Today finally arrived. I always knew it would but I can't say that I was really ready. Today was Abby's first full day of daycare and my first day back to work in eleven months. But I am happy to report that neither one of us had a complete meltdown, neither one of us through a temper tantrum on the floor, neither one of us had to be sent home ;)

I dropped her off at 7:10 and managed to hold it together until I turned to walk out the door. Miss Kelly said to have a good day and--BOOM--the tears welled up and that pesky frog appeared in my throat. I choked out a rough "bye" as I ran out the door. I refused to let them drop from my eyes, I refused to let my sorrow, guilt, selfishness win. I thought to myself "Abby will have a great time and I will live".

I am oh-so-thankful that my I was able to carpool down to Detroit for training because that hour drive by myself would have killed me! Once we got to work, I only allowed myself to call and check in one time for many reasons: 1) I would drive myself crazy waiting for the next break so I could call again, 2) what was I going to do if she wasn't doing well, 3) I had to have faith in those who I had left her with, 4) deep down I knew that my social little butterfly would love playing with her new friends. So, I managed to make it through 7 hours of training without obsessing or crying.

And I was right! When I went in at 5:20 Miss Melissa said that Abby had a GREAT first day--better than most first days! Not only did she enjoy playing with the others, she ate well and even took an hour and ten minute nap (with minimal crying and a little back rubbing (or at least that is what they told me!))!!! As we were leaving Miss Melissa asked me how old Abby is. I told her 17 months and she was rather amazed. At first I thought it was because she is so small or because she has so few teeth, but she told me that her vocabulary is amazing. I laughed and said that I know that I am going to be in trouble when she gets to be a teenager!

All in all we had a good day. I can't say that I am "so happy" to be back to work or that I really missed this and wished I would have done it sooner but I can say that I know that this is what is best for our family and that we have made the right decisions--and that feels good!

Second Tooth

Abby has cut a second tooth! I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but it feels like it was within the last few days--and by the way she has been sleeping, or should I say waking, I think that is just about right. So, her first tooth was her bottom left tooth and her second tooth is on the top right and I am guessing the fourth one back...Looks like Abby is going to be anything but normal when it comes to her teeth :)

This Time Next Week

I have to say that I am one of the lucky ones...God has blessed me with so many great things in life that trying to list them all right now would be foolish. One of my many blessings is the time God has given me to spend with my family this past year. As you know, just about this time last year I made the transition from working outside of the home to being a stay-at-home mommy and I have loved (almost) every moment of it!

Needless to say, the past 11 months have flown by and my baby has turned into a toddler and my list of To Dos is a little bit shorter. There is a part of me that wishes I could stay home until all my babies went off to college but that is just not feasible for us. Although I knew last February that this was not a permeate deal, I can't believe that the time has come for me to go back to work!!

This time next week I will once again be working for Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan managing volunteers. I'm not too sure how I feel about this...part of me is ready to work outside the home (selfishly looking forward to more adult interaction) and the other, larger, part of me is crying at the thought of leaving Abby. It is so hard to think that Abby will spend more waking hours in a day with someone other than us...that I won't be there to kiss her bumps and bruises when she falls or play blocks and dolls all day long. But in the end I am excited for her to make new friends and reap the benefits of daycare.

I am sure that my social butterfly will absolutely LOVE daycare and get so much out of it! Anytime we go next door to help for the day Abby plays and plays without looking for me or when we go to the mall she is off and running saying "hi!" to all the kids. It is comforting to know that she is ready for the transition (other than our nap issue and Mommy's control issue when it comes to food...) although I realize it just might be a rough week or two (or three and in the end it will probably be worse for me than Abby, or at least I hope that is the case). I just have to remind myself that this is a good thing for all of us.

So, I just keep reminding myself that I am so lucky to have been given this gift of time in order to keep from completely lose it this week!!

Final Update for 2010

This is hot off the video press! After MONTHS and MONTHS of waiting I have FINALLY finished the video of Abby's First Year! Grab a beverage, some popcorn perhaps, get comfy and enjoy:

Abby's First Year

Can't Live Without the Sprayer

I have been meaning to post this as a Product I Can't Live Without for a while now, but after our recent bout of the stomach bug, it is definitely something I have to share:

bumGenius Diaper Sprayer

As a non-disposable diaper user, this item has saved me from dipping my hand into the toilet to rinse off the non-plastic liner and cloth pant when nature gets, well, um...messy. It is also great for rinsing out the diaper pail or tub too (the water comes from the line BEFORE it hits the toilet, so no worries---it is CLEAN water). An added bonus is that it is super easy to install! I managed to do it by myself during one of Abby's super short naps. In fact, I was mad a myself for putting it off so long because I thought it would be hard to do! I had originally planned on posting with that alone.

However, this past week the sprayer was assigned overtime as I sprayed off the chunks of vomit from Abby's pajamas, outfits, sheets, crib rail, towels, and even my shirts (not from me people, Abby has great aim) before putting them in the washer. It is bad enough to have to deal with these "body-fluids" if you will, but it is worse to have to swish them in the toilet! So to bumGenius I say THANK YOU and to all you moms out there I say this is a product that is definitely worth every penny spent!