Just kind of a "normal" weekend here -- running errands, and plugging away at the endless list of projects around the house. There was (another) huge thunderstorm all night last night, and that kept us all up at different points - so we are all a little sleepy today, but...
Ellie starts "Princess Camp" on Monday -- it's just this week, Mon - Fri from like 9:30 - 12:00 each day. She is so excited! It's at a little dance studio here - Frank found it a few months ago when ellie was really hopped up on taking "ballerina clases" -- so, he foun this and signed her up. The flyer boasts activities like, "dress-up," "tea parties," "painting nalis" and of course, "dancing." Cute enough. So, last week, ellie keeps saying how she has to wear her tu-tu (her HALLOWEEN costume from last year) so that she looks like a ballerina. Of course, I don't want her look like a goof-ball, so I called the studio just to see if she should wear anything specific or bring anything with her. And, wouldn't you know. . . no tu-tu, but . . . she "should wear a leotard and tights (??) and she should bring both ballet shoes and (get this) tap shoes." Whoa! These people are serious about dance! I was seriously just going to send her in gym shoes and a nice sundress - glad I called, I guess. So, today, we went to a "dance supply store" (because where the hell else am I going to buy tap shoes??) and got the shoes. It actually wasn't too pricey, which was good -- I started to hyperventilate a little bit thinking about what an expensinve "tea-party" this could turn into, but ellie was thrilled and wore her "tap shoes" all day (I kept trying to get her to "tap" on the carpeting, but she was wise to that! No such luck...)
Otherwise, we spent the day cleaning - mostly bathrooms and those darn kitchen cabinets, still!
What a thankless job that is. I mean, the cabinets are so disgusting - even after they are "clean," they still are not "like new" -- lots of scratches and imperfections that you can't clean off. I don't think they look that bad from a distance, but they are not good up close, that's for sure!
Full update on Monday after the "princess" gets home from "camp." :)
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Our anniversary
Nine years! Can't believe it -- who knew I had married a "man of steel" that would carry me off into the sunset of Omaha?? Well, here we are - only two weeks in town, so there are no babysitters on our radar yet. The whole family is planning to go swimming at "the club" tonight. Ellie is so excited - we have not been over there to swim yet (the weather has always been iffy whenever we think about going...). The kids are going to eat early (cheese pizza - everyone's favorite!) and then we will swim right after Frank gets home. After the kids go to bed, Frank and I will probably do something "take-out" style -- doesn't sound too exciting, but the proposition of eating by ourselves without being interrupted or having to get up a thousand times during dinner and not having to scarf it down to "keep up" with the midgets -- almost worth it to not eat until 8:30 or so!
"When I get to Omaha" Goal #1 - I have done it... I made a pie. I joked before we came here that I would become some sort of domestic pie-making person (because I would have so much time on my hands...). Well, after coming home from the grocery store with three different types of pre-made pie crusts (already - the undomestic side from chicago is coming out), Ellie and I made a fresh strawberry pie (her choice). It looks yummy, but we'll see how it tastes. Baby steps -- when the ready made pie crusts are gone, maybe I will venture into making them from scratch - just trying to pace myself... :)
"When I get to Omaha" Goal #1 - I have done it... I made a pie. I joked before we came here that I would become some sort of domestic pie-making person (because I would have so much time on my hands...). Well, after coming home from the grocery store with three different types of pre-made pie crusts (already - the undomestic side from chicago is coming out), Ellie and I made a fresh strawberry pie (her choice). It looks yummy, but we'll see how it tastes. Baby steps -- when the ready made pie crusts are gone, maybe I will venture into making them from scratch - just trying to pace myself... :)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
The fourth of July - Omaha Style
We spent our first major holiday in Omaha - the fourth of July. The Hilts made the journey west to spend a few days with us over the fourth. It was so fun I wish they could have stayed forever! We were debating whether or not to go see an organized fireworks display, but we decided against it as it doesn't get dark here until around 10 pm and we knew the kids would have a hard time lasting that long. As it turns out, we were able to get our fireworks fix right here at our own house. At the first sign of "dusk" the entire subdivision (and I can only imagine the whole city of omaha) erupted in amateur fireworks. I wasn't sure if it was the fourth or if our neighborhood was under attack -- from every direction and as far as the eye could see -- fireworks. We truly are in the "heartland of America" here. It was kind of cool, as long as you didn't think about the fact that it was probably fairly dangerous - a bunch of drunk people with explosives. Hmph.the whole weekend was very fun - it was fun to be tourists in our own town (partly because we don't know or claim this town yet...). We hit the zoo, the botanical garden, the parks, and still had time to hang out here, too. the perfect balance of sightseeing and hanging out. I can't believe that they drove all the way from chicago to see us (and omaha, of course...) -- we really appreciated the visitors and I think a good time was had by all.
