Wish me Luck!!

Today I have a doctor's appointment. It is my 28 week appointment (27 1/2 technically) and they are testing me for gestational diabetes. I am pretty darn sure that I am going to fail it. Not because I am down on myself and am thinking negative ... just trying to prepare myself for the worst. Part of my problem getting pregnant in the first place was my insulin levels ... coupled with that, my age, my weight, and my family's history of diabetes ... let's just say that there are a lot of red flags in the air.

I have prepared a whole list of non-carb foods for my menu today ... just in case I am borderline. I don't want my menu to throw me over the edge! Wish me luck!!!

Remodeling project x2

Awhile ago Joe and I were having a conversation with our sister in law. We were talking about her gold fish. She mentioned that a goldfish will grow to the size of the container that it is put in. (We laughed and joked that the fish would get wedged inside of the bowl ... that doesn't make sense!) I figure now that we are like goldfish -- our stuff grows to fit what it is put in. Joe and I fit totally fine in our one bedroom apartment in Ephraim. We were content in two bedrooms and now that we have "upgraded" to three ... we have filled the space nicely. I told Joe that when we eventually had kids -- we would have to move! There was just no space for them here. Well we are at the having kids stage and ... moving just isn't in the ... plan. SO we had to find a way to condense two rooms into one so that there was room for the baby. My stamp room -- formally upstairs -- got boxed up and reassembled as 1/2 of the computer room, (this was a huge accomplishment for me. The room downstairs is smaller AND I have to share it ... oh the sacrifices :) ).

When Joe and I bought our crib set, we settled on white. I don't think, however that the white crib will go well with the white panel board that is on the wall. For that reason, and a couple of others, we pulled the panel board out about a month ago. We didn't take a picture of before, but here it is now. the board was covering the light blue and what we can only assume was "help" given by the previous owner's four year old. We also decided that if we were going to update the room -- we might as well redo the base board. When Joe was demoing the base -- he found major mold in the corner of our room -- right next to the master bath. We didn't know the extend of the damage, so all we could figure to do was stop using that bathroom and see if it dried up. The next day, the floorboards were just fine and dry. We decided to demo that piece of the wall to see how much damage we were looking at. Joe pulled out the wall today and everything under the tub is soaked. All that we can figure is that the sealings in the bathtub were bad.

Joe started to demo the bathroom -- just to make sure that it was a bathroom problem, not a leaky shingle problem. We are about 99% sure that it is the bathroom. The damage of the bathroom indicates however that this problem started long before we got here. We just didn't have the motive/resources to fix it before now. Our plan of attack is to rebuild the baby's wall, and SOON after rebuild the bathroom. I am excited for the makeovers that my home will be getting in the near future (who wouldn't be excited to get rid of the pink bathroom ...) -- but I am amazed at how pulling off the white paneled walls turned into a major overhaul of our upstairs living space. At least we get to learn a lot along the way! ...

The Early Bird ...

I can't remember a time when it was easy for me to sleep on Christmas Eve. I generally toss and turn all night long -- waiting for Santa to come! There are stories of me sleeping in when I was young -- 4 or so -- but I think they are just myth. Apparently my mom would need to come and wake me up.

I was worried about this year, but we went to bed late and I was hopeful. I woke up once but refused to look at the clock. I fell back asleep and when I woke up again ... I was so proud of myself! I figured that it was 6 a.m. at the EARLIEST! I looked at the clock ready to pounce on Joe -- 2:45 (which really means it is 2:25). GRRR!!!

Finally at 4:30 I got up to go to the bathroom, grabbed a flashlight, and read a chapter in my book. We were up by 5. Maybe next year I'll be able to sleep in ... but I doubt it!

Belly Shots

After I told my Aunt Charri that I was pregnant she said that my mom got huge -- and wondered how big I would get.

I am a whale.

I feel like there could be three of them in there ... and can only imagine what I will look like in March. Heaven only knows what I will look like if I go late. Here are some pictures of my belly along the way:

October 12th belly. 16 weeks


October 31st belly. 18.5 weeks


November 9th (birthday) belly. 20 weeks


December 16th belly. 25 weeks

I was shocked at how much I have grown in the last five weeks. Co-workers have told me that I have "popped" in the last two weeks or so. I have been getting more and more comments from friends that "You look so cute!" or "It has been so fun watching you grow". When I tell them that I feel like a balloon they tell me to just wait. I don't know if I like those words of wisdom. :)

A friend, bless her heart, told me a couple of weeks ago that she was sorry I was pregnant. (She is the same one that asked Joe if he wanted a baby--referring to HER baby that was acting up. What she didn't know is that he had just left me to go to church alone. I was having an emotional "why me" breakdown at the time. She doesn't always think before she speaks ... but honestly who does?) She meant to say that she was sorry I had to be pregnant so that I could get a baby. She apparently does not have easy pregnancies. I have reflected on that comment several times and I have really enjoyed being pregnant ... for the most part. The only reason that I am excited for March is that I am more than excited to meet my little man. I haven't really been sick -- just when I blow my nose (weird!). I am starting to get more and more uncomfortable -- but then I feel an elbow or foot and it makes it all worth it. I will deal with my growing bump because I know what the end result will be.

I love my little man ... and I am more than happy he is almost here!!

Grandma Karen

I love my Grandma Fautin. She is my mom's mom. She has been a major part of my entire life. She and my grandpa would come over every Christmas and share it with us. We couldn't open our gifts until Grandpa and Grandma arrived. They always came over for our special birthday dinners -- where she would pull us aside and give us a ten dollar bill. She and my grandpa were my BIGGEST supporters in the extra curricular activities I was involved in. They didn't miss a choir performance. When I was young we would spend every Sunday night at their house for dinner. We would play basketball in their backyard. We always played horse; the order was youngest to oldest. When someone got out first -- they had to go and start doing the dishes, (when Rayma was "initiated" into the Fautin family -- she got out first and had to go do dishes!). I was one of two grandkids that she nicknamed and it actually stuck. She called me "shag" ... (I don't know that she realized what this meant!)

