38 years ago today

Thirty eight years ago today, my parents were married in a small, simple wedding ceremony. My mom wore a dress that she found on a discount rack due to a stain. She would later let us kids play dress up in that dress (as well as a pair of really wild looking bell bottoms). Her parents refused to pay for the wedding and her mother did not even attend. They didn't have the money for a wedding photographer so my Uncle Larry took pictures that my parents managed to lose in one of their early moves. They were both violently ill with the stomach flu on their honeymoon. Some would say they were off to an auspicious start. But here they are, thirty eight years later, and still going strong.

I have learned so many invaluable things from my parents' marriage. They have overcome so many obstacles during their thirty eight years together: car accidents, broken bones, layoffs, cancer, seven kids...just to name a few. I am so lucky to have them as a good example of what a strong, committed relationship looks like. Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

I'm seeing spots

Ellie is covered in little red spots. Sometimes they are lighter than others. It seems that several of the children in her daycare class have these mysterious spots. They don't seem to bother her at all, but they sure do bother me!

We have taught Ellie how to spin in circles. She will turn herself around and around. Then she will try to walk and promptly topple over. And then Tom and I laugh and laugh. It is a fun game. I wonder what else we can teach her to do for our amusement?

As for me, today was a better day than yesterday. And yesterday was a better day than the first day. So maybe someday I might actually enjoy this whole teaching thing.

Stress, stress, and more stress

This past week has been so stressful for me. Not only have Ellie and I been sick, but I have also been really freaking out about school starting on Monday. I cannot even tell you how many times I have questioned my decision to change careers. I know next summer, when I am off for a couple of months, I will be all "teaching is the best, y'all!" But as for now, I am not too sure about spending all day, every day with a bunch of of hormonal teenagers. Please send positive teaching vibes my way.

I have spent this past week in meetings and trying to develop lesson plans so I didn't have any time to decorate my classroom. Luckily, Sabrina is a decorating genius and we were able to knock it out in two hours. Now if only I could knock out this cold and hacking cough.

Oh wait, I have a cute Ellie story. Ok, so whenever I watch TV or sit down to read I always put a blanket across my lap. Well, Ellie has started going into her room, grabbing one of her blankets through the crib slats, bringing it out in the living room and then proceeds to sit in her little pink chair and cover her little legs with the blanket. Tonight, for extra measure, she picked up one of my books and pretended to read. So cute!

You should see the other guy

The daycare called me yesterday to inform me that a little boy had gotten upset with Ellie and scratched her face. It looked much worse yesterday, but I didn't really mind. It certainly isn't as bad as the bruise on her back that she got from the doctor's office.

Doctor office wisdom

What a day! I woke up at 2:00am this morning and was never able to get back to sleep. After spending the day in meetings that told me everything except what I needed to know, I picked up Ellie at daycare and took her to the doctor. I know from the vast amount of time I have spent in the pediatrician's office that afternoon appointments are a guaranteed minimum one hour wait. I was not disappointed. I arrived at 3:55 for my 4:10 appointment and the doctor saw us at 5:30. I cannot even begin to describe how difficult it was to contain Ellie in the waiting room. She naturally preferred the Well-Child area so she would bolt for that area every chance she got. Then the parents would spot her runny nose and mysterious red spots and glare at me for contaminating their children. And considering that I had been up since 2am and had only gotten 3 hours of sleep, not to mention that I am sick myself, I think I handled Ellie pretty well. And by handled, I mean I let her climb up on every surface in the sick child area. She rolled around on the filthy floor, tried to climb into a trashcan, and fell off a chair, somehow managing to get a huge red welt that the doctor immediately noticed (an hour later). But, the trip was worth it because my baby has a double ear infection and possibly strep throat.

I am an old pro at this, y'all. I made the appointment last Friday. The trick is to call the doctor within the first 24-48 hours of cold symptoms, but make sure to schedule the appointment for 3-5 days later. This way, you give the ear infection a chance to develop. If you take your child in too soon, they will send you away with nothing to show except a lighter pocketbook and empty promises of colds running their course in 7-10 days. Silly doctors.

