Fall in the 'Burbs

I may have to just make this a quarterly update, haha. It has been pretty insane, which, who would've thought with this updated "flexible" work schedule of mine. What it actually means is that I'm "flexibly" working at home more during off hours and weekends when I'm not in the office, but this should slow down a bit now that my latest client has gotten off the ground (Nutribullet! Go buy one!).

Our Fall decor is up!

But my transition to the CT office has been very smooth. It's weird being back in a parking garage environment, but there's a cafeteria here, I have my own (huge!) office and all the people at this office are very friendly and have been very inclusive- something I was a little worried about coming from my very tight knit NY team. And speaking of, while they are very short days, I have been able to make it back to the NY office about 3x last month (2x more than "necessary") but it is nice to come in and regroup with my team in person. Client-wise it's been insane. Not only did I have the Nutribullet brand launch going on simultaneous to my Anthem and Blue Cross of AZ client kicking off their schedules (Obamacare y'all), but also took back one of my old clients, Brandman U. Still, it's good to be busy and working on some of our highest profile accounts, plus this is basically what I asked for with this promotion.

Just a handful of the adorable photos her school sends me every day. They also have a camera so I can watch her live in her room which really helps when I'm feeling Mommy separation anxiety, haha.

In Mo world, she's doing fantastic. She absolutely loves her new school- we love her new school- and can see her learning so much so quickly! She can now recite her ABCs completely, can count to 10 easily and sometimes goes to 20 with help. Her vocabulary has really picked up but what she loves to do lately is sing. She'll make up her own adorable songs in the car, but loves the faves- Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle, and Silent Night and requests those by name and helps me sing them to her at bedtime. We signed her up for soccer at school and they'll send us cute photos of her kicking the ball around, along with other cute photos throughout the day. They also have this great daily updater- Tadpoles- which tells us exactly what's she did that day, including food (great for me to tailor her meals since I'm making everything), potty time (I'll discuss this shortly), and what she learned. They break it down by the daily focus (this has been anything from Policemen, Mailmen, Firemen one week to recently Apples, Leaves and Acorns for fall) and tell you what they did for Art, Circle Time, Language, Manipulatives and Sensory Play. It's also great so that when I pick her up I can discuss exactly what she did and learned that day.

Packing Mo's meals for the week. This week she has a nice array of chicken nuggets, ravioli, veggie dumplings, sweet potato fritters, hummus and sesame chips,  cheddar bunnies, dried fruit, a pouch or yogurt and either a banana pancake or a pumpkin scone. I'm starting to feel kinda like a pro.

We're also *starting* the potty training process. Her school is very proactive with assisting and reinforcing what we're doing at home but lately they've been letting Mo try out the potty and she loves to go to the "potty" at home. Based on successful feedback from friends we're going ahead with the Oh Crap, Potty Training method, since it also seems pretty working parent friendly. Right now we're working on little things, like getting Mo to dress/undress herself, but I've set aside some time to do the Block One/Two days so we'll let you know. I think she's more than ready but it's just been the convenience of diapers and also the book addresses "not wanting to let your baby go" and I'm definitely in that mindset. But still, she's been ready for a while and we want to empower her to learn and master this new task (plus it's great for her self esteem). So yay.

Our fall so far has been busy. Bill had plans to do some golfing and we were all planning to hang out with friends this weekend but they were sadly derailed by Hurricane Joaquin. Still, yesterday was a nice day and we were able to get out to the local orchard for some pumpkin "picking". This next weekend we're closing the pool (sad!) and maybe getting a babysitter to check out one of the wineries in our area (did you know there were wineries right near us? Neither did we! Another point for the 'burbs). Then the weekend after my parents get into town for about a week! Then that next weekend we head to Boston for some (rain or shine) Jets/Pats football! Then it's Halloween- which, still not sure what we're doing but we have some time to figure that out. After that it's my Mama's Day in the city (brunch and manis), and the weekend after Tia T, Megan and Owen come up to do some hanging out and shower planning (yes, Mo is going to have a new baby cousin!!!). You get all that? Haha.

Bill and I are also thinking ahead to Christmas. Maybe this weekend or maybe when my parents are here we need to go dining room table shopping, and I just ordered our stockings and tree skirt. No idea yet what we'll do as far as outdoor lights but we already have the perfect place for the tree picked out and I hope we can find a tree farm nearby to go pick out our own tree! Bill's parents and sister and her family are coming for the holidays, as well as some other possible relatives we reached out to, so we definitely need to get the seating in order. Bill and I were also strategizing the main meal- the one area in the kitchen where I'm not much of an expert- and are thinking a smoked turkey from Morgan's may be in order. That would also free up my time to make the sides and desserts- where my expertise lies. Stay tuned for Christmas at The McKinney's hijinks.

Upcoming:

• oh, everything... 
• Parents are on their East coast (+ Chicago and Pittsburg) roadtrip and expected in Danbury next Friday? Or Saturday... but should be a blast!
• Boston for some Football! My 2nd NFL and Jets game ever! (fun fact: my first NFL (Jets) game was when Bill and I ran into each other that led to us dating, that led to yada yada and now we own a house and have a toddler!)
• Halloween! I'm not sure what trick or treating is like in our hood so we might hit up Ridgefield or anywhere else that's guaranteed to be a good time for Chewy and Princess Leia (yes, we're recycling last years because it was a blast and also this is the year for Star Wars!)
• Mama's brunch and manis in the city. I get to go to the city and actually have a leisurely day, a first!
• Tia T, Megan and Owen visit
• Then it's basically Turkey day. WOW, that's a lot going on. Also, potty training. Fun.