Mini Me's Secret

I'm fairly confident Mini Me has been sneaking into Grandma and Grandpa's computer room to take photos of herself using Photo Booth.

It's Time!!

I received an e-mail from J yesterday. He titled it: "Reminds me of 1 1/2 years ago." I clicked on the link. Talk about reading our mail!! Almost every one of these 10 signs was us. Plus, J had his wife saying: "You are the fluff. You make stuff pretty. You are going to be the first to go! Go before they fire you." Yes, I'm supportive like that. A good woman is hard to find, you know.

Copied from: Big Is The New Small.com

Often times people are assessing their jobs, roles, callings… by asking themselves the following question over and over: “Should I stay or should I go, should I stay or should I go…?”  

Here are 10 Signs It May Be Time To Move On:

1. You get an upset stomach every morning on your way to work.
2. At-least once a week you think the following thoughts “If so and so does (_blank__) again today I’m going to quit.”
3. You’ve asked God for signs that it’s time to move on and he has spoken to you through people, places, circumstances, His Word… you’ve heard its time to move on from God in every way besides hearing his audible voice.
4. You can’t find anyone within a square mile radius of your job that you like, trust or believe in.
5. Your boss has said to you “It may be time for you to move on!”
6. You are 100% certain that you could have a bigger impact, be happier, put your family in a better situation… by moving on and the only thing that’s holding you back is fear.
7. You tell yourself, your spouse and your friends on a regular basis that it’s time to move on and they agree.
8. When an American Idol Contestant is sent home; you begin envision the greener pastures that are on the other side of them be kicked off.  You then draw parallels to yourself being in the Top 10 and imagine how being kicked out of your workplace will be better for you.
9. Every time your boss calls you in his office or on the phone; you immediately start wondering what you did wrong or think they’re going to act like Donald Trump and say “You’re Fired!”
10. You’ve read through the 9 signs above and said to yourself “That’s the confirmation that I needed.”

My Comments on their site:

"It's so hard to leave when you are in the middle of it and you love what you do but not what you go through to do it. They did lay my husband off. We are in a much better place now. I hope this helps someone step out to find their life."

Moving Up

Have you ever seen the show 'Moving Up' with Doug, from Trading Spaces? It's a show where 2 homeowners go back to see what changes the new owners have made to their former home.

I feel like saying, "People, YOU chose to sell your house and MOVE. What makes you think the new owners are going to keep YOUR kids' growth charts on their walls? Come. On. It was sentimental to 'you'."

So, considering yesterday, I blogged about only missing the walls at our old house, I'm going to show you what WE did to the walls BEFORE we moved. This was in order to get the house sold, because we KNEW people would NOT want 'our' beautiful walls. It's called staging.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Not the House. Just the Walls.

One year ago today, we moved from Tulsa to Chicago. There is not much I miss about our lives in Oklahoma. Yes, we miss our family and friends. That goes without saying. But home is where the heart is and our heart is no longer in Tulsa. All 4 of us have fallen in love with our new city. We even braved a 'windy city' winter and came out saying: "Old Man Winter, that's all you got?" 

Our lives here are so vastly different. I think that is why we don't miss it. There is nothing to compare it to. 

Well, okay. Maybe we miss the walls at our old home. But I never think about our old house. It's like we never even lived there. Take a look and you'll see why we may miss just the walls.

Motor Mouth's Chicago Bedroom

Motor Mouth's Tulsa Bedroom

J airbrushed the walls and ceiling

That's a working fan as the airplane's engine

Mini Me's Chicago Bedroom

(Shhh...she's sleeping IN the bed)

Mini Me's Tulsa Bedroom

J painted the walls in a harlequin pattern

The black is ribbon with jewel stones at the points

He also designed the neon behind the bed

Not the house. Just the walls.

Public School or Home School??

I have been debating for months on what to do about Motor Mouth and school. Chicago's school system is very complicated. There are neighborhood schools, magnet schools, cluster schools, magnet cluster schools, montessori, private, and Catholic schools. For all except for your neighborhood school, you have to APPLY in the fall for the following school year. Some schools require testing to get in. We got here too late for any options other than our neighborhood school.

I have been debating as to whether I should send Motor Mouth to our neighborhood school or homeschool. 

Motor Mouth had such a horrible school experience in Tulsa last year at his private school, after a couple of months, we tried to get him into a public school but it was too late and there were no more spaces.  I don't want Motor Mouth to have another year like that, or he might hate school forever.

In Chicago, our neighborhood school gets mixed reviews. Some people say they would send their child there, others say they would keep him home for the year, or homeschool. Last evening, I was at Motor Mouth's karate class. One mother said she would not send her son to our school. She said her mother-in-law taught at the school - I'm thinking she would know. One father said he would send his son there for kindergarten but not grade 1. 

