Saturday, October 27, 2007

October 26th - Due date and waiting!




So we didn't end up driving ourselves crazy we decided to go to Portsmouth on our due date. We got to hang out with our good friends the Camerons. Jessica and I thought it fitting that on her due date we go to the spot in Portsmouth where I proposed to her. In the picture she is standing exactly where she stood when I proposed. Right in front of our friend "Willie" the whale.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

6 days

The count down is definitely getting way down there...we can now just say we are due on friday! it is crazy! On Thursday we had an ob appointment (hopefully our second to last) Our midwife did an internal exam and told us that my cervix is 80% effaced but only 1 cm dilated. So we figured that all of those braxton-hicks last week were thinning out cervix, so now we just have to wait to dilate...its very nerve racking:) she also said she could feel the head, which was so weird, but cool! she also estimated the baby's weight...which I hope she grossly over estimated...because she said that he is already 8 lbs!! I was really hoping Shane's small baby genes would take over (he was 6 lbs) but, unfortunately, i think my fatty pie genes ate his (I was 9 lbs...) Oh well, if my mom could push me out, I'll be able to push Ollie out:)
On Thursday the third and fourth grade teachers at school threw me a baby shower during lunch. It was so nice of them. I got diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, two outfits, socks, and a play yard!!! I really lucked out getting a temp job with such great people, and I will really miss working there, though I think I may be a little distracted by my new little bundle of joy!

I will post some pictures of the shower later, the website doesn't want to let me do it right now...
Tomorrow is the Primary Presentation in our ward and my mom is playing the piano (she has for...possibly the last decade) So we are going to have a sneak peak at what little Ollie will be like at his first primary presentation:) Ok ok I'm obsessing about him... More soon!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

12 days!

So at the doctor's the other day we asked what they had as our due date, and they have October 26, so that is what we have to go by now too! So that means we have 12, almost 11 days left until our due date! I've been having increasing Braxton-Hicks contractions for the past couple of days, however, so I am ready whenever Oliver is for his arrival. We finally have everything that we need so I am feeling prepared and ready for our little guy to meet us. He has a place to sleep, he has clothes, he has diapers, a place to be changed, and plenty of toys (a bouncy chair, a play mat, TONS of stuffed animals...) We're both very ready to meet Oliver.
I have been working at Mom's school for the past couple of weeks as an aid in the fourth grade. It has been great, I really enjoy it, I wish I could continue the long term subbing, but having a baby might get in the way of that... It has really made me realize, though, that I would love to be a teacher. I think that fourth grade would be the perfect age group to teach-they know how to read and write, but they're not too cheeky about anything that they know. They still have enough retained innocence, but are fun at the same time. I take on a reading group tomorrow, so that will be a new level of involvement in the classroom. I'm excited, it is a book that I loved growing up called "Sarah Plain and Tall." What is great about this job is that the weeks have really been flying by because I'm not just lounging around the house, I am DOING something for8 hours a day. Its less time for me to freak out about every kick and twich I feel in my belly.
Shane and I both had to give talks in church today. My talk was about angels and Shane's was about lessons from early church members. I think that we are both really happy with how our talks turned out. Everyone was falling over themselves telling me and mom how well Shane spoke. He really is an amazing speaker, very moving. It is a skill that is not easily learned and he does such a good job with it. I received a huge compliment from a woman whose son is in Iraq. She wanted a copy of my talk to send to him because she thought it might be comforting to him. It felt really good.
This week Shane is going to continue the job search (he got turned down again for not working on Sundays...) We're going a different route, and hes just not going to apply to places that are open on Sundays, then he doesn't have to worry about working on that day! He is also going to look into going to school part time to get his computer degree.

