New Car

After a long day at the dealership (3 hours)she passed out on the way home. She did so well and didn't complain once the entire time. She even got 2 balloons...the first one went up to the ceiling and she held on to the other one!

After the car accident and finding her booster seat on the floor, my mom and I decided to quit being so cheap (I have her 5-point booster seat in storage in Michigan), we decided that Emily needed to be more safe, even if it is just a temporary booster seat. It was a rude awakening for both of us on Saturday, realizing if she was in the car with me, she would have been seriously hurt.

Here is her new 5-point booster seat...aka the princess booster seat!!

My poor Saturn being towed away after the hospital delivery van backed into and totaled it out (he actually broke the motor mounts!!!)



My parents let me use my mom's HHR to get to and from work while I was waiting for the check from the insurance company. My check arrived Saturday afternoon! An hour later, I totaled my mom's car! The other truck I hit is completely fine minus the back bumper being slightly dented. The driver is also ok. She was taken to the hospital to make sure, but found out she is ok. My arm is pretty scratched up and bruised, back really sore and some bruised ribs, but other than that, I am ok. So, that took us down to just my dad's truck. We could have gotten a rental, but didn't feel the need to since it is summer and both of my parents are not working.

Yesterday, we went to Salem and got this car for me! A 2008 Hyundai Elantra. It is so nice and I love it. I was able to pay for half of it in cash and had to finance the rest. Completely excited about that one. Plus, I have a 6 year warranty on it.

Summer?

I know that the calendar says that it is summer, but I think mother nature missed that memo! It has rained so much here the past 2 months, it is utterly depressing. I picked the wrong year to move back...Oregon has record rainfall for April and May...fingers crossed we don't have record rainfall for June. Last weekend was 70 and blue skies...with that comes a lot of business to the hotel. My GM called me Sunday night to congratulate me on selling out the hotel Saturday night and said that I tripled sales compared to the same weekend last year. What can I say, I am just that awesome!! But in all honesty, the hotel has been kicking in room revenue, which is good because that means job security for me. I keep trying to convince my boss that I need to go back to working day shift, and he keeps laughing at me. He brings out the reports on how much more room revenue we are getting now compared to before I switched over to nights and said as long as I am keeping up these numbers and keep having great comments on comment cards, there is no way he is moving me. However, I will not complaint about working nights right now, but as soon as Emily goes to school, I will have to find a job working days because I will not be working when she is home.
Emily finished preschool for the year. They put together a book of things she did. It is super cute. She is bummed out that she can't go back until October, but she still gets to go to daycare 2 days a week. And, I signed her up for swimming lessons yesterday!! She gets to start July 5th and she will go Monday-Friday for 2 weeks. If she likes it, I will sign her up for the next level.
I also decided to cut my hair. Some people will say it isn't that short, but it is really short for me. I used to dye my hair blond because I always thought I looked better with blond hair. About 2 years ago I decided that I was going to grow my hair out and just have my natural color. So, I bit the bullet and chopped off the last of the blond a few weeks ago...I should post pictures with my next post.
My car was totalled out, so next week my mom and I are heading over to Salem to do some car shopping. Now, just to decide on what car to get! I am leaning towards a Mazda 3 or a Hyundai....I was going to get a used car...seen a Toyota Celeca that I REALLY liked, but it was 10 years old and still $9000. I decided that I could get a new car for just a little more and have a 10 year warranty...wouldn't have to worry about dealing with anything for a quite a while. So, that is the route I am going with that.
And I have also discovered that I am allergic to cats! I grew up with a cat and never had an issue. While over at a friends house the other night, my eye starting itching, then burning, and before I knew it, my eye was completely swollen shut. 2 days later and a lot of benedryl and eye drops, my eye finally looks normal again.
And last but not least, Emily and I are both on strict diets!! I have always been worried about Emily's weight and could never figure out why she was always heavier than the average kid her age. I am always careful about what she eats, how much she eats, what she drinks, etc. I asked her doctor, who is a very close family friend, what I was doing wrong and what I could do to help her. He just looked at me and said that it is just hereditary and that all I could do was watch her food intake and make sure she gets plenty of physical activity. Ugh...poor girl took after my side of the family...this is the one thing I was wishing she took after on her dad's side. So, I have cut out all sweets for us both, I only drink water, but Emily does have a glass of milk or juice each day. I started this really strict diet a little over a week ago, and thus far, I have lost a little over 10 lbs...fingers crossed I can keep this up. And Emily is handling the change really well.

