Vivian's Mommy: Lots of Updates

Okay, so I really need to get better about updating my blog. A lot of things have happened since February.

We ended up getting new carpet, which turned out to be the best investment ever! Our house looks brighter and newer and we don't feel congested all the time. I don't have to vacuum 3 times a week anymore either, which is a huge benefit.

We also remodeled our master bathroom. This was a much larger undertaking that we original thought due to very extensive mold growth on 2 of the walls. Chris and I did all the demo work (okay, mostly me because Chris was at work all day), including taking out the tile floor, cabinets, sheetrock, and moldy insulation. We found that the outside wall didn't have a vapor barrier on it and the wrong sheetrock was used for a moist environment. Our contractor did an absolutely amazing job and we're very, very pleased with the end result. We have two new vanities, a new tub, new tiled shower and semi-frameless door, two new mirrors, new toilet, new light fixtures, new exhaust fan (that was a bit of a complicated process to figure out how to install and vent), new door knobs, new paint, and a new beautiful tile floor. We love it!

We haven't traveled at all, although I finally made it down to FL again -- 6 months after I planned on going back down. It was a very productive week, but the drive absolutely sucks (all 10 hours of it) and it's very expensive (hotels are ridiculous, especially around graduation) to stay there, so I probably won't be back down for awhile.

We are planning a major trip to Pittsburgh in July -- our first vacation since last September. I'll be there for 2 weeks and Vivian and Chris will be there for a week.

We've been dealing with a lot of illnesses lately. Vivian has had a couple of ear infections since January. She also got pinkeye, which was passed on to me and then onto Chris. I ended up getting a sinus infection (again!) and finally took my antibiotics to get rid of it.

In March, Vivian started going to school FT. I started working then doing some usability consulting work, so the work is pretty sporadic. I worked for 3 weeks and then was off for 3 weeks and now I've been back on for 3 weeks and should be wrapping up everything by the end of this week. The biggest problem is that when I'm moderating studies (running participants), I don't get a break AT ALL. No lunch break, no snack break, no potty break, nothing. I typically run 4-5 participants back-to-back. This current study had 3 or 4 people a day, 2 hour sessions each. It's a paycheck, but it's definitely not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life (or even this year).

Vivian is doing really well, other than being sick. She went to the dentist yesterday (her 3rd visit, but first real cleaning) and had NO CAVITIES again! No surprise to us -- she loves to brush her teeth every night and we don't give her candy, sweets, juice, or any of the other typical toddler crap. Oh..and she's getting all 4 of her 2-year molars at the same time. So, all 20 teeth will soon be in.

I can't believe she's almost 2 1/2. She's such a big girl. She's really starting to use her imagination. The other day she found some cardboard and was making chairs and houses for Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Grover. She also likes to put them in her school bus and drive them around the playroom. Apparently "North Carolina" is under the table and "Pittsburgh" is near her couch. She loves to dance and run around naked yelling "naked butts." The weather is now in the 90s, so she loves to splash around in her water table. She still likes playdough and art projects and is doing extremely well at school. She recognizes a lot of letters and numbers and can spell Vivian. She's also fully potty and pooped trained! :) Way to go kiddo!!! Mommy and Daddy are soo proud!

Chris and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary on April 15th. What a crazy 3 years it's been. We've had a few more date nights. Hockey season ended a long time ago (poor Canes), but we've still been going to Broadway shows. Last week we saw Chris Botti play with the NC Symphony. He's such an amazing trumpeter! Tonight we're going to see Spamalot. After that, we have no dates planned. Guess we'll need to get something on the calendar.

I'll try to be better about updating the blog. Just have so much going on. With work, I'm not able to work on anything school related which has been really difficult. I hate going to FL and gaining all this momentum so I can come home and lose it all because I have to go back to work. I'm hoping my schedule will get better soon!

Here are some pics of Vivian to enjoy!

Vivian playing with a 1-month-old kid at Celebrity Dairy.