Happenings this Week

1. Frank and I took a trip to Atlanta for a mini retreat with WFG. The older kids had school so we only took Savannah along on the trip. We drove all night and she did great as usual in the car. Frank attended meetings the whole time. I was pampered to a mini spa day on the house. I received a manicure and a hair cut. It was nice because I have been needing one for quite some time and just didn't have anyone to watch Savannah.

2. We stayed on a ranch but we spent most of our time in this millon dollar mansion. The kids had fun playing together and did an Easter Egg Hunt and duck toss race in the creek.

3. Frankie and Sarah stayed with Grandpa Schoen for the weekend. Sarah decided to stay with her mom this year over spring break. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend Tony and wanted to spend time with him and her other friends. Apparently our house is too boring!

4. Frankie received a job at Four Leg Pets which is a dog grooming facility. He interviewed on Monday and he got the job the very next day and started working yesterday. He is shampooing dogs and discovered yesterday that he is allergic to dogs. He wants to find another job. I guess he will stick this one out for now. There are not too many job opportunites near the house he can walk to . It's nice that he has something nice to do with his idle time and will be making a little extra cash.

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday and I took a personal holiday off from work. I scheduled a dentist appointment in the morning to have my permanent crown placed on my tooth. Afterwards I headed down to Chicago with my best friend Wendy and our kids. We stopped by Elly's for lunch and than headed down to Lincoln Park Zoo/Animal Farm. Even though I have lived in Chicago practically my entire life I have never been to this park which is free. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - sunny and in the 80's (unheard of for this time of year). It almost didn't feel like my birthday because it felt just like summer. We walked through the zoo and Wendy noticed that Savannah was bleeding at the foot. Her blister had opened up caused by her sandals so I stopped to clean her off and we proceeded to the zoo. The zoo was very nice and well kept. I was very impressed with everything. I thought it was the perfect size to take two small kids to. The kids did awesome and really enjoyed looking at all the animals. I loved looking at the Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan. It makes me want to visit much more often. Afterwards we headed home and stopped by Old Navy to go shopping. We wanted to avoid driving home in rush hour traffic. We were going to stop off for some ice cream but decided not to because of time restraints. My friend decided to watch Savannah for me when we came home so Frank and I could go out to dinner alone. Frank purchased me a Samsung Galaxy Tab. It was the perfect day!!!

Ten for the Week

1. Frank and Savannah surprised me at work on Friday and took me out to lunch. Savannah is potty training and went in a public restaurants bathroom for the very first time. She is getting closer and closer everday to being potty trained. I recently purchased her some new underwear and pullups at night to help her make the transition.

2. Savannah has started to climb into the crib and is getting closer to transitioning into a toddler bed. I told her when she turns 3 years old I will buy her a new Dora bed. She was totally excited! I recently purchased her party favors for her birthday in about 6 weeks. She is really looking forward to her birthday. I'm going to have it outside in a Gazebo near our house and let the kids play in the park. I will transition the party to the house if the weather doesn't cooperate.

3. Friday night I went scrapbooking with some friends from work. I had to replenish my stock pile and had so much fun doing scrapbooking. I have to make up some lost ground from years 2010-11. I didn't have much time with cancer treatments and raising my daughter, etc... I printed off about a year of photos and still need to work on Christmas/New Years.

4. I'm looking forward to Easter and can't wait to have a Easter Egg Hunt in my yard this year. I have already started purchasing candy and little gifts for Savannah. We will going to a Easter Egg hunt at the park district in a couple of weeks.

5. Frankie had a job interview on Friday night and hopes to get his first job with Ooz Fruz (frozen yogurt shop). It is right down the street and is within walking distance. A couple of months ago Savannah painted Frankie's room with nail polish. We are having to re-paint his room now. He really wanted to paint his room school colors. We are leaving the top half white and than painting the bottom half purple.

6. Today we are heading over for a family party to celebrate all the March birthdays. I'm turning 36 this week and am looking forward to visiting with family. We are having corn beef for dinner in celebration of St Patrick's day. The kids are at their mother's house this wekend and will not be coming today. We are leaving church a little bit early today. Frank made me open up my birthday present early since he was so excited to give it to me. He purchased me a Samsung Galaxy S tablet. I was totally excited about my new gift!

7. On Tuesday I have plans to go back to the dentist to have my perm crown placed on my tooth and than heading down to Chicago for lunch. My best friend and I are taking the kids downtown and will get to have a little fun witht the kids. Frank is taking me out to dinner for my birthday. I can't wait for spring!!! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous all week and warm.

8. Next week Frank and I are taking a trip down to Atlanta for a retreat. The wives get a spa day while the men to go work and attend meetings, etc...We are staying on a ranch and will be able to go fishing, canoeing and go horseback riding. I will be taking Savannah with us and the kids will start spring break the following week. We will be leaving Frankie here with supervisor and than Frankie and Sarah will be staying with Grandpa Schoen over the weekend.

9. Frank is all moved into his new office and will continue to work on the buildout on his own. The office looks amazing and I will forward pictures when it is all completed.

10. Congrats to Cory and Yoli on the baby news!

Fashion Show

Today we traveled into the city to visit a thrift store. They have a couple of really nice stores here in Chicago. I wanted to get Sarah a couple pairs of jeans. I ended up getting a few things for Savannah while we were there. I only spent about $28 dollars and came home with 7 clothes items. I have been having trouble finding jeans that fit Savannah since she is so stinking small. I managed to find a pair of jeans that fit her perfectly. One of her favorite purchases was this fairy princess dress. Here she is modeling off her new dress.

My Baby's 1st Haircut

I have been wanting to take Savannah to get her haircut for awhile now. I was torn between keeping her hair long or having her hair cut to the same length. I took Frankie to get his hair cut tonight and Savannah showed interest in getting her hair cut also so I gave in. The hairstylist took off about 2 inches off of my baby's hair. Savannah did such a great job! She sat still with very little movement. Savannah was pleased with her new haircut. I think she still misses her long hair but it will just have to grow back. Daddy probably won't be happy with me for cutting her hair. Oops!!!