First Aquarium Trip 5-26-2010

For the entire month of May, the aquarium had a special for hotel employees...they get free admission and half off of a person they bring with them! So, finally getting a day to do so without it raining really hard, Emily I ventured there on Wednesday after I picked her up from school. I think that is the quickest trip in and out of there...30 minutes from the time we left the car until the time we got back!! She was so excited to see EVERYTHING and was running from place to place. Her favorite part was touching the star fish. I was quite impressed when she was naming off everything...just 5 months of preschool and she has learned so much.
In other news...as many know, I love my little Saturn, but things just keep popping up that need to be fixed, and I figure while I am able to afford a nice down payment on a car, thanks to my parents helping out and not charging me rent while we live here, I just decided to finally save up some money and get myself a nice car and just trade in my Saturn. Well, after returning home Wednesday from the aquarium and taking just a few minutes to sit down before running off to work, someone backed up into my car in my parents driveway. To make it worse, it was a big Ford van...one of those delivery vans for Samaritan Health Services. And, to top it off, he hit in square center of my hood and smashed it up and in so now I can't open my hood to put in the much needed transmission fluid that has been slowly leaking!! So, now my car is parked in the driveway, patiently awaiting for an insurance adjuster to come look at it. Fingers crossed they just cash my car out and I can put that towards my down payment for a new car!!
I had a great birthday last weekend. Went out with a couple of friends after I got off of work Saturday night/Sunday morning. Then on Sunday I got to spend the morning with Emily and my dad my favorite dinner before I had to go to work. It wasn't anything extravagant, but exactly what I wanted...a nice relaxing day at home with my girl! My mom did take me shopping so I could pick out my birthday present, but sadly, living on the coast, there isn't much to choose from. But, we did walk away with 2 pairs of shoes for Emily!!! Oh, and I did get a iPod charger for my car! Once summer gets here and my mom and I will actually have a day off together, we will venture over to Salem to do some serious shopping!!

2 Days Off!!

One of the perks about working at a hotel is the free use of the indoor pool and hot tub! Emily and I made use of this today. She was so proud of herself...she stuck her head under the water all by herself today!!
At school, the kids made "cook books" for Mother's Day...the high school students asked each kid what their favorite food was and how to make it...according to Emily, I apparently don't bake!! I thought it was cute! One of the kids in her class put that his favorite food was cheese burgers and all they have to do is go to McDonalds, buy it and eat it!! I love kids...they are so literal at times!
Every afternoon when I leave for work, Emily has to wave goodbye to me. One day last week, she had to come outside and wave goodbye. My dad sat her up on his truck so she wouldn't get in the way. I just thought that they looked so cute!!


And yesterday was moderately nice, so we decided to go to the beach to play with her new sand toys, and then we came home and planted some flowers.
It has been nice to actually be home these past 2 days with Emily and not have to rush off to work. I didn't realize how much I actually missed giving her baths, reading to her at night, putting her to bed, etc. I have just enjoyed every moment of being with her.
My trip to Michigan to get my things is being postponed until September...my manager at the hotel asked that I put it off to help them get through the summer rush...which makes sense!! But, it turns out that my going in September works out best for everyone, so that is nice. Just means that my parents are stuck with Emily and I living with them for a few more months!!!
Other than that, all is well here. Just keeping busy with work, Emily's school and daycare and whatever else seems to pop up!!

Princess Bed

Finally...her big girl bed has arrived! Emily absolutely loves it. She calls it her princess bed! I wasn't sure how tall the bed would be, but something told me to get her a bedguard, mainly because she moves around a lot in her sleep. When they brought the bed and then added the box springs and mattress to it, I was very grateful that I got it! Fingers crossed, this is the very last bed that I will ever have to buy her.

First Field Trip 4-29-2010

Emily got to go on her very first field trip on Thursday! She had so much fun...it wasn't just her first field trip, but her very first time riding a bus, which I do believe was her favorite part of the whole field trip! They went to the Hatfield Marine Science Center and the US Coast Guard station. She loved going on the boats at the Coast Guard Station and touching all of the animals at the Marine Science Center. Next week, I am hoping to take her to the aquarium on my one day off...fingers crossed the weather holds out!!

Changes

Where to begin...Emily is still doing great in preschool. Loves going and absolutely loves her teacher. I swear, if it weren't for teacher Ginger, Emily would not like it nearly as much. Emily now writes her name perfectly, however I did enjoy it when she wrote her name, EILMY!! She counts to 20 without any problems, with the exception of her forgetting 13 sometimes. She has over half of the alphabet down, but knows the entire melody of the song at least! She started daycare a few weeks ago on Thursday's and Friday's and can't get enough of it. Luckily, she is in the daycare that I used to work with, so I know almost all of the ladies that work there! Between preschool and daycare, Emily is learning so much.
I had to take her to the doctor yesterday because we were concerned that she might have a bladder infection, but turns out that everything was fine. But, I did talk to her doctor about how I am not sure how to get her to wake up in the middle of the night to go potty because she is such a sound sleeper. She still has to wear pullups at night. So, he put her on a medication that is actually an anti-depressant, but is supposed to help with bladder control in kids. He said to give it two weeks to see results, so hopefully this will help her.
As for me...I am still working the two jobs and still loving both jobs. My job at the hotel is changing a little bit. I was hired to work day shift, but last week both the front desk manager and general manager sat me down and told me they were moving me to 2nd shift. They said that the girl they have on 2nd shift is making too many errors and needs to be on 1st shift with managers on duty so they can help her, and since I am on of their strongest employees, they need me on the busy shift where they know I can handle the stress and be able to sell rooms! So, I guess it is a compliment, but now I don't get to put Emmy to bed anymore. :( But, I do get more time with her during the day, so that part will be nice.
Just ordered Emily a twin bed!! She has been sleeping on a twin air mattress since we have been back in OR. I haven't had the money to get her a actual bed, and she had outgrown the toddler bed! But, with my tax return money, I was finally able to get it! My parents bought her the comforter and sheets...of course it is princesses!! Now just waiting for the bed to get here...pictures will be posted!!
Other than that, not much new to report. Staying busy, having fun, and trying to save money to get my own place! AND...Oregon is quickly reminding me what I didn't miss about this place...the rain!!! We have had so much of it lately, it is depressing.