Every day is a collection of moments. Each week, each month and each year they become our memories.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

So tired.

 

I am worn out.  I am both emotionally and mentally drained.   I need a day to totally unplug and unwind and totally check out.   Instead, I sit here in front of the TV with my laptop on my lap in my PJ’s feeling guilty I’m not outside.   On a similar note, I am also feeling guilty that I am not working out while I sit here waiting for my latest ice cream concoction (peanut butter s’more) to warm up enough for me to eat.  Whatever. 

Tessie has been the master of “don’t mind me I’ll keep myself busy” today.   And I swear that I will never (NEVER EVER EVER) get sick of the sweet smile on her face as she waves at me from inside her crib before her nap.  

I will probably shower before going to Emily’s for dinner.   I will hopefully remember to pack a cup and bib for Tessie before we leave.  In the mean time, I am going to watch TV and eat ice cream and throw in the towel on being productive today.  Tomorrow…  may be another story.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Some Things about Tessie

 

Today is the most beautiful day ever.   The temperature is perfect, the sun is shining, it isn’t too hot or humid or anything.   I love it.    Sadly, Steve had to work all day on a job site  (don’t ask) so he isn’t enjoying it.    And if he isn’t enjoying it then Tessie and I don’t really enjoy it much either.   She and I have, however, had a lovely day.   park

During the last week she has become smarter.   Or maybe she is just stronger in her ability to communicate.  Who knows, maybe she has just finally started connecting the dots..   ha ha, I’m kidding.   We are just in that magical time together when she is slowly slowly demonstrating to us what she knows and we love it.  

We can ask her things  “where is your baby?”  or “where is your belly?”  and she instantly goes in search of them.   I told her when she was done with her milk she could put it on the counter instead of throwing it on the floor.   She tried, but she was too short to actually reach  (my fault).   She will sign please and thank you and night night to me on command. 

She chatters non stop.  Seriously.  Non stop.   I am not sure if she can actually say 100 words or 10 words because amidst all that chatter I am starting to hear things.    She is obsessed with the book Brown Bear Brown Bear  (what do you see?)  and 1/2 the time will point correctly to the animal you ask her about.    She put her finger to her lips and shushed me this morning.   Not sure where she picked that up, but it was amusing to see.   She continues to clink glasses with us in a toast every single time we sit down together at the table. bear

For some reason she is waking up during the night wanting to nurse again.  Just once.  It’s inconsistent.  Sometimes at 11:30pm, sometimes at 5:30 am, sometimes any time in the middle.   When I go to her it isn’t the sleepy slow motion sign she gives me, it is hard and deliberate and a bit forceful.  Like she is SERIOUSLY hungry and not in the mood to play games.     We don’t really nurse much at all anymore.  I just take her lead and go with the flow.  Yesterday she abandoned me in favor of her water glass.    Someday soon she’ll decide she’s done; probably.

Aside from the night time waking, she remains a great sleeper.  Still a morning and afternoon nap and lately one of those naps has been in the 2 1/2 hour – 3 hour range.  Fantastic for me when she is home because I can get lots of work done in that chunk of time.   When I ask her if she is ready she giggles a bit  (and then lately puts her  hand on her cheek to sign for nap).   She isn’t doing the 30 second fuss any more and this afternoon she smiled and waved at me as I walked out of her room.    I will never forget the day my niece Mikayla did that to me 11 years ago; and now my sweet girl just did the same thing.

When we are cooking she wants to be in on the action.  She wants to watch.   Steve puts her up on the counter with him.   It’s possible that is how an egg landed on the floor this morning.   There is only so much I can do with her on my hip so today I pulled up a chair and told her not to fall off.   I like that she is curious and I am happy knowing that she will have memories of cooking together withcooking chair both of her parents.  cooking eggs

 

 

 

 

 

Ciao!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

It takes a village…

 

Well, I survived working the Anoka & Dakota County Fairs.   I always know what to expect, and I am always surprised at how incredibly hard it is to sit there and look approachable while being bored out of my mind for hours and hours a day.  The beginning of the week is easier, and by the end of the week I am exhausted.  I am just simply too much of an introvert to work that many hours in a row at an event like that.  This year it was just worse looking at all the adorable little girls while missing my baby girl. 

