Haircut!

I finally took K for a "real" haircut. She has had 2 trims before, you know, bangs and a little evening in the back, but lately she has been sport'n quite the Chullet (child+mullet) and her ends have been unmanageable after a day of playing (Daddy won't put her hair in a braid or a pony so by the end of the day it is caked with sticky substance that are unidentifiable..)

Anywho, I have had 2 previous appointments for her but both times we had to cancel because of snow. Our appointment was for tomorrow night, when we are expecting another 10 inches (OMFGKILLMENOW), so my FABULOUS hairdresser called me today and offered to squeeze us in.

K sat still, smiled, followed direction....a pure angel in the salon.

Before!

After!

Sunday Senses.....

Sight: The blinding brightness from the sun shining onto the mounds of snow that surround my house.

Sound: The thump thump thumping in my head (too many beers with girlfriends last night) and K's oh so sweet (yet extremely loud) voice playing with her Gabba dolls (minus PLex-who she is getting for her 2nd bday and Muno who costs WAY too much for me to buy).

Touch: The weight of my kid across my lap and the warmth of the laptop on my legs

Taste: Freshly brewed Cafe Estima and peanut butter on Wheat toast

Smell: Freshly brewed coffee...love that smell


Thanks to Rebecca for getting me in touch with my own senses!


I had good intentions of taking K swimming today (we've been going every Sunday for several weeks) but am thinking we are staying home in our jammies today....with my head and body feeling as though I took a beating last night AND the fact that it is -4 degrees out, I am thinking that staying in is a fantastic idea.

I went out late last night with 2 girlfriends from High School. 2 of the maybe 4 or 5 I am still "friends" with. Over a period of 3 hours I had 4 drafts and I seriously feel like shit today. WTF happened to me that I feel like this after 4 beers? I was once one of those chicks that could drink all the men under the table, but when my 30's hit I seemed to have lost that ability. Next weekend I am going to a HUGE wine fest at our local casino with a girlfriend. We have a hotel room and everything, but I am not sure how much I will actually be able to drink. I have 2 glasses at home and am ready for my jammies, bed and pillow!

Cheers~

Day ???...I fail

Yeah I suck. what can I say? The last few days I have been SO busy, with no time to take a break for blogging, and I am trying to stick to my read more/spend less time online at night resolution, so yeah - that equals no blogging.

This winter seriously sucks ass, for real, it does. I shouldn't say that. I am enjoying the snow, K brings a new joy to it for me. But I am going a bit batty stuck here in the house. I was working from home 3 out of 4 work days this week (we had Monday off). It was either snowing, sleeting, or black ice so I had to stay home. By the time Thursday rolled around I was like a kid on the 1st day of school. Up at the crack of dawn, showered and out the door, actually *shudder* excited to drive my long ass drive into the office and sit in my cubicle. F*ing sad right there.....

The topper is we are expected to get 2 or 3 more storms next week too. They actually said the one on Tues/Wed has the potential to be bigger than last weeks blizzard (see here for that one). OMFGIMIGHTBURYMYSELFINTHESNOWUNTILSPRING!!!!!!!!

T and I took K and our friend's Daughter L (17mos) to the Aquarium today. It was both of their first time there. I don't believe we stood still for at least 2 hours. Always chasing after a child and trying to keep track of the strollers. This is what it is like to try and capture a photo of an almost (17days!) 2 year old in front of a fish tank!

The very last thing we did was go to the Sea Lion show. Both girls loved it, and sat (fairly) still for the whole thing. As you can see from this photo, T was feeling a bit over whelmed with 2 kiddos.....

Day 18...stir crazy

I am getting a bit stir crazy. While I have enjoyed the snow days this winter, the getting to work from home, the getting to play with the snow blower, the getting extra time at home with the girl.....I am completely stir crazy!

I have been in the house for days upon days. I left once or twice over the weekend to run to the store but otherwise I have been enclosed in this house with lack of Sun.

My body is in need of Vitamin D. Not the kind you drink or eat, the kind you soak in through your skin.

K is getting stir crazy too. To the point that she has reached the "I'm so bored I am going to begin destroying things" phase.

I think I am working home again this am. Because you see, we had sleet and freezing rain yesterday and this morning, and well..the roads are like a NHL rink. Hmmm I do need a new car though....Nah, not worth it. As of now I am planning on going in late, but if I change my mind I think I will take a couple of hours personal time and take K to the Library program today.....we both need it terribly.

