She's Here!!!!!!

I'll post much more later, but for now...mom and baby are doing great, and here are all the details:

Lily Elizabeth Fisher
4:25 pm
8 pounds, 13 ounces (She IS is Fisher!)
21 inches
Also, she sneezed for the first time at 5:10

More to come...

In The Hospital...

Well, we're here.

We came in last night with blood pressure issues that could lead to some other problems. Liz had some tests today that confirmed that these issues could get worse, so we are scheduled to have the baby in the morning. I'll post pictures just as quickly as I can!

The countdown is on! Little Lily will be here soon!

We're VERY excited!

A Baby Haiku...

Baby stays in womb,
Her lungs not quite developed.
Maybe next Tuesday...

Littly Lily seems to be perfectly comfortable where she is, with no regard to her mother's comfort or her father's nerves. She did not make her big appearance today as scheduled but she may be here next week.

On a different note, Lily's disagreement with being born today left time for Liz to visit the dentist for what looks like is going to be a root canal. Good times! Between the sciatic nerve and the daily nausea, Liz will have some great stories to tell!

In The News...

The local paper did a story on my school district's Critical Thinking program. (The link to their website is here.)

They also did a video interview:



Here is an excerpt from the article, about my kids:

~~~~~~~
At the middle school level, critical thinking teacher Michael Fisher has both pull-out and push-in classes, as well as some special classes like the Reading and Beyond group. Fisher said the school pulled a handful of the sixth grade’s most advanced readers to try something new.

“We want to see how they interact between text, their experiences and world views, ” Fisher said. “They have made some pretty profound connections.”

Skills they can use

Tuesday was an exciting day in Fisher’s seventh-grade critical thinking lab.

On the second-to-last day the students had with him before moving on to another subject area, Fisher indulged them with a “foldable-a-rama,” a one-period event in which students had to create a “foldable.”

“This idea came from the kids,” Fisher said. “They had been asking for a Foldable Fiesta.”

The students eagerly picked out colorful sheets of paper for making the foldables, which are study aids created by folding multiple sheets of paper. It makes extra nooks and crannies in which to write extra information.

“Just think, how can I make this awesome,” Fisher told the class. “Awesome gets the A.”

The lab is part of the school’s push-in program. Students learn various study skills they can use in their other classes. For example, at the beginning of each class, the students’ first task is to solve several problems illuminated over an overhead projector. Practice solving analogies and looking at the roots of words will come in handy once they have to tackle the SATs.

Jon Vitali, 12, used 3-by-5 index cards to make his foldable. Overlapping them and taping them down in a manila folder, Vitali planned to write a science vocabulary word on one side of the card and put the definition on the flip side.

Vitali has enjoyed his semester in Fisher’s class.

“This is the best class ever,” he said, taping another card onto the folder. “Plus, we get to listen to iTunes.”

Getting advanced

In Fisher’s Reading and Beyond class, students have been doing presentations on songs with meaningful lyrics. Fisher taught them how to make a music video using PowerPoint, which the students play before analyzing the lyrics.

Sixth-grader Nicole Kasper chose “Backseat of a Greyhound Bus” by Sara Evans, a country-inspired tune about a girl who gave birth in a bus.

As her PowerPoint video played, students kept an eye on the perfectly timed slides and their lyric sheets at the same time. When the presentation failed to show the last batch of slides or finish the song, Kasper filled in with her soft soprano and clicked through the rest.

After writing down what they noticed, thought and wondered about the song, students presented their lyric analysis. Libby Koplas, 11, saw another meaning in the first few lines: “She wore a dress with cherries on it/Goin’ somewhere where she’d be wanted.”

“She’s sweet but misunderstood,” Koplas inferred. “A lot of people like cherries but don’t like the pits.”

Fisher raised an eyebrow at that comment.

“They have these magnificent moments,” Fisher said later. “They are making these textual connections. And what they write down (on assessment sheets) is little of what they say.”

Presentations in this class are peer-reviewed on the “deep and the duh scale,” the students’ name for a rubric used to discern levels of insightful discussion. Tuesday’s college-level talk touched on feminism and parenting.

