Saying Good Bye to JWT

Tomorrow is my last day at JWT. Don't ask me how I am feeling because honestly I am feeling all kinds of things. I am sad about leaving the great people that I work with, a fun and exciting job and feel weird with the idea that on Monday I don't have a job to drive to. At the sametime I am excited about staying home and starting this new career. Lots of mixed emotions and I really don't think it has all hit me and won't until next week.

Tonight I had a happy hour going away with my work and as always it was great to get together and hang out with everyone. I even was gifted a very fashionable bar tee by Greg to remember my last time out with the gang! I appreciate this so much more than the self portrait that Maureen got on her departure. I will miss everyone and all of the crazy things that go on and most of all John will miss all of my work stories that make him laugh and wonder what kind of place I work at or how we actually get things done.

It has been a great two years and 28 days with JWT filled with lots of late nights (I think the latest was around 4 AM), crazy adventures at truck stops and hanging out with truckers, learning more than I ever needed to know about Heavy Duty Engine Oil, hearing every possible joke about Lubricants (many times all at the same time during a creative briefing), lots of laughs, boring status meetings and so many more memories that I can't even touch on (for many reasons).

I will miss you guys so much!

Career Change

As promised here is the Acord’s big announcement…

If you know us well, you would know that we tend to change things up a little too often. Since we were married about 27 months ago, I started my current job, and then we built a house, moved into the house, became pregnant and had our little girl. So, this year one of our resolutions was no more life changing events for 2009. Well, God always laughs when we try to plan our life and we have once again with His guidance made a life changing decision. Our current big decision is that I have decided to change careers. I have decided to take on a position as the new CFO, COO, cook, cleaning service, nanny, personal shopper and so much more at the Acord house. Yes, I have decided after much prayer, lists and conversations with many friends and family, to leave my current job and begin a new career as a stay-at-home mom.

When John and I first started dating, I told him early on that my dream job would be to stay at home with mour kids. Maybe it was that I had an amazing mom who stayed home or maybe it was that I never felt that I found that true passion at college. Well, after graduating and working in my current job in advertising for the past two years the decision to stay home was a whole lot harder than I ever imagined. I will spare you all the details but it took tons of prayer, trusting in the Lord to continue to provide (which He very much showed us twice last week when we received random checks in the mail) and eventually staying true to my heart which led us to our decision.

My last day at work is January 30 and I am going to miss everyone I work with and the craziness that my job can bring. I WILL NOT miss my 2.5 to 3 hour daily commute! I won’t lie, I am a little nervous about my new job. I only know two other stay at home moms and I am hoping to expand my little network and building new relationships with other women. I am excited about being able to save money by using coupons more, going to Sam’s club, CVS etc and getting the best deals. I am also excited about being able to keep up with cleaning my house, taking on little home improvement or craft projects, taking the burden of managing our finances from John, being able to cook and work on my cooking, have time to run consistently, see my mom as often as I want and most importantly spending time with Peyton! Seeing her throughout the day is the best part!

Please pray for us especially these next couple of months during the adjustment. Pray for the adjustment for me and also that we are good stewards with our money as it will be a slight adjustment with only John’s salary but as God showed us last week, be faithful and He will provide!

Week Update

So, I pretty much left everyone hanging on Tuesday about our first week back to work. Well, the rest of the week didn't go too much better with daycare which was frustrating and we are praying that next week is easier for everyone.

Wednesday we dropped Peyton off with hopes for a good day. My mom called around noon wanting to know if she could get Peyton and have her for the afternoon so she went over to pick her up. Well, when she walked in Peyton was in the rocker and the teacher was trying to give her a bottle and she was screaming and crying. The teacher was just continuing to try and give her a bottle with no success and so my mom took her to try to calm her down. She wouldn't calm down and when she asked where her pacifier was the teacher said she didn't have one (she has three there) which my mom responded with, "I am sure my daughter wouldn't have left her without a pacifier." Eventually my mom got Peyton calm, put her in her car seat and was heading out when the teacher found the pacifier in Peyton's supply drawer. My mom got her home and got her fed and she went immediately to sleep. After my mom told me everything that had happened along with the fact that she was once again a hour off schedule I decided to give the school a call. I spoke with the director and she was very helpful and understanding. Pretty much I asked that the infant care sheet that I filled out be read by everyone and that she is kept on schedule. 

