A lot has happened since my last post. My mom moved in, I’ve put in three weeks back at work, and Kate turned 3. I’ll take things in that order…

So far living with my mom has been great. She’s bound and determined to live as independently as possible, so her impact on our household has been minimal – that is, almost nonexistent. She has her little kitchenette upstairs, so she eats up there along with all of her other living. If she’s reading the paper, she’s upstairs. Eating dinner – upstairs, etc. etc. It seems like she’s figured out a pretty good routine in the morning, and then in the evening she heads up a few minutes after I get home. We may or may not see her again before bedtime. So, so far so good. The kids are doing great with her, although Kate had a rough first week with me being gone everyday. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me that the transition might be tough for her, but she had gotten used to having me around everyday, so it’s not surprising in hindsight.

Work has been good for me. The first 3 days were a complete loss – I simply had no idea what was going on. By the end of the first week I was feeling much better, and by the end of the second week it was as if I had never left. My co-workers all seem very glad that I’m back, and I’m glad to be back. My new boss is the anti-Sarah – not necessarily bad, just nothing like Sarah was. One of my peers, Andy, and I both agree that we have completely different jobs now than we did before. Kind of a bummer, but I’m trying to keep a good attitude about it. We’ll see what I think a few months from now.

Kate’s birthday was on the 7th, and it was about all things princess. Anna and Molly have the Disney princess dresses, so we borrowed them for her party – Kate was in heaven! We had a small party for her neighborhood friends last Saturday, and then Wednesday evening had our big family to-do. Pictures from her kid party:

Kate, of course, received a ton of presents between two parties, mostly all in the princess theme (I love that my dad sent a bulldozer!) – she is in heaven! Pictures from our family gathering:

My Uncle Joe (mom’s brother) and Aunt Carol were in town most of the week (staying with us), and it was fun to have them around and present for Kate’s birthday. So the last week was pretty nuts with guests in town, two birthday parties, Kate’s 3 yr check up, and of course, work for Jay and I.

This morning we went to the Falls Church Farm Day. Even though the weather was cold and a little rainy, we had fun – Kate went on two pony rides and loved it. Last year she freaked out when Jay put her on a pony and didn’t end up riding, but add a year and she’s good to go! She was pretty tired when we left and cried a whole heck of a lot about wanting to stay. This is definitely a tough age; the tantrums come fast and furious, and even with a kid who is as logical as Kate, it’s hard to head them all off or to prevent them from escalating completely. She wants what she wants, darn it!

So, in sum, things are good but busy! Hopefully the next few weeks will be a little easier, but I’m not holding my breath. Gotta run – Eric is up from his nap…