Jacksonisms

We have been enjoying Jackson's talkative stage very much lately. The phrases or questions that come out of his mouth are quite entertaining. I've heard many moms say you think you won't forget but eventually you will so I thought I'd post some of his latest random outbursts...please feel free to comment if you remember some too!

1. One day after we arrived at Nana and Jiddu's house, he started running around looking for his toys screaming "Where are my balls, where are my balls?"

2. The way he says fork...you can use your imagination here and guess why it's so funny.

3. He asks me to cuddle with him which means laying on the couch on top of me with his head resting on my shoulder. And then I start to rub his back and he sits up and screams, "No Mommy, DON'T TOUCH ME!"

4. Thanks to Nick, whenever the AC turns on, Jackson grabs his ear and says, "What's that? A mouse! A mouse is coming!"

5. When we drive to or past Palmetto Health Hospital, he points and says, "Daddy's house."

6. This one kind of goes with #5. Last night, Nick came home and Jackson said, "Daddy come home to Mommy's house." So we're guessing he thinks I live here because I work here and Nick lives at the hospital because he works (and sleeps) there :( The funny part is during dinner Nick tried to bribe Jackson with food and told him to say "Daddy's house" and Jackson took the food, ate it, and then said "Mommy's house," ha ha ha.

7. Jackson woke up one morning and started talking in his crib like he normally does so I got up and as I was walking to his room I heard him yelling, "NICK! NICK! Where are you?"

8. I don't remember exactly how old Jackson was but sometime approximately 6 months ago, if you asked him his name, he would say, "You!" Or if you pointed to a picture of Jackson and asked what that was, he would enthusiastically reply, "You!"

Flashback Friday

In honor of Emerson's 1st Birthday and football season starting (I realize I'm a week late on both accounts), I thought it was perfect timing to post these...

A good one...

I'll try to keep it short but need to give a little background for those that I haven't kept up to date. Nick and I are renting our townhouse out and using a Atlantic property management company to handle everything for us, for a fee of course. We have a new tenant who has requested a few things be repaired that were not damaged when we lived there. Clearly, the tenants from last year did not take great care of our home. I received an email from our wonderful property mgmt co. advising that all the repairs would be taken out of the previous tenant's security deposit. A few weeks later I received an email asking how we wanted to pay for the repairs. I forwarded the first email and wrote per email below the fee for the repairs are to be deducted out of the security deposit. Then after 4 more emails asking for status on the issue, I receive an email saying sorry for the misunderstanding, but how do you want to pay? Seriously?!?!? I explained there was no misunderstanding, the email clearly says the security deposit will pay for the repairs. Then I'm told they accidentally sent back the security deposit early so they can't get it back now. Guess what? Not my problem!

Earlier this week I received two emails from Atlantic. One advised that they would take out the cost of the repairs from the monthly fees we pay them. It only took a month for them to resolve the issue! The second email was a receipt for the rent paid that is sent to us but it was $5 less than the agreed upon amount. So I sent an email that asked why there was a $5 difference to my main contact there, Laurie. Today I receive an email from Luis saying the tenant paid $5 less than she was supposed to but hopefully she will fix it next month. Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? Hopefully is not good enough. I'm pretty sure when you sign a lease for a certain amount you are obligated to pay that exact amount.

Now the good part...Laurie had forwarded my request for an explanation of the missing $5 to Luis to contact me. And Luis forwarded me that email and his very comforting response but forgot to delete what Laurie had written in her email. Per Laurie: "Luis, please follow up, she is one of the high maintenance owners so watch your tone."

