Randomness...

So, this is me attempting to get more stuff up here. :)

Let's see...what have we been up to?

School-wise, I'm almost finished with the Spring semester. I'm going to try to finish up one of my classes this week, with the exception of the final exam which won't open until next week. Hopefully that will allow me the time I need to try to get my grade up in my other class, which I'm kind of on the verge of not passing. I'm registered for 2 classes this summer...I just hope it's not going to be too much! We have a lot of things we want to do this summer.

Adam is working on getting his Certified Personal Trainer certification and has been accepted to UW LaCrosse for his BS in Health & Wellness Management. He'll be starting that this fall and it's online.

Work-wise, there hasn't been any further information on how long I'll have a job. I've been looking around for something else, but the pickings are rather slim. And with mine being the only paycheck right now, I can't afford to take an enormous pay-cut. I'm hoping we'll get more information next month and that we won't have to wait until the end of June to find anything new out.

Fitness-wise, I've been back at the Y now for a couple weeks. I've been taking a Pilates class and a Yoga class once a week. I ended up liking Pilates so much that I bought a DVD so I can do it at home. The great thing about the DVD I got is that it is 5 different 10-minute workouts. You can make a playlist and do as many or as few as you like in whatever order you choose. I've been just doing 2 sections every night for the last 2 nights and I hope I'll start seeing results faster. I'm gaining weight again, but some of that is probably muscle. We've been trying to walk after supper every night, but the weather has been less than cooperative. It doesn't seem to want to decide if it is winter or spring...60 one day and snowing the next.

At home, we've been working on remodeling our basement with the goal of moving our "office" down there and making the rest of the room into a playroom for the kids. The living room has gotten too small for all of the kids' toys and it would be nice to have more space for them to play. We're then going to turn our former office into Sam's bedroom. It's beyond time for him to be in his own room. I'm tired of tip-toeing around after he goes to bed or not being able to go in there while he's napping. Plus, with the office downstairs, Adam can play computer games at night without being afraid to wake the kids up. So, on the list of things to do: replace the floor in the hallway, bathroom, possiblty the kitchen, and office, paint the office, finish doing whatever we're doing to the bathroom, insulate and drywall the basement, paint the basement, put down the foam mat flooring in the play area, and I'm also looking into possibly doing the roof. Good thing I'm getting a bunch of money in June! We're also looking at possibly replacing the kitchen cabinets and countertops, but we'll have to see how much we can get done this summer.

Our plans for this summer as far as fun things go, we have a few things planned already. In May, Adam and I are going to Madison to see the Dalai Lama. He's also going fishing the last weekend in May, also down in Madison, so I thought the kids and I would also go down and maybe we'd visit the zoo. In June I have off for a week and on the Friday before Father's Day, we're going to the National Railroad Museum to see Thoms the Tank Engine. In July we plan to go to the Dells for 3 days. There are lot of things to check out there. In the past I've always gone as an adult (mostly, anyway) so it'll be neat to do things for the littles. :) Other than those things, we're going to try to squeeze in some camping (a first), more trips to different zoos (the NEW Zoo and the Milwaukee Zoo), and some trips to the Green Bay Children's Museum.

So anyway, I know it's a lot. We've been really busy with work and school, the kids, and other things that are going on in our extended families. I really want to try to get better with this! Also, I'm part of another blog, too...I added a link to the side. It's called Between Naps. Go check it out. :)

I'm still here...

Yes, I'm still around. Life has just been really, really, really busy lately.

So what have we been up to?

Adam is still in nursing school. He's almost mid-way through block 4. There seems to be a lot of additional homework even though he doesn't spend as much time in classes as he did last block. I imagine the next block will be just as bad. It's also his birthday this weekend. Unfortunately, I have to work. :(

I am still working full-time (and then some). I've also started back to school part-time. Right now I'm taking 2 classes (6 credits) and having a hard time keeping up with everything...mostly because of work. I usually get my school work done while I'm at work because I don't have the time at home to work on it and watch the kids, cook, keep up with the house stuff, etc, but work has been so nuts lately that I haven't had the opportunity. I have a feeling I'm going to spend most of the weekend (while I'm at work) with my nose stuck in books.

