From Chicago, home to Buckingham Fountain, it's your host, the woman who lay on the dirty ground under "the bean" just to bring you this cool picture, Dawn Meehan!First off, I want to apologize for going off the deep end last night. It was a crappy day. It all just kinda hit me. I really am doing well. Overall, I'm happy, my kids are getting along pretty well, I'm holding onto hope and trusting in God. It's all good. Really. And I don't actually hate Joe. I reached a state of apathy years ago. I just hate some of the lasting effects of being in a relationship with him. I just had a, umm, mental moment last night. I'm blaming it all on PMS. But thank you for coming to my rescue and sharing your words of wisdom and encouragement. I hope everyone who feels down, will come read those comments and remember that they too are loved and that even though things can be crappy at times, it'll all work out in the end. :)
The kids and I went downtown today and just kinda walked around and hung out. We did a TON of walking. And by "we", I mean everyone but Brooklyn who insisted Austin carry her. Austin can be such an awesome big brother! In fact, we did so much walking that I'm sore. I got up from my desk to pick Austin up from the movie theater a little while ago. I was so stiff and sore, I walked like a little old lady out to my car. I'm gonna feel this in the morning. But it was worth it!
See? It was a fun day for everyone! We had a blast and I'm back to my usual "glass is half-full" attitude! Like - it was good cardiac exercise for me every time my heart skipped a beat while the kids pushed each other around the train tracks. And the fact that Clay ran into 4 dozen people while chasing pigeons was just his way of making friends. The fact that Brooklyn was soaking wet, head to toe, after I told her she could take her shoes off and dip her feet in the water just highlighted her creative interpretation of my instructions. And my teens only texted their friends that they were bored like 10 times! Yep, it's all good!
And now, to answer your questions...
Do your kid's friends or friend's parents know that you have a blog? Is that why you don't talk about the top two as much as the bottom four? Or is it that they are never home to do anything goofy?
Ummm, some of my kids' friends' parents read my blog. My kids don't ever read it unless I pull up a post on my computer and stick it in front of their faces and beg them to read. I don't talk about the older ones as much because they don't tend to do such
Hey no fair, you look kinda sexy and tousled after the parade, I looked like a drowned rat!Can I steal a copy of your pic of Neimi - mine came out quite blurry. It actually looks almost exactly like your's (except blurry). I was at Franklin & Washington, south side, where were you?
"Sexy and tousled"! LOL! Ummm, no, I was dripping sweat! Oh my gosh, it was so hot that day! I think when Jen snapped that picture of me was when I felt a drop of sweat go all the way from my neck, down my back, and to my butt crack. Yep, that's sexy.
Go ahead and use the picture of Niemi! We watched the parade right across from Daley Plaza.
And congratulations to super cute Savannah! Two in high school now? Woo Hoo!!!! Will Austin be in 10th grade next year? And does Brooklyn start Pre-K or anything like that?
Yep! In the fall, I'll have 2 in high school, 1 in junior high, 2 in grade school, and 1 in preschool.
I can only imagine which creative child came up with this one [picture of 2 guys with donuts]! I'm going to guess.....Jackson?
Nope, that was Clay's masterpiece.
Hi Dawn, I was just curious if any of your kids had to attend summer school?
Nope. I really don't like summer school. I like letting the kids kinda veg in the summer. We do a lot of little trips during the summer and I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda girl. I like being able to just pick up and go when the mood strikes.
You mentioned you were house hunting. Are you planning on moving?
Possibly. I'm looking at North Carolina. I've always wanted to live on the ocean. Seems like a good time for a change. Housing around here is expensive! I think I'm going to be forced to move somewhere more affordable. If any North Carolina readers have any tips for me, leave me a comment!
38 comments:
Dawn, It's two hours from the beach but Cary NC is a great place for children. (It's in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.) Plus, when the oldest two get ready for college, there are amazing colleges in the area. Best of luck!
We live in the mountains in NC, should you switch thinkin' gears :)
NC is a pretty awesome place to live :) I'm in Northeast NC, about 10 minutes drive from the lovely Atlantic. I'm not sure if I have any specific tips for you...but I do know that you don't need snow clothes when you live here! Feel free to message me, and I would go into more details.
