Amy Grant comes to mind

Agh. Things have been... hectic. We recently held auditions for AFA slots (by recently, I mean today). I'm trying to keep up in classes/figure out my future, and Ava is so much more mobile these days... I'm exhausted. In a good way.

First, AFA auditions (quick fill-in if you're confused: I do speech and debate, or competitive public speaking, and AFA is a national chamionship tournament where you can only send 66 entries. Our team has a lot more than that, so it's super competitive to get those slots). I did not get the event I auditioned (Poetry), but I did get Prose, Impromptu, Extemp, Persuasion, and Crit (translation: that's good). I'm very excited, not only for what I get to do, but to be on a team as competitive, but loving, as this one! *singing off key* We are family...

*Resuming not singing.* Ok, so my life... I recently had decided to move back to Chicago. The decision was not an easy one, and I still want to go to graduate school, but financially, it just makes a lot more sense to go ahead and move near family who can help iwth the whole daycare component. However, just as we were settling into this idea, I get a job offer. I won't go into specifics, but the important part is that it would have given me a great amount of control over my work, a lot of opportunities to coach and travel, and a fantastic resume builder. As cool as that would have been, I think I'm going to have to turn around. We just really need to pay off those student loans before I go off being self-indulgent. Sigh.

Ava! Oh Ava. She is truly the bright spot in all of this madness. She's sooo strong. She sits up all by herself these days, and her favorite activity is knocking down towers of blocks that Mommy builds up for her. She is teething in a big way, but no pearly whites have popped through yet. Her favorite foods are bananas, peaches, pears, applesauce, carrots and sweetpotatoes. She's recently tried an apple/chicken blend, and found that appetizing as well. However, her favorite things to munch on are often the things she shouldn't. This makes me very nervous for our family trip to Mexico this summer. The sand on the beaches won't know what's hit 'em... In the meantime, I give her biter biscuits to gnaw on. It's a mess, but it's a quiet mess, and that's what Mommy needs these days.

I SWEAR I'll have pictures up soon. I'm remembering how to breathe at the moment. Once I've mastered that, I'll move on to photography. Speak of the devil... Ava hollers. Ta ta!