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I just talked to a friend of the family who received one of our "Sorry we didn't send a Christmas card" cards, and he reminded me that the card contained a promise of an online "year in review" post. Much to Alecia's dismay, I have yet to write that post. And seeing as how it's 7AM on a rainy Saturday morning and I'm only awake because our stupid dogs needed to go out, I think I'm going to go back to bed and still not write the post.

Later today, we're taking the kids to see Bolt at the Fox Theatre. The Fox is this big old theater in downtown Atlanta that's usually the home of Broadway musicals and major concerts. But they've recently started a movie series, where they'll show recent run movies complete with a pipe organ singalong, wine tasting and some retro cartoons beforehand. It's cool enough to see the films in such a beautiful theater, but the added extras make it even better. This will be the last fun thing we do with the kids before we ship them off to the in-laws' place in Alabama for a week while the redesign crew is here.

Alecia's taking them to 'Bama tomorrow, while I head into work for our live red carpet webcast of the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. I didn't go to LA for it this year, which sort of sucks. But we're using a different production crew and have changed our delivery system, so it wasn't really necessary that I be on-site. Instead, I'll be sitting with an editor in midtown, Atlanta, launching the live streams on TBS.com and TNT.tv while he cuts up the red carpet interviews to go on VOD later that night. If you're the type who watches red carpet coverage of award shows, check it out Sunday at 6pm/et on one of our sites, or watch the clips and look at the photos on either site Monday morning. We could use the traffic. :)

Anyway, I'm going to climb back into bed until the girls get up. The new year post will hopefully go up tonight or tomorrow. If you got our mailer and immediately jumped online, I apologize. But you can build your own year-in-review picture by reading the past posts on this site--and it will be a much more detailed view than I plan to give. If you want my summary, however, you'll just have to check back. Thanks!

Hey, Bill again. Fulfilling my promise to Alecia that I would post about all of the recent events. Although I'm betting, by now, that most of our immediate family already knows about this one.

A few weeks ago, Alecia and I were notified that we'd made it through the final level of approval to be featured on the show Designed to Sell. Our show will be shot in December (exact date TBD), and will probably air in 2009.

We got into this thanks to a friend from Alecia's mom's group. Apparently, this friend knows a realtor who just started working with the show. The realtor had mentioned that she needed homes in the Atlanta area to submit to the producers, and Alecia's friend mentioned ours. We've often told people of our plans to move in 2009, before Maddie begins school in the Fall, so her friend thought the timing and our house would work out well for the show. She hooked us up with the realtor, to whom Alecia submitted pictures of our family and of the house. The realtor then submitted these to the producers, who eventually called us for an interview. The interview happened in early February. I left work for a few hours and went home to join Alecia in a sit-down with one of the series' producers.

After the interview, we were fairly confident we were NOT going to get picked. The producer let us know several times that they were looking for diversity--both in the couples and in the houses. And Alecia and I are hardly examples of diversity. We're as white middle class as you can get. Our house isn't all that unique, either. It's a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch with EXACTLY the same exterior and floorplan as almost all of the homes in our neighborhood. Add in the fact that the girls wouldn't leave us (or this poor producer) alone, and I figured we'd never hear from her again. I was wrong.

It's exciting to get chosen for the show, but I'm mostly excited because the timing will work out so well. As Alecia will tell you, I wasn't so happy that she'd submitted us. I thought we'd be obligated to sell as soon as they did the makeover, and that it would probably happen this Spring. And we just aren't ready to sell (or buy a new house) right now. But we can be much more ready by December. We also found out there's no obligation, just opportunity. Homes are obviously made more sellable by the makeover, and also by the fact that they have an open house as part of the show. This open house will get more walkthroughs thanks to the fact that these people (and the house) will be on TV. But if it doesn't sell, even after all of that, it's no problem. The producers shoot two different endings while they have us. One states that the homeowners quickly sold the house, while the other optimistically states that it's still on the market, but with renewed interest. So their bases are covered, either way. And our obligation to them ends as soon as the show's in the can.

