June 2014

June has come and gone and these memoirs are a little late as we’ve been celebrating the 4^th with family over at my mom’s condo.  Those events will be updated in the July version coming next month, so I will focus on June and let you know how our month went! 

 The first week of June, we changed Deb’s schedule from 36 hours to 32.5 hours.  Those 3.5 hours have helped us tremendously.  It sounds small, but Deb changed her schedule to be off work each day at 3:30.  That means she and the girls are home by 4 or a little after and they can play, hang out, make dinner casually, maybe do a load of laundry and we can sit down for dinner in a much less rushed situation than before this change.  The evenings are much more enjoyable now that we aren’t walking in with kids at 5:45 who are hungry and demanding food faster than a microwave can cook!  Combine this with still having 2 mornings when Deb goes in at 10:30, she is still able to run a few errands and hit up the grocery during the week, keeping our weekends open for social things or doing nothing, which are both lots of fun! 

 We went to our church festival this month and it was the first time we were able to take Allison to “Tiger Town” where you spend $5-$10 on tickets to play games and get tokens and get something in value worth less than $1!  She enjoyed playing the games and we enjoyed the beer and time with some of our friends.  It was very hot, but Allison and Sarah did well.  We also did our church family portrait this month.  Speaking of church, we are really struggling with both of them in church as Sarah is squirmy and Allison is too talkative. 

Sarah’s Things of the Month

            Sarah had her tear duct surgery this month and she did well.  Kids and anesthesia aren’t fun, but with kids who can’t talk or aren’t easily entertained by an Ipad, it is even more challenging!  She did well with the procedure but we aren’t convinced it worked since she still has some moments where her eye looks swollen.  We will learn more at her follow-up.  She has also started to wear orthotics for her feet which have really helped her walking and moving around.  We hope she can “graduate” to the next room at daycare soon, but she needs to learn to walk. 

 Allison’s Things of the Month

            Allison has gotten back into a routine of sleeping all night and not waking up.  She has a few moments (like when we lost power and she was scared) but overall, we are happier with her sleeping patterns.  We are working toward having her put herself to bed and not having to stay nearby (as right now we are staying in our room while she falls asleep). 

 A few more items from this month:

• For Father’s Day, the girls and Deb got a 6-pack of beer and Allison helped pick out the sampler pack. 
• Sarah had her 1st official haircut!  She sat all by herself and didn't cry!  Thankfully, her mullet is gone!
• At daycare, they had “Donuts with Dad” and Uncle Frank came along for a breakfast treat with the girls and I.
• Jack Bauer is back, and Beth and I have enjoyed watching this season together. 
• Deb and I took a day off and I planned a surprise date where we went putt-putt golfing.  Now, this isn’t your normal putt-putt since the holes can be 30-40 yards sometimes!  We enjoyed a nice lunch afterwards and then went to pick up the girls. 
• Deb had a girl’s Italian night where she made bruschetta.
• At work, we had a global finance conference where we went to an Indian’s game and also went on a handlebar tour.  This is a trolley that is powered by the drinkers who are peddling!  It is quite the workout, but a good time!  The girls did well for Deb on those evenings I was gone. 
• Allison and our neighbor Lucas had tons of fun playing outside, including lots of water battles.  Unfortunately he and his parents moved at the end of the month to NC.

Throwback Memory

            10 years ago, I was in 2 weddings.  Lyons and Foulke got married 10 years ago and since Deb and I had only been dating for 8 month at the time, it was her eye-opening experience to my college friends.  Those were 2 great weekends and it is hard to believe that it has been a decade since then.  From sharing a hotel room with the Watkins at Lyons’ wedding to me explaining to Deb how to “persevere” through a drunken state at Foulke’s reception, those are 2 weekends that won’t be forgotten.