Farewell to Teaching... for now!

We are truckin' right along with this pregnancy! It has been a busy last few weeks that have pushed my body a little further than usual but it has all been for fun. We are well into the third trimester now with less than 8 weeks to go to my due date. At my last doctor appointment I was 31.5 weeks pregnant and when he measured me (twice) I was measuring at 34cm. However many centimeters your uterus is is supposed to match how many weeks you are. So we're having a big baby! But I trust my doctor and know that he will make the best decisions on how to handle the delivery.

We also are in full swing of organizing and decorating the nursery. It has been a challenge to fit all the baby stuff into half a room. Organization has been the key! Once I feel like the room is done, I will post pics. Right now, tackling all of my baby room to-dos by myself seems exhausting so poor Mitchell is going to get roped into a lot of it. I don't think he minds though!

But this post is about our decision for me to be a stay at home mom while our kids are too little for school. It's a long story so if you're interested, lean back and relax. I say "our" decision but really a lot of it was my decision because if I didn't know I wanted to stay home, then I probably wouldn't have married a man who wanted his wife to stay home with the kids, and vice versa. Mitchell and I have been on the same page about this before we were married. Disclaimer: I hold no judgment against people who go back to work after having kids. Seriously, everyone makes the best decision for their family and there isn't one right way to do things. There are people I greatly respect who work while having young kids. This is merely my opinion and thought process for deciding to stay home.

So let me back up to my college days... I remember my junior year of college, when I was working as a student assistant in a biochemistry lab at Texas A&M doing research on drugs to kill tuberculosis, debating with myself whether or not I wanted to go to grad school and pursue a PhD. Most genetics majors are either grad school bound or med school bound. My biggest hold up for going to grad school was the fact that I desired to be a stay at home mom. My friends that I graduated from college with are just now finishing up grad school or are in the midst of residency after med school. I knew that if I went that route, I'd most likely be starting a family right when I was done with school and ready to work. That doesn't make sense to then stop working and stay home with kids. Sheesh, thank goodness I didn't go to grad school. God gave me enough sense to know that it was not the decision for my life.

Once I graduated from college I worked in a genetics diagnostic lab for Baylor College of Medicine. We received patient samples (blood, muscle or liver biopsy), extracted the DNA and then ran tests on it to see if we could find any mutations to explain the patient's illness. It was really fun and interesting... for like the first year and then I had learned all that I was going to learn at my education level (only a B.S.) and I felt like I hit the ceiling for that career. But luckily I was learning at the time how much I loved working with young people, mainly high schoolers and I was living with two teachers who shared what the life of a teacher was like. I thought that becoming a high school Biology teacher sounded like a fantastic idea because it would marry two things that I'm passionate about... high schoolers and science. I got a job at the best district in the world (in my opinion) and started working with some incredible teachers. Being a Biology teacher really is the perfect fit for me. I love it. So much. I got to teach for 2.5 years before Mitchell's job moved us to California. I got my substitute teaching credential in California and while I enjoyed being back in the classroom, subbing is so not the same as teaching. Plus (no offense to the Californians) I don't really care for the way things are done out here.

And now we're pregnant! Being a stay at home mom has never really been something that I questioned. My mom stayed home with us and because of that we were able to do so many fun things during the summer time. We always had someone there to help us get ready for school and make us snacks when we got home from school. And I think it helps the house run efficiently because let's face it, when you're a stay at home mom you're the CEO, CFO and COO of the house. Of course dad has a huge role and is the ultimate leader of the family but it's your full time job to run the house. Plus NO ONE is going to raise your kids as well as you will. No one will pour the time into helping them develop mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually as you will.

All that said, I mourn not being a teacher right now. I miss it so much. I miss the kids so much. I know some people can't handle high schoolers but they brighten my day and I learn so much from them. I miss exciting students to learn and care about the world around them. So much more goes into teaching than just the curriculum you're required to teach.

But I know that this brief time at home raising kids will be worth it. I won't have to stress or feel guilty about leaving my baby with anyone else. I won't be stretched to be a great mom, great wife and a great teacher. I can invest lots and lots of time into my kid(s). I think the more time parents can invest in their kids, teaching them and guiding them, the better off they will be and our society will be. I think this time that they are young is so brief and I don't want to miss a minute of it. I am so very thankful and don't take it for granted for one second that Mitchell has a job that provides for our needs so that I can stay home. (Side note: there are definitely financial and life-style sacrifices you have to make to live off one salary. You can do it if you really want to.)