The way the show works is that they'll choose three rooms to renovate, with an eye on doing the most work for the least money and raising the value of the house as much as possible. They've hinted that they may do our master bedroom, a bathroom and our sun porch, but that may all change once the designers visit. All of the work they do will be free to us, but we will be responsible to pay taxes on the total value of the job. They usually end up claiming the work to be worth $5000-$6000, which is what we'd owe taxes on, but the actual value is worth much more since they get all supplies at cost and don't charge for labor at all. And even paying taxes on that won't be such a big deal. After all, we were already planning to use our 2009 tax check almost exclusively for home repairs. So if we get those same repairs cheaper and better, and pay from the same source, it all works out.

The most interesting thing to me is how the timeline for the shoot will work. The crew will pay us a visit on a Monday, a week before the shoot begins. At that time, the designers will take pictures and measurements and will decide exactly which spaces they can help. They'll then get the rest of that week to plan, purchase and make arrangements, while we're given some homework to do. The homework may involve moving furniture, taking things off walls, cleaning, etc. Basically getting ready for the work and camera crews to come in. Then, on the next Tuesday, the team returns to the house and begins working/filming. We were told that we won't be very involved with the actual work because while the pros are doing their thing, we'll be shooting our interviews and the B-roll footage that will be used throughout the show. On Friday, the open house will take place, and the whole thing will be over. One week for a three-room makeover and a full episode of the show.

We've been told that we can go ahead and sleep at the house every night during the production, even if they do our bedroom. But we've also been told that we'd need to put the dog somewhere else and also find a sitter for the kids for every day after they shoot the initial intro. So we're hoping Alecia's mom and/or sis can take both the kids and dog for the week. In truth, I'll probably still work much of the week--they only need us in short bursts every now and then--and Alecia will probably end up hanging out at Barnes & Noble quite a bit. But we want to make sure that when they do need us, we're not frantically trying to find someone to watch Maddie and Josie.

Anyway, that's all I know about the show and the process. And I've probably messed up some of the details already. We'll post more information once we have a time and date. Until then, feel free to check out HGTV's site for the show, and to watch a few episodes. Alecia has been Tivoing it for quite some time, so she can probably tell you which ones to look out for.

Hope your 36th is the best yet!

We are now a 2 car family!

Actually, this happened about 2 weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about it. After months of looking for a used car that 1) wasn't part of a scam or 2) didn't have a major defect, we finally found one. We bought a little red Ford Escort on January 2nd. Bill has been using it to commute to work. It gets better mileage than the CRV, which I keep at home to use with the girls during the day. I keep forgetting to take a picture of the new car, which is why there isn't one here to show you.

This is not the new car.

I'm very excited about it, but it has also been quite an adjustment. It has been a little over 4 years since we had two cars (other than a two month period where we had my grandfather's car.) I'd gotten very used to spending time talking to Bill on the drives to drop him off at work or pick him up in the evening. Now, it's odd to have each of us coming and going at the same time. Feels very weird. I'd also been feeling pretty proud of the fact that we were living in a more "green" fashion, and saving money at the same time. I can't say that's the case now, but I still try to limit my mileage if I can. Unfortunately, there just isn't much you can do without a car here in Atlanta. (So often I wish that Atlanta were more like other big cities with developed public transportation systems, but, for lack of better words, ours just plain sucks.)

It's fun being able to do more spontaneous things during the day with the girls. We've had a lot of fun the last week or so meeting friends at the park or story time, or just making a run to the grocery store to get ingredients for cupcakes. Also, just knowing that it's there in the driveway -- even if we don't go anywhere -- is comforting because we could if we wanted to.

2007 was a very exciting year for us and if 2008 is anything like it has been so far, it's going to be a memorable one as well.

This is a day late, and I normally don't put birthday notices on here, anyway, since I'm so bad at tracking them. But since my mom made it so easy by posting some old pics of the now old man, I thought I'd share the love.

Happy belated birthday, Michael!

(A picture from when he was cute.)

