Life update

It's been a long time since I've written.  The boys have finally transitioned completely into the public school lifestyle.  They are both doing unbelievably well.  Chris can read and Joey is getting more confident in daily activities.  Ilse is so mobile these days.  She doesn't crawl the correct way.  Instead she moves both hands forward at the same time and then hops both knees forward at the same time.  It's adorable and effective enough for her to disappear before I saw where she went.

Tim is still working in the Learning Lab at McMillen and he likes it well enough even though he would rather be teaching.  He's such a good teacher; I see it every day in how patient he is when trying to explain something to the boys.  Hopefully someone else will see his value and hire him.

I've gotten a sewing machine and am in the middle of a quilt.  An ambitious first project, I know, but it's one I've thought of often and it's going really well.  In fact, I'd almost finished the top when I lost it somewhere in my house.  Even though I found it a while later I still haven't begun to work on it again.  I did make Ilse a pillow case and it is so soft and lovely; I'm really proud of it.  I'm working on another pillow case tonight, except I realized I don't have any red thread so I can't finish it.

We bought a Keurig and *haven't gone to Starbucks much at all lately.*  Shocking, I know.  But there it is.  That's a major lifestyle change and it's one we're both happy to make.  It's not that I love Starbucks coffee so much, although I like it, but it's that I like having a drink to take along while I'm out.  And since I'm out so often, well, you can probably imagine the depths that desire has taken us to.  Then you should maybe quadruple it and that's more likely.  Anyway, this way it's so much better.  We bought different varieties of flavors on Amazon (I'm loving my free shipping thanks to Prime, which I meant to cancel but never got around to it during the two week free trial) and we got a huge bag of to-go cups at Costco.  Tim has made his favorite concoction and I have too.  We got creamer and whipped cream, and I like nutmeg on mine.

My sister in law chopped my hair off for me, and it's the shortest and most amazing haircut I've ever had.  I'm adoring it, although it has grown out so much that I have an afro in the mornings.  I almost took a picture this morning to post to facebook when I realized that to be completely proper I would have had to make my bed first since it was in the background, and I didn't want to go to that hassle (I almost never make my bed) I didn't bother.  Facebook land missed out on a truly hilarious picture.

My friend and non profit partner Shelley Colquitt and I have filled out the paperwork to make our support group Hope's Seed a non profit in Texas, and I'm also working on the tax exempt paperwork which is a BEAR let me tell you.  It is so complicated and you have to remember everything you've ever done with every penny, pretty much.  Also, you have to talk about who you donate to and who you promote, etc..  It's a big job, but so far it's going well.  I hope to have it done soon so we can send it off, so the IRS can do their up to a 270 day long approval process.

Hope's Seed had a wonderful Christmas party.  We had a bounce house and presents for everyone.  Everybody loved it, except for my sweet niece Grace, who didn't like the sound of the bounce house compressor.  As loud as that compressor was, my friend Katrina still heard Grace's pump beeping from the other side of the auditorium.  That was impressive, I have to say.  My mom and dad helped me so much with the party; I couldn't have done it without them.  They've been very supportive of me working with Hope's Seed.  I love them for it.

One of the things I'd like to do this new year is pare down our belongings.  We have so much stuff and it is really getting overwhelming.  I've been listing things online to sell, but so far I haven't made much of a dent.  I'm thinking I could easily become a fan of the 'blank look', which is basically when you don't have anything.  But really, I'm thankful for everything I have, so I don't want to get rid of it all.  Just some of it.

I haven't felt so well the last several days.  I've been pretty tired and thankfully Tim has been home, because I've slept in every day, and I've been going to bed pretty early, too.  I guess I'm trying to catch up on all the sleep I've missed all year in just this last week.  Hopefully by the time school starts back up on the seventh I'll feel more alive.

We've been teaching the boys to walk to school, which, sadly, is a necessity.  I'm not volunteering why, but it is, so they are learning.  Joey can do it really well.  Chris, um, not so much.  If he didn't have Joey there he'd be dead.  We're going to have to work with them a lot more this week, and probably walk them to the intersection and watch them cross it the first few days.  Thankfully it's in a school zone and there are other people there crossing, so they will have some help.

I've taken Ilse off prevacid.  It was kind of accidental, actually.  We ran out on Friday, and since the best pharmacy in the world is closed on weekends, we couldn't get anymore until Monday.  Well, she did so well over the weekend that even though I now have her meds I haven't given them.  I'm LOVING having one less medicine to dose.  It's amazing.  For real.  Unless you are the parent of a medically fragile child you have no idea.  I feel free as a bird, well, maybe half a bird.  I still have four other doses of other meds to give throughout the day, and that doesn't include any pain meds or snot meds, which she is on in abundance due to teething and allergies, or something.

I guess that's enough of an update for now.  :)  I hope all of you are doing well.