Finding Our Groove

The boys and I joined our local YMCA (Nancy, I think of you often when we are there!).  They have a pool which makes the boys very happy, as well as an exercise room and childcare which makes me very happy.  Yesterday, I dropped the boys off in the childcare for about 45 minutes and enjoyed a very necessary break by myself.  It was a chance for a little bit of exercise and a lot of really deep breaths.  Ten hour days with my spirited boy and double-trouble three-year-olds can be very trying!  I'm thinking the YMCA membership was a brilliant move and will be our saving grace this summer.  And thanks to an unexpected check that came in the mail, I signed the boys up for swimming lessons which will start on July 5 and go for two weeks (something I really wanted them to do this summer, but didn't think we'd be able to afford).   

This has also been the week for looking up stores on google maps and then driving around to find them.  We've found grocery stores, drug stores, Staples, Michael's, and even a Panera nearby that I can work from a few nights a week.  I really enjoy working, so getting back to a little bit of GreenHouse work has given me some joy. 

We also found an amazing burger joint called BGR.  Mmmm...so good!  Jonah loved his sliders and Nicolas was very happy drinking his old-fashioned Orange Crush from a glass bottle.

On the work front, Steve is doing well and really enjoying his internship.  He spends his days researching and writing for a case that will be coming before his judge in the near future.  He's also allowed to go into court to observe anytime his judge is hearing a case. So far, he's gotten to do that twice.  But by far his favorite thing has been the guest speakers.  Once a week at lunchtime, a guest comes in to the Courthouse to speak to the summer interns and clerks.  Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, came last week and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas came this week.  It's a pretty intimate setting (there are only about 40 interns and clerks) so it's been really fun for Steve to be up-close and personal with some of the influential thinkers of our time.   

On the home front, Jonah is having the hardest time adjusting to the move.  The afternoons are difficult for him - when Nicolas and Riley are napping - because the house gets quiet and he gets bored.  He's cried every afternoon this week, asking if we can go back to Sacramento.  At home, he has a friend across the street that he plays with almost every day when his brothers are napping.  So, he's really missing his buddy (and his buddy's Wii!).  He's usually fine after a few tears and some big hugs from mom, but I've had to work extra hard to keep him busy and entertained in the afternoons.  That's been a bummer for me because that's normally when I would have some down-time.  We've been invited to a park tomorrow with some neighbors (the one with the five-year-old boy that he likes) so I'm hoping that he'll get a little pick-me-up from some time with that little boy (and hopefully he can start playing with him in the afternoons).  One other funny thing about Jonah...he's distraught over the fact that his bedspread has roses on it!  He asked me, "WHY did they put roses on my bedspread??!  They think I'm a girl!  We need to go back to Sacramento."  Poor Jonah.

Nicolas and Riley seem to be doing just fine with the transition. Riley is having horrible tantrums (this is nothing new...he's had them all his life) at least 2-3 times a day.  They are very intense and quite long.  I'm at my wits end with them and have no idea how to handle them.  I've tried several things, but if anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it!  Nicolas, of course, remains his easy-going self. 

In the meantime, we're all getting used to thunderstorms, humidity, mosquito bites, and lightning bugs.  It really is beautiful here - so lush and green...I wish you all could visit!