Messy House, Pure of Heart?

June Cleaver, I ain't (anymore, I used to be so good).

You know, I really do try to keep my house clean - when my house and workspace are clean, I feel better organized and even a little more motivated. However, ever since I had Patrick in January, things just seem to have fallen apart a bit in the housekeeping department - it's just so hard to get to all of it! And shoot, it's gotten worse ever since I went back to work.

Yes, I do work at home so ostensibly I could get some housework done during the day, but I really do try to spend my time during the day WORKING. Well, OK... at my computer, at least, so that if anyone emails me something important, I can respond to it quickly. :) As many of you know, much of this time is spent Facebooking, uploading pictures of my dog/baby/husband/house/vacations/etc. to my blog, and emailing with friends. But AGAIN, I am at least "available" for work, if something comes up. haha And then at 4:45 when I wrap up for the day to pick up the baby, it's time to feed/play/bathe/put him down for the night, start dinner, eat dinner, clean up from dinner, and by the time all that is over (around 8:00 p.m.) I'm usually just ready for a glass of wine and some quality time with the hubby and our DVR, followed by an early bedtime. (Rinse, lather, and repeat the next day, ad infinitum.)

So anyway, the aforementioned corporate gig has really put a dent in my housekeeping abilities lately. Right now, my bedroom looks like my dresser threw up all over the room. It's horrible! I don't even know how my husband can deal with it (he told me last night he's "getting used to it", eek). Please keep in mind that the bathtub where my baby bathes has been freshly scrubbed with non-toxic, all-natural cleaner and the vanity in the bathroom has been scrubbed, the toilets are swished, carpets are vacuumed (toilets and vacuuming courtesy of hubby) and the kitchen stays wiped down and mostly sanitized, so we're not living in squalor, or anything, but there is just STUFF. EVERYWHERE.

Right now, I have 3 laundry baskets of clothes to fold, plus one more load that's waiting in the dryer (only because I'm out of baskets) and one more in the washer, waiting to go to the dryer (I need to find somewhere to deposit that fourth load, shoot), and honestly... I'm not sure when I'm going to get to folding it. I was going to do it last weekend, but I got sick... but it's always something. I literally have stuff to fold that went into the washer before we left for San Diego! This is getting OUT. OF. CONTROL. Maybe tonight I'll hunker down with a stiff cocktail and knock it out. (Yeah, right... maybe the cocktail, 86 the folding.)

Our landlords are about to put the house on the market, so I am going to have people walking through the house unexpectedly on any given day. You know what that means? That means that I need to get my butt in gear and get and keep this house in SHAPE, because I need to help the house present nicely, so it'll sell quickly and efficiently. I have watched a lot of those "Designed to Sell" shows on HGTV lately and a messy house really does prevent houses from selling, so I need to do my best to help keep things looking nice. I guess I'll start with folding all those mountains of laundry. Then maybe I'll unpack from San Diego... we did get back TEN days ago, so perhaps it's time. (Good lord!)

And obviously, I have the energy to blog about cleaning, but not the motivation to actually clean. This is a problem that I must address. Maybe tomorrow... or the next day... right after I start that diet.

Love, Mer

The Bachmeister

I promise I'll start writing actual CONTENT again soon, but here's just one more photo I have to share... Look at this dog - I mean, really, how cute is this face?

However, if Baci play bites Patrick a little too hard again, like he did yesterday, I'm going to be advertising for a FREE MALTIPOO! Patrick is a great sport with Baci's nuzzles, cuddles, licks, and play bites, but yesterday Baci got a *little* carried away and was grounded, i.e. in his crate, for the rest of the night. I hope he learned his lesson!!

But meanwhile, he sure is cute, posing with his new green ball. I should get him into doggie modeling so he can help pay for himself! ;)

Love, Mer

New House Pic

Things are coming along with the new house! It's looking like we're going to be moving in around mid-November. Whoa!! It's certainly gone faster than we were expecting... but we're excited. Last week the stone and brick started going up (as you can see in the picture) and all the drywall went in, so we could walk around the house and see how it feels with walls up. The verdict? We LOVE it!!!!

