A Hobby

I think I may have finally found a hobby! I've never really had one before (I would still like to learn to play the guitar), and I've always felt kind of lame because I don't have an official hobby. My new hobby is finding signs that have punctuation and grammar errors. While it will probably get me into a car accident as I crane my neck to look for errors, it seems to be something that I'm fairly good at, and I really enjoy doing it so I think that qualifies it as a hobby. I do realize that there are lots of blogs already devoted to this "hobby" so I'm not pretending that it's something new, but it's just really fun. I'm trying to be better about snapping pics of the great signs I see so I can create my own coffee table book, but I've missed some valuable pieces. Some of my favorites include "No Contrack" at a cell phone store on Moreland and "6 Pack of Sweat Water" (rather than Sweet Water) at a package store on Moreland. Coincidence that these were both on Moreland? I think not. Anyway, I found my most recent favorite while perusing a Rooms to Go outlet store. The sign was taped to a large box wrapped in synthetic leather. I have no idea what this piece of furniture is, but apparently I'm not not first to wonder. Can you ever have enough punctuation?



Quick house update - If you're planning to renovate and/or build a house, I have some advice for you: do not, at any point, think that you're actually "on schedule." You're not. Ever. You will not move in when you expect to - or even within a few weeks of that. It's a huge bummer and it's an emotional roller coaster. Just pretend you don't have a new house to move into and you'll be pleasantly surprised when you do get to move in. :) Needless to say, we've run into a few more delays (I mean, really. Who NEEDS a gas line?!), and now we're aiming for next weekend. Here's hoping Zay can turn three in our new digs. The house does look fantastic, though, and we're just really excited.

Peace.

The Scoop

Alrighty...I have been inspired by a friend (who has a very cute blog about her family happenings) to get going with the blog again.

After MONTHS of setbacks, it looks like we're moving into the new digs next weekend. Hopefully. For now, there's not much curb appeal, and we do have plans for a porch and some front yard beautification, but that's all on hold until we stop bleeding money. The floors have been stained and appliances are scheduled for delivery this weekend. Looking back, I wish I would have blogged regularly about our renovation journey because it's been such an emotional roller coaster that I'm certain we'll forget just how crazy it got at times. I do plan, however, to take a photo of our current room in my mom's house to remind us of just how nuts it all is. There are four of us (Josh, Me, Zay and Tyler) in one room - that's a king sized bed, a toddler bed and a pack & play along with a dresser and two night tables. The pack & play blocks the closet doors so we try not to have to go in the closet very often, which explains why you've seen us in the same outfits for the last several weeks! At 5:10 am, Josh reaches over me to turn off his alarm. He slinks off the one corner of the bed where there isn't a child's bed touching it and silently maneuvers through the dark to get ready for work. Cam gets her own room because she's an awesome sleeper and I'm just not messing with that.

During these last few weeks, the pressure has certainly been mounting. There have been lots of last minute decisions to make, budget crises and just plain nonsense with our general contractor. I find myself having all kinds of anxiety about how much we've totally wrecked my mom's house and how we're going to handle moving into a new house (changing the kids' environments, moving all the stuff, etc.). It seems that my tension has definitely rubbed off on the kids who act as if the walls are literally closing in on them. Poor kiddos just need a yard to run in! What I've been terrible about is counting my blessings. We are incredibly blessed to even have this opportunity. Not only are we able to pretty much custom build a house, but we've had a warm, welcoming house to stay in while we're doing it. I'm going to make a concerted effort to be much more grateful during these last few weeks in our temporary residence. ;)

As for the kids, it's always a three-ring circus. Zay is currently obsessed with identifying car emblems, and he actually knows quite a few of them. Walking through a parking lot is pretty entertaining as he points out Cadillac, Audi, Mercedes, Ford, Toyota, Honda, etc. He knows Ferrari pretty well, but we don't see many of those! He is equally obsessed with Lady Gaga and sings Paparazzi ALL day. He has some other favorite top 40 hits as well: Carryout (Timbaland), Hey Soul Sister (Train) and Your Love is my Drug (Kesha). Pretty entertaining.

Cam is super fiesty. In fact, she just deleted half of this post. Sheesh. She loves to play ball and with Zay's cars, but she also loves her accessories. She prefers to be wearing a hat, sunglasses, book bag, pretty shoes, etc. She's very cute and is learning more and more words every day; although, her own toddler language is pretty funny. Zay calls her Turkey Shadow (no idea), and we've decided that it fits her well. :)

Tyler is getting bigger and fatter everyday. He smiles a lot and is a pretty decent sleeper, although I wouldn't hate it if he slept through the night! From what I can tell, he's going to be my more calm child. We'll see!

That's it for now. We'll see if I can actually keep up this time. :)

Another try

Here I go again...we'll see if I can actually keep up with the blog. There's just so much going on that the only way to keep multiple people updated on the multiple goings on seems to be the blog! QUICK recap:

We sold our house in Ormewood Park (in August) and are living with my mom in East Lake while the house we bought in Oakhurst is being renovated. Feeling a lot of frustration because we closed on the house in late November and it's still sitting there in the same state. There was (and probably still it) a lot of permit stuff, but now it just seems to be that our contractor is a slacker. We'll see. Tomorrow is supposed to be the FINAL date for demo to start. Should it actually happen, I think I will have some wine to celebrate. ;)

FitWit is fine. The end of year banquet kept us busy, and it was a lot of fun.

Isaiah is embracing the age of 2 1/2 with all of his huge self. It is a seriously challenging age as he becomes smarter and more manipulative, but it's also super fun. He says the craziest things and has a memory like a steel trap. He's getting much better at sharing with his little sister and is very sweet to the baby growing in mama's belly.