This is our first "normal" week in Omaha - Frank goes to work M - F (no out of town nights) and me and the kids are just kickin' around here. Ahhh. . . summer.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Ed Zorinsky Lake and other adventures
Since the "grannies" left yesterday (was it just yesterday?), Frank and I painted the office (classic taupe!) and the linen closet and unpzcked the rest of the boxes in the office and the garage. There is still quite a bit of organizing to do, but we are on our way to being "done" with the boxes, at least. We also had a thunderstorm that went through Omaha yesterday at 5:00 pm that produced 80 mph winds -- the weather here is ridiculous! The kids and I were outside playing when the sirens went off -- didn't look too bad, but we decided to go in -- within minutes, it was near hurricaine conditions -- it's good to have a basement that's big enough to hang out in during sotrms - I have a feeling that Omaha has more than its share of severe weather!
We try to work in some things that are fun for the kids so that they continue to "love Omaha." So, in an effort to have fun and get something done, we went to get the kids' haircuts -- this is major entertainment for them -- we take them to those "haircuts for kids" places - fun chairs to sit in and balloons and lots of hoop-la. And let me tell you - Nathan was LONG overdue for a haircut - it's amazing the little things that get lost in a move. But, all's well - he looks like a little boy again instead of the son of Einstein or Cosmo Kramer. We also adventured out to a "new place" for us for dinner - Culver's (I know, first Red Robin and now culver's -- Omaha is bringing out the crazy in us!). It was fine, but I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon - of course, Ellie orders the ham and swiss sandwich on rye -- the least "kid thing" on the menu -- she didnt' eat much of it - oh well. I guess I'd be willing to try it again for dessert, but not for the butter-burger. :)
We spent a long time after dinner at Lake Zorinsky (I know - catchy name!). It's a pretty big lake with something like 7 miles of paved walking (biking, jogging, rollerblading, etc.) trails around it. We threw Ellie's bike and Nathan's push-car in the back of the car - and walked the trail until we got to a park. Ellie was especially excited to find a playground with woodchips instead of sand! We stayed at the park for well over an hour (that's long for us - Nathan doesn't usually have that kind of attention span for anything!) Even after we left the area we were at, we spent some time driving around the other parts of the lake - there is a lot to see, for sure. It was very windy here tonight, so I would be interested in spending more time there on a more "perfect" weather day...
