Some More Vacay Shots

So I always knew that BabyWheel was a smart one, but whodathunk she'd take after her momma and take such a great pic. She asked for the camera and said...MOMMY, I DO IT MYSELF!

Who am I to stunt the creativity of a minor child? She stunned me when she took this!

As a mom, don't you get sad when your kids outgrow clothes? I LOVE this jacket and sadly this was the last fall BabyWheel will be able to rock this funky joint! 'Cuse the blurriness. I took this with my iphone.  

My Little Guitar Hero. I love old people as neighbors...

They are always buying BabyWheel stuff like she was born yesterday.....ooh, I got this for the baby last week :) SO CUTE! BabyWheel was all serious, str8 up rockergirl!

My silly little princess at her first princess dress up party

MommaWheel took this one. I just love the colors of God's creation. Man, all in the name of creativity, a sista almost got her lens chewed off walking up on that bird like that. HA!

Real Estate, Schmeal Estate

Sorry the PhillyWheels have been out of commission lately...

MommaWheel has been taking classes and the only writing I've been doing is papers on vulnerable populations and psychological disorders :)  So, blogging was not on my mind....I dunno WHAT PoppaWheel's deal was....but lest we be rude, I need to update you on a few things:

We went to Austin, TX to see family for Spring Break......OOOH good LAWD was that a pretty place. Now imagine early April in Philly...it's 40 degrees and wet and cold and windy...we hop off the plane in Austin and it's 91 degrees....palm trees a-'glistenin' and my hair blowing in the wind a la Farrah Fawcett minus the aqua net.

Here are a few shots:

Beautiful Capitol
Great Downtown Buildings
The Girl at Breakfast at her Auntie and Uncle's House
My FaVE house in Austin
The BEST BBQ ever!

Now, the one thing that bothers me about going anywhere other than Philly is the real estate.

This is a house in Philly for 200K.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7601-Crittenden-St-D2_Philadelphia_PA_19118_1108184426

THIS is a house in Austin for 200k.  

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/9908-Buffalo-Lake-Ln_Austin_TX_78747_1107460709

Now take a 4600 sq ft home in the Philly area....on a 1/2 acre and it costs over a million

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/8214-Ardmore-Ave_Wyndmoor_PA_19038_1102486573

This is a million $$ home in TX

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/18200-Flagler-Dr_Austin_TX_78738_1105787672

Here's another for good measure:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7808-Lynchburg_Austin_TX_78738_1105334361

Oh, and the search for a house in Philly from 199K to 200K....came up with TWO count em 2 houses in the zip code I searched for. The were 150 houses for sale in the Austin area in that price range. 

I am thankful for a mortgage that we can afford at an interest rate that is doable. :) A girl can dream....can't she? :)

Overheard in a gas station...

So I'm filling up on gas this evening, and hear this excessively loud cell-phone conversation from this one young dude:

"Yea, so it's this one white boy, yo, he's going to school for journalism or some sh*t, and yo, he's got mad English game."

Not quite sure what to think about that one...

--Poppa Wheel

Thems Be Fightin' Words!

If you don't follow politics you may not really find this interesting, but I've been immersing myself in it a lot over the last couple of months, more so because of the state of the economy, stimulus, bailouts, etc. One of the things that strike me is how inept, inarticulate and irrational these clowns that we elected seem to be. Not so this guy. Watch how he just rips the Prime Minister of the U.K., Gordon Brown, a new bunghole in an articulate, passionate, stately and compelling way. I can't imagine politicians talking like this to #43 or #44 with such poise and pride. I have no idea of this man's politics, ideologies and philosophies, but I must say -- I wish all of our officials, no matter their political affiliation, could express themselves which such dignity, passion and force. At the end I swear he seems like wants to yell "In your face!"



--Poppa Wheel

Swirling Grey Matter

That is how my head feels.

I don't know who told me to take classes (2 of them) while working full time and being a wife and mommy....

I have a kablillion papers to write and chapters up the wazoo! BUT I am enjoying myself immensely! :)

On to more interesting topics:

In the last few weeks I:

Was chosen for jury duty and was the foreman on the case. Quite interesting. Never served on a civil case before. Awarded an exorbitant amount of money that I really did not agree with.

Connected with my sister who I had not talked to in about 10 years. Without putting her bidness on front street, God can do anything, even if we don't want Him to.

Took the kidlet to the doc for a 2nd dislocated tendon in her elbow. I swear, 2 y/o's and their rambunctiousness....

Was almost in a head on collision with unmarked police cars who were chasing a fugitive. Saw the whole shakedown and the suspect was apprehended. This made me revisit my desire to move to suburbia...or back to ATL :)

Umm, there are SO many stories and things that have been going on...but alas, homework calls and I am too much of a nerd not to do it. :)

God is amazing and gives me grace for every moment of my life. Really.

G'Nite!

--MommaWheel

I Heart NY

Two weekends ago for my cousin's 50th birthday, we went to north NJ for a nice soiree and we got all gussied up, but the whole point of the weekend was to go away for the first time with PoppaWheel without BabyWheel. She stayed with my sis in law, and she had a BALL!  I did not blink twice as we hopped on the road after the party to a BnB in Brooklyn, Akwaaba. It was BEYOND. Do you hear me? BEYOND! OVER! LOVED IT!

From reservations to the check in (in which a hand written note with our names was left on the door) with instructions on what to do, every detail was just perfect.

We stayed in the Jumping the Broom Suite, and when we got there at around 11:30pm, there was a HOT bath drawn for us with soft jazz and candlelight.  We literally just stared at each other thinking we were in a dream together.  

I would go back there 100 times!

The next day, we walked about Park Slop, Brooklyn and went in and out of the shops all afternoon.  We had plans to stop at a quintessential Jersey diner, but we decided to eat at the Chip Shop, an English takeout place. We had fish and chips on a newspaper and fried reese's peanut butter cups. That was just too much!

Fastforward to V-Day last weekend, we went to a couples dinner for our church.  What a great time!  We reaffirmed our love for each other in a public setting by saying our vows as if it were 8 years ago. I can't believe I have been married to my best friend for almost 8 years!  We got to share some poetry that we wrote and if I had a copy of it, I would post it here, but it was str8 off the dome and plus I lost the paper I jotted some notes down on. :)

I love you, PoppaWheel. My life is sweeter because of you. You make me a better woman, friend and I love spending my life with you.

Happy Birdday!

Or at least, that's how you say it Baby Wheel. I love it when I mentioned your birthday was coming up, the first thing out of your mouth was "Daddy, I want cake" and then proceeded to blow out an imaginary candle. Man, how you've grown! You have changed my life in ways that only two other people have -- Jesus and Mommy. It's amazing to watch your change from a tiny infant to a full-fledged, energetic, smart, talkative, inquisitive, strong-willed, independent and loving toddler. You have no idea how severely your mother and I love you and what you mean to us.

Happy Birthday, my little chicky-monkey.

--PoppaWheel