Road trip

We traveled to Gainesville this afternoon to take my mom to meet up with my sis, who is taking my mom the rest of the way home today. My mom has spent the last week here at the house and she was a HUGE help. I already miss her company. Can you guess from the photo where we ate? Cracker Barrel! My road trip must!

***

I spent four years in Gainesville. It is where I went to school and met my husband. It is a beautiful town and seeing it again today reminded me how great it is. After lunch and good-byes to my sis and mom we drove across town to see friends. This is a couple my husband knew from his childhood in Belgium; he has many fond memories of both of them, and having met them a few times now I understand why. She is very animated and refers to people and things in a story book kind of way. Children don't have hair, they have fur. They aren't soft, they are squishy. She refers to the girls as "Tickleberries" and let them roam around her airy, eclectic house freely. They picked up objects, played with her antique Chess game, lounged on her white sofa with a chocolate chip cookie and she never even blinked an eye. In fact she was very stern with Martin and I both to let them be. We finally conceded. Her husband was not at the house. He is in the hospital with lung cancer. I feel awful for them both and it seems even more real to me after just losing my dad to a long term illness. The visit was great other than his absence, and I wish their family peace during this time.

***

Now we are back home. The girls are bathed and dressed in their summer time pj's. The weather is getting warmer here and I am tempted to turn on the A/C. After tucking them in bed (where I pray they stay for the entire night) I will be polishing off a bowl of ice cream and watching TV. Great ending to a pretty good Friday.

No weekend here

The end of last week and this weekend was spent talking to realtors, an attorney, and a few prospects that were house hunting and responded to our Sale By Owner sign that we are using until we sign with a new realtor. It has not been relaxing at all. I keep trying to forget about our current house situation and just enjoy my time with the family, but I can't seem to let it go 100%. A couple came by today that have been looking at our house since January. They wrote a contract which we did not accept and when they heard we were currently without a realtor they called to see if they could meet with us face-to-face. They really want our house but can't afford to buy until they sell. They brought their two sons, 22 mos and 4 mos, and the girls had fun playing with the oldest boy and admired the baby non-stop. They kept asking me if they could touch the baby. They love babies right now. It makes me happy to know that a family wants our house and would make it a home, but sad that the timing isn't right at this time. We are willing to work with them as long as it is in our best interest and were upfront in telling them so. Tomorrow is the day we should be signing a new contract with a new realtor. I hope this brings a change in our house-selling-luck.
***
The only thing slightly creative to happen at this house was freshening up the flower beds this afternoon. We have some pretty new plants in shades of orange, yellow and a bit of red. Martin had a burst of energy like nothing I have seen out of him before. The garage is spotless, his side of the closet is cleaned up and extra clothes bagged for Goodwill, and his dresser drawers tidied. Considering I feel like a slug and am having trouble gathering energy for the smallest chore, he totally put me to shame!! I love it.

Bubbles

Part of this evening was spent in the back yard with bubbles. It is so great that children love playing with soapy water!! Erika and Ainslee squealed and spun around and around holding their bubble wands out while the wind blew bubbles everywhere.

And then life happens . . .

I have been in a blogging rut. A few curve balls have been thrown at me, and I am having a hard time resuming my daily routine with my usual gusto. Very briefly to avoid a super long blog and an out-pouring of emotions: my father passed away two weeks ago. He died on March 6 (coincidentally his birthday) from a massive heart attach. He was 66. A mere three days later I received word from our realtor that our house contract had fallen through due to a third party backing out. The buyers of our buyers home wanted a pool but were unable to install one due to a green belt behind the house, so they walked away. Anyone that has read my previous blogs knows that I am anxious to move and was excited at the prospect of finally making the move to TX. I really don't know what to say other than Martin and I are deeply disappointed.
***
After two seriously emotional blows I am trying to get on with my daily routine and focus on positive things. Martin is flying into FL tonight for two weeks so that will instill a little normalcy to the household. I am praying for good news and holding on tight to happy thoughts.

What a day

What a day we had on Friday. It was so much fun! Erika (right) loved the tea cups! Throughout the day she would randomly clap her hands together and jump up and down several times out of pure joy. Ainslee started complaining that her ear hurt on our second ride and a fever started shortly after. Thankfully we found some Tylenol and she was able to enjoy herself, but a little more calmly than Erika. The photo below(left) is us waiting to get on the tram to head back to the parking lot. The girls were exhausted. It was a great day. We are going to try and squeeze in one more trip before we leave - this time daddy wants to come.

Floppy Flower III

The flower fest continues. I was able to start & finish my third blossom during today's nap time. I think I like this one best. I haven't worked with felt much and I like the texture. This pattern & idea came from Heather Bailey's blog: http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/heather_bailey/2006/12/couch_flower.html. Pretty blog!

I love all three of the flowers and can imagine tons of color varieties for each type that I have experimented with!

Fat lip

We started the day at the gym and then headed to the mommy/child exercise class. The girls really enjoy the singing and playing, and they have a tendency to get pretty hyper. Today was no different only Erika's legs started going a little faster than the rest of her body and she took a hard face-plant right into the disgusting, gameroom-style, spin room carpet. Blood was gushing and her lip swelled immediately. Thankfully Martin attended today's class so he could focus on Ainslee while I took care of Erika. She bounced back quickly and rejoined the group in no time. Afterwards as we sat around the table in the little cafe eating our packed lunch. I felt so bad seeing her gobble down her sandwich with her fat little lip. Boy, they take some hard knocks, but they are tough little girls.
~~~
We live in Orlando, FL which for lots of little kids and families means MICKEY MOUSE. We have not been to the Magic Kingdom once since we moved here three years ago, but tomorrow is the day. I, along with nine other moms/ children, am taking the girls to see the magical place. It will be a long, exhilarating, exhausting day. I hope to get lots of great photos, and I hope the girls remember some little something from their trip to "Mickey Mouse's House" as they keep saying over and over. For now I am off to try another flower.