30 Days...ending.

This 30 day thing is getting on my nerves.  A lot of the questions I don't really have answers for.  Soooo I am going to take the lazy way out and answer only what questions I feel like from the last few days that are left.  You'll get over it!

If you could have dinner with anyone in history who would it be?

This is tough too.  I assume history means someone important in history and not just a family member (if it was a family member I would choose my great grandma because I feel I didn't know the "real" her since I don't remember her before her strokes).  I'd have to say, Abe Lincoln!  What a huge part of the civil rights movement!

What is your favorite part of your body and why?
I suppose my eyes.  They are light blue with little gold flecks in the middle.  I like them!

What is your love language? 

If you guys haven't read The 5 Love Languages you should.  I don't think I have just ONE language though.  I'd say I have 3 out of the 5.  God, I am needy eh?  

Words of Affirmation.  I like to hear that you love me and why you love me!  

Acts of Service.  Dustin volunteering to do laundry or vacuum gives me a lady boner!  Making more work for me pisses me off and is inconsiderate in my book.

Receiving Gifts.  Now before you get your panties in a bunch just like the book says this is not materialistic.  I appreciate the thought and love behind gifts.  It doesn't have to be something huge or extravagant.  To me it's the time, effort, planning, and thought that shows how much the person loves you.

What do you think people misunderstand most about you?  

I am sure people misunderstand a lot about me.  I think I am a lot more sensitive than people think I am.  I am good at putting up a strong front but a lot of little things bother me immensely.  Although mainly the only things that bother me are coming from people I am close to, if I am not close to you or don't think much about you anything you say won't bother me but if say if someone in my family says something it will bug the mess out of me.

10 Things I hope to be remembered for

1.  Being a good mother

2.  Being a good wife

3.  Being a good friend

4.  Being nice to everyone

5.  Being fun to be around

6.  Being trustworthy

7.  Lending a helping hand

blah blah blah....I want to be remembered for being a good person with a good heart.  

Now...go enter my twotara giveaway!!!

Day 23

What are your top 5 hobbies and why do you love them?

I don't think I even have 5 "hobbies" is that bad?  I don't have time for hobbies.  I chase a baby all day and when I am not chasing her I am exhausted and trying to finish housework, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.

This 30 days thing is getting old....I need new questions.

17 months

17 months ago I had just met my perfect little nugget.  

So much has changed since then...

She is such a big girl.  She does something new every day.  She is now running everywhere and loves to be outside.  You can't even walk by the front door without her yelling to go outside.  Outside she just wants to go, go, go.  Run to the park, climb everything, push her cart, pull her stroller, chase the dogs.  She doesn't stop.  

She is so smart.  Whenever I grab her shoes or coat or sunscreen or sunglasses she knows it's time to go out.  She will run over and sit down and let me put her shoes on or sunscreen and then she's ready to go.  

She also has figured out when it's 'art' time if she sees me getting something out of her art boxes she runs to her table and sits down.  

When she wants something she has her own way of telling us.  Thirsty - she runs to the fridge and points. Hungry - she runs to her snack cupboard.  Tired she goes to the stairs.  

If I need to change her clothes or diaper she will come over and sit down and wait patiently.  

She still doesn't talk, she babbles all day long but she communicates in all these other ways.  I am sure her words will be coming soon!

In other news...we have talked baby #2 for awhile but I am really struggling with it.  How do you know when it is the right time?  How do you get over the guilt of feeling like you are taking away from your first born?  I've known I wanted two more kids but it is hard to imagine life with two.  I don't want to take time away from P but I am sure with a new baby it would need a lot of time and attention but I know after we got through the 'baby' stage that it would be so much fun for P.  She'd have someone to play with!  I think maybe if we decide to have a baby when I am actually pregnant the excitement will set in and I won't worry so much about guilt.  Mama's of two (or more) how did you handle going from one to two?  

