A busy weekend

This weekend was crazy busy, but lots of fun!

Friday we had the day off from school, which was so nice! I was actually able to sleep in a little, and enjoyed a relaxing morning. Then I was off to volunteer at Spartanburg's Switcharoo Consignment sale. The sale was open to the public Friday-Sunday, but on Wednesday, volunteers got to go shopping first and get the best pick of items, so I went to look and even purchase a few things. This was my first real introduction to consignment sales - and let me say - it was amazing! This is a well oiled machine that required a lot of planning, organization, volunteers, and workers. There's a sale in Greenville and Spartanburg in the Spring and the Fall, and I can't wait till the fall sale! It was hard to shop for the baby not knowing it's gender.

Saturday was a wonderful day. It began with a kitchen shower for my future sister in law, Holly. She is a beautiful young woman, full of life and energy, and I can't wait for to officially be apart of the family! She, and Scott, got a lot of great things for their kitchen! I didn't get a great picture, but the lady who hosted gave her an apron (for cooking), pearls (every house wife evidently wears them cooking and cleaning), rubber gloves, a duster, and in all seriousness, a Bible with her and Scott's names engraved on it with their wedding date. It was very sweet.

We were in Fort Lawn, which is near Charlotte, and we obviously couldn't go all the way to Charlotte without visiting Ikea and the Container Store. We found a bookshelf and baskets for the nursery at Ikea, and a few other things for the house. That store is crazy!! We also found a few things at the Container Store. Lots of shopping, lots of fun! But a long day.

Sunday was a good morning at church, and then a relaxing afternoon at home on the couches.
However, Sunday evening I volunteered to help clean up and sort Switcharoo. I didn't know what I was getting myself into!

First we had to take all of the clothes that were not bought off the racks and sort them into broad numerical groups according to their consigner number. 

These are some of the tables with the stacks and stacks clothes left over. And there were probably at least 20 tables just like this one. 

Then all the clothes on the tables had to be sorted by specific consigner number. Cards were put on the floor, ready to receive whatever was left over! And this is not even half of the cards! 

I stayed and helped for 2 hours, and they weren't anywhere near being half way done. But it was fun to help and to see how things like this work. 

And now, I'm just counting down the days till Spring Break - T-minus 10 days!! 

God Bless

My new set of wheels

It's official! I have a new set of wheels...kinda!

 When I went to interview for my position in District 1, they made it very clear that all certified assistants had to get their CDL and be trained and licensed to drive a school bus. I agreed because I wanted the job, and didn't think too much about it - they said once I got my CDL I would only be put on the sub list and probably not even have to drive. So in October I sat through a 4 day all-day in-class training, and then in February I started my real training and driving. I had to have 10 hours behind the wheel driving practice, and then probably another 8 hours of CDL-School bus training. I had to learn how to do a thorough pre-trip inspection, which included pointing out all the engine parts, doing a cab and driver check, and going under the bus three different times to point out all the parts under the bus! Needlesstosay, I know way more about buses than I ever thought I would.

I have been studying and studying for about a month now, and yesterday was my final test. I had to conduct a word-for-word, overly detailed thorough, pre-trip inspection (which I nailed!! thank you memorization skills from high-school theater), a skills course driving test (I think I missed 3 out of 14 points, the hardest maneuver of which I did perfectly, though!), and then a road test, which I did fine on. In the end, I passed!!

All that's left to do is go back to the DMV, get my official CDL, and send a copy off to the district offices so they can send me a certificate of some sort. And then I can drive a school bus! Not that I really want to, mind you, but I can if I'm needed.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. It was an opportunity to learn a new skill that not many people can say they have, and I'm mighty proud of my CDL! And if anyone ever needs a reliable, responsible, driver for a vehicle that sits over 15 passengers, just let me know!

God Bless

Baby Reid

Baby Reid will be 18 weeks tomorrow!!

I haven't been very good about taking pictures each week showing her/his growth (and mine), but until recently, there really wasn't much to show. I have just started to look like I'm pregnant (and not that I just ate too much for the past couple of days!), and will hopefully do better taking pictures to show the progress.

Here are few fun things about my first pregnancy:

• I had morning all day sickness the first trimester. Fortunately the worst weeks were over Christmas break when I could just lay on the couch all day and not have to worry about 20 5 year olds!
• I am finally back to eating normally, and with a full appetite for sure!. For a while absolutely nothing looking appealing to eat and I had food aversions to everything! I'm still following my vegetarian diet, and have to be even more mindful about my protein intake, but it's doable. I still can't drink milk (dairy or non-dairy), eat certain vegetables, which is strange because I love both! 
• I'm still exhausted by the end of the day. I come home from school and crash on the couch. No naps, just rest, and maybe a streamed episode of Dawson's Creek... guilty pleasure for sure. No I'm not embarrassed to admit it!
• My body is already preparing me for a newborn! A.K.A. - It's a good night when I can get 5 hours of sleep. For some reason I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep. I usually, get a small snack, go upstairs, check Facebook, Pinterest, and Consumer Reports for baby ideas. At least it's working - I'm getting more used to less sleep. (For those of you who don't know, I'm used to getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night, no joke)
• I'm officially into maternity pants! Let me just say - SO comfortable!! I fought getting maternity pants as long as I could. I used a rubber band to hold the buttons, I used a belly belt thing, I just wore long cammies and shirts over unbuttoned pants - but no so luck any more. I think I may have one pair of jeans and one pair of khakis that fit this week, but probably won't next week! It's really weird how clothes will fit one week and not the next!
• My sister-in-law, Anna, gave us a basket of books for Christmas. There's one book for every month leading up to August, and we love opening one at the beginning of the month. These are the four we've opened so far. Each one comes with a Bible verse about children as well. It was a very thoughtful and sweet gift!

• We're starting to plan the nursery! I've actually been pinning ideas on Pinterest since before even getting pregnant, but now I'm really thinking about what we want, and where to put things, colors, accessories, etc. The nursery will be gray and white, with yellow accents. And my dad is designing and building the crib and the rocking chair!! I'm SO excited!! 

And finally - some pictures!