SO Cool!

She thinks she is super cool and always wants "Mommy's things". She was so cute laughing and smiling with the sunglasses on but I couldn't seem to snap the picture fast enough. I think she is officially back to normal too. Thank you thank you for leaving us fever virus!!!!

What's next....

Charlee Kate was enjoying some time at the doctor's office this morning. After I thought she was better on Sunday, she still has not slept completely sound. That gives me anxiety knowing that we are heading to Chicago and I don't want her sick. So, we went to the doctor this morning just to make sure it wasn't ears or strep. ALL WAS CLEAR, YAY!!! It was just viral and is almost gone so we are almost good, LOL.

I just love this little girl in bubbles and TOMS. Toms became a HUGE favorite of mine back in September.... this pair is super cute on her. Dressing her is so much fun!
Barefoot in the doctor's office. That has to be very sterile and healthy! I know the smiley picture is very blurry, but she would not look at me so when she finally did I took it really quick. She tried to turn her head, which is why it got blurry, LOL
Hot pink fluorescent toes! I love painting Charlee Kate's toes and when I say "lets go paint your piggys" she gets so excited! She sits so still. I love to paint them as often as my own in funky colors. Last week she had turquoise toes!

T-shirt and diapers kind of weekend

Friday afternoon.... my little one came down with a fever and a runny nose. There was really no reason why, but her only symptoms were fever, eating nothing, and a runny nose. So Friday night we were up a good bit with her and Saturday she took 2 naps (which hasn't happened since October), so she really wasn't feeling good! Sunday morning though, she woke up feeling much more like herself! However, mommy and daddy then picked it up! Here are a few pictures to show it : )

Yes this was a "t-shirt and diapers" kind of weekend!

This became her favorite place to play and she was laughing and singing inside the box.

Check out her hand, LOVE IT!

So.... here is the scoop on the house: Jeremy and I have always, always, always wanted to live in Homewood. When the opportunity came to move back to Birmingham, we thought, this is our chance!! We have lived in some gorgeous fun neighborhoods over 10 years (with the 3 houses we have owned) and loved them all. However, I have never been able to "renovate" an old one. And when I say old I mean 1920's to 1930's, not a 70's or 80's. This history behind these old homes is so interesting, but the structures of the older ones are amazing! We are still not 100% convinced we want that though. This is what we decided and felt was best for us.

So..... the best part is, we get to rent for a year and decide what will work for us and what do we really want! The point is, to rent for the AREA not the HOUSE! That has been very hard for me to keep in mind as we went looking for houses to rent in Homewood. Which by the way, there are NONE in Homewood or hardly any. When the good ones become available, they rent within a day. Last weekend we went to Birmingham in search of houses, even though we have been looking for 2 months online and saw maybe 2 that might have been possible. For all my Florida Peeps.... Homewood is a lot like Hyde Park, but bigger and it doesn't have the Bay, which is a huge plus for Hyde Park, LOL.

Anways.... here is the rest of the story.....Luckily, Sunday night at 5:00 as we were about to leave we found one that literally just became available!! It is in the absolute PERFECT LOCATION, which.... was our goal. Location, location, location, LOL!!! The house is small, way smaller than we are used to so I am referring to it as "my little cottage" for the next year. I think this is going to give us an idea if Homewood is the place for us. If it is, then we can go from there and find something that we want to renovate and make our home. If not, we have a pretty good idea of where we could live.

We are super excited! Birmingham has always been home, we have always had friends there, etc... however, it is totally different when it is YOU moving there! So as I said before, some people may think we are crazy and that we "need" to be living in something else, or living in another area, or whatever the case may be, but..... this is our dream and I can't wait to live in my little cottage for a year!

Karen...

This picture says it all! This was our life for 4 years and I always loved these laughs. We have had lots of fun together over the last 4 years. In the past, we would say she was my long lost "asian sister" and I was her long lost"white sister" because we had a lot of things in common.

Last night Karen and I met at Grille 54 to catch up. Our lives, like everyones, are so busy and we are always going in so many different directions so it was time for a good "catch up". We have done many things in 4 years... lots of dinners, birthdays, Christmas celebrations, runs, trips to Orlando, and the list goes on. I keep telling her she has to come to Birmingham to see what the real south is all about!! I taught both of Karen's kids, Cole for 1 year and Lily for 3 years. Oh how I love these kiddos too!!!! I will miss Karen and the kids, but this isn't our good-bye yet!!!

One of the last airplane rides....

Be prepared to read this and think I am crazy, LOL! So many exciting things happening in our life. Still haven't reported on the living arrangements for Birmingham, but that post will come very very soon!

We planned this trip to Bama on and off and on and off, until finally we decided to come. The whole point was to come and find a place to live. There again, there is so much to report on that, but I will wait a few days. Charlee Kate and I left Friday to fly to Birmingham. Jeremy was already there. Like I said before.... the 20% of me that loves Tampa and the part of you that closes out this chapter in your life.... sneaks in. All I could imagine was the many many many flights we took from Tampa to Birmingham. Then that "feeling" of pushing the stroller through the airport as we left Birmingham, knowing it was time to go home and we didn't want to leave home.... all which are crazy feelings. All of those feelings and emotions are flashbacks and it is just so weird to think, I don't have any of those feelings anymore. I know that just made no sense and probably made me sound like a crazy person, but it has been part of this whole process we call LIFE. I have actually loved it all, even those times I had to come back to Florida and wanted to stay in Bama. I made the best of it and that was just it! I can definitely definitely say I have a HUGE HUGE appreciation of coming back to the "BIG HAM"... as we like to call it. I don't take all my favorite stores, restaurants, and time with family for granted. We left Birmingham 6 years ago and now we are going back to live "our dream", which may mean a smaller house, no Neimans, cute local places to eat, a walk to the park, etc... but the point is... "its our dream". I can't wait!