Day 17....

When K was an infant I made her a photo book for every single month. Yes, that is right, one album each month for 12 months, plus an album of my pregnancy. I am sick like that! They are some of my most treasured items. I hope she will treasure them when she is older.

For her 2nd year I chose to make her just one album. Just photos, with key milestones highlighted in the end. I finished it today. You are welcome to view it here.....

I think I will do the same for next year as well. How do you document your childs past? Are you using the traditional baby books? Old fashioned printed photos?

Day 16....Sunday Senses

Yeah Yeah, I missed day 15, I know, I feel bad, but not bad enough to post twice....

Sight: Complete darness out my front window, the last of the neighbors xmas lights are buried under mounds of snow.
Sound: The dryer turning and heating my whites...
Touch: Itchy wood sweater against my neck.
Taste: After taste of bad Indian food. (I love Indian food - tried a new place tonight...won't be going back)
Smell: Ghirardelli brownies baking in the oven (that should get rid of the bad Indian after tase!)!

Thanks to Rebecca for getting me in touch with my own senses!

Day 14......What a difference a year makes

Sorry no Leftovers for me this week. Tonight I filled out K's birthday invites and feel rather reflective of how much she has changed over this past year. She is becoming a girl, a little person. She is no longer my baby. She is my kid, my girl, my squirt.



I am having an especially hard time today, realizing that she will be 2 in three short weeks.....

A baby and her cat at 12 months old A girl and her cat at 24 months old

Day 13.....Thought ramble

Wow what a storm we had! I am on day 2 of WFH (aka Work From Home - when you work for the man you MUST have acronyms for EVERYTHING). The main roads are fine, but I take 60% back roads to the office, so I made the executive decision to remain home. In total I believe we got very close to 30 inches of snow. It is so pretty to see...

Little K seems to be picking up her consonants much more lately. However I am noticing a slight lisp (new). As an example when she says "Ice", it used to be very crisp and now she says "Ithe". Last night I made her a Hot Dog, Tater Tots and Green beans and as I was putting food on her High Chair tray she said, very clearly, "Tater Tot". Both T and I cheered for her....who would have thunk we would cheer about Tater Tots? Just today she also said Book and NiNight, very clear.

Have you heard the news? Chances are pretty high that your Zodiac sign changed! Not me though, I am who I am! I am one of the few people I know who is not "impacted". Seems silly to me to change something like this, but whatever. But can you imagine all the people that have Tattoos on their bodies that reference their sign and now they are not that sign! Yikes!

I spent my entire night tonight re-arranging K's room. I moved furniture around and created a play corner for her. We bought this and some of these. They will stay organized for about 7.5 minutes once she sees it! I also got one of these for our play room (which never gets used). Organizing gets me giddy!! I'll take some pics and post tomorrow.

Day 12....(updated) Now this is a snow storm!!

At least 26 inches so far and the snow is still falling!

Day 11...with a fitting date..and award!!!

1st and foremost, check out my post date and time!

That's right baby! 1/11/11 11:11....make wish!!

In order to accept this award I must:
A - Thank the person who awarded to us. Thanks so much Ashley! I have been blogging 3+ years and NEVER been awarded an award by a fellow blogger. Such an honor!

B- Share seven things about myself .

1. If I did not go to the hair dresser every 6 weeks faithfully I would have a FULL HEAD of gray hair. I pretty much went all gray by the time I was 25. I am SO thankful for highlights and low lights...and a great hairdresser!
2. I have 6 tattoos. Technically I have 2, but I have 5 daisies around my belly button so I count them each individually and then I have a Gnome on my right ankle/lower leg.
3. I floss my teeth in the car. Weird? When you have a long commute, you find ways to fill the time...
4. I bite my fingernails and crack my knuckles. Two habits that are horrid and I would love to break. Any suggestions?
5. When I eat chips, like a lunch sized bag of doritos, I have to dump them out onto a napkin and eat all the broken chips first, then I eat the whole chips in order of least visible flavoring to most (OCD??)
6. I secretly watch Jerseylicious in bed at night and when T comes up to kiss me good night I change it to something "more mature".
7. I am addicted to chap stick. Seriously, I have a stick in every pocket of every coat or vest, plus in my car and desk drawer, as well as on my bed side table...LOVE THE STUFF

C- Pass along our "stylishness" by awarding the award to 15 other bloggers, and then let them know I did it!

