House for Sale

It has been a while since I've written as we have been working hard to get the house up for sale. Finally we made the call and have had the sign in the yard for about 2 weeks. We have had some traffic come through so I am cautiously optimistic. Of course, I do love Knoxville and all of our friends here, and all the shopping, and all the things to do here, and the winter time here, and the natural beauty, and my job, and Ben's take home pay, and the southern living culture. So, what I am saying is I will not be heartbroken if we do not sell right away. We visited our family in Ohio this past week. It was so nice to see them and the girls just adore their grandparents (Izzy the grandmas and Ellie the grandpas). And that, my friends, is the real reason we may leave. We looked at a totally awesome (forgive my surfer adjectives) house on a totally awesome lot too. Still don't know what we will do, build or buy. We'll just have to see if the right place is already existing for us. Ben said to me on the way home, "How does it feel to know nothing about your immediate future?". I said, "kinda feels like being pregnant." I don't know how long I can stay sane and keep my house sparkling clean though.

The Wedding and Easter Sunday

Haven't written in a while due to my preoccupation with my dear friend's wedding followed by a visit from my parents and Easter. The wedding was beautiful, very classy. It was great to be with all my old high school friends again. We even got to spend a little extra time with Lori, who I have been friends with since her birth (I know we did not play together that early, but you get the point). My girls loved her and the princess nightgowns she brought. Isabella also got to catch up with her godmother Becky, my other best friend who I have known forever. Tana was gorgeous and looked like she belonged in a bridal magazine. I hope that she has a wonderful marriage and good luck to her and Brad as they move to Hawaii. We rented an awesome house with several bedrooms, waterfalls and landscaping outside, chickens, horses, and cats for the girls to play with and feed. We even got to collect fresh eggs from the chickens each morning. If anyone is interested in going to Asheville let me know- I would highly recommend this place.

The girls had a great time with the grandparents. First with Ben's parents in Asheville and then mine here in Knoxville. We can't wait to see them more often. Ellie even is saying grandma and grandpa now. She was looking at pictures last night and pointed right to grandma and said it. She does seem to gravitate towards the grandpas though. Izzy loves her grandmas.

Easter at our house began as any other Sunday would with the girls arrising early and a frantic hurry to early church. We discovered that Ellie loves chocolate and Izzy loves t-ball and is actually somewhat coordinated. I was happy to see that Miles had a little meltdown on Easter too. Both my girls were sugared up and CRAZY and fighting, and unappreciative, etc. etc. At the end of the day I said to Ben, "I wish we could just do this day over". He said, "You'd want to go through that all again?". Anyway, the pictures are sweet and we will just remember the fun parts I am sure. Hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday!

This one's about me (mostly)

In a change of character I just had to write about the Knoxville 5K today. My friends Nicole and Ann joined me at 6:30 this morning to embark on the adventure of running the hills of Knoxville for 3.1 miles. I have not run a 5K since college. Although my time was a full 10 minutes slower than my run 10 years ago, I am still proud that I did it. A year ago my pelvis would have broken apart I think. It was so inspiring to see the marathon runners start their race and the spirit in the air was all positive. One of the marathoners running by said, "26 miles to go!". Although the race was NOT easy (especially the beginning 1.5 miles that were steadily uphill!) I had renewed hope in myself and my body's ability to get in shape again. Who knows what the future may hold, but that half-marathon is looking enticing for next year. I believe that Nicole and Ann are inspired as well. In fact, we need a 4th person for our marathon relay team next year. Any takers?
Just had to take a second to brag about my baby too. Noelle stayed dry all afternoon and even asked (in her own way) to use the potty 2 times. Not too shabby for 17 months. What a smart chicky she is. But that's all I'll say since this one is about me.

