Tag: moving

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I’m so lazy its a Hammock life right now

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I have been trying to figure out where I am going to move my family. I love the Chicago area, I love this house, but I want and need a change in my life. The kids are getting to be school age and if I move them soon enough we can get them settled and ready for the beginning of their school careers. Right now we are doing the prep work so that the boys will have the greatest success from day 1. It’s a lot of hard work for them but they are soaking it all up. I love seeing them learn new things. They get so excited. So after a bunch of back and forth debates on what the best city is for my family I’ve choosen Denver, Colorado. I bought a house there a few months ago. It is being renovated right now and it’s almost done. My plan is to sell this mansion, sell a lot of the furniture and things that go with this house and get ready to move us by September 1st. The boys’ school will start the middle of September so I really feel like this is my best time. Big deep breath. I have prayed and prayed on this decision. One of the main factors is that Alex’s doctors are all there. He is getting much better, we fight a small infection here and there but he is doing great. The house I bought is in the northwest side and has a lot of great amenities to the property. I’m actually downsizing if you guys can believe it. Those that have seen my Chicago house folder on Facebook can see how much space I have now. Our home is HUUUGEEE. I don’t need this much house. I need room for me, the kids, and a few bedrooms for guests. That’s it. No more crazy yard space, no more lake life. Okay, I’m obviously not going to be mowing my own lawn Lol That’s not the kind of downsizing I’m doing. I’m $till a $poiled brat. It’s time I just settle into dad life. I think this is my best option and we are going for it. I actually have several friends interested in my house and will be working with a local broker to help get this house on the market soon. I already have a survey done and the house inspected. The 4 things that needed to be updated or fixed are getting done in the next 2 weeks so I will be fully ready to say LIST IT!

Being closer to the west coast is going to have a lot of advantages for me. It’s also a great part of the country and I’m really looking forward to exploring the city.
I wish I had more of a huge update but I don’t. Oh wait, I’m going to Comic Con next weekend, that’s some news. Umm, I think that’s about it. I did upload a ton of new photos and videos on our Family Facebook page. Go check those out. We have done a few Periscopes and Facebook live videos. Those are also on there. Life is quiet. I love it. Hope you guys are enjoying your summer!

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We are moving home today!

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We are all up early. I went and grabbed breakfast while Sarah got everyone dressed and ready for our flight. The kids are eating. I’m waiting for the shipping company to come pick up our boxes and then it’s time to go. Mike’s mom is on her way here to get the keys. I’m having a cleaning service coming today to clean the whole house from top to bottom. The landscapers came yesterday to clean up the yard. I think we have everything on my list done. The only thing I need to do is load the cat and dog into their crates and off we go.

Thank you Denver/Colorado Springs! We had a great time but you aren’t home. Hello Chicago, we are coming home soon! I posted the last of our photos from my phone. We had a great adventure here. The staff at the Denver hospital was very nice in taking a photo with us so I can say thank you to them and let everyone know how awesome they care for kids. It’s all on our Family Facebook page. Check out the photos and videos.

As soon as they load up all of our boxes we are heading to the airport. It’s going to be a quick flight then Brandi and Heather will pick us up. My vehicles are being shipped back also. That was expensive. I should have just paid 2 friends to drive them back or something. As long as they get back home in 1 piece, it’s worth it.

It’s moving day! I’m really excited. I missed my home.

Have a great day, guys. I may take a few days off from blogging so I can get the kids, pets, and myself settled. See you all soon.

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We are leaving Friday to move, no we’re not

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I took the boys to school today so they can say goodbye to their friends. I am already to move, everything is done and packed and we are leaving tomorrow morning. I was going to wait until this weekend but I decided against it. Why wait when we are ready? I do have a lot of things to get done once we are home and I want to get started. I told the kids this weekend we were going home and they are happy. Alex’s appointment went very well. We can fly him home, FINALLY. I’m so happy he is okay. Sarah is flying out tonight after work so she can fly back with me and take care of the kids. I’ve already made arrangements for all of our stuff to get picked up in the morning, very early and shipped back home. I’m literally taking the clothes on our back with us on the flight home. Everything else, clothes, toys, kitchen things will be at our house by Thursday. We have plenty of things at home to wear and use.

