Richmond Lane, Here We Come!

I know that you are all smiling about the weird coinkydink, but I honestly believe the good Lord was trying to tell us something. After about 37 houses, we kept coming back to one of the first ones we looked at. Sure, it's a little farther for Mike to commute, but it's in an awesome neighborhood with a basement and kitchen to make anyone drool. And, it was priced right. I had asked our realtor to schedule another showing of it while I was here this week and it happened to be the first one we were scheduled to see. On our way, she told me that there was an offer on it, but the two parties had not been able to come together on a final contract. To make a long story short, we spent our time the last two days trying to decide if there was anything we liked better. In our hearts, we just couldn't justify spending more for less. It's an amazing house and one that we will be very happy in. Seeing the moms walk their kids around the neighborhood is a very cool thing to see. So, we made an offer tonight, and after a little back and forth, we have a deal! 1346 Richmond Lane in Bartlett, Illinois will be our home. We are absolutely thrilled! We will close in Richmond on June 3oth and then in Bartlett on July 1st. And after all was said and done, I am QUITE excited about the new front-loader washer and dryer that we managed to ween out of the deal and Mike is stoked about the pool table. I guess Luke will follow in his father's footsteps and be a pool shark. But, we know we will be very happy there and enjoy the things that are most important to us - raising a family and sharing with friends and family.

Toto, We're Not In Virginia Anymore

Happy Memorial Day! It has been a wonderful weekend having Mike home. We were blessed with a wonderful get-together with some of our friends sending us off. It was such a fantastic time seeing everyone, despite the circumstances. Mike is definitely feeling like life is in Chicago, so he is not as emotional as I am. I am definitely not ready to say goodbye yet to so many things, so luckily, I don't have to yet.

Mike, Luke and I went to our local Hanover County winery today for one last tasting (and of course to purchase a few bottles for the road). It was a perfect day - beautiful and sunny with a light breeze. Perfect for sipping a little wine on the porch. We're starting Luke young. :-) Anyway, we got home to find a message on the machine from the Arlington Heights Police Department calling about damage to a red Audi. So, Mike calls the number given and waits for the officer to call us back. We start asking ourselves if we could be so lucky to have someone have hit the Audi.

I know, it sounds strange, but the car is on its last legs. The check engine light has worked a little too well for the last two years due to a computer glitch. The power door locks no longer work and nor does the dome light. Only a few of the lights in the dash work. It's been a great car, and as long as it runs and passes inspection, we do intend to keep it as long as we can, recognizing that we're pretty close to the inevitable. And, if God intended to help us along a little with a parking lot mishap, so be it.

So, the officer calls us back and asks about whether there were any valuables in the car. That's where I knew it wasn't as we might have hoped. I guess Mike and I have taken for granted that you can leave a car at work for the weekend without worrying that someone would bust a window out of it to see if there was anything that could be pawned for a few bucks. We thought we were so smart to avoid the $30/day parking at O'Hare for the weekend and have a taxi pick Mike up. Reflecting back on it, parking at O'Hare would have been cheaper than replacing a window. Luckily, they are on special for only $200. Welcome to the Windy City! Hopefully, this is one rite of passage that we can check off our list and not worry about again for a long time.

Mohawk and a Mullet

It's a little strange when people comment to you how cute your son's mohawk is. I realize that he has lost his newborn hair and so it looks a bit odd, but honestly, this is one of those times when perfect strangers' opinions aren't very welcome. My poor kid is going to have a complex! Just kidding - the mohawk is quite cute. Kind of like the mullet part...that's just an amusement between Mike and I because most people can't see it, until now. Mike's already chomping at the bit to cut his hair.

Well, I apologize that my venture in single parenthood has kept me a bit preoccupied from blogging this week. Overall, it's been a very good week, but after a full day of wrestling with an extremely active 4-month-old, about all I've managed to do is heat up a Smart Ones and crash in front of the television to watch part of a chick flick. Luke and I have been learning about each other and having some fun with girlfriends.

