The 40-week update

Here I am, 40 weeks pregnant and still waiting for our little guy. I have to say the past 9 months have flown by! About a week ago people started asking me more increasingly, "Now when is your due date again?" and sending me emails and texts asking "Have you had the baby yet?" So far, I'm ok with all that and I know everyone is just excited for us and to meet the baby. It's not going to change the fact that no matter what I know his due date is June 5th and have that day looming over my head. It's crazy how I just assumed for some reason all throughout pregnancy that I would have him early and maybe even miss the last week of school. But that day has come and gone and here I am.

Although I know that cervix dilation is really a non-predictive measure, I still eagerly jump up on the doctor's table each week to hear what, if any, changes have taken place since the week prior. As of this Wednesday I was still about 1 cm dilated...which like I said, really means nothing as some women can linger at 3 cm for weeks and some women go from 1 to 10 within hours. My cervix is approximately 50% thinned out and baby Julian's head is engaged in my pelvis. It's crazy to think that my doctor has been able to touch his head!

I still have not had any true labor contractions and to date no lower back pain. In the evenings it seems I am feeling more pressure down there and Braxton Hicks contractions come more frequently. For that reason, every evening lately I've been thinking...tonight could be the night! And I wouldn't be surprised if I wake up having true labor contractions...but every morning I wake up feeling normal and another day pursues.

Ross and I are extremely excited. We've read our Bradley workbook, packed our bags, and gone over a plethora of different scenarios of what we think it might be like when it really does happen. We like acting out different birthing positions and coming up with hypothetical texts that we can send to people announcing that we're in labor. We're silly like that.

There is a lot of uncertainty about WHEN baby will arrive, but other than that, I feel ready. Not that I feel like I'm equipped to be the perfect mom or that I'll even know how to do anything "right". But what I do know is that I'm well supported by friends, family, and most of all my loving husband and that is one fact that I know with all my heart. Ross has been the ultimate husband to me and already has shown how awesome of a daddy he is going to be. I have grown even more and more in love with Ross over the past 9+ months. It's amazing how this pregnancy has brought out even more shining qualities in him when he was already so wonderful.

Enough for now...I have to get ready for a date with my hubby.

Faith like a Child

How often have we been told to have the faith of a child...always trusting the Lord and taking Him at His word? And doesn't the Bible tell us "Don't be anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Tell him your needs and thank Him for what he's done"? And still I find myself being tenderly reminded by God on a daily basis what this actually looks and sounds like. That's right...the Lord has placed a special student in my class to ever so gently show me certain areas in myself that need some work. This student is eager to be open about his faith, full of compassion, quick to pray in times of trouble, and never ungrateful or forgetful of the things God has given us. Before each mealtime and snacktime, he never fails to thank God for providing us with our food. When another student gets hurt or becomes upset, this little guy is always first on the scene to extend a prayer of healing and comfort. Just the other day, in one of my not so graceful moments, I backed into a tiny guy, knocking him over and into a wall, before he even had a chance to squeal, the prayerful child immediately petitioned to the Lord to make the fallen child feel better. I am so encouraged by this little guy's fervant faith and I thank God for His creative ways of teaching me lessons.

The power of the spoken word

In Ross's and my family we believe in the power of the spoken word and therefore try as much as possible to always speak positively about ourselves, one another, and our current situation. I try to incorporate this value into my classroom as well by speaking many positive statements over my students. Each student has unique qualities that God has put inside of them and I believe it's my job to help them shine. Often children with learning differences experience so much negativity throughout their lives, even if it's not intentional. Academics, language, social situations, and even sports can be hard for them. In my class, I always like to remind the kids that they are special the way they are and then highlight the things they are good at. Last week we read the book "I Like Me" by Nancy Carlson. It's about a little pig that loves being herself. She loves her curly tail, her round tummy, and her tiny feet. When the world tries to bring her down, she picks herself up and when something is hard for her she tries and tries again. This little piggy is the image of high self-esteem. Last week, we talked all about what makes each of us unique from our looks (eye color, hair color, height)to the things we like to do (drawing, building, playing sports) and we talked about liking ourselves for who we are. I was encouraged yesterday, when I read a quote on facebook from a student of mine from last year. He said to his mom, "I love you Mommy, and I love me because my body is awesome!" Way to go, G, you speak it!

Summer Lovin'

Let's revisit summer 2010...

Ross and I were blessed to be able to celebrate with 4 different couples on their wedding days. I'm going to take some time to honor these sweet couples!


Jeff and Brittani Allen
Ross and I grew up in the same hometown as Jeff. Jeff and I were buds since elementary school and Ross and Jeff were bandmates in multiple bands in highschool. The Allens were married in their St. Louis area church where Jeff is the worship director. The wedding and reception to follow were lovely. One of the unique touches I enjoyed was the "cookie bar" at the reception in which you could load up on a variety of home baked cookies and take them home in little chinese take out boxes. It was fun to spend some time with some of my best friends from way back when.

Ben and Kimberly Schlarman
Ben was Ross's college roommate in Allen Hall at U of I for 2 years. Ross and I were able to spend some time earlier this summer hanging out with Ben and Kim at their pad in the Chicago area. Ben and Kim were married in the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. You can see some of the cool art in the background, but what you don't see are the caves, slides, and other forms of "urban art" that we got to experience that evening. What a cool place to have a wedding!

Randy and Lauren Cochran
Ross met Randy sometime last year here in Dallas and they enjoy playing music together in a band called "Bangarang". Randy and Lauren are absolutely precious! They were married in Longview, TX (her hometown) under an oaktree. It was REALLY hot out that day, but the wedding and reception was just perfect! The Cochrans had their own barista serving made-to-order espresso drinks the entire night!

