Life as a Lewis

I have nothing to blog about today so I'll just leave you with a quick Camden story. As we were on the floor playing Uno yesterday, I mentioned that I thought Rory had a dirty diaper. Camden, without a hint of malice in his voice said, "no, mommy, I think that's just your breath." Credits: here I borrowed Emma's pictures for this kit that I needed to scrap with for Lauren Grier. She's so cute!

We had lots of excitement in our house yesterday - Rory used the potty for the first time! We've noticed that she's been completely dry in the mornings when she wakes up. She's started the whole stripping routine at naptime again and so when I got her up yesterday afternoon I decided to just try. It only took a few minutes, and she was so excited. She kept saying "big girl!" Of course, the candy that I gave her afterwards made her very eager to try it again and again and again, etc. She would sit down, wriggle her little butt, look up at me and say "big girl" with a huge grin on her face. No more success, though. Rory is the most polite 2 year old you'll ever meet. She is constantly saying, "thank you, mommy" and "bless you, mommy" and "excuse you, mommy" in her cute little voice. Well, she's had a cold for the last couple of days and every time I blow her nose (which is approximately every 60 seconds), she thanks me...

We were iced in yesterday and we're iced in again today. It has rained ALOT in the last 24 hours, and the temperature is now below freezing and it's changed over to snow. We don't get alot of winter weather around here! Brian is off school again today, and hopefully we won't lose our internet and cable access. Looking out from the back door. So I promised a crazy story. Remember my post a couple of weeks ago about the Walmart employee who was making comments about Camden and Rory? Well, I was at Walmart again on Monday (side note here: whatever possessed me to think I could go to the bank, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart in three different towns all in one big trip with a 2 and 5 year old in tow?). So, at Walmart again, and I actually saw that cashier and pulled out of her line! Well, I knew almost immediately that the new cashier was a goober. You know how you can just sometimes tell? The fact that he was practically hitting on the poor woman in front of me who not ...

I failed to mention that yesterday was the Korean Lunar New Year. One of these days I'm going to get my act together and plan an activity such as cooking a Korean meal or learning a Korean game or at the very least reading a Korean culture book. But for now, I did take hanbok (traditional Korean dress) pictures. First, I thought I'd take us all back 4 years ago to this sweet baby boy. I miss those round chubby cheeks and wish that I'd had a better camera so that I would have more pictures (I did not even know SLR's existed!). Here is Camden on his first birthday. And because Brian clearly likes to torture his only son, he actually made him put on that same hanbok. Camden was not happy. I can't say I blame him. We laughed hysterically, which did not help his mood. Rory was not so happy about this whole hanbok thing either (but look at how beautiful it is!). She was not happy with the hat (and I have no idea if I've got it on correctly or not). She finally cheere...

Just wanted to pop in and say our internet is out so no blog post today, but stay tuned because I have some really cute pics and one crazy story to share. Hopefully, we'll be back online tomorrow. I popped in across the street to "borrow" some wireless internet because Me + Brian + Two Kids + no TV/cable + no Internet = Serious Cabin Fever! Also, please pray for Christian. He's having a really awful day(s) and is serious need of prayer.

Here are pictures from the NKUMC event (via a slideshow from flickr.com). Full set of pics (171): Smaller set of pics (about 25)

Our first trip to the circus was a success! Camden was so excited he could not contain himself. He's a pretty big talker anyway, but he was breaking records for number of questions per minute. Rory didn't seem too impressed. She just sat on my lap and took it all in without too much of a reaction to all the craziness in the arena! I'll try to work on pictures for tomorrow. All of my sleepless nights caught up with me Saturday and I stayed in bed or on the couch all day. Brian took the kids to sign Camden up for baseball and then took them out to eat at a local Chinese buffet. You can read about the experience here . It sounded interesting. It felt like a little piece of heaven to actually be alone in the house for a couple of hours! Rory reached a specific milestone this weekend. On the way home from the circus, she called out, "mommy?? Nanden . . . . . . . pick . . . . . . . nose!" Yes, we've got another tattletale in our house. She's still at the stage w...

No time to blog today. I've got a scrap date with Amanda , and we're going to the circus tonight! Have a great weekend! Lauren Grier/Manda Bean: Bumble Bee Mine

I gave up on trying to keep warm in the computer room yesterday and just closed the door (hence, no blog post), but it's slightly warmer today so I think we're good to go. We're headed to Nashville this morning to attempt to get a social security card for Rory as well as update Camden's card from "resident alien" to "full citizen." One of these days, the paperwork will be over! A few random bits: Camden asked me last night if the Spanish word for telescope was telescopio. I caught Rory Tuesday sneaking up behind Camden while he was in time-out (for probably the 201st time that day) with a wooden spoon in her hand ready to spank him. Luckily, I caught her in time. Pretty sure that would have resulted in WWIII in our house. I am not one for wishing my children were older - I'd pretty much like to keep them little, but these last several days I find myself (desperately) wishing for kindergarten. Camden is driving us all a little crazy. We let Camden...