Day 22

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  10?  15?

I never really like these questions.  It's so hard to figure out where I will be.  10 years ago if you told me where I'd be now and who I'd be with I NEVER in a million years would have believed you.  You never know what the future holds but I can tell you where I hope to be.

5 years.  I see myself possibly with another baby.  Maybe thinking about baby #3!  I will still be staying home and hanging with my nuggets all day still.  Just where I want to be.

10 years.  I HOPE I'll be done popping out babies but I am sure I will still be home with them.  I've thought about homeschooling my kids.  I don't know if I will or not.  Thats a tough decision.  

15 years maybe all my kids will at least be in preschool and I can work on going to school to be a lactation consultant.  Who knows.  I am no good at predicting the future that is for sure.


Go enter our giveaway here.
Also, please remember in order for your entry to count you actually have to follow through with the action required (leaving a blog comment, etc).

Twotara Giveaway

We aren't finding out the sex of our next baby.

Yep...you heard that right.  The most impatient person in the world (yours truly) is going to attempt the impossible.  Wait till the birth to see if it's a little lady or baby man.  I never in a  million years thought I would even consider doing something like this but my friend Tammy talked me into it.  Along with Dustin who is all about it.  Listening to Tammy talk about how great it was having her husband tell her that it was a girl after Little A was born almost made me tear up.  How amazing right?!  While I was in labor I was so motivated to meet my baby I just kept pushing through the pain while I focused on that.  I can imagine being even more motivated to get through it knowing that an even bigger surprise was waiting!

Tammy just gave birth to her second surprise baby!  Which is how I ran across the most amazing thing ever for those of us not going to find out the sex....

Reversible clothing.

Um, hello...why did I not think of this?!  

Twotara  makes adorable outfits and accessories for newborns that are pink on one side and blue on the other!  So you only need to pack one set of clothes for the hospital.  Seriously, SO much better than the typical green and yellow junk everyone always gets you when you don't know the sex.

It's like getting two outfits for the price of one.  I know a lot of moms who don't find out what they are having beforehand go to the hospital with clothes for each sex.  Why waste the money on clothes you won't be using?  You can also reuse these for any other children you have.  Hey, I am all about saving some $$$!

I was lucky enough to be able to review some twotara items.  They are amazing quality.  They are made out of 100% interlock knit cotton.  I don't even know what that means but I like it.  These are probably the softest and best quality baby clothes I have ran across and lord knows I have ran across a lot of baby clothes (hello, shopping addicts anonymous).  The cotton is nice and thick and will keep your new little one toasty warm.  It washed up nice as well too.  No fading or shrinkage that I noticed.  Tammy had purchased twotara items before her baby was born and said the newborn size fit her 6lb 15oz newborn perfect.  The 0-3 month hat was a little large though (Thanks for the info Tammy since I don't have a teeny tiny baby to try them out on yet).

Twotara items would be the absolute coolest gift for an expectant mama who isn't finding out the sex of their baby.  I mean how unique are these clothes?  You know she'll be opening up all yellow and green crap and thinking about returning it.  Surprise her with something like this instead.  She will thank you.  Trust me.

Now I am actually excited to not find out the sex of our next baby (who is not in the making yet by the way) so I can pack everything twotara in my hospital bag!  

Oh and who wants to know what side, pink or blue, Tammy's newest addition wore? 

Drumroll please....

Welcome to the world little W!

  

SO

Would you like to win some twotara romper gear for your baby or someone you know?!

A cute little romper and a pair of booties are up for grabs!!!

Are those tiny little back pockets not the most adorable things ever?

Enter here for your chance to win!!

Day 21

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and what would you do with it first?

I would want to be able to see in the future!  I hate the unknown.  And knowing what would happen in the future definitely would have caused me to make less mistakes in my life but I guess that is how you learn.

I'm not sure what I would do with it first.  Maybe see what my life will be like 10 years or so.  

