spring snow

Thursday brought the first real snow storm we've seen this year. I went in to work for about an hour just to grab everything I needed and proceeded to get my butt home! We ended up with 15inches at our house which meant I worked from home Thursday and Friday which was really nice. It was great not having to pump and was just fun overall to be with the hubby and poopster all day - I got to see how they spend their days which was cool.

Saturday and today have been hard - we think the poopy has a soy allergy as well as the milk protein allergy as the last two nights have been no sleep, pained cries, hard stomach and a very unhappy baby who is fighting sleep. So we're pulling back on the soy yogurt and the tofu that he had been getting and we'll see if that works. I just hate to see him in pain :(

Hubby built him a fort today, it's in our living room and poopy loves it! he can crawl around in it and hang out - he just has a ball. I'll get some video of it at some point and hopefully I can figure out how to get the video on the blog...we'll see.

Cali

At the last minute I was told I needed to make a trip to one of our offices in CA - to do more layoffs. Not fun. Add to that the fact that I've never left poopster overnight (or even with a babysitter) and the tears started flowing (damn hormones!). Thankfully I was alone at my desk when the waterworks started, otherwise it would have been worse. I called the hubby and at his recommendation I started looking for flights for him and we ended up going out early, making a weekend trip out of it and having a ball!

We got to take poopster to the beach...

He ate some sand...

Played in the pool for the first time...

And just generally had a great time. Yet another reason why I love my husband so much - he made something that could have been so horrible for me into a fantastic weekend with the family.

He's crawling all over the place now - has pretty much given up on the scooting as he found that he moves more quickly when he gets up on his knees. When he gets on tile it's even better - he gets in a downward dog pose (hands and feet) and walks/crawls like that. It's hilarious to watch and I think it's because he doesn't like how the tile feels on his knees. Either way he's adorable.

Santa Baby...

Sorry for my prolonged absence from the blog. It's been extremely hectic at work as the transition is taking quite a bit longer than I had initially anticipted. I'm still doing at least two jobs, and don't really see a light at the end of the tunnel anytime soon. I'm excited about the new opportunities, and as soon as I have time to relax a bit, may even be able to do some work trips to Alaska, Hawaii and Guam (crossing fingers...).

We moved as well... about a month ago and are now trying to settle into a house much much closer to work. Once we made the decision that PB would stay home with the little guy we decided it was time to cut my commute time - it's now under 15 minutes in rush hour!

We started solids, oatmeal speccifically, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Buster loved it! He knew exactly what to do immediately and was quickly leaning in to reach the spoon, trying to grab the spoon out of my hand, and crying when he finished all the oatmeal! I am still amazed everyday by my beautiful boy. We've successfully introduced carrots (last week) and tonight proceeded to sweet potatoes. He wasn't a big fan of the carrots initially, but I think he's come around. He liked the sweet potatoes pretty well right off the bat. I can't believe how much fun each new thing is.

Buster is rolling over consistently whenever we put him on his back - it's right to grabbing the feet, rolling on the side, and moving onto the belly... he's also putting everything in his mouth and is ready for his teeth to cut through the gums... as are mommy and daddy :) although I still can't get over his gummy smile - which I now get whenever I walk in the door after work. It's the best thing in the whole world and melts my heart everytime.

This week my building at work had a holiday party with a very realistic looking Santa. Buster was fascinated by Santa. He didn't cry and could not stop looking at Santa - I wasn't sure if it was the beard (which he grabbed), the hat or the big red suit, but he was in a trance... we are really looking forward to Christmas this year with our little guy.

Promotion

So, it's official - last week I was offered a promotion at work; a nice jump that takes me at least two levels higher than I am now... so this re-org is working out in my favor. The final details have yet to be ironed out, but it means that Chris will be a stay-at-home daddy and I will stay at work. For now. While I know this is the right decision for our family financially, it's one that weighs on my heart. PB is a great dad, and baby boy isn't in daycare which is the most important thing to me, but it is still hard to not be the one home with Colin each day. It's been a rough time being back at work - pumping, stressing, not getting as much quality time with my little guy as I was when on maternity leave... It's still for the best. I should know soon about the salary increase that comes along with this promotion, and it will allow me to get the global certification I want. It will also give hubby time to go back and get his master's, so that when we are ready for baby #2, he'll have the master's and I can stay at home with both kiddos while he goes back to work. Sigh. I'm actually really excited about the work opportunities but I can't help but feel sad about the timing.

