Open House

Caitlin made her first official appearance tonight at Open House. Normally, absolutely no one stops by my room. I just sit at my kidney shaped table anxiously awaiting the arrival of well........anyone. But no one so much as pops their head in. Tonight was a whole other story. Parents and students alike were all too excited to stop in and see cute little Caitlin Marie. Most of the time she was a happy little camper.....then she cried and fell asleep. Many of the kids walking by my room stopped and said "Hey, there's Mrs. Taylor's baby!" and not "Oh, there's Mrs. Taylor".....it was all about Caitlin.....and why shouldn't it be :) I should have taken a picture of her in her outfit, but silly me forgot and now she's sleeping soundly. I hope she'll sleep better than she has the last two nights.....it's like she's a newborn again. Brenda (my sister) thinks that she's probably going through a growth spurt since she's like a little barracuda every time she gets up to eat. Silly baby.

Mean Mommy

Mean mommy made Caitlin cry.....and daddy made it all better. Tonight when I was feeding Caitlin her cereal, she grabbed the spoon and started chewing on it. Well, I decided to take it away from her (to give her more cereal of course) and she did not like that one bit! She started crying and crying and she stayed that way for a good 15 minutes or so until daddy came home and gave her a spoon. She pretty much calmed right down and I was able to snap the picture above. I guess mean mommy shouldn't take away the spoon next time. :)

Cookie Heaven

I'm in cookie heaven!!!!!!! A wonderful seventh grader came through for me......and delivered girl scout cookies yesterday!!!!!! It totally made my day!!!! If I stash them in the freezer or cookie jar, I'm most likely to forget about them (you know, out of sight, out of mind). Okay, it's not like I'll completely forget about them...we are talking about girl scout cookies here....but I'm more likely not to eat them every second of every day if they are behind a door or under a lid, for instance. Dennis and I share the Samoas and the Tagalongs, but the Thin Mints are all mine! It's really because Dennis doesn't like chocolate and mint together....crazy I know.

New Ben and Jerry's!!!!

I just got an email (or rather "Chunk Mail") from Ben and Jerry's announcing new flavors!!!!! One is peanut butter cookie dough! So I marched right out to our local Safeway to buy some up. Sadly, they didn't have any new flavors! I drove hopefully around the corner to the little store only to be let down once again. Instead, I settled on an ice cream sandwich for Dennis and a coffee ice cream bar for me.....good, but definitely not Ben and Jerry's.

Caitlin slept so well last night! She only woke up twice and I'm really hoping tonight will be a repeat. For the past several days we have been giving her cereal and it seems that every day she eats more and more of it. Tonight she actually made sucking sounds while she was eating it.....super funny!

Happy Birthday Brenda!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful sister Brenda!!!! She is ALWAYS there for me no matter how many times I call and just blab and blab. I hope you have a wonderful day dude!

Pumpernickel

.....is the word of the day. Such a strange word. Such a strange bread. Was that the guy's name who invented that bread or was that an ingredient which classified it as pumpernickel? All I know is two things: 1) it's a fun word to say and 2) the name and flavor match....truly odd.

Girl Scout Cookie Panic

I am afraid since I was on maternity leave I missed the Girl Scout cookie season! This is just tragic! I've seen only one troop out side of a store and heard about others.....but I haven's seen anyone at my school with the little forms or anyone talking about them either!!!! So Thursday I decided to to some investigative work. I put the word out that I am in the market for some cookies. Kris (the 4th grad teacher) told me she over heard some girls talking about selling the cookies. I told her to find out more about it and then I also went to one of the girl's homeroom teacher to tell him to tell her, I NEED SOME ASAP!!!! Actually, I don't NEED them. In fact, I shouldn't even get them, but I do LOVE them. Last year when they arrived I had morning sickness and anything sweet made me sick.....therefore, I couldn't eat them! Now, I'm going through withdrawals and the Ace of Cakes episode I watched last night about giant Girl Scout cookie cakes didn't help either!!!

Oh, I finally finished reading "Secret Life of Bees" last night. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to watching the movie.....even though there is a 9 out of 10 chance I will be disappointed by it. The movie usually never lives up to the book. That is why if I really want to read the book and enjoy the movie too, I will watch the movie first and then read the book. It works pretty well I must say. Now I am reading "Wishful Drinking" by Carrie Fisher. It reads pretty quickly and is definitely a different writing style than I'm used to.....a nice change I think. I have so many other books I want to read and it just takes me forever to get through them since I had Caitlin. I would love to read "The Other Boleyn Girl" again....but it's a VERY long book. I think I'll stick to the unread books on my shelf first.

