All Systems Go!

We've reached that highly coveted stage of pregnancy where baby is fully prepared to make his debut (in good health, that is).  It's super exciting to know that we'd have one healthy boy if he came tonight (but I have been assured by my doctor that he's not likely to make an appearance today).  As a fun twist, I thought to get Kyle to take my picture before he left for work today.  It only took me half my pregnancy to think to ask him...

It may not be classy to wear short shorts this pregnant....

.... but I'm only taking criticism from folks who have been pregnant in July.

If you are a creature of habit, I've included the mirror pictures like old times.  As always, I serve them to you blurry.  (I only did this because I was confused about which side to take for the profile shot to go with all the other weeks' belly profile pictures~ it's times like these I'm pretty sure God didn't intend this little blond to use digital technology and mirrors simultaneously).

Face concealed by camera~ check.

Use of my favorite "maternity" shirt to conceal large baby~ check.

In other news, I've received a bevy of compliments on my cute "maternity" clothes from all sorts of women out in the world (grocery stores, Ikea, church, etc).  Here's the deal~ most of my clothes I got from the clearance racks at stores I normally frequent.  This lovely top was a clearance purchase at Gap in January.  In my facebook profile picture right now my shirt looks like it couldn't be anything but a maternity top, and yet it makes me happy to don an American Eagle clearance top in a size bigger than I normally sport (that is, non-gestational Leah size).  I think a lot of women can dress cute during pregnancy without necessarily reconstituting her closet with maternity items; it just takes a little creativity and a lot of empire-waist garments.  Just thought I'd share... time for a little nap before Mr. Ham comes home.  A nursery post is coming soon!

Inspiration & Application

So my friend Maria recently invited me to this website, Pinterest, where you can save pictures from things all over the internet and categorize them into topics like books & travel & food.  I was delighted by all the fun things my friends share there and realized this would have been a very helpful resource a few months back when I was snatching images from all over to help me with the baby room.  As it is, I have a bunch of pictures and no referring websites to give proper credit to their sources.  Anywho, enough with the chatter.  Want to see how things have come together?

This is baby's bedding~ lots of circles and bright colors that led us in our decor decisions.

The Rocking Chair~ This was by far the biggest project in the nursery.  We received a wonderful rocker from Kyle's family that was aching for some new upholstery.  Here's how it started:

Silly me~ this is the best picture I have of it from before the transformation.  It's behind the clashing pillow.  Merry Christmas & Happy It's a Wonderful Life.

Kyle stripped it down to reveal what was beneath....

We needed some inspiration for this chair.  After a little sleuthing online, here are the two looks that appealed the most~

I'm not sure if you can tell, but this love seat shares the similar duck head armrest feature.  I liked the velvet look with white trim, but red wasn't the right color.

The brown and white rocker here is obviously a lot more contemporary than ours, but since we were going with a circle theme for the nursery, I liked the colors and the paper lanterns above.

Kyle then sanded it really well, and we painted it in our living room while enjoying the Ken Burns Civil War series on PBS.  What ought to have been the highlight of the transformation was not recorded with my camera.  Shame on me.  My little sister, Miss Foo, and Kyle reupholstered the chair with a brown canvas and all new stuffing.  Lastly, Kyle and I hot glued a velvety trim to cover the rough edges and staples.

The Bookshelf~ We inherited a rickety little bookshelf from my parents.  It was not the most attractive thing with stains all over it.  I've used it for years (since I was in college).  As a testament to how ugly it was, there are really no pictures of it on my computer with the exception of this....

See it in the corner on the right side of the page?  This was right after we moved in.  Also, note the brown-framed pushpin board next to it.  It was recently transformed, too.

Kyle reinforced it's loose joints with some nails and wood glue.  We gave it a few coats of fresh white paint, but I wanted to make it a bit more special.  How about a background color?  Inspiration~ (this one I know for sure was from Young House Love)

 We picked out an apple green paint sample from Home Depot (only a couple of dollars) that went with the green in our baby bedding.  After a few applications, here's what we have...

Wall Art~Remember the pushpin board from above.  I wanted to make it into something a bit fancier for wall art since the nursery is big and has a lot of bare space to be filled.  Inspiration~

I saw this cute idea for button topped pushpins....