We only work the 2 fairs so we rely heavily on family to watch Tessie while we work.  Steve could totally watch her while I work the fair, obviously, but then he is not able to run appointments or visit installs or take care of any errands that need to be done.  So sometimes he ends up being here most of the day while we also have someone else here to watch Tessie.   At least then he gets to visit, right?

Should we do a recap of our last week?  Here goes.  party fun

Saturday – Brady and Ben Birthday Pool party – we saw ALL of the Prindles, and Greg & Peg Palen.   

Splhsunday – my high school girlfriends came over for a good old fashioned catch up & giggle.

Monday – Great Grandma Lorraine and  Auntie Pat came over during the day while I was prepping for the fair, and then Grandma Katie came over at night while I was at the fair and Steve ran an appointment.

Tuesday – Grandma Jean and Grandpa John came over for the day. 

Wednesday – Daycare day so she could play with the kids at Stephanie's.  Then she and Daddy hung out all night – and shared a blizzard at DQ!kk at fair

Thursday – She went to see Emily, Mikayla and Zach, and then spent the afternoon at the Fair with Bryan, Brady, Audrey and Dane.  After seeing the lumberjack demonstration she now makes the chainsaw noise pretty much all the time.  I showed here a YouTube Video of a guy cutting down a tree and she laughed her baby butt off.

Friday – She went to see Auntie Cecelia and I’m pretty sure she saw Great Grandpa Irv for a bit too. 

So today…   we needed to seriously chill.  Steve is out at the Fair and I got a whole long day at home with no agenda but to love up my baby and recharge.   We made tons of messes and we did lots of cleaning up.  Then we did some shopping and some playing at the park.  While she was napping I finished reading a book, and tonight I finally finished Steve’s Father’s Day Gift.   Better late than never, right?

reading with PatThank you so much to my village.   We absolutely couldn’t do this without you.   As hard as it is to be away from Tessie for so long it is so very nice to have that time with her in the morning to tell her about what to expect for the day.   I love that concentration she has while looking at me when I give her the plan.   I love it even more when she perks up and grins when she hears a name she likes or points to Stephanie’s house when that is the plan.     I know that she has a blast with everyone.

Ciao!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Stacky Stacky Choo Choo

 

We bought her this rings stacker for Christmas.   For 6 months this toy has sat in the background waiting for its day.   That day has come.    It is like a switch flipped in her and she is now obsessed with stacking rings.    I just watched her take everything off so she could get them on in the right order.   

Now I’m not saying this is FOR SURE a fact, but it is possible that the appearance of these Thomas the Train Engine PJ’s  (from Brady, Jake, Dane and Ben) may have brought a special power with them.   The  special cousin stacking power.  

stacks

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Dear Tessie,

Your Dad and I are completely obsessed with your awesome-ness.    Everyday we tell each other stories about just exactly how awesome you are.  Every night before bed we go into your room and stare at you.   Your Dad holds your hand or rubs your head and back sometimes.    If he hasn't seen you much that day he picks you up to snuggle.   Sometimes the light from the bathroom or our bedroom wakes you up.   We either drop to the floor to hide so you can't see us or your Dad holds a blanket in front of him so you don't notice.  We giggle every time.   Even though we are always a little bit sorry for disturbing you;  we need that last little "Tessie fix" before we go to sleep.   And you are such a good sleeper that you never stay awake for long.

Fourteen Months old already!!   Somehow you are more fun and more interesting with every passing day. Here is a list (you know how I am) describing your awesome-ness right now.

