Norman came BACK!!!

Just a few minutes ago.. I thought I'd update. I was sitting here checking my email and heard his notorious squeaky whining and didn't think much of it because I'm so used to blocking it out. I realized it was HIM and ran to the front door. He had already taken off so I had to run around the neighborhood in pj's and bare feet but he was desperate to find us, kept getting stuck behind fenced in yards and no way to get around them. Norm is super skinny but looks otherwise healthy for the most part. He has some sores on his feet, may be frostbite but I can't tell. His belly looks frostbitten and he has some large scratches to his nose, probably from a fight. He's exhausted! Kilah is chasing him everywhere, she is so excited! The cat is not loving him. hahaha. :) Just wanted to update, thanks for your prayers! We are not quite sure how he survived nights of snow and ice and seemingly no food for nearly 3 weeks. Wow!!

Belated Easter-

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I am slowly catching up on posts here. For Easter, my parents drove up here Sat and stayed until Sun evening. It is so nice to have family close by (well 2 hours is close for us, considering what it took to visit the last few years!) It was very cold out, due to the wind, but the men finished putting together a wooden sing set/fort for the girls complete with a slide. That took most of our down time.

Sunday the girls woke up to the usual egg hunt and baskets- they loved it! It seems to get more fun the older they get!!! We tried out another church on Sunday (We had tried one the week before and it just wasn't a match). However, this one was great! It's called, ironically, "the Chapel" (since we had just been going to the chapel on base in Sicily for years). It's a fairly large congregation with a rock band, the usual 'mega church' stuff but my favorite was the children's area. There is a slide downstairs that looks like a train engine, a fantastic security system for checking kids in and out, and a fantastic curriculum. So Ellie is actually learning instead of sitting in the church nursery. We will probably go back this weekend to see it again on a non-Easter holiday but will also check out a couple others before we make our final decision.

Today we are headed to the zoo! Derrick wants to buy an annual pass (you only have to go twice to get your money's worth!) so I can take the girls all the time! Hooray for that! Will report on that tmrw. After weeks of being windy and in the 40's, sometimes 50's.. it's supposed to be sunny and hit 70 today so we're taking advantage of Derrick's last day off before starting his new job on Monday!!!

Here are some Easter pics. I very regretfully forgot to take a picture of my parents and all of us!

Don't mind the background, we need another coat on the red walls and obviously the tape/lack of light plates are due to the in-progress job!

They loved dying eggs! Derrick's first time doing this with us, it was a treat :)
The Easter bunny brought coloring/sticker books, rabbit ears, a chocolate bunny, a lipsmackers chapstick, and some fun character socks this year!

Just for kicks.. this is Easter last year. Notice that Eleanor is wearing the same dress this year that Valerie wore last year. sigh.. getting so big!

Pepper Powell

I didn't realize how silly Pepper Powell sounded until I read April's comment. ha ha. Luckily you don't usually have to use your pet's last name (for her sake).

We have been thinking of getting a cat for a long time but for obvious reasons waited until we moved to do so. She is not a replacement for Norman, as we'd still gladly take him back if he came home but an addition to our already crazy family. What's one more?

Pepper came from a wonderful animal shelter in Vernon Hills, IL called Orphans of the Storm. We sat in the cat rooms for hours while cats climbed around us and sat in our laps. It was a great way to pick a pet because you get to spend a lot of time figuring out which pet would fit well with your family (aka a grabby 2 year old toddler). Pepper is very affectionate, almost annoyingly so at times, and spunky. Valerie named her, and it seems to fit her fiesty personality. She sits on your lap the second you sit down and starts purring as soon as she sees you. We think she likes it here so far, she follows us around every where we go and meows when she can't see us. Kilah, our Cairn Terrier (Toto) so far just sniffs her. They avoid each other for the most part, mostly because Pepper swatted Kilah's nose a few times on the first day.. but they don't seem to fight or care one way or the other.

Here's pics!

