"Oh Toddler of Mine"

As many of you are  aware, I did "30 Days of Me". If you are curious just click back a few posts or look for the "30 Days of Me" label (I can't link 30 days, sry!).

During that 30 days a lot happened and I am not one to blog twice a day, I just don't have time for all that.

**Warning LONG POST ahead... Read At Your Own Risk**

I am in school full-time, shadowing, research and writing papers and group work, I feel like I am never done with my school work. I am also working PT 3 days in the mornings/early afternoons, at a local dental office doing scheduling and roaming helping out all over the office and I am in the process of being hired by the one of the counties near me. Soon I will be working in one of the public schools as an extended day teacher, I hope when I graduate with my Masters this PT position as an E.D Teacher leads to a FT teaching position.

I am so busy some days by the time E's bedtime arrives, 8:00/8:15p, I contemplate going to bed too! Although, I never do.

We have gotten settled into our new home & love it. There are TONS of children in the neighborhood. We have met a few of our neighbors & everyone is so nice and welcoming. My mom has been so helpful with decorating. I still have a long way to go but we've only been in the house for 1.5 mons now.

I am not a fan of artificial plants, I would rather spend my money on art work and the like, but "plants" add a lot or warmth to a home and my mom is all about them and she has been bringing stuff over when she babysits E while I'm at work. She can see a color scheme ONE TIME and match stuff to it PERFECTLY & if she is out and about and sees something that matches my house she snatches it up. My mom is just too cute.

Later this week I am totally going to post pictures of the house, empty and now with furniture.

Since moving in the house E has colored on the walls with BLUE crayon & she came to get me to show me her "art work", thanks to the wonderful Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, It came right off. She has CUT HER HAIR (!!!!), now before you go and judge me, I have ALL, or so I thought, scissors put away where she can't reach.

When we moved I put a children's medical kit under the 2nd bath/E's/guest bathroom sink in the back and forgot about it. One saturday while I was cleaning I heard E in the bathroom & asked her to stop playing in there. She left, a few minutes later... back in there door closed. We don't close doors in this house unless we are sleeping, she knows that. I start to walk towards the bathroom and she RUNS out, medical scissors in hand, I FREAK OUT and grab them saying "E let me see your hands, did you cut yourself?" She says "No mama me cut me hair" runs back to the bathroom picks up her HAIR & HANDS IT TO ME! I was a mess crying and immediately called my mom.

She has locked me out of the house, a few times, but she knows how to let me back in, thank goodness. She learned that if she runs really fast on the hardwood in socks she can slide, in doing that she slid right into a wall (she was fine). She will fuss non-stop for 30/45 minutes for no reason at all, have complete meltdowns in the driveway, in front of our NEW neighbors b/c its time to go inside for the evening. While I was in the bathroom one evening she picked up a can of my diet coke and decided she wanted it & chugged it... yah bedtime was NOT fun that night.

She is also a little recorder. She has said her fair share of cuss words but I tell her those are "bad words" in an effort to keep her from saying them again, or heaven forbid in public. Don't judge me, you know your kid has said those words, too.

Having a toddler is an adventure. One I love being on.

Aside from the craziness, she is such a great kid. She has amazing manners. Says "please" "thank you" "yes mam" "no mam". She shares really well, most of the time and loves her friends and family. She is a good listener and helps clean-up around the house, too (mainly her messes). I am so blessed.

I love it when she looks and me, out of no where & tells me she loves me or gives me a hug or a smooch. Esp. when I get home from work and she is running at me screaming "Mama!" and I am tackled with hugs.

Motherhood doesn't come with a manual but I know I am on the right path, when we are out & about random people tell me my child is well behaved. That is such a compliment.  I smile widely and say "Thank You" & so does E.

Our lives are changing so fast & I can't even comprehend it. It feels like just yesterday I was looking at hundreds (literally we looked at over 100 houses in 3.5 months, it was exhausting) of houses & trying to move into the next phase of my life & BAM! Here I am. 


I may not be where I want to be in my personal/love life, but I know I'll get there. That's not a priority in my life, for the FIRST TIME IN 6 YEARS, its not a priority. It feels so good to say/ admit that. 


I am looking at pre-schools for E, I can't believe its that time, already. I found one I am in love with, while I was doing shadowing for school, but its SOOOO expensive. I am going to apply for a scholarship for her and see if we get it, if not we will look elsewhere, sadly.  I am LOVING school and wish I would have taking this path 6 years ago when I graduated HS, but either way I am so glad I am doing it now, I am still young and I will have my Masters & that boost over those with only have a bachelors. 
I have tossed around the idea of continuing on after my Masters, while I am teaching. Its just and idea and I will have to see where my life is at that point.

All-in-all life is good. I have great friends who I know are there for me & they know (I hope) I am there for them, and I have newer friendships that are maturing and I know without a doubt they will be life-long.

God has been good to me. I am working on my relationship with him as well & I am slowly but surely working on getting more involved in the church and I feel that is one of the reasons my life is so positive.

I have also stopped focusing on the negatives in my life, they are there, I know this is a "sunny" post but thats how I look at life now. I no longer focus on the bad, I only focus on what I CAN FIX/CHANGE the rest I don't bother with. I am 24 years old, I have a lot of life left to live. Why waste it, stressing over things I can't control or things I just can't change right now.

I am living to set a positive example for my daughter.

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Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli