5 lbs of baby in my belly!

I had a growth ultrasound today and Clara weighed in at 2 lbs. 5 ounces and Anna weighed in at 2 lbs. 6 oz. Wowza!!

Overall, the appointment was quite long but went very well. My cervix is dilated to a 1 and is measuring shorter than it was previously but the fetal fibronectin test came back negative meaning that there is a less than 5% chance that I will deliver within the next two weeks. Dr. F consulted with the peri and they decided to keep me on my current restrictions of resting as much as possible (with the knowledge that I have a toddler and we are moving), pushing fluids, and taking the procardia every 6 hours.

The appointment was long because I had the fetal fibronectin test, a cervix check, a growth ultrasound (for twins), the 1 hour glucose tolerance test, bloodwork, and a shot of RhoGam. Not to mention all of the normal appointment ongoings such as weight (currently at a 26 lb. gain), blood pressure, etc. Dr. F decided not to put me on the monitor today. We both feel pretty certain that I am contracting but since it is not progressing and the fetal fibronectin came back negative I think she felt reassured that I'll be okay until my appointment next week.

Both of the babies look great and are growing right on target. Woohoo! They are both definitely girls. Clara (Twin A) is on the right side and presenting. Anna (Twin B) is on the left side. Both babies are head down. Let's hope they stay that way!!

On the way home, I received a phone call from the nurse. My iron is low so I will be starting iron supplements and I failed my glucose test. I'll be taking the three hour test at my next appointment. :(

A big thanks to my mom for watching Bo (she can lift him again until Monday when she has her other eye done), my MIL for coming down to stay for a few days and driving me to the appointment, and Mike Spieth for coming by and mowing our yard this evening. Everyone's help to keep us going through all of this is greatly appreciated!!

Tia Sharon

I know some of you probably won't believe this -- but there are actually large chunks of my life that I haven't shared online or on the blog. One of the many aspects of my life that I haven't talked about a great deal is my "ex-step-family". Suffice it to say, this isn't the post to discuss how they became that to me, but I will say that they were an important part of my life for many reasons.

Arguably the most influential person in my "ex-step-family" was my Tia Sharon. She passed away on Monday after a battle with lung cancer.

My mom was married to Sharon's brother for a little over three years (from the time I was 9 until I was about 12 1/2). During that time period, we lived in Texas for a little over a year and for a short period of time lived with Sharon and during the entire time we lived no more than three blocks from her.

Sharon and I clicked. There was something about Sharon that just made sense to me. I loved her academic lifestyle and her no nonsense attitude. She was not one to sugar-coat the truth and her passions ran deep. She was always full of spunk and never afraid to say what she really thought -- even to a 10 year old. I think the picture of her above and her well-written obituary say more about her personality than I could ever put into words.

I grew up a lot during those years and I can see several of my personality quirks that are a direct result of time spent with Sharon. (I know I drove her a bit batty with my early Saturday morning wake-up calls and cookie stealing.) I have so many fond memories of her and I know that in at least a few small ways her spirit will live on through me and through my children.

This fall, we made the long drive to Oklahoma to visit with Sharon and her mom. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to capture any good pictures of Sharon with Bo -- but here she is, playing blocks on the floor with Bo in October.

Sharon was an amazing woman, daughter, teacher, and aunt. She will be deeply missed.

Wordless Wednesday: Part Deux: 18 Month Studio Portraits

Yes, I'm cheating - two Wordless Wednesdays this week! But I wanted to give you the website and password to view Bo's 18 month pictures. :) There are several cute ones and I'm going to have a very difficult time deciding what to order. Even though we are moving, he'll always be my little Tigers fan. :)

To see the rest of Bo's pictures head over to www.spiethphotography.com and click online previews. Session ID is Bo0609

Enjoy and let me know which pictures you like best! :)

Wordless Wednesday: Fair Fun

On Friday evening, Bo and I met Mandy and her sisters at the local county fair. I couldn't let this year's fair pass without enjoying a corn dog, a 4-H orange shake-up, and allowing Bo his first experience on the ever popular carnival rides. Mandy was very helpful and lifted Bo on and off the rides (thanks again!) and her sisters were great to ride with him. Bo loved the little cars and his grin made the outing worthwhile. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday visit 5 Minutes for Mom and Momdot.com.

Tasty Tuesday: Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

Several people have written me recently saying that they miss my weekly recipe posts. The fact is, I haven't exactly been a gourmet chef lately. Most of our meals have consisted of scavenging through the pantry and freezer to try to use up food before our move. Besides the fact that I am suppose to be "resting," I also don't have much motivation to cook full meals when it is just Bo and myself eating. Bo doesn't care if I make a 5 course meal.

