i'm coming up with different mixes of music to play when Baby Soup arrives. Right now I'm working on nursery (bedtime) music. Lots of Fiona Apple on it (Mama Soup's favorite)! Of course!
Moby-Porcelain
Fiona Apple - Sullen Girl
Fiona Apple - Across the Universe
Rufus Wainwright - Poses
Damien Rice - Blower's Daughter
Coldplay - The Scientist
Fiona Apple - I Know
Alicia Keys - Diary
Sophie B. Hawkins - Lose Your Way
Jay Z - Song Cry
Mariah Carey - Music Box
Stay tuned for Tummy Time mix
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Seeking Advice and Thankful for Generosity
While I won't take advice on pregnancy, I will take....how should I phrase this?... testimonies from mommy-hood. I really want to teach my children to be good stewards of the Earth that God gave us. I figure I can model this when they're young. So, I need your advice on the following:
diapers - cloth vs. regular--my parents used cloth diapers on us. Is it a big money saver? Are they durable? Is the laundry worth it?
breastfeeding - I'd like to for at least six months. any advice for a working mommy trying to pump at work?
baby food - I'm looking for your yummiest recipes!
I am truly in awe of all the generosity we've received over the past few months. I told you that we were GIVEN a crib and changing table. One of my co-workers GAVE me a ton of cute maternity clothes. I have a cute going-out dress that will look cute when my bump arrives. It's perfect for a night on the town! Another one of Murad's co-workers gave me some maternity clothes as well!
diapers - cloth vs. regular--my parents used cloth diapers on us. Is it a big money saver? Are they durable? Is the laundry worth it?
breastfeeding - I'd like to for at least six months. any advice for a working mommy trying to pump at work?
baby food - I'm looking for your yummiest recipes!
I am truly in awe of all the generosity we've received over the past few months. I told you that we were GIVEN a crib and changing table. One of my co-workers GAVE me a ton of cute maternity clothes. I have a cute going-out dress that will look cute when my bump arrives. It's perfect for a night on the town! Another one of Murad's co-workers gave me some maternity clothes as well!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Introducing....
Baby Soup! For those of you who don't know, we are expecting our first child together this June! We are so excited and blessed. I can't imagine what motherhood will be like, but I am truly ready to take on the most important job in the world! I'm glad the secret is finally out! I've been lucky not to have any morning sickness, so I haven't had to hide that. However, I have wanted to shout from the rooftops that I'm going to be a MOM! I want everyone to know about this little guy/gal that is part Mr. Soup and part me!
So, yes, we are beyond excited! We have been wanting to start our family for a while, but it seemed as though it wasn't going to happen. After five months of "trying" I was ready to give up, but then at the end of September, I got a little inkling that I might be pregnant, but my dreams were dashed by 3 negative home pregnancy tests. I decided to make an appointment with my doctor to see what the hell was up with my body. I couldn't get in for a week, so I had plenty of time to agonize about it and make myself upset. I decided to take one more home pregnancy test and there I finally got a "pregnant" reading!
So for the past 13 weeks, I have been slowly letting people know about Baby Soup. I have also been keeping track of things I've noticed in my 1st pregnancy. I would like to share them here for your amusement
1. People are idiots -- don't listen to anything anyone tells you about being pregnant. Most likely their experience won't match yours. No two pregnancies are the same. My friend's face cleared up once she got pregnant, and my face became a pizza. Thanks, Baby Soup
2. I do miss wine. I thought I could give up alcohol cold turkey. I mean I didn't need it for the first 16 years of my life...it couldn't be that hard, right? No, it is hard. I am a teacher. teacher = alcoholic. However, now I'm to the point where the smell of alcohol makes me ill. I also miss things like, sushi, deli sandwiches, queso, brie, and other things that are forbidden during pregnancy. I know i will be happy that I didn't drink during pregnancy when Baby Soup arrives FAS-free, but man it's hard!
