She's gone!

Todd and Kate dropped mom at the airport this afternoon - it was getting very stressful for me. I am glad for Kate - she loves spending time with her grandma. Still I am glad it is not too much time b/c my mom has many theories/ideas with which I do NOT agree. For starters she is prejudice and I do not want Kate exposed to that. She said to Todd, and I quote, "Obama is an evil, evil man who hates white people and his grandma". She jokingly (?) told Todd she might have to stop speaking to us b/c we voted for Obama. She snaps at me for the littlest disagreement, meaning if I don't agree with her 100%, then I am wrong and she is right. If I even suggest their are other viewpoints, she gets angry. Also, she is very rude to people at times. We took her to the YMCA as our guest to workout. The lady at the front desk asked her to sign in and she got nasty with the lady - "well, why do I have to do that? I've been here 2x before and didn't have to do that." Her tone was not nice. As Todd always reminds me, mom is mom and at this point in her life she is not going to change. Doesn't make her any less irritating.

Kate is loving Christmas time. We bought a tree, pre-lit, from Lowe's and put it up yesterday. She loves it. Also we went to Michaels and got her a kit to make her own ornaments - she, Todd, and mom made some this morning. Kate's wishes for Christmas are a hard pony (My Little Pony) and a soft pony (stuffed animal pony) plus a blue pickup truck. We have a plastic snow globe with a Santa in it and she loves it. It plays music when you push the button - it was the first thing she went to this morning. I've always liked Christmas but it is so much more fun with a child.

Very glad to have this extended break from my new job. It has been tough working so much after so long of not working. It was, however, very exciting to deposit my first 40 hour a week paycheck in over two years. Did some shopping with LLBean.com this week - got some clothes for work and some new warm pjs for Kate.

Weekly update

It has been "cold" this whole week. Poor Kate, she has been complaining about cold hands on the playground at school. We are going to get her some gloves this weekend. Her little knuckles are getting red and dry. It doesn't usually stay this cool for this long here, especially this time of year. I love it but I am out of warm clothes too, especially for work. Darn - will have to go shopping - what a shame.... :)

I finally uploaded the Halloween pictures and Kate's new "big girl" bed. Will attach to this post.

Last night Todd and I went out to dinner and bowling (have a sore arm today). Carrie, our babysitter, came over and Kate was so happy to see her. Kate actually told us to "leave now". Carrie couldn't believe the change - the last time she watched Kate about 3 months ago, Kate cried when we left. School has made a big change for her. She is much more confident about her abilities and the knowledge that Mommy and Daddy always come back.

Speaking of school, Kate has a "boyfriend". Not really, but a little guy in her class named Ty, is her favorite classmate and Ty has to hug AND kiss her before she leaves at the end of the day. He is shorter than Kate and barely speaks versus Kate's non-stop talking. It is funny. Apparently Ty talks about Kate at home too, per his mom.

Hallelujah!

Finally took the GMAT this morning - so glad that is over. Score is slightly lower than my goal but I think it is good enough for the school to officially "accept" me. They said my course grades would be the biggest deciding factor and those are both 'A's right now. December 6th is our last class session for this semester. I will be glad for the break for a month until next classes start.

First week of my new job went well. Co-workers have been friendly and nice. They set all new people up with a 'buddy'. My buddy took me out to lunch on Wed. I see extreme busyness in my future - learning like crazy. There is lots to do. So far I upgraded my computer monitor and got a different keyboard tray.

Can't believe Thanksgiving is almost here. My mom is coming to visit. She and Kate will be spending the day before together since Todd & I will both be working. That should be interesting.

On that note, Todd is getting laid-off after Thanksgiving. We sort of knew this might happen eventually. Todd has been job hunting. There will be some severance package - we are waiting for the official paperwork.

By the way, if you haven't seen Get Smart, I highly recommend it. I laughed so hard - very funny stuff.

It's Saturday

Yesterday was my last day of freedom - can't believe I really start work on Monday. I had to go pee in a cup yesterday - just hate that. It feels so invasive. Just spent an hour or so trying to contact some of my Mary Kay customers. I can't believe how time just flies by and next thing I know it has been 6 months since I last spoke to her. I am not pursuing any new business right now - just maintaining the customers I already have.

Turned in my last paper yesterday. Have an oral presentation with slides due tomorrow and then a final. Our last day of class this semester is Dec 6th.

Took Kate to see Madagascar 2 this morning - she had been waiting and waiting for it to come out. It was good - even for adults - some great 'adult' humor that the kids don't understand.

Maybe this weekend I will finally have time to upload the camera with Halloween pics.

Good news!