Happy Saturday

Such a big girl!

I had to remove Caitlin's play gym toys today because she keeps on rolling over and gets tangled up. Every time I tried to put her on her back, she just started to roll over again. She's becoming so squirrelly it just cracks me up. I put her to bed one way and she's turned completely sideways when I get her up the next morning!

Oh, it turns out that the girl at daycare had an allergic reaction to something and not chicken pox!!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leprechauns, Chicken Pox, Cereal, and Milk

Leprechauns

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!! I played a leprechaun in Nancy's class today. I did it last year too and it is sooooo much fun. I hide a pot of gold, mess with leprechaun traps, and sprinkle glitter everywhere! The kids love it and get even more excited when they find other little things the "leprechaun" did days later. I made coconut cupcakes for the teachers today and they were very yummy!!!!

Chicken Pox

Yesterday Caitlin was exposed to chicken pox. It may take up to two weeks for her to develop symptoms, but thankfully, I don't think she came in direct contact with the girl....so I think we're should be okay.

Cereal

What a big girl! Last night we gave Caitlin cereal for the first time!....and she didn't hate it! Since she hasn't been taking a bottle at daycare the doc said we probably should start her on cereal early so that she at least eats something during the day. So last night we decided to give it a try. We'll probably give her a little bit every night and then if she's still not taking the bottle after her doctor appointment on April 2, we'll switch her to cereal while she's at daycare.

Milk

She drank an incredible 2 ounces today!!!! Here's hoping for tomorrow!

Crib update:

Last night went much better than the night before for everyone. I only had to get up with her 3 or 4 times rather than every hour or two. She did sleep with us at one point only because her little hands were so cold. We keep the house pretty warm and even turned it up a degree since we moved her to her crib, but her little hands get so cold during the night. I'm not sure how to remedy that yet.

Caitlin's Crib

Last night Caitlin slept in her crib for the first time....and of course I slept in the bed next to her crib. We both didn't get that much sleep. I got a maximum of a 2 hour stretch this morning while she pulled a whopping 3 hours! I'm hoping tonight will go a little better. I'm sleeping in my room tonight so I won't stay up all night listening to her to make sure she's still breathing. I really hope it works because we both need a good night sleep! :) Well, it's off to brush my teeth and take out my contacts and then my favorite part......bed! Tootles!

Reality

The reality of loosing my job finally hit me today as Dennis and I were coming home from Target and I began to cry. The thought of having to clean out my classroom and for someone else to use it instead (for whatever reason) makes me sick to my stomach. I really love my job and I worked so hard to get it. I've invested so much of my time in that school district and now it could all be meaningless. I don't know what I'm going to do. Sure we'll have to sell the house, but that's not what upsets me. It's that fact that I feel like my position at school is not valued and that the teachers and students will be fine without me....without my services. Which makes me wonder if I'm making a difference at all.....if I am really good at my job. It makes me so sad.

Sick Family

Aren't we so sad? I think Caitlin is the saddest. To tell the truth, it was so hard for me to not smile....I barely got this pout out. Thankfully, we are all feeling much better now. Caitlin tried sleeping in her bassinet again last night and it went pretty well.....and now she's taking a nap in her crib...woo hoo! Dennis got a new game this weekend, "Resident Evil 5," and he's trying to beat it this weekend. He was up until 4am playing it and has been in the theater room since 10am.....with occasional visits to the bathroom and a tiny break to eat lunch. Caitlin and I would watch him play, but I just can't stand zombies so I stay in the living room and catch up on my DVR shows. It's a win win for everybody!

Patient of the Day

That's right! Caitlin Marie was patient of the day! It was time to get shots again and she didn't even cry! She didn't even make a sad face when it happened! I thought the nurse was taking a long time to give it to her and when I turned my head to look she was already done! What a sweet baby girl!!...and still sick to boot! We have to go back in 3 weeks to do another weight check. She weighed 12lbs 2oz (3 less than earlier this week) and measured 23 1/2 inches. Even though she lost weight and refuses to take a bottle during the day, she still is measuring within the normal range. The doc did say that if she continues to refuse the bottle, we should start her on cereal earlier than 6 months....and only at daycare. The rest of the time she would breastfeed. And soon she could start drinking from a sippy cup if we wanted to try that route as well. Isn't she just so funny!

