Please pray for Olivia and Ivy. I just talked to my mom again. She says that the hospital thinks Olivia has some type of infection, maybe in her ear. My mom doesn't think that it is too serious, but it is worrisome. Sadly, the hospital won't let Izabella back to see her mommy, so that's been really hard on Ivy and Iza. My mom was able to see the baby and Ivy, but Iza has to stay out.
They are hoping Ivy and Olivia can come home from the hospital tomorrow! Please keep them in your prayers. I really hope they can come home soon and Olivia gets better quickly!
I will try to post once I hear something new. This is the first message I gotten from my mom in a few days.
Update: See Ivy's blog. They are home!! yay!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
It's Olivia!
Now, I can be specific! The baby's official name is Olivia Grace.
Weight: 2870 grams
Length: 48 cm long
So! Because so many people wanted to know this, I will be nice and convert it into the American way so that we all understand what these things mean.
Weight: 6.32726 lbs
Length: 1.57480 ft or 6.89763 in
Weight: 2870 grams
Length: 48 cm long
So! Because so many people wanted to know this, I will be nice and convert it into the American way so that we all understand what these things mean.
Weight: 6.32726 lbs
Length: 1.57480 ft or 6.89763 in
Finally a picture:
It's a GIRL
My sister had a natural delivery! No c-section requried! I know she is happy about that! It didn't take long either.
I will post pictures soon! Well, whenever I get some! lol
Update (2:12PM):
I still don't know the specifics. My mom and I have been talking through skype, and she doesn't know the specifics either. She hasn't seen the baby yet because she's babysitting Iza at Irek and Ivy's house right now. Hopefully, she'll be able to see the baby before visitor hours are over. They don't let visitors back after 7PM and it is currently 8PM in Poland. My mom is hoping they will let her go back anyways.
All I've heard is that the baby is doing great and so is Ivy. :) I have to go to work soon, but maybe when I get back I'll know more.
I will post pictures soon! Well, whenever I get some! lol
Update (2:12PM):
I still don't know the specifics. My mom and I have been talking through skype, and she doesn't know the specifics either. She hasn't seen the baby yet because she's babysitting Iza at Irek and Ivy's house right now. Hopefully, she'll be able to see the baby before visitor hours are over. They don't let visitors back after 7PM and it is currently 8PM in Poland. My mom is hoping they will let her go back anyways.
All I've heard is that the baby is doing great and so is Ivy. :) I have to go to work soon, but maybe when I get back I'll know more.
Ivy is having her baby today!
Yay! My sister should have her baby today! My mom got over there just in time. :)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Share the Road
Over the past weekend, I have learned quite a bit about mountain biking. Paul and I went out yesterday and bought 2 bikes. We live a few miles away from the U.S. Olympic White Water Rafting Center which has 11 miles of biking trails, so we have been wanting to get some bikes for awhile now. (Those are the trails we walked awhile back and got bugs all over us.) Well, we went to a bike shop and picked out our bikes.
We decided to go for a long bike ride today. We haven't ridden bikes in years.... So we started off by riding around the subdivision and then.. we became over eager to get to the bike trails. We decided to ride our bikes all the way there and then ride the 3 mile easy trail at the center.
After spinning around the subdivision, we headed for the main road. Once we got to the stop sign, our thighs were already sore from pedaling. But.. we continued. We biked the 5 miles to the center and then rode the 3 mile trail. Wow! Ok.. I got a guys mountain bike because the front handle bar was longer which I felt more comfortable with, but the seat with a guys bike is not as wide. Paul and I were hurting by the time we reached the center. Those seats are the absolute worst! We tried to stand as much as we could, but that's hard to do on a bike trail. I now understand why bikers wear those tight shorts with the cushions in the butt! Paul and I are going to be wearing those soon! I think I'm going to wear a pair of shorts over mine. hehe! We are also getting seat cushions!