“She obviously mistook love for sex,” Kasper told the class about the song’s protagonist, dropping her voice on the last word. Not one giggle escaped her classmates’ lips. “She later found love with the baby.”

Fisher doesn’t scare the middle schoolers away from attempting college-level work. He has taken at least one eighth-grade class to an undergraduate class on children’s literature at Buffalo State so students could participate in a book discussion.

In another class, the students’ foldables on literature include “critical lenses,” or perspectives on the material based on ideologies such as Marxism or feminism.

SNOW!

Up until a couple of weeks ago, we were in the midst of the warmest winter on record. Then, the arctic air started to spill across the great lakes, and we started getting a little snow and subzero wind chills. Up until today, the cumulative amount of snow was around 5 or 6 inches. We got another 5 or 6 inches just today giving us over a foot of snow on the ground. The forecast is for 4-6 more inches tomorrow, and snow everyday next week. I KNEW it would start snowing when it was time to deliver the baby!

Getting Ready!

We're only a couple days away now! We've got the kitchen cabinets cleaned out, ready to be filled with baby bottles and formula! We've got the bouncer seat and the swing put together! We're also ready with the baby travel system, and have only to put the car seat bottom into the car! Barring no trouble with her lungs from the amnio on Monday, little Lily will arrive Tuesday morning!

Much more coming very soon...STAY TUNED!

Classic Bad Idol Auditions...

Since we are in the thick of American Idol fever...I thought I would post some classic favorite auditions from the past few years. This year's auditions seem almost tame in comparison!

I had to remove the Idol auditions...Youtube took them down and they wouldn't work on my site. For some reason, though, Rhonetta still works...so I left her on:

Dubya...

If you would rather not read my opinions about George W., please stop reading now and scroll down to look at the more pleasant things on this weblog.



I liked what Ted Kennedy had to say after the State of The Union was over...that the best thing George said was, "Madame Speaker." Everything after that was more of the same old gobbledygook that has plagued our country for six years.

Now that his direct action has killed more people than those who died on Sept. 11, his new strategy is to send in 20,000 more troops? I understand his need to finish what he started, but at what expense? More lives lost? Billions of dollars spent? We have more important needs here at home. We can't be the moral compass of the world, nor can we be the world's big brother. It's not fair that we have people suffering in our own country and we're out trying to save other countries. The Iraqi people have a completely different culture than we do, and our presence seems largely to be a major imposition. (On us AND them!)

Beyond that, what about taxing healthcare as part of our income? How much more taxed can we be? His plan is an insult to Middle Americans, who are working hard to maintain themselves where they are. This is another one of his plans that will hurt everyone except the rich.

I hate politics. More is done for those that have, and less is done for those who don't. I don't care if Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton or even John McCain becomes the next president, as long George is out of the office.

New Sonogram Pics...in 4 D!

My Tongue is Sore...

You know the scene in "A Christmas Story" when Flick sticks his tongue to the pole and it sticks, and the fire department has to come and release him? Well, let's just say I didn't have to call the Fire Department, but the special effect I tried to recreate turned out not to be so special. Evidently, at 17 degrees, your tongue WILL stick to metal. It hurts when you try to rip it off. It's been three hours...it still hurts.

The Nursery is FINALLY Ready!

We finally finished the nursery tonight...with a Wizard of Oz theme! Liz has collected Wizard of Oz stuff for years and wanted to use it for the baby's room. I think it turned out pretty nice. We've had the furniture for some time, but decorating and cleaning has taken awhile. Below are several perspectives:

Liz and Teaching...

She's done!

Liz finished today and will have a couple of weeks off before the baby gets here. We had testing this week and she stayed for it, even though the doctor was pressing for her to be off this week too. She's having a great difficulty walking and standing...in fact, comfort and relaxation are really not in her realm right now. Hopefully these couple of weeks will give her some much needed time to rest before the bambino arrives. We met her sub, and she seems nice. Liz felt confident leaving her kids in the subs hands. I guess the countdown really is on now!