My grandma has always had major health issues. She got her first pair of hearing aides when she was in her mid-30's. Her vision was awful. She saw similar to a horse with blinders on.
She had poor balance and fell frequently. Her last fall was awful causing her entire face to bruise. She had major stomach problems and could eat only "liquids" for awhile. Through all of these problems she always was very light-hearted and ... spunky. Don't give her a hard time or she will give one right back. A couple of weeks ago I was at her house and her physical therapist came over. Through all of her exercise routines she was spouting jokes like nothing was wrong. She was in the hospital a couple of days ago and when the nurse walked in she said ... "so you are the spunky one I've been hearing about".

Last night at 6:00 she was able to rejoin my grandpa and mom who started their next journey in the spirit world a couple of years ago. She finally can walk well -- she can hear -- talk -- and see without any problems. I am so happy for her. We will miss my grandma OH SO MUCH!

We were talking about where she is and what is happening to her now and my 8 year old cousin said that she can't be in heaven now. We asked why and she pointed to her body and said that she couldn't be in heaven because she is right there. The bishop of their ward took the opportunity to explain a bit of what happens when we die. All I kept thinking was that we are so lucky to know what we do about death. It makes the transition so much easier.

Love you Grandma ... see you soon!
Jen, Joe, and Baby :)

7 days ...

Only 7 more days until my countdown is in the double digits! Whoop ~ Whoop! It has gone by so fast ... and I am excited to meet the man that keeps kicking me in the stomach.

The Biggest "Game Players" ... Loser

I have been hooked on The Biggest Loser for years! I enjoy watching the show and seeing people change their lives. I have been watching it since season 2 ... What a great opportunity these people have to change themselves. Most of the contestants are on the edge of losing their life because of their weight. Many, if not all, have emotional issues that run so deep. They get a new chance. Every season the chance to win $250,000 is a driving force -- but I am pretty sure that they are all there for the right reason ... to lose weight. Many that don't "win" ... recognize that they really do ... "win". The 13 players that get sent home throughout the show weigh in to win $100,000

This season there is a ... player ... that is there to win the game. I am not sure if she is even there for the right reason. She says that she is ... but she has been "playing the game" the entire time! Vicky aligned herself with Heba and Ed and has made it to the final four. She pretended that she was weak at the beginning so that people wouldn't see her as a threat ... and now she has a 1 in 3 chance of "winning".

Last night's weigh in ... disturbed me. How the weigh in works is that the bottom two people, the ones that lose the least percentage of weight for the week get "voted out". Heba and Ed are married. They ended up BOTH being below the yellow line. At first I was excited because I don't like either one of them. They are mean! One of them will be going home! One of them is out of the chance to win $250,000. Joe and I started talking and we firmly believe that they did it on purpose. If they were both in the same competition they could only win one sum of money. SO they wanted to spread themselves out so that they had a chance at winning BOTH sets of money. The reason I think that they pulled this is because ED gained 2 pounds last night. You don't gain 2 pounds on the last weigh in. The trainer even recognized MAJOR game play involved. Sneaky ...

The one contestant that has been there for the right reasons is Michelle. She is the lone member of Jillan's team and she is amazing! I hope she wins. She doesn't have as much to lose anymore ... so I am nervous. I am ROUTING for her!! GO MICHELLE!!! She is the only honorable contestant left in the game.

Tetris

Joe and I have been contemplating our "theme" for the baby's room. We were looking at different sets and were amazed at the prices! The ones that we really liked were close to $200 AND they were not all that original. We decided that we would take color inspiration from one of the quilts we saw and have a theme based on color instead of airplanes or sail boats. The colors we chose are: blue, green, orange and yellow.

We went to Joannes to purchase fabric that we liked. We found 6 different prints that we thought looked good together. Our plan is to make a quilt, bumpers, bed skirt, window coverings, diaper holder, and whatever else we feel like. At $0.99 a pattern ... we couldn't go wrong. We got home and started designing the quilt. We wanted it to be easy, (I mean look at our "to do" list ... ) but original. I started mapping it out. I was struggling a bit to make the pieces look right together. Joe asked if he could try. A little irritated I handed him the notebook. I mean ... I am the quilter ... the creative one ... my baby... my project ... (okay the more irritated I get the more irrational I get! ) Joe came up with this {brilliant} plan to make a tetris shaped quilt. We have six different colors and he placed each color with a different shape. I was still a bit bothered by the fact he stole my project that I wasn't very open to the idea. Together we made the quilt work ... and I am happy to say that it turned out perfect!! Joe and I finished the tetris part of the quilt last night and just need to put a couple of borders on it. Some good friends in my ward offered to help me quilt the top of it. I love it I love it I love it!! The pictures don't show the richness in color of the quilt. You will have to come and see it once it is all completed!

Just Curious

Joe and I have been debating names for a long long time now. The names that we really liked when we got married ... are not in the picture any longer. We had a girl's name picked out ... but we are assuming that our little man doesn't want to go by Cara. SO we have narrowed it down to two names (for now) Parker and Ryan.

Now understand that there is a 99% chance that your vote won't sway our decision ... I am just curious which one you think is cuter.

Ryan Boucher

or

Parker Boucher

Not a Soccer Player ...

I don't want to be the kind of parent that "pushes" our kids into things that we think are cool. That being said ... our boys will be Lacrosse players.

