Yea for 3 day weekends!

Ahhh...the first day of a long weekend is always good. ;-) After L's nap, Butch & I are taking her to Dee's for a visit while we go shopping for a minivan. We aren't sure we can swing that payment - because I really don't want to give up the basement finishing project - but I do want to get some ideas and do our "research". For those of you wondering "why a minivan and not an SUV" (Aunt Annie), I already have a small SUV (Honda CRV), which we love, love, love. But, I would like more room for vacations and longer trips....and don't want a big SUV. We rented a minivan for our Thanksgiving trip to Pittsburgh last year and loved it. There was so much room. So, without looking, I know *my* first choice would be a Honda Odyssey. It's a Consumer Report recommended one and I love Hondas. But, we'll look around. I have been checking Carmax's website for used ones - like 2005 or newer. But, haven't had luck finding anything that "new" and have found NONE with the DVD entertainment thing for the back.

Let's see...other weekend plans......we're going to Dad's on Monday for a cookout. And (happily) don't have anything else "planned". I'm thinking of calling the woman from The Little Gym - the one that was in our childbirth class - to see what they are doing tomorrow. Might be fun to do something with them.

Last week was week 2 of being home with Lacey - while trying to get 1/2 day work in. She was really testing me the last 2 days. But, I think (hope) that was from her shot that she got on Thursday. Speaking of.....

She had her 15 month well baby visit on Thursday. She's just under 22 pounds (25th-50th%) and is 31.25 inches long (50th-75th%). Dr. Jill is very pleased with her growth. She has a pet peeve of childhood obesity, so she is thrilled when she has some "little" patients. Lacey got her MMR shot - and just as the nurse was going to do it, she warned me that "it burns" when going in. Nice. LJ was not a happy camper. But her ears are totally clear. I think that I'm glad daycare closed down so she could have a break from all the germs. I'm hoping that by August, she'll have grown enough that her ears are more developed and drain better.

Chuck & Nancy are arriving on Wednesday for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping to find some fun things to do around her while they are here. There is a crab festival in Leonardtown on June 11. There will be a car show and some other things there, so they might enjoy that. I'll enjoy tasting some yummy crab treats. Seems like there was something else....oh yes....maybe a visit to Chesapeake Beach. I've never been there. It's about 45 minutes away and there is a restaurant there that is supposed to be pretty good. There is a small boardwalk, etc., so might be fun. And, while they are here, we are hoping to find a night that Dee & Buck are available for dinner out with us. C & N offered to stay home to babysit. Sounds lovely. ;-)

I think that's about it....plus L is fussing....after only 50 minutes of a nap.

Tricia

This week

So, this week I am working at home every day except Wednesday (today). Butch is off today with Lacey. I hope he has as great a day as I’ve had with her the last 2! She has been so happy and easy. Yesterday, we went to The Little Gym in Waldorf. They have “classes” for toddlers. The one she is in is the “Birds” and the ages are 10-19 months. We sing songs, play with balls, do some tumbling, play with bubbles, etc. She LOVED it. It took maybe 10 minutes for her to warm up. Then, she just squealed with delight. We will definitely go back. Butch is taking her next week. Then we have to wait until the summer session which starts in mid-June. I’m jealous because Butch will be taking her. The summer class is Wednesdays at 9:30 – during my staff meeting. But, I think I’m going to take 1 Wed. morning each month off to go. Then, in the fall, she’ll be 19 months old and they have more choices for class times, so I should be able to get a Saturday class.

I’m working ½ days on the days I’m home. I’m able to work during her naps and also check emails, etc., while she’s playing on her own. It’s going pretty well so far.

Oh – at The Little Gym, one of the women from our childbirth class was there with her 15 month old daughter. It turns out that they live really close to us – maybe 6-7 miles. So, we exchanged numbers. I’m hoping we can get together with them sometime soon. It will be nice to have friends in the area with a toddler.

This weekend, we are going to a cookout in Alexandria – it’s at the apartment complex where Butch lived when we met. It starts at 4:00, so we’ll be able to bring Lacey so his old friends can meet her. Sunday he has a work function, so he’ll be gone all afternoon.

That’s it for now.

Update

Things have been going really, really well. Lacey recovered from her ear infection well. I took her to see Dr. Jill a few days after she finished her antibiotic to make sure things were good and to get her opinion on the 6 ear infections (1 was only an "almost" infection really) since December. She agrees that b/c daycare is done for now and cold/flu season is over, we'll wait & see. Hopefully she'll be fine. If she continues to get them..now or when daycare starts again...we'll go see an ENT to discuss tubes. I hope she doesn't need them.

Chuck & Nancy arrived on Sunday, 4/30. I really thought that since Lacey hadn't seen them in 2 months, there would be an adjustment period for all of them (C/N and L), but I was happily wrong. I'm thankful that Lacey is healthy - I know that helps a lot. She is loving them both, but absolutely adores Grandpa. It's really cute to see how excited she gets when she sees him. I'm glad that they are having all of this bonding time.

Having her at home during the day makes me wish even more that we could find a nanny. I know that she'll need a preschool-type environment around age 2-3, but I love having her home. I think I'm going to keep my eyes and ears searching - if not for her, at least for her little bro or sis (no, I do not having any special news....just planning for the future).

I've been going to random spots to work on my telecommuting days - library, Borders, etc. I tried to work upstairs in our "office" but the height of the computer desk doesn't work well for me. It works fine for the PC, b/c the keyboard is low. But, not for the laptop. Plus, I don't have room to spread out there.

C/N leave on Sat. Next week & the week after, I'll be working 1/2 days at home - working during her naps and sporatically through the day. Butch is taking off 1 day each week so I can go to the office.

That's all for now....