Here are some pictures I took of Gabrielle yesterday. I can't believe she will be 7 months old next week! Before you know it, we'll be celebrating her 1st birthday. Time is just going by too fast.

Tonight is Gabrielle's first night back in her crib. We moved the crib next to our bed so she feels like she is still sleeping next to me. I thought that would be a good way to transition - for both of us. So far, so good. She's asleep. I also wanted to mention that we just noticed this evening that her first tooth is coming in. It's her bottom right tooth. I can feel the jagged edges of it coming through. No wonder she's been crankier than normal. I thought it was all due to her illness, but now I think it's a combination of the two. I can't wait to see her with a little tooth!

Well, it seems that my lovely daughter will have to learn to sleep in her crib. I have spent the entire night rolling her back over from her belly to her back. She rolls every chance she gets. It's been a while now that we haven't been able to leave her on a bed, but just tonight she started rolling in her sleep. She has always been a co-sleeper (other than from week 10 to week 15 when she wanted to sleep in her crib and then decided she didn't want to anymore), but now she must learn to sleep on her own. This is not going to be fun.

People always give me a certain look when I tell them she sleeps in bed with me. It's the "oh, you're-going-to-be-sorry-you-started-that-habit" look. Then they say things like, "you'll never get her out of your bed" or "she'll be five years old and still crawling in your bed." I really don't mind. She's my little princess and she can crawl in bed with me until she's five if she wants to. But we have to be safe. I can't have her rolling over in her sleep and crawling off the bed. Not that she would though. I wake up every time she moves so really my problem is that I haven't gotten any sleep tonight because of her rolling. So... now I am forced to teach her how to sleep in her crib on her own. It sort of makes me sad.

By the way.. she said "mama" last night. Not purposely, but she said it. It made my day. She is also starting to figure out how to crawl. She started pulling her knees up under her. She hasn't yet figured out the upper body portion of the maneuver, but I imagine she will before long. She is mobile, however. She manages to scoot across the floor just fine without technically being able to crawl. My baby girl is growing up so fast. She also does this shoulder-shrugging thing now. She looks at me sideways and tucks one shoulder up under her chin and throws her arm out behind her as if to say, "how the heck should I know." It is so darn cute. I will have to try to get a picture of it.

I'm so glad that Jeremy took Gabrielle to the doctors again today. They pricked her finger and found out that her white blood count is at 17. For a "normal" sick baby, it should be around 10, which means she's fighting something wicked. They also did a chest x-ray and found out that the poor girl has pneumonia. It's not bad enough for her to be hospitalized because it just went into her chest yesterday, but they have her on an extremely powerful antibiotic and want a call from us every morning to see how she is doing. She is so miserable. What's even worse is that I came down with the stomach flu yesterday morning that she had days ago and I think Jeremy is starting to show signs of it today. This is going to be one helluva holiday weekend. Please pray that my baby girl gets better very soon.

Gabrielle is going to see her pediatrician again tomorrow. We finally got her to eat some rice cereal this evening, but she still isn't doing that well. She's been running a low grade fever and is now coughing along with everything else. Plus, she isn't happy for very long. She's spent most of the day crying. Probably because she feels like crap and doesn't know how else to deal with it, but I would feel better if she went to the doctors before they are closed for a long weekend. We've talked to the doctor on the phone every morning this week, but that just isn't good enough for me.

It was getting a little scary for a while, but I think Gabrielle is going to pull through this illness without a trip to the hospital. The doctor seems to think she has a sinus infection and the stomach flu. My poor baby girl. I feel so bad for her. She's not "herself" yet, but hopefully she will be back to normal soon.

I passed the state exam!! I am so happy! It was such a nerve-racking day. I think it was the most difficult test I have ever taken. I was afraid to look at my score after it was over. But I PASSED!!!!

Unfortunately, my poor baby girl is still sick. She isn't acting all that sick, but she has had diarrhea for two days and, from what we can tell, she has not urinated at all the past 24 hours. The doctor is worried about dehydration, of course. She isn't drinking as much as she normally does and completely refuses solids. If things don't change pretty soon, she could end up in the hospital. Please say a little prayer for her.

