Sunday, September 28, 2008

Moving Mission Accomplished!



Its been an exhausting weekend, and we'll all slept each night amazingly sound. We've all enjoyed the backyard, took walks through our new neighborhood, and dined at a local pizzaria, walking distance no less. We are living the sub-urban, that's what Brian calls it. Nervous to take my new train to work, nervous to drop Henry at his new sitter and nervous I won't be to work on time so tonight's sleep might not be the finest. Brian mowed the lawn today, did an awesome job! And he had a smile on his face. The neighbor's have been incredibly hospitable. We've received a bottle of home-made wine with grapes grown in our neighbor's yard and some bread. Henry was the recipient of a kids book and a toy from another neighbor and 2 other houses walked over to introduce themselves. I think we both have a hard time wiping the silly, smitten grin off of our faces at the end of the night. My sister and her husband were over one day and helped tremendously. Nana and Papa were here to watch Henry on moving and closing day and also never complained. I couldn't have gotten through that day without them. Slowly but surely the box count is dwindling. I have a realistic goal to get every last box done by Thanksgiving. If beautiful fall weather keeps up like it was all weekend I need all that time:)
Here's a few photos of the fun had this weekend and one shot of where we were just a short 3 days ago.




Thursday, September 25, 2008

Moving to the Country



Just one more night in our cozy condo. Already we've dismantled our bed so we are sleeping on the mattress on the floor. (Evokes memories of college. ) Henry's crib was taken apart last night, now he slumbers away in the pack n play. He is getting quite skilled at climbing cardboard boxes and unpacking what I've already packed. Aughh! Spoke to the owners of the house we are buying yesterday and they said they used to live on the street my condo is on! A few miles north, but still the same street!! I think this is all meant to be. We were gifted with a couple of garden hoses, gardening tools and gloves from Brian's parents. Brian came back from Home Depot the other day with a magazine titled "The Handyman's Garage", with a beautifully organized glossy garage photo on the cover. It always amazes me the world of consumer goods that reveal themselves to you once you have one of those things....a garage.

As excited as we are about the house. I do think we will sweetly miss the simplicity of condo living.
I will miss:
The washer and dryer that I'm able to access anytime cause its in the middle of the condo between the bathroom and the kitchen. Isn't that where we spend most of our time anyway? The house's laundry will reside in the basement.
The crew that mows in the summer and snow blows in the winter will be missed once the novelty of oh say the first lawn mow and snow fall that we encounter.
The absence of a lawn that makes us have to walk the dog, forcing us to stretch our legs and get that fresh air in the dead of winter when you grumble about doing it at first but so glad you did.
Calling our management company to solve the issues when something has leaked, light bulbs in the building are out, or neighbors are messy and noisy.
Our amazingly incredible sitter and her family.
My granite kitchen countertop.
1 bathroom.



Things I will not miss:

Lugging toddler up 2 flights of stairs.
Lugging groceries up 2 flights of stairs, toddler in tow.
Slowly, slowly, slowly allowing toddler to toddle his way up AND down the stairs when I'm in a hurry.
The nice Peapod delivery man I started using when fed up lugging groceries up the stairs.
Tiptoeing around so as not to disturb neighbors below.
Neighborhood youth graffiti.
Neighborhood youth driving too fast down my street and alley.
Neighborhood youth littering in my little patch of lawn.
Parking on the street.
Parking 2 cars on street.
Not remembering where you last parked the car.
Street cleaning schedules.
Shoveling out parking space in the winter and finding items I can part with if they get lifted to save my spot, aka lawnchairs.
Bikes in my living room.
Bikes in my bedroom.
Bike parts on my kitchen counter.
Bike dirt on my floor.
Camel backs drying in my bathroom.
Those are really just naming a few.

Walk thrus, closings, and movers are all happening tomorrow starting at 9am. Can I belly up to the bar yet?

Monday, September 15, 2008

Rainy Day = Bike Shop Visit


Climbing the walls after 2 straight days of rain, even mom was anxious to join the boys on a trip to the bike shop. Henry found this bike in the corner and first was interested in just ringing its bell. Then dad put him on the bike and did a few laps around the shop. He loved it! Didn't get a good action shot but this one was pretty cute too.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I got the Blues!





Thanks to our dear blues lovin' friends who wanted to part with their tickets, we were lucky enough to enjoy some incredible blues music at Ravinia. Jonny Lang and Buddy Guy!
Henry was totally diggin' the music and running laps around our picnic blanket. A warm summer night, slammin' blues, and a bottle of red...what more do you need?