officially 4

Izzy is now four and she looks the same, talks the same, can wear the same clothes, and can still come in my bed in the middle of the night. The only worry that turned to reality is that she could not see her grandmas while she was still 3. The morning started with tears regarding the before-mentioned subjects but they were quickly resolved with the suggestion of opening birthday gifts. This dried up Izzy's tears but was the cause of an Ellie outburst which was not what I predicted. I had no idea that she was old enough to care. But, as though of you who know her know, she wants to be older than she is on most accounts. Izzy received princess dolls and a dollhouse from Ben, Noelle, and myself, some pretty dresses from grandma Julie and Grandpa Del, and a Toys r us gift card from Aunt Kellie and Uncle Steve. Rumor has it that they want to come to Knoxville to help her spend it. After lunch Ellie took a nap (all that crying and envy wears a girl out) and we had some nice alone time with just Izzy. We had cake and ice cream when Ellie woke up and then headed over to Concord park. That in itself was a testament to Isabella's maturity as she had no problem climbing all over the equipment even though there were other kids all over it. A year ago she would have just stood back. After the park we went to dinner where Izzy said in the most serious tone, "This is a really nice dinner together guys". We tucked her in bed that night and at 11:30 she came into our room (she had said when she was 4 she would sleep in her own bed all night). Oh well, maybe next year or when I'm a little less groggy and can stop her. All in all it was a great day.

The Tea Party

For Isabella's 4th birthday we decided to have a little tea party with her playgroup friends. I stayed up late the night before and rolled out of bed in the am only to have much difficulty convincing my girls that they needed to dress up. Izzy wanted to wear her rattiest looking dress and even then only with much encouragement. I even offered her my pearls which she put on reluctantly. Ellie would have none of it and I finally just put her in a t-shirt and shorts. Oh well. Ava showed up looking beautiful in her Sleeping Beauty dress at which point Izzy wanted her Cinderella dress on. Why is it that kids already think their friends are smarter than their parents at age 4? The rest of the crew arrived. Miles looked handsome in his dress shirt and even brought flowers. Millie had a skirt on, although her scene stealing moment was actually at the end of the party when she looked like an old lady getting ready for a cruise. Lindsay must have been in a similar mood to Isabella as she took her dress off as soon as she arrived. Audrey and Reed hung out while Ellie tried to play with the big kids. Everyone had a good time although nobody wanted tea (yuck!). The cupcake frosting was definitly the best part of the whole spread. Isabella was wound for hours afterward, but was very helpful with the cleanup. She even asked to use the handheld vac. I can't believe she is almost 4. There are times when I wish she would grow up, but for the most part I wish I could freeze her where she is. She has so much personality. I love watching her dance and sing and just talk. I hate that she visits me every night in my bed, but I also know that there will come those days when she won't want to sleep with me, or shop with me, or snuggle with me, or even look at me.

The Horror of Turning 4

Today during dinner Izzy suddenly became tearful at my mention of her turning 4 soon. I thought this might be in response to her previous (2 months ago) statement that when she turns 4 she will sleep in her bed all night every night (this was in response to our exasperated "this has to stop!" after several return trips to her bed that night). But no. First she said, "but I want to see Grandma while I'm still 3!". I tried to reassure her that she will see Grandma within a month and to boot there will be cake, candles, and presents. "But will I still have this face? Will I look like Isabella?" Mercy child. She must have seen how much I have aged this year and become frightened. If she only knew that if she did not wake up every night and come find us she might look weeks, maybe months younger. Mommy and Daddy would be less irritable and healthy, and yes, maybe look 29 or so.

Shark face and a big girl

A strange title I know. Isabella is really into practicing different emotions, or different faces anyway. This isn't a surprise to us since one of her earliest favorite passtimes was to watch herself cry in the mirror. She could whip up a batch of tears for no reason. Now, besides sad face, she also does happy face, surprised face, disgusted face, and shark face. I know that shark is not an emotion, but it does scare me, so I suppose we could also call it mean or scary face. What do you think? Notice Ellie trying to imitate. I can't believe that I'm going to have a 4 year old in a couple weeks. She does not let much get by her. I really need to watch what I do and say. In other news Ellie went pee on the potty for the first time yesterday before bathtime. I think it was intentional but I'm not sure. She thinks she is a big kid already and has been interested in the toilet for months. Most of me does not want this to happen this early because besides the expense, diapers are actually very convenient. But I am still proud nonetheless.