Today I got my pink slip at work. It really is a bummer but I knew it was coming. I know at least 20% of my job will be cut and now there is a good chance that the other 60% will be too. I won't know anything more until May which kinda really sucks. So far I'm okay mentally. It'll probably hit me within the next day or so.....no wonder they give them at the end of the week!

Should I?

I wasn't planning on teaching summer school this year, but after talking about it today, I just might. Financially, it would be a decent idea even taking the cost of daycare into consideration....but I did tell daycare Caitlin wouldn't be there during the summer so there is a chance her spot is taken during that time....something I have to check into. Plus, Nancy wants to teach summer school this year which would make it super fun and we would be able to collaborate which I would love....she has awesome ideas! The one hang up I thought about was a theme. Normally I have a theme picked out a year in advance, but since I didn't think I was going to teach I had nadda. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks!!! The theme would be "Memories." As I was leafing through some papers, I came across a project I've been wanting to do with my GATE class. It's a memory book that takes quite a bit of time to do, but I just don't have the time per week to work on it with GATE and that's when I thought it would be a perfect project for summer school. It can be tailored for all three grade spans, plus the junior high could read "The Giver" which is all about that. It's brilliant!!!!!!! Now I'm kinda jazzed about summer school.....so should I just go for it and teach it again?....or do I really want to deal with all prep work again? I guess I just have to mull it around for a while.

Sinus Infection

Poor Dennis has a sinus infection! Last night he went to urgent care because he was still feeling horrible and couldn't get rid of his fever. The doc gave him antibiotics, so hopefully he will start to feel better soon. In the meantime, it's nothing but rest for him.....doctor's orders! :) I also to Caitlin to the doctor yesterday. She still has a horrible cough and is incredibly stuffed up. The doc said she could have this cold for up to 2 weeks! Oh my! The only way she can stay sleeping without coughing every 5 minutes is by sleeping with us. Needless to say, I haven't had very much sleep and my neck is a bit out of whack. Tonight she doesn't sound so phlegmy (don't you just love that word) but her voice is pretty darn horse. Poor baby girl.

Daycare is going pretty darn well. Today she actual ate an ounce of milk!....it was just dripped into her mouth, but still it's a step forward! Woo hoo! I'm hoping she'll realize that good things really can come from a bottle.

Our Little Thumbsucker Part 2

Caitlin's little thumb sucking habit has paid off! Since she's been sick, she's been crying more than usual but thanks to her new little habit, she is able to calm herself down. All we have to do is stick her little thumb in her mouth and she's good to go!!! In fact, she's no longer sleeping swaddled because she wants to suck her thumb. She used to wake up when she found it but now it puts her back to sleep! Woo hoo!!!

Oh and BTW, I've come down with a cold now too...I'm hoping I don't get as bad as Caitlin or Dennis....keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

She did it!

So this morning at approximately 7:30am Caitlin rolled over from her back to her tummy!!!! I knew she was going to do it soon! She was working really hard at it and it was so funny. Her arm was the biggest obstacle to over come....she had to get a bit of momentum going in order to get it unstuck from under her. I'll get a video of it as soon as possible.

Today was the day we were going to head over to Redding to celebrate Brady's birthday. Unfortunately, Dennis woke up with a 101.4 fever!!! It's not surprising since he went to bed last night feeling a little "funny."

4 Months Old Today!!!

Wow!!! Four months old today! Time has just flown by. Caitlin is really trying hard to roll from her back to her tummy....it might be any day now!!! :) When I got home today, Dennis had already taken her 4 month picture and made me a very sweet card (pictured below).....and yes, it did make me cry. Her nose is draining today and hopefully she'll sleep better tonight. We had another rough night but Dennis and I took turns so we each got chunks of sleep throughout the night which was nice.
Well, I'm off to make dinner while our little darling is sleeping! Happy Wednesday!

Soda Thief

The soda thief is back!!! Remember back in July when someone drank my soda??? Well, today I discovered a soda missing from my stash in the bottom drawer of the staff fridge.....aarrggghh!!! So up went a sign that read:

"If you did not bring it, DO NOT eat or drink it"

next to the sign that reads:
"Food Only"

I'm not sure what the second sign is all about, but it doesn't sound good. Anyway, what kind of person takes something from a fridge that does not belong to them??? I just don't get it. I need to get one of those cameras that hunters use to get pictures of wild animals roaming about their property....then I will discover who this soda thief is!!! :)

P.S. Caitlin is doing better today. Saturday night was the hardest because she would wake up screaming due to her fever or just plain not feeling well. She's been fever free today but still is suffering from a stuffy nose and dry cough.....poor baby girl!

