So I try to focus on things that do get better with age.  The first thing I have realized that has gotten better with age is being a mother.  I waited 30 years to be a mother and now I wonder why I waited so long.  I don’t regret waiting so long…I just chalk it up to something that got better with age! Speaking of being a mother, I’ll take a moment to update everyone on Gwyn.

Gwyn is so funny!  She really cracks me up every day.  We are starting to have more conversations, which I love.  The other night, she kept asking for milk after she had already brushed her teeth.  She was lying in bed for the night and I am in our bedroom.  She yells out “Mom…how bout some water?” to which I reply “yes, you can have some water”.  I go get the water, take it to her room and she drinks almost the entire glass.  She looks at me and says “wow, I was thirsty!”.

I took yesterday off of work and after lunch we put her down for a nap with some books.  We are in the living room and she talks to us through the monitor.  She says “Mom…I don’t want to nap, I want to play…please” and I cave and let her play for another hour or so before taking a nap.

Some things that I feel like I should share so that when I tell you that she is a genius, you will believe me.  She counts really well up to the teens.  She even counts backwards from 5 to 1 then says “Blast Off!”.  She knows most of her alphabet and can recognize letters 75% of the time.  She is learning her colors and knows most of her shapes.  She remember EVERYTHING you tell her.  Brian told her how to draw a fire truck the other day but starting with two circles then a rectangle…so when Papa came over, Gwyn asked him to draw a fire truck.  She said, “Draw two circles then a rectangle”.

She is drawing and doing it pretty well.  She draws people and tons of circles and something she calls a badgar.  She is starting to draw body parts which just amazes me!

So on to another aspect of life that has gotten better with age…running!  I started running distance in college with a friend who I’ve grown out of touch with…but I think of her often now that I’m back to running…I think she would be proud of me.  I used to do a fair share of 10k’s and 5’s and once I did a 15k.  I always averaged a 10 minute or more mile.  I was in great shape too!  Well, just before I got pregnant with Gwyn, I started running again but lacked motivation and I quit when I got pregnant.  After I had Gwyn and lost some weight, I decided to start running again.  Through a friend, I found a running group here in Greenville and I am very thankful that I found them.  Not only do they push me to better my time and distance, I found a good group of friends!  I just ran a 5k this past weekend and had a personal record of 27:08 to run 3.1 miles which was an average of 8:44 pace.  I was shooting for under 9 minute mile so I feel really proud of my time.  I came in at 13th place in my age group which had 44 runners.  So my goals for this year are to run a half marathon here in Greenville in early October then a marathon in Virginia in March 2011.

Lastly, while I may not have what some would refer to as a “career” anymore…I love my jobs!  I love teaching and the schedule.  I love my job with the Stallings and the flexibility it provides.  It is nice working for a family and great working with another CPA who can teach me so much and has experience that I can only benefit from!  I’m learning new aspects of accounting that I haven’t had to use in the past.  While I very much miss State and Local Tax and doing research (yes, I’m a geek and love to do research)…I like learning new things!

To end, as usual…I’ll have Brian post some pictures later on today!  We went to the aquarium on Sunday and had a ball!  Gwyn loved all the animals.  She is definitely an animal lover.  She is so gentle with our animals and respects them which is very important to me!

We promise…really…to update this more often to keep you all apprised of Gwyn’s happenings!

My first hope for 2010 is that it brings Brian a job!  Maybe the subbing will help and Brian can have a job lined up for next school year with lots of subbing this semester!  He had to jump through numerous, money spending hoops to get here so I’m hoping it brings only good things.  Brian had to get a drug test, a physical, and a chest X-ray because he was exposed to TB once upon his working in the factory days!  All clear and ready to sub so keep your fingers crossed for him!

I hope that Gwyn can get back into a great daycare this year.  Gwyn was at an in-home daycare which is what I prefer and Tanya was just wonderful!  But she could fill up again before we know for sure if we need her.  I have been looking at preschools and am considering hiring a college student to run Gwyn to and from preschool then keep her after if Brian is working.  So we will just have to wait and see what happens with Brian and preschools.  Luckily I’m finding that we are getting Gwyn into preschool at an age prior to when it becomes competitive.  She will still be in the 2 year old class since she has a November birthday!  Most people apparently don’t think about preschool until their child is 3!