My bike. :)
We took the easy trail. Yeah, it was easy to walk! There were ruts and rocks and turns..everywhere. Of course, we were sitting on our lovely seats pedaling along through this. Ouch! Besides the pain in the butt, I really had fun! :) It was scary at first, but I got the hang of it. I would get off and walk if it was too scary for me. There were a ton of steep hills that the pro-bikers were flying up while Paul and I got off an walked it. We will be that good one day! =D There were steep down hill turns with ruts in them... Those were scary.
We wore helmets... The sunglasses kept the bugs out of our eyes.
However, we survived the 3 mile "easy" trail at the center and got back on the main road for the 5 mile bike ride home. The ride home was incredibly easy compared to that trail! We are both exhausted and our rear ends hurt, but it was worth it! :) I doubt we will do that again for at least a week.
Paul's bike.
Also on Saturday, I went to my friend Erin from schools wedding. She had it at her Uncle's lake front home on High Rock Lake. It was gorgeous!
This picture didn't turn out so good.
This is a flower I got from a 5th grader that I'm tutoring in math. :) It made my day!
Friday was my last day as an AVID tutor with the public school system. Now, I am just searching for teaching positions while I work with another tutoring company over the summer.
Pictures of the kitty cats watching the rain..
We decided to go for a long bike ride today. We haven't ridden bikes in years.... So we started off by riding around the subdivision and then.. we became over eager to get to the bike trails. We decided to ride our bikes all the way there and then ride the 3 mile easy trail at the center.
After spinning around the subdivision, we headed for the main road. Once we got to the stop sign, our thighs were already sore from pedaling. But.. we continued. We biked the 5 miles to the center and then rode the 3 mile trail. Wow! Ok.. I got a guys mountain bike because the front handle bar was longer which I felt more comfortable with, but the seat with a guys bike is not as wide. Paul and I were hurting by the time we reached the center. Those seats are the absolute worst! We tried to stand as much as we could, but that's hard to do on a bike trail. I now understand why bikers wear those tight shorts with the cushions in the butt! Paul and I are going to be wearing those soon! I think I'm going to wear a pair of shorts over mine. hehe! We are also getting seat cushions!
My bike. :)
We took the easy trail. Yeah, it was easy to walk! There were ruts and rocks and turns..everywhere. Of course, we were sitting on our lovely seats pedaling along through this. Ouch! Besides the pain in the butt, I really had fun! :) It was scary at first, but I got the hang of it. I would get off and walk if it was too scary for me. There were a ton of steep hills that the pro-bikers were flying up while Paul and I got off an walked it. We will be that good one day! =D There were steep down hill turns with ruts in them... Those were scary.
We wore helmets... The sunglasses kept the bugs out of our eyes.
However, we survived the 3 mile "easy" trail at the center and got back on the main road for the 5 mile bike ride home. The ride home was incredibly easy compared to that trail! We are both exhausted and our rear ends hurt, but it was worth it! :) I doubt we will do that again for at least a week.
Paul's bike.
Also on Saturday, I went to my friend Erin from schools wedding. She had it at her Uncle's lake front home on High Rock Lake. It was gorgeous!
This picture didn't turn out so good.
This is a flower I got from a 5th grader that I'm tutoring in math. :) It made my day!
Friday was my last day as an AVID tutor with the public school system. Now, I am just searching for teaching positions while I work with another tutoring company over the summer.
Pictures of the kitty cats watching the rain..
Monday, May 12, 2008
The Garden Begins
I went to Walmart this morning to get a shovel and mulch. I was going to get the plants at Walmart, but I felt overwhelmed looking at all these plants I didn't know the name of. So, I stopped by a family own plant nursery on my way home. I went in the office and said "this is my first time gardening.. I have no idea what any of these plants are." They were very nice! They gave me a buddy. It was an older petite (5'1" maybe) women probably in her 80's. She knew everything there was to know about plants. I told her what I was looking for and she gave me some suggestions. The maple tree I was hoping to get grows alittle to large for our yard, so she suggested a "burning bush" which also turns red during the fall. I got that instead of the maple tree. I did get some azaleas.. The white ones little alittle boring, so I got two different shades of pink. :) After picking out 3 fairly large plants, the lady who was giving me advice would not let me carry them. She picked all 3 plants up herself and carried them around every where I went. I felt so bad! She was one strong women!
