Sprinkles

Water and Snow

2012-01-20T21:44:00.000-06:00

We kicked off the year with a quick trip to Timber Ridge, in Lake Geneva. It's so close and perfect for young kids. The Grand Geneva has incredible decorations for Christmas and winter. I was happy we got to catch them before they got taken down. They are magical.

But it was also a great way to end the Christmas season, and begin focusing on fun winter things...Like indoor waterparks! We had so much fun together. Jack was brave enough to do the big slides and in the "warm pool" (aka hot tub) that is half inside and half outside (kinda fun to watch your hair freeze and your breath, while sitting in a hot bath). And Alice was incredibly independent herself. She had so much fun going down the little slides, I think she went on them at least 80 times consecutively-Each time, devising some different way to do so. She was thoroughly entertaining herself, and I had no fears of her falling under. It was so nice.

My little water baby.

Then, the long awaited snow FINALLY arrived last week. It's funny how it's welcomed when it doesn't come for all of November and December. We had a BLAST sledding. Jamie and Jack went on Saturday and then convinced Alice and I to join them again on Sunday. I'm glad we did.

A magical bond formed between Jack and Al. She was scared to sled, so she went down a few times with me or Jamie. Then Jack finally talked her into going down with him, and once she did, she never left his side.

I watched them on their own at the bottom of the hill and realized that they are both kids now. I don't have to watch over Alice's every move anymore. She can do things on her own and she wants to. It was as if sending her down the hill was like sending her off to be on her own. I wasn't going to be there to help her dodge the other sledders or guide her to the stairs once she got off the sled. I started to get a little sad about it, but then I saw as she lost sight of Jack and she stopped in her tracks and yelled aimlessly up towards the top of the hill, "Mom! I need help!" To which I quickly ran down the hill to her rescue. Whew! I was so relieved that I'm not entirely useless anymore!

When we were warming up by the fire in the field house, Jack said, "Alice can have a sleepover in my room tonight, because she let me take her on the sled." She was thrilled.
If I could only bottle moments like those up!

The Bests of Christmas

2011-12-30T08:17:00.001-06:00

The Best Moments of Christmas...

(I know some of these are repeats, but they're worth a second look ;)

Cookie decorating at Grandma's

Nana being so interested in her great-grandchildren

Some of my favorite girls in the world

Allie absolutely loving her Calico Critters and all their accessories

Jack reading a letter from Santa on Christmas morning

Jamie and Jack assembling the same GI Joe airplane that Jamie had as a kid

THE toy that Jack asked for: The Real Lightning McQueen

The most adorable trio

Bob inviting Alice onto his lap so she could get a closer look at Max

The Eggnog Mustache

The Loopies

Tiny Max and his great personality already

Candy Cane and Wreath Cookies

My wonderful parents

The best Nativity Scene ever

Ryan enjoying his 2nd piece of red velvet cake...(The other kids were playing restaurant upstairs and he yelled up to everyone that he'd be a little late for work. It was so funny)

Colorful Christmas Lizard at the Zoo Lights

REAL tiny alligator

Alice and her daddy looking at the lights

The human drinking his "coffee".

I hope all of your days were merry and bright. And may it continue into the new year!

The joy of FAMILY

2011-12-26T23:17:00.023-06:00

I had such an awesome Christmas, and I realized over the last two days, that more than anything, I couldn't ask for anything more than my family. My family of 4 right here under the same roof means EVERYTHING to me.

But my "village" of a family who we see almost every day are just as important. Sometimes, I wonder how life would be without having two sisters, a brother, 3 sisters-in-law, 3 brothers-in-law, 8 nieces and nephews, and both of my parents and in-laws all nearby. I would be so lost if I didn't have them here to grow with my kids and see my kids grow, to help me with parenting, to be there for me, to laugh with me, and to be a part of who I am, who Jamie is, and who Jack and Alice are.

This video is the gift I gave my parents, along with a photo book and a large canvas print of our entire family from our family weekend at the Double JJ ranch. It just reinforces the power of family and the incredible memories we all will share for the rest of our lives.
So, even if you're not always near all of your family members, I hope you cherish the times when you can be, and realize that those you love and who love you are the most important gift of all. Merry Christmas!