The girls have worked very hard getting the house ready. I saw it on Facetime this weekend and it looks like our home again. I can’t wait to sleep in my bedroom. MY ROOM. Not the room with all the kids stuff, toys, and clothes all over the floor. I can finally have my spacious and quiet room back. It’s just going to be very hard because we are missing someone in our family. That’s a lot of the reason we stayed away for a while to be honest. Too hard.

Jen and I officially ended our relationship. I took her out for a nice dinner, we talked about the zero chance of a long distance thing and we kissed/hugged goodbye a few times. We are going to be friends. We will still talk and text but I’m single. I’m very happy to be single. I am not ready for anything serious and I’m not even sure I want to start dating right away. I think this time, let her find me. Whoever God wants me to be with will find her way into my life somehow. I have too much going on.

The boys will start at their new school/daycare place on Monday. Still 2 hours a day in the mornings and the occasional Friday of no school. It’s going to be hard for them to  understand but we will adjust.

How is everyone doing? Enjoy these last few months of summer, guys. it’s almost over with!

 

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Please don’t go to Church

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Please don’t go to Church

Lindsay has decided she’s taking all 3 of my kids to Church this morning with her friends. I asked her not to. She’s doing it anyway. They aren’t going to a Catholic Mass. Oh no, she’s taking them to a Baptist Church so they can see what a real Church is like. Keep in mind Lindz does not even believe in God but she said the Baptist really do. Huh? I can’t wait to hear what they thought of that. Peace is going to love it because she just loves everybody. The boys might freak out at first but I think it’s going to be fine. Lindsay said if she “catches the spirit” she’s going to haul ass up and down the aisle like she’s seen on tv a few time with Pastor TD Jakes Lol I said please don’t. She said she may just do it just to see what happens. Dear God, please forgive her. She mocks you. It’s sort of funny. So I guess forgive me too?

I got in a groove and got everything boxed up, taped, labeled, and ready to go. The only thing I haven’t done is put everything in the garage. I need to pull the car out to make room for all of it. Luckily the shipping company is sending a big van tomorrow morning so it can all get out-of-the-way soon. I had to check the weather. In Colorado Springs out of nowhere the rain hits, the wind blows and then it’s all sunny and dry. It’s the weirdest weather I have ever experienced. I’m going to miss it. I have really enjoyed the cooler temperatures. Fall here is so beautiful. I want to take my kids on one of those train rides up through the mountains. I didn’t go the last time they went. I want to see everything. We will do that next weekend.

We are moving back to Chicago now in 2 weeks. It’s going to be a big welcome home party. I’ve missed out on so much but I had to make the right choice for Alex’s health. He’s doing great. I get so many messages asking how he is doing. My boy is a tough cookie. It was very hard at first because Heston just wants to be all over him all day long. When we lifted up his shirt to show Heston his owwie, that’s when he backed off. I’ve had to remind him a million times be careful, Alex has an owwie, he backs off. Not immediately, but he does tend to stop. Peace is doing great, she’s so pretty. My daughter is the sweetest little face on Earth. Heston is just a big brother through and through. He’s in charge of everybody. He tends to take the lead and say Come on to the other 2. They follow him around and do what he wants. It’s very cute to see. Then Peace says deuces and leaves the boys to play trucks or whatever they are doing. She has her little princess setup filled with tons of girl toys. I’ve had more cups of imaginary tea than I can count at this point. She had her toenails painted and she wiggles her toes when you ask to see her tootsies Lol It’s pretty cute.

I just finished watching the online Catholic Mass so that’s done for the day. Such a beautiful message of hope and how to live a balanced life. That’s what I’m currently working on. I do not attend the regular Catholic Church yet they continue to solicit money from me. I read it and toss it. I do donate to my Church and that’s good enough for me. There are differences in how each Church conducts itself and I’m glad to know that my derivation relies on itself and not outside mainstream pressure. That’s exactly why I’m raising my kids to be the “other” type of Catholics.