I hope that the New Year brings my family all they want and hope for.  I hope that my Mom finds peace in her new adventures and I think that only good things can arise from these life changes for her!  I hope that my Grandma builds her strength enough to go to rehab rather than a nursing home.  I hope that Ashley, my sister-in-law, finds herself prospering in her new business of Real Estate and I have no doubt that with my mother-in-law as a mentor that she will flourish!

I am confident that my year will be another great year teaching and working for the Stallings.  I truly am a very lucky person to have such great jobs that are flexible and supportive!

Now for an update on Gwyn!  She got a kitchen and lots of kitchen accessories for Christmas.  She loves to pretend she is cooking up something good and serves a lot of tea.  She also got a lot of new books which she loves to read over and over again.  When we are reading to her, she will just sit and look at the pictures for an hour!  We also found some of Brian’s old books which she has enjoyed reading and looking through.  We had to clean out her room of old toys to make way for the new toys.  We are putting them away in the barn for now given the chance of a sibling one day for Gwyn.  Granted that will be a while off in the future when I’ll probably be of “advanced maternal age” but we are keeping the toys none the less!

Gwyn is talking up a storm.  It is fun to have actual conversations with her now.  Like the other morning, Gwyn says “Turn on light, momma” and I turn on the light for Gwyn to say “thank you, momma”.  Then last evening she was helping me give the dogs their fish oil pills in peanut butter which the dogs lick off her fingers.  She said “Tess, you tickle Gwyn!” and was laughing the whole time.  There is still a lot she says that we are trying to figure out exactly what she is saying but for the most part we can understand what she is saying.  She is so much fun at this age and for the most part is a perfect little girl.  We couldn’t ask for better but as Brian says after the first 2 1/2 months of colic, we earned this good little girl!

I leave you with some pictures as usual… or should I say that Brian will leave you with some pictures!

Finally we have Keegan, who decided when Gwyn was away at Gymnastics tonight, he would take advantage of an unoccupied Princess couch…

Update on Me – The semester is almost over and I can’t hardly believe it.  I’m down to my last chapter and only one more full week before Thanksgiving.  Next semester, I teach 2 classes of Financial and 2 classes of Managerial Accounting.  The one down side to next semester is that they have me teaching 3 out of the 4 classes in Brewster which is an older building with limited smart classrooms and of course my classroom is not equipped with a projector.  So I will toting around a projector if I can get one everyday!  Other than this small down side, I’m looking forward to my next semester!

I got back into running but am sad to say that with the rain and sheer laziness on my part that I haven’t ran in about 2 weeks.  I hope to get out some this week.  I finished a 5k (3.1 miles) under 30 minutes a couple weeks ago which is pretty good for me since I usually run a 10 minute mile.  I came 6 out of 20 in my age group.  I’m running another 5k on December 6th so I need to start preparing again.

Update on Brian – Brian is waiting to get into Substitute Orientation for Pitt County.  He is going to the offices tomorrow because numerous calls has led no where.  We can probably get Gwyn daily care if needed between now and January.  In January, we may be able to get Gwyn back in daycare while a mother pulls her child out since she is having a baby.  I’m still hoping for good things!  In the mean time, Brian is selling more stuff on Ebay and we are thankful that we seem to sell everything we put up whether we have to list it twice or not.

Other than job hunting, Brian is staying home with Gwyn and they are learning lots of new things.  We are working on colors, more animal recognition and sounds, more body parts and features, and pretend play.

Update on Gwyn – Gwyn turned 2 on November 1st!  So hard to believe that two years has gone by so quickly!  We had a party on Halloween for her birthday.  It was extremely low key which is what we wanted.  We had pizza, chips & dip, and some applies with caramel dip.  When I said really low key, I meant it!  We had cake and ice cream for dessert.  It really was just family and close family friends!