I'm too tired to form coherent sentences this morning so I'll just leave you with evidence of what I did this weekend instead of anything constructive around the house. Amanda Rockwell: I Love Him Eva Kipler/Julie Billingsley: Fantabulous You Jaime Young/Rachel Young/Lilje Designs: Tweetheart Dani Mogstad/Traci Reed: Outta This World

Happy Birthday Grandma! from brian lewis on Vimeo .

So we ended up with an eventful weekend after all! First, the shopping (see previous post), then our vacuum cleaner died after 11 years of marriage (and it was used when we bought it), we had a night out at Logan's Friday night, then went to the Korean United Methodist Church ( NKUMC ) for an event they hosted for families who have children adopted from Korea. This is the first event like this that we have attended, and while I am very interested in playgroups and other adoptive families, I am even more interested in exposing Camden and Rory to native Koreans and the Korean culture. The church people could not have been more gracious and kind to us (we could certainly take lessons from them in hospitality). The event was very well-organized and was amazing. There was ALOT of Korean food, lots of helpers from the church, some Korean music, a children's choir and dancing. The director of their Sunday School program sat at our table, and she was so fun to talk to. They were all so...

This is my favorite time of year! I love shopping all of the end-of-season sales and usually buy clothes for next fall/winter for Camden ( and now Rory). So today, after several days of shopping, I added up all my purchases - both what I paid for them and what the original price was and then averaged them out. I saved 72% on my items! My three most expensive items were a velvet Christmas dress for Rory (originally $68) that I bought for $16.99 from Janie and Jack and a pair of $11.99 jeans from Gap for Camden, and a $14 dress for Rory. Everything else was CHEAP from Gymboree, Gap, Janie and Jack and a few Target items. I bought the following: 18 shirts 9 pairs of shoes 2 dresses 3 hairbows/headbands 3 pairs of leggings 4 pairs of socks 4 pairs of tights 9 pairs of pants 1 skirt 2 pairs of jeans 1 sweater 2 pairs of underwear 1 hat 1 swimming suit 1 birthday gift I averaged $5.23 per item, which is less than Target/Wal-mart prices and I bought them from name-brand stores). I think my k...

Have I mentioned it's been kind of a tough week with the kids?? :) She's got "the look" down, doesn't she! He's ornery, but still pretty darn cute. He requested that I put this one with his "mean face" on the blog. Shopping with someone who shares my crazed obsession interest in cute kid clothes and cheesecake is a pretty good way to spend an evening! We had lots of fun and I found some good deals. Unfortunately the cup of coffee I had with my cheesecake contributed to me still being awake at 1:00 a.m., but it was worth it. Brian, along with most counties in TN, is off school today because of the cold weather so he's pretty excited about a 4-day weekend (Monday is a regularly scheduled holiday). We don't really have plans but I plan to take full advantage of having another adult around and try to get some scrapping done - something I haven't had much time to do lately. Hope you have a great weekend!

I know most of you Northern people are laughing at me, but it was 11 degrees here this morning, and that is just plain cold (although the high in Illinois where my parents live is supposed to only be -2 today and that's just miserable!). In general, I like winter because I like to experience seasons and not the same weather all the time so I'm not upset at the cold weather, I'm just cold! Somehow we've turned into a pioneer family and are using a wood stove so I've spent the last couple of days running up and down the stairs throwing wood on the fire (a phrase I never thought I'd be using about myself). It feels like we're braving the elements just to take a shower, which happens to be the furthest room away from the woodstove. Oh, well - I guess we're saving some money on electricity. At least that's the excuse Brian uses so I'll put up with it. I'm meeting Mayme and Angel tonight at Gymboree and then we're going to The Cheesecake Factor...

There's nothing like grocery shopping in the frigid weather, wind blowing fiercely, snow swirling around your head, 5 year old literally running circles around your cart Kung Fu Panda-ing the whole way, 2 year old begging "my walk," accidentally hitting your 5 year old in the head with a bag of canned goods, having the cashier say through her tobacco in the side of her cheek, "you shore do make pretty babies," finding a pack of toilet paper under your cart that you forgot to pay for, running back inside to pay for it only to discover you left your purse in the car to make for an exciting grocery trip. Sometimes I think it might be better to just shop at night after they go to bed. It was kinda one of "those days" all day yesterday. I was planning to take Rory to apply for her passport this afternoon. It's a good thing I decided to check on the regulations first because they require BOTH parents to be present. I'm going to have to find out what ...

I worked again yesterday (just half a day). Once again, it as good to get out of the house and work, but I am looking forward to going back to a regular SAHM schedule (a.k.a. not leaving the house at an ungodly hour and staying in your p.j.'s as long as you want). While I worked yesterday, the kiddos stayed with Mayme and Emma. You can see pics on her blog . If you read the paragraph below the pics, you'll see the "bossy" word thrown around. It's true - Rory is very bossy! Unfortunately, I haven't quite figured out how to say "worry about you're doing instead of everyone else" in 2-year old language. They had a really good time. Rory walked in, saw the big-screen TV and mountain of toys and completely forgot about me. It's the first time she hasn't cried when I've left her (much less just leave the room) in months. She didn't move off of my lap yesterday afternoon and evening, though, so I know she missed me. Those of you in the a...