3. you can never eat enough--I really worry that I will be able to gain the 35 lbs. necessary to sustain this life. I lost 4 lbs. early in the first trimester and I've only gained 3 lbs since. I eat all the time. I eat lots of vegetables, fruit, and beef (weird because I'm not a big beef fan) and also fish. The smell of chicken grosses me out! My desk at work is stuffed with all kinds of snacks...string cheese, cookies, peanut butter crackers, apples etc. and I'm still not full! It's not even like a hunger feeling that I get.....it's more like "eat or pass out" feeling. I hate that I have to eat in front of my students, but I think they'd rather have a healthy teacher than one passed out on the floor. So, I'm allowing myself to graze during the day. I'm also limiting all the bad things that I consumed before getting pregnant.
4. boobs--need I say more. I went from barely filling a B cup to a full on D cup. No need for a breast enhancement.
5. happiness-- I love going places with my little buddy. He/she is everywhere I go. While I'm excited for June 8th to arrive, I am also a little sad that Baby Soup won't be with me every hour of the day. I want to hold him/her so badly, but I also want to keep him/her inside. I want to protect Baby Soup until he/she is ready to go to college. I'm not ready to "share" Baby Soup with the rest of the world. I guess I have six months to get comfortable with the idea.
6. shopping -- who knew places like Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us could be so much fun?! I never stepped foot in those stores before and now I just want to go all the time. There are so many cool things!
7. gratitude -- so many people have really helped us out during this pregnancy. One of Mr. Soup's friends gave us a crib and changing table. We have set money aside for Baby Soup stuff, but this will help us stay under budget tremendously. I plan to look secondhand for a dresser and rocking chair, as well. The money we save will go towards starting Baby Soup's college fund or towards the day care fund (ughh....not looking forward to that already!) Thanks to all who are helping us with Baby Soup!
Yeah, that's it so far. Now that I'm in my 2nd trimester, the fatigue is wearing off (I had an 8pm bedtime and at least one nap per day) and I'm hoping that nauseating feeling will wear off. I hear the 2nd trimester is the "honeymoon" trimester! Woo-hoo!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
color confidential
Yes, I stole the title of this post from a show featured on HGTV!
So, I think I have finally decided on paint colors.
Living Room, hall, guest bath - Chamomile
guest bath cabinet - Moody Blue
Kitchen - Tansy Green
I also decided to paint the entire family room instead of just an accent wall. I think it will really warm up the room. It will also compliment the hall and bathroom. I chose Moody Blue for the cabinets in the guest bath because the shower curtain in there has a paisley design made up of a cream background and pinks, greens and a hint of blue. Finally, tansy green will be used throughout the entire kitchen. It's a warm green and will add a bit of color in a dark brown and sand kitchen.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Soup House Projects
Okay, so I've decided to start on some Soup House projects. Now that the first six weeks have ended at work, I'm hoping things will settle down some (yeah, right!). This week was really stressful for me, but I made it through. Okay so here are my house projects
-finish organizing the office and master bedroom....we still have boxes packed in both rooms
-clean out the garage
-paint an accent wall in the family room---I'm going to do a mustard yellow in there. Right now we have a mix of dark browns, black, green, red and yellow. I also want to buy some lamps to go in there as well. I figure I better paint now before we pull up the carpet. I decided against painting the faux wood paneling. I think it adds character and will go nicely with the golden colors.
-paint an accent wall in the kitchen. Our kitchen has dark cabinets, so I want to keep the white walls throughout. We have wainscoting on one wall, so I'll paint the top half of that muddy greenish color (we have a hint of the muddy green color in our faux granite counter tops) I'm so excited to PAINT! I will post pictures soon!
