Track Break

So far track break has been great! My girls have been busy going to enrichment camp at school. Taylor is taking a radio course and is practicing for her choir recital for next Thursday. The students that wanted to be in the recital get to perform at Opportunity Village (The Magical Forest). They will be singing 8 songs so I am so excited for her. She loves any chance to perform. Of course, my Leilabug told me tonight that she will be dancing in movies when she is a movie star. I believe her. This girl can dance!!!!! I'll have to re-enroll for her dance classes. She keeps begging me to put her back in jazz class. She saw the movie, Another Cinderella Story, and wants to be like Selena Gomez (actress/singer/dancer). This week at camp Leila is taking a clay class with Ms. Sattem, the art teacher. I have been trying to take them to a different park every other day so that we can all soak up the beautiful weather we have been having in Vegas. Tomorrow we go for our 28th week checkup for Ivy. We are so excited to see what she's up to. I know she's getting bigger because I am clearly getting bigger. :) Update of doctor's appointment will follow tomorrow's doctor's visit. Can I just say how much I love my hubby! :) That man, no matter how busy he is, will leave work and come meet me at my appointments. He hasn't missed one yet. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Baby countdown

I have been trying to add this babystrology widget to my blog for weeks now. My friend had it on her blog and I fell in love with it. Now everyone can stop asking when I am due. I can't tell you how many times someone has asked me when I'm due. And of course, it's the same person that asks over and over. I guess they're just trying to make pleasant coversation after saying how huge I look. :)
All is good, except for the next phase of my pregnancy, which is the heartburn phase. I forgot about this part. I am told Tums is good for this. I took two tonight and have barely noticed a difference. I guess it's all in the mind.
I only have 5 more teaching days and 1 parent/conference day and then my baby and I get the needed rest we so deserve!!!!!!!!!! Taylor and Leila will be going to enrichment camp during track break so Ivy and I can rest. I am totally going to take advantage of this time off and have some bonding time with baby, Ivy. I love reading books to her in the womb and I can't wait to play some lullaby music for her with headphones around the belly. Maybe this will calm the heartburn down.

22 Weeks Now

It's official, I have made it through more than half my pregnancy. Even though I look like I am due any day now. ;)
When people always said that I looked young for age, I was so grateful. And I would always answer that if you feel younger, you will look younger. Well, I can honestly say that being pregnant for the third time at age 36 is definitely a different feeling than being pregnant at age 26 or age 29. It is not for whimps. I love teaching my third graders though, so that keeps my mind off of how BIG I am. And bless my sweet students who never make a comment in front of me of how big and swollen I am getting.
I am at my favorite part right now where my little baby girl, Ivy Bryn is kicking. She loves to make sure I know she's there during school time when I am doing reading groups.
Hopefully, we will get 4-D photos of Ivy on Halloween. That's if she cooperates. ;)
We went to Gilcreast Orchard to go apple and pumpkin picking. I'll send photos soon. We also got to visit a little ranch and Leila and Taylor got their first glimpses of live turkeys. Leila said that she's never eating turkey on Thanksgiving ever again. ;)

Taylor's first sleepover

My first born, Taylor went to her first sleep over. I was very excited for her because she has been looking forward to finally getting invited to a sleepover. There was a part of me that still felt she wasn't old enough yet. Then there's the other side of me that remembers many sleepovers when I was a child. Of course, I always missed my mom. I was always afraid I'd miss something fun that my mom and my sister were doing. As I got older, I got over that. Leila missed her so much though last night. She cried about it at first but then fell asleep in our bed. I reminded Leila that the baby will cry someday when Leila's at her first sleepover. She felt better then. I have to admit I was a little sad too last night. I missed hearing Taylor's voice and that the was the first time we went to a movie without her as a family. Of course, I passed out as soon as we got home from the movie. I was surprised I made it through the movie. I kept nodding off in some parts. Ghost town was a good movie, but being 4 1/2 months pregnant makes me really sleepy, especially on Fridays, when I have been at school like 45 hours that week. Being pregnant and working isn't for wimps. I went to school throughout my first pregnancy, went to school and was a teacher for my second pregnancy and I am presently teaching throughout my third pregnancy. I wonder what it would be like to just hang out at the house and get some stuff done and relax while being pregnant. I will never know but I bet my house would be the cleanest on the block. :) Today we are headed out to voice lessons in Green Valley and we are going to go walk around the Lake Las Vegas Resort/shopping area. We've never been there before so we are excited to check it out. Pictures will follow. Hope everyone enjoys their Saturday.

100% Girl

We went to another ultrasound last Thursday and it's definitely time to start saving for three weddings. That's right, it's a girl!I already have my serious/sensitive/talented/smart/beautiful first baby (Taylor), and my silly/full of life/talented/smart/exotic second baby (Leila). I can only imagine what will come next. My husband and I always joke that we talked too much to the girls and now they talk non-stop. So we kid with each other and say, "Let's just smile at this new baby and not talk. " Then maybe we'll finally get the quiet and shy girl. But we know Leila and Taylor won't have that! They already record their voices in recorders and play it back for the baby. Plus, Taylor likes to sing to the baby and play lullabies so I have a feeling we have another performer on our hands. Only time will tell. We are still having a hard time with names. Shane likes Ava. I like Raquel, Tessa or Tess and Delilah. I ask the baby each night what she likes, and yet no comment. Ha-Ha. :)

75 % Girl

75% girl is what my doc says. But he also said he wouldn't bet his car on it. So needless to say, we wait! (Which is sooo000000 hard for me.) Anyone who knows me knows that I can't wait to find out. Luckily, I have a husband that feels the same way. We have a boy's name all picked out but are having a hard time with girl's names. I bought this book called "Cool Baby Names" and it has helped. But then of course, I had to borrow 4 more baby name books from one of my student's parents just in case I was missing a name that we might like. Shane and I will probably write down a list of girl's names and bring it to the hospital the day our baby is born. Then we'll look at our little one and decide on one of those names. For now my funny and sarcastic husband calls the baby, "75." Since our doc thinks it's 75 % girl. We go back for another ultrasound on Sept. 18th so I will update everyone. Hopefully "75" will uncross it's legs to give us a peek. That seems to be the issue. That's our baby, already acting like a Page. Obstinate and determined! :)

Night Sickness?

