Well it's about time!

Well it's about time! I have used that phrase more than once and definitely heard it more than once in my lifetime. It certainly has been a long time since I posted a new entry. But I do have some really good excuses as to why I haven't been faithful.

-Noah is a toddler and into everything. Today was no exception. I spent the morning washing walls and trim, doing the whole "nesting" thing and he wanted to sit on my lap as I worked. If he wasn't on my lap then he was lifting my shirt to tickle me and pulling on my overly tight sweat pants; as if they weren't uncomfortable enough. Kinda hard to get anything done. When he wasn't on my lap he was in Finn's water bowl or trying to pry open the dishwasher. Hands full!! That's how I felt today.
-Let's not forget the obvious-I'm pregnant! And I feel like I am expanding every minute. I like to compare my stomach to a hot air balloon. I feel as though any minute I will lift off. I am tired and by the time I get home from school and get dinner on the table the last thing I feel like doing is anything that requires me to use brain cells. You can call it laziness, but I feel knocked out at the end of the day.
-Dogs!! Need I say more. They drain whatever life is left in me at the end of the day. I am a slave to picking up dog toys and vacuuming the endless amount of dog hair that they shed. Actually Johnny does most of the vacuuming but watching him makes me tired. You can find their hair everywhere!
-School.... I love teaching and finding new ideas for my students, but I must admit I am looking forward to some rest. I know, having a new baby is not exactly a vacation.
-Household chores... John has been a huge help around the house. He is superman with the laundry. I can't compete with his speed in that area and like I mentioned above, he is doing most of the vacuuming. But there is the weekly dreaded grocery shopping, cooking, dusting, and general upkeep of the house that needs to be done. And by at the end of each day I look at our house and think, it's still not clean enough. It probably won't be either until after our little guy comes.
-Bejeweled... Need I say more. I'm addicted. And even when I tell myself that I am not going to play I find my fingers sliding and tapping the mouse to play another game. It's a terrible addiction.

But in all seriousness, everything is going pretty well for this pregnancy. Little baby Hickok is growing and all of my blood work has come back great. I am experiencing some pelvic pain and back pain, but that's to be expected when your pregnant. On April 21st we will welcome the newest addition to our home. And I honestly can't believe that we are going from a family of three to a family of four. For the past 18 months we have showered Noah with lots of attention. Soon he will be sharing the attention with his brother. Ahh and I will finally have some energy or so I think.

Baby Boy Hickok the Second

At 5:30 this morning I was wide awake thinking about my 10:00 a.m. doctor's appointment. Today was the big day. We would get to see our latest addition in the comforts of my body and we would find out the brand. (Most importantly, we discovered that our latest addition is growing very healthy and is working on developing a full head of hair.)

For some strange reason I was really nervous about this appointment. Maybe it was because for the past 19 weeks I created in my mind a little girl and at 5:00 this morning it hit me that maybe it won't be a little girl and how am I going to feel about that? When we got the news that Baby Hickok was a boy and not a girl I was a little surprised. It's not very often that I am wrong; just ask my husband. However, I quickly changed my thoughts to Noah and how excited I am for him. I am the youngest of two and I love having an older brother. Growing up he was always there when I needed him and still is only a phone call away. Johnny is the older brother and so dependable and caring. I have always gotten the impression that older siblings look out for the younger ones. We certainly do need it sometimes. I am excited to see how Noah will interact with his brother and know that he has some pretty good examples to follow. So welcome Baby Boy Hickok the Second! We can't wait to meet you.

The Hostess but not with the Mostest

I should be folding laundry, but for some reason I am not in the folding laundry mood. Actually I am never in the folding laundry mood. I realize that it is a chore that must be done; however it's not my favorite chore. In two days we will be hosting our very first Thanksgiving and I should be getting our house ready for that!

To some, hosting Thanksgiving or any holiday is not a big deal. How hard is it to throw a turkey in the oven and mash potatoes? I am capable of doing this and have served turkey to my husband many times. But this is different. I actually have guests depending on me for food. If the turkey is dry I can't suggest we order a pizza or throw a few boxes of cereal their way. They will be arriving at 2:30 p.m. and will be patiently waiting for the turkey to be served succulent and tasty.

Don't get me wrong, I am excited about this too. There is something about slaving away in the kitchen all day and then hearing your guests comment on how delicious the meal was. The leftovers are great and being able to serve your family in the comforts of your own home is worth the time and effort. But of course there is that nagging side of me that can't seem to shake off those annoying questions like:

What if I don't wake up in time to get the turkey in the oven?

What if the turkey is dry?

What if my gravy is too thin?

What if my stuffing is mushy?

What am I going to wear? ( I get hot when I cook so I can't wear one of those cute pregnant sweaters that I just bought.)

What if I forget something?

I am pretty sure the Pilgrims didn't worry about dry turkey or mushy stuffing. So I guess the best thing for me to do would be to make a list and really try not to sweat the small stuff. Besides there is more to Thanksgiving than the turkey and the trimmings; just ask the Tappletons (Thanksgiving at the Tappletons is a very cute picture book about the true meaning of Thanksgiving.) So on Thursday when you are enjoying your families and the wonderful Thanksgiving meal, please say a little prayer for my guests and me. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

The Latest...

It has been awhile since I have updated our blog. It seems that these days I am finding myself very busy. Between Noah, my job, and the house I feel like I don't have enough time or energy to write an entry.

I am over the morning sickness. Thank God! It really wasn't that bad this time around. Maybe that had more to do with me focusing on Noah than focusing on how my stomach felt. I am feeling pretty good. I have been pampering myself by going to bed really early. The other night I was out like a light at 8:30. It was wonderful!

I am resting not only because of the pregnancy but also because I really don't want to get sick. Piggy flu has been oinking around in my classroom and I really want to avoid it as much as possible. It's kinda hard with the close quarters I'm in, but I am trying. We are washing our hands like crazy and sneezing and coughing into our elbows. I am constantly making announcements such as, "Please keep your hands away from your face, Don't forget to sneeze and cough into your elbow." I am pretty sure that my students are over my reminders. I decided not to get the vaccination. I just didn't have peace about it. So I am at the sink constantly washing my hands in between rubbing hand sanitizer through my fingers. And doing a ton of praying that this flu will pass me by and my family. I really hope Noah doesn't get it.

Speaking of my precious little angel, Noah. He is really going through a not so fun stage right now. I remember not so long ago holding him in my arms and thinking, this little guy could never be bold. He is just too precious. Boy, I was wrong. Noah is turning into quite the bully. He is hitting us all of the time. Now I realize that this is "his form of communication". But to tell you the truth I am so over that excuse. It is really embarrassing when he hits people and he is totally doing it on purpose. He gets that "John face" look and you know you better take cover. I say the "John face" because that's the look I get from John when I am doing something "inappropriate."

John has been really busy lately. He is constantly working. We are looking forward to his schedule settling down in the next week or so.

This week I will be going to see the doctor for a little visit. At this appointment I will find out when the "find out the sex of your baby ultrasound" will be. However, we haven't decided if we are going to be sharing the sex of the baby. Some of my friends don't think I have it in me to keep such a secret, but I think otherwise. I guess time will tell.

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!