Happy Halloween!

From our little referee.

 

 

A Roughen Abode: Pine Hills Neighborhood

Another great thing about our new house is the neighborhood.  It is called Pine Hills, and is nestled in the southeast corner of Buckhead, among many tall, thin pine trees and rolling hills (hence the name...).

Everyone that we have met is very friendly and welcoming.  Many of our neighbors have school aged children, but some are young couples like us, just starting a family or thinking about it.

A great bonus is this great playground in the neighborhood that will certainly be a great place for Tripp to blow off some steam as he grows older.  There are swings and fun slides, and a separate section for toddlers, which is nice when there are lots of bigger (i.e. rougher) kids around.  Below are some photos from a recent visit to the park, where we checked out all the fun things to do there.

Shady Valley Park

Playing in the cool blue tunnel

Watching the "big kids" play in the "big kid" section

Playing in the jungle gym
(side note:  why do they call it that?)

Fun times in Shady Valley Park!  Looking forward to many more to come.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  It is Georgia Tech homecoming, so stay tuned for photos from the Ramblin' Reck parade and other fun festivities.

Meg

Resolution #10: Buzz & the Yellow Jackets

If you recall Tripp's 2012 resolutions, one of them was to attend his very first Georgia Tech football game.  Well... Unfortunately, his dad's beloved Yellow Jackets aren't having their best year, so games haven't been much fun for the adults --- but, Tripp got to experience his very first game, against his mom's alma mater, the University of Virginia, and lucky for him, this game was a rare W for the 2012 Jackets, making it a fun experience for everyone.  Below are some photos from his very first of many ACC football match ups.

Hangin' in the stands with Dad

The view of the field (and the ATL skyline) from the seats

The unfortunate score at the half

Buzz, engaging in some sideline shenanigans

... and more recently than the UVa game, Tripp was invited to his buddy Richard's 2nd Birthday party... and look who showed up!  None other than Buzz, of GT Sideline fame!

Dad, Tripp, Buzz, and Mom

Tripp & Buzz, high-fiving (probably about the UVa win...)

Hope your football season is going better than it is for our alma maters and the Auburn Tigers... there's always next year (or 2011 for the Tigers...)

Meg

Follow Friday & Flyswatter Art

Happy Fall and Happy Friday!

 

I haven't had a chance to do a Follow Friday in a while --- and I don't really have too much exciting to share about websites to peruse or blogs to follow... but, I would like to give a special shout out to a few favorite Pandora radio stations. 

 

For those of you who don't know, Pandora is a free online radio service that allows you to pick an artist, select a station featuring that artist, and enjoy music in that same genre, streamed directly to your laptop, smart phone, iPod touch, or other internet ready device. ... all for FREE!  (well, you have to listen to an advertisement every 5 or so songs, a small price to pay). 

 

It really is great.  I often listen to Pandora while fixing dinner for Tripp at night after work, and I actually tend to prefer Pandora to the news and all of the mud-slinging going on in this year's election season.  If I ever find myself with extra time at work and no meetings on my calendar, I log into Pandora on my phone and put in the headphones to get some tasks knocked off the list.  It really is a great way to zone out to some great tunes!

 

So, my favorite stations lately on Pandora have been:

• The Band, featuring songs by The Band --- duh --- but also music by the Allman Bros, Doobie Bros, Blue Oyster Cult, Marshall Tucker Band, and other similar-sounding classic rock musicians
• James Taylor (I find very few things as soothing as his voice) featuring other soothing artists such as Van Morrison, Cat Stevens, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Bob Dylan, and the like.
• ... and at Christmas time, you can find a Holiday music station and not have to buy all those songs on iTunes while trimming the tree and decking the halls.  'Tis perfect.

So... tune your radio dial to Pandora and watch the magic unfold... ha.

Sidenote: I also have only recently delved into the world of Spotify, but have little to report thus far.  My friend Libby (Sexton) Romano introduced me to it on a recent girls' trip, and so I'm still learning how it works & how I can use it.  The first thing I noticed is that I am not sure that it is free... but maybe i'm not doing it right.  Ha...  More to come on that...

And without further ado.... Flyswatter Art at school --- Whaaaa???

Have a fab weekend.  Don't fear the reaper.

Meg

A Roughen Abode: Tripp's Big Boy Room!

No, No... you're right if you think that we are NO WHERE near ready to move Tripp out of a crib and into a big boy bed.  However, we have a room all ready for his ultimate transition into a twin bed.  Because no one lives in this room, it has strangely become where Matt and I show our school spirit with all of the Georgia Tech and Virginia "art."

My 81 year old grandmother, Cokey, and her sister, Allene,
slept in these twin beds growing up.  Pretty cool little hand-me-down!

... and a random belated beach photo from this summer --- I share because I wish we were there now!

Tripp & Mom.

Happy Fall, though... Fall's good too...

Meg

A Roughen Abode: Storage Galore!

The one thing I absolutely LOVE about our new place is the insane, borderline-obnoxious amount of built-in storage.  I guess any amount of storage is fabulous when compared to what we had, and completely filled up in our condo.  Every nook and cranny was stuffed with something in that place... but I digress.

Here's just a sampling of the storage that we enjoy these days.

In our hallway,  where all the bedrooms converge, there are two of these matching built in units,
the drawers of which remain completely EMPTY, if you can believe it. Unreal.

In addition to all the "regular" cabinets in our kitchen, there's this nice little
desk area that serves as storage for random things like computer gear,
stationery boxes, extra stemware, and then some.

Mega-oversized storage closet in the semi-finished basement, perfect for all the clutter:
Baby gear, winter clothes & coats, camping equipment, wrapping paper,
christmas junk --- you name it, it goes in here.

Everything has its place  ... and it is glorious!

And... a Tripp photo too!

Happy Hump Day!
Meg

A Roughen Abode: The Dining Room

Since we have very few rooms that are 100% put together, there will not soon be a blog post featuring the whole new house... but, I thought I would feature one room at a time as they get closer to completion.  So, this post features to the fairly complete dining room.

Can you find the baby gate?  

Both the table and china cabinet were my great-grandmothers, and fit perfectly!

And a photo of Tripp, after a bath:

... hope he picked a good one!

Have a good week!
Meg

15 Month Stats: Status Quo!

We recently went to the doc for our routine 15-month check up.  Height & weight stats have remained in the 50th percentile, growing at the average rate, I suppose.  Head circumference still in the 90th.  As Tripp's dad would say, "Look at the big brain on Tripp!"

Here are the details:

• Weight:  21 lbs, 14 oz
• Height:  31 inches
• Head Circumference:  19 1/4 inches

In general, at the doctor's office, Tripp is a joy, playing with the crinkly paper and laughing....

until the doc enters the room... and then he falls apart.

Every.
Single.
Time.

 C'est La Vie!
Meg