Making lemonade!

Apparently I haven't had much to say this week.  It's been a crazy week at school so I haven't really had time to stop and think much!  I've been working with a group of fifth graders to create a "News Team".  They're going to do the morning announcements via live TV in the mornings.  I've been trying to get this together for a while, but I have to admit that I'm not really a "leader" kind of person.  I volunteered to take on this job, then was kind of like "crap... what did I get myself into?".  I'm great at helping out, giving ideas, making things for big projects, but I'm not great at getting a project off the ground... especially when there's nothing to go by.  This has never been done at our school and I had no idea where to start....

Long story short... what I meant to start a few weeks (umm... I mean months) ago, I put off to the last minute and was rushing to put together before Christmas break.  I'll give myself the excuse that preparing for the Christmas Program put this on delay.... but I could have gotten started before that. We really want to go live the very first day back from school, yikes! But we've been practicing our butts off and even managed to throw together a trial run yesterday.  I had a few of the teachers turn on their TVs and watch.  It went flawlessly and they were all impressed with the kids.  I still have a few things I need to work out over the break, but I think the kids will be ready and will do great.  I have them rotating between 5 jobs (there are only 5 kids on the team right now... just to make my life easier for now... and perfect since there are 5 days in a week).  They get to be the main anchor, the helping anchor, the weather man, or they get to run the camera, or the "tele-prompter" (the script is on Powerpoint and run through a TV for them to see... I'm pretty proud of that one if I do say so myself).  We've practiced each "day of the week" in their different positions and its so funny how they get so excited about each one.  I love watching them do the camera and stuff- they're actually really good! And they each add their own personality to each role... it will be fun to see how this develops over time.

So.... in any case, sorry for my absence.  I've been exhausted when I get home from school, and my thoughts have all been racing around in my head worrying that I wouldn't get this together in time.  I've had a horrible time sleeping in fact.... :P  BUT, I made through the week!  Not only did we get it done, but now I'm off for two weeks!  Woo hoo!  I'm sooooo ready for the break!

So, in today's news (haha... taking a cue from my News Team), our Floodling has now reached the length of a lemon.  I've been feeling good lately, no complaints.  I'm starting to really feel like my belly is growing though.  Most of the time it just feels like I ate too much and am slacking in trying to "suck it in"... especially when I catch a glimpse of my "gut" hanging over my pants.  I have to remind myself that I'm supposed to look like this right now, and that it's a good thing!  I have an appointment on Monday and I can't wait to hear the little heartbeat again.  I don't think we'll get to see our Floodling, but only a few weeks more and we'll not only get to see him or her, but find out if it is a him or her!  I still don't have the actual appointment yet, but it will be sometime in mid-January.

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.