Pickles, Hockey Pucks, and "Bending it like Beckham"!

What do all three have in common?!?!?!?!


THE BABY THIS WEEK!!!

The little bean weighs about 6 ounces (about the weight of a hockey puck) and is about 5 1/2 inches long (the size of the pickle Nate's so carefully holding).

This morning, I had my usual Cheerios and Chocolate Rice Crispy cereal. The baby must have really enjoyed the chocolate b/c I had feet and arms poking all over my tummy. I called Nate in when he got back from walking the dogs to feel it too. His reaction was "that sure isn't gas!" ... Thanks hunnie ... nope, it's not gas, it's the baby - happy to be alive! We quickly discussed the options for such a strong kicker...soccer champ, ballerina, high jumper, etc. :) It was a really neat moment though.

Monday was back to school! Here's our "First Day of School" pictures...

Mommy and Daddy

 And, I'm counting this as the Bean's first day of school too. :)

We both had a really good week back with the students. It's funny how much I had missed them over the summer. I didn't realize it until I saw their smiley faces as soon as they saw me and got tackled by their big bear hugs! I am so blessed and thank God that I've been able to make such an impact in their lives! Nate had a good first week too. He has a squirrely group of Freshman and a small group of unmotivated Seniors, but all in all he says he says that he will really enjoy the year. His campus has a few new teachers this year, and one guy in particular that seems really cool and will fit in nicely with Nate and his group of friends at the school.

Here's what 18 weeks of baby mutiny does to my belly... hehe.

I tried for a very long time Thursday night to start the many baby sewing projects I have lined up to save money. The first one I wanted to tackle was a nursing cover. I got almost all the way finished and my sewing machine went bizzerk. I would sew for about 4-5 inches and then my thread would break. It's not thick fabric! It shouldn't be breaking! I'm pretty sure it has to do with my bobbin, but any other sewers who could lend some advice would be appreciated!

The MESS!! HELP!!

As I'm trying to take the pictures of the nursing cover, the dogs are trying their hardest to be included in the picture too. Too funny! So, here's a snapshot of the Miller household on a Saturday evening:

My group of cuties!!

Brand new pencils, brand new books.....

I realize that we've skipped a few weeks...not only in blog, but I'm sorry to announce also in pictures. :(
Setting up classrooms and preparing for this school year has taken over the Miller household. We're both moving, full swing, back into the stressful and long days. Tomorrow we see our students!  Since I'm looping with my students from last year, my time preparing has been much easier. I already know what to expect, the paperwork is easy to read and decipher (because I'm the one who wrote it last year) and while I'll be learning a new curriculum and age group, I feel like I have a pretty good grasp going into the year. Nate is teaching the same Algebra 1 class he taught last year, with the additions of Algebra Prep (the extra-practice class that goes along with Algebra 1) and Advanced Mathematical Decision Making class (a new one to the district. Only for seniors and focusing on real-world math). He's stressing a little bit about having two new preps added to his work load.

We took a few pictures of our classrooms to show off the hard work of preparing this last week. Here's what new and exciting in Nate's room:

To promote college awareness, all of the teachers decorated their doors from their Alma Maters. We had a bit of trouble here since we really couldn't wait to get out of Kent State. We didn't collect spirit beads or pom-poms, so his door is only what die-cuts and construction paper could do. :)

I didn't get a good picture of the inside of his room, so imagine what the rest looks like if you extended the left side of the photo...

Nate was real excited to be allowed to paint his room. It's so sterile with only white walls. He took some left-over paint from the house and painted this accent wall. We're planning to move my old futon out of the nursery and against the wall to make his room an inviting place for the students to hang out.


And here's my room. The goal was to make a place where I can do all my teaching with the least amount of standing as possible. I'm figuring I can just scoot around on a rollie chair.  We'll see how it goes.

