My Baby is 8

Wow - Allie is 8 years old. I can't believe my baby is 8.

Allie had quite the Birthday Week!! Over the weekend, she invited 3 friends for a small party where our neighbor (high schooler) Amy put make up on the girls. They thought it was really cool! My friend Christa stayed with me & we did the girls nails. We then headed off to the mall where each girl got to choose something from Claires and then we enjoyed cookies and vanilla frappuccinos from Starbucks. Allie was in HEAVEN!! Where did I get such a girly-girl??

I remember one time someone saying to me that their daughter would NEVER do the princess thing - that she would be an athlete not a girly-girl. How naive to think you can decide what your children will become. They decide their own destiny. We have exposed Allie to several sports (soccer, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, volleyball and I even asked if she wanted to play baseball/softball). She is a dancer - through & through! She does love to swim & play tennis but the others - well - no interest. It broke my heart that she didn't like soccer (my true love) but at least Peter plays!

So anyway (sorry for my soap box), on her actual birthday, I brought bagels & fruit into school for her birthday treat! Allie gave up sweets for Lent and is a pretty healthy eater anyway! That night, our family went to Osaka! It was so much fun! We had a great chef who was really entertaining.

We are headed to Michigan this weekend where I'm sure the festivities will continue at Grandma & Papa's house! We are going for Erin's Bat Mitzvah and get to see our friends as well! We love our trips to see family!

New School - Renewed Smile

So Pete had his first day at Pleasant View yesterday and he just left the house walking to his 2nd day!

What a HUGE family decision for us. Back in August, after an entire summer of debating whether or not to leave Lourdes, we decided to jump the gun & enroll the kids at the public school behind our house. Well, it was a huge disappointment when the principal told us that 2nd grade was full. Peter decided he didn't want to go until Allie could go. The problem....Allie was 10th on the waiting list and the new elementary, Hopewell, wouldn't be ready until 2010-2011 school year.

Peter was having a rough year - most of his friends are into very different thing than Pete. Many of them still play Star Wars and other fantasy play - Pete is all sports all the time! So - with such a small group it was hard for Peter to really have a group of buddies with the same interests. (He had a few and they moved away due to job transfers). We toured PV in February and walking out of the building, Peter asked if he could "start tomorrow?"

Frank & I almost fell over in shock. Peter is usually very cautious, not a risk taker, etc. We jumped at the chance and told him he could start after Spring Break.

Well - that brings us to today - wow! I haven't seen Pete this happy (almost giddy) in a long time! He loves school. He has 3 ambassadors who showed him around yesterday. He gets to go to the science lab today and can't wait!

Allie seems a little bummed she can't get in yet. It is probably a blessing since she has First Communion in a month. 2nd grade is a big year for her at Lourdes. Hopefully she can get in for next year and not have to wait until 2010-2011 (4th grade for her).

Lourdes has been good to us - it was a great transition when we moved here from Michigan! It is wonderful that our area has such wonderful choices because we always have to put our kids first and do what is best for them!

The smiles are so worth it!

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The transformation of Allie's room

It seems like lately all of the entries are about Allie - why? I am not really sure because there is a lot going on in Peter's world too! But...here is another Allie story.

Over Christmas break, we changed 3 rooms around in order to accommodate Allie having a larger room, without giving her the huge bonus room. Well - it ended up being a HUGE project and after painting the bonus room (which became the guest room), I didn't have it in me to paint Allie's new room. At any rate, we decided her room makeover would be a birthday present. So here we are - Spring Break and I have been painting away.

She originally wanted teal but decided on Pink! It turned out darling. All that is missing are window treatments. I told her those would have to wait until we have some extra money. So...here is Allie's "almost finished" bedroom & bathroom.

The Windy City

What an AWESOME mini trip!

We went to Chicago for one night - it started because Frank's buddy was organizing a guys weekend to go see the Bulls play the Hornets. Jeff's brother-in-law plays for the Hornets. So, we turned it into a mini vacation.

Frank left early Saturday morning and drove there with a group a guys. They had a blast! The bars were crowded because of St. Patty's Day fun but they managed to eat & drink a lot! The kids & I rode with the Leslies. Lance couldn't go early because of tax season.

Jenny & I had a blast with the kiddos - we hit Lake Michigan (where Henry almost floated away on a mini-iceberg), the Chicago Children's Museum, Michigan Ave., a trolly ride, The Lego store, shopping for us on Michigan Ave., etc. It was 8 pm before we thought about dinner & ended up eating at a "fancy" restaurant. The concierge told us it was kid-friendly....not so much! We almost bailed after sitting down but it was so late and figured every place was crowded due to St. Patrick's Day festivities. Jenny's 7 year old son Jack ended up with a $24 steak - yikes! it was a story for the guys - nonetheless!

Sunday - we walked down to see the Green River. I think the economy must have made them use less dye because it wasn't really green (just normal green)! We headed to Lincoln Park Zoo and our families had a great time. Lance & Frank were feeling the effects of the night before (Lance more than Frank) but were troopers! The Zoo was great - then off to Ed Debevics for some yummy grease! The kids loved the rude wait staff and they even gave Allie the World's Smallest Sundae since her birthday is in March!

All in all it was a fabulous weekend. It brought back so many awesome memories of when Frank & I lived there. We love Chicago -

Scrap Weekend & Keeping Busy

            Okay -    so.....gone are the days of having a whole weekend to just hang out!

Every weekend since Christmas break (well...I could go back since Thanksgiving) has been booked solid.  Frank & I really enjoy "hanging out time" and while we have had a lot of fun things going on, we are getting burnt out. 

Last weekend, I went to a scrapbooking get away at Camp Shalom.  This is the spot our kids go for Summer Camp. The only difference is, they stay in cabins & we stayed in the Charis house - a very nice house with a full kitchen, many bathrooms & showers, air conditioning & heat and a TV/DVD player.  There were 6 of us who spent the weekend scrapping & chatting. We had great intentions of watching a  couple chick flicks too but we were so in the groove we scrapped until we went to sleep.  

I love to use the creative side of my brain - I finished several layouts (48 pages in all) and am through July 2008. Yippee - I don't feel so far behind now. 

This weekend we have a Lenten bible study, euchre tournament, dance workshop (for Allie) and First Communion workshop (for Allie).  That leaves us with...well....no free time. Oh well - maybe next weekend!