I look forward to being a full time mom. I look forward to being a teacher again one day. I have enjoyed being a full time wife. Each day is a blessing and we should appreciate every thing a new day brings. Right? "This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Life Lately

Where, oh where has my motivation for blogging gone? Here are some highlights of what has gone on this spring...

Pregnancy Update

This week marks the start of the 3rd trimester! Woohoo! Let me check my phone for a current update on our countdown... 2 months, 20 days or 12 weeks. There really hasn't been much to update on. Things have gone so smoothly and the weeks are flying by. I feel good. Baby boy moves ALL the time. Sometimes he gets a little crazy in there and I have Mitchell lean over and talk to him to get him to calm down. It works. 

I'm diligently working on his room. I'm afraid I may have waited too long to get started on this stuff because it's difficult for me to hang curtains, change out bedding, measure the crib for a homemade crib skirt, etc. My goal is to get a lot of the big stuff done by June 6th because I'll be heading to Texas for a week and a half and then spending a week volunteering with VBS at my church so it'll be the end of June before I know it. 

Once the room is all put together I'll post pictures but until then, it's my little project. :) I did make this nursing cover the other day though. Yay for spending $10 on the materials rather than $30 on a Hooter Hider on Amazon. 

Trips to Texas

We went home in April for a baby shower in Grand Prairie with Mitchell's friends and family. We certainly felt the love and were so blessed by the gifts for our little one. I also got to help host a wedding shower for one of my best friends who is getting married in less than 3 weeks now!

A week after we got back to California, Mitchell had to travel down to Southern California for 3 weeks to work on one of their power plants during an outage. Instead of spending 3 weeks in the hot, hot desert or in Sacramento by myself, I went back to Texas and spent time with family. I visited Mitchell for a few days and then we both made our way back to Sacramento. 

Cheering on my little sister at her state water polo tournament!

Liddy after her last high school water polo game with the parents

Dinner in College Station after Billy's COLLEGE graduation! 

Breakfast with best friends!

View from Mitchell's hotel down by Palm Springs

My view while Mitchell worked all day. ;)

Friendscation

This past Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to north of Lake Tahoe with our "Sacramento family" and rented a massive house for the weekend. With two preggos in the group and 3 little boys, we didn't do anything crazy but had a blast hanging around the house. Crazy story for you... the owner of the house mixed up the weekends we were there and had planned on re-roofing the house while we were there. The owner lives in Washington and had made the trip down just for the purpose of working on the house. He realized his mistake and let us stay in the house anyway and canceled the roofers for Saturday. Well the owner kinda hung around and one time we came home from lunch and found him inside the house using the computer. Then Sunday he was working outside the house installing a de-icing system. After other strange happenings, Sunday night around 11:30pm we realized he had been sleeping at the house the whole weekend in a hide-away room!! What the heck?! Creepy and totally wrong! We decided to stay the night and confront him in the morning but no one slept soundly that night. I was just relieved when we all woke up alive the next morning. Believe me, there will be serious ramifications for this guy once we are through with him. Who does that?? Despite that insanity, we had a fabulous weekend!

Boys going on a Starbucks run

Yummy breakfast

Colton Sr and Colton Jr

Walk in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas

Watching Arrested Development in the game room in the 3 loveseat recliners

The owner's lair. One of the little boys accidentally opened a door that
had been previously locked exposing the hidden room.

Yosemite National Park... worth it!

One of the things on our California bucket list was a trip to Yosemite National Park. This incredible park happens to be 2.5 hours from Sacramento! The best time of year to visit Yosemite is April or May because all the snowmelt makes for incredible waterfalls. They are still flowing in the summer but the park is much more crowded and the waterfalls aren't as full. By the end of the summer, they are dried up. If you go any earlier in the spring, a lot of the roads are closed because they are too icy.

