MWNews 81

Maeghan can swim on her own now. She has always worn a floaty when swimming but she doesn't have to anymore. She can swim from one side of the pool to the other all on her own. We are really proud of her. She spends all her time in the pool just ducking her head under the water and then coming back up. She used to do that with the floaty on, but now, she will just stay under for a few seconds and then come back up. She really loves the pool. It has not really been warm enough to go swimming yet, but she wants to get in everyday. The only days she does not get in is when it is raining, which is kind of weird since she will be getting wet anyway, but it is just too cold to go in the pool when it rains, so she stays out then.

William is still a bit afraid of the water. Ever since his near accident, he has been really afraid of getting his head wet. Even in the shower, she refuses to stand under the water. Not sure if I related the incident when he went into water over his head without his vest, but I know he still has nightmares about it. He tells us sometimes that he had a bad dream about being stuck under the water. It makes me really afraid and I have bad dreams about it too. Since it was my fault he was in the water when it happened, I am really afraid of him being in the water over his head also, but he is getting better. I am hoping he will forget it someday and be able to have fun in the water, but I am in no hurry for it to happen. Just let him take his time and go in when he is ready.

He still has fun in the water, but never with his head getting wet. Just floating around in the pool and pretending he is swimming. Maeghan, as I said, can swim better than me at this point. Not that I am a bad swimmer, well actually, I am, but Maeghan is basically fearless. I still insist someone has to be within a few feet of her anytime she does not have the vest on and I still worry every time she takes off swimming, but she can keep herself afloat and seems to do ok, but I am always ready to reach her just in case she gets tired.

William will be four next month. Juanita's birthday is also next month. I am not sure what we will be doing. Maybe have a party for Williams birthday and then go out for Juanita's, but I have not made any plans yet. William thinks he already had his birthday. He is waiting for Christmas. We got him the new Roary dvd the other day and some other car or something. He thought they were his birthday presents, so he thinks he is now four. He tells you he is four now and he is ready for more presents at Christmas. Not sure how he will react when it actually is his birthday.

He is still hyper as ever. Sometimes, he takes a nap for three or four hours during the day, but mostly, he just goes and goes. We were having dinner tonight and I was sitting next to him. He did not stay still the entire time. Kept moving around in his chair, kicking me and constantly getting up and down. I kept asking him if he was ever going to calm down and just sit there, but he thought I was joking and kept moving around. I have no idea how he is going to handle school when the time comes. He wants to go to school, but having to sit still for any length of time will be a real challenge for him. Maybe he will have calmed down by then. Probably not.

Maeghan things Daddy is the funniest guy around. She always laughs at whatever I do. She is a really good girl. I think we got used to Maeghan being so calm all the time and that is why William is such a handful, but Maeghan has always been a good girl. Oh, she has her moments, and can be really naughty at times, but not a lot. That happens mostly when she is playing with William and gets frustrated with him. Since he is so much bigger than she is, she tends to think he is just as old as she is and doesn't understand when he does not listen to what she is telling him to do. She gets kind of bossy then and when he still does not cooperate, she tries to get him in trouble by yelling at him until he yells back.

Not that William ever talks in any voice that is not a yell. He is one of the loudest talking kids I have ever seen. He can whisper sometimes, but most of what he says is at the top of his voice and he never lets up talking. A constant stream of chatter is his way of life. He has gotten into the habit of saying Mom, Mom, Mom, all the time. It is one question or statement after another and he never lets up. He doesn't do it to me so much, but the words Mom, mom, mom are part of every conversation.

The grandparents are still here. I think they are staying until the end of November. Karen gets here sometime in November. She is staying for a week. I don't think she will be here for Juanita's birthday, so we might have to do something early for that so she can go with us. We will have to see what we are doing once she arrives.

The dog is still here also. Always jumping and trying to get into the house. He never stops sitting at the door either jumping up on it or whining to be let in. You cannot walk outside without him jumping up on you. One of his annoying habits is to bite at your feet while you are walking. The kids hate that although Maeghan does not let the dog come near her at anytime. The dog likes to jump up on you and that scares Maeghan, so she stays away from him whenever possible.

We have had a big contract at work so I have been having to work a lot of weekends and a lot more hours than I normally do. I spend a lot of time out in my office. It has a bed and a couch and a tv and the xbox out there, so when I take a break from work, I never really leave the office. William like to come out there and sit with me sometimes. Of course, William does not sit for very long and begins to make up games like jumping over the couch and the bed. That makes it hard to work or to watch tv, so I end up having to yell at him. It then becomes the saddest thing as he hangs his head and walks out. I hate it when that happens but he is just so hyper that it is impossible to work with him around. He needs constant attention and I can't always give it to him.

Maeghan rarely comes out to sit with me. I think she would like to, but with William there, he demands so much attention, she retreats into the house to get away from him. They like playing together, but Maeghan sometimes gets slighted when William always getting into trouble. I am sure it looks like, to her, that he is what we are watching and not paying any attention to what she is doing. I am sure she gets it that he is always getting into trouble, but sometimes, she just wants to be cuddled and it makes it hard when you have to keep one eye on William so he does not do something stupid and she can't get your full attention.

As of this writing, I am officially in the country illegally. My passport expired a few days ago and I have not sent it in to be renewed. I have it all ready, but I need to find a place that will give me an American money order. The state department only accepts American money and they do not accept cash or credit card, so a money order is the ony way to pay them. It is said that some post offices will let you buy an American money order but I have not checked into it yet. I need to do that tomorrow so I can mail in my passport and get it renewed. They say it only takes two weeks, but I am afraid they might find something wrong and then have me deported or something. I am sure I am just being paranoid, but the thought has crossed my mind several times. I am hoping my taxes are in order over there as I am not sure they are and one of the things the state department does is send in the application for approval to the IRS. If there are any problems, they do not grant the new passport and what happens after than, I have no idea. It is a worry, but probably will turn out to be nothing.

Once I have the new passport, I am not sure what happens to my permanent residence visa. It is on one of the pages in my current passport. I don't know if I have to go through the same process again to get a new one or do I just take it to the Australian Immigration office and they put a new stamp in it. I have read the original letter they sent me concerning my permanent residence, and it says I need to have something called an RVA in my passport if I ever leave the country or I will not be able to get back in. It doesn't say anything about what I do if I do not leave the country. I will try to find out what I need to do once I have the new passport.

Guess I should be going now. I need to get to bed so I can get up early and do some work. Have to have some proposal out by tomorrow and I have not started it yet. One of the biggest jobs I have ever attempted and I am the only 'expert' on this system, which is really a shame since I inherited it from someone who retired and I never really understood it before he left. Way too technical to get into in this blog, but it is a big job and I am not so sure that after it is done, they will have no use for me anymore. Once I get it converted, anyone will be able to support it and that means I have no job security as the only 'expert' left on this account. I am trying to get my project management certification done before that happens so I can fall back on that if needed.

So, after saying all that, the kids are in bed and I am ready to go there myself, so it is goodbye from me and it is goodbye from him (an old two Ronnies routine).

Until next time,

Talk to you later