Happy Thanksgiving!!

WOW! I can't believe that it is Thanksgiving already! This year is flying by. I can't believe how much can change in a year! I have so much to be thankful for this year. Not only do I have the best husband in the world, but a wonderful family that helps us all the time, friends that will do anything for us, and a wonderful little baby growing inside me. I'm not sure how I got so blessed! This year we are going to my parent's house for Thanksgiving, and we will be enjoying a wonderful meal with our family!

As for the baby, he is doing great. My mom got to feel him kick for the first time. It was so neat! I am starting to get those weird aches and pains that come with pregnancy. In fact, I had a pretty nasty pain in my back, called my dr, and the nurse yelled at me for not drinking enough water. Ok, I admit that I am not drinking all the water I should, but I really have been trying hard the last few days. I am still yet to meet my 14 - 8oz glasses in a day, but I have definitely been drinking more than I was. Our next dr's appointment is Dec 7 and we get another ultrasound!! I can't wait to see him again and see how much he has grown! I am feeling kicks all the time, enough to see my belly jump! I can't wait to meet this strong little guy!

In the work realm, I wish I had better news. Since before school started, our district and the union have not come to an agreement with our contract. Well, our contract expired Aug 31, so they extended it through Nov 30. In that time, there has been no progress made to settle. The district is offering us 1.5% or about that which is way below the cost of living and the union wanted 2.7%. We had a fact finder come in and recommended a 2.45%. Teachers agreed, but the school board didn't. It is looking more and more like we might strike on Dec 1. What is even worse is the district has raised insurance premiums, which means the insurance that didn't cost me a thing this year will be costing me $100 a month starting Jan 1st!! (We decided to drop my insurance from the district and just put me on Benjamin's) The increase for insurance for a full family is going up a whopping $650 a month!!! That is huge! It is a huge mess here, lots of angry teachers, and stress galore! I am really hoping things can be settled before we strike, but I do think that it is a really possibility. Looks like December may be a tight month for us. I guess I can look at it as an early Christmas vacation, but sometimes it is hard to be positive. I'll keep you all posted on what happens.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I wish we could all be together! Just remember, we are thinking of you all!!