...then I saw this cute button art (probably on etsy).

I painted the frame white (lots of white paint in this nursery), had my little sister cut and whip stitch a big piece of brown velveteen for me, and superglued buttons to push pins.  I printed off an "H" in a fancy font off the computer to use as a template to have as the center ("H" is for Hamilton or Hamiltot or Hamboy~ whatever you like really).  I am terrible at pictures and couldn't prevent the buttons from glaring in each picture.  This is the best of several (can I blame my camera?)....

I wrote about this before, but I'm not sure I showed my inspiration (a pillow from etsy) for baby's watercolor.

My painting with colors to suit the room.

Since I enjoy a little needlecraft from time to time, I wanted to do some fun & easy projects for more wall art.  Here's my inspiration...

This is the idea I wanted to follow~ felt & thread designs framed in the hoop.

More birds~ I really think they are so cute!

After seeing these pillows, I wanted to apply them to the hoop framed look with my own colors.  Here's what I did~

Kyle and I are really happy with the projects we did to prepare for the little one's arrival.  In the coming days, I'll reveal the whole nursery to you.  Since this is a long post, it's time to call it a day and enjoy dinner with my sweet husband.  Only 3 weeks to go!  As Austrians are known to say to babies, hasta la vista!

Prego-ing the Distance

Well, this week was a weight gain week.  On top of being glamorously large, I've had a resurgence of super bad teenage break-out skin.  Hopefully my skin calms down as I get more excited for the baby to be here.  He's supposed to arrive in just a little over 3 weeks, but health-wise he could come any day and be totally healthy.  I've kicked up my work outs on the treadmill in the gym and also worked on drinking more water this week to get my body ready for the big day.  I am in full-on training mode for labor & delivery.  If you are the praying type, please be praying my body does what it was designed to do and that we wouldn't need any serious interventions (especially the C-section).  Want to see how we look?

Looks like last week's picture~ same shirt but different skirt.  It's too dang hot for a penguin pregnant lady to be just walkin' around...

Not going to be pregnant much longer~ bring on the newborn!

There you have it.  Thanks for all the folks who recommended tips for natural delivery.  I'm learning a lot and hoping what I learn will be put to good use.  Happy Friday!

Show And Tell Returns (Part III)

After much anticipation, the final installment of SHOW & TELL is here!  Why did it take so long to post this?  I have been a huge slacker this week (although I did finish the book I've been reading for the last month, baby and I reached our goal of moving 300 miles by foot, and the nursery is finally complete).  These last few items from my French students are a combination of drawings, odd items, and silly written notes.  Let's waste no more time....

Yes!  One child loves English (and not "englais" as I spotted on more than one occasion~ I believe it's a combo of english & francais).  Also Leha~ it's an epidemic.

You may be thinking cute stationary or what does this note say, but I'd like you to enjoy how Lisa Frank-style stationary is not just for the girls anymore.  Thank you Quentin for your decorative handwritten note.

I'm not sure what this is, but this heart face with wing ears showed up on a great number of drawings by students in different classes and different schools.  Should I be thinking this is the French Sponge Bob or looking into alternative manifestations of crop circles? 

In case I forgot somewhere down the road, Florent wanted to ensure that he was always remembered as a "Good boy :)".  It's true~ he is a very good boy and perhaps the brightest in one of my 3rd grade classes.

This poor student was unable to complete their flag of the Union Jack in time.  He did successfully depict the flag of the Belarusian Christian-Democratic Union...

Curse you Lily Allen and Black Eyed Peas for confusing and corrupting the children!  Edgar surely doesn't know what this means.  How does the worst of anglophone culture find its way to young impressionable french children?  We're talking WWF wrestling, Playboy clothing & accessories, KFC, and Michael Jackson.  No wonder they grow up into a whole nation of America haters; I'd hate it too if these were my ideas of American culture.

Oh no!  I love Leak?  Thankfully a friend with a blue pen was able to intervene with the correct spelling of my name.  This makes me giggle every time I see it.