More soon -
We try to work in some things that are fun for the kids so that they continue to "love Omaha." So, in an effort to have fun and get something done, we went to get the kids' haircuts -- this is major entertainment for them -- we take them to those "haircuts for kids" places - fun chairs to sit in and balloons and lots of hoop-la. And let me tell you - Nathan was LONG overdue for a haircut - it's amazing the little things that get lost in a move. But, all's well - he looks like a little boy again instead of the son of Einstein or Cosmo Kramer. We also adventured out to a "new place" for us for dinner - Culver's (I know, first Red Robin and now culver's -- Omaha is bringing out the crazy in us!). It was fine, but I don't think we'll be rushing back anytime soon - of course, Ellie orders the ham and swiss sandwich on rye -- the least "kid thing" on the menu -- she didnt' eat much of it - oh well. I guess I'd be willing to try it again for dessert, but not for the butter-burger. :)
We spent a long time after dinner at Lake Zorinsky (I know - catchy name!). It's a pretty big lake with something like 7 miles of paved walking (biking, jogging, rollerblading, etc.) trails around it. We threw Ellie's bike and Nathan's push-car in the back of the car - and walked the trail until we got to a park. Ellie was especially excited to find a playground with woodchips instead of sand! We stayed at the park for well over an hour (that's long for us - Nathan doesn't usually have that kind of attention span for anything!) Even after we left the area we were at, we spent some time driving around the other parts of the lake - there is a lot to see, for sure. It was very windy here tonight, so I would be interested in spending more time there on a more "perfect" weather day...
More soon -
Friday, June 27, 2008
The Grannies in Omaha
Our first week in Omaha - Frank tells me that he has to go out of town (just to Des Moines) for the night on Wednesday night -- do you get the irony? We have finally moved our whole family to Omaha to all be in one place and he "leaves us" during the first week!
But, we were not all alone! My mom and Frank's mom flew out on Wednesday morning. The kids and I picked them up at the airport (something else I probably would never have done in chicago...) But, just like everything's bigger in texas -- everything's smaller in omaha! We went back to our house, did the "grand tour" - had some lunch and then the kids went down for naps. Later in the afternoon, we went downtown (yeah, I know -- I drove to the airport and downtown on the same day!) to see the Old Market -- just a quaint section of downtown with brick streets and lots of restaurants and shoppes (not shops... shoppes). It rained a lot while the "grannies" were here, so we did a lot of indoor stuff. We went to see the furniture mart. That is good for as many hours as you're willing to spend there -- what a huge place! Everytime I go, I see parts of it that we haven't seen before... it's amazing. We also drove past the club, the preschool -- all of Omaha's higlights for us. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to the neighborhood park, which is fine despite the sand instead of woodchips and the fact there is "7th grade" graffiti all over the place. The kids like it well enough, so it's fun. On the way to the airport on Friday morning, we stopped by the Ryerson plant to see Frank in action -- the kids love it there, because they "get to" wear little hardhats to go into the warehouse part and I think the moms were impressed, too.
It was a VERY fun couple of days for us -- I hope the "grannies" had fun, too - even though the house is still not quite the way we would like it to be (OK, not even close!). They did unpack all of the boxes in the dining room - that was a job well done! Now we just have the office and the garage -- maybe we'll get to those this weekend. They were also good sports about sleeping arrangements -- the first night, Ellie and my mom slept in the same bed (Ellie didnt' want to sleep on the floor, and my mom said she "didnt' have to give up her own bed...") and Frank's mom slept in Nathan's "big boy bed" while nathan slept in his crib...in the same room! It was crazy, but everyone was very adaptable. I hope that they had enough fun to bring back positive reports to Illinois -- and encourage everyone else to come out and visit. My mom said that Omaha was "bigger than she thought it would be..." -- just like me on my first trip out here - "Oh, they DO have target here..." I know we've only been here for a week, but it was fun to show people around - it was sad to say goodbye all over again when they left.
We are anxious for our next visitors... the Hilts are coming for the fourth of July -- we are so excited -- I am already making a list of Omaha attractions to see and groceries to buy for when they are here!
