Almost There...

Almost there in many ways. I'm only 11 weeks out from seeing my precious Astoria and I'm 6 days aways from taking my certification test to become a principal. Time is running out on a lot of things to get done and the stress has been felt in our house. Poor Rex has become the brunt of a lot of my stress, even with the flu wrecking havoc on his body for the past week. Thankfully enough, my mom and dad are on their way down next weekend. Mom always seems to show up when she's needed most. So just as I'm either celebrating or crying over the test next Saturday my mom and dad will be waiting for me at my house. Dad will likely pat me on the head (whether I'm crying or celebrating) and mom will want to know all of the details. Did I mention on that day, January 31st, I'll be 30 weeks along and it will be my 29 1/2 birthday. What a day it will be!

With the test behind me it will leave me to deal with summer school and yearbook, oh and a baby on the way. I can almost feel the relief!

Procrastination

I've found myself procrastinating about everything these days which is very unlike me. As you can tell I've even procrastinated about writing on this blog. I've got lots to say but I find I'd rather be sitting on the couch doing nothing or sleeping. I think it's a minor case of being overwhelmed with too much to do. Here's my list of things to do:

1. Finish my application for a Vice Principal Position (I just need a letter of interest, that's it but for the life of me I can't get started).
2. Start studying for the TExES exam, which is January 31st, which will allow me to become a principal or assistant. Without the exam I can't even apply.
3. Start working on Summer School Curriculum. I'm not changing that much about the actual curriculum just adding power points to go along with the daily activities that I developed last year.
4. Develop a reading log for a new reading program we're starting on Wednesday of next week across the entire school.
5. Reread my CHAMPS books to get prepared for a presentation 5th grade has to give on February 16th.
6. Start the yearbook which I've been taking pictures for but have not completed a single layout yet.

So as you can see I have lots to do and no real desire to do any of it. One thing at a time my mother would say :)

Anyway, enough moaning. So what's been going on in our lives since my last post you ask? Well Christmas Eve I found myself in the emergency room not being able to breathe. Even after 8 breathing treatments in 3 hours I left there wheezing with a prescription of prednizone. Breathing, thanks to the prednizone got better about a day later. Christmas was good. It was great seeing all of the family together (although I missed Rex being there with the family a whole bunch). Grandpa was thought about a lot and we sure do miss him. New Year's Eve mom, Mere, and I headed back for Texas to start planning out the baby's room. Only first we drove to Plano's Labor and Delivery because I couldn't get rid of a headache for 3 days. The doctor said it was a tension headache and sent me home with Vicadin (sp). I slept the whole next day but the headache was gone. I was given strict instructions to take it easy (yeah, right). That Friday I still wasn't feeling up to par so I went in to see my primary care doctor who discovered I had a bladder infection and most likely fluctuating blood sugar levels from the prednizone. She started me on Macrobid, and antibiotic, and sent me on my way. Two days later I was feeling a lot better. A week later I was in the OB's office with a rash all over my stomach. She thinks it was caused by the antibiotic. Who knows, it just itched really bad.

While the family was here we picked out fabric for Astoria's layette and curtains. Mom is going to make them all herself and I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what she comes up with. I've realized Astoria has more clothes from Meredith and my little purchases here and there to last until she's 6, of course that would be a problem since they'll all only fit until she's about 9 months old. We'll of course be in need of lots of diapers and wipes if anyone is wondering :)

Rex and I started Childbirth classes a few weeks ago and boy are we learning a lot! I think our discussions after the class are probably just as scary as the class itself.

Other than all of that, things are going good. I'm now in the stage of going to the doctor every two weeks. Until I'm 32 weeks (about a month from now) and then we'll start going every week. It's amazing to me that I'm already 28 weeks along. I've entered the 3rd trimester and I have to admit I'm feeling it. There are days where I feel like a house on legs but I guess that's the fun of it right?

An Email from My Dad

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

This email really made me begin to think on this day after Christmas. Although if you know my family well enough Christmas doesn't really come until about 3 days after the real date - we have lots of family members with other extended familys and meeting on an actual date (say December 24th or 25th hasn't happened in a long time) but what is an actual date, when you are together with family celebrating the birth of Christ?

Anyway, back to the email. Here are some of the things I think I miss or don't readily see as each day passes us on: The beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the cry of a baby (even if at the moment it doesn't seem real beautiful), a new leaf on a spring tree, a cat lying lazily in the sun, a smile from a mom, nana, pops, aunt or granny when they see their little one becoming more independent every day, a smile exchanged between a husband and wife that only they know the true meaning behind, a family laughing or crying together. Although there shouldn't be just one time of the year to stop and hear the beautiful noises or see the beautiful things around us it should remind us what this time of the year really means to all of us.

I hope you and all of yours have a blessed holiday season!

Because my sister put up the challenge!

The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

NO CHEATING! (cropping, editing, etc!)

Ah yes! My two lovely children. This is about a month after I got Lilly. I was already packing in Tennessee to head to Oregon and the cats were helping. At that time Isabelle towered over Lilly. Doesn't happen much anymore these days but every now and again Isabelle gets her way. That was in 2004 this is 2006 (amazingly enough I don't have another picture of the two of them that close since then):

20 Week Pictures!

20 weeks - Feeling Round!

