http://kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/family/index/ en hurricanead@yahoo.com Copyright 2008 2008-09-08T19:59:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/mom_is_staying_home_sort_of/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/mom_is_staying_home_sort_of/#When:18:59:00Z Believe it or not, but the end of summer is actually a very exciting time this year.  My wife is a high school teacher in the New York City Public School System and she is taking a leave of absence for the upcoming school year.  This move fills us with both excitement and anxiety. First, my wife cannot wait to spend extra time with the Tornado.  The Tornado was spending about 30 hours a week with a babysitter.  Though our babysitter was wonderful, nobody beats mom.  Second, we save quite a bit of money from day care and my wife has a driver bring her home at night as she doesn’t drive and I work nights.  So the money we save is going to be substantial. Now for the major negative.  I am the primary bread winner now and let me tell you this is where the anxiety comes into play.  Though, daycare and my wife’s travel expenses were high we still had some extra money left from her check. The good news is that my wife will be working a couple days a week at her school maintaining the web site she designed.  Unfortunately, when dealing with NYC Department of Education nothing is guaranteed.  Also, my wife is trying to get her web design business off the ground and I am very confident that she will be making money very soon as she is talented.  Checkout Mom on the Rise (shameless plug) for a sample of her work and Designs by Kristina Brooke to view her portfolio and inquire about her services. For the next year we will be doing our best to stick to a budget and I will be trying for all the overtime I can possibly get.  Also, since my wife will be taking the year off anyway, we may be working on baby number two.  Though, we are only having preliminary discussions and are not doing anything drastic just yet. 2008-09-08T18:59:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/new_aprtment_new_energy/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/new_aprtment_new_energy/#When:19:03:00Z If you haven’t noticed, I got a new design as implemented by The Domestic Diva. I am very happy with it and highly recommend her if you are looking for a quick and inexpensive redesign. She takes a template that you like and turns it into a brand that you love. So head on over there; it’s worth it- trust me. Earlier this week we moved to a new apartment. After almost two years of living in an apartment that was without heat when the temperature dipped below 30 degrees, we moved the the most beautiful apartment in which we have ever lived. To boot, we put SWHS in a toddler bed and that opened a can of worms. I am also having flashbacks to when we put her into the crib. I’m secretly wishing that she would pitch a fit so badly that we have to get her crib back. Is it wrong that I have to lovk her in her room in order to get some sleep? I don’t really lock her in, but I did put a child-proofing contraption on her door because she kept opening it and running through the house. I sort of feel like I locked the Princess away in the dark tower. Please don’t call ACS. Did I mention that SWHS is TWO? It came and went so quickly and I think in total, I saw her for about 2 hours on her birthday. That’s right, we celebrated her entry into the Terrible Twos by dropping her off at Nanny and Poppy’s. We had a party planned with a beautiful invitation made by yours truly, but we had to postpone it because we were moving the next day. The party will be rescheduled for no other reason than I want to use the invitations. So what’s the new energy? Well, I have decided to take my personal blog in a whole new direction. I am cutting ties to some organization and I am going to write what I actually feel instead of what will earn me a buck or two. I have a lot to say and I’m tired of being fluffy. 2008-05-03T19:03:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/happy_birthday_mya/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/happy_birthday_mya/#When:19:08:00Z Happy B-day: You Are Two Make a Smilebox photobook 2008-04-27T19:08:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/im_sorryso_sorry/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/im_sorryso_sorry/#When:03:01:00Z Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I have a new schedule at work that will free me up to post regularly.  So expect plenty of updates in the future as the Tornado is growing so fast and learning new things and getting into plenty of trouble.  For instance, she is becoming so defiant.  She climbs up on the couch all by herself, which is amazing and oh so cute.  She will throw a book up onto the couch then climb up and sit so sweetly and flip through the book.  Now to the defiant part.  She will look for someone to watch her and then stand up on the couch and run around.  We tell her to sit down, as she comes so close to falling off the couch.  One time she actually fell and I was lying on the floor and caught her in mid air.  But I digressed, so when you get up to dicipline her she sits down.  However, if you turn your back on her she pops up again. Well the holidays were amazing as well.  The tornado was 20 months old for Christmas and she was great.  She loved openning presents.  