A Day at the Zoo

Ron, Ella and I went to Zoo Atlanta today. The weather was gorgeous, low 80's but with no humidity. The zoo itself wasn't spectacular, but it was quiet and a nice day out. Because it is a school day, there were no crowds, just other people with small children.

It was an almost perfect day at the zoo. We saw the regular zoo inhabitants: a few elephants, zebras, a giraffe, some birds, a giant panda. My favorite of course were the gorillas. I love them! One male charged and beat his chest at us and there were a lot of females with babies on their backs; one mama with twins...adorable. Here's a pic of one of them. Everytime it tried to wander off, it'd only get so far and then whap mama would drag it back with her long arms.

There were a lot of animals that we didn't see as they were resting out of sight or at some place in their habitat out of view. We heard lions, but never saw any, a rhino's pen - no rhino. Ella was more fascinated with the other children and the statues of animals. Tomorrow it's off to the Botanical Gardens!

House Chores

Ron, Ella and I headed over to the house to do some last touch up repairs and wait for the fridge to be delivered. When we got there we noticed someone had ripped down our "For Rent" signs in the yard. They left the pegs though. We think it's the sales office in the neighborhood and that maybe you can't advertise with signs in the yard. Whatever. They can pretty much kiss our butts. So we went to Lowe's and bought a couple signs for the windows and an extra large one for the main window. I had been getting calls all week about the house and then nothing for the past couple of days. Hopefully we get the interest back up. This week we're sightseeing in Atlanta; tomorrow the zoo! We're going to get to see the panda Lun Lun and her cub. They have a "panda cam" that streams live video of mommy and her cub. Too cute, and something to idle away the time when surfing the net.

http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.htm

Strolling

We went back to Arabia Mountain for an afternoon walk. Ron went for a run and Granddad, Ella and I walked about 4 miles.

It was gorgeous today. I love the weather right now, too bad spring and fall can't last longer here. Apparently it's going to get back up to the 80's next week.

Best Buy This Week

Amy and I, at our "Babies R Us" excursion this past week, bought a cover for the restaurant highchairs. It is awesome! (Amy, don't forget to take yours to Boston this week!) It comes with a detachable play bar that Ella has been playing with. She loves it and tries to figure out the little activities. Such a smart baby!

Tonight we went to CiCi's Pizza (all you can eat pizza for only 5 bucks!) and Ella got to sit in a high chair like a big girl. She was so proud! She watched everyone and loves to stare at other kids. The little boys really love her...I'm always surprised when little boys come up to her and smile or try to hold her hand. I mean, I expect that from little girls because babies look like dolls, but the boys are just as interested and affectionate. Not that I'm biased or anything ;) but Ella is GORGEOUS! :) I'm glad Ron is strict about his little girl...he's going to need to be when she's a teenager.

Stormy Times

Ella's face says it all... "Lord, please help my parents with their house. Please find someone to buy it or rent it and end the insanity! Amen." This is the last time I complain about it, even I'm sick of the whole house fiasco. Looking into some more options tomorrow, wish us luck and pray with Ella.

Tomorrow is Ron's last day at Fort Gillem. I'm excited to have him home for a while before we go to Hawaii. We'll be able to wrap up some last minute stuff and we've decided to buy a "CityPass" to see Atlanta before we leave. It gives us 6 sites for only $60 - CNN Tour, Atlanta Aquarium (biggest in the world), botanical gardens, Zoo Atlanta, High Museum of Art, and the World of Coke. Just the Aquarium, Zoo and CNN tour will be worth it.

Tonight a storm is moving through North Georgia and these are some of the clouds passing over the house at dinnertime. So pretty. I love it when it's stormy, I love the rain. Reminds me of home. Gotta run, "Survivor" and "Grey's Anatomy" on tv tonight!!

Ooh, I almost forgot! I've been leaving Ella on the floor on a blanket and today she finally rolled from back to front. It was only one time but it's a milestone!!!

A Walk in the Park

Ahhh, if only life could be such. No more news on the house. Same ole, same ole. Ron is finished work at noon this week and Friday is his last day. Today we went back over to Arabia Mountain for a walk. It's so beautiful out there and a great place to walk with Ella. Usually it's quite peaceful, but as we got further out we could hear what I thought sounded like firecrackers. Ron informs me it's gunfire. Of course, it is, it's Georgia!! Now my question is - a crazy person in the woods or a firing range? Ron says it could go either way... it was a firing range. We walked 3 miles to it and it just got too loud so we headed back. We took some pictures while we were out there but something is going on with the digital camera so we have these of Ella at dinner in her new booster chair. She's eaten all the 1st veggies (carrots, peas, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes) and the 1st fruits (applesauce, pears, peaches, prunes and bananas). She loves carrots and bananas but totally hates prunes and green beans, I don't really blame her :) More new foods to come!!

