My body is going to kill me...

Right now, I am on the recliner, blogging, with the heating pad on my back, because it has just been one heck of a long, fun, exciting, and tiring weekend.

If you read my last post, you'll see that I was looking forward to an easy week. Teaching-wise, this was definitely true, however, I managed to keep myself busy.

Monday, I had a fairly uneventful day of school. However, Monday night was a little interesting. When I went to leave school, I got all the way out to the car, then realized that my cellphone was dead. So, I went back into the school to call Meg from the office to let her know I was leaving. When I called her, she had just gotten up from slipping and falling--flat on her stomach! I told her to sit down and relax, and see if the baby was moving, and if not, call the doctor. I hurried home as quick as I could, getting stuck behind slow people all the way. When I got home, Meg said we had to go to the hospital. Uh-oh. Hopefully just a precaution... So, we rushed to the hospital, got in, and they put us in a birthing room. They hooked the fetal heart monitor up to Meg's belly, and after about 15 minutes, they were picking up a strong heartbeat, so Baby D was okay. We had to stay there for four hours, and observe her heartbeat. All-in-all, Baby D and Meg are both healthy, and we got a good dress-rehearsal for the real deal.

Tuesday was an in-service for the regional general music teachers. This woman presented on teaching improvisation using world music. It was probably one of the more fun workshops I have attended. We used pretty much every general music instrument I have heard of, plus some I had never seen before. I learned some new teaching strategies, and can't wait to use them in my classes.

Wednesday was another in-service at school. The in-service itself was kinda pointless. The morning was the run-of-the-mill pep-talk from the boss, our new superintendent. Then, we went to a workshop on using the grading component of the new student data system they installed this year. Of course, the grading component won't be up-and-running until next year. Why we were in-serviced on it now, I don't know. I used that time to not pay attention (I'll figure it out when we can actually use it) and to work on the yearbook. However, the afternoon was very productive. I finally got around to putting together the shelves I ordered for the kids to store their instruments. I also moved the existing shelving into the storage room, and now have a real instrument storage area in my room.

Wednesday night, we went to see Man of the Year. The movie was great. Not as much of a comedy as I had expected, but the story was great, and Robin Williams is always fun to watch. We also hadn't been to the movies since Harry Potter 4 was in theatres.

Thursday morning we had an OB appointment: a non-stress test and a fluid check. Baby D and Mom are healthy. You can read more about it on Baby D's Blog. After that, I got a start on raking the leaves in the back yard. This is a big job, that still isn't finished, due to the rain today. Then, we went to visit our new pediatrician. We were both very impressed, despite the wait. You can also read about that on Baby D's blog. That night, I just got some schoolwork done.

Friday morning we had a growth scan at the hospital. Same deal, read the baby's blog, it's got everything you need to know. Bottom line, Meggie is doing really well with managing the GD, and the baby is growing just right. We got home, had lunch, and then I was off to yet another Drs. office to get my flu shot. Friday night, we went to Peter's, and then Wal-Mart. I got some more schoolwork done on Friday night.

Yesterday was the day of new stuff. In the morning, we went to a breastfeeding class at Virtua. I could only take so much from this, seeing as I am not the person who will be nursing the baby. However, I learned how things work, and how to be supportive of Meg as she nurses. After that, we went over to my parents to see their new TV and wall-unit. My brother bought them a flat-panel LCD HD-TV for Christmas, and they bought a new wall unit at Ikea to match. It looks really classy, and it basically meant a lot of new stuff for us. First off, my parents took us out to buy our Christmas gift, a new dryer, since the other one was literally screaming in pain whenever you used it. After some installation difficulties (the drum wouldn't turn--but I fixed it), I got the dryer up-and-running. We also got my parents old TV to replace the 19" TV in the living room, that I bought before college, and is literally being held together by tape. So, I set that up Saturday night too. For the rest of the evening, I finished my schoolwork, and got the money stuff done.

My plan for today was to finish the leaves, but pouring rain changed that plan. I at least got the front yard done this morning, before the rain started. Then, my dad and I moved their old wall-units to our house (more new stuff)! I spent the rest of the day disassembling our family room wall unit and moving it into the attic and setting up the new wall units. All of this was very hard on my back, hence the heating pad.

In a minute, we are going to head to my parents for dinner, and then it is off to bed to rest up for a busy week of school. Yes, it is a full week, actually, the last full week in November, which means I need to make the most of my lunchtime rehearsals. Of course, this all goes out the window if Baby D decides to come next week, which I would also be very happy about. I have no problem saying "screw it" to school, especially if it means finally getting to meet my daughter.

Easy week ahead

It's Sunday night, which is usually when I start worrying about the upcoming school week, however, I feel a little differently this Sunday.

This week will be a piece-of-cake! I have one teaching school day this week, a Day 6, which is my easiest day. Tuesday is an in-service for all of the regional schools' music teachers. Wednesday is an in-service at my school. Thursday and Friday we have off for the NJEA convention. I guess technically we should go, but for the past two years, we haven't. There is never really a whole lot there for music teachers, and we usually go to the NJMEA convention in February, which is much more beneficial (BTW, the "M" stands for "Music"). I was actually planning on going to one day of the convention, but I changed my mind. Since Meg is home, I'd rather stay at home and spend the 4 day weekend with her.

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I have this feeling right now about the baby that can be described as that feeling you get when there is a major snowstorm in the forecast. You know how it is. You stay up to 11 and watch the news reports, snowfall total forecasts, and the Doppler radar. You know it is late, but you don't care, because there is a chance that you will get to sleep in tomorrow. Then, you finally go to bed, and can barely sleep. You wake up every hour or so, and want so bad to peek outside and see if the snow has started, but you can't get up the guts, because you'll know that if it hasn't started, you'll be going to school. It is just a feeling of anticipation and excitement, but only conditionally. It all depends on whether the snow actually comes. I am feeling like this right now with the baby. Just being told that it can happen at any moment is like constantly waiting to see if it is going to snow tomorrow! Chances are it won't anytime soon, but just knowing the possibility is there....

