What's Up In PeonyLand....Well, we're moving. My kid's room smells like pot smoke too many nights a week. The apartment isn't big enough for the three of us afterall, and it's time to take a bigger step in life, so that's what we're doing. Wish me luck and pray for us!

We did find a great babysitter who we love, and who is graduating from college and moving away next month. Dammit. We had hired one woman to fill in for a week the regular sitter was away. Came the first of the two days we hired her for, didn't show up the second. Nice. Had to race home from my job so hubby could get to his. Maggie thought it was all very funny.

Then we hired another sitter for another week our reg wouldn't be in town. Seemed so sweet and loving to the baby. References checked out. She came in, seemed fine, wasn't. Let me just suggest to you that you get a nanny cam. They are invaluable. I know our current sitter has no idea why we love her so much. But what I saw on those tapes when we first hired her made me so happy. She dances with the baby, plays games, sings, watches videos with her...she loves her. The baby is happy with her. This other sitter? Holy shit. All smiles. Then my husband is out the door and she's planted on the couch ignoring the baby and reading my books, going through my cds and dvds. I think she looked at the baby three or four times in the span of an hour. That's it for her.

It's terrifying, isn't it? You don't know what happens when you leave your child with someone so you can earn enough to support them. I have a rule. If I like a sitter, I ask her what she charges. And that's what she gets. There's no haggling, no counter offers. We can barely afford to pay someone, but that's okay. We will pay you to take great care of our child. But shit, don't ignore her. For god's sake she isn't a brat or a pain in the ass at all. She wants you to clap with her, to make her laugh, she wants to make YOU laugh. She wants to hand you things and have you hand them back. We buy all kinds of snacks and sodas and juices for people to make sure they're comfortable. I don't know what people are supposed to do for sitters, so I do what I liked families to do for me when I babysat as a kid. I was GREAT at babysitting. It was a natural thing, and I had no training. It helped 100% when I had Maggie.

Anyway, moving and finding a great sitter is a lot of stress. Let me tell you what else is stressful.

I had to check my credit. I had a bad feeling about it. And I had a reason to feel that way. My identity was used for a cable and phone account in Florida. Collections on my reports. Terrible scores. Really bad news. So I started writing letters, doing the investigations. One collection came off, the other stayed. I spoke to the collection agency and they agreed to remove the item and assured me they knew I was not the person responsible for these bills (I have never even BEEN to Florida). They did not. I called the agency again and the managing dude was all "this is your debt, make good on it". I'm telling you, I lost it.

"This is not mine. I swear that it isn't. Your company told me they would remove this and you haven't." After about 10 minutes of me explaining what I needed to do, and how this collection was keeping me from doing it, he breaks down. Tells me he realizes this is the truth, but there's nothing he can do without some form of proof. Says I should go to the police station in my town, fill out a police report. Send it to him. Send it to the credit bureaus. So I called the local cops yesterday, and they came to me. Filled out a report, and now I'm praying that these people will remove this crap from my name for once and for all. If they don't, I'm in such trouble, I can't tell you. Light candles. I don't even want revenge, just clear of collections.

I have gotten my FICO scores up an average of 40 points each. I'm really hoping they'll go up about 40 more points. I hate this crap!

The job is good, but much crazier than ever. We'll be moving soon and that'll suck but I'll roll with it.

The baby has 3 teeth on the bottom and 1 or two top front teeth coming through. She's ridiculously cute. She has the best temperment and the sweetest soul. Her sitter cried before she left for vacation last week, said she'd miss her. I know she did. Last night she and I watched American Idol from my bed. Akon came on and sang, and she whipped her head around to see him. She smiled from ear to ear and began to clap her hands and made a really excited sound. Then I realized that she knows him, that he sang to her when she was in my belly shortly before she was born. That really freaked me out and nearly made me cry.

She was so ready to be born long before she actually was. So anxious to actually be part of everything. I'm nuts about her, I know. I keep wondering about having another one. I see people who have two and they're total brats because no one has the time to really spend with them, and then of course I see people with two and three who manage to do such a great job of handling it all. I have to make up my mind soon whether Maggie will be an only child or not. I just LOVE the dynamic we have as a family of three. Hmmmm. Lots to ponder.

Enough rambling about dynamics and Akon and dynakons. I'm outta here. I got rid of Perezhilton.com from my links - just really negative, mean spirited shit of late. We don't need that, do we?

See you all, but I don't know that it'll be soon! :)