Abodabo

If you watch the video, the title of this blog post will probably make more sense:

We had a wonderful time in Louisville -- it was so nice to be away from all the boxes and to get a break from packing and thinking about the move. And because Molly was having so much fun with her Grandparents, Uncle Joe, and Cousin Cade, Jason and I got to relax, play tennis, and enjoy a few beers with the fam. 

Checking out Uncle Tom's tractor

After driving in from Louisville this afternoon -- as easy a road trip as one can hope for with a toddler -- we met a bunch of our friends at Wicker Park to enjoy the 90-degree Chicago weather.

Cute family pic -- we don't get too many of these!

I can't believe we're going to be moving out in less than a week! Friends, keep inviting us to Bucktown get-togethers! It's going to take a little bit more planning, and we'll have to drive instead of loading up the stroller and walking over, but we love these afternoons with our friends and kiddos too much to miss out. 

Baba bliss

It's a good thing Marsha (one of the babas) came in town -- Molly has been so busy playing and showing off, she hasn't had any time to notice that all of our stuff is going in boxes. Well, she did start to complain when I (foolishly) started packing some of her books right before bedtime, but I wised up and have decided to leave most of the Molly packing for the end.

Parking it up

Enjoying her extended slumber party with Grandma

We put Marsha to work this morning and sent Molly to daycare. I felt a little guilty, but then got home and saw all of the newly-packed boxes and decided to just count my blessings and be thankful for the help!! This move is going to be a lot of work, but I feel like we're really starting to make progress.

In other news, I had a birthday on Sunday. 32! Nothing special, but Jason and I went to Avec tonight to celebrate. Loved it!

I'm afraid the austerity plan is out the window...we've been spending money right and left getting ready to move and close. And I've been going to lunch more than I should be. But I had a good excuse today! The B and Archie got ENGAGED last week, so I had to meet up with my sister and see her beautiful ring. Congrats B! It's been a good year so far for the Overbey sisters :)

Logistics, logistics

Oh this move! I'm trying not to stress out, but it's been very hard to balance all of these details with a full-time job and a toddler.

We've figured out Molly's daycare, so I can cross one thing off the list. Of course, we can't get into our top choice until September, so have to do a backup daycare for the summer. But at least she's got somewhere to go!

The latest wrinkle is that the lawyer for the house we're buying can't close any earlier than 1:30 pm on the day we move. Closings take about 2 hours, so with travel time, the earliest our movers can show up will probably be 4pm. Ugh.

So now we have to figure out if the movers can even do it that late, or if we should just wait to move in until the next morning. Which means more money for hotel rooms, more time off work, all that stuff I'm short on right now...

Oh well. Now I've vented, so it's all out of my system. This move will happen! It just stinks that we are leaving town so soon after the closing date. Hopefully I will be able to put the chaos out of my mind and enjoy the vacation. Good thing we're going to wine country. I think we're definitely going to need a few glasses of vino after all this!

Mothers and daughters

We had a good night tonight, me and the Molls. I wish they could all be so easy...peaceful walk home, drama-free dinner, quick trip to the store for milk, bath, video chat with the grandparents, tickle party, books, and bed. We had some crying at bedtime, but that's to be expected.

Last night, however, was a different story. A fun, but then dramatic, temper tantrum kind of a story. Molly and I are alone for a few days, while Jason is in Dallas for a work convention. A few of my coworkers were gathering for all-you-can-eat sushi and I didn't want to miss out. So instead of hiring a babysitter and turning a $25 dinner into a $50 dinner, I decided to bring Molly along.

The night started out great. Molly was a well-behaved little charmer and I made sure I was prepared with fruit, teddy grahams, peanut butter, and stickers to keep her happy and occupied.

Chopsticks

More wasabi, please!

Hanging out with the crew. Molls, me, Lucy, Syed, Ji, Mike, and Greg

Unfortunately, the good vibe didn't last. Molly eventually got her hands on a tube of hand cream from my purse, and it was all downhill from there. Molly wanted the cream. I didn't want her to have the cream, but was having a hard time getting it away from her. Whining turned into tears, which then turned into a full breath-holding silent, then not-so silent, temper tantrum. At a sushi restaurant. With my coworkers. What was I thinking?

Needless to say, we were out of there as fast as I could throw everything in my bag and get Molly fastened in her stroller. Of course, the little flirt had to high five and fist bump all of the boys in between tears on her way out, which was cute, but not cute enough to save me from total embarrassment. 

It occurred to me, as we were walking home, that this was just one of the first of what will probably be many mother-daughter blow-ups. Molly will want something that I don't want her to have. I'll have my reasons. She won't understand them. And we end with the cry that breaks my heart, "Daaaaa daaaaaa!!!" 

A good day to be a mom

A yummy breakfast, beautiful flowers, time to myself to take a bath and read a book ... it must be Mother's Day.

I'm enjoying my second official Mother's Day very much, even though I haven't actually done much mothering. Molls has been a piece of work so far today, treating Jason to a parking lot temper tantrum (she didn't want to get out of the cart) and nap time melt down. Hopefully she will wake up refreshed so we can get some good mother-daughter time in this afternoon.

The only downside to this day is that I can't spend it with MY mom. She's in Ft Lauderdale visiting her mom :) Next year, I'll have to plan things better and get down there too.

To all the moms I know (and moms-to-be), Happy Mother's Day!

Toddler Pilates

Speaking of Pilates, I'm really loving the mat classes I'm taking at Midtown! I'm a couple of months in now, and really starting to see some progress. Maybe I can bring the Molls to my next class :)

Hail to the Orange, Hail to the Blue!

Jason and my Grandpa Overbey should be happy -- we  now have 3 U of I alumni in the family to help balance out the overabundance of NU grads (6). Betsy now officially has her Masters in Tax from the Illinois College of Business! And like a true Overbey nerd, she also received one of the 3 coveted awards of academic excellence, meaning an extra mention at the ceremony and an engraved Tiffany paperweight to cherish.

Somehow she found a way to balance work (80 hours a week during busy season), 12 hours of class every weekend, homework, take-home tests, AND her duties as aunt and sister.

Here are a few pics from the graduation ceremony this weekend. We are all very proud :)

Sisters

The original Overbey line-up

Archie and the B

By the way, Archie is such a hit with Molls, she is currently chanting his name, "Ark-e, Ark-e, Ark-e," and reaching for the computer screen as I type this. Ha!

Congrats, B!!