They didn't have any daffodils bulbs, so she suggested some other plants to get that will come back next year, such as the Spike Speedwell and Origami Red and White (I think that's the right name? I have forgotten already). I got those two things. The lady continued carrying around all of my items. She was so nice! I figured that would be enough planting for one day, so she graciously carried them all to my car and loaded my car for me. She wouldn't let me help! Anyways, I am definitely going back there for the rest of the garden. Hopefully, I can help carry some of the plants next time.
So.. the plants I picked are a little off from what I wanted, but I think it looks good. I probably should have spread the bushes out more... I will have to keep snipping them when they start crowding each other.
This is a view from a room in our house.
I planted the azaleas, burning bush, and speedwells here.
You can see my neighbors garden to the side (with the blue ball). We are competing. lol I am going to stick with more plants, less lawn items though.
This is where I planted the other flowers. The soil was really moist here from all the rain we have gotten. Hopefully, the roots won't rot. I didn't give them any water because the soil was so wet.. I guess that's ok?
To answer Mary's question about the AC area, this is where the air conditioning stuff is. The builder of the house planted these plants around the AC stuff. I may add some flowers later. ( I don't even know what these plants are. Does anyone know? )
Injuries... I busted up my knuckles. After that, I put gloves on. I should have done that in the first place!
So.. it's only 1PM. Now, what to do on my only day off this week? I have to work the rest of the week, so that will keep me busy. :)
They didn't have any daffodils bulbs, so she suggested some other plants to get that will come back next year, such as the Spike Speedwell and Origami Red and White (I think that's the right name? I have forgotten already). I got those two things. The lady continued carrying around all of my items. She was so nice! I figured that would be enough planting for one day, so she graciously carried them all to my car and loaded my car for me. She wouldn't let me help! Anyways, I am definitely going back there for the rest of the garden. Hopefully, I can help carry some of the plants next time.
So.. the plants I picked are a little off from what I wanted, but I think it looks good. I probably should have spread the bushes out more... I will have to keep snipping them when they start crowding each other.
This is a view from a room in our house.
I planted the azaleas, burning bush, and speedwells here.
You can see my neighbors garden to the side (with the blue ball). We are competing. lol I am going to stick with more plants, less lawn items though.
This is where I planted the other flowers. The soil was really moist here from all the rain we have gotten. Hopefully, the roots won't rot. I didn't give them any water because the soil was so wet.. I guess that's ok?
To answer Mary's question about the AC area, this is where the air conditioning stuff is. The builder of the house planted these plants around the AC stuff. I may add some flowers later. ( I don't even know what these plants are. Does anyone know? )
Injuries... I busted up my knuckles. After that, I put gloves on. I should have done that in the first place!
So.. it's only 1PM. Now, what to do on my only day off this week? I have to work the rest of the week, so that will keep me busy. :)
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Graduation Pictures
John and I both graduated on May 10th!! John sacrificed going to his graduation to go to mine which was very very nice of him. :) He's the best brother ever!!!! He graduated with a Masters Degree in Teaching English from Augusta State University.
Mom, dad, John, and Jojo drove up Friday night. We went out to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was REALLY REALLY good. We had reservations for 8:45 and we left at 11PM. If you've never been to the Melting Pot, you should plan at least 2 hours for dinner. You have to cook all your food yourself, so you are served raw meat and vegetables. You then place them in a pot filled with broth or oil (your choice) and you cook them fondue style. They added all kinds of spices to the broth which made it SOOO good! The steak was the absolute best. Then, after dinner, you get fondue dessert. We had two pots: one with white chocolate and Amaretto and the other was dark chocolate with kahloa. Wow! They give you fruits (strawberries and bananas), cakes, and marshmallows to dip in the pot. It was the best meal ever!!!! So much fun too.
Right before we got our food.
John eating... He had shrimp, steak, and chicken.
Trying to get my food out of the pot.
We had to get up early for graduation on Saturday. My ceremony was during the first session at 10Am. They had a second ceremony at 3 for the rest of the graduates.