  • You are incredibly expressive. 
  • You babble non stop
  • A few weeks back you said good bye to crawling and have been walking ever since.   
  • You stay busy for SO LONG on your own loading and unloading things, carring stuff around, distributing it into different places, then going and retrieiving it all and putting it back.     The office isn't nearly the mess it used to be.  Everything is just moved.  constantly.
  • The bottom step is your favorite.  It is just your size.
  • When you see people you know you reward them with huge smiles and excitement.   Your Grandparents, Great Grandparents and Great Aunts especially love this.
  • You eat everything.    You are not picky whatsoever.   Even those weird organic pouches with all the wacked out flavor combinations.. nothing phases you.   We had fajita spiced chicken meat the other day and you shoved it in your mouth like it was candy.  (It WAS good!).   You grabbed a peach the other day and devoured it.   I didn't get a chance to cut it even.   And when you got to the pit you pulled it out and thew it. You begged for broccoli and fresh tomato the other day.  Corn on the cob is becoming a fast favorite too and at the grocery store yesterday you were pointing at avocados.   
  • When you are tired you sign "more" to me, while looking me square in the eye so I pay attention.   More than once I have asked you if you were ready for bed and you start walking to the stairs.   A few days ago you answered with "YES".    You literally dive in to your bed.  If you squawk at all it is for 15 seconds.  You are generally quiet by the time I get downstairs.    
  • You love books.   You turn the pages and "read" them aloud to yourself.   You don't usually sit still long enough for me to read to you anymore though.
  • We signed you up for swimming lessons so you would be comfortable in the water.   Last week at Angie's you wouldn't stop jumping off the side of the pool to me and you even went under a few times.    At Katie's cabin you want to be in the lake every second.   You take it beyond comfortable.  You are obsessed.
  • You figured out how to snap your Duplos together.  You clap for yourself when you do it.  
  • You say DADDY all the time.   You can say HOT and YES and I swear the other day you said DID IT.  

So here is the thing.

I start writing blog posts but I don't publish them.   All the time.   I have a few minutes while making dinner or after I put Tessie to bed.   Then the phone rings or the day continues or I hit a wall, and the draft just sits there.

Then suddenly I feel like I'm behind and one of the million things I "need to get done" is getting this blog current.   So crazy.   It's crazy in the same category as "my DVR has 5 episodes of CSI left on it..  I better get that cleaned up."   Lucky for me, I can multi task.    In my PJ's while my angel baby sleeps.

Enjoy the old posts.   I may or may not get better at being current.  =)


Ciao!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Easy Peasy Smartie Pants.


My incredibly easy baby is actually getting easier.  Is that possible?
This weekend she started to sign “more” to me; which I love, obviously.   She doesn’t necessarily do it when she wants more of something, but she does it when she wants something.   And she is so sweet and deliberate with it that I melt every time.   I’ll ask if she wants to eat and she signs it.   I ask if she wants a bath and she signs it.    And yesterday she walked half way across the room to me and after our little mini celebration she signed it to me and I got out of the way so she could keep walking. 
She continues to sign “all done” to me – completely appropriately.   I love how it takes the guess work out of stuff.   Has she had enough to eat?  Yes.   Is she done playing in the office?  She is.  Was that long enough in the tub?  Oh..  yes .  She says it was.   But guess what?  She isn’t using the normal sign.  She made up her own.  My little process improver throws her hands in the air like she is on a roller coaster when she is done.  It’s clearer.  More obvious.   And she isn’t turning back. 
Her pointing is in overdrive but there is no question what she is interested in.   This includes the neighborhood.   She stands in the bay window on her tippy toes and points at everything that happens across the street.  And if you’ve ever heard me talk about the shenanigans at the house across the street you’d know that was a lot. 
Her one and only word continues to be HI.   For 3 solid months now we’ve been greeted and re-greeted and greeted again throughout every single day. She has a million variations of it.  Sometimes she barks it like a dog with a huge smile on her face  (HI HI HI HI HI HI).    I love it.  I hope it never ends.
Tonight during her bath I decided we should start grouping the foam animals by color.  I put up two green animals and asked her if there was another green one in the water.  She looked around and pulled the last green one out of the water.   Huh.  So I put up two red ones and asked her if she could find the other red one.  Again, she looked around and she offered the red one to me!!   I was so proud and so excited!   She didn’t do again to the other colors but I didn’t care  I was just so stinking impressed.  
I think its easy to forget that even though she is little she is insatiably curious and soaking in information at warp speed.   Ever since Mr Swanson asked Tessie where her shoes were that day and immediately pointed to them I have been trying to ask her more questions so she could demonstrate to me what she knows.  Its amazing to me how much babies learn in such a short period of time.  As a parent it would be so easy to brag about how smart she is.  I know she is smart and I am sure she is normal smart. I am not a parent who is going to brag about her being anything more special than every other child every born.  I am going to be openly crazy head over heels in love with the miracle that she is.    And I am quite certain that for the rest of her life I will be in awe of her.
Before I go….
When I left the living room she was channel surfing with the remote.  When I came back she was clapping.   She had landed on “so you think you can dance” and was amused.   Love.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Oh yeah. I can do that.

