Times They are a Changin'

Next week is a big week in our house. For the first time in her life, our 21 month old is going to daycare. In order to make ourselves feel better about taking our child to be cared for by someone else for 40 hours a week, we call it school. Ella got a backpack for school, and she picked one with Elmo on it. Pretty cute.

The next week, Brad will begin school and take his first language exam for his PhD program. We are excited about this fall, but also a little nervous about all that we have to get done. Lots of families have two parents who work full time and make it okay. So will we, right?

Cute Ella story: This evening, Brad and I were in the kitchen talking about the slumping Red Sox and the soaring Yankees. All of a sudden, Ella, who was sitting in her booster seat in the dining room began to say, "Boo, Yankees" and make a thumbs down sign. We had taught her this months before, but we hadn't tried to get it out of her in a while. It was pretty cute, and pretty smart!

I'm about to become a Celtics fan.

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge sports fan. Mostly just baseball (I'm a proud member of Red Sox Nation) and football (Go World Champion Colts!), but I also watch some basketball. I religiously listen to Boston sports talk radio, WEEI, for news on my beloved Sox and hate for the Colts. Even when we were in Boston, I could care less about the Celtics, they stunk. But today , I open up ESPN and see that my all time favorite basketball player, Reggie Miller "Knick Killer" is considering making a return, and playing for the Celtics. How awesome is that? I love Reggie Miller, and I could listen to news and comments about him on my favorite station, WEEI. Go Celts!

Vacation!!!

The Daugherty's are leaving for a short vacation tomorrow :) We are heading to Minneapolis to see some of our closest friends, Jeff & Richelle and their new baby George. Ella is most excited about the baby, of course :) Then, we are heading down to Iowa (I've never been to Iowa before) for my brother Steve's wedding. I am singing, Brad is ushering, and Ella will be the flower girl. We are excited to see our friends and family, and for Steve to marry such a wonderful girl (We think that he's "Marrying up"). I love weddings!!

I'm looking forward to a few days away from work, and with friends and family. Ella is also looking forward to seeing her family, particularly my mom. She walks around the house saying, "Mamaw, plane, me". It's pretty cute!

It is finished

Harry Potter, that is. Brad finished late on Sunday night, and I finished last night at 1:00 a.m. I can't remember the last time I stayed up until 1:00 a.m. for anything, let alone reading a book. At about midnight, I was going to put the book aside and plan to finish today, but then I got to a particular point in the book, and knew that there was no way that I could go to sleep until I finished the book and knew what happened.

I was unsure about how I would feel about the book once I read it (I was a little disappointed in Book 5 and even more disappointed in Book 6), but I was not disappointed, it was amazing. There were things that I could have guessed would happen, but I never would have anticipated it happening in the way that J.K. Rowling put things together. She did a wonderful job, a fitting end to a wonderful series.

I have to admit that I am sad that it is over. No more new Harry news? But perhaps now I can convince my husband to name a boy child Harrison, and not everyone would assume that I am naming him after my hero, Harry Potter.

Sharing = No Fun

So, today I have reverted back to my toddler hood (Ella HATES to share!) As most every one knows, on Saturday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows came out, and arrived on my doorstep. Brad and I both read Harry Potter, although I am certainly the biggest fan in our family. We made the conscious decision to buy only one copy, but it's hard. We both want to read it, and any time the book is laid down, the other person immediately scoops it up and begins reading. We should have just bought 2 copies, or perhaps this is an occasion on which we learn something about life :)

I'm hoping to be finished soon (but, I'm only on Chapter 8!), I can't wait to find out what happens!

Is there more to life than this?

I often wished that I posted on my blog more, but two things hold me back: 1) Is there anything really interesting going on in my life to post about? 2) Where do I find the time? I get home from work at about 5:00 every day, play with Ella, eat dinner, hang out with Ella some more, and then put her to bed. By the time she is down, there's enough time to load the dishwasher, pick up the house, and get to bed in time to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to start all over.I recently started a diet that takes up a good amount of time. I try to work out 6 days a week, which takes up even more time. Where am I going to try to find time to get involved with church and (hopefully) new friends, good causes, and even to read a good book.

Is this what life is like until your kids get older (or until you lose 31 lbs?). I sure hope not. Any time management hints from my readers?

Harry won't die, will he?

This is a big month for us Harry Potter fans. In just 5 short days, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out in theaters (still looking for a babysitter!). And, even more important, in just 16 days, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will arrive on my doorstep. Brad and I have been arguing for weeks now about who will get to read the book first. I can imagine us both sitting on the couch trying to read over the other's shoulder as Ella destroys the house! Hopefully we won't be that bad.

All along, I have convinced myself that Harry won't die. After all, it's a children's story, you can't kill off the main character in a children's story, can you? But, CNN ran an interesting article (click here to read) that it is not all that far fetched for Harry to die. What do you think, will she do it?