What I did today

2011-12-22T09:42:00.000-06:00

Ahhhh, Christmas break.
Today, I listened to my favorite Christmas music, baked my favorite cookies,

--with my trusty assistant--

She found our elf, Odie, eating M&Ms

Hmmm, maybe just a little taste of the dough, Mom?

It looks so yummy!!

Busted! (Don't worry, no cookies were harmed by 3-year-old germs =)

admired my decorations and ornaments, both old

2006

and new,

2011

and simply enjoyed the day with the kids. I never left the house and I LOVED it.

My nephew Wyatt (yes, he's Spiderman) and Jack and Alice pretending to be on the Polar Express.

Jack's Palm-Christmas tree (Thanks to Jamie's sister, Jennifer, who lives in Florida)

The Window of Christmas Art, from years past and present

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T22:53:00.000-06:00

We had the good fortune of yet another absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving, both with Jamie's family and mine. We spent Thanksgiving at Jamie's parents', where my brother-in-law, Mike, experimented with the stuffing by making it with Johnnie's beef and italian sausage and green peppers. If you know anything about Johnnies, you know this is a big deal. They are famous. Some people were fearful of this new combination, but I tell you, it was dee-licious.

Then we headed down to New Buffalo, to meet my family. The weather was so mild, that we hung out by a bonfire for a while and the kids ran free amidst the bare trees in our woods. The food was exquisite, the company was really fun, and the kids were so good. I couldn't have asked for more. I got to play photographer all weekend too (which I love).

I love my new camera, but I also love these kids that keep ending up on the other side of my lens

Ooh, I actually did get in a photo! I had my niece take it (not bad!)

I made a thanksgiving "tree" and everyone wrote something on it before dinner. Then we read them and guessed who wrote what. It was kind of fun and really sweet to hear what the kids AND adults had to say.

The best thing about us having one place to gather, is that we also get to put on our pj's after dinner, relax and then enjoy the next day together too.
This was our Saturday...
Lots of leftovers, Kerry's homemade minestrone soup to add to the mix too, games, walks, and even the town's rinky dink parade (possibly the smallest and least impressive parade I've ever seen...yet it made the kids happy, so that's all that mattered).

Playing a very simple yet fun Pirate Lego game that my mom bought for the kids...I highly recommend it!

We took a walk to the cemetery where my grandma's brother is buried. It's a really peaceful place, and the perfect distance to walk for a 2 year old and a 92 year old. How great is it that we CAN take a walk with her ...

And these little cutey-pies too, of course.

I am so blessed. I say it often, but I really know it and I never want to forget it or take it for granted.

I AM BLESSED.

THANK YOU

Let's Talk Animals

2011-11-13T19:53:00.000-06:00

I am combining three parts of our San Diego trip into one post, because they're all about animals: Sea World, The San Diego Zoo, and The San Diego Safari Park. All three could be a post on their own, because they're all incredible places full of a million things to do; but since it's been over a month since we were there and I have clearly not had the time I wish I did, this will have to do.
So, Sea World- A place I had never been to until this trip. I was prepared to be not all that impressed with a bunch of "fish," but boy was I wrong. The orcas themselves captivated us for what seemed like hours.

They are such amazing creatures. Enormous, yet so graceful.

What I loved about Sea World was that there were many hands-on opportunities that we don't get here, like giant tide pools where you can feel sea urchins and pick up starfish,

and a dolphin playground where you lean right over and pet a dolphin or throw a toy to it.

This one brought that yellow ring right up to Jack and I. So cool!

Then there were the adorable sea lions, which you could feed. So we did (Jack freaked out when he saw that it was real dead fish we had to feed them). Alice thought it was cool.

And Alice really wanted to see Baby Belugas (Thanks to Raffi's famous children's song)...So we did.

She was enamoured...

He even did a trick for her!

And while we were with the belugas, Jack and Jamie were on this crazy ride called Atlantis:

The San Diego Zoo:When we were here 2 years ago without the kids, we knew we had to bring them back, but we also knew that it would be impossible to see everything at this zoo. Alice's first choice was to see the "mafingos": translation....

