A Pictureless but Wordful Post

These past few weeks have been pretty eventful in the Lewis home.

WILLIAM'S BIRTHDAY
William celebrated his first birthday, cyber style. We had both our phones and the computer with family Skyping for the birthday song and cake eating. It was a hectic 20 minutes trying to communicate with everyone at once whilst ensuring I capture the event with pictures and video, but we're so glad most everyone got to take part even though they are thousands of miles apart.

NEW DOG
We decided to find a pal for Raheem (our chubby beagle), and found another male beagle on Craigslist. I called the girl and she and I texted back and forth all day. She had a million questions, wanted to come check out our home and yard and then make her choice. Casey and I were a little baffled by her extreme worry, but we went along. She came by Friday night and I guess we passed the test because she left him with us. But asked if it was okay if she kept in contact to see how he was. Sure? Rusty was super sweet, but very timid and shakey. The next morning, I strapped on his harness and tied him to a pole outside while I cleaned the car out. Minutes later Casey ran over frantic telling me Rusty had slipped out of his harness. Thankfully William was napping and Maddie was busy on the computer. We ran after him. Here's the thing about Fredericksburg, it's full of forest and wide open yards. We chased and looked and chased and looked for a good two hours. We fretted and worried all day and night. We drove around looking and left trails of food for days. We posted signs all over the neighborhood and got lots of calls of people who've seen him, but can't catch him. We set up an animal trap from Animal Control but are on our last two days of renting it. I've seen the dog 3 times since his escape and cannot catch him. So, somewhere, out there, we have another dog named Rusty.

NEW JOB
We've been tight and our budget lately, so I decided to start babysitting again. I watch a 4 year old boy and will start watching a 3 month old girl in November. The boy has autism and ADHD, which freaked me out a little at first, but things have been going great so far. I haven't had much interaction with autistic children, but he doesn't act how I thought he would. He's social and talkative. He has a hard time sharing, but lots of kids do. The main thing I notice is how behind he is in areas. He's not potty trained, but will go when I take him and have him try. He doesn't know any of his colors, shapes, letters or numbers. He knows maybe 2 animals, but can't tell me what sounds they make. I work with him everyday on colors, shapes and animals, but he just can't remember any of it. Luckily he starts speech therapy school tomorrow, and perhaps he'll get better. I'm hoping things continue well with him, and that once Baby Girl comes we can keep a structured schedule or I may get too overwhelmed. I am very grateful that I found a way to bring in extra income while still being able to stay home with my kids. Hopefully now we can start saving again ,and have a little more breathing room with groceries and gas, and maybe even see a movie now and again.

NEW CAR
With the extra income I'm bringing in with babysitting, we decided it was time for a second car. We got a 96 Honda Accord, and besides the large dents on one side, it runs great. I'm so grateful that I no longer have to spend 2 hours a day in the car taking Casey to and from work. It helps so much with my schedule when William can nap in his crib rather than the car.

Maddie's First Day of Preschool

This morning we woke up early to get Casey to work then hurried home (but stopping for a sprinkle donut of course) to get ready for Maddie's big day. When Nana was out visiting she got Maddie this outfit and backpack for her first day of school.  She's been very excited to wear it. She was so cooperative all morning. "Mads we need to do your hair."  "Ok Mom!"  "Mads we need to brush your teeth too."  "Ok Mom!"  Wow, I hope this is how each school day goes.  We packed up her backpack with her school supplies then headed outside for a few pictures. She didn't even offer up a fuss over this. Then we loaded in the car and drove to school.  She even asked for another picture outside of the school. Who is this kid? We walked in and all around us were sad kids and consoling parents. Secretly I wished I had some consoling to do. I said good bye and off she went into the play room. What happened! She didn't even cry? I was so proud/sad that my little shy girl is growing up and understanding that there's no need to be scared. I'm excited for this new journey for her but am so glad that I will still be her main surroundings for her each day. I know I need to soak up these years and am so grateful for her in my life.

Growing Children

I had the very discouraging realization that my kids are growing up. Seriously; look at them. Maddie is always spewing out random facts from library books that we read together and saying things like, "That's peculiar."  She starts preschool next week and is actually excited about it. Where did my shy, nervous, little baby go? She's learning to write words on her own. So far she knows: Maddie, Mom, Dad, Yes, No and AFV (America's Funniest Videos). I'm not sure why that last one stuck with her. She's almost mastered the word "Geico" from us dropping Casey off at work in the mornings. She's FINALLY wanting to run around and play sports which makes her dad very happy. Every day she wants to go in the backyard and play soccer; which I would normally encourage, except the fact that she wants me to join her! I'm sorry but running around outside at 1 pm is not enjoyable.
Then there's William; our little Bubz. He finally starting crawling sometime between 9 and 10 months. He loves to get into everything. We realize now how easy Maddie was as a baby; so cautious and calm. William is not. His favorite is pointing and grunting when he's excited. We turned him forward facing in the car and now he can see the tv and is grunting all the time at it. He randomly points at strangers as they walk by which usually results in a smile from them; that's nice. He likes to push the computer chair around and walk with it. Sometimes he'll clap, but it's not as entertaining as pointing for him. Casey and I have the habit of enjoying ice cream most every night, and William has learned that that tub we carry to the couch means delicious goodness and he comes crawling full speed.  Next month he turns one; I can't believe it. Our kids are growing and there's nothing I can do but enjoy them each day. I'll quote this book I just finished reading, "The days are long, but the years are short." So very true.

