Thursday, January 22, 2009

Florida trip and other stuff

I've been back from Florida for two whole days now and I really just want to go back. It was so nice being away from all my work stress and responsabilities and adult life. It was awesome. First of all, the Animal Kingdom Lodge was AMAZING!! It was beautiful and had awesome scenery from our balcony (a savannah with real animals like girraffes and antelopes and such). I'll have pictures of that to post soon hopefully. They're all on Waylon's camera. Secondly, the Disney resorts provide you free bus transportation to anywhere within Disney World which is much bigger than most people would imagine. We didn't have to worry about our transportation anywhere, it was so relaxing. When we would take a bus to a theme park it would drop us off right at the entrance, no need to walk fifty miles from your car just to get in the park. We basically hit two parks per day. Saturday we started with Magic Kingdom and then went to Epcot for the second half of the day. Sunday we started at Holleywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios) and there wasn't much there to do. The cheerleaders had their performance at Downtown Disney at 3:30 but we had to meet to get our bus and warm up at 1:45. The performance went well and after that was over we had the rest of the day for free time. Waylon and I then went to Animal Kingdom. That was one park I had never been to. It was very pretty and had some good attractions. We didn't get to go on the safari though which I was disappointed at. On Monday was Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure Day. Of all the days, this was the least fun for me. There was hardly anything I was able to ride at either park and Waylon and I were at odds off and on throughout the day. I was glad for that day to be over with. We ended Monday night at Sleuth's Mystery Dinner which was very fun. It was a murder mystery dinner and the actors were all very funny and entertaining and the food was great too. I had really good strawberry shortcake for dessert. Tuesday we only had half a day to do what we wanted and our bus left for the aiport at 1:05. Waylon and I decided to go to Epcot to get more pictures. We ended up regretting it a bit because that happened to be the coldest day of our entire trip and also the only day I decided to wear flip flops and a flimsy hoody. The reason I wore the flip flops was because after taking my shower I stepped out onto the balcony to check the weather and it didn't feel cold at all, just a little chilly. Of course I didn't take into consideration that I had just take a hot shower and dried my hair so I was already hot and that after I cooled off, the outside temp would probably feel much colder. Also, the position of the building had it so that the wind was blocked so I didn't realize how extremely windy the day was also. If it had been completely up to me we would have turned around at the bus station and headed back into the hotel and just hung out for a couple of hours. However, since this was Waylon's first time to Florida and to Disney I didn't want to deprive him of any time at the parks. I think we ended up getting some good pictures. After that it was off to the airport where everything went smoothly and we boarded our plane and had a very safe, uneventful flight back home. I was very depressed to have to go back to school on Wednesday (which ended up being an extremely stressful day due to grades being due). Overall it was a great trip even though I have never felt more exhausted at the end of each day. Being pregnant and walking that much everyday was very taxing. I did really well though considering how out of shape I am on top of being pregnant. I behaved and didn't ride any roller coasters except one which the girl who worked their assured me it was a kiddy coaster and wasn't jerky at all and I would be totally fine riding it. She was lying. It was pretty jerky and I was pretty upset afterwards that I had ridden it. It was really hard to exert self control and not ride all the rides I love. I'm a thrill ride person so that was soooooooooooo difficult!

I'm now in Galveston, TX for the cheerleaders national championship. We drove down in a bus yesterday and got here around 10ish. We're staying in the Moody Gardens hotel/resort and that's where the competition is as well. It's a nice hotel but I miss my husband. Our girls compete this afternoon at 2:30 and then tomorrow again at 2:40. They have been the national champs two years in a row and are hoping to win it again this year. I think they have a good chance at getting it. I'll be ready for the trips to be over with once I get back from here. I'm just worn out and have felt very dazed and discombobulated since coming back from Florida.

I actually wrote the first big paragraph of this blog Thursday night in bed and then fell asleep and never got to finish it so I'm finishing it up here two days later on the other sponsor's computer. I'm pretty sure I had some other things to write about but can't remember what they were. My brain is fried!!

In just over a week, on February 3rd, I'll be going to get my next ultra sound to find out the sex of my baby. I'm really excited about it. My belly is growin every day. I can tell a difference now every couple of days. It feels funny having my stomach growing like this. I know how people with beer bellys feel now! lol.

Well, I need to go take my shower so I'm ready to meet for lunch at noon. Just wanted to go ahead and post this so I didn't forget.

ta ta!!

Steph

Thursday, January 15, 2009

quick blog before I go to Florida

That's right, I'm going to Florida...tomorrow. I'm so excited! The best part is that I get to go and stay in a resort for FREE!!! The reason is because I'm a cheer sponsor and every year they take a trip somewhere and perform. This year it happened to be my favorite vacation spot: Orlando and specifically, Disney! We're staying in the Animal Kingdom Lodge where we get free transportation to and from the Disney parks at all times! We are also spending one day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure. The only downside to those two parks is that they are mostly "thrill ride" parks so I won't be able to ride much. I'm still thrilled to be going and I know I will have fun regardless of how few rides I get to ride. Waylon also gets to go. He gets in on my free room so all we had to pay for him was his plane ticket and park tickets. So we're basically getting a four night, five day stay at a Disney resort and 5 days of park going for $600...not bad in my book! This will take place of any babymoon we would have planned to go on between now and d-day or I should say b-day for baby day. lol. cheesy, i know. Anyways, we're packing tonight and will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. I actually don't get to go home after school because there are some things we have to do for end of semester and by the time I got done with those things I wouldn't have much time to go home before I would have to drive right back up. That means I get to get up extra early so I can pack the last minute things that I will need to use in the morning and then take it all with me to school! How fun! lol. It really doesn't matter me though because when I think about the fact that I'm going to Florida, I just could scream. It's been 8 years since we went as a family one last time before my sister got married back in 2001. So, if you hadn't been able to tell, I'm really, really, really excited about this trip and probably won't sleep well tonight because of it. :)

