March 2022

Here's all our photos and videos from March.

Getting Settled

After moving last month, we have been enjoying getting more settled this month. That meant taking a trip down to IKEA in Paramus, NJ. We picked up a bed, which was about all we had space to haul in the back of our Subaru with the passenger seat inclined at an uncomfortable angle. This bed was thankfully much easier to assemble than the IKEA bed we bought in 2015. There's a video this month of Alex trying to help me put the screws in, he's about as fascinated as I am with how IKEA streamlines their packaging and assembly design for maximal efficiency and minimal space. Maybe not, but he certainly does have some mechanical inclinations. In terms of other furnishings, we installed some blinds, we've added a bit of storage shelving, and we plan to eventually get a large bookcase and kitchen island among other things down the road. Alex has also become quite settled in our new home now, and has really enjoyed running around in all the extra space. He has been much less prone to cabin fever and boredom, and is very happy to entertain himself at home. That was helpful this month because he was under the weather with a cough and had to stay home from school for a few days. Alex has pretty much laid claim to every space of the house as his own, and can be a bit bossy about where we sit and put things, etc. He used to be too scared to go into the storage room where I set up my office, which worked out great for me in terms of being  able to work undisturbed. But not anymore, so now he tries to kick me out of my seat so he can play with my keyboard. We're working on that. 

Outings and Visits

As per usual, March was a mixed bag of warm and cold, or sunny and rainy if not snowy. So we enjoyed a few outings to parks and other places when possible. We had a nice visit and hike to the waterfall at Minnewaska State Park, which included missing a trail on the way back to the parking lot and burning more calories than intended as we backtracked a ways. Going there when it is still chilly is a great way to avoid the crowds that accumulate in the summer. This month we got to meet up with my sister Linda and some of her family (Alan, Mason, and Keaton) on their Spring Break trip to New York. They were en route from Newark to Palmyra and Niagara Falls, and back to NYC. So we met up with them for dinner at an outdoor mall along their way. This month we also had some friends from church over for a pizza dinner (the Mountains), which is something we hope to do more often now since hosting was hard to do in our small apartment before. 

Favorite Things from March

Rob: I discovered a Twitter account called 'Lizards Every Hour,' which adds a picture of a lizard to my Twitter feed every hour. If you knew me when I was a teenager, you'll know why this makes me happy - the herpetology fire still burns within me. Anyway, I mostly use Twitter for professional-related things and a lot of news creeps in there as well. So a picture of an exotic reptile every hour for me has been a nice break from some of the terrible news of things happening in Ukraine this month.

Alex: Alex has been singing to himself a lot this month, particularly his version of 'Old Macdonald Had a Farm.' We got some spinner toys that light up and play a song and he gets really excited about singing and dancing to those. There are several videos of that. It's probably his favorite new toy in a while, and he makes us do them over and over. 

Becky:  It's not so much a "favorite" thing, but I started up the old exercise this month.  It's nice to get that extra boost of endorphin energy.  I mainly just do crunches, small, free weights and walk-jogs.  I'll build up my workout over time.  I would MUCH rather play sports like tennis, basketball or pickleball, but that remains hard without someone to watch Alex regularly.  So, outside of our weekend hikes, I have to do my exercise the boring way. 
One thing I could call a favorite this month is lime-flavored tortilla chips.  They make nachos way better!