We're Having a Girl

We had our ultrasound yesterday and "it" has now been labeled "her."  Actually, I kept calling her a "him" before we knew, mostly because I think that's just the default when you don't know what to call something.  Rob and I are both excited, but now that its sinking in, I'm also getting a little scared/nervous.  I mean, I remember being a teenage girl...It is a little scary knowing that I will be responsible for one of those.  But I am completely excited about all the fun shopping I get to do now!  The kids in my class are super excited for me too.  They spent most of the day today trying to come up with a name for my baby.  Here are the student's top choices:

Haley Jr.

Princess

Naming the child after them

I think I'll keep looking for other names :)  We have a few names in mind, but haven't settled on anything yet.  Here is some that I have been thinking of, but like I said, it could all change.

Reagan

Raelynn...possibly a little too southern sounding

Consuela Raspberry (j/k  this is the name I always wanted to name my child when I was little :)

Allison (Allie)...Rob's not really on board with this one, though

Rosemary...I like old fashioned names, but this may be too old...I like it though

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!  I just don't want something that is too popular. 

And on a side note, Rob and I probably shouldn't watch the news anymore.  It leads to too much yelling at the TV, grumbling about the government, and puts thoughts into my head about moving to other countries just to avoid the bad becoming worse.  How have we let our government take so many liberties in changing their roles?  Now I am no constitution expert, but I'm pretty sure that the founding fathers did not intend for our government to bail out banks and control car companies!  And then they encourage Americans to go out and buy new cars (which no one can afford because we are in an economic crisis!) by backing warranties and giving tax breaks (which really isn't enough to make a brand new car affordable, not that I want them to give more, I don't think they should get involved at all).  Didn't we get into this mess partly because banks were encouraging Americans to buy things they couldn't afford?  Since when was buying something you can't afford a good financial decision???  Plus, who wants to buy crappy American-made cars anyway?  Then you have the union workers who work these assembly lines and whatnot and they are getting paid more than I do for doing a way easier job.  (Yeah, I know its a little hypocritical of me to complain about that since the NEA fights for my salary, but I am proud to say that I am NOT a member of the NEA!  I don't believe in it).  For those of you who are still reading at this point, thanks for letting me get on my little soap box and vent. 

Oh, and one last note on the pregnancy.  I have now developed a new symptom that I HATE....leg cramps!!!  I've only had them twice now, but both times I have woken up to the most excruciating pain and had to use a great deal of self-restraint not to wake the neighborhood with my screams.  I had one this morning, and it is now 10:30 at night and my leg is still tight and uncomfortable.  Anyone else experience this or know a good remedy?

Half-Way Update

Well, I am officially 1/2 way through my pregnancy.  I am 20 weeks and starting to show!  Luckily, it's been a pretty easy pregnancy so far, my biggest complaint being these dang headaches!  Although I feel like I am getting huge, I know other people don't notice it as much as I do.  So Rob took some pictures of the little baby bump this weekend with his new studio equipment, and here are some of the photos.  I had to touch them up myself, since Rob had to head back to work, so they may actually be nicer once he can fix them up the right way!  I am very uncomfortable being Rob's model, but I think we got a few good shots out of the 400 he took!  We find out the sex of the baby on the 31st of this month, and I can't wait!  I'll keep you all updated as the big day gets closer.

This last picture is me practicing holding a baby.  Gob does not like me practicing on him!  Hopefully the baby won't be as squirmy as Gob!

Apparently, Rob's Salmon Do Swim Upstream

That's right!  We're preggers!  After 6 years of wonderful wedded bliss, we decided to give good old birth control a break and try our hands at procreation.  I'd say that so far, we're not bad at it.  I managed to make it through my first trimester puke-free (which has been a huge relief as I had pictured horrible scenes in my mind of losing my breakfast/lunch while at school teaching).  I am due right in the heat of the summer, July 31st, but it will be nice not having the pressures and stresses of teaching school weighing on me in my last 2 months of pregnancy.  Rob is especially excited, as he just had his 30th birthday this weekend and is starting to feel the effects of old age....ha ha, not really.  Rob could pass for 21. 

While we've already filled our families in on the news, I'm announcing our pregnancy via blog to see who really reads this.  (Don't worry, I don't have very high expectations based on my "comments" history).  And don't think I'm a loser if no one comments....they probably just all called me on the phone... :)  

Year End Update

So here is this year's form letter that I was too late to send out, but decided to write it here for those who are interested.  2008 has been a busy year for us and we have been able to have many new experiences along the way.

Rob finished up his second year of med school last spring and spent two months studying non-stop for the infamous step 1 of the National Boards.  This was probably the biggest test of his life and thankfully, he did great and it is over and done with.  Having Rob studying for 14-16 hours a day for 2 straight months was not fun for either of us.  After the boards, Rob started his 3rd year, which involves rotating through different specialties in the hospital.  He spent July and August doing his surgery rotation, going in at 4:30 am and usually getting home around 7 pm.  It was another long two months.  Luckily, he got to do radiology next, which he loved, both for the laid back schedule and the interest he found in this specialty of medicine.  So far, radiology is his top choice for what he wants to go into, but that could easily change over the next few months as he goes through other rotations.  After radiology he spent time doing neurology, cardiology, and internal medicine.  His schedule changes practically weekly, so we've learned to just go with the flow and plan to not know his schedule.  To read more about Rob's experiences, go to www.medschooljourney.blogspot.com In all of his free time (ha ha) Rob was able to build us a screened in porch, grow a fantastic vegetable garden, and work on his photography. 