What???

So I get a call from a man who was looking at our "For Rent" sign at the house. When inquiring about renting our place he asked how we screen potential renters, to which I explained we use a company that does credit, criminal and tenant history checks. He proceeds to tell me that he has two, count them two warrants out for evictions in the place he is in now. That he has had trouble finding a place (no kidding) and needed extra time to move out..hence the warrants. Are you freaking kidding me????
He was concerned about his credit score (not the warrants?) so I explained that the company we use has their own system and lets us know if an applicant has a positive or negative score based on a number of factors. And if he'd like and application, we'd be more than happy to meet him to show the property. I guess having his credit score pulled was worrisome enough and he hung up. Warrants, really???

Ella and I went to Moe's with Amy and Nolan today. It was a nice reprieve from all the stress with the house. It's been forever since I've seen her and her new Honda Pilot is wonderfully spacious! I can't wait to get an SUV or minivan when we get back from Hawaii. Nolan and Ella were so good and it was such a treat to swap baby stories with Amy. We all headed over to Babies R Us for some much needed supplies. I bought Ella a booster seat with a tray for feeding. It's so much better than her carseat we've been feeding her in.

Bad to Worse

Today was a test in patience and stress management. The whole situation with the house is proving to be the most frustrating and stressful thing I've ever had to deal with. We met with an investment company at the house today and we were offered our mortgage plus $1000. It was a sad realization that the house had come to that but we were ready to bite the bullet. When we talked to our realtor we learned that we still owed her 3% even though the house hasn't had an ounce of activity and we were "giving" the house away to an investment company as a last resort. This was bad. We sell the house and end up $3400 out of pocket.

Just as we figure we'd cash in some investments and wipe our hands clean, the investment company calls and retracts the offer. Turns out the market is such that they can't guarantee themselves a quick resale and the equity they would have earned in their low offer, would end up being used while they tried to sell it. Basically the same situation we're in. It gets worse...we also get a call about renting it and hustle our butts over to meet the potential renter ...who, as our luck would have it, never shows up!

We have one week to make some serious moves. We had the realtor drop the price of the house as low as possible in the hope we get some interest in it. We have also gotten information about refinancing which would give us a little money as a safety net while we find a renter. At this point I am so ready to say forget the house, forclose on it, and live the rest of Ron's career in military housing. By the time he retired, we'd have built our credit back up. Realistically, we will continue to look for a renter and put it back up for sale next year, when the market looks better. I am mentally exhausted from all the stress. At least it's a learning experience, we will never again buy a house as long as we have to move with the military.

On a positive note, Ella is doing well and I might even have felt the beginnings of a bump in her gums that may actually be a tooth trying to come through. How exciting for her! In the mess of all this house business, Ella, Ron and I are doing great and are more in love with our family each day. Say a little prayer for us that the house falls into place too.

Weekend Walk

This weekend we went to Arabia Mountain. It's close to the house and reminds me of the Galloping Goose Trail in Victoria, It's paved and goes through some beautiful woods, open farmland and the "mountain" part is flat rock that you can hike over. We did 5 miles yesterday and 2.5 today. We are going to try and do it everyday and hopefully when we leave for Hawaii, we're up to 10 miles. It's a goal I need to work on as I'm soooo out of shape right now.

We met a potential renter at the house yesterday. She seems reliable and has a good steady job as a teacher. We're also meeting the investment company tomorrow to see what (if anything) they offer us. Keep your fingers crossed we get this house situation sorted out! Ironically, we paid $49.99 to list our house for rent in the online newspaper, but all the calls have come from our $0.99 "For Rent" sign in the yard. Go figure!

Six Month Check-Up

Today was Ella's six month check-up with Dr. Ahn. We are really going to miss her, she is a wonderful doctor! Ella is 15 lbs. 2 oz and still in the 25th percentile for her weight. However, like her Daddy she is going to be tall...she sprouted to a whopping 27 inches which puts her in the 95th percentile. At this rate, Dr. Ahn says she could be 5'9-5'10. Long and lean like Ron, woo-hoo!

We also got the green light for food (though we've been eating baby food for the past two and a half weeks) anything we're eating that we can mash is okay for her. How fun! And a sippy cup to boot! Fun, fun, fun!!!!!!


I love fall clothes and now that the mornings are just a bit on the cool side, we get to wear them for about 5 minutes until it warms back up and the a/c goes on. Oh well, at least we can have fun with all the outfits before we go to Hawaii. Which, by the way, is not on the 11th, but now on the 27th of October. Aghhh, the military! But the good news is, we'll be here to cheer when Dawn crosses the finish line for her 3-Day walk for breast cancer. The plane tickets are on their way, now if we can just do something about this house!