Hands in the Mouth

Addibug has realized she had hands and she cannot seem to keep them out of her mouth. If she doesn't have a paci in her mouth, her hand is right there. It makes her so happy to put two and two together. I am certain we have a thumb or finger sucker on our hands which wouldn't surprise me, because I was a finger sucker.

Yup, whole fist in mouth.

Here you can see me do it. It's fun!

Layla isn't looking so big these days next to her sister. (although Lay looks MISERABLE. Mom, do i really have to pose next to her?)

And, because she is SO stinkin' cute, I added a few other pictures of her for fun!

I can just eat that smirk up.

Yes baby girl, you are TOO sweet!

"Attempting" to Crawl

So, I realized tonight that I had not taken a video of Addie in quite some time. So, I took out the camera and started filming and OMG, check out what I caught on tape!

This is the 1st time she has done this. You can probably hear the excitement in my voice as I am in complete disbelief that she puts her knees under her and pushes up. Only what I can imagine is her first attempt to crawl. Oh my, my little BIG girl!

VA loves Addibug

Just a few weeks ago, CJ, Addison and I made our way to Virginia for a long weekend. It was the first time Addison was flying therefore the first time we were traveling with a newborn. Oh my! A lot of items are required when you go somewhere and there is nothing you need there. I spent two days prior to leaving trying to pack and anticipate everything we would need. I think I did a pretty good job, except for forgetting one MAJOR item----my ID to get on the plane. Luckily, I just had to go through some additional security screening and we were on our way.

Addison did FABULOUS on the plane. She slept the entire way in my arms. We arrived to Williamsburg late Wednesday night and Addison had the opportunity to meet Great Grandma Effie. Both Addison and Great Grandma Effie were in heaven. So sweet to see them together.

Great Grandma Effie

On Thursday we hung out with Grandma (CJ's mom) where Addison got lots and lots and LOTS of love. Auntie Lauren and Justin came over mid afternoon and spent several hours loving on Addison as well. She is one spoiled girl!

Auntie Lauren and Justin

On Thursday evening we had dinner with all our good friends. Aunt Christie, Aunt Erin, and Aunt Tabitha, as well as Uncle Paddy and Uncle Darius got to meet Addison for the first time. I would say, love at first sight for all of them! Our friends were finally able to enjoy the new love of our lives and really see how special Addison is!

Auntie and Godmommy Christie, Addison and Auntie Erin

Daddy, Addison, Uncle Darius, Uncle Paddy, and cousin Kalyee

the group at Plaza, YUUM!!!

On Friday, we drove up to Richmond to have lunch with my dad. There, Addison got to meet Granddaddy for the first time. The two of them were incredibly cute together and Addison was FULL of smiles for him. She lit up at his voice.

Granddaddy, Addison and I

From there, we drove up to Northern Virginia and made a quick pit stop at Grammie's so Addison could see her. Grammie was SOO happy and excited to see how big Addison had gotten but I think even more excited that she got to have her all to herself and babysit while I helped to prepare for Alyssa's baby shower.

On Saturday, we hosted Alyssa's baby shower for Baby Cohen. We all had a wonderful time!

Aunt Alyssa, Addison, me and Aunt Wallis

On Sunday, probably the best day for many, Addison got to meet her Great Gram Gram, my Grandmother. Addison was such a wonderful baby that day and Gram LOVED to see her. You see, Gram did not know that we were in town. She thought we were coming in the upcoming weeks but we went to her rehab center and surprised her while she was outside talking to my Aunt Linda. Gram looked at me, looked at Linda, looked at my mom and looked back at me, so as to say, why are you here? She was so happy once she saw Addison and we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon catching up and Gram listening to us ladies (poor CJ) gab and gab and gab.

Addison giving Gram Gram a big hug!

The 4 generations "shot" that I had desperately wanted to get and will forever be my favorite picture of all time! (Love you mom and Gram for shaping me to be the best mother I could ever be to Addison. She has "picked" a wonderful family to be a part of!)

Even after two strokes, Gram can still hold her great grandchild number 9! She now has the same number of great grand children as she does grandchildren. She will always be GramsX9!

