What to do when Plan B becomes Plan A

I'm glad that we have a plan now. At least a loose one. We're almost positive we'll be moving to New Haven when our lease is up here. I'm really really hoping we can find a decent house to rent. Adelae is so active that we really need a backyard for her to run and play in. Not to mention, it would be nice to have a little bit of privacy. New Haven seems like a nice small community, but we'd only be about 10 minutes outside of Fort Wayne. Also, it's about 1/2 way between my family Payne and Broughton and my mom. Ben's drive to work would be about the same. This was our original Plan B, so now it's Plan A. I'm still working on an alternate Plan B.

Ben's been working extra hard the last few weeks. He's been working at least 5 and sometimes 6 days a week. It's really taking a toll on him and us too. He's such a hard worker and wants to be an excellent provider for his family. I'm putting an ad in the Journal Gazette (the Ft Wayne paper) advertising my childcare services and I'm hoping that will give me some great leads. I'm almost positive I'll be going back to substitute teaching in the fall. Since Ben will be working weekends still, I'll be able to work during the week and we won't need to worry about daycare. I love staying at home, but we're barely keeping our heads above water. With the extra money, we're hoping to pay off bills and set some aside. We'd like to buy a house eventually, so we need to save up some money for a down payment.

Wink!

I taught Adelae how to wink a few days ago. I must say it's pretty darn cute! She doesn't have it quite down yet, but she will very soon. Her hair is also getting long enough to pull into pigtails. It was so stinkin' cute, I just had to take a video!

Earthquake

This morning at 5:38 am there was a 5.2 earthquake in Salem IL. I'm not sure how far that is from Ft Wayne, but several people I know felt the quake. I woke up about that time, but I'm not really sure why. I wasn't quite coherent that early in the morning. I heard something, and immediately checked to see if Ben was in bed. I was worried he was running late for work. He wasn't there, and I immediately fell back asleep. Now I'm wondering if the earthquake is what woke me up. I'm sure the cat was freaking out! I just can't believe that an earthquake that severe happened in IL! How crazy! I always associate earthquakes with California. This is the link from one of our local new stations.

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/17906534.html

Toledo A No-Go

Ben received a letter in the mail yesterday stating that he had not made it any further in the application process for BP. It's a hard blow to take. It seems like when we get our sights set on someting, it never quite works out for us. It sounds awfully whiney doesn't it? :) So, for the time being, we're stuck in Fort Wayne. It's still not my favorite place and it's not the place I want to stay forever, but I guess it will have to do for now. We're hoping to rent a house when our lease is up in this apartment. Adelae really needs a little more room to run and I would prefer not to have to dodge other peoples dog poop. We're thinking of looking around in New Haven and possibly in the Waynedale area. Ben is thinking of asking for a raise at work and I'm going to go back to substitute teaching in the fall. I'll probably pick up some more kids to watch over the summer to help us get by.

Thank you all so much for your well wishes and support.

Spring is here!

We've had some amazing weather the last few days. Our thermometer says it reached 70 yesterday! Adelae and I were just DYING to get outside. We went for a nice long walk and played at the little playground in the apartment complex. Adelae LOVES to watch the ducks and go down the slides. My little one has no fear at all! She'd almost rather walk down the slide than actually slide down it. And she has decided that she can do it all by herself. No help from mommy is needed.





These are a few of the pictures I took yesterday. You can see the rest at www.ftwaynecollinses.shutterfly.com

Still Waiting

Lots of you have been asking if we've heard from BP yet. The answer is NO! We're still waiting and waiting and waiting. I think they'll let him know either way, so we're just waiting on a phone call or a letter or something. I'm starting to get a little anxious. Our lease is up in about 3 1/2 months and we really need to start looking for a place sooner rather than later. I was hoping we could move to a place with a yard, but it's all on hold for right now. Thank you all for your good thoughts. I'll keep everyone posted!

My kid will never....

Before I was a mom I had a definate idea of the things I would never allow my kid to do. Well, almost 14 months later, I realize that it has all changed! Actually, the slide started almost from the minute she was born.

Things I swore would never happen:
Sleeping in my bed
Being addicted to the bottle
Have to be rocked to sleep
Run around in a dirty diaper
Wear a "leash"
Screech over and over again in public places
Run around the house with snacks of any kind
Watch too much TV
Not listen
Not eat meals

Things that have happened:
She slept in our bed for 4 months
Won't sleep without a bottle first
Absolutely has to be rocked to sleep. No question
Hmm...is that poopy I smell?
I'm seriously considering buying a harness. Like a leash, but with a more PC name.
Screeching...all the time! I think she likes the sound of her own voice.
Oh yeah, she loves to carry around her graham crackers. No sitting still for my little one!
Too much TV...well, not too much, but The Backyardigans and Diego are definately our friends.
Not listening...I guess it comes with the territory. She's normally pretty good, unless it's something she doesn't want to do.
Eating has always been a challenge. Adelae has her ideas of what's good and what's not. There is no possible way to make her anything she doesn't want to eat.

That said, there are lots of things that I swore she would do, and she does. Only if she feels like it of course! There are days when she tests my patience to it's fullest. I'm not a patient person, but I'm learning. I think it's so funny that I had such a perfect ideal image of what motherhood would be like. Lots of cuddles, snuggles and giggles. I sort of forgot about the temper tantrums and the idiosyncracies that make us all human. I know that I am blessed to have such a wonderful little girl, but would it be too much to ask for the kid to nap once in awhile?! :) I've been told that she has the disposition of her mother. If that's the case, I have a feeling we're in for a tough road ahead. I'm looking forward to it though. Now if we could just get her to say MaMa!
Remember the screeching? And temper tantrums...Yup..there's one in full force right now. Looks like Diego's over and so is the graham cracker. Time to go play blocks...again! :)