I am awarding the following..........
Stepping On Cheerios
Sippy Cups are not for Starbucks
My Stress
The Balancing Act
Geaux Halls
Country Girl/City Girl
Edenland
Frogs in my Formula
Here Storkey Storkey
Nurse Megan
One Swarmy Mama
Still Living the Dream
The Chipper Librarian
The Cubicle's Backporch
Unexplained X2

I was limited to 15, only 15!!!! Not fair I say not fair at all! I hope that every single one of you ladies is "stylish" to me in your own fabulous way!! (some of you have received this award from others, no need to double dip on your end, just wanted you to know youmade my cut too!)

Day 10....I'm over it...all of it

Why do I do this? Set these stupid goals to try and blog once a day for a month? I am almost dreading the next 21 days....but I really want to try to do it. You may just get pics some days...

Have you noticed that I use multiple periods frequently? Because clearly 1 at the end of my thought/statement is not enough. I use the tilde ~ quite a bit as well.

Anywho - I got a Z pack from the ENT on Friday, her exact words to me where "Don't fill this". Please do tell me, why on earth would you give me a script for something that has a higher chance of making me healthy then sitting on my ass, sucking down Robitussin and Nyquil and tell me not to fill it? I responded "OK" and promptly went to the pharmacy to fill it. I did however hold off until Saturday night (11pm) before breaking it out because I could not imagine continuing with the sickness taking over my being. By this morning I was definitely noticing improvements and tonight, other than a slight tickle making me cough and a little left over congestion I am feeling light years better. 2 more days to go though.

I do have a question for you though....(see there they are!) I guess it is mainly to you women that a) are married b)have been married c) have lived with a man for any duration of time...(!)

(?) Why when women get sick is it acceptable (expected) for us to get up with the kid at 7am, wash the dishes, do the laundry, entertain the kid, feed her 3 meals, come up with dinner ideas, throw work into the mix, and then repeat it all again the next day.

(?) But when HE gets sick it's ok to sleep until 4:30pm (OMFG!!) and then sit on the couch moaning until we (me and kid) go to sleep, and then get up the next morning and call his Mom to come get the kid so he can rest and proceed to sleep ALL day again. Meanwhile we women got up at 5:15 and went to work for an 11 hour day. WTF is wrong with women? Seriously?

Ok so clearly I am a little pissy with the hubs, no? I should also throw in here that all this time I was SICK as a DOG! And I snow blew the driveway myself both Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday I did with K in the back pack carrier (all 30lbs of her plus the extra 5lbs of her snow gear)....not bitter, really not.

______________________________________________

Tomorrow is my big day, my big interview(s) day. I've got to say, I got a bit deflated today. The one I love, the one that is outside my company, the one that has the most growth opportunities, sent me the benefits package today. I guess the one major perk to working for a huge cooperation is the benefits package. This smaller company has a really nice package, don't get me wrong, however Health insurance for my family would be $6000 more a year than I pay now. I would lose half of my vacation time too. And the salary would be equal (maybe) to what I make now. As much as it feels like a great fit, the right move, I am not sure I can sacrifice that much of an impact to my household budget AND personal time.

I am aware that leaving my company, if I chose to do that, will likely lead to me having to make some sacrifices, I mean come on who is going to hire me and give me 34 days of vacation? I get that. But sacrificing one thing is something worth considering. Not Sacrificing it all.

I am feeling really torn about this. I am going for the interview tomorrow and hoping that the stars align and that they love me enough to a) let me wait until 3/15 to start (I want to get my hard earned bonus before leaving!) b) want to pay me enough over what I make now to cover the added benefits c) maybe compromise on personal time?? That one I can let go if I had to, I am very spoiled with the amount of time off I get now, I know it.

Ugh life altering decisions suck......

Day 9 .....follow your senses

Rebecca at Unexplained X2 does Sunday Senses each Sunday. Since I am sick and my mind is fairly fried, I am going to follow her lead this week. Feel free to join in.....

Touch - Hot laptop on my lap. Dry hands typing on the keys
Smell - I can't smell a darn thing....this head thing is kicking my butt
See - The sun gleaming off the freshly fallen snow in my back yard and shining through my family room windows
Hear - Little K occasionally coughing in her sleep over the monitor.
Taste - Warm Honey, mixed in with freshly boiled water.....nothing better when you don't feel well.

