Work, Work, Work, all day long.......

While on Christmas break, I had to make a tough decision. Knowing what the upcoming months at work could be like, I finally made the decision to go part-time at the first of January. I had already discussed it with my performance partner before Christmas and finally made it official upon my return from Christmas break. We had to literally list out all our bills to see if we could actually afford me taking a 25% paycut. Ughhh, it hurts to even type it. L In my profession, especially this time of year, they can only be so flexible. We are of course, providing a client service, so their needs ultimately come before ours, generally speaking. Going 75%, a few adjustments were made to my client load and it gave me more leverage to work from home in the evenings and on weekends, rather than being at the office until 10pm. It definitely has its days; some are crazier than others. I haven’t quite made my mind up yet, if taking a 25% paycut is worth still putting in 55 hours for the week. They say it evens out during the ‘non-busy times’, so I’ll reserve judgment until then. Since this is my first year as a manager and a new mom, I kinda have a double-whammy against me. It’s definitely been the toughest so far. New clients, new partners, new staff, new responsibilities, oh and that family of mine at home. I have been surprised at certain people who have been more supportive in my work/life balance initiative than I would have originally thought, so that’s nice.

Holiday Fun!

Okay, I have been TERRIBLE at updating this blog lately. Here it is almost March, and I haven’t even updated on Christmas yet, my apologies. Geez, it’s been so long since Christmas, I hope I can remember all the details. I was able to enjoy two whole weeks off work, which was really nice. My Nana (Austin’s GiGi) came in from NH to stay with us over the holidays as well. Between Nana, my sis who lives with us, and my Mom (who stayed with us for a few months during her divorce), we definitely had a FULL house to say the least. Oh poor Jordan, with 3 generations of women in the house. But we had a great time and enjoyed time with family.

After Nana came into town, the next night we ventured out to Prairie Lights to drive through the lights and hang out. Since it was the week of Christmas, it was a crazy wait out there to say the least, but totally worth it. Austin had a wonderful time, and good thing we packed a sandwich and snacks for him in the car. We spent Christmas Eve with Jordan’s family in Arlington. Due to the snow storm that hit Texas that day, we decided it best not to venture out to go to church (Lord, please forgive me.). We had a great time munching on delicious food, opening presents, and hanging out. Christmas morning was pretty relaxed at home. Austin wasn’t really into opening his gifts, really just more interested in the boxes, tissue paper, and packages. It was a pretty relaxing day; we went non-traditional with Christmas lunch this year: Mexican-style. We made chicken and beef fajitas, rice, beans, sopapilla cake, and homemade salsa. Pretty delicious!

The next day was Katrina’s birthday, which we celebrate by going to eat more Mexican food (Sorry, Nana!) and heading out to the local bar for some adult beverages and music afterwards. New Year’s Eve was pretty mellow as well. We stayed home, watched movies, and had some drinks. The next day we took Nana to do something we knew she would enjoy….gambling. We drove 1 ½ hours up to the Choctaw casino and gambled away a little bit of money. Then before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to Nana, send Austin back to daycare, and head back to work for my first busy season as a mom. It’s crazy how fast two weeks off can fly by.

Tube Surgery

Austin has been plagued with consistent ear infections over the past few months. Some have been double ear infections, and some even take a second round of antibiotics to clear it up. Our pediatrician finally referred us to an ENT a few weeks ago, and Austin was an excellent candidate for tubes in his ears. I wasn't excited about this surgery at all, but if it provided relief to my little boy, I would do it. Well, last Thursday we went to the hospital at 6:30am. They took him back to the OR at 7:30am and gave him some gas anesthesia to put him to sleep. :( The doc did the surgery and came to see us in the waiting room 20 minutes later. A few minutes more, and they carried in my screaming baby boy to me. He was just breaking my heart! He literally screamed and cried for 30 minutes after he woke up from the surgery. After a nice long nap when we got home and some lunch, he was doing better. But he's been coming down with a cold and been a little fussy. Hopefully the tubes will be worth it and he will be free from any more infections.

Very First School Picture!!

Austin took his first school picture a few weeks ago. Granted, he looks gigantic in it, but still just as handsome as can be!

It's a Birthday Celebration!!

I've seriously been slacking on updating the blog. Austin had a great birthday. I took cupcakes up to his class on the actual day so that he could celebrate with his little friends. They were the cutest little things indulging in the cupcakes! We had quite the turnout for his party that Sunday, about 30 people, including 7 kids. It was a madhouse at times, but I think everyone had a great time. He got WAY TOO MANY toys, and they have overtaken the playroom. I made his cake, in the shape of a jersey, and small football for him to eat. He definitely enjoyed his cake!! I still can't believe that he has already turned one and we are moving onto the next year of adventures!!

The Big ONE!!!!

One year ago today, my life changed forever. I walked back to the operating room a little before noon and was shaking in my cute fuzzy socks. At 12:32pm, our sweet baby boy was finally pulled from my belly (with the help of forceps and a vacuum, nonetheless). We had waited for this day for over two years. His first cries warmed my heart and brought tears of happiness rolling down my face. It was love at first sight to say the least. Our lives changed forever that day and I am so thankful to have such a healthy, happy little boy. With that being said, where the heck did the past year go?!? I can't believe he turns one today! How did he go from that tiny little baby to this rambunctious boy?!

His party is planned for Sunday and I have so much to do to get ready. But first, I'll be taking cupcakes up to his class at school this afternoon. So look for upcoming pictures of that. Speaking of his class at school, last week he moved out of the infants class and into the 12-18 months class. I was nervous about the transition, especially since he would be going from two naps to just one. But surprisingly, he has done spectacular and adapted to his new environment and schedule. This weekend we also made the switch to regular milk (yay, no more expensive formula!) and turned his carseat around to forward-facing. And we finally took him for his first real big-boy haircut last weekend. I was worried he wouldn't sit still, but he did so good and looks so handsome! He is just growing up too fast!

Two weeks ago Jordan's friend who does photography on the side, came out to the local park with us for two hours to take his 1 year pics. I wanted to do something different rather than the posed pics at JC Penney. All of them turned out FABULOUS!! We ended up with about 400 pictures on a CD. My favorite pic is of Austin in a shirt and tie. He looks like it's his school picture or something. I have such a hard time figuring out which ones to print out and frame.

I take him to the Dr. on Monday for his one year checkup. But I weighed him last night and he's 21 lbs. 6oz. I couldn't get him to stay still long enough to measure his height, but he's still short and stocky. :) And I'm pretty sure he's teething again, but not sure which ones are coming in this time. I took him to the Dr. last week for his flu shot finally. I took him by myself and was fully prepared to have to console him afterwards. But nope; the nurse stuck his leg and he just laid there, not even a flinch! What a tough little guy!

Two weeks ago for Halloween we dressed him up as a turkey. I had debated between the turkey outfit and the Hulk, but ultimately went with the turkey. He looked so darn cute!! We pulled him around in his wagon door to door collecting candy (for mommy and daddy, of course!). He wasn't quite sure what to think about all of it. But we are definitely looking forward to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Since he was born in late November, last holiday season was kinda chaotic and we didn't really have too much energy for decorations and all the fun. But this year is a different story! I know he's going to enjoy the big dinners, because we always cook such a feast.

T - 1 Month until the Big One!!!!!

Holy Schmolly!!! This time next month will be my monkey's first birthday. I can't believe it! It feels like I was just pregnant a few months ago (okay, well maybe not that recent). I just don't understand how time can fly by so fast! He just changes so much everyday, and I'm so thankful to have such a healthy baby boy. The 1st birthday party planning is in full-force now. I got his invitations in the mail today, and they are Super-Cute and I'm so excited about them. :)

A few weeks ago I bought Austin a wagon. I thought it would be great to pull him around in when we take him trick-or-treating at Halloween. And then Toys R' Us had it in their add for $20 off, so of course I had to buy it. :) He absolutely loves that wagon! For the first few weeks, we would pull him around the neighborhood in it everyday after work. With all the rain lately, our wagon time has decreased alot.

He's absolutely into everything around the house! Thank goodness I put a lock on the oven door because he seems to really like trying to open the door. Anything electronic, like a phone, camera, laptop, etc., he thinks he has to get his heads on. I know he's just being curious and exploring all the shiny things. He's not walking alone yet, but he'll walk while holding on the table or window sill. And if I put him in his walker, he's an absolute mad man; he loves to chase down the dogs. He's been a little chatter box lately. Most of it doesn't make much sense, but he FINALLY said Momma this past weekend and Bye Bye. And no more taking baby food to the daycare; he's eating whatever the big kids are having and seems to really be enjoying everything he eats. I just love his beautiful little smile and when he gets a good belly laugh going, it just melts my heart.



As long as the weather cooperates this weekend, I'm taking Austin to the pumpkin patch down the road to pick out a pumpkin and hopefully get some cute pics. And we have one of Jordan's old friends (who graduated with a Photography degree) coming out at the end of the month to take his 1 year pics. I decided I wanted to do some more candid pics, rather than the strictly posed ones in a studio at JC Penney or Sears. And hopefully we can get a few of us as a family. I seem to have a hard time making it into many pics these days, as I'm usually the one taking the pics.

I'll be gone all next week to Orlando for training for work. I'm so sad to be away from him and Jordan for four days. But duty calls. :( Work has been going okay. It gets a little hectic at times, and I've already had my fair share of difficulties in dealing with fellow employees and clients. Everyday is a new day though. I know that I need to complete at least one year as a manager in public accounting to help ensure that I can find a great job if and when I decide to leave the firm. And there are a few helpful people at work who have been giving me some helpful tips and mentoring as far as how to handle certain situations. We'll see what happens.