 

I could start every post as follows:   “I am completely overwhelmed and completely overjoyed in every moment of every day.”    So now that its out there I won’t.

Tessie is the most fun person on the planet.   She is  incredibly curious and continually showing us what she is learning.   And our gift is that we are here to witness it all.     I had 3 full days this week without her so was able to buckle down and got some serious work done.   Enough that I feel that I am managing the work again instead of the other way around.   This gives me freedom to just be the Mom while she is awake.    

This week she is coming closer and closer to walking.   I put shorts on her the other day; which she hated.   So it forced her to stay on her feet as much as possible practicing walking around stuff.  She will let go for a second as she steps between things.   She can stand on her own for a long time.  She can go from squatting to standing to squatting again.  It is like she is putting herself through the paces.  I watched her let go the other day and start doing the twist from one side to the other while standing.. just practicing her balance.  She has taken one step to me repeatedly but has only taken more than one a few times.

sunshine2walking around

Meals out with friends has come to an abrupt halt.   She is just too much of a hooligan.  She does not want to be contained. Wednesday night we met Gail out at a patio and luckily it wasn’t crowded because we just let the baby loose to explore the corner we were in.   She wouldn’t eat a thing and came home covered in dirt.   I should also mention that the manager was obsessed with her.  He stopped by our table at least three times  and never asked about us or our meal, he just wanted to get closer to Tessie.   I think he maybe asked once if he could get HER something to drink.   It was nice to know she was welcome. 

sams grill

We bought her a bunch of those crazy foam animals to play with in the tub.  The first night she stared.  The next few nights she ignored them.   I would put them on the side of the tub and she would frantically hit at them until they were off.   Then Steve gives her a bath and she decided to show off.   She decorated the tub with the animals then practiced stacking them up when she was  done.  He hasn’t been home for bath time lately so it seems she  was anxious to show him what she could do. 

She is an aggressive greeter.  When she decides to talk to you she will say HI to you every few seconds.   Just ask the lady browsing in the same aisle as us at Home Goods.  I think we were in the store 15 minutes and she said HI to people 700 times.   Right up until the cashier said HI to her and then she acted all aloof.  It has to be her idea to talk to you. 

Last but not least…  she had her first McDonalds Cheeseburger this week.  It is a right of passage in a way, but it feels so wrong.  She picked off the bun and ate only that.   I guess she will be fine. 

cheeseburger

That’s all for this week.  

Ciao!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

I’m tired. Good night. Get out.

 

After a very short bath tonight she raised her hands over her head asking to get out. I put her to bed and she rolled away from me, then turned back and waved at me briefly and then closed her eyes.   I got that message loud and clear. 

Saturday, May 11, 2013

12 Month Tessie

We have always been fortunate to have family around willing and able to watch Tessie as we work, go to  home shows, county fairs, or even go on the occasional date.   To help the “caregiver of the hour” I’ve always had a Tessie sheet with her schedule, food ideas, habits, etc.    I sort of called it “Tessie for Dummies” in my head because while Tessie has always been the easiest baby ever she does have a routine and if you know what that is, you will think she is the easiest baby too.    I’ll never forget when one of my sisters watched her for the first time and said “it works!”.    It was a proud mama moment.

I’m not sure how many versions of that sheet   I have floating around.   I do know that this past January I had to change it weekly.   We had a home show that spanned two weekends.   The first weekend I wrote “she can crawl if she wants but she doesn’t know she can move between rooms yet”.   The second weekend I crossed  that out and wrote “she will hunt you down if you leave her.”  And she would.

Now that she is 12 months she is at a more reasonable routine.   It is sort of insane how with an infant you obsess about the clock  and what's happening and what she needs next… and then slowly they morph into the 3 meals a day, morning and afternoon nap, bedtime at 8, up at 7 schedule.    I like it.

Of course now that she is 12 months she can also do a lot of other things, therefore making working with her awake nearly impossible.   It has become a necessity to increase daycare to 2 full days a week – and so starting this week Tessie is hanging with “Auntie Grandma”  my aunt CK.   CK has never spent time alone with Tessie so I find myself once again needing to update the “Tessie sheet.”    Although as I mentioned her schedule is pretty easy now so its really more of likes and dislikes and general baby observations.    So I figured I’d just post it here.   You’re welcome.


