Kudos

I'm so proud of my hubby. It is not often that people actually write letters of praise (as I well know from working in hospital administration.) It is so nice to be noticed for a job well done. Michael's job is very stressful at time - people can get pretty nasty when it comes to money, so a little validation goes a long way. Here is an email sent to Michael's boss regarding his excellent performance.


Subject: Mike Ingraldi

I’m sending you a note to tell you how helpful Mike has been in resolving an issue we had here in Minneapolis. There was a dispute over the terms of a promotion, and Mike went well beyond the call of duty to help us achieve a positive result for the client. The client didn’t appreciate it, of course, so Mike had to do even more work on our behalf in an attempt to further placate the client. I’d guess it’s the most work anyone’s done on a $10K account in a long time, but he did it cheerfully and efficiently.

In my opinion, Mike’s a “keeper.”
___

Sidenote: I love how they talk about $10K like it's not that big of a deal! That the stock market world for ya.

Growin' Girls

My girls are getting so big. Kaitlin turns 4 years old next Wednesday. She is smart as a whip, and I suspect will be reading soon. She is very into learning and schoolwork. She loves to spell words and is starting to do some math. Ava is now 10 weeks old and growing quickly. I just put her in her first 3-6 month outfit last night. She is smiling all the time and is overall a very happy baby.

We celebrated Michael's 27th birthday last week. Kati enjoyed making her daddy a cake - notice all the sprinkles are in the very middle :-)

We went roller skating on Saturday with Sasa, Gruncle, Bryan, Michael's mom and dad who were visiting from CO. This was Kati's first time on skates, unfortunately the pictures didn't come out :-(

As you can see below, skating didn't work out so well for me either. I really did pretty good at remembering how to skate again. The picture doesn't prove it but I did. I had stopped against a wall so as not to fall into the little girl who was about to fall. As I got going again, Sir Newton reached up from the rink floor and pulled me down. So there I sat, like a big blob on the floor trying to maneuver my way back up. My knee still appears battered and bruised. I have been laughed at by my family, friends, and even my boss! Someone asked, why did you go roller skating - my answer "to be the fun mom for Kati." I think I'll wait to lose some weight before going again - less for Sir Newton to grab onto.

Workin' 9 to 5 (and then some)

Most of you know I am back at work, going on my third week. It was so nice to be off for eight whole weeks. I loved spending such quality time with my girls. Kaitlin has never had me home for long of a period and she loved it. The transition was difficult for the first week and a half but now she is back in the routine. Luckily, we are blessed to have Aunt Lisa (Sasa) care for the girls while we are away at work. She is a godsend - without her I don't know what we do. Everyone should be so blessed. Ava is adjusting okay too. She is very needy of me at night, and that's okay with me. It lets me know she missed me too. I think the tranisition is most difficult on me. It is hard to get my head back in the work game, but it is hard. I miss my girls terribly during the day. I am trying my darndest to keep up with breastfeeding now that I am back but it is proving difficult. I wish I could be home with my girls but it just isn't possible, so I have no choice but to accept the reality of the situation.

I am so lucky that Ava is a good sleeper. We're talking 9pm to sometime between 4-6am! I am so blessed to have a good sleeper. It's a good thing too because my daily routine is pretty exhausting. Wake up at 6:00ish (maybe 6:20, if I hit snooze a few times), feed Ava and pump simultaneously (multi-tasking: the stuff moms are made of!), get Kati up and ready, get myself ready, prepare bottles, get the car loaded up, off to Sasa's, run to work, work, pump, work, pump, rush home to relieve husband, make dinner, clean house/dishes/children, play with Kati, watch a little t.v., get Kati and Ava ready for bed, tuck them in, get self ready for bed, crawl in bed, watch the news for a few, and I am out like a light - until Ava awakes in the early morning hours. (Whew, I am tired just thinking about it!) As tiring as it is, I realize how blessed I am to have such a day. I wouldn't trade my girls for anything and enjoy being their mommy immensely.

Notice my poor husband, got no mention - sorry honey, I'll see you in about 20 years when we have time for a conversation. In case, it's been hard to tell lately, I still love you more than you can ever know.

Ingraldi Look-alike Meter

I have always been interested in which one of us our girls might look the most like, so here it is according to MyHeritage.com
There it is folks, the truth according to MyHeritage face recognition.