The kids are great. They're as busy as ever. Sam has been trying to figure out how to crawl. He has all the elements down, he just hasn't figured out how to put them in just the right order to gain forward momentum. I'm also starting him on baby food tomorrow. He just doesn't seem to stay full for very long and has been waking up in the night again. He's also able to sit up by himself for a while now. He still tips over eventually, but he's getting so much better! Clara's apparently nap striking again, but I'm hoping it's just a phase. She's done this before and it lasted a couple weeks before she went back to normal. She's been talking up a storm! She knows tons of words and phrases, as well as colors, animals, numbers...the list is endless. If it's even possible, it seems like her personality is coming out more and more everyday.

We have just a couple weeks until October and I need to get birthday planning into full swing. So far we have a date (November 3) but not a time or location yet. I also need to get her 2-year pictures scheduled for sometime in October. I'm really looking forward to that!

Then pretty soon it's Thanksgiving and Christmas...geez, where did the year go?

Back to school...and miscellaneous other stuff

Yep. Time to get back to things. I put my degree on hold for the last 2 years when I got pregnant with the kids and Adam's school really got cranking. But now that things are returning to somewhat of a normal state (normal for us anyway) I've decided that if I don't get back into it soon, I'll be 50 before I finally get it done  (of course, maybe I could go to college with my kids then)!

For the time being I'm only taking 6 credits (half time). I need to be able to get my school work done while I'm at work because let's face it-I don't have much free time at home.

I've decided on Intro to Marketing and Politics of Crime & Punishment. Intro to  Marketing is the last of the core classes needed for my Minor in Business Administration.

There are 2 added bonuses of returning to school: I get to stop paying on my student loans, and I get a new laptop! I have to say, though, that I'm not really excited to be getting back. It seems like I need a ridiculous amount of liberal arts classes to fill out my gen eds and I abhor liberal arts classes! I even thought maybe I'd take statistics rather than a liberal arts class (and that's saying something because I also abhor math).

I also hate filling out FAFSA forms. They suck. Oh yeah, and buying books.  I've decided to go through my library at home and get rid of (and by that I mean hopefully sell to Amazon) any text books from previous classes that I'm probably not ever going to use again and hopefully get at least a little money back. The book for my Marketing class is over $200. And it isn't available on Kindle which is another sucky thing because I'm sure the book weighs about 300lbs and I've already got enough crap in my work backpack.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

On to other things...

Sam's crib got brought over today. He won't be sleeping in it at night for a while yet because he's still occasionally waking up in the night and I don't want him waking Clara up. So I think for now we'll be getting it put in their room and set up. We'll have him take naps in it during the day and then we'll wait until after the 4-month wakeful to transition him there at night. Which reminds me...I need to buy a mattress pad for his crib yet.

Clara has been having a real word explosion lately. She has also started putting words together (like "mouse book" when she wants me to read her the mouse book that she has or "daddy chair" when she wants to sit in the chair with Daddy, or when she's sitting in Daddy's chair). We need to work on "eat" or "hungry" or "food" because she's been whining or trying to climb into her booster chair when she's hungry and neither of those are really acceptable options. We're also going to start trying to potty train her on Adam's next break (which is in about 2 weeks). She has been waking up dry in the morning and from naps.

My weight loss has been going really well, but my fitness has not. I'm still  not able to get to the gym very often and haven't yet gotten any work out videos to do at home. I still want to so that's a good thing...it's just finding the time and trying to make it a priority. I'm also working out a house cleaning schedule because the house is a disaster and I need to find some way to keep up with it without it feeling like a huge hassle.

I guess that's about all that's been going on lately. I've wanted to write more often, but  haven't really had a whole lot going on since I've been back to work. We're getting family pictures done next weekend as well as seeing some of Adam's famiy that I haven't met yet. I'm just hoping the weekend doesn't get too nuts because I'd kind of like to enjoy it since I worked last Saturday and all weekend this weekend.

Forgive me!!

It's Thursday and I've forgotten to post again!!

Yesterday was Wednesday-weigh in day. I'm happy to report I've neither gained nor lost this week! Holding steady. Things are REALLY insane around our house right now.

