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.

Preparing to move SUCKS!

Ok, I'm going to bitch a little! I am so tired of going through things and pitching "stuff"! How did we get so much "stuff"! The yard has been cleaned up! The blue wall painted! Most of the house has been gone through and "stuff" thrown out! We have taken some to storage. After the last garage sale, I have decided they really aren't worth having! What a pain to prepare for one and then sit there the whole time and then clear out what is left! UGH! Not worth it! Used the money we made to buy a GPS...love it! ANyway, we are running our of time. Hope to have the house on the market in 2 weeks and I am stressing. AND, could someone please help Shelby crawl! She is so frustrated and all I do is bale her out when she is stuck and crying...like right now!

T-ball!

Hey batter, batter! Not really! 2 times at t-ball and all we do is throw the ball and hit to mom and dad. Just drills! Ok, I understand they have to learn the basics, but it is so boring! Ellie is focused for about 20 of the 30 minutes. She looks so cute in her uniform though!

She is loving gymnastics! I'll try and get some pictures this week.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

We have been having a lot of fun lately! We took a lond weekend trip to Chicago. While were there we went to the Museum of Sience and Industry. Doesn't sound like a fun place, but it was a blast. So many cool things to look at and do. Both for Ellie and us. Here are some pictures:

We were back for a few days and then off to the lake for the 4th. Jeff's sister and her family arrived Friday for a month. We had our annual 4th of July party and had a ton of people there. SOme friends of ours have a little girl who was born 2 days after Ellie. They were so cute together. They only seem to see each other once or twice a year, but they always have fun together. Ellie made it most of the way through the fireworks and Shelby woke up during the noise. She watched from our bedroom window and was in awe! She tried to grab at them by hitting the wondow, it was so funny! Ellie has been "fishing"! The nephews and Dad and Uncle Dan all had fishing poles. Ellie has one too...Princess one, of course. She can't catch anything with it, but she can cast like a pro! She also loves to be there when someone catches a fish.

VBS Drop Out!

Ok, I'm done! After attending vaction bible school myself this week, I'm done. I don't think Ellie cares one way or another. She wants to go, but wants me to stay. So, we made if 4 days and we are not going back for the 5th and final day. Oh, well! Maybe next year!

Fun with the cousins!

All of the kids had so much fun playing together in Montana. The boys were great with Ellie and she wanted to do everything they did, including fishing, swinging on the rope swing and riding bikes. She wanted her own bike to ride like they did, but they don't rent her size. Thank goodness, we would've been riding a lot slower then we did. We rented a bike trailer and she sat in it and said she wanted her own bike...over and over and over!!

Back from vacation!

We are back home and it sure is nice to be here! We had a great week in Montana, but we were all happy to be home! We met my mom and Michael and my sister and her family there for my mom's 65th birthday! We went to Yellowstone...a must see for everyone! Had a way to up close experience with 2 buffalo!! Saw Old Faithful. Ellie looked for wolves (didn't see any)! And Shelby got a few breaks from looking at the seat of the car (and whoever was riding in the 3rd row). Ellie had SO MUCH FUN playing with her cousins and vice versa. Wished we lived closer. The house we stayed at was great! and the back yard was the best. We panned for gold, biked alot, went swimming, went to a Dinasour museum, Jeff got to go fly fishing and Montana is absolutely beautiful! The weather was perfect...sunny and 75-80 all week! Will post pictures when we find the camera.