To the Zoo!

On Saturday Josie and I went to the Baltimore Zoo with Danielle, Brad and Jackson. Brian was unable to come with us because he had some very important homework to complete. As a note, he graduates with his BA from the College of Notre Dame in May. We are all so proud of him. Back to the Zoo...On Saturday the day was cool and cloudy here in York. It had rained over night but had stopped before morning. We made the decision to go ahead and go to the Zoo thinking it would clear off like the weatherman said. Well once we got to the Zoo it had started to mist heavily, however there was hardly anyone there because of the rain. We got the kids out of the car, bundled them up and strapped them into the strollers and away we went.

We had a great time despite the rain. We got to see them feeding the Penguins

and the kids love seeing the Leopards, Cheetah and Zebras.

We also got to see the baby elephant that just turned one year old last weekend. He was having a great time playing with his mom.

This was Josie's first time to the Zoo and she loved it!

Jackson had a great time too. He loves "talking" to all the animals.

A good time was had by all. Hopefully next time Brian will be able to join us.

The yard

The weather was wonderful this weekend and we all took advantage of it. Josie just loves her new yard. We have grass it is just brown and dormant right now. So I put her in some old jeans and let her run or crawl rather. She just took off with the wind in her hair and laughed and thought the whole thing was great. She loves the wind which is good since we live on top of a hill in a windy area. She giggled and explored everything. She was very intent on getting to the street but we never let her get that far. In the picture she is heading for the driveway. I can't wait for the weather to turn for good so we can spend lots of time outside.

Why do I work...

Lately I feel as though the question of "why do you work" has come up several times and I feel a bit defensive about it. So here are my reasons.

I work so my family has access to good heath insurance
I work so that we don't just make ends meet but overlap
I work so that we have enough in the bank for emergencies.
I work because I understand the economic situation better than most and I am worried for the future of my family.
I work to support two mortgages
I work so that my daughter is in a good school system
I work so that we can afford to retire when the time comes
I work because my husband is a contractor and if the contract ends so does his paycheck
I work so that Josie can excel beyond me.
I work so I don't have to be paranoid about money and count every penny.
I work for personal fufillment and to make use of my very expnesive education
I work for my sanity.
I work becuase I am an asset to my company

The list goes on but those are th big things. Now do I want to be a stay at home mom, sure. Who doesn't. But it is not my life and I am happy with my life. I don't begrudge anyone their own personal path. This is mine and I don't need any grief or guilt.

Some pictures

Here are some pictures that go with my last post.
Kate

Catch Up

We have had a busy couple of weeks lately. I feel like I am drowning beneath it all. Work has been super busy and I am running behind on my monthly files. The house is wonderful and we all love it. Josie loves her new playroom/living room area. It is great that we can call up the Gauldin's and invite them over for dinner or coffee on the spur of the moment (since they live behind us). In the new house the weekends feel longer and we are all more relaxed and happy. It is amazing what space will do for you. The cats love it too. Lots of sunny spots to snooze in. The boxes are slowly getting unpacked. The only room we really haven't touched is the office. Since we have laptops and I kept out the important bill stuff we really haven't needed to unpack that room. Though my supplies are running low so I think we will need to hit it soon.

We bought blinds from Loews the other weekend but haven't hung any yet. Funny story about that Loews trip. Brian got the window guy to come over and tell us what the difference was between one brand and other brand of blinds, besides $20, and it turns out the window guy is a guy I knew in 8th grade and he actually remembered me. Once he told me who he was I recognized him but never would have made the connection on my own. Anyway back to the house...currently we have temporary shades up in the important rooms so there is no real rush to hang the blinds. We hope to get started on them this weekend since Brian does not have class this weekend.

Josie started at her new daycare on Tuesday. Monday the weather was so bad that I called out of work because it was too dangerous for Jo and I to be in a car. So she stared on Tuesday and everything went great. She had some rough parts to the day but that was to be expected. She was very excited when I dropped her off and she saw that were lots of other kids her own age. She ate a good breakfast, some of the lunch and all of her snack. Plus she took a nice nap on a cot. This is her first cot experience. Today's drop off went smoothly too. No crying when I left the room. My little girl is truly a toddler now (sigh).

I think that is about all the excitement around her for now. Here's hoping that life slows down a little for me.