End of July

It's not official yet until I turn in my notice and receive confirmation on my background check - which will happen simultaneously. But I did orally accept a new position, at Gap, Inc. last Thursday. It was more than a relief. I've been feeling light and airy since. Pay is about the same with a signing bonus, but the culture and team I'll be working with is more my style - family oriented. Already, I've received "welcome aboards" and "congrats" from my boss and the VP of our group. I'm itching to hand in my resignation letter but will have to wait until Monday.

I'll start after Labor Day - and will have 2 weeks in between for a little R&R. My birthday lands during that week off, as well as Burningman!

This weekend, the family is heading up to Humboldt for AG's 20 year high school reunion. He's both excited and nervous. I'm very interested. We are hoping to leave tomorrow night so the pups and Aesha can sleep through the drive and AG doens't deal with traffic. Friday evening will be cocktails, Saturday there is a BBQ and kids playdate in the Park. In the evening, there is dinner and dancing... whoohoo, just like in highschool. I can't wait to get liquored up. Then Sunday we head home.

Update on the little monster: this week I have been putting Aesha down while drowsy so she can learn to soothe herself to sleep. The first night, she wailed for 15-20 minutes, stopping intermittenly to determine if anyone was coming to her call. I was peaking through the doorway to make sure she would be alright. She scaled all four sides of the crib, looking for a way out. Finally, after exhaughsting herself, she slept slumped over. 2 hours later, she woke up and we put her in bed with us. The 2nd night, she had already realized I wasn't coming, but did attempt to howl for 10 minutes before finding a comfortable position to lean back against the crib, falling asleep sitting upright. AG went in and laid her down. Again, she woke up after 1.5 hours. I nursed her for 5 minutes, then put her down again. This time, she fell asleep while I rubbed her tummy. After another 1.5 hours, she woke up again and we brought her to bed. Baby steps, baby steps. I wonder how long it will take her tonight....

Gorgeous Portland

Last night, instead of taking a train to Portland as originally planned, my mom and Mr. T graciously offered to drive us. They had both taken the day off prior to spend as much time with Aesha and I think my mom gets more hooked each time she sees her. So she wanted to spend as much time, being near her, even Aesha is spooked sometimes by my mom's obsession with her. By the time we reached Portland, my mom felt some validation as a grandmother when Aesha clung to her. As we sat down for a late dinne

r, Aesha the star appeared. She flirted with Grandpa Al all night and was wired - screeching, hollering and jumping up and down in glee when Grandma Chris brought out a little rag doll that has become part of the doll house for Aesha. My parents had a very difficult time leaving Aesha, but eventually they did. I finally pinned Aesha down, turned off all the lights and she eventually drifted to sleep after much excited mumbling.

This morning Aesha surprised me. She has been very happy hanging out with Grandpa Al, no reaching out for me, as if the attachment phase did not happen. That is a great sign. I was worried that she would require attention from me today - my working day. I'm logged in at Starbucks a couple of blocks from the house since I was unable to jump onto any wireless access. These last several days have been wonderful. With the wonderful weather and me spending time with Aesha, it feels very much like a vacation for us. Actually, I would love to lead a life where Aesha, AG and I travel around, enjoy life, friends/families and work from our laptop when we needed. This week is manifesting itself as how I would like it to be.

It's also beautiful here, a little more humid, but I'm a huge fan of warm weather so I won't complain. I enjoyed a rice krispey square with a cup of coffee for breakfast and would sure love to take a walk around the area and not work. We are both missing AG a ton, but so far, this has been a wonderful trip for Aesha and I. I love hanging out with her, she's my best friend. I hope to continue to foster this type of relationship with her; that she'll want to travel and see things with me, talk to me about what she enjoys, what she likes or dislikes, her experiences. I am so excited to hear what she's got to say, she's been saying a hellofalot and I wish I could understand it all.