"FLAMINGOS."
Jack loved the sky bucket ride that takes you from one side of the zoo to the other so much that we did it twice.

This tortoise is over 150 years old! That's really amazing.

Hippo body (the eyes are peeking above the water too)

The pandas were awake and playing. Something you don't see here. In fact, you don't see pandas at all here.

The coolest escalators that take you up to other levels of the zoo

Hugging the baby polar bear

And as we were walking out, a momma peacock was hanging out with her BABY PEACOCKS! How cute is that?

The Safari park has no pictures, unfortunately, because I forgot to put the memory card in the camera! But, it was the coldest and rainiest of the days, so we weren't there very long. It's a wonderful place to visit though. The animals are all in the most natural setting that you can have, wandering huge plains, and living among other species of animals. We took a safari ride through the African plains, which was really neat. We will have to spend much more time there next time.

So that sums up our major animal encounters while on vacation. Still to come, Legoland and Coronado. I should be done by Christmas!

San Diego, Halloween, and Everything In Between

2011-11-07T22:29:00.000-06:00

What a month. It began with San Diego (which, I will eventually finish blogging-I hope!) and ended with Halloween. Both events that I just loved, but we packed a lot of other things in between as well. The fall colors were the best I've seen in years, and I wished I had my camera with me almost every day as I drove past a new vibrant red and orange tree. On a few of the warmer days after school, the kids and I took walks outside with Kerry and her kids. Her backyard is not like anyone else's in the entire city0--It IS the forest. It's so awesome.

I mean, really? Love that kid.

The week after San Diego, Alice and I had a lot of time to be together since we were on fall break. One day, we took a bike ride and had a picnic. It was really nice to spend quality time with her and have 3-year-old talks.

And she has loved spending lots of quality time with all of the new babies in our lives (I will be writing about this in a separate post). This is Max, our new nephew (Staci and Bob's baby).

Also this month, Jack, Shane, and Ryan had a few sleepovers. I was worried they'd be out of control at my house (since there is far less room to play), but they were ANGELS ;) ....

They had a little concert at night,

And colored in the morning.

They are great kids.

Speaking of Saints, Jack's class had to dress as their favorite saint. Well, most kindergarteners don't know even 1 saint, so we had to do some research. I shouldn't have been surprised that he wanted to only be a saint who wore armor. So he chose St. Michael. He was a petition reader, and he did great. He was very comfortable up on the altar. NOT shy at all. Kind of funny.

Ya think he was loving the attention?? Not very "saintly," if you ask me!

He and St. Francis of Assisi were really adorable, though.

Onto Halloween festivities:
We went to a pumpkin patch, and as beautiful as the day was, it was not the most pleasant of experiences. Extremely crowded, very crabby 3 year old, and a lot of expensive "extras." But, my boy still had a blast.

Uh, didn't know giraffes lived on pumpkin farms?? (Pretty cool though, I must admit)

Corn maze...we actually got a little lost inside!

And this is some ginormous pillow thingy that he LOVED.

From there we went to a party at one of my college roommate's house. There were several of my closest friends from "back in the day." We had so much fun catching up, and our kids had a blast too.
Look at this cute dessert that my friend Maureen's husband made with their kids (But Maureen gets the credit, since I am sure she bought everything and explained to him what needed to be done ;)

My GIRLS. I love these chicks.

And all of our offspring!

And I will end this long post with our Halloween pictures.

Jack was Iron Man and Alice was a cupcake. We were able to spend time with all of our cousins. LOVE THAT. Alice was a hit at school (which I am so fortunate to be able to see first hand!), and she was quite sweet all day.

How can you resist a little lovin' from a cupcake?! I guess if you're her big brother, it's easy.

My nephew, Tom, who was the Solar System. Ask this kid ANYTHING about outer space. He knows it.

Tiny Max the Penguin!

Our best decorated house on the block is always a tough one for my kids. They love to look at the decorations before Halloween, but when the time comes to go up the stairs and ring the bell...well...

they choose to stay back here.

Another adorable little one. Phoebe the puppy.

Hannah

Mentos???

Awwww...Maddy and Jack hand-in-hand.

