I never thought I'd say this

But, we now own a cat. Yes, you read that correctly. I, Kali Binkley, agreed to get a cat. For those that don't know me, I will admit I hate (yes I used the word hate) cats. I don't like anything about them. Thanks to an evil cat named Truman I somewhat fear cats. You might be asking yourself, then why did you get one? I'll be honest, I'm starting to think the same thing!

It all started a few weeks ago when the weather got warmer. We live in a quiet neighborhood and our house backs up to some woods. Well, with land comes little critters. If there is anything on this earth I hate more than cats, it's mice and snakes. Why do they all have to be part of the same food chain? We started hearing signs that the little critters were finding their way to our house. Jon quickly suggested getting an outdoor cat to help. I was a bit reluctant, but after some time and serious discussion about my involvement with the thing, I agreed.

We took little Harper to our local animal shelter today to see what was out there. We started in the adult cat room. I should clarify by saying that Jon and Harper started in that room. I watched from the hallway. She was like a kid at Disney World! It kinda broke my heart, ha! She had so much fun petting them and chasing them. I tried to get her to go in the puppy room, and she screamed and cried. She is definitely her daddy's girl. Then all three of us moved to the kitten room. I had one hand on the doorknob at all times. Jon found a really quiet and gentle cat. He tried to provoke it or get it to bite or scratch him. She just sat there. We took her to the desk to ask a few questions. We quickly learned her name was Dora. It really was a sign.

Dora now belongs to the Binkley's. She is strictly an outdoor only cat, but I'm pretty pleased with her attitude towards Harper. Jon knows I won't be to involved with it much and I hope she starts trapping little critters soon!

Heartbroken

This week has been full of emotions. A very dear friend of mine suffered the kind of loss no mother should. While I lay here tonight my heart breaks for her. You wish you could come up with words to comfort, but you know that nothing will make her hurt go away. I will instead send this message into the world.

William and Abraham, your mom and dad loved you for every moment of your life. I know how proud they were of both of you. I will tell you there are many, many people today who are proud of them too. I hope they know how much they are loved.

eMINTS, Updates and Nesting!

Last week my 4th grade team was very fortunate to get to attend the eMINTS Winter Conference in Columbia. We were able to attend all three days -which is incredible considering there are 7 sections of 4th grade and we were all gone for three days in a row! Being gone does have it's downfalls though. Sub plans are just so much work!! When you literally have to write down everything (and I mean everything) you do for three days in a row, it takes some time and organization. How did I make it 8 weeks? The thought of doing plans for 4 weeks right now seems daunting and overwhelming! We had a great time and learned so much. I secretly love going to these conferences because as a teacher you rarely get to hear of all the things other people are doing in their classrooms. It's such a treat to get to network! Plus - you get more than 25 minutes to eat lunch! :)

Baby Elliette is still growing! We had an ultrasound on Monday (we get one every 4 weeks now!) and her growth is normal. I'm a little freaked out at the moment because according to the ultrasound she is weighing in at a whooping 4.5 pounds (that's the 85th percentile people)! I fully plan on letting my doctor know that I will NOT push out a 10 pound baby. I know ultrasounds can be pretty inaccurate too, so I'm praying that she's not too big! The gallbladder is still flaring up every now and then when I eat a little too much fat or something tomato based. Most of the time I'm just really nauseous so the not eating doesn't bother me too much. My insulin levels have stayed in the ranges they've told me to keep them in (minus a few random flukes that left me in a tizzy, but all seems to be back to normal). My doctor did agree to induce me at 39 weeks (April 25) if I don't have her before then. Mainly because I think she knows how miserable I am. ha!

I've definitely started nesting. Maybe a better term for it would be FREAKING OUT. I feel like there is still so much to do before the new baby is here and I just can't seem to find the time to do it! I'm still on the hunt for bedding, and we really need to go through Harper's clothes and weed them out. I keep telling myself "someday" but pretty soon I'm going to be in labor and Jon's going to be digging the baby mattress out of the attic!

I hope the next few weeks bring a little less crazy in our lives, hopefully we can get some rest before this train takes us on the newborn ride all over again! What were we thinking?