It's the little things...

I was having kind of an awful day yesterday. There are exactly 11 days left of school before Spring Break and my Maternity Leave and all of a sudden I'm getting piled on. Here's a little glimpse into what needs to get done ASAP:

• Grades were due today at school
• I have to create a power point by tomorrow for my AP to use when explaining the new curriculum that I've been assigned to teach next year (btw, this is supposed to be a compliment that I've been chosen...right now it feels like a punishment)
• I had to attend a proctor meeting after school yesterday before my doctor's appointment because I have to spend 3 out of my 5 planning periods next week proctoring the Georgia High School Graduation Test instead of getting my work done (oh and did I mention that most of the proctors teach the 11th graders who take the GHSGT?...I'm one of the "lucky" few who have to proctor it despite the fact that I teach 9th and 10th grade)
• I have about 80 research papers to grade
• I have to write a Critical Analysis of a Research Theorist by tomorrow at 5 p.m.
• I had to get my info/paperwork together for my yearly evaluation with my AP tomorrow during my planning period
• Umm...I'm sure there're a few more items on my to-do list that I'm forgetting right now due to "pregnancy brain" :)

But enough complaining. This post is about how my day got better!

I called my mom when I couldn't make a decision about what to eat for dinner last night (Jay was out of town last night...as he has been for what feels like the last month...which means I've been a single parent to Ellie who's decided to start behaving like a terrible two-year-old and has recently destroyed 2 cell phones in the process...adding, I'm sure, to my stress & frustration). Who else do you call when you can't make a decision? Poor thing, I totally set her up for failure. She couldn't win. Nothing sounded good and everything sounded like heartburn waiting to happen. So what did I do? I headed out to pick up dinner without a clue of what I was going to get...and I ended up at Papouli's Diner to get a gyro!!! Heartburn city, right?!?! Spicy lamb meat??? Ha. But it sounded soo good. And turned out to be just what I needed, because I walked in, ordered my gyro to go and had the sweetest convo with the cute Greek guy behind the counter in which he told me that I was beautiful in a completely non-creepy way (and told me about his 2 daughters). Why is it that European men know how to compliment a woman so well? Seriously, he made my night. Then I got in the car to come home and Train's new song, "Soul Sister" came on and I belted it out and then Kesha's "Tik Tok" came on and all of a sudden I was having a great night!

It really is the little things...

Whose feet/ankles are those?!?!?

1 month to go!!! And you can see it in my feet and ankles....

(All images thanks to Google Image Search for "cankles" and "fat feet")

I think they just "swole up" this weekend for the first time and I blamed it on my, my mom and mother-in-law's 3 hour trip to IKEA. But then yesterday, after our tour of the hospital (made it all seem oh-so-real!), I got home only to look down and almost faint at the sight of my feet. Seriously--whose feet are those?!?!? They can't be mine--I have petite ankles and feet, I wear a size 5 1/2 shoe--and those look like Fred Flinstone's club feet!!! Naturally, I snapped a quick pic on my cell phone and sent it to my sister so she, too, could poke fun at me.

***UPDATE***

Aunty Sissy figured out how to email me the pic I sent her...

Look at that indention from the strap across my foot!!!

In other news, I know I'm 9-months-pregnant-huge and probably a teeny, tiny, little bit cranky and all, but I am sick and tired of people telling me I'm about to pop. DUH--I'm NINE MONTHS PREGNANT!!! Take the following situations that have all occurred in the last few days:

Walking in to the copy room at school the other day, a teacher from my department who also happened to be in there, stops in the middle of her conversation to say to me:

Old Lady Teacher: You are fat, fat, fat!
Me: Um....
Nice Copy Lady: She's supposed to be--she is pregnant after all!

I pretty much high-tailed it out of there after that. I felt so awkward--what was I supposed to say--thanks?

At the Verizon store on Monday, an older gentleman started a conversation innocently enough:

Old guy: You like you're getting pretty close...
Me: (with a smile) Yeah, I sure am!
Old guy: How much longer?
Me: About 4 weeks.
Old guy: 4 weeks?!?!?!?! More like 4 days!!!! (He seriously looked like he was going to have a heart attack at the thought of me having 4 weeks to go.)

Again, I pretty much high-tailed it outta there. This man doesn't even know me!

