Meg's (Ad)Ventures

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

I Scream, You Scream...

Well, the last two days of Mrs. D's science class have been spent shakin' bags like polaroid pictures. We've been making ice cream! Ice cream in chemistry, you ask? Of course! It's been tons of sticky, cold, obnoxious fun. With this being the last week of "official" classes, I wanted to bring as much real world science into the classroom that the kids could really get their hands on . While they are mad that they still have to work their smiles tell me that maybe class hasn't been that bad.

Tomorrow and Friday: Return of Operation Protecting Humpty Dumpty (a.k.a. the egg drop contest). Should be fun and wild as usual.

In other news, we had a great weekend with our friends, Kamron and Nicole, from Michigan. While their visit was much too short, we managed to pack in a TON of activities. Between an evening of the Pistons at ESPN Zone, walking along the 16th Street Mall, laughing at the never-ending entertainment of the prairrie dogs across from our house, and an entourage of comics at Comedy Works, it was a great time spent with good friends. Hopefully it won't be the last of their visits!

Yesterday was the latest of many check-ups at the doctor's office. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. This time, it was found much faster and it was really loud. It was cool. :) We also had a good laugh because despite the massive amounts of food shoveling into my face (i.e. like 6 meals a day!), I have only gained 5 pounds! My nurse practioner was asking all kinds of questions about my diet while Chris just cracked up in the background. She said it was okay, but I am about 6 pounds underweight. Time to eat up some more, I guess!

Anyway, with school rapidly coming to a close, it means that our day trip to Elitches Six Flags is approaching as well. Monday equals 10 hours of an entire district of 8th graders running and screaming around a theme park. Thank God for the wave pool and large umbrellas! It will be fun, I'm sure and a great way to end out the year. After that, just a few days before I embark on the big trip back to Michigan!

More tales from the wild world of Denver soon. Love to all!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

4 Months!!!

The exapansion has begun!


Whoa Nelly!

What a weekend! Chris and I had one of the best weekends that we have had in a long time. It all began early last week when Chris surprised me by telling me that he got us tickets to go and see one of my favorite bands EVER - The Black Eyed Peas. They were coming to Denver to this great venue that is outside and overlooks the city on the last stop of their first headlining tour! I was so excited! We also had planned to go to the Rockies game on Friday night to see them play against the Toronto Blue Jays.

We headed to dinner and the game with our friends, Matt and Stacey, on Friday and had a blast. They are always so much fun to hang out with. A favorite hangout of ours offers free beer to those who come after the game with their ticket stubs. Stacey didn't like the beer option, so need I say who got to enjoy two beers each? Stacey and I each enjoyed a lovely glass of water with a lemon. :)

Saturday, Chris and I ventured into the world of the baby as we undertook the task of creating our baby registry. It was tons of fun and completely overwhelming all at the same time. I found myself in awe of all of the things that a baby "must have" according to the experts at Babies "R" Us and Target. Whatever happened to bottles, diapers, a couple onesies and a blanket and calling it good? While it was, at times overwhelming to think about all of the items we needed to make sure that our new bundle of joy would be healthy and happy, it was pretty exciting to think that we are nearly half-way through the journey already! Tomorrow marks 4 months of being pregnant! Whoa! Don't worry, I'll put up a picture this week. My students told me that I look funny because nothing on my body looks different...except that I am "looking a little round" in the front. I guess that's a compliment. Who knows with these scholars.

Sunday, we went to church and ran some errands before coming back to enjoy a nice afternoon nap, cleaning our cars and heading off to the concert. The concert was sooooooooooo incredible! It felt so good to be outside and enjoying the music of a band that I have followed for so long. It was also so refreshing to know that REAL musicians still do exist and that dancing and scantily clad appearal hasn't taken over all modern groups.

Needless to say, we were both pooped when Monday came around, but everything we did this weekend was so worth the exhaustion. We are now getting ready for our good friends Kamran and Nicole to come and visit from Michigan over the weekend. We are so excited to see them!!

