Variations of the Same Outfit

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: J Crew

Shoes: Naturalizer

Purse: Kate Spade

Not a lot of posting going on here because I don't have a lot of post-worthy outfits. My clothing choices are rapidly becoming limited as I continue to grow and grow and grow. Right now I'm down to a handful of dresses and whatever color Jackie cardigan I feel like wearing that day. 

I'm totally done with pants. Last weekend, RDog suggested that we have a fire in our fire pit and I said no because I didn't want to put on jeans. Silly me, I realized later that there is nothing wrong with wearing my Juicy pants (the only pants that feel comfortable) to sit around the fire.

Work It

Dress: Old Navy
Sweater: Sears (old)
Necklace: Forever 21 (old)
Shoes: Naturalizer

When taking these photos, the wind started blowing my hair in a very modelesque way. RDog got into photographer mode and started shouting, "work it" and "you're so sexy".

Every woman should hear that once in awhile; it was great for the self-confidence (and pretty funny too).

Reflective

Dress: Motherhood Maternity

Cardigan: J Crew

Shoes: Merona (super old)

Pearls: RDog

I wore this outfit for my last full day of teaching for 14 months (yah for maternity leave).

I was in a reflective mood so it made sense to wear the tiny pearl earrings RDog gave to me after my first day of teaching over six years ago. 

I still have two more weeks left and have to get through exams, report cards and graduation but the hard work is over.

28 Weeks

How far along: 28 weeks

Development:  Our little monkey is the size of an iceberg lettuce

Movement: All the time, especially at night. He does not like it when I lay on my side so he usually kicks me to sleep every night.

Maternity Clothes:  Everything is maternity now except cardigans (which I cannot button).

Stretch Marks:  None yet but I  am usually heavily lotioned up.

Best moment of my week:  Feeling a limb move in my belly. Truly freaking but awesome.

Worst moment:  Feeling dizzy and weak some mornings.

Sleep:  Good but I'm back to having crazy vivid dreams. As someone pre-pregnancy barely remembered her dreams, this trips me out sometimes. This week I've dreamt about my job (my maternity leave was used a way to switch me to middle school) and then I had a nightmare about how the whole world was booby-trapped. Both were horrible nightmares!

Miss Anything:  Red wine

Food Cravings: Cupcakes

Aversions:  None

Gender:  Baby Boy

Symptoms: Still struggling with dizziness. I had my prenatal check-up last Friday. Because my doctors rotate, I was able to talk about this with a different doctor (the last one told me to drink gaterade and I don't really like to drink that much sugar). This time we were able to figure out that the dizziness is likely caused by dehydration. It only happens on week-day mornings when I'm rushing around and not taking the time to drink enough water before leaving for work. Sure enough, this morning I made sure to stop and drink two glasses of water before leaving the house. No dizziness!

Belly Button: Slowly moving out

Rings:  On

Moody or Happy:  Pretty happy most of the time. I get a little cranky when strangers make random comments about my body. I still am having a hard time accepting the weight gain and the lack of control I have over my body right now. But I am trying to stay positive and "in the moment". I'm doubtful we will have more children after this so I try to remind myself of that and say, "This is the only time you will ever be 28 weeks pregnant. Enjoy it." I must look pretty miserable as a teacher at school who I don't really talk to came up to me last week and told me she hated pregnancy and it's ok; she loves her kids and it's worth it in the end. It was nice to hear that someone else felt the same way.

Looking Forward: Being done work. I have two more weeks left!

More Like Myself

Dress: Motherhood Maternity
Necklace: J Crew rip-off via EBay
Shoes: Zellers

This dress is one of my new arrivals from Motherhood Maternity. I was so tired of wearing cheap Old Navy dresses everyday, that I splurged on five cotton summer dresses. I was anxiously awaiting their arrival for over a week and kept checking my tracking number online.

On the day my dresses were due to arrive, I pulled into my driveway and failed to see any telltale signs of a package. A lot of curse words left my lips.

However, my package was located. The UPS man left it by our garage door. Whew!

I'm grateful to have some pretty summer dresses to get me through the next couple of months. They make me feel more like myself. 

Gems

Dress: Old Navy
Hat: H&M Mens
Shoes: Naturalizer


I need to have a venting session about the weird things people say to pregnant women. Today, I heard such gems as:

"I think you grew over the weekend."

Setting down the phone after calling parents at school. "Are you going to hold the phone up to your belly?"

Buying a popsicle. "Baby must be craving lime." No, it's hot and I can't freaking eat the ice cream I really want."

Being yelled at from within a random house while walking by. "Congratulations!"

I'm beginning to feel like just a carrier for this baby. KDot is disappearing, it's all about the belly.

On the fashion front, I'm thankful I am not hugely pregnant in the winter as I wouldn't be able to wear maxi dresses. They are truly a lifesaver.

Inspire

Dress: Old Navy
Clutch: Danier Leather
Shoes: Karen Scott
Pearls: RDog

I wore this last week to a staff retirement dinner. I gave in and ordered a batch of pretty dresses to get me through prom/graduation/wedging season. Unfortunately, they arrived the day after this event.

I tried my best to dress up one of the few dresses that fits me. I was worried that I would be under-dressed but as it was a very hot day, everyone was in casual little sundresses. Whew!

One of the retirees was a personal mentor of mine. He helped me a lot during my first years of teaching and is an example of the type of history teacher I want to become.

There were a lot of speeches and some great stories about the two teachers who retired. One story I really took to heart. My mentor every year threw out all his "stuff". For those not familiar to teaching, we keep a binder of "stuff" (lesson plans) to be used next year. My mentor said,  "New students deserve new ideas." He started fresh every year.

This really brought home how complacent I've become with my job lately, especially this past semester. I've been doing the same old thing with little change. After my maternity leave, I really want to get back to work at becoming a better teacher. Even in retirement, my mentor is still inspiring me!