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This weekend has been very fun and relaxing. Friday night Meg and I went to Peter's, which wasn't our plan, but Meg got some money from her surprise baby shower at school on Friday. Afterwards I went shopping solo, so that Meg could go home and rest. I know she really wanted to go with me, but I feel better knowing that she is comfortable, and don't mind shopping on my own.

Saturday morning we went to Sam's for our monthly stock-up trip. Oh, the 'grocery experiment' as I call it went well in October. We were only $7 over our budget for the month (which is way better than the $50-$100+ that it was before), and that was with our 'mock thanksgiving' dinner that we have every year with my family.

On the way home from Sam's, we saw that they were doing free carseat inspections in the new Target parking lot. We had both of our cars inspected, which was good, because I really didn't have either carseat tight enough, even though I had them as tight as I could get them.

After that, we cleaned the house, since Meg's mom was coming to, well, help us clean. I learned this weekend that some people are cleaners and others are straighteners. I am a straightener--a major one. I hate clutter; I like everything to have a place and be nice and organized. I like desks, counters, and tables to be clear, and floors not to be covered with stuff. Meg's mom is a cleaner. She spent a while today cleaning the kitfchen: inside the microwave, cleaning the vents on the front of the oven with a toothbrush, scrubbing down the fronts of the cabinets. However, she is not a straightener. When she was finished, the kitchen was cluttered with dishes and cleaning supplies. I felt bad, because to me, it looked worse than when she started. And I hardly ever notice things like dust and dirty microwaves. Oh well, at least I know the area is clean and germ free.

Meg's mom took us to Cotardo's, a nice Italian place in Blackwood. This has been one of my favorite restaurants since I was a little kid. I had the special, which was black and lobster ravioli. Meg had chicken, topped with cheese and crab meat, and Mom had one of my personal favorites, Tortellini della Casa, which is homemade tortellini served with blush sauce with shrimp and scallops. Yum!

I spent the rest of the weekend getting caught up on grading papers, and deciding how to best utilize my Zen. I put on my Christmas list that I want a yearly subscription for Yahoo Music Unlimited To-Go, but was disappointed with the performance of Yahoo Music Jukebox. In the process of syncing with my Zen, both the Zen and the computer froze three times. Plus, I love the new version of Windows Media Player. So, after talking to my brother and doing some research, I discovered that I can download the songs from YME and play them in WMP. Windows MP will even refresh the licenses for the files too. So far, I have been very impressed with the new version of WMP. It has integrated seamlessly with my Zen. It is also much faster than WMP 10 (especially with searching). It also has a new, clean interface, which relies on album art. Most of the CD's I have ripped did not have the album art, but that is okay, since you can manually add it yourself. I am most impressed with the synchronization. It automatically synchronizes all music, pictures, and videos, and playlists. It also synchronizes media information whenever you change something.

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Okay, I really should be getting to bed now... I've gotta be mentally prepared for my easy week.

Ready for parenthood...

Ahhh, I miss the days of summer when I actually blogged every day. Lately, I am lucky if I blog once a week.

Everything in the baby department is going well. Check out Baby D's Blog for an update on her health. As far as myself, I can happily say that I am completely ready, if not too ready, for Baby D's arrival. First off, I am tired of referring to her as Baby D. Meg and I are very happy with the name we have chosen, and I am just dying to start using it. But, it is a secret, and will stay that way. Second, the house is ready. The nursery looks fabulous (pictures here - updated pictures at the bottom), and we have all of the equipment we need, and I am eager to start using it. Thirdly is the issue that I hate the unknown. I like to have things planned and mapped out. And, well, this is impossible to schedule. So, the sooner the baby comes, the sooner it will be until we are out of limbo.

Despite all of this confidence, I can't help but feel that I am completely underestimating parenthood. But, then I think about all of the other things that I (and we) have accomplished, getting married, buying a house, moving into three different homes, getting a dog, getting a job (or two in my case), and securing our financial independence to name a few. This is the logical next step in life. I am sure it will be a challenge, but so has everything else, and hey, what exactly is wrong with a challenge anyway?

Next week, my students have one day of school. Then, we have two days of in-service, and then the NJEA convention. I am looking forward to a relaxing week of school, as it has been very hectic lately. We had our first performance on Tuesday, the Halloween Parade. In my three years there, it was the best performance yet.

Things are going much better with pretty much everything this year, yet there are still some challenges. I am having some trouble motivating my younger band students. I have a huge group of 4th and 5th graders, and they all seem to have a very defeatist attitude when it comes to learning anything new. I feel like I end up reviewing over old stuff and teaching very little new stuff in every rehearsal. I know one reason is that they don't practice, and I am not sure how to motivate them to do so.

I am also dealing with the same behavior issues in my classes. Well, now the major problem has come down to one class. They just seem to have it out for me. Students who are generally well-behaved in other classes turn into obnoxious, attention-starved brats when they get into my room. I had a girl on Wednesday who would not stop calling out. I decided to completely ignore her, and then the calling out got more frequent and louder. I finally gave up, and gave her a demerit. Then she pretended to cry, very badly mind you, because she kept laughing in between 'sobs.' Another teacher suggested calling her parent, so I am going to try that next.

Tomorrow is Friday, and then the weekend, and then one easy day of school, and then the rest of the week is professional development (i.e., no kids!). I need a break... unless Baby D decides to come this week!