Tessie at 12 months

  • She will eat anything.   She loves pancakes and scrambled eggs.   She loves ham.   She will freak with excitement if you give her avocado.   Banana Bread on the counter means she waves at it each time we walk by it.   YUM.  Ravioli is delicious.   Pumpernickel over wheat.   All fruits and  veggies are delicious.   Yes, of course she loves sweets because she is ours. We try and stick to ginger snaps and vanilla wafers but sweets happen.  We’re okay with that.
  • She is less excited about cheese.   She is not yet convinced that cows milk is good.
  • She loves her books.   She doesn’t always want to sit still for you to read a story to her, but she likes the books around so she can look at them on her own.   She always has a few books in her crib with her.
  • She is an expert un-loader.   Don’t turn your back for a second as nothing is off limits for her.   Kitchen cabinets, the dishwasher if left open, any bin full of anything, any and every drawer, any basket of clothing, any bag with something in it.   This girl has a 6th sense for things in her reach that could be unloaded.   She is a mini –tornado leaving a path of destruction.    When we go places where I know she can get down and roam I pack bags within bags of stuff just so she can take it all out.
  • She throws things when she is done.    She throws food off her tray, she throws her water glass, she throws her nuk and bunny and books out of the crib when she wakes up, and she has even started throwing toys out of the tub when she is finished. 
  • She understands the signs for eat, more, please, thank you and all done.   She can do the sign for all done but chooses not to.   Instead she reaches her hands over her head as if to say “pick me up.  I’m done with this”
  • She has a few words.   HI, of course, is her staple.   For about 2 months now she she has said it several hundred times a day.    She will also say “YAY!”  while clapping when she sees something fun  (even if its something she sees on TV), she has said “YAH” as an answer, will “NUM NUM” when you’re cooking (or when you walk into a chocolate store with her)  and she has recently started with “DA-EEY”   I dare say she said her first sentence yesterday when she said “HI DA-EEY”.   That counts, right?
  • She loves music.   Loves it.   She will dance if she likes it.  It can be kids music, it can be American Idol or it can be Led Zepplin.  It doesn’t matter.  If she likes it she will dance.
  • She does have some favorite kids songs..  such as…  Itsy Bitsy Spider, If you’re happy and you know it,  You are my sunshine, old McDonald, and wheels on the bus come to mind.   In a pinch (like a long car ride, a especially squirmy diaper change, or if you’re just trying to keep her occupied) sing these songs to her and she will clap and say “YAH” for your efforts.   My singing has never been cheered until her.
  • Aside from outlet covers we haven't really baby proofed anything.   She knows what NO means and she will respond.
  • She is very curious.   She will stare and study each new person and each new situation before reacting.    I see this most at the grocery store.  She’ll stare someone down in aisle one and when we pass them in aisle 3 she smiles and says HI!   She sat stone faced on her first ride at Nik Universe and then frantically waved at it five minutes later.
  • guard your remotes and your phones.
  • She has a pretty long attention span.  She will play on her own for quite a long time. 
  • She loves to push things around.   They can be an actual toy, a garbage can, a chair, etc, etc.   Her new outside toys are the most fun ever. (Thanks to Gail and Karen for the fun hand me downs!)

That’s our girl.   In a nutshell.   So much fun every day!

Ciao!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

HI. YAH. YAY.

 

Moment

We’ve had a lot of firsts here the last few days.   Watching a baby develop and grow in their first year is the most amazing thing.  period.   We love watching our peanut and celebrating everything with her!

She now has 3, almost 5 teeth.   We waited and waited and waited for that first one, and then before we knew it there were 2.   I stopped noticing and obsessing about her mouth until  one day I looked and there were 3.  Oh wait, close to 5.   We looked  away for a second, we blink, and there we have missed something.   And she is with me  6 days a week!

Yesterday was a gorgeous perfect spring day.   We went on a walk, and we spent close to 45 minutes at the park.   She loved playing with the other kids, playing in the tunnels, going down the slide, etc.

I still had work to do when I got home so I threw her in the tub and made calls to confirm appointment from the bathroom.  (classy, right?).    I used  my hand signal for SIT DOWN for the first time and she responded immediately.   Of course it became a game, but she responded and once again I felt like we were communicating.   

