Life as a Lewis

So I wrote about this in last week's Project Life (which I just realized I have not posted here yet), but Camden has been showing some serious signs of growing up. All good, good things. I'm talking apologizing without prompting when he is rude, taking responsibility for his own actions, helping out when I haven't asked him to, keeping his room clean, controlling his temper (something he has struggled with since age 2). In general making us feel like this whole parenting gig might be worth all the hard work after all. And then came this: a completely unprompted hug for his sister. Bonus? The camera was out and snapping pics. Usually it's Rory who is going in for the hugs and kisses (with a whole lot of resistance from big brother), but this time it was all Camden. (and, why, yes, I *did* use our shutters to frame them in perfectly, thankyouverymuch) I told you there was one in every shoot. It's her interpretation of my "you can be silly if y...

Something pretty big happened in our house last night: Rory brought home her first reader. I can remember Camden bringing home this exact booklet. There is a particular kind of torture as well as joy as your child learns to read. Those of you with kindergartners can relate to the halting, stuttering sounds that come out of their mouth as they learn to recognize the combined letters. She may not be quite as prolific as Camden was at this age and she may mess up her D's and B's on a regular basis, but she is doing a great job, and I LOVE the concentration and pride on her face as she sounds these words out. And don't you love the post-school, post-recess, post-nap hair? I can assure you she didn't start out this way.:)

Brian was voted Teacher of the Year at his school. Not surprised at all. If you happen to be in the market for a cute weather app, I suggest Daily Weather. I downloaded it last week, and it's a fun change from my phone's default app. I am not a Hallmark movie kind of girl. In fact, I couldn't tell you the last time I watched a Hallmark movie . . until last week, that is. I kind of randomly happened upon The Makeover , and I have to say that it was a fun way to pass a couple of hours. Because I've had multiple emails asking me where I bought our living room rug , I purchased it from HomeGoods back in November. Speaking of the house, I have now purchased 3 sets of curtains for the dining area and returned 3 sets of curtains. The 4th set is currently on its way to my house right now. They're black and white chevron and might just finally be the right choice. I drank black coffee this morning. (Okay, it wasn't black because I added cream.) But t...

I wish I could remember how many years we've had the Lewis/Lemons Super Bowl Sunday. I guess I could go pull up the old pictures, but that would take more effort than I'm willing to exert. At last year's party, Addison had just come home from the hospital and was all of 4 lbs. This year she's tipping the scales at 20 lbs! Our celebration was a little different this year. Michael had to miss out because of the stomach flu. Addison is 13 months old, and on the go so Camden and Rory spent much of their time chasing her around. And because of the power outage, everyone left early. It was still a really fun time, and one of those traditions that the kids (and adults) look forward to every single year. Rory whispered in my ear mid-afternoon that "this is going to be the best day ever."We're not Ravens or 49ers fans so the party was more about good snacks and spending an evening together (although Brian was rooting against Ray Lewis). [Sidenote: We DVR...

I vividly remember Dr. W telling me (along with Brian and Becky who were with me) at my first post-op appointment in April 2011 to avoid the internet like the plague. He suggested not researching ovarian cancer, reading articles, etc. because of all the false information out in cyber world. He said if I did run across something and I had questions, to bring it to him and he'd willingly discuss.  Nearly 2 years into this thing, I am realizing more and more that his real purpose in telling me to avoid internet research was that it's easier to stay optimistic if I listen to his reassuring voice instead of reading cancer blogs, cancer forums, see statistics, etc. For the most part, especially during those first 6 months, I was perfectly happy to stick my head in the sand and believe his optimistic view that I could beat this thing. I've learned since then, of course, that more than 65% of women (a conservative number) diagnosed with ovarian cancer die within the first ...

I was thinking of getting a head start on my Project Life pages for this week, and realized that it's been quite uneventful. But uneventful in a good way because my days have been filled with "normal" stuff: cooking meals, carpooling, marathon grocery run, lunch with a friend, taking a walk on the only weather-permitting day. All that, plus the house is cleaner than it's been in quite a while. I even took over homework duty, which has been particularly strenuous since Rory spent the week preparing for the 100th day of school. (Have you ever tried to help a kindergartner come up with and write 100 words or count out 100 M&M's?) But it's been good. My mind feels clear, and despite the normal aches and pains (and very little sleep), I feel strong. I've enjoyed having a schedule and keeping up with normal duties. It's entirely possible that Brian might disagree about my assessment of these past few days because I'm pretty sure as I was cleanin...

I frequently stop in the middle of a sentence because I can't remember what I was talking about.Of course, my friends tell me that's old age, not chemo brain. I watched the ending to a current episode of Beauty and the Beast THREE days in a row because I could not remember what happened the next morning. I received responses Sunday from 3 emails I sent Saturday night. Unfortunately, I do not remember sending those emails. I recently ordered duplicate sets of hair products. On the same night. From different retail stores. And didn't remember until they showed up. I ordered Lush bath bombs for Mom, Becky, and Liz. Too bad I have no memory of placing that order, but it was a nice mail surprise. Notice a shopping theme here? I've stopped playing Draw 4 Free because my drawings were so bad my mom was taking pictures of them with her phone so she could remember and laugh. So if it weren't so scary, it just might be funny. Week 4 ...