Top Weird Things about Illinois

Since living here, now 7 mos., we have discovered some very odd things about this state. After discussing them with my girlfriends over Girls' Weekend, I decided that may make a good post for the blog. So, here they are, in no particular order...

1. Kindergarten is NOT mandatory!...although most(educated)people send their kids.
2. Preschool here is only 2.5 hours long....in preparation for half-day Kindergarten...
3. Kindergarten's 'half-day' is actually only 2.75-3 hours long! What do they learn in that amount of time??? Half-day to me means at least 4 hours.
4. People spend BIG money for kids' birthday parties
5. You know you're in cold-country when one of the neighborhood's amenities is it's own sledding hill!
6. Food: processed foods (can goods, cereal, rice, etc.) is more expensive than down South, while dairy and produce are MUCH cheaper than down South.
7. Property taxes are WAY more expensive - new of $6-10K vs. our old of $2500.00 annually!
8. People seem unsure over an invite for family dinner date night. In Charlotte & Atlanta, we were always going to somebody's for dinner or having someone over.
9. LOTS of kids here; people with 3-6 kids is NORMAL! Robert says it's the cold winters!!
10. You should see the way people decorate for Halloween here. My friend, who lived in Charlotte before, said to just wait til we see what they do for Christmas!

With regard to #4 and #10, good thing we aren't the Keep-up-with-the-Joneses type!

I'm sure more odd things will come up as time goes on; I'll let you know as they develop. Winter is coming so that could be a whole other blog post...or 2...especially since you all know I'm DREADING my 1st full winter here!