After a very long bath I asked her if she was done and she said YAH and then raised her arms over her head.    Later I put her video in and she responded by clapping her hands and cheering YAY!!    This is the trifecta of perfect first words.   Very positive and friendly.  HI.  YAH.  YAY.

She practices standing all the time and she is very very steady.   She has started trying to stand up in the middle of the room hanging on to nothing.   She hasn’t yet figured that one out.   She has started practicing how to crawl up on to things like the couch.   Luckily she is still too short for that one.   She loves music.  She dances as she pleases.   She claps her hands when she is happy.   She always says Hi to you.  The frequency of her greeting correlates to her excitement level.   She sings along as she pleases.

1117We went downtown for lunch for the first time yesterday to visit Janet.   It was lunch hour so the streets were packed and there was lots to see and point at.   She was a total hooligan at lunch so I did turn into that Mom who let her sit in the booth next to me eating french fries with both hands.  First french fry experience and she is totally a fan.   Also, she had no problem with that pickle spear! 

Her cousins Lena and Elissa are in town this weekend and as they were all playing together today Tessie leaned over to hug each of them multiple times.   I’ve not seen the spontaneous hug before and it was the sweetest thing.   Made all the sweeter that it was cousins so close to her own age that she only sees a few times a year.

 

Ciao!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Yeah!!!

 

The best thing, by far, about having a baby in the office with me everyday is that I get applause whenever I ask for it.   Haven’t you always wanted your own personal cheering section to tell you when you’re doing a good job?    Thanks Baby.  

English, please

 

I swear to you this just happened.   After enjoying her favorite nursery rhyme DVD in its entirety  she was still bouncing on her knees and clapping like she wanted more.   Since I’m busy in the kitchen with dinner  (and polka dot cake experimentation) I thought I would play the CD  again.   But in Spanish this time.  

She didn’t go for it.  As Old McDonald’s Farm was playing  (quack quack aqui y a quack quack alli….)  she went for the remote and sat there holding it and nodding no.   I asked her if she wanted me to change it back to English and she handed me the remote.  More like pushed it at me.

We know she can understand us now and it is completely thrilling to be able to communicate with her.   I’m sure she felt the same thing as the video re-started.   In English, this time.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Avocado Love

 

One of the very many things I love about this baby of ours is that she actually giggles with delight when she sees an avocado.  

We just sit here at lunch and eat them right out of the shell together.   DELICIOUS!!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

She knows all the noises

 

We don’t have normal schedules.   We don’t have free time.   We aren’t ever “OFF”.   Even when we aren’t in the office we are always on call.   The phone is never far from us.   When the phone rings even Tessie stops and looks.  We are in the growth stage of running a small business that supports this family.   When we stop working, it stops producing.

While this is extremely limiting some times, it is extremely flexible other times and the trade off is worth it.   Even though Steve works very long hours, he is often home during the day and gets lots and lots of time to play with his peanut. 

This means that the baby has grown accustomed to our bizarre schedules and habits.    She is an extremely curious little girl and she pays attention to things..  so when she hears noises she looks, points, smiles, and says HI.  

These noises include:

  • waking up to the sound of her Dad shoveling the driveway
  • the sound of the carts moving as the truck is being unloaded
  • the sound of the car door closing
  • the sound of the keys hitting the tray
  • the sound of the door closing
  • the back door opening
  • a Diesel truck pulling in to the driveway
  • the phone ringing
  • the sound of a text coming in
  • the fax machine ringing.

We love having her with us and we are just constantly so amused by what she is learning and how she is showing us what we know.

Ciao!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Birthday Parties and Whatnot

 

We had a home show Saturday (shocker) so Tessie got to spend the WHOLE day with her Aunt, Uncle and 4 of her cousins… before they all piled in the cars to go to Grandma and Grandpas to see everyone else for E’s birthday party.     I know, we are the luckiest people ever to have family so willing to take our baby for hours and hours on end.     The party was pure chaos but it was fun to see everyone and we managed to pile all 10 cousins on the couch for a picture.   The confused one on the end is ours, of course.  You can just hear her inside voice “hey, wait, what?   what’s happening?  what’s going on?  is that the TV on??”

cousins on couch

Sunday was her first St. Patrick’s Day and you know how I love to embrace the holidays… so we started the day with some green pancake for breakfast.   Here is our little tiny lucky charm!