Every gift she unwrapped was greeted with an “OHHHHHHHH.” Adorable is not a strong enough word for how cute she was.  Her favorite gift has to be a baby doll and stroller she received from her sitter.  The doll cries to be feed and snores when she sleeps.  The first few times she would play with the doll, the doll would cry and the tornado would run the doll to mommy or daddy as fast as she could because she did not know what to do.  Now she is an expert.  It still amazes me how fast she learns everything. Well this entry needs to be short, but I will be posting agaion real soon. I hope the holidays were joyous for all. 2008-01-19T03:01:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/happy_holidays/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/happy_holidays/#When:15:40:00Z We had a great time both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Opening gifts with everyone on Christmas Eve was amazing and Mya really did enjoy herself. On Christmas Day we went to Nana’s (Kristina’s mother) house for dinner. Here are some pictures from both days. If you don’t see pictures below, then you need to sign up for a Flickr account and add me as a friend (mrsmancub). Flickr is free and is the only way to see our pictures. 2007-12-27T15:40:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/my_little_angel/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/my_little_angel/#When:03:00:00Z Unfortunately, living in Westchester County, New York requires both parents to work full time.  This kills us as we are forced to send the tornado to a sitter 3 days a week.  Lukily, we have the greatest sitter ever who we love and the tornado adores.  She always has a great time because our sitter lives next door to and watches the tornado’s friend.  Also, our sitter has 3 kids of her own, all boys ranging from 14 years old down to 6 years old (I think).  Though they are so much older than the tornado they love playing with her and are like her brothers.  Also, Mondays her friend is there all day to play with so she gets tons of attention, which excites the tornado.  It gets so crazy that her nap schedule gets all out of whack and she only takes one short nap, sometimes bypassing it all together.  Usually this translates into a full night of uninterrupted sleep for all and a late start in the morning.  So though we regret having to utilize a sitter there are some benefits. Now to the point of my post.  In the morning I tend to bring the tornado in and mom picks her up in the late afternoon.  So she gets the gushing excited greeting.  I get the tornado chasing me grabbing my legs and whining (used to be crying, but she’s a big girl now).  It breaks my heart to leave her, especially since when I get home at night she is generally sleeping so I see here in the morning for only 30 mins, 45 if I am lucky, as we are rushing out the door.  Luckily, I have 3 days off a week so I try to make up for the lost time on the other days.  Still it is real hard to leave her in the morning especially when that bottom lip pokes out and quivers and she gives me the sad eyes.  I wish my wife would take her up in the morning, but she is usually eating as she is rushing to work.  And in all fairness she asks every morning, but I feel bad since she is eating and all and usually aviods lunch.  The funny thing is that it seems worse than it is as by the time a make it back to the car she has already forgotten about me. Oh well, could be worse.  She could be excited that I am leaving. 2007-09-29T03:00:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/elmo_is_a_no_go/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/elmo_is_a_no_go/#When:18:21:00Z I watched Sesame Street today with my daughter, and I just have to say it: I really hate Elmo. He was supposedly created to give toddlers someone on the show to relate to, and his Elmo’s World segment was created to keep youngsters watching past 45-minutes. However, when his target audience, my 16-month old toddler, gets up, walks across the room to the TV and tries to bash Elmo’s head in with her sippy-cup, I think it is safe to say that Sesame Street’s creators failed miserably. 2007-09-23T18:21:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/look_weve_got_stuff/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/look_weve_got_stuff/#When:17:38:00Z This should not be called “In the Park” but rather “Dancing With My Cousin”. 2007-09-16T17:38:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/soon_i_promise/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/soon_i_promise/#When:03:51:00Z I will update soon. I have a ton of pictures to upload and school just started again so I really have no free time. I promise, I will do it this weekend sometime. 2007-09-14T03:51:00-05:00 http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/she_knows_what_she_like/ http://www.kristinandrew.com/ee/index.php/site/she_knows_what_she_like/#When:02:56:00Z I watched Sesame Street today with Mya, and I just have to say it: I really hate Elmo. He was supposedly created to give toddlers someone on the show to relate to, and his Elmo’s World segment was created to keep youngsters watching past 45-minutes. However, when his target audience, my 16-month old toddler, gets up, walks across the room to the TV and tries to bash Elmo’s head in with her sippy-cup, I think it is safe to say that Sesame Street’s creators failed miserably. 2007-09-14T02:56:00-05:00