House of snot

This is coming at you from the house of snot. Seriously. Ellie has been sliming everything and everyone in sight for the past few days. And the whining...don't even get me started on the whining. I, of course, caught it today just in time for my new job. So I am feeling low energy, high stress right about now (See? I caught the whining, too).

As you can see, Ellie has moved on from her closet to mine. Please excuse the crazy hair and lack of clothes.

Cute little girls

The past two days have been full of new teacher training. I am getting more excited and nervous about teaching with each passing day. I am really excited about my Reading classes. The majority of the students I will be teaching will have never read a whole book by themselves. Can you believe that? I can't imagine a life without books, without reading.

Last night, Tom, Ellie, and I headed over to Mark's house for grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. It was great hanging out with the family after two long days of training. Sweet, baby Olivia was even wearing the dress that Ellie wore a little over a year ago for Tom's birthday. Isn't she adorable?
Ellie was so happy to see her Aunt Sabrina. She really misses Sabrina and Kolby a lot. Sabrina and Rosie were like second moms to Ellie last year. I feel really fortunate that I had my sister-in-laws around to help watch Ellie when she was so little. And I love seeing the bond she has with her aunts as a result!

The things they don't tell you

When I was pregnant with Ellie, everyone kept telling me how wonderful motherhood is, how rewarding, how utterly delightful. Oh they would laughingly tell me that I had better sleep now because I would never sleep again. But it was a small, small price to pay for the great blessing of having a precious, newborn baby in your life.

And they were right. But I sometimes wonder if it would have been helpful to know all those other things, too. Like how downright traumatizing the first 6 weeks are. How you are more tired than you have ever been in your life. How nursing is so painful the first two weeks that you will sometimes look down to see your blood in your daughter's mouth. How the tears will come and go for almost no reason at all. How you are afraid to leave your house because as soon as you step foot in Target, your child will start screaming like she is being pricked by a million needles. How you will obsess constantly over things like West Nile or the shape of your baby's head. How you will have this tiny, fragile infant totally dependant on you for survival and you feel so weak and helpless. How your marriage will change and you will find yourself fighting with your spouse over the most trivial things. You will start playing this weird scorekeeping game...it's your turn to change the diaper, I changed the last three diapers. How you will keep expecting your marriage to go back to normal once the baby gets older and you start actually getting a full night's sleep, only to wake up one day and realize that you are still bickering, still scorekeeping.

Maybe they don't tell you all that because it pales in comparison to the happiness you feel when you child smiles for the first time or wraps her chubby arms around your neck and pats your back. And maybe your marriage has changed, but not necessarily for the worse. Because you and your husband share a new bond forged by this powerful love you both have for your child. A love so powerful that you will never be able to think of words to describe it. A love that you secretly think must be stronger than the love other parents have for their children because surely this love is just too big to be duplicated.

So, yeah, maybe it's best to just not mention those other things.

What? Are we STILL talking about daycare?

Ok, so I know y'all are so sick of me talking about daycare, but I am like obsessed about it lately. I dropped Ellie off this morning and she cried, but it wasn't too bad. However, I was not too thrilled with what I saw when I walked in there. Some kids were just sitting on the floor staring into space, others were wailing, and a few were playing with toys (covered in germs, no doubt). The two teachers were busy decorating their bulletin boards. One of the turned to me and said, "Sorry the class in such chaos today. Corporate is coming this week and we have to get the classroom in order." Um, hello? I have to decorate my classroom, too, but you can bet I am not going to do it during class time. At least wait til the little buggers are down for a nap. I miss my old daycare (despite all the cooties).

Ok, enough about daycare (for today). My time here at the library is rapidly coming to a close. Yesterday, my coworkers threw Sheryl and I a Goodbye and Good Luck party. They ordered a cake that was half my school's colors and half Sheryl's colors. Even better, my side was chocolate. Mmmmm. I am really going to miss all my friends here at the library. I am going to miss working surrounded by books. I will miss the privacy of my office and the picture of Hilary Duff right above my computer, placed there by my YA assistant. I may even miss Grumpy Old Porn Man.