Day 8.....Got my Snow!

~About 7 inches fell in 4 hours. Woke up to this beautiful site~

Day 7 and some Left Overs!

**Sorry no Left Overs Badge this week**

• So the weather men screwed up yet again. Please tell me how these Meteorologist can make so much money yet F* it up so damn much? If my quality was as bad as there's I would have lost my job years ago...wonder if we can outsource the weather?
• This job hunt thing is heating up....like big time. I have 2 interviews on 1/11/11....one in particular is external to my company. It is the one that I am SO conflicted over. I feel like it is a great growth opportunity, with a fantastic (small!) company, working with great people (Rosehawk!) -BUT- (isn't there always a but?) I am scared shitless. How does one leave behind 14 years of building a reputation? 14 years of earning Vacation time? An annual executive bonus? I guess if it is right for me it will work out. I have had 1 in person and 2 phone interviews for this 1 job so far. One more to go with the actual Clients on 1/11/11 at 11am! That has to be lucky right?
• I have yet to shake this bug/headcold. Little K and I keep passing it back and forth. I guess we need to stop playing kissy face. Went to the ENT today and I have no infections, just lots of goop and moisture (nice right?).
• My child will be 2 years old 1 month from tomorrow. UNBELIEVABLE
• Speaking of my ALMOST 2 year old...she has started to pair up a couple of words. Nothing stellar, but pairing none the less. Bye Bye Elmo, Hi Guys, Hi GeGe (granny/grandma), No Kitty cat, Down Kitty Cat, Bye Yo Guys (Yo Gabba Gabba guys)...there are a few others too, but nothing major. She can repeat (key word is repeat) almost the whole alphabet too, There are still a few letters that are a bit tough, F, W and Y. For those she grunts or stays silent. But still not picking up much speech. We have her 2 yr appt on her birthday, I will ask her pedi if she is concerned. I waiver between my feelings...
• We have eaten take out or leftovers for the past 7 nights. That's bad right? Actually I made pork in the crock pot yesterday, but I never ate because by the time I got home it was 9:30 and I can't justify a meal that late.
• As I was combing K's hair this week, and trying to get random pieces of lollipop or dried boogies out of the ends I think I have decided that she is going for a "big" haircut. I've had her bangs cut twice and her back trimmed to even it out, but never a real cut. I am thinking we may do a bob...right now she is seriously rocking a Chullet.

In honor of Friday Night Leftovers, sponsored by Danifred, I think we'll eat leftovers again!!

Day 5 (missed)...with a catch up to day 6

I declare that from here on out, the week after New Years can not, I repeat CAN NOT be a 6 day work week. How do these corporate sleaze bags expect us to come back from the Holly Jollies of Christmas and New Years shortened weeks or (if you are scum of the earth - I am not bitter) 2 weeks of full out no work, to a 6 day work week?

Is it not bad enough that we come back and have to jump into a regular old school 5 day week, nope not in my company. We get to throw Saturday in too! Kick Ass!

Fortunately we are expecting snow all day tomorrow. Now let me tel you that never before, no scratch that (speaking of, how can I strike out on blogger?), not since I was in High School have I wanted it to snow so damn much. You see I have verbal permission to work from home if there is even a chance of snow in the forecast.....I hope it snows ever god damn day until April 1!

Sorry for the anger in my tone. It has just seriously been the L.O.N.G.E.S.T 4 days so far.

I had this grand plan to attempt to blog everyday for a month....as you can see I made it 4 days. So much for commitment.

I have however been reading more. I read 80 pages over the past 5 nights. That is SUPER good for me. Generally it takes me a good month to read that much. I have been making it a point to go into bed about a half an hour earlier than normal and read instead of turning on the TV.

Oy Vey, I am burnt out. As much as I want it to snow so I can stay snuggled in my jammies 24/7 I also am eager for the Spring so that I can head to the city. I feel the need, the pull, to go to NYC. It has been 2.5 years since I went last. On my next trip I need to do a few new things, one thing for certain is going to the Statue of Liberty. That is one sight I have never visited on any of my visits.

I can't think any more, and my fingers hurt, so I will leave you with Little K's 1st snow man pics from last weekend~

Why does this weird little man have my snack shoved into his face?

Screw this, he is sharing whether he likes it or not! Bye Bye Guy!

