the new normal

Just a quick update on the happenings around here. We are settling into our new school/work routine quite nicely, and so far, there haven't been any major mishaps. It helps that I get up 3 hours before I actually have to be at work, to allow enough time for me to eat breakfast/have coffee/check email, get myself dressed, get Caroline up and fed and dressed and packed, fight rush hour traffic, drop her at school, and get myself to work by 9. So far so good with my new job! My coworkers have all been very welcoming. One of the reasons I decided to take this job was because I already knew the girls I'd be working with...I had been friends with them for years, so I knew I would enjoy working with them. 

this sweet little note was waiting to
greet me on my first day!

Of course any new job takes some time to get fully acclimated to before it starts to feel 'normal', and I've had all the usual growing pains...where are the files saved? What are the cad standards? How does this crazy new/different AutoCAD program work? It's frustrating to feel like you're learning to walk all over again, when you're so used to just running right along. And with those frustrations come the memories of how 'easy' it was at my other previous jobs, even though I know those jobs had their frustrating learning periods as well. The big difference this time around though is that I feel much more confident of what I'm doing (even if I'm doing it slowly right now). I can look back at my previous jobs and realize how much I learned in each of them, and how I'm taking those lessons with me as I move forward now. I know I'm exactly where I need to be at this point in my career, and I'm so grateful that God has led me down this path.

Caroline is slowly getting adjusted to her new school setting- the first day was a big fat false alarm. She had me fooled into thinking it was going to be an easy transition...HA! The first day she barely glanced back at me when I left; the second day she boohooed like a banshee. Every day since then the crying theatrics have gotten a slightly little bit better, so I'm hopeful that within the next few weeks she'll finally be comfortable and won't cry when I leave her.

And just a few more funny Caroline tidbits:

• They say LSU gets in your blood, down to your very DNA. Here's proof. Every single morning for the past week or so Caroline has woken up asking to wear her tiger tshirt. I hop out of bed, walk in her room to get her, say 'good morning!' and the first thing she does is point to her dresser and ask 'tiger' (which sounds more like tig-uh). We are running into a bit of a wardrobe crisis though, since we only have 2 tiger tshirts and they tend to get dirty pretty quickly. I'm doing so much laundry I feel like I'm living in a perpetual Tide commercial. We've made a desperate plea to friends and family in LA to please send more LSU tiger tshirts!!

• She loooves playing in my makeup, anything she can get her little hands on. Sometimes I let her sit on the counter and rummage through my makeup drawers while I'm blow drying her hair, and she loves imitating me with the makeup application. Whether it's powder or lipstick or an eyelash curler, she knows just how to use it!

• She's starting to put words together to make short sentences...."more blueberries" "bye bye airplane" etc. But my favorite is when I put her to bed at night. I tuck her in, give her her blankie and bear bear and tshirt, and say 'I love you!' and she says 'I love you too'. The pronunciation is of course a little rough (sounds like 'i woah you too') but the sentiment is definitely there.

• She can count! I can't make her do it on command and catch it on video, but sometimes I overhear her counting to herself and she knows up to 5. I'm sure this it thanks to the 8 bajillion times we've walked up and down the stairs in our house and we've counted on the way up and down. Thank you, my often-cursed-3-story-house, for helping my daughter learn the fundamentals of mathematics!

• Favorite book of the moment: One Bear Lost (a counting book, which also may have helped in her counting skills...) I've read this book so many times I've contemplated hiding it in her sock drawer, never to be seen again.

• We've had a few more successful potty training victories, including one night when she pooped on the big potty. She was taking a bath and stood up and made her grand declaration, so I sat her on the big potty and sure enough, she delivered the goods! I of course was over the top with hugs and kisses and positive reinforcement, so she quickly decided that she quite enjoys using the big girl potty. One caveat: she demands to be entirely naked before she will make herself comfortable on the porcelain throne. This will require some explanations with her teacher at school....

Last but not least, today is Aunty Em's birthday....wish we were there to celebrate with you! Happy Birthday!