A couple of years ago I had a couple of students that played for the Bingham Lacrosse team. I had never been to a game before and didn't know what to expect. All I knew was that it involved sticks. I told these four gentlemen that I would attend their lacrosse match. Joe and I went to watch them game and it was THE coolest game I had ever watched. These boys were decked out in pads and playing hockey ... but on the soccer field. At that moment I leaned over to Joe and told him that our boys won't play football -- that they'll play Lacrosse! We went to a couple more games of theirs throughout the year and learned about it a bit better. It is a very fast paced game, (not like football) that keeps them running the entire time. I wish that it was more popular when I was in high school. (Girl's lacrosse isn't quite as physically "mean" as boy's. That's okay though ... )

I am not forcing my kids to like this game -- but I REALLY want them to!!

The Best Feeling ... Except!

It is not the first time that I have mentioned that I am a worry-er. The first time that I felt Darwin, (this is what I call my future baby ... until we pick a final name. Joe usually changes his name everytime. It ranges from Charles to Carl and Edwin or something random,) move I was overjoyed! If he is squirming around inside ... I know that all is well. I don't have to be paranoid any longer. This is the best feeling ever -- except ...

When it is 3:30 a.m. and you are trying to sleep. I woke up today quite early. Dozed a bit until 4 and then I was really awake. I tried to go back to sleep ... and every time I got close I got a nice swift kick in the stomach. Around 5:00 I decided to get up and I have been up ever since.

I am officially tired and ornery. SO SO SO ready for bed!! (This is NOT my belly by the way ... but look at the little foot!!!)

Just Like Mama Made 'Em

It is a family tradition to have a "birthday dinner". Joe and I went to my parents house on the 16th for dinner. I asked my dad to make his beef enchiladas and I offered to bring my mom's apple dumpling recipe.

You can not begin to image how excited I was. I probably have only had these a handful of times since my mom passed. This is not the kind of recipe that you mix the batter and dump. It is more closely related to the work it would take to make cinnamon rolls ... but without requiring the dough to raise. Joe and I bought (organic) Fuji apples from costco. While he was doing his home teaching I made the dish. It LOOKED perfect ... something didn't smell right ... but we didn't think much of it. After dinner and games we were ready for dessert. I was nervous because of the smell so I took a small bite before anyone else could ... and they were rotten. I had used old Crisco -- but didn't notice until AFTER they were done and it was too late. I was hoping this minor detail wouldn't matter -- but obviously it ruined the whole dish.

I have been eating the apples here and there all week ... and last night I decided to recreate my "masterpiece". I went to the store, bought NEW Crisco and set to work. They finished at about 9 -- I took a bite ... HEAVEN! So now I have this whole pan of my mom's apple dumplings waiting for me at home! YUMMY ... :)

I Could Never Be a Military Wife

With the economy Joe and I are very grateful that he has a good job! He is valued, appreciated, and respected. His boss told him that they should duplicate him so he can get more done ... they need him that much! That being said ...

Joe has been gone since last Tuesday. It is starting to hit me hard. This is (tied) with the longest we have ever been apart. LAST time it was this long ... I wasn't pregnant and hormonal. It is amazing how much that makes a difference. I am so so ready for him to come home! Just to have someone to talk to ... and do NOTHING with! He is a good guy ... and I miss him.

Last night I was over at Joe's brother's house having dinner. I thought about complaining ... and had to stop myself when I realized that his dear wife had to live "single" for over a year. How in the world did she do it? I can barely go a week without going nuts! Then I thought about a friend in my ward who got pregnant WEEKS before her husband left for military leave. I believe that he was able to be home for the birth and blessing ... I am not sure. I could NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER do it! Hats off to you ladies that have! You have my deepest respect.

For now ... I just want Joe home!!

Child Care

Oh Boy! I have two dilemmas ... Child care for this year ... and child care for next.

It is very very possible that I will need to come back after my paid 6 weeks of maternity care. I just can't imagine how we would survive 4 weeks of a "no pay" salary. Here's why ... pardon the math!

I earn approximately $200 a day. I get paid about $145 a day because they spread out the payments across 12 months, not 10. If I were to take 4 weeks without pay ... I would not lose 20*145 ... but 20*200. My pay check would be 2900 for those 4 weeks, but I would loose 4000 ... therefore not only will I sacrifice the 2900 (I am TOTALLY okay with that!) but then I would owe the district BACK 1100 PLUS the cost of insurance for the month, (about 2000 total I am figuring). I totally didn't think about this until a dear friend of mine got trapped in the middle of it. JEEZE!

SO now I need to find a child care service for the end of the year. IF you know anyone close to me or my work ... any suggestions will be appreciated! He will be only 6 weeks old ... and it will be for 4 weeks.

I have been debating for quite some time whether or not I will return to school next year. It is such a hard decision. I have been going back and forth for months now. My mom stayed home -- and I loved having her there! I want to be home. BUT looking at our finances -- I don't know if I can yet. I am sure that we would be fine ... but if Joe lost his job, we would be sunk ... and fast! We have very very very very little in savings. Very little. (close to zilch). I don't feel comfortable leaving my job without more financial security at home. Joe and I will work on paying off the majority of our debts, (we are SO close to being done). We only want to owe on our car, house, and student loan. Next year we want to live on Joe's income (to see if we can do it) and save mine. If we can do this, we will have a huge savings account. A lot closer than almost zilch.

I got on the waiting list today to take the little monster to the day care at bingham high. I am on a waiting list for August. It is very difficult to get into, so I would like a back up. Any suggestions? This is crazy.

