party!

over the weekend, tim and i traveled home to help celebrate my brother-in-law's fourtieth birthday.  my sister had been busy trying to plan a surprise party, but she was having trouble making up "reasons" as to why she had to make an errand here and an errand there.  and clint did not make it any easier as he asked a lot of questions.  i do not blame him though, i am the same way!

here are some pictures from the party...

 i have a love/hate relationship with balloons :)

 a view of the long table...unfortunately the strings are in the way.

 i had the pleasure of sitting across from riley.  it was so much fun!

 love the mirrors at the circus cafe and their crazy chandeliers.

 she enjoyed throwing the spoons on the floor.

grabbing for the balloon. 

it's your biiiiiiirrrrrthhhdaaaaaaaayyyyyy!  (check out clint when he was younger!  he was a ginger then!) 

and that's where she gets those blue eyes from. so pretty! 

clint's friends requested a speech.  i don't blame them--clint gives a great speech! 

deeeeeeeeelish. 

oh hey! i'm hardly on this side of the camera. 

 riley keeping her cousin reese on her toes, with all the dropping of spoons and sippy cups.

kid has better kicks than i do. 

it is incredibly hard to take a picture of clint without his eyes closed and looking at the camera, but i snagged this one of him while we sang, "happy birthday!" 

we need a circus cafe in binghamton...popcorn and cotton candy = love <3 

"it's weird to touch someone else's belly." 

my brother-in-law, clint and my sister, colleen.

the party was a success, but we all were not sure if clint was really surprised even though he said he was ;) everyone had a great time--the food was good, the drinks flowed all night, and the company was even better!

as expected though, the weekend went by too quick!  i do not like to be so far (yes, two and a half hours is far to me) away from my family--i am envious of the friends that have their family a few minutes away and always wish i could scoop up my family and carry them with me back to binghamton.  hopefully one day...

oh, and here is miss kitty!  it is too funny when she sits like this!

the buddah-cat

cannot wait until the next time to see the fan -- make sure you never take them for granted <3

xoxo!

seventeen weeks!

yesterday marked the beginning of my seventeenth week and only two weeks until we find out if we are having a boy or a girl!  whoop whoop!

seventeen weeks!

baby news:  s/he is weighing 5 ounces (about as much as a turnip) and is around 5 inches long from head to bottom.

cravings:  same as last week!  i am lucky that i can eat almost anything without a problem, but baby strong seems to not enjoy cereal for breakfast.  i am doing my best to incorporate more fruits and vegetables now that i am into my second trimester and i am not losing food as often...have to start watching all those chips! :)

movements:  i am starting to feel some jabs, or at least that's what i think they are!

*colleagues at work were excited to see how my belly is growing today :)

**and i cannot forget to give a shout out to my fabulous friend, shannon, for coming with me for moral support, to the hospital after work today!  thank you so much!  it ended up not being as bad as i thought it was going to be (thank goodness!  i do not like hospitals!!) and we finished up our outing with a trip to the mall and treated myself to some clothes from motherhood.  whoop whoop!  thank you, again! xo.

---------------------------------------------------------------

we have a busy weekend, which will go by way too quick, so i have to get my camera and bags ready!  excited to blog about it next week :)

xoxo!

Choose Joy!

i stumbled upon Ashley's blog through a photographer's page that i follow on facebook, and i am incredibly glad that i did.  Ashley is the definition of inspiration--check her story out at... http://www.lilblueboo.com/ you can find her story on the left side of the blog, "The Cancer Chronicles".  she is amazing, and i love to read her posts as it makes you put your life in perspective and she goes through each day choosing joy.  i hope you take a few minutes and check her out, she even runs a pretty cool clothing line!

Choose Joy!  <3

spring, is that you?

 i looked out the bathroom window yesterday morning and could not believe what i saw!

there are buds on our trees, in february! 

i love me some flowers, especially spider mums.

