Sunday, March 25, 2007

Ok, I'm afraid to post this but....

It looks like we'll be staying in Illinois for the time being. Rick was running into some major personality conflicts in Wisconsin. We talked a lot and decided that since this was not a career improvement there was no reason to put him into that kind of stressful situation. There was obviously more to it than just personality but it's too complicated to type it all out! It helped to know that his boss really wanted him to stay at O'Hare. A few changes are happening at O'Hare which will make it a nicer place to work too. We will still have the issue of the commute to deal with though. I suggested a couch, small fridge, microwave and t.v. in his office for nights he just doesn't have it in him to battle the traffic!
Now that that decision has been mostly settled we will have some other major decisions to make. We are considering taking the house off the market for a while. Rick has a friend who is willing to "rent" our guest room (or section of the basement) for four nights a week which might be just enough to get us by. If we don't have to disrupt the kids then we would rather not. The school issue is another big one. Caden is more than likely going to the local public school. We would really like to switch Trace there too but that would make three schools in four years! What happens if we end up leaving Illinois in another year? Having them both at the same school would be nice and not having to run back and forth to the school everyday would be a relief! I also would have to start working at Trace's school if we kept him there which doesn't make a very nice life for the younger two during the week. Oh, decisions, decisions, decisions! Don't worry, I'll keep everyone posted!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

A family weekend....









Paige and Tegan got along just fine for their second visit. He is getting so big and has so much hair now! I'm so glad we are getting the opportunity to see him grow. Paige was mostly oblivious to him but really liked his toys! Unfortunately for Tegan his toys were left behind and Paige thinks that's just great. We all had a great weekend and Caden was in tears when he realized they were heading home. I suspect we'll meet up again soon since we have Tegan's toys! :)
(Jennifer, when you read this, send me your e-mail and I'll send off all the pictures from the weekend!)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

A little family update...

Trace is doing really well in school and loves it! He lives for the weekends though when he gets to play the Playstation 2. Right now he is excited about moving because, he says, it is close to the Dells (a resort town with the largest indoor and outdoor water parks in the country), and Daddy has all but promised motorcycles - way to go Dad! Trace is a neat kid and has been a lot of fun as he gets older. He is loving and sensitive but true to his age is also mastering the arts of talking back, muttering and eye rolling!
Caden enjoys preschool and comes home almost weekly announcing he has a new friend. He is shy and very self conscious and has a hard time making friends sometimes. We still make a weekly trip to Occupational Therapy. It is an hour drive each way so we usually pack our lunches and make a day of it - picking Trace up on our way back. They have been working a lot on upper body strengthening since he seems to have some low muscle tone. Recently they have also been concentrating a lot on learning his letters too. He is trying so hard but it is a real struggle for him. So far, after several months, he knows A,B,C,F and X! He is looking forward to our move also and pretty much just because of the motorcycle talk! He is nervous and excited about starting kindergarten next year.
Rick is in the process of transitioning from O'Hare to Milwaukee. This week he was up there a couple of days and each week it will gradually become more and more. I expect him to be up there during the week and home weekends by next month. It is only a two hour drive from our house so it isn't like he is out of reach! He is really looking forward to a more relaxed environment with a little less responsibility. Most importantly though he can't wait to only have a 10-20 minute drive to work instead of an hour and a half!
I'm about the same. Not really looking forward to uprooting everyone again and really dreading the nightmare of switching all our bills, carriers and doctors. By the time we have our last post-placement visit for Paige we will have had 5 different social workers! I am however looking forward to it for some other reasons. It is truly pretty up there with more rolling hills and TREES!! We will be putting ourselves in a much better financial position and since I pay all the bills that will be a huge stress relief. We are thinking of putting both boys into public school too. With Caden struggling like he is we are thinking public may have better resources to help him and since we are changing Trace again it is a good opportunity to transition him. That too will be a big help for our financial situation as well as taking some pressure off me!
Tigger and Lucy (the cats) are fine too. I thought for sure they would abandon Paige's room once she was in it. It seems, however, that they have set up housekeeping under the crib and are right there ready to jump in if I should forget and leave the side down! Lucy is almost protective of Paige which is pretty funny.
Well that's all from aound here for now!

Rubber Duckie You're the One...

Caden is always asking if Paige can play in the tub with him. So one night I just dropped her in while he was floating around by himself. They had so much fun! He had her giggling and splashing right away.

Dinner Time

We had rice for dinner the other night and since Paige insists on feeding herself I just sat the whole bowl in front of her. When I turned back this is what she had decided the bowl was for! What a nut! A couple of days later we had spaghetti. I already knew she liked spaghetti sauce but now I know she also LOVES spaghetti! Amazingly though very little made it to the floor.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

I'm trying!

Well Blogger has had "old" and "new" blogger for a while now. I resisted changing from the old to the new because, well, I just don't like change. I finally caved last week and made the switch. Looking at the blog you can't tell anything (except that I lost my music). Now, I have spent the better part of today (between laundry, kids, and school runs) trying to upload some pictures with no luck!!! I am so irritated right now and kicking myself for making the change - I knew better. Anyway, I'm going to keep trying but in the meantime I may look into a new hosting site!

Monday, March 05, 2007

My favorites.

I'm debating whether I need to have professional pictures for her first birthday. I hate to waste the money if she won't smile - which she probably won't. But I also don't want her to feel slighted since the boys have their one year pictures. Either way, I think these are awfully darn cute! Posted by Picasa

Amature Photographer

I hate to admit it, but Paige just isn't the most photogenic baby. I took 32 pictures in less than a 1/2 hour and these are the BEST of what I got! The ones on top are my favorites because they are the many different smiles she has. Then I really wanted one in the rocking chair because she loves it, but apparently that wasn't to be. I do think the third one might make some good blackmail one day. The final ones were an attempt to replicate a picture of me in the same doll cradle. She pretty much refused to look at me and in the end got her way by standing up! Just click on the image and it will enlarge to be able to see it better. Posted by Picasa