The Cat is Out of the Bag!

Well if you haven't heard the latest Hickok news then you must be living under a rock or you just haven't signed up on facebook yet. John and I are having a baby! We are so excited to be sharing this news with everyone. I am 13 weeks and due April 24th. The other day we got our first peek at our new addition. This baby reminds me so much of Noah; bouncing around in its new home and covering its face the entire time. We don't know the sex of our little one yet but will definitely be finding out as soon as we can. Some people have been asking me how I am feeling these days so I decided to give you a run down. I am feeling:

- tired!! If you have ever been pregnant you know how exhausting it is to be growing a little one inside of you. I am usually sound asleep by 9:00 p.m. But I love to sleep.

- sometimes nauseous. This baby is behaving a little bit better. I am able to eat more and I don't toss my food as much (except for last night, went to the movies and came home only to give the toilet all of the popcorn I ate. It wasn't pretty.).

- bloated. I feel like I am totally showing already.

- nervous. I am not quite sure how this whole "taking care of two kids so close in age" is going to work out. But I figure that women have been doing it for centuries so I can probably handle it too. Besides I have 24 students and I take care of them all day. And I think my doctor mentioned something about a return policy with the baby.

-excited. Is this baby going to be a boy or a little girl? Will this baby be huge? Will he/she have tons of hair?

-shocked. I felt like it took me forever to get pregnant with Noah. Not the case for baby number 2!!

-hungry. I feel a lot more hungry with this baby. I am craving mostly the same foods too. So does that mean we are having a boy?

John and I are enjoying this process and are really excited to meet our new family member. We will keep you posted on all of the latest news. Some have asked how Noah is doing. Of course he is too young to understand what all of this means for him, but I did get this reaction when I told him that there was going to be a new little Hickok in the house.

Is He Walking Yet?

The day is finally here!! The day John and I have been waiting for. People can stop asking me what has become the most popular question about Noah. "Is he walking yet?" The answer is YES!! When Noah got home from daycare today he showed me his walking skills by taking about seven steps across the living room. He is very excited about this new accomplishment. We both clapped and squealed in delight after he crashed to the floor.

Each new milestone is exciting for us. It's amazing how quickly our baby boy changes and grows. We are just trying to savor every moment; even the challenging ones. Way to go Noah!!

First Day Jitters!

It's 3:30 a.m. and I should be sleeping. In two hours my alarm will go off and I will be getting ready for my first day back to work. But it's 3:30 a.m. and I am up, wide awake with a million and one thoughts about my first day back to school.

I have that same nervous feeling that I had last year in November when I went back to work after the end of my maternity leave. If your a mom you know the feeling. The feeling of dread about dropping your child off at daycare and heading into a full day worth of work. Don't get me wrong, I feel I have the best job in the world. I love being a teacher. I can't wait to get to know my students. I can't wait to see familiar faces, but leaving Noah is hard too.

Over the course of the summer Noah has realized how cool his mother is and because of this he has a really hard time when I leave him. So I am feeling guilty and sad about dropping him off at daycare today. As a former daycare provider I know he will be fine. I have witnessed the kids cry when their parents leave and then stop 10 minutes after they have gone. But I feel apprehensive about leaving him. I am going to miss our routines. I am going to miss hearing him chat before he drifts off to sleep during nap time only to wake 3 hours later chatting again.

And then there is the whole "me getting back into work mode". You know, how am I going to do this after lounging by the pool all summer? I have enjoyed basking in the sun with a Nicholas Sparks novel in hand chatting with Amy about kids, dogs and husbands. And you know how I feel about lunch dates. In two hours I have to pack all those memories away like my bathing suit and flip flops and join the work force again.

