Mommy's Career Change

October 2009 not only marks my 10 year anniversary with TAC Worldwide, but also the month where I'll be leaving my role as a Contingent Workforce Program Manager for Freescale Semiconductor. TAC and Freescale have parted ways and it's time for TAC and Allison to do the same. While I am not sad to be leaving Freescale, as the last year has been very difficult and not a positive experience, I am disappointed that I cannot do a little more with TAC. TAC has been a great employer and I've grown and learned so much. TAC is treating me very well throughout the exit process and I am so proud that I had an opportunity to work for a company that I value and respect.

So what's next? Well... I caught the State Farm Insurance bug from my wonderful husband. Turns out that the stars have aligned and God's plan has been revealed with the magnificent timing that only He can create. In July I began the interview and discovery process with the State Farm Agency program. After a lot of self-discovery, prayer, and consultation with valuable mentors, I put my hat in the ring to try and qualify to open my own State Farm Agency. I became and Approved Candidate on September 15. State Farm had decided at exactly the same time that it is time to open an Agency in Liberty Hill, TX. Having been an Approved Candidate for less than 3 hours, I posted for the Liberty Hill opportunity and was offered an interview. That interview took place on September 22. On September 23, I was offered the job. On September 24, my VP at TAC let me know that October 2 would have to be my last day.

On January 11, I'll begin employment with State Farm as an Agency Trainee. The Allison Boyd Agency in Liberty Hill, TX will open on September 1, 2010, and I'll be an independent business owner and employer and seller of the best property and casualty and life insurance policies as well as financial services. Wow! Stay tuned... (And be prepared for a call from me asking for your business!)

God is Great. I would never have made it through this last year without His guidance and my faith in His call for me. By his grace I will have 3 months to spend with my amazing children and husband, focus on starting a new adventure, and just plain relaxing. With any luck this blog will get a few more entries as well.

Getting Ready for Halloween!

Chatty and the Captain are ready for Halloween! Chatty Catherine wants to be a princess, of course, and Captain Jack really doesn't care yet, thank goodness. So they already have some good jammies for the month of October. I'm thinking that Jack's jammies may double as his costume come October 31...

Applesauce is good!

I owe this blog some maintenance and updates. I honestly don't know where the last 4 months have gone. In the mean time, while I get my act together, here is Jack enjoying using his own spoon for applesauce, one of his favorite snacks. "Spoon" and "apple" are also two of his favorite (and more understood) words!

Relaxin' at Grandma's

We spent Independence Day weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Boyd's house. Kids are very tired from swimming and splashing and playing with friends. Chatty will stay a few more days with Grandma and Grandpa for a special visit without sharing attention with the Captain...

Have I arrived?

So I am not sure which is more of an indicator of being a mommy of little ones: the fact that there is a small slipper on the windowsill in the breakfast room or the fact that it's actually been there for more than a few days, probably a week!

Will walk for food!

Jack has just started really walking at 16 months old. While Mommy is a little sad that her baby is growing so fast, it is of course fun to watch. Chatty is his biggest cheerleader and he does the majority of his walking to her. Christian was able to lure him across the entrance hall with a muffin this weekend, however. That's my boy!

The oral fixation

Our children have inherited my predisposition for oral fixation. Catherine has been sucking her thumb since 4 months old. Jack decided that when his Mommy took away his pacifier he'd just suck on one of his little puppy dog's feet (as evidenced by the poor little guy hanging out of Jack's mouth). We had to buy 5 puppies because I'm constantly washing them. Ick! The puppies are going to make a one-way trip to "the farm in the country" soon. Don't think we can do the same thing with Chatty's thumb though!

So serious

Captain Jack has a new facial expression that he makes when he is being serious, I think. We see him do this when he is figuring out new people or when he appears to be concentrating on what it is we're doing. It doesn't appear to come out because he's upset or angry, just when he's somewhat pensive. Cracks us up.

Sleeping Beauty?

