A little bit of catching up

Wow, I am a horrible blogger. That being said, I am writing my first coherent thoughts in about 4 months.  Since moving to the Northwest Suburbs of fabulous Chicago, IL in January, life has been cra, cra, crazy to quote my new friend Zoe.  I finished my MBA, bought a new car, got Cooper registered and then promptly de-registered for kindergarten, endured "that" phone call and "that" frantic 10 hour drive to Memphis, met some of the dearest friends I have ever had all the while pursuing a career that makes me crazy and thrilled all at the same time! Let's break those down and catch everyone up on Amanda ( I know, oh so interesting!)

• MBA - check, I thought I would go insane if I had to be on one more conference call with a group of 7 MBA students with 7 different opinions on how to run a business.  I, however, survived and now I have a lovely diploma to show off to all of the world.  I may start signing my emails Amanda D. Lee, MBA just because I can.
• There is no handbook to raising a child and certainly no direction on how to put your child into the public school system.  Raise your hand if you knew that kindergarten registration occcurs SEVEN full months prior to the start of the school year! Seriously, who knew?? I got Cooper in with late registration and then I missed his assessment, then I learned that his "school day" (and I use that term very liberally) is only 2 and 1/2 hours a day, no way.  Cooper needs a little more than that if my little man is gonna be able to "SEE JANE RUN" before the 1st grade starts! So I enrolled him in a full day kindergarten with the same teacher he had for half a year last year.  We love us some Ms. Grace and she assures me that she will have Cooper at the head of the class in time for next year! (Please feel free to comment back and let me know that I am not going to ruin him because of kindergarten choices)
• Let me set the scene, Monday morning, 9 AM, researching a frantic issue for a customer when I get a call from my oldest sister whom I totally blow off and call back 5 minutes later only to hear that my beloved niece (the niece who showed me the very meaning of loving someone more than you love yourself) was in Memphis at the Med on life support. When I asked if she was going to be alright, all I got was the silence of heartbroken mother and the words, "Amanda, I don't know." I literally sat in shock for hours trying to decide if I needed to go home or if I needed to stay put and then it hit me, this was my sister's child and she needed me. She would never hesitate if the shoe was on the other foot!  I drove frantically to get Cooper and headed out of Chicago just in time for rush hour (yes people, it starts at 3 here.) After 16 hours in the car with a delirous 5 year old and one fleabag motel stay, we made it. After weeks in the ICU and weeks in rehab, my angel has made it.  She went from "not even gonna make it to the hospital" to "gonna change the world because God has a HUGE plan for her life" in the span of 8 weeks. (Jordan, you have shown me the power of love, prayer and a joyous spirit in your 19 years girlie and you have made your Mimi proud!)
• I have made so many new friends, it has been ah-mazing! I gotta say though, I miss my BFF...  Saying I miss her just doesn't cover it, she has been a rock to me throughout this surprise incident (can we still call it that?) over the past 5 years. She is now in the midst of new Mom-dom with a beautiful daughter and I can't even share it with her because let's face it, Chicago and Memphis aren't close... but I love her and that sweet girl and I am going to buy her hair bows that will tip that child over when she starts walking so there!

Well, there you have it... an updated blog post.  I'll be honest here and say that I will still procrastinate and forget and not post for a while, but that is part of my charm. I recently found the journal that I started for Cooper when he was born where I could write letters to my baby as he grows up... yeah, the last entry was from 2009, nice Amanda, nice.