Freedom!

So yesterday was my last day with those little 2nd graders after 8 eight weeks of them calling me teacher. It's a tad bittersweet. They were a good group of kids, which helped me enjoy those 8 weeks. I'm sad to not get to see them grow anymore than I already have, but know I'll be subbing here and there and will stop by to say hi.

I'm glad to have been given the opportunity to help out my friend while she was on maternity leave. I know it meant a lot to her to have someone she trusts running her classroom for that long. I can only imagine how challenging it may be to get back into the swing of things after a break like that...I know she's stressing (it's in her nature). But those kiddos will welcome her and make her feel special...we had a little chat about that before I left.

Now the time has come where I can start to relax a bit more since I won't be working everyday, making lesson plans, or having to take work home with me to grade. I'm a couple weeks away from starting my 3rd trimester of pregnancy and it feels so good to know my stress level will drop a bit...though it may rise from time to time as I get things ready around the house. How excited am I to reorganize things, clean, and set up? Words cannot describe! I've been keeping the urge to nest at bay for a little while and now that I'll be home most day during the week I'll have something to do to keep from getting bored.

The current project is deciding on a paint color for the nursery. Richard and I have talked about it and after a few of my suggestions receiving the "yikes, I don't think so" look, we've decided on a neutral brown type color. I first thought I'd like something colorful for the boys room, but going with a neutral color will not only make the colorful accents I'll add later stand out more, but it will also keep us from having to repaint so often every time we change the theme as he grows up. Now the dilemma is choosing the right shade of neutral brown...there are a TON! I think I'd like something light since it's a small room. We went by Home Depot yesterday to pick up a few color sample cards and the more time I've spent thinking about it and looking at color swatches online, I will probably go back today to get a few more, lighter toned ones to bring home to hubby. I'm sure he'll trust my judgement on which one to shade. I can just hear him now replying with "that's fine." Men have very little opinion about things like this, I think...at least my man does :) After I return with the new color swatches I'm planning on taping off the room for Richard. I really don't think I can help with the paint rolling, but the trim and touch ups I'm able to do. It's such a small room and with me taping it off for him will help it go rather quickly. What's even better is that when we decide to go get the paint we have a gift card to use to purchase it (a very late wedding gift from one of Richard's friends). We're all about saving money where we can!

This is the bedding I fell in love with!

I really want to make framed (or on canvas) owls in bright colors like this for the wall decorations using scrap paper.

Those are just some of the ideas I have for the nursery once it's painted. We haven't purchased the crib or the bedding yet...we're waiting until after our baby shower next month, just in case :)

Another exciting thing about November, aside from the baby shower, is that some of my family is coming out to visit! My mom really wanted to see me (in person) when I was pregnant because the only other time she'd see me is after Josiah is born. So my mom, my grandma, my aunt, and my cousin are all coming out for a long weekend stay November 10th-14th. I'm so excited! They will stay with us, so I'll have fun trying to find enough air mattresses for people since we only have one spare bed. Richard jokes that he'll clean out the shed for my aunt to sleep in. Ha! Everyone feels sorry for Richard since he will be stuck in a house with 5 different generations of women...I personally think he will enjoy it. He will have fun joking around with my aunt and my mom. I think that alone will make him forget about all the chaos they may cause.

With them coming I really wanted to have the nursery painted already. For that reason and also for the reason that the holidays will hit soon after they leave. Even though Richard and I are sticking around here for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, we'll have parties to go to and finalizing purchases and decorations for the baby then. It will feel so good to have the painting done so we can start putting furniture in the room and have a place to put the gifts that we'll receive.

Here's to having a BLAST organizing, cleaning, painting, and decorating for our new addition in the coming months!