Dani Mogstad: Punk'D

My day at work yesterday was so good. It felt as if I'd been gone for a weekend, rather than 10 months! I've spent most of my adult life either attending the college or working there and it kinda felt like going back home. Unfortunately, the poor woman who is replacing me is a bit overwhelmed at the moment, but I know she'll catch on soon. I'm going back Monday to help again and maybe another day or two in the coming weeks. I was also able to have a fabulous lunch with my friend, and it was wonderful to spend time with her. Rory did just fine at Gram and Gramp's house although she was very clingy and wouldn't let Brian near her. We heard "no, mommy do" ALOT. She also fell asleep at supper - it was pitiful (and also really funny). She literally could not hold her head up. Since we're such compassionate parents, we pulled out the camera so expect a video soon. She was in bed at 6:45 and Camden by 7:00! Our weekend plans pretty much consist of nothin...

I got to spend the morning visiting with Andrea (otherwise known as Christian's mom), drinking coffee, and it was almost kid-free! Camden watched cartoons while Rory played endlessly with a bucket of play-doh toys. I'm headed back to work tomorrow to help train my replacement (yes, ten months later). I was looking forward to it, but the closer I get to having to have myself dressed up, fixed up, made up and two kids out the door by 7:20 (did I mention none of us are morning people?) the more nervous I get. It's amazing how after 12 years of work, I'm out of practice after only 10 months. It will be good to see my work friends and to actually use my mind a bit! It's the longest stretch that I've ever left Rory so I'm having a bit of anxiety over that, but she will most likely be fine. After patting her to sleep for a week or so before Christmas, we've had 2 weeks of blissful sleep, but she had problems last night and again today at naptime so I'm re...

Christian's cancer is still in remission! He continues to be the only one in the U.S. with this kind of leukemia to ever be in remission! At this point, the bone marrow transplant is on!

First things first - Christian's surgery was successful (this is the same one they tried to do last week) and his pain was much, much better. They should find out the biopsy results in the next day or two. Thank you for your prayers. So I discovered yesterday that I possibly am addicted to my computer. I couldn't believe how cut off from the world I felt! Between my on-line adoption friends, scrapping friends, email, not to mention just the general information that I use (directions, phone numbers, bank account, etc.) the Internet for, it felt quite strange, but a good reminder that maybe I'm spending too much time on the computer. Because we ran lots of errands yesterday (both in the morning and evening), this is really our first day back to normal. The kids, especially Rory, are having a bit of trouble getting back into an independent play routine. Hopefully they'll get back in the groove soon. Camden requested a Pajama Day and considering that it's gray, foggy, ...

Today our church family and friends are having a day of fasting and prayer for Christian. He had surgery last Monday to remove kidney stones, but the doctors were unable to remove them and he was in uncontrollable pain. He goes in again today for a second surgery for the stones as well as another bone marrow biopsy to see if his cancer is still in remission. This is a critical time for Christian - it will determine when and if he can have his bone marrow transplant. We are praying specifically that the biopsy will show he is in remission and also that his pain will be manageable after his surgery. I am taking a break from all computer/Internet/scrapping time today in order to have more time to pray and focus on Christian and his family. You can read Christian's journal here and leave him a note. Not sure if I've ever mentioned our connection to Christian. He is a 16-year old in Brian's youth group from church. Brian and I first started teaching Christian in children's c...

Despite my slow computer and unruly kiddos, I managed to scrap this weekend after all (as well as make a little trip to the mall ALONE!). Dani Mogstad: Holiday Spirit TaylorMade Designs: Shine On Can you believe I let this cute picture sit on my computer unscrapped for 2 years? I can - I think I was just waiting on this kit ! P.S. My new blog look is courtesy of SMJ .

As I type, Rory is walking around the house with Batman in one hand and a water gun in the other pointing it at me saying "gosh you." (a.k.a. I got you) I think she just might have an older brother influencing her toy choices.

I'm having trouble blogging this week since our schedule is all wonky (not to mention how slow my computer is running these days). We've basically had no schedule, which has been fun, although the kids are starting to feel the effects of crazy nap and bed times. I'm a pretty much a fan of routine/schedule and am feeling the effects of no schedule as well. (Wow! That's alot of "schedule" for one paragraph!) We rang in the New Year with a church game night, and it was fun. We were all home by 10:00, and Brian went to bed, but I stayed up well past midnight. Yesterday we took the kids to see The Tale of Desperaux, but the movie time was wrong on their website so we ended up seeing Madagascar instead. It was Rory's first movie, and she was pretty enthralled with the whole experience. She lounged on my lap eating popcorn and dancing to the music. We started off with a napkin full of popcorn for her, and every time I would refill the napkin, she would swat my ha...