I had a crazy couple of months of travel for work, I was gone for at least some of four of six weeks in a row which was pretty intense. I was in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and San Francisco again. Now I am back at home with no plans of travel until January which is great.
Work travel like that is confusing because as a guilty person by nature I have guilt no matter what is happening. When I'm traveling and enjoying myself - eating out, going out with coworkers, feeling the thrill of speaking in front of others I feel guilty that I am missing out on my time with Dave and the girls and all that is going on in their lives. It's one of those no-win scenarios of life.
I was at a birthday party in the midst of all my travel and one of the moms said to me, "Oh my, you work full time and you travel? That must be so terrible for you, and so difficult leaving them." I didn't want to tell of the reasons why I enjoy it too.
I do think there is something to be said to owning the enjoyment. It is great to travel without kids, to go to interesting places and do work that is fulfilling. It is also gratifying to doing that and being a huge part of the girls' lives and showing them how to be a successful woman who works. I'm going to focus on the enjoyment rather than the guilt and see if I can't turn things around. Plus, my next trip will be with the entire family in tow, I'll enjoy that too for completely different reasons. As the french proverb states: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart" and I'm planning to keep it all very close to mine.
Chatty Carina
I've been meaning to write for months about Carina and her speech. Primarily because it is another way she differs so much from Samantha. It has also been a great lesson for me about how different kids can be while neither being "right" or "wrong". Sammy, as we all know, was a late talker, she did communicate though with a wide variety of signs but she didn't do a lot of trying to communicate with words until she could really do it perfectly.
Carina on the other hand tries to say just about everything. You ask her if she can say book, baby, dog, cow, etc. and she will attempt it almost always. I loved when my Papa and Grandma Modina were visiting and Carina could say "Papa and Grandma Mo". She babbles away constantly and once you get the hang of her dialect, much of it is understandable.
It is frustrating for us, and more so for her when she is trying, really, really trying, to convey something but can't quite get it across. The other day she wanted to brush her teeth and was saying repeatedly what sounded like "stay stoooo". I could see her getting more upset as she continued to say it more, and more, louder and louder when I finally understood she was asking about her "step stool". (Note to Aunt Diane, those step stools are big hits around our house!).
Recently, Carina has started to string two and three words together now too, my favorites are her latest "Look at me, look at me!" or "I need that!" - such a character already.
Carina on the other hand tries to say just about everything. You ask her if she can say book, baby, dog, cow, etc. and she will attempt it almost always. I loved when my Papa and Grandma Modina were visiting and Carina could say "Papa and Grandma Mo". She babbles away constantly and once you get the hang of her dialect, much of it is understandable.
It is frustrating for us, and more so for her when she is trying, really, really trying, to convey something but can't quite get it across. The other day she wanted to brush her teeth and was saying repeatedly what sounded like "stay stoooo". I could see her getting more upset as she continued to say it more, and more, louder and louder when I finally understood she was asking about her "step stool". (Note to Aunt Diane, those step stools are big hits around our house!).
Recently, Carina has started to string two and three words together now too, my favorites are her latest "Look at me, look at me!" or "I need that!" - such a character already.
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