No more tears!

It hasn't been easy, but it is getting better. Ellie still tells me she doesn't want to go to school and it is a struggle to get her dressed and out the door. She does not want me to leave her when we get to school. But, somehow we have managed this week with no tears! Yeah! It is absolutely heart wrenching to leave her crying hysterically for me! Made me cry too (after I got out of her class)! We are going to our first playdate since moving here tomorrow. Ellie made friends with a girl named Julia in her class and we are going to their house to play. I joined a mom's group and we have been meeting people through that also. The mom who organizes the group has a son in Ellie's class too! We miss all of our friends A LOT, but are managing to make a few new ones. We are looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend.

Bumps, bruises, tears, teeth and a whole lot of rain

Last weekend Ellie smacked her head really bad. It is still healing! Yesterday she and another little girl collided while running at the play area at the mall! We freaked again. She said it hurt, but no swelling! There is still a bump over a week later and it is black and blue! She has had a really rough time adjusting to me leaving her at school! It just tears me up every time. She did better Friday, so I am hoping tomorrow is good too. She told me she wasn't going to cry but that she doesn't want me to leave. UGH! Another tear filled morning?? I'll let you know!
Shelby had one tooth on Thursday and has 4 now! She still only has one on the bottom, but 3 on the top now.
Good news! We are closing on our new house on the 23rd! Yeah! Only about another week in the hotel. We are going to Tecumseh this weekend to get some of our stuff. We would like to keep the house furnished while it is for sale. We have a steady flow of showings on our house and as of Friday we are a 2nd choice for someone if the other house they want doesn't work out! Wouldn't that be nice!?

Rain, rain go away!

Normally I am all for the rain. If I had a yard, I would be all for the rain! Put me in a hotel with 2 kids and a dog, I am done with the rain! We have been spending time every day at the park or the pool since we have been here. That is the only thing that has kept my sanity! After 2 days of rain, I am about to lose it. Ellie has her first full day of school tomorrow and then the weekend! YEAH! We like weekends! Especially because daddy is here! He has been travelling a couple of days a week! Which doesn't help with the sanity thing! If we can get everything done, we may move up the close date on the house! Cross your fingers...it's my sanity!

1st day of school!

Ellie started school today. She was a little anxious and said she was scared because she didn't know anybody and that everybody would be a stranger. So, all the way the there this morning (30 minutes from the hotel, but only 10 from our new house) we talked about that. We get to school and go in and I tell her I'll be back in a little bit and she waved and said "bye, mom". Hhmm! That's it? I guess she had it all talked out. So, meanwhile, Shelby went to the nursery while I went to orientation. Shelby cried off and on the whole time. They managed it though, because no one ever came to get me and she was not crying when I went back to get her. Ellie had a great time and is excited to go back on Friday. Glad we decided on 3 times a week, she likes it and I think she needs it. Ok, I need it too! Especially in this small hotel room for another 4 weeks!!

New house!

Well, we bought a house! We close on the 30th! So, the hotel stay has an end in sight, although it is still 4 weeks away. But, Ellie starts school this week and she goes 3 mornings a week, plus gymnastics is one morning a week. Our house is in St. Charles and is on 1.5 acres. It's 4 bedrooms with a den and a finished basement. Needs a little work, but mostly just making it the way we want it. Not anything we can't move into right away. We are going to paint the interior and put down and epoxy floor in the garage before we move in.

Great long week at the lake!

We just got back from the lake today. The girls and I (and Puck too) went down to the lake last Wednesday and Grandma met us there. Jeff was on a business trip and met us there on Friday. The Rawlings family came down Saturday morning and my dad and his wife got there Saturday afternoon. We had such a great time just haning out. Virginia, Liam and Ellie had so much fun and were so good and fun to be around. Logan and Shelby cruised around together, getting in to everything, falling down, bumping heads, etc. One of the things we miss most is hanging out with them. It was great to see Heidi and Jeff too. The travel time to the lake was about 3.5 hours with stops...not too bad at all! We were glad to find that out.

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.