All dressed up in black and white...

I haven't done a blog lately and I'd really like to do them more often. Don't hold me to it though. I'm going to "try".

We have pretty much completely moved into our new place. I've realized moving into a smaller house we have a lot of junk! Well, not exactly all junk but our camping stuff, holiday decorations, books, year books and future stuff for our next kids is way too much for our small 3 bedroom home. We have zero storage in our new place as of now but we got a small storage unit for all our extra stuff. I feel like a hoarder, seriously. We have donated and tossed even more stuff moving into our house. It's ridiculous all the stuff we thought we needed.

January 5 we started a family/friends Biggest Loser. Justin and I are doing amazing. First month Justin, my mom and myself all tied for first place. We're doing it by weight percent or something. I can't exactly remember but we lost 8%! We have incentive prizes around $30. We drew a name and I was the first months winner. We weighed in again in March and my moms friend, Mike and myself tied with 4% lost. Drew a name and like always I won. Just kidding, I really don't always win but lately the odds were in my favor. I've lost 22lbs and I believe Justin has lost 25lbs. It's be really difficult lately but we need to get back on the wagon and really start working out again. I'd like to lose 13-18 more lbs. I believe Justin is shooting for 25-30 more lbs. I'm really proud of him and he looks awesome but I think that no matter what.

Lorraine moved in with the boys early February. It's been rough on them because I know they all miss Zach. (he's in boot camp for the Air Force) It's sad because you can just tell when each of them has a hard day and that's the real issue. I try and imagine how I'd feel if Justin was doing that and I'd be miserable. Titus loves his daddy so much and I couldn't imagine seeing him miss Justin everyday. I can somewhat understand what Lorraine feels but I'm not going through it so I can't say for sure but I'm sure it just sucks. Besides that I've loved seeing my nephews and going places with Lorraine during the week.

Titus is doing awesome. He started walking a week or so before he turned 15 months and is trying to run now. He wants to be so big. He's learned so much since Benjamin and Isaac moved in. He can climb his slide, go down, climb the slide itself and be daring. He's doing stuff so quickly now. Before he was like yeah I'll get to it eventually and now he wants to do everything Benjamin and Isaac are doing now. He's become super opinionated and vocal about stuff we do that makes him mad. I thought fits start at 2 not earlier. I'm that parent in the store with a screaming child because I was letting him walk and picked him up and now he's angry. Besides his tempers every so often he's really a good boy. He plays hard to get and doesn't just give kisses up for free. You have to earn them with him. He likes to help daddy and mommy with anything even if that means he's really not helping but making a mess. He really is a huge blessing to Justin and myself even on those rough teething days/nights. We want to keep him and love him forever.

Sweet One

http://calluscrazyblessed.blogspot.com/?m=1

If you can donate, pray or have any ideas how to raise money please help! My BFF/sister and family feel called to adopt and have found the child they'd like to adopt. Lorraine has talked about adopting with me since she was 16-17 years old and now they feel like the time has come. Please help with whatever you can. Thank you.

Hunting for houses

House hunting this weekend went pretty smooth. Titus didn't hate the car rides as much as normal and we found 2 house that could work.

The first house was on 25 acres of land, with a pond, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, small kitchen, small living room and huge master. For such a small house the price was a little high. We were hoping the next place close to Albany would be better. We stopped off at my moms. Let Titus take a little nap and we were off again.

The second place wasn't awful on the outside but not beautiful. Just a normal town house. Living room was huge, okay kitchen, basement, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath and shared back yard. It was doable. Lots of space and Justin and I filled out an application right away. Big concern was the stairs. We have gates but in my head I'm not sure how they'll go up and stay up. But it's on our list of top houses.

As we headed back into Middleburgh we went and checked out another place. 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths? Maybe 1 (I can't remember haha), nice kitchen, living room was ok and old old basement (kinda scary). Cons- the yard, it just drops off into the forest. It looked scary and I don't want Titus dropping into the forest like that. Ceilings in bedrooms were super low to where I know Justin would go to the bathroom in the middle of the night get wacked by the fan and we'd be making an ER trip. It wasn't a favorite. (This house I didn't get a picture of. It was super dark)

That night Justin and I both couldn't sleep well. He stressed about how to organize the moving truck and how many trips he'd make. I kept thinking maybe the house we really like isn't going to work. Maybe it's too expensive and can we afford it? Will we be saving any money living there? I worried about the stairs and where I'd put stuff and etc. I try and decorate in my head and it drives me insane.