But, we were not all alone! My mom and Frank's mom flew out on Wednesday morning. The kids and I picked them up at the airport (something else I probably would never have done in chicago...) But, just like everything's bigger in texas -- everything's smaller in omaha! We went back to our house, did the "grand tour" - had some lunch and then the kids went down for naps. Later in the afternoon, we went downtown (yeah, I know -- I drove to the airport and downtown on the same day!) to see the Old Market -- just a quaint section of downtown with brick streets and lots of restaurants and shoppes (not shops... shoppes). It rained a lot while the "grannies" were here, so we did a lot of indoor stuff. We went to see the furniture mart. That is good for as many hours as you're willing to spend there -- what a huge place! Everytime I go, I see parts of it that we haven't seen before... it's amazing. We also drove past the club, the preschool -- all of Omaha's higlights for us. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to the neighborhood park, which is fine despite the sand instead of woodchips and the fact there is "7th grade" graffiti all over the place. The kids like it well enough, so it's fun. On the way to the airport on Friday morning, we stopped by the Ryerson plant to see Frank in action -- the kids love it there, because they "get to" wear little hardhats to go into the warehouse part and I think the moms were impressed, too.
It was a VERY fun couple of days for us -- I hope the "grannies" had fun, too - even though the house is still not quite the way we would like it to be (OK, not even close!). They did unpack all of the boxes in the dining room - that was a job well done! Now we just have the office and the garage -- maybe we'll get to those this weekend. They were also good sports about sleeping arrangements -- the first night, Ellie and my mom slept in the same bed (Ellie didnt' want to sleep on the floor, and my mom said she "didnt' have to give up her own bed...") and Frank's mom slept in Nathan's "big boy bed" while nathan slept in his crib...in the same room! It was crazy, but everyone was very adaptable. I hope that they had enough fun to bring back positive reports to Illinois -- and encourage everyone else to come out and visit. My mom said that Omaha was "bigger than she thought it would be..." -- just like me on my first trip out here - "Oh, they DO have target here..." I know we've only been here for a week, but it was fun to show people around - it was sad to say goodbye all over again when they left.
We are anxious for our next visitors... the Hilts are coming for the fourth of July -- we are so excited -- I am already making a list of Omaha attractions to see and groceries to buy for when they are here!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
And then New World Van Lines was gone...
We were anxious for our furniture to arrive -- 5 days without all of your "stuff" is longer than it sounds... The "big truck" pulled up on Sunday and the same two mover guys popped out and started unloading. Two guys! Back and forth all day long -- they didn't strike me as the strongest guys ever, but impressive nonetheless - something about watching two guys carry in a piano is something else! About half way through the day, they told us that they didnt' think that they would finish on SUnday and that they would have to come back on Monday - bummer! We officially have too much stuff (mostly toys, we think) :) We unpacked what we could while they were there on Sunday, between entertaining the kids and staying out of the way. We pretty much kept up with them box for box until around noon (the morning was like half boxes and half furniture...) and then the afternoon kicked our butts -- the boxes were coming in faster and faster - too much too keep up. We did our best and did more that night after the kids were in bed -- when they came back on Monday (even though I knew it was the end) - I was dreading the onslaught of even more boxes!
We have done a decent job of putting stuff away, I think. There are certain rooms that haven't been touched yet -- the office (who really cares about flie cabinet stuff, right?) and the dining room (if we haven't used the china in 9 years, we probably don't need it unpacked today...) Otherwise, the house is starting to come together - now the work really starts -- everything is out of the boxes and in the right general area, but know we have to really organize and CLEAN everything (frank wants to hold a hand-washing seminar for the people that used to live here -- it's kind of gross - sticky cabinets - ick!)
Today, the kids and I ventured to the other"big" grocery store near our house -- this one actually counts as a "real" grocery store. The only downside is that they have those dumb carts shaped like cars (or a firetruck, as we chose today) -- I can't stand those things - they're harder to push and there is not as much space in the cart itself -- ahh, the things we do to have a little quiet time to shop in peace! And today, I needed to be able to concentrate -- I think we were actually in the store for an hour -- you take for granted that you know where everything is in your grocery store. Ugh, we made it, though. :)
Frank called at 5:42 pm to tell me that he was on his way home from work...for dinner...with us...! Throwback to the good ol' days. the only difference is that he was home by 5:53! That's Omaha "traffic" for you -- score one for Omaha.