Thursday came and we had slight change to our morning since I had to be at work early so my mom dropped Peyton off around 9:30 AM. John called at 12:15 PM and 3:15 PM to ensure she was having her bottles on time and the director called to let me know she was doing better. When I picked her up they said she did a whole lot better and when I looked at her sheet I knew why...she was fed on time! No matter how busy our days are she is always feed at three hour intervals so it is no wonder she was having a hard time when it was four hours one time, three hours another. Anyways, we got home and she ate again at 6:00 PM and then she fell asleep (naps are still not going well at daycare) and I put her in her bed. John and I had the intention of watching the national championship game but were both so exhausted from the week ended up going to bed in the third quarter. I am a little upset that this week I missed pretty much all of the bowl games because I was too tired to stay up. When we went to sleep, we thought Peyton would wake up and let us know she needed to eat around her normal time so I didn't set an alarm. Well, she let us know she needed some food at 6:00 AM the next morning....a total of 12 hours between meals! I felt horrible that she went that long and that she was that tired. The poor thing.

So, recap on the week. We were very prepared in regards to schedules, lists of chores etc but we were not prepared for how hard daycare would be for Peyton (and for us) and how tired we would be with getting everything done. It has been a long week and very overwhelming. I am only hoping it will get easier and trying to be optimistic about next week.

Day Care - Day 2

I don't have much time to update as I want to get to bed so I can run in the morning but daycare went better today. Peyton took all her bottles without getting upset. She was off of her schedule (still not sure how this is happening) however which has made for a late night. Also, according to the infant daily sheet that comes home with her she isn't napping at her normal times or for the normal length which would explain why when I came home she was happy to see me for about 30 minutes, wanted to eat and has been sleeping (dead, floppy arms asleep) for the past 2 hours! She is exhausted :( I am really praying that she will adjust better and be able to get rest at daycare. I also found out that Peyton is one of the last to be picked up (there was only one other baby there) which is hard for me to hear because she is also one of the first ones there. It is such a long day for her but I really don't know how we can shorten the time since I have such a commute in the morning and John is already leaving right at 5:00 PM. This has been such a hard adjustment for her and I feel horrible.

Well, I am off to chop veggies for tomorrows dinner (meatless chili so lots of veggies) so I am not stuck doing that after driving in traffic for an hour, make my lunch, make bottles, pick out everyone's clothes and hopefully go to bed without thinking about the endless other things that need to get done such as putting away laundry, cutting coupons from Sunday's paper, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, washing floors, doing Peyton's laundry....

No Good, Very Bad Day

Today was Peyton's first day at daycare. A day that I knew would be hard on everyone and I was hoping would be harder on her parents than her. Well, unfortunately it was hard on everyone.

As always the morning went off without a hiccup (well, Peyton had some hiccups but when doesn't she) and we made it to Primrose on time and doing great. Mommy had to say a quick prayer before leaving the car so she wouldn't lose it inside but we all headed in as a family. We checked Peyton in, brought her into her classroom and unpacked her gear, introduced her to the teacher, gave her kisses goodbye and handed her over (along with half of my heart while the other half crumbled into small pieces). We then went and did some paperwork in the office where I almost started crying and then we left. Before we drove off I looked in the window and was happy to see the teacher carrying Peyton around as she was doing some things on the counter. Peyton looked content and so I got into the car, talked to John for a little bit and then we both drove off to our respective places (I made a little stop to Starbucks before my ultimate destination for a pick me up).

Work went well in the morning, I was a little sad but I was busy so I didn't have much time to dwell until I called around noon. I was told that she was fine and I didn't ask much more becuase I was starting to get upset. So, I asked John to call at 2:30 PM with specific questions and that is when we found out things were not so fine.

