What is a Jicama?!

I'm now 32 weeks prego!  I can't believe I only have 8 weeks (or less) to go!  According to the Bump, Carson is now the size of a Squash.  Reminds me a bit of a few weeks ago!  I'm assuming this is a different type of squash but I'm not a squash pro at all!  Baby Center tells me that Carson is the size of a Jicama.  I've NEVER heard of that and don't even know how to pronounce it.  Anyone have any ideas..??  It kind of looks potato-ish.  We got our second 3D ultrasound and Carson was measuring 4 days ahead.  Slow down, baby!  At 31w4d, he weighed about 4lbs4oz. and was 18.9" long!  Scroll down for a new picture! :)

How far along? 32  weeks.  I can't believe I only have 8 weeks and LESS than 2 months left!

Total weight gain: I have my doctor appointment tomorrow so I'll fill you in next week.  Until then, wait in suspense!  Although since Carson has already gained almost a pound, I'm a bit worried!

Maternity clothes? Yes, but I have discovered that I can easily get away with non-maternity dresses and I love it!  I don't really wear dresses to work since I'm up and down and on the floor a lot with my kinders but I've had lots of showers to go to (my own and friends) and dresses are perfect for that!  (scroll down for my newest bump pic!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: It's been pretty good but I toss and turn a lot lately.  I've also been back up more times in the middle of the night for restroom breaks.....luckily I go RIGHT back to sleep normally!
Best moment this week: We got our second 3d ultrasound!   Carson decided not to cooperate (just like our visit on St. Patrick's Day) so we're scheduled for ANOTHER on April 6th.  I feel very fortunate that we're getting to see him so many times! :)  Also, I had my first baby shower this past week!  It was so fun and my friends did an awesome job putting everything together.  Check out some of the pics in this post!
Miss Anything? I miss having a tan and I miss wearing some of my non-maternity clothes. 
Movement: He is still moving a ton.  I can feel when he shifts positions a bit even though he is still head down. 
Food cravings: I don't think I had ANY Oreos this week.  That's crazy talk. I did, however, have a lot of fruit and a few smoothies :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: I had some cramping Sunday night to Monday.  It was in my upper stomach area and it hurt really bad when I would breathe in, laugh, yawn, change positions, etc.  I tried laying down, taking a walk, changing positions, etc. and nothing would make it go away!  Luckily on Monday we had our ultrasound so we were able to see everything was fine and the cramping had gone away by that time too!  I also had excruciating back pain...worse than I've ever had!  I think Nick was worried.  I took a few Tylenol and used the heating pad for a while and it helped a TINY bit.  Luckily, after sleeping, it felt much better.  Now it still hurts off and on but nothing like yesterday!

Belly Button in or out? It's really half in/half out.  I'm not really liking it at all.  I try to push it back in all.the.time.

Wedding rings on or off? Still on and loose...they need cleaned though!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to:   Our next 3D ultrasound on April 6th and our doctor's appointment tomorrow to see how I'm measuring!  I also have a meeting set up with a pediatrician next week!

Here is my bump at 32 weeks!

Also, since I'm on Spring Break, here are some bonus pics!

31w6d

Dixie LOVES to cuddle with Carson!

Chip always curls up right next to us....such a good big brother!

Baby Shower #1!

Over the weekend a few of my close friends hosted a really great shower to help welcome Carson!  It was nice and small with my closest friends and I had so much fun and Carson is already so spoiled!

First I'll share the most important part (in a pregnant woman's eyes)...the yummy food!  I have a few links for recipes following the pictures!

The spread...mini cupcakes, pasta salad, chips, pretzels, crackers & cheese, veggie pizza, apple salad...yum!



Apple Salad*...one of my favs and it's SO simple to make! 

mini cupcakes with adorable toppers! 

delicious lemon cookies!

Veggie Pizza*, delicious!

adorable punch....the perfect balance of sweet and tart!

 If you're interested in the recipe for the apple salad (which I know you are), check out my friend Ashley's blog.  She is awesome in the kitchen and has a huge variety of recipes on her blog!

If the veggie pizza interests you, check out the simple recipe here!

Now some of the adorable decor.  (Links for some of the decorations are below the pictures!)

1 of 2 banners* my friends made for me!

super fun pom poms!  I might hang these in my classroom!

A banner that matches my invitiations! :)

super fun diaper cake with sports duckies, Nick loved it!

diaper wreath with Carson's initial, love it!

A lot of these decorations were made by my friend Lindsey.  She has an Etsy shop and I highly suggest you check it out if you're hosting a shower or throwing a party anytime soon!  She is super crafty and can do custom orders!  Here are some of the items from my shower:
Name Banner, Diaper Wreath, Diaper Cake, Cupcake Toppers. 

Here are some of my closest friends who were able to make it to the shower....

Kelli (29w) and myself (31w) <3

Ashely & I (one of the hostesses!)

Hilary & I (the other hostess!)

Lindsey & I (she is the one who made all the super cute decorations!)

Mandy & I ...her wedding shower is this coming Saturday, can't wait!