Later on that evening, we went to Ashley and Sunny’s new house for a Halloween party and trick or treating.  I made Gwyn’s costume again this year.  She was a lion while Layla was Dorothy.  We were to have a tin man and scarecrow but that didn’t happen.  At any rate, Gwyn was not happy at first about her costume but I can’t say I blame her.  It was 70 plus degrees still at 6 pm and she is hot natured anyway.  But once we got the costume on her, she was happy to wear it; however, she doesn’t look very happy in any of the pictures we took that evening!

Gwyn is learning so much every day.  She loves to read so we are always looking for a good deal on books.  She talked grandma into reading for 45 minutes one evening when she put Gwyn to bed!  Secret is that she talks me into almost every day!  She just loves to sit and look at the pictures and she is starting to remember the books.  Aunt Bonnie bought her some books last year that are short and easy for Gwyn to carry around.  The one is about an elephant that sneezes at the end and she remembers that the elephant goes “Aa-a-atchoo” at the end and says it now when she looks at that page.

Gwyn is still in gymnastics and loves it!  She loves to roll and jump.  She is getting to be such a good jumper now that she isn’t scared and is even learning to do seat drops on the trampoline.  She also mastered the ladder this month.  She used to step over the rungs onto the floor until she couldn’t reach anymore then I would lift her up.  Now she knows to use the side for her hands and the rungs for her feet to get to the top.

Here are some pictures from Gwyn’s birthday and more of Halloween!  Hope you enjoy until next time.

And my favorite… “Cheese!!” (from Brian)

You would think this would open up more teaching opportunities, but not so much.  I was trying to become a substitute teacher here in Pitt County, much like I did in Charlotte and Cary, but there was a hiring freeze until recently.  Now our slot in daycare has closed and we are back to square one.   I love spending time with Gwyn and teaching her new things, but I miss being in the classroom and the relationship with my students.  Gwyn and I saw some of my former students this past Saturday at the ECU Homecoming Parade (they are in the band, which played in the parade) and it made me miss it that much more.  People tend to leave/retire in December, so keep your fingers crossed that a position (like the one last year) opens up and it’s back to school for me and Gwyn.

We have been busy despite the job hunt, driving up to Durham to see Tori Amos for Rachel’s birthday, then taking a trip to Charlotte to see our friends beautiful baby girl in September, multiple visits to Kinston to see my family, and this past Sunday, we went to a farm/pumpkin patch here in Greenville.  Below are a bunch of pictures from our visit, and as you can see Gwyn is getting bigger and bigger.  She is talking a lot more and almost always surprises me with her wisdom and skills.  A couple of weeks ago Gwyn and I were sitting in the living room when a jet flew over the house – she looked at me and pointed to the ceiling and said, “Airplane!”  This was new because we had never taught her that word or association, which I thought was cool enough to merit a Matchbox airplane toy at a trip to Target later that night.

While I don’t necessary think she will be a tomboy, she loves some Thomas the Tank Engine, which we watch through Netflix Instant Watch via our Xbox 360.  Now when we walk towards Barnes and Nobles (every Tuesday morning at 10:30am) for story time she yells, “Choo choo!” from the parking lot, through the store and finally back into the children’s book section. (which has a Thomas train table)  Santa recently bought her some choo choos at Toys R Us, which had a sale on some of the sets.  This past Friday we went to Toys R Us and I bought her some new Hot Wheels and five sections of track… the same exact track that I played with 30 years ago.  We put it up on the side of the chair and she rolled them down the track for over an hour.  (and here I thought we would have to have a boy for me to have cool toys to play with again)

Pictures below:

Here are the pictures from Sunday. Gwyn rode a pony for the first time!! Until next time (probably an update with Gwyn’s 2 year birthday party)…

And this is my favorite one from the day… they were having so much fun!

When we gave our notice to the management company about vacating, we were informed we would get penalized for 2 months worth of rent unless we could sublease our place.  I can’t believe the response we got to sublease this duplex and we were very fortunate to have that put behind us quickly…we didn’t have to stress long over finding a tenant.

