It’s so hard to believe that Emma is three months old. She’s hit many milestones already. Her first roll over was January 27 when my mom was here visiting. (Mom got to see first roll overs for my sister Colleen’s kids, too. Lucky grandma.) Since, she’s rolled over just twice for me. She loves having something to cuddle with while she is sleeping. We’re lucky that she’s not extremely partial to one of her cuddle blanket or animals. (Granted, I think she does have a tiny preference more for the cuddle bunny based on the number of smiles she’s willing to give it over her others.) She’s started paying attention to her puppies, Darcy and Scout. Darcy is her protector. Scout protects and cuddles. Scout is more lenient with letting Emma touch her. Darcy only wants to be touched if she initiates it. We’re working on changing that. Emma’s started standing with a bit of our help for long periods of time. She even held her own weight for a few seconds yesterday in her pack and play. She prefers getting to stand. She’s started interacting more with the toys in her floor play area. She sits in her bumpo and laughs watching me eat breakfast. She’s enamored with her hands and feet and likes playing with my hands, too. She loves when Mark and I talk to her in muppet voices and really smiles when I say “la la la la” like a muppet and when I exaggerate it by sticking my tongue out a lot. Today’s excitement was smiling and talking to that baby in the mirror. I never imagined I would enjoy being home with her so much. As an educator, it’s been so much fun watching her learn. The world is so new each and every day, and she gets so excited as she makes those new connections.
When I am not feeding, entertaining, and teaching Emma, I am trying to stay occupied and productive. Every spare moment in December and January was dedicated to studying for the GRE. I just did OK. I think I did well enough to get into my program and should know my final scores this week. I’m pretty sure I did better the last time I took it, but then I was rested and had more uninterrupted study time. The math was brutal…and my prep book didn’t do a great job of covering the types of problems on the new GRE. Now I just wait…all of my application materials are in and apps are due March 1 to Boise State. (I want to get an ed.d in educational technology at Boise State.) Then, they’ll send e-mails out to my references, and if I’m in the running for a spot, I’ll get an interview via Skype. I don’t find out of I’m accepted until the beginning of April. In a perfect world, I’d get accepted and get a distance-based assistantship. That means my tuition would be covered, and I’d get paid $10,000 an academic year to go to school and I would work 20 hours a week from home. I’d probably hire a nanny to come in and watch Emma a few days a week while I was here so I could work on school stuff. I’d love if I could get a teaching assistantship…that would allow me even more flexibility with work.
If I don’t get accepted, I’m still going to apply for programs at Texas A&M (which is due in August) and University of Florida (and maybe Boise State again) next spring. I’ve applied for a few jobs, too. I had to turn down an offer to interview with a position at the Culinary Institute of America for a writing instructor position. The dates just didn’t work. The times didn’t either…it was late afternoons so I didn’t have anyone to watch Emma, and it would probably cost as much to pay someone to watch her as I would make. I am so bummed, but I need adjunct positions that are in the evenings. I’m on their list for future openings, though. I did get approved for another Regis class, which is great. It’s a real class…not independent studies like I’ve been doing, so if I can get one for the fall then that will be some extra money headed our way. It’d be so much easier if we had family here so I knew I would have a sitter for Emma. I think I’m stuck to looking for online work if I don’t get accepted anywhere for school, so if you hear of any online English, education, or editing openings, send them my way!