Today I get to move boxes, chill out, move boxes, chill out. It’s going to be an easy day until the kids get back. Lindsay is bringing them home at 5 so I can feed everyone before their flight takes off back to Vegas. It kind of sucks I had all kinds of summer plans and trips I wanted to get to but Alex is more important than my plans. Next summer we will hit the road and get to do everything.

Prayers to Hawaii. Our family compound took a hit. Everyone is safe but extensive wind damage. They will have to repair all of it when they can. And of course Prayers to Senator/War Hero John McCain and his family. I did not agree with his politics most of the time but I do respect is decades of service to this country. He will be greatly missed. He did the very best he could with what he felt was right. He stood up and spoke when he felt the need. What a life he had. You will be missed. The entire news media is looking back on his life. It’s amazing all of the things he accomplished.

Have a wonderful Sunday my batfans. I love you all. Be sure to praise God in someway because today is going to be awesome!

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My little helpers x 3

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School is going great. The boys love it. They are making all kinds of new friends. The moms and the 2 dads that do drop offs and pick ups are very nice. We all share funny stories about our kids while we wait the few minutes until our kiddos come out of class. I guess I’m making new friends too. We have a playdate for this weekend. My boys have attached themselves to the little Asian girl in their class. Their sister is half Asian so I get it. It’s pretty cute. Her mom said she talks about the twins nonstop. My boys share with her. Let’s review that one. My boys are actually sharing with other human beings. That’s a miracle. We are doing our “homework” at home. We are just supposed to notice different colors of things and see if the boys can tell me the right color. They get purple and blue mixed up. I’m sure I would too at that age. They do okay on red and black. White is easy. Yellow is the one that trips them up. We are working on it. Peace helps. She has all of the colors in her wardrobe so we pull out her things to give them the full rainbow to work with.

My 2 hours with my Sweet Pea is awesome. She is so funny. She says dada and then lights up into a whole story of babbling. I just say Uhhhh huhh. Yeah??? Really now. She goes on and on. I love it. I’ve waited her whole life to talk to me and now that she is, I can’t get enough.

We get the boys after running our errands and go home. We put up all of the shopping stuff I bought and then it’s play time before we all help make lunch. My kids love to help me cook. The boys have little stools and we put Peace on the island to watch us. She grabs the fruit I slice up. She can’t help herself. We eat, clean up and go outside and play. We have started to do little field trips to places around Colorado Springs. I want to explore with them. I want them to get used to being in crowds. It’s tricky but we are figuring it all out.

I have hired 3 babysitters. I told them I can always give them advanced notice. If I actually need a babysitter it would only be for a few hours here and there.

Jen finally met my kids. They like her. By the end of the event the boys were holding her hands. It was pretty cool. She said they are all adorable and she can see why I never want to leave the house. I told her our dates are now going to have to be at my house or at hers unless I have family or friends in town to help me watch them. Mike lives here and said he can babysit if he’s not working late. I wouldn’t go out anywhere until after my kids are asleep anyway. I haven’t even kissed Jen yet. We are still just hugging. She lingers a little more each time and one time she ran her fingers in the back of my hair. I just laughed because it caught me off guard. She’s cool. Casual dating with friendship is fun. No pressure and we can just hang out.

We are moving back to Chicago in 3 weeks. Sarah found a school I can get the boys in. It’s pretty much a glorified daycare but it’s very close to my house. That part I like. I’m going to finish having this house renovated and Mike said he and his mom want to move in it and pay me rent. That’s fine with me. His mom lives in Denver and she’s wanting to be closer to him. I won’t charge them much for rent but I also won’t give it away. We are still thinking about a rent to buy option. It’s a nice house. I’m not sure they want to live in the neighborhood though. We will see.