We took Sindri in this morning and had him put to sleep. Hard, hard morning.

He had gotten quickly worse over the last few days. What started as a hacking cough turned into a shortness of breath, then a rasping, growling sound when he breathed. He hadn't eaten a thing for three or four days, and could no longer sleep at night. Because it was harder for him when he was lying down, he would wander the halls into the late hours, shoulders slumped and wheezing, occasionally letting out a shrill bark at nothing. He didn't want to go out, didn't want to play, wouldn't even eat a piece of cheese, one of his favorite snacks. Alecia and I knew what needed to be done, but that didn't make it any easier.

We called our vet this morning to see if there was anything we could do for his pain or discomfort. As we suspected, there wasn't. So we set an appointment.

It was heartbreaking. We left the kids at the neighbors and brought Sindri in. They inserted a catheter, then administered a sedative. Next came the solution that stopped his heart. He didn't seem to feel anything, but it wasn't like falling asleep, either. He never closed his eyes or seemed to settle in, he just stopped breathing. His heart stopped beating, while his whiskers continued to twitch for a few minutes.

The whole thing only took about a half hour. The rapid pace of it all almost made it worse. It felt like there should have been more ceremony to the whole thing. On the way home, all I could think is that we should've at least spent the day at the park first, should've tried to give him some other foods he might like, should've done anything to send him out with more love and attention. Instead, it was too quick, too clinical.

The girls are fine with the whole thing, mainly because they don't understand. They know Sindri's not coming back, that he was sick and hurting--and now he's dead, and his pain is gone. But do they understand any of that? Of course not. I fully expect to get the question in a day or two: "Daddy, when's Sindri coming home?" We did the best we could to explain things without lying to them, but it all went right over their heads, and that's probably a good thing.

I knew it would be emotional, but I didn't expect the guilt I'm feeling, just the sadness and loss. It's harder than even I thought it would be, but at least it's all done. We can get on with things now. Focus on the holidays, focus on getting Mallory to lose some weight, focus on everything else going on. Hard day, but things will get better.

Thanks to everyone who's supported us through this difficult time.

It was a long, extended Halloween for us this year. It was good, though, because it gave the girls even more chances to wear their Halloween costumes. This year Maddie was Minnie Mouse and Josie was Goofy (or "Doofy" as she pronounces it.) Last week the girls got to wear their Halloween costumes to ballet class. It was really cute seeing all the little girls prancing around in their costumes. Josie's teacher even dressed as Minnie Mouse too. At the end, they let the parents come in to take pictures. Here's a pic of Maddie and Josie and their friend Nya (batgirl).



On Sunday, we took a trip up to North Georgia to Burt's Pumpkin Patch. It's a little over an hour away, but it's gorgeous there and we go every year. Amicalola Falls are right across the road. We went with my mom and sister this year. We had fresh pumpkin pie and apple cider. Maddie loves pumpkin pie, just like her mommy. It's surprising because she hardly likes anything these days. I even made pumpkin muffins the other day and we had to cut her off because she just kept eating so many! The girls had picked out some medium-sized pumpkins until they saw the really tiny, miniature ones and then they were decided. Bill and I each pick out ours -- pumpkin carving is pretty intense and competitive in our house so this is a big deal.



Aunt Mic and Nana also got a chance to attend the Smyrna Fall Festival with us. We walked there and took Sindri with us so he could get a little exercise and see people (he's a very social dog.) Nana and Mic met us there with... Mic's new potbellied pig, Percy. My sister got it as a birthday present from her husband and coworkers. She's only 7 weeks old and so very tiny.



We were quite the spectacle with a three-legged dog and a pig. At one point we were standing and had people coming up to us constantly to pet both animals. We were the local petting zoo. The girls loved playing with Percy at home too. Once she got used to us, she walked around and tackled some Barbies and explored. Bill was very stoic about the whole situation. He kept saying, "What's the big deal? It's a pig!" Well, guess who got down on the floor cuddling with Percy by the end of the night? Her favorite spot was, um, sitting with Bill.



