dear baby

ok, baby. i'm ready now. i know you're not supposed to come for another two weeks--according to those crazy docs. don't listen to them. come NOW. for real. we're ready to meet you. and i'm ready to see the lower half of my body again. so, listen to your momma and get on outta there!

gettin' ready!

The baby showers have come to an end. I had some great ones! Starting with one in Branson with lots of older ladies, then one here with lots of great friends and fam, and finally one at school with all the teachers. We got some great stuff....now to the stores to buy the rest! I'm very excited. I'm getting a little anxious to set up the 'room'. Poor little guy has to stay in the downstairs living room until he gets his own room when we move in August. He'll be fine. But I'm just ready to be organized finally!

Here are a few fun pics mi mama took...

2 years and counting!

Happy 2nd anniversary to us! Yes, we were married on St. Patty's Day. Please don't remind me. We had a great time, though. Mike took off 1/2 a day, we took my car to the shop, saw Mall Cop (not bad...but totally not PG ...too bad for all the kids in the theater with us), splurged and got some snacks at the theater (thanks to the gift card! since nachos + large drink (must've been at least 80 oz.) + small bag of sour patch kids = $15.25. WHOA. that's why we don't buy snacks at the theater), then went to Chaz restaurant on the Plaza. Not bad..but it's hard to top where we went last year. (A mansion in Dallas. fantastic atmosphere) I ate duck. Delish. Then we walked around the plaza and got some cheesecake. It was a blast!

Sort of hard to believe that will be the last 'easy' anniversary for the next 20+ years...meaning we didn't have to find a sitter to escape. But, I'm getting more and more ready for that reality. :)

who do we believe??

Well, I'm getting bigger by the minute..or so it feels. This is 28 weeks and the countdown has definitely begun. I love feeling the little guy roll around in there, but I'm more ready to meet him! I'll probably want to stick him back inside when I endure the first few weeks of sleepless nights....

We're learning more and more at our Bradley classes. During last week's class, Mike leaned over and said, "we should have a home birth." Ok, so that probably won't happen...but we're just learning a LOT about the medical system that is really messed up. Let me know if you want more details...I could go on for a while. We're not turning completely granola--we realize God can and does use medicine for a lot of good things. Unfortunately, the system in the US has been corrupted and doesn't know how to turn back; they're way too obsessed with earning the extra dollar. Sad. I'll give you a stat to think about...

The US has all of these 'great' interventions for lowering the infant mortality rate (drugs, c-sections, running lots of tests, etc.)........but...we're still one of the HIGHEST amongst all industrialized countries. Just makes ya think...

On the Last Leg...

We started our Bradley classes! (natural-birthing classes) The first was mainly an introduction, but full of great information. However, when I REALLY think about being in labor..it's a little scary. I really don't know how I'm going to handle the pain. Hopefully I can find my zone and stay there so I don't feel much--we'll see.

We also met our (3rd) new doc! She's alright--nothing impressive from the first visit, but she'll do. I don't think I could stand searching for another doc. She 'said' she's on board for a natural birth, but I have a feeling she's trained to say that--"whatever you want; you're th patient." Right, until we get in there, it's taking a long time--past your shift--and you want to go home, so you order a c-section. I know how they work. (And yes, they really do that. Crazy stat: highest peak of c-sections are at 4pm and 10pm....when the docs want to go home. Um hm. Scandal.) Anyway, we got a great gift bag from them...lots of interesting books, magazines, a travel bag, a can of formula! Pretty sweet.

We got a surprise baby shower the other night at small group. So great..those girls rock. They made a great dinner, made a huge diaper cake, and lots of great presents--what to expect the first year book, great family frame, clothes, and a shopping cart cover. Love it all! Our downstairs living room is slowly being taken over by baby Felder stuff...and we're just beginning.

Onto non-baby news..at school we have our culture day extravaganza quickly approaching. 10 days. It's been a TON of work--since last summer--but it's finally all coming together. It will be a school-wide event (that's 600+ students and 80+ staff) with 20 countries represented. The students will be in small groups and will rotate through 6 different stations....including such things as Egyptian belly dancers, Indian henna, Japanese tea ceremony, authentic Italian food, etc. I just hope these mostly uncultured students will be respectful....but they are high school students, so there's no telling what will happen. Perhaps I'll threaten to belly bump them if the act up. :)

Update

Well, since the last post--we went to our new doc. She was alright. Nothing special. She's a family doc, which means she's always super busy and it's hard to find an appt. that's convenient for us. I'm still open to finding someone else--although I better hurry! I guess if nothing else works out, Mike can always deliver at home. :) HA!

My belly is getting heavier--and YES, I know I have such a long way to go. But I'm ready for a personal carrier now. But, I'm thankful to be healthy thus far and still moving. I still seem to amaze my students when I jog down the hallway or squat-sit in class. Mostly, they think I'm crazy..but that's been their opinion since day 1. I just remind them that I could be boring like some of their other teachers--then they have some appreciation for my crazy antics.

I found a sweet store last night thanks to my sis in law--Children's Orchard. Check to see if there's one near you--it's nationwide. They buy and sell kids clothes. But they're very particular about the condition of the clothes--no stains, tears, parts missing, excessive fading, etc. Anyway, last night they had a special to stuff as many clothes as possible into a small gift bag, and you get it for $5. We arrived an hour and a half early and were first in line. (These moms are serious!!) But it was worth it. I got 25 items for $10. Not bad. Can't wait to find more deals there!

Today is supposed to be spring-like. Can't wait. I'm going to find lots of things to do outdoors.

Hodge Podge

It's a new year! Yeah, I'm a little late--but it's my first post this year. Lots of things happening....

After our fun ultrasound, we went to our last appointment with our doc. Yep, she moved. Awesome. So we were on the 'hunt' (which includes looking at a list, determining which are females, and choosing at random) for a new doc. We found one. We have an appt. with her this Friday. The #1 question was if she was ok with natural birthing. (aka she won't push me and push me and push me to get an epidural as I'm pushing and pushing and pushing) I hope we mesh! I really don't want to keep 'hunting'...

We registered for lots of fun things. That was overwhelming. Babies R Us and Target in one shabang. Babies R Us was far more flabbergasting (could've just made that up). An entire store dedicated to babies? Please. I think I was most shocked at the amount of OPTIONS within each category. Really, people? Let's narrow this down. But, lots of moms helped me out by letting me know the must-haves and the have-nots. Definitely helpful.

I've been feeling lots of things going on inside my body. From random pains to the moving and shifting of muscles and organs to random puke episodes, it's been a wild 2 weeks. But I just attribute everything to the little guy. I'll keep assuming it's all normal until I'm told otherwise...I guess. And, I can feel him kicking and punching, too! Pretty fun. Mike tries to feel as well...he says he can't tell the difference between the pulse in his hand and the kick. Ha. It feels WAY bigger to me...I guess that's a good thing.

Well, off to grade some papers before hitting the grind of school tomorrow. Gotta love being a teacher...love the breaks, hate all the extra work involved.