A *tiny* smile

I realized as I was compiling this post in my head, that I never really mentioned a big change in our household. As of December 1, H began attending daycare. We've been really, really fortunate for the past nearly 2 years - first with a wonderful nanny and then a subsequent, possibly even more wonderful nannyshare. It's been great having H at home with me working in our room, but when our fellow nannyshare family announced baby #2 (coming soon - good luck D family!), we decided it would be a good time to take the leap.

It's been a tough adjustment, both for H and for me. Drop off for the first week just might be my definition of hell. NO FUN to leave your child screaming, even though you know he is safe and will enjoy the new friends, toys and lessons in due time. And for me, I went from a house/work environment with a nanny & two noisy toddlers, to just me and our trusty French bulldog, Annie.

So... it's with great pleasure that I post this note. This morning when we arrived at daycare this sweet, older Filipino woman at the center answered the door. She isn't his teacher, she cooks the kid's meals and floats around the center helping out where she is needed. I forget what the kids call her (anyone know a Filipino term of endearment for an older aunt? that's how the director explained her "name" to me), but she peeked out the window, smiled at us and Henry SMILED BACK. It was a just a tiny grin and I swear he snatched it away when he saw me looking, almost a defiant, "What Mom? You think I like this place?" Seriously, it made my morning!

Professional gift buyer

Along with a myriad of other crafty things (jewelry designer, interior decorator, cute shop owner, etc, etc), I want to be one. Really, I enjoy a challenge and love when I feel like I've come up with the perfect gift for someone.

For example, I so should have taken a picture, but I did the cutest gift for my MIL this year. She loves to bake and bring goodies to people. So, I bought her the most adorable custom made stamp from esty seller sweet paperie. It has a whisk in the middle and reads, "made with love by Xxx". I was torn between putting her name on the stamp vs Grandma, but went with her name so she could use it for people other than Henry! Then I bought several colorful ink pads, tags, cute ribbons, some tiny brown paper bags and lots of cellophane baking bags for breads, cookies, platters of treats. Then I founds some graphics of chocolate chip banana bread, chocolate chip cookies (two of MIL's favorite things to bake) and created a few small bags stuffed to look like her own creations, complete with a label from her new stamp. I really hope she loves it!

Anyone need last minute gift advice? Leave me a note and I'll see if I can help!

Safe!

Henry that is. Very safe. We had a little chat about helicopters this morning, as one was hovering overhead when we arrived at daycare (or "school" as we call it). I'm guessing there won't be any crazy activity in that neighborhood considering it's crawling with cops, FBI agents, etc. Yep. H's daycare is walking distance from good old G-Rod's house. Yes, the house he was arrested at yesterday morning at 6:15 a.m. Nice.

In case you live under a rock, I'm talking about the fact that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested yesterday morning for a laundry list of reasons. I'm loving this quote I read this morning in The Red Eye by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald:

"But the most cynical behavior in all this, the most appalling, is the fact that Gov. Blagojevich tried to sell the appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Obama," Fitzgerald said. "The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave."

*sigh* What a disgusting mess.

In completely unrelated news, I must add that despite my crazy consumption of Candy Cane Jo-Jo's (f'ing Trader Joes!!!), I have been feeling pretty good. My back has mellowed a wee bit, so I've jumped on my new treadmill with full force. Did I mention I bought a treadmill? Can't remember, but yeah, I did. It's a small model, Smooth Fitness 4.25, made specifically for walking. I do jog a bit, but prefer to walk, and lets face it, with my geriatric hip/back that's all I can handle for now! So finally, instead of laying on the couch watching TV, I can walk and watch all the trashy TV I want :)

That didn't take long.

Yes, yes, I'm now an official Starbucks Gold Card holder. I received an early birthday present in the mail from my parents and lo and behold - Starbucks Gold! Woot! Registered it this morning, loaded that puppy with some cash and bought my first discounted chai. Ahhhh....life is good...

On that note - how smart of Starbucks is it to make the Gold Card a regular loadable card as well? I mean, as someone who puts my Starbucks habit on a card daily wouldn't I rather just use one card instead of making that register person swipe my Gold Card *and* my payment card? Hmmm. Oh well, I guess if they have more control to track me, it's at least nice them to send me this!