Almost forgot! Sandwich Fair was a gastrointestinal success yet again this year! It was cold and drizzly, just how you want the fair to be. We started off with a philly cheesesteak (we wished we'd gotten italian sausage) and hot apple cider (fall is here!). Then we moved onto soup in a bread bowl, we got cream of broccoli, followed by cold apple cider from the Inter Lakes tent (gotta support the alma mater!) After that we split some fries (I wish we'd gotten a bigger bowl! They were SO GOOD!!) Then Shane got a fried dough (I think they're gross) and we split an apple crisp. I finished the day off with a giant chocolate chip cookie and shane bought locally made peach soda (Meetinghouse Soda) At dinner that night the four of us shared one giant eclaire from the fair. We also bought Shane a new winter hat and bought a sweater for Ollie. It was a fun day. Unfortunately when we got to the fair we realized that the batteries on our camera were dead, so there is no photographic evidence of the delicious day. We just have to make sure the batteries are changed by the time I go into labor!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

October Update

Well the job search continues for Shane. We're finding it hard to find a place that will pay enough for us to move out of the 'rents house. He continues to search every option diligently, however, and hopefully one of these days he will be fruitful. Yesterday I landed a month long substitute job at Moultonborough Elementary School (where my mom works) I'm pretty much going to work there until I go into labor. It will be good to have a little cash flow, but more importantly it will keep me distracted from the imminent due date! I am subbing for an aid who is pretty much just the secretary for the fourth grade. I am the photocopy girl! Its not too tough, and all of the teachers are super nice-I'm excited for this short employment! I have a doctors appointment today (they're weekly now...ugh!)and then Shane and I will be going down to the temple for the rest of the day followed by some yummy temple cafeteria food! (no, really, we love it!) Wednesdays are my day off, so thats lucky so that we didn't have to change our plans. Saturday is our first childbirth class which I am excited about. I'm glad we're doing it near the end of the pregnancy-I feel like it would be even more of a tease to do them early because we would still have to wait 2 months until the baby came! Most excitedly, Monday we are going to the Sandwich Fair! As many of you know, this is a tradition for us every year to eat our way through the fair. We'll be sure to update with how much food we got through this year!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Shane's small update

Hello everyone. Jessica pretty much summed it all up in her post below but I just wanted to add a bit. The two job interviews that I have tomorrow are entry level; however, the starting pay is just a few thousand less than what I ended up making with Spinellis after 8 years with them! So not all that bad. But as Jessica pointed out it is simply temporary, on my part, until the Subway franchise gets closer to reality. I have applied for the franchise and have heard back from them that they are sending me their Offering Circular and that I should receive it in about a week from now, that is the next step in the ownership process so I am excited about that.

We like this blog and intend to continue to update it. Especially when little Oliver joins us :)

Oops!

We kind of left everyone on the edge of their seats about our situation and haven't updated since! We are back in beautiful New Hampshire. We arrived back 330am Thursday morning after our flight was delayed for 4 1/2 hours! But we made it home in one piece, and thats all we cared about. For me (Jessica), its just a waiting game now. I'm in the home stretch of the pregnancy,so everyday feels like an eternity! I'm 35 weeks, so I have 5 weeks to go. It feels like I've been pregnant for about 3 years and these last 5 weeks feel like ANOTHER 3 years! Its good to be back home, though, and not worry about the medical aspects of having a baby abroad. I'll have my own midwife and I'll be able to understand what the people at the hospital are saying to me:) Our childbirth classes start October 6, so I'm excited for those, I squeezed in just in time, I will be 39 weeks for the last class! Theres a chance I might be going to it with a baby! It will be a good chance to make friends with some other new moms in the area.
Shane has two job interviews tomorrow which is very exciting. Both are low skill, customer service/sales positions, but we just need something to hold us over until we know more about Subway and it gets up and running. If all goes well, by tomorrow night he will have a job in Concord!
Thank you everyone for all of your support during this crazy time in our lives...but at least it makes for some good reading!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Has it really been a whole year already!

Ahhhh what life throws at you sometimes. After a closer inspection it appears that we do not have the finances that we need to be comfortable for the year and beyond here in Scotland. After much prayer, talking, and council it has lead to and abrupt turn-around. Jessica and I will be heading back home to the States tomorrow.

See you a lot sooner rather than later...

Goodbye wee Scot.