Moving Right Along

We've been pretty busy around here lately that blogging has been the last thing on my mind. So sorry for that.

We had an offer on our Illinois house which happened a lot sooner than we ever expected, so things are moving right along. Looks like we'll be moving up to Wisconsin before the end of the school year, and that means lots of phone calls and preparations on this end to make that happen.

The kids were on spring break from school this week so it was the perfect opportunity to head up to the new house and get some stuff done.

There was some of this...

Tia's new room

And a bit of this...

Gia's new room

And new toys to be played with...

And of course Mommy  has her (way too many) cupboards to organize...

How long will it stay like this?

This section is all done!

We even had a surprise birthday dinner for Daddy, of which I took no pictures!

We toured the kids new school and met some teachers. The girls are nervous and excited all at the same time. I can't blame them.

And then we had lunch with the Easter bunny hosted by the local recreation department...

Lots of cute craft projects

I think we accomplished a lot on our week 'off'. The best part was when Tia said she didn't want to leave. For a kid who has anxiety and resists change, I'd say that's some pretty great progress!

Now I'm heading into a few weeks of intense packing and cleaning to get the Illinois house ready for closing. It's also almost time to say goodbye to good friends. Not my favorite part of this process.

If I ever feel like I might want to move again, I hope I remember how hard this was!

Until next time.

Fond Memories, New Beginnings

After five wonderful years of living in our home here in Illinois, we're ready to move on. Honestly, if it were up to me, I could stay here forever.
My baby was born here. Tia learned how to walk and talk here. They both experienced their first day of school here. It's been a great place to raise kids. We've met some wonderful friends.

Now we're preparing to move up to Wisconsin. I never imagined myself living even farther North than we do now, but somehow it's meant to be.

Last week the girls and I drove up and met D.R. so we could close on our new home. It had been such a long and arduous process, we were all excited to finally seal the deal!

We went out for Chinese the night before the house closing and this was Gia's fortune...

Pretty appropriate, huh?

So here she is, our new home. She's a beaut isn't she?

So far we've been loving her from a distance. We haven't spent even one night there because the kids are in school. We'll be heading up this weekend for a big sleep over, and the kids are beyond excited.

I look forward to making lots of new memories in our new home.

Here's to the next chapter in our lives!

While Mom's Away...

The kids don't miss her at all!
In fact, they don't ask where she is or when she's coming back. They won't even speak to her on the phone!

At least that's what happened when I went to Las Vegas for a few days last week. I believe that's a good sign that they have a fantastic Dad who takes care of everything. Nothing changed in their little lives because he was on top of it all. And, most importantly, they had fun.

You see, Daddy does things like this...





















Mama doesn't like snow. Or cold. Or wind. So these things don't happen very often with me.

Tia has decided she'd like me to go to work, and have Daddy stay home with her every day.
Slight crush to the ego. I'll get over it. Needless to say I won't be going away again any time soon!