Vocal Nodules Still

Well, today was my six-month check-up on my voice/vocal cords. Longtime readers might remember me blogging about this last April. I went for the first time to have them checked out last October and confirmed that I did have vocal nodules. So, he gave me a four-step treatment plan (to avoid surgery) and I went back in April for a check-up. In April, he was very pleased with my progress, told me to keep it up, and that he'd see me in another six months. That was today. And, today's appt did not go so well. I knew that I felt much worse than I did in April, and he confirmed I was right. My nodules have gotten worse, quite a bit actually. I knew I would hear this, but it's still disappointing. And, I know why they're worse. Last October, part of my treatment plan was to get a microphone for each room I taught in. So, I took this to my two principals, seperately of course. One immediately ordered a microphone and got it to me, and one said they would have our parent organization buy me one...and nothing ever came of that. So, I will go to that principal again with this new information and new instructions to get me a microphone, and hopefully communication will work better this time and I'll get one there too. We shall see. Last year wasn't so bad b/c the trailer I was in echoed really well. But, this year I'm in a new room (Yay!) that doesn't echo at all. It is a very dead room, acoustically, which causes me to have to project my voice constantly. Well, I'll go back again in April and we'll see what happens then. Till later!

Good to be Back!

Our internet hasn't been working correctly since the 7th, and starting last week it wouldn't work at all...so frustrating. On the 8th, Keith called Suddenlink and they stepped him through some stuff and said it wasn't their problem. So he called Dell and they stepped him through some stuff and tested everything possible and said it wasn't their problem. So on the 12th, I called Suddenlink back and they tried the same things again and a few other things and said it wasn't their problem and that we needed to call a computer technician to come look at our computer and find out what was wrong. So...Keith sat down with it today and messed with it until he figured out what was wrong and fixed it. YAY Keith!!! Now it works great again! And it was a Suddenlink problem that he figured out how to fix. So I guess that means he's smarter than the idiots we talked to who couldn't figure out the problem. :) What really stinks about this all is that we basically haven't had internet for two weeks now, but we won't get any kind of discount on our bill, even though it was their problem. It stinks that we pay so much and they couldn't fix something that turned out to be so simple to fix (once he figured out the problem). Aarrgghh! We're so tired of Suddenlink. This is not the first time we've had problems that were completely their fault. Anybody else got any suggestions of who we could switch to that's still fast (I'd never blog if we had dial-up). So anyways, I'm exhausted from such a busy week and stuff so I'm going to go to bed now and later I'll blog again and catch you all up on what we've been doing lately.

Hiccups

Okay. So I get the hiccups all the time now. Almost every day I'll get them at least once, and some days I'll get them two or three different times in the day. Sometimes it's as little as 2 or 3 and they're gone, and other times I've had them last for nearly 10 minutes. What's up with this? I know growing up the saying goes 'If you have the hiccups, it means you're growing.' Is that the case here too? Is this old saying really true in some crazy way? Is this really because I'm growing? Or is this related to something with the baby? I know this post is rambled and you'll probably have to read it several times to make it make sense, but I'm very tired and sleep-deprived and Keith's not here to proof-read this for me. So, here's my crazy random rambling post. Has anybody else experienced this during a pregnancy? The hiccups, I mean (or the crazy rambling part where it makes sense in your head but you can't quite put it on paper).

Latest Pics of Lil' Westbrook

Hello all! We had our 2nd visit with the baby doctor today. They were supposed to just use the doppler to check Baby's heartbeat, but couldn't find it (yes, I started crying here). So then they tried the old ultrasound machine that's on a cart and still couldn't find it (But they reasured me that this was okay for how early I am and gave me the reasons not to cry again.). So then they sent me down the hall to the newer ultrasound machine. This one worked! We got to hear Lil' Westbrook's heartbeat again and see the baby again...who was moving quite a bit. This was so cool to see our baby kicking it's legs and moving its arms. Wow. And the heartbeat...WOW!!! That's the sweetest sound in the world! Oh, made my day!!! And, while she was doing the ultrasound, she switched it over to the 4D for us to get a glimpse of Baby like that! Wow! How cool!

When she was in 4D she pointed its arms, which, at the time, were stretched back as far as they would reach behind its head. So Keith said, "Look the baby already sleeps like me." Which is true, he does sleep like that. I've got pictures of him as a baby sleeping with one or both arms behind his head...and he still does it now.

Here's the latest stats on Lil' Westbrook:
Length - 5.4 cm (just over 2 in. long)
Heartbeat - 156 bpm
Measuring at 12w2d
My GA = 11w5d

Here's the first picture:


Here's the 4D picture:


Thanks for checking up on us!

Baby's First Gift

Today Lil' Westbrook received it's first gift. Our friends Chad & Cindy called this afternoon and wanted to come by to give us something. Another set of friends, Jeremiah & Lindsay, had given Chad & Cindy a bassinet when they had their son Cole in May. They no longer need it and Jeremiah and Lindsay told them to pass it on again, so...they called us. YAY!!! So now we have a bassinet for our baby, and it's all white so it'll work for a girl or a boy (since we don't know yet what we're having). We're excited! It has wheels too, we just won't put those on until we're actually setting up the nursery and all. So, a great thank you to Jeremiah, Lindsay, Chad, and Cindy! You'll have to come see Lil' Westbrook in it one day!

Week Two and Counting

Whew! We've completed one week of teaching and are now working on week 2. How exhausted we were last Friday!

The first week of school is always very exhausting for me b/c in that week I see almost 600 students. Many are returning, but there are always new ones (and not just the Kindergarteners). So, I spend the entire week meeting new students and new classes all day every day in 40 minute intervals...wow...it's incredibly exhausting. But, once week 3 gets here I usually start feeling like I'm actually getting a routine down again.

7 days down...171 to go. For me though, it's actually about 8 weeks less because our precious bundle will start living out in the world around Spring Break! :) YAY!!! Baby!!! :)

Olympics are Bad

The Olympics have been on this week, and have been very bad for Keith and I. We have been so sleep-deprived this week b/c we've stayed up watching them. The time zone difference makes our favorite sports live during primetime. So, each night we have stayed up watching gymnastics, volleyball, synchronized diving, and swimming. These run anywhere from 7 pm to 1 am, and I've fallen asleep on the couch every night this week b/c I was trying to stay up and watch them. Oh how crazy...I know. But this only happens once every four years and they're just so fun to watch. I get amazed as I watch them - the things they can do. But, we did get good sleep last night to help play catch-up. And napping is always an option. We know we can't do this next week b/c the kids come back to school, but we sure have enjoyed it this week.