Sick Baby

Poor Caitlin has caught her daddy's cold :( Last night her fever hit 102.1 with a stuffy nose and a dry cough. She's sleeping right now after another round of Tylenol and I hope her fever doesn't come back. The good thing is she's pretty smiley which makes everything a whole lot easier to handle. Although Dennis is getting better, he still feels crummy....and now his cold has moved into his chest giving him a horrible cough that makes his lungs feel like they're on fire. Poor babies!

Wiggle Worm

Daycare

So Dennis's cold has gotten much worse.....so bad that I had to take Caitlin to daycare....for the first time!!!! We weren't scheduled to start daycare until March 9th, but thankfully I got the thumbs up to bring her this morning otherwise I would have had to take a non-paid day off....yuck! Anyway, I was totally fine until I walked out the door after dropping her off. I pretty much had crocodile tears for the next 20 minutes while I drove to school. But once school started I was able to refocus my energy to teaching which kept my mind off of Caitlin. I was very relieved when I called before lunch to hear that she was having a good day. She wouldn't eat she was happily playing on the play gym. Then when I picked her up she was perfectly content sucking her thumb in her pack 'n play....super adorable!!!! It is the absolute best part of my day when I get to see her after a long day of work. I just can't kiss or hug her enough!!!!

Dennis is still not feeling well, so Caitlin may have to go to daycare again. Thankfully, I love my daycare and know she's well taken care of, so it makes it much easier to leave her all day.

Back to Work

Yes, it's true. Yesterday I returned to work while Dennis began his two weeks home with Caitlin. I was really okay until I broke my coffee pot and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. It's odd how something so minor could put me over the edge. I was able to get it back together in time for school to start. Thankfully, I have a pretty busy schedule which kept me from thinking about it all. Dennis and Caitlin did pretty well though.....even though she didn't eat until I got home. She did the same thing today too....so I will be going to Target to get a few more different bottles to try. I know if she gets hungry enough she'll figure it out.



As I wrote in my last blog, J, K, B-man, and Miss M came over this weekend. We had a blast and found ourselves at the beach in the pouring down rain. It was an experience to say the least! Brady loved it and screamed and screamed in delight at the waves and all the surfers! Unfortunately Dennis came down with a cold last night and we think our rainy adventure is to blame. :( I'm hoping he'll feel better soon now that he has some chicken soup in him.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Out of Shape

Today Caitlin and I went for a walk with Nancy and Pepper. It was a lovely day with quite a bit of sunshine....but man I'm outta shape! I was done after one lap around the neighborhood! Pepper was quite disappointed...I'm sorry Pepper, I'll try for two laps next time. :)

GUESS WHAT!!!! Jonathan, Kelly, Brady, and Maddie came over!!!! They were going to come over next weekend, but decided to take advantage of the decent weather and head on over!!!!!! Very super exciting!!!!!

Happy Weekend!

Level Headed

Caitlin can now keep her head level with her shoulders when lifted from a laying down position!!!! I can't believe how strong her little neck is getting everyday! She can do mini push ups and they are so adorable!!!

Yesterday we went to sushi with some friends and Caitlin was so chill the whole time! It was only the second time I've eaten in a restaurant with her. I'm always afraid she's going to throw a screaming fit....but really, she never does that at home so I don't know why I'm all concerned about it.....silly me.

Well, I'm off to re register for our online phone account for the 100th time! I've had it reset and had a new password sent to me but it's still not working!!!! I think I'm gonna have to make another call today....I'll be nice, I promise :)

Our Little Thumbsucker

She loves to be swaddled,

but yet she loves to suck her thumb.

She sleeps swaddled,
but can't while she sucks her thumb.

She's caught in a world of predicaments,
while we are caught in a state of no sleep.

She's our little thumbsucker,
please fall asleep.

1 Precious Week Left

In one week I return to work. I've put off thinking about it as long as possible, but now the countdown has really begun. Dennis will be staying home with Caitlin for the first two weeks I'm back at work...this will be a nice transition for me and wonderful bonding time for them. Then on March 9th (Brady's 2nd birthday) Caitlin starts daycare! I'm still working out the time table to get ready for work in the mornings...the trial run last Thursday was good and it looks like I won't have to get up as early as I thought....woo hoo!!! Thankfully, my work is very understanding and I always schedule in extra time "to get lost" as I refer to it.