Adam's finished with school for the semester. He's going back in the Fall-4 classes. Should be interesting, to say the least. I, on the other hand, have decided to skip the fall semester and be finished with school for the time being. It's going to be difficult enough to watch Clara on my days off and work around babysitting needs while Adam's at Bellin full-time without having to worry about school on top of everything else.

We're also working on a big project that I'll talk more about in the coming weeks.

What else are we up to this month? This coming Monday I'll be getting my implant finished. Yay!! I can't wait! It's been a long road, and I'm pretty sure I'm not done fighting with the insurance company just yet, either. I've also got my friend Melissa's bridal shower coming up towards the end of the month. I'm excited to see her again! I haven't seen her in quite some time as she's been busy finishing up her schooling and moving into her brand new house!

Next month is our 2nd annual Labor Day picnic at our house. I think we'd better get working on the organization of this, PRONTO!  Also, it's Adam's, Jessi's and Steff's birthdays! Adam and I are talking about taking the Badger over to Michigan for his birthday weekend, but we shall see how finances work out. I think it'll be the first trip for all 3 of us!

Anyway, stay tuned for more exciting adventures!

WW Wednesday...

Just a quick update weight-wise. Since I have reached my goal weight, WW has now put me on "maintenance" which gives me more daily points. It's nice and they say that you should use maintenance to stay within 2lbs of your goal weight. I managed to lose another .4 today  which now puts me at 2lbs under. I like knowing that I have a buffer and I'm really happy with my success.:-)

In other news, today has been quite the stressful day. There's really a lot of things that sort of all went bad ay once so I'll spare you the deets, but suffice it to say I can't wait to get home to my hubby and cute little munchkin who always seems to be able to brighten my darkest moods with her toothy little grin.
Just finishing up with summer semester. I have one paper to write for my CJ class and then I'm done. I have considerably more for math, but as of August 5th I'll be finished. I'm looking forward to my couple of weeks off. I just wish I had off work as well.

Weight Watchers...Thursday?

Ugh! I know it's terrible that I keep missing Wednesday! lol

So for my quick WW update this week, I'm once again down. I know only have .2lbs left to lose to hit my goal! Yay me! I've been doing really well at not eating when I'm just bored, which is a huge deal for me. I used to be able to do it all the time, but not so much anymore. I'd also like to try to get my midsection back into shape. I have a lot of extra skin/fat hanging out from when I was pregnant. It doesn't make me feel real fantastic about how I look, but I DID get into a size 4 pair of jeans this week, and even  had a little room to spare!

I found a really delish recipe last week that I've been dying to try. Ok, well we tried the onions on our beef tenderloin last week. They were to die for! We're already thinking of other ways to use them! Here's the recipe. It's also from the Weight Watcher's website.

Flank Steak with Triple-Grilled Onions

3 Tbsp unpacked brown sugar


4 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 medium onion(s), yellow, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 large vidalia onion(s), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 medium red onion(s), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 tsp table salt, divided

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

1 1/4 pound(s) raw lean flank steak



Instructions

Preheat grill to medium.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and vinegar; brush over onions and then sprinkle onions with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Either skewer onions on metal skewers or place in a grill basket; grill onions until soft and caramelized, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes.

Sprinkle steak with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper; place on grill 30 minutes after onions. Cook 15 minutes, turning once, until medium rare, or longer for desired degree of doneness. Let steak rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing against the grain. Yields about 4 ounces of steak and 2/3 cup of onions per serving.
Each serving is only 7 points so pair this with some delicious seasonal vegetables and you've got yourself a healthy dinner!

It's been a little nuts around the Mueller household lately, but I do plan on gathering all the information for Clara's 8-month survey soon. That's right, she's 8 months old already! My how time flies. We're starting to think about ideas for her 1st birthday. I've already found some really cute invitations. We just need to sit down with a calendar and figure out some dates and locations. I also really need to get some recent pictures of her. I've been so bad about it, mostly because she's crawling now and into EVERYTHING (ok, and I hate my camera, lol).