Catherine is usually the first one awake in our house. Not this morning. Three of us were up and getting ready for Monday when Christian went to wake up Catherine. We weren't sure what this would bring. Her response? "Daddy, go away, I'm sleeping." Ah, a preview of the teenage years...

Sweet Berry Farm

On Saturday we went to a Farm with the Farm (that would be State Farm) for family berry-picking and BBQ. Uncle Brett and Aunt Aimee came too and we got over 12 pounds of berries between us! It was muddy from all the rain we had, but we had a great time and are all enjoying the fruits of our labor! Catherine wore her strawberry dress in honor of the occasion. It probably would have been good to get a photo in front of the strawberry patch, but we'll have to settle for the wooden strawberry and the blackberry patch in the background instead!

Jack the Mover

So he can't walk yet, but he can move boxes all over the place and is quite proud of himself for doing so!

More technology

So I thought I'd attempt to post to the blog from my BlackBerry. I should be able to upload photos this way, too. I just have to figure out how to change the file size as the photos my phone takes now are too big to send this way. Technology continues to amaze me!

Captain's Log

We find ourselves saying the following phrase several times a week, "Jack sure does enjoy his groceries!" This is definitey a growing boy. I was reviewing photos this past weekend of Catherine at similar recent ages to Jack and while they share a lot of the same facial features (it's the eyes, mostly), Jack has had one major standout difference... his TEETH. At 14 months, Catherine had her bottom middle two, that most kiddos push up first. And one of her top front ones was JUST peeking through the gumline. Not our boy! He's got at least 10 and all his molars are pushing through. And they all seemed to come at once. So he is putting them to very good use and can get almost anything into his tummy that I'll dare to put on his tray. He seems to like drinking water as much as his sister and parents do and we're thankful for that. Then again he and his sister have something of a mean mom since all I let them drink is milk and water with the occasional 4 oz juice box. Ah well.

Jack is a ham. Can't imagine where he gets that from. He has a bit of a flair for the dramatic. If he wants someone or something and is sitting on the floor when he is denied, he will just flop over at the waist, forehead to the ground, and wail. It's usually short-lived, but quite dramatic. He likes to point and while his speech is obviously still just "Jack-ese" he understands a lot and likes to nod his head, and let you know he knows what you're talking about.

He is more interested in our beloved yellow Lab, Chili (more on her later, I think), than Catherine was at this age. He investigates the feel of her tummy, feet and nose. She, of course, could not care less and likes the attention. Chili camps out under Jack's high chair, despite the fact that this behavior is rarely rewarded by Jack. He doesn't leave much behind. When's he is finally full (an occurence we've not often seen) he'll maybe drop a morsel over the side. She is most grateful. I realize that at this age many of the photos of the kids are while there are in the high chair. I don't think I imagined I'd see that thing in my memories so much when I selected it way back when Catherine was just starting to eat solids... It has definitely served it's purpose. As Jack isn't walking yet, we often have to "park" him somewhere to keep him contained. What better place than a venue for eating? I don't think he minds.

So about the walking... Catherine, like her Mommy, was late accomplishing this milestone. She was well into her 16th month before she made those first steps. We keep thinking Jack is going to beat her, as he's been cruising for quite sometime and he crawls faster than I've ever seen, but he's still taking his time about it. He loves to pull up on anything that will (or won't) hold still, stand on his tiptoes to better reach or see, and has no problems plunking back down to take off like a shot after a toy, his sister, the dog, or whatever. As he'll be 14 months old this week, I guess we still have time to break Chatty's record.

Jack has had a harder time staying healthy in these past few months than Catherine did at this age. He seems to be prone to respiratory illness and this crazy Central Texas weather doesn't help. I'm thankful, at least, that he seems to recover quickly and is all the more stronger after each episode. Additionally, it's probably good that he's giving his immune system such a workout with all the friends at school and his sister's contributions... But I'm ready to decrease the frequency of visits to our wonderful pediatrician, Dr. Joe. We'll see.