First, we were told that Peyton ate at 10:00 AM which was not good since she eats at 9:00 AM and I immediately wanted to know why they deviated from her schedule especially when we had to fill every little detail out for them (I later found out she was sleeping at 9:00 AM despite my request for them to wake her if she is still asleep 15 minutes after her scheduled time to eat). Well, that was not a big deal until they said that at 1:00 PM she refused to eat and was just crying and was currently asleep until about 3:00 PM which would mean that she would have gone 5 hours between feedings...TOO LONG! Well, I was upset so I called my mom and she offered to go and pick her up and figure out what was going on.

Here is what happened when my mom arrived. She walked in and Peyton was in the rocking chair with a pacifier and was crying and crying. They were warming up her bottle and so my mom offered to try to feed her. Peyton ate 1/2 of her bottle (you would think she would be starving) and then started to cry and cry and was crying so hard she wouldn't burp, wouldn't take her pacifier. According to her teachers, that was the same thing that happened earlier in the day. They mentioned that she seemed gassy which isn't the case because I watch what I eat and even when she is gassy she really isn't that grumpy. They suggested bringing in a blanket from home to help (yet there were two in her car seat under her bed) and a couple of other things. My mom said that they seemed really sweet and caring and I am sure it was just as frustrating for them as it was for Peyton. When my mom got Peyton home, she ate the rest of her bottle and took the one at 6:00 PM great. I got over there around 6:30 PM and was so happy to see her. It was a horrible feeling being at work knowing your child is not doing well and you aren't there to fix it. After a night of being served by my parents by having dinner made for us, our laundry being done, watching the game with them, we headed home, got things ready for today and went to sleep around midnight with one of Peyton's blankets so it would smell like me in hopes that it would be comforting on Tuesday among some of the other things I am going to bring up.

I pray that tomorrow (or is it already today?) goes better for everyone. 

Off to a good start

So, the New Year has started off a little hectic with getting settled back from our trip and preparing for this week with everyone going back to work and Peyton going to daycare for the first time.

Thursday and Friday consisted of doing massive amounts of errands around the house. We have been doing laundry, picking up, taking down decorations, preparing Peyton's daycare bag (and labeling everything), picking up the dog from boarding, giving the dog a bath, grocery shopping and so much more. I am tired just thinking about it. But at the end of all of it, we were able to do nothing for Saturday and today besides relax and enjoy time with friends, family and each other.

Yesterday we went to Pearland Town Center to go shopping and scored some sweet deals! A sweater for over 50% off and even better a shirt for $6 that was regular $39.50! After shopping we headed over to my parent's to wish my dad a happy birthday before they went out for dinner with friends and then we headed over to some friends (the Hane's) to say good-bye to Danny, April and Austin as they are moving to Neederland this upcoming weekend. Danny and April were in our old small group and we have been so blessed to have gotten to know them, learn from them and go through marriage and now parenthood with them. Danny was also an accountability partner for John for a period of time. We are going to miss them and pray that they get settled and also that we can all stay in touch as our children grow up. The picture to the right is of Peyton and Austin hanging out. Peyton looked over at him a couple of times but for the most part they were both more interested in their respective parents.

Today we made it to 8:30 AM church!! Hopefully as Peyton gets older it will get easier and easier to make it to church. Then this afternoon we will be having a birthday lunch with my dad, getting last minute things done for tomorrow (putting out clothes, making lunches) and then John and I are out for a very much needed date.

Tomorrow we are all back to work and Peyton will be attending her first day of daycare. Please don't ask me how I am doing because I might just start crying. I have all of her bag prepared, everything labeled (what is the best gift for an organizational nerd...a label maker...so much fun!) and filled out her daily information sheet. We are prepared in every way besides emotionally. I knew this day would come but I didn't realize it would sneak up on me and be as hard as it is. Then today as I was reading some daily scripture from Matthew chapter 6, one of the verses (6:34) was so applicable to what I have been feeling these past few days

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

That is my prayer for us for today and everyday and also ties into my New Year's resolution of being in the moment and letting things go. There is no reason for me to be anxious and worrisome about tomorrow for if I do, I will miss out on today.

