A New Day

Its amazing how you don't realize how different things can be until there is a change in something. For us lately it's been daycare. It's also amazing what you think is important to you before you have a baby for daycare and whats important to you after you have a baby. When you first tour places you ask all the standard questions and you tend to gloss over some of them. You sometimes forget what's really important.

We made a decision to go with our 2nd choice for daycare and it was a good choice at the time. We made the decision based on the tour and the information that was given to us and we really liked the people and the place. It's been a little over a year since Gabriella has been in daycare and I have to say that somethings have changed our minds.

Last summer we put a deposit down on our waiting list for our first choice before she was born. At that time we weren't even sure if she would ever get into this school. They told us that they didn't have an opening for her age group until September 2012 - Yep you read that correctly, about 15 months before we even had a glimmer of a chance to get her into this school. But we still put our name on the list (even though we were 11th, and then 13th when she got older) and waited. I emailed the director around September, and got the same story, nothing until Sept 2012. I emailed her again in the beginning of January because we were struggling with our current place..Still nothing. Then I decided to just stop in there and see if there was anything they could do. Well it just happened that there was an opening for the Toddler room. They needed a specific child that could stay in there until August. The catch was that there were 2 families in front of us that had rights to the spot before we did. We also found out that the one family in front of us had turned their form in 2 days before we did (Bummer). Well after 2 weeks of patiently (or not so patiently) waiting we got the call from the school saying the spot was Gabby's if we wanted it! I may or may not have squealed when Mike told me the news.

Today was Gabby's first day and she did great! I know she will miss all her friends and teachers at the last place, but I know she and we will feel much better about her being at this place. There were no tears when we dropped her off, it was like any other day. We put her stuff in her cubby and then brought her to the other room where they were having breakfast. She sat down after a few minutes and had breakfast with the kids. She played outside, painted with a paint brush, at most of her food and slept almost 1 1/2 hours! We went to pick her up and she had a super huge smile on her face and looked like she had a great time. She was super happy on the way home (which is not usually the case) and we were happy.

The new place, filled out the sheet completely, told us exactly what she ate (and how much of each things) or rather didn't eat. They wrote a big note about what she did. Sent us home with sign language they are learning, flash cards and a newsletter about the week. Hopefully tomorrow's drop off will go just as well!

Silent Saturday

Since I missed Wordless Wednesday this week I thought I would add in a Silent Saturday!

Sleep Battle

Yes I know...It's been a few months and I couldn't help myself. Another great post about sleeping. Seems like all I write about is sleep - or rather not sleeping! The past few weeks, maybe about the last month, we have not been sleeping because our little cuddlebug isn't sleeping. She was doing really good and going to be around 6:30 and sleeping until 5 or 6 in the morning. It was great for us. Mike and I got our alone time, got time to do other things before going to bed, and we got our sleep.

But then came the molars. The dreaded molars. Of course it wouldn't have been too bad, but she was getting 4 in at once. She has been working on at least 3 of them for the past few months but the past few weeks they broke through. She started waking up and wanting to nurse between midnight and 4am, I thought that once the teeth came through she would go back to STTN. Not so much! Then the ear infection came and we were back to not going to bed, waking up multiple times in the night. But now that the ear infection is gone she back to the one time a night. So Mike and I decided last night to go back to sleep training. It actually went a lot better than I thought it would. Here is what our night looked like

Crabby girl taking a bath at 6:00pm
Crabby girl nursing like she was starving (even though she had eaten dinner earlier) at 6:30pm
Cuddly little girl going to sleep - looking cute as a bug by 7:00pm.
3:00am - little one screaming to eat.
3:10am - Mike went up and changed her diaper. He said that she saw him and backed away from him in her crib - she knew she wasn't getting Mama's milk from him :) Smart girl.
3: 25am - Still screaming....I went up - she got all excited because she saw me and thought "Mama's Milk, I won". Little did she know that I was just going to pick her up, wipe her tears away & put her back in the crib. She screamed so loud I am sure the neighbors heard her.
3:35am - I was going to let her cry another 5 minutes and then go up there. she quieted down and didn't cry for 5 minutes. Our rule is that if she stops crying for 5 minutes or longer that we start the 10-15 minute clock over again. But what ended up happening was she would cry for 5 minutes, stop for 5 minutes, cry for 5 minutes, stop...you get the idea! Before we knew it she was sleeping like a baby - or rather just sleeping and so were we. I woke up at 6:30am and had to wake HER up! Sweet dreams!