Yesterday evening, I was starving and suddenly struck with inspiration. I dug through the pantry and tried to put together a meal that seemed edible and actually managed to create a recipe I really enjoyed. This random hodge-podge of ingredients were just items that needed to be used and ended up tasting great together. I served this pasta with broccoli (I have four bags of frozen broccoli to use in the next two weeks -- if you have any recipes for frozen broccoli, send them my way! Apparently I thought Wal-Mart was going to quit carrying the stuff!) and fresh fruit.

Canadian Bacon and Parm Rotini

1 box Barilla Plus Rotini (lots of protein for growing twin girls!)

15-20 slices Canadian bacon, finely chopped

1 cup finely shredded, good quality, Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. olive oil

3 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Boil pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, chop Canadian bacon and fry until slightly crisp. Drain pasta, toss with olive oil. Add Italian seasoning, cheese, and Canadian bacon. Stir and serve!

And Bo ran away with the spoon...

Farm Town

Sometimes, one just needs to do something that has absolutely no real purpose...

After listening to Mandy talk about Farm Town for several months, I finally started my own farm. Why? I have no idea. It isn't like I don't have about a million other things to do. I'll blame it on procrastination. Of course, I'd rather do something pointless than actually grade the papers that mean I receive a paycheck. :) Definitely one of the downsides of working from home -- there can be a lot of distractions!

There is no doubt that there is an enormous amount of the three C's in my life right now (change, chaos, and conflict) and I am the type of person who finds it difficult to escape from the constant pressure to fix and control situations that are outside of my control. Farm Town is the perfect distraction to turn my brain off completely and stop over analyzing every twinge, where we will put our furniture in the new house, and how everything will play out with my mom (along with countless other things...).

The game, overall, is totally pointless. But, sometimes, I just need something pointless. Something with no purpose. No real dollar figure attached. No true brain power. And Farm Town is the easy answer to this issue -- allowing me to turn my brain off in a way that I am typically not capable of achieving.

Add all of this to the fact that I am also suppose to be resting as much as possible, and during our lazy Saturday night in the basement, I managed to convince Mike to start his own farm. Unfortunately, he's much better at games like this than I am and quickly surpassed me in the rankings. I think we might have a battle on our hands!

Do you play Farm Town? If so, add me as a friend on Facebook and we'll hook up! If not, what is your pointless indulgence? What do you do to escape from the realities of the world? I think I am going to need some other ideas soon -- I'm not sure how long this one will actually work!

Ask Jamie: Students and the Blog

Cassandra asks this question as a follow-up to my Ask Jamie post on children's privacy. This question was also asked by a real life friend recently.

Do you ever worry about your students finding your blog?

I worried about my students finding the blog more when I worked at the local high school but even then I would not say that it was a major concern. I've always been pretty open with my students and most of my students did know that I was dealing with infertility -- my lack of children always managed to come up in class and I was vague but open about what I was going through.

Honestly, I don't think many of my students would take the time to Google me. They have more important people to stalk! :) On the old blog, I discussed a few aspects of my job that I probably should not have mentioned in a public forum, but I do not feel that I ever crossed the line with regard to my students.

This blog has numerous posts about my yearbook girls -- including pictures of them. Several of my former students do stop by and read the blog (these are the students that I now consider friends and I am friends with them on Facebook - and yes, I have strict guidelines that I will not friend students until after they have graduated - yearbook girls were the exception) and this doesn't bother me at all. I've even had a few stop by my house and ask me for advice now that they are starting their own families. If anything, I'm teaching them that teachers are real people too. Sometimes I think students have a perception that teachers do not have lives outside of the classroom and that obviously is not the case.

Now that I am teaching online, I truly do not worry in the slightest if a student finds my blog. If they want to Google me and truly care that much about what I am doing then they probably need to be spending more time writing their papers. :) I am careful about what I post regarding my current job (trust me, there are days when I'd love to blog about some of the stupidity and apathy) and if they find me, it wouldn't bother me. What I put on this blog is for public consumption. That doesn't mean it is always right or politically correct, but I put it here with the assumption that people will read it -- local people who don't want to come out of the closet and admit they are reading my blog (yes, I'm talking to you...), students (past, present, and future), family, future employers, everyone.

Maybe this is a poor way to look at this -- but I truly don't care what anyone thinks about me and that includes students. The most important people in my life do read the blog and when I truly make an ass out of myself -- they forgive me. Because they love me, despite my quirks. :) I try my best to show my true colors (good and bad) on the blog. Sometimes I contradict myself. Sometimes I make people upset. Sometimes I upset myself. Sometimes I stick my foot in my mouth. But it's me. Read it or click-away, it's ultimately your choice to be here.

Do you worry about your students/colleagues/family finding your blog? Why?

Friday's Feature at Sticky Feet Part Deux is Ask Jamie. Feel free to email me or leave a comment with any question you would like for me to answer. Anything is fair game!