Kristin & I :)

My momma!  3 generations :)

my sis...we look totally like twins, right?! ;)

I know I can't do a shower post without some gift opening shots so here you go....

My mom got us the "Whale of a Tub" filled with goodies! 

super cute...sleeveless & an alligator, how can you go wrong?!

Nick, Chip & Dixie had to miss the shower but they didn't miss the photos!

Feeling so thankful to have such wonderful friends!!  My family shower isn't until April 15th so I have until then to put away all of Carson's new toys and clothes!  He is already so LOVED!

Spring has Sprung in Room 24!

The month of March has been pretty busy for us in Kindergarten.  I've been procrastinating spending my time trying to think of a good idea for a hall display.  Initially I wanted to do something with shamrocks but decided that wouldn't last very long.  I went with a spring theme. 

We read a couple books about spring to spark interest and start our discussion:

My kiddos LOVE to write lately.  Their confidence is growing and I love it!  We decided to write about what we are GOING to do in spring, what we CAN do in spring, or what we LIKE to do in spring.  I like giving my students a prompt for writing but this allowed them to have some options still.  Here is the final product for our hallway!

"In the Spring we like to..."

"In the spring I like to play with my sistr"

The close-up is from one of my lowest writers, I'm so proud!!!  Check out those lowercase letters, finger spaces and word wall words!

Also, while doing assessments, I got this from one of my first graders.  The paper is supposed to say "The boy is riding his bike.  He can go very fast on it."  Too funny!

7 Months plus an ultrasound!

I'm officially 31 weeks pregnant aka 7 months!  I know the weeks/months can be confusing but I always use this site.  It seems the most logical to me.  Since Carson is due in about 2 months, I should be about 7 months along, right?  It makes sense to me!  This week, Carson is the size of a pineapple!  The Bump tells me that Carson weighs between 2.5-3.8lbs and is about 15.2-16.7" long.  Baby Center says that Carson weighs as much as 4 oranges and he is over 16" from head to heel!  I was lucky enough (aka I paid for an elective) to get a 3d ultrasound this past week!  Scroll down to see a couple pictures and Carson's estimated mesaurements!!

How far along? 31 weeks.  9 weeks left, I'm in the single digits!!

Total weight gain: I was up 17lbs at my 29w4d and my next appointment will be at 32w1d.  I'll let you guess how much I will have gained in a few short weeks! :)

Maternity clothes? Yep, nothing new here!  The weather has been HOT (80's in March in Ohio?!) and I'm loving it but I'm having to get creative with my shirts since I wasn't prepared for this warm of weather yet!  (scroll down for my newest bump pics!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: It's been pretty good but lately I've gotten WARM!  It could be from the 80 degree days we've been having and no A/C on in our house, but the ceiling fan usually takes care of my problem.
Best moment this week: We got our 3d ultrasound!  It was so fun and I actually get to go back on 3/26!  (Details below...)
Miss Anything? I miss being able to fold in half easily.  Sounds weird, but I painted my toenails last week and OMG it took forever! 
Movement: He's moving a lot but the ultrasound tech said he is definitely head down.  Actually, she told us "head WAY down", haha.  I see my stomach bouncing and contorting all the time, Nick things it's hilarious and I'm obsessed with watching Carson dance around!
Food cravings: I'm still on an Oreo kick and also loving fruit still...or anything fruit flavored.  I had strawberry yogurt for breakfast, mandarin oranges for lunch, and I'm dying ot have an orange now! 
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms:  I still have the back pain and it gets pretty bad sometimes.  Other than that, I'm feeling pretty lucky!

Belly Button in or out? I want to delete this question!  It's kind of out but it depends on how I'm sitting/standing.  Sometimes it looks more out than other times and there is definitely still an "innie" part.  Probably doens't make sense to any of you but I'm trying to convince myself I don't have a total outie!

Wedding rings on or off? Still on and fairly loose.  The hot weather has caused them to fit a bit more snug but they're still easy to get on and off.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Loving life!
Looking forward to:  My first baby shower on Sunday!!  A few of my good friends are hosting and I can NOT wait!  Also excited for our NEXT 3d ultrasound next Monday and my 32 week appointment next Friday!

Here is my bump at 30w6d:

As I mentioned above, we had an elective 3d ultrasound done last week at 30w2d.  I had a coupon from when I went in for my early gender scan and since we knew we weren't getting any more through our doctor, we figured we might as well go!  Carson was measuring PERFECT at 30w3d (1 day ahead)!  His heart was beating steadily at 140bpm and the nurse said he was in a head-down position.  She said he was acutally "head WAY down" and to mention it to my doctor at my next appointment.  Because he was head way down, it was hard to get face pictures.  What made it even more challenging was that Carson was being stubborn and had his arm covering his face the whole time!  The tech had me turn on my side, get up and walk around the office, and drink something cold.  Nothing would get him to move his arm so I'm scheduled to go back on March 26th and hope he is ready for his close-up! :)  Carson is already about 3lbs5oz. and 17 inches long!  I couldn't believe it.  Now that I actually have measurements it seems so crazy!  I can't wait to see how much he has changed in a week and a half when I go back on Monday!  Here are some of the best pictures we got....

