39 weeks {big, happy, and scrambling to get things done}

1 week left (give or take a few days).

I still can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone!  We're suddenly a week away from having a baby and I have no idea where the past 39 weeks went!  Whoever says that the last few of weeks go by slow, that definitely hasn't happened for us!  They seem to be speeding by even faster.  Whew!  Hopefully we slow down a little bit to just enjoy ourselves for the next week or so.

We finally crossed off the last few things on our baby "To Do" checklist!  The carseat is installed (thanks to T!), last of the baby essentials bought, the final nursery decorations are up on the wall, freezer meals are made, and the hospital bag stuff just needs to get put IN the bag...

A few quick calls still need to be made to the insurance concerning odds and ends we're not sure of, but other than that, we're good to go!  Or so we think...

Baby Girl is crammed inside this belly of mine and is packing on the pounds.  My legs are starting to retain some water and I've got a little chunkiness going on in my face.  Nothing too terrible (especially compared to many of the other pregnant women out there!).  I'm just hoping that delivery will go just as smoothly.

Still no labor signs as of late besides a few Braxton Hicks here and there.  Our doctor has been out of town for the past week, but is back from her vacation, so we can heave a huge sigh of relief that she'll be there (knock on wood?) for Baby Girl's delivery!

{ready to lose some water weight!}

My last day of work is Friday.  I have mixed emotions about it.  It's certainly best for my students-they deserve to enjoy their last 2 weeks with a sub doing fun activities rather than having a big bloated teacher waddling around doing Field Day with them!

I'll certainly miss teaching, it's something I'm good at and passionate about, but I think the Lord has been preparing me for accepting motherhood a little more by making it so I don't enjoy going to school as much.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching, but I'm exhausted at the end of every day.  This week I've put in long hours attempting to get all of my standards reports, grades, end-of-year gifts/treats, class placements, and testing done.  And don't forget the teacher-evaluation-observation-I-was-kinda-sorta-hoping-my-principal-would-forget-about-until-it-was-too-late.  No such luck.  

Blech.

My students are darling this year and I'm going to miss them dearly!  They're like my own kids- I'm with them more than they're with their own mothers for goodness sake!  It will be hard to say goodbye on Friday.

Beginning at 3:30pm on Friday, Baby Girl can do whatever she wants and send me into labor. T thinks she'll come a couple of days early.  I think she'll either be on time or late.  She just doesn't seem to be in any major hurry to be on her way out yet.  Even with me being on my feet all day and walking up a storm, she seems pretty content to be where she is.

T is loving work and has been a great help with last minute preparations for Baby Girl's arrival.  I couldn't have done any of this without him.  He's a gem of a husband (and soon to be father!).  

We meet our DAUGHTER in the near future!  Hopefully we'll figure the whole parenting thing out and attempt to raise this kiddo to the best of our ability.

We love you, Baby Girl!  

All pregnancy post update ideas via Rachel at herthreadedneedle.blogspot.com

sometimes even your favorite food can't make you feel better.

This week's been a tough one.

Even my leftover mac and cheese didn't hit the spot at lunch today.

Call it pregnancy hormones, but the tears just keep on-a-comin'.  But God makes us so we're able to withstand the storms and do hard things.  Even if we're tossed around a bit in the process.  

Tomorrow will be better.

a treasure.

My latest gem from a student. 

Apparently I should give birth to a bright pink monster with one eye and no nose.

If only I could be so lucky.

mrs. kussee portraits and "hoggie" buns.

Have I told you lately that I love my job?  I mean, I REALLY love my job.  I have 26 adorable eight-year-olds that love me and respond to what I do and say.  They say the funniest things, they do the funniest things, and they are the most adorable kids on the planet.

No joke.

I could eat these kiddos of mine up.  To tell you the truth, right now I feel more like their mom than I do Baby Girl's mom.  Sometimes I lament to Tyler how I wish Baby Girl could come out and be 7 years old from the very start.  He points out that that will obviously not happen.

I do adore their portraits they draw of me.  At least once a week, one of them writes about me and what I'm wearing that day in their journals.  I tend to love it and smile every time.