Daycare hysteria

Today was Ellie's first official day of daycare. Considering that her trial day a few weeks ago was so traumatic for her (initially), I arranged to have Tom drop her off this morning. (I knew that I would not be able to handle it.) So last night I carefully packed her bag with diapers, wipes, an extra set of clothes, and an emergency pacifier. This morning I dressed her in an outfit that was cute, but not so cute that I would be terribly upset to see it ruined. Then I passed her off to Tom and escaped to work, relieved to have avoided the drop off drama. Well, apparently it was even worse than last time. She remembered the place instantly and began wailing and clinging to Tom's legs. Tom said he has never seen her so upset. Just absolutely hysterical. And guess whose turn it is to drop her off tomorrow? Sigh. I know it will get better and this is just one of those things that working parents have to go through, but dang, it sure does suck.

On a lighter note, one of Ellie's favorite games to play these days is Name That Body Part. I noticed yesterday that whenever I would say to Ellie "I love you," she would point to her eye. I guess she thinks I am saying "eye love you!"

A note to Rachel Coleman

Dear Rachel Coleman,

I just wanted to apologize for my previous post in which I insinuated that you just commented to plug your stuff. I really was/am excited that you commented on my blog (and also a little embarrassed that you had to comment again to explain yourself)! To show what a fan I am of Signing Time, I am going to share a little story:

My oldest brother and his wife adopted a little boy a couple of years ago. Michael's birth mother used drugs throughout her pregnancy and they were unsure of how it would affect Michael. He learned to crawl and walk early and was your typical little boy except that he wasn't talking. And he was getting really frustrated and angry with his inability to communicate. The speech therapist started teaching him sign language and the family started watching Signing Time. He picked it up really quickly and was a much happier little boy. He was also very, very excited when he got to meet you and Hopkins in Hawaii!
I am sure you hear success stories like that all the time, but I just wanted you to know how great we think Signing Time is!

Your fan,
Holly

p.s. I really think you should have "people." Maybe Hopkins?

Friday fun

I had yesterday off from work so we decided to meet up with the cousins and go to the splash pad. Ellie loved the water. She kept trying to sit on the big geyser one coming up from the ground. There was also a park next door so she would run from the splash pad to the park and then back again. I tried to get some cute pictures, but there isn't much time for picture taking when adults are outnumbered by children.

In the evening, Tom and I went to dinner at P.F. Chang's with some friends of ours. Ellie does well at restaurants until she is done eating. Then she just wants to run around. (Of course I don't let her.) So, we always resort to drastic measures to keep her occupied, like giving her the lemons from our waters to suck on. I know the acidity is bad for her teeth, but she loves it so!

Anyway, I am back at work today. My last Saturday I have to work at the library! Wednesday is my last day of work and then it is the life of a teacher for me.

Rachel Coleman and my dad (but not together)

Rachel Coleman commented on my blog y'all! It is almost as exciting as when author John Green commented on my other blog. Almost. Rachel Coleman's comment was nice and all, but then she kind of promoted her own thing afterwards whereas John Green was just like, hey send me an email for that interview you so want. But still, I know Ellie would be totally excited if she knew her favorite TV personality commented on her baby blog!


On a completely unrelated note, my dad's birthday was this week. I don't want to say WHICH birthday it was because I don't want him to feel too old (but after 7 kids and 18 grandkids, I'm betting he does feel kind of old). Anyway, I just wanted to give a belated birthday shout out to my old man (enough with the old already!). Happy birthday, Dad! I love ya!

p.s. I hate that I am wearing that stupid watch in all my wedding pictures. Why did no one remind me that I was wearing it? Grrrr.

