Thoughts on working after 1 week…

1. I miss Riley so much!

2. I can’t wait until she is in school so she can run into my room when school is out! I’ve always looked forward to that.

3. Teenagers need to talk. I have to relax a little on that rule.

4. You don’t have to be a drill sergeant to get the kids to respect you.

5. I woke up with a sore throat. I guess it takes a while to build up immunity.

6. Heels are a no-no.

7. A 9:00 bedtime feels so wonderful the next morning.

8. Over-plan. Running out of things to teach is not cool.

9. Denied the first friend request from a student. I won’t be that teacher.

 

Plus lots more that is probably not ok for me to write about.

Tired.

Excited.

Ready to do it again.

When things are hard…

Dear Riley,

I love you. I feel like we aren’t as close anymore since I’ve been working. It’s only been about two weeks granted, but I still have this feeling. You’ve been staying home with your Daddy during the day while I am at school. You don’t cry when I leave, if you are even awake when I leave. I like to let you sleep in though; you like your sleep like your Mama. And, when I get home sometimes you are happy to see me, other times it seems like you could care less. Just about my entire day is spent thinking about you and what you are up to. It’s hard.

So, I want to tell you what I do when things are hard.

1. Talk to someone. It helps me so much to talk to another person about what is bothering me. Your Daddy and Grandad give great advice. Your Daddy usually makes me laugh, and that helps too.

2. Keep busy. Cleaning is a good way to keep busy, and there is ALWAYS something to be cleaned. I also like to organize when I get upset and it never fails to take my mind off what is bothering me.

3. Cry. A good cry always does me wonders.

4. Go out to eat with a good friend. Have a good chat.

5. Remember to put things in prospective. Most of the time, what seems like an enormous problem isn’t all that big of a deal in a few hours or days. Just take it easy.

6. Laugh. Just like I said above, laughing will make anything better. Here’s a story that will always make you laugh: When you were born you were the first newborn I had EVER held. EVER. I wasn’t a baby person. But, you came around so I had make a few adjustments. Well, after about 5 days home (maybe less, I was sleep-deprived and don’t remember everything) I thought I was doing a pretty good job. We were charting when you ate, slept, pooped, tee-teed and so on. On the particular occasion I am referencing, you woke up in the middle of the night. Like 2:00 a.m. And it’s not like you had been asleep several hours, maybe 1, 2 at the most. So there we are, you’re awake and screaming like mad, I’m awake, and your Daddy is trying not to be awake. According to our chart of your eating times it wasn’t time for you to eat. I didn’t even consider you could be hungry. A newborn baby only eats every 3 hours according to the nurses in the hospital. Yeah, right. So I rock you, I dip your pacifier in sugar water (because that’s what they did at the hospital and you were out for a solid 4 hours. Not even joking.), I try to hold the pacifier in your mouth, try and burp you, I change your diaper thinking maybe you are uncomfortable. I run out of ideas. Then, I become certain you have colic. I then promptly hand your over to your Daddy to see if he can do something with you, because obviously you don’t like me anymore. Your Daddy asks if you are hungry. Naturally, I give him a look that could kill and inform him that it’s only been about an hour and a half since you last ate, so “OF COURSE SHE IS NOT HUNGRY!” How dare he even ask. I am the Mother and I KNOW when my baby is hungry. He takes the hint and goes in the living room with you, screaming all the way.

Henry rocks you, tries to make you take the pacifier with even more sugar water, changes your diaper, burps you, and then finds he can do no more with you. He returns you to my arms and immediately falls asleep. My mammary glands were definitely responding to my screaming baby too. The only thing I know left to do is sing to you. So I start singing “Jesus Loves Me” thinking you wanted to hear a lullaby. Let me just insert right here, YOU HATED WHEN I WOULD SING TO YOU. HATE. Like it was tortuous to sit through my singing.

Finally, it had been 3 hours since you last ate and I knew you were automatically hungry. When I bring your bottle in the room the screaming intensifies. I swear you could smell the milk when you were little.  Slowly, I bring the bottle in close to your mouth and you begin searching with your mouth and licking your lips. You get the bottle in your mouth and really go to work!

YOU WERE SO HUNGRY! All along. Ahhh! I solved the great mystery! From then on I fed you based on hunger cues (like screaming) and not based on how many hours it had been since you last ate. Your life was a lot smoother, and so was mine. Still not as much sleep as I would have liked, but enough to get us through.

Read this story and laugh when things are hard, Riley.

Right now, I need to take a dose of my own medicine.

