Christmas in VA

This year we stayed at home in Virginia for Christmas. With the upcoming move, the cost of flights and the prospect 10 hour travel days with rambunctious William, staying home made the most sense. Coming off a couple of very hectic months where Gregory has been gone a ton for work and school, it was so nice to just be home together with nothing to do and no where we had to be. 

William made out like a bandit at Christmas. I'd say 90% of the gifts under the tree were for him. We only got him new shoes and then wrapped a few hand-me-down toys, but lucky for him the Grandparents really came through for him. 

We were opening presents all day because he loved playing his new toys. He got so involved playing with his gifts that he couldn't be bothered to open another present. It was nice not to rush through it and just enjoy the nice gifts. 

I failed to take pictures of it, but we had a some friends over for dinner on Christmas and had a really nice time visiting and playing games. William even took his nap really late, so we could enjoy a nice quiet dinner without food throwing and constantly coaxing a reluctant eater.

 It was a really nice Christmas. A little lonely without family, but I think this year it was just what we needed.

Moving

Well it's as official as it's going to be....we've registered for the Washington state bar and we're moving home in a couple months. We've bumped up our move date to March, because we're soooo ready to move on.

We're both feeling rather defeated going into this move because early November we had hopes of a job. A great job. Probably the best job we could have imagined. All of us flew out west to interview and had started dreaming of a new life. But no. It would have been way to easy to get that job. Because life is supposed to be hard and exhausting and relentless. I try to count the little tender mercies in our life and not be bitter about the big things that never seem to work out. But seriously, life really frustrating and discouraging sometimes.

So we're moving to Washington. And I'm excited to be going home. I'm excited to have family close again. I'm excited to leave the crazy DC hussle. But now comes the task of moving. What stays? What goes? How much is our stuff worth? Worth the $2500 to haul it across the country?  Or do we ditch it all (except my beloved kitchen stuff, of course) and start over? In the next couple months everything we own either has to be sold, donated or boxed up. The thought of it nearly gives me a panic attack.

So hurray for Washington. Boo for big fat disappointments. And wish me luck packing...

The End of An Era

A couple weeks ago our Impala made his final drive home. Well he tried. Couldn't make it up the last big hill to our house so we had to have a friend tow him the last mile. Now he's resting peacefully in our driveway, enjoying his last days before he is towed away to a salvage yard or if we're lucky to someone who wants to give us a little cash for him.

The Impala has been with us through a lot of changes. I first met the Impala when Greg and I were dating, then it became our car when we got married. The Impala drove us across the country when Greg started law school in Virginia and has been my co-worker for the past 3 years carrying my work kids all around town. The Impala carried our baby home from the hospital and hauled him around as hes grown into a busy toddler. A lot of life has happened in the Impala.

While it's never a good time to have the car die, we feel pretty lucky that he made it until our final semester of law school and to a time when we hadn't just drained our bank accounts to pay tuition. We've been waiting for this day for a while now since the transmission has been on a steady decline since it was rebuilt a couple years ago. While another month or two would have been great, we can't complain much. He's been a good and mostly reliable car for us the last 5 years and we'll miss our dear "Impy".

Goodbye Chevy Impala and hello Honda Pilot. :) 

The State of Things

Impending unemployment and job searching is not fun. So much waiting and uncertainty. Getting your hopes up only to have them let down. Hoping and praying that something will work out. That all our efforts will be enough. That the past 3+ years of schooling and hard work weren't for nothing. Hoping that some sort of relief from the non-stop pace we've been running at is in sight. We're so very excited to be move forward in life, to not be students, to pay off debt, save for a car and house, grow our family and settle down. But all that feels so out of reach right now.

After not getting hired on at Gregory's current firm and looking at a few options here, we decided to pack up and head back west. Virginia has been a good home to us the last 3+ years, but we don't want to stay here long term. Too expensive and too far away from family. If we don't get a job in the next couple months then Gregory is going to take the Washington bar in February and we're moving into my parent's in-law apartment next May. While the thought of being unemployed and moving back in with my parents isn't our ideal, I love love love the idea of moving home. The idea of living near family again is just bliss.

Work is fine. Some days are crazy and I want to pull my hair out, but that's childcare/motherhood for you. I don't love working M-F again, but the hours are manageable and the situation is pretty ideal considering. However, after 3 years caring for, cleaning up after, taxing around and managing the others kiddos I'm just done. I want to focus on our family and give all my energy and efforts to our family, child and home.