Just a couple more weeks and I'll be done with school. Fall semester starts in September and goes until Christmas. After that I'll be done with school for a couple years. I need to be available to help out around the house more once Adam starts at Bellin in January and can't count on getting my school work done while I'm at work. I just don't always have the time and don't deserve to just rush through it and get barely passing grades just to graduate sooner.

I'm looking forward to seeing Harry Potter this weekend. Adam and I are going to have a sushi date and then see the last Harry Potter movie while Clara hangs out with Grandma. :) I know they'll both have a good time. Our first anniversary is also coming up in 2 weeks!! We're planning (right now anyway) on getting our tattoos done finally! We're both getting something for Clara, but thought it would be fun to go together as an anniversary thing. We'll see what happens. :)

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Yep, it's already Wednesday again. I've been so busy lately that it seems the only posts I have are about my weight loss! 

I jumped on the scale this morning and it told me I lost again this week! My total weight loss so far is now -6.8lbs. I'm this |<-->| close to my goal!!

It's not great, but I've been so busy that I haven't been very snacky or haven't had much time to eat much of a meal, so that's helped some. Plus I've been parking at the very end of  our parking lot at work and I've been toting around a ton of school books (around, up a thousand flights of stairs, etc).

Let me know if you are a WeightWatchers online participant and if you would like to follow me. I'll give you my information so you can find me! :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In other news, the holiday weekend is coming up. Adam and I are going away for the weekend on the motorcycle. We're heading down towards Madison to visit some small towns since we'll likely be moving down there in a few years. We're staying at the Naeset-Roe Inn Bed & Breakfast in Stoughton, WI. We'll also be visiting other towns such as: Oregon, Lake Mills, Cambridge, Deerfield, and possibly Sun Prairie. We're leaving Friday morning and coming back sometime Saturday afternoon. It'll be a lot of fun! The munchkin will be staying with Grammy while we're gone.

On Sunday evening we'll be making our way to Kellnersville, WI for our annual July 4th picnic at Simons' house. It's always a good time with good people and good food. This year we'll be skipping the fireworks as I'm pretty sure Clara won't enjoy them and it'll be way past her bedtime anyway. Adam doesn't particularly care for fireworks, either. Not a big deal. :)

I'm working Monday, which is great news since it'll be triple-time and I'll be making like $60/hour. Not too bad considering it'll be pretty dead quiet around here. :)

Other things coming up: Clara's 8-month birthday, my mid-terms for my 2 classes, my final appointment with the oral surgeon for my implant, and our first wedding anniversary!! That'll round out July! Not too busy of a summer, but certainly busy enough!

Lord, I Apologize....

(for those who got the Larry the Cable Guy reference, I'm sorry for that, too!) if what I'm about to say makes you faint. Ok, go ahead and sit down then-especially those of you who know me well.

Go ahead, I'll wait. :)







Ready? Ok. Some of you know I'm taking MAT105 (otherwise known as Intermediate Algebra) this summer. Some of you also know that I not only HATE math, but I stink at it. I'm only taking this class because it's a prerequisite for Statistics which is a requirement for my CJ degree. I'm currently about a week ahead in that class, which I like to do because I never know what's going to happen around here! Believe it or not (I still can't), but I'm not only starting to remember how to do this stuff, but I'm actually understanding it! My self-corrected second assignment isn't nearly as marked up as the first assignment! And some of the mistakes I made were stupid ones...if I only slowed down I would have caught it. I'm actually looking forward to doing my next assignment! Wow...I can't believe I just typed that! Haha.

Ok, on to other things. Our giant fence project got quite the start over the weekend. At the end of the day Sunday we had the posts and supports done on the west side and most of the cedar hedges down on the south side. I also completely weeded my flower beds in the front and got all the mulch down. I got the weeds pulled in the east side one in the back and the new border up and also got mulch in part of it. It was a hot weekend, even by our city's standards! Everyone got pretty cooked on Saturday.

I've been thinking maybe I'll try to do a WeightWatchers Wednesday post to keep up with my progress and maybe share some fun and low-point food ideas or recipes. We'll see how that goes. I've tried to do weekly posts before and failed. :) I am, however, on the computer more since I'm doing WeightWatchers Online, so who knows.