Today I put out some fall decorations. Nothing much, but I hung the fall pine cone garland on the fire place, hung the fall wreath, and placed some pumpkins on the front porch. I plan to get some fall flowers to put on the kitchen table and family room coffee table. I'm so glad fall is finally here! It will make cleaning out the garage bearable! Plus, next weekend Mr. Soup and I will head to the State Fair of Texas to partake in some yummy fried foods! We actually love the fair for more than just the foods. October happens to be Hispanic Heritage Month. We visit the booths and spend lots of time at the Dominican Republic booth. Mr. Soup's grandmother was from Santo Domingo, so we try to learn a little bit more about our heritage with each visit.
-finish organizing the office and master bedroom....we still have boxes packed in both rooms
-clean out the garage
-paint an accent wall in the family room---I'm going to do a mustard yellow in there. Right now we have a mix of dark browns, black, green, red and yellow. I also want to buy some lamps to go in there as well. I figure I better paint now before we pull up the carpet. I decided against painting the faux wood paneling. I think it adds character and will go nicely with the golden colors.
-paint an accent wall in the kitchen. Our kitchen has dark cabinets, so I want to keep the white walls throughout. We have wainscoting on one wall, so I'll paint the top half of that muddy greenish color (we have a hint of the muddy green color in our faux granite counter tops) I'm so excited to PAINT! I will post pictures soon!
Today I put out some fall decorations. Nothing much, but I hung the fall pine cone garland on the fire place, hung the fall wreath, and placed some pumpkins on the front porch. I plan to get some fall flowers to put on the kitchen table and family room coffee table. I'm so glad fall is finally here! It will make cleaning out the garage bearable! Plus, next weekend Mr. Soup and I will head to the State Fair of Texas to partake in some yummy fried foods! We actually love the fair for more than just the foods. October happens to be Hispanic Heritage Month. We visit the booths and spend lots of time at the Dominican Republic booth. Mr. Soup's grandmother was from Santo Domingo, so we try to learn a little bit more about our heritage with each visit.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
i am proud
Today was a good day of college teaching for me. There were some occasional not-so-great moments, but overall it was pretty good. Today we analyzed song lyrics. We looked the stories they tell. I gave my students song lyrics without punctuation. Their task was to place the correct punctuation in the songs. One girl remarked as we were going over them, "it needs a dot." I looked at her puzzled. I thought maybe she meant ellipses (...) because not many people know the term ellipses. No, she meant period. "No, it needs the dot that goes at the end of a sentence. What's that called?" I did my best to add the period and move right along. I didn't want to call attention to it. She is an incredibly bright student and I recognize that command of the English language and grammar does not make one intelligent. There are plenty of people who are skilled writers, but are dumb as all get out. However, my English teacher self cringed on the inside....just a little bit!
I also held my first set of writing conferences. I conducted my conferences like this:
-identified strengths and weaknesses in their writing
- reviewed the final writing test expectations
-asked what I can do to help them better prepare for the test
Most of my students said they are glad they are taking the course (they have the option to just take the test). Many of them have taken the test and failed by one or two points. They said the work we do in here is giving them the skills and confidence they need to do well on the test. They all said the vocabulary quizzes stress them out, but they really like that they're building their vocabulary. They just don't want to be quizzed on it each week. I'm thinking of maybe doing away with the quizzes and using the vocabulary as an activity in class or incorporate it into their writing assignments. We'll see. I told them my goal is not to make the course difficult, but to give them the skills to do well in the next level of Developmental Writing or in Freshman Comp I.
Many of them said they enjoy the class as well. That is a plus, because we meet only once a week on a Saturday morning. I guess I feel good because I know I am a good junior high English teacher, but this solidified that I'm not so bad at teaching college students. While students liking me is not my goal, I am glad they feel the class is worthwhile.
I also held my first set of writing conferences. I conducted my conferences like this:
-identified strengths and weaknesses in their writing
- reviewed the final writing test expectations
-asked what I can do to help them better prepare for the test
Most of my students said they are glad they are taking the course (they have the option to just take the test). Many of them have taken the test and failed by one or two points. They said the work we do in here is giving them the skills and confidence they need to do well on the test. They all said the vocabulary quizzes stress them out, but they really like that they're building their vocabulary. They just don't want to be quizzed on it each week. I'm thinking of maybe doing away with the quizzes and using the vocabulary as an activity in class or incorporate it into their writing assignments. We'll see. I told them my goal is not to make the course difficult, but to give them the skills to do well in the next level of Developmental Writing or in Freshman Comp I.