Mike's had a great first week and he flies home tonight for the long weekend. We are very excited to see him, and everytime that I mention "dada" to Luke, he grins really big. Next week, Luke and I are back to Chicago to look at more houses. Hopefully, we can make some decisions.

I wish you all a fantastic and safe holiday weekend!

Taking a Cat Nap

Ba dum ching! :-)












Yesterday, Mike headed off towards Chicago. Luke misses leaning against him to show off his milk belly. So, my first week of single parenthood has begun. I have a newfound appreciation for people that do that. But, Luke offered me the gift of sleeping through the night again last night, which has us off on the right foot!

We are crazily now working out plans for the next 6 weeks in light of the closing on our house slated for June 30th. Mike flies home next Friday to spend Memorial Day weekend here. He will fly home Monday night, and since we now have to be quite serious about finding a house in Chicago, Luke and I will fly up there Tuesday morning to spend the week with Janice, the realtor. We will fly back on Friday, May 3oth and I will host Jill's baby shower the next day. I'm seriously considering catering most of it. But enough about that for now...on to talking more about Luke. After all, I have been remiss about updating pictures of him!


Here is Luke patiently waiting to go out to our neighbor's party last weekend. He was a bit anxious because he was hoping he'd be the best dressed for sure! This outfit is courtesy of cousins Mike and Alice (you might recall the matching sunglasses from a few blogs ago). I must say that these plaid shorts are entirely too cute, but hey, I'm the doting mother.

Here I am drooling all over myself in my golf outfit (thanks, Grandma Bucciero!). I just can't wait to get out there and swing those clubs, although Mom tells me I have to walk or something first. Whatever! Hey, why is everyone staring at my behind?

Under Contract

We are officially under contract! The offer was a very good one - highlights include that they specifically wanted to keep some of our curtains including the ones Mom made. We are really excited, and hopeful that everything goes well with the next steps. Keep your fingers crossed! Let the madness of moving begin!

My Son, the Turtle

I suppose there can be too much of a good thing. As new parents, you get SO excited about the small developmental steps, such as the first rolling over. And, don't misunderstand that I am still very excited about that. However, I'm now REALLY looking forward to Luke learning how to roll the other way.

Luke has decided he was a turtle in another life. You see, he loves to roll over from his front to his back, mainly when he's supposed to be sleeping. This wouldn't be a big deal except that he doesn't seem to be able to sleep on his back, so he does this sort of moan constantly when that happens. It's pretty pathetic actually. Mike and I will hear it on the monitor and barter for whose turn it is to go and roll him over. It's like a trick that's no longer funny, when it happens several times a night. Although, on the good side, we have seen him roll over now.

I know you're all very curious for an update on our house. Well, literally, I just got off the phone with our realtor, and it looks like all that craziness this past weekend may have paid off. He will be by later tonight with an offer from the family that looked at it twice. We don't know any details, but I'll update as soon as possible. And, I promise to quit procrastinating about loading up new pics of Lukeman.

The Perks of Flying With a Baby

If you ever want a hassle-free flying experience, get yourself a baby. (Disclaimer: Best to find a baby who doesn't cry too much). I swear, for all of my nervousness over how it would go, it was a piece of cake. Monday morning we were up at 4:15 am to get to the airport. We breezed to the front of the security line via a special line for parents with small children and airport employees. Way too cool. Then, Luke took over as a total pro - he nursed and then promptly fell asleep for the duration of the flight - both directions! And, EVERYONE is SO nice to you when you have a baby! Even the TSA person in Chicago struck up a conversation with me as we went through the metal detector and wished me a Happy Mothers' Day. But, the best part was that we got a whole can of soda - must have been the fatigued parent look on our faces.

