Making Money

This is what Celia instructed Dan to do after morning prayer today...

Dan- "I love you Celia."

Celia- "I love you too. Go make real money. Not fake money. Ok?"

Last night she successfully faked sleep for a good ten minutes. Just enough time for me to carry her in from the car, help her potty and declare that since she was so sound asleep she didn't have to brush her teeth.

It surprised both Dan and I when she burst from her room triumphantly a few minutes latter and announced,

"Got ya!"

That's when I laughed and said, "Now you do get to brush your teeth!"

Later we asked her if she really had been faking the whole time.

"Yep! Fakin not stirred!"

I think she meant "Shaken not stirred" as in James Bond, or her favorite way to make chocolate milk.

Still, it was very funny.

Where does she get her ideas??

Dan and I are very happy to have our sweet Celia home again.

Without her little spark our house just isn't our home.

One month, One day

And counting...

I just handed over another task at work today.

This whole stay-at-home-mom thing is starting to feel real.

Well, almost.

I have a confession to make... I'm a little scared.

What if I can't cut it?

I mean, what if I'm not good at being a stay at home mom.

I've been a working mom for almost five years.

Celia's whole life.

The most time Celia and I have ever had together is an extended weekend or holiday. We've got our routine down. I know how to be a working mom.

I don't know how to be a stay at home mom.

What if Celia is bored with me?

What if I get lonely?

And Heaven forbid, what if I miss work??

It seems like a silly thing. But, I'm honestly a little scared of this whole process. I want so badly to make this work. As much as I've gotten the whole working mom routine down, I hate it.

The ladies here at work always told me that I'd get used to leaving Celia at daycare.

I've never gotten used to it.

I can honestly say that in the last five years I have never had a day when I dropped her off and thought, "Whew. I'm so glad I get to go to work today."

Never.

I have had nearly twelve hundred days when I've dropped her off and thought,

"I wish I could stay home with her today."

And I've had about twelve hundred days where I sit at work and my thoughts are on all the things I'm missing with her instead of the tasks on my computer screen.

I've never been able to go on a field trip with Celia.

I've only dropped her off and picked her up from preschool a handful of times.

My sister potty trained her.

Her first words were spoken at daycare.

Her first steps were taken there too.

I've missed a lot.

A lot, a lot.

Celia starts Kindergarten the next fall.

I'll have nine months to make up for the five years I've lost.

I pray I can do it.

Could I Get About 10 More Hours In the Day Please??

Welcome Friday.

I could have sworn it was still Wednesday. Busy week!

Our new little townhouse is still a maze of boxes. I'm pretty much living out of my suitcase since I can't quite find any of my cold weather clothes. Oh well.

I have my kitchen and bathroom unpacked and useable. Yay me! This weekend's task... find the other three rooms. That, and finish decorating for Halloween. It's all about priorities. I mean, we only have our door and windows decorated. It's October 9th people and I haven't put up my Halloween trees! I know what you're thinking. Cut me some slack alright? I've had a few things on my plate lately.

Here are a few fun highlights from the week...

Baby Chace is finally here!

She is gorgeous! I can't wait to snuggle her. I just need to get over this sicky thing and loose the cough.

Court again yesterday.

The Juvenile case is closed. Which means beastly Laina, the guardian ad litem, and annoying Chris, the caseworker, are out of our lives. Joy!! Celia's dad has actually been pretty decent about things lately. I chalk it up to nothing short of a miracle. He's still pressing for more time with Celia and wants it formalized when we enter our agreement into district court. As it is, he's not taking her the full amount as it is. I'm not worried. Things actually are settling quite nicely. Now, I may be jinxing things by writing that. But, I can still hope, right?

I supervised my first Enrichment Night last night.

Randee was obviously a little indisposed, so I filled in. It went well. But, Randee was missed. She is so much better at these things than me! I called my brother in a panic about 20 minutes before it started because I realized I couldn't set up all the tables and chairs alone. Thank you Chace! You are a lifesaver.

Celia is sleeping quite contentedly in her own bed!

It's been a little bit of a struggle. I've spoiled her the past few years and out of pure laziness let her sleep with me. Heck, it's been just her and I for so long it was always much easier just to plop her in with me and snooze. Things are a bit different now. She's given us a little resistance, but not much. And aside from sneaking in with us in the wee hours of the morning after a bad dream, she's pretty much sleeping in her own bed all night.

And last but not least... married life in WONDERFUL!!!

Dan takes care of Celia and I in the most tender of ways. Take Wednesday night. We had my little nephew over while the baby was being born and he and Celia were running a muck. Then my neighbors came over for a visit with their three kids and I'm running around trying to coordinate last minute enrichment details. Plus the phone is ringing off the hook. Dan's worked a long day, but comes home and instantly pitches in without me having to ask. Thursday night too. While I was at the church he finished my grocery shopping and cleaned up my mess in the kitchen. Then he joined me at the church latter to help me clean up, even though the playoffs were on. I could go on. And on. And on. My husband is a saint!! He is always thinking of our needs first. I love that man!

Mrs Soliz

p.s. I'm posting pictures and our little travel log soon. Promise!

We're Back!

Back from our wonderful honeymoon and back to reality...

Give me a few days to wade through the boxes and piles of laundry and I'll get some fun pictures posted.

Oh, and somebody (me!) had to go and get sick again. Seriously?! Because I don't have nearly enough to do right now!

A little perspective

Dan sent this to me...
"The Miniature Earth" Project lists statistics of the Earth if the entire population was only 100 people. Some of the statistics go on to list how many from each continent, how many men and women, how many would live in urban areas and how many in rural. Then it started to dig into how many of each religion. It stated that of those 100: 43 lived without basic sanitation, 18 live without an improved water source and 6 own 59% of the worlds wealth. 13 are hungry or malnourished. Only 7 have a secondary level education. But the one that I thought was the most interesting was this: If you have a closet to put your clothes in, a refrigerator to put food, a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head, you are richer that 75% of the world's population.
I read that, and all I can think is, wow. I've got a closet overflowing with clothes. Most of which I don't wear, and some items still have tags on them. I complain that I don't have the best, when others don't have any. I always have food. I have a warm home and a family that loves me. I don't want for anything I really need. Truly I am blessed.