PRIGGITY PRIZZOM 2K10

Yesterday I spent about 17 hours at the Wendell Community Center working on prom stuff. That included decoration construction, setup, food arranging, and the prom itself. You should have seen my feet afterward! I could barely walk! But it ended up really being worth it, because I think Rebekah and I put on a great event for our students and everyone appreciated it. I had a lot of students come up and thank me and tell me how much they liked it, and even little things (like seeing our prom king wear his crown and lei ALL NIGHT, and watching kids take photos in front of the arch that nearly killed us to construct) made me feel very rewarded.

No one really ate the food, so I don't think they're planning to provide any next year. And I know that there's no way Rebekah will do this again--especially after the whole paperwork fiasco that we went through for what ended up being no REAL reason, except that we had a nearly-comprehensive guest list that I only had to add about 3 people to (one of whom I had just left off). But for our first prom as coordinators, it was awesome. The lighting and decor were lovely, and I managed to get rid of some of the old decorations from my wedding that I had no idea how to use in the future! We used the centerpieces from the wedding, which are small mirror plates with candleholders and seashells on and around them. It brought back some crazy memories putting those things together. I donated them to the school so that I don't have to deal with them, because they can definitely be reused for Winterfest or anything where we need some nice-ish decor. The colors are adaptable.

One girl did try to get in with a counterfeit ticket which was the wrong color. That was weird. The best part was, her date took her home and came back himself for the rest of the evening! (I mean, hey, he wasn't going to miss his senior prom.) Julie, one of the science teachers, went around with the plastic leis we had bought and started just putting them on people. I think more than half of the people left with them, and surprisingly, I didn't find but one or two on the floor or tables, and didn't see any in the trash can. I know it isn't much, but prom favors are fun to have, and I think it added a little more festivity to the evening.

We also had raffle tickets that we used for the coat check room, but we ran out of space for jackets, so a lot of it was shoes and purses. Rebekah and Ben manned that room all evening, and I think they enjoyed being insulated from the noise and dancing and craziness that was the main room. I went back and forth between the ticket table, the coat check, the photo room, and the refreshment table, and I took a few candid photos. Our candid photographer was the same person doing the keychains, and everyone gets those, so I don't think she got out a whole lot; but she did get photos of the king and queen, and a few others, and I got photos of the breakdancing guys that took over the floor around 11:30, so we're probably covered.

It stormed pretty much all night, which would have been a downer but kept kids under the canopy rather than wandering the park, and helped us keep tabs on everyone. And we got a fountain for the night, which is quite nice and could be a permanent fixture on campus if we want to pretty up some area of the school--it should probably go outside though; maybe Green Club can install it in some kind of landscaping project, I don't know. But I feel like this was a big success, and with this out of the way and yearbooks still selling fast, at least some aspects of my job are ending on a high note. Maybe I'm not the greatest classroom teacher ever, but I rock at extracurriculars. And I think the school will miss that.

Cats For Gold

1. The baby is still a boy. As Brandon noted, baby Calvin is in the 80-95th percentile of growth in everything except his arms, which are at 57%; this means that he has "little T-rex arms." They'll catch up, but I'm hoping that his accelerated development means an earlier end to this pregnancy, which still SUCKS.

2. Seven more teaching days of school. I'm finding it really hard to keep on caring knowing how close I am to the end (and with prom and yearbook distribution coming up this week). I'm exhausted and just ready to be done.

3. My baby shower at home was awesome, and I got to see lots of my family and some of Brandon's too. I'm about set on stuff: I still need a stroller, car seat, first aid kit, and breast pump, which is awkward even to write. I also need a changing pad, which I forgot about. But mostly I'm set. We could have this baby tomorrow and have enough stuff to take care of him for at least the first week (as long as we don't go anywhere and he doesn't get injured).

4. I have no idea why I'm numbering these points; there's no reason for this to be a list. The items aren't even related. Let's stop that then, shall we?

I guess things are going pretty well. We're still waiting to hear back about Brandon's job prospects, which is frustrating and driving me up the wall. He's worried too but better at hiding it. Summer is closing in fast, which means two months of lying around doing nothing because I can't travel or anything. Brandon gets to go visit Lisa in DC when she's back in the country and I am a bit jealous. (Not of Lisa, but of the fact that he gets to see her and I don't. Just making that clear.) It's going to be nice not to try to balance work and pregnancy, and after the baby comes...well, I guess we'll see where we stand as far as jobs and housing go. I need to remember that there are still over two months until I have this kid, and that's plenty of time to find something. For Brandon, anyway--I still want to take some time off. I just hope I have that luxury.

IN CONCLUSION: http://www.catsforgold.com/

Love, Love, Love

I keep hearing this song on the radio and, for some reason, it never strikes me as a love song as much as it does something about having a baby. Somehow I don't think that this is what Michael Buble intended when he wrote the song, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Please feel free to dismiss it as the crazy ramblings of a pregnant lady.

I'm not surprised, not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times, I stopped keeping track
Talk myself in, I talk myself out
I get all worked up, then I let myself down

I tried so very hard not to lose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought, I thought of every possibility

And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

I might have to wait, I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing, and the other half's luck
Wherever you are, whenever it's right
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life

And I know that we can be so amazing
And, baby, your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility

And somehow I know that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

They say all's fair
In love and war
But I won't need to fight it
We'll get it right and we'll be united

And I know that we can be so amazing
And being in your life is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility

And someday I know it'll all turn out
And I'll work to work it out
Promise you, kid, I'll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get

Oh, you know it'll all turn out
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get
Yeah, I just haven't met you yet

Baby Stuff: Baby Weight x 200

First of all, I'm going to take the opportunity to publicly thank my friends who came to my baby shower today. I had an awesome time and am so unbelievably grateful for all the stuff, excited to use it on the baby, and lucky to have supportive wonderful friends.

Today was the first of three baby showers (seriously, I don't think that's justified, but my friends and family are kind of scattered around, so...yeah). We played Jeopardy and The Price is Right, ate a ton of delicious snack food, and had what I considered a pretty good time. I'm always apprehensive about showers, because it feels like an occasion for a person to say "Hey! Come to my party and bring me presents!" That's why I don't like birthday parties either, and why I stopped having them in middle school, or at least trying to combine them with New Year's so people wouldn't feel like they had to bring me presents. That might be weird, but it's how I feel. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and my friends are amazing. It's terrifying to think that in a few months I'm going to have a baby WHO IS GOING TO NEED ALL OF THIS STUFF. Because there is a lot of it.

Brandon just told me I should write a book about being pregnant: "Like that one book you read, only it's your book and you get the money!"

In medical news, I had my glucola test on Wednesday, and I am proud to announce that I passed. I do not have gestational diabetes. Also, I don't need to be too worried about my blood pressure--it's at a managed level--and as long as I'm driving, moving after the baby arrives is cool. You can't fly with an infant under eight weeks old because of vaccination issues, and really you shouldn't take them anywhere with lots of people and their potential diseases, but driving is A-OK. I'm getting tired of waiting to hear about Brandon's job and I think it's going to get to a point where I stop thinking about it because doing so is too stressful, and right around the time I start to forget about it we'll hear something. That tends to happen to me. Still, it would be nice to know if I need to start assembling a nursery here or putting things in boxes to move.