Before the ceremony they had all 1,300 to 1,400 line up like cattle in these rows, so that we could get in alphabetical order. Actually, we were all close in alphabetical order, but they just read our names off the card we handed them. I wish we could have stayed with our friends if they were going to do that. We all pretty much walked across the stage in a complete line, so it wasn't "your own walk of fame". That was fine with me because after being there 2 hours already.. you start to get really tired of it all!
This is a very blurry picture of me waiting to go up.
This is the stage that they made everyone pretty much run across, so that they could get through all the graduates.
The ceremony started at 10Am and ended at 12:30. My parents and I had to get there at 8:30, so they could get good seats. They were able to get great seats. I sat just a few rows down from them. :)
We decided to get away from the stampede of people to take photos. The building in the background is Fretwell which is where all the Freshman classes are.. The statues if of a guy chiseling himself out with a hammer and stake.
Thanks mom, dad, and John for coming up to my graduation! I had fun!
So undergrad is all done! What now? Right now, cooking a vegetable soup from scratch.. it's boiling pretty hard, so I'd better go!
Mom, dad, John, and Jojo drove up Friday night. We went out to the Melting Pot for dinner. It was REALLY REALLY good. We had reservations for 8:45 and we left at 11PM. If you've never been to the Melting Pot, you should plan at least 2 hours for dinner. You have to cook all your food yourself, so you are served raw meat and vegetables. You then place them in a pot filled with broth or oil (your choice) and you cook them fondue style. They added all kinds of spices to the broth which made it SOOO good! The steak was the absolute best. Then, after dinner, you get fondue dessert. We had two pots: one with white chocolate and Amaretto and the other was dark chocolate with kahloa. Wow! They give you fruits (strawberries and bananas), cakes, and marshmallows to dip in the pot. It was the best meal ever!!!! So much fun too.
Right before we got our food.
John eating... He had shrimp, steak, and chicken.
Trying to get my food out of the pot.
We had to get up early for graduation on Saturday. My ceremony was during the first session at 10Am. They had a second ceremony at 3 for the rest of the graduates.
Before the ceremony they had all 1,300 to 1,400 line up like cattle in these rows, so that we could get in alphabetical order. Actually, we were all close in alphabetical order, but they just read our names off the card we handed them. I wish we could have stayed with our friends if they were going to do that. We all pretty much walked across the stage in a complete line, so it wasn't "your own walk of fame". That was fine with me because after being there 2 hours already.. you start to get really tired of it all!
This is a very blurry picture of me waiting to go up.
This is the stage that they made everyone pretty much run across, so that they could get through all the graduates.
The ceremony started at 10Am and ended at 12:30. My parents and I had to get there at 8:30, so they could get good seats. They were able to get great seats. I sat just a few rows down from them. :)
We decided to get away from the stampede of people to take photos. The building in the background is Fretwell which is where all the Freshman classes are.. The statues if of a guy chiseling himself out with a hammer and stake.
Thanks mom, dad, and John for coming up to my graduation! I had fun!
So undergrad is all done! What now? Right now, cooking a vegetable soup from scratch.. it's boiling pretty hard, so I'd better go!
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day, mom! I hope you have a great day! You are the best!
I am trying to find ways to keep myself busy with no school work!
I came up with landscaping idea. It will be very symmetrical. This drawing looks like something a 3rd grader would do, but it helped me get my thoughts together. :) I am worried I'm going to mess it all up.
My mom gave me some great suggestion for bushes to plant. I am going to get some bulbs to plant in front of the bushes and maybe a waterfall or a elegant statue for the center.. or plant a flower bed?
Well, I hope to start working on some of it tomorrow. This will be my summer project along with a few other things I need to get done. I'm excited! :)
I am trying to find ways to keep myself busy with no school work!
I came up with landscaping idea. It will be very symmetrical. This drawing looks like something a 3rd grader would do, but it helped me get my thoughts together. :) I am worried I'm going to mess it all up.
My mom gave me some great suggestion for bushes to plant. I am going to get some bulbs to plant in front of the bushes and maybe a waterfall or a elegant statue for the center.. or plant a flower bed?