WooHoo - I am now in the ranks of the Employed! The big job, the multiple interview, close to home job finally called me yesterday and made me an offer. I start on Nov 17th. I will be eligible for benefits on Jan. 1. Best part is the salary is the highest since I've been here in FL and the job is so close to home. It took 4 months but it was worth it. I used affirmations almost every day for this job and it worked!

Kate is doing much better. Get this - 3 am Todd gets up to pee and decides he should check on Kate. He finds her, sound asleep, with her feet on the floor, bent over with upper body and head leaning on bed. He moved her bottom half back onto the bed and covered her up - he said she never even stirred. How funny is that?

We took her out for Halloween - she definitely caught on to the candy thing. I hide the candy after she went to bed last night b/c I don't want her to have it. She didn't forget and this morning wanted to know where it was. I told her the Great Pumpkin came during the night and ate it all. She said "We have to go get some more." We let her have one piece last night, a mini Reese's cup, and she really liked it.

What a week!

Well Kate got full-blown sick, sicker than she has ever been before. Her fever started Sunday night and was finally gone this morning. She has been extremely congested and has a very sore nose. Needless to say she has been home from preschool all week which puts a major cramp in my schedule. Our second group paper is due this weekend and I have not been able to work on it during the day like I usually do.

Last night we moved her into a twin bed and out of the crib. She slept great and she loves the new bed. We got her cute flowery sheets from Target and a matching quilt. She thinks it is so cute. We found a great deal on a bed (used) off Craigslist and Todd got a us a great deal on a discontinued mattress that was a floor model. She doesn't use a pillow but did stay under the blanket last night - that is huge! That was our biggest concern - she doesn't seem to stay under any blanket or sheet. And we've had cool weather this week, which we haven't been able to enjoy.

Good news and bad news - I have an interview tomorrow morning. Job looks promising. And, I have some of Kate's symptoms...runny nose and itchy eyes today.

Planet Jump and others

We took Kate to Planet Jump again yesterday - she just loves it. This time I went on most of the inflatables with her - it was fun! Had something out of the ordinary happen. I took Kate to the bathroom to wash her hands. First thing I noticed was it smelled horrible. There were 2 little girls in there - apparently related. One girl (turns out she is 4) was crying with her stall door partially open and was the source of the smell. Turns out she didn't quite make it and had pooped her pants. She was a mess - tears running down her face, nose running, and pants full of poop around her ankles. She was beside herself and didn't know what to do. I quickly got Kate out to her dad and went to talk to the girl and her sister/cousin (?). Told the other girl to go get her mom right away - she says "My mom isn't here. She is with her grandpa." Grandpa comes to the door of ladies room. I tell him it is ok to come in - no one else is in here. He tells her it is ok and that she is not in trouble. (I would certainly hope not - I always cringe when I find out people yell or punish their kids for potty accidents.) I hated to just leave her - it was apparent Grandpa was unprepared for such things. He had no wipes or clean clothes. I thought for a moment and remembered I had spare clothes for Kate in the trunk of the car. Since the girl was 4 and Kate's clothes were 2T, I wasn't sure it would fit but I figured tight, clean underwear and shorts was better than nothing. So I sent Todd to the car for the clothes and went back to the ladies room. By this time, the Grandpa had her up on the changing table (she had poop all up and down her legs). He had washed her pants out in the sink and wiped her down with paper towels. I offered the clothes but said I wasn't sure they would fit. He said "well, she is small for her age. I think they will." Sure enough, the underwear and shorts fit her. He asked for my name and/or a way to return the items. I said "Don't bother. It is no big deal. Just keep them." Truthfully, the shorts were $4 at Target and too small for Kate anyway and what is one pair of underwear. I thought about that little girl all day yesterday - I just felt so bad for her. She didn't look particularly well cared for anyway - her shirt was stained and her hair looked unwashed and uncombed. Who knows - maybe I was reading more into it than was there. I was just glad I was able to help - the Grandpa was going to put wet pants with no underwear back on her. He must have thanked me 4 times before they left, which was right after this incident (as I am sure you can imagine). Something about the whole situation made me sad - can't really say why. However, I have to say of all the donations (mostly cash) I've given to worthy cause over the years, nothing made me feel as satisfied as helping that little girl with $5 worth of clothes. Probably sounds silly, I know.

Different note, Kate woke up sick this morning and was feeling particularly bad by bathtime. Her fever was 102.8 so we gave her Motrin plus cold medicine. She went right to sleep. I know she will be disappointed if she can't go to school tomorrow. This morning she told us at breakfast "I want to go to school." We went to church and she was happy with that - she loves the Sunday school teacher.