I am working...

No, that is not a fluke title. I really am working right now. I have a long-term sub job that will (hopefully) keep me working and busy until Thanksgiving. That is what I have been hired for, anyway. The teacher for whom I am covering is recovering from a very severe accident she had over Spring Break last year. She is itching to get back and gain more control over her life. So, updates have been few and far between, but I am still here. Still ticking, and now working! Yea! It is exhausting, but I am happy to be here.

Baby News

It occurred to me the other moment that I haven't actually blogged about our baby news. We made our new "Facebook Official" weeks ago, and I have yet to actually write about it on here. So, for those of you who are interested, here it all is:

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

As of right now, I am a little over 16 weeks pregnant, and feeling good. I was one of the lucky few who did not experience any morning sickness during my first trimester. Although, I waited for it to come. I didn't always feel wonderful, but I actually felt my worst at night. This allowed for us to have some pretty early bedtimes, but that was just fine with me! I have taken serious advantage of nap time so far as well. I have always loved naps, but they have become a necessary part of my day. 

My official due date is January 30, 2011. I am a January baby, so I can't help but hope that I will have a January baby too, but my wonderful grandmother has her birthday in February all by herself (this is unusual in our large family), and I know she would love to share her birthday month with a great-grandchild. So, we shall see! My mom's birthday is January 25th, and I think she wouldn't mind sharing either. 

We will find out what we are having in a few weeks. I can hardly believe it, but we are almost at that point. Then we will be at 20 weeks and half-way through this thing! Yikes! We still have so much to do! We are turning our current "office" into the nursery, so we still have a guest room for everyone to come visit. I am calendaring visits. I don't want everyone to converge on our house at once. I want everyone person (especially the excited grandmas) to have their share of time with this baby. So, we may have visitors from January to June, but really...I love it! Come one, come all! 

 

Here is our little kumquat when he/she was the size of a kumquat. This was taken at about ten weeks. 

Book #23 and Book #24

Pop

By: Gordon Korman

For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Korman, I highly recommend reading his Son of the Mob books. There are two, and they are HiLaRiOuS! I saw this book on the library shelf, and I immediately grabbed it hoping that it would be as fun a read as those books are. I wasn't disappointed, exactly. This book was different simply because of the tone and the topic surrounding the story. In this story, the main character is new to a small town. This small town has a BIG football team, and he wants in. He is a pretty good player, but the team is less than receptive to having a new guy come in and bust up what they have accomplished. However, when said character, Marcus, wants to be a part of something, he works hard to make it happen. Marcus begins practicing his throw in the park one day and out of no where comes a HUGE grow man who plows him over. This guy has to be at least 50, but he acts like a 17 year-old boy. He has the lowest center of gravity Marcus has ever seen, and Marcus and this mystery man begin practicing knocking one another over...okay, not just knocking one another over, but tackling with all their might. 

As the story progresses, Marcus discovers that his mystery man is none other than Charlie Popovich! He was a great NFL player, and his son (who HATES Marcus and is ex-boyfriend of the head cheerleader who has taken an interest in Marcus) is the staring QB. As it turns out, Charlie has early Alzheimer's from too many concussions. He thinks Marcus is his best friend from when he was 17, and he actually gets Marcus in a lot of trouble. However, Marcus and Charlie help one another out in many different ways, and when it comes time to say good-bye...well, you have to read it. 

1984

By: George Orwell

I never had a desire to read this book. The only reason I picked it up this summer was because I had hoped I would be teaching it in the fall. I did not love it. Not at all! In fact, it depressed me more than any book has since Lord of the Flies. I was silly enough to actually think for a minute that Winston and Julia would/could actually escape the horrible control of a government so set on controlling the people. Why did that happen? The world turns on itself and the people just let it happen. Big Brother will save you! Big Brother--as one person--did not exist, but as a group, yes! We worry today about the government taking over our lives, but I cannot imagine living in a world where they can actually SEE into your living quarters. A world where reading and writing and thinking for oneself was dangerous and took a person to the Ministry of Love where no love exists. In fact, no love exists. The irony and oxymorons of the world where Winston lives are frightening. The reality and the similarities of his world and ours is too much to think about. I think I would like to live as the proles...unknowing and in my own happy place.