And if you know my family at all, you know that the adults NEVER grow up. We all went out on the town the Saturday before Halloween. This is the same porch I stood on as a kid. Taking pictures before trick-or-treating. I think it's funny that we still do this. I was whipping together my costume on Saturday morning (I was champagne, by the way...to go with my sister, the "White Russian"). Even my dad can't stay away from the fun!

La Jolla. Beautiful La Jolla

2011-10-15T10:53:00.000-05:00

The day we arrived, we knew we wanted the kids to see the sea lions coming in at sunset. We saw it last time at the caves in La Jolla, which is a 20 minute drive and a spectacular view of the coast the whole way. The town is beautiful. The kids asked if they could play at a park when we got there, and I said, "Sure, if we find one," thinking we'd never run into one. Somehow, though, our GPS ended us DIRECTLY next to a playground! They were thrilled.

As the sun started setting, we could hear the sea lions barking, so we headed to the beach.

There were lots of tide pools with the coolest creatures in them. There are a couple of little crabs in this picture

Look at those lazy guys. They're so cute.

So is he ;)

Do you think he was having fun???

Jack wanted me to take a picture of him "holding the rock on his back"

It was a great DAY 1

The Resort

2011-10-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

We visited San Diego, just Jamie and I almost 2 years ago. Here is the link to our first visit (one of 3 posts, and I never did write about the zoo that trip). I have so many pictures to share, so the only way I think I can do it is to break it down. First, the resort, Paradise Point.

It is an island in itself. The grounds are amazing, the staff is so kind, and there are 5 pools, and a hot tub next to each pool!
We planned this vacation for this time of year because my school has fall break (which is Alice's school too, now, so we both had the days off), and because we decided that the kids are at the perfect age for a vacation. A real family vacation. No bottles, diapers, or naps needed. And it WAS perfect.
The resort is an incredible place that is just full of beauty and lots of things to do,

such as climb the watch tower,

climb the trees,

feed the ducks,

look at all of the animals in the lagoon (birds, fish, and turtles)

let the ducks run after you (because they think you have more food for them),

feed the fish at the marina (there were even sharks and stingrays!),

swim,

enjoy a cup of coffee outside each morning (they're pretending, I think)

HOWEVER, I learned to NEVER set your drink down by the seagulls!

Oh yeah, he sure did steal my latte. Can't you just here him saying "Mine. Mine," as he flew off with it!

And at night, you can eat by the beach, watch the sunset, and dance

Sometimes, we just found ourselves taking it all in. Just in awe of it all:

It was a great feeling, to be away from televisions, cell phones, and computers. To just spend time as a family in this beautiful place.

A place, I am SURE we will go back to.

Kid Cooking Class

2011-10-14T12:54:00.001-05:00

Our fall break is 2 weeks long, so after the first week was spent in California and the second week was spent as a stay-at-home-mom. I loved every minute of it. I took the time to do special things with Alice, since it was just her and I (and that almost never happens).
I had a Groupon for a kids cooking class (It's called The Kids Table that my friend Tracy recommended, so we used that today. It was so fun for both of us.
The kids do everything:
They get their supplies,

chop their vegetables (and taste them, which was great because she had never tried a red pepper for me before),

mince (super fast chopping),

and dice too.

Then they wash their tools,

clean the tables and floor,

and finally enjoy their delicious food! We made corn and potato chowder.

Allie was so proud. She kept feeding me "her" soup and kissing my hands after I ate it.

She enjoyed it too (I wonder if she would have even touched it if I made it at home).

If I could do this every week with her I would.

We do bake and cook a lot at home, but this made her feel even more special today.

I love having these moments.

VACATION

2011-10-10T23:09:00.000-05:00

I am desperately trying to find time to blog, and I swear there are less hours in a day lately. BUT, we just got back from the first (and best) family vacation with just the 4 of us. We went to San Diego, because Jamie and I loved it so much a couple of years ago, and we promised ourselves to bring the kids back.

WELL, WE DID.

And it was the most special family time we've had. We all needed the uninterrupted time together. Life is just too busy and too stressful. This is what we live and work for.

VACATION...