We met with the principal, vice principal and the 3 kindergarten teachers. The school seems fine. The kids seemed fine. The school gets okay/mediocre grades from the 50% of parents reporting. It's literally right in our backyard, so it is convenient. Our main concern is that the curriculum covers exactly what Motor Mouth learned in K4.

I've been talking to homeschool moms in Chicago and Tulsa. My friend from Tulsa told me about the K12 Virtual Learning program. I checked it out online. It's $1400 for the year!! Ha! And I thought $800 was pricey for the program my friend from Chicago wants me to do with her. 

After some more research, I found the exact same program offered through Chicago Public Schools. For FREE! AND they GIVE us a computer AND a printer AND the books for FREE!! No uniform required. All we pay for is print cartridges and paper.

The program is a 3-fold combination of virtual lessons, textbooks, and in-class. Motor Mouth would be required to go to a classroom one day each week. They have a few more Kindergarten spaces open. Motor Mouth is practically accepted. 

And, the facility where the in-class will be held is a newer facility (5 yrs-ish) and only about 2 miles from our home!

I am so excited about this!!

Building Relationships

This Sunday, I really felt like I was a part of our new church family. It was my first Sunday feeling this way. This is HUGE for me. I felt loved and accepted.  I felt like I am a visible part of our church - our church that is the reason why we moved our family to this city, 7 & 10 hours from most of our family and friends. 

First off, J couldn't come meet us, so he sent Andrew to drive us to church. The teachers in the kids' classrooms remembered each of them by name.  Walking into church, I ran into Nordic Princess, saw Man in the Know, and Engaged Girl, who I brunched with on Saturday, was one of the ushers. When I walked to the sound booth to sit with J, 3 guys told me where to find J, including Art Boy. I found J but ended up sitting with Pie Town, his volunteer. 

I personally knew 4/5 of the band members on stage and I know the person #5 is married to. When Pie Town and I sat down, I saw Di Eye from my Weds mom's group and her husband. One of the ladies from my new mom's group sat behind us. The guy sitting next to us recognized and greeted me. 

Going to pick up the kiddos, I ran into Les Mom from my Weds mom's group. Last week, I met the sister of Jaxn, our pastor. This week, she remembered my name.

Afterwards, at the church picnic, I hung out with the Worship and Technical Arts crew and Chicka (sans George). I got to see Mobium in line for BBQ. After lunch, Soccer Mom and her family came over, as did JJ and her family. I ran into another of the new mom's group ladies, and I got to spend time getting to know J Mom4 and her family. As we left, we came across Jon , Cre8ve Chaos, and Pretty Little Thing. 

What was great, is Motor Mouth and Mini Me know most of these people by name so they also felt connected. Many of these people are who J rubs shoulders with daily. J felt really connected as well, but I know it meant a great deal to him that the kids and I felt it too. We had an awesome day with our new people.

It was a GOOD Day Today - 07/02/08

How many strollers does Mini Me need?

THREE.

1 ah-mazing stroller . 1 suburb stroller . 1 broken stroller

Our latest stroller broke on Michigan Ave on Friday. Notice the wheel on the far right. We use our stroller all the time. The city requires a rugged-wheeled stroller for long walks and uneven surfaces that can collapse easily for bus and train riding. After purchasing 2 reasonably priced strollers that just haven't managed to cut it in the city, we broke down and purchased a crazy expensive umbrella stroller. I can hardly wait to take it for a spin!!

After putting together the stroller, I ate a banana. I realized the bananas were getting old, so I baked my first banana bread. I've never made a bread from scratch. This baking adventure, I didn't forget or mess up anything! It's the best banana bread I've ever tasted. Yes, it is THAT good. I'm not being conceited. I'm surprised I didn't screw something up!

Bigger Than Tulsa

Chicago has the largest flies I've ever seen. I don't recall seeing anything this big in Tulsa.

Arrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!

I was so excited when I found a shopping cart for $14.70 at Wal-Mart. What a bargain! Ha!! The wheels came off after 2 weeks of use. I thought: "So THAT's why The Container Store sells their shopping carts for $39.99!!"

J told me to get one at The Container Store. Well, I BOUGHT the Container Store shopping cart. THIS is what happened the SECOND time we used it!! Argggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! At least the cheap, Wal-Mart one lasted longer and had spare parts (which I can't remember where I put for safe keeping...).

Marchello's

Marchello's is one of the most significant restaurants in our Chi-Town lives.

On our interview weekend, in March, we asked the real estate agent to drop us off at a shopping area. When we got hungry, we started walking, in search of food. Marchello's is what we found. The food was great. It was quite, enabling us to discuss our options. At the time, we didn't realize we were only about a 5 minute walk from the church.