Today we conquered the grocery store -- everyday will bring new "adventures" - stay tuned!
We have done a decent job of putting stuff away, I think. There are certain rooms that haven't been touched yet -- the office (who really cares about flie cabinet stuff, right?) and the dining room (if we haven't used the china in 9 years, we probably don't need it unpacked today...) Otherwise, the house is starting to come together - now the work really starts -- everything is out of the boxes and in the right general area, but know we have to really organize and CLEAN everything (frank wants to hold a hand-washing seminar for the people that used to live here -- it's kind of gross - sticky cabinets - ick!)
Today, the kids and I ventured to the other"big" grocery store near our house -- this one actually counts as a "real" grocery store. The only downside is that they have those dumb carts shaped like cars (or a firetruck, as we chose today) -- I can't stand those things - they're harder to push and there is not as much space in the cart itself -- ahh, the things we do to have a little quiet time to shop in peace! And today, I needed to be able to concentrate -- I think we were actually in the store for an hour -- you take for granted that you know where everything is in your grocery store. Ugh, we made it, though. :)
Frank called at 5:42 pm to tell me that he was on his way home from work...for dinner...with us...! Throwback to the good ol' days. the only difference is that he was home by 5:53! That's Omaha "traffic" for you -- score one for Omaha.
Today we conquered the grocery store -- everyday will bring new "adventures" - stay tuned!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Journey West
Well, we did it. We really did it. We packed up our whole family and moved to Omaha. Sometimes I still can't believe it. After this past year of talking endlessly about moving to Omaha, it's finally here. Sort of like a wedding, I guess -- you spend so much time talking about it and planning it, that you can't believe it when the "big day" actually arrives. Well, here's how our "big day" went down.
On Thursday, the buyers of our Elk Grove house had their walkthrough (and of course, they had complaints...anyone surprised?) They thought that the storage area in the basement - yeah, the one back by the crawlspace and by the furnace and all that stuff -- was dusty and they were not pleased that there were nail holes in the walls. Are you serious? This guy is from another planet! They have never owned a house before and he just kept saying, "well, a leasing company would fill the holes and repaint..." And then captain obvious would say -- "there is no leasing company, you idiot -- YOU bought this house!" And, at the last minute they decide that they don't want the extra refrigerator in the garage (who wouldn't want another refrigerator??) and they asked us to have it removed - um, let me think about that. NO. And as a final request, at the closing, they asked our realtor if we would send a copy of all of the remodel / addition information that we had. uh, sure, we'll see if we get around to that one, too...
Friday morning, we took our time getting going. We didn't leave Schaumburg until 8:30 or 9:00. We kew it would be a long day of driving and we though it would be smart to start with everyone in a decent mood, at least. The trip was 8 hours (with two stops). It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - the kids did surprisingly well - we had bought a "surprise" new video for the trip and lots of other little things to keep them busy on the ride. My mom had sent a bag of goodies for each of the kids, too - it was great! If anyone started to whine, we would just throw back a new book or a coloring book or something. It worked well.
Since our stuff won't arrive until Sunday, we planned to stay in a hotel on Friday night. On the drive here, Ellie must have asked a million times (or maybe more) about the pool at the hotel. When would we go swimming - before or after dinner - for a long time or a little time. Would she be able to stand in the pool or would it be too deep -- one track mind ellie! When we finally pulled up to our hotel, we learned that the pool was closed for some kind of maintenance. Ellie was absolutely crushed - one of those times when you really feel what your kids are feeling. She was totally deflated. So, we quickly diverted her attention by telling her that we had a surprise waiting for her at our new house. She perked up and exclaimed, "I hope it's a puppy!" Uh, disappointment number two in 5 minutes. not a puppy. We had bought the kids little scooters (as a "moving" present and also, we knew they would have anything else to do here for a couple of days...). So, we drove to our new house and they were very excited to see the scooters and also to run around the empty house. After all, we had all been in the car ALL day, so it was a welcome release for every one!