Day Twenty

Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.

I have a lot of great memories from my childhood.  I don't really know what qualifies as "significant" though.

Getting all my hair chopped off.

Why this sticks in my head I have no idea.  I had hair down to my butt when I was about 5 years old.  One day my mom decided to get it all chopped off.  I'm talking boy hair short.  It was horrible.  I guess she got sick of fighting me about it.  My hair was so long and so thick.  I remember coming home and I was wearing my hood.  I walked in and showed my dad my ponytail...you know the one that wasn't attached to my head anymore.  He was less than impressed.
This was me a little bit before.

and after

Vogue. 

Going to our cabin.

Gosh I have so many great memories from the cabin.  I used to go there all the time with my grandparents.  We would go to Lake Michigan and we would play outside.  I was such a tomboy.  The memories with my grandparents are priceless.  I am lucky to have so many that involve them.

Visiting Uncle Tom's

I loved going there and seeing all the horses.  I remember they had this little blind/deaf pony named Cindy.  She was old as dirt and they'd always stick me on her.  She'd buck me off more than she let me ride her.  But I always got right back on.  Some of my best memories are from here.

Serious cowgirl here people.

Day Nineteen

If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?

I think I would pick Santa Rosa, California.  We lived there and I absolutely loved it.  San Francisco was 45 minutes away.  The ocean was 30 minutes away.  Yosemite, Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Napa Valley, everything was within driving distance.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Downtown Santa Rosa was like my favorite place to go.  Good food (Guy Fieri has two restaurants there - Tex Wasabis being my all time favorite), cute stores, not too busy.  The weather was perfect.  Hot and dry.  Just how I like it.  If it was too hot you could drive to the city or the ocean and cool down.  The scenery was amazing.  There was always something to do.  If it weren't so expensive I would love to live there in a big ol' house on a hill.

Day Eighteen

What has been the most difficult thing you've had to forgive and why?

I've thought long and hard about this.  I think I have had a lot of crappy things done to me but to be honest I haven't really forgiven a lot of people for their actions.  I still hold grudges.  I guess that means I haven't 100% forgiven them.  

I guess their is one person I actually forgave.  An old boyfriend who went behind my back and visited his ex girlfriend all the time.  But that definitely was NOT the worst of it.   After we broke up he bad mouthed me to everyone in Battle Creek.  He made up stories about me and tried to make me look like a complete moron.  Maybe this doesn't seem like a huge ordeal to everyone but the things that were said and the time that it continued for was ridiculous.  Coming from someone who once claimed to love me it sucked.

I won't go into details about the whole thing nor will I go into details about my road to forgiveness but I forgave with no hard feelings.  I told you I don't forgive easily and I hold grudges so yep, this is probably the best I have done at forgiving.


In other news, the winner for the I See Me personalized book has been chosen.  Was it you?!
Click here to view the rafflecopter and see.

Check back Monday for a new giveaway :)

Day Seventeen

What is the thing you most wish you were great at?

I guess there are two things.

1.  Not letting little things get to me

2.  Being able to quiet my mind

I do let little things that shouldn't bug me, bug me.  I can't stop myself.  Sometimes something stupid will happen or someone will say something and I'll replay it over and over and over a thousand times in my head and it makes me grumpy.  But I can't stop.  I wish I could.

Quieting my mind ties into that as well.  I wish I could just stop thinking sometimes.  I over analyze everything.  I think nonstop.  I think of everything I have to do and wonder if I will forget (even though I've made a list).  I can never sleep.  Too much on my mind.  Although I do have new sleeping pills.  I hate taking pills.  Which is another reason I don't take my adhd meds.  I probably should now that I am looking at this post again.