Happy Birthday to ME

So yesterday was my birthday ... and I made a dang good cake to celebrate. I thought that I would share the recipe! (Just because there are apples DOES NOT mean that the cake is healthy!!)

German Apple Cake

3 eggs
1 c oil
2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large apples, pealed & sliced
3/4 c diced walnuts

Mix eggs and oil until fluffy. Add sugar flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Dough will be stiff. Fold in apples and walnuts. Bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes.

Icing:
1 pkg cream cheese
3 Tbsp soft butter
1.5 c powdered sugar

Mix and spread on cooled cake.


IT IS WAY WAY YUMMY! I usually peel my apples and then cut into wedges. (Remove the core) and then slice them into little pieces. Each piece will look like a rounded trapezoid.

ENJOY

Our Favorites

Okay -- now that I know that you all think our kids will be ScArY looking -- (only joking) ... and some of you are not afraid to tell us ... :) Here is what we think about the "potential boucher crew" from the previous post.

#1 -- is cute ... but with funky ears.
#2 -- um .... ....
#3 -- my favorite potential boy.
#4 -- definitely looks like the mail man's baby!!
#5 -- our favorite to look at! He has an "I'm almost going to cry " face on. We think he looks human enough ... but a bit older than infant age.

It was fun playing around with these faces! I hope you enjoyed them. With only 20 weeks left ... we will be able to see if the one we are "making" will look anything like the ones posted.

German Engineering ...

You know those commercials for the Volkswagen Rouge? The one that proclaims ... "Have a baby for love ... not for German Engineering." I hate those commercials. They completely annoy me! A lot! WELL I was looking on the pregnancy.org website and found a link to the Volkswagon Rouge site. They have a program that allows you to "make a baby without making the baby". We put in pictures of Joe and I ... and it popped up what our future boy could look like. Which one do you like best?

Baby #1

Baby #2

Baby #3

Baby #4

Baby #5

Heaven HELP us in the looks department!!! They may need it! I don't know if these guys look like either one of us! They do look like the mail man though .... oops!

The Last Stretch

Joe made me promise yesterday that I wouldn't say that Tuesdays are the worst way to spend 1/7th of your life. Yesterday wasn't too bad -- but I would like to say that:

The last week of the quarter is the worst
way to spend 1/9 of the school year

Remember college. FINALS WEEK!!! It is awful! You are trying to cram everything in so you can salvage your grade -- or keep it nice and high. You study for hours. No play time ... no friends ... just work. Okay so the last week of the quarter is very similar ... only worse for a teacher. I have 200 students who are trying to salvage their grades. They are cramming, working, pushing to the end. Consequently ... I am overloaded with work. I hate the last week of the quarter. I have late work coming out of my ears!! This is crazy!! I am sure that all of you middle/high school teachers get where I am coming from. I don't know how bad it is for the el-ed group. They don't have 200 kids ... but I don't have 8 subjects either. (I could never be an el-ed teacher!!!)

Okay ... so now you have all listened to me vent ... I feel much better!

Forcing Music

I hate hold music. Not a big fan of elevator music. I love you all ... but don't really enjoy being forced to listen to your songs as I read your blog. NOW before you get offended -- this is not a request for you to turn off your music! (I usually do that myself when popping over to your blog.) Please... understand -- I am the kind of person that has to have it silent in order to concentrate. If there is background songs on ... I have to read a passage several times before it makes sense. (I am a math person ... can do it in my sleep, (ug -- sometimes I do!!), but I can't read the same way). Now I feel obligated to say that I don't turn off your music because I don't like it. Only because I have "personal issues."

Ironically enough ... I vowed never to put music on my blog. Oh wait ... what is that you are listening to?

In July I posted something called: "I am a CookieMonster". It is still true to this day. My poor husband has to deal with the fact that a small (quite small) piece of my heart belongs to David. (I tell him that we understand each other ... I don't know if he believes me. I mean I CRIED when David did on Finale Night ... how much closer can we get ... really!!). I guess the main reason that I liked him so much on the show was because he was brave enough to do his own thing. I truly believe that he said "This is me ... take it or leave it." I also really like Blake Lewis for the same reason.

I always get excited for November time because the current Idols release their albums. Believe it or not ... I am quite excited for David's. I was looking on iTunes yesterday and found that the first song from his album is already available ... I couldn't help but get it!! Poor Joe was probably thinking: "Can't you wait 2 weeks to get the whole album so we don't have to pay for the song twice?!?" Nope. I am a cookie-monster and I admit it, and I can not wait two weeks. I hope you enjoy the song ... (and the eye candy I provided!!)

The "Monday" Philosophy

I had a college professor that had a plaque on his wall that said:

"Mondays are the worst way to spend 1/7 of your life"

I can totally see where he is coming from!!!

Do You Ever Have Those Days That ...

You just feel lucky to be you?

(You thought this was going to be a negative post!)

I am just sitting here in 3rd period listening to 16 young minds working hard on adding fractions ... and I started to get an overwhelming sense of "I am so blessed!" (I better be careful ... I might start to cry ... I do that a lot lately!!) Here are the things that I am particularly grateful for right now:

1. I have a great job ... and I work with great people! I don't know of another school that is as good as mine! We have the best kids in the state, the best parents, and with that ... the best test scores! It is so easy to work here ... I am spoiled! I was talking with someone and she has the head of two rival gangs in the same class ... talk about tension!!

2. I have a nice home. It has a lot of things that need to be done with it -- but at the end of the day it is mine! I am grateful to those who have lent their home to us in the past ... Mom & Dad Boucher, Grandma Fautin, and all of those great land lords out there ... but I love my home and my neighborhood.