Today (Saturday), we spent most of the day running errands and (shocker) riding scooters. We ordered the sofa for the basement, went and picked up Frank's car, which was still at the airport. I even ventured out on my own to go to Costco and the grocery store. The Costco is new here -- I had to explain to a few people how it works, "...you go on one side and your cart goes on the other side." But, I will say one good thing about Omaha so far -- running errands at 2:00 on a saturday afternoon - not so crowded. Something, I would have tried to avoid at all costs in Schaumburg! We ordered a pizza in and did a "slumber party" thing with the kids -- popcorn and a movie. It was fun.
It's a weird town and a weird house that still "smells" like another family, and I need to ask for directions to go to Costco, but somehow it still feels like "home" since we're all together in one place. Hopefully, it will feel even more like home tomorrow when our furniture arrives!
More soon. yee-haw.
On Thursday, the buyers of our Elk Grove house had their walkthrough (and of course, they had complaints...anyone surprised?) They thought that the storage area in the basement - yeah, the one back by the crawlspace and by the furnace and all that stuff -- was dusty and they were not pleased that there were nail holes in the walls. Are you serious? This guy is from another planet! They have never owned a house before and he just kept saying, "well, a leasing company would fill the holes and repaint..." And then captain obvious would say -- "there is no leasing company, you idiot -- YOU bought this house!" And, at the last minute they decide that they don't want the extra refrigerator in the garage (who wouldn't want another refrigerator??) and they asked us to have it removed - um, let me think about that. NO. And as a final request, at the closing, they asked our realtor if we would send a copy of all of the remodel / addition information that we had. uh, sure, we'll see if we get around to that one, too...
Friday morning, we took our time getting going. We didn't leave Schaumburg until 8:30 or 9:00. We kew it would be a long day of driving and we though it would be smart to start with everyone in a decent mood, at least. The trip was 8 hours (with two stops). It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - the kids did surprisingly well - we had bought a "surprise" new video for the trip and lots of other little things to keep them busy on the ride. My mom had sent a bag of goodies for each of the kids, too - it was great! If anyone started to whine, we would just throw back a new book or a coloring book or something. It worked well.
Since our stuff won't arrive until Sunday, we planned to stay in a hotel on Friday night. On the drive here, Ellie must have asked a million times (or maybe more) about the pool at the hotel. When would we go swimming - before or after dinner - for a long time or a little time. Would she be able to stand in the pool or would it be too deep -- one track mind ellie! When we finally pulled up to our hotel, we learned that the pool was closed for some kind of maintenance. Ellie was absolutely crushed - one of those times when you really feel what your kids are feeling. She was totally deflated. So, we quickly diverted her attention by telling her that we had a surprise waiting for her at our new house. She perked up and exclaimed, "I hope it's a puppy!" Uh, disappointment number two in 5 minutes. not a puppy. We had bought the kids little scooters (as a "moving" present and also, we knew they would have anything else to do here for a couple of days...). So, we drove to our new house and they were very excited to see the scooters and also to run around the empty house. After all, we had all been in the car ALL day, so it was a welcome release for every one!
Today (Saturday), we spent most of the day running errands and (shocker) riding scooters. We ordered the sofa for the basement, went and picked up Frank's car, which was still at the airport. I even ventured out on my own to go to Costco and the grocery store. The Costco is new here -- I had to explain to a few people how it works, "...you go on one side and your cart goes on the other side." But, I will say one good thing about Omaha so far -- running errands at 2:00 on a saturday afternoon - not so crowded. Something, I would have tried to avoid at all costs in Schaumburg! We ordered a pizza in and did a "slumber party" thing with the kids -- popcorn and a movie. It was fun.
It's a weird town and a weird house that still "smells" like another family, and I need to ask for directions to go to Costco, but somehow it still feels like "home" since we're all together in one place. Hopefully, it will feel even more like home tomorrow when our furniture arrives!
More soon. yee-haw.
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