So far.... not so good

I started the cake baking process at 9:00... yes that means I am up way too early yet again. Fate is very cruel...all school year I have to struggle to get out of bed before 7 am and here it is summer time and I have to struggle to stay in bed until after 8am.

Anyways the first cake is in the oven and almost done. I have already had to problems. Problem one is the mystery location of my hand mixer. To resolve this I had to call my poor mother and ask her to meet me at the place where I am getting Tim's oil changed so that she can hand over the rest of the cake storage things AND a hand mixer. I had to mix the first cake by hand.... I hope it turns out okay. Problem 2 is that I was trying to be efficient and so I have already started the icing for cake #1. Once I finished reading the directions I realized that the icing is supposed to be put on warm. So the cake needs to cool down and the icing needs to still be hot.... see my problem with timing? The icing was easy so if need be I will make another batch....

Oh an additional mini problems is the fact that the sour cream container lies and does NOT actually have a cup of sour cream inside... but I have to go to the store to buy more sugar to make another batch of icing anyways I guess it isn't a huge deal....

However I am proud to say that I cleaned up the kitchen after the first cake and it still looks good so I am holding my own. I think Tim is afraid he is going to come home tonight to a house in ruins... usually when I bake one cake the entire kitchen is a mess! We will see how it holds up against six cakes!

P.S. Don't worry I am having fun with the whole process... no regrets!

Should have started a cake...

Well I refuse to go down stairs and do the last load of laundry because I am hot and sweaty. I have left comments on every one's blog.... including Emily a friend of Laura that I do not know. I am pregnant and stuck in the house so hopefully she will not think I am too weird.

I get to leave the house again in fifteen minutes and I am looking forward to it. I have to stop by Jennifer's and pick up the cake storage things so that my cakes don't go stale. Then it is off to my mom's house!

Here is a picture of a really weird looking frog that was sitting on my porch one night when my mom left. She has been waiting to see the picture.... hopefully you can see his cool stripes!

Now I have to go wake Rory up. She is sleeping peacefully in the living room and is NOT going to like the idea of going back into the crate. I feel bad....but there is nothing else I can do! I must leave the house more than once a week or I will go crazy!

Ready...Set....Bake!

I just returned from a shopping trip with my mom. Unlike our normal trips Christian did not get anything BUT I now have all of the supplies that I need to bake the cakes for the shower. I was going to come home and start one, but I have to be at my parents house at 4 to help Christine with her final so I think its best if I wait until I get home!

I have pictures of the supplies so that you can see what a massive undertaking this s going to be!

Here are the "dry ingredients" notice the boxes of cake mix. I am not ashamed. The Cake Doctor and I will turn these simple boxes into culinary masterpieces.

There weren't as many wet ingredients to add. There are strawberries hiding under the OJ for the strawberry cake!

I shouldn't even be awake yet....

I am really not sure what caused me to get u at 6:45 a.m. Maybe some sort of flash back to school? Tim and I had a lousy nights sleep and I wish I could nap, but I don't think I would fall asleep. I just finished the third season of Gilmore Girls... Jess is in CA, Rory and Loralie are on their way to Europe, and they are about to buy the Dragon Fly Inn... so anyone who knows the show will at least know where I am.

I just put the first load of laundry for the day away! I am thinking dishes are next. Then Christian's room. I want it nice and neat before the baby shower.... that way it will be easier to put everything from the shower away. Maybe I will take some pictures of the room so you guys can see it. It is really cute!

For some reason my thirst is out of control. I have consumed three glasses of water this morning and am working on another bottle of water at the moment. I think I may abandon the organization of my classroom library. I just can't find the energy to care. Maybe I could make it a class project of some sort. I think that might be best.... that just leaves me with one problem.... Where do I store all of these books until next school year?!? I have like six milk cartons full of chapter books!

Anyways I was just catching my breath and resting for a minute. I can't seem to hold still ... poor Chris is going to think its all work and no play out here. At this rate he'll never want to come out for fear of being put to work!

Busy Large Pregnant Bee

well i couldn't very well say little bee could I?

So today I have washed three loads of clothes, done a load of dishes, cleaned up the living room, begged for cake storage containers, and finished helping Christine with our "special project." If you don't know about the project too bad. Just be happy for me that it is over.

I am very proud of all of this and it is only 3:00 so there is the possibility that even more will be accomplished! I would like to get up to Christian's room and organize in there but we will see..... right now I am going to rest and eat waffles!

Apparently I need to update more often!

I have been informed that I need to update this more often.... very possibly true.

So Laura sent me pictures of the cookies she is going to make for the baby shower and they are adorable! I can't wait to see everything. Everyone has been so sweet and put so much work into this shower! Hopefully people will take plenty of pictures because I want to remember everything!