Many of them said they enjoy the class as well. That is a plus, because we meet only once a week on a Saturday morning. I guess I feel good because I know I am a good junior high English teacher, but this solidified that I'm not so bad at teaching college students. While students liking me is not my goal, I am glad they feel the class is worthwhile.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
i'm not proud
okay, so the following is a list of things that bother me about myself. we all deserve a moment to feel sorry for ourselves right?
my weight--today I went to the gym and got on the scale. the six pounds I needed to lose is now 14! 14 freakin' pounds. it was the kick in the butt I needed. I can't believe I've gained 14 lbs since June 2009. What is wrong with me?
my face--um so my face is officially a grease ball. New pimples pop up each day. Yesterday, Mr. Soup goes, "Wow you're glowing." I told him to rub his hand across my face and when he did his hand was oily. "Ewww," was his response.
my stepdaughter--I hate that I can't let go of the situation. I hate that after almost of four years of dealing with her neglectful, unstable mother and enabling maternal grandparents I can't let it go. I hate that my inability to let go, hurts my husband and ultimately my marriage. I have to remind myself that he went through this all 7 years ago when he found out about his daughter. He relocated to her small town in hopes of getting custody, only to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees for nothing. I am thankful that my husband wants to spare me the pain he felt. I know I have to let go and accept that. he is a better father for it and I hope to get to that point.
my baby--okay, so no I don't have a baby, but I feel the first two things are a direct result of trying to have a baby (hormonal body changes --weight gain and oily skin). I hate that after four months of hoping for a baby, Mr. Soup and I are getting discouraged. Both of us have talked to various people with kids (aka parents). Some of them waited years, some a year, some 6 months and some a couple of months. I guess I thought we'd fall in the "2 month" category (I mean my hubby already has a daughter and I was an accident--I figured being overly fertile was in our genes). I know everything happens when it should. Maybe God is waiting for me to drop the L-Bs before I get pregnant (because we know Mr. Soup won't hear any of that "I'm fat" talk)? Let's hope!
my weight--today I went to the gym and got on the scale. the six pounds I needed to lose is now 14! 14 freakin' pounds. it was the kick in the butt I needed. I can't believe I've gained 14 lbs since June 2009. What is wrong with me?
my face--um so my face is officially a grease ball. New pimples pop up each day. Yesterday, Mr. Soup goes, "Wow you're glowing." I told him to rub his hand across my face and when he did his hand was oily. "Ewww," was his response.
my stepdaughter--I hate that I can't let go of the situation. I hate that after almost of four years of dealing with her neglectful, unstable mother and enabling maternal grandparents I can't let it go. I hate that my inability to let go, hurts my husband and ultimately my marriage. I have to remind myself that he went through this all 7 years ago when he found out about his daughter. He relocated to her small town in hopes of getting custody, only to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees for nothing. I am thankful that my husband wants to spare me the pain he felt. I know I have to let go and accept that. he is a better father for it and I hope to get to that point.
my baby--okay, so no I don't have a baby, but I feel the first two things are a direct result of trying to have a baby (hormonal body changes --weight gain and oily skin). I hate that after four months of hoping for a baby, Mr. Soup and I are getting discouraged. Both of us have talked to various people with kids (aka parents). Some of them waited years, some a year, some 6 months and some a couple of months. I guess I thought we'd fall in the "2 month" category (I mean my hubby already has a daughter and I was an accident--I figured being overly fertile was in our genes). I know everything happens when it should. Maybe God is waiting for me to drop the L-Bs before I get pregnant (because we know Mr. Soup won't hear any of that "I'm fat" talk)? Let's hope!
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