Escape Routes....

Back in February when Shawn was on hiatus, I was having one of "those" days. Natalie called from Ohio and I mentioned how when he returned I was taking a weekend trip. Far away. Like Chicago. She told me she'd meet me there. Hmmm. The cogs started turning. The perfect chance to re-connect and say good-bye to some great girls all at the same time. In Chicago. In springtime. The trip was this last weekend and it couldn't have been more perfect. Since Katherine and I live in the same place we got to take the train together. The little LaPlata train station was adorable. Even when the bathroom stall took 5 minutes to lock. And the only other lady actually in the station walked in on me in all my glory. Just laughed it off. I think Katherine laughed it off harder.

There were 5 of us coming from different parts of the country. It was glorious when we all arrived at the hotel within 30 minutes of each other. Serendipity at it's finest. We hit the magnificent mile with a vengeance. Well, H & M anyway. One of the stores we could actually afford to hit. Then we found authentic Chicago for dinner.

I headed into the bathroom after the meal, and of course, the stall door failed me once again. I started to develop a fear of public restrooms. And of the security of locked stalls being breached. We headed back to the hotel to drop off a few bags and let our stomachs settle before we headed out again. To this little find. Only it wasn't so little. At least not the portion size.

The hotel Four Points by Sheraton Magnificent Mile Downtown Chicago was a mouthful. And the perfect location.

We reserved a room that slept 5, only it wasn't available. Whatever. Natalie used her skills and got breakfast free for our troubles. Love traveling with a girl that has skills. Saturdays weather was perfect. We decided the running path along Lake Michigan was a must. Ashley and I reminisced about our fun run together a few years back and jogged together. Beautiful day. Beautiful scenery. And great company.

We split up that afternoon. Nat & Jess headed to Mary Poppins, while us 3 others headed to The Robie House designed by Franklin Lloyd Wright.

I won't go through the entire tour, just know that it was pretty cool. While waiting for the tour we strutted our stuff down a few alleyways.....

Some have better stuff to strut than others. I learned that my seductive model face looks more like I'm summoning evil demons. Ash and Katherine could both make it on the runway. Ash--even when you are posing like you are being arrested. Only us 3 girls will get that. Just what makes a trip like this memorable.
Impeccable timing once again when we met up for dinner. All at the exact same time. Nobody waiting on anybody. At the Grand Luxe.

Delicious. Then more shopping. Jess and I laughed as we sat in the lobby of the mall just outside the glass windows of Sephora. We watched as the other 3 listened to hair and make-up tips admitting that we were the ones who truly needed the tips and we were outside.

Parting is such sweet sorrow after a weekend like this. One by one our group slowly dispersed on Sunday. It was pouring rain. Just the city of Chicago crying that we were leaving. Jess to her train, then Ashley to hers. Before we parted ways with Natalie we were afforded one last shot in the hotel lobby.

We watched Natalie walk off to the Metra while we caught a cab to Union Station. I was sure glad to have Katherine with me. It would have been harder to leave had I been alone. And who would have been able to take pictures with me in the lobby of a building I'd only seen in the movies?

(notice my shoes. They were my perfect find in Nordstroms that very morning.)

Girls--I don't think it could have been more fun. We each really brought something different to the group that just meshed well. Thanks for entertaining the idea of a get-a-way that was much needed for me. I now know to never use a restroom without a fully functioning lock, and even then having someone stand guard. My sides still hurt from laughing, my feet hurt from walking, and my soul is fuller than ever. Good times. Good times.

Decisions....

We've been to the town we'll be moving to twice in the last week. The first time we were without kids (only Presley). We saw everything in our price range that was for sale. Even some that were already sold should we decide to build. We did it all in about 7 hours between two days. Obviously, you can tell by what little time it took that pickin's are slim. We have a few issues. One of them being the size of our brood. The other being that we are so in love with the home we live in we want nothing less. The third being that we are moving into our first place as temporary housing for a few years so we can eventually build the home we've picked out in our minds as ideal for us. Which means the home we buy needs to be easy to re-sell. A lot of issues for this quaint little town. After talking to the realtor and a builder, we thought maybe we'd build this interim house. We went back to check out some floor plans. With all the kids. Not ideal. And discouraging. We asked to see a few rentals that we could use while this first home was being built. They were 3 bedroom 2 bath brand new homes to rent--without a basement. Serious downsizing for a few months. But doable. It's a long 3 hours home so we had a lot of time to hash out our choices. We came to a conclusion after 24 hours of pondering and discussing. And hearing a bit of advice from Shawn's fellow practicing physicians. We are going to rent one of the rentals we saw. Only. It's not just for a few months. Probably 1 1/2 years. We will rent until the dust settles, the job shows us in reality what it does on paper, and we discover the best location for our ideal home to be placed. This sounds so simple. Yet. In my mind moving into this small house is like making 500,000 dollars a year and being told your new salary will be 30,000. A huge cut. And it will be really tight. The basement that we have now is such a great stomping ground for my kids. I can't tell you how many times in one day I say "take it downstairs". I am mentally trying to prepare myself for everyone to be in everyone elses way. For most of my things to be in storage. And for my treadmill to be in the garage. I sound so spoiled and selfish. It's only 1 1/2 years. Then I get the house I really want. I guess I just always thought that when we finally finished this long haul of a road we've been on there would be an upgrade to our lifestyle. Not a huge one, but some. Not a downsizing. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. It's just going to take time for me to mentally adjust to what is happening now vs. what I thought would be happening.

Lost...

This afternoon while I was making lunch Ethan asked me a question. I don't even remember what it was----but it needed a long drawn out explanation of an answer. Kennedy was sitting at the counter next to Ethan. I was sure she was listening to our conversation. How could she be sitting so close looking at me and really not hearing anything at all? Only, she wasn't hearing a word. As soon as I let the last sentence of my answer pass my lips, she asked me the same question. Using the exact same words. I was dumbfounded.

Me: Kennedy. Did you seriously not hear a word I've been saying? Didn't you hear Ethan ask that same question?

Kennedy: No.

Me: I don't get it. You are just like.....oblivious to life sometimes.

Kennedy: Who's oblivious? Do I know her?

I think I need to be worried.

Easter Morn....

It's Easter morning. Pretty low key around here. The kids excitement was scarce. Meaning, I haven't really talked up the whole "Easter bunny" phenomenon and they actually didn't even mention him until last night. Because I took Kate to the airport shuttle yesterday morning we missed the local Easter egg hunts. I was telling them last night that when they woke up we'd have a hunt down in the basement. Only, I wasn't going to hide the eggs until morning after breakfast. Saying that gave them no reason to be early risers. (Can you tell I've been at this mom thing for awhile now?) Then someone mentioned the Easter Bunny. It might have been Kennedy. But it was more like "Does the Easter Bunny come tonight? Or is that some other holiday?" See. Oblivious. Then I spilled it. Ever so nonchalantly I said, "Tonight. Only, it's not really a 7 foot talking bunny that comes. The thought of that freaks me out. Can you imagine the size of his poop all over the house? I fill your baskets. The big guy just kind of weirds me out." None of them seemed to even flinch. I couldn't believe what I'd just said. Then Ethan says all casual, "So, he's not real. Hmmm. Is Santa Claus real?" Wasn't expecting that one. "Yes, Santa is real. Just not the ginormous talking rabbit." They all went back to eating their bedtime snack like nothing had happened. I was so surprised by what had just taken place and they didn't even seem to care. Kennedy piped up 10 minutes later while we were all still enjoying our bedtime snack "So, you fill the baskets. Did you have to call the Easter Bunny to tell him that you do that so they don't get filled twice?" I guess not all innocence is lost. And it pays to never pay attention to what your older brother is saying. This morning Presley woke at 6:30 ready for the day, so I went ahead and hid some eggs downstairs and set out the Easter baskets. Kennedy woke up shortly after and decided we needed pancakes to fill our bellies. While I set about making pancake batter and warming the griddle, this little beautyfed this little beauty some breakfast.It's great to have kids old enough to help out. It proved to be a pretty messy eating situation, as seen above. Kennedy was slower to get to the mouth than Presley preferred, so she stole the spoon mid way in. Taking matters into her own hands. Just like her brothers. Slowly the other troops started to make their way into the kitchen. This one first. Just as a pancake was finished browning. Impeccable timing.Then this one. No syrup please. I'll eat them with my hands.

After 4 kids had full bellies there was still this going on in the back bedroom.When you fight bedtime as hard as Jack does, sleeping in becomes a necessity. He finally arose around 8:30 and slowly made his way to the counter.

After Jack took his last bite everyone swooped in to see if I was ready to let them go downstairs. They took a peek in their baskets

then after hunting for the few hidden eggs, gathered back around their baskets to open their loot. Nothing too exciting.Kennedy handed Presley an egg so she could rattle it around.

Video became necessity when her high pitched squeak made it's debut.

After filling this little pez dispenser for the 4th time, I remembered why I don't like pez.

Chubby hands and pez don't go well together. We actually don't have church today because of Stake Conference. Only Shawn is gone. And honestly? 5 kids + sitting in one room for 2 hours = a ginormous headache that won't go away. So I'm planning our own little Easter celebration. The video "He Is Risen" along with a little visual storyline of the Resurrection and what actually took place. Almost as good as a church meeting. And I don't even have to shower.

Dimensional...

Yesterday Katelyn and I took the kids to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D. Wow. The movie storyline was just so-so. But the 3D? Ethan said it was the absolute best movie he'd ever seen in his 9 years walking on this earth. Hmmm. The glasses were too adorable on Landon's little face. After the first 5 minutes I looked over at him and he was covering his little hands over the lenses. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Those monsters are so big I'm afraid they are going to get me!" Definitely life-like to a 3 year old. I've never seen him so mesmerized by a movie before. He didn't even want to take the 3 bathroom breaks he usually desires during a full length movie in the theater. (He likes the air hand dryers. Kind of like his Disneyland). I remember when Toy Story came out. The first computer generated movie. And how it was so amazingly good. The story was good as well as the computer animation. I love the 3D aspect that is now available. I just hope they don't think they can mask horrible plot lines because of the extra dimension. The first one is okay. Then they start to get noticed.

Off...

Shawn & I are off house hunting today and tomorrow. Aunt Kate is in charge (and the kids couldn't be happier about that). Hopefully we'll come home with something to get us charged up about leaving our lives and starting over.

Avoidance...

Yesterday I ran away from home. Literally. Shawn walked in the door at 1:15 pm and I walked out at 1:23 pm. I was angry, felt unappreciated, and needed to be alone. There is nowhere to go in this town, so I left. I went 1 hour away where there is shopping. And a Panera. Alone. On the way I listened to a CD my mom gave me over a year ago titled "How to survive your greatest blessings". It was a talk given by Emily Watts. She is what you could consider a motivational speaker with underlying religious tones. She too has 5 kids. She reminded me not to sweat the small stuff. To laugh at myself. To appreciate other peoples talents instead of envy them. And to appreciate my body for what it can do instead of hate it for what it isn't. I needed those reminders. I also needed solitude to enjoy those reminders. I shopped. I ate. I returned home a renewed, refreshed person. I was welcomed with open arms. And a clean kitchen thanks to Kennedy. And Shawn to talk to as I dozed off to sleep. Amazing what a little time to myself does for my soul.