Ellie, Ellie, Ellie

Good news! I discovered this weekend that Ellie will keep bows and pig tails in her hair now. Because I would always say "pretty" when I put them in, she thinks that is what they are called and will say "pret tee" and pat her head. I made the mistake of telling her she was so pretty when I was feeding her and she heard the word pretty and started patting her head looking for the bow. Unfortunately, her hand was covered in food which was promptly smushed into her hair.
But, yeah, she loves wearing them now and all I have to do is say, "You want a pretty?" and she will run to the bathroom and try to get her hair stuff out of the drawer.
She is still wanting to climb everything. She climbed up the back of the rocking chair the other day and I caught it just as it came crashing down to the floor. She also tried to climb up a stool in the kitchen and when it fell over, she stood next to it crying and saying, "uh oh, uh oh" like a broken record.
I sure love that kid.

My great idea

Daniel, Sabrina, and I were talking about how we wanted to see the new Bourne movie, but couldn't go due to lack of a babysitter. Then, I came up with my brilliant idea. Why can't movie theatres provide babysitting like they do at fitness centers? Then I started thinking of possible obstacles and solutions to those obstacles.

Obstacle #1: I don't want my kid around other kids of questionable health.
Solution: Just like when you take your dog to get groomed or boarded for the first time, you have to provide a shot record. Well, the first time you take your kid to movie theatre babysitting (MTB), you bring along your child's immunization record to be entered into the child's online file. Also, children running a fever or who are obviously sick will not be admitted.

Obstacle #2: What if something happens to my child while I am in the movie?
Solution: Each parent will be outfitted with a vibrating pager (much like the ones used by restaurants). If you child gets injured or is hysterical, you will receive a page.

Obstacle #3: What about babysitter/child ratios?
Solution: To take advantage of MTB, you must call in advance to reserve a spot. Walk-ins will be accepted if there is space.

Genius, right?

Mmmm...spaghetti!

Weekend recap

As I am typing this, Ellie is sitting on the floor next to me reading one of her books. Considering the wild thing she has been all day, I am enjoying this momentary lull. This has been a crazy, roller coaster of a weekend.

Saturday, everything seemed to go wrong. And some of those things were pretty expensive. Tom and I were at each other's throats because we were both so stressed out. But then we just decided to shrug it off and roll with the punches. Alex came over for dinner and we played Trivial Pursuit (Pop Culture and the 90s). I love playing Trivial Pursuit, but I totally suck at it. Also, I made chocolate chip brownies, but didn't have regular eggs so I substituted in Egg Beaters. Note to self: Egg Beaters do not work in brownies.Today, Ellie was awful in church. I tried to keep her occupied with books and Cheerios, but she wanted to run screaming up and down the aisles. I had to keep taking her out and I couldn't help thinking, "Why do I even bother coming when I spend the whole time in the hallway?" And then I ran into Bro. S. in the hallway and he was his usual offensive self. I know that I should just shrug him off, but his comments today really hurt my feelings. But, after church I went over to Daniel and Sabrina's for a really yummy dinner and hanging out with them really took the sting out of Bro. S.'s remarks. So, now that I am reflecting back on the weekend and Ellie is at my feet acting like a little angel (instead of the little hellion she was earlier), I feel pretty good about the weekend. Nothing like good friends and family to turn things around.

Luckiest person on earth

I am the unluckiest person I know. I never won BINGO at my childhood birthday parties, never won a door prize, never won a contest I entered in school, and never found the Easter eggs with the big prize inside. Three years ago, at a law office Christmas party, I was the only one at my table who did not get a door prize. And I was not surprised in the least.

But if I am so unlucky, how on earth did I get this?

Ewwww

Last week, my mother-in-law came over to watch Ellie while Tom ran errands. Whenever my mother-in-law comes over, she feels the need to clean. Some people might be offended by this, but those people are crazy. It's like the people in Japan who found the money in bathroom stalls or falling from the sky and turned it in to the police even though the envelope it came in made it very clear it was a gift! And the people thought it was "spooky" that someone was giving out money. I say just be grateful for a good thing. Which is why I am always grateful when my mother-in-law comes over. But back to my story...so the last time, she asked Tom to pull the refrigerator out before he left so she could clean underneath and behind it. Guess what she found under my refrigerator? A hamburger patty. My only guess is that we had some left over and threw it on the floor for the dogs and one slid under the fridge. But you want to know what the really gross part is? I haven't made hamburgers in over 6 months.