One of those days......

Yeah - today was definitely one of THOSE days....the ones where you wish you could just run back to bed and start over.....and it wasn't even Monday!

Ok - warning you now - this is a loooooong rant.....

It all started normal enough - got up (more or less on time) got myself ready and then got Brooklynn ready. Grabbed everything that needed to go in the car, got her cup of milk for her drive to school and we were off. So far so good right? Well it was until that point. Then I proceeded to load everything into the car, chased down Brooklynn and got her strapped into her carseat and then I jump in and go to start my car. Turn my key....and guess what? NOTHING. Not a single thing happened - my car was D.E.A.D. So I had to call Andy and he had to come rescue us. He was already at work which is a good 45 mins away from our house - so that was kind of crappy. His plan was just to just give my car a jump and we'd deal with it later. Well turns out that wasn't going to happen. My car was parked in the garage - we could not get my car shifted into neutral so we couldn't push it out. So he ended up having to go buy a completely new battery for my car and switch it out. We were finally on our way - I only ended up being about 1.5hrs late for work - not bad considering. Now I am a little weary of my car - especially since we are going on a 3000 mile road trip in just a couple of weeks.......hopefully its all better now :)

Today was also my farewell party at work at 4pm. I'm still there for another week but about 1/2 of the office will be out next week on vacation so they wanted to do it where everyone could attend - so it was today. So my great plan was to leave the office around 2:30 and head to pick up Brooklynn and drive back down to the party with her. That started out just fine. Got her on time and was headed back down to the office. She had just finished drinking her cup of milk and I'm driving down the freeway in the left lane just listening to the music. Well all of a sudden Brooklynn made this awful noise and then IT happened - she threw up EVERYWHERE - and it wouldn't stop!!!! She was soaked from head to toe, the carseat was buried in it, it was all over the floor, the backs of the seats - everywhere. Im trying to stay calm to avoid her freaking out b/c she is about to lose it b/c she is terrified. Somehow I managed to exit right then and there and headed to the nearest parking lot - Target. I got out and was just trying to figure out what to do....I didn't have a thing to clean it up with - and I couldn't bring her into Target like that.....I ended up stripping her down to her diaper and wiping up what little I could with her dress - figured it was soaked anyway - whats a little more?? Then I remembered I brought a small diaper bag with a small container of wipes - so I started wiping her down one by one trying to get her cleaned up as much as I could. Then I worked on the carseat - OMG - it was a mess...so gross. The wipes weren't doing much at all. Plus you have to remember - before this all happened, my car was reading the outside temp as 106 degrees today - Not a good time for this to happen! So anyway - got the carseat cleaned up as much as I possibly could - and I had no choice but to put her back in it. I just put her in there with her diaper - just in case. I had to keep going to work - I couldn't just not go - since the party was in my honor....and no one was home so I couldn't take her home and I obviously couldn't take her back to daycare. So on we went to my work. For some reason before I picked her up at daycare today, I decided to swing by the house and get a change of clothes - just in case she was kinda funky from daycare.....that ended up being a lifesaver - she at least had clean clothes for the party. After all that - the party was a lot of fun and Brooklynn had a blast entertaining everyone - she's fine by the way - I just think something wasn't settling right in her tummy and the combination of this awful heat...poor baby.

So now we are just waiting to see if the carseat is salvageable. The directions on the cover say hand wash only - but I can 100% guarantee that hand washing would have never gotten it back to how it needed to be. I was willing to risk it - I threw the covers in the washing machine - they look fine - they are just hanging to dry now - question is - are we going to be able to figure it all out to get them back on??!?!?!

So thats the end to my lovely day - I am off to bed now to put this day behind me once and for all! Tomorrow has to be better right? TGIF tomorrow!!!!

Oh and just b/c I can't do a post without a picture or something - here is a video of Brooklynn last week as she is 'reading' one of her favorite books :)

Counting down the days....