In two more hours my alarm will go off and I will be expected to be some where. I will need to blow dry my hair, apply my makeup, and grab a bite to eat all before 7:30 a.m. I know this sounds like a simple task, but I am a turtle in the morning. It doesn't come easy getting this beauty to look presentable. And to top it off I don't know what to wear. How casual should I go today? It is my first day back but it's not a "teaching day". Today is the day I see all my coworkers, mostly for the first time since the end of June, at superintendent's conference day. Am I tan enough? Does my hair look good? Does this outfit fit right? These are just few questions that are swirling around in my mind. I am not even going to the weight compartment of my mind. I didn't lose the ten or fifteen pounds that I wanted to but I did manage to drop four. Hey, that's better than gaining four.

So in two hours the school year begins for me. Back to packing book bags and lunches and picking out outfits the night before. Back to saying goodbye to the dogs and back to scrambling around the house in the morning and fighting Johnny for mirror time (we have plenty of mirrors but we always seem to pick the same ones). Back to kissing Noah and counting down the hours until I see him again. First day jitters have arrived!

Time flies!

It's hard to believe that this time last year I was settling into my new role as a mommy. John and I were taking turns feeding, bathing and changing our newest addition. It is amazing how quickly time flies. It's equally amazing to see how much Noah has grown over the course of a year. No longer is he confined to a swing or an infant seat. These days he is scurrying around the house on his hands and knees, attempting to walk around the furniture, and drinking out of a sippy cut. He went from this...
























to this... Noah turned 1 on August 19th. Time flies!

Gated Community

Recently I decided to invest in something for Noah that I like to call his "gated community". Because Noah is gettting around the house really quickly these days I am finding myself chasing him around corners and down hallways. So we visited one of our favorite stores and bought one of these...



As you can see sometimes Noah gets a visit from his dad and sometimes his cousin, Tyler.





Sometimes when I am not looking Noah tries to take a little field trip away from his "gated community". And this is what I find...



He is using the fire truck to make his way over the gate.





Although he attempted to get over the gate, he wasn't successful. Noah does enjoy his "gated community" which comes equipped with music, toys and stuffed animals and his favorite - company.

Just one of those days....

Today was one of those days where things really seemed like they couldn't get any worse. It's amazing what two phone calls can do! Realistically I know that things can get worse and that my problems are few in comparison to others and that I have a good life, a great life. But today was one of those days where I wondered why? Why are people mean? Why are people selfish? Why do people intentionally set out to hurt other people? Am I guilty of any of the above? Absolutely, but why? Without divulging too much information and getting really personal, today was ones of those days in which I had it with friends and others close to me. So rather than let all of this anger fester up inside I have decided to put my problems aside and the people that are creating them and think about my blessings; you know focus on what God has blessed me with.

Like this little guy. Who would have thought that ten little toes, a three teeth smile, and 27 pounds of energy could bring you so much joy?



And this big guy! There have been plenty of days when I have stopped myself from hanging a free sign on him and leaving him out by the mailbox. But really, what would the Hickok household be without Finnegan?



And then there's Toby. She is our peace and quiet, our "thank God we don't have two wild dogs."



Last but definitely not least, there is John. Thank God for John! Enough said...

To Do List

Now that I am out of school for the summer, everyday life has comepletely changed in the Hickok home. No longer am I slapping the alarm clock begging for 5 more minutes. And I am not rushing out the door, praying that I make it to school before the buses beat me and before the principal stakes his claim at the front door. Life seems to be more relaxed. And I have decided to give myself a good break before I jump into this list...

-cleaning the basement... It is so dreadful. I am embarassed by the amount of "stuff" that is down there.

-lesson plans for next year... You may wonder why I don't use the same plans every year. Well, I do sort of but I need to spice things up or life would get too boring.

-tan... There is not much I can do about this one. The sun has decided to take a vacation too.

-being fit... I am so tired of being tired and out of shape. So I have decided to work out at least four, maybe five if I am really motivated, times a week. I have already started this and I am doing pretty good so far.

-cleaning the house... I am going to wash walls and trim, clean closets and cabinets.

-read... I have started about 4 books and haven't finished any of them.

My list isn't too long but it's hanging over me and I just want it to be done. I will update you periodically to let you know how it's going.