There you have it.  The final chapter of the ad-FRENCH-ure is at a close.  I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane.  It'll only be another year or two before I start shamelessly showing & telling about the Hamiltot's art.  Until then, we'll return to 3H@H like normal.  Au revoir!

Jelly Belly

This will be a brief entry, but before the week is out you should see our growth.  According to the scale I don't weigh any more this week than the last couple.  In spite of that, we have expanded.  My clothes are getting snugger and my skin feels as tight as a drum head.  I even feel a bit wider.  We've reached all new levels of discomfort.  I'm longing for that highly coveted day when baby drops leaving a little space for food and air for me.

Goodness~ these always turn out so blurry.  Sorry team.

35 weeks, I am renaming you Large Marge week.  This baby is making my back & legs work too hard.

Hope yall have happy weekends.  I'm off to play house with Kyle; we're cooking up a storm today!!!  Don't you worry~ I haven't forgotten about Part III of Show & Tell, and it's coming next week!

Show And Tell Returns (Part II)

We are continuing our three part series today of SHOW & TELL!  Today I'd like to share with you several funny responses I received on an "About Me" style worksheet.  As you will note, the worksheet uses British English inserting the letter "u" where no American would.  Without tons of resources available, this girl exploited every ESL teaching tool I could get my hands on.  Students were asked about their favorite color, food, number, sport, and animal.  I hope you'll be delighted by this selection of student responses.

See Answer 4~ My favorite sport is bowling (appropriate), computer (well... not exactly sporty), and tractor (where did you learn this word, child?)

See last answer~ This one is for Miss Foo, my sister, who has pet robo dwarf hamsters.

See Answer 2 & 5~ The French are fancier than Americans enjoying the finer things in life such as caviar and blue eyed white dragons.  This particularly refined student won't even be limited by selecting a singular number, but opted for the ever classy and impressive infinity.

See Answer 2~ Maybe I spoke too soon about French refinement...  I think this child would thrive in America (sans kebabs which I believe may be our greatest culinary weakness).

See Answer 2~ I can't believe my eyes!  Frog legs as a favorite food reinforces about a dozen stereotypes I had been trying to keep at bay about the French.  Visions pop into my mind of beret capped, mustache sporting, striped shirt wearing, cigarette smoking, baguette toting Frenchmen smooching up ladies' arms and shouting "Sacré bleu!" at the Eiffel Tower.  Probably not what this little one intended.  Also, the interest in sausage segues quite well into our final picture...

See Answer 1~ Dear Solene, I also love the colors gold, blue, purple, silver, and sausage.  This is the most charming answer in the history of time.  Love, Leah

This little stroll down memory lane really made me miss teaching and being around so many bright and wonderful children.  I love how all the children write in cursive and have multicolored pens for every occasion.  Each child had a pencil case that represented their interests.  When they got excited their exuberant "oui!" would sound more like "waaayyy!!"  I really loved singing and dancing with the kids.  I liked playing games a little less~ they are so competitive at times and conflict escalated quickly.  It still makes me sad when I recall the handful of times a child broke down in tears during my class; I still surge with joy when I think of the number of times a little one grabbed my hand in the hallway or the times I was required to lean over to receive greeting kisses on my cheeks.  Perhaps I would be a little less sentimental about it had I taught for more than one year.  I imagine a different batch of students every year may make one a little less attached to the children year in and year out.  I'd like to think, though, if I had continued to teach I'd keep the same attitude.  Without really knowing, all I can really say is that I miss them and hope their families and teachers value them more than I did or could during the 9 months I was with them.

Merciful heavens, this was supposed to be a funny entry.  Just leave it to a hormonal pregnant lady to get weepy over frog legs and tractors~ Hope you were amused by their interests.  One more show & tell to go before we return to all the Ham fam happenings.  À bientôt!

Show And Tell Returns (Part I)

 As many of you know (and as I constantly remind you in my writing), Kyle and I lived in Metz, France for 13 months shortly after getting married.  While we were there I worked as an English language teaching assistant in two elementary schools.  What this meant was that I was responsible for instructing 7 English classes for students ranging from 2nd to 5th graders 4 days a week.  Having never taught before and receiving only a bit of training before diving in, it presented challenges to me most days even after I got into my routine.  The greatest challenge I faced was the level of professionalism I felt needed to be maintained as French school teachers happen to be a bit more stern than the American variety (the star sticker business is a struggling industry in France).  Deep down I wanted to learn all about these little precious ones' lives and hug them each time I saw them.  They were all very dear to me.  As a testament to that, I often spent recess sitting with children in the library over taking a coffee break with my colleagues.