Jay and Christine Geyer
We met J and C while attending college at U of I. We loved hanging out with them in college and have continued hanging out with them post-college. A couple of years ago we took a trip with them to Washington and did some serious backpacking through Washington National Park and Mt. Rainier. The Geyers were married in a sweet little chapel in the Chicago area and we celebrated afterwards at a golf country club. It was so fun to see a bunch of our friends from college again.

Oh, how I love wedding season! Who will be next???

A is for Alvin.

Two full weeks of school completed already! Holy smokes, time flies when you're having fun. Have I told you yet that I love my job? I liked my job last year, however I had all the stresses that come in your first year of working. Even the small things were stressors for me just for the fact that EVERYTHING was new and unfamiliar to me. Now that I at least have some idea of how things work at my school, I feel more comfortable and I can do my job more efficiently. I was pleasantly surprised the first week when 4:30 pm rolled around and I was actually ready to go home for the day.....when last year I ended up staying at work until 7 or 8 pm several nights the first couple of weeks!

My 6 little boys are precious as can be and I can tell there are going to be some good preschool quotes coming your way soon. Here are just a few so far:

One student has informed me that sometimes he gets swatted with the "correction paddle" but that I don't need to worry about that. Another one has told me "I am feeling cross". I am loving the vocabulary these kids are using! I also love that when I introduced our "letter of the day" and asked if anyone could think of any words that start with the sound /a/ the only word we could come up with was "Alvin". One little guy entered the room on the first day of school crying and repeatedly saying at the top of his lungs, "I don't like school!!!" and 6 hours later when I announced that our day was finished and it was time for our backpacks, his eyes opened up as wide as could be and he form tackled me with a hug and yelled "I LOVE school!!!" It's going to be a fun year. :)

Welcome to my Pre-Primary classroom!

Hello blogging world! How I've missed you! I took a little summer hiatus, but now I'm back! It's been a very fun and busy summer and I have lots to blog about but what's on my mind tonight is my classroom. I want to give you a little tour! I've finished setting up my room just in time for Parent Orientation tomorrow evening.

Here's a photo of my circle area. This is where all the action happens. As you can see, we have our extremely LONG schedule (made exclusively with my best friend Boardmaker) to provide the kiddos with predictibility. They function so much better just knowing what's coming next. They certainly don't like surprises, so anything special or "different" will always be designated on the visual schedule.

Here is my reading nook. I just LOVE this little white picket fence that sections off this area and makes it more secluded. My kiddos will also use this area to take "breaks" if they become dysregulated or overwhelmed. I have a little basket of sensory items to help calm them including stuffed animal, fidgets, skin brushes, lap pads, etc. I hope to eventually round out this area with a bean bag, body pillow, and a listening center.

Here is my tree, the highlight of my summer! My sweet husband Ross freehand painted this fabulous mural for me. Even more recently he has added little wood boards to look like a ladder climbing to the top. It's so precious! It really makes my wall easier to look at all day long and ties the room together so nicely.

Here you can see all my cabinets and the cute little cubbies. Also, note the country cottage inspired valances. Another new addition for this year. I have Ross's grandma to thank for these creations. They seriously make the room look like a whole new place! I love them!

So far I have 6 kids enrolled for this year...once again ALL boys. I'm very excited to be able to work with them and see them grow from little acorns into Oak trees! Tomorrow is our Parent Orientation and I'll get to meet all of the parents for the first time. I'm a little nervous as I know they'll be looking me up and down and wondering if I'm capable of teaching their little ones and if they can entrust them to my care. I am just praying that they will see my heart and know that it's my passion to work with them and I'll do all I can to help them succeed.

Kids say the Darndest Things

With the school year winding down, I'm beginning to think how much I'm going to miss my little class. Sure I've had my moments where I've wished it all away and felt totally ready to be done with this year, but really in the grand scheme of things I've learned so much from my little guys this year. This was my first class ever and I'll always remember them. It's actually going to be really hard for me to see them move on to Core K since I feel so connected to them. Now, I know you've all seen or heard of the Bill Cosby show, "Kid's say the darndest things" and it's totally true. I wish that I had kept a daily journal of the funny things my boys have uttered this year because I just can't remember them all. So, in an attempt to remember some of them I'll start sharing more of them on here so I'll always have them in my archives. Here are a couple from last week that were particularly hilarious:

1. I gotta get someone to fix my cough! I gotta get an archaeologist!

2. Me: ___ was a hard worker today! Child: Yeah, and ____ was a soft worker!

And lastly, a conversation I'm not too proud of, but nonetheless it's pretty funny coming from a 5 year old....

3. Multiple kids: Mrs. Barry! Mrs. Barry! Me: Wait a second, There's only one of me! Child: Why did you say there's only one of you? Me: Well, there's only one Mrs. Barry. I wish there were two, but there is only one. Do you think we should have two Mrs. Barry's? Child: Yeah, I wish there was a good Mrs. Barry.

And then I got a hug. I think (and hope) he was joking. :)

Last week, we took our 3rd field trip of the year and I brought them to the Frontiers of Flight Museum over by Love Field. It was totally awesome and I will be sure to bring my class back every year. We took a 15-20 minute guided tour of some helicopters, airplanes, satellites, and even got to get inside a real Southwest Airplane and get in the cockpit (well, 1/2 of an airplane anyway). Then we played in the coolest little play area that had a bunch of kid airplanes to climb in and a big bounce house. It was great! We have one field trip left to take this year. Any suggestions for something easy, not too big, not too expensive, and not too over-stimulating?