So wish us luck for tonight!

Sharing a Journey

I was contacted this week by a fellow blogger and a fellow Minnesotan. She wanted to connect our blogs and after reading her story I couldn't say no. She is truly an inspiration and before the internet and before bloggers, people just like her would not have been able to share their story with as many people as they can now!

So check out her blog! Hopefully in the future I will be having her as a guest blogger and if you have a blog that you want me to share, or a story to share about anything just contact me and you can be a guest blogger too!

Monday Mike-isms

Mike and I were being really silly this weekend and he said a few things that really cracked me up....

The first: "Beer goggles aren't just for women, but for states too." He said you can't have fun in Iowa and I told him that friends of mine did and then I mentioned that they had beer while there...hence the statement

The second: We were watching Holmes Inspection & the plumber was looking at the pipes under the sink in the kitchen and it was all wonky - I am talking really weird pipes and they made no sense. Mike said "that's what it would look like if Dr. Suess did plumbing."

Our Weekend

I don't normally blog about our weekends, just because most of the time it's pretty boring. But this past weekend was a pretty big milestone for little peanut and I . This last week was pretty rough in our household. Gabby was pushing through at least 3 molars if not 4 molars, plus dealing with a double ear infection. The poor girl! Mike and I weren't sure if she was going to be able to go on her overnight with Grandma and Grandpa. I didn't want to send the little one to Grandma & Grandpa's when she wasn't sleeping, but my mom said she could deal with it and she was right!

Saturday morning I dropped off the little one with my parents. She was super excited to see them and I didn't even get one tear when I left. Just my little girl sitting her in the high chair eating a cracker and saying "bye". I have to say that I am glad and sad at the same time. Glad that she was doing well and happy to be at my parents ,but I was a little sad that she wasn't missing her mommy. Seriously though I was super happy that she was having such a great time with my parents.

She did super well and had a blast with my parents. She even slept well for them last night. She went down for them at 7:15 and slept until 11 and then until 6am. It was great to have a night away from her. Mike has been away from her a few times since she was born (while he was hunting mostly), but I have never been away from her for more than 9 or 10 hours at a time. I was a little apprehensive but it all worked out in the end. Mike and I had his holiday party for work at the Calhoun Beach Club and it was fabulous! A lot of good food and wonderful desserts. And I even stayed up until midnight!

We ended the weekend with picking up Gabby from my parents in the afternoon & then went to Mike's work at the Ski Hill. Gabby had a great time, mostly because all the people there and Mike's co-worker Rachel made Brownies ;) She kept having a temper tantrum because I wouldn't let her eat the entire pan.

Sitting at the bench with Daddy in Race City

Gabby helping daddy at work

Coloring on the Timing Equipment box

17 Months

Weight : She is about 21lbs. We will find out at her 18 month appointment in February

Clothing Size: 18 Month Pants - 18 -24 Months Shirts

Diaper Size: Up and Up 3

Feeding: She is now in the Toddler room at daycare and eating like a big girl. She gets two snacks & lunch. Drinking out of a big cup (not a sippy). She is still nursing at night and in the morning, but mostly drinking whole milk and eating solid foods.

Bedtime/Wakeup Times:  Bedtime: anywhere from 6:00 - 7:15. You have been getting up in the middle of the night to comfort nurse the past few weeks because you have been teething really bad. You take a 1 to 2 hour nap once a day now.