Finally it was time to head back to Chicago and what a feat that was. After one gate change, one plane change (yes, we all boarded the plane, went to the run way and came back to the gate, deboarded and boarded another plane), waiting for 4 plus hours, etc we finally were on our way back to Chicago and Addison, our little angel, slept the entire way.

She was SO happy the entire trip, gave us no problems and gobbled up all the love that VA had to give!

Shots x4

Addison had (doctor's orders) to receive her 8 week shots before we were allowed to travel by plane home to VA so CJ and I prepared ourselves for what was sure to be a rough day and night for Addison. We took her in on a Friday to get 4 shots and an oral "shot".

The wonderful nurse did all 4 shots in under 30 seconds and Addison screamed once, for what we can only imagine as shock, and once picked up, kissed and rocked a few seconds, she was JUST FINE!

She did wonderful throughout the whole afternoon and evening and thus began the 9-10+ hours of sleep a night. H-O-N-E-S-T-L-Y! It seemed that once she got her 8 week old shots, she has gone down between 8 -8:30pm every night and gotten up around 5:30-6am each morning (with some mornings going back to sleep after her bottle!) Sweet deal we have going on! :)

8 week Check up

Okay---here I am, back at it, and therefore going to be several blog updates! Sorry for the delay, life has been busy.

Little miss had her 8 week check up (even though she was 9 weeks at that point) on Wednesday, May 18th.

She weighed in at 11lbs 7oz (70th percentile) and 23 1/2 inches long (90th percentile). Our baby is incredibly healthy and doing well.

She had no reaction or issues getting her shots the week before and has been growing and progressing well!

Happy 8 weeks baby girl!

yes, I realize I am torturing my child with bows bigger than her head!

O-P-R-A-H

Even though this blog is about Addison and her adventures, I have to talk about one of mine.

So, many of you know my fascination with Oprah. It started many many years ago when I used to come home and watch with Gram after school. For years, I would watch every episode without missing a single one. Seven years ago when CJ and I moved to Chicago, I was certain I would be able to get tickets to at least one of her tapings. I tried to apply to each show I could, reached out and tried to make connections with people that were "insiders", all, failed.

When I heard that Oprah was taping her season spectacular finale show at the United Center, I knew I had to try. This was MY ONE LAST CHANCE! So, I reached out to each and every friend, connection, person I knew that would put their name into the "raffle" and add me as a guest. I would say approximately 15-20 people put my name down as their guest and we ALL got the nice email that said, Sorry, thanks for your attempt, but NO TICKETS FOR YOU! Ugh!

Downward spiral, my dreams were officially demolished. In my own little way, I dealt with this devastation (knowing that no one would understand where I was coming from and how I was feeling). I couldn't bring myself to watch any other shows. It was my way of protesting Oprah. And, to make matters worse, EVERYWHERE I turned, people were talking about Oprah; the news, the radio, the magazines, EVERYWHERE! I was SOOO over Oprah! How can others be so happy for her and I couldn't, all because I couldn't see a freaking show of hers.

So, fast forward to about 2 weeks after myself and all my friends got the rejection emails. Friday, May 13th, the end to one of the worst weeks since having Addison (this was her first week in school and I went back to work), I received an email. Here is the email below:

Hello,

We are contacting you because we received your ticketing request and have limited availability to be a seat filler at our final taping, The Farewell Season: Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular Part 2, at the United Center on Tuesday, May 17th. As a seat filler we will be asking you to fill slightly obstructed or no-show seats based on availability for our second taping. Please note that you may be asked to change seats during the show in order to accommodate production needs, so please be alert and flexible! The time commitment for this taping would be from 7:15 p.m. until about 10:30 p.m.

If you are interested in being a seat filler for our final taping, you must reply to this email before Sunday, May 15th at 10 a.m. with the following information:


1. Your first and last name (as it appears on your photo ID)
2. Your email address
3. The first and last name of ONE guest (your guest must be at least 18 years of age)
4. Your primary phone number



VERY IMPORTANT: You are NOT confirmed to be a seat filler for this taping until you receive a confirmation email from us . This is ONLY to be a seat filler for Part 2 of our Farewell Show. Please note, there will be a lot of movement, standing, waiting, and climbing stairs. ONLY reply back if you and your guest are able to follow all of these constrictions.