In baby news, I'm definitely getting bigger. I know this because my mom made a lovely comment this evening while we were over at their house eating dinner. As I walked out of the living room to go to the restroom I heard her say out loud to my grandparents and family "She's definitely getting wider!" Thanks mom, appreciate it! The goald isn't to get wider though, I want my belly to stick out, that's all! If I'm getting wider, I'm growing in the wrong direction. As far as total weight that I've gained in this pregnancy, it's been about 6 pounds so far. My weight has increased by exactly 2 pounds at every visit. My doctor is expecting me to only have gained another 2 pounds by my next appointment which is 3 weeks away...I'm afraid this time it might be more than that. I'm really feeling the weight now. I'm officially wearing maternity clothes now. I love maternity pants!! Why aren't all pants that comfortable!! I would wear those all the time regardless of if I was pregnant, they rock!

So, in conclusion: totally excited about the trip, loving maternity clothes, excited about visit on Feb. 3rd to find out sex of baby, hoping to start feeling the baby move soon, gaining too much weight. That's all folks! Have a wonderful weekend because I will be living it up in Florida!

Steph

Thursday, January 8, 2009

My week of headaches...and good news

So tonight has been the first night that I have felt good enough to sit and write a post. Every night this week I have suffered from a bad to severe headache. Monday night it was really more like a migraine. I don't know what the deal is or why I'm getting them everyday besides to just blame the pregnancy. My sister suffered with headaches and migraines during her pregnancies also...I guess it's a genetic thing! ugh!! Anyways, tonight I have a very mild headache so I decided to get on here and write a little since I had my 3rd visit to the doctor on Tuesday.

I had to pee in a cup again (I guess this is something I will be doing every time I go in) and the nurse came in and asked a few questions like how have I been feeling, am I taking my prenatals and all that good stuff. Then she said the doctor would be in to see me in a couple of minutes. HA!! I'm pretty sure it was close to a half hour later before she made it to our room. So I read my book and Waylon played Sudoku while we waited for the Doctor to finally come see us. I don't understand why they schedule so many people to come in at once! It doesn't make sense! Anyways, she checked the heartbeat again and it was very strong and Waylon got to hear it for the first time. It was amazing to hear that little "whoosh, whoosh" sound again. It's such a great reminder for me that a little baby actually is in my belly growing even though I can't feel it yet. I can't wait to feel it move, it's driving me crazy! I also found out that at my next appointment, February 3rd, they are going to do another ultra sound to see what the baby is! I was so excited!! She had told me before that she would check around 17 weeks, which is what I'll be at the point but hearing her say it was at my next appointment really got me excited! Now I just hope the baby cooperates and doesn't move around too much to where we can't tell. I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much so I won't be extremely disappointed if that happens but it's really hard not to. She did clear me to go on my trip to Florida next weekend with the cheerleaders, which relieved me, but she did say that I couldn't ride any of the "fun" rides, which was disappointing. I knew that was coming but I had hoped that maybe she would say I was early enough to where I might be able to ride some milder rides. Oh well, it's for a good cause and I'll still enjoy watching Waylon enjoy himself.

I'm have a serious case of covetousness lately with two of my friends having their babies! I get so excited hearing about it and imagining how awesome it is for them to get to meet the little person growning inside them and then I get extremely envious and start wishing it was me! It feels so far away when you're seeing other people have their babies but they went through everything I'm going through so I do not begrudge them this in the least...but I still jealous!!

On a non-pregnancy topic (I know, MIRACLE!), I've had a rather frustrating past couple of days at school with my students. We had a review presentation project that they started and presented this week and the outcomes were, for the most part, very disappointing. I feel like I went over and over and clarified as much as I could to them as to what exactly they were to do but only a fourth of the groups who presented actually did what the project called for. This project counts for two grades and some of these students are right on the line of passing or failing. Next week is the last week of the first semester and will determine if these students will have to retake the 1st semester of Spanish 1 or not....I really want them all to pass!!! I don't enjoy having students two years in a row, it feels like such an unneccessary waste of their time and mine! ugh! anyways, I won't vent anymore about that, it was just frustrating to see the product of several days of class work time that was obviously wasted. bleh. Tomorrow is "fiesta day" where all the classes will have their semester party. They sign up and bring food and we just hang out, eat, play games, watch movies and basically have fun. I'll be having this every class period tomorrow. I think I'll probably be sick by the end of the day with all the food I'll be snacking on all day. I'm not even taking a lunch! I'm really thankful for tomorrow. I'm also looking forward to next Friday as we leave for Florida! I have been there in forever. I found out today at cheer practice that I will be announcing some of our squads and saying some stuff about them and what they have achieved into a microphone in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of people at Disney World! How nerv-wracking is that??!?!? I started stuttering when she told me that. seriously. I wasn't expecting to have to do anything like that. I really thought my only job on this trip was to chaperone the girls and have fun. They will be giving me a script and you better believe that I will be reading that thing over and over again from the time I get it until I have to read it in front of people. There's no way I'm messing up!!

Well, I'm going to stop here. I had several good thoughts today as to what to write in my blog and now I can't remember any of them! It's frustrating because I want my blog to be all interesting and funny but when I sit down to write sometimes I can't think of anything to write about besides pregnancy! erg! Well I'm sorry if it bores you sometimes and I'm very thankful to all of you who faithfully read it (mom...oh and Melissa, my sister and Lydia my cousin...lol).

Have a great weekend everyone and drive safe!

Steph