MENSA

The MENSA logo is on because I know that my daughter could be a member, she really could. However I don't believe in those sort of things so we will not be testing her at this time. So why do I think Celia should be in MENSA.

Well the following things.

She has an expanding vocabulary that includes the words- school, daddy, mommy, car, snack, splash, good girl (the phrase), Milo (My oh is her lovey that she sleeps with), Shoes, Shit, baby, Mom Mom, awe, up, diaper (diappy).

There are probably somemore.

Oh wait you noticed the 4 letter word she says, that will be explained later.

Okay well the biggest clue to how smart she is came this evening while we were reading one of her books. Celia pointed to a frog and I said, "Oh you see the froggy". Then I said "I see the ducky" and Celia put her finger on the duck. I said "I see David" and Celia put her finger on David. I then said "I see the froggy" and she put her finger on the frog. My daughter is a genius. She has even stopped eating my hair (okay she has cut back, but my hair is tasty).

We also played again today with a small squirt bottle. She tried to stick it in my mouth like I was a baby. So I started to cry. Everytime I cried she put it in my mouth. Now she could have just wanted to shut me up but she followed it once with a hug and an "awe" so I am thinking she was playing along. Now granted after the hug she basically lost interest in feeding me and insisted upon "na" or nursing.

Okay back to the shit. Yes my daughter said shit today, it was clear and it was my fault. Celia smashed sweet potatoes and a quesadilla together then dropped multiple pieces on the floor. I said "shit" because it was quite the mess. She then dropped one more piece and said "shit", then smiled. Nice, real, nice. The word wasn't repeated the rest of the evening. Since my Mom has a habit of saying "oh shit", I am blaming the situation on her. I blame it on her simply because I heard it so much growing up because she primarily said it when we were lost and well if you know me, you can guess that we were always lost.. So "oh shit" is drilled in my head that shit comes out easily. And of course the mother is always blamed...

Celia did talk to Mom Mom on the phone today. She was quite a chatterbox today after school. She talked to daddy and said Da Da and she said "ma ma" for Mom Mom.

My classroom is still about the same. Things are likely getting better but between the dragging kids by their feet to the bathroom, learning puppetry to gain their attention, and being the entertainment of the cafeteria I am exhausted. But... I am having fun. I like the group despite their craziness. It is an adventure. I will survive the year, beyond that I am not sure. Celia loves daycare so I go through the day with a very good feeling because she would actualy prefer to be then anywhere else on somedays (honestly!!). If she would only nap longer for them situation would be perfect.

Another year

So that is what I was doing this time last year. I think if I remember correctly that I ate my birthday meal either with Celia nursing or somehow she was attached to me. I do remember that I was either camped out on my bed or on the couch because Celia really would only sleep on someone and when she wasn't sleeping she wanted to be held. So now, a year later... Okay, she is still nursing when she can and she still would rather be in my arms then anywhere else. I was told by many people, enjoy it now because when she is walking she won't want to be held. Hmm... still waiting for that... She has been walking for awhile now and there are times where I think Celia wants to permanently glue herself to me so I can't possibly put her down. Thank goodness for my Ergo Carrier and the Moby Wrap. I retired the Moby over the summer but now that it is getting Chilly I think it needs to come out again! As for sleeping.. It took her awhile, a long while, but she is taking naps and has been since she was 8 months old. Thank goodness. She has even been better about naps at daycare even though I think she is the only one that takes a morning nap.
Life does change so much in a year. Since I have been back to work, my year off seems like a complete blur. The lifestyle is so different. I can't say that staying at home was easier. My life now is more stressful and rushed but it is so different. I think that staying at home is more difficult because there are no breaks. I get to go to the bathroom now by myself (that is while I am at work and when I can sneak out to go to the bathroom) and I get to take my 20 min. lunch by myself. My students are exhausting, oh my goodness are they exhausting!! But at the same point I haven't had this much fun with students in awhile.
Celia continues to love school. In fact she cries when she has to leave. That makes Pete and I feel so loved!! But the situation has made it so that I don't really worry at all about Celia while I am at work. I know that she is having a great time and she is learning things.
So I had a plan at the beginning of the school year that if I wasn't happy by the end of October that I would give my 60 day notice. I think that I will stick it out for the school year. We need the money and once I sort through all of the paperwork and get my classroom fully organized, things should be a little easier. Oh and if I can turn Pete into a cleaning machine that would help. Anybody know the name of a good hypnotist for that???