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I'm excited to announce that I've been invited to write the new online weekly advice column "Ask the Mompreneur" for The Charlotte Observer, the city's largest daily publication. Check it out!

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/1173

Holy cow, that was a fast two years!

I can't believe it has been over six months since my last post. This year has all been a blur and here we are in September. Post-Labor Day.

And my little Charlotte is turning two tomorrow and starting nursery school. Wow. I've been on the verge of tears today and I don't know when I got so sentimental. All I know for sure is that I'm bracing myself to get through the morning of getting myself ready (physically, if not emotionally), getting her ready, dropping her off. It will all be so new.

I don't have to pack a lunch until next week, as this first week is "easing in" time with just 90 minutes of class time to help her acclimate. But what about me? Where do I go to acclimate? Is 9 AM too early to start drinking on a Wednesday? Because I'm going to be a little shaky after letting her go for the first time.

Mom Blog: Preschool Slot Machine

Quick update - I've decided to pull the lever 4 times on the preschool slot machine. $100 per spin is a lot steeper than I play in Vegas and the odds seem worse, but here goes. I've already submitted applications to Trinity Presbyterian and Sharon United Methodist and will also submit to Myers Park Baptist and Providence United Methodist.

Providence UMC is so sought after that there's a "registration hotline" that you call on February 5th to find out if there are any non-member spaces left. All I can say is wish me luck!

Mom Blog: Update on Sleep Plan

Charlotte slept all the way through the night last night for the first time in a month! Finally, she had a good 12 hour stretch from 8 PM to 8:30 AM this morning and we are thrilled. It looks like our list of "interventions" is starting to work.

We added on additional tweak, which is that she only gets 1 hour to nap during the afternoon, and has to to be up by 2:30 PM. We found that even a 90 minute nap was too much and she'd be up all night, bouncing off the walls with energy.

Now I understand why my husband spent his childhood being shuttled from activity to activity. He must have been the same ball of sugar-powered fire as my darling daughter.

Mom Blog: My toddler stopped sleeping!

It all started with a runny nose, then teething pain, and now seems to be a full blown anti-sleep phase! My little angel used to be a championship sleeper, snoozing for about 13 hours straight each night, plus a 2 hour afternoon nap. Now, she's being really picky about what she'll eat (it changes every day) and I think partly because she's not getting enough calories during the day, is waking 1 to 3 times a night for a diaper and a bottle. She also doesn't nap at all on some days.

Here's my current list of actions to try to get her back on schedule. Any additional ideas?

- More milk, less water
- More exercise
- Cotton PJs (so she doesn't get too hot)
- 72 thermostat (her room is several degrees cooler than the thermostat)
- 45 percent humidity
- Earlier waking, up by 8;30 AM
- Shorter nap, up by 3 PM
- Later bedtime, bath at 7:30 PM

Monday Mom Blog: My 1-year old has a "safety school"

Those of you without kids may not realize this, but we are knee-deep in preschool application season! That's right, those early February deadlines are looming to secure a spot in toddler class at your local church for the Fall term that starts in September 2010.

I started by inquiring at the church where hubby and I just started new member classes, but found out that we won't be considered members for the purpose of preschool until the following year. And like with many of the good church programs in the Queen City, our "non-member" application doesn't have a snowball's chance. One friend told me she had gotten lucky in winning the lottery for the single open spot at her daughter's preschool out of 90 competing applications.

I have a list of good preschools and will need to turn that into a spreadsheet so that I can decide how many non-refundable $100 applications fees we are willing to spend. Luckily, there was one school that sounded downright eager of the business when I spoke to them over the phone, so that's our "safety school."

All this to play in a sandbox on Monday and Wednesday mornings, sheesh!

Chicken and Dumplings Italiano

It's been cold and wet everywhere so here's a quick comfort food recipe.

Step 1: Buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket (or CostCo).

Step 2: Make this great, easy side dish.

Start by boiling a 4-serving package of gnocchi according to directions (I used the ones from Trader Joe's).

Meanwhile, saute half a package of diced pancetta, or some chopped bacon in a skillet until starting to crisp. Then add half a package of frozen chopped spinach and a generous pinch of salt. Once the spinach is hot, add a couple/three tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Drain the gnocchi and add to the pancetta and spinach mixture. Continuing cooking over medium high heat until the gnocchi have soaked up some of the flavor and oil from the pan and have barely began to brown.

Step 3: Plate with the chicken and finish with a spoonful of Parmesan over the top.