The Big Move

Jay and I have been tight-lipped about this purchase because we were afraid to jinx the process. But We Bought a House! Most everyone knows our current house is pretty small. We have been in a 2 br/1 bath and trying to function which has been very difficult. Even more so with the introduction of Solon.

Well, this house just kind of landed in our lap. We wanted to stay in our neighborhood, and we had been looking at rental properties for a couple of weeks. It was pretty depressing to see what we could get for our money. But one day Jay came home from work and said a house had just come on the market and that he wanted to go take a look at it. We hadn't entertained the idea of buying anything, but it was such a great place and for such a great price. So, we threw a bid in the pot just to see what would shake out. Sure enough there were 6-8 bids and ours fell in the lower portion, but the owner asked for highest and best...and after much advice and thoughts from friends and family, we put a solid offer on it. We weren't the highest, but we did have money for a down payment which was a huge plus. So...this past Friday, we signed the papers and made it officially our new residence.

We now live in a 3 br/2.5 bath just around the corner from our first house. There is so much more to write, but I wanted to share the good news. And promise to write more very soon.

Just a quick shout out to Jason, Sally & Janie. The drove up late Friday night and spent all weekend under some pretty extreme conditions helping us move all of our belongings. Hot weather. No running water. Lots of heavy furniture and tons of stairs. It was a hard weekend but it would have been impossible to do without all of you.

Did I mention we have a dishwasher? Whoot Whoot!

18 Months Old

Solon turned 18 months old yesterday! His new words of the week are fire cruck (truck), bubble, shoe and HI. He said Hi to most everyone we passed in the grocery store on Monday..followed up quickly with a Bye.

Peek-A-Cabinet

Solon liked hiding from me while I was working in the kitchen.

Bombs Away

Jay let Solon fly. Tossing him up in the air and letting him do a belly buster onto the couch.

Doing a Jig

Today was a LONG day with Solon. One of those days were you just shake your head and wonder what on earth was I thinking by having a baby. It wasn't all his fault. We had errands to run and not fun ones. Plus, it was hot outside. As a result there was tons of crying and screaming. So, I let Jay have a few minutes of peace when we got home and took Solon back to our room to play on the bed. He has this little dance that is so bad...but adorable. He tries to stomp his feet and move his arms but it just comes out terribly uncoordinated. We wrestled and laughed, and I had him all worked up.

Lessons

I could tell story after story about my obsession with cars. It has existed most of my life. Whether it be clipping out ads in the classifieds every morning before school and hanging them on the fridge...highlighted. Or cutting out my favorite models from Moter Trend and making collages.

Cars were a love that my dad and I shared. Countless times we would find ourselves at a dealership just browsing. Sometimes it was the place off I-55 that sold classic cars. Cars I had never heard of, and he would tell me all about. Sometimes it was the Suzuki/Mazda dealership, so I could just sit in and pretend I was driving my much-desired Samurai. Or the best place ever. Horace Slay. Horace Slay was the place that specialized in Corvettes. My dad and I would just walk around and drool. It was there that I sat behind the wheel of my first and only Corvette, and I of course was with my dad. It was a beautiful black 1979 Stingray . The guy who ran the place knew my dad, and he called him over and asked if he could pop open the door and let me start her up. Huge engine and sitting low to the ground. I loved it. And there standing at my door was Daddy. Smoking a cigarette and pointing out all the features. Teak steering wheel, chrome detailing and all the other lovely things about those cars.

This isn't where I was going with this post. But as soon as I started talking about cars, my mind went to Corvettes. What I wanted to initially write about was learning to drive. I had waited forever for those words to be said to me. "Do you want to learn how to drive?" I honestly would sit in the driver's seat of our family car and just daydream about the freedom of having my own wheels. Well, that day finally came. We were living at Lakeshore apartments at the time, and my dad had for some reason a 1987 Pontiac Fiero in his possession. It was maroon and a stick shift. A hard stick shift.

Anyway, he told me it was time for me to get my first lesson. So, he drove me out over the causeway and back into a neighborhood that saw little traffic, and we switched seats. My dad said that he would switch the gears and that I should just focus on steering and learning the clutch. How many times did I stall? An embarrassing amount. But finally we were up and moving. He was explaining RPMs and would tell me when to press in the clutch..and then he would shift.