I'll pause here for your laughter...needless to say I'm not happy. I'm not concerned about the name calling because I honestly don't care what they think of me personally. But the fact that I am red flagged to Atlantic property because I ask for things they should be doing anyway really infuriates me. I'm going to end this with a note from my brother-in-law, Brian, who is one of the funniest people EVER! Here is what he thought I should reply, enjoy :)

Hi Laurie,
It's Nour - your high maintenance owner. I just wanted to congratulate and thank you for your excellent service. When I get paid the wrong amount of money, the answer of "hopefully it will get fixed next month" is exactly what I'm looking for to reassure me that competent professionals are handling my townhouse. When I thought about not using a property management company, I was afraid that I would have to deal with issues such as:
1. Maintenance of my apartment
2. Having to pay for repairs that tenants caused out of my own pocket, even though I have their security deposits
3. Collecting rent on time, and for the right amount
But you guys have done such a wonderful job with all of the above. Hiring you has put my mind at ease so much, I feel like I'm constantly on vacation! As an added bonus, you are even kind enough to send me e-mails where you call me names. Perhaps we can renegotiate my payment to you, because I feel that you all are severly underpaid!! Thank you again for your constant professionalism and a job well done!!!!!!!

Good things come in 3's too!

I've heard that bad things comes in 3's but after this weekend, I'm starting to believe good things happen in 3's also. Jackson and I went to Atlanta for Emerson's 1st birthday and had such a wonderful time visiting and celebrating with family and friends. I can remember every detail of the day she was born, including leaving the hospital for a quick hair cut, and can't believe it's already been a year.

The day of her birthday brought a couple more pieces of good news for us. Sunday morning we found out that Eric and Lauren were engaged! We are so excited to celebrate with them and welcome Lauren to the family. Later on that day, we also heard the news that our good friend Marissa was also engaged. We couldn't be more thrilled for either of these happy couples. Congratulations!!!

Back again

We got back late yesterday afternoon from a wonderful (not so relaxing) trip to Hilton Head. I say not so relaxing because Jackson didn't sleep very well and mommy didn't enjoy waking up at 5AM with him EVERY MORNING!!! Luckily, his lack of sleep didn't make him too cranky or fussy so we still had an awesome trip. We did pretty much the same thing every day starting with cuddles and playing in my bed until about 7AM, trying to be quiet so we didn't wake Emerson, Auntie and Amu Brian. Then Jackson and I would go for a walk with Emerson and whichever parent of hers was up that morning ;) After that it was sun, sand and pool all day with lunch and nap in between, of course!

I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of fear Jackson had of sand. He hates and seems pretty scared of grass...that's right grass; so I assumed he would have the same if not worse fear and hatred of sand. He loved playing in the sand and watching Nana and Auntie build sand castles for him to step on and squash. We spent about 45 minutes at a time at the beach and then he would ask to go back to the pool. The waves did frighten him a bit but as long as one of us held his hand or was carrying him, he did okay. We were lucky enough to have a large pool with a toddler play area and a separate toddler pool and splash pad at the resort. Jackson loved the water and rarely was ready to go up to the room at the end of the day.

I was able to meet a couple of old friends on Wednesday night after Jackson went to sleep for the night. Brian and Heather Quinn live in HH, so we got together to catch up and enjoy some delicious margaritas. I had a great time with both of them and hope to see them again soon...or at least the next time I'm in HH :)

We're definitely sad to be home especially since it's nearing the end of summer but that also means less heat and more time outside. We anxious to enjoy Jackson's swing set in less than 90 degree heat!

Back Home...Not for Long!

We are back in Columbia after a very busy and extremely FUN weekend! We drove to Atlanta Thursday for my much anticipated weekend with my besties and Rachel's Bachelorette Party. Jackson was so excited to see all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin too! He had his first meal from the Varsity; 2 hot dogs (that's right 2!!!), french fries and a frosted orange.

Now we have to get ready for the beach! We're going to Hilton Head Island for a week. Jackson loves swimming in the pool but it will be interesting to see what he thinks of the sand and ocean. He doesn't like grass much so I'm guessing the sand won't be his favorite but we'll see. I am so excited to have a relaxing vacation, I just have to figure out how to make the next three days fly by!

Flashback Friday / Happy 1st Anniversary

Happy (early) 1st Anniversary to Sam and Sarah! We love you! Here are a couple flashback photos of Jackson from their wedding...