Life in Virginia

We've been here nearly 2 months now, and our house is finally unpacked and put together. We have settled into a routine, so that makes life much less stressful.  We only have one car at the moment, so we usually take Casey to work 2-3 times a week so we can venture out of the house. On those days we usually: swim, go to the library, go to the mall, McDonalds, or Chikfila. Not much different than life in AZ. We have gone to the beach once and played at the river once, which is a fun change from AZ. Our weekends are spent doing yard work, grocery shopping and being pretty lazy. We're learning the area and the lingo and trying to adjust to the humidity. I'm still not sure which is worse in the summer; AZ or VA? It's the difference between standing in an oven or standing in a sauna.

I will make a few complaints about life in VA:
1. There are NO sidewalks or crosswalks. And the shoulder of the road is about 2 inches wide, so there will be no bike rides or stroller walks for us.
2. We have to transport our trash to the dump in the back of our Pilot. I made the mistake of sticking our trash can outside once it got full and ended up tossing the entire thing in the dump due to maggot overload.
3. Bugs are far more bountiful here.
4. It stays light until 9, so Maddie thinks she can party late into the night.

And now a few of the high lights:
1. The farmer's market is huge and not overly priced.
2. Lighting bugs (one of the few bugs I do enjoy)
3. We have flowers to tend to.
4. I've seen a cardinal, a blue bird, tons of mockingbirds and robins.
5. On less humid days we can sit outside in the evenings and enjoy the good life.

The Big Move

Maddie was very interested as we packed up the truck. We got many requests to get stuff out of the boxes for her, like random Christmas decorations she could see in clear tubs.

As you can see, the packing got a little lazy at the end. We ran out of boxes and just began putting stuff in until it was completely full. I'm so sad that my big dining room table couldn't make the trip with us. Our grill and bikes also got left behind.

This little girl did great on the trip. This is a rare moment of her sleeping. She was content watching movies, playing her MobiGo, coloring and playing ponies.

This kid, on the other hand, needed a playmate in the backseat with him. Being the driver was nothing compared to trying to keep him entertained. I was all peek-a-booed out by the end of the trip.

I envisioned this lovely picture of our family as we gathered on our porch for the very first time. Instead, it was a hastily snapped pic of a very tired family. More of our new home to come another day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love my ridiculous husband. We threw him a graduation party, and his only request from me was a "face cake." I was unsure what he meant, so he explained, "A cake with a picture of my face on it." Since I didn't get him anything else, I tried my darndest to fulfill his request. As seen in the picture above, the coloring is all wrong and the cake in general is pretty creepy. But there it is. Happy graduation husband. Our life is pure chaos at the moment. Good chaos. After 3 months and 4 interviews, Geico has offered Casey a position in their Emerging Leaders program! We are uber excited, since this was our top choice of the many many jobs he applied for. We got the news a little over a week ago, and will be heading out to Fredericksburg, VA June 12th. Yep, less than a month away. We have been glued to our computer screens looking for housing and moving trucks. And to make it all even more fun, here is a preview of my current two week calendar: Casey's graduation, Casey's party, Casey goes to VA for 3 days for interviews, Teach joyschool, Cubscout pack meeting, Teach sharing time each Sunday this month, Host bunko, Maddie's 3, yes 3, birthday parties, Make 3 stupid aprons to sell (I'm a little upset I chose to do this one), Host sewing night. After this week I will be able to fully focus on moving and packing and all the fun the goes with a move. But we are happy to be moving on to this next stage of life!

Earth Day Ideas

Today is Earth Day, and each year I try to make at least one change to be a better "earthling". Here are some ideas I found while browsing the interweb.

1. Go completely paperless. I have almost all my accounts set up for automatic deduction, but there's a couple that are still sending me statements and I just haven't taken the time to sign up for the paperless option.

2. Using compostable doggie poop bags. I usually just use grocery bags, but apparently they take 100 years to biodegrade. Dog Waste bags.

3. Maybe I'll look into this program for when I'm done with some old sneakers. I usually wear them till they're disgusting; too disgusting that I would feel bad giving them to a thrift store. I usually toss them, but this seems a better option. nikereuseashoe.com

4. Someday I'll plant a tree with my kids, but not this year.

5. Today we are going for a walk and picking up trash. We'll have to wait until this evening because it's going to be 100 degrees today.

6. That 100 degrees put a wrench in my going carless today. I think our only outing would have been to church, and it's a bit too far to make my husband and kids endure the heat. Maybe tomorrow we'll go carless.

7. And finally, we're going to make a craft from something in our recycle bin. I don't know what yet, but it won't be hard to think of something fun.

Happy Earth Day!