Thanks!
-The Audience Team
The Oprah Winfrey Show

OMG!!! Are you serious??? NO way! I seriously gasped, yelled and cried all at once! This can't be happening. I immediately called my mom and could barely get the words out through the excitement and tears. I of course responded and shortly thereafter, got the following email:

Your seat filler reservation for the May 17, 2011, The Farewell Season: Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular Part 2 taping at the United Center has been confirmed. Please click on the link below for information about attending this taping.

The Farewell Season: Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular Seat Filler Reservation Information Sheet: http://static.oprah.com/pdf/surprise-spectacular-seat-filler-confirmation.pdf

IMPORTANT: There will be a lot of movement, standing, waiting, and climbing stairs. If this is a problem for you or your guest, you might want to reconsider being a part of this show as a seat filler.

If you can no longer attend as a seat filler and need to cancel your reservation, please notify us by email no later than 3pm on Monday, May 16, 2011, so that we may extend this opportunity to someone else. We can’t have any empty seats since the audience will be on-camera.

Please note: Seat filler reservations are not guaranteed due to schedule changes and cancellations that could happen at any time. Neither Harpo Productions nor The Oprah Winfrey Show are responsible for reimbursement of anyone's travel expenses due to show date/time changes or cancellations. Promises of reservations or tickets through sources other than the show reservations system on Oprah.com are not valid. Do not pay anyone money for Oprah Show reservations or tickets.

Sincerely,

The Oprah Show Audience Team

My dreams are coming true. It was all too surreal. I couldn't (still can't) believe it was happening. So fast forward to May 17th, the day my ultimate dream came true.

My co-worker Michelle and I arrived at the United Center with plenty of time to spare. So as to not bore my readers, I will not re-live the boring waiting part because we waited A LONG LONG time before we were let it. It was pure mayhem. People were standing outside basically begging to be let in. Craziness!

Finally, we were allowed in to the center where we were hustled up to the 300 levels and watched the end of the 1st taping on large screens. We were told we were going to replace the seats of several men, so we needed to be patient while they exited and we would be seated. We took our seats as the 2nd taping was to begin. We looked around and there were PLENTY of open seats (good thing I got tickets and didn't find this out if I didn't end up with tickets was I would have been ANGRY!). Under our seats were bags filled with children books, an O magazine, light up things to put on your fingers, and a box of tissues (Klennex was a sponsor).

All in all, it was an A-mazing show. SO many celebrities, almost more than Michelle or I could take. We saw the whole 2nd show, with great 300 level seats. We could see Oprah at all times along with all her guests. I did watch the shows on TV and to be honest, the producers, in my opinion, did a very poor job of capturing the excitement, enthusiasm and thrill the audience got throughout the show. It was something I will never forget and I CANNOT wait to tell "The Story" to Addison.

A lot of people have asked how I got the tickets. I believe and I am convinced the Oprah show producers were sick of seeing my name over and over and over again and they probably thought I was some psycho. LOL!

Here is a link to all the guests that attended and a play by play of how the night unfolded----CRAZY guest list. http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Celebrity-Rumors-For-Surprise-Oprah-Show-122032629.html

New post is coming......

I am a little behind on posts and pictures. It's been a CRAZY week thus far and I am still so far behind. I will be posting a new blog tomorrow afternoon with lots of new pictures (Addison's 2 month pictures and 2 month check up stats), my trip to Oprah and much much more!

Here is a little sneak peak of our "bug"!

Godparents

Addison is so lucky to have two VERY loving and giving Godparents.

This morning, Addison asked Aunt Christie to be her Godmother and she graciously accepted. Uncle Paddy will be her Godfather. We are looking to have Addison baptized the first weekend in September.


We <3 you Christie and Patrick! XOXO

Ah Finally....

I can blog!

For some reason, Blogger has been down for several days and it is FINALLY up. WOW! Has it been a crazy week. I have a lot to update on.

