So Behind...

Editor's Note: I started this Monday night, but didn't get a chance to post it. Tuesday morning Brooks woke up with a 101.5 fever and had thrown up; so, needless to say, he has not started school yet. As of today (Wednesday), he still has a fever, but hasn't thrown up again. I just hope he gets better soon. He looks so pitiful!! :-(

In addition to that, Tuesday morning I started back to work, in my new position (no waiting required) and actually got to move to my new office/cube today.... And I LOVE it. I am truly blessed and excited... And am looking forward to this new journey!

Original Post:

I think this might be one of the longest gaps in my updates... And for that, I am sorry--yet, have no valid excuse, other than, I have been pooped. (Which, in my case, is a good thing... Ok, sorry. If Todd can crack the poop jokes still, I should be able to too, right?) Anyway, since going back to work, I have had little or no energy at night. Add to that, holiday parties, shopping, cleaning, wrapping, decorating, opening, cleaning, packing, traveling, cleaning, unpacking, cleaning... And well, you get this post. A month late. Heck, a year late.

As I write this, I have sleep insomnia because my Little Boy is starting school tomorrow. In my head, I know its a good thing. Tell that to my Mommy hormones, PLEASE. I just want to crawl in bed and snuggle beside him... Not send him into a big classroom filled with snotty-nosed kids, underpaid teachers, and germs. Blah. Yes, it has to be done. Got that. Go tell it to someone else. :-) I told Brooks today that he was going to school tomorrow and he would have fun and make friends, but Mommy was going to be sad... He pretended to cry and then gave me a huge bear hug. Then, everytime I mentioned school today, he gave me a big hug! Thats my Lil Guy!! I know he will do fine--he will be the one pushing ME out the door.

So, in the last month, I have gone back to work. Yep, that sucked too. I was loving my daily dose of The View and The Chew... Not to mention HGTV. In the meantime, it was suggested to me by one of my best friends (who I work with, and who recently changed departments... She is a Big Whig now! :o) ) to apply for another writing position in another department. I kinda shoo'd it off, but then she mentioned to the hiring manager that I was "sorta" unhappy in my current job (don't get me wrong, I have an amazing immediate manager who is great... The people I work with are just, well, classless...) Anyhoo. The hiring manager caught wind of it, sent me the job req and said, "Hint, hint." I applied. What the heck. I can always say no, right?

So I applied, was interviewed, and hired all within about a week. I am still dumbfounded. The actual move hasn't happened yet (within the next two weeks, at most) and I am only moving down the hall... But it comes with a nicer boss, great people to work with, no micromanagement, more money, and I get to lead the program I was on before... I am stoked to say the least.

For those that don't know what I do (unfortunately, much of what Todd and I do is so hush-hush or hard to put in laymens terms, so it gets overlooked...) Anyway. In my current job, I write the technical manuals for how to assemble, disassemble, repair, etc. a piece of hardware, operate a vehicle, or install software, etc., for a soldier... just like a user manual most guys toss in the trash when assembling Santa's toys (complete with blown out drawings of each place screw #17 goes in each and every hole. Fun, eh?) In my new job, I will be writing training materials, tests, and lesson plans that military trainers (teachers) use to train the soldiers who are installing, repairing, uninstalling, etc., the piece that the technical manual was about. Make sense?

It was a totally unexpected move, but one that I think is right. Did I mention I am going back full time? Blah.

Christmas was a blur. Brooks got so many nice new things, I can't even begin to thank everyone (but please rest assured I WILL send out thank yous before his birthday!!). His top gifts (in no particular order) have to be his tool bench, hockey stick and puck, doctor kit, and tricycle. His playroom looks like Toys R Us. (ps: Aunt Helen, the Elf on a Shelf (aka "Clark") was the biggest hit of all!! He got sooooo much enjoyment out of searching for him every morning!! That was an awesome idea!)

In the middle of Thanksgiving and Christmas we ordered my new car (my other was a lease, that I loved and we had all but decided to buy it out... Yet, new leases were INSANELY cheap and we figured I might as well get EXACTLY what I want before we buy it. So we ordered it. In the process, we discovered they would give us more money than Todd's truck was owed (when does that happen??) and he could lease a rediculously decked out truck for cheaper than his un-decked truck's payments. You guessed it. We now have two bright, new shiny vehicles... And are still saving money! (Thank you again Papa C... We owe ya!)

Christmas night we traveled to FL to see Grandma and Papa's new house. Brooks was exhausted and a bear on both plane rides, the second flight was overbooked, so Todd and I got split up--he took on Munchkin, who by then had a fully wet diaper... So Todd was stuck next to a puking kid (not our own) and a sleeping toddler who pee'd out his diaper all onto his Daddy's lap. Once again, my sweet husband gets Daddy of the Year awards. Thankfully, the flight home was much smoother. Mental note... Fly in the morning or not after a 4-day circus; one or the other.; definitely not both. Brooks loved the beach, and surprisingly, loved the cold pool and ocean (he accidently fell with a wave... Oops.) Mommy and Daddy need a vacation from our vacation!

We got home the morning of the 30th, and decided to go buy Brooks a new bed that night (dragging the Queen bed from the extra bedroom was getting old if we had company). The next day the TV in the livingroom went out and today, at Target, someone stole Todd's hub capa off his NEW truck. Happy Birthday to both of us! :-(

The last week Brooks has decided he would start talking... Although he still isn't gabbing up a storm, he did say five new words (home, go, stop, school, and Killian) today--which, in itself, is a huge milestone.

And now, its 2012! Its hard to believe... And yes, Todd and I were both in bed and asleep by 9pm. Way to ring in the New Year! :) We are so old. I cannot wait to see what new and exciting things this year has in store for us. Many new firsts, new beginnings, and memories! We have had so much to be thankful for in 2011--I know we can tackle all 2012 has to offer!

Ok, bed... Bed I said.