I love you always,

Love,

Mama

Day 68

My Project has to be discontinued. Sad!! My favorite point-and-shoot has gone out of business. Really sad!  I’ve had my camera since right after Henry and I got together, so I’m really emotionally attached to it. This camera documented our lives together…

 

 

I’m still going to blog and craft, but I’m just postponing my Project 365 until we get a new camera. Hopefully not too long! Riley is just a month away from two years old too, so it’s not a bad time to show her evolution in pictures.

What a great 2 years! I love her and Henry more today than I ever have!

Day 67

Faulkner Park with friends. It was very hot.

August 15, 2010

Day 66

Doing a flip with Daddy. After watching gymnastics on T.V., this is all Riley wanted to do.

August 14, 2010

Riley Claire – 23 Month Newsletter

Dear Riley,

Happy 23 month birthday! I can’t wait to tell you about yourself!

1. You are counting all the way to 10. Of course, you don’t actually know what 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. means, you’ve just memorized the sequence. You count when you want to jump, you count objects, and you can’t pronounce 4 or 5 correctly. It’s very endearing to hear you count. You put your whole heart into counting every time.

2. You LOVE to swim. We can’t even mention swimming to you because that is ALL you will talk about, for hours. HOURS. You like to jump into the water and float on “boats”.

3. Riley, you are smart. Naturally, your Daddy and I think you are the smartest kid ever, but really, you are pretty intelligent. We can also tell that your memory is increasing. You remember a dog from 4th of July. You recognize many animals and their sounds. You can even walk around like a cow walks, with the accompanying sound no less.

4. You are full of life. Every day when you wake up you are excited to start the day. I hope that means you are going to be a morning person. You don’t slow down until I lay you down for a nap or when it’s time to go to bed at night. You get excited very easily. Your enthusiasm for life is amazing to see.

4a. Last month I told you you would be starting day care. Well, I took you to your day care two different times the week before you were to start to let you get acclimated to your new surroundings. The first day you played in your classroom with a few of your classmates. You met a sweet little girl named Sheridan, and you talked about her for several days. The second day I took you to visit you swam with your classmates. I also left for an hour or so. Actually, I hid in the truck and watched you swimming with everyone. It was so funny to watch you from that distance! You were very cautious and it took you a while to warm up. I’m not sure you ever really warmed up either. Riley, you were definitely not your normal self. Timid and shy is what I would call it. You stood and watched everyone in the pool for a while. Then a teacher dropped you into the pool and you didn’t splash like you normally would have. Basically, you sat back and observed more than anything. It reminded me of when you were a baby. You were very observant and not much would make you laugh or smile. Very serious.

4b. So anyway, we were all looking forward to day care. Not so much the $130 a week, but meeting new friends and learning. The day before you were to start, we found out your Daddy would be able to watch you during the day while I was teaching school. WHEW! What a relief! As much as I want you to learn and meet new friends, I know you have a lifetime ahead of you to do that. You are able to spend great quality time with your Daddy, not many little girls are able to do that. More importantly, how many Daddy’s would want to stay home with a two year old? You are so lucky. We found a curriculum online and your Daddy is going to teach you from that. And for your social skills, I know being around Braxton will help you in that department.

5. Riley, how could I have known how much you would change my entire world? How could I have prepared myself for the love that would flood my heart? You have made an enormous impact on my thinking, my loving, my caring, and my world. No longer am I self-centered, no longer do I leave the house without a 10 pound bag, no longer do I live recklessly and with abandon. You have made me responsible and have helped me deal with depression issues. I know I have to be strong for you and live for you. You deserve so much, so much more than I can give you, but I will never stop trying to give you the world.

You are my best friend. I love you.

Love, Mama

Day 65

Accessorizing.

August 13, 2010

Day 64

Riley sitting in the book box I made her.

August 12, 2010

Day 63

I missed a day. Sad. So, here are two from yesterday.

Riley was throwing a fit while I was trying to take pictures.

Love her!

August 11, 2010

Recycled Diaper Box

I have TONS of empty diaper boxes. I have been keeping them for a while thinking I might use them for something great one day. Well, I finally recycled one of them and this is what I came  up with!

We also have TONS of books laying around. I try to pick them up every night, but then I have nowhere to store them. I knew I needed something that was easy for Riley to get to since she absolutely loves books.

I had some bluish fabric and got my Mod-Podge out and went to work. The fabric needs to be dark since the purple Luvs box is so… loud. You can still see it through this fabric, and other than black fabric, I don’t know if any would hide the purple.

Anyway, I just wrapped the box like you would a gift. I used an envelope for the “Books”, but I plan to get something a little prettier sometime soon. I recycled another diaper box here.

Very easy, free, and Riley loves her Books box! Yea!

Day 62

I painted Riley’s toe nails. Then she wanted her finger nails painted. And see the baby in her lap? Then Riley wanted her fingernails painted.

August 9, 2010