First, and most importantly, I MADE IT THROUGH THE WEEK. What might be the hardest and longest week of my life, but I made it! Monday was by far the worst day and each day thereafter got a little bit easier to the point that I didn't even call today to check in on her. (I am sure the cycle will start all over again next Monday, but I know, week by week, it will be better.) Her teacher, Mrs. Adalys and Mrs. Regina are awesome and have been super understanding, informative and kind by telling me everything that has occurred throughout Addison's day.

Let me tell you, the child is VERY loved there. She is queen bee and every teacher comes and says hello to her. They were SO upset to hear that she will not be in school next Thursday and Friday. Not only has Addison been a good girl in school, she's been an angel at home. I said to CJ today, it's been a week since we've heard her cry. Honestly, she has not cried, only fussy when it's feeding and nap/sleep time. Talk about sleep time, I posted on Monday that she slept a good portion of the evening Monday night, well every night has been the same. She's gone down between 8:30-9pm and hasn't gotten up until 5:30am, most mornings we have to wake her.

She is so happy when we pick her up....she has yet to be crying when we walk in. She is happy from the time we pick her up until she goes to bed. It just amazes me. She is very content every morning, patient while we get ready. I am in awe of my child's demeanor. (Let me remind you, I worked in an infant room while in High School and College so I know how babies are. Addison is NOTHING like any baby I have ever seen and I am not just saying that---even though, yes, I am very partial to my own child! (-: )



I have been unable to work out due to my knee that I injured last Saturday. I am very upset and pretty sure I will not be working out for quite some time while it continues to heal. The good news is, after 6 days, I am no longer completely hobbling and the pain is SLLLOOOOWWWWLLLYYYY subsiding. Needless to say, I am super bummed that I will not be attending my Mommy Bootcamp classes. I am going to get back on the elliptical once I am healed for the time being.

Weight Watchers. I had an okay week last week. I lost 1.4 lbs so a total of 3.2. I will take it. I know this journey is going to be long and slow, and guess what, I am up for it!

Work has been crazyyyy!!! Busy but crazy. It is great to be back. I didn't kill anyone this week so that is positive. Let's see how next week goes! :)

Today, Addibug had her 8 week shots. She had 4 of them and one oral and she did GREAT!!! The nurse did them very quickly and knew exactly how to do it so that Addison was in shock once and by the time she let out her wail, the shots were over. No tears, just one wail and we picked her up, hugged her, gave her a paci and she was good to go. She was smiling by the time we walked out of the doctor's office. Phew! She goes back next Wednesday for her actual 8 week check up where she will be weighed, measured and checked out.

Needless to say, I am so glad this week is over and I am ready to rest up over the weekend and spend every waking moment with by babies (Addison, Layla and CJ!)

In closing words.....here is a wonderful video of little miss!

Two month old Pictures

Lots and lots of TWO month old pictures were posted on my Shutterfly account.

http://theadventuresofaddibug.shutterfly.com/

Check them out!

First Day of School

Well, today was the day I have dreaded for, well honestly, since the day I found out I was pregnant........

taking Addison to school.

It wasn't so much me going back to work. In a previous post, I talk about my love for my job and my desire to be successful, it was more or less, me leaving my baby in someone else's care.

Well let me tell you. It was MUCH harder than I anticipated. I honestly thought I was going to be calm, cool and collected. I woke up this morning, while a little upset, I didn't even shed a single tear showering, getting ready, even in the car ride to school.

Then, it happened. CJ turned into the school and the waterworks began. Not just tears, no no no, sobs and sobs and sobs. I let it all out....for just a few minutes before I pulled myself together. We had a schedule to adhere to after all. So, we enter the school and we are greeted by the Principal whom is VERY sweet and nice. She takes us back to the infant room and we walk in. I got this. I am good. No more tears.