And then this morning, while talking with a friend before the first bell, another old lady teacher interrupts us to exclaim:

Old lady teacher: There is NO WAY you're going to make it to your due date!!!

Ok, first of all, I want you to notice the common factor in these rude comments. That's right--old people. I am in no way anti-geriatric (Is that even a term?!? Haha.), but I think you lose your filter when you hit a certain age. Is it 65? 70? Because my friend and I have noticed that the only people who seem to feel perfectly comfortable commenting on our weight or how huge we are, are the older people. Don't get me wrong, people in their 30s or 40s still comment, but they're nice comments, things like, "Congratulations! When are you due?" or "Do you know what you're having?" or "Is this your first?" Like I said, I know I'm probably a little more sensitive right now, but I'm getting pretty sick of the fat jokes. I'M NINE MONTHS PREGNANT PEOPLE....BACK OFF!

One final (and much happier) note. The nursery is beginning to come together!!! We got the chair in, the bookcase assembled, the crib is supposed to come this week, and the bedding is supposed to ship. I'm crossing my fingers to be able to start putting it all together (and showing y'all pictures) this weekend! Woo hoo!

XOXO, C

Beyond Blessed

Last week, my teacher friends threw Mrs. Mayfield and I a baby shower after school. I can't even begin to describe to you how sweet they were to us. We got so much great stuff! Seriously, after the 3 showers that my fabulous friends and family have thrown for me, I think we have just about everything we need before Nugget comes!

The lovely ladies of the English department:

Kat's cute decor...seriously, the classroom felt like a party room!

Us Mamas-to-be:

The adorable cupcakes Liz made!

On a side note, I think people (including me and Jay) are starting to get frustrated that we haven't named him. We just can't seem to settle on something (I think we like too  many names!) and I think we may truly have to wait until he's born to make the decision. Feel free to throw something out there (or an idea you have on how to make the decision) if you'd like...we're open to suggestions! :)

i wish i had known...and i'm thankful to know ahead of time...

...of these 2 websites!

thanks to the blog A Cup of Jo, i plan on buying maternity wear for the next pregnancy from here. i only wish i had known of it sooner! how cute is this dress?!?!

and thanks to Little Green Notebook, i will definitely be creating a family command center like in Southern Living!

hope you enjoy these finds!

What a Wonderful Weekend!!

I had a whirlwind of a weekend that started with a dinner party at my mom's on Friday. Unfortunately, we had so much fun, that I forgot to take pictures! Luckily my mom snapped a few of me (and you can see the beautiful decor in the background) before the party really got started.

Jay went out of town on Saturday for a bachelor party and I got to spend it with my mom, Aunt Kay, and Sissy! I started out my Saturday by going to Baby Mayfield's shower, then met up with the girls for a little shopping.

Our first stop was at B.Braithwaite...the most precious baby store in the world!

Technically we were shopping for others, but I may have added a few items to Nugget's registry!

Then we headed to Old Navy at Atlantic Station where Aunt Kay treated Linds and me to early birthday presents! And I bought a few post-prego outfits for Spring and some outfits for Nugget.

We were supposed to head to Ikea next, but ran out of time. Guess I'll try and head there this week....?

On Sunday I headed off to another baby shower hosted by my wonderful and wonderfully TALL friends (and fabulous mother/daughter duo) Cindy and Kara.

We played a really fun game (that I highly recommend if you're throwing a baby shower!) where Kara divided the ladies into 3 groups and gave them parenting/baby magazines, scissors and tape. They had an allotted amount of time to cut out and make a collage that would describe Nugget. With this group, the game became very competitive!

Group 1 hard at work...

And their finished product:

Group 2...

Which included mini-Martha (Stewart!)

And their outside-the-lines collage:

And last-but-not-least, Group 3...

And their (hairy) masterpiece thanks to Nugget's aunts...

They were all fabulous! Which group would you pick as the winner???

And I can't even begin to describe to you all how blessed and loved I feel. The generosity of my friends and family is astounding! We are seriously just about set now for this little guy's arrival! (If I could just get his nursery de-cluttered and set up....)

P.S. For those who noticed--YES--I wore the same outfit on Sunday that I wore Friday. I'm running out of cute clothes that fit!

~C