Day 4......(take 2)

I typed up this entire post last night, laying in bed, on my phone, and when I attempted to schedule it, it went *poof*...so here goes again...

Strength-

Are you a strong person? How do you measure strength? Is it by the amount you can carry, the amount you can handle, the number of weight you can lift? I suppose there are many factors that go into determining one's strength.

Yesterday I was reading one of the regular blogs I follow and she commented about how once her family is completed growing she would like to look into and consider being a surrogate. My comment to her was regarding how strong of a person she must be to even consider such a thing. I find surrogacy an amazing thing. Such a gift that one woman can provide to a couple. To help them fulfill having their own family, their own biological family (in most cases). But it is not something I am strong enough to ever consider.

After having one child grow in me, I know enough about myself that I could never let one go after all of that. I suppose with surrogacy you need to develop that bod via pregnancy so that the child you are carrying thrives in you the same way your own child would, and pregnancy bonding wouldn't be the issue, I know, for me, the post-partum period is what I would not be strong enough for.

So to any of you that are strong enough women, that have solid family units to support you through it, you rock.

Question for you:

If you were done growing your family, and were given the opportunity to provide your body as a surrogate (take the $$ out of the equation), would you be strong enough to do it?

Day 3....

WTF is with all the spammage I am getting? Seriously I get at least 3-4 Spam comments a day....Do I blog about things that would lead you to believe I am interested in celebrity nude pics? Or Hot young girls? Or Rock hard Cocks?

I do not want to add the security word verification to my comments, but I may have to if blogger can not get these spam messages under control...

PIMA~

Day 2....

So many people are talking/blogging/FB'ing their 2011 resolutions. Do you make a resolution? Do you generally keep to it?

I am not much of a resolution type of a person. I think about behaviors that I would like to change or improve on and use the start of a new year as a good time to initiate the changes. I guess I am more of a goal setter.

In 2011 my goals are......

• To be happier in my job, whether that means finding a new one or accepting the one I have and making the best of a crappy situation.
• To spend more time with T and less time behind the laptop. It seems like we don't talk much anymore. And before we drift too far, we need to re-connect.
• To look into returning to school, even if it is for 1 class a semester.
• To appreciate what I have in my life, even the bad things, because they all form the person I am.
• To pay off a bit of debt....oh this one is probably the hardest of all for me.
• To read more and watch less (I took 2 books to bed with me last night. My goal is to finish them by Feb 15! Normally it would take me 6 months to finish 1).
• To use spell check less and a dictionary more.
• To maintain a focus on my health and form more consistency to my work outs.

Not bad right? Nothing unreasonable. All achievable goals without changing too much in my daily life. I have always noticed that people fail at their resolutions because they try to change too much of their normal routines/lifestyle and it is impossible to maintain such a huge structure change. Little changes, make huge impacts over time.

Have you decided to set any goals this year?

Day 1....

You would think that the first day of a new year we would all make efforts to "change our ways" "do things differently"...nah that's a bunch of BS....

My day began just like any other weekend day...I was woken by K at a reasonable time (almost 8am! Rock on kiddo Mommy was up late last night watching Dick Clark search for breath and liquid in his mouth after counting backwards from 10!), I spent most of my day cleaning and doing laundry. I also needed to re-decorate my tree....(you see due to my OCD tendencies I took all the ornaments off on Tuesday because K had screwed them all up - but I was having company over today so I needed to re-decorate - PIA).

I did however "take a break" from regularly scheduled programming and had a few co-workers and their spouses over this afternoon. I had extended an "open house" invite to several of the Indian staff that work with me, as well as a few American staff. Only the Indian's showed. Which was fine, and what I had expected. I had some light appetizers and drinks available. It was nice they were able to come to our home, visit outside of work. In a very sweet gesture 2 of them brought a super cute Fisher Price doll house for K. She adores it. It came with some furniture and a Mom, Dad and Baby. I think she may have taken the baby to bed with her tonight.

Blah....boring frigin day to begin 2011....

On the job front - I now have 2 Interviews on 1/11/11. I really need to think long and hard (that's what she said!) about the potential of leaving my company. While the experiences and exposure to knew things is greater by leaving, I risk losing a pretty substantial bonus, 14 years of seniority, 272 vacation hours and short term disability for at least a year. I bring up STD because if we decide to have another child, we will likely do it within the next year (if our bodies cooperate). I don't know what I will do, I suppose at this point I just need to wait and see what happens......