Tomorrow I'll be working on my Police Function class. I have a quiz to take for Lesson 2 and then I'm going to do the reading and assignments for Lesson 3 so I can stay ahead in that class, too. Only one paper to write the ENTIRE semester and it isn't due til the end of the semester! Now to figure out what I want to take in fall.....

New Blogs

I've found a couple blogs to follow...They're quite hysterical! One of them is a blog written by a father (Message with a Bottle) and the other is by a mother (Moms who Drink and Swear). They're both really funny and also have Facebook pages if you'd like to follow that way, too. I'll also be linking them to the side of my page.

Things have been so busy I haven't gotten a chance to keep up with this very often. The little girl has been quite the handful lately. She's not wanting to sleep at night anymore. I do NOT look forward to bedtime anymore. It's a huge fight to get her down and there's no guarantee that she'll stay down once she is down and she is still waking up at least once per night to eat. She is learning lots of new things though! She's starting to tripod!! For those who aren't parents or haven't heard this term, it's when babies sit with their butts on the floor and then lean forward on their hands to help them sit up. She still tips over, but she's getting better at it. It helps if we put a toy in front of her, that way she has incentive lean forward. She's also starting to be a little more independent...at times anyway. There are times where she's happy just to play on the floor or in her pack n play, but when she does want someone to be with her, she's quite demanding about it! I'm also in the process of talking to Katie about getting Clara's 6-month pictures taken. She'll be 6 months old in May...holy crap, I can't believe it!!

Other than that, not much else going on. I've been really busy with work and school. Adam's almost done with school for this semester. I know he'll be glad. :) He starts online classes this summer and then HOPEFULLY he'll be able to get into Bellin in January. I know he's eager to get started on acutal nursing classes instead of all the bs leading up to it. :)

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm going to TRY to get some more pictures taken! I've been such a slacker with it lately.

Oh joy...not.

So it’s that time of the year again. It always seems that the 18 months goes by so fast, but here we are in shut-down mode at work again. Without getting into too much detail, I’ll put it to you this way. During the time we are shut down for 30 days (hopefully not more), we bring in 400 or so people to help out with projects that couldn’t get done while the plant is running. Most of these people I wouldn’t trust to work on my car, let alone work in the plant. We affectionately call them “The Carnies”. They travel all across the country working at different plants. Don’t get me wrong, the money’s good. In fact a lot of these guys cram 6-7 people into one small hotel room in order to save their per diem money, too. But GOOD GRIEF. We call them carnies for a reason, and it’s not just because of them travelling all over the country. I’m convinced most of them have a criminal record. And it’s the same thing every day. They’re not smart enough to figure out how to get into the plant, but they’re going to take it apart and work on it. Yikes. I’ll give you a prime example. We have walk-thought metal detectors. These people will walk through the metal detector wearing steel-toed shoes, but they can’t figure out why the metal detector is alarming because they’ve already emptied their pockets. Shut-down officially starts on Saturday, but I’m already sick of it.



Enough said about that.



So in school right now, I’m taking a class called Microcomputer Applications. I thought the class sounded interesting. Boy howdy, it is! I’m having a lot of fun with it. It’s basically teaching us how to use Microsoft Office. You’ll probably start seeing a lot more interesting looking blog posts from me. I’ve learned so much about Microsoft Word, like how to put pictures in, doing word art, and all kinds of other things. I’ll even be helping my hubby with some power points…if he wants my help.  I had a lot of fun with that particular portion, too. The class is so easy that I’m generally a week or more ahead with my homework! My other class isn’t quite so exciting. It’s an Introduction to the Study of Religion. I needed a humanities course and that was the only other one besides Feminine Studies or something like that. I have to say, I hate liberal arts. I’m better with fact than with theory or philosophy. I’m not saying I’m not learning anything, but I am saying I hate the class.



There isn’t too much of anything else going on right now. Adam’s still going to school full time. He’s looking to start at Bellin next year. It’s going to be a lot of work, but hopefully worth it when everyone is tripping over themselves to hire him. He’s also still working on his writing. He’s got a blog (www.adamwriting.blogspot.com) where he’s posting about his writing endeavors. I’m really excited that he’s getting more and more things published. 