I can’t wait to get home. I’ve missed everything. It’s in time for football season. And hopefully I can get in a few Cubs games before the season is done.

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Paris Trip

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We had a great Thanksgiving and the rest of the trip was a lot of fun. We were able to go sight seeing and show the girls around. They had never been to the places we went to and I wanted them to know all of these great stores and shops are very close by. I’m glad we took the time to show them. My wife said Well get your credit card ready now mister Lol Great. Just what I love to hear 🙁

The kids love being with mommy again. They missed her so much. I told them another few weeks and we will go back to spend Christmas with her. That’s when I have to decide. I plan to move over January 2nd. Do I leave my kids there or do I haul them back and forth within a few days? My wife is mad that I won’t be spending New Year’s Eve with her but I told her I have so much to take care of before we go. She said well go back after Christmas and get it done then come home. I need to figure something out. I do want to be with her to start the new year. It would be a lot of fun to go see the fireworks downtown in Paris. I just don’t think I can get it all done by then. She was getting mad but I told her I would figure it all out. I do have plenty of time to rethink my schedule. Plus making a pregnant wife mad is never a good thing.

We left in the afternoon and got home yesterday afternoon. We stayed in NYC for a few hours to go see the Christmas tree and to also hit the 2 toy stores that I knew my boys would love. I try to give them a break after such a long flight I don’t want to rush them into another hours long sitting adventure. They had fun and walked out with 2 toys each. Peace got 2 new toys as well but she wasn’t as enthusiastic about hers Lol I know when she’s old enough to pick out her own stuff she will be much happier.

I can’t believe how big my daughter has gotten. She is so cute. We get a lot of compliments on her outfits which helps a lot because in the mornings when I dress her I have to ask Sarah does this look right. Does this look okay?

Half the time I get the shirt right but the pants are all wrong. I have no idea what I’m doing. Thankfully I have help for that girl stuff.

My wife has bought so much baby stuff. Some for Talon some for Peace. They are both going to be very well stocked up once we have both of them at home.

My wife’s family are all unhappy she won’t be back for Christmas but I told them all this was her choice. I offered for her to stay in the states and have the baby her. She said no. She wanted him born in France. I’m fine with that. I think that would be a good fit for our family.

So now I have a few weeks to get my things ready to move. I couldn’t be happier to be leaving my job. All of my companies are in a great spot financially and I know Lindsay will run things at a good pace. She will expand but not too fast. I told her if she opens up in a bunch of new cities too fast we will lose it all. She said Duhh I’m not stupid and told me to get in the car and STFU. That was the last talk we had about work things.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Back to work for me. I have no more out-of-town trips until my Dubai trip in December. My wife was going to go but with the last doctor’s checkup we both decided no way. Lindsay will be going with me to Dubai this year. Dave won’t be coming with her. They are in some sort of kerfuffle over who knows what this time. It might be because Ben is hanging out with them more and more. I wouldn’t put up with that sh** Lol No way. It’s cool to be friends and be friendly if you randomly bump into them. But to invite your ex over for dinner a few times a month, that’s wrong. I don’t know why she does it.

I need to get going to work. Have a great work week everyone!

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Moving in and the rules?

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The girls are going tomorrow morning to get the rest of their stuff out of their apartment that they don’t want the movers to touch. The movers have been at my condos all weekend boxing everything up. They will then go over to their place and box that all up before they coordinate where they go first to pick up the boxes. This is all very exciting and worrisome. My lake house is big enough for all 5 adults to roam around in. We all have our own bedrooms and thankfully everyone gets along. That will be helped by all of the ladies have their very own bathrooms and we did rearrange some things so they have bigger separations between them. I want them to enjoy the few months we will all be in this house together.

We have a family meeting after breakfast. The schedule is the most important topic because I want to make sure they all understand it’s not going to lump everything on Sarah. If they live here they pitch in especially since none of the 3 are in school right now. They are working on their resumes. My wife was helping each one last night a little. We both have written reference letters to go in their resumes and I will do all I can to help them find jobs. Sarah is going to focus on getting her education to the point she can teach nursing. The other 2 will be starting nursing jobs at local hospitals. That’s what they all want to do. Sarah is going to figure out a part-time job to help supplement her cash flow. She has been paid very well and I told them all I am going to pay them all until January 1st that way even when I’m gone I’m still honoring to help them out.

