And It's already September

Where did the time go?  So much for shorter more regular posts - sorry blog.  August was a busy month for us. It's a month with a new focus of keeping my feet up too, which makes stilling in front of the desktop more challenging.  Here are some of our highlights from August:

- We celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary with a fancy dinner out at great steak place in Old Town.

Aug 2008

- I went back to work, that was adjustment from summer.  Chris and I joke that one pregnant day (at this stage) at work is like 3 normal days. My energy is still pretty good, but not what it was. Our Open House Night, when I was at work until 7pm, was ridiculously hard for me. I kept trying to sit as I was talking to parents. Hopefully, I put on a happy face and they couldn't see I was ready for bed.  I started the year with 21 students and now I have 26 - low numbers made us create a combo class. I'm just thankful I'm not teaching a combo and I'm still teamed with Amy, she's basically the best thing that happened to me in ABQ (this quoting Amy) - amazing friend and great coworker. 

- I dyed my hair, which was a little shocking to me and Chris. I told my stylist to dye my hair to match my roots. She checked the color and consulted with 2 other stylists because she was surprised it was so dark.  I was there for over 2 hours. They had to dye my hair red first because it was so blonde then back to brunette.  I had been highlighting my hair for 12 years. I had no idea it was so dark. It has faded a little now and I'm more use to it.  You can actually tell my eyes are hazel now and not brown.

- We've enjoyed spending a lot of time with our friends. 

- We went ballooning. We joined a balloon crew last year, which was an awesome way to experience Fiesta. We won't be helping as much this year, but a few weeks ago we went to help.  Chris even got to go for his first ride!  Don't worry I stayed on the ground and didn't even help much. 

The new balloon. 

They practiced a landing so Chris could hop in. Chris is getting the safety talk from the pilot.

Chris taking off!

- We have had a lot of doctor appointments for Baby Valley.  Everything is going well and she is still growing. I'm sure this won't surprise you, we are going to have a big baby. It's all just guessing right now, but I think it is safe to say she will weigh at least 8 lbs.  I'll be surprised if she doesn't. The nursery is pretty set.  We still don't have a name, but we're working on it. Now it's just waiting time. My hope is that she comes on a weekend so I'm not in labor at school.  I would also love it if she would wait until next weekend or later. I would really like to teach one more week. Yes, I'm aware that I can't control this and I am crazy, but I like teaching so if I can squeeze in a few more days working, perfect! I hate thinking at the end of each school day that I hope to see my students tomorrow or after the weekend. 

Baby girl has received lots of love from WISCONSIN! She owns zero Vikings/Gopher items. She does have an adorable MN state onesie. 

The grandparent wall. The photos to the right are of Chris' parents, my parents, and us.

The thrifty storage solution. Do you like the green storage boxes? Would you like them better if I told you they were free? They are paper boxes from the copy room at my school. We covered them in contact paper that I've had for years.

Currently we are at 38 weeks, 39 weeks as of tomorrow, which reminds me we need to take another belly photo. She's due in 9 days! Any bets on when she will actually come? Our next appointment is on Tuesday.  I'm trying my best to stay calm and not get too scared. I'm so thankful for my sister and mom friends that have been listening to me panic about "THE EXIT." They have been really helpful and understanding. We can't wait to meet her, hold her, and see who she looks like.  

34 weeks just before school started (it was probably 35 weeks knowing our Valley time issue) - Light hair and still rocking the summer glow

I think we actually took this photo at 37 weeks, but oh well - Dark hair and losing my tan

Testing out the new gliding rocker

Chris documenting one of my new daily challenges, getting up! It's so hard!

It's a ...

 We had the ultrasound tech put a photo with the gender labeled in an envelope. Chris wanted to wait to open it, and I couldn't stand to wait any longer.  So we opened up the envelope the two of us later that same night and it said...

It's a Bucky Badger Baby!!  

Thanks Hank the Tank for the sweet cozy lamb.

Ok maybe it didn't say that, but it is clear that this baby will love Bucky just like Mom and Dad.  Also this kiddo is going to love sports (Fantasy Football) too, we hope.  And Baby Valley may even like dolls and pink.  Yep that's right. Many of you didn't think it was possible, but it is.  Baby Valley is a

XX ~ Girl

For the record her mom and dad bought her flowers first not someone that will dump her someday.

I was convinced she was a he.  We are both happy and would have been just as happy if we were having a boy.  Once we learned we are having a daughter, I think that brought on a new set of worries. (mean girls, periods, birth control, me as a teenager, dating, etc)  The same thing but different worries would have hit us as well for a boy. Luckily, we don't have to worry about these things just yet.

Everything looked good on the ultrasound. We will hear more tomorrow after we meet with our doctor. (Fingers crossed for the ok to travel!!)  They tried to get a 3D photo of her face, but she wasn't cooperating with her position. They had to push on her a bunch and she just pushed back without changing her position.  It was also a struggle to get Baby Valley to uncross her legs to show her lady parts.  To me this already shows us that she will be as stubborn or more so than both Chris and I, and she is clearly a lady by crossing her legs. 

Here she is!

Baby Valley at 21 weeks - Hi Cute!

