Update!

Not even sure where to start. We arrived in the Chicago area on the 15th. It was a mad rush to get out the door and it took us uver 6 hours to get here! We went out house hunting the next day and were in sticker shock mode!! WOW! Can we afford to buy something half way decent in a nice area? I had a rough first week with Jeff starting work. It always takes me a while to adjust to change and having Ellie constantly asking to go see her friends and grandma didn't help! I took the girls oout with the realtor and we looked at 5 more houses. The girls did great! They have been troopers through all of this! Friday we went to a jumpy place...the Jump Zone! Very cool! We had a great time. I met another mom and she invited us to come play and she also told me about a local gymnastics place. So, I signed Ellie up and she started today! And loved it! Saturday we went back out and looked at a few more houses and went back to 2 that we had already seen. After getting our heads wrapped around the fact that we are living in a more expensive place and houses cost more here, we put an offer in on a house last night. We are still negotiating and hope to have a new permanant address soon.

Jeff left tonight for a business trip and will be meeting us down at the lake on Friday. We are leaving tomorrow and we are looking forward to getting out of this hotel! Grandma Ann is meeting us there and then the Rawlings family is coming on Friday and my dad and Kathleen are coming Saturday. They haven't seen Shelby since she was a few weeks old. She is 20-21 lbs. now and crawling everywhere!

We went down to the Children's Museum in Chicago and had a great time. I can't wait to go again. Here are a few pictures.

Pros and Cons

I am sad to say there is not much to report about our "happenings" because we have been slaving around the house. Shelby is still sick and has taken some extra work and Ellie is being a big help with her sister and understanding that mom, dad and Grandma are trying to get the house ready to sell. AAHH...the house...moving has it's pros and cons:
PRO: you go through your belongs and pitch "stuff"
CON: you realize just how dirty your house is that you have been living in
PRO: the house lookds really good and clean, just how you've always wanted it
CON: Your moving so you don't get to enjoy it
I could go on, but I am on a short break. I'm tired, I'm sore, I am so over this! Can we be done already! Jeff's mom is trying to talk me in to staying another week, however all that would mean to me is dragging this cleaning/pitching thing out for one more week, minus Jeff! Not going to happen.

Move update!

Here is the latest...we are hoping to put the house on the market early part of next week. And then Thursday after gymnastics head West! We are staying with some friends Thursday night and check in to our new "home" on Friday. We will be staying at the Marriott TownePlace in a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen. This was way less then renting a furnished apartment. We booked it for 2 months and hope to find a house (and sell ours) and close with in that time frame. Ellie starts her new preschool the week of Labor Day! She is enrolled in the 2 times a week program and on the wit list for the 3 times. If a spot opens before school starts, I will put her in that. Also, emailed a mom I knew here in Tecumseh who moved to the Chicago "area" about 1.5 years ago. We haven't been in touch, but I happen to still have her email Anyway, she lives abot 7 miles from the hotel! Aahh! A familiar face. :)

Inside the mind of a 3 year old

So, we just assume that when we tell our kids something like "we are moving" they get what that means. I mean, to us, it is pretty simple. Pack, leave your house, buy a new one and unpack. Well, after some time of being told she was going to leaving all of her friends and her grandma, Ellie finnaly had a breakdown! She just strated crying and told me she didn't want to move. Which, of course, made me cry! Way to be supportive, mom!! Later in the day she asked Jeff is she could get a new doll house and work bench. When he asked her why she needed new ones, she said she liked playing with them. She thought we were moving and leaving all of our stuff behind, including Puck! How sad is that!!? Broke my heart. We still talk about it daily and I think it will take her a while to get adjusted.