Confessions of a Blogaholic

I have had a LONG few days.

Friday was Ry's last day with the babysitter she has had for a long time. Unfortunately, I had to make a tough decision, and I made it. I would never have expected the long chain of consequences to result from that decision, but it is what it is. I have to put my daughter's needs and our ability to have a happy life first.

So now Terri comes to stay with me from Monday through Thursday or Friday, depending on the week. I was pretty nervous about having another person in the house again, but Ry LOVES Terri. It has only been a couple days so far, but Ry already seems to be benefitting from her new ability to sleep without being woken up at 6:30. Terri is working on potty training, and she has a carseat so she can take Ry to story time at the library, Cosi, the zoo, the store, and play dates with her sister-in-laws kids. Even more beneficially, Ry and I are getting more time together because we can hang out in the morning some before I got to work and earlier in the evening because we're not just getting home at 6:00. So far, so good. Was it worth the consequences? In the long run, probably.

Work has been literally kicking my butt. This new position is perfect for me because it is a job in which my passions and my talents align pretty perfectly. This means that I love what I do, and I am good at it, but I tend to work all. The. Time. Both because I enjoy it and because I want to get things accomplished. Friday we received feedback on one of the projects we were working on. Again, because those lines between life and work blur so easily for me, I found myself working late on Friday, several hours on Sunday, until 7:00 last night, and finally getting a break today and leaving by 3:00. It has been long, exhausting work, but when I remind myself how doing this work is both totally life fulfilling AND allows me to support my household and live comfortably, it all seems incredibly worth it.

On the Ry front, I am still amazed by her everyday. Her birthday party (Carla-you guys are invited up, just keep forgetting to email!!!! Jess-I don't think they've invented teleportation devices to get you up that quickly, lol) is April 28 from 11-1. Nathan is doing a big, princess themed bash for her, but I'm going slightly low-key this year by just inviting family. Plus, the following day, I take off for a road trip to Chicago for a reading conference, so I want to just enjoy my Saturday and relax while enjoying the baby's 2nd birthday.

Back to being constantly amazed...ry LOVES books. I usually have to read her about FOUR books at bedtime, and even after that she says, "mommy, read da book!" and gets mad when we're done. We typically read Green Eggs and Ham, a Tinkerbell book, I Love You Through and Through, and Goodnight Moon. That's a LOT of night night story time!!!

She is so smart also. She's learning colors pretty well (though yellow and blue are her first guesses every time). She can count to 6. She still talks, talks, talks, and now she strings words together into almost complete sentences. Sunday, when Mom was getting ready to take her for a walk, Ey said, "I want Mommy shoes on outside walky, too.". She also likes to make decisions for herself. At night I ask if she wants Jammies or to sleep naked, and she usually chooses naked. In the morning, I (or Terri) ask her what she wants for breakfast and she'll tell you if she wants waffles, nana, juice, etc. she also tells you what she wants now, though I sometimes have to make her stop whining and say the word. Confession--I CANNOT stand whining. In fact, I am prepping to begin instituting some time out if only to put an end to the whining. Regardless, she is so funny and so smart and so observant (and so bossy), and I think that despite all my own personal drama with the divorce and the many many other personal crises I have going on, I think she is turning out wonderfully!!

As always...