When I called my sister her she was over the moon, but her oldest son, Olin, was upset.  Her daughter, Aurelia, was so excited to have another girl in the family.

Showing off their Big Cousin t shirts

Other side notes:

- I'm sick of people telling me I look small.  I have a long torso and I'm tall. I workout 5 times a week still. What do you expect? 

- I now have the power to get crazy freakish hungry.  It is scary to see.  Sadly Chris has observed this twice already in one week, and is pro at handling me in this horrible state. (I'm sorry!)

- We had a great visit with the Valleys! Can't wait for them to come down and visit us again.

Here we are strolling down Canyon Road in Santa Fe.

Chris captured this beautiful adobe style shop with pretty flowers on Canyon Road . 

Checking in after 6 Months

I have been a bad blogger recently...sorry.  Life and work have been busy and exciting.  I'll try to do a little better of a job writing more regularly.

It is a little weird to think that we have already lived here for half of a year.  Where has the time gone? I would say we are pretty adjusted to life here now, which is why I was taken by surprise when I missed MPLS terribly on Monday.  I didn't have school so I was alone and had more time on my hands.  I admit that I cried a little.  Sadly, I didn't cry over family or friends...no that would make too much sense.  I cried over the scenery on my drive to work in MN.  A little weird? I could close my eyes and picture it.  I could see myself rounding the corner of our house when I left from the backdoor.  I could see those horrible icy stairs that I only fell down once on my way to the car.  I could picture Lake Calhoun after a fresh snow fall and on a sunny spring morning.  What really got to me were the stupid beautiful trees on Vine Hill Road that lead up to my old school.

Lake Calhoun - Mad at myself that I had to google this photo

The Stupid Beautiful Trees - Photo by S.Johnson an awesome parent of a former student

Can you tell I'm missing the snow?  I know it is crazy, but it feels like it is already spring here. Well, I guess not today.  We had about an inch of snow last night, which has allowed me to blog this morning during my 2 hour delay.  : ) (For the record - Number of years taught in MN - 5- number of snow days - 0- number of snow delays - 1. Number of years taught in NM -0.5- number of snow days -0- number of snow delays - 2. This made me laugh a little.)

Anyway, I have missed home enough to realize a pity party for one is no fun and not very productive.  So I decided to make a list of the things I enjoy about ABQ.

Awesome Things about Albuquerque:

1. The weather is pretty nice.  

2. The food!  I love green chili.

3. The mountains and hiking

4. Cost of living - things are so affordable here!

5. The sky and the clouds. It seems even more blue. A blue I have never seen up North.

6. The moon - a full moon over the Sandias is beautiful - Can the moon seem bigger since I'm higher up?

7. Life is a little more relaxed/less stressful here.  It is the land of manana.

8. The school day is about an hour shorter.

9. My school, coworkers, Amy - I'm pretty happy with my job.

10. The diversity, culture, and history that is present here.

11. The smell of rain is so strong here.  I love it!

I also decided to make a list of things that are currently driving me crazy about this lovely place.

Oh ABQ!:

1. Driving here/drivers - I have never prayed so regularly.Sadly I think I am starting to develop some of these bad driving habits.

2. I miss snow and rain - I know I live in a desert...we don't get these often.

3. Being far away from friends and family.

4. The school day is about an hour shorter. 

5. It can take what seems like forever to get something done. It is the land of manana.

6. Parking lots are more of a challenge with so many big trucks parking in the compact spots. 

This is what I can remember from my mental lists on Monday.  Luckily, there are more positive things than negative things. :)  I'm sure both lists will continue to grow.  

Lastly, I'm super excited for March because we are having visitors from MN come to visit! I can't wait to see their pretty faces and show them the Land of Enchantment!

Clearly MN men know to go to WI to find their beautiful bucky loving brides!

CV and Nicko have been friends since they were kiddos.

I have been friends with Sara since I moved to MN 6 years ago. We instantly bonded over bucky , cheese, and all things WI. She also got me hooked on couch 2 5k.

Best College roomie ever, Jessi!  We have been best buds since freshman year in College.

And her handsome man

If you are ever in the area, let us know.  We love visitors!

Here we go...

Starting a blog has been on mind since I knew we were going to leave Minneapolis. I didn't start it right away because it seemed overwhelming and scary. Over the holidays my sister gave me the encouragement to actually follow through on this idea. Next step was the mind-boggling task of naming the blog. Luckily, friends via facebook helped conquer that task. Then came the laboring over the layout and design.  I'm still not completely pleased, but it will do for now. Soon after, I realized I actually have to write a post - fudge knuckles!

For those of you that know me well, you can predict what happened next...a typically moment of  Jane panic:

What should I write about?  Will it be as lame as some of my facebook statuses, but longer? Will people read it?  Will they like it? Should I put a comma before that and? Where do I start - now or back when we first moved? Why am I doing this? What privacy setting should I have? Is there a word count requirement? I have to think of title? Did I use I too much? Don't curse! 

I think you get the picture. Worrying is a talent of mine. I'm having a few doubts right now seeing as it feels a little like torture to write. Hopefully it will get easier each time. The goal of this blog is to stay in touch with our friends and family, share our experiences, and keep me busy so I don't miss home.  Ok...deep breath...here we go! I started a blog.

- Jane