Wow, it's been quite a weekend. Gabrielle ended up getting pretty sick on Saturday. I had to call her pediatrician and have her call in an antibiotic to the pharmacy. The poor girl was so miserable that she couldn't even sleep. She's doing much better now and was seen by her doctor this morning. Evan is pretty much the same - coughing and stuffy, but no fever and plenty of energy.

As far as work goes, today was extremely boring. We had new hire orientation in the auditorium. It moved at a snails pace and was highly uninteresting. I was ready to go back to reading the huge insurance book. Oh, well.. that's over and done with. Tomorrow we start our corporate training. I, along with several other people, will be leaving work at 3pm to go to the test site for the state exam. I'm getting SO nervous. I feel like I am going to throw up every time I think about it. I'll update tomorrow evening - pass or fail. Please send some positive thoughts my way or include me in your prayers.

I have two sick kids out of three. Jamie is absolutely fine. In fact, he left early with grandpa to go fishing. Evan and Gabrielle, on the other hand, are both sick. Nothing I can take them to the doctor for yet, but really bad colds. Evan is now coughing; Gabby isn't. I just have to follow her around with a box of Kleenex. I am beginning to think that my mom will have to take one, if not both, to the doctor on Monday. Needless to say, I haven't done any studying so far this weekend.

I am so happy the weekend is here. I am completely exhausted from this past week at work. My brain is so overloaded. I plan on doing nothing but relaxing for the next two and half days. Well, that isn't really true. I do plan on doing a lot of relaxing, but I also have quite a bit of studying to do.

Our training class took a practice test today that was similar in content and the amount of questions to the state exam. Only 7 people out of 20 passed and I was one of them! I feel a lot better now about the whole thing. The questions I got wrong were simply stupid mistakes because I was nervous. Hopefully I won't do the same thing for the real test. All I care about today is that I passed the practice test!

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you know that I am studying to take the P&C licensing exam through the state of Michigan to secure my position with my current employer. My class finally finished reading the HUGE insurance book that we are required to study for this exam. Now we are reading the state book - much smaller, but extremely confusing. The information in the state book totally contradicts the information in the huge insurance book, but we have to know both for the exam and they will not be separated. You don't take the exam on the big book and then the exam for the state book. They mix them all up and try like heck to confuse you. Why? Because it costs $40 every time you take the test so the more you fail and have to retest, the more money the state makes. Luckily my employer pays for the first two attempts. After that.. it's out of my pocket. If I don't pass the state exam within 30 days, I won't have a job with an awesome salary and benefits.

You think that's bad? It gets worse. After this class ends on Friday, we begin corporate training on Monday which teaches us how the company does things - which, once again, is totally different from what we are learning right now. So, if I don't pass the first time my head gets filled with even more contradictory information. The longer it takes me to pass the state exam, the harder it will be to differentiate that information from this. I hope and pray that I am fortunate enough to pass the first time.

Yesterday wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I didn't actually start to get tired until after three in the afternoon. I don't even know if I became tired because of the lack of sleep or because of all the information I was trying to digest. By late afternoon every day I just feel like I can't process anything else. Well, by Friday this class will be over and by next Tuesday I will hopefully have passed the test. Then I can move on to a new kind of training - one that isn't so stressful.

It's going to be a very long day today. I don't know what the deal was, but Gabrielle didn't sleep very well last night - which means I didn't get much sleep either. I thought I was going to get more sleep than usual because I went to bed at a couple minutes after nine. I am really not looking forward to going to work today. I'll probably be in bed very early tonight.

Gabrielle has changed so much in just one week. Last Sunday we took her to get her professional 6 month pictures taken at JcPenney. At that point, she couldn't sit up. Not unless she was propped up against something and even then Jeremy had to slide his hand under the blanket and hold onto the back of her clothes so she wouldn't topple over for the pictures. Today, just seven days later, my little princess can sit with a little help from her friend, the boppy pillow. It's not even really supporting her. It's just there so she doesn't get hurt if she falls backward. Check her out!