A brief aside about my true sentiments on teaching~  My real hope for my students is that they remember having a likable sort of teacher from America which fuels an interest for them to travel to this country some day.  In truth, I wish I had the boldness and ability to share more of my faith with them (a good many knew I was Protestant because I wore a "croix de Jesus" and they were curious about me not being Catholic).  I prayed then and still pray that if they are inspired to visit this country, they'll meet Christians who can teach them about Jesus and invite them to have a relationship with him.  In the meantime, I happily accept their friend requests on FB, but worry some are growing up too fast by their photos & status updates (middle school is the worst no matter what part of the world you're in). 

I knew I would really miss my little French students and came up with a fun way to remember them.  On the last two days of school it was clear learning would be out the window.  I came equipped with worksheets, colored paper, and a large collection of paper hearts (unfortunately not used on Valentine's day because I had a migraine & stayed home).  Since the school year ended on July 2nd, it seemed appropriate to celebrate American Independence day with a little School House Rock as well.  It was fun for all since the children were commencing a season of liberty from teachers and books and homework.  Armed with a variety of diversions, my (perhaps thinly veiled) plot began to take off; I intended to collect art and English handouts at the end of class to prepare a time capsule for myself.  Sneaky....

Fast forward a year~I had tucked away each classes' collection of paper goods in my accordion folder ever so careful to not steal a premature glance at my spoils.  I toted my heavy folder from Metz to Paris then over the Atlantic to Atlanta where my treasure spent some time in Marietta before settling in the guest/nursery closet here in our apartment in Norcross.  Without the flare of digging a hole in the ground for some ancient buried memories like we see so often in television (here I think of Kate on LOST unearthing the lunchbox she stole), I pulled the folder rather casually out of the closet last Friday night to see what there was to see.  My heart swelled to see their little handwritten names, strange sorts of drawings, and of course humorous corruptions of the English language.  To make this last a bit for our enjoyment, I've reinstated the ad-FRENCH-ure SHOW & TELL section!!!!  Tonight I give you Les Portraits d'une étrangère (or student renditions of me).  Enjoy....

Ah, the French spelling of my name~ I missed it!  I also miss having one pencil leg and one marker leg.  And always remember to wink when your rocking the side pony.

This student made sure to specify my nationality to the viewer lest we confuse me for a Brit or German.  Little known fact:  The French believe all Americans have 2 left hands and no pinkies.

In the arctic tundra that is the Lorraine region, I'm sure my lips never looked so good and healthy.  I can assure that I showed up to work nearly daily with hair like that after having capped and hooded my crown for warmth on the journey.

Oh... the other French spelling of my name.  That "h" always tripped them up.  This child seemed to be channeling something Godfather-esque since there is a horse's head next to my armless body.  Yikes!

The circle with arrow says "Ces toi Léa".  I make a note of this because "ces" should actually be "c'est" in proper French grammar (this kid used their phonetic skills sounding it out).  This grammar error helps me tell myself that teaching a second language to little ones who haven't mastered the basics of their first language is difficult.  This is for the days I came home and felt like they learned nothing from me.

Well, I'm not sure what to say about this one.  Ali was keeping it simple with the black & white color scheme.

This one makes me smile a lot.  On the mitten hands, see Arctic Tundra comment on drawing #3.  Overall I hope there was a lot of smiling and fun when I was teaching these kiddos~ if this is how this one student saw me (with a big grin and smiling eyes), what a blessing.  I'll take it.

Alright~ I hope you've enjoyed Part I of III show & tell installments.  If you want to see vintage art I collected at school last year (and currently have preserved in that same accordion folder), please venture over to the sidebar and select the "Show and Tell" link under "Hot Topigs".  Up next: humorous responses the little ones wrote on their profile worksheets and a mishmash of funny things both drawn and written.  For now, bonsoir!