Almost Done!

This title has many meanings.  First of all, I will be 34 weeks on Friday, which means exactly five more weeks until this little girl will join our family.  This pregnancy has been different in so many ways, and it is hard to believe that next week will mean I will be where I was in my pregnancy when Gracie was born.  I am already bigger and feel "more filled with baby" than I ever did with Gracie.  She was never as active as Charlotte is, and I definitely have all the "typical" pregnancy symptoms that I didn't experience before.  With that said, I still LOVE being pregnant...and even without a tiny pregnant body, I love my body pregnant.  I am amazed at what God can do, and how new life is formed.  We cannot wait to see what Charlotte will be like and look like.  Her nursery is almost done...so that will be another blog post :)

The title also represents being ALMOST DONE with another school year.  I am finishing another year teaching 6th grade English part-time, and this time added a new class...8th grade Bible.  Those 8th graders hold a special place in my heart because they were my 6th grade class when Gracie was born.  They are sweet kids who have grown about a foot since then, voices have become deeper and louder, and in a class of 25 or so, I get swallowed up pretty easily.  With that said, they respect me and I know they love me.  The year was a wild ride, and I will be happy to see them graduate 8th grade tomorrow night (I will be a blubbering, hormonal fool I am sure!)  My 6th graders were a bundle of energy, and the classes were filled with sweet kids.  They were a lot of fun to teach, and I will miss the days we had together!  My mornings were full, but my afternoons were just as full playing with Gracie.  Since becoming pregnant, it was very hard to teach all morning and play with Gracie all afternoon.  Once Tim's work schedule changed, it became even more tough because the evening routine was up to me as well.  It is not as easy to lean over a tub to give a bath with a huge pregnant belly!  I am thoroughly EXHAUSTED and ready to not have so much on my plate.

The last thing this title represents is being ALMOST DONE being a working mom (for awhile).  My desire has always been to stay at home with my kids, and as much as I love teaching, I have never loved juggling both and being gone all morning every day.  My least favorite thing has been when Gracie wakes up in the morning and says, "You don't have to go to work today Mommy?  You get to stay and play with me?"  And I have to tell her, "Mommy has to go teach the kids, but I will be home after your lunch".  She is THRILLED when she wakes up on weekends and I tell her I don't have to go to work and that I get to play with her ALL day.  Her face lights up.  So when Tim moved to Mini Cooper and started in Sales, we prayed about it and with the timing of the baby and the timing of the new position, we had faith that signing another contract with a newborn and two year old at home was not God's plan for our family.  I have been blessed with other talents to bring in extra money if we need it, but this job change has already proven that we will be okay on one income for awhile.  I am thankful for the six years I taught, and I am thankful to be able to just be a mommy to my two girls, the most rewarding job in the world.  Besides, we will be able to take a mini vacation on a random Tues/Wed as a family since weekends are the busiest time for work for Tim.  We are simple people, and we will sacrifice extra finer things in life to allow this life change to happen.  Bring on the play dates and play clothes!   ...and I KNOW I will return to teaching...as far as a career it is what I was made to do. :)