Okay, so where do I begin?

First, I should begin by venting my great frustration at what just happened: I lost my post! I hate it when that happens. Sooooooooo aggravating. 

Okay, moving on. 

Hmmpf.

No, seriously. I'm done now. 

So spring break was good. I ended up watching Hannah all week, which was an unexpected development. The babysitter's husband had appendicitis and was hospitalized a good chunk of the time I was home (thankfully, he's better now and out of the hospital but has to go back in 

a few weeks for surgery). It was a blessing I was home because Miss would have needed to find places for Hannah to go each day, so I'm glad for the timing if it had to happen to poor Dan at all. 

Since I've moved out, Hannah has become really affectionate with me. She loves having me home, and I love all the hugs, kisses, and attention I get! 

Having that extra time with her was very precious to me. In her great generosity, my sister even paid me what she pays the sitter for the week. That was an extra blessing, and you can bet that's going straight into my vacation savings account! 

Speaking of vacations, my cousin Karen and her kids were at Disney last week. Another blessing in the timing of that during my spring break - I was able to take her calls in the middle of the day to talk about being at Disney. Had I been at work, I suspect my clients would have frowned upon me having taken personal phone calls in the midst of them revealing their deep, dark secrets. Go figure. ;) 

Anyways, Hannah knew that Karen, Matt, and the kids were there, so she would frequently announce, "Tia! Karot Matt Gacie Jack go to Disssney Whoid!" (In Hannah-speak, she's calling out to me and saying Karen, Matt, Gracie, and Jack are going to Disney World!"). At one point, we were watching "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" on the Disney channel, and the part where Tigger sings "The Most Wonderful Thing about Tiggers". Hannah jumped up and exclaimed again, "Tia - Karot!!! And Karot Matt Gacie Jack go to Disssney Whoid!" This impressed me because a) She remembered hearing that song in Karen's car in NOVEMBER of last year when we had our annual sisters shopping weekend, which Karen now joins us for each year since she's like the third sister in our family (that's what Karot! meant), and b) she associated that song with the ride at Disney, where the same song is played. Such a smart kiddo! 

We then, of course, had to replay the song several times while Hannah did her best Tigger impersonation while jumping around on the couch. I knew you'd want to see pictures, so here you go: (As you can see, we enjoyed a PJs-all-day event that day.) 

Hannah goes to gymnastics at a Christian-run facility in

town, so she had her gymnastics lesson that day as well. 

Here she is in her little outfit, ready to participate (as it would turn out, she did not participate and

 actually stood there frozen and cried most of the time. At the end, though, she informed us, "I had fun, Mommy!" Ummmm, okay.)

As I mentioned, we had lunch with my former boss, Lisa, and that was good. My old agency is suffering in this bad economy; since they get money from the state, and Ohio is cutting their budget for mental health programming (apparently other things are more important than helping those struggling with mild to severe mental health problems), two entire departments have been cut. Other departments, including the one I belonged to, have laid people off. The

 lay-offs seem to not necessarily have a rhyme or reason, and this is stressful. My job would have been secure since the school districts pay for the service directly to the agency, but it's still tough times. Lunch with her was good; I miss her and some of my coworkers, but I still LOVE my job now. There's really no comparison, except that my old job allowed me to liv closer to family and friends. 

I got to meet my replacement at my old job. Her name is Angela, and I've heard good things. That's good news because I worked REALLY hard with those kids, and my first replacement only stuck around for 3 months. That was really tough for me. Anyway, during my lunch date with the friends I made at one of my schools, I got to meet Angela. She walked in and the conversation went a little something like this:

(Monica introduces us.)

Me: It's nice to finally meet you!'

Angela: You too... can I see your feet? (walking toward me and peering around the desk at which I was sitting)

Me: (laughs awkwardly) Uh, yeah. Sure. (pause) Why?

Angela: Because you left me some really big shoes to fill!

Okay, so I have to admit, that was one of the best, most creative compliments I've ever gotten! I laughed and thanked her and told her I've heard good things about her. She said, "Well, I've heard AMAZING things about you! Everyone always says, 'Well Jen did this' or "Well, Jen did that'... and I say, 'Oh. My name's Angela.'" I affirmed her that I'm sure she's wonderful in her own way. She asked to get my email and phone number to run some questions by me from time to time. That was also very flattering. It was strange to be back in that environment and be talking the talk the way I used to every day (managing caseloads, how to connect with families, which families will always give her problems and which ones won't, etc.). 

During my time there, I went to see some of the other staff members as well, all of which who told me how much they miss me and what a fantastic job I did. I even heard this from the principal I was closest to who never responded to the email and the card I sent to say thanks and goodbye when I left. It was a healing day for me, and I left very uplifted and encouraged by the legacy I left there. Hannah was such a good sport, and I think she enjoyed being at the big kids' school! She always gets tons of attention because she's unbearably cute, so it's fun to show her off, too. 

The outfit to your right is what I dressed in her on the day we had lunch at the school. Isn't this an adorable picture??? She looks SOOOO grown up! 

More to come soon... thanks for reading! Oh, and sorry for the funky layout - I don't like the way blogger makes you upload pictures. You have to do them first and write around them, but since I don't always know what I'll be saying in a post, that doesn't work so well. Or, you can write first, but then the pictures come in at the top of the text and you have to move them all over the place. Someone who uses blogger and posts more than a picture at at time, clue me in - how do you do it???