Now I get it

Growing up I was pretty sure my parents hated me.  Ok, ok, I'm kidding.  Sort of.  But every holiday rolled around and off we went to get our pictures taken with whatever creepy costumed character was at the mall.  Every single picture of me with the Easter Bunny and Santa I would be screaming my head off with a look of terror in my eyes.  I don't think I even looked semi content in any of them till about age 7.  I always wondered why in the heck my parents would subject me to such horror every year when I was obviously scared for my life. 

This is one of the better ones of me and that terrible bunny.  Look at the look on my face haha.  

And sweet clothes, wow.  Come on it was the 80's.

Now I get it.  You just HAVE to get a picture of your kid with these creatures and the more terrified they are the funnier the pictures get.  I took P on Monday to see the Easter bunny.  She FREAKED as soon as we got close to him.  Luckily nobody was in line behind us so we tried to get her to warm up to him.  It wasn't happening.  I gave up and sat with the bunny and her for a few pics.  They were ridiculous.  I was squashed and she was trying to escape.

  So I had a new plan.  Drop and run.  

Yep.  I dropped the kid next to the bunny and took off.  The first few pics were her jumping down and running away.  I actually should have bought those because they were HILARIOUS but instead I went with the semi ok one.

Not quite sure of that guy.  

Anyway, I get it now.  You do it because it makes for a good story to tell your kid when they are older and pictures for everyone to chuckle at.  Your kid will someday find it funny too and don't worry they won't be traumatized for life I promise.

Sidewalk Paint

Pinterest is keeping Pey and me entertained lately.

I am doing so much better about not worrying about messes or her being a filthy, dirty, child.  We have spent all of our time outside since it has been nice and every single day she is a total disaster.  I think I should have bought her more "play" clothes instead of all the super nice stuff.  ha ha ha Oh well.  She has been covered in dirt, sweat, paint, everything and we are both loving every minute of it.  Nothing a good ol' bath can't take care of.

Today we both woke up bright and early.  I got around while P clung to me like a little monkey. 

No wonder if takes me forever to get around anymore.

I whipped up some sidewalk paint

Source: hammerandthread.blogspot.com via LG on Pinterest

And we headed outside!  She loved it.  I had her little art poncho thing on because I knew with food coloring it was going to stain.  She was covered from head to toe but when she sat down her legs would show.  Guess what she painted more than the sidewalk?  She resembles a smurf now.  But it will wash off and we had so much fun.

After that we headed to the park where a million other mamas had the same idea.  P had some friends to play with so that was nice.

I can't get over the weather.  The average temperature right now is around 48 degrees.  It's 85.  Global warming?  We'll take it. ;)

Don't forget two more days till the I See Me giveaway ends!!!  Enter here.

Day Sixteen

What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?

I don't know why but this one is hard for me.  I feel like I have accomplished a lot but I couldn't really tell you 5 specific things.

I guess being around morons and turning out semi normal was a big accomplishment!  Go me.

Messy day!

Today has been so much fun already!  This morning we got up and went to our usual story time and when we got home I took her outside to paint.  I wanted her to get as messy as she wanted to and boy did she ever.  She had a blast!  She was stepping in the paint and on the paper and running all over the yard.  It was hilarious.  Ah summer...it's so nice to be outside.

Don't forget to enter the I See Me personalized book giveaway here.  It ends in a few days!!

Day Fifteen

If you were an animal, what would you be and why?

Hmmm...when I was little I remember being obsessed with dolphins and whales.  We had a pool and I'd always pretend I was one of those things swimming around.  I don't think much has changed since those days.  I think if I were to be an animal now I'd be a dolphin.  They live in an awesome place and are so playful and fun.  Who wouldn't want to be a dolphin?

Day Fourteen

Describe 5 strengths you have

I have common sense.  So many people lack this.

I am fiercely protective of people I care about.  I will back up my loves till the end.  

I'm usually pretty clear about my feelings.  You make me mad, you're going to know it.

I can talk to anyone.  It may take me a minute to warm up but I can strike up a convo with anyone.

I can make people laugh, usually not on purpose.  I am ridiculous.

