Farewell Dear Friend

My days in the land of SUVs are over. I was just sure I could make it to work on the day it iced and I was so very wrong. I slid into an 18 wheeler and that was all it took. The car was driveable but unless my desire was to be the biggest piece of white trash out there, it had to go. It had been good to me, me not so much to it. I rarely changed the oil, allowed the kids to litter it with God only knows what, drove it like crap and it loved my anyway. They say if you love something you have to set it free- the Explorer is finally free. After my wreck Carly's only concern was, "Is my car seat OK?" Never mind you mom, what about my car seat. I got my new car yesterday and it is nice to be back in a car. It is taking some adjusting but I think I will make it. We rarely let Rocko, the dog, in the house but I felt bad for him when it was so cold so I let him in and into his crate he went. I was busy doing something and noticed it had gotten really quiet. Anna had decided to fore go lunch and spend some time with the dog...in the crate. She is doing so well and I am so proud. She is becoming more and more verbal and now has 3-4 words to her vocabulary. I'm pretty sure she thinks she has more words because if we tell her "no" she quickly responds with some gibberish that pretty much sounds like she is telling us how the cow ate the cabbage. I am quite sure our challenges with her so far are nothing compared to what is to come. She is off of the Elecare, Alimentum, and Rice milk completely. She is taking Good Start like a champ and thinks Mexican food rocks!! She is still clumsy as hell but that will likely never change (after all, she is my kid). I cannot decide whether to try to get some AFOs (ankle/foot orthotics) for her feet or not. The muscles are so tight and although it does not seem to bother her now I am afraid that waiting to correct her feet until later may cause more problems in the long run. Sooner Start has not been here in 2 months due to the weather so I will have to get with them when they come this month and get that figured out. I really wish sometimes there was a manual or roadmap to tell me what things to focus on and what things to just let go of with her. I feel like I have relaxed a lot but still feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants. It's kind of ironic I guess. I have always been the one who didn't need a plan and just did what ever felt right at the time. I never planned for the long term. I never needed time lines. I did my best under pressure. With her, I am begging for a plan or for some guidance. The problem is I know there is no one size fits all for any kid, especially not this kid...