Are We Really Doing This...Again?

There is probably nothing more agonizingly painful than going through the process of purchasing a home. Sure, you catch that real estate high when you first start looking online. Then you walk through the homes for sale with your realtor, planning where all the furniture will go, and how you would paint the rooms this color or that. I love that part. That part is fun. You're still in fantasy land picturing your lovely little family living in your lovely new home. "Oh yes, let's take it! We'll make an offer." It all comes crashing down when someone tries to mess with your la-di-da plan by starting a bidding war, finding the ghosts that haunt the walls of the house in the form of duct tape covered pipes, or eeek mouse droppings here and there. Ugh...this isn't so fun anymore. Can I get a shot of whatever made me swoon over the prospect of owning a home in the first place?

We are currently on chapter two of, "The Joy of Real Estate." We made it through, Chapter 1: The First Time Buyer, and are now in the midst of Chapter 2: Purchasing Your Second House. We skipped the part about listing our current home (which I'm sure is a real treat) and decided to rent it out instead. Fortunately, we found a renter yesterday. (Yeah! phew)

Four years ago I signed about a bazillion dotted lines to own our current townhouse, that has served us well. When we were looking for this home we needed something with a backyard for our 130lb beast and well, enough living space to throw a decent party.

What do you know, baby girl comes along and our perspective changes. Location has become an issue. Joe goes to work by train everyday now, and has been driving into Naperville (at ungodly hours sometimes) to catch it. Also, growing up in Naperville, our entire social and family life is still there. Not that it's a far drive, but wouldn't it be more convenient to just live there? And schools...nuff said.

So, Naperville here we come. That's all I'm really saying at this point, because I'm sure the real estate gods are watching me right now, and without things finalized quite yet they could strike at any moment. Hopefully, soon we will be on Chapter 3: Enjoying Your Home and Not Moving Again for a Very Long Long Time.

Best Way to Watch a Game

Thanks to Megan's aunt, four of us were able to sit in the scout seats at a White Sox game.

Almost 1

Here is another video of our little star. I used pictures and video from 6 months on. I can't believe she is almost 1. I think this was the fastest year of my life, but maybe it just feels that way because I did so much waiting and thinking and thinking and waiting before she arrived (about 9 months worth). Once she was here, there wasn't much time for thinking anymore. In fact, I'm not sure if I've had a complete thought since. As a matter of fact,...wait...what was I saying? Oh, forget it.

Enjoying this tune.

Spring Break is Really Over

And now they are talking of snow in Chicago (with a very quick warm up this weekend). What is it with this weather? We had sunny skies and warm days in Florida, and we were sad to leave Friday.

Last week was a bit crazy. Oh my gosh, wait...it wasn't last week, it was two weeks ago. Wow, that should tell you how life has been for me lately. Thursday, April 9, was Joe's birthday. We went to his mom's house for a dinner of corn beef and potatoes (his favorite). Friday, we had our friends over to celebrate and didn't end up going to bed until 3:30am. We played round after round of Taboo. It wasn't until we started repeating the cards that we decided to call it quits and hit the sack. Then, Saturday night we went with Kate and Zac to see Rent at the Oriental Theatre (a present from Joe to me for Christmas). It was amazing and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see two of the original cast members perform. We left the house at 4:00am Sunday morning (Easter) so that Elle and I could catch our 6:00am flight to Florida. Whew, we made it.

I was a little nervous, being alone with Elle on the plane. You just never know how an infant is going to react, but she was wonderful. Actually, she didn't know she was alone with me on the flight. She thought we were traveling with about 180 of our closest friends. She entertained herself by smiling and flirting with all the other passengers, who breathed sighs of relief when there wasn't a screaming infant on the plane with them.

We had a great time visiting with my grandparents and soaking up some sun.

My little baby looks so grown up here

Easter is Approaching

Eleanor received a chocolate egg in the mail today from her Aunt Julie. She did get a little taste of the sugar decoration, but I don't think she'll be chowing down the whole egg, although she looks like she's ready to in this picture. Easter Sunday, Elle and I will be on a plane at 6am making our way to sunny Florida. Yeah, warmth! I'm hoping the plane will be pretty empty and we won't bother anyone if she gets a little cranky. Below is the bunny that I crocheted for her Easter Basket this year. She'll have a few more surprises like The Golden Egg, one of my favorites as a kid.

Birthday Celebrations

At the end of March, we celebrated Joe's grandmother's birthday. We drove to his Aunt Mary's place in the city to see family members, many of which we haven't seen since Christmas. Of course it was snowing by the time we left. Joe's poor sister Michelle and niece Alex were traveling from Arizona and got stuck in Kansas City, never making it to Chicago. We are all ready for a real spring around here.

My sister Kate's birthday was April 3 and a group of 8 of us celebrated by donning yellow crowns, eating with our fingers, and cheering on knights at Medieval Times. It was a blast. Even Joe had fun despite harboring negative feelings about the place for the last 16 years, because the year we were suppose to take a field trip there they went bankrupt and apparently stole his $15. Oh Joe, we love you. The place is really a trip. When you first walk in you enter this "grand hall" type room that has two bars, a dance floor, a sword stand, and tons of overpriced, low quality merchandise. (Zac, I saw you eyeing those swords.) Then, we entered the "arena" and watched the battles ensue. As Jessica put it, "It was a magical night." Oh Jessica, we love you.