Monday evening was the Halloween Party at Turner. They host a party for Turner employees and their families every year. I say party, but it's really more of a festival. They had games and prizes and a DJ and a haunted house, a magician, and the like. The girls got to practice their trick-or-treating skills and had already collected quite a bit of candy well before Halloween. Their favorite part, though, seemed to be the DJ. They spent a long time dancing on the front steps of one of the buildings. Here's a little video clip of the girls' latest dance moves. The ones at the beginning were at Turner:



By the time Halloween came around, Maddie and Josie were already pros at the whole trick-or-treating thing. Uncle Todd came over and we pulled the girls around in their little wagon until we got to each house. Sindri got to go in his Halloween costume too. See if you can guess what he was this year:



If you guessed a tripod, you're right! He was such a great sport and did his best to get around, even though he was pretty tired by the end of the evening. Josie got through about 3 houses and decided she was too tired and just wanted to sit in the wagon and eat candy. We took the girls up our street and down the next one parallel to our house, passing our neighbors' Haunted House decorations on the way. Each year they put up some really elaborate decorations, including zombies coming out of the ground, tombstones, a giant casket, zombie bunnies and various figures, most of which you're not sure if they're real or not and will jump out at you.



The only bad thing about the evening is that only one out of every five houses was passing out candy. All the rest were dark. We live in an older neighborhood and a lot of the elderly residents don't hand out candy. The good thing, though? A lot of the houses with candy were owned by young couples, some with babies, who had just moved in. It's great seeing our neighborhood go from tired to new. A lot of the houses are being used as starter homes, like ours. Plus the location so close to all the construction in downtown Smyrna Village is an added benefit.

Thursday and Friday of this week were pretty low-key compared to earlier in the week, but that was nice too. Today we spent most of the day doing yard work. The weather is perfect. I wish it would stay like this for the next few months. Starting next weekend, we'll be busy almost every weekend until Christmas. It's crazy, but I still love this time of year more than any other.

I'm late in writing this, but it has been sitting in my head for weeks so that counts, right?

Maddie is now FOUR YEARS OLD. It's still hard for me to believe as well. What happened to that little black-haired, teeny-tiny baby who barely fit in preemie clothes when she came home from the hospital? The one who would purse her lips in her sleep and slowly curl and uncurl her fingers in the air? She's now a whopping 3 feet tall with an attitude twice that size.

My teeny-tiny baby is now a beautiful little girl who is extremely funny and intelligent and dramatic (she'll be in at least one school play one day -- I'm sure of it.)

The little girl who's favorite word at one year was "El-mo!" is now talking about how "incredibly beautiful" Cinderella was in her dress.

That's my Magpie. It didn't occur to me until last year just how fitting that nickname is for her. Other people have called her "Maddie Paddie" or "Maddie Mouse" but my nickname has always been "Maddie Magpie". I think I called her that because it just rolled off the tongue one day, but then I realized just how fitting it was.

magpie [ˈmӕgpai] noun a black-and-white bird of the crow family, known for its noisy chattering and habit of collecting bright, shiny objects.

Chattering? Loves shiny objects? Anyone who knows her, knows that it describes Maddie completely. The little princess who loves sequins and tutus, and who won't let you get a word in until she's absolutely finished with what she's saying. {You're laughing right now because you know it's true!}

I look forward to learning what it's like living with a four-year-old, and I can't wait to see how much she'll grow and change in the next year. Happy Birthday, Magpie.

We're back from Disney and trying to get back into our old routine. I mean, I just don't know how to make little towel animals for the girls each morning and our kitchen "commissary" just doesn't have the selection that our hotel did... ;)

We've posted our pictures on Flickr if you want to take a look:

Disney Vacation Pics

You may have noticed some major design changes on this site. You may also have noticed a bunch of weirdness in the form of random links to the top and the right that make no sense and lead nowhere. Please ignore all of this randomness. I'm trying to install a new design that Alecia did, but it's a slow process. Bit by bit, you'll see all of this randomness replaced by actual links.