Packing (not the moving kind)

On Saturday we will be getting on a plane and  heading to the sunny shine state, California. Oh man do we need this vacation! We are all super excited. I've been telling Claire this whole week that she gets to go to Mickey and Minnie's house (she's obsessed with them at this point) and she's also very excited to be going on an airplane. She loves finding them in the sky and announcing it to who ever will listen!

The thought of the fun, relaxing and amazing time we will have as a family is great but then I come back to realty and realize I get to pack us all. Hooray! Not. I don't mind packing but when you are going for 9 days it's hard and you are packing an almost 2 year is even harder. Thank goodness we are flying Southwest so are bags are free and no charge for our carry-on! I feel like I'm packing our whole "room" (remember we are living with the in-laws until we move so right now we don't have a house but we have a room!). I have list after list of things I can't forget - passports, camera, video camera and their chargers etc... Thank goodness I'm and OCD, organized freak because I know I will get everything done and leave nothing behind!

We also have to account for the over 4 hour plane ride. Holy Moly this could be really interested is what I've been thinking all week. Claire could be an awesome girl or a maniac! No one knows until the moment we board the plane. We are taking the dvd player so she can watch all her favorite movies on the plane along with books, coloring book and crayons, notebook and pen, stickers, a car, one of her babies, a puzzle and tons of snacks. I'm hoping she will take a good hour to two hour nap on board, seeing as we are getting up way earlier then she's use to. Oh well, whatever will be will be!

Other then the trip, life is going pretty well. We are all settled in and feeling right at home. We've drove through many towns in the area and we are pretty sure we found our future home - Plainfield, IL! I love it, you get a ton of house for your money, the schools are good and it's close to a lot of great towns and shopping. Plus it's only 40 minutes from our families and friends! Woohoo!

Happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday

Love, love, LOVE her

All Moved In

We are pretty much all moved in. Only two us 2 weeks to find a spot for everything. I'm happy. It's funny, I never thought I would be happy to be living with my in-laws but it means we are starting new.We are not stuck in our little 2 bedroom home for ever. We have options, I love options! Yesterday we had to go up to Eric's work to help him fix up his new office (corner w/ three windows - he's thrilled)! When we finished up we decided to drive around looking at towns we've only heard of. We've decided (because of gas prices) we want to be around 30 miles from Wood Dale (Eric's office). That means a big move from where Eric's lived his whole life and where I've lived for 14 years. It's scary but also thrilling at the same time.

We've found a few towns were we can get new homes for a reasonable price.We don't want to spend millions because we like to eat out, do things, have nice cars and take vacations. We've been looking into:

Plainfield - little farther then we would like from Eric's work but only 45 minutes from our families
Bolingbrook- 30 miles from Eric's job but only 1/2 hour "home"
Geneva- 25 miles from Eric's job but a little over an hour back down to our families
La Grange- 20 miles from Eric's job and 1/2 hour"home".

DECISIONS decisions decisions! I'm glad we are staying put for at least 6 months because I feel this is not going to be an easy process! We want good schools, nice neighborhoods and a cute little downtown would be a nice added bonus!

Things are happening and it's exciting!

22 Month, Oh My

It's hard to believe that Claire (C.C. or Bug) is already 22 months old. The saying, "time flies when your having fun" is so true. I really can't believe it's be 22 months since giving becoming a mom. These last 22 months have truly been amazing and it's all because of some beautiful, smart (too smart sometimes) little momma's girl! We love you SO much Clarie Constance, so very much!

Here's what you've been up to:

• You are wearing 18 months - 2T clothing. (Although some 2T pants have to be rolled at the waist because either they are too long or too big, Nana says you need to get a butt!)
• You are in size 5 - 5 1/2 shoes
• Your hair (when wet) is down to the middle of your back. When dry your hair has ringlets all over the back and sides.
• You LOVE to talk and you are getting really really good at it. You have so many "single words" in your vocab that I can't even count any more. You are putting 2-4 word sentences together. 
• You love to draw
• You can count to 10 perfectly and you are starting to learn your "teen" numbers and are doing rather well.
• Colors you know: red, blue, yellow, green, pink and orange (sometimes brown)
• You are a very curious little girl, you love to learn about everything
• You love when you write the "abc's" and other words on a paper so you can see them.
• Bath time is one of your favorite times of the day - you ask for "bubble bath" all the time!
• Parks, you are in love with slides and swings. Outside is where you want to be for most of the day.
• You are a pretty good eater, although you still have your moments of being a picky eater. You do still LOVE your fruits and veggies. 
• You have start calling me "mommy" instead of mama
• You know close to 15 body parts
• You love your babies, your purses and shoes. You love to pretend you are going to the "mall".
• I'm sure you do a lot more but everyday you learn something so it's really hard to keep track. Just know you are doing amazing and we are so proud of everything you do!

Every day you change and it amazes me to see what you learn. You are getting so big so quickly but right now, I'm enjoying every single moment of this stage. It's fun and changeling at the same time. I wouldn't change anything!

Happy 22 Months Baby Girl!

(Kinda) Wordless Wednesday

Since we are still working the kinks out of this move, I'm doing Wordless Wednesday from pictures on my parents-in-law's computer and let me tell you, it's not easy. There's not much. I found this picture (from last summer) and I thought it was perfect seeing as summer (for now) is here in Chicago. This picture gets me excited to go camping and hit the beach. I can't wait for summer to be here all the time! We've enjoyed these 90 degree days very much! Happy Wednesday!

Please Stand By

Please Stand By: Moving is going well, just super crazy! It was sad to say good-bye to the house where I came home the day after I was married and the home where I brought Claire home too. It's been a rough couple of days for some personal issues I am dealing with but everyday is getting better and I'm moving on. Please hang with me. I can't find my camera cord so no pictures right now (I do have over 400 on my camera to download!). As soon as we get a little routine here, I will update with pictures and stories of C.C.

Hope everyone as an amazing Friday and Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing mom's and mom's to be out there! I can't wait to spend the day with my family!