So I guess pretty soon we need to start packing, huh? Hopefully this is the LAST TIME moving for many years... In the last 10 years, I have moved 12 times! Is that ridiculous, or what? So suffice it to say, I'm more than thrilled to be moving into a home and setting down some roots. This is a major goal achieved for me. Wish us luck for smooth sailing from here on out - it's about to get exciting again with the closing, moving, and getting settled in.

Love, Mer

Beach Bunny

My most favorite beach in the world - Coronado State Beach, San Diego, CA - with my favorite boys in the world. Could life get better than this?

Love, Mer

Patrick's Baptism

Well, we went to San Diego last weekend with the purpose of enjoying some fun in the sun, seeing friends and family, and baptizing our little monster. Aside from a pretty nasty stomach flu (or maybe it was food poisoning, who knows?!) that kept us sidelined half the weekend, we did get to see friends, enjoy family, and indoctrinate the newest member of the Catholic church. Sheridan's Catholic and it was very important to him and his family to baptize lil P Catholic, so I got the love muffin all dressed up in his finest white duds and invited some special friends to join in the celebration. Patrick was a perfect angel throughout the ceremony and was a good mini host at his party afterward - I was so proud of him! Unfortunately, Patrick's godparents, Sarah and Brandon, weren't able to travel from Colorado, since Sarah's expecting a little bambino in just a few weeks (well, about 15 or so), but they were there in spirit and are going to be wonderful godparents throughout Patrick's life. Here are a few pics of the special day:

Welcome Griffin!

My dear friend Shannon had her second beautiful son yesterday and I'm just so happy and proud for her and her fantastic husband, Petri, and their son, Finley. Congratulations to the happy and healthy family - I can't wait to come to Houston and love on that sweet baby boy!!

Baby Griffin

Born September 6, 2009 at 6:15 a.m.
Houston, Texas
7 pounds, 11 ounces
20 inches long

Head full of black hair, just like his big brother Finley

I love you already, Baby G!

Love, Mer Mer

Wedding Anniversary

Sheridan and I are celebrating the first day of the rest of our lives today. Yesterday we celebrated the first anniversary of our beautiful wedding in The Bahamas - what a year it has been!!! In one year, we got married, I started a job and subsequently got laid off from it, we moved to Austin, had a baby, bought a house, I started another new job, and... well, I think that's it. You know, just a few little things... ;) I can't imagine what year TWO is going to bring!

We do know that we'll be moving in to the the new house and will start a new life there, we'll be welcoming a new little GIRL (yes, GIRL!!!!) into the Hall family - Sheridan's brother Brandon and his beautiful wife Sarah, along with their son Michael, will be adding a baby girl to their family in December/ January - Patrick will also be baptized and turning one year old soon. It's already shaping up to be a busy year two, but I'm sure there will be more, knowing us!

I've been spending a lot of time looking at our old pictures from the wedding the last few days, in memory of our special day, and here are a few of my favorites:




To my husband, who I adore more than anything in the world - thank you for being my partner in life, my best friend and confidant, my partner in crime, and a FANTASTIC husband and father. I love you so much and thanks for the best first year of marriage I could have ever imagined!

Mer xo

Cool Mommy iPhone App

So Patrick is still a little young for this, but I came across it today and thought I'd share it with my mommy friends who use iPhones. The Baby Center PhonyPhone application allows kids/ babies to dial numbers and "make calls" without actually making calls - it's a dummy interface! Kids can dial away on a colorful fake keyboard, enjoy musical note icons and giggle noises. and parents can enjoy knowing their kids aren’t racking up minutes on the phone plan. Supposedly it's good for developing hand-eye coordination and fostering imaginary play, which might be a stretch, but it might keep your kid busy (and your iPhone from crashing) for a few minutes while you try on new shoes! :)

iPhone users - check it out! It's only $.99 so if you don't love it, it wasn't too much of a loss...

Love, Mer