A Near Miss

This week I realized that I totally forgot to go back by the OBYN's office to pick up my DVD of sonogram photos and video clips from our 20 week appointment. (Does this make me a negligent mother already?)

Since then, I've literally spent hours goo-goo-ing over the clips and photographs, already smitten with my little angel. (Angel now, of course, because I'm still able to catch all my winks and she's not out galavanting with boys....)

I even called my parents over to see them as soon as they could. That's when we noticed THIS picture.

Before you have a "Rachel from Friends moment," I know it's hard to tell... but that's her hiney, her legs, and .... UM....What is that THING between her legs????

Freaking out that my SHE is really a HE, we immediately sent the pictures to a sonographer friend. Of course I would be happy with a boy, but this mamma just needs to KNOW! And those of you who know me well can imagine what a tizzy I was in at the time.

Low and behold, sonographer friend saves the day. That THING is the umbilical cord. WHEW! She's still a girl. :)

Don't you just want to eat her up???? No? Just me? Oh, Okay.

I guess I'll just go back to watching her sweet little mouth moving and her arms and legs wiggling. Good thing the Bachelor's over and Oprah and Gossip Girl are showing repeats right now...

Stacey

The Wiggles

This week was all about the WIGGLES!

No, not these Wiggles. These guys creep me out. Big time.

I'm just referring to regular old normal wiggly kids. Not sure if everyone had spring fever this week, or it was just because it's Friday today...but we ALL had the wiggles. Wiggly feet, fingers, toes, minds....

One student was so full of energy today that I dared him to bunny-hop all the way from his classroom to my portable in effort to wear him out. He was up to the challenge....but it didn't do the trick!

Someone else has had the wiggles....and that would be sweet baby Abigail! I've been able to feel her for a couple weeks now, but this week she's seriously taken it up a notch! I feel her SO much all throughout the day. Jared even felt her kick for the first time on Monday. I guess there's a possibility that all her wiggles mean she's pissed at me ("no more cheese, Mom!" or "No, don't curl up like that!"), but I consider them love pats.... I certainly do love them!

Stacey

U-G-L-Y

Today is brought to you by the letter "U!" Or should I say:

(Braille letter U)

My little PreK braille reader and I were discussing the letter "u" today....how it feels, what sound it makes, and what words start with the letter. I made a few suggestions: Umbrella....up....under.....us......uncle.....ugly (P.S. I'm obviously a bad teacher for even using this word!)....

To this, Little Guy says, "Mrs. Chambers, what is ugly?"

Mind you, this student has absolutely NO vision.

And so it makes you think. How do you explain what ugly means to someone who has never seen? Really...what is ugly????

In all seriousness, I explained to Little Guy that ugly is when someone does not behave nicely. That person is acting ugly.

What if that was the only definition?

Little Guy will never form a judgement or treat someone differently because of the way they look.... tall, short, fat, skinny, crooked teeth or messy hair. I wonder if by not seeing others, will he have the precious opportunity to truly see them?

Stacey

Auto-correct

So I recently got a new phone, and it's real fancy-like. It has all kinds of neat apps (Words with Friends, anyone??), I look really cool playing on the touch screen, and it has that auto-correct feature.

Oh, that.

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with auto-correct. When text-messaging, auto-correct helps with spelling errors and can making texting quicker. Hypothetically. I HATE auto-correct because it NEVER corrects me correctly....and I LOVE auto-correct because it provides me with endless hours of laughter. At myself.

So here are some recent messages that make me chuckle-- what I meant to say, and what auto-correct "corrected" for me:

What I meant to say: "It's a GIRL! Her name is Abigail Katherine!"
What I SENT: "Spot's a GIRL! Her name is Abigail Katherine!"

Seriously? Like the dog?

What I meant to say: "I had a dream you were pregnant!"
What I SENT: "I had a dream you were Peggy!"

Who the crap is Peggy?

What I meant to say: "I slept much better last night!"
What I SENT: "I skepticism much better last night!"

Wow, big vocab, auto-correct!


Well, that's just a few. Moral of the story - if you get a very strange sounding text message from me, wait a few seconds until I realize that auto-correct is playing tricks on me again.

Stacey

Girls, Girls, Girls

This week was all about ribbons bows, dresses, and lots of pink upon the announcement that our baby is a girl! With a blink of an eye, Vladi was OUT and Abby was IN!

The girly week ended perfectly with a girls' weekend with my sister and mom to a spa in Austin, Dad's treat! The weekend reminded me how special relationships can be between moms and daughters....and I hope Abby enjoys spending time with me as much as I do with my mom.

The trip was a big surprise for my mom, and we couldn't wait to hit the road!

We had manis, pedis, facials, and massages at the spa. It's good to be pampered!

We got in touch with our creative side at Paint With a Twist. We brought our own drinks and snacks, and they taught us how to paint!

We learned to do THIS....

...and ended up with THIS!