My hallway bulletin board. The fifth grade team all used these frogs with cutsey sayings. "'Toad'ally awesome," "Welcome to our pad," "Hopping for a 'frog'tastic year" and so on... with only 3 homeroom students, my board is much smaller. :)

And in baby news....
This last week has been a week of "firsts." My first time to not be able to close ANY of my pants, the first time to coordinate the color of my Bella Band with my outfit, the first stranger asking me when I'm due, and the FIRST TIME TO FEEL BABY MOVEMENTS!! We went for my 4th month OB appointment and Dr. Rivero was very surprised that I could feel the baby move so early. She actually didn't believe me until the doppler sounds of movement aligned to when I felt the movement. Baby's strong and healthy! Praise God! Although, today the bean is sitting on a ligament above my left hip...that's no fun. Nate and I were on worship team today and as we're signing (and I'm trying to play keyboard), I'm losing feeling in my left leg from the baby pressure and the "bubbles" of movement under my belly button. I have faith that means this little one knows the power of worship in the presence of the Holy Spirit. :)

Daisy was begging for attention during this week's photo session. Sitting and whining for me to pet her. What a girl....
Here's the bean at 17 weeks, mommy just showered and wasn't about to change out of pjs for the picture. Don't judge me. :)

Tomorrow I have to leave school a bit early for my cardiologist appointment (3:30 our time). This is when they'll do the heart ultrasound. My week of wearing the heart monitor ended Thursday! HOORAY! We mailed that back to the company for them to analyze the recording. Not sure when we'll hear back about that, but I'll update everyone when we find out. I wonder a little bit if I could talk the technician tomorrow into getting a peek at the babe...i mean, while the equipment is out and everything. He he.

Cardiologist Update

Quick update...

This morning I went see the cardiologist. He was very good - very thorough. He said that the high pulse last week was probably just due to the pregnancy and that I shouldn't be worried if it happens again. He said that my blood pressure may have dropped and so the blood had to pump harder to compensate. While he didn't think there was much to worry about, he wanted to be sure to rule out other abnormalities, so he gave me a heart rate monitor to wear all week and then I'll go back on the 23rd for a heart ultrasound. But he kept repeating that some women experience a change in heart rate during pregnancy. So, all in all, good news! :) 

My newest accessory... you'd think they could make it a little smaller, less invasive....

Wrapping up July and starting August

We've had a busy couple weeks here. Finally found a day to devote some time to uploading pictures and blogging. :)

I finished up summer school last week. So after enjoying the weekend, it leaves us with 3 days left before the school year starts (for teachers anyways). We're trying to widdle down the list of summer to-dos. Nate had an all-day meeting today (Monday) so here I am updating.

Here are some pics from week 14:

I'm starting to find my pants "shrinking." :) I definitely feel the bean growing, no movement yet, but doctor says it could be anytime now.

We do have a new prayer request, though. Last week Tuesday I woke up and started getting ready for work when my heart started pounding out of control. I asked Nate to take my pulse and he read it at 180bpm. After getting a sub aligned for the day and contacting my OB we went to the ER, where my heart rate was still at 132bpm. They did EKG, blood work, chest x-ray, but couldn't find anything to be abnormal. I'm going in to see a cardiologist this Thursday (the 12th). The doctors don't think it's anything more than just my body reacting to pregnancy and don't seem to be too concerned. I've talked to other women who say they had racing heartbeats their entire pregnancy. I'm not real worried about it, but we'll know more after the appointment this week.

In other exciting news...we have another addition to our family! Introducing DAISY!!

Daisy is a beautiful, 4 year old chocolate lab we got from a family off of Craigslist who were trying to get rid of her. Nate has always wanted a lab, since Murphy is very much MY dog. So far she's been a wonderful addition to the Miller household! Her and Murph get along just great and are even starting to play together! Daize is a little skiddish around people at times, but she's slowly breaking out of that. She just needed some love and affection. Her favorite activities are: playing with toys larger than Murph (so she doesn't have to share), going on walks, riding in the backseat of the car (windows UP please!), laying on our cool tile, eating out of Murphy's food dish, running around whining for attention with the tennis ball in her mouth, sneaking up on the bed, and pushing Murph out of the way when he's getting more attention than she is. We just love her!

This past Friday, I threw my friend Brenae a black-and-white themed 21st birthday party (with the help of some other wonderful people). Brenae has become one of my very closest friends since she moved here to be part of the OneLife church last year. Overall, the party was a complete success! We had a fun-filled evening complete with games and dancing. Big THANKS to Nate for Emceeing, facilitating the games and heading up the dancing...would you expect anything less?

Nate, Brenae, and Mark (the counselor at Nate's school and fellow OneLifer)

Nate orchestrated a "Name That Black or White Tune" game. HUGE HIT!

A little YMCA?

Love you all!