3. Joe and I are "living good." It was hard waiting so long to add a member to our family ... but we have a lot of comforts now that we wouldn't have if we would have gotten pregnant right away. I would trade them all for my family ... but I am glad that I don't have to worry so much about what I have and need. I hope that I said that right without sounding too materialistic.

4. I have a great husband!!! I know that he is exactly the right person for me! We truly are best friends. He is my partner in every way. He is great! (And it was nice to see him last night! He only worked for 12 hours yesterday!!!)

5. Every day I go home and look at the cute pictures on my fridge. It is such a weird thought to think that I will be a mom soon. I will be a mom. I can't wait until I get to see what he looks like (I mean 9 months is REALLY a long time!!) I can't wait to see what kind of trouble he will get into and how we will deal with it, (maybe I shouldn't wish for that ... ). I can't wait to hear I love you. I don't even know how this change will alter my life ... but I am SO SO excited for it!

I feel so lucky to be me!!!

I DO Have a Husband!!

Joe is such a hard worker! I can prove it! Yesterday he left for work at 6 a.m. and arrived back at home at close to midnight. That is a 18 hour day! He (obviously) came home and went straight to bed. He woke up early again, got ready and left. It is currently 9:00 and I haven't seen him yet. I promise ... I have a husband ... even though I don't quite remember what he looks like :)

He has been working on a project and his customer arrived today. Apparently his project had a couple of "bugs" and he has been working hard to get it ready. There is a lot going on right now and he needs to finish this project so that he can start on the next one.

I hope it lets up soon ... so we can return to doing nothing together!!

How my Stamp Ladies found out ...

Here is the last "HOW THEY FOUND OUT" post. I wish that I was able to tell all of my friends in some cute way ... but we couldn't!

I hold a stamp club once a month at my house. There are 10 ladies in the club, and we share turns being the "hostess" for Stampin' Up! It is a great group ... and I wanted to make sure that they learned about the news in an exciting way. Our theme was dry embossing, and I made a cute little baby boy card. (I will post a picture as soon as I get my camera back from the Ephraim bowling alley). As I was cutting the last piece of ribbon I said: "Now don't put my name on it just yet ... I won't know if it's a boy or a girl for a couple more weeks." It was GREAT to see their faces light up as they realized what it was that I was telling them. Their eyes got a bit wider, they sat up a bit straighter, then smiled! It was great!

**Funny story: I was so nervous to give my big line ... that I cut my finger with the scissors as I was cutting the ribbon. OOPS!

Baby Boucher

Joe and I had a great weekend bed and breakfast hopping. It was nice to just be us. We went shopping on Saturday afternoon in Park City. There were so many baby shops! We went in to peak at the cute mini clothes ... but didn't really feel like we could splurge since we didn't know the gender. We finished off a good weekend today with our doctor's appointment.

I am a worry-er ... especially since this isn't our first pregnancy. I truly think that 4 weeks between appointments is way too long. I haven't felt anything yet -- so I was getting nervous that something was wrong. I got to the office and they were running behind. We sat down on the bed ... and they "slimmed" me up. She asked if we wanted to know the gender ... and I said YES!! She put the "thing" on my belly and we saw the head! The baby kept opening and closing "it's" mouth and leaning it's head back. The baby was very very active! She took measurements of it's head, belly, and femer to calculate a due date. She got to the gender shot and paused it. She asked again if we wanted to know -- but even if we didn't I could TOTALLY tell! Every bit of his "manhood" was displayed right on the screen. She told us it was a boy and then took a couple more shots. I KNEW it was a boy! I don't know why ... I just knew it. I am going to have a son ... which is totally weird to me ... but we are SO SO excited! She said that everything looks great, but she wants to get another ultrasound in 6 weeks to check the heart chambers better and to check the spine again. Nothing was wrong -- we were just a bit early ... and it was hard to see what she needed to. She was able to calculate a due date -- and now we are due on March 29th, (instead of April 5th).

After I cleaned of the goop we went to see Dr. Merrill. I really really like my doctor and his office. I took all of the vitals and sat down in the patient's room. He checked the heart beat -- and everything was perfect. It was a pretty quick visit. I had more blood work done, (I mean you can't go in without getting poked once or twice! The heart beat was 153 beats per minute. It is such a crazy sound -- I love it!!

After dinner, (Red Robin), we went to Babies R Us and picked out a crib and changing table. It is off-white. It is crazy cute and should be in about my birthday. My favorite part about it is that the posts are triangular shape instead of cylindrical or square. We paid half now and will finish it off when we pick it up.

Yeah for happy news!!! :) :) :)

How the Boucher Kids Found Out

Okay so Joe has started asking when I was going to post the next story! Here's the story ... pictures might come later.

Joe and I started to think about how our kids will fit in with all of the cousins. Our first will be grand-baby #12. 12 ... a dozen. We decided that we would make a little package to send to all of the siblings. We got enough easter eggs and egg cartons to send to everyone. On the eggs we printed the birth date of each grandchild. If you opened the egg up you see a picture of each child as a baby, (or young child). On the last egg the "birth date" said April 5th, 2009 (ish). Inside there was a script telling everyone that a new "egg" will be "hatched" in our home soon.

We didn't want it to be obvious that the package was from us. We put Jake and Cody AND/OR Andy and Becky as the return address. We figured that when they read the last egg they would understand it was from us. That was not the case. Each sibling had a different story about their "why did it come from Jake?" story ... but Jake's is my favorite.

Their return address was labeled Andy and Becky. They opened it -- looked at one egg -- and figured it was some random FHE project and put it aside. We were planning on going out on a double date with them ... and I am showing a bit. I wanted to make sure they knew ... before they saw me. Joe called and talked to Jake ... this was their conversation, (or something close):

Joe: Did you get a random package from A&B?
Jake: Yeah ... what's that all about?
Joe: I don't know ... weird!
Jake: What are we supposed to do with it?
Joe: I opened mine.
Jake: Me too.
Joe: No, I opened the eggs.
Jake: ALL of them?