North Carolina's a great place to live if you can stand the humidity in the summer (although like most who move down south, you'll be amazed at how little snow it takes to call off school for the day). I live in the center of the state and love it because we are 3 or so hours from the beach and 3 or so hours from the mountains. We love both so it works well.
My sister lives in Wilmington, and I must say that if I lived in any other place in the state, it would be there. There's lots to do and the town is beautiful, though really hot in the summer. I don't really know about housing prices, though.
Dawn, please check your e-mail. I sent you some information about the coastal area of NC. Good luck in the search! Chris in PA
I was just wondering if you will be doing any camping this summer. It always seems to be quite an adventure for you.
Please please please move to NC. We live in between Raleigh and the ocean and we spend a lot of time at the ocean in the summer.
Hi Dawn,
I live in NC near the ocean. I'm in Newport, but the town we're near is Morehead City. We are 2 hours east of 95 in the middle of the state. The problem is housing is expensive. When prices dropped, ours didn't because of the water. Shopping has gotten better in the past 20 years - we have Walmart. The nearest real mall is 2 hours away. We do have a Sonic that my 19 year old tries to visit every day for happy hour. The up side is the beach and the really nice people. We are in the Carteret County school system which is pretty good. I love it here, but it was very hard to adjust when we moved from Boston (I'm from Atlanta). I would check out Wilmington - much more to do.
Dana
Just a note to encourage you to go forward with those plans to move. Speaking from experience...it's a positive thing to do after such a challenging situation for a fresh start with your kids. There are so many beautiful places in North Carolina...the ocean and the mountains! You are a wonderful person and your kids are so lucky to have you as their mom!
We don't mind your venting. I mean, if you can't vent to the internet, you the heck can you vent to? :) With Brooklyn in preschool, what will you do with those precious three hours twice a week? I'm voting for a nap. :)
Man, oh man. I'm with you on the soreness, Dawn! We spent so much time walking around Chicago last Thursday/ Friday morning, I was lame for 2 days. Yesterday was 'ok'. Would have been awesome to have met up with you, but we came home Friday afternoon, ahead of the storms.
Dawn in MI
Instead of an ocean, how about an oil soaked gulf? Aww...come on. We have hurricanes (the drinkable kind as well as the real deals) and shrimp po-boys. We only get snow once a decade - and that is usually only a dusting. Louisiana is the place to BE! Don't worry about the humidity and heat. That's what A/C was created for. :)
Hey Dawn, I know you mentioned the Carolinas but have you ever thought about Louisville, KY? We sometimes get a bad rap but I promise the real red-necks are farther west (still in KY, though). Excellent schools, very reasonable housing, and our climate is never too hot nor too cold. Snow? 2 inches! I think you and the kids would do really well here; your personality would fit right in.
I'm a southern girl. Raised in the south and miss it everyday. That being said, I now live in Montana and LOVE IT! Never thought I would say that but it's true.
It's cheap, beautiful, and the weather is awesome in the summer.
NC is great too, just don't rule out the west ;-)
I don't think I have ever commented before, but I've been reading for years now :-)
I was going to leave a comment about how lucky you are to live in such a wonderful city...then I got to the end of the post! I have lots of friends and relatives in Chi-town so love to visit. That said...I live in Charlotte, NC for two years and LOVED it. But hotter than heck for several months of the year. A lot of NC is still quite rural, something I wasn't used to. So since you're from the city I'd really look at Charlotte...only 3 hours to the beach. (Now I'm a Pittsburgher.. and well I never thought I'd do it since I grew up in Cleveland...I do cheer on the Steelers and Pens.)
funny, my life is up in the air right now too and I've been looking at ocean spots on the east coast. I'll be keeping an eye on this for ideas- right now I'm leaning more toward florida or georgia due to having family there and it bites to be a single parent with no support system around. and my son loves being around family (when we are, as we don't live near them now)
Great pictures! I love Brooklyn's face, riding on her brother's back. Glad you're feeling better.
My daughter lived in Jacksonville, home of the US Marine Corps's Camp LeJeunne which is why they lived there. They like the area so much they're leasing out the house they bought even though they're now in CA with their next stop to be in Africa. Anyway, add my vote to the Wilmington tally. I really, really liked Wilmington when we ventured from land-locked Kansas for a visit.