By the way, Lily is kicking so hard now you can see her rolling around in Liz's belly. She rolls from one side to the other and has been kicking Liz so hard it feels like she's coming out! I'd videotape it...but Liz already put the kibosh on that!

American Idol Starts Again...

Some early favorites from our favorite show! Since the show is on Tuesday's and Wednesday's on FOX, I asked the OB/GYN if he could deliver Lily on Thursday. He said no, and gave me a disapproving look. We're also having to switch to DirectTV because Time Warner is losing the FOX network as negotiations are breaking down with different carriers. Besides that, Time Warner customer service has been absolutely horrible since they took over for Adelphia in our area. With DirectTV, we're getting twice as many channels, plus two pay channels, for $35 cheaper than Time Warner. There's so many people switching to DirectTV in our area that the wait for installation is over two months at this point. Ours, luckily, will be in on Tuesday, just in time for the next episode of American Idol!

All photos are from americanidol.com.

FINALLY! Some snow!

We finally had some discernable snow...what a warm winter we've been having! We had an ice storm first, making the trees appear like they were made of glass...then, we had two or three inches of snow on top of that. This is the most snow we've had since the October storm.

Shower at Maureen's

Liz had a shower this past weekend given by Maureen with help from Aunt Patty and yours truly. (I made a breakfast casserole and also did quite a bit of taste-tasting...) Almost everyone who was invited came and we got TONS of stuff...including clothes, a diaper genie, a carseat and stroller, and much, much more! In fact, we don't know where to put all the stuff and are a bit overwhelmed. Everywhere you look in our house now, there is evidence of the baby on the way. We're getting excited!

Siobhan turns 2!

Siobhan turned two on January 10th. We got together with Siobhan at Maureen's on Friday with Aunt Patty and John, as well as Walter and his sister Joyce. Note the candle in Siobhan's hair below--she REALLY enjoyed the cake. (As did the rest of us...it was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and was SOOOOO good!)

The Countdown...

1. Last sonogram at the end of January...Free (with insurance)
2. Amniocentisis on Feb. 5th to check lungs...$10 copay (again, insurance)
3. Lily's arrival around 9:30 am on the morning of the 6th...PRICELESS (though insurance will still be at work...)

Barring no trouble with her lungs, Lily will make her grand appearance on February 6th.

Liz is ready to deliver now. It's hard to walk, sleep, etc. Her sciatic nerve is killing her and she hasn't had any feeling in her hands in weeks. She's looking forward to things like regaining her sense of touch and rolling over without pain in the coming weeks.

A POSITIVE Negative...

I went to Toronto today with the Band Kids from school to see the Blue Man Group. (Liz and I went last year as well.) We went to the Eaton Center...a huge underground mall in downtown Toronto and spent a couple of hours shopping before the show. In the APPLE store, the kids were playing with on of the video camera features and took this photo of me. I know, I know, I look pretty hot, but that's to be expected. I also spent $60 on a new outfit for Lily at The Gap. It was half off...and STILL $60. (But it was really cute...especially if she ends becoming a baby model.) With the exchange rate the worst its been in years, the outfit actually cost me $58. If this had been just a few short years ago, it would have been like four bucks! I think I'm done shopping in Canada.

Baby Face!

We got to see a really good picture of her face today, but unfortunately, the sonogram technician didn't capture the good shot in time. We got this one, where you can make out the eyes, the big cheeks, and her lips. What you can't see is her tiny little turned up nose. The nurse tried to get a better shot, but little Lily was VERY active today, seeming to "swim" around from side to side, keeping us from getting good shots. She'll be out in a month though, and we'll take bunches of pictures then!

Kicking Like Crazy!

I was lying with my back next to Liz's belly last night and Lily was moving and kicking and punching! It's still hard to believe that in a month or so she'll be here. Liz and I don't think she sleeps at all. She seems to kick all day long and only stays still when we're in the car. She is particularly active when we lay down to go to bed. We're hoping that she will sleep through the night at birth, but it's beginning to look like that may not happen for a couple of years. We'll just have to be happily exhausted!