To take or not to take...

The packing, sorting, tossing, Goodwilling, selling, Craig's listing, etc. is well underway at our house. The big question lately is what to take with us and what to toss, sell or Goodwill. Here are a couple of items we have stewed over. What do you think, take or toss?

My WSU hoodie

This fabulous hoodie was a gift from Colby when I graduated from college in 2001. I love it. It is comfortable. It is (sort-of) fashionable. It always fits. And, it has definitely seen better days... Yes, it is a little "team building exercise 1999ish," but I've never heard Colby complain (out loud).

Our trusty old dresser

Lately is has been more old than trusty. This picture is post Gorilla Glue (before the Gorilla glue, Colby's underwear were hanging out of the bottom of his middle drawer)

Colby's PEZ collection

Yes, he has a PEZ collection. Still. Tied on an old shoelace. The boys are really into the Star Wars PEZ that he has, but we haven't actually put candy in any of them for years (which was probably a good idea as many of them spent some time in Bolivia)

The Curio Cabinet

Although it is great for displaying knick-knacks and memorabilia, it's a little cracked. And taped. The question is- would is survive the 900 mile move?

The Binkie

We are definitely taking this cute little baby, but will the binkie come with her? It is against my better judgement that she is now 18 months old and still very attached to this thing but there just hasn't been a great time to get rid of it. Should we loose it in the move or keep it a little longer to ease the adjustment into the new house?

I know you are all sitting there worrying about what we are going to do with all of this stuff. Well, wait no longer, here are the verdicts:

WSU Hoodie: TAKE! I just can't part with this thing yet, even though I may not need a hoodie very often in Texas and even though it is a little ratty.

Dresser: TOSS! I have serious doubts that this thing would survive the move. The good news is we sold it! One more reason why I heart Craig's list.

The PEZ collection: TAKE the cool ones, TOSS the rest. I told you the boys (and Colb) are really into the Star Wars ones.

Curio cabinet: TOSS! Once again, I'm not convinced that it would survive the move. I guess the mission plaque, statues and matryoshka dolls will have to find another home.

Binkie: TAKE! I know, I am horrible and a sucker for those big blue eyes and the fact that she says, "my baaaa" with big crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks. Not to the mention the fact that we are leaving her with Grandma and Grandpa for a week while we go to Cancun and I am 10 days away from making a 14 hour drive with three kids, by myself. (Colb will be driving the Penske!) We need that baaaa!

I have to admit, it is pretty liberating to get rid of stuff. I HATE moving, but it is always a nice way to clean house!

The Windy City

Mother's day weekend, I had the opportunity to go to Chicago for ANOTHER great kid-free getaway. (I love my kids, but traveling is so much easier without them). After a short 5 hour drive we arrived at our destination.

Our first stop was Pizzeria Uno for some Chicago style deep dish pizza. It did not disappoint.

This is one of the only pics I got of the whole crew; Kelly, Shauni, Becca, Mandy, Melanie and Chrissy- what a fun group of girls!

Next, we headed to Michigan Avenue to do some shopping. We hit Crate & Barrel, H & M, Mimi Maternity (not for me), The Disney Store, The Lego store and the American girl store (just to name a few).

The American Girl store was unreal, you could have your dolls hair done, take her to the hospital, have lunch with her, or just look around and gawk like we did.

We rode to the top of the John Hancock Observatory to check out the Chicago skyline at night. (notice the black area on the left? That's Lake Michigan).

I loved the Chicago skyline, it was so BIG and UNIQUE.

I also loved the reflective "bean" in Memorial Park.

We spent one afternoon at the Chicago Institute of Art. Being a group of Iowan girls, we had to see American Gothic (which was inspired by a farm house in Iowa).

Another one of the amazing Chicago skyline.

Another highlight was lunch at Ed Debeviks, and our waiter dancing on the table.

Our last stop on the way out of town was Wrigley Field. We weren't able to go to a Cubs game, but we did successfully look like tourists by taking two dozen pictures of the stadium from McDonald's parking lot.

Thanks girls for the fun-filled weekend and a big MWWAHH to Colby for watching the kids, again, so I could have a little getaway.

Abbi "singing"

Although Abbi is not quite eighteen months old, she has been coming to nursery with me for the past couple of months. Abbi LOVES nursery, especially the nursery songs. She will often come to me and say, "woh, woh, woh" for row, row, row your boat or "bubu,bubu, bubu" when she wants to sing the Tiny Tim turtle song. When we brush her teeth we hear, "ch, ch, ch, ch..... ch,ch,ch,ch,ch," etc, etc. I have yet to capture any of this on video, but this one is the closet I've gotten.