On a random note, it's our turn to cook Sunday dinner for the fam this Sunday.  We decided French Dip Sandwiches sounded the best and easiest for a 12-person meal.  Fresh Hoagie Buns are our favorite, so we have to pick them up on Saturday.  I asked T to write me a reminder note and stick it on my laptop so I'd remember.

I love how he spelled, "Hoagie."

Usually, he's a decent speller.  Apparently most people don't have to spell "hoagie" in their everyday usage.  Nonetheless, this cute little sticky-note makes my day every time I look down at it when I'm at work.  Mostly because it reminds me of T and how he looks when he smiles and laughs.  I kinda sorta love him.  A lot.

My husband rocks.  

culinary masterpieces, school updates, a passed test, and a lot of love.

Sometimes life can be overwhelming.

Sometimes getting ready for a baby can be overwhelming.

Sometimes my teaching career and T's job can be overwhelming.

Sometimes our church callings and responsibilities can be overwhelming.

This past weekend we found that we need to really try to take some time out for each other and focus on our marriage sometimes.  Because sometimes, we let the overwhelming parts of our lives completely take over every other moment of our lives.

We're definitely a work in progress.  No, our lives are not perfect.  Nor would I want them to be.  This weekend I've finally realized I'm kind of a crummy communicator when it comes to my marriage relationship.  Now Tyler, he's pretty amazing at communicating.  Me?  Sometimes I bottle things up and let them explode once they all add up.  

I'll tell ya now, that's not exactly the correct way to communicate ones feelings.

I'm workin' on it.  And T is being patient.  As always.  I married a good one.

On another note, this school year is whizzing by!  It's almost mid-March already and my students are ready for their Quarter 3 testing already!  Say what?!  I feel like we just finished Quarter 2!

Some activities as of late have been related to geometry and shapes...  

Some of their ingenius ideas crack me up... Like the monsters with side ponytails or bright orange hair?  Yeah, these kiddos of mine are hilarious.

Speaking of school, I passed my teaching relicensure Praxis 2 exam!  Otherwise known as the test from hell that put a good strain on our marriage and my career for a good month or so. 

I overstressed way too much for this dang test.  My poor husband put up with many weekends of stress, studying, and meltdowns.

However, it DID pay off.  Take a look at these scores...

Why yes, the highest score you can get is 200.  And why yes, I did get 190 on it.  I somehow aced it.  I seriously thought I'd be borderline passing it.  What a relief that it's over and I don't have to retake it.  I'm quite proud that I passed and that all my hard work paid off.  That's for sure.  It's always a good feeling to do something hard and be successful.  I just need to work on be happier throughout the journey to success... at least my teaching license is updated and ready to go for the next 5 years!  

T and I have also been cookin' up a storm lately!  We tried some crispy cheddar chicken on a bed of string beans (that's me attempting to bust out some chef vocabulary) the other day and it had some seriously good flavor.

And then T spoiled me for breakfast last week and made homemade crepes.  I mean, really?!  A man who can make a good crepe is hard to come by.  We filled those babies up with toppings like strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, peanut butter, syrup, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and even a banana or two.  

I think I know what I'm requesting for my birthday breakfast...

And because no blog post is any good without a picture of one or the both of us, here's what usually happens when we attempt nice pictures...

I love T's crinkly eyes in this picture.  Because even though he looks decent and smiley, you can tell he's holding back a laugh that would have him doubled over and cracking up.  It's times like these ones that I want more of and I need to make the effort to make T laugh just as much as he makes me laugh.

FYI: The day we were married T promised he'd make me laugh every single day of our marriage.  Guess what?  He hasn't failed yet.

We also just bought our first piece of baby furniture.  We finally found the perfect dresser to use for a changing table on KSL and it's adorable.  We'll paint it this weekend along with a handful of other projects to prep for Baby Girl.  This is suddenly becoming more real...

symmetry with my face.

My favorite math lessons are math lessons that involve art.  Today, we did some major art skills mixed with our symmetry lesson.  Even I didn't want to miss out on it, so I did my portrait alongside my kiddos.

Not too shabby, right?

For a 2nd grade teacher, at least.

Bytheway, last night = not a good night.  Can anyone say t-i-r-e-d?  Good thing it's school spirit week and we go to the Scera theater to watch a movie for a good portion of the day.  Don't tell my kiddos, but I'm sneaking in fruit snacks to eat.  Hey, a girl's gotta eat.