Oh no no no!!! Don't be fooled. We get into the classroom (a neat thing is you must take your shoes off before entering the classroom which equals little to no outside germs, yah!). The teacher says hello and tells us her name is Adalys. She is young, cute and extremely friendly. She says they've all been waiting for Addison and can't believe how pretty she is...and SO much hair. Yeah yeah yeah. I don't care how pretty my baby is, let's get down to the nitty gritty. Are you capable of taking care of my baby? She then shows us where Addison's cubby and crib are. She tells me I can put her extra change of clothes here and any other belongings we might have. Boom, I lost it again! Once again, sobs, not pretty tears. She comforts me and tells me it is perfectly normal to be upset and cry and that I was doing a great job handling it. Great job? Really chick? I walk in here with red glassy eyes, clearly signs that I have been crying and then I break into the ugly Oprah cry and you tell me I am doing well. Eh, I like you! Thanks for the encouragement. Ha!

So, once again, I gather myself, and we go over Addison's routine. By the end of it, I was calm, cool and collected, even laughing. Addison was asleep so CJ got her out of her carseat, we swaddled her, gave her hugs and kisses and put her in her crib. We spoke a little more with Adayls telling her how much she ate, that she loved floor time and tummy time, blah blah blah. Adalys took it all in and listened contently. I felt 100% comfortable with her....I was feeling better already. Mrs. Shirley, the Principal made her way back to the room and we all chatted more. They explained we could call or visit at any time no matter how many times we had to call, it was fine.

So, after about 15-20 minutes, we left to go to work. I had to get out of there otherwise I would cry or never leave. The whole way to the office I was okay. CJ told me he loved me, said I did great, and dropped me off at our new office building.

I got into the office and began quickly unpacking my desk (we moved offices last week and therefore I still had to unpack). There was only one person in the office, whom is fairly new, so I said hello and kept to myself in hopes of not breaking down. About 20 minutes after I got to the office, Jason and Michelle (our close family friends and my boss) came in. Michelle came over to say hi and before she made it around the corner it was waterworks, AGAIN! Sobs sobs sobs. God I love her, she hugged me, let me cry and then compose myself. I told her and Jason how the morning went, they reassured me things would be fine and back to work I went.

I teared up a few times throughout the morning but no full on cries. I had CJ call a little after Noon to check in on her, knowing that if I called, I wouldn't be able to talk because I would be crying. He called and sure enough, she was doing great. She was "a breath of fresh air" according to them and told him she was doing fabulous. She had just eaten a bottle, and took all 4 oz. Ah! Good, I can do this. So, I went through the rest of the day, fine, tearing up a few times, but nothing extreme. I didn't watch the clock, I stayed busy, and before I knew it, it was 3:30pm, an hour left until CJ comes to get me.

4:30 was there, CJ picked me up and off we went to get our baby! We walked in, paid our dues, were told she had a great day, everyone loved on her a TON and that they were so happy to have her. We went back to her room where she was playing on the floor. I walked over to her, said hello and smiles lite up her face. She recognized me like I had never left her. HUGE smiles! We checked in with the afternoon teacher (which I never got her name, was more concerned with Addison--oppps, will get that tomorrow). She ate 2 bottles, all 4 oz, whew. She slept no more than an hour, which is unlike her (usually I get 2 two hour naps throughout the day), but I was happy to see she had at least 4 naps but no longer than 45 minutes each. She was probably too excited to sleep. We packed up, put her in her car seat and off we went. We weren't out of the parking lot before she was asleep.....and she's still asleep. Poor girl, school tired her out. She's been asleep for 3 hours.....hope she sleeps tonight :)

So, all in all, it was a good day. Addison did fabulous, Mommy did okay, and I know day by day it will get better. Here's to tomorrow, a fresh new day.

Thank you Chesterbrook Academy for taking such fabulous care of Addi-bug!

Here is Addison before going to school this morning, dressed for success.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and it was a fabulous day, let me tell you.

A nice, beautiful sunny day outside and that is HUGE considering it has been cold and rainy for what seems like the past 8 months. I always say the reason I stay in Chicago is for the Spring and Summer, well yesterday, we finally saw a glimpse of that. Bliss!

Little miss slept in, until 9am. While 9am has not been considered sleeping in to me in the past, this is my new new. 9am would be the equivalent of say, 11am pre-baby so this was a real treat. To top it off, CJ got up and did the middle of the night and early morning feeding so I got lots and lots of sleep! Makes for one happy momma!