My wife wants to talk about the House Rules. I didn’t even know we had any rules but she said that the nannies “strut” and she did the air quotes, around in skimpy outfits that are way inappropriate around me and the boys. I said they think of me as their dad, and she said that’s probably what Ben Affleck said  before he started the affair with the nanny. Is that what happened to his marriage? Did he cheat with the nanny I didn’t know that. I would NEVER DO THAT! She knows that, I know that, they know that, God knows that. NOT EVER!  I am not so ego drunk to know that even though a hot 20-year-old would make me feel young and excited, I do realize I have nothing at all in common with anyone below 35. Not when it comes to a relationship. We are family and you don’t do that. Okay well Toby Willis, Josh Duggar, and another son of a certain reality tv show with lots of mom has done it but I wouldn’t. That’s disgusting. It’s also taking advantage of a young, naive girl that doesn’t realize she’s exchanging herself and her body for whatever it is. I don’t even know. I don’t put any thought into it.

Speaking of that. That Toby Willis, he got 40 years and had molested several young girls. How is that even possible? I was so shocked when I read that yesterday. 40 years? He should be locked up forever. He had no business being on a tv show at all. He knew what he did and he was still trying to act like nothing bad goes on. I know that bad things happen within large families and a lot of them try to cover it up because they don’t see the bigger picture. See something, say something. That’s what goes on in our house and in all of my business. We all speak up. So far the only thing the girls see and speak up about is when I bend over to do something and maybe my butt crack hangs out a little without me knowing it. When it does happen they all let me know right away by making fun of me, telling me to put that thing away, or pointing and saying Crack kills Lol

I need to go walk Sam Jr he’s having a fit. I told him I would take him out 5 minutes ago and he’s about to wake up the boys.

Have a great Sunday everyone! God loves you and I love ya’ll too!

 

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Comic-Con? No

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I asked my wife a month ago if she wanted to go to Comic-Con. She just looked at me like I was the biggest nerd she knows, which I probably am. She patted my shoulder and said you go ahead if you want to. That was the end of that discussion. Who doesn’t want to go! Maybe next year. Now I get to see all of the cool pictures my friends are sending me from there. Some of the Cosplay costumes are badass. No I would not have dressed up. I like looking at that stuff and buying all the Batman stuff I can but that’s as far as I go. I own Batman t shirts not Batsuits Lol

We made it up to the lake house last night. We grilled out and had a nice quiet evening. The boys love the big backyard. They don’t love getting sprayed religiously with bug repellent. We had a slight increase of water level on our beach but not that bad. I was surprised actually. The house is nowhere near the flood plain so we were fine.

Today we are going shopping and going to map out where everything is going to go. I have 2 condos full of furniture. Not all of it is coming here. Lord knows I have the space. We have so much open space in the 2 other living rooms here I’m sure we can fill up the house finally. My wife has been going through each piece of furniture this week and marking it on some list Keep, Move, Donate. I told her just leave the boys stuff alone and any of my personal stuff, then decide whatever you want. I’m not very particular about this stuff anymore. I used to be. I wanted it all perfect. Now with kids I don’t really care. It’s just stuff. I can buy more stuff. The nannies packed up their bedroom stuff and we brought it up this trip. That meant when we got here last night I had to unload everything and carry it up and down the stairs a million times. I’m thankful at my old age (44) that I’m still getting around so well. I still wake up stiff and have to stretch a little. I sit up on the side of the bed and yawn then I stand up and my knees say good morning to everyone. I take a step or two and then I know all systems are a Go Lol It’s sad getting old but this is why I still workout and yoga. I want to keep limber. With all these young babies around this place I need to run after them.