I have been busy at school, finishing up my second year of teaching 4th grade and starting another year in the fall.  No matter how many hours I spend working on school stuff, I have accepted the fact that there will always be more to do.  I have also kept myself busy participating in the MCG Medical Student Auxiliary (a club for the spouses of medical students).  I became the president of the club this fall and have kept myself very busy planning volunteer work, fundraisers and social events.  Luckily, I have a great group of girls that I work with that always step up and get things done.  I have enjoyed being a part of this club for the past couple years because it is a great source of support and friendship as we are all in similar circumstances with our husbands in med school.  In my free time this year I have taken up the hobby of card making and continue to put together digital scrapbooks and videos.

Even in our busy schedules, we have made time for a lot of travel again this year.  We have taken countless trips to Charleston, when we need to get away for a weekend.  We have also been back to Atlanta on many occasions this year.  I was able to head out to Utah twice this year as both of my grandmothers passed away within a month of each other.  While it was a sad time, I am grateful that they are finally at peace and that I got to be with my family more than usual.  After Rob finished the boards, we headed down to Mexico for a cross-country trip from Mexico City to Puerto Vallarta.  We went with some friends from school and took buses across the countryside, stopping in Guanajuato, Guadalajara, and Puerto Vallarta.  To read Rob's blogs about this trip go to www.egberttravels.blogspot.com  After Mexico, we headed out to NC to visit Rob's family at John and Ashley's house.  It was so fun to see everyone and spend even more time at the beach!  Our last trip of the year was a last minute trip we took last week to the Bahamas for our 6th anniversary.  We have been in Atlanta for Christmas this year and neither of us are looking forward to going back to work next week.

We hope everyone had a great year and wish you all the best in 2009.  

What is the World Coming To?

So I was talking with a couple of the fourth grade girls I teach (9 and 10 years old), and they were giggling about the boys they like in the fifth grade.  One of the girls got embarrassed when the other girls said she liked a certain boy and her response was "I don't like him!  I just want him to be my baby daddy!"  Yes folks, my 9-year-old student aspires to be knocked up by a guy she doesn't even like.  What is the world coming to?

Just an Update

As I find myself reading everyone else's blogs, I got a little ashamed that I hadn't updated mine in so long. I couldn't think of anything really great to blog about, so I thought I'd just give an update of what's going on in our lives.

I'm still busy as ever at school. We're getting ready for parent/teacher conferences. I hate these with a passion. I guess I'm just not that comfortable telling parents that their perfect little angels aren't so perfect after all. Well at least one of my trouble makers won't cause me any problems for a few days considering he just got 3 days of suspension. Yup, that's what you get when you cuss out the principal!

Church and MSA are also keeping me busy these days. Between the young women sleep over at my house on Friday and the movie night I'm hosting Thursday, then the huge church activity I'm involved in planning for Novemeber, plus a Halloween party for the little kids, I'm starting to lose it! Then don't forget the MSA directory I'm trying to put together along with sending out invites for upcoming events plus organizing the Halloween activity with the dental wives and some other stuff I'm sure I've forgotten to do, I've been a little overwhelmed the past few days. I just have to remind myself to take a breath every once in a while. Things should calm down after Nov. 8, but until then, just beware I might be a bit scatter-brained!

Rob is just about to finish up his neurology rotation. He's been back into study mode the past few days for his test this Friday. He's not too excited about his medicine rotation next week. It is supposedly pretty long hours again. Too bad he can't do radiology again. He had the best hours and he loved what he was doing. Right now, radiology looks like his top choice, which I cannot complain about. Great money, great hours, and great vacation! What's not to love?

I can't wait for election day. But not because of the election--because I get school off that day! I just get more and more frustrated about the election every day because I really don't like either of the candidates at all. The only good thing about this election is watching the Sarah Palin skits on SNL. Now that is some seriously funny stuff.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little update into my life. I promise next time I won't be lazy and I'll post some pictures. But for now, this post will have to do.

Not Bored Anymore

Well school is back in full swing now, and I can officially say I am definitely not bored anymore.  Its been a crazy first two weeks as I adjust back to the routine.  My class this year seems pretty good...but they always act nice the first few weeks.  We'll see how long it lasts.

So I gave the kids a geography pre-test last week, just to see what they already knew and apparently, they knew close to nothing.  Over half of my class could not label the United States on a map.  I'm giving the final test on Friday and if anyone gets that wrong then I think I will cry!  And the funny part about all this is that all of the fourth grade teachers at our school had to decide to teach basic geography as an add-on to our curriculum because its not even required!  Now I know South Carolina is not tops in the nation in education (or even anywhere close for that matter...we're 42nd), but in my opinion, a 4th grader should be required to find the country they live in on a map!  However, they are required to learn all the history of their country from cavemen all the way to the civil war in one year.  And knowing the history of your country is great, as long as you know where your country is to begin with!  So all of the 4th grade teachers at my school have taken 2 weeks out of our completely filled S.S. curriculum to go back to the basics.  So I figured while I was teaching the basics in S.S. I would go back to the basic addition and subtraction facts in math.  It wasn't much better.  Almost all of the kids still use their fingers to add and subtract!  I'm sorry, but when I was in fourth grade, you just had to know these things.  You would have been laughed at terribly if you started counting 5 + 6 on your fingers!  But that's what I have to work with, so I guess I'll just start from the beginning.  Thankfully though, I have a class full of good readers.  At least they learned something in the previous grades!