And I eat all the time.

P.s. T and I started reading the Hobbit last night again (I never made it through the first time we attempted it).  Maybe this time I'll enjoy it more now that I understand a little bit of what's going on.  Usually I hate seeing movies before reading the book, but in this case, it might just help.   

a golden apple.

 I've been harboring a secret for a little over a month now.  

The lovely Laurie who is in the PTA and over the Golden Apple Award told me back in January that I'd been nominated for the Golden Apple Award by my students, their parents, the community, and the PTA.  

After she told me in the principal's office and I was sworn to secrecy, I walked down to my classroom and cried.  It's something that I didn't expect and certainly did not think was possible being a new teacher.  Sometimes it's nice to be recognized for your hard work.  Especially when you're doing something you love.

I can't think of a more amazing award to receive than from the people that I admire and love in the community of Rock Canyon Elementary.

They announced the lucky recipient [me!] today at our Spirit Week Assembly that was held in the Scera Theater.  My kids have been crossing their fingers, toes, and everything else all week to make sure I won.  I told them that there was no way that the PTA would give the award to a teacher who hasn't even finished her 2nd year teaching [*wink wink*].

[Although I was completely ecstatic when I walked down the aisle, I was completely embarrassed too.  I'm so glad this picture doesn't show how red I was.]

My bunch of 32 students were responsibly crazy (is that even possible) when Laurie called my name as the Golden Apple Award recipient today.  I think they were more excited than I was (which is hard!). 

[Laurie and myself... with the principal's shadow on the side.  Laurie is a wonderful lady and has become a good friend.  I adore her and her children.]

Laurie shared a sweet story with the school about a day last year that I visited her son (who was in my class) who had his tonsils removed and missed school for a couple of weeks.  I didn't realize she remembered the day I dropped by their house to give him some simple letters from our class and stop and chat with him to see how he was doing. 

It was a tender moment for me.

Tyler, my parents, and my grandma came to experience the moment with me (and the rest of the 645 students at Rock Canyon). 

My mom cried.  No worries though, she cries whenever her kids do something she's proud of.

Just when I thought my cheeks couldn't get any brighter, the principal then said I'd give a prepared 15-minute speech.  

Yeah, right.  I was off that stage pretty quick after that!

The PTA was incredibly generous in their gifts (Laurie even called Tyler to see what color of roses I'd like!).  They definitely made this little teacher feel completely and utterly grateful.

 [Beautiful orange flowers!]

Along with flowers and a framed award, they gave me a gift card to a certain wonderful bookstore that I adore and a couple of coupons to Marley's Gourmet Sliders restaurant (Tyler can't wait to use them!).

[from the best PTA in the world]

Honestly?!  My cup overfloweth with love and gratitude for the wonderful people in my life.  I really couldn't ask for more than what I have right now.

consider the blessings

Just so you know, my students think of me even at church.

A parent at Rock Canyon sent this little goodie to me today via email.

Apparently a primary in their church building did a lesson on blessings and left up their blessing conglomeration on the wall.  The aforementioned parent noticed that my name was on one of the stickies and snapped a picture of it.

It's always nice to be known as a blessing rather than a curse.

I hope my future children feel the same way...

Hanging On

The past 3 weeks have been rough 'n tough.
Why, you ask?

I'm becoming a teacher.
And the road is not easy.
People need to try being a teacher for a day and realize they should give half their salary to their child's teacher because of all of the work they do.

Seriously.

Sometimes I wish I would have picked a major that would have let me study, take tests, and then when I got my degree, all I would have to do is show up to work and apply those things.

But no.

I chose a profession that takes hours of planning time for 7 hours of teaching every day. Math, Science, Language Arts, Social Studies, and the whole shebang of other odds and ends must get planned on a daily basis.
And guess what? Once you have one day planned and think you can breathe a little, you go onto the next day and the next and onto the next months planning if you have to.

There's no end.

But then you receive a note from one of your little 5 graders that says,

Dear Mrs. Kusay,
I hope you have had a tramendas week this week. Here's an apple I drew for you.

Luv, H.

And that my friends is a very good reason for why I'm becoming a teacher.

Because we all know it's not for the pay.

P.s. Happy Birthday Tacie!