We spent the day chatting and spending every last minute with Addison before the dreaded D-day (next post). CJ prepared me a WONDERFUL and delicious, absolutely delicious dinner which consisted of Bacon Wrapped Filets, Buttered Scallops, Grilled Asparagus and Twice Baked Potatoes. YUM YUM!! Oh and for dinner, Honey Grilled Pineapple...eeeekkk!

I took lots and lots of pictures of Addison yesterday, I just couldn't seem to take enough. I will post them to shutterfly but here are a few:

Swing Video

The cutest video of Addison sharing her "expressions" while swinging at 7 weeks old.

Two firsts

Mommy going to grad school with a newborn:


And the first HUGE blowout.......on Daddy.

The before.

The after. :)

I am dreading.....

Monday. This little sweet face.


Sweet little Addison will hit the 8 week mark on Tuesday which means, Mommy has to go back to work.

This is a day I have been looking forward to (yes, in a weird sort of way) and dreading at the same time.
I have looked forward to this day because I love my career. I would like to believe that I have worked hard to be where I am today. School was not always my strong suit but I knew that in order to be successful, I needed an education (and look at me now, going to Grad school, who would have thought?). I am great friends with my boss and his family. They are easily CJ and my best friends in Chicago.

Over the last three years that I have worked for Antonelli College, I am certain that I have been exposed to and able to more than most people early in their career. Of course, I believe that I have been able to prove my hardwork and dedication to the company has allowed me this opportunity. Being out, my poor boss has been left with all my work as well as his. When you work for a small company, you heavily rely on others to help you, even if it is not in your "job description".

What is important to mention is, weeks leading up to my maternity leave, his own wife, and employee of the company had their daughter 6 weeks prematurely. Both of their lives were hauled in order to take care of a preemie which meant leaving work far earlier than either of them had expected. As Jason was out, the work was piling up. While Michelle was out, the work was piling up. Remember when I said that we help others when needed even if it's not in our job description? Well, I stepped in where needed. Just as soon as Jason got back to work and caught up, Addison decided to grace us with her presence while Michelle was still out on maternity leave. WOAH!!! So poor Jason, was left to do his job, my job and Michelle's job all while tending to his other child Kalen and their newborn baby Keira. Talk about hard....for him but it weighed heavy on my heart knowing how much he had on his plate.

Shortly after Addison was born, Michelle went back to work but Jason has still been handling both my job and his job. I know there is a lot of work that I missed and I am sure a lot that I will have once I go back, but I have missed it. I have missed the normalcy. I have missed getting up every day, putting my face on (hair and make-up) and being a professional business woman. Having a career. Don't get me wrong, I LLLOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEE being a mom but a stay at home mom is not in my cards. At least not right now! :)

What will I miss? Oh, where do I start. I will miss our picture and video taking. Every day I strive to take a picture and/or video of Addison. I haven't missed too many days, usually just on the weekends when we are busy running around. I hope that I will be able to continue to take a picture every day of little miss, but with our crazy schedule, I am hoping that is still reality.

I am SO fearful I will miss many of Addison's firsts. The first time she crawls, the first time she stands up, walks, says Ma Ma, Da Da, Lay Lay, etc. I am not sure if I will tell "school" to not tell me about her milestones so that in some selfish way I can experience them on my own. But, I of course want to be certain that "school" is doing what they should be doing. Ahhh, I just don't know.

I will miss changing diapers, feeding her bottles, watching her sleep, witnessing Layla kissing her face, everything! Now, don't get me wrong, I know I will still see her at night and on the weekends, but to spend every waking moment during the day with her, I will miss that during the week.

So, if next week, I am a total wreck, moody, bitchy, a ball of nerves, crying at everything, you will understand why. I have been told it gets better day by day, so I am looking forward to going back, but dreading missing Addison.

PS. The cutest video ever is coming soon..........I can't wait for it to finish uploading and to post! :) in the meantime, here's daddy and Addi and her tongue.

Weigh In Monday's

Well, here marks the first week completed of Weight Watchers. I will attempt to post on a weekly basis how the weight loss goes.

So, after one week, the grand total is 2.8 pounds LOST! Waahhhooooo! I have a long way to go, but I am taking the bull by the horns and am on the journey of weight loss, no matter how long it takes.

Even Addison got in on the excitement.

No my dear, you could not be any cuter!

Tummy Time Video

Tummy Time @ 5 weeks old

Say What? 7 hours?

Yup, that is right, 3 nights in a row, of 7 plus hours of sleep.

While most would be ecstatic for this to happen (and don't get me wrong, I am) it also means that my baby is growing up....quickly right in front of my eyes. We have been trying to get Addison on a schedule in preparation of me going back to work (next week...eeek!). Our schedule is going to have to be tight with little deviation in order to ensure we are all to work on time.

With only one car in our household, we will have to manage getting up, getting all three of us ready and dressed, breakfast and lunch prepared (hello Weight Watchers--plan plan plan), Addison fed, Layla taken out and all of us in the car on the way to daycare by 7am to ensure that I am to work by 7:20am and CJ to work by 7:30am. Now, this is all in theory and I am sure practice will make perfect, but none the less, a schedule is necessary.

Therefore, we have been putting Addison down around 7:30-8pm and we have been really successful at putting her down and her putting herself to sleep with little to no crying. Success, yes, but I am not counting my blessings until she is doing this for more than a few nights. Well, in doing so, Addison has been sleeping until 2:30am each morning. That is 7 hours of sleep my friends. I just can't believe our 6 (almost 7) week old is sleeping 7 hours at a time. It amazes me. I guess I just painted a MUCH WORSE picture in my head of parenthood than this.

Now, I don't want to get all cocky and sure of myself because come next week, it's really going to count. I will need every last minute of sleep I can get throughout the night. With every week night filled with a commitment (Mon- Weight Watchers, Tues- Mommy Bootcamp, Wed- Grad School, and Thurs- Zumba Workout), I am going to need all the sleep I can get so here's to hoping 7 hours stays and continues to 8, 9 and 10 hours plus.

PS. I can't fail to mention that even though Addison gets up at 2:30am for a feeding, she promptly goes back down and continues to sleep until 6-7am. Perfect for scheduling!

Stay tuned for how next week goes....eeeekkkk!

My sleeping ANGEL!

Oprah

ugh, those of you who know me, know how much I simply ADORE Oprah.

Well, yesterday, my hopes were completely diminished. My last chance of getting tickets to her show were swashed with a lovely rejection email.

Thank you for your interest in attending the May 17, 2011, The Farewell Season: Oprah’s Surprise Spectacular taping at the United Center.

Unfortunately, we were unable to accommodate your request for this ticket reservation window due to overwhelming demand. We will email you if more tickets become available for this taping at the United Center.

Sincerely,
The Oprah Show Audience Team

let's back up a few days. On Thursday, CJ sent me a link from Yahoo posting details on how to apply to get free tickets to the season finale of Oprah's Farewell season. On Saturday, at 10am you could log on to Oprah.com, fill out the form and apply for tickets. I did just this, along with asking 10 of my friends to add me as their guest. Yesterday, on Sunday, I got the rejection email. Really? out of 22,000 seats at the United Center (where the Season Finale will take place) I couldn't even get ONE ticket. BOOOO!!!

Well, I can't say that I thought I would actually get tickets, but it is even more surreal that I will never get to see a show of hers. Doesn't she understand I moved to Chicago for a better chance to see one of her shows? Doesn't she know that I have talked to every person I have ever met in the Chicagoland about how much I love Oprah in hopes they would have an "in" and be able to get me tickets? Doesn't she know that I have watched EVERY SINGLE EPISODE since I can remember? and doesn't she know that Gram and I watched EVERY SINGLE EPISODE together and that Oprah will forever remind me of my Grandmother. But NOOOOO, I couldn't even get ONE ticket to a SINGLE show. Pout pout pout!

On a brighter note, Miss Addison lighting up my life!

It's okay Mommy that you didn't get Oprah tickets. Look at me, smiling and lifting my head up!