Crayons on Canvas

2011-09-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

I have seen several people make these on their blogs lately, so I decided to go for it. It's really easy and so cool, especially since I love anything that's colorful.

All you do is hot glue crayons to a canvas and then blow dry them until they start to melt. The entire project took me a total of 25 minutes. Easy and Fun!

Turtle Creek Finale

2011-09-05T15:25:00.001-05:00

The time spent in Michigan this summer was mostly filled with great food and great swimming.
All of the little kids made progress in the swimming/jumping in/sliding department, and it was quite entertaining for us all. So for our final summer weekend in Michigan together, we decided to line them up and have them all jump in (FYI, it was not as easy as we thought it would be, as you can see by Alice's initial reaction below).

TAKE 2:

Phoebe (2), Alice (3), Wyatt (4), Ryan (5), Jack (5), Shane (7), Hannah (8), Maddy (9)

I have to throw in a few slide shots and a guest appearance of a turtle the kids found who had the displeasure of swimming in the pool for a few minutes (poor fella...We set him free after that)

Ryan's first slide attempt:

Alice's new favorite thing to do was to hug her daddy so tight and go all the way to the bottom.

And here is just a sample of the amazing FRESh farmer's market food we thoroughly enjoyed...

to go along with a turtle burger!

Random Happenings

2011-08-31T23:12:00.000-05:00

So, I have very little time for doing much of anything other than the daily grind, but I have to throw out some random things that have been happening here.
First,
Jack's first week of wearing a uniform started and the first day he put it on he said, "I look like an Irish Man!" He really kind of does, but I love it! He actually loves it too (You wouldn't know in the first picture, but the second shows his real emotions)

Also, Alice is loving school now, and she doesn't even want to hug me when she sees me in the hallway! Heartbreaking, but good. Every night in her bed, she sings the songs she learned at school, and she always talks about her new friends. She is learning a lot already. YAY!

Another cool thing I need to share is this awesome addition to our household. These family rules are hanging in our kitchen, and they are treated as THE rules. They are perfect for our family. We are REALLY working on getting Alice to stop breaking the 6th rule (DON'T WHINE), because it's really making me crazy. I bought this here. She has really cute signs.

And the last thing I have to share that has made me so happy is this:

I have wanted to grow sunflowers in my yard for years, and this is the first year that I DID. And they're beautiful. It was so fun to watch them grow all summer too. I highly recommend you do it at least once.
Another first in my garden was broccoli! Alice's favorite. I got these adorable kits that I have been meaning to blog about. So, hopefully I'll find time in the near future.

That's all I have time for before my eyes close right at my desk!

BACK TO SCHOOL

2011-08-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

Well, we are officially back to school, and there are some big FIRSTS for all of us in the O'Hearn household.

First, I came back to a brand new principal and a different classroom and teaching position. BIG changes! For those of you who don't know, I've been a special education teacher in a kindergarten classroom where I team taught with my friend Laurie for the past 10 years. Recently, our dear principal passed away and CPS also changed policies that they no longer want blended kindergarten classrooms (where special ed students and regular ed students are taught together with 2 teachers). I was not given much of a choice, so now I am the Gen-Ed Pre-K teacher. I'll admit, I do love working with this age group (which is why I have an early childhood degree). But let me tell you, preschool is HARD work! I'm adjusting to all the differences and changes, though. I really like those cute little kids too. =) If only I could just work 3 days a week and then have 4 days to focus on just being a good mom and wife (and maybe get a little ME time too!).

The SECOND big change is that my little baby Alice is in preschool!

Yes, she has a dress code! Isn't that crazy?! (But kinda cute too)

She is in the 3-year-old class down the hall from me. It was a rough transition for her. She cried a little bit each day the first week. It was heartbreaking for me that first week, when I saw her in the hall crying. I was torn, because I was working, but she was my baby. She just kept asking me to hold her for a while, which I couldn't do for very long because I had my students to worry about as well. I, of course, snuck in a few good hugs and kisses, and she was ok thanks to RoseyAnn who she knows and is the aide in her classroom.
And as we close out week 3, I'm happy to say that she loves school now and smiles whenever I see her in the hall.