In all seriousness, the week has been a complete whirlwind. Hence, my lack of blogging. So, we arrived in Chicago at 8:30 am on Monday and met our realtor, Janice at 10:30. Over the next 3 days, we saw 24 houses, Luke in tow. Despite 85 degree temperatures, nursing in the back of an SUV, and basically being confined to a car seat for the better part of 3 days, Luke handled the whole thing relatively well. He just relaxed in his daddy's arms, checking out the various forms of 1970's style wallpaper in his would-be bedroom, the addition or lack of a playset in the backyard, and how many cars would be driving by when he decided to run around the yard without clothes later in life. Mike and I were looking carefully at the kitchens, the lots, and drooling over the basements (in most cases). We found some really nice things, and ultimately, were able to focus our search to the areas of Arlington Heights, Palatine, Buffalo Grove, and Vernon Hills. Overall, a very good trip to get us started more seriously.

We flew home on Thursday evening and on Friday morning, my mom flew in for a weekend of taking care of Luke while Mike and I painted over our beloved master suite to "neutralize" it. Let me say that we thought we had the perfect plan - fly Mom in to take care of Luke and paint like crazy because SURELY no one would want to see our house on Mothers' Day weekend. WRONG. So, Friday, we primed the bathroom, and as we relaxed over dinner, our realtor called to tell us there would be a showing on Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning, I did a garage sale (literally because it was a rainy morning) and Mike painted two coats of Warm Buff in the bathroom. We left a "Please Pardon Our Dust" note, and went shopping. We came home and put the first coat of primer on the bedroom. While Mike and I were yawning through our dinner date (thanks, Mom!), the phone rang again, and our realtor told us that the same people wanted to see the house again on Sunday afternoon.

My very first Mothers' Day was wonderful, despite my 4-month old deciding to act like he was 5 weeks old again overnight and wake up every 3 hours. And, there was lots and lots of painting and hanging out at the hardware store. Ruthie the Paint Lady and I bonded over the choice of color. Apparently, I now have Oprah's favorite paint color in my master suite. Maybe THAT will sell our house. Mike cooked us a beautiful breakfast and then we started painting like crazy. We put a 2nd coat of primer in the bedroom and then managed to get a first coat of paint before leaving the house at 3:23 for a 3:30 showing. We saw the family coming as we were leaving, so thinking that they'd be here just for 30-40 minutes, we drove back home, only to keep driving and driving until 4:45, when the cars were finally gone from the driveway. Surely, that must be a good sign.

This morning, we finished the painting, took Mom to the airport, and took Luke to his 4-month checkup (he now weighs 16 pounds 2 ounces, double his birth weight - Woo hoo!) I can safely report that we are all completely exhausted. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to try and cram so much in, with the inevitable variable of having a baby who may or may not choose to sleep very well. Just when I thought I was back in control of my life...I know, I'm too much of a dreamer. :-)

The Rollover Fairies

I swear, there must really be such a thing. On 5 occasions, we have gone to get Luke up from his crib only to find him staring us in the face (we put him to sleep on his stomach). The first time, Mike called me at work, and questioned whether I had put him down on his stomach or if I had accidentally put him on his back in my stumbling around the in the middle of the night. Despite our best efforts to try and covertly catch him in the act, no luck yet. We'll keep trying!

In other news, we've had an eventful weekend! Our good friends, the Tiemans and the Rosenfelds, visited us on Friday night for our final game night, for now. It's amazing...since we started doing these game nights almost 5 years ago, there have been two babies and another one on the way. We put all of the kids to bed in various upstairs bedrooms and enjoyed a wonderful night of fun, food, and great friends.

Tomorrow morning, we head to Chicago for our house hunting trip. Who knew that a baby would require more stuff than 2 adults. Lord! I've had to plan for a week, and I know I'll still forget something. Our hope is that the little guy will conk out as soon as he's done nursing on the takeoff. Surely jet engines sound enough like the vacuum cleaner to lull him into sleep.

I promise more pictures when we get back from the Windy City!