Life as a Lewis

I'm headed back into the working world this morning. I'm helping out a behavior analyst with some clerical work for her business. She's a friend of a friend so it's pretty casual. I'll be working today and 3 days next week and then possibly continuing on a regular basis one day a week. It seemed like a good idea, but getting up this morning, actually showering and getting ready first thing in the morning is going to take some getting used to! :) The kids played and played yesterday - they were so happy to be back at home with all their familiar toys. We had a successful shopping trip last night although I'm still on the hunt for some size 6 slim khaki pants for Camden (reasonably priced). His school uniform is pretty easy (khaki pants or shorts and solid or striped polos), but finding slim pants are always a challenge. Our weekend is pretty full of laundry and running errands for me, working on church and school work for Brian, and nothing but playing for the ki...

If you're close to a Cheesecake Factory, all slices are 50% off today. This one is my favorite!

We're home! After 10 hours in the car yesterday, the kids were ecstatic to get home! Rory immediately ran to her room, put on her "pip pops" (a.k.a. flip flops) and loaded up her stroller and started playing. They're clearly worn out because they're both still in bed at 8:10 and I have a feeling they'll like having a slow day at home. Brian has in-service today, while I'll spend the day unpacking and getting the house in order again. Tonight we're hitting Opry Mills mall for the last of our back to school clothes shopping. (by the way, if you want a Gap/Old Navy/PiperLime 30% coupon, just shoot me an email at camdensmommy @ gmail dot com - it's good until August 2) I was a bad parent/scrapper/photographer and took very few pics this past week. In fact, this is pretty much all of them! We celebrated Camden's birthday a 2nd time with Grandma and Grandpa. This expression pretty much describes his mood the whole time we were in IL. Rory's favor...

Just wanted to pop in and say that we're here and having a good time. We learned the hard way that the air conditioner in the car needed to be recharged and spent a very long hot bumpy (tires needed to be rotated and balanced as well) 9 hours in the car with a constipated 2 year old whose only entertainment was the one Dora DVD I managed to bring with us. I absolutely plan to shop for another one (or two or three) while we're here. Oh, and did I mention the hyper 6 year old who was so excited to be going to Grandma and Grandpa's house that the carseat could hardly contain him? We went to my mom and dad's church Sunday morning and thoroughly enjoyed it. Brian even attended the singles and 20's service Saturday night with my brother so he got a double dose of church this weekend. Brian, Camden, and my dad and brother went for an all-day trail ride today so the girls went on a "Big Girl Date" in Rory's words. It involved shopping, of course, trying on lo...

Just a few things about the kids this week. Rory's been saying in a pitiful voice, "I don't feel berry good, mama." After I make the appropriate sympathetic comments, she moves on with her day full force with whatever she was doing. I must hear "You be the baby; I be the mama" 100 times a day. This week, though, there was a twist. Rory said, "I be Dora; you be Boots." We've also added, "I be the doctah; you be Rory." this week. The house is officially no longer big enough to contain Camden's energy. He runs, he jumps, he ninja fights, he plays Stars Wars. He throws balls and when he gets in trouble for throwing balls and playing dodge ball in the house, he moves on to throwing stuffed monkeys and blankets and other toys. He walks around with a belt on, his play gun and holster hooked on the belt, a brown stick thing he's had since he was 2 in his hand and a patch over his eye (because pirates are now cool in our house). The ne...

Just a quickie today. Last night's cheesecake and girl talk was lots of fun (made even better by the fact that church was canceled so we got to go early and have more time!). Rory could not understand why she couldn't go since she's a girl too. Because we're headed out of town tomorrow, I've spent the morning, packing, vacuuming, dusting, etc. so that we won't come back to a pig pen. I think we're going to take the kids to see Ice Age 3 tonight. Camden has been begging to see it ever since he first saw the trailer months ago, and it's at our local cheap theater. And one page I finished yesterday. Traci Reed: Walkin' on Sunshine BTW, I've now used this kit for 3 pages. It's definitely a keeper!