lucky charm

That afternoon we drove down to Mankato to go to Birthday Party #2…  party hats and all.  We both think she had a blast.   She waved and said HI to everyone, she played like crazy and she didn’t object at all to her party hat.   In fact, her Dad finally was the one to take it off because it appeared to be digging in to her head.    Love these pics of her riding with her cousin in the wagon, and patiently waiting for her cake.   (she only had a few bites of my cupcake!)

cousin wagoncake

Today was a daycare day.   It never fails.  She spends one day with a handful of 2 year olds and comes home with a trick.   I was feeding her and she acted like she wanted to grab the spoon so I gave it to her.  What do I care?   I was curious to see what she would do with it.   Imagine my surprise when it went straight into her mouth.   Over and over again like it was no big deal at all.   But she still handed it to me each time so I could reload it.   I couldn’t believe it!  Such a big girl!

That’s all for now.  

Ciao!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

We’re all normal

 

Today I was able to scoot out of the house for a few hours to run errands on my own while Tessie stayed home and played with Auntie Pat.    As I was waiting in line a the grocery store a nice older lady and I were chatting about the tabloids and how after looking at the “beach bodies” on some of those people we feel pretty darn good about our bodies.  

I love days when Pat comes over because it gives me the freedom to hunker down in the office or run a few crazy errands without worrying about the baby’s schedule. Like all mothers, I am a slave to her schedule.   Eat. Play. Sleep….  over and over and over for months and months.    It is no wonder that I feel I am on a never ending treadmill.  Or like that character in Groundhog Day.   I am faced with the same tasks and the same challenges every day with curve balls thrown in all the time.   Days when I get tons of work done in the office I feel badly that I’ve ignored the baby too much.   Days when I play with the baby all day I feel badly that I’ve ignored the office too much.  Days that fly by in an instant make me feel  badly that I’ve ignored Steve too much.   Did I make dinner?  Is there food for breakfast?  Lunch?   Tessie?   Did I ever stop to think about what HAD to get done in the office today?   Did I do it?  Is there laundry clean?    As Steve gets busier with work I need to step up and take care of the housework he normally does.   We are lucky to have help in the office, but getting ready for her and managing her take,s time too.  So some days I drink lots of coffee and plow through stuff.  Other days I just give in and hope tomorrow is better.    Other days, like today,  I am feeling great that I got some of the errands done, but also frustrated that is afternoon and I haven’t started work yet.    I’m not alone, Steve is also frustrated I haven’t been in the office yet.  Baby girl is asleep, I’m overwhelmed, so I write a bit.   I can work after I’m done.

In the next 8 weeks we have 3 family birthdays,  Tessie’s first Easter, her Baptism, Her BIRTHDAY,  and 12 days of home shows. Oh, and swimming lessons.   Tessie and Daddy  are THIS close to being signed up for swimming lessons.   We are going to make every event for our baby as special as can be.  We are going to hope that the house stays reasonably put together.   We are going to do our best to have decent food in the house so we don’t just eat crap.  We are going to do our best to keep the office running smoothly, to keep our customers happy and to keep this business moving forward.  Last, but not least, we are going to try and remember that we are normal.  None of the frustrations we may have are unique.  Everybody, everywhere has something to deal with.   So just like the sweet older lady and I discussed today in the grocery check out lane, we are normal.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I’m back!

 

Goodness.  We were going great guns with blogging and pictures and all that fun and then WHAM.   Christmas was the MOST fun, then January started with 6 days out of 14 working a home show and farming out the baby and then the computer died…  so here I sit.    Desperate to catch up on recording the pure magic than having a baby really is.   Suffice to say, she is amazingly sweet and darn near perfect.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Crazy with a Capital “C”

January 10

Really, you wouldn’t believe me if I didn’t tell you it was true.  My days are crazy.  With a capital C.  Today is no exception.   Today was actually normal for me.

Baby slept like a champ last night, not waking up even one time so at least everyone here is rested.    She was up for the day at 7:15.  I fed her and we went downstairs to make breakfast.  Steve had plans to help my brother all day today so after we ate we went straight to the office to re-group and get paperwork done while Tessie crawled all over the place looking for mischief to get in to.  I wish I could say it was the first time I was in the office in my PJ’s very un showered and just a few sips into my first bit of coffee.  Alas, it was not. 