The next morning I ask Justin if he's really sure we can afford the house and he says he'll crunch numbers again. He tells me why he couldn't sleep and I tell him we'll figure it out but let's see the other place that's showing today.

We both didn't know what to expect. It's considered a mobile home park but they are more like manufactured homes. We've seen a lot of ghetto mobile home parks. We didn't have high hopes but it was in a really nice area. My mom has told me a few times how nice Clifton Park is. I hoped for the best. We drive in and I notice everyone has decent cars. It doesn't look ghetto. The only thing is the homes are a little close but not too bad. We walk in and were greeted by Bob. Wow it's really nice inside. Living room is an okay size, kitchen modern and really nice, 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms. Rooms are a little smaller than the town house and we won't have as much storage but we both really liked it. Justin doesn't even ask me if we should fill out an application just tells the guy, "yep lets do this. We'd like an application." We really like it and are hoping it works out. It's brand new and hasn't been lived in. It's our number one choice. A lot of other people applied so there's a chance we won't get it. But we were the only ones without pets. He said that would bump us up the list. Lets hope it does! Everyone say little prayers for us. We really want it.

Come fill my glass up a little more...

It's been a month since I've updated on the Emerson family. We're doing fine. Titus is still teething. I think 3 teeth are trying to come out. He's been miserable at night. Teething has been a rough experience for all three of us. Justin and I hate seeing Titus in so much pain. We've tried cold stuff, chewing toys and medicine. It all works to a point but never lasts. Sad for my baby boy but during the day he's normally pretty happy.

Lately he's been very attached to me. I leave the room and he crawls like he's running a marathon to get to me. Lots of tears this past week. Justin and I are trying to be patient since we don't remember how bad teething is. But I always think if I was in pain would I want Justin to tell me "you're fine" and be all annoyed. No. I'd be kinda upset. We try and reach down for him when possible but sometimes it's stressful and hard. We're trying our best to constantly show Titus he's loved and we're here for him. Good thing teething doesn't last forever. :)

Titus is always learning something new. Tonight he picked up my hand to tell me he wanted to do high fives. Cute. He's a smart little boy. We're blessed daily that we have him in our lives. I know he's the best part of our days and each others.

Justin has been working from home and it's been awesome. Titus was so excited the first few weeks and he had a hard time napping during the day. Almost liked he'd miss something fun with daddy. It was pretty cute. Now he knows daddy is going to stay upstairs and will nap. We love having breakfast, lunch and dinner with him. Justin wasn't super busy at first. No one really knew what to do or have him do till he got his laptop. He had a few easy days and since he's had his laptop he's been pretty busy. Lots of conference calls and busy work. Justin seems to like it and says he loves seeing us more.

Me- I'm just doing the mommy thing. Taking care of Titus, Justin and then myself. I love being a mommy. It's a huge blessing but lots of work at times. I wouldn't trade it for anything though. I love being with my baby boy. I couldn't imagine taking him to a daycare. I think I'd cry all day long. I know most moms need to work but I didn't want that and I'm so lucky Justin supports my choice about staying home and has made it happen. Titus and I are so blessed. Being a mom is what I've wanted for years and so I soak it up. No, we won't have the nicest/newest stuff or toys but I'm okay with that. Being a mom is way better than a brand new car or Mac or whatever. ;)

Justin and I started dieting about a week ago. Justin is doing really well. I'm constantly starving but I also still nurse Titus so no wonder, right? Haha I've been working out on and off for a month and I've been trying to with the diet but today all I could think about is, I should have eaten before working out. It's been rough on me. We joined a biggest loser competition with my mom, Kurt and my moms friend. I'm hoping Justin or myself wins. I'm pretty excited about it and I want to lose 20-30 lbs. I know I can do it and I have more incentive. Money. Haha but my biggest incentive is Justin and I want to try this summer for baby number two. I want my body to be stronger and healthier for this baby. I need to be more of a beast for labor. Specially since I did Titus completely natural, I know I can do it again.

Besides that Justin and I are searching for places to live. We're still living with my mom which is fine but I'm sure she'd like her house back. We also have Lorraine and the boys coming soon, we need a place for all 6 of us to live. Hoping we find something this weekend. Fingers crossed and praying it happens.