All of my clothes and my wife’s clothes arrive today. Later this afternoon all of the boys’ clothes and Sarah’s clothes will arrive. Then we get to spend the rest of the day putting it all up. Thankfully everyone can help me put the boys’ bedroom together. They really have too much stuff. I told my wife this is a good time to purge some of it. She said it’s all my fault for shopping online. I can’t help it. Amazon makes it way too easy to get the latest new baby thing. Buying 2 of everything can fill up a room faster than you realize.

Heston has shown some interest in his potty chair. We are at the point we are trying to explain what it is. I know we are a ways off from him actually using it but I think he’s getting it. Alex won’t have anything to do with it. And Sarah had a very awkward conversation with me last week about having the boys watch me take a piss. She said they will model me and learn how to do it only from me. She said she could throw Cheerios in the toilet and try to make them hit it but they won’t get it. It’s easier for me to do that. I don’t want to Lol I mean I will when it’s time but I don’t even piss in front of my wife. That’s just bad. No one wants to see that. My wife doesn’t care but I do. That’s just part of my shy side I guess.

What else? We have some really fun concerts coming up soon. We went to so many shows out in Vegas. When my cousin Tyson buzzed through town he had some really cool passes we could use. We saw 4 shows that my wife picked out. I’ve seen almost all of them. Lindsay and Dave have too but they still went with us. They also went with us when we spent the day at New York New York and had a lot of fun on all of the rides. They didn’t go with us when we went to Circus Circus. Lindsay says it’s the armpit of the Strip and the food and gambling there suck.

We might get a few sprinkles this morning but it’s mostly going to be a cool cloudy day. It’s amazing the difference between the weather here and Chicago. It’s going to rain almost all day there. Up here, maybe a sprinkle or two. That means we are going out on the boat. My boys love the boat. I never get on the engine unless I am alone. When anyone is with me we just kind of putter around a little. We like to go visit our friends and dock up next to their property. We get off and go say hi. Then we load back up after a little while and go to the next. Everyone does that around here. It makes it nice to catch up and see what’s been going on.

My wife is no 13 weeks pregnant. Let me check our baby app The Bump. Yep, 13 weeks and 2 days. It says we are 26 weeks and 5 days away from her due date. That seems like forever. We are almost through the first trimester. That’s good, what grade did we get Lol She said the pregnancy so far is pretty easy. She’s getting all round everywhere, I love that. She has been eating well, exercising, and trying to relax more. She’s pretty stressed out with work lately. She has some really big cases she’s trying to wrap up before she resigns. There sure is a lot more to legal work than I realized. She said for every meeting or conference she has with a client there’s 2 or 3 days worth of paperwork that follows it. I guess I never thought about it.

I did get her name tattooed on my back. She’s not pleased that it’s the only female name on there but my back piece tats are my life story. Most of all of my tats are memorial ones anyway. It’s pretty big and it turned out just like she wanted. I love it. I love knowing it’s on there. When we pick out the baby’s name I will add that to after he or she is born. We have begun the list. The baby name list. 2 columns. We get to say no to whatever doesn’t sound good. We did have a doctor appointment and we did confirm it’s just one little Cooper in there, a while ago. Thank goodness! If it was twins I would move Lol Just kidding. I would be okay with it but geez. What a twist that would have been.

Here is the list we already said no to:

Preston to go with Heston

Charles, too stuffy

Michael, too plain

Six, Lindsay said that one and I just rolled my eyes, Six Cooper, really?

Heather, guess who came up with that one Lol

Adam, don’t like it

Molly, it’s a nice name but no

and the best no ever was Hermes Lol Cam came up with it. Hermes Cooper, the m is silent. It would have an accent above it. No. Sorry Cam.

The yes list we are keeping private. It’s on my phone. I’m in charge of keeping the list.

My wife just woke up she just came in and hugged my neck than gave me a kiss. I need to go get breakfast started. She wants her OJ. Have a great weekend everyone. I will update more later. It’s going to be a pretty chill weekend here.

God loves you and I love ya’ll too!