Day Thirteen

Describe 5 weaknesses you have

Sometimes I have no filter.  I think it, I say it.  Oops.

I trust too easily.  I always try to see the good in people and give them the benefit of the doubt, even idiots.

I am overly sensitive about certain subjects...you say anything about my daughter or question my parenting I am immediately angry.

I hold grudges.  Sure, I'll tell you I'm over it but I'm not.

I have trouble forgiving and forgetting.  Especially with people I am close to.  When something else happens that upsets me every previous issue I had comes back to the surface and I can't get rid of it.

St Patrick's Day

Hello little leprechauns!  I hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day.  I don't think I've ever really celebrated St. Patrick's Day.  Today we headed downtown to check out the dyeing of the green river.  I figured we probably should because who knows if we will be here for another St. Patrick's Day.  We were planning on going to the parade as well but decided against it because it was SO busy everywhere.  We went to the Chicago Children's Museum instead.  It was pretty fun.  It wasn't as big as I thought it would be but it was ok.  They had this fun little water area for kids to play in.  They had all these  little raincoats for the kids to put on.  P looked adorable.  We walked around Navy Pier for a bit and headed down to see the river.  It was absolute chaos everywhere.  Tons and tons and tons of people, all dressed in green and most drinking lots of green beer.  It was quite a sight to see.  P loved every minute of it.  She loves people.  The weather was absolutely beautiful today.  Almost 80 in the city and not a cloud in the sky.  I can't believe that it's March.  Keep it up mother nature...

Last year on St. Patrick's Day P had pink eye.  Not much fun.  This year was much better!

She's grown so much.

What did you guys do to celebrate St Patrick's Day?


Oh and if you're feeling the luck of the Irish...enter the giveaway for the personalized I See Me Book here.

Chocolate Socks!

Hey guys recently I was able to review the new children's book titled Chocolate Socks!  It was written by former Bachelor contestant and Bachelor Pad winner Holly Durst and it is adorable.  

The photos are all bright and cheery and rhyming words are always fun to read! P was even intrigued by it which rarely happens these days.  I was impressed.

I was able to interview Holly about her new book and it was great to get to know more about her and the book.  She got the idea to write the book Chocolate Socks after an ex boyfriend gave her a gift of a box of chocolate and a pack of socks (I see why he is her ex boyfriend!).

How did you decide to write a book? I decided to start writing books when I moved to California. I was really close with some children in Ohio and wanted to write them a book for fun. I ended up loving it so I kept at it!

What is the story behind the chocolate and socks gift?  Who was it from? It was from an ex boyfriend almost 6 years ago. 

What was your favorite part of the book?  My favorite part is the creativity that it can conjure up!

Who is your inspiration? My inspiration would have to be children. I write for them!

What is your favorite children's book? Chicka Chicka Boom Book (we love this book too!)

If you could meet one author dead or alive who would it be and why? My favorite author is Emily Giffin. I met her once at a book signing but I would like to actually hang out with her.  :)  (annnd I love Emily Giffin!!)

Chocolate Socks is available now to purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  So check it out!!

Day Tweleve

Describe a typical day in your current life.

Can I use one word?

Exhausting.

P was sleeping till about 8:30 till last week.  That was nice.  Now she is waking up at 6:30am.  Luckily for me my husband is a morning person and is usually up before her.  He gets her up and gives her breakfast and by then I hear her and wake up too.  After breakfast I usually shower while she plays in the bathroom with me.  She loves to play with my makeup and nail polish.

I usually get her dressed and on tuesdays and thursdays we go to story time.  She loves story time!  The rest of the week we just play around.  We read stories, paint, color, run around the house like wild women, whatever we want.  Since it's been nice we've been going outside.  We had a toddler park a block from our house so we like to talk over there and play!

Around 10-10:30 we have a snack.  And then its back at it.  A lot of days we go do stuff, go to the zoo, museum, shopping whatever.  P loves being out and about.  She is such a little people person.

