Nice people

A guy told me one time that "nice" wasn't exactly the compliment he wanted to receive from a girl. I guess he felt it was akin to being a girl with a sweet spirit. Well, it's not, at least as far as I'm concerned. "Nice" was at the top of the many "What-I-want-in-a-husband" lists I created due to countless young women's lessons on the subject. I got my "nice"man (not to mention the fact that he's good looking) and I love him.

On a less commital note, isn't it lovely when someone is just nice to you out of the blue? Once the guy in line in front of me bought my Krispy Kreme donut for me. It made my whole weekend, and it only cost him 60 cents. There's a children's book about a girl who does a nice thing and then the person she does it for does three nice things, and they each do three nice things. They show the exponential growth of the kind deed spreading around the world in a week or something. All because a man bought a donut. Incredible huh?

Well, yesterday I was at Walmart because my school has been collecting plastic bags to recycle and Walmart pays schools to do that. The last drop-off date of the year was Friday. So, I ended up with 7 giant garbage bags full of plastic bags. They weren't heavy, but they certainly were bulky. Anyway, as usual the parking lot was jam-packed and I was thinking how I didn't want to make two trips. Thus, I was doing my best to grab all of the bags, when a man behind me says, "I think you're doing too much shopping at Walmart, miss." Then he offers to take the bags in with me. Now, perhaps that's not so surprising for someone to do that on their way in, but he had just gotten out. Not to mention, he had a friend with him whom he told to find him later.

We go in, but as it was my first time dropping them off, I didn't know where to go. The man just stayed with me while I asked people! What a great guy. He waited while the Walmart "associate" called a manager to get instructions. Anyway, it made me so happy that I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. Nice people rock.

"I think you're wrong."

So we went in for the 20 week ultrasound the other day. It was the first time Kevin went with me. We really only dealt with the ultrasound technician, but Kevin met the Dr. afterward when he went up to pay a bill.

When I made the appointment, the lady told me to go with a full bladder. Well, I always seem to have one of those these days, but I didn't want them to have to fill it. (It just seems disgusting to me). So I filled it myself, and I did a very good job if I do say so myself. I drank two bottles of water two hours before and crossed my fingers that I would be able to make it through the appointment. Apparently it doesn't take 2 hours for that much water to get through my system. I'll ruin the surprise and tell you that against all odds, I did make it.

Anyway, we went in and she was taking pictures of the baby and making measurements and things. Here's a link to a few of the pictures:

Ultrasound

She then asked us if we wanted to know the gender of the baby. Seeing as we did, we told her yes. She then asked us what we wanted. Now, what kind of a question is that? Especially just before one is going to tell you what you've got. How is she going to announce it if it's not "what we wanted." "Well, I'm sorry ma'am, but you're not going to have one of those." I have been joking about not wanting a girl, because they turn into what I have in my classroom this year. (Sixth grade girls have a hard life with all of the sudden hormonal influx. I didn't like being a sixth grade girl much. Did you?) In reality though, what I want is a healthy baby, whether boy or a girl. Either one would be good news. So, In typical fashion, I didn't answer the question. (Perhaps that bothers people at times... :) I told her, "Well, I think it's a boy."

She made a slight movement of the ultrasound wand and said, "I think you're wrong." She kept trying to get a straight view to show us how she knew, but our little girl was a bit too excited. She was jumping up and down. (It's still bizarre to me that that can be happening, and I don't feel a thing.) Eventually we got a clear shot and the tech seemed quite sure of herself. I also felt quite sure of myself...that she was wrong. I've been expecting a little boy for months. Since before I was even pregnant I thought it was a boy.

I'm getting more and more used to the idea of a baby girl, although every third person tells me that their cousin's step-mom's aunt had a boy after they told her it was a girl or visa versa. I'm certainly excited to have either, but I'm getting more and more used to the idea of this one being a girl. I'm still thinking about names for both genders though. I don't think I'll believe it until I see it. Maybe that's a blessing. I got to find out, and I'm still going to be surprised at the birth.

I know your next question (I've heard it dozens of times this week.) The answer is no, we don't have a name picked out yet. It might be quite some time before we do, and I don't think we'll be sharing until we're fairly certain. So, just keep calling it baby Presley for now. (Notice I'm still using 'it' instead of 'she'.)

Christmas Pictures

Yes, I hear you trying to tell me that it's already March, and that Christmas was over two months ago. Still, I figured that we should share some of our Christmas pictures with the world. Just click on the decadent cookies below!

Christmas