Time is FLYING!!!

Happy Saturday - a week later!

I may have mentioned (because it's become a kind of running mantra for me) that I think it was a lot easier being pregnant nine years ago. I was nine years younger; I didn't have quite as many social commitments; I didn't have a third grader utterly dependent upon me as transportation to everything.

Of course, I also found out this week that I'm anemic (not a surprise, I was anemic when pregnant with Alexandra) - so that could be playing more than a small part in how exhausted I'm left feeling. Iron supplements with orange juice every morning is supposed to help. We'll see.

This coming Monday will be the start of the third trimester - and I can't help but wonder... how did I manage to get here already?? I have a list of things (well, in my head - I haven't actually written them down yet) that still need to be done in the remaining weeks. And I still need to make my way through those weeks with as little disruption to Alex's schedule (and my own!) as possible.

One of the things I realized today (probably the LEAST important) was that this blog's title isn't really going to work anymore - so I'll be moving my blog to a new URL soon. Since we're moving so soon after the baby is born, I'm not making him a nursery or anything - so this online renovation may have to satisfy those nesting urges. I'm hoping, though, that they'll also be put to work in packing up and purging through our belongings before the big move.

Superbowl Sunday

It's that time of the year again - and we're getting ready to head out and watch the big game at Buffalo Wild Wings. Good food, football, friends, and can't forget those trivia boards!

Alexandra is absolutely THRILLED that her bestie, Sinikka, is back from Hawaii! They've been playing Webkinz and planning their own PuppyBowl (gee, thanks, Animal Planet!) in the backyard with Violet and Aki (Sinikka's dog, Violet's bff).

I'm rooting for the Saints in a big way - bigger, in fact, than any Superbowl in recent history.

Holy Cow - Is it February Already??

I'm just coming up for air, it seems, for the first time this semester. I've finished my practicum teaching week, so am looking forward to a lighter schedule from now on. I still can't believe that I'm in the home stretch. One Master's Degree finished and the second one will be done in May!

Alexandra is ensconced in the drama that is the third grade - and of all the craziness in both of our lives, it's this that I fear will be the death of me! How on EARTH do I, as a parent, deal with bullying? Well, frankly, I'm not dealing well with it at all... but it's an issue that keeps coming up (as in almost everyday after school, I'm regaled with details) and I'm constantly feeling at a loss. How do I balance the advice of "toughen up and you'll get through it," which, I do believe, is important, with the more contemporary counsel that bullying isn't okay - and that she needs to say something at school to make it stop?
In a class of thirteen children, how does one eight year old deal with this?
Interestingly, one of the primary culprits of said bullying is in an extracurricular activity with Alexandra this semester (we discovered this morning) and the after-activity report was that she was perfectly friendly during this outside-school class. How do I explain to my kiddo that just because she was nice to her in this place, removed from the other girls of their class, doesn't mean she'll be like that on Monday, in their regular class?
How do I convince her as well, that in order to make anything change, to make anything happen, she needs to actually talk to her principal about what happens? She cries to me, but when asked at school, she doesn't want to get anyone in trouble. *sigh*

Did I mention that third graders and their social negotiations may well be the death of me this year?? :)

Volunteering as their art teacher and their Brownie leader isn't exactly knocking off the stress points either - but it gives me a chance to actually watch the interactions and judge how accurate Alexandra's tales are.

So there's school (in a nutshell) and Alexandra (well, a facet) and aside from that, there's the exhaustion that is pregnancy. Just about 27 weeks now and that sleepy feeling is just, at this point, a way of life. I know I was sleepy with my first pregnancy, but I can't help but assume that it's worse this time around (hey, it's nine years later, nine years older, and I'm also balancing school and an almost nine year old now). Of course, women do it all the time - and I can too. Still, I would really love to have the luxury of a daily nap!

Baby has a place to sleep now - I finally broke down and bought a pack-and-play with a bassinet top. I figure that since we're moving only weeks after the blessed event, I don't want to mess with a crib, etc. Baby can sleep next to my bed and it's one less piece of furniture that I'll have to worry about moving.

Oh - I guess that's my stress #4... thinking about moving. Really, I'm hoping that with my now free days, I can spend the next week or two really purging and figuring out what's coming and what's going. I swore, after cleaning out the storage unit before moving to Illinois, I would NEVER put anything in storage again. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well that oath will hold up - what things do I need? What things can I get rid of? How on EARTH will I deal with the cases upon cases of books?

So, it's the beginning of February and still, technically, the beginning of the spring semester. It's going to be one crazy ride!