* More photos on Flickr *

I would like to inform everyone that my mother just drunk-and-dialed me twice. (No, she's not an alcoholic) She's up north with my dad and a huge group of their friends. They are absolutely hilarious when they are intoxicated. You will never guess what she called the second time to ask me! She wanted to know what "punch the clown" means and also inquired about what a "johnson" is. And, yes... I had to explain both to her. I could hear them all laughing hysterically in the background as she repeated what I said. I am fairly certain I will get another call before the night is over. It didn't sound like they were working on becoming sober any time soon.

Gabrielle is catching up on some sleep that she missed out on by being in daycare (only because she hasn't fully adjusted yet, but she's getting better). She has been sleeping for 2.5 hours now. Her naps [at home] are normally 1.5 to 2 hours and that is usually only if I am napping with her. I left the room right after she fell asleep and she hasn't made a noise since. I guess she is pretty happy to be at home today.

It's nice being home with the kids today. Unfortunately my husband is working, but this evening, after he gets home, my sister and brother-in-law are coming over to hang out. We're going to have a few drinks and play the Wii. I'll have to make sure I do a lot of studying today and use tonight as my break.

Apparently I was wiped out from the past three days at work because I fell asleep with Gabby at six-thirty this evening and just woke up. Had she not waken up for a bottle, I would probably still be sleeping. I can't wait until this whole state exam thing is over. Training and studying for it is completely exhausting. There is no way to explain how difficult this material is or how ridiculous it is to have to learn it all in one week. There is nothing to compare it to. No one could possibly understand unless they had to do it themselves. I'm not alone in this thinking either. Everyone in my training class is feeling the same way - completely overwhelmed and terrified. It's worth it though. At least, I hope so.

It's only my third day back to work and I'm already happy it's the weekend. That doesn't mean that I don't like my job - or what I know of it so far, but I am definitely looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Today was a much better day than yesterday. Gabrielle did great at daycare. No crying for either of us. It's nice being right down the street so I can spend my lunch with her. As far as work goes, I must admit my brain hurts from all the information being crammed into it each day. This state exam is going to be HELL. I can't wait to get past this part.

Well, I made it through my first day at work. The company is awesome and I am looking forward to working there - as long as I pass the state exam by June 9th. The cafeteria is catered by Marriott which isn't really good for my wallet, but that doesn't make it any less fantastic. The only problem I had today was leaving Gabrielle at daycare. She was fine while I was there (I stayed for about 40 minutes to help her ease into it), but then when I handed her off and started to leave she started crying. I felt so horrible that I started crying on my way out and then all the way to work and for about ten minutes in the parking lot at work. It was a difficult beginning to my day to say the least. She did OK according to the teachers, but it will definitely take some adjusting. She hardly napped at all and she didn't eat as much as she normally does, but she made it through the day and was very happy to see me when I picked her up.

I can't believe it's only nearing ten o'clock and I have to go to bed. Why? Because I have to get up early to go to work. Ugh. Do you know how long it's been since I've said that? About 7 months. I am really going to miss being a stay-at-home mom. I love being at home with my children. Oh, well.. that's just the way life is - full of "have to's." Knowing that doesn't make me feel any less sad about it though.

This is my last day to do whatever I want. I am going back to work tomorrow. I'm excited and nervous; my stomach already feels like a big knot. I hope I like this job. The company is awesome and the salary and benefits are incredible. They even have a pension. How often do you hear that? Almost never. My insurance starts after only a month too. It couldn't get much better. I need time to study over the next week also. I have to pass a state exam within thirty days or I lose the great job. Nothing like a little added stress on top of everything else.

I hope Gabrielle does alright at daycare too. I'm so afraid that she will cry when I leave, although she's a little young for that, but if she's in a mood she will cry unless I am holding her. I will be a complete wreck all day if she does that. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a Resident Evil freak. Unfortunately, there is no talk of releasing RE5 for the Wii. Of course Capcom always says they aren't releasing on a certain system and end up coming out with it later. They are releasing RE4 for the Wii so I would bet that we will see the newest installment eventually. For now Capcom is developing a game called Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles specifically for the Wii which is due to come out January 1, 2008.