Now don't judge because this was a different time, and we were in Mississippi. But my dad had a beer sitting between his legs. Opened. And we are driving along, and I don't know what happened. Maybe I let off the gas and we were in too high of a gear..but the Fiero started bucking back and forth. Right as my dad was taking a sip of his beer. It spilled all over him. We could kind of laugh about it when I was older, but I think he was frustrated with me that I just wasn't getting the concept of a 5-speed. And now he had lost his drink.

I have so many wonderful memories of me and my dad driving in a car. I guess because we weren't big talkers and just loved cruising along and taking in the scenery. Whether the drive was a long trek up to DC in a U-haul or hitting the back roads around the reservoir in his old BMW. Nothing between us but a comment or observation every once in a while.

When my dad lived with me and Jay in Atlanta, one night I asked him to write down in sequential order every car he owned. For posterity I suppose. I have been searching for that list the past few months. Wanting something tangible that reflects all our conversations about cars.

He has been gone 7 months today. I wish I was riding with him in the car right now. The smell of a Marlboro and no radio. Just us talking.

Big Purchase

My first woodworking class was pushed back to the first weekend in June, so I just now got around to heading to a professional woodworking store and buying my list of supplies. Some big ticket items, but from what the sales person told me these should last more than a lifetime. So what is all of this stuff? Good question. I am decently familiar with tools seeing that we had to spend so much time in the wood shop during architecture school, but I didn't even know what some of the things were on my list. So I got my plane. And a scraper, chisels, backsaw and two precision squares. I still have a few more things to pick up but am pretty excited just having these things sit out on the table.

Twisting In The Wind

We stopped by a Party City this weekend, and the second we were in the door Solon's little legs were pumping. He looked like he had just gulped down a gallon of happy juice because he went running up and hugged a life-sized M&M and then took off. Running down the aisles. Grabbing everything he could. Wearing everything from a sombrero to a little top hat. It was funny.

We left the store with a few small happys. Namely this awesome twisty thing. I had been looking for one for a while and finally found one. Is it a little too high-school girl in the dance squad? Regardless, he got the knack of it real quick and loved it. Also, another milestone:) Solon can now officially blow his own bubbles.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We have a neighbor, Jo, who is a very dedicated farmer. He has three piles of compost going on at a time. With tons of worms and rolly-pollys. And then a spread of all sorts of fruits and veggies in his backyard. Jay stopped by his house Saturday, and he gave us some stuff to eat. Lettuce, garlic, red onions and such.

Creative Bathing

Solon got some bath crayons and paint as well as some fizzy tablets that change his bath water different colors. He doodled on the side of the tub and tried tasting all the crayons. They don't look like they are full of flavor based on the ugly reaction on Solon's face.

Round Two

Bathed and dressed in his favorite PJs...because they have CARS and planes on them...but had to say goodnight to his ride. (I took the car out of his bedroom for fear of him waking in the middle of the night and screaming for it.)

Intermission

We came back from the park and cooled down in the pool. And what goes better with a dip in the pool than a big spoonful of peanut butter.

I Will Push This Thing 500 Miles

Jay and I finally completed the assembly of the CAR Tuesday night, and I unveiled it to Solo when he woke up from his nap on Wednesday. And he was a dervish of clapping and chattering.

So I loaded him up in his CAR and pushed him all the way to the park. That was a lot of work. He looked so cute that even the lady driving the school bus stopped, opened up the door and told him she loved his wheels. And he just honked his horn and waved. We did some playing at the park, but we mostly just looked at the car and talked about how completely awesome it is in all its red & yellow glory.

Big Car

Solon didn't want to go on a walk. He just sat out in the front yard banging on the driver's door of my Jeep. So I gave him what he wanted and opened up the car. It was so hot outside, but he sat in the car for 45 minutes. Honking the horn, messing with the knobs, crawling into the back seat and eating stale crackers out of his car seat.

Having My Own Party

Jay took Solon over for Jackson's 3rd birthday, and he spent most of the time out on the jumpy castle.