I'm Baaack

I know, I know, it's only been what, 5 or 6 months? I don't have any good excuses except that every time I think about updating I get stage fright or writer's block, or whatever you want to call it.
I don't really even have anything in particular to say, so I guess I'll just try to sum up the past few months which have been very busy.
My company was acquired about a year ago and the last 6-7 months been extremely stressful. As I keep saying, I enjoy being busy, but I don't enjoy being stressed out. I've been content with my job for a long time now. In July I'll celebrate 8 years with the company. In my time there, I've been afforded opportunities to pursue my interests and to develop a position that I enjoy. I manage my own workflow and my supervisor has never been one to lean over my shoulder. Sometimes I'll go a week without even seeing him. But going from a small company to being acquired by a large company has lead to a pretty major culture shock for me and my St. Louis co-workers. It's a wonder that any work gets done with all of the policies and procedures that we have to learn and follow. I'm surprised we don't have to fill out a form to use the restroom. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to still have a job. Some weren't so lucky. But for the first time in a long time, I'm seriously considering looking elsewhere. I don't enjoy working in a large company environment. But alas, with the economy still in recovery mode, I figure I better stick it out as long as possible.
Speaking of large companies, Rog has been working a major project in Illinois since October of 2009. It was a blessing when he was offered the job, as he had been out of steady work for about a year and a half. However, it has morphed from 40 hours with opportunities for overtime to a mandatory 56 hour week. Add to that more than an hour drive each way, and Rog is away from us about 70 hours per week. I know it's hard on him. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I try hard to say prayers and count my blessings and show my gratitude each day, but some days are easier than others and right now Rog is absorbing the brunt of the difficult ones.
Without question, we are most thankful for that daughter of ours. I can no longer remember what life was like before her. The words and phrases and thoughts that tumble out of her mouth humor and amaze me to no end. In the past I have been diligent about writing them down, but they've been coming so frequently lately that I've become lax in doing so. Many times I'll just post them as my Facebook status, assuming that one day I'll go back and collect them from there. Other times I can't write down and accurately convey the hilarity of the situation. She's just this little person with all of these thoughts swirling around in her head and she voices most of them. She talks almost non-stop. She's our little chatterbox. I love that she really lacks shyness and she loves to talk to people. Most often she will compliment women on their shoes or dresses. I never know what will come out of her mouth and it has led to a few embarrassing situations, but nothing that was so mortifying it couldn't be laughed about later. (Yet.) Anyway, I've rambled on enough and I'll try to post with a bit more regularity, even if it's just random "Teaganisms". I'll close with a few recent photos and a short video.