She had 2 solid naps today ( 1 ½ hours and 2 hours) and during each of those times I managed to get myself up and dressed,   prep for the show this weekend, follow up on some outstanding things, deal with emails, and file our federal payroll taxes.    I also had several conversations with Dad, and each sister about who can take my ticket to the Guthrie this weekend since I will be at a show.   It bugs me that I was so dumb about my schedule because I really want to go have that bit of fun but there is no way.     At this hour, the ticket may very well go unused.   Bummer.     I also convinced my sister Katie to take Tessie all day Sunday (not that hard) and started the list of things I need to do and pack to make that day as easy as possible.   Lastly, I went a few rounds with two groups of potential tenants.  One group – with no application in yet – is negotiating hard for free rent in February  (and I’m just desperate enough to get the place filled I was considering it).  The other group contains a felony (of course) , something mysterious and illegal from a few years back and a bad phone number from a landlord.   But the felony is old, he claims to have no idea on the mysterious item and I have a corrected number for the landlord.   They can move in in Feb and will pay full price.     Still…  neither scenario feels perfect at this point and I know perfect won’t happen but we were just burned so badly with the last tenants that I am gun shy.  So I weigh the lesser of 2 evils.     Then the phone rings and a new lady sounds EXCITED and she wants to be there in a few hours so we schedule it!! 

I am so busy working that when Tessie wakes up I can’t believe the time.  It’s 2:15 and I have a 3:00 interview for show help.   I haven’t eaten, my hair is crazy, and I have no makeup on.   And she is hungry.   So everything gets done except the me eating part.  Of course.   Tessie and I rush to Starbucks for our interview and I feel totally discombobulated for it. I just like it better if I am there and my coat is off and I am settled when the interviewee arrives.   I feel it gives me home court advantage or something.   During our chat  Tessie is flirting with people, then she starts yelling, not crying – just making as loud a noise as possible -  and I have to take her out of the very car seat I kept her in to make exiting easy.   I’m on the fence about the candidate, but as I start talking to her about availability for shadowing this weekend  (through Tessie’s noise) and I realize I have to go to that house showing.    I say goodbye to the candidate and then I am forced to make chit chat with the two men who want our table as I pack up and strap Tessie into her seat again.   Then we race to the property.  

I get there 5 minutes late and no one is there so I call her.  She sounds SURPRISED!!   Also, she sounded a bit flattered that I called.SO Weird.    “Where is the house??  Today?? Oooh”  and then her tone changed.   “Is this the house that needs a good credit score?  Yeah, we WON’T be coming to see it.”   Listen here crazypants.      She had exactly the same information when she blew off the appointment as when she set it.   I clearly need to start qualifying each showing with a list of questions.   Even when the coversation starts with “I saw the ad”  I have to ask, basically, if they read it.   Honestly.

So…  with a bit of time freed up and T already in the car we cruised to the office  supply store and the consignment store.  I scored some great pants to wear this weekend that look brand new and were only $12.00!!    I also picked up some fruit snacks at office max so I could eat something.   Tessie  groaned all the way home and I realized we are 30 minutes past nap.    Meanwhile, while we were driving we got another lead on the property and he “and his fiancĂ©” will be there tonight at 7:30.   Fingers crossed.  

Now here it is.   5pm.  Baby is sleeping, I am eating cereal and blogging and waiting for my  office help to get here.  Dinner is cooking in the crock pot and Steve is still gone.    I need to pack Tessie for being away from home for 3 days, and I need to prep us for being in the black hole that is called a home show. (25 hours of show in 3 days).   Freezing rain in the forecast for tonight and it has already started.   I still need to make a grocery store run for the weekend to buy food for lunch and I have a recipe for energy bites I want to make to keep us going this weekend.   Final prep for dinner needs to be done too.   My goal is to be on the couch , head to toe in fleece and drinking wine at 8:30.   Wish me luck.

***

Update on January 14

The 8:30 fleece on the couch didn’t happen.  9:30 happened.  And there was no wine.   And even though I went to the store the deli was closed and I didn’t get the lunch meat I wanted.   The home show was both exhausting and very successful.    The potential renter showed up with his fiance and they loved the house and we are scheduled to sign a lease tomorrow.   Mikayla took my ticket to the Guthrie and our baby girl had a weekend of fun with family.   Bottom line… the crazy is our life and somehow as we make it through all the crazy, and see all kinds of success.

Ciao!