About a month ago I exhausted my sick time at work. That’s what happens when 1) you have a infant in daycare and 2) when you have a chronically ill kid. So, I emailed HR to see if they had any magical solutions up their sleeve in preparation of Temen’s surgery and ongoing health issues.  They did. Apparently last Fall I became eligible for paid parental leave – six weeks of paid time off! Hallelujah! (I wasn’t eligible for paid leave when I had Temen because I had taken a leave of absence to work on a campaign less than six months prior to her birth.) So I’ve been home for the past three weeks. The first week was spent preparing for her surgery, the second week was spent waiting for her surgery because it was postponed, and then we just cashed the third week coming down from her surgery.

But now? No surgery. We can finally enjoy each other without the anxiety of surgery. And today we did. Today I put on my SAHM hat and we rocked it! The weather was beautiful, we had errands to run, and we had a blast doing it together. I feel so incredibly blessed to have this time with her at this age. I only had about six and a half weeks off when I gave birth, and yes, I wish I had more time. But those weeks were spent sleepless, stressed, sore, and bloody. (Sorry, but it’s true.) That, and she was basically just an oversized potato at that point.  A cute potato, but she was still a potato.

At almost eleven months she is full of life. She laughs, she smiles, she says mama, she crawls, she pulls herself up, she explores, she waves. We know each other, we understand each other.

Our Girl’s Day – Day 1

After spending some quality time outside in the hammock and hanging out on the table (where she fed Lola her Puffs and instead tried to eat the table), we headed in to get ready for some errands! I have been so sick of how her toys are just piled up in a corner in our family room so decided to get a little Ikea  shelf organizer thing-a-ma-gig.

You’ll notice that while I wear Temen in my moby wrap, I have my diaper bag under one arm, the Ikea bag under the other, and a bottle of Pepsi shoved behind Temen in the moby. You’ll also notice Temen trying to escape because we weren’t moving around fast enough.

I learned two things about Ikea while I was there.

1. They have family parking! Jackpot! There are only about ten spots, but still. It was super helpful on a day like today where parking options were slim, but there were about eight family parking spots left in the front.
2. They have carts for the yellow bags that have a small carseat (like a grocery store cart) in the front of it. I realized this after I had Temen in my moby. Wearing her is super easy and fuss free, but now I know that’s an option for next time.

Can you tell I’m waiting in line at a Target Starbucks? Mama needs her caffeine! (And outdoor cushions and pillows, of course.)

Back at home we put together the Ikea shelf (I’ll show you later), nursed, and napped. Before we knew it, Ryan was home and another girl’s day was done.

I love her so much, and I am totally committed to making the most out of the next three weeks with my girl. Any suggestions besides Target? I’m thinking the zoo, a park, maybe the Mall of America. Anything else?

xxoo,

Samm