We don't have all the answers so we're just taking it one day at a time. I'm so thankful for both of the boys in my life - they make everything worth it.

My beautiful boy

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because I am swamped at work and when I'm not at work I want to spend 100% of my time with my beautiful boy... I am so lucky that my husband is a phenomenal dad and that while I'm at work he is the one at home with our little one. They come to visit me at work and we have lunch at a park nearby - it's the highlight of my week and I love being able to relax at lunch with my baby. I still can't believe how big he's getting! He's now in size 2 diapers, loves to suck on his hands, talks and coos whenever he gets the opportunity and is so happy the majority of the time. His gummy smile melts my heart.

I love to see the change in my husband as well. Being the primary caregiver during the weekdays has given him a new confidence with Colin. I know it's semi-unsual for dads to be the stay at home parent, and I know how lucky we all are that they are getting this incredible bonding time.

Work is going through a global reorganization in the coming year - and our department is already starting the process. If I didn't know that my tiny department is already extremely overworked and overwhelmed I would be worried. Instead, I'm actually excited about the new possibilities that this re-org brings. While I would love to be the stay at home parent full time, if I get promoted and make enough for Chris to stay at home then it's the sensible thing for our family if I'm the one that works full-time. Anyway, it's still a bit earlier to talk about as nothing has been announced yet. However, the rumor-mill is going full strength and if they hold a minute aount of truth to them, my department is going to go through a major over-haul, my boss will be shifting to a new area and it could get interesting. I'll keep you posted...

Updates: Temp,Car and baby quilt

So, I've been quiet for a reason - things at work have been so incredibly hectic lately that I can barely think, let alone update my blog. But, I've been keeping track, so here's the update that should have come last Monday, 4/21.

Let's start with the car. PB was playing in a disk golf tournament on Sunday (which he won by the way - because he's that awesome!) and came back to a man taking cell phone pictures of his car. ...

Turns out the guy hit the car on his bike and caused that damage - ouch! So, PB has been dealing with the guys' homeowners insurance, because believe it or not, the guy came back and gave all the details - it amazes me that there are still honest people out there.

Baby Quilt... I decided a while back that I didn't like any of the baby bedding out there and that I'd make my own... so, the work in progress...

We are focusing on textures, so there is a courderoy, fleece, terry cloth and cotton all included in the blanket - I am just working on finishing the quilting part and then need to put the binding on. Not too shabby - after that I'll tackle the dust ruffle, diaper stacker, bumper pads and the diaper bag for me. I think I still have a little time....

Temp - Work has been crazy but we finally hired a temp for me! Yay! She started last monday (4/21) and has already taken some of the work off my plate - which has been a huge help. It will only continue to get better...

It's working! and so am I...

So, I've really been putting into practive the positive thinking I wrote about yesterday... and it appears to be working - even though I'm totally swamped and hectic at work right now... I'm actually enjoying it! Yay!

We are in the middle of a USCIS audit - which apparently is going to continue to happen at a more rapid pace with our permanent residency cases that are in the PERM status - but, this was my first one, and it will be filed tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. I think we've put together a very strong case in a relatively short amount of time. Now it's off to the attorney and ready to be filed - cross your fingers for me that it is is adjudicated in our favor.

So, it was most definitely a learning curve for me, and an interesting one to boot. I'm learning more about the PERM process than I ever thought I wanted to know and we are creating new practices and policies surrounding it. I'm able now to create new procedures as I see fit to help eliminate these tedious audit processes later down the road. For now I take solace in the fact that they aren't just auditing me (meaning my company or employees) but that it's approximately a 50% audit increase across the board.

Friends

I had dinner tonight with a former coworker/friend that I haven' t seen since I started my new job - what fun it was to catch up on all the gossip and make me feel better about where I am. No job is perfect - it's all about attitude - right??