I think that’s about it for now. I only get a chance to do nice long blog posts while I’m at work…unfortunately, I can’t get it posted from my laptop at work, so I’ll be waiting til I get home. Hopefully I can get it to work there.

Oh so busy!

So I thought I'd take a moment and post an update. Not a whole lot is new, but there have been a few recent developments. I also wanted to post some new pictures of Clara.

These are her 11-week pictures. She's growing so fast! She's also socially smiling and laughing. Her favorite place to be silly is on her changing pad or on her playmat. She abhorrs tummy time so she ends up spending her "entertainment" time on her back on her playmat. She likes to bat the hanging toys around so they make noise. She has also become a big fan of standing on stuff: our laps, the floor, etc. At this rate she'll be walking before she crawls! She went to the doctor on January 3 for her 2 month appointment. It went really well. She weighed 13lbs 2 oz and was 24.5" long. She also got shots, but after the initial poke, she didn't seem too upset. She was done crying by the time we left the clinic. Her next visit is in March.

Adam has now started school. He almost has a full week in! So far so good, I guess. It's school afterall. I also start school next week. Looking at the calendars it's probably going to be a fairly easy semester, but that's ok since I have enough on my plate.

I went back to work as of the last time I posted. Now I'm working with my shift again. It's ok, but 12 hours is a long time to not be doing much. That won't change until I get totally signed off and certified. So then I'll be spending 12 hours doing a little bit more, but not a whole lot. At least it'll give me time to work on homework.

In the category of "not-so-good-news" we just recently found out that our friend Eric has relapsed with Leukemia for the 4th time. Luckily they caught it early and they've already started his treatment. For more information, see the website at the right: L.I.F.E. We wish him and his fiance Cari the best of luck and offer our support during this difficult time.

Speaking of websites on the right-hand side of the page, I've been following the blog of a couple of parents who found out their 2-month-old daughter had a brain tumor. They're beautiful Scarlett has since had 2 brain surgeries and is doing really well considering. Please, check out their blog, but be warned-it requires a lot of Kleenex! It's really touching and makes me really appreciative of every second I have with my healthy daughter (especially since they're so close in age).

That's about it for now. We've got 2 more workdays to get through and then we're going to Appleton to see Eli for the last time before he becomes a Daddy again. :) I'm so excited for them both! I can't wait to see pictures!!

Wow-it's been too long!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post! So much has been going on here lately.

First of all, Clara is now 6 weeks old. :) The time has certainly flown by. She's had some milestones. She stayed with both of her Grandmas for a few hours while her mommy & daddy had some time to themselves (which was MUCH needed!). She also saw her first snowfall and we brought home her first Christmas tree. She's growing really well, too! She now weighs 12lbs 3.5oz! On the downside, though, the last week or so hasn't gone too well. She was really fussy and having problems with choking when laying down and other symptoms of infant acid reflux. We finally got together with the doctor and he made the determination that it was, indeed, the case. So we now have her on Zantac twice a day. If she shows improvement before January 3rd (her next well-baby check up) then we've hit the mark. If not, that just means we have a colicky baby. But the doctor seems confident that this medication should help. I haven't taken a 6-week picture of her yet, but when I do I'll post it. I've put them all up on Facebook so far (except I didn't take one for 5 weeks).

Other things we've been up to: I have about a million phone calls that I need to make...mostly related to our health insurance. I'm also getting ready to go back to school in January. I'm only taking 2 classes this semester. I figured I had enough on my plate. I'm also going back to work starting Monday. I'm not sure what I'll all be able to do when I get back, but we'll see. We're having Christmas with my immediate family on Friday. I've got pretty much everything I need for that. I think there's one or 2 things left to wrap. Other than that, we're just waiting for the actual holiday to get here so we can celebrate with the rest of our families. AND on the day after Christmas we get to go see TSO!! That's my favorite thing to do every year at Christmas! :)

Well, it's time to go start getting the bedroom set up for bedtime. Even though Clara's sleeping right now, she's probably going to want a small snack again before bed. I'm also employing some new tricks that will hopefully help with her not wanting to be put down and her reflux. I'll try to post picures tomorrow.

The countdown is on!