The last few weeks have been a blur - its not that we have had much planned, but somehow the days just fly by and we seem to constantly be on the go. Not much new has been going on with us - probably why I haven't sat down to update the blog in a few weeks again. I think we are all in 'summer mode' and just kind of being lazy. It has been so unbeliveably hot for the last several weeks and it doesn't look like we are getting relief anytime soon - both in cooler temps and rain. We joke that we are in hibernation - I never thought I would be saying that at this time of year...hahaha! I used to joke about being in hibernation when I lived up in Toronto - but it was definitely during the winters. The only way we spend any amount of time outside lately is if we are swimming or later in the evening when the sun is setting - its the only way possible. Poor Brooklynn gets so hot so fast......her face turns so red within minutes of being outside. I think we are in the wrong climate for her.....but I've already told her that I've done real winters - and that just didn't work either. So I guess we will figure a way to work something out down here....lol.

So anyway...I'm counting down the days for multiple things. My last day of work is July 2nd so that is coming up fast - especially now that I spend each day training my replacement. It was kind of weird at first training someone to do MY job, but I quickly got over that. She's a sweet girl a couple years younger than me so we get along really well. I never realized how much work I actually did there until I had to break it down into individual things to teach. I knew I had a heavy workload but after being there for almost 8 years, it was routine. So she has definitely got her work cut out for her.

I'm also counting down the days until our summer trip. I think I have pretty much filled everyone in, but in case not, I am taking on my first road trip with Miss Brooklynn up to Toronto. I'm starting to worry it may have been too ambitious but I am still excited. We leave here on July 10th and get to Toronto on July 12th. On the way up we will have my brother Michael with us (he is actually flying in here today in about 6 hours). We are planning on staying in Toronto for a month! I am really excited about that - maybe it won't be so chaotic and rushed since we will have more time. Andy & Andrew will fly up on July 31st and visit up there with us for about a week before we drive back home together. Should defintely make for a fun road trip. And the biggest bonus is hopefully we can get a break from the Houston heat for a little bit...lol.

Anyway....thats pretty much it for now - so I'll just let you see what you came to see - pictures! lol :)

One of my favorite pics...

And another one...

Playing "Mommies" for the day

with her friend Zoey



We took them on the longest walk

and they pushed their babies the

entire time. At the beginning, they

had to get the competition going to

see who could go the fastest....it was

the funniest thing ever!!!

Nothing says summer like

enjoying fresh cold watermelon


Yummmmy...delicious!!!

Even better when you enjoy it with your friends

Cruising in style with Brianna

A Glimpse Into Our Future....

After washing my car and walking to the garage to put something away, I turned around to walk back to my car and this is what I found....



This little girl was having a B.L.A.S.T!!!!!!! She was jumping up and down and cracking herself up and all I could think about was how this is what we have to look forward to in less than 15 years! Actually in reality, a whole lot sooner with Andrew!!! He's turning 10 years old in a couple of months. Seriously??? Where did the time go? It just seems like yesterday that I met Andy and Andrew was just about this same age as Brooklynn......crazy thought!

Anyway...not too much has been going on with us - just enjoying the warm and sunny weather....our neighborhood pool finally opened last weekend and we took Brooklynn down this weekend. She did pretty well - liked jumping off the side of the pool to us and walking back and forth on the top stair. We also set up her new bigger pool in our backyard and put her indoor slide in it...she loved it until she went under the water one time...and then she was done with the whole water thing.


This is her after that last slide - like I said...
she was DONE!

Hmm...what else? Well I have just about a month left of work - I don't think the days could go by any slower at work - still have tons to do of course but I guess knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel makes it just DRAG by. Definitely hard to stay focused and stay motivated. The joys of giving 2.5 months notice to your boss I guess. I am still really excited, but scared at the same time. It hit me other day when I got my paycheck..wow - that money isn't going to exist in about a month's time. That's a scary thought but its definitely something we have thought long and hard about and we are willing to make some adjustments to make this change. So hopefully it will work out as we hope it will.

Well I think that is it for now....I'll just finish off with some other of my favorite pics of Brookie.....