Camilla is just getting over two weeks of being super sick, and she's back to her old self: laughing and silly. She's a really happy little girl and is taking the world by storm, it seems. She's walking and babbling and making it known to her brother that she's not a pushover. It's very fun.

Baby #3 is growing rapidly, and we're really excited to meet him/her in mid-March! We're starting to get serious about picking names, but this one is harder than the first two. Hmmmm.

That's the very quick recap to get me back on track.

:) Erin

Quick Update

Don't have time to write too much as Zay will be home from "school" in a few minutes. Things are still busy, but not too much has changed. The house is still on the market and the price has been reduced! I know that special buyer is out there just waiting for the right moment. The moment is NOW!

Zay is talking up a storm and trying every new word he hears. His current faves are: tunnel, panda, Fletcher (Rae's dog) and something that he thinks sounds like vacuum cleaner. His school pics are back and they're hilarious. I have no idea how these people got him to make these faces, but they're great (the people and the faces).

Cam is getting bigger every day. She's got some serious chipmunk cheeks going on. She laughs and smiles all the time, but today she has a cold. :( She has sneezed about 1,000 times already today. Poor thing.

Josh and I are TRYING to recover from bronchitis, but it's a slow road. We sound terrible, but I think we're both feeling better today so we'll see.

That's about it for now. No big, earth-shattering news to report. Life is good.

March Madness is Right

Whew...busy month.

Other than the house, things are pretty much normal. Josh is full-swing in the middle of a camp and Zay is getting bigger, faster and louder. I really think I have the loudest toddler on the planet. Everything he does is loud, which makes for great sleeping conditions for Cam. Poor girl. She's doing really well and getting bigger by the minute.

I think that is all too report right now. I'm going to bed. Cross your fingers for a great night of sleep. :)

Back to Bloggin

Okay, I'm going to make a real attempt at keeping up with the blog this time. I think it will work best if I separate life into a few different categories so here it goes!

Breaking news: It looks like we'll be moving soon! We put our house on the market a few weeks ago just to see what happens. Our hope was that our house would sell and we'd move in with mom while we built a house in Ormewood Park. We definitely want to stay in Ormewood Park and we've looked at a couple of lots so we're getting the ball rolling. This experience (which is far from over) is very bittersweet. We love our house. We love our street. We love our neighbors. It is doubtful that we'll ever find this combination again, but we're busting at the seams in our charming bungalow. We'll keep the blog updated with the building process in a category called "house."

In other breaking news, it looks as though we'll be the proud owners of a minivan within the next few months. I have to eat major crow because I vowed, on several occasions and to several people, to never, NEVER drive a minivan. My how times change. I find myself lusting for one now. The space, the ease of transporting children, the sliding doors, the DVD player...(angels singing)! Will be sure to post a pic of our new wheels when we finally make the plunge!

FITWIT: Things are going well. A new camp starts Monday and I'll be attending the 9:30 camp to see if I can shed the rest of this baby weight and then some. I'm hoping to get in rockin' shape, but we'll see if I can ever be rested enough to work to full potential. The foundation has lots of stuff in the works so things are going really well.

Zay: The boy is hilarious and I'm not sure it's possible that he get any cuter. Although, I say that and every day he does something else that makes him even more adorable. He's talking up a storm and adding new words to his vocabulary every day. This week's passion appears to be pointing to me and Josh while he says "mama" and "papa" as if he's just being sure of our labels. He continues to be a dancing maniac and loves to cuddle. Super cute. I love this age (except for the random temper tantrums, mostly when Josh leaves the house.).

Cam: What a sweet, sweet baby. She's getting bigger and prettier every day, and she's a great sleeper. She's very girly and makes super sweet girly noises. She's been smiling and cooing a lot so it's been really fun. Keeping up after two kids is challenging, but it provides daily laughs...or at least drives you to a point where all you can do is laugh to maintain some level of sanity. :)

That's probably enough blogging for now. Just wanted to get caught up. I think I'll try to squeeze in a few minutes with my eyes closed before Josh brings Zay home from the zoo.

Peace.

Falling Back

So, falling back has thrown me into a bit of a funk. It gets dark SO early and it's SO cold! Other than adjusting to that, which seems to be a bit more difficult this year than any other (could being 8 months pregnant have something to do with it?), we're just plugging right along.

At this point in my pregnancy with Zay, his room was done and everything was just about ready for his arrival. Poor baby dos is getting the shaft because we barely even talk about names! I think he/she is paying me back by being SUPER active. Zay was active, but this child doesn't seem to stop moving...ever. I shouldn't complain about pregnancy at all because it has really been a breeze, but I will for just a moment. It is MUCH more difficult to grow a baby when I'm chasing around after a 30 pound ball of non-stop energy. I don't get to just stop and nap whenever I feel like it and my body is cursing me. As Josh keeps me reminding me, though: 6 WEEKS LEFT. Can't wait.

Zay has been attending the Ormewood School for about a month now and he's adjusting quite well. His teacher informed me that he appears to have a girlfriend. He rubs her head and they prefer to sit near each other. So cute. She's a cutie patootie. This morning he didn't even cry when I left so I guess he's enjoying his independent time. As am I. :)

Josh is gearing up for the end-of-year FitWit functions along with some various other business things. He turned 30 very gracefully and appears to be embracing his next decade.

As for any major news, it looks like we'll be proud owners of a minivan within the next few months. Yes, I plan to embrace my role as a soccer mom.

That's it for now!