12:30 is lunch time!  This kid loves to eat.  After lunch around 1-1:30pm is nap time.  She usually sleeps for a few hours.  She is so good about going down for naps/bedtime again.  Thank goodness.  For about a month or so she would freak out if we just stuck her in her crib.  We had to stand there and talk to her and sometimes rock her but she must have just been going through something because now she's back to us kissing her goodnight and she lays right down and sleeps.  Thank you jesus!

During nap I do a million things, clean, catch up on tv/email/facebook, make bows, whatever I have to do.  Sometimes I run errands since Dust works from home.

After nap is snack time again!  She is ready to GO after a nice long nap.  We do about the same thing in the afternoon.  In the evening we are back to taking walks again with daddy and the dogs.  I am so glad it's spring.  It feels nice to get out of the house.

6pm is dinner.  After dinner we play some more, get a bath and P is in bed by 8pm.  That is when I can finally relax a little bit and sit on my butt.  My grandma always talks about my weight but I don't think she understands I am literally chasing a kid all day long.  This child has more energy than I have ever seen.

Day Eleven

Describe ten pet peeves that you have.

Oh gosh, I could go on forever but I'll try to pick just 10 things.

Liars.  I hate liars.  Especially those people who lie about stuff nobody would care about either way.  I used to have a friend, I'll call her "The Hooker" (since she literally ended up being a call girl).  She lied about anything and everything.  One time she told me she ran into one of my family's really good friends and they talked and blah blah blah.  What she didn't know was....that person was in jail (that's another long, sad, story).  Only a few people knew this and we didn't want word to get out so I couldn't even call her out on it.  She lied like that all the time, which is why we are no longer friends.  Well that and the fact she was having sex for money.

Repetitive noises.  I can't stand things that make repetitive noises.  Clocks that tick, anything that      beeps, people tapping their fingernails.  I cant take it.

Animals licking.  Ok I think noises in general just bother me but I can not stand the noise when my dogs or cat start cleaning themselves.  My dog, Tuck is the absolute worse.  He randomly licks his lips allllll day.  It is so anoying.

Attention whores.  We all know people like this.  They will do anything for attention and if the attention isn't on them they're going to act like a moron till it is.  All you can do is shake your head.

Chewing with your mouth open.  Barf.  I do not want to see what you are eating.  I do not want to hear it.  And I definitely do not want to dodge the pieces of food that are flying from your nasty mouth.

People who can't think for themselves.  You know one of these people too I am sure.  That person who has to do everything you do.  The person who just agrees with what everyone else is saying.  Be yourself people.  

Jealousy.  I am happy with who I am and where I am.  I am not jealous of anyone or anything that someone else might have.  Jealousy drives me nuts.  My mom might be the most jealous person I know, although she will deny it.

People who continue having children when they can't afford them.  If you can't afford what you already have you definitely should not be having another.  I understand accidents happen but I honestly don't even know how accidents happen in this day in age.  Birth control pills, rings, patches, shots, iud's, condoms, diaphragms, implantable rods, sponges, the morning after pill.  I mean come the hell on.  It's common sense.  Have your crap together before you have a baby.  

People who abuse government assistance.  This sort of ties into the last one.  I have seen so many people on assistance actually trying to have another baby.  I have seen those same people taking trips to Disneyland, playing on their new ipad, talking about all the new clothes and shoes they bought, etc..etc.. I am all for helping people who actually need the help but if you can go to disneyland and have the latest and greatest electronics and buy yourself new clothes every week than why are we paying for your necessities.  Must be nice to have someone else pay to feed your children.  You're welcome. 

People who won't admit when they are wrong.  Oh boy.  I hate this.  If I do something wrong I will admit it and own up to it but so many people I know will just blame someone else for their issues.  Just say you screwed up and move on.  It's so much easier and you won't look like an idiot.  