The screen shots look to be based around RE1, RE3 and REzero. It's going to be a lot different than the original games according to the latest news. It's going to be first-person, which I'm not all that crazy about, and it won't have the puzzle-solving that the originals had - which is one thing I love about the series and will miss. It's supposed to be non-stop action with little time to think; zombies around every corner. The one thing that I find really appealing is that the environment is destructible - you can shoot pictures off the wall, lights from the ceiling, statues, whatever. You can find hidden items there. The overall experience could be highly entertaining or horrifically disappointing. Only time will tell. Of course, I can't live without my fix of the original platform and that is why we will be purchasing a PS3 before RE5's release. Until then I'm going to see if I can have a little fun with Wii's version. Catch a sneak peak.

Gabrielle is 6 months old today. It blows my mind to think that it's already been half a year since I gave birth to her. She is such a beautiful little girl. I can't imagine my life without her.

No pictures, please..

Ok, maybe just one..

Ok.. it's only ten minutes after eight and I've only had one Lemon Drop Martini, but I'm already feeling it. I've bowled 2 games and beat my youngest son's behind at tennis (on the Wii, of course). I LOVE this game system!

The boys (my husband and son) and the princess playing baseball on the Wii

It has been such a great day. The whole family went shopping again. First, I got another couple inches cut off my hair - mostly because it was totally uneven the first time I got it cut - and picked up some really good shampoo and conditioner to repair the damage done by trying to strip the color out. Once that was out of the way we went on a massive shopping spree. We got more clothes for everyone so now none of us will need any clothes for a long time. The most exciting thing we purchased was a Wii!! I can't believe we have one now. Jeremy is hooking it up as I type this. We also picked up Wii Play which is another bundle of games and a second controller. I don't think we'll be leaving the house the rest of the weekend other than to go to church and get Gabby's pictures taken tomorrow.

My sister and I went to Red Lobster last night to celebrate her birthday. It was so nice getting to spend some time together. We had awesome food, great conversation and big, tasty frozen drinks. Then we did a little shopping. It's always fun hanging out with my sister.

Grey's Anatomy was even better than I expected. I think they focused more on the spinoff than Grey's, but it was still very good. The spinoff seems like something I am going to like. The cast is awesome and they seem to already have good chemistry. So, we'll be adding one more show to the DVR schedule for fall.

Who's not excited about the two hour episode of Grey's Anatomy tonight?

I can't imagine many people aren't. Tonight's show is supposed to set the stage for the spinoff, Private Practice, scheduled to take off this fall.

Remember the Incubus concert that we were supposed to see at the State Theater in February that was postponed because the singer was sick? Yeah, well.. the new date was May 22nd, but now that has been completely cancelled. How shitty is that? Now if we want to see them we have to purchase NEW tickets to see them at DTE (the old Pine Knob) for a different tour in July - which means that we may not have the awesome tickets we originally had. Screw that! I wouldn't see them now for anything. They no longer deserve my support.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. On Friday night I am taking my sister to Red Lobster for her birthday (which was this last weekend). Mmmmm... my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Can it be Friday already?

I don't think much is going on for Saturday other than hanging out and relaxing, but then Sunday we are getting Gabrielle's pictures done, as I mentioned in a previous entry, and I'm excited about that. So, yeah... I'm counting down the hours until the weekend hits.

One week from today, at this time, I will be at work. Wow, that sounds weird. I am getting a bit nervous. I am going to have to leave Gabrielle at day care. How will I concentrate on work when I will be thinking about how she is doing; worrying about whether or not she is crying and wondering where I am. Will she think I abandoned her? *sigh* My heart is racing just thinking about it. Since I will be right down the street from her, I imagine that I will be at the daycare center every day during my lunch.

I received a notice from Evan's school stating that they chose his artwork to be on display at our local library. There will be a reception held for all the kids and parents of the kids who's artwork was chosen from K through 12th grades on May 30th. How exciting is that? Apparently my boys are quite talented because Jamie had his artwork chosen back when he was Evan's age. I'm such a lucky mom to have such creatively talented children.

Gabrielle, on the other hand, is far too young for things like this so I will just say that we are having her 6 month pictures done at JcPenneys Portrait Studio on Sunday. Can you believe that she will be six months old on Saturday? Boy, time sure does fly. I can't wait to get them done. It's so much fun and she is going to be SO CUTE in her pretty pink dress that her great-grandma just sent her.