April Update

**This is not putting paragraphs! I don't know what's wrong. I'm going to put stars btwn paragraphs for now. ARGH!!!**When I hooked up my phone to work on downloading pictures....there were over 500 pictures on the phone. I just let it get away from me, and it got worse and worse! So I'm going to do some big posts with highlight pictures and quick explanations, and then just move on. Summer is coming, so I need to get as much accomplished as possible before they are out of school. Cleaning off my cameras and getting caught up on the blog is one of the things on my list! **** So, just a quick update on us over the last six months or so. ****We have had big happenings around here. Lots of stuff going on! Gosh, where to start. ****Henry is in his final year of preschool, and he's doing great. He's not reading yet, but I don't think it will be long. He is talking talking talking me to death.....as I think I have mentioned. He goes through phases of being very interested/OBSESSED with different things. First it was Wizard of Oz. Then it was Mt. Rushmore and The Presidents. We are in between obsessions right now, although he did have a mini Titanic fixation around the 100th anniversary. ****Leo is finishing up third grade. He is doing well in third, and we haven't had any major behavior issues at school this year, knock on wood. We worked really hard on memorizing multiplication tables in the fall, and now we continue to review them every night. When I was teaching, I found that they just don't do enough drill and practice on multiplication facts anymore (worksheets are evil, you know), so we just keep maintaining at home. I hear from more experienced moms that they hit the ground running in math in 4th grade, so we are making sure he knows them. He came home with a letter in December saying that he had tested into the gifted program, so that was a nice little positive thing. He goes once a week to a gt enrichment class. I wish they pulled out for subject areas, but they don't. We congratulated him but really didn't make a big deal out of it. I asked him who else in his class was already going, and he started listing them.....and then told me....oh, no, wait....one is a gt group and one is a special reading help group....and I'm not sure which is which. Not really on his radar. ****Todd has recently accepted a new job at The Container Store. This is 1.7 miles from our house!!!! The interview process was a combination of agony and ecstasy. He didn't expect to like the team so much....then he had a great interview and loved it....then we had to wait and see if they would call for another interview....then we had to see if the salary and vacation would be ok....and on and on. I told him that it was like going on an amazing date and then waiting to see if someone was going to call! It took one phone interview and two in-person interviews over 2.5 months. So far, he loves his coworkers and the non-commute aspect. We are able to sleep until 6am (instead of 530) and still get our exercise done. He is able to come home for lunch, and we get to converse over a meal ALONE! He is home by about 510pm. So NICE! TCS has a reputation as a great place to work. There are lots of interesting coincidences as to how he found out about the opening at TCS that I'm not comfortable posting on the Internet (not b/c it's anything secret....just b/c it involves others that I would have to name....and I don't want to do that on a little family blog), so we'll be glad to expand more when we see you! It's a fun story! ****Last summer, I started searching for a church where I could feel more comfortable given the way my beliefs have changed over the last few years. I needed less literal (interpretation) and more liberal (views in general). Eventually, I started listening to Unitarian Universalist services online and doing some reading. In November, we visited a UU church in Carrollton (very close to our house) and we all absolutely loved it. Yes, Todd, too. We joined a couple of months later. It has been a wonderful fit for us, and a great addition to our family life. If UU is unfamiliar....the national website has good info, and we love this list by Rankin. ****We are still running very regularly. Usually 3 short runs during the week and a long run on the weekend. I've been doing some vegan cooking just for a change of pace. I have a friend who gave me some links to websites and books that have some easy vegan recipes. Todd has lost about 12lbs, and is hoping to lose about 30, I think. We've been eating vegan during the week, and then just healthy on the wknds with one splurge meal. ****Our only major summer plans so far are a trip to Lbk in June, and then we are going to Crystal Beach again in late Aug. We are doing swimming lessons the first two weeks of June. We won't be doing as many camps this summer b/c they both want to go....and I can't afford that!....so we'll just be doing a few. PRAY FOR MY MENTAL HEALTH!!! :) We're hoping to meet up with friends often and spend lots of time at the water park and the museums. I'm sure they will go to LA at some point, but the dates for that have not been decided! Oh! And Leo is going to YMCA sleepover camp for a week in late July. ****I have been doing a lot of sewing and also some crocheting. I have had so much trouble finding skirts that fit my curvy figure over the last few years. Apparently, most other women are square? I don't think so, but fashion people do, I guess. Also, they need to be just the right length on my frame, or they look dowdy. After many tries, everything finally came together for me this spring (lots of learning from past mistakes), and I've got a pattern that works for me. I'm ridiculously proud of that. I've also made some diaper bags for pregnant mamas (including Lee Ann) and I crocheted a blanket for LAB, too. ****Our Camry has 147K miles on it, so we are planning to trade it in soon. We have been working hard to save up for this for the last two years, and we are EXCITED about finally getting something new. Right now I am thinking....Ford Flex. We went to the Dallas Auto Show and had fun looking. BUT, we took the boys, and their presence was NOT very conducive to looking at cars....so we will have to go car shopping when we have lots of time away from the boys. So, maybe when Henry goes to college. ****ALSO - If you comment on here and your name does not show up above the comment....it tells me "anonymous." I have gotten two comments lately from pple (maybe the same person?) who obviously know me, but I don't know who it is. You can type your name at the end of your comment if you need to. Of course, I love comments. It helps to know people are actually reading this stuff. ****And thanks for the email, Miss Sally! ****OK, I see that the picture uploader has a problem. GAH! I think I need to investigate some new ways to do this!