Just like her brother.

Strike a pose! Little Diva

In the kitchen "baking" up a storm

And the third, and biggest milestone of a change is that our baby boy is off to kindergarten. How can this be already?! Well, he's certainly ready for it, but I don't know that I am!

As we were waiting in the car before school, he told me he was so nervous (I didn't tell him this, but I was too). But then when we got there, he was his calm and cool self.

Parents were allowed to stay in the class with the kids for the first few minutes, and Jack would look over and whisper to me, "Make sure you give me a big hug, a big kiss, and a regular hug and regular kiss before you leave" (That's what he asks for every time I leave for work or when he goes to bed). So of course, I delivered on those hugs, but when I did, we both had to fight back the tears (and he got a few extras). It was bittersweet.

He was super excited about having his own locker

When I got home from work, I met my mom, Kerry, and Hildy at the park where they were having a picnic. It was such a great way to celebrate the kids' first day of school (Jack, Shane, and Ryan all go to the same school).

I love these women so much! They are my angels who are always watching over my kids for me.

So, it's a farewell to the lazy and fun summer days. The warm (sometimes too warm) weather is sticking around, so our afternoons and weekends will hopefully still be filled with good times outdoors.

July Flew By!

2011-08-02T22:40:00.000-05:00

Today is my last day of freedom. I am in disbelief at how quickly my summer break went. It was very eventful and very fun, yet I never seemed to catch up on all the things I wanted to do and I also had to spend way more time than I'd like at the doctor/chiropractor (Not a "sprinkly" topic, but I may have to vent anyway about that fact that I had an MRI and found out I have 2 bulged discs! UGH).

But here's what we DID do.

Arts and crafts

(Sidewalk Chalk Paint...Go here to see how)

Science experiments

Fun with many different friends

Severe weather (And often found the after effects of the storms the next day)

The Zoo, Museum, and Botanic Gardens

Birthdays

Music Class for Alice and Day Camp with cousins for Jack

Doctor appointments for everyone, even Oscar

Updated the house (Including central A/C!!) Gardened.

Ate healthy (but we also had our fair share of root beer floats and popsicles).

Alice chose an avocado for dessert one night.

Stayed COOL

The heat warmed the pool TOO much...I had to dump a bucket of ice in it to cool off

And of course, we enjoyed so much quality time with family.
Okay, I am really pleased with all that we fit in. It really was an AWESOME summer.
And it's not over yet!

7 Years and still TICKING

2011-07-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

For our 7-year-anniversary, we had a perfect weekend. My mom took the kids on Friday afternoon, and I headed downtown for an afternoon by myself while Jamie was at work. Jamie reserved a room at the Palmer House, which has a beautiful story behind it. It was a wedding gift from Potter Palmer to his wife, and it's the oldest running hotel in the country. I love that we were able to see the artistic beauty of this hotel (which was inspired by French artists, including the incredible and breathtaking ceiling fresco in the middle of it all. It was the complete opposite of the Wit, which is where we stayed two years ago. There was nothing contemporary about it. That's one of the great things about Chicago- You get the best of both worlds.

So, after a wonderful evening of dinner (with complimentary champagne for our anniversary) by the river at Smith and Wolensky, we went for a few cocktails downtown.

How crazy is this?!-- I found out that one of my oldest friends (and my sister's best friend) Renee and her husband Rich happened to be spending the night at the Palmer House too for their anniversary! They were even on the same floor! In all of Chicago, what are the chances, right?! We met up after dinner and had the best time together. At about 12:45am a HUGE rainstorm came in, and we were sitting in a bar by the windows watching the rain. Renee and I used to play in the rain on our block as kids, and we just couldn't resist. So we danced out in the rain and eventually got a whole group of people to run down the block in it. (This is the best picture you'll get of the rain dancing-Jamie took it from inside the bar)

This banner made me laugh, but it was oh so true that night...

Is this really something Benjamin Franklin said?! Awesome.

Back at the hotel, the four of us played in the lobby and took ridiculous pictures (She's known for this). Unfortunately, most of them are on Renee's camera. This is a mirror-table that we were looking into, which shows a cool shot of the ceiling-Too bad our faces were too dark and I didn't think to move the camera down!

