After a Lifetime Apart

I have no pictures for this post but that will change soon!

My sweet little niece Vada is turning the big 0-1 tomorrow! Happy Birthday sweetheart!  Aunt Charity loves you very much.

Unfortuately I can't be there because I have to work.  It marks the end of an era for little V, and the beginning of a new one as well. I haven't been able to see my sister, brother-in-law, or my 3 nieces because Vada has had a compromised immune system and needed as little exposure to people as possible while she got better.  We haven't spent time together since Vada was 5 months old so we have a lot of catching up to do!  Lex has an aunt, uncle, and three cousins to get to know. I am so excited!

I didn't grow up with Tara in my life but I knew her as a small child so I always wondered about her.  She was gone from my life but never my heart.  When we found each other again I was amazed to discover I not only had a sister but two nieces as well.  It seemed to come at the perfect time for me too.  Just as I was expanding my family here at home, my long lost family found me again.  It has been pretty heartbreaking to lose them again as I have these last 7 months but now we can move forward and get together again.  I love you guys and can't wait to see you all again!

Another Sleepless Night

Oh insomnia....  how I hate you.  So its 3:12 a.m. and I'm wide awake.  What better to do than blog? Working a rotating 12 hour shift at night can really wreak havoc on a persons internal clock.  Sometimes I sleep at night, sometimes during the day, sometimes for 2 hours, sometimes for 6, and sometimes on the particularly wonderful days, I don't sleep at all.  Oh the joys of alternate scheduling!  Unfortunately these days it takes two incomes to keep a family afloat and I have hopes and dreams for my son and my future child.  I want to be able to help them with college.  I want to be able to afford to let them participate in every activity they want to.  I want to be able to take them on vacations to Disney World, Lego Land, Six Flags and other exotic places children dream of visiting.  Someday I want to take them to see Mickey on Ice, Thomas the Tank Engine Live, I want to show them the ocean.  People who say things like "money isn't everything" are usually people who didn't grow up poor and I'm determined to do better for my kids.

At least these are the things I tell myself as I'm heading out to go to work. I think a few years down the road things will be better.  Once I can sleep at the same time every day I should be able to adjust.  Its the constant change that throws me off right now but when I'm off work, I want to spend the day doing things with Lex.  Someday when our kids are in school I'll stay awake every night and sleep every day instead of switching it up.  Not exactly traditional but these days, what is traditional anyway?  Nicer weather will help too.  I seem to do better on less sleep when the weather is good. 

Speaking of good weather, Lex and I actually got outside to play today! 

I got out his SuperTrike and pushed him around our block twice.  He was a little weirded out by it at first but once he realized he was moving he loved it!  Fresh air definitely did him some good because he was out like a light at 6 p.m.  He had a pretty big day though because he had a doctors appointment for his 18 month checkup.  They were about 20 minutes late getting us in but he was having so much fun running around the waiting room that he didn't mind.  He's now 23 lbs and 14 oz and 30 3/4 inches tall.  That puts him in the 5-10% range.

Mommy thinks he's perfect just the way he is.  To quote our favorite book "I love all that you will be and everything you are."