One day after this historic presidential election, the Obama family of Chicago’s Hyde Park is only beginning to figure out how the heck to go from normal Americana to the First Family of the United States.

And as the country’s first black White House family, friends tell The New York Times that they are very aware that everything they say and do — the way they dress, where Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 , go to school, even what kind of puppy they adopt — will have symbolic value.

"It’s like a new neighbor in the neighborhood. You want to know, ‘What do they do after work? Where do they go to church? Do they eat grilled cheese for lunch?’” Washington event planner and longtime social observer Carolyn Peachey told The Washington Post. "It’s just that in this case, it’s the nation’s neighborhood."

Throughout the campaign, Malia and Sasha spent a lot of time in their grandmother’s tiny South Side apartment – in the same building where their mother was raised. They went to private school at the University of Chicago, and they had a wonderful web of friends and family to help watch over them.

The New York Times reports that Michelle Obama has spent nearly every Saturday for the past tenyears with the same two friends and their kids – lately taking trips to a local California Pizza Kitchen.

But no more.

Michelle Obama spoke on the phone with First Lady Laura Bush Wednesday afternoon to discuss the First Lady’s role. Bush invited Michelle and her daughters to visit the White House soon.

Everyone’s speculating exactly what kind of role Michelle Obama will play, and what kind of First lady she will be. So far, there are no indications she will be deeply involved in policy making. The woman who has referred to herself as “mom-in-chief” has said she has no plans to miss any dance recitals, school plays, soccer games or anything else her daughters participate in – no matter what her address is.

But now, she and her husband have to determine what schools the girls will go to and how to best help their daughters adjust to their new life. The Obamas will be the fourth family with young children to occupy the White House since the start of the 20th century. Friends say the girls will have some say in the big decisions that have to be made.

"Because she is Michelle,” Chicago friend Sandra Matthews told the Times, “she will manage that, she will direct it,” instead of relying on others to research schools.

Although many important people visit the White House, the most prized guests might be the girls’ friends.

“We may see sleepovers at the White House, groups of young girls in their sleeping bags hanging out with Sasha and Malia,” Williams said.

Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, a retired bank secretary and widow, may formally move into the White House to help take care of the kids.

The Chicago Tribune tells us that the new White House working mom has surrounded herself with a small circle of girlfriends — doctors, lawyers and businesswomen who not only provide a support system but also keep her grounded. And like Laura Bush, who still takes yearly vacations to a national park with her girlfriends, Obama will likely maintain those close bonds when she moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

"Like all of us, she juggles her job as a wife and mother, and she will take that with her to Washington," Yvonne Davila, a former City Hall coworker and friend for 18 years, told the Tribune.