Random Old Pics

Hi loved ones! I have been so busy getting things done that I haven't been on the computer much. Balance is key and is has been nice to take a break, but I am glad to be doing some updates. I finally uploaded some photos and realized I have pics back from March up until now to share. Here are a small few:

Valerie loved her preschool at the Child Development Center on base in Sicily. One week they celebrated Dr. Seuss week (which is nationally recognized) along with the elementary school. There was a parade, and every one made and wore these special hats. I'm sure you can guess that it's from the Cat in the Hat. She was so proud!

I ran into this one and got teary eyed a bit. It's been over 2 weeks now since Norman's runaway and I don't think he's coming back at this point. When he was only a few months old and a new puppy in my care he ran away for almost two weeks when a phone repair man came to my new apartment in college. He eventually found his way home. At any rate, it's a sweet photo of dear Normie.

Ellie's new love - the bouncy ball with the handle. We were stuck outside for almost 10 hours one day while we had our house cleaned before our inspection. We were so thankful for a warm day!

After we flew back to the States we stayed with my parents for a few days while we worked out getting a new car, having our things delivered to our new home,etc. I caught a happy Valerie blowing bubbles with Grandpa Jeff on a sunny day. Ironically we got 6" of snow a couple days later. How fast the weather changes up here!
Eleanor Lily turned 2 the very next day after we flew in. We were jet lagged but managed to give her a decent birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's. There is a diner in Schereville that has a train ride, model trains, and best of all, you can sit at the counter and a train rides around the track and brings your food to you! Most of you know by now that Ellie's love is currently trains and it was super fun! Afterwards, the gparents took the girls to ride the carosel and play at the mall so Derrick and I could do some birthday shopping. We got her a couple trains and a new Tinkerbell dress up dress (her favorite princess.. she is just newly getting into this with Valerie). We got Valerie an inexpensive generic dress also for being the big sister so they could dress up together.. as Val's were all packed up and wouldn't be there for a few more weeks. A Thomas the Train cake capped off the day and a great, low-key birthday was had by Eleanor. :)

Quick update

Hi all--

Since so many asked, no we have not found Norman yet. No one has seen him either. We have contacted shelters, the police, vets,etc. It has been pouring rain so we haven't put up fliars but have been talking to neighbors,etc. Unfortunately he has done this before (twice actually) and no one has ever caught him. He is terrified of strangers, so I highly doubt he is with a family even though my heart wants to believe that. It snowed last night about an inch, so it's pretty gross outside. Poor guy. He does have a name tag with Norman on it, however our phone and address are from Sicily. We had only been here a few days when he left and didn't make it to petsmart yet. Kilah now has new tags! :)

He is microchipped also, so we shall see.

On a positive note, we are settling in well and got the rest of our things today so I am back online! This week we are busily trying to unpack and finish painting. Derrick goes back to work in a little over a week so we are trying to get the bulk of the work done now because I am definitely feeling my pregnancy at this point. I'm about 7 months now, only a short time left.. and am absolutely exhausted by dinner time! I'm not much help these days :)

Will write soon.. trying to get settled. Hope all is well!!!

Hello Strangers!!

Well we certainly aren't in Sicily anymore, but I will keep the same blog address so I don't have to change everything over. Look for a new picture soon lol :)

We are moved in, but without internet access so I am just now writing an update to you all from a library computer. Our express shipment arrives on Monday so I should be back on track after that and we will be better about communicating to you all!

The move over was very smooth. Our flights went well, the kids were absolutely wonderfully behaved, and the dogs made the flight. They must have let them out somewhere because they were dry when we got to Chicago (my worst fear.. driving home with dogs in the car that had "dirty" cages). A man threw a fit because he didn't want to sit next to my kids on the plane (it was five seats across) and I found it hilarious that he moved several rows up, right in front of a kid who kicked his seat and threw tantrums the entire time. My children are used to this flight, and watched movies or colored the entire time. priceless.

We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa (my parents) for several days as we were living out of two suitcases. The kids were so excited to be *home*!! We probably ate at 50 restaurants and the kids were happy just to ride the carosel at the mall or go somewhere that had crayons and a kids' menu. We decided to go ahead and move in to our home early so we could get a lot of painting done and some minor repairs before our big furniture shipment arrived. Sleeping on an air mattress for about a week wasn't so horrible but I am glad to have my bed back!! Our furniture arrived a few days ago, but our car won't be here for atleast another month. We did end up having to buy a 2nd car which Derrick can use for work.