Sorry it's been so long since I have posted a blog. Things have been a little hectic around here lately. With Leila's 7th birthday party, the school year coming to an end, Shane's brother passing away, Taylor taking acting and singing lessons, Leila's dance recital coming up, and us finding out we are expecting, it has been an emotional roller coaster. What gets you through the tough times are your family. Right now my poor husband and kids are roughing it out with me through all my "night sickness". Surprisingly enough, it's not the morning sickness that's killing me, it's my night sickness. It kicks in about 5 pm and lucky for me, stays with me all night. So sleep is something I value very much now. I look forward to my quick cat naps. Those of you that didn't know, I am almost 10 weeks along. This time around it's so different for me. I look like I am 4-5 months along because this little "olive" (size of baby now) demands food in my belly at all times or "he" (it's just gotta be a boy, never felt this sick and hungry all the time with my two girls) will make me sick all day. Fun, Fun!!! :) I promise to provide more updates as they come along. Pictures of Leila's birthday party will soon be following.

Mother's Day Artfest

I was so looking forward to the Artfest they have every year in Henderson. I couldn't wait to see the usual vendors...steel yard art, beaded jewlery, and of course, the famous Walla Walla burgers. Finding one of those three things was there. At least I found some new fun jewlery. I met a guy from CA that was selling fun shell jewlery that he created out of weathered shells. He used to be a high school teacher years ago. He went off to the Peace Corp. and came back to quit teaching. He decided to follow his childhood dreams of collecting seashells and making jewlery out of them. He is amazing. He showed me all the shells before they were polished and put into jewlery. I love meeting interesting people that are so creative. They are so much fun to talk to.
Our puppy, Cupcake ( the morkie) made it through the Artfest as well. She's out like a light right now from all the exhaustion.
The entertainment was great too. There was a band there called the Sun Dogs. You can check them out at www.sundogz.com
They sang my favorite songs, especially Sweet Home Alabama. I need to get that ring tone back on my phone. I am so lookinf forward to Mother's Day tomorrow. I have a funny Mother's Day book to share with anyone that would like to see it. Just e-mail me if you would like to view Leila's hysterical Mother's Day book. I couldn't stop laughing at how she views things in life. Have a great Mother's Day everyone! :)

Back to the Peridontist

Ugh! is all I can say. I went to my dentist to finally get my crown put on my implant (after 7 months of waiting) and guess what? "Page luck", as we like to call it, set in again. Of course, the tooth didn't fit and they couldn't get a new impression. So my wonderful periodontist told me he would make an exception and invite me back to look at my tooth. Of course, he saw how swollen my tissues are and decided to laser the tissue area to try to get it to heal. So much fun getting shots of anesthesia. I get this heart attack feeling and feel like I am going to pass out every time. And I am thinking... if this wasn't a front tooth, I would say the heck with this!!!!! So now I wait patiently for my gums to reheal before they even get to take a new impression. Oh my! Moral of the story: if you need an implant done, pray it's a back tooth and just get the darn tooth pulled and forget about it!! I'm headed off to bed with some Tylenol and a good cottage magazine. Magazines like that always cheer me up. :)

Taylor's First Piano Recital

Taylor's first piano recital was amazing. I was so proud of her. I always worry for her because she gets so nervous beforehand. She just sat down and played like she had been taking lessons for two years. I shouldn't have been surprised since we knew she is musically gifted. It's scary how easily she plays or sings music. She has been singing since she was a little girl. I remember the first time I heard her humming in the backseat of my car to music on the local radio station. She was like 9 months old. We have been going to CA since she was 6 months old, so she would sing on video and call herself "The Queen of California." Now, I stand back and admire her so much. With voice lessons, over the past 4 years, she has become a singer that can sing an array of music from country to opera. Now she has taken up piano lessons. When she was in second grade, she used to play songs on the piano by figuring out the notes by hearing them as she touched the keys. So we figured it was time to get her piano lessons. She has a wonderful teacher, that happens to be a parent of one of my kindergartners from last year. It was fun to go to the piano recital and see other Heckethorn students as well showcase their talents. Kudos to her teacher, Mrs. Hawley.

Leila's new puppy

Leila has been begging for a puppy that doesn't get as big as our goldens. Her wish finally came true. One of Shane's clients was nice enough to find us a morkie (yorkie/maltese mix). When you see a picture of her, you will see why Leila couldn't wait to get her. Leila named her Cupcake. And if you know our Leila, she wan't going to change her mind about the dog's name. So Cupcake it is. And of course her name fits her. She is so sweet and just wants to be loved. She fits right in with our two goldens, Hannah and Bella. I think our morkie thinks Hannah is her mommy. It's so cute to watch them. Hannah is just a little under a year herself so she makes the perfect playmate for Cupcake. Bella is too old to care.Our two cats feel outnumbered but they are already coming around. It's so nice to see Leila take so much responsibility for this little morkie. She will only get to be like 7 lbs. so Leila couldn't be happier. It's fun to finally have a lap dog, even though Hannah, our golden (who is like 40 lbs) thinks she's a lap dog.