So the big move is going to commence on the 22nd of August and we should be all moved by the following Saturday!  Yes, we decided to move during my first week back to school!

In other news, we went to Pennsylvania for vacation this year.  The drive up was not so bad.  I used some of my Marriott points and we stayed a little less than halfway up.  Gwyn and I got up the next morning and took a little dip at the indoor pool.  Then we were on the road again.  We stopped at a nice state park in West Virginia and let Gwyn play on the slide and swings and we ate lunch at a concession stand by the lake. We got to my grandparents in time for a cookout!

The next day we left for my dad’s camp at Pymatuning and had a blast!  The first day we went to see the carp at Linesville.  The carp are so densely populated at this one particular area that the ducks can walk on them and they flop out of the water.  You can buy loaves of bread to feed them and Gwyn had a great time!  That night dad and all his friends got together for a fish fry!  Gwyn was extremely happy with the menu…I’m not sure how much fish she ate but I know that I’ve never seen her eat so much food before!

The next day we went to Deer Park in Jamesville.  They have a lot of animals to feed and some exotic animals to just look at.  We had a great time and Gwyn loved it all.  We even rode on a little train that an emu followed us around…Gwyn thought that emu was great while other kids squealed over being afraid of it!

We then went back to my grandparents and hung out for the remainder of our stay.  We left on a Sunday and drove straight back which we will never do again.  We did stop at Potomac Mills on the way back to get Gwyn a new pair of sneakers.  It was a long day and needless to say – we are looking into flights for Christmas!

I’ve been working all summer for the Stallings Family.  I worked with the CPA there when I was in college and she needs help about 20 hours a week.  For this summer, I’ve been working full time to get trained up but now I’m down to my last two weeks full time, beginning with classes (and moving) I will work on average 20 hours a week.  I really enjoy my days there and I’m learning a lot about finance companies and some small business accounting rather than tax which is what I’ve done my entire career so far… and my tax work as been specialized to state and local tax.

Brian is actively seeking a teaching job which is hard to come by these days!  There is still one job that we hold out hope for but it is a competitive market right now.  Brian took his middle grades Praxis 2 weeks ago so we are awaiting the scores to see if he can’t maybe apply for middle school jobs as well.  In the meantime, he is staying home with Gwyn and teaching her lots of new things!  Brian has also been selling lots of stuff on Ebay.  It was been wonderful extra funds in the door while reducing the items we have been storing all these years.  I’m really proud of Brian and his auctions.  I’m also appreciate that he is willing to part with items he has had since he was a child.  He so far has sold all his Transformers and is now onto Battletech items.  We still have a lot to go!

Gwyn is learning so much these days.  She is taking gymnastics and will continue into the fall.  She loves to count.  She is learning all kinds of new words, some of which we have yet to figure out exactly what she is actually saying.  She is a good helper.  She helps with the animals feedings every morning and every night.  She is throwing toys for the dogs which they absolutely love!  Gwyn is learning to dress herself, eat with silverware, go potty (not really pursuing this 100% yet), put her toys away, and colors.  She loves us to read to her.  Her big thing lately, is putting puzzles together.  And most of all, we love the squeezes (hugs) and kisses she is giving away so freely!

The animals are doing great!  I want to get Keegan and Tess into agility classes again.  I’m trying to decide what classes and if we can afford for them both to be in class at the same time.  I went to observe some classes this week to try to decide and now I need to discuss with the instructor.  At any rate, I’m looking forward to it.  I’m also looking forward to getting back into running shape so that I can complete a 5k in October and a 10-miler in December.  We shall see about the 10-miler.  If I’m not ready for 10 miles, then I’ll just run the 5k.

Now I’m off to take care of Gwyn who doesn’t stop for even a second!  Hope to post more frequently after we get moved and Brian shows me how to post pictures too!

And finally a picture at Brian’s parents… she loves to slam the ball into the hoop!

* (from Brian) Sorry for the delay in new pictures here at our blog – it has taken me awhile to get used to switching to a Mac (LOVE IT), including new programs on how to upload pictures to the server. (big kudus/thanks to Scott L!)