My Prodigy

I think our son has a real future here....

Believe it or not, that was an original composition. Impressive, huh?! ;)

Cool Dude!

My mom and I went shopping yesterday and while we were in Target I saw these neat sunglasses for kids that wrap around their heads and Velcro in the back. We hadn’t gotten Chase sunglasses before because we were sure he would just yank them off and throw them (throwing IS his favorite pastime, after all), but when I saw the Velcro glasses I thought they might be a good solution to that anticipated problem. So I tried a pair on him, expecting him to hate it. He LOVED them. He got mad when I took them off. So he wore them all over Target, just smiling at people like a big goofball. A couple of big, burly guys walked by at one point and said, “Is that his Harley parked out front?” Ha ha! Chase was so proud of his new shades!

The picture posted here I took with my cell phone so I apologize for the poor quality. My mom took some better photos with her digital camera, so as soon as I get them from her I’ll replace this photo with a better one.

Step 1 Complete!

So we figure our move is a 5-step process.

Step 1: Move out of our townhouse in Chicago
Step 2: Move in with my parents for a bit
Step 3: Move in with Brian's parents for a bit
Step 4: Move into temporary housing in Texas (for a bit)
Step 5: MOVE INTO OUR NEW HOUSE IN TEXAS!

There are mini-steps thrown in there (like a couple out-of-state weddings we are in next month, jobs/school to start, etc.), but those are the 5 biggies as far as moving goes.

Yesterday we accomplished Step 1. Woo hoo! We are 20% of the way there!! Chase stayed with my parents all week while Brian and I packed up and moved out. We are now in the midst of Step 2 (until May 5th). If we can keep our focus on the steps maybe it won't seem like such an insurmountable task. HA!

Brian would like me to add that Step 1 was probably the hardest step (*knock on wood*) and I have to agree. It felt really good to finally see an empty townhouse after all the hours we put into packing and all that jazz this week. Ahhhhhhhhh....

But of course there's the sentimental part that I wasn't really expecting.... Seeing Chase's empty room that we decorated just for him (complete with the wall mural I painted myself), the beautiful floors we both put in ourselves.... It was our first house and it holds a lot of memories. It will be nice to move into our new place that we're so excited about, but I think 1824 Bridle Post will always have a special place in our hearts.

Goodbye Carly

This week America said goodbye to Carly Smithson. In the midst of our move this week our cable was shut off and I missed both the performances and the results show. I am very upset about it because I never miss an episode! So, anyway, I won't be able to comment on the performances this week (*grumble, grumble*) but I can comment on Carly overall.

I was surprised to see Carly go home so soon. In my opinion she was the best female singer in the competition, hands down. But she lacked a little of the "likeability factor" and I think Simon was right on when he said a few weeks back that she needed to work with the stylist more. Maybe that's what killed her. That and she always looked angry/serious when she sang. But I have no doubt she'll go on to perform in some capacity after this show.

Update 4/27/08: I just watched Carly's final performance on americanidol.com and I have to say it was nice to see another side to her. She sang very well (as usual) but you could tell she was also having fun and not quite so serious! She went out on a very good note. All the best to her!

New House Update

We got all excited this morning when we got updated pictures of how our house is coming along in Texas, but then this afternoon we got some bad news. We thought the house would be done by the end of May, which was pretty good timing for us to start school (Brian teaching classes and me taking them) June 1st. But as it turns out, the house will not be done until the end of June.

Ugh.

We move out of our townhouse here Thursday. That means 2 months living out of suitcases. Lovely.

Can you buy sanity at Wal-Mart? I think we're going to need a couple crates of it.

Goodbye Kristy Lee

This week we said goodbye to Kristy Lee Cook. I have been waiting for this moment for awhile now. I think Kristy was a sweet girl and she had a good voice, but she didn't have star quality. She wasn't natural on stage. But I have to give her props for hanging in there and giving it her all when she knew she was on the chopping block every week.

Welcome to the World, Conor Warren!

I had the privilege last night of meeting Conor Reid William Warren, the beautiful son of one of my best friends in the whole wide world, Nicole (and her husband Bart)! He was born yesterday afternoon and was 6lbs 4oz, 19" long. He is such a sweetie! I am so thrilled because this means I will get to spend time with him before we move to Texas!! Nicole and I were both so afraid I wouldn't get to meet him if he came late. Thanks, Conor, for being 3 weeks early!!

Bart took a picture of Conor and me at the hospital yesterday, so whenever he gets around to sending it to me I'll post it here.