Fabulous Friday Features....

I am totally slacking and forgot to post a Fab Feature last friday...oops!  Anyway on to today's feature...my buddy, Emily.

Hello Loni fans!  My name's Emily and I blog over at Emmy June {Born in
May}.
However, Loni and I go way back to the LiveJournal days {circa 2002}, when we
met online and both liked the same guy.  Fortunately, we've stayed in
touch, and both found great men to marry {neither of which are said guy.}

Moving on.

I don't have kids.  Whew, I said it.  That kid up there is my
cute nephew!  So what am I doing on a mommy blog?  That is a great
freakin' question.  As a 27 year old working female, it's
important to me to work for a company that is mommy-friendly.  I plan on
having children in the not-too-distant future, and recognize that finding a
company that understands and adapts for working mothers is important.

Here's the deal, ladies.  I'm currently living in Sydney, Australia and let
me just tell you how tempting it would be to pop out a few babies while I'm
here.  You're entitled to one year of maternity leave.
 That's standard.  And freakin' awesome!  I don't know how women
in the US do it.  You have a baby and need to be back at work six weeks
later.  Say WHAT!?!?  It's no wonder so many mothers are wrecks
when they have to leave their brand-new babies so soon.

If you're an Australian citizen, you also get a baby bonus.  The federal
government gives you a lump sum $10,000 payment when you have a child.
 Clearly, they are hoping for some population growth here!  {Naturally, the wrong people have started taking
advantage of this program, so some changes are in the works.}  


Despite the appeal of a year-long maternity leave and baby bonuses, I'm not
actually planning to have kiddos in Oz.  So here are things I'm
looking for in US companies:

• Childcare {either on-site, subsidies, or special pre-tax, self-funded
  accounts}
• Flex Schedules {job shares, part time arrangements, work-from-home
  options}
• Maternity {and paternity} leave policies
• Adoption assistance programs
• Personal and family sick leave policies
• Good health insurance
• Company culture

It's important for companies to actually live these values, and not
simply have them on paper.  I don't want to feel guilty for
taking maternity leave.  No one should question my commitment if I select a
flex schedule arrangement.  If my child is sick and I have to stay home, my
boss should be understanding.  

Every year, Working Mother puts together a list of the 100 Best Companies for Working
Mothers.  Here are the tops from 2011:

You can see the full list here.

I'm happy to say that, although my company did not make the Top 10 list, they

are part of the Top 100, and are also part of the Hall of Fame!  According
to the site, the average amount of fully paid maternity leave for employees at
my company is 10 weeks.  While it's no twelve months, it
is significant, and better than what many companies offer.

So ladies....here's where you come in!  Am I missing anything?

 Give me some tips and I promise I'll blanket my blog with baby pictures
when the time comes :)

Oh I love this weather...

Seriously!  Nothing better than a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  P and I spent most of our day today outside. We went to story time and then headed to the park nearby to play.  P mostly wandered all over looking at the geese.  She loves to watch them swim around and honk.  After the park she was exhausted.

I think I forgot to mention yesterday we took a trip to the zoo.  The first one we could wear summer clothes!  It was so nice not to have to bring blankets and coats and hats and mittens.  We met up with another moob (moms of october babies!) and her daughter.  It was a great day.  I let P walk part of the time and she loved it.  She was more excited about the geese running around more so than any of the actual zoo animals.  She is so cute.  While we were waiting for our friends to show up she spotted the carousel and we HAD to go on it.

She loved it.  I think she could have sat and watched go around and around all day long. 

On the way home she somehow dumped her entire sippy cup of water in her lap.  That had to be an uncomfortable ride.  I had no idea till we got home.  So a quick wardrobe change and we were outside to play again.  Gotta soak up this weather since we usually only get it for 3 months a year.  I really dislike the midwest.

I did good today focusing on what's most important too.  It felt good.