(Joe and I are laughing now ... almost uncontrollably)

Joe: YEAH!
Jake: I only opened one.
Joe: Open all of them.
Jake: we will before dinner.
Joe: See ya

(More laughing)

We decided that they were playing dumb ... there's no way that he didn't check all of the eggs. We got to the restaurant before they did and waited. When they came in Cody gave me a big hug and Jake proclaimed: "You're having a baby!" Oh my! (took him long enough ... haha!!)

This Weekend

Yes, yes I have more "how they found out" stories ... but they are coming to a close ... and I want to keep you guys coming back :) SO today I am taking a break from the stories and sharing about my future week.

Any teacher will tell you that EVERY day we have off for a vacation is well needed! I actually think that they give us a summer break so that teachers don't "get rid of the teenage population". Literally ... how can you handle 200-14 year olds ALL year long?

This weekend is Fall Recess (formally known as UEA) and this is when Joe and I ~were~ going to go to Elsinore to "spread the news" ... **Think about it -- you all would not know my secrets yet had we waited! Be grateful :) We planned a nice weekend -- but since the trip to Elsinore has already been made ... we decided to make it a great adventure!

We are going to go to Manti on Thursday night ... stay at this cute bed and breakfast across from the temple, (you can see the picture at the right ... it is the beige building) do a session the next day and visit our favorite spots in Ephraim/Manti. (You know Fat Jacks ... Don's Gallery ... ) Our story started in Ephraim ... so we really enjoy returning and paying tribute to such a great little town!

We will then travel to Midway on Friday and stay at ANOTHER bed and breakfast. Each one is a bit expensive ... but we figured that we needed to end our "couple only" years with a nice bang! Really ... this will be our last couple vacation that can be made without very careful planning! We will go shopping on Saturday down in Park City and enjoy the day. We might go on a little hike and just have a good time together.

We have been waiting a long time for a family ... and I have always thought about my "issues" as a trial. I was talking to my sweet dad a couple of months ago ... and he told me that one day I will look back and think: "Man I had a great 8 years alone with my husband!" He told me that is what he thought with my mom ... they had similar issues getting pregnant, (it only took them three though). He is so wise! It totally changed my focus! Joe and I are great friends -- and get along so well together! It has been a great 8 years to be us ... and I don't know if I can honestly say I would change them. They have been great! We are very excited however to be "the three of us" soon.

On Monday we both have to go back to work, but will be able to get off early because that is when my first ultrasound is! (I hope that I get more). When I went in for my first appointment he told me that I was measuring a week or two big ... so it is possible we are further along than we thought. I believe this is just a due date calculating ultrasound ... but it is possible that we can tell the gender on MONDAY! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. We are 15 1/2 weeks now ... CRAZY! Okay this picture looks a bit alien like still -- but I think that it's cute! Look at the fingers! He looks like he is just thinking away ... This is at about 13 weeks ... so we are bigger than him. We are close to 4.5 inches now! WIERD!

If I can survive Tuesday and Wednesday ... this is going to be a GREAT week!!! And I was excited to share :)

A Trip to Elsinore

Joe and I were browsing online a couple of months ago at silly pregnancy t-shirts. We saw two that we really like -- one that said FINALLY with an arrow pointing towards the belly, (I still want that one ... ) and one that said "Nobody Knows I'm Pregnant". We thought that this saying would be quite humorous if I stuffed a pillow down my shirt and walked into the in-law's home like nothing was different. We looked at the size charts and ordered what seemed appropriate.

I got the t-shirt a couple of weeks later ... and it fit ... skin tight. UG! There was no way that I was wearing this one -- maybe next pregnancy I'll start of smaller and it will fit ... who knows! ANYWAY -- we didn't want to pay another small fortune to get the shirt again so we decided to make it. My sweet Joe made the t-shirt while I corrected tests and updated my grades. He did it perfectly.

We told the parentals that we wanted to go and help them bottle tomatoes. I have bottled tomatoes with my grandma since I was just a baby, and really enjoy it (when I'm not the one in charge.)

We got down to Elsinore pretty late. They met us in the front yard. My heart was pounding! I was so nervous! They showed us inside and we walked down to the room we were staying in. We were staying in the room that was the furthest down the hallway, and Ann, my mother in law, was walking behind me the entire time. Nothing. I even tried to make opportunities for her to see my shirt. Joe and I eyed each other a bit as we walked back into the kitchen to enjoy some long awaited chocolate zucchini cake. We walk all the way back down the hallway, almost into the kitchen ... and we hear a giggle. "Really" she asked. (Yeah ... I would never joke about this one!) We then stayed up (WAY) past my bed time talking about her 12th grand-baby and how excited we are to bring "it" into our lives!

I am pretty excited to wear the shirt while I am huge! I think that it will be quite funny :)

How My Parentals Found Out ...

Because of a previous loss, Joe and I were very reserved to tell anyone our news until we were sure that it was going to stick. It was so difficult to go around people that we loved and not sport a big poster declaring "you're going to be a grandpa ..." or whatever. We weren't going to tell anyone ... anyone ... until conference weekend. At that point we would be about 14 weeks and feeling pretty safe. BUT after holding the secret for 7 weeks ... I had to tell someone. My parents live very close to us, so naturally it was easiest to tell them first.

