It's Been Busy Around Here...

It's been awhile since we updated the blog...we've been really busy. I began working at the Ayco Company last Tuesday, assisting the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. There's a lot to learn, but it's exciting starting a new job. Of course I'd rather be with Madeline more, but she's having fun at daycare and we think it's important for her to be around other kids.

Daycare has been going well. The first day back was a little rough, but she hadn't been there in over a month, so she was excited and didn't want to nap. She became overtired and crabby. The second day our daycare person was hit with a stomach bug and couldn't watch her; luckily Grandma Peggy was able to take the day off from work to watch her for us. Our daycare person said that she was great the rest of the week. We even get compliments from Pat's (our daycare person) kids that Madeline is a joy.

This past Memorial Day weekend was busy. Our friends across the street had a birthday party for their daughter Hannah. It was fun and Madeline seemed to have fun...she smiled and bounced on mom and dad's laps.

Sunday we had Grandma Peggy over for dinner. She brought kabobs, and Madeline was in one of her moods where she cried when anyone came near her. She was fine with Peggy on Wednesday, I guess it's just one of those things.

Today was supposed to be relaxing, but I got it into my head to do our gardening, so I planted flowers while Matt was in the house with the baby. I decided to also cut our hedges (not sure where I got that energy from), but it's done now. I also packed away all of the clothes Madeline has grown out of. Thank God for Space Saver bags! I can't believe how many clothes we had for her. So, today was busy, but at least we got a lot accomplished. Next Sunday Matt leaves for a week-long motorcycle trip, so I wouldn't have had any time to get things done.

Here are some current pictures of Madeline we took today. Her six month check up is this Friday...more shots. :(

We also made a trip to Orland Park two weeks ago to visit Uncle Ken. It was so good to see him, as he hasn't seen Madeline before. We had a great visit, and Uncle Ken seemed thrilled to see us. We went to say good bye to him in the lunchroom and everyone was stopping us to talk to Madeline. It was great that she was able to bring some joy to others. We took Carolyn out for lunch and had a great time!!

Back to Work for Vicky (Full Time)

Well, the time has come. I'm now going back to work full time. After leaving ACS, I had wanted a part time job in order to spend more time with Maddie, but the part time jobs were few and far between and didn't pay very much. After much searching, I was offered a full time position at The Ayco Company, which is a division of Goldman Sachs. They offer financial counseling to Fortune 500 companies. I will be assisting the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. The position sounds great, it's not too far from home, and daycare is on the way to work.

I was supposed to start tomorrow (5/14), but the office manager got called away from work, and my boss will be out of the office until next Tuesday. So, I will be starting next Tuesday instead.

The hardest part will be leaving Madeline for 40 hours a week, but I think that it's a great opportunity for me, and I think Madeline will benefit being around other children. Plus, when I worked part time before, it was mostly at night, so Matt and I didn't have any time together as a family. This way I have nights and weekends with Matt and Madeline. I thought going back to work full time after 12 weeks would be hard, but now it's almost 6 months! I'm sure it will get easier with time.

Happy Mother's Day!

Being that this was my first Mother's Day, Matt and Madeline sure made it special. Flowers were delivered to the house on Friday...a beautiful arrangement of iris and tulips. (Maddie has good taste, what can I say). I had mentioned to Matt that I would like a digital photo frame, now that I'm going back to work full time, so he bought me an 11" photo frame and downloaded a bunch of pictures of Madeline to it. It will be a nice addition to my desk at work.

On Mother's Day both sets of Grandma's were over, along with my sisters. We had a nice dinner and dessert. Madeline is still going through a phase where she only wants Mommy and Daddy holding her, so we're hoping that it is a phase that will be ending soon. Luckily she does not cry at daycare (but she hasn't been there in over a month), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all will be well when I start work next week.

Hope all the moms had a great Mother's Day!