Since I won't be blogging before we head out the morning though, I would appreciate prayer specifically for the following:

• That I can be strong and drop her off without getting too emotional


• That Peyton is comfortable and welcoming of new caregivers in her life
  
• That her teachers have wisdom in how to care for her, learning her quirks and develop a bond with her


• That God blesses the children, teachers and everyone Peyton comes in contact with there


• Finally, that we adjust to a new normal in our lives quickly and with ease

Finally, Peyton is four months old today! She has become so much fun to be around and is growing leaps and bounds! She is trying so hard to sit up and roll over and gets so frustrated when she can't but she is close and I can't wait to see the look on her face when she accomplishes those skills. She has her four month appointment and vaccinations on Friday so I will update more about her development, weight and height on Friday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Balancing it all...

I haven't written anything since Monday (gasp) because I no longer have time to think let alone sit down at a computer and blog about our life and also everything has become so routine and scheduled so there really isn't anyhing exciting going on (like newborn poop was all that exciting). Also, pictures of Peyton will have to wait until this weekend but pretty much all I see now is grumpy face and that is not worth the uploading hassle.

So, it is the middle of the week and I almost through day 3 of work and it has been a week of very mixed feelings. It isn't difficult to get everyone out the door, it isn't hard for me to say good bye to Peyton in the morning (it helps that she is with Grandma this week), and it isn't hard being away from her during the work day. It is hard to drive a total of 150 minutes each day to get to and from work, it is hard to balance working and breastfeeding (if you are a new/working mom and want some tips you can email me) and it is even harder to go from seeing your little girl all day long to only spending about 3.5- 4 hours with her each day, and it is hard to not know the basic things about your child anymore (how many poopy diapers etc), and finally it is hard to have energy at night and be cheerful when all you want to do is sleep.

Anyways, things we have learned these past couple of days are:

• We don't have enough bottles resulting in us always have to hand wash some in order to make four for the next day. In January (start of daycare) we will be purchasing a ton of bottles to prevent this.
• Mommy will never make it home for Peyton's 6:00 PM feeding so that kind of threw a kink in some things and needs some fine tuning
• Our evenings feel like a mini marathon (home, shove food in mouth, play with Peyton, Peyton to bed, clean up kitchen, make bottles, make lunches, prep work for next nights dinner, pack diaper bag, pick out everyone's cloths, crash)

I know it has only been a couple of days and honestly it has gone relatively well with only minor hiccups but nevertheless, it is still difficult and will be for a little while. Two and a half more days and then I am off for two weeks!!!

Another update...John has lost his mind. He decided on Sunday that he would join the majority of our small group in running the Houston Half Marathon in about five weeks. That is 13.2 miles in five weeks! Yes, John ran the Full Marathon in January but he has not run in a good seven months! So, since we don't have enough on our plate he decided to pursue this aggressive goal and has started training this week. His training will consist of running Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I have many comments about this but for now I will put on the supportive wife hat and encourage him through his insanity...

First Real Work Day

Today started my first full week back to work (and actually after this week I am off until January 5) and I think it was a somewhat successful day. As anyone with kids will tell you, it is all about the planning. Given that I am an over planner, I was made for days like today. To give you some background on how today has been a success, a couple of weeks ago, I made a schedule for what our lives will look like with both of us at work. I have assigned days to each of us and on your assigned day there are chores that you are responsible while the other person's responsibility is to spend time with Peyton. Chores normally consist of the following: making dinner, making the next days lunches, making sure bottles are made for the next day, stocking the diaper bag and then a household chore (vacuuming, laundry, picking up etc). 

