So one of the perks/weird things about my office is that it used to be an exam room. My floor used to be a patient floor but the medical offices have moved elsewhere. What that leaves me is the sink area in the back corner. At first, I wasn’t thrilled because it was a constant reminder that I’m being housed in an exam room, but now it’s pretty handy. See that tea pot on the side? It’s a fast hot water boiler and it’s awesome for cold days. I can rinse dishes in the sink too. One unfortunate issue is that my shortness prevents me from using the mirror above the sink. Fail.

Here you can see the view of my DOOR….score for me. My last job had a sliding glass porch door that made me feel like a zoo animal. Now I can shut the world out. My pretty diploma frames are hovering over boxes that need to be stored elsewhere. You can’t tell but that’s pinterest on my screen and yes, I had Jimmy John’s for lunch. It’s a nice little lunch combo. You may notice my color-coded calendar on the bulletin board. I love color-coding and I print that every time a new meeting/item gets added.

A view of the seldom-used table. I would have them take it away but on the rare occasion people visit my office, they would have nowhere to go. You can also see my mini-fridge peeking out from under the table. I swear, if the floor wasn’t concrete, I could live here. What’s funny is that the floor has a lounge complete with a big screen tv with cable and a set of sleeping/shower rooms for on-call doctors….so technically…I probably could live here.

Lastly, a view of my work space. The calendar on the left includes UK/IL basketball games, my running schedule and home-related items. The middle calendar is my sister’s class schedule for college. I stalk her on the regular. And then my color-coded work calendar is on the right. I’m all kinds of organized

So now that you’ve seen my crib….it’s time for you to leave.  (Isn’t that what they used to say on Cribs? Did anyone else watch that?)

• We moved back to Illinois in May. I started a new job as a Legal Affairs Specialist at a hospital in Champaign. My work environment is a million times better than what I had in St. Louis. I don’t go to work with an upset stomach anymore. Score for that.
• Collin is now working for a small defense firm that focuses on medical malpractice (defends doctors) and other insurance defense work. He has normal working hours.
• We bought a new house in June and we’ve done a ton of work on it already. I will attempt to post pictures soon.
• There’s been an adjustment period for me here. I left some great friends behind in St. Louis that I miss like crazy. Also…Champaign is not Kirkwood, as much as I would like it to be.
• On the plus side, we are now much closer to 5 out of 7 of Charlotte’s grandparents. Knowing that she will have a close relationship with them makes it easier.
• I started running again this summer. I ran the Fisher Fair 5k and the Hot Chocolate 15k in Chicago. I’m in a training group to run the IL half marathon in April. I swear every time I start running again, I feel like a 90 year old woman. Is this what it’s like to get old?
• Speaking of old, I will be turning 30 in three short months. In some ways, I’m don’t want to think about it but in others, it’s a milestone I’m proud to have (almost) made.
• I have a sixteen month old! The saying that time flies is so true. The other day at the grocery store we were looking for a toothbrush for Charlotte. Collin had a package and said…”But this one is for toddlers.” I responded, “She is a toddler.” It’s nuts.
• We switched daycares in September. I was super worried about her transition but she’s doing amazingly well. She started signing words within the first week. I swear she learns something new everyday. Her newest is saying and signing “Thank you” when you ask her to say please. She knows how to say/sign please but likes to do them in order. It’s adorable (to me).
• Charlotte has had an ear infection off and on since her birthday in September. She had an allergic reaction to the first drug (penicillin-based). We’ve tried two other ones since then that didn’t work. Cue our trip to the ENT on Friday. The ENT wants to try a low dose of prednisone for five days to try to kick it. We go back on Feb. 8th to see if she’ll need tubes.

I think you’re pretty much up to date with us. My goal is a once a week post. Bonus if I do more. So I’m back… in small doses.

Hi family!

New Elmo Jammies

• Charlotte is 9.5 months old now. So crazy. She had her nine month checkup last week and weighs in at 20 lbs 1 oz. She’s 28″ long and has a head circumference of 44.5 cm. Not sure why that one’s in metric.
• She picked up her first day care cold last week and then yesterday I was called with the news she had pink eye. One short trip to the doctor later and not only did she have pink eye but the beginnings of an ear infection. Poor little miss. She has to stay out of daycare for the next two days.
• We are in our new house. It’s been pretty hard to get unpacked. Collin has been pretty sick the past week so things are moving slowly. I think he’s finally starting to feel better so hopefully we can get things unpacked and situated.
• Speaking of Collin, he went to the convenient care last week and they noticed that his throat had a mass near his adam’s apple. They sent him to a physician who sent him to an ENT who said….that’s a thyroglossal (sp?) duct cyst and you have to have it taken out. He had a CT scan Friday and meets with the ENT surgeon on Thursday. It’s been crazy around here.
• I’m in a beginning women’s running group with Jana. We’re training for the Fisher Fair 5k. It’s been a great way to get myself back into running. I already signed up for the next level class. Hopefully, this is the kick in the butt I need to keep going.
• I am really enjoying my new job. It’s a lot more responsibility but I have a great boss that seems to care that I like what I’m doing and wants to help me get situated in my job and in the community.

