The Little Moments

It's the thank you's, here you go's and bless you's recently that have struck me. I turned around this week and my little baby had turned into a growing young girl! She's independent, curious, stubborn, loving, loud, sweet and smart. She sings to me, laughs at me, plays tricks and makes friends. She smiles and the world melts. I just can't believe how much she has grown.

Tonight, after bath time, I put on her pajamas, combed her hair and she brushed her teeth. Sofia yawned and I asked her if she was ready to go to bed (nearly an hour before her normal bedtime!) and she said, "yeah". Huh? So, we went into her room, grabbed a book and started reading. After a short potty break and one more story from Dad, she dozed off without any protest.

I never expected being a parent to feel as it does. There are days when I want to pull my hair out and milliseconds that have the power to erase the feelings of insanity and frustration. It's the little moments of, "mmm, tasty!" that I never want to forget.

I keep thinking back to the fall when Chris was gone for work. Sofia was tough, I was worn out and I never felt like thing were going as they should. All I could do was think forward and remind myself that "this period won't last forever". But now, I am kind of wishing it will...

New Moves

She's almost got this one down. :)


"Hey Mommy, can we start over?"

Every Inch Counts!

It's true. Since moving into our house 3 years ago, we have been on a perpetual quest to master our storage situation here. This past weekend, we took one more step toward the big sigh of organizational relief and added some serious shelving to our laundry closet. Take a look.

Before: Messy and very crowded


After!

A Little Glimpse

Post-bathtime Cuddling

"Mama, hole jou?" Translation: Mama, hold me?

At 28, I finally got the family recipe for Baklava. Woo hoo! So fun to make and even better to share and eat.

The Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

How to survive as a chaperone of 59 8th graders for 4 days...

And Tomorrow Is Another Day

I feel like all I did was blink and nearly 6 weeks have gone by! My wake-up call came today when I looked at a jug of milk in the store and the expiration date said May 1. May? Holy crap! Between traveling to Florida and Washington DC for work, my dad, step-mom and brothers visiting, applying for round two of grad school and a whirlwind of activities at work, I have sorely neglected my blog writing duties.

I have been trying write for days now, but just haven't been able to. I have been a walking definition of writer's block. It's almost like with so much going on, I couldn't sort out the simple things to talk about. I am hoping to move past this soon.

We have had some really great family time lately. I'll have some pics to post soon from my family's visit a few weeks ago and some hilarious videos of Sofia singing and dancing are in the queue. :) Chris and I re-did our laundry "room" (it's actually a closet) today and made it into a super-storage, super-functional area. We (we meaning I) seem to be on a bit of a storage-saving frenzy lately.

For now, I am off to bed to rest up for another busy week. Much love to you all.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is priceless...

Congrats...Doctor.

Hey everyone, Meg was accepted today for her Ph.D. program for Walden Univeristy. She will be getting her Ph.D. in Education with a specailzation in educational technology. She has been working really hard on her application for the last few weeks, and it paid off! Of course all of her undergrad and master work probably helped too. It is an online course and I am sure more detail will be posted soon. Congrats Meg for all of your hard work. You Rock!

Goodbye neighboor...

Our terrific neighboor Christina White has offically moved. We sent her off this week with a stream of "best wishes" gatherings. Christina has accepted a huge promotion and is off to Washington, D.C. She is one of the most intriging women we have ever known. She has experienced a little of everything in her life and is also of of the most genuine and caring person I have ever met. Her alergies don't agree with the pets but she is always willing to stop by for a glass of wine and a visit on a regular basis. She nows the best red wines and has the inside track to everything going on in or around Denver. Her trueness to herself and to others has excelled her career and has brought her close to all of our neighboors on the coolest block of 26th Ave. She was the connection to my John Elway signature football and numerous St. Patricks Day Parade VIP access (2007, 2008, 2009). She took Meg celebrity watch during the DNC and brought Meg to her first "Garden Party". She has helped with watching Sofia so Meg and I could have a date night here and there. On behalf of Jen, Randel, Jon, Liz, Alison, Nicholas, Meg, Sofia and I, YOU WILL BE DEARLY MISSED!!! I know we will see you again many time in visits between Denver and D.C. but you were the best neighboor and were were lucky to have you on our block. We wish you the best of luck and may all of your new friends be as lucky as us!

Woo hoo!!!!!

Snow Day!

'nuff said. :)

Frustration!

My first year of teaching I was sick all the time. And I do mean all. the. time. It stunk really bad. The only thing that got me through the rough times was that it would be better the next year and even better the year after that. And it was. So, as I entered the 4th year of my career I never expected that I would experience what I have this year.

I have honestly been catapulted back into the health status of a first year teacher. I can just about count the number of times on one hand that I have gone for a stretch of 2 weeks being completely healthy since August. Now, my friends, that is not just sad, but it is seriously pathetic. 

I feel pathetic.

I feel like crap all the time and my sweet, sweet husband is so patient and caring. My days at work push me to my limits of exhaustion and when I come home, he is always smiling and willing to let me put my feet up to catch my breath. I am so lucky to have him to take care of me. 

Thursday night was a particularly difficult night with Sofia -- up for nearly 3 hours and I was at the height of one the worst colds I've had all year. I missed Chris terribly. Having him gone during the night to work is hard! I peeled myself out of bed on Friday morning and shuffled into work. Sitting at my desk, everything was in a haze and I actually started to get teary because I was sooooooo frustrated. Not a moment later did Chris walk through my office door with a bag full of get well goodies! Tea, mac 'n cheese, clementines and my favorite, whoppers, all popped out of the grocery bag he was carrying.  After working all night, there he was with a smile and pep in his step. I couldn't believe he was standing there!

It's now Monday night and I still have some serious getting better to do. But, with those bright blue eyes and that pearly white smile to think about, getting better fast is going to be a much easier task to do this time. :)