The Peacock doors (valued at more than 1 million dolllars and designed by Tiffany)....Renee pretending to be a peacock. Love her.

By Saturday morning, the rain was gone and Jamie and I strolled the streets of downtown Chicago. The week before our anniversary, he suggested we buy each other a watch and choose something to engrave. I loved the idea. It was really exciting to be able to focus on finding that perfect watch. And we did.

As for the engravings, you'll have to wait for me to post them when we pick them up this weekend! =)

Fairy Garden: Take 1

2011-07-25T20:53:00.000-05:00

Over the last few months, I have spotted an adorable idea on a couple of blogs...A fairy garden. I have always loved miniature things. Our dollhouse was one of the greatest childhood toys, because of all the teeny pieces of furniture and accessories that my sisters and I played with (It's still in my mom's basement waiting until the granddaughters are old enough to not break anything--Or maybe we just don't want to share it?! Hmmm...).

So, I read this site and got a couple of ideas to make a fairy garden of our own. This is something even a boy would like to do. In fact, Jack was the one who asked to make one today. They each picked out a little house at Michaels and painted it to their liking.

Then we filled two planters with soil and planted a couple of flowers and plants in it. For my next one (and there WILL be more of these), I will take some tips from this woman. I didn't see her site before I bought the material for ours. But they still turned out cute.

I like the little pink birds in the nest that Jack carefully placed in his "tree"

The yellow circles were our attempts at a pond. A more natural-colored pond would be a better choice next time. And I would buy real moss instead of Spanish moss. All of these things will be tweaked so that Jack and Alice's teachers (I can't believe she's going to school too!) receive perfect fairy gardens as gifts by the end of the year.

All-in-all, I am pleased with our first set!

Oh Beautiful, for Spacious Skies

2011-07-18T22:29:00.000-05:00

The fourth of July was highlighted by the swimming fun that was seen in my video, but another memorable part was our night at the beach. My dad's good friend invites us to his 4th of July party every year to watch the fireworks up and down the beach. This year, my siblings were all committed to other parties, so it was just my parents, Jamie, me, and Jack. Another big first for Jack was that he finally loved watching the fireworks (he used to be scared of them). He had a blast playing around on the beach, skipping rocks with his dad and Papa, and watching everyone's displays for the 4th (Alice stayed back at our house with Nana and Erin).

The sunset was a display enough for me. I have not seen a sky so beautiful in ages.

And just because I have nowhere else to insert these photos from the weekend, I'm adding them here!

Launching rockets at the local school

Fish Lake

2011-07-17T09:34:00.000-05:00

I am having so much fun with iMovie and the underwater video camera. When we were at the cottage, we were all amazed at the fish that were in the lake, because the lake had been lacking fish and water over the last several years. This was a great sign that it is healthy again. And as for Chloe, it made for a fun game of "how many fish can nibble you at once?" It was really cool...I don't know if I could have handled it, but she loved it.
This is a little movie of her and the fishies...

Makin' A Splash

2011-07-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought it was a big deal that Jack learned how to swim this summer, Alice decided to start swimming too! And Jack is now the king of cannonballs. Check this out:

The Lake 2011

2011-07-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

After Mike and Maureen's wedding, Jamie's family headed up to the cottage in Hancock, Wisconsin. It was a nice treat to have Jamie's sister Bess and her family there with us this year (They live in Florida).

As always, it was a memorable few days. The water in the lake was up higher than it has been in years, which made for some fun swimming, boating, and splashing.

Jack, Will, Juliana, and Jake chillin'

Jack and Will making sand angels

Chloe, Matt, Will, and Jack taking a canoe ride across the lake to the candy shop

Jack and Will just being little boys

And Alice just being Alice!

Such a WATER BABY

Everyone loved standing on the pier (or under the water, as you'll see by a video I'll post) and watching the fish and the beautiful scenery- Like the eagle who lived in the tree across the lake. Here he is swooping in for his dinner:

Will's caught a fish! (He didn't want to touch it)

In the evenings, the kids ran free, making up silly games or just chasing each other without a care in the world.