Hopefully, once things settle down, I’ll actually be able to post pictures of the house instead of just talking about it. Stick with me here… I know it’s been dull.

She sleeps between 12 and 13 hours most nights. Some mornings I have to wake her up.

She is still toothless and doesnt really have a lot of hair either. She grew out of her baby bath tub and now takes baths in the big tub. She wears mostly 9-12 month clothes but her feet are super tiny like mine. She wears 3-6 month shoes right now.

We had her nine month pics taken this past weekend (family be on the lookout for yours). They were pretty cute. We had a hard time picking which ones to get.

We close on both houses this week. it will be nice to start our new normal. Hope to get pictures posted asap.

Charlotte is a bundle of energy. She’s so much happier now that she is mobile and can get around on her own. She can wave bye, says dadadada indiscriminately, crawls, and can pull up on things. She would love to be able to walk but the balance is just not quite there yet. If you ask, “Where’s Lola?” She will turn her head and try to find her. It seems like she picks up new “tricks” all the time.

Today is Collin’s first day back at work. He’s working at a small law firm in Champaign that mainly focuses on business litigation and medical malpractice defense (on the doctor/hospital side). It will definitely be different than the last firm that had over 200 attorneys.

Now that Collin is back to work, Charlotte no longer has an in home parent. Today is her first day in day care. I know that there are tons of kids in daycare and they are just fine but it just breaks my heart a little bit to know that someone else is taking care of her. We’ve never left her with anyone for more than a few hours. She was happy when I left while I was crying in my car. I know it’ll get easier with time but today is really hard.

In move related news, we found a house! I’ll try to post pics when I can do a blog at a computer instead of on my phone. We close on the St Louis house on June 15th and the IL house on June 16th. We’re getting movers so it will be nice to not have to persuade people to help us move and get storage and all that.

Collin has been out and about looking at houses for us while I’m at work. I get to go look on Thursday. I’m hoping we find something we like. It’s been more difficult than we thought.

In Charlotte news, she is officially crawling. She loves to go straight for the dog food bowl. There’s something magical about Lola’s kibble. She also woke up on mother’s day saying da-da-da- for the first time. Her hair is starting to grow in. It’s still pretty light. She has a fascination with knobs, drawer pulls, latches, etc. I tell her she’s my little engineer. I just ordered this Melissa and Doug puzzle. I can’t wait for it to get here.

Here are some Mother’s Day pictures.

31 weeks

32 weeks

Charlotte has started with a little bit of separation anxiety. She is super fussy and wants to be held all the time. I’m hoping it’s just a stage because it gets old fast.

We went daycare browsing while we were out of town this past weekend. We found one we really like but it’s super popular so it has a waitlist. So crazy. It’s like we’re hoping she gets into college, lol. I’m actually thinking that it’ll be nice for Charlotte to go to daycare. This one is really great with socialization. They teach them art, music and spanish even at this age. She is getting to the point where she needs more activity than I give her at home. We do have gymboree and swimming but she needs a lot more socialization and stimulation.

I saw this on Southern Comfort’s blog. Hilarious!

The following ran on NPR and is Tina’s “Mother’s Prayer” for her daughter – enjoy!

“First, Lord: No tattoos.  May neither the Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches. 

May she be beautiful but not damaged, for it’s the damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the beauty.

When the crystal meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half, and stick with beer. 

Lead her away from acting, but not all the way to finance – something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes and not have to wear high heels.  What would that be, Lord?  Architecture, midwifery, golf course design?  I’m asking you because if I knew, I’d be doing it, dammit. 

May she play the drums to the fiery rhythm of her own heart with the sinewy strength of her own arms, so she need not lie with drummers. 

Oh Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers and the online marketing campaign for “Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.”

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a bitch in front of Hollister, give me strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, for I will not have that nonsense.

I will not have it.

We are loving the warmer weather here in St. Louis. The weekend was a gorgeous 85 degrees and sunny.