(hugssssssssssssss) You are so cool, Dawn. I don't care what anyone else says, we know differently. You're such a blessing to us and to your kiddos. They're great kids thanks to you and I love those pictures! :D If you move to NC, I'm sure that would be wonderful for you all and a great change, too. :D Glad to know you're okay sweetie. <3
I vote for Utah for your move. With all the large families here, you'll fit right in. Seriously, it's a pretty great place.
Dawn you are awesome! I'll say it again and again because you need to hear it. You are awesome! You are awesome!
If you don't feel any better and need to hear it again stop by my blog or my facebook profile and let me know and I'll tell you some more. Not kidding.
Just wondering what the two oldest think of a possible move? NC is a pretty state.....I've only gotten one vacation there to the Outer Banks for lighthouse sightseeing.
Glad you're feeling better.
The West Coast should be on your list too. Look at Spokane, WA or Tri-Cities, WA. Only 4 hrs from Seattle and 3hrs from Portland, OR.
There is 4 defined seasons, and affordable housing a 3000SQFT house is around $295,000...Some of the best universities like Whitworth and Gonzaga are also nearby.
Good luck!
quite awhile ago (maybe when you were writing one of the manuscripts?)I remember reading some of your posts, and I could tell there was something just not ok going on. And I felt so bad for you because I knew you were struggling.
Well anyways, Im just happy that you made some changes and are on your way to some happiness. Of course theres more to get through, but you proved you could do hard things. And you have.
Another NC resident here - if you're looking for affordable the beach isn't it but we're in a small town that is commuting distance to Raleigh which puts us only a couple of hours drive from the beach. A couple of hours in the other direction is the really cool state zoo. A few more hours and you're in the mountains with the Appalachian trail and scenic railroad. In other words the middle of the state is a great central location for all kinds of cool stuff. Oh, and don't listen to the folks grouching about the humidity, it's no worse than eastern KS and the climate in general is milder.
I am NC born and bred and love it here! My husband is a cross country transplant and calls central NC home. I am in the middle of the state, so 3 hours to the mountains, 3 hours to the beach. My in-laws live in Chicago and want to move here too. Lots of great schools and people. This is home, and we don't plan on leaving.
I am not in NC but I live down in Savannah GA, it is GREAT here! I moved here 5 years ago and grew up in Chicago. I LOVE it here! Housing is much cheaper and my neighbor is selling her house...I could get you all set up down here! :-)
I'm SOOOO jealous!!! Think my husband and kids would notice if I tagged along w/ you to NC?
NC is where we/I want to be. Unfortunately DH has 16 more years until he can retire from the fire department so I'm stuck here. I went to Middle School, High School, and college in GA but then moved here to Chicago. I loved this place for many years, but the winters have worn me down. A visit to Hilton Head in Spring of '09 made me decide NC is where we'd go next. The state is beautiful. Four seasons, yet winter doesn't last 9 months. Summer is hot & humid (as its intended to be) and not this silly amount of humidity Chicagoans complain about - real honest-to-goodness humidity where you go from AC to AC much as we go from heated space to heated space.
Yup - I'm ready. Can't wait to hear what you find. :-)
Dawn, come down under, we have it all and more, but alas no Sonic or Walmart.
Tammy, Australia!!
Move in with us! We live in Wilmington, NC. We have 3 beaches to choose from....Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. I live 10 min. away from the beach and I have 5 kiddos. With your creative kids and my off the top kids, they can come up with the most rad experiments. hmmmmmm, on the second thought, why don't move in next door.
Winston-Salem, NC here (about 4 hours from the coast). That's great you want to make a move! NC is a beautiful state! We feel all 4 seasons and have great beaches and mountains. Great colleges too! Wherever you end up I just hope you and the kids are happy - ya'll deserve it!!
I am a MS girl myself but I have two friends who live in Charlotte NC and they LOVE it. It might be worth checking out! :)
MOVE TO RALEIGH, NC!!! Very affordable housing, great place to raise your fun brood!
I'm with Tammy. Move to Australia, Dawn! We have 10 (yes 10) types of TIM TAMS in EVERY supermarket in the land. And we no longer have Vegemite ;-) Sort of.
Morehead City area is fantastic and still kind of affordable. Good schools and a relatively laid back lifestyle. August is super hot and humid, but look at today in Chicago!
Three words about Tennessee - No Income Tax
My sister & family from NNY moved to Boiling Springs, NC, under 50 miles to Myrtle Beach and love it.
LOVE the photos!!!
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