Anyway, we had fun catching up, seeing the puppy pics - she has an adorable jack russel who is too cute for words and chatting about life. We left the evening with the decision that it needs to happen every couple of weeks. Now we just need to stick to it.

Now, off to more moving...

small biz

So, PB and I have started talking more seriously about the biz we'd like to start, and timelines and such. Personally, it's all extremely overwhelming, but we would like to get the LLC set up this winter, and get things moving along by the summertime. We are tossing around idea names at the moment - something that includes us both, something that is general enough to include both sound (his area) and photography (my area) and something that we can grow into as the biz (hopefully) takes off. Ideally I want to turn this into full-time work for both of us.

We are getting great advice from coworkers who have done similar things, and luckily we know a great CPA who can help with the tax stuff - I'm pretty good with the bookkeeping etc since that's what paid my way through college (that and stupid college loans). I'm going to start looking into the right software we'll need, a good bank and all that stuff - seems complicated and I get confused and overwhelmed really quickly, but it's nice to do it together, and it's moving in the right direction for both of us - be able to set our own hours - work when we want, and be able to enjoy each other.

Small business

So, yesterday I promised to blog about the small business idea that's been floating around our heads for the past few weeks, months maybe?? Anyway, I'm pretty obsessed with photography, and it seems there's a real lack of maternity/newborn photography in the area. I think both are incredibly beautiful subjects, and something that is close to my heart. Last year when my sister was pregnant, my plan was to fly out to visit them shortly after they had the baby so I could practice on her. I would get to meet my new niece and my sis and bil would have (hopefully) beautiful photos of their first baby.

Unfortunately my niece made an unexpected appearance well before her due date (around 29 weeks) and spent much time in the NICU. By the time she got out and was healthy enough to be around others, I lost my opportunity to get my bum out there - you know how it is, work, life everything else gets in the way, and sometimes it's just difficult to prioritize.

So, my idea is in the next year to practice practice practice and read up on starting a small business, and hopefully by this time next year will be able to do it part time, and then, who knows!

NaBloPoMo

So, finally decided I had to start up with this site again, and what better way to kick my butt in gear than NaBloPoMo, national "blog at lease once everyday for a month" :) Something to keep me on track - right? Or something to show PB that I'm a total nutjob.

Either way, tons of nwe things have happended since I last showed my face (does it seem weird that I use that term) around here. I've been at a new job for the last three months. Finally got the courage, and the right offer, to leave the non-profit world. It was hard, and in other ways it was too easy. I do enjoy the bigger paycheck, and opportunities (can anyone say tuition reimbursement???) but I miss the extra vacation time, flexiblity and closer office. I think I'll survive. More tomorrow on the possible small business start up that is in the works.

whew!

Wow, the past two weeks have been consumed by Daffodil Days. For those of you who haven't heard about DD - it's a major fundraising campaign for the non-profit I work for. I took over running this campaign this year, and didn't realize what I go myself into :) - it was crazy, and throughout I kept telling myself, "not doing this next year...no way, no how". Now that it's over, I look back fondly over the experience (except the part about getting really sick right in the middle of it and not being able to take a sick-day - that part still sucks). Daffodil Days is an incredibly fun event, and this year, we added a new component to it; the First Annual Daffodil Days Tea Party. The first of it's kind in the United States and an event that took 5 major companies partnering together, took place yesterday and was a complete and utter success. We can only hope that it continues to grow each year, and I am so proud to have been a part of the first one. A year of planning really made the difference in keeping this event classy... here are a few photos from the day:















Right after the Tea I knew I needed a break - get outside, do some mountain biking or something! So, luckily I got the chance to head up hiking in Left Hand Canyon, a wonderful place just outside of Boulder that I was introduced to last summer. It is only about 30 minutes from my house, which is wonderful - and it's so incredibly beautiful and secluded. The canopy of trees ensured that we would still have plently of snow to tromp around on, even though it was a gorgeous 70degrees down the mountain :). Of course, my arthritis kicked in and reminded me that the song is true ... I'm feeling much better after coming home and relaxing. Caught the last hour of Planet Earth, and was able to tape the first two hours. I can't wait to watch those. What an incredible documentary. Check it out on the Discovery Channel if you get a chance...