We planned to meet my parents at the Olive Garden at 5:30 one Saturday night. They thought we were going to have a nice double date -- and go play afterwards. Joe and I got there early to make arrangements with the waiter. We gave him gift cards to cover the meal and a note to put inside of the ticket once the dinner had been served. We asked him to bring it out just shortly after we received our meal. My parents got there and we ordered and chatted for a bit.

Our dinner came and we started to eat. Jakob, our waiter, brought out the ticket and set it in front of my dad. He eyed it for a little bit but just continued eating. I wanted to make sure that he saw the ticket far enough before we left for them to freak out and get all excited. He wasn't checking the ticket though. I couldn't think of any way to get him to look, so I asked "aren't you going to look at it?" He opened the ticket, smiled and handed it to Rayma. It was fun to watch her read the ticket ... and see the lightbulb "click". She smiled from ear to ear and started clapping her hands. It was very fun to watch their reaction.

SO ... what did the ticket say? "Thanks anyway Gramps and Gram ... but this one is on me! Love Baby Boucher. P.S. Please do my mom and dad a favor and not tell anyone about me for a couple more weeks." or something like that. We even found a really cute "kid" font online that we could use.

Last time we told them we were pregnant we went over to my parents house one night for dinner, and Raym was not there. She called to apologize for being late and then said she finally found someone she loves shopping for other than her :) She came home with several baby outfits. IT WAS SO CUTE! SO at dinner that night, my dad looked at her and said "you can start buying stuff again!" She smiled and said "BABY SHOWER!"

I love my parents very very much and I know that they will make fantastic grandparents! I am excited to watch them with my little baby soon!

Hey Dad or Raym -- if you still have that ticket will you take a photo of it and email it to me? I will post it here. I was silly not to take one myself! What was I thinking?

How "I" Found Out

When I went to see my new doctor, he put Joe and I on a "trying to get pregnant" schedule. We were to take pills on certain days, take our temp every morning, etc. In July we didn't follow any of the rules. We thought -- ah the doc told us it would take three months or so to get my hormone levels functioning well enough to begin to really "try". Needless to say -- we figured we would just try again next month. I have to take progesterone to get my period to come, (a lovely side effect of PCOS).

I have "missed" a lot of periods in my life -- but never one I was expecting to come. I took the progesterone and waited three days ... nothing. Day four ... nothing. At that point I knew I was pregnant -- but didn't dare hope ... because I have not been pregnant for a long time.

Day one of testing:
I took a test on Wednesday morning -- 4 a.m. (I was excited to get a YES). It said NO. Totally not expected. Joe looked at it when he woke up, gave me a kiss and told me he was sorry. When I woke back up ... I saw the positive line ... barely! But can you trust it after an hour? I don't know.

Day two of testing:
I got excited again to take a test. At 2 a.m. I woke up and was determined that I couldn't go back to bed without visiting the bathroom. I took the test and it said NO again. WHAT? When we woke up in the morning it looked just like it did yesterday ... faint YES line -- DARK test line. What does this mean?

Day three of testing:
Joe made me promise not to test today ... I need my sleep! I woke up at about 6ish with him ... and then he told me I could test if I wanted to! I did -- stared at it for the full five minutes ... the test line came up. Four minutes in I saw a FAINT FAINT positive line. BUT sometimes if you squint the right way -- you can see a positive line, so I didn't know if my brain was seeing it ... or if it was really there. I called the nurse and she said to wait a week.

I waited a couple of days and figured ... forget this! I am buying a digital one!

I got the digital test and took it ... beep ... beep ... beep ... (these are all silent)

POSITIVE!

I'm having a baby!! haha. The picture on the previous post is how Joe found out.

Here's the Story

I have decided that I will post a "How they found out" once a day. It will showcase how several important people in my life found out we are expecting. (My computer takes the reflection picture ... so you have to read pregnant backwards.)

First of all ... here are the important dates "to remember:"

Joe and I have been married for 7.3333333 years + 1 day. We never "prevented."
We lost a little one in October of 2006 at 9 weeks (about)
I changed OBs in May of 2008 and was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
Joe and I found out on about July 25th (ish).
We are due April 5th (ish.)

This baby is highly anticipated ... and will be well loved!

What's on Your T-Shirt?

My Sweety

For our wedding we were given a vacuum. It was a nice one that lasted us more than seven years and we are very grateful for it. The problem is that four years ago we started adding to our family -- DOGS! We have been amazed at how often we need to vacuum our carpets and how quickly the bag fills up. Literally we can vacuum once or twice and it is overflowing again. Because of this we are spending a lot of money on vacuum bags OR we are emptying the bags ourselves to conserve the paper.

After vacuuming last Friday, (I had the day off!), I decided that it was time to upgrade. We went to Costco and purchased a new Bissell Healthy BAGLESS Vacuum. We spent $200 on it -- but found it for around $250ish online. I had Joe put it together and vacuum the SAME room I vacuumed the day before. He had to empty the container before he even finished the room! I was quite disgusted ... but very grateful that I now have a vacuum that can successfully battle my dog's hair!

Last night I was vegging watching "The Biggest Loser" and I heard him start to vacuum the living room. He literally vacuumed for 1.5 hours straight! He pulled the couch cushions off and got all of the dirt out, took care of the stairs, and straightened the room! I couldn't believe it! He is so good to me! I guess now I should go invest in a super special vacuum and duster ... ...

Dinner Cravings

When I got home from school today I started watching Ellen. They had a Dr. on the show that was talking about diets ... and what is healthy. He said that the average American eats 32 pounds of cheese a year. This is not a good thing he said. He told a story of his mother needing to drop her cholesterol and so she threw out all of her cheese and meat. Within 6 weeks her cholesterol level dropped 70 points. I should have found this motivating and such but all I could think about is ... cheese. "That sounds good! Cheese ... cheesy potatoes -- yum -- funeral potatoes ... what would be good with funeral potatoes? ... ham! and corn!" I immediately went to Harmon's, bought the necessary ingredients for my dinner, and came home to make it. This is a very similar meal we eat on Christmas Night -- only on Christmas Night we have homemade rolls and jello.