I cannot even tell you how much better our day was yesterday. Camden and Rory played so well together. I'm not sure we had any big arguments or tantrums all day long. And it was so good to see Camden make good choices. At one point, I told him I was really proud of him, and he said, "Well, of course. I prayed all about it in my room last night. But I didn't pray for Rory; just me." Because they played so well, I was able to get 5 loads of laundry washed, dried, folded, and put away (including putting the clothes line outside to use), used the treadmill, fixed supper and even baked a blackberry crumble using fresh blackberries. On the agenda today is making a meal for a funeral (I'm doubling the recipe so we'll have dinner ready as well); packing up the kid's clothes for a weekend trip; and general house work. Tonight after church I'm going out with some friends for cheesecake so I guess that means I should get on the treadmill at some point today. Rach...

I took this little vacation quiz for the SSD blog challenge. Sounds pretty good to me! You Should Spend Your Summer in Europe You're in to almost all forms of culture - art, music, architecture, food... And spending a summer at the beach sounds pretty darn boring to you. So head off to Europe, where you can have your tiramisu (and even eat it on the beach!) Where Should You Spend Your Summer?

Yesterday kinda kicked my butt (can I say that?). Brian was gone all day helping his dad out and I had the two kids alone. Not only are they used to having both of us around (which means a little more entertainment/variety for them), but we had to go grocery shopping, which Camden HATES. Yes, I do realize most people do this alone every day, but I've gotten kinda used to having help. Camden decided yesterday was the day to bring out all his bad 6-year old behavior. He was hateful to me, bossy with Rory, and just downright disobedient all day. And this was on top of his normal hyper wiggle worm personality. I can't even tell you how many times he was in time-out. And I wasn't patient. Not even a little bit. A day later I can fully admit that the day probably would have gone a little more smoothly if I could have taken a step back and dialed back my own attitude. But I didn't. And he didn't. And so the day was not fun. Hopefully today will be a bit better. Brian has i...

We have had absolutely fabulous (fall-like) weather this past several days. Our highs have been in the 70's with sunshine, and we've spent lots of time outside. Here are some pictures from Friday and Saturday. Not happy about something You can always count on Camden to be silly Yes, that is a silo you see on his head Somehow I think Rory's getting the hard job When they start to get bored, I'll yell out "On your mark, get set, go" and they race around the house. Brings a smile to their face almost every time. Getting ready for a water balloon fight with Camden, Brady, and Ashton Pretty sure he was running away from the water She took a little tumble Waiting for the balloons I think she got wet! A little front yard soccer game We decided to take a trip to the zoo Saturday (along with the rest of Nashville) and see the parts we missed several weeks ago. The zoo was so crowded and I'm glad we had warned the kids ahead of time that we wouldn't be staying t...

Brian got to play Mr. Mom yesterday while I went to Nashville for a much-needed haircut and ran lots of errands. It was nice to be out and not worry about strollers, car seats, (whiny kids), etc. He and the kids cleaned out the basement while I was gone. Well, he cleaned; they pulled things out as fast as he could get them put away. We then spent the afternoon/evening playing some of Camden's new games he received for his birthday. This one from Aunt Becky is our favorite so far. On today's agenda: a youth group activity for Brian, a going-away party tonight, and possibly a zoo trip tomorrow. We've been gone every day this week so I'd like to just stay at home today (a.k.a. stay in p.j.'s and scrap), but we'll see. Traci Reed: Scrumptious Traci Reed: Belly Flop

Two tired but happy boys arrived home late yesterday afternoon (camping pictures coming your way soon). Based on the way Camden hung all over me for the rest of the day, I'm pretty sure he missed me. We had pizza, cake and ice cream to celebrate his birthday, and he was a happy boy. the birthday boy Mommy and the birthday boy (a worn out) daddy and the birthday boy Rory looks thrilled, doesn't she? waiting for the cake blowing out candles the cake!

How could he possibly be 6? Time flies by so quickly. Seems like just yesterday that we celebrated his first birthday, and now he's 6. This year, especially, I've been thinking about his birth parents. I know they are on the other side of the world remembering their time with him. I am more grateful than they'll ever realize for the gift of Camden. July 15, 2004 A few things about Camden at 6: He has had a fabulous time with Brian on their father/son camping trip. Every time I've talked to him he's been brimming with stories and in such a good mood. Brian says he asks over and over to go on an adventure. He's one of those kids that is so easy to please. Every meal is his favorite; every little treat or special activity is the best thing he's ever done. I love that about him and hope he keeps up that attitude about life. He recently informed us that he hates the number 4. According to him, it's so boring. It's always 1, 2, 3, then 4. He loves to be re...