It was a beautiful weekend in Austin, and we enjoyed hours of chit chat by the lake.

The best part was enjoying the company of my awesome mom and sis. Love these girls. Get ready, Abby!! You're in for a treat!

Stacey

It's a GIRL!

Yesterday ranks up there as one of the sweetest days of my life. Jared and I got to see our little baby's button nose, adorable little profile, hands, feet, and tummy. We got to see her move, squirm, grab her toes, and open and close her mouth. The doctors told us that she looked perfect, and of course, we learned that she's a SHE! We couldn't be more pleased.

THEN, we got to share this exciting news with some of our closests! We asked everyone to wear pink or blue based on their guess, then we revealed our big news and our sweet baby girl's name. It was such a special day that I will remember forever!

Dad thinks it's a boy....

Paige is a flip-flopper!

Of course, I've thought it was a girl all along...

Jared had thought it was a boy, but has been telling me for the last few weeks that he really secretly hoped it was a girl....

Time for the reveal....DRUM ROLL please!!!

Cheers and tears!

It's a GIRL! Abigail Katherine Chambers. Love.

Proud Parents.

We are so so so happy and thankful for all the people in the world that already love our baby girl.

Stacey

Oh, Pooh

Some comments from last week exchanged between me and my 3rd grader:

Get Pooh out of your bag, please.

I like Pooh.

Pooh is funny.

Pooh is my favorite.

Pooh got stuck.

And....I'm five.

The truth is that Pooh saved my life this week....Winnie that is.

I literally have been challenged all year by my sweet and hilarious 3rd grader who has been struggling desperately to read braille. We've been climbing this mountain all year, and I've been trying endlessly to not only teach him to read, but to find books that are at his reading level that he finds interesting to read. No easy feat.

That is, until Pooh.

It all culminated this week when his reading skills peaked, and I handed him a Winnie the Pooh book that he apparently thought was hilarious. Therefore, I kept 'em coming. My little guy has never read more and had so much fun doing it in his life, and I can barely keep up.

He ASKED me to braille him TONS of books for Spring Break, which I eagerly did. I sent him to his class at the end of the day with a HUGE bag of books, to which his teacher said:

"Woah! Mrs. Chambers loaded you up with work for Spring Break!"

What does my cool guy respond with? "Oh, no!! It's not work....they're books!"

Amen.

And this, my friends, is when it feels great to be a teacher. And the next week off doesn't hurt either.

Stacey

"Some people care too much, I think it's called love".
--Winnie the Pooh

Psycho

My 3rd grader informed me this morning that my baby will be a boy. For sure.

Me: How do you know?

3rd grader: My mom's a psycho.

Ummmmmm......

Me: Do you mean she's a psychic?

3rd grader: Yes.

Ahhhh. I see.

Speaking of psycho....let me just tell you a little something about pregnancy hormones. They're legit. And listen, I am NOT complaining. I have been extremely blessed with the best pregnancy so far. I have never felt better in my like. (Don't worry, I am knocking on wood like a mad woman.) The only reason I can actually tell that I am pregnant, besides the expanding stomach, is that I cry at EVERYTHING. Say baby, and I cry. Oprah, forget it. I actually cried reading "Baby Bargains" last night when I thought about registering. And to be quite honest, I cried at a Subaru commercial while writing this post (you know, the one with the father talking to his daughter in the driver's seat?). Legit I tell you.

So, speaking of psychic...I predict lots more tears from here on out. And I predict that maybe JUST maybe we may find out if my 3rd grader is right on TUESDAY. :)

Stacey

The Big Apple

This weekend, Jared and I enjoyed a fun getaway to the big NYC. We had some wedding festivities to attend for an old college friend/old roommate of Jared's, but other than that we had NO agenda. That's more that can be said for most of our weekends.

Of course, time with Jared is always a treasure, despite the zip code.

And I cracked up all weekend from the hilarious stories the old frat guys drummed up. Pieces of work, those guys...

It was fun being in NYC and not running around to see all the sights. Instead, we just took in some of it's beauty.

We said a quick "hi" to some fam.

And celebrated the love of some dear friends.

Much needed getaway. Lots of laughter. A breather in the big city. Awesome food. Good people.

Life is good.

Stacey

Hi Baby!

The kids in one of the PreK classes I visit are VERY excited about Vladi's arrival (aka Baby Chambers). Every time I visit the class, all the the little girls run up and say, "Hi Mrs. Chambers! Hi BABY!!!" One of the little girls even drew me this cute little picture.

Do you see baby Vlad?

The kids in that class are getting more and more excited everyday, and so am I! I'm embracing the "bump!"

And Jared is embracing Daddy duties! No pickles and ice cream runs yet, just lots of foot rubs. And back rubs. Not because I'm sore or anything...just because I can pull that card for the next 5 months. This weekend Jared also put together the crib! He couldn't wait.

Max and Buddy....they're not so sure.

Stacey