As often happens, I find weeks go by and I slack off on contributions here. It’s not that there isn’t plenty to write about – to the contrary, I’ve been writing blog posts in my head, but had no time to type them here.

A few notable updates:
– J is finally pretty confidently and reliably potty-trained. Hurray! Looking back at this blog, I can track that we’ve been working towards this since February.
– S has broken through the reading barrier – it finally clicked for him to decipher the combinations of letters on pages, and now, as with everything else he learns to master, he’s reading everything he can get his eyes on!!
– we are flying nanny-less, with very mixed feelings. We have been fortunate to have two (consecutive) wonderful and caring women help us over the past two years with the transition of our kids acclimating to living in the US, and our adjustment to life as a family of four (from a formerly empty-nester couple). We now have to be more coordinated and mindful of having one or the other of us home to pick up J no later than 6pm, and S by 6:30p. Not always easy, but we’re managing it, so far.
– Our Honda Civic died and pushed us to buy a replacement; we opted for the electric Chevy Volt, which we’re loving!!

As for R and me, the adults in the family? We keep chugging along – our jobs give us challenges and sometimes frustrations; we have a list of tasks we want to get to: agreeing on a household budget (this is a huge and sticky challenge for us, finishing our basement, moving the kids into a larger room with bunk beds (and giving up J’s toddler bed), planning some vacation time (maybe to DisneyWorld!), and trying to carve out regular time to spend together as a couple, at least once a month, to maintain our sanity!