So, last night we made sure lunches were made, diaper bag was stocked and everything was ready to throw into the slow cooker in the morning. A side note, I have also planned meals for the week that either cook in the slow cooker or take no longer than 15 minutes to prep. This morning everyone got off when they were supposed to and I dropped Peyton off at my mom's around 7:15 AM and then headed into work. It took the typical hour to get in and the day went pretty well. It was a little slow since I am trying to get caught up but overall I was surprised at how well I did being away from Peyton (only two calls to Grandma). I headed out at 5:00 PM and that is when the day went downhill. It took an hour and half to get home (with no accidents) which meant I did not and will not ever make it home for her early evening feeding which makes life difficult. FYI, part of our schedule is that John picks Peyton up in the evening since it is easier for him to get home at night then me. 

Anyways, when I finally got home, after a little bit of interaction/play time, Peyton was grumpy and fell asleep which broke my heart because it showed me how little time I have with her to interact. I pretty much held her while she was sleeping because I didn't want to be away from her. We finished up the night with a little bit of play time, changing into our PJs and after her last feeding rocking to sleep. Then we made sure everything is in place for day 2. 

I am going to be honest...this has been a pretty hard day resulting in lots of, "God, I don't know how I am going to do this but I know that you do," conversations. This is going to have to become the new normal and will be a new and difficult adjustment

Mr. Mom for the First Time

Well, it's here...the day Ché had to go back to work, and Peyton and I are here taking care of each other :). I know it is going to be a good long day of learning what Ché has been experiencing for the last three months. I thought I would keep a log of what went on today, rather than multiple post, so here it goes...

7:00AM - Ché left 10 minutes ago, and I soothed Peyton to sleep...all is good, but I think this is the easier part of the day.

8:00AM - I realized I needed to eat some breakfast. As soon as I started eating my Fruit Loops, Peyton started waking up. I thought I could do both at the same time, but that quickly proved impossible. I rocked her back to sleep, and finished my cereal.

9:00AM - An empty bottle was a great sight to see.

Her not eating was one of my biggest fears of the day. Normally, I play with her and calm her when she gets upset, but I don't do a whole lot of the feeding. This turned out great! She took down 3oz in 20 minutes.

10:00AM - Peyton is changed and currently napping. I'm glad the dressing-her part went alot better than the other day. Sometimes I'm not as delicate or whatever it takes to dress a little baby, and Peyton gets frustrated as well. I guess I should have played with dolls more when I was younger...NOT. I'm hoping she sleep close to 12PM, so I can get some stuff done (Ché left me a list...gosh!).

12:00PM - Lunch started out kinda rocky, but keeping her calm was the key. I didn't force the feeding, I just tried to sooth her, then all was good. She took 3oz without a break; it made for a big ole brup though :).

1:30 PM - We went out for a walk around the lake. It was a beautiful day, so I put Peyton in the stroller, put Titus on a leash, and off we went.

2:00 PM - We left to go to the bank, and picked up Shannon from high school at 2:30PM. Wow, I felt like a soccer mom.

3:00 PM - I'm getting really good at this feeding thing now; I fed and burped her in 7 minutes. Something about that doesn't really seem right, since it takes so much longer when Ché breast feeds her.

The rest of the day went along just great. I'm really glad I had a good day with Peyton. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I can take care of my own daughter for a day without calling reinforcements. Somedays may require that, but fortunately, this wasn't one of them.

Peyton and I had a great day.

Mommy's point of view on the day...well, I knew this day would come but I didn't realize how quickly it would be here. I made it to work without much hassle (only taking 30 minutes, I wish it was like that all the time) and I highly suggest that any returning mom's go in on a Friday. Today was kind of a different day which made it easier for me, next week will be the real test. I had meetings for most of the day (a working lunch with Chuy's being catered) and then our Christmas party from 4-7 at a nice restuarant (Reef in midtown) so it was a pretty easy day to go back. I had a good time catching up with co-workers at the party and I really do love the people I work with, they are an amazing bunch! I did fine emotionally today until I got home and cried at the sight of Peyton because I realized how much I missed her and how I was supressing all of my feelings so I wouldn't breakdown at work. Overall, it was a successful day and I pray that next week continues to be smooth.