Well, I hope to start working on some of it tomorrow. This will be my summer project along with a few other things I need to get done. I'm excited! :)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Finals week
I am taking a break from studying right now.
This morning I finished my second class of the week, and now I have 3 more classes left! Well, I could only have 2 more classes. I am in between an A and a B in my cognitive neuroscience class. This class is for graduate and undergraduate students, so he doesn't dumb down the test for undergrads! If only, he would have!;) I have the option of taking the 4th exam on Thursday. It is over a lot of material and an entire chapter he didn't go over in class will be on it. If I take it, I could end up with an A or still get a B. So, I don't know what to do? I am still waiting on him to post my grades for 3 other assignments in his class. If I get even 5 points taken off of them, taking the 4th exam would be a waste of time, even if I get a high A. I may take it last minute on Thursday?
I also found out this week that I got into the graduate program at UNCC for middle grades math. I still don't have a teaching position. I was hoping to pay as I went, but it looks like that will be difficult, so I may have to wait until the spring. I will stick with tutoring full time for now. I will make just about as much as a first year full time teacher, and it won't be nearly as stressful. I will have to work some during the summers, but just 5 hours a week. Not too bad! :) I am also going to apply to some christian schools. I have heard they aren't as strict about liscenure requirments, but you never know thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Finally, I gave my 2 weeks notice at my AVID tutoring job with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, so I will be a full time private contractor for another tutoring company that mostly works with private schools. I don't know if its good or bad to be totally out of the CMS system, since I am trying to get back in as a teacher. Again, thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, tutoring is not considered teaching, neither is substituting, or student teaching. How do they ever expect to fill teaching positions if none of those things qualify as experience?
Those are just my ramblings for the day. I need to get back to studying for an exam tomorrow morning. 2 more days of exams left! :)
This morning I finished my second class of the week, and now I have 3 more classes left! Well, I could only have 2 more classes. I am in between an A and a B in my cognitive neuroscience class. This class is for graduate and undergraduate students, so he doesn't dumb down the test for undergrads! If only, he would have!;) I have the option of taking the 4th exam on Thursday. It is over a lot of material and an entire chapter he didn't go over in class will be on it. If I take it, I could end up with an A or still get a B. So, I don't know what to do? I am still waiting on him to post my grades for 3 other assignments in his class. If I get even 5 points taken off of them, taking the 4th exam would be a waste of time, even if I get a high A. I may take it last minute on Thursday?
I also found out this week that I got into the graduate program at UNCC for middle grades math. I still don't have a teaching position. I was hoping to pay as I went, but it looks like that will be difficult, so I may have to wait until the spring. I will stick with tutoring full time for now. I will make just about as much as a first year full time teacher, and it won't be nearly as stressful. I will have to work some during the summers, but just 5 hours a week. Not too bad! :) I am also going to apply to some christian schools. I have heard they aren't as strict about liscenure requirments, but you never know thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act.
Finally, I gave my 2 weeks notice at my AVID tutoring job with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, so I will be a full time private contractor for another tutoring company that mostly works with private schools. I don't know if its good or bad to be totally out of the CMS system, since I am trying to get back in as a teacher. Again, thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act, tutoring is not considered teaching, neither is substituting, or student teaching. How do they ever expect to fill teaching positions if none of those things qualify as experience?
Those are just my ramblings for the day. I need to get back to studying for an exam tomorrow morning. 2 more days of exams left! :)
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Pa's 80th Birthday Party!
Happy Birthday Pa! :)
My mom got him this cool hat that everyone could sign.
John with an angry face...
Paul with thoughtful expression..
Jojo was there..
I tried to get pictures of everyone.
Uncle Mitch made some yummy burgers. :)
I hope Pa has an awesome birthday! :)
I have one more week of school... finals this week.
My mom got him this cool hat that everyone could sign.
John with an angry face...
Paul with thoughtful expression..
Jojo was there..
I tried to get pictures of everyone.
Uncle Mitch made some yummy burgers. :)
I hope Pa has an awesome birthday! :)
I have one more week of school... finals this week.
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