Update!

I bet you thought I forgot all about you. Nope! I still read the weekly site meter update for this blog, and even though I haven't posted in a year, I still have folks checking in. So for the handful of loyal readers out there, I am gonna bring this puppy back to life! Rather than write a long, rambling update, I am gonna to give you a brief update so I can jump right back into writing.

• I ditched the other blog (East Texas Exile) a while back. While I have plenty of material about my life here in Tyler, I felt weird writing about it. I didn't want to seem like I was an outsider making fun of the locals. I have made some really great friends here and out of respect for them, I let it go. 
• We are staying here for another year. While we really want to be back in San Francisco, we had a few things happen that kept us here till next summer. I had a gut feeling that this journey wouldn't be as simple as "one quick year in Texas" and sure enough, things got complicated. 
• When we leave here next summer (2012), we will head to DC! My husband got a dream job for another short term gig in DC. We will be there for 18 months, then hopefully back to SF. What can I say? I love the East Coast, it's an election year, I am a musuem junkie and DC has my fix! I can't wait to learn the rails will my three little ones!

• What's that? Did I say THREE little ones? You're damn right I did. That's the other big change of plans. We added the 3rd baby to our family just six weeks ago, a precious little guy that we named Davis. I was quite surprised to get pregnant again (we obviously aren't good at family planning) but I am full of love for my new baby.

• For the record, I am done being pregnant and popping out babies. Davis joined us on August 29th, which meant that I had to endure the hottest Texas summer in thirty years while I was hugely pregnant. No amount of a/c, swimming or sno cones could make me ever want to do that again. It was truly awful. For me, pregnancy ain't that great to begin with and we had over 40 consecutive days of temps in the 100's. It was insane. Any future additions to our crew will have to come from the baby black market or something. 
• To accomodate our three little ones who are all in giant car seats, we traded in our Civic for a brand spankin' new Honda Odyssey a few months ago. That's a minivan for all you non-moms. Yes, I have gone from a car-free family to a minivan family. I know, I suck. However, it's pretty damn sweet for this time of our lives. I certainly don't feel like the "cool mom" when I am driving around, but I can get around with my family easily enough with minimal bitching from my kids. I like the space, the a/c, the built in shades, and the endless cup holders. 
• Since there's no mass transit in my immediate future, I am going to shift the focus of this blog for the next year. I am sure DC will give me plenty of stories about transit life, but I'd like to write something till then. Please cut me some slack while I play around with content here. 

That's about it. I am a total sleep-deprived mess these days, but I want to get back in touch with the world through more than Facebook. Life here in Tyler often feels isolated, but getting back on this blog makes me feel a bit more connected to the outside world. Keep checking in... more to come very soon.