Like Mother Like Daughter!

After my fun day on Saturday, I brought a few things home. Of course, I came in and immediately started playing with Charlee Kate. I didn't even have time to put anything away before my little one emptied my bags and "pretended" to be shopping. I love how she took out new things and started throwing them, LOL. She loves to carry little purses (or items that are like purses) on her arm. She is going to make a great shopping partner one day.

Mother's Day Weekend

My blog was acting funny, but I think I have it all in order.... Happy Mother's Day! Read on to see how the weekend unfolded.

This weekend was one of the best I have had thanks to jeremy and charlee kate! It was a great week at school to start with because it was teacher appreciation week. Its amazing how lots of extra meals, dd coffee, and being allowed to come into work late will make you feel appreciated at school. However, this weekend I was appreciated for a job/privilege I have in life that far exceeds being a teacher and that is being a mommy to Charlee Kate. What a blessing I have longed for and dreamed of!

 My Thursday started with a playdate with fabulous friends, half of our furniture being picked up to be refinished (yay!!!!!), and then finding a place to live in bham. More on that later..... 

Friday after school I decided to race, not run, in a 5k in our neighborhood raising money for childrens cancer. It ended up being a really fun race. Jeremy and charlee kate met me at the finish line and we had a nice dinner in the town area with a cool breeze. It was so much fun! Here is a picture of Charlee Kate as we enjoyed our dinner.

Saturday morning jeremy cooked me breakfast then I took off to South Tampa alone for the day. Oh how I will miss that place! From my favorite boutiques, to international, to wrights deli, davis island, it was relaxing fun and exciting. Saturday night was dinner with my 2 favorite people.

Wrights.... one of my most favorite places to eat. Thanks Susan!
Davis Island... picture doesn't do it Justice!!!

Sunday involved a relaxing run, church, lunch at Bonefish, then the pool all day. I spent the day with jeremy and charlee kate, both of whom are responsible for me having this wonderful title called mommy! I just couldn't thank god enough for the blessings I had this weekend. Jeremy found the perfect sweet gift for me that I did not expect and in addition he gave me cake from Wrights (this was before I decided to go on Saturday). I must be one of the only people to get sweets along with real gifts, lol. For my anniversary he gave me a very sweet gift, yet I ask for cake bites from Pastry Art, lol. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well, but that was my wonderful weekend that I owe all to Jeremy. I am one very lucky and blessed person.

Eating with her chopsticks at Bonefish. She actually did good with them!

Really???

This picture was taken about 8 months ago at the airport LEAVING Bama!!! I remember the feeling, CLEARLY. I did NOT want to come back to Florida and taking my little girl away from my family and friends on her first birthday was not fun. However, we did what we did, because we had to. I always tried to stay positive and look for the good in everything! It wasn't that I wasn't happy here, but it just wasn't where I wanted to be in the long run. Short term.... it was good! I just didn't have an "end in sight" and that was hard. With that being said...............

This has been one of those weeks that I have stopped and thought about how much I can't wait to go home, but it all finally hit me.... I am only a few weeks away from heading to B'ham for good. For some reason that little 20% that loves Tampa has sneaked up on me. I think the fact that you leave a chapter of your life that has had such a positive impact on you is hard. I have a great friend who always says "it is what it is" and that is true.... I have learned a lot, loved a lot, and it is time to go. I am leaving behind some amazing friends, a great work experience, and International (lol) so God has definitely blessed us here in Tampa. For some reason this has just been one of those weeks. I guess it all hit me, that in just 5-6 weeks, what we have prayed for for 6 years is coming true. A lot is going on in the Wilson household!!! Amazing how God works, but in the end there is always something to take and learn from it.

Another day.... another gone

Time flies by so fast! Usually I don't want it to; however, I am a teacher and at this time of the year, you WANT time to fly by in May. It makes me READY to be out of school, but this year I am even more anxious! Ready to move and get settled!!!!

Mom and dad were here this past weekend. It was super nice having extra help around. Jeremy and I were able to pack so much up in my classroom and at home. Such a great feeling! I know Charlee Kate loved having them here too. My pictures may be very random for this month, even though we have a lot going on from flying to B'ham to find somewhere to live, finish up all the packing, fly to Chicago for a wedding I am in, and then finish up a school year. WHEW... lots of fun things ahead of us. I will try to post as often as time allows. Here are a few of the random disney pictures as well. I still have not sat down to load all the ones from the video camera. That will come soon I promise.

Sometimes I HAVE to sacrifice fashion for comfort. Poor lovey... Disney tee, birthday bloomers, and leopard crocs, LOL... however, it was just a walk through the neighborhood. She loves to stop at this pond and look for animals! I caught some quick pictures with my phone.

Another one of those days that comfort had to play a role! It wasn't hot at Disney on this particular day, but we would be near a lot of animals; therefore, I didn't want a nice nice outfit to get yucky! She had a blast and the pictures of her with her daddy are riding on the big truck for the safari ride. She loved seeing the elephants, giraffes, birds, tigers, etc...