He covered his face the ENTIRE time! :)

Yawning (although my friends thought maybe he was crying, haha)

Cool as a Cucumber!

Is that the saying?  Nick always makes fun of me because I *always* mess up sayings.  Last week I was caught telling Chip & Dixie to "cool your horses"!  I still can't remember what I was trying to say.....I think it's "calm your horses" or "cool your jets"?!?!

This week, Carson is the size of a cucumber (or a large cabbage).  According to the Bump, Carson has the same estimated measurements as last week.  Baby Center tells me Carson is about 3lbs!  On Saturday I'll get to find out how accurate those guesstimates are because I'm getting my elective ultrasound!!!

I feel like a chopped up veggie is a little morbid-like since I'm comparing it to my baby boy BUT the other pics are too phallic for my liking........

How far along? 30 weeks down, 10 to go.  That's CRAZY!  I remember being only 10 weeks pregnant!

Total weight gain: I finally had another appointment and I'm up 17lbs!  Wowza. 

Maternity clothes? Yep.  I'm still wearing a good mix of maternity and non-maternity tops but my pants are definitely maternity (unless they're PJ's/lazy pants)!  (scroll down for my newest bump pic!)

Stretch marks? no
Sleep: It's been ok but I've been tossing and turning a LOT!
Best moment this week: I had a great doctor's appointment Monday and got to hear Carson's little heart beating steady at 140bpm (he kicked the doppler twice, hehe).  We also took our hospital tour on Wednesday night!  I know it may seem a bit early to some, but I wanted to make sure I got the tour in just in case anything happened!
Miss Anything? I'm still missing having a tan.  I may or may not have purchased some self-tanning lotion.  Let's hope I'm brave enough to try it out and I don't turn into an oompa-loompa!
Movement: I've started doing kick counts this week.  Dr. G said it wasn't necessary but if I wanted to, I could.  She suggested doing them 3x a day and counting 6 kicks/movements.  She said if it takes more than an hour to get 6 kicks, I should call the office.  So far it has taken about 5-10 minutes every time I try.  He's pretty active!  Oh, she also said to do it when you know he's active since he's starting to get on a schedule!
Food cravings: Still loving OREO treats!  I've yet to find the infamous birthday cake oreos though and it makes me sad!  I also love fruit still....oranges, applesauce, pears, etc.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Baby BOY Carson!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms:  This week has been pretty good!  My energy level has been decent and Dr. G showed me some stretches to help with my back pains.  She said if they don't help she would send me to physical therapy so I'm hoping they help!  So far, so good!

Belly Button in or out? I'm not so sure about this anymore! :(  I asked Nick and he said "it's still an innie...kind of".  Oh dear!  I'll say it's still an innie but it's halfway out.....??

Wedding rings on or off? Still on!  I had a panic attack the other day after I couldn't get them off but it was only because I had just taken a hot shower.  Now they're back to normal!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Still super happy!
Looking forward to: Our 3d ultrasound on Saturday and one of my best friend's baby showers on Sunday!!  It's going to be a FUN weekend :)

Now here is my latest bump shot!  I feel like I've really popped out a lot in this past week!

29w6d

DIY Name Art

Does anyone have a better idea of what to call these?  Decorative letters...name letters...name art?  Either way, I knew I wanted to display Carson's name somehow in his nursery.  I thought about doing a vinyl wall decal, but I couldn't find one that I liked enough.  I really like the idea of hanging letters from ribbon, but I think it's a little girly for Carson's nursery.

I decided to buy some wooden letters and go from there.  I found these cute MDF letters at Michael's and went during their MLK Day sale so I got all of the letters for only $7.50! 

Here are the supplies you'll need for this craft:
-wooden letters spelling out the name/word of your choice
-craft paint
-sponge brush & small artist's brush
-scrapbook paper (1 page covered all of my letters)
-Mod Podge
-scissors, pencil

Total Cost for MY project: $8.50  (I already had a lot of the supplies and I got my letters on sale)

The first step is to trace your letters on the back of your scrapbook paper.  Make sure the letters are upside down so that the patterned part of your paper will fit onto the FRONT of your letter!

Sorry for the super dark picture.....

Using your scissors, carefully cut out each letter.  I left the center holes for last......

Notice the 'N'?  I had to re-do that because I didn't noticed I had placed it on the border of the paper....oops!

Next you'll want to carefully cut out those center holes.  An X-acto knife would be nice, but I just used my pencil to poke through and worked carefully.  Using a sponge brush, apply a layer of Mod Podge to your wooden letters and place your paper on top.  Next, carefully apply another layer of Mod Podge over top of your paper.  be careful to go slow so that your paper doesn't ripple!

Next, using your craft paint and small artist's brush, carefully paint the edges of your letters.  You could do this first, but I was anxious to get the paper on to make sure I liked it!

Here is the finished product!  I had planned on putting his name on a floating shelf, but I couldn't find a shelf the right size.  I have a new idea and will post about it VERY soon (as long as it turns out)!