I really have not been up to much this week. In fact this evening was the first time I left the house since Sunday afternoon. Tim and I took Rory over to my parents house so that she could run. She LOVES going over there and being able to run in the backyard. She is so exhausted!

Yesterday Rory and I stayed in the house all day. Tim didn't get home until late so we were alone for a very long time! I put lots of pictures into frames and watched lots of Gilmore Girls. Today I think I accomplished even less than yesterday. I did, however, make it to the third season of Gilmore Girls.

I hope to accomplish more tomorrow. I have such a long list of things that I would like to get done.... I just lack the motivation to get them done! Maybe tomorrow I will wash clothes....

Productive Day

It is only 12:30 and I have already cleaned out the closet in the spare bedroom, vacuumed the spare bedroom and the hallway, and put away all of the books that go on my bookshelf. Of course I now have milk cartons full of books in my kitchen that need to be sorted by genre and reading level.... oh and I have a box of pictures in the living room that need to be organized. But what else am I going to do during the week when I am keeping this psycho dog company?

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday!

Tutoring... is it for me?

I was talking to my mom today about how I would like to be able to stay home and possible home school Christian once he is old enough. I mentioned that I had considered tutoring as a way to bring in money, but still stay at home. Then this evening I was talking with Jennifer about her new endeavors into the world of professional organizers and I mentioned my desire to tutor.

It really got me thinking about how wonderful it could be to stay home and still work with kids. It would definitely be a different situation than working in a classroom, but it might be nice! I am not sure how quickly it will happen, but it is something I would like to keep in mind. Not necessarily the back of my mind... maybe the middle or somewhere close to the front.

I am going to go google somethings and see what I can find out. I may be back with an update.

My Ankles are Swelling

My dear sister just pointed out that my ankles are swelling. I have been very proud of the fact that nothing has swelled and everything has been going well. Luckily at my last doctors visit they told me that my blood pressure is doing very well so I am not too concerned. However, if they start swelling now they could be huge by the time Chris gets here which is not cool.

In other news... Christine and Matt came over this evening. I didn't want to leave Rory home alone again so soon, so they were nice enough to come over here. We ordered from Box Hill Pizzeria so that Christine could try a REAL crab cake. I had an open faced hot turkey sandwich. It was only okay because it had tons of pepper on it which made me not want to eat. (Of course I ended up eating most of it..... but I did leave the fries on the plate)

Tim says that I have a boring blog. I think he is boring.

Schools Out For Summer

Would you believe they actually played that song the last day of school? How cliche.... but totally adored by the kids I am sure...

So my first week of no school and no life has come to an end. I had lots of doctors appointments and things to keep me busy. I am sure that you will all be happy to know my toes are doing well... oh yeah and so is Chris :)

This week I managed to clean the living room (and get it dirty again) and the kitchen. Next week I hope to tackle the much feared basement. Christian's room is coming along nicely. We are waiting for the rocking chair and a small table to be delivered from Ryan Furniture. Jess is supposed to paint the mural in July sometime. The only other thing we have to do is hang the curtain rod! I am pretty impressed with how everything came together. Once everything is finished I will take some pictures for the blog.

I am really excited because next weekend is my baby shower. I wasn't supposed to be involved but I have convinced my mom to let me make cakes. I just made a list of the ingredients that I will need to buy and I need 23 eggs! At least it will give me something to do near the end of the week. I am trying to stay home a lot because Rory tends to freak when I leave the house... I don't want her to drive the neighbors crazy barking!

I will try to do better about updating this or Laura may just take me back off of the links list on her blog.... but for now I am going to go try and find out if my husband is planning on coming home from work anytime soon!

Rory and I watching TV

We watched the first DVD for season 1 of Gilmore Girls today.

Strawberry Festival

I am off to the Strawberry Festival at Good Shepperd. I am not sure if leaving Rory here is a good idea or a bad idea. I am thinking she might need some time alone to adjust but then again she could feel abandoned... I am going to let her outside to run around a little and then I am off to meet Laura at the school. We are going to breakfast!

I think I fixed the clock...

The times on my blog were off.... if you know me you know that I didn't get up at 6:00 a.m. to write a blog... so I tried to fix it...not sure if I was successful. We will see. This is a test!

Well we are officially dog "owners"

I guess technically we don't own her, but she is ours for the summer. I will try to put up a picture of her soon. Rory is still very upset because her mom only left about 20 minutes ago. I am trying to give her space and let her roam around. As long as she doesn't great a mess, which she hasn't tried to do, we will be fine.

Today is the last "full" day of school

Tomorrow is a half day so today is our last full day with the kids. A field trip is scheduled for Annapolis and all but four of my students are supposed to go on it. I told the other four that if they showed up and helped me write my name on all of my stuff that is staying in the classroom I would let them watch Ice Age 2 when we are finished. After that I plan on lending them out to other teachers that are not finished packing. Yeah for the last week of school.