And for me time is just not passing. The days and weeks are dragging on. I just want the calendar to fly forward to the spring. Even if we don't have a job, I want to move forward. We have a plan that we feel good about and I'm ready to face whatever it brings. Gregory has a lot of changes in the coming months, but for me it's all the same until we move. I'm having such a hard time staying excited and engaged in the present.

Gah. And that is the state of things.

August

Our month kicked off with a two week visit from my littlest sister Sarah. It was so fun to have a visitor and she was such a huge help with William. Sarah works at a neighborhood daycare and was so good with William. She even gave us some very helpful parenting/discipline guidance to help deal with William less desirable behaviors (i.e. biting, pinching, hitting)We went to a couple museums and almost all the monuments and memorials, ate delicious pizza, took a trip to the zoo, went to IKEA, watched almost the entire 1st season of Downton Abbey and just had fun hanging out.

 After Sarah left town we headed down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a mini vacation. Some friends of ours rented a house and were kind enough to invite us along. We had such a nice time relaxing on the beach and doing a little touring around the banks. William of course loved playing in the sand and water, Greg enjoyed swimming in the ocean and I enjoyed sitting under an umbrella and listening to the ocean.

Greg's back in school and we're both back to work after our vacation. I've been working lots of hours the past few months, but thankfully school has started so from here on out I'll mostly just be working afternoons. My summer schedule has been so sporadic, I'm really looking forward to getting a little more routine and regularity to our schedules. It's a bummer having Greg back in evening classes (driving to school for a 10pm pick up twice a week.....ugh) and both of us are very inpatient to get done and more forward, but we're trying to find enjoyment in the now, not just dreams of the future.

And that's a wrap on August. 

Bring on the cooler weather, sweater and long pants and fall colors. Happy September! 

Selfie

William is already practicing his selfies for the day he's allowed to open a social media account.

{Almost} Brothers

How cute are these two boys? I'd say they're a pretty adorable pair, especially when they aren't biting, hitting, pinching, pushing or stealing toys from each other. 

Summer

Greg took the summer off school and we've absolutely loved having him home. It's been so nice having dinner together, going out together in the evenings and having a little more time to get things done. In late June we went camping in the Shenandoah Valley with friends and loved being up in the beautiful mountains. We had a 4th of July party at our house and had lots of fun celebrating with friends and watching the fireworks. We've started playing (I use this term loosely) tennis and have had fun getting out to all the parks in our area. We also bought ourselves an ice cream maker for mothers/father day and have enjoyed making and eating way too much ice cream over the past months. It's really been a nice summer, less all the stress from some of the realities of life.

My co-nanny gave her two weeks notice late in June so this month it's all me again. I wasn't really looking to take on more hours, or work M-F again, but I wasn't quite ready to quit entirely either, so I guess it's the best situation for now. I'm working a lot of long days over the summer (never thought I'd see a 45 hour week again), but come September when the kids go back to school I'll just be working afternoons which will be a more ideal schedule.

We're coming up on the last semester of law school and neither of us could be more excited to be done. We're thrilled to be done with tuition payments, late night classes and weekends of studying, but unfortunately looming at the end of it is a lot of uncertainty. We were beyond disappointed when we found out a week or so ago that Greg's current firm at will not be hiring him as an attorney when he graduates. We figured we had about a 50/50 chance of getting the job, and it didn't fall in our favor. So we're on the job search. Know anyone who needs an employment law attorney? Bonus points if the job is somewhere in the west half of the country.

William is an absolute character and adds so much excitement to our life. He is such a busy big boy now. His hair is super curly in the humidity then flattens right out inside. He's always moving around and finding something to get into. He laughs lots and has this cheesy toothy smile that is hilarious. He doesn't really consistently use any words yet, but can say "dada", "mama", "rawr", "uh-oh" and "haww" (hot) when he's in the mood. He loves books, dogs, playing in water, watching people and of course, eating. On the not to positive side, he has started to bite, hit and throw things. He has quite the temper when things are not to his liking. Any ideas on how to discipline a 1 year old? This parenting thing gives me a run for my money somedays.

So that's what's new with us this summer. How is summer treating you?

12 Months

Just over 12 months ago a wide eyed baby boy joined Greg and I. 8lbs 15oz, 22 1/2 inches long. I swear it was just yesterday. Right before our eyes he's grown and developed from a helpless newborn into a busy, babbling, walking little person. This first year was magic. I can't remember our life before him and I don't want to imagine our life without him. This little boy is the source of my highest highs and my lowest lows and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Best Ice Cream Bar Ever

Seriously. Do yourself a favor and buy a box. They are amazing.

Just don't look at the nutritional facts...