This pic was obviously before the whole water
slide incident above....b/c she was NOT smiling
like this afterwards....lol



This is how we start our afternoons after we
get home from work and daycare - she chills
out on the couch with a CUP of milk and watches
cartoons. (this is a major accomplishment for
her - she has REFUSED milk in a cup until now....
always wanted the milk in a bottle) YAY!!!


Yes...we have a thumb sucker
I wonder who she got that from???


I just love this smooshie face......


And of course that beautiful smile.... :)

It's Official....

I am going to be a SAHM (aka... Stay at Home Mom)!!!

I gave my notice to my work about a month ago and they announced it at our weekly staff meeting about 2 weeks ago and as of today, they have hired my replacement. I am so excited (and terrified at the same time).....this is my dream come true. I have been struggling with continuing to work since before I even had Brooklynn and it has just been getting harder and harder being away from her and missing so much of her life. We went back and forth on this issue for so long to the point I was making myself sick with stress about what I should do. Then it happened - I had a week where everything just kind of led me to my decision and everything sort of fell into place. Anyone that has known me for any amount of time knows that I am a firm believer in that things happen for a reason - you may not know right away what the reason is, but there is a reason behind it - I've lived my life with that in mind for as long as I can remember - from relationships, to school to work to trying for over 2 years to get pregnant and anything/everything else that I have encountered - I knew that there was a reason why I was going down each path. This decision was no different.

Anyway....back to my big decision and the week it all fell into place. Some of the things are little and prob don't mean much to most people but to me they were all signs....the first was a song on the radio - I had heard it before but never really 'listened' to the words...'It Won't Be Like This For Long' by Darius Rucker - I heard it on the way home from work and it just hit me - the words are all so true - completely hit home. The next sign for me was from reading another blog, Kelly's Korner that I follow. She had a baby back in January and I guess she was continuously being asked about her plans to return to work and she did a great post on her decision - I loved it - everything she said hit home once again....just reinforced my decision.

Then finally the biggest thing that happened that made me realize I need to do this...we were offered a spot in a Mother's Day Out/Preschool program that is in HIGH DEMAND. Its through the church that Andy's family belongs to and there is a HUGE waiting list. Andrew used to go there before he started school and we all loved it. Anyway, I just happened to email my mother in law one day to ask her if she could find out how much the program costs just out of curiosity - I knew there was a waiting list but I really just wanted to compare their rates to other places that I had looked into since we knew how this school was and what they offered. Well she emailed her friend that day that works at the school and it just so happened that they had a spot open for the fall semester and if we wanted it - it was ours - no waiting list or anything. We just had to go the very next day for the tour at 11am and put our deposit down. Well of course we were shocked b/c we thought for sure there was no way we would get in...and now we had this amazing opportunity. Of course we jumped on it. We went to the tour the next day and we knew right away this was the right spot for Brooklynn and the right decision for our family. There were prob close to 50 people on this tour and they all had to be put on the waiting list!! How could we pass this up?!?!? So thats how it happened. It really was amazing timing and we are so thankful.

My boss took the news pretty well - she was really excited for me and very supportive but sad b/c it meant she was losing me as an employee - I've been there for almost 8 years (I know...hard to believe its been that long). Like I said, they officially hired my replacement as of today - she will start in a couple of weeks - so I will have just under a month to work with her and begin training her. My last day is July 2nd. There is the possibility that I may end up working part time starting back in the fall - just during the hours that Brooklynn is at preschool. My boss mentioned that she would love to still have me part time as an assistant to my replacement - esp since it will take awhile before she is into the full workload that I handled. So if we can work out the details to where it benefits all involved, that may happen - time will tell. But I am definitely off for the summer - and taking an extended vacation up to Toronto....can't wait!

Anyway..this is long enough - just thought I would bring everyone up to speed on what's been going on - sorry it is so long. A big congrats if you read all the way through this post...a little longer than I anticipated....

Oh and of course we all know that I can't do a post without sharing some new pics of you know who..so here y'all go.....these are her spring pics that were taken at the daycare.....I think you would agree that it looks like someone was not having a good day that day...lol.