Oh, and today after school is the staff pool party. Tomorrow is John's pool party. Two pool parties in two days... how will I ever contain my excitement.

I attempted to drown the cat this morning....

So every morning when Tim or I get into the shower we turn on the faucet and let the cat drink from it. She only seems to drink running water so we try to do it at least twice a day... well this morning I turned on the water and hopped in the shower. About half way through my shower the cat was meowing like crazy and pawing at the doors trying to escape. I really don't pay that much attention to her so I went about my business and finished up in the shower. When I turned the water off in the shower I could till hear water running. I got out of the shower and stepped in about an inch of water. Apparently last night the cat hit the cap to Tim's contact solution down the drain. The cap wouldn't let the water drain so water was EVERYWHERE. It took us a good fifteen minutes and ten towels to get the situation under control. Needless to say the cat survived unscathed... I am off to find other ways to convince her she doesn't like living here anymore.

Cograts Grad and Happy 40th Birthday...

Well my family had a party today to celebrate my cousin Kate's graduation from high school and my Aunt Patty's 40th birthday. Unfortunately Tim & I couldn't stay the whole time (because we were coming to meet Rory.) We did, however, enjoy the time that we were at the party! Tim played volleyball and I took some pictures for my Aunt who was hosting the party. Harley had a lovely time AND she did really well with the kids that were at the party! (I was very proud of her) She also managed to find time to pop a volleyball, chew up some sticks, and eat her weight in food! Tim & I left while the party was still in full swing so we will have to get an update on how it went.... but I imagine everyone had a wonderful time!

Rory the Dog

Well Tim and I met Rory today. She is the dog that I volunteered to watch for the summer while her owner goes on a mission trip of sorts. She is going to South America to teach children for the summer, and would not have been able to go without somewhere to leave her beloved puppy. I was probably temporarily insane on pregnancy hormones when I agreed to it, but I am really glad that I did. She is a very sweet and lovable dog. She is very hyper and has TONS of energy, but hopefully that can be worked off by running around my parents back yard. Plus she will be able to keep me company while I am stuck at home all summer. Her mom goes home the day that is Christian is due so with any luck there will not be too much of an overlap between his arrival and her departure!

Rory will "move in" Thursday night. Her mom, Tammy, will stay with us Thursday and Friday so that Rory is comfortable. Then her mom will fly out on Saturday morning and it will be just me and Rory!

Adopt a Platoon

The woman from adopt a platoon called me last week to let me know that my application was being processed! Apparently Memorial Day is a busy time for them because more people remember soldiers.... it is sad that it takes a holiday to do this. I will get an email from the head office eventually letting me know who the soldiers are and how to get into contact with them. I will keep you posted :)

Baby Shower is on the way!

My mom and Barbie went out shopping for the baby shower today. At first I wasn't allowed to come because I am supposed to be staying home ......but I called and invited myself to lunch so I at least go to enjoy lunch at Boston Market with them! They had already purchased lots of really cute things and were on the way to the party store after a short stop at Target. They (Barbie, Wilma, Christine, & my Mom) are doing a wonderful job planning the shower. The only job I have been given is tracking down RSVPs (after the due date on the 15th) so if you haven't RSVPd watch out!

Taking it easy :)

So I came home from work yesterday because my blood pressure was high and the doctor wanted to see me. It is a little frustrating because my blood pressure is only high when I am NOT in the doctors office. So of course they told me that I was fine and I could leave... Tim and I checked it a few times yesterday and anytime I do any sort of activity (walking around the house, up the stairs, etc.) it goes up to numbers higher than they want it to be.

So I called the doctor today and explained my theory. We are concerned because if just walking makes my pressure go up high should I really be doing everything that I am doing? (walking up and down three sets of stairs, chasing kids, planning field trips that involve walking, etc.) The nurse just called back and at first she wasn't listening to my question and gave me the warning signs of preeclampsia speech again.... I got a little loud and made her understand that I wasn't worried about preeclampsia... just high blood pressure. From what I have read just high blood pressure can cause the baby not to grow as quickly and to come earlier than normal. (So I think it is a justifiable concern...) Once she actually listened to me she told me that I would not be doing summer camp and that I might need to take it easy all summer. That is the unofficial word right now. She is calling Dr. Lawson who is one of my favorites and the nurse will call me back after they talk and decide what my plan for the rest of the pregnancy is.

More later I am going to go find more cereal!

Just a thought..

maybe I should attempt to update this more often so that the posts are not so long.... sorry about that!

Nothing to write about??

I told Tim that my life was pretty boring right now... he gave me a look that said I should reconsider. I think he was more referring to Christian, but I guess I do have some good things going on! Chris is pretty mellow and doesn't really cause much excitement these days. We are in our waiting period... with around ten weeks to go things are pretty much routine for the two of us right now.