As for now, I am up to my neck in grading and hopeful that I can swim out in the near future. Grades are due next week and that marks the nearing of the END of the year! No grading for 3 months? What will I do with myself?

More soon.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Discovery

I have finally discovered why everyone says that I am "so brave" when I say that I teach 8th graders. Let's just say that teaching during the last 3 weeks of the school year has been quite a challenge. Just to give you an idea of my daily adventures, let me take you into the mind of a typical 8th grader during the last month of school....

  • Last month EVER of middle school! Woo hoo!
  • I know everything. High school is going to be a breeze!
  • Homework is totally overrated. My teachers won't care if I don't do it!
  • The weatherman said the sun would be out today. That means the SMALLEST tank tops and shorts I can find!
  • She's going out with who?!?!? OH, I totally knew they would make the perfect couple!
  • 5 minutes later...I totally knew they would break up.
  • Checklist for school: ipod, cell phone, sunglasses, hairspray, perfume/cologne, digital camera, PSP. Set!
  • Mrs. D, can I borrow a pencil?
  • Mrs. D, can I have another copy of that worksheet?
  • My dress/suit for the dance is SO hot!
  • I'm not doing ANYTHING during the summer except for cheerleading camp, football camp, baseball camp, tennis camp, lacross camp, volleyball camp, motorcross camp...
  • I can't believe it took us this long to become friends!
  • I can't believe that I was friends with that person for so long!
  • I can't wait to make new friends next year!
  • Teachers have first names, right? I'm going to call them by those names now that I am almost in high school. We are DEFINITELY equals.

So, there ya have it. They aren't really unruly, they are just being what typical 8th graders are this time of year...8th GRADERS!

Gosh, June couldn't come any faster!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Here It Is!

Well, here it is! This ultrasound is now 7 weeks old (whoa!) so the baby looks a lot more life-like rather than just a peanut. :) I am officially in my second trimester now, which means no more time huddled over the porceline throne, a huge shift in hunger and lots of cocoa butter as my tummy begins to grow! Anyway, without much ado...


This week, the baby is equivalent to the size and weight of a lemon. I always have to laugh at the pregnancy books because they typically compare the size of the fetus to that of different foods. Is this an attempt to curb cravings or just make us preggos hungry? Anyway, because the ultrasound above is so old now, here is what the baby would look like if I were to have a picture done this week:


I'm off to go blow up pop bottles with mentos with my students. God I'm a nerd!

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Ultrasound Update

Last Monday, we went to the doctor for my end of trimester check-up. What I thought was going to be an ultrasound to check for the baby's heartbeat actually turned out to be just this tiny little monitor that the doc stuck on my stomach so we could hear the little tiny heartbeat within. It was sooooooo cool! We couldn't believe how fast the baby's heartbeat was compared to my giant base-drum of a heartbeat in the background. Anyway, there are no new pics of the baby as of now. In fact, I won't have another ultrasound until the end of June...BUT it is the super-teched up version that will show a 3-D image!! So, I will take the old ones to school this week and scan them in to post. The baby obviously looks much different at this stage, but hey, it's better than nothing. So, keep your clickers ready!

More soon...

Saturday, May 06, 2006

A turn for the better

My amazing sweet wife has finally taken a turn for the better this week. Her nausea has left and has now been replaced with a hunger like no other. I remember taking Meg to Charlie's Crab on a high school dance dinner and thought she was going to eat my arm because she was soooooooo hungry. She ordered a $50 dinner, ate like 1/4 of the dish, and then almost fell asleep from being so full. Oh how things are different now. Now we have breakfast, brunch, lunch, lun-inner, dinner, and snacks between. It is so cute. Meg is really good at eating all the healthy things and getting all of the specified nutrients and vitamins. I can no longer pick off of her plate, which for me is a good thing. As I am trying to shrink my appetite (so there is only one belly in the family) I almost asked Meg if she wanted to split dinners when we go out to eat. What a crazy thought that has become now that she eats more than me.