Oooo, I made homemade mac and cheese tonight and I used fontina cheese for the first time.....it added such wonderful depth! Plus, I experiemented and made white nectarine and coconut fried chicken fingers....mmmmmm.

How sweet it is!

Happy birthday to my baby brother!!!...although, most people wouldn't consider 28 years old a baby anymore, but he will always be my baby brother in my eyes! Unfortunately he has a cold right now and has to work on homework.....so I hope he gets well soon and enjoys his cheesecake!

Happy (day after) Valentine's Day! I made pulled pork sandwiches (a first for me) and they were awesome. Since I didn't have a working KitchenAid, we had ice cream for dessert. Then we hung out and watched Smart People. But the sweet thing is....Dennis got me a KitchenAid today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have big plans for it tonight...first biscuits, for biscuits and gravy, then cookies for Dennis!!!!!

Aren't they sweet! And if you look closely, you can see Caitlin sucking her thumb!!!! Daddy has been helping her with this lately.....and it's completely adorable!!!!!

Chocolate

Like many women, I LOVE chocolate and within the past several years have grown quite fond of dark chocolate. In fact, you could say that dark chocolate is my favorite. But when it comes to ice cream....I just don't like it. Chocolate ice cream is probably my least favorite ice cream besides spumoni (really who likes that flavor anyway?). I cam to this conclusion just last night while eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a marshmallow swirl and chocolate covered peanuts. It was good but I just didn't find it fabulous....so me being me, I started to analyze why. A few hours later I concluded that it must be the chocolate ice cream. I find it so odd that I love chocolate but I don't care for chocolate ice cream.....I guess it's kinda like people who like tomatoes but don't like ketchup.

Ping Pong

It's sunny.
It's rainy.
It's sunny again.
Oh, never mind....it's raining.
Blasted! Now there's a freezing wind!
Oooo, I see sun...must...get...out...of....the...house.

Look Who's Talking

Before you watch the cutest thing ever....I must correct myself....LOL During the Super Bowl I was rooting for the Cardinals and not the Ravens as they were not playing...obviously.....but mommy brain took over as I was blogging and that is how the other bird team popped into my little brain. Dennis made me aware of the bird error, but I forgot (again blame mommy brain) to let everybody know I did know it was the Cardinals, I just wrote down the wrong team :) For some reason, I find this whole thing quite amusing....not sure why....it's just football and a couple of birds! :)

Now, the best video ever!!!

Don't Windex in the Rain

I don't suggest Windexing in the rain....it kinda defeats the purpose. But really, the sliding glass door had been bugging me like crazy lately....so (as the rain and wind poured down) I Windexed it.

Before the rain arrived I spent a glorious 45 minutes at Les Schwab. Dennis had to jump my car this morning....turns out I had the inside car light in the "on" position instead of "door." I had messed with it a few days ago, so it took a while to drain the battery....no wonder it started funny yesterday!

3 Months

I can't believe our little one is 3 months already!!! I can't believe what a morning person she has become. She's so happy playing on her gym that I'm afraid she's gonna knock one of her toys off with all her wiggling around. She's also trying to laugh more and more each day. Many times it comes out as a high pitch squeal or little yelp....super adorable!

Groundhog Day

That movie is so hilarious! I suggest everyone watch it at least once a year! That's what Dennis, Caitlin, and I did last night. Caitlin slept for the first half hour, but watched the last hour with us. You just gotta love Bill Murray....I know we do! I also love him in Lost in Translation and What About Bob. Great, great flicks!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 7 year wedding anniversary, but we've been together for over 12 years. I can't believe how time has flown by. Our wedding was very non-traditional and we only had 6 weeks to plan! It was a lovely day! I love you honey!

And on this wonderful anniversary, we can share it with Caitlin!

And the trophy goes to....

I have to say I was rooting for the Ravens, mostly because they were the underdogs....and I actually thought they were going to win until that one guy made a game winning catch in the end zone.....but good thing he made that catch since he missed the one before. Anyway, we enjoyed the game and the commercials and I especially like the E-Trade commercials with that baby....he's getting so big and adorable! Dennis made pizza for dinner. Actually, he made the crust (from scratch) and prepped all the toppings....all I had to do was put my stuff on. He had veggie and I made a BBQ chicken, but I was totally bummed because I didn't have any pineapple! Pineapple just makes everything better....kinda like cupcakes (but not on that grand of scale).

P. S. --In the photos above, Caitlin is sporting a fabulous knit hat made by my lovely friend Jenai. It's super cute and I LOVE that it's black!....with specks of orange and pink and green!