We spent the first day in Yosemite Valley which seems to be the most visited area of the park. Do you see all the points on the map like El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite Fall and Half Dome? Those are all in Yosemite Valley. At one point a massive glacier ran through that area, carving out a valley with impressive granite peaks on either side.

Driving into the valley:
Half Dome, there you are, you sneaky devil

Beautiful Merced River flowing through the valley

First hike: Bridalveil Fall

The stream crashing down below the Fall

Bridalveil Fall

Further into the valley floor and we see Yosemite Fall
This is the tallest waterfall in North America

Second hike: Vernal Fall

The start of the hike: ALL UPHILL

We got half a mile up when my prego body said no more.
We stopped for this beautiful view and then went back down.

I spy a billy goat :)

Third hike: Mirror Lake

Our picnic lunch view at Mirror Lake

At Mirror Lake with Half Dome behind us!

Fourth hike: Yosemite Fall

All three levels of Yosemite Fall

Bottom third of the Fall

The second day we went way down south to Mariposa Grove and walked among the giant sequoias. Those trees are just so grand!

The Bachelor and Three Graces

Grizzly Giant
The branches were 7ft in diameter! 

California Tunnel Tree

I found a Groupon for a little RV/cabin park about 20 miles from the entrance to the park. Our cabin was teeny tiny but when you consider how little time we spent there, it was perfect.

Standing at the door and you can see it all - haha!

If you ever get the chance to visit Yosemite, you have to go! It doesn't have to be a "camping" type trip. There are really nice hotels/lodges down in the valley and there are ranges of activities depending on how much physical exertion you want to put out. :) It was an incredible trip!

Baby BOY Martin

First off let's clarify something I learned in my sociology class in college...

A person's sex is what their chromosomes say that determines their reproductive organs - male (XY) or female (XX).
A person's gender is how they perceive themselves - masculine or feminine.

So this is a sex reveal, not a gender reveal. Hokay, onto the important stuff...

Drumroll please!

It's going to be a zoo around our house because we are having a BOY!

For whatever reason, I was convinced prior to our ultrasound this morning that we were having a girl. I have no idea why but obviously I was very wrong. As soon as his you-know-what popped up on the screen I knew what it was and that we were having a boy. Mitchell yelled something like, "Hot Dog! We're having a boy!". My heart quickly switched to being so excited. Ah, a boy! Our little man!

During this ultrasound they also checked the brain, heart, diaphragm, liver, kidneys, femur, umbilical cord and we got to see plenty of our little wiggle worm moving around in there. I am SO SO overjoyed to say that everything checked out and our baby is developing fabulously. We'll get the official results from our OB on Friday. Seriously, I couldn't praise God enough, especially after all of my fears. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow...

So there you have it! Mitchell and I are pumped to say that we are having a SON come August! :)

Topher & Marcia Visit

This past weekend we had the pleasure of some of our dear friends from Houston come visit their parents in California who just happen to live in our neighborhood! They were spending the weekend at Lake Tahoe skiing and were kind enough to invite us to come up for a night and day when they were taking the day off from skiing. We were so excited to see our friends!

They were staying in South Lake Tahoe so we decided to explore Emerald Bay. It's a part of the lake that is only accessible from the lake by boat. There are no roads that drive down to the water. It's gorgeous and to add on top of it's natural beauty, it is still very snowy up there. I think we forgot that we live 2 hours from such an incredible place.

Topher & Mitchell feeling the frigid water

Topher & Marcia at Lake Tahoe!

Emerald Bay from the south - ahh the snow!

Handsome hubby taking in the beautiful view!

Lake Tahoe behind us

Emerald Bay looking out towards the rest of the lake

After driving halfway around the bay, we saw signs for a hike to Eagle Falls. We were ready to stretch our legs and climb some rocks. Mitchell was kind enough to take it slow and make sure his preggo wife didn't fall. 

Marcia and I watching the boys climb rocks we weren't comfortable climbing!

Topher getting excited about the drop off!

Friends enjoying this beautiful day at Lake Tahoe!

Eagle Falls from the top looking down

After a few hours hiking around in higher altitude than we're used to, we stopped for burgers and milkshakes at a local joint in South Lake.

Not only was the scenery and day beautiful to add to the merriness, but time with good friends just can't be beat. So thankful for time with these two, and all the Smiths!