That Monday, we had an interview lunch at Marchello's with the leadership of the church: Senior pastor, Jaxn and his wife, DD. Executive pastor, Master of the Universe, and his wife, Robbie. J barely ate his lunch because he was talking, answering questions.

J started working at Park on March 31st. Our first lunch together, was at Marchello's. It was so very cold that day, and we wanted comfort food. Marchello's homemade soup did the trick.

Last night, we took the kids to Marchello's for dessert. Who knew Marchello's would have played such an important role in our lives!

Our New Church - Part 2

This is exciting for us. Our new church will be opening its new church building in just 17 days!! Last evening, we walked through with the kiddos. J kept telling me not to take pictures because the building isn't finished. No pictures, Tonto? This is big news in my world!

Coffee Shop Counter

THE COOLEST hand dryers!!!! 

Made by Dyson (the vacuum guy)
A few aisles in the auditorium
Partial view of the stage.
The sound booth - J's domain
Back staircase, behind the stage
Stained concrete floors in stairwell

We Found a Pediatrician!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We found a pediatrician!!

The staff and physicians in this practice were nice and accommodating. Communication amongst the staff was great. The facility was laid out in a kid-friendly manner. The hours are amazing! I called this afternoon, and they got me in for a 7:15 pm appointment this evening.

I can hardly wait to go to my mom's group tomorrow, to thank them for the recommendation. Oh, there is a pediatric dentist office right next door. I'll be calling tomorrow to setup appointments for Motor Mouth and Mini Me.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!
Mini Me didn't want to leave!!

It's Official - We ARE City Dwellers!!

This is a Chicago 'City Sticker'. It is to be displayed in your vehicle, to indicate you live in Chicago and have paid for your right to park on city streets. Cost: $75. If you don't get one within 30 days of moving to Chicago - proof with a mortgage or lease contract - then you will be fined $40, on top of any tickets you may have received.

The vehicle stickers ALL go from June 1 to June 30. For EVERYONE in Chicago with a vehicle. In May, I called around looking for a sticker. I was told they were sold out in the entire city. But, if we didn't get one within 30 days of moving, we'd be fined $40. After our license plate expiration debacle, I didn't want to take chances. I went to the horse.

On Friday, J drove me downtown to the place my 'Newcomers Guide to Chicago' book told me to go. After walking down an escalator (it wasn't working), I finally found the office. I stood in line for some guy to tell me I had to go across the street, to City Hall, to get a city sticker. Back up the broken escalator. It had started raining. I had on flip flops and no umbrella.

I found City Hall. It is big. I couldn't find the office I needed. So, I asked someone. I walked down several long hallways. And stood in line. To be told there were no more city stickers and to come back on Monday. But was I going to be charged $40 if I come on Monday? The lady gave me her name, and said that if they charged me for being late, to tell them she said not to. Nirvana was her name. I wasn't feeling Nirvana.

J took a bus to City Hall this morning, waited in line for an hour, and purchased our city sticker. No late fee. It seems minor, but this is a major accomplishment for us. I'm feeling Nirvana now.

My New People

These are the new people in our lives.

Jackson Crum, Sr Pastor. He rocks! Our PASTOR came and helped us move into our loft. He wasn't directing traffic or putting in face time. He lifted boxes and furniture.

Jonathan, Executive Pastor. Jonathan also helped us move in. On moving day, his lovely wife, Robin, sent a great pasta dish for us.Scott Clifton, Associate Pastor. Scott and his oldest son helped us move. Scott's wife is the guru who gave me vital school information to navigate Chicago Public Schools.

Bill, Family Pastor. Bill and his wife came to help us move. They brought homemade muffins and chocolate dipped strawberries. Yum!!Joe, Associate Pastor. Joe is THE Man in the Know. If Joe don't know, nobody knows. J stayed at Joe's house while I wrapped up in Tulsa.
John, Director of Operations. John and his wife cared for Motor Mouth and Mini Me the ENTIRE day we moved.

Joseph Tenney, Worship Pastor. J's boss. Joseph and his wife, Kimberly, helped us move in. They are who we call when we are lost, need an emergency room, etc.

Jim, Worship Director. Jim is the very first Park person we met. He picked us up from the airport on our interview weekend. Jim and his wife are expecting their first baby!

Becky, Worship Ministry Assistant. Becky is the assistant for J's department. She just got married!!!Tim, Director of Communications. J's brother from another mother.
Mabrie, Family Ministry Assistant. Mabrie is a true Texan. She picked the 3 M's up from the airport - on her day off!!
Christine, Associate Director of Children's Ministries. The kids love Christine, and not just because she gives them balloons!!

Whitney, Communications Assistant/Receptionist. Everyone needs a Whitney.