Monday Day Book

Monday, May 9th at 6:29am...


Outside my window … it is dark and windy but I don't think it's supposed to stay like this all day.

I am thinking … about how I only have two more weeks at home with my daughter until I go back to work for the last three weeks of school.  I think that if I didn't know that summer vacation was around the corner and I was going back to work indefinitely I would be struggling more than I am.  But I can do three weeks away from her during the day...it might even be good for both of us.

I am thankful for … Craig - he was able to put together a wonderful Mother's Day...even with one arm in a sling from shoulder surgery.

I am hoping … that Natalie survives her shorts today with minimal side effects and that she is still measuring in the 95th percentile (or above!) on height.

On my mind … a quote from Tina Fey's new book Bossypants: she writes about all the things that working for Lorne Michaels on SNL taught her and one particular thought stuck out to me.  "The show doesn't go on because it's perfect, the show goes on because it's 11:30."  Hmm.  As I was reading this part in the book last night, I was fully immersed in the Mother's Day bubble bath that Craig had prepared for me and I really had to sit and chew on these words.  I'm a planner with high expectations.  If I'm going to do something, I'm going to put 100% of me effort into making sure everything is perfect and fantastic.  BUT...sometimes when it comes right down to it, you have to just leave it be and walk away and let things fall as they may.  And that is something that is really difficult for me.

Noticing that … more often than not, Natalie is sleeping from about 10:00 every night until somewhere in between 6 and 7 in the morning.  If she keeps this up, it will be the absolute PERFECT routine for when I go back to school.

A few plans for the week … Natalie has a doctor's appointment today, Craig has his post op appointment tomorrow and I'm getting a massage on Thursday.  I have a volleyball clinic Wednesday night and am having breakfast with a friend on Saturday morning to celebrate her birthday.

From the kitchen … I did a lot of cooking last week - I made a big lasagna for a friend of mine whose husband underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove the thyroid cancer from his neck (yikes!) and then I made some sausage, potatoes and green beans for Craig the night after his surgery.  Yesterday for Mother's Day he took me to my favorite place to eat, Agave Azul for a margarita and shrimp fajitas!

Around the house … we have a ton of laundry to do today because Craig didn't let me do anything around the house yesterday.  Good man.  :)

One of my favorite things … yesterday afternoon I had a sleeping baby laid out across my chest and propped up by a pillow on my side with a puppy dog curled up right beside her.  On Saturday afternoon before we went to a crawfish boil, Natalie was asleep in her Boppy and Angie had her head resting on the arm of the Boppy and every so often Natalie would stir in her sleep, lift up her hand and place it on Angie's head.  The dog didn't make a move.  I have a feeling Angie will tolerate more shenanigans from Natalie than she will from any other human being.  I know that some people downplay the role of animals in our lives but I have truly witnessed something evolve in Angie - from a mischeivious and playful puppy dog to a constant companion and caretaker to a mommy with severe morning sickness and now to a protective and loving "big sister" to Natalie.  The two of them really seem to have some weird connection with each other and I think that has been the most wonderful surprise of bringing Natalie home from the hospital and incorporating her into our lives.

A picture I am sharing … This was taken the first day we brought Angie home from the shelter.  She was a bit more skittish, a lot more chubby and I had no idea at the role she was going to play in our family.