Just Say Julie

Dear Future Residents of Elder Way,      Welcome to my little cottage on Elder Way.  I hope you fell in love with this place much like I did five years ago when I first stepped foot in it.  I can remember the first time I walked into this house and how I was captured by the openness of the living area and the space in the kitchen.  I remember how I planned for the furniture and decor I was going to place throughout the house during the time I was waiting for my closing date.  I was so excited to call this little slice of earth my own.      You see this house was not just a house to me.  It represented so much more than just a place to live.  It was a place to start over.  Five years ago, I was newly divorced and trying to navigate the world truly on my own for the first time in my life of 30 years.  This house was my fresh start.  It was all mine.  I had done it on my own and that was huge for me.  I...

Editor's Note: So I am not doing so well with the goal of writing once a week this year.  Sorry!  I'm afraid life is just getting in the way too much right now which is frustrating since I have plenty to say just no time to say it.  Busy doesn't even describe what we have been recently but more on that to come. We decided about 2 months ago to put our house on the market and see if we had any luck selling it so we could upgrade to a larger house.  We debated trying to sell when I found out I was pregnant but held off because the market wasn't very good at the time.  Two years later, the market is much better and we were very pleased with what we heard from our realtor.  After a month of working to get the house ready to list, we finally got it listed on the 3rd.  We have had nearly 20 showings (including 3 since our offer went through) on our house in 2 weeks with the first one coming mere hours after the house went on the market.  I'd say there ...

Last week was a crazy week for us.  Chris had signed up for a training course out of town so I spent the week alone with the boys shuttling everyone back and forth and trying to keep my sanity while maintaining the house and getting everyone fed.  It was a long week and I was happy when Friday evening rolled around and Chris arrived home.  I really don't think I could handle a husband who travels all the time for work.  One week was enough for me so I don't envy those who frequently have to deal with the absence of a second set of hands at home.  I told Chris when he got home that he had missed a lot during the week because Little Man was suddenly talking more and more of a daredevil than before he left.  Also, we had another big change happen last week. Wednesday morning I walked into daycare and Jackson's teacher told me the director was wanting to meet with about moving Jackson up.  I was a little surprised by this because I had already received a...

Copied from one of the other Julies because she tagged everybody and since I am failing miserably at the blogging once a week thing. Do you have any strange phobias? I have a few actually. Sharp objects and hot objects, know...such as knifes and ovens, which makes cooking fun.  Also escalators thanks to witnessing a little girl fall down one when I was a child. Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Always with clothes on.  After all, what would you do if you need to quickly leave the house in the middle of the night. If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Wishing I was back instead. Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? I would have to go with Rascal Flatts even though I haven't downloaded any of their music in a while. Do you believe in karma? To extent.  I haven't definitely seen karma in action. Who is your celebrity crush?  Channing Tatum What’s a sound you hate; sound you love? Hate: Metal chairs scraping across a con...

I feel like I have said it at every age but I am really loving Jackson at 18 months. I am really starting to see the person my son is going to become one day. He has learned so much the last 6 months that he never ceases to amaze me with what he knows now. Just last night he pointed to his sippy cup and said Elmo to acknowledge who was on his cup. That was the first time he has pointed out something instead of just saying random words. I wanted to make sure I captured some of the things he has done because these are moments I don't want to forget. During our Christmas trip, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. I handed him a fork just to calm him down and was surprised that not only did he know how to use it but he could. That has really changed meal time for us because J wants to fed himself exclusively now. That can be fun and frustrating at time. Another fun thing he has done is learn some simple sign language to be able to communicate with us easier. His language devel...

I used to follow Lance Armstrong on twitter back when he was preparing for his last Tour de France. I would get so frustrated for him when the anti-doping officials would come knocking on his door on a daily basis.  I felt like he had proven himself time and time again that he wasn't doping.  And maybe at that time he wasn't.  But apparently my faith in him was misplaced.  I told Chris on numerous occasions that I didn't believe the stories to be true. You can imagine my disappointment when I heard that he was going to confess. Now I don't know much about the cycling world.  I still don't understand the time trials and how you can win without being in the lead or the first one to cross the finish line.  I don't get it.  But I knew a little of Lance's story from his years in the spotlight and it was neat to me that he lived in the Austin area.  I also had a lot of respect for the Livestrong Foundation and what it was working for.  I felt lik...

I had an epiphany last week while talking to Chris about all of the upcoming events for our various family members. Sean had his first tae kwon do belt testing on Saturday. Chris tests for his black belt this weekend. Jackson and I are at Little Gym every weekend while Chris and Sean are at tae kwon do three times a week. It was during this conversation that I realized there was nothing I do just for me. I don't have an activity and that bothers me. I danced a lot growing up. I was in youth choir and band. But now I don't have time. Not for me. I have time to make sure the kids get where they need to go but not to set aside for myself. I realize that is part of being a mother. It is their turn now. I had my chance to be active and involved. But it makes me sad. I miss dancing. I miss having something I do that gives me an outlet away from work. I need that but I really have no idea how to make it work in our already crazy schedule. Maybe one day that will change but for now all...