OK, so I'm more caught up now... maybe I'll be better about getting my observations and our stories posted here a bit more often. Maybe not. Life in Liberty Hill, TX has been fun these past few years we've been here. I know it's just going to keep zooming by.

Catch-up with Chatty

I'm really not doing a very good job of keeping up to date with this blogging thing. I thought I might try and use it more like an online journal of what is going on with the kids, but I just can't seem to get it together to make regular posts. Will try to be better!

So in the last several weeks, what have we done? We are really glad that the weather is turning to Spring. Chatty Catherine loves to be outside, riding her bike (OK, it's really a tricycle, but whatever), or blowing bubbles, decorating our very long driveway with chalk, or just running around the backyard. She's getting pretty good at kicking around a soccer ball... so we'll see if we join the ranks of the Herd Ball crew at the Liberty Hill City Park when she turns four. Sigh, it's beginning, isn't it?

I am just continually thankful for the blessing of Catherine's and Jack's school, The Good Earth Day School. These wonderful people are helping our children explore all kinds of things that don't occur to me or those things that I haven't been able to have time to share with them. I am reassured and confident that the time they spend away from Christian and me, while we earn our keep, is interesting, fun, safe, and full of wonder and caring. I wish all work-outside-the-home parents could be so blessed.

Catherine continues to amaze us with her ability to soak up so much of the world around us, even the more difficult, abstract and philosophical... Last week in church, Father Bruce was giving his usual 5-minute sermon to the kids before sending them off to Children's Chapel where they go during the sermon, Nicene Creed, Prayers of the People and Confession in our service. He was talking about Jesus' presence in our lives and how that can be hard to see and was giving examples thekids might understand of where we see Him. Catherine piped right up and added, "And in our hearts!" at the end of his list. Such a wonder!

Chatty loves her little brother, Jack Attack. She likes to read to him, share all her toys (well, she likes to have him share with her, too, of course), instruct him on proper bathtime play, a

nd give him big hugs and kisses before bed every night. We've never experienced any toddler "acting out" aimed at Jack. If she's ever needy or having a "Thunderous Threes" moment she just directs it in on herself and throws her own kind of dramatic fit. It's hard to believe that she's on the back half of three years old and is going to be four in just a few short months.

We're struggling with bedtime. She finds every excuse in the book to get up, or sing, or play... Mommy isn't ready to concede that it may be time to push her bedtime (7:00) later. We have to be out of the house between 7:15 and 7:30 most mornings, so I am sticking to my guns that she needs to be in bed that early. But if she's not sleeping... Sigh... we'll see. A common soap box for me is that I feel so many child behavior problems stem from lack of sleep. More to come, I'm sure, on this drama as it continues to play in our house.

Bye Bye, Baby Curls!

Daddy was getting tired of Jack's lengthening locks, so it was time for the first trim! Mommy was very sorry to see the adorable curls go away, but knows her little guy is getting to be a big boy and needs a big boy haircut. Mommy's experience at giving haircuts isn't very extensive, so try not to look too closely at the hairline... I need some practice. But he's trimmed and looking quite "dapper" as Chatty would say.

Touchdown! Jack Boyd is ONE!

Jack Attack is ONE! We had a birthday party with a lot of visitors! Mimi and Papa (Cutter), Grandma and Grandpa (Boyd) came down from Colleyville and Grapevine. Aunt Aimee and Uncle Brett have moved back to Texas for good now and we were so excited they could come! We had friends from the neighborhood, work, and school. It was such a fun day. Jack handled it quite well, despite all the people. As you can see, he loved his chocolate cake! At first he wasn't quite so sure of what to do with it, but after an initial grab and the celebratory song and candle extinguishment, the eating part came quite easily. Lots of friends "helped" Jack open his gifts. Catherine really liked having all those friends to play with in her room! She did a great job sharing her gifts!

Captain Jack is One!

