Mystery Solved

Well, the mystery of Cara's fussiness has been solved--dum dum dum--she has a new tooth! It's just started to peek thru her gums, it's so white and cute! Another date to fill in on her calendar and baby book. She's growing up so fast!

Prayer Request

I have never posted anything like this before. I am asking that you pray, think good thoughts and pass this on to your family and friends so that they can do the same.
My husband (we are still married even though we're separated) just told me that he may have a cancerous lump under his chin. He is to go next week for a biopsy to determine if it is cancer or benign is only 31 years old and mostly a heathly guy. Maybe I'm being selfish but I'm not ready to lose him yet and my girls need their father.
I am trying not to assume the worst until I hear the results but, it's hard not to, especially since cancer runs rampant in his family. As he once told me, the men in his family don't live long. I tried to tell him that I didn't believe that it was his time. Of course, only God knows when it's someone's time...
So, please pray, think good thoughts, meditate or do whatever it is that suits you. I will keep you all posted.
Thanks so much, in advance.

Check it out

Thanks to Lauren for the tips on how to add my Flickr account to my blog! You can find it on the sidebar. Click it and you'll be able to see all of my latest pictures, including those from Christmas. I was a tad bit disappointed to see that there weren't any good shots of Caitlin. My dad was appointed camera man while I handed out presents. He didn't get many pictures at all as he quickly became consumed with opening his own presents. I am going to have to learn how to crop using iPhoto so that I can post the few pictures that I do have of Caitlin. Truth be told, she was so busy tossing paper aside that I doubt my dad would've gotten too many good shots anyhow...

Pure Frustration

For those of you without kids, consider this a good dose of birth control or why you don't want to have kids...
For the past few days, my youngest, 5 month old Cara, has been very fussy almost to the point of being inconsolable at times. I've tried everything from feeding to a car ride to calm her down. On she wails. If I I could truly decode her cries--is she overstimulated, tired, hungry, bored, mad? Does she have gas? Is she teething? Your guess is as good as mine.
She is content right now, in her car seat, go figure...I wonder how long it will last?

P.S. Christmas pictures will be coming soon, I promise...as soon as I get more than 30 seconds of free time & peace.

Happy Holidays One & All

I wanted to wish you all the blessings that this holiday season can bring. The love of family, friends and memories.

Christmas this year is going to be in two parts. Santa will come tonight for Caitlin & Cara and tomorrow morning, they will open the gifts that he brings along with some from their daddy and an honorary aunt.

Our big celebration won't be until the 27th when my brother Mike and my soon to be sister Ally arrive here. Matt is actually on his way back from Denver via Amtrak today (Christmas Eve). He was in the Mile High City for the Blizzard of 2006. Anyway, we will open the majority of presents then and of course, the stocking that were hung on the couch (we lack a fireplace) with care.

Caitlin is beyond excited this year and it has been fun doing all of the rituals with her--visiting Santa, decorating the tree, making cookies, etc. The honorary aunt sent a Winnie the Pooh Christmas Countdown calendar, so we have been doing that everyday too. Tonight, Grandma is going to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to the girls, another tradition in our house. I MUST remember to get a picture of this.

This is Cara's first Christmas, so it is just so priceless. Of course, she is clueless but, it will be fun for me, no doubt.

I'm so blessed to be able to be here with my family for the holidays. Even though the circumstances that brought us here weren't the best, it has all worked out splendidly.

So, HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone, Happy Holidays!

Please excuse me while I crank up the Christmas tunes on the stereo...

We saw Santa Claus, we saw Santa Claus

...and for the record, Santa lives in a cabin, at least here in Montrose.
Caitlin was so excited when I told her that we were going to go see Santa. Such of a different reaction from last year where she wanted nothing to do with the man, much less sit on his lap. This year, she not so patiently waited her turn and then climbed right up into his lap and began to tell him how she wanted a Dora the Explorer Kitchen for Christmas. (Sorry to disappoint you, little girl, but Santa's helper a.k.a. your momma has already purchased your gifts) and how much she can't wait for it to be "Merry Christmas time". I handed Cara off to a sweet Mrs. Claus and then tried to persuade Caitlin to smile for the camera. All I got was a look of, "Gee Mom, can't you see that I'm busy?" from her. Cara looked so content with Mrs. Claus and much to my surprise, she did not cry...possibly because she couldn't tell who it was that was holding her. I'm so happy that this year was a happy & memorable experience for both girls.


(Caitlin fell in the parking lot right before we got to the cabin, hence the dirt on her tights) It is almost impossible to get a non-cheesey smile out of this girls these days!

Why we love KidzPlex

Why we love KidzPlex...it's a simple thing, really...there, Caitlin can run around and be silly 'till her heart's content. In fact, it is encouraged. There are always kids her age for her to play with. She gets more brave each time that we go (climbing up to the very top of the structure, going down the long purple slide, doing the zip line all by herself...). They have popsicles for the unreal price of 10 cents. There's a really sweet employee who loves to play with the kids and help them out, which is wonderful to a mom who already has her hands full with a baby. Speaking of babies, they have a cute tot area too, so that Cara could get in on the action. All of this for the bargain price of $3 for limitless hours of fun. Can't beat it, can you? Did I mention that it tires Caitlin out? I just love the peace & quiet on the way home...totally worth the drive up there (it is in Grand Junction).

My Chunky Monkey

Cara had her 4 month check up today and would anyone care to phantom a guess as to how much she weighed? *drumroll* 15 lbs! Truly earning my new nickname for her...chunky monkey. But, she is a really cute one at that.
The pediatrician just adored her singing, "I'm falling in love with you". He is such of a sweetheart and my favorite doctor in the practice.
Cara was given a clean bill of health along with three shots. We do have a couple of appointments with specialists coming up. One for a hearing test, given my hearing loss and all and the other for a vision screening. I am a bit concerned because she seems to cross her eyes more than normal. While it has decressed lately, I am still concerned since there is some family history of lazy eye and vision problems. Her doctor isn't real worried since a lot of babies do this but then outgrow it around 6 months.
Otherwise, no real concerns and Cara is hitting all of the developmental milestones.

A smack in the face...

Some of you know about my current job dilemna...I was offered (officially) a position as a library technician at a correctional facility in south east Colorado on Tuesday. This followed an informal offer from the regional librarian. I was all set to take the offer when the business manager for the contract employer called on Tuesday. However, that all went south when she quoted my salary. Let me back up a bit and explain...when I interviewed for this position a few weeks ago, I was told by the regional librarian that I would get a raise in my salary since I had two years of DOC experience. I was thrilled because I knew that I couldn't raise two kids on what I made before. Even with a raise, I'd be cutting it close every month. So, imagine my surprise, when I find out that the contrct employer is going to offer me the EXACT SAME salary that I made when I resigned! WTH?! I was furious, of course. After I had cooled down some, I did some serious number crunching & sure enough, there's no way that I can make it off of that pathetic salary. Long story short, I'm going to decline the offer some time today. I am really bummed 'cause I was looking forward to going back to work (yes,in a prison) and working with one of my good friends. But, maybe this is happeningfor a reason??