Our home is absolutely beautiful. It has such potential and so far we have painted 90% of the first level. The rest will have to wait for a later date, when I'm not almost 7 months pregnant! I will post photos soon, when we have our own computer, and when more boxes are unpacked! Our house backs up to a marshy area and in the mornings we watch Canadian geese fly and at night you can hear the frogs croacking as we sit and watch television. There have been a couple pitfalls. The previous owners/renters must have absolutely not cleaned for the time they were there (the house was built in '04 so you'd expect it to be somewhat decent). I pulled the oven out to paint behind it and there were dirty plates with food on them, spaghetti sauce poured down the sides of the oven that took hours to remove, and rat poop on the ground. Our dishwasher is missing the wheels to the rack as well as the silverware basket and we can't use it. The pipes were complely blocked solid to our kitchen drain and had to be actually cut out in the basement and replaced. ACK! However, with some paint and scrubbing it's turning into -home- for us and we are liking it.

On a sad note, Norman, our 7 year old basset hound, ran away several days ago. He was not happy in TX or Italy and was just so ecstatic here in IL. He's definitely a midwest dog who loves the woods and the cooler weather. We were so glad to see him happy again as it has quite honestly become a pain to have a dog such as Norman over the last couple years. The direct tv guy came to remove some satellites (there were 4 on the house when we moved in.. seriously?!) and left the gate to our fenced in back yard open. We had no idea since it's on the side of the house and didn't realize it until several hours later, at almost midnight that Norman was missing. Thankfully Kilah, our little "toto" was at the neighbor's house but they said Norman took off like a bullet. ugh!!!! We've contacted the shelter, police, etc. but no sign of him yet. Say a prayer for poor Normie. Valerie is having a hard time with it. Yesterday she asked if we could get a new dog who really wanted us. :( too hard!!

The area around here is hilly, full of forest preserves and beautiful. We live in a very small town and love it, with all the major stores/restaurants within a 20 minute drive to our home. There is a metra stop to Chicago about one mile from our home also. Feel free to visit although we will need a little time to unpack and this summer, settle in with our new baby girl! :)

Will update soon, should be back online next week. Ciao for now friends and family!!

Almost there..

We have been so busy, and quite frankly, totally exhausted for the last week getting ready to move! Moving overseas is pretty insane as you must ship your stuff SO early, yet live with hardly anything for two months. You'd think this would make it easier to clean, but I just think the kids get even more bored with their toys gone and get into everything they aren't supposed to! :)

We have been painting and painting, and other than a coat in Val's room we're done. The paint here is water based, it's interesting and takes several coats. We washed the car and detailed it today so we can ship it out this week. It will take about 2 months to reach the US so we have a rental car for awhile. We are hoping to buy a 2nd car for Derrick within a week or two anyway which certainly will help! We've been trimming bushes, weeding flower beds, reseeding bare spots, and scrubbing the tile patio. Today we hired an italian couple to do a final cleaning on our home. We were up until after midnight last night shoving everything left (some dishes, pots, a toaster, our clothes,etc.) into one closet so they could clean the house from top to bottom. They were here from 8-5pm and the house is spotless! They even cleaned behind the appliances, the oven looks brand new, and even the window sills are completely spotless. Well worth 160 euro. (esp if you are pregnant or have toddlers that get in the way!)

Tomorrow we have to check out from all the places on base (it's a weird process) and pack our suitcases. 8am Tuesday morning the movers come to pick up our rent-a-couch,etc. and we have our final inspection.. than it's living in the navy lodge hotel for a couple days until our flight out Friday morning!! We will be with my parents for several days until we have a date set for the movers to deliver our furniture/household goods we had shipped back in January! On a side note, our anniversary is Thursday and Ellie turns 2 on Saturday! Those things are taking a back burner unfortunately to the move, but we will do cake/ice cream with grandma and grandpa when we get in!

So that's life over here for now. We hope you are all doing great--- and enjoyed a nice weekend!!