Our big boy has had a great year! While he seems to be a bit more prone to illness than his big sister is, he is a fun, sweet, "talkative," and busy little boy. At his 12-month check-up with Dr. Joe, Jack weighed in at 24 pounds, 12 oz., putting him in the 75th percentile for weight. Not surprisingly, given Daddy's height of 6'5" and Mommy's of 5'8", our tall guy is 31.75 inches tall, putting him in the 95th percentile for height!

His hair is growing... it's time for a trim. Daddy says he has a mullet going on right now. Hmm... Mommy hasn't had the motivation to trim off the baby curls, just yet. Soon, though. Soon. Jack is cruising all over and pulls up on anything that will (and somethings that won't) let him. He loves to chase after his big sister and has gotten so fast on his hands and knees that we wonder if we can keep up. Put him down, turn your back, and he's GONE! His favorite spots are his sister's room, playing with the switch on the light inside the clothes dryer door, and making a beeline for the bathroom scale in Mommy and Daddy's room, to play with the buttons of course. I think my new scale profile says I'm male, 7'8" tall and 48 years old... Don't think that's quite right, Jack.

Jack likes to eat... and eat... and eat (of course)! His favorite foods are... well, anything. We've not really come across anything he doesn't like. He's pushing his eighth tooth through now, so gums are a bit tender, but he's willing to gnaw on anything he can shove in. He's not quite learned the concept of 'capacity' for his mouth, so he sometimes gets more in their than he can manage. He's looking forward to his birthday party on January 31st! I'll post again with that story! In the meantime, Happy Birthday, big boy!

A New 'Do for a New Year!

I took Catherine to get a big girl haircut today because I was starting to feel like we couldn't see her adorable face very well under all that hair! She's of course had haircuts in her life, but instead of going to "Cool Cuts 4 Kids," this time I took her to my hair stylist as I felt we needed a little inspiration. She enjoyed getting her hair washed despite not having a fun bath to go with it and sat very still in the big girl chair while Tiffini worked her magic. We are all very pleased with the outcome and I can't help but be a little sad that my little girl is growing, growing, growing so fast!

Christmas in Colleyville

Chatty and the Captain enjoyed spending Jack's first Christmas in Colleyville (and Grapevine) with grandparents and great-grandparents, an aunt, uncles, and many friends, new and old. Catherine really started to begin to understand Christmas traditions this year and it was so fun to watch her get excited and learn about what Christmas means.

Jack, of course, just thought it was pretty neat to have a new place to explore. He is finally "really" crawling now, up on his hands and knees. Sometimes I think he is imitating a tripod, or maybe a future football stance because he crawls (often on hard surfaces) with his two hands and up on his right foot, kind of dragging the left knee. I think he feels he can go faster this way. He really likes the treasure chest that Papa made for him. Catherine immediately began filling hers with all of her presents and "treasures."

For the second time in a year, my mother's parents joined us for a celebration in Texas. Earlier this year it was at Easter time for Jack's baptism. It was very special to have Jack celebrate so many milestones in his first year with his GGma and GGpa from California. Catherine and I also went with Mimi and GGma to a special tea party at the Ashton Hotel in downtown Fort Worth. What fun to have four generations of Sayer/Cutter/Boyd ladies together for such a neat experience!

Cold Comes to Texas!

It's been a winter of highs and lows, referring both to family drama and the outdoor temperatures! One day it's 25 degrees, the next it's near 80! Everyone's noses are running, but we're all pretty happy and healthy these days. Jack survived ear tube surgery (with less stress than Mommy), and Catherine is slowly figuring out that 5AM is NOT a good time to get up and get dressed. With Christmas a few days away, we're glad that it's nice and cold outside so we can enjoy our fires in the fireplace!

Aunt Aimee is staying with us while she and Uncle Brett are in the middle of a move back to Austin from Iowa. Christian has been having fun telling his brother, who is living in subzero temperatures most days, of our weather roller coaster. Catherine and Jack love having a live-in playmate, especially since she is way more fun than Mommy and Daddy! And Mommy and Daddy have taken advantage of rare opportunity to sneak away for a date! We may not let her leave!