I did have a baby shower at work on Thursday... which I neglected to tell everyone about. It was very sweet of them to think of me! Not everyone could attend, but I was so glad to have so many people sending us warm wishes! I really love the school that I work at... the people are very sweet and always looking out for each other! I got some wonderful gifts at the shower too! I think I am going to do a special post of the cool things that Christian has managed to accumulate... there is too much of it to discuss now! We also had a yummy cake and took some pictures that I will try to put up!

Friday I had two ingrown toe nails fixed. (I told you lots of exciting things going on...) It was actually a pretty amusing experience! The nurse was not the usual nurse and she was really freaked out that I was pregnant. The doctor was fine with it (as was my OB) but for a little while I wasn't sure she was going to let him fix my toes!! Chris didn't help things by moving constantly. I was afraid she would see my stomach moving and go running for the hills!! Eventually she allowed the doc to get started and I even made it to lunch with Laura, Nina, Jen & Lucy!

Lunch was fun... Nina ate cheese. I am pretty sure she ordered tacos or something but all I saw her eat was cheese!! Jen is making Christian two quilts so we went to the store to pick out fabric. I am really excited about the quilts. She makes such pretty things!! I am glad that Christian will have them to use and as a keepsake! The fabric is really cute and I know that when she is finished they will be gorgeous! Laura and I also bought fabric to make little flannel blankets. Jen showed us how and I actually sewed some of Christian's myself! Needless to say I am very proud of this blanket and took it with me all weekend to show people!

Friday night we made the blankets and I was at Jen's for cake and ice cream to celebrate Laura's birthday. I also got to spend a little time with little Miss Lucy and she was a gem! My parents are finally home from Florida. They got home late Friday and I thought for sure my mom was going to miss meeting Lucy again. Luckily Jen and Laura were nice enough to say that she could come over and visit on Saturday before the Cooke crew headed out of town. I am pretty sure my Mom is in love with Lucy. She was on her best behavior and charmed my mom like only Lucy can do! I know she is really looking forward to Chris getting here now that she had a taste of baby!

Saturday Tim had to write a paper so we hung out at my parents house while he did that. Then we went to the furniture store and I picked out my rocker! It is a glider and it swivels. (That means it goes in circles and it goes back and forth) At first I didn't like it very much.... but Tim convinced me and now I can't wait to get it in the nursery! We also picked out a small table for the lamp to go on. Once those things get in the room there will be NO room for anything else! It is a tiny room, but he is a little guy so hopefully he will be happy in it! After picking out furniture Tim and I went out to dinner with Grandma & Dad. We went to Grumpy's which was really yummy. If you have never tried sweet potato fries I highly recommend you do so very soon! I am a huge fan and was really excited when I saw them on the menu! Originally we were supposed to go to a carnival with Russ and Ann after the dinner, but I was exhausted so Tim brought me home and I went to bed!

Sunday was another busy day... Tim had class but only until noon. My mom came and got me so that we could go to Target. I picked up a Boppy and a bottle warmer while we were there :) Then I came back home to meet up with Tim. We went to see Alyse at Dead Freddy's in Bel Air. We had never been to Dead Freddy's before.... although I am not crazy about the name.... the restaurant is really cute! They have seating outside, under a patio covering, and inside. The neatest part was that instead of serving you glasses they give you little mini pitchers. For pregnant ladies that drink a lot this is perfect! Alyse and I exchanged baby gifts (she is having her baby any day now!) and she picked out some really cute things for Christian!!

After meeting up with Alyse we headed to the mall. We went to Macy's because I had a gift card that I had been dying to spend. Christian got more really cool things which I will tell you all about at another time and then we headed to Barnes and Noble. Tim has to read The Bridges of Madison County for his class.... I find endless amusement in this because it is a love story and he is really not enjoying it. After our errands we went to the 5:30 Mass at St. Frances. We usually do not go to the Byzantine Mass, but it was confirmation for Russ so we were excited to attend! After mass we went grocery shopping at Wal Mart. Which was lots of fun except here it is Monday and we are already almost out of milk... Tim is going to kill me if I don't stop drinking it all. He never gets any milk because I always finish it first :) Maybe we should start buying two gallons at a time....

I think that is about enough for now! I am sleepy and it is almost past my bedtime! (8:30)

Catching up on the news...

So I know that I am not the most informed person in this world. During the beginning of this year I was so busy with new teacher things that I had no clue what was going on in the world. Now that the school year is winding down I have been trying more and more to read the news. It is discouraging though when I go to cnn.com and the top stories are about odd colored lobsters, the loch ness monster, and crawling baby races. Seriously? This is news? Nothing on the warin Iraq, world hunger, or something else of more relevance? Maybe I didn't miss anything this year afterall...