4 days to go til our wedding! I'm excited, but I'm really glad that it'll be over soon. I came home from work yesterday to find out that (we think) Adam has a kidney stone. So not good. And because he won't have insurance until we get married, there's not really a lot we can do about it at this point except drown him with water and ibuprofen and hope the stupid thing comes out before Saturday. We also ended up having to make alternate plans for what to do with Scooter, too. Not a big deal, but something I would have rather dealt with a week ago, rather than five days before. But that's all worked out now, so I feel better.

Hormones + wedding planning=bad news. I cried for almost 4 hours on and off and upset myself to the point of giving myself Braxton Hicks contractions. Thankfully, my schedule of stuff to do was light and I was in my bed listening to my Hypnobabies by 7:30 and apparently passed out by 8:15.

Today I'm taking Scooter to Bark Bath & Beyond to get his nails trimmed and to get him some more food. I have a bit of homework, too, and I'm not looking forward to that. But I am almost done. Only about 2 weeks left now. Just 2 more weeks and I'll be done with school til Spring! I can't wait! I'd like to say it'll be a nice break, but it'll only be a nice break for a few months until Clara comes. Then I'll be busy all over again! :) But a lot happier because of it.

23 Weeks.

17 weeks left to go. I can't believe how quickly the time seems to be going, though it does seem to have slowed down quite a bit since the 20 week mark.

Here's a few interesting facts about this week:

Size: She's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound.

Development: Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

She's quite the active baby most days. And I can definitely tell she's going to be a handful when she's born! She was quite the sassy girl yesterday! She gave her momma a kick so hard it startled me!!

We had Baby Boot Camp last night. I think we're the farthest behind out of all the couples, but I don't mind. Most of the couples are really nice. There's only a few who are a little "high school-ish," but we don't really socialize with them. We learned all about contractions and what to do if we think we're in labor before and after 35 weeks, as well as different induction methods.

While it was interesting to learn about, it's not something that will be included in my birth plan when I make it. Once your water breaks, you're on the clock (so-to-speak). I plan to labor at home as long as I can before going to the hospital. I want to be able to eat and drink when I want to and not be hooked up to monitors constantly. We have a doppler at home if we're concerned at all about the baby. And there's really no reason for me to go in as soon as labor starts, as I don't plan on getting pain medication. I'm planning on using hypnobirthing to manage my labor. I should be getting my home study course in the mail next week. I look forward to practicing, and it will allow me a few minutes relaxation everyday, too.

As for the rest of the week, I have a test to take tomorrow in Correctional Philosophy after work, and then we leave for camping! I can't wait, it looks like a beautiful weekend. I'm planning on bringing my Kindle so I can do some reading, and if it isn't too hot, I'd like to do a lot of walking, too.

Uggg...so unmotivated.

So in an effort to have off on Friday before my brother's wedding (and because I didn't have a choice) I'm working four 10 hour days this week. Doesn't seem like a lot, until you realize all I'm doing (or supposed to be doing) for those 10 hours is staring at a ton of paperwork and the computer, it makes for a really long day. At least it's quiet and no one's bothering me. I just wish I was at home instead!

School-wise, I've got a big paper due this weekend. I'm trying to get it done before Thursday so I can visit with my Aunt Morina & Uncle Bill (and family) who are coming into town sometime Thursday for Kenny's wedding. Other than that, I'm pretty well caught up. I had 2 exams Sunday and Monday. Monday's didn't go so well. I'm still waiting on Sunday's.

Tonight Adam & I are going to Green Bay so I can get a new dress for Kenny's wedding (and possibly look at one for my wedding). I bought one at Kohl's before I knew I was pregnant. It sort of still fits, but it has a halter top and I'm afraid the weight of my ginormous boobs is going to snap my neck after the ceremony! Tomorrow is our first Baby Boot Camp class. I'm looking forward to it, even though our schedule will be really tight. I get done with work at 4 and the class starts at 5:30. We might be eating at Subway! lol

I cant' believe our BIG ultrasound is a week from today. It's unreal! When we made the appointment it seemed so far away. And 2 weeks after that we'll have our next OB appointment (24 weeks!!). August 5th starts the 3rd trimester! Holy God...I hope I'm ready for that! It's less than 7 weeks away!