Milestones: 

* She are talking and signing up a storm. The signs she knows: More, Milk, Nurse, Thank You, Eat. The words you know: Baby, Bye, Hi, Ma (for Mac), Ball, Mama, Dada, Ball, Peasss (please), Nana (for Banana). She parrots her colors right now too: Ellow, Ed, Buee, & Een.

* She is drinking out of a big cup now

* She is getting so much better at using utensils and doesn't spill nearly as much yogurt as she used to

* She helps mama and daddy out with getting dressed in the morning, feeding the puppy & putting her away in her kennel.
* She made it 8 months without getting an ear infection.

Wordless Wednesday

Best Buds

Wordless Wednesday - Loving her new tub

Tips and Tricks

I was walking through the mall at lunch today doing some shopping and walked by a mom and her toddler. She was trying to get him to put his jacket on and said to him "Let me see how tall you are" and then "Right arm, Left arm". Something so simple, yet it got him to do what she needed to do and made it a lot more fun that "Lets get your jacket on".

So that got me thinking, what do all those mama's and papa's out there do to get their kids to do what they want them to do it and when they want them to do it. I am struggling with the jacket thing and Gabby lately, she hates putting on her hat, mittens and poncho. I have to threaten to leave, which I am totally prepared to do. but usually just saying that Mama is leaving is enough to get her running towards me. I have also used the "give mama a hug" line to get her to come to me when I need her to get dressed, but that no longer works.

So I want to know what others out there have done to get things done with their kids. So all you lurkers out there come out of hiding....

Wordish Wednesday

Gabby tried some of her dads Roasted Red Pepper Hummus last night and couldn't get enough of it. She ended up sucking most of it off the cracker. When that wasn't good enough she wanted to eat it by a spoon.

Working Mama's Work Life - Part 3

There was a joke with my husband that I wouldn't stay at a job more than a year or two...I certainly wouldn't be staying at my company for as long as my mom has - Congrats to my mom by the way as this past summer she celebrated her 42nd year at her company - can you imagine!!

After 9 months in my job as a Business Solutions Analyst for a health and wellness company I decided this company wasn't what I wanted and the commute was too much. Granted not very long but after driving 2 miles to my previous job it was a long drive every day.

A good friend of mine Joan that I worked with at SUPERVALU was a consultant for a firm in the Twin Cities. She got me an interview and I was lucky enough to get hired. This was something completely new to me but I figured hey this way I can switch jobs and still stay with the same company. Mike would be happy right?? Well I was also lucky enough to get a job right away and I started working at a Health Insurance company here in the cities. The drive was only 7 minutes from my house and I was getting paid the most I had since I graduated college. I loved the consulting firm, I loved the people I worked with at the insurance company and I loved the work I was doing.

They kept offering me a full time job at the insurance company and I kept turning them down. Until December 2008. They gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and at this point I was still working in the same position I had been since I started almost a year and a half later. So I took the job and I have been there ever since. In that time though my position has changed which has been great. I have had an opportunity to do a lot of different things and learn a ton about IT. See I told you full circle!

Work history there:
Business Analyst - working on a now legacy system used to manage people's care for government programs. I was able to learn how to write requirements documents, test documents, run meetings on my own and do some analysis on some other projects
Systems Analyst - Our role changed over at some point - I can't remember when - and we started doing much more system analysis than on the business side. I moved to another legacy project and met some awesome people. Another person that changed my life (see another post about her).
Business Solutions Architect - Our group completely changed roles and went into something entirely different. It was fun to learn the different things that I did while I was in this position. We helped projects that were across the company to make sure the solutions worked between all the systems.
IT Governance & Continuous Improvement Project Manager - this is my current position which I have been in for a few months now. I LOVE IT! It's probably the best fit to my skills that I have ever had in my entire career. I truly feel like this is what I am meant to do. I am doing analysis on metrics that we track for our senior leader. Helping our team figure out the best way to track that and how to show the status' for our senior leader. I get to be analytical and creative all at the same time!


More Later!