The Newest Additions to our Household

I know, I know, I know. I haven't posted in a few days. Okay a few weeks. Alright, FIND, it's been a month. For those of you who are surprised by this let me let you in on a little secret. I'm really terrible at the whole keeping a journal thing. I'm good for a little while and then the new wears off and it becomes a chore- this blog being Exhibit A. In fact I'm sure when my last roommate found out that I had started one, she probably laughed herself silly wondering how long it would last. She lived with me in Rome during college. In case you've never been a student in Europe, you're not even supposed to get off the plane unless you plan to log your entire stay there in a journal. Preferably leather bound and full of all the self discovery you've done while trodding around on dirt streets in your Burks. I didn't get passed writing down address from home to send postcards back to. I think I may have kept a list of what was on each role of film I took for my photography class, but that was sort of necessary. This same roommate was with me in Atlanta while we did our internships. We were supposed to keep a journal of our daily tasks to turn in so that future generations of Interior Design grads could get an idea of what you do in the real world. We quickly decided that wouldn't be a daily task- we'd just print out our time sheets at the end of the week and do a weeks worth over the weekend. Well doing daily timesheet even proved to be too routine for me- our poor bookkeeper- so I sat up half the night before I returned to Starkville for my presentation trying to recreate an entire summer's worth of work on paper. Sheesh!! So, that in a rather large nutshell, my friends is why you should probably lower your expectations for the regularity of the blog henceforth!

However, I will catch you up on what's been going on around here. Last week was VBS and, as usual, I was on the crafts team. It was absolutely insane, but looking back, lots of fun too. I have cut all my fingernails off to remove the paint and luckily had already cut all my hair off, so there wasn't much there to damage. I've had a baby shower for my good friend Ashley who since has given birth to healthy baby boy twins! A big GOOD LUCK to her with that. They should all be home soon. I was in the wedding of a high school friend a few weeks ago. That was tons of fun- it's always great to catch up with old friends and hear about what all is new with them. My cousin is getting married two weeks from yesterday, so that is the next big event. This week will be spent preparing things for that and also doing some "real work". My one job a year has been on hold due to the architect, and now all of a sudden they've started construction, the building will be done in a couple of months, and I haven't even seen a set of final plans. I did the entire space plan, sent it to the architect, he left for Italy and conveniently forgot to tell me he was done with the rest!! Gotta love it.

On the Wilson front, our latest achievements are colors, numbers, and shapes. He has quickly picked up on shapes and is getting more and more accurate every day with his colors. He can also count to ten when he really tries. We're looking for a letter from Harvard announcing his full ride any day now. He is still obsessed with cars but does take a 30 minute break every Wednesday for swimming lessons. He is staying under the water longer and is starting to kick and paddle a little. But back to cars (he wouldn't won't me to spend much time on any other topic). His great grandmother (Nan) has a sitter with a McDonald's connection. She has gotten us the complete hookup with the happy meal Cars toys. (as a side note, if you haven't gotten a Happy Meal lately, the toys are much cooler than when we were little. remember the little plastic grid that you had to twist all the pieces off of and stick them all together to make some non-brand-named piece of crap? these cars roll on their own, one turns around at the edge of table so it doesn't fall off, another is able to bounce like it has hydraulic lifts- how cool) He knows all their names and all the tricks they can do. One morning this week I had to wake him up to go to VBS. I went in and was squeezing his hands and feet. He finally opened his eyes, smiled at me, and said, "trucks" in a very dreamy voice. Apparently he's incapable of thinking of much else!!

Well- here are some pictures of the latest additions around the Ethridge house. Hope everyone is well.

This is Phil's granddad's 1973 Super Beetle. Wilson is in love. He calls it Big Car. Our only guess is that since it is so small, he thinks it's a toy and, therefore, the biggest toy car he's ever seen.

A few pics of our new swingset. All our boys are enjoying this. Wilson has mastered the rock wall and before you know it is in the fort. Jack and Tate have also learned how to climb up and slide down- What fun!!

Our very own Miriam Ethridge original!! I'm so proud of our new painting by Phil's grandmother, I'm going to have to redecorate my dining room to live up to it!!