Ultrasound at 20 weeks that really confirmed her little girl status!

I know, I know I'm behind. Today I'm actually 23 weeks along but life has been very busy! In 3 weeks time I actually feel bigger than I did at 20 weeks. She's an active little Toad in there these days. I'm pretty sure she'll come into this world purrring. Lilly still loves to rest on my belly. Here soon it's going to become too uncomfortable for her to do that anymore but for now we're okay. I'm not sure if I mentioned or not but Rex got to feel her kick one night. He was pretty ecstatic. Now he asks quite often if she's been moving. I read today Astoria can actually now hear outside sounds like an alarm clock, a police car and yes, even our voices. I have a pretty good feeling Rex will definitely take advantage of this.

I finished school this past week so now all I have to do is take my TExES Principal Exam January 31st and I'll be certified. I can't believe it's finally over. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fill my time. Oh yeah, I remember, we'll be starting lamaze classes the second week in January going up until the last week in February. I'm still working part-time at Christopher and Banks until the end of February. I figured at that time I'll be ready to get off my feet at night. I like being there though and it does help with a little extra money here and there.

I have one more week of school left before Christmas break and I'm sure it's going to drag on forever. I'm really excited about being with the families this year for Christmas. It seems like things have been so busy I've missed out on some much needed family time. I fly OKC on December 22nd. Unfortunately Rex isn't going to be able to join us for Christmas this year up there. He has to work. Next year it will be a different story, I hope. We'll begin making our own traditions without losing the family traditions. By next year Christmas at the Johnson's will be quite exciting with two little ones running around (or at least one running, Olivia, and one crawling, Astoria). I can't hardly wait.

20 Weeks Pregnant and the Crib Is Up!

Astoria's Crib


Rex's little helper.

The one little mishap!

Today has been a busy day. The crib was delivered to the store yesterday and it took all of my will power to not go up there immediately and get it. Good thing we already had dinner plans with friends. So this morning I got up (well sort of, I had lots of DVRing to catch up on and Rex was changing out his water pump) and laid out the game plan. Since we've moved into the house the 'baby room' has been a guest room while the second bedroom was a craft room. I was hoping to have a place for people to sleep when they came to visit since we live apart from all of my family but I wasn't sure if we'd be able to swing it. Well after moving things around in the craft room (I know, I know, I won't have time for crafts after a baby anyway) I was able to put the bed in there and it looks great! There is actually more room than I thought to walk around. That left the baby room wide open and ready for the baby! Astoria was not real happy about me doing so much. She moved today more than I have ever felt her. Rex, Larry (my father in law), Scott (my brother in law), and I all went to go pick up the crib. Thank goodness they have a mini van. After dinner Rex and I got busy and an hour later it was put together. Only one little mishap with the front legs but it was smooth as pie (the picture with Rex's annoyed face)!

I may be a bit biased but I think it's gorgeous! I'm so happy I looked around for one that has a solid back. You'll notice the sheets have Elmo on them playing sports. For the longest time we all believed it was going to be a little boy, those will change to pink before too long.


So next week mom, dad, Mere, and Olivia will be joining us for the 'official' ultrasound and Thanksgiving and I'm happy to say mom and dad will still have a bed, Olivia will get to break in the crib and every one will be comfortable. Sorry Mere, you'll still be on the couch.

A Long Weekend

The funeral service for my grandfather was on Saturday and we are finally home. It's weird to think we're going to go about life as normal knowing he'll no longer be there for questions only grandpa would know. The service was beautiful. Since he was a retired police officer and long time friends with the current Oklahoma County Sheriff he had a full police escort along with an honor guard (roughly about 20 police officers) at the funeral. The guard even did the 21 gun salute which jars me every time I have to sit through the shots. Granny lovingly gave me three of the shells from the guns. One for Rex, Astoria, and myself, we will always cherish them. One of his requests was that the song 'The Saints Go Marching In' be played at the funeral. We did even better. A Shriner band came to the graveside and played at the end of the service (he was a 32nd degree Mason and a Shriner as well). We found out they would be coming about a week before he passed and he laughed and said 'good'. It's just what he would have wanted.

The service was beautiful. My cousins and uncle led the service. They told stories of our days growing up with grandpa. The main theme was 'there is the right way, the wrong way, and grandpa's way'. Even now I can hear him in my head telling me things I should and shouldn't do. It will be a long time before we all completely heal, if we ever will. We miss him dearly!

I'm officially 19 weeks along. It's amazing to think that next week I'll be halfway through my pregnancy. I've started feeling her every now and again. Mainly when I'm bending over doing things. It feels like she's doing complete body rolls. Mere calls them alligator rolls. Finding clothes is still difficult. My wedding rings no longer fit so I've moved them onto a silver chain that was once Rex's grandmothers. I've realized with the weight gain my feet no longer fit into my normal winter shoes but I'm too cheap to buy new ones so I may be wearing tennis shoes a lot this winter.

Everything else is going great. School is almost over for me thank goodness! I'll be done with classes the first week in December. I'll take my Principal Certification test in January and then start looking for jobs. I don't expect anything this year, being 8 months pregnant and looking for a job isn't really ideal.

Thank you all for your support in this tough time. It's meant a lot to me over the past few weeks.