So, it's been a while. Hello again for what may be a sporadic, at best, post. I have discovered since I went back to work, that I am much better at starting posts in my head, than actually sitting down at the computer to let it all fall out for you to enjoy....er....suffer through?
I have some time this morning so going to try and do a quick catch up. Without too many details, I can sum life up with: work, sleep, love. In my last post I mentioned that I had a job at Ericsson, which was not untrue, but I never started that job. I was offered a different position in the accounting department of a downtown Frisco recycling company that I thought would be a better fit. So, you are reading the words of an official "Accounting Specialist I, at Quest Resource Management Group" aka, I do all the grunt work of the accounting department - glamorous, I know. I still have mixed feelings about this position and my decision to go back to work. I can't say I "LOVE" my job, but I actually (as guilty as I feel saying it) have enjoyed being back at work. It's true, I miss my baby during the day. It's true that daycare has been no walk in the park, and it's true that there are days that I wonder if it's even worth it......but in the end, I believe it is. Now, I have very little time for friends and for grocery list making/shopping. I rarely clean my house unless we are going to have company, and I have a hard time blogging or being on the computer at all for any amount of time (aside from paying bills - my fav) after work, but I'll tell you one thing.....I dont take a second with my baby for granted any more. I never thought I did when I was at home, but now I realize that I did more than I intended to. Now, when I pick her up, we come home - singing all the way and "seat-dancing" together, I give her dinner then we do bathtime (something i feel I used to rush through to get to my "me-time") which I generally laugh through because my kid is hilarious, then we play until she tells me 'nah-night'.....then I rock her and lay her in her bed for the night. It's only a 2 hr period of time, sometimes less, but it's my favorite time of day. I look forward to seeing her face when i walk in the room at her daycare, and I look forward to all the funny things she says and does while we're getting ready for bed at night. If I had to go back to work to truly appreciate how amazingly awesome my kid is, then so be it....I made the right choice.
Between Mia's birthday and now, we have been through a string of holidays and illnesses. We had gotten over the initial germ-immersion hump, but with "cold-season" among us, we have had plenty of other humps to get over. I would imagine that if it weren't for the new year having been just a week ago, we would have probably been close to meeting our deductible just based on co-pays, but hey....who needs money anyway ;-) Mia just went back to the doctor yesterday and tested positive for Flu - Type A.....whatever that means. We started her on Tamiflu (and no, i dont care to hear why we shouldnt vaccinate or medicate our kid....save it for your own blog) and everything else we could find to ease her symptoms at the pharmacy, and that has been hand in hand with a little TLC and lots of fluids. Lucky for us, her mood has remained relatively unaffected and she continues to crack us up and keep us entertained.
In keeping with the randomness of this blog, a few updates on our little growing drama queen. She started walking in November, she was right around 13 months. I think she was just waiting until she was sure she wasn't going to fall (she's a scaredy cat like her mom), because she has quite mastered the craft, and is the best walker I've seen at her age......and I'm pretty sure I'm in no way partial. Along with walking, she can throw a mean tantrum. She has mastered the back-arch/going limp, you know the one that makes it impossible for you to pick her up, and that, partnered with the blood-curdling scream that accompanies a simple, "Mia, no ma'am" (in reaction to her trying to hurl my phone across the room) is the perfect storm for the all too soon and way over the top tantrum. I have to admit, it started way earlier than I had pictured and I find it hard not to laugh sometimes, but I hear that only encourages the drama.....that and her dad being present.....Oh, he's the favorite now in case that's new news. Yep, if Daddy's around, Mom's chopped liver. Although, she does say "mama mama mama mama....." over and over....and over and over....when she sees something she wants. It was cute for the first 5 minutes ;-) In addition to those new party tricks, our little one (who we've nicknamed "Drama") has quite the extensive vocab. She shocks us everyday with new words! Some of her favorite are "bubble", "cookie (pronounced coo-coo)", "WHA?! (often accompanied by a cock-eyed look of aw)", "bottle" which she says surprisingly well, "ball", and more that I can't think of at the moment. She has also really started understanding me recently. I ask her to do simple things like
"Mia, take your paci out and put it in your crib" (again, don't really care to hear how paci's are damaging to their pallat at this point....I can read.) and to my surprise, she does! Now, she also immediately grabs it back (after clapping for herself) and puts it in her mouth, but hey....stop focusing on the wrong part of the story! haha.
So, there are too many pictures to even begin to post, but I would imagine that you people haven't waited for a blog post to keep up on those, so please keep the Joneses in your prayers as we fight off the latest affliction, and hope to be back rambling again sooner than later :)
