Camp Mayhew, Day 1

Hello strangers!

Long time no blog. My Masters classes at GMU ended about two weeks ago, and only now has my desire to blog returned. I have had no time to do anything since January, and blogging completely fell off the radar. But I am done with my GMU classes for the summer, my pulse is returning to normal, and my need for communication has been reawakened!

First update: I am getting my M.Ed. to teach secondary school English. As we speak, my provisional license paperwork is in the hands of the Commonwealth, and my official documents should arrive soon. Then I can get a full-time teaching job! The license covers grades 6-12. I had an interview about 1.5 weeks ago at Farmwell Station Middle School (Ashburn) very "teacher-ish" throughout. That said, if they interview someone with similar credentials to me - but that person has had a year of teaching - they would likely be hired before me. What a cruel world!

Second update: Rory & Fiona are home with me for the entire month of August. I am calling it "Camp Mayhew," and we have plenty of fun activities and vacations planned! Today was Day 1, and let's just say it got off to a rough start. I don't know how these full-timers do it. Is there training? I feel like I need shock therapy. Fiona was full of vim and vigor for much of the day, and nearly pestered Rory and me into submission. As I type, there is a large margarita next by my side. Tequila is life-giving.

Third update: Craig is in Arizona doing work for v3 Imaging, with whom he has been working for 2+ years. He left on 26 July (Rory's 5th birthday), and likely won't be back until 8/14. Oy. If only Amazon shipped tequila!

TTY tomorrow!

And did I mention?

One reason I have been too busy to blog is that I am in a Master's program at GMU to get a degree in secondary education. In English! Teaching writing, reading, literature - you name it! Classes started in January, and I am in heaven... despite the copious amounts of work. And I do mean copious. Enjoyable, but copious!


I have never taken Master's-level classes before, and have thus far noticed two distinct differences. First, every single person in each class is SO plugged in, literally hanging on the professor's every word. In undergrad, not everyone in your classes was totally "into" the topic, so to speak. Even business majors had to take English, right? But now, it is radically different (read: awesome and inspiring). And fun! And relevant!

The second big difference is that the professors seem to treat you differently at this level. You're not just a young punk trying to get a degree. You're often working, raising a family, AND going to school. So not to say they let some things slide, but they let you make your own decisions. Kinda radical!

Man, do I stink!

Not from body odor. At blogging! I think FB has ruined me. Following is a picture of my three peeps on Fiona's third birthday (2/13). Aren't they cute as the dickens??

Christmas Tree & First Snow, 2009

This is our first tree ever! After eight years of marriage (during which we spent most holidays in New England), we decided that 2009 was the year to buy a tree. The girls are old enough not to decimate it TOO much, and as for the four cats... well, we shall see! The tree is currently ensconced on the deck (being snowed on as we speak), and we will put it up sometime next week. We won't decorate it for a few days, to get furry (and non-furry) children accustomed to its presence, and then we will go wild. BTW, we bought our tree at the Herndon "Elvis" lot. The tree seller has been there, with that same sign, for like 22 years, and the sign cracks me up every year, sad to say.

As for the snow, well, this was our first of the year (early for VA!), and it is a pile of wet, sticky wonderment. Perfect for snowballs and snowmen! And perfect for two little girls. =)

The Gate Comes Down

Big progress to report in the Mayhew household! This afternoon, Craig removed the baby gate at the top of the main stairs (the stairs leading onto the main level of the townhouse). The wooden structure, hand-designed/built by a neighbor to keep their child from tumbling down into the basement, has been a mainstay until quite recently.

Rory is almost 4.5, and Fiona is coming up on 3, and the gate started seeming superfluous. Moreover, it started becoming annoying - just another thing to thwart me from easily bringing groceries up to the kitchen.

The cats - and the girls - barely know what to do with the extra space.

The New Subaru

Here we have the newest Mayhew family member (I am talking about the car, in case that wasn't clear). It is a 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, charcoal gray, 6-speed manual. It has a sunroof and a 6-disc CD changer (so the girls and I can both have music queued up and ready to go). I am in heaven. I love it. I love driving a stick again (as crazy as that sounds), and the car has plenty of room for the family and all our accoutrement.

