We even remembered the cupcakes and cheese puffs

We pulled off another week!

This week's schedule was out of whack before the week even began, when Paul realized his schedule at work conflicted with Anna's care since I was out of town on Tues and Wed. It was a short week anyway with the holiday thrown in. He pulled it off with only one late afternoon meltdown from Anna (following one of her weird 5pm naps lately). Yesterday I had the day at work to catch up on some stuff, perform mommy duties , which included Anna's dinner, bath, and asking Paul to run out to purchase cupcakes for Anna's class tomorrow while I sang her bedtime songs (she wanted daddy to read her books and mommy's signing voice!)...insert here a quote from Esther re making my own cupcakes ;) Hey Esther, I really did make my own cupcakes for her classroom birthday party! Well, from a box but that counts....

Last night did not include exercise because I think my allergies are starting to wear on my energy a bit so I was pooped. I've actually felt drained all week and it's coinciding with sinus pressure. I was half asleep on the couch by the time Paul figured out how to use his miles for a free flight to Orlando in June where he'll join me without the toddler for a shuttle launch (and Universal Studios roller coasters baby!!) on his birthday since it coincides with some of my work meetings at KSC that week.

This morning saw Paul out the door to a conference downtown before I was even out of bed at 6am and an early waking for Anna since I had to have her at school and myself in place for a career day at a local middle school by 8am (favor of a co-worker). It all worked. She was so dang happy and cooperative this morning, it was unbelievable. Like my old Anna. Hell yeah, I even remembered to pack the cupcakes and got them in one piece to her classroom.

I forgot my cell phone at the house when I left this morning but that doesn't really count.

Before I left for Colorado, I packed the cheese puffs (part of an art project in her classroom) for Paul to bring while I was gone and even they made it.

It's the little things that we pull off that makes me feel good. See? Cheese puffs (check). Cupcakes (check). Safe child (check). Productive travel (check). Outreach (check). Schedule juggling (check). It's a good week even though it went by too quickly and I'm tired. And Anna was happy when she left this morning.

Except for the run-in we had with the socks. Up until 2 weeks ago, she always wore socks and tennis shoes to school. Never her sandals for a number of reasons. Her entire toddler life has been mostly socks and her tennis shoes. But the past 2 weeks has been sandals only. You get a sock onto her foot and she loses it, demanding it to be removed this very minute.

What the hell's with the socks? She has a whole drawer full of cute new socks I just bought in April and two pairs of the same Keds tennis shoes because she wore through her last ones. And so an new "toddler phase" begins. Annoying but I remind myself it could be worse (at least she still eats well and sleeps well...except for the occasional night terror thing).

She has learned to put her sandals on by herself completely (assuming she gets them on the correct foot the first time).

This morning's outreach was for a career day talk for a bunch of 5th graders for a co-worker I hardly know. But it's a fun part of my job so I created a slide show of pictures and talked about all the cool jobs at NASA. I don't usually talk to this age group so I wasn't sure how it'd go. Around 100 kids rotated through my talks and now they all know we have a space station on orbit and what is done up there (including how today just happens to be a historic day where now SIX astronauts live on the space station together, when in the past it's always been 2 or 3 at a time). I learned from them that China is planning to launch a missile that can carry black holes, and also that astronauts float in space because there is no oxygen. I could not answer their questions as to how black holes are created, or whether I really think the world will end in 2012. But I guess I have alot to learn ;)

On Sunday night, CM is going to be a super trooper and babysit Anna so that Paul and I can go to a No Doubt concert at the Woodlands. Anna should be sleeping the whole time so I hope he considers it some good downtime to just hang out. Unless she puts on one of her night terrors, which usually happens between 10:30pm-11:30pm. But we'll give him a crash course on that. ;) I think we'll probably be gone till midnight. Hey CM, you're welcome to invite Carmelo over and make it a boy's night :)

The car seat struggles with Anna have been tamed this week mostly due to the following:
1) I was gone on Tues and Wed so I only have had to bring her to/from school twice this week so I didn't have to experience her protests.
2) I have paci power. That's right, I gave it back to her in the car and when she starts fussing with the seat belts, I yank it right out of her mouth and it's amazing how well she can cooperate then. You get the idea. It keeps the peace. Soooo much more peaceful. Nothing I've tried works like that stupid paci. Oh well, it'll be her husband's problem one day if it's the only way she'll wear her seat belt.

Check this out today: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition20/docking.html