Joe came home to a yummy smelling home with a nice meal on the "table" (We generally eat on the couch ... a habit that needs to be broken). I don't play "June Cleaver" very often -- but it was fun tonight!

The Value of a Dollar

I feel like I always need to be eating lately ... by fourth period I am famished! I was sitting with my class and complaining that I didn't get to go to lunch for more than a half hour ...

After I dismissed my class a cute boy came up and asked me if I wanted him to lend me a dollar so that I could go and get a snack to hold me over until lunch. I was speechless! That offer of his dollar was worth more to me than ... obviously ... the dollar itself! I politely refused -- but I was so grateful that he would be willing to give to help me out!!

The New Me

I have been known to "over-do" the pony-tail. When my hair gets long enough ... I put it in a pony practically every day! It takes so long to dry ... and then never quite looks good done when it's long ... I figure why bother! Since Parent Teacher Conference (blah) is coming up tomorrow -- I decided to pamper myself! I went and got a hair cut and highlighted it enough so that it looks like a nice sun-kissed glow. I think I like it!

Same Old Same Old ....

When I first started blogging, I would check my website multiple times a day to see if any of my dear friends have updated their blog. I would get excited to learn about all the happenings in my friend's life, (I still do!) ... and get aggravated when blogs weren't updated. "It's been a week ... and nothing new!"

Now that I have my life back and it is between the months of September and June ... I find myself falling in the same -- non-posting rut. SO for those of you that check out my blog and there has been nothing to report for several weeks -- I am sorry! My day to day life consists of:

1. waking up at the latest moment possible
2. jump into the shower
3. do the "getting ready" stuff including feed dogs, put hair in pony tail, eat breakfast, etc.
4. go to work and try to convince 200 people that M.A.T.H. I.S. the Most Awesome Thing Here In School. (it's an acronym ... cute!)
5. come home and decide what's for dinner ... usually cafe rio or something close to that.
6. watch a favorite television show ... play teacher and grade papers, or something else.
7. go to bed
8. start over.

It seems like a boring schedule ... and I don't have much to share. As soon as something exciting comes my way ... I will be sure to post it. I apologize for the lack of Boucher Update ... This is the life of a teacher I guess :)

A Heated Situation

What an interesting day it has turned out to be! At the beginning of sixth period the head secretary came on the announcements and told us that several people have complained about the smell of smoke and was afraid there was a fire. She told us that this was just the workers on the roof and we have nothing to worry about. I didn't smell anything in my room so I didn't worry about it much. Just as I was finishing my lesson, (about 1:40ish,) the VP came told us that we were evacuating the building. He said that he didn't know how long we would be out there but to plan on moving forward with the discussions we were having in class, (Yeah Right ... ). I told my kids to bring their stuff and we headed outside. As we walked outside we heard all of the fire trucks approaching our school. After making sure that my class was all out safely, I gathered my class in a circle, told them their assignment for the night and suggested that they start working on it. Many of them did and I could answer their questions while sitting out on the lawn. We ended up out there until about five minutes before school was to dismiss for the day, (2:45). I am not entirely sure what happened, but as you were walking out of the main doors on the west side of the school you could smell fire. I don't know if flames actually existed ... but it was kind of scary. Just the thought of losing our school to a fire ... I can't imagine. LUCKILY everything is okay and we will return to school tomorrow.

When I talked to Joe later that night he asked how my day went and what could I say? ... by the way dear ... there was a fire at our school today! CrAzY!!

Parents (obviously) Know Best

I will start on the positive -- school is going great! I have fantastic .... let me repeat ... FANTASTIC classes!! There are a couple (2) 7th graders in my 3rd period that are tough -- but other than that ... my life is a dream! Okay ... now with the post.

Yesterday in my geometry class we had to give a placement test to make sure that the students know Algebra proficiently enough to move on. Geometry is a whole different language and there isn't much time for an Algebra Review. Since the State recently changed the high school graduation requirements to say that all students need 3 years of math ... these kids don't have time to fail -- or repeat a class. You might be thinking ... you teach middle school ... you don't have to worry about high school graduation. WELL we try really hard to place our students correctly so that when they get into the ninth grade they will be on a successful course that will prevent them from failing or needing to repeat a course.

Now I have never been a parent, and I certainly don't know how it feels to think that my child is the smartest in the whole school. The problem in the community that I teach in is that if a neighbor has a 7th grader in Algebra ... they need to be in Algebra too! (like can we keep up with the Jones'?) Sometimes it is necessary for an 8th grader to repeat algebra in the ninth grade so that they are more successful in the future. This repeat is alright because technically the 8th grade ... "doesn't count". BUT when this recommendation is made ... parents know best and just push their kids on. Who cares if the kid struggles and struggles in Geometry ... they didn't like it either right? What the parent's didn't think of is that if the kid struggles in Algebra ... what is going to happen when they get to Algebra 2? It will be worse ... and now they have no where to go since there is a credit issue. Again ... I don't know what it is like to be a parent ... but I do know math AND I know how teenager's brain's develop. I have seen it time and time again when the kid was pushed up into the higher class against teacher recommendation and the students just sink. It is too bad ...

I have 15 out of 100 Geometry students that shouldn't be there. Hopefully I can scare them into repeating Algebra today ... because that is really what needs to happen for them.

Thanks for listening to my venting ... and if I ever become an "all knowing parent" humble me please!