Fiona was with me throughout the entire buying process (much of which is quite boring). I took this picture so in seven years - when she is almost ten years old - we can look back and enjoy the fact that I have had the same car ALL that time.

I am just so tickled with how well the car drives. I think its name is going to be Nigel, but I will formally decide after driving to Connecticut for Thanksgiving.

Bye Bye Minivan

This morning, I sold my Honda minivan to Carmax. It served me very well during the early years of the girls' lives... when the sliding doors were crucial to actually *getting* them into the car; when the back space held two strollers (one single, one double); when car storage was critical in terms of holding the various stuff that mothers schlep (pack and plays, diapers, you name it).

But those days are behind us, and I never really loved the car. I felt very conspicuous in it... like a MINIVAN driver. Plus, it was my first automatic, and I found it very confusing not to reach for the clutch. Plus, it weighed 4500 lbs and was difficult (for me) to stop. Plus, we only have two kids AND much less stuff to drag around now that they're older. Plus...well, let's just say I never really loved the car.

Wait - there IS another plus. I needed to lower my car payment. Dramatically. And how.

So today I returned to land of Subaru. I bought a 2010 Subaru Outback, 6-speed manual. My car lives in South Carolina at the moment, and is being driven to Virginia early next week. In the meantime, I have a loaner (same breed, but an automatic) to get me by.

I am thrilled to have lowered my payments, and I feel less horrible to the environment at the same time. This car has better mileage, and weighs more than a thousand pounds less. Nice.

Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween 2009! The girls picked out their costumes months ago - Captain Hook for Rory and the ever-stalking crocodile for Fiona - and they were VERY ready for trick or treating. It was raining here in Herndon, but a little precipitation wasn't going to stop us! Umbrella-free and determined, we went through our entire neighborhood and had a blast. The girls' candy bags got a bit heavy toward the end, and I was left carrying the loot - and what a pile of loot they got. Considering they don't eat candy all that often, I figure it will take them almost until *next* Halloween to finish it off.

Two girls hugging a wacky pumpkin

Captain Hook & the Fearsome Crocodile (tick tock, tick tock!!)

Dadbot & his girls

Chowing down on pirate booty in the back of the car

Happy sugar-laden beasts!

Stayin' alive...

Yes, I am still alive - but I have morphed into a lame blogger! It's just that I have been crazy busy since mid-August: taking mini trips, studying for three hideous exams that might help me gain entrance into George Mason University, pestering friends to write recommendations for said program, hanging with the family, working as a contractor for Craig's company, being a stay-at-home mom with Fiona on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and so on.

I know I have been a lame blogger, and I promise to be better. As such, I will now post some pictures from our recent trip to Saratoga Springs, NY! I will backdate the post, so that this lame apology stays at the top of the flow. =>

Fun in Saratoga, Springs, NY!

On Columbus Day weekend, the girls and I drove to Saratoga to visit one of my Hartwick roommates, Karey Hall Trimmings, and her wonderful family. She and her husband, John (also a Wick alum) have three kids: Emma is 10, Jack is 7 (almost 8), and Sarah is 5. We had a wonderful, fun-filled weekend full of pumpkins, laughter, and apples. A perfect Fall weekend in New York State!

Karey is an accomplished singer and music teacher, for those who don't know her. She was accepted into Julliard for undergrad, but she had to turn them down. They didn't give her any monetary assistance, and as the oldest child of five, the family couldn't swing the costs involved. Hartwick, on the contrary, gave Karey a free ride. She has since received a Master's in music performance & education from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. She uses music in her work every day. Karey is a voice teacher with many private students. She has children's music classes for her business, For the Love of Music, and we were lucky enough to attend one while there. She sings with her chuch's youth band (she is the Paul Shaffer of the band). She sings at numerous weddings (and some funerals). She is quite well known in the Saratoga arts community, and she is worth every red cent.

And now for some pictures!

Karey's wonderful music class for children

Crazy roommates!

Karey's son, Jack (7)

Girls at the pumpkin farm! (Sarah, 5.5; Fiona, 2.5; Emma,10; Rory, 4)

Girls in an apple tree! (Emma, Sarah, Rory, Fiona - descending)