 

 baby dinosaur <3

this picture cracks me up--i was having so much fun editing this picture that after looking at it so long,

he looks like he's stuffed!

i haven't had my camera out in a while, but i need to start carrying it around with me.  it is the only way i am going to learn and get better.  it has been hard with the winter months and only animals to snap pictures at, (not to mention the nasties of the first trimester), so i think i am going to have to recruit some friends to "model" for me when spring arrives!  plus, tim got me a wicked cool christmas present that i will be going to at the end of march--it's a photography weekend in albany!  i get to pick what workshops i want to attend for two days--i am so excited, but so nervous at the same time--i'm awful at going to new places by myself where i will not know anyone...plus i will be over twenty weeks pregnant.  eeeeeekkkk!  but, i have "liked" a few photographers on facebook that are willing to share their knowledge with other upcoming photographers, so i've been getting some inspiration from them, and it is incredibly appreciated.

the one thing i have learned, which i think is the most important thing, is that photography is art and art is subjective.  everyone has their own tastes and likes/dislikes, so you cannot compare yourself to others.  you need to be yourself and do your thing <3

 

xoxo!

sixteen weeks!

sixteen weeks!  ...and never wearing that orange color, again. ewww!

baby news:  s/he is the size of an avocado-- 4 1/2 inches long and 3 1/2 ounces.

cravings:  i cannot say that i have just one food item that i crave.  someone can say chinese food and my ears will ring, but in the next minute someone can say pizza and i am all about pizza.  i have been able to enjoy a lot of foods i always ate before i was pregnant, so to me, i do not consider them cravings.  a few foods i cannot get away from are:  chips, candy, fruit, and anything buffalo flavored...yuuuummmmmmmm-o!!!!

movements:  not yet

*our next ultrasound is in a couple of weeks--i will be nineteen weeks along so we may be able to find out if we are having a boy or a girl...holy moly!!!!  i cannot wait to find out!!!!  the anticipation is starting to drive me a little crazy, especially when i see "BABY SALE!" in the sunday newspaper or i am out at the store and browse the baby section.  i cannot wait to start buying things or at least start picking things out related to a boy or a girl! :)  :)  :)  :)

i have been telling tim since the beginning that i think we are going to have a boy, first.  a past family advocate of mine did one of those old wives tale tricks with me and it said boy then girl, so i'm going to stick with that in the back of my head to see if it was right.  so naturally, tim is thinking the opposite--a girl.  i would love a little baby girl so i can dress her in pink from head to toe and decorate with everything pink, but a handsome little boy will be just as fun.  as long as s/he is healthy, we are excited either way!

oh, and another reason for anticipation...how to reveal what we are having!  there are so many clever ways to tell your families that you're pregnant (that's how we started it off), so i feel we have to continue with the cleverness.  time to start devising a plan...  :)

xoxo!

a week behind!

today marks sixteen weeks!  i get pretty pumped as a new week arrives, i made it a goal of mine during the first trimester to help me get through the nasties to celebrate each  new week.  however, as my stomach gets bigger and bigger, it's starting to get weird!  weird and real.  so panic is starting to set in...and now i laugh at myself, as can my mom and sister because at the beginning i could not wait until my tummy got bigger.  i spoke too soon...

fifteen weeks!

my belly doesn't look too big here, but i feel like it got bigger since this picture...just wait and see :)

xoxo!

soapbox

i am a teacher.  and i love to teach. but what i am not, is a parent.  and i mean, a parent to the children that i teach.  someone else gave birth to them and raised them before they entered my classroom.  so i am not sure why my role as a teacher is expanding into being a parent, too.  why am i talking to a child about how he/she should be behaving at home?  do i go home with the children to see how they are behaving, to talk to them about how they should be acting if they start to act out or sass their parent(s)?  no.  because that is not my job.  it is the parents job, is it not? 


and why, why, why, why do parents believe their child over the teacher?  i have been hearing more and more in my classroom and from other teachers, how the parent is believing what the child is coming home and telling them.  and i don't mean your every day response to "how was school?" but the stories that they go home and tell their parent(s) and then we get a phone call the next day questioning US.  parents really think THAT badly of me or the other teachers in the classroom (or any other teacher for that matter) that we are not providing for their children appropriately; that they cannot TRUST us to do our job?  where did the TRUST go?  it really grinds my gears that the level of respect for teachers has declined--maybe it's the area i teach in, and i'm not saying ALL parents are this way because it is definitely not the case, but when i look back on my days in school, things were MUCH different. 

and i think that is part of my gripe...the view on education has dramatically changed as well as the view on teachers.  i really have no idea when people started to lose their focus on how important education is, but it is heartbreaking.  our education system is constantly being tweaked and standards are being forced more and more and kindergartens no longer have blocks and play kitchens; they are expected to do so much more at the age of five.  five years old, people...five!  and it seems as though no one is paying attention to how our economy, how people live, split families, extended families, are affecting children.  no one is paying attention to what children know before they walk through the doors of a school, but they are expected to do so much  and teachers are expected to work miracles, otherwise their jobs will be in jeopardy.  but why aren't we looking at how many more children are going through evaluations each year, how many more children are being diagnosed with one or more learning disabilities?  why are we not taking this into account?


some thing needs to change, and it is not standards.  we need to figure out how to make people realize the importance of education, first. 


...i will step off of my soapbox, for now.

the first reveal!

as most of you know, tim and i are expecting our first bundle in august!  we've been taking a picture each week (since week 10) not only because i think it will be fun to look back on, but also for our families and friends who do not see us often.  my plan is to add the picture each week, but tonight i will add all of the ones we have from the past couple of weeks.  

ten weeks!

eleven weeks!

twelve weeks!

a little over thirteen weeks!

fourteen weeks!

[side note: the lighting in our bedroom really sucks in the first few pictures, but after tim moved furniture around we found a better wall to take pictures on.  we take the pictures in the morning before work so there's no natural light shining through the windows, so we get what we get.]

i have felt huge from day one, so it's fun to see what my belly looks like compared to what my mind thinks it looks like :)  i have been pushing myself along each week as the first trimester was really not very enjoyable.  i know i did not have it as bad as others, so i really did my best to suck it up and keep it moving.  i did however, have my share of pity parties every once in a while...it was only fair with all the ups and downs one has to deal with.  i am happy to have made it through my first trimester and moving into the second trimester, where the bundle is to double in size (how fun!).  i am honestly excited for this trimester not because the nausea and icky feelings should go away, but because i'll be able to tell that there really is a baby growing in my belly.  it's tough going through the first trimester and only getting to see the growing peanut and hearing the heart beat every four weeks...i'm ready to count kicks!

okay, the GRAMMYs are on!

xoxo!

a little-bit-of-everything!

i have been eager to get this blog started, but have had a hard time finding the time (and energy) to sit down and do it.  i think now that i wrote one post and was ready to post it for all to see, i got cold feet!  i've thought about what my next post would be about, but when i sat down to write it, nothing came out.  so i stepped away from it for a week or so--i don't want this to be a chore, i want this to be a place to write my thoughts, share new pictures, and keep family+friends updated.  and that's what this blog will be!  a little-bit-of-everything...please enjoy and feel free to leave a comment or two!

...................................................................................

the background story on ...just think (pink!)

i am originally from a town 20 minutes north of Albany, NY but now reside in the Binghamton area with my husband, cat, and dog.  my first passion is teaching--i never thought of becoming anything else when i was growing up--my husband helped me land my first job, which is why we are here in Binghamton.  i teach three to five year olds at a Head Start agency...it is a very challenging job, but very rewarding at the same time.  my second passion is photography--this passion started to blossom more when i began the search for a wedding photographer for our July 2011 wedding.  i have always been the person who always had their camera at all events and snapped a million pictures each time; friends didn't mind forgetting their cameras at home because they knew i would have mine, and i was okay with that :)  i loved, and still love, to capture the moment.  there's something about looking back at pictures and all the emotion and memory that comes with a photo...it is amazing!  i quickly realized that this is something i want to do for people; i would love to go around and snap pictures as a job!  how fun would that be?!  my husband has been very supportive of this blooming idea, and i am grateful for it because i am not always the most confident person.  i need an extra push every once in a while, especially when i am stepping into unknown territory.

the rest of my support is scattered around NYS and a few are spread up and down the east coast--i miss my family dearly--weekends are not nearly long enough to travel, spend time and catch up with them.  i wish that i could scoop them up and keep them in my pocket wherever i go.  the same goes for my friends.  i have a fabulous group of friends, from high school and from college, and i am so lucky to have them!  we are all so busy with jobs, significant others, starting our own families, but when we do all catch up, it's like we never had time a part.  that is what i call friendship!  i love you all <3 <3  my husband and i do have his family here in Binghamton and i have joined his friends from high school here too, and i am grateful to have been accepted into his circle--it's not always easy!  it is nice to have family so close especially when your own isn't just a 10 minute drive away :)

oh, and i love anything and everything, PINK!  <---- that's the closest pink color i could get on here, and that's not even that fabulous.  oh well!  pink, pink, pink, pink, pink.  i cannot get enough of the color, pink! <3  so since this isn't a full blown photography blog yet, i had to think of something catchy with something that goes along with me.  what else could i have thought of?  :)

once again, i hope you enjoy this little-bit-of-everything blog and join me on the adventures ahead!

xoxo,

beth

p.s. check out my january post (told you i started a while ago!) on how blogging entered my mind!