to admit, I love seeing everyone else's belly shots - but it was so hard to get a good shot that didn't make me look HUGE - ha!

Anyways, here they are :o)

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

In summer camp, my kids have been saying the most hilarious things about my pregnancy. I just had to post some of those comments.

1. One of my first graders rubbed my belly and said, "Nice baby Mrs. Baylor!"

2. One of my 3rd graders asked me for one of my goldfish crackers and I told them "no honey, I don't have enough for everyone"  and another boy watching (5th grader) said, "You know, you just really shouldn't ask for a pregnant woman's food - it's not smart!" he went on to say - " and you definitely shouldn't get a pregnant woman angry!"  I was just dying laughing!

3. One of my girls going into 6th grade said, " Mrs. Baylor, every time I see you - you are eating something" (I usually spread my meals out throughout the day- yogurt, cheese, an apple, etc..) I responded, "The baby needs food to grow." She said, " I never seen a baby who needs that much food!  That baby gonna be BIG!"  sighh.... one of those times, you just can't take kids seriously.

I hope you enjoyed :o)

I am sure there will be more to come!

A Hilarious letter about pregnancy

I stole this off of my friend's blog because I thought all of all of you ladies would enjoy this one!

 You'll have to tell me if you found this to be true while you were pregnant :o)

  Dear Non-Pregnant Person,

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice.

1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an idiot!!! 

2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby". 

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it.

4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!".

6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. 

7) There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. 

8) Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to "help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Bring on the Second Trimester!

Well, I am officially 14 weeks today and I am feeling GREAT!  The sickness has ended and I am not so tired.  I am getting more excited by the day!  I can feel my belly stretching and getting a little harder,but it's not that cute belly yet - so no pictures yet!  I'm at that weird stage of not fitting into things and well, just feeling FAT!  I haven't really gained weight yet, so I am glad about that. I know there will be plenty of time for that at the end - so I'll wait until then.

Peanut (as we affectionately call it for now) - is about the size of a lemon this week. Here below is what it looks like already. I am just amazed by God's design and how intricate and well-developed this little one is already! God is so good! We will find out the sex of the baby at the end of July - so we will keep you posted :o)

A Good Experience at the DMV???

Oh you heard me correctly. I actually had a positive experience at the Chicago Department of Motor Vehicles.  I was floored! I have to admit, after Virginia I was used to going in - waiting 2+ hours, only to get to the front of the line for them to tell you that you have the wrong identification with you.  

Today I actually went into the DMV and got out in UNDER 20 minutes!  WOW! I complimented every worker I saw on my way out. I was so impressed!