Is it JUST me?

or is this pinky girl just the cutest thing ever, ever, ever? I'm pretty partial. But I think she is. Man....I cannot believe that in just 15 days, this little package will be turning 1 year old. Time has flown. And with each passing day and with each step she takes (yes, she's walking pretty good now....all the way down our hallway tonight!) with each milestone, I'm getting sadder and sadder. Sad because this might could be my last baby. Now I'm not sure about that and God knows way better than I do, but still, it's a possibility. Just thinking about it is enough to make me keep bottle feeding her for just a few more months. (How precious is that bottle feeding time!?)

Going back to work after having these two glorious weeks off has been challenging for me. I have 5 months until my next big break and that feels like an eternity. It's almost enough to make me start buying lottery tickets! (Almost, I said.) I've been working since I was 17. I had my first job at Applebee's as a hostess. I don't even think my parents asked me to get a job, I just did. I liked earning my own money. My mom had been an entreprenuer herself, so I guess I learned by example. In college, I held a 20+ hour a week job at one of A&M's textbook stores. (Loved that job!) Somehow, I managed to make decent grades while earning spending money. And finally, post college, I've always worked. So working is part of who I am.....but then again, when I think about the paragraph above....

I receive my five year pin this year for teaching. My fellow teachers and I won an award this year from the Texas Education Assoc. for having one of the highest 4th grade writing scores for a Title 1 (low income) school. My grade-level teachers are some of the best, sweetest women out there.

It's tough. It's ironic. It's bittersweet.