Los Porchs

Well, Day 1 was largely just Charlie yelling at Prim for being here and Prim following underfoot the entire day. Lots of tears (Charlie cried some too). Approximately 487 reminders to walk. All 3 of us end up in king-sized bed and finally give in to sleep after a 230 sob session about the dog being alive. DAY 2. woken at 12:16am by the sound of a dog dry heaving. Motherly instincts kick in. Put hand out. Realize what's happening and pull it back. Dog pukes on duvet. Half asleep, I scoop the puke up and nearly gag as I hustle to the toilet. Remove duvet and ball up in corner. Immediately return to bed and fall back asleep. It's only 8am. Send coffee. And new episodes of Peppa Pig. And the best dog chew toys that will entertain a 6 month old lab mix until I get her to the park. Xo

Football announcer: We'll check in on Chi town for an update. Me: Gahhhh! I HATE when people call it Chi-town. Shaddup already! Charlie: Chi-towwwwwnnnnnnn (in her best cutie pie voice) And THAT'S how I got taunted by a three-year-old.

Our family grew by 1 small life this past week.  Charlotte is proud to introduce her new Betta, Buddha.  Yep.  She got naming rights and somehow ended up choosing Buddha.  Because when you let a 2-year-old name something, nothing is off-limits.  To be fair, the 3-year-olds named their fish Nemo so if anything, I'm pretty proud she used her imagination a little. She had been admiring the fish at school and asked where her fish was... A trip to PetSmart took her to visit the other animals as well. The birds were VERY excited to see Charlotte. I don't know how to explain refraction to a little, so she was convinced there were 2 turtles in this tank. Had to stop at Portillo's on the way home!!! So, we're clearly going to be teaching this kid about the circle of life... thankfully Betta fish are pretty resilient.  We need that kind of spirit in this house.  Now we just have to remember to feed hi...

Today was the best kind of Sunday; it was super low-key and obligation-free.  We woke up and went to breakfast (though the service was kinda 'eh' and we ended up taking our food to go as we prefer not to subject Charlotte to exceedingly long wait times that result in a shit show) and then went through the drive-through at Dunkin' Donuts on our way home to reward ourselves for having patience.  ;)  We played and then decided a rest was called for but my dear Charlie just could not rest her body so we decided to take a car ride over to Half Price Books so I could purchase books for the classroom we're opening tomorrow at school.  It was fun & I feel like the room will have a solid start, literacy wise.  Quality books are important to me; it hurts my heart when early childhood classrooms have books that are in shambles.  I get it, kids eat books, and they should.  But when books are beyond repair, let them go. We got about an hour of nap from Charli...

I hate resolutions.  I find the whole process of finding something to work towards just because it's a new year exhausting.  I also find it humorous to watch as the number of cars in the gym parking lot dwindle with each passing day as people throw in the towel.   Full disclosure, I'm only seeing those cars because the gym is right next to Starbucks and I'm getting coffee; I have never had a resolution to "work out every day" or "stop eating sugar."  I know me.  I'm not going to set myself up for failure before the first month of the year is through. 2015 was a hard year.  As a whole, it was filled with good times with family and friends, work, and a general sense of happiness.  However, it wasn't all happy.  Even before I became unemployed, I had a nagging sense of unhappiness.  I was feeling guilty for working so much and let that guilt tell me I was a bad mother.  I let work interfere in my most meaningful relationships and I find m...

Folks, I had been planning this great post about the fact that I covered the spread this morning and really got my poop in a group -- took Charlotte out for a *brisk* morning walk before the snow and wind arrived, shared a pancake breakfast with her and did puzzles before laying her down for morning nap and then putting together what promises to be a good CrockPot meal.  While sipping coffee. But then I started to think about those other mornings. Because there are two very important things not mentioned above: 1. That's just a morning, anything can happen between now and when Daddy gets home that may result in me pacing the kitchen, anxiously watching for Ryan's truck. 2. They are not all that peaceful. Some mornings just plain suck.  Some mornings, I struggle with the fact that I am not going to work and it's only highlighted by Charlotte pointing at Ryan's chair at the table and asking with her hands up "Daddy?" to which I reply, "Daddy went t...

We went to the neighborhood library today after Charlotte's afternoon nap.  I hadn't been to this location since I was a little kid myself (I grew up just down the street from this location) and needed to get a library card so I could fully introduce this girl to one of the most amazing places in town!  Books!  All of the books!  To read, over and over again, and then find new ones to fall in love with!  For free! The librarian was very helpful and I had a card in minutes.  I took Charlotte to the back of the library to the children's section and was a little... underwhelmed.  The board book selection was good, but there was nothing for these little people to "do" and no where cozy for them to fall in love with said books.  I wish there had been some soft, cozy seating and lighting... something playful.  I felt my classroom environment senses tingling and tried to remind myself that I can only control so much before chasing my tornado into ...

Everything happens for a reason. When God closes a door, He opens a window. There's something better out there. There's really not much that makes being let go from your job feel better.  The way it happened was upsetting and messy and generally just icky feeling.  But the worst part about the whole situation?  Charlotte will no longer be attending child care there and we didn't get to say goodbye to all of her people.  It's so unhealthy for her, but overall, she wins.  Because now I can find something that is a better fit for me and our family.  I was spending lots and lots of time away from Porch and Charlotte and not feeling much appreciation in return, but rather was asked why I wasn't working more.   I moved our family from our home in Chicago so I could start this adventure and I'm super bummed that it didn't work out, but I'm looking for a silver lining.  My calling is out there and I am determined to find it!  So yes, i...

I have staff meetings with my center staff every 2nd Saturday of the month.  This is something that I am not crazy about, but I respect that the time is protected and it's a habit; the system predates me.  As much as I hate setting my alarm on the weekend -- for the same wakeup time as a weekday, I will concede that I had such a sense of accomplishment yesterday. I was up and out by 8am so I could stop and pick up some brunch treats for the team.  Our meeting wrapped up a little early so I spent some time getting work done (everyone knows it's easier to be productive when you're in an empty building).  I even organized my homework for the week; why I thought going back to school "for fun" with a toddler was a good choice, I will never fully know. When I got home, the weather was just way too beautiful.  The sun was calling my name and we packed up the stroller & went for a walk.  We walked to Toys 'R' Us and found a Halloween costume for Charlotte ...

The day started kind of gloomy & overcast and Charlotte was not feeling the nap situation at home so we ended up having her take her nap in the car on the way to the pumpkin patch.  Not ideal, but better than nothing.  I was nervous because as we pulled out of the driveway, the rain started.  Luckily, it was only cold & windy on the farm, no rain.  The sun even made a brief appearance at the end of our visit.  It was a great day & I am so glad we met up with my parents!  This was a new location for us, but I could absolutely see us returning in the coming years.  It's an awesome place for kids! Sorry not sorry for the amount of pictures; I took 117 pictures and have not posted NEARLY that many here, so really, you're welcome is more appropriate than an apology ;)  I feel like I waited my whole life to have a tiny human at the pumpkin patch (she was too tiny last fall to get anything out of it and we were Chicagoans at that point so a...