Changes abound

When I agreed to start working for Savvy Source, I really had no idea what I was getting in to. It was a lot more than I ever imagined. It is stressful, it has hurt some relationships, and it has complicated many things. I do love doing it though.

One of the things I knew I needed to do when I created this blog to go along with my new more public persona, was try and make it worth it for me. You'll notice that little thing over on the left, and a few text ads. They're mostly just an incentive to spell check. Well, and stress relief seeing what the text ads sometimes show, so very funny.

As part of those changes, I've also started a review blog to go along with this one. I call it A Sprout Reviews. Clever, no? Right now it is just a shameless plug for my favorite kids shoes in the hopes that someone would give me some free ones. However, watch that space, because soon there will be an actual real honest someone actually asked me my opinion review.

Yeah, I know, who would have ever thought I would be opinionated.

Please forgive that it isn't pretty right now, I'm working diligently on that. Just waiting on the perfect photo.

WW - Warm Fall Day

It was really nice when we got home today, so I decided to try and take some pictures to take advantage of the leaves from our gigantic (it dwarfs our house on google earth) silver maple in the front yard and get a nice fall pic. M decided to run around the tree, which combined with the fact it was starting to get darker, meant fuzzy pictures. I tried a couple of effects on Picnik to mitigate it.

More Wordlessness.

Now all we need is a size 2T leather jacket

Today we had M's first parent teacher conference. I won't go in to how impressed I am that in the 16 or so months she's been in daycare, that this is the first time we've had a chance to actually have her evaluated and sit down with a teacher.

I won't go into how happy I am that after concerns because she didn't roll over, was just starting to crawl by the time many of her peers walked, and we had to delay her starting her new daycare because she wasn't walking, that her gross motor skills are all right on track.

I won't go into how our babbly baby went from "talking" all the time, to not making much noise and that one month, turned two months, turned four months of ear infections turned into her barely hearing and that tubes, along with a new environment means that her verbals skills have caught up and then some.

I won't go into how smart she is, how clever was used to explain her, how she plays well with others at an age when most play best alone, how she's always willing to comfort and hug her friends. How her sense of humor is one of her best qualities. How the word advanced was actually used in regards to my child that I had so many concerns about. Because no matter how many times you hear that they are within the range for something, when you worry about the care they get, you can help but wonder if it is hurting or at the least not helping.

I won't go into my amazing abuse of run on sentences, nope, not me. Not even the made up word.

Nope, here is what made my day. They called my daughter a ringleader. But not in a bad way. She's a leader my girl. One of the more advanced kids in the class who is willing to lead and show the other ones how it is done. Her and some kid named Max.

Twelve pounds of Terrier(ist)

Astrologically speaking I am a Leo, so it would make perfect sense that I love all things feline. I grew up having cats, and when I finally was adult enough, and living on my own, I got a cat.

When I moved to MN, he stayed with my parents. I never lived with him again because I met A, who is seriously allergic to cats.

I never liked dogs. I really had only ever know farm dogs, and well, manners aren't their strong suit. However, love does strange things to you.

So, after A and I got married, we started looking for a dog. Somehow he managed to sell me on a Cairn Terrier, since he had grown up with one. He said they were good with kids, had attitudes, but also personality. Our obedience trainer called them terrierists.

We had seen a dog at a pet store that I went to for my fish supplies, and pretty much fallen in love. While I had wanted to go with a breeder or rescue, when we saw her, we knew that her chances of being bought were slim, and she would likely end up in a bad situation. We were willing to deal with her. (and the judgment from people about where she came from) Around the time our wedding was supposed to have been (we went to Vegas to avoid... stuff), A was on a business trip, and I went to get her. She peed in my car on the way to get her supplies. and that was just the beginning. Having never owned a dog, I had to call A in panic to see if she was having a seizure when she started yelping and running her sleep. He still hasn't let me live that one down.
She was obviously the runt, had bad skin, not much in the way of hair, and loved licking your ears, neck, and up your nose. We indulged her and loved it.

We got her training, she obeys reasonably well. She will poop in the house if she is mad at your for ignoring her. Despite having been on a diet for years, she didn't really lose weight until we started feeding M table food, which doesn't make sense since she gets all of the left over veggies.

She loves a warm lap, down blankets to sleep on (preferably with a person underneath them), sleeping under the covers, early mornings, frozen green beans, and riding on your shoulders while in the car.

She charms nearly every one she meets, including self professed dog haters like my dad, who is by far her favorite sitter. He even calls her the "All in One Shredder Vacuum Love Machine".

She tolerates a surprising number of silly things I have done to her. That includes silly parkas, pumpkin hats, antlers and making her sit still endlessly for two calorie treats.

She is our first child, who has bonded incredibly well with the second (first). M's first word was Tess. Part of her nightly routine is to kiss her goodnight (which means she gets licked). The other day, she put her dolly blanket over her and put her to bed, and Tess just stood for it. She got sick when she was younger (most likely had something to do with why we go her in the first place) and we paid a small fortune to get her well again. She was worth every penny, despite the fact that at night she sleeps next to A, and not me, despite me being the cold one who could really use it.


This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.