Don't get too comfortable!

Doesn't God have a funny way of keeping us on our toes? Chris and I have been very comfortable for the past four years with me being employed at Freescale Semiconductor. Well, things are getting shaken up a bit. I found out yesterday that I will be losing my job due to the falling economy. In fact, they are getting rid of my position all together. We will not know when my last day will be until next week. To be honest, I expected it. Freescale was kind enough to create the position for me, so they can get rid of it just as quickly! So, now Chris and I are in limbo. Our original plan was that he would be staying home until January and then he would (hopefully) be getting a big raise and benefits at his job so that, wait for it....I COULD BE A STAY AT HOME MOM!!! Well, as I kind of expected in the back of my mind, Chris' raise will not be coming as quickly as we would have hoped. BUT, after calling his boss (a wonderful Christian man) and explaining the situation and asking him to pray for us, he is going to try to help us out so that I can stay home. Key word: TRY.

Dear Mandy's brain, please do NOT get your hopes up. This may or may not be what God wants you to do.

So here are a few things I'm worried about:

1. We pulled Ramona out of daycare. So if she has to go back there will be a long waiting list and we may not be able to afford it anyway.

2. Our medical benefits disappear with my job.

3. Should I be actively looking for a job if I'm trying to stay home???

And now for your cuteness fix, how about a rousing game of Where's My Pacifier?

Good bye, for now. I need to go cancel some luxuries. Good bye, sweet Tivo, you have served us well.

Halloween and Big News!

Well, we have big news! Ramona's last day of daycare was wednesday. Chris is going part time until the end of this year, so that he can take care of Ramona and be a stay at home Dad. He will be home with her Monday–Wednesday. And I work from home Thursday and Friday until 2009. This is very exciting for us. We worked with our budget and found a way to pull her out of daycare. This came just at the right time. She was sick for the entire month of October and I actually had to use the phrase "Should that baby be standing on that other baby?" when I dropped her off at daycare a few weeks ago. Not exactly comforting...

And now, I present... Ramona, the baby ballerina!

6:45 p.m. Just before we set out to Trick or Treat

6:55 p.m. Ramona doesn't understand what we are doing.

7:00 p.m. At home with her loot!

By 7:15 p.m. she is asleep and we are eating her candy.

Happy Halloween!

The Pumpkin Patch!

Yesterday we took a trip to Round Rock's Pumpkin Patch. Enjoy our photos!

We've been skunked!

Last night I went into Ramona's room and was overpowered by the smell of skunk. When I went into the living room to tell Chris, it was wafting in there too. I can only assume that a skunk was making his way around our house and spraying like crazy. Who knew a skunk took walks in the suburbs! So all last night (every time our air conditioner turned on) the skunk smell came back. Well, I guess I got used to it, because when I got back in the car after dropping off Ramona at daycare, my car reeked of skunk! Which means I most-likely smell like a giant skunk too! (My friends at work assure me that I smell fine, but I'm not sure I totally believe them.) Anyway, Chris has purchased the strongest bottle of Febreeze on the market. But, that is no guarantee that we won't still smell like the Skunk Family tomorrow. I'm giving Ramona an extra bath tonight.

The Pink Eye

Ramona has got "The Pink Eye". How did she get it? At daycare, of course! During the 5 seconds we were there for picture day. Dang daycare! I swear Ramona is sick every week with something new from stupid daycare. And still I pay THEM for this! Here ya go, Daycare, let me give you ten thousand dollars a year to infect my kid, just so I can turn around and pay a copay at the doctor's office twice a month. Thank you, Daycare, you're a HUGE help!

Dr. Ferber, I think I love you. (Picture Update)

Picture Update!

Ramona in her pink Alamo hat that Grandpa gave her.

Sitting in her high chair reading her Noah's Ark book.

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Sorry it's been so long since my last update. But a lot has happened!
1. Ramona is sitting up like a pro.
2. We are trying (unsuccessfully) to start her on solid foods...She hates rice cereal. I dont mean she dislikes it...she HATES it. And shows us how much by cringing and gagging and blowing it out of the spoon before it hits her mouth. I think I'm going to try mixing it with fruit or buying a different kind. She's six and a half months old now, she's a grown up baby who wants solid food! One of the daycare workers told me today that every time Ramona sees other babies eating solid food she yells at them as if to say, "Hey you stingy baby, did you bring enough for the class?"
3. And last but NOT least. We are teaching her how to put herself asleep! And get this...it's working!!! We are using the Ferber Method, which basically lets the baby cry it out while the parents go into reassure the baby in timed intervals. Here's how the first couple of nights went:
First night, it took 30 minutes. Not too shabby, but certainly not fun.
Second night, it took TWO MINUTES! WHAT?!? Maybe this Ferber guy isnt a complete moron.
Third night, it took (no lie) thirty seconds. She was asleep before I even got the baby monitor turned on. Now, not all of the nights since then have gone quite so well, but it hasnt been bad at all.

I have a bunch of adorable pictures I need to post, but I will have to do that at another time. Just to give you a little teaser, Ramona is wearing a tiny pink hat in alot of them. She looks great in hats. Also, tomorrow is picture day at her daycare, so as soon as I get those proofs, I'll post those too. See ya!

Cool babies wear their headbands to the side!

It's been awhile since I have posted a Ramona update, so I thought I would take some time to catch you up. Here's what we have been working on since our last posting:

1. Sitting up/balancing on her booty. This is a tricky game, because at any moment she could do a nose dive into the carpet. But she is doing pretty well. She looks so cute propped up on the couch.

2. Sleeping through the night (Round 2). You might have known that just 1 month ago, Ramona was sleeping 11 hours at night. ELEVEN HOURS!! It was awesome. She kept this up for several months. Yes, we were "those parents". We would smile and shrug when other parents would ask us how we managed to get our 3 month old to sleep that long. "What a good baby!" they would say. And then out of no where, she started waking up one and two times a night. So, at five months old she is sleeping 6-8 hours at night. Not too bad.

Side Note: I read my baby bible (Baby 411) and it turns out we are doing everything wrong sleep wise. Here's the checklist:

- Lay her down while is still awake, but almost sleeping. (She Cries...Loudly)

- Don't give her a pacifier because she will wake up crying if it's gone. (Whoops we do that too!)

- Don't let her fall asleep for the night while feeding. (But that's how she goes to sleep!)

- Don't feed her during the night, offer her a pacifier first. A five month old can go 6 hours with out eating at night. (What?!? Doesn't that conflict with a previous rule? And eating will put her back to sleep, I've got work in the morning!)

RANT: And since I mentioned work, how the heck can all these Mom's afford to stay home? Even with rising gas prices and paying $825 a month for daycare, I still can't afford to quit working and stay home. That's crazy! It's like paying rent for a separate baby apartment. I've run the budget and cut out EVERYTHING... Tivo, Netflix, gym membership, cable, the cat. And we still come up short. Somebody please email me your budget and how you afford to live on a single income. Because I would love to stop paying someone to raise my baby. Rant over.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures!

5 generations. Ramona and I are looking the

wrong way, because there are two cameras.