Hey folks, it's time for me to post another update. It will be long. If you think it should be shorter, just let me know in comments. Otherwise, I'll assume that you're just riveted by the adventures of Blond Girl in Minnesota and let my thoughts continue to ramble. haha!
Sweet Girl and I have been here just shy of three weeks now. We've settled into a bit of a routine, but it is hard being away from home. Occasionally Sweet Girl will stop playing and look at me, chin and lips wobbling and whimper, "I miss Daddy!" I've held her through a few tears. Of course, being Mommy, I don't get to cry. I have to admit, though, that there have been many times in the midst of training when my attention has wandered off, home to Illinois. I always pull myself back to the present and demand that I pay attention to the world of brokerage trading.
One way that we've combated homesickness is by keeping very, very busy - especially on the weekends. Last weekend Sweet Girl and I went swimming with my friend Laura and her two daughters, Ava and Lexi. Laura and I used to work in the same department and were pregnant together, so we've kept tabs on each other's Mommy experiences along the way, so it was great to get together.
On Saturday night, Sweet Girl went to spend the night with her friend, Snow White, while her mom and I went out to hear my friend AmyM sing in Andover. Sunday was spent with Snow’s Mom, Snow’s Dad and Snow White again. I got to visit their church, which is an A.G. church like ours at home. In fact, the pastor there remembered our pastor, so it will be fun to pass along his greetings when I come home. In the afternoon, we took the girls to a new restaurant here in town called "Space Aliens"... it's essentially like Chuck E. Cheese's, but with good, edible food and NO motorized singing puppets with rolling eyes (those things give me the creeps!). Very nice. The girls dressed up in their favorite princess outfits for the occasion and we celebrated their birthdays (Sweet Girl turned 7 on June 12 and Snow White turned 5 on June 19). They had missed each other's parties, so this was the "make up" party.
Sweet Girl has had an exciting week, as she attended her "downtown daycare" Monday through Wednesday. It's a backup daycare center offered to The Big Company employees for 6 visits a year. I've been using them since Sweet Girl was a baby and the teachers there were so excited that she was coming back to visit. Believe it or not, they remembered her from a year ago. She's had so much fun and can't wait to go back for the three days I've scheduled her in August before she goes home. The break has been good for my mom, too. As much as she loves Sweet Girl, it can be hard to have your days suddenly taken over by an active 7 year-old.
I'm not sure what we'll be doing this weekend. I haven't made plans yet, which isn't like me. I hope we can hook up with some friends or family though. Of course, there's still the organizing I'm trying to help Mom do here, so that can keep us busy as well. At least it should be cooler... It's been really hot and HUMID here the last week. I always laugh when I talk with a Champaign resident who has never been to Minnesota in the summer. Since we have such a cold winter reputation, others tend to expect that our summers are colder, as well. Nothing could be further from the truth; Minnesota is a land of extremes; we get way colder in the winter and waaaayy hotter in the summer! We've been, on average, 6-10 degrees hotter with 5% more humidity than Champaign this last week. I think it's the 13,000 or so lakes here; when the temperature goes up, the city evaporates!
Hmmm.. what else? OH!! OH MY!!!! Yesterday evening Sweet Girl and I went to dinner with my best friend, Geekwif and her husband, Geek. They are Sweet Girl's godparents, so they were looking forward to seeing her. Dinner was wonderful. On the way home, however, I saw something that broke my heart. We drove by the hotel where Champs and I had our wedding reception and where we stayed the night before we moved to Illinois... and it is BEING TORN DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! They are tearing down the Pink Palace O' Love! I was so shocked, I drove all the way around it and took pictures to send home to Champs. He recognized it right away and was as saddened by it as I am. I know we don't live here anymore, but it is still sad to see the site of the best party of my life destroyed... sigh.
While my plans may not be set for this weekend, I know that Champs's are. Our landlord agreed when we renewed our lease that the house NEEDS new carpet. The people who lived there before us were smokers and very hard on the carpet. Well, we are getting the new carpet on Monday... finally. That means that Champs will spend the weekend moving furniture. He's got a bit of help lined up, but I hope he finds more help... either tearing the house apart this weekend or putting it back together over the week. I wish I could be there to help him, but I'm a mean wife off in training... sigh.
Well, I think that this about wraps up this version of the Blond Girl Update. I'll try to exercise some brevity next time... but not tonight.
And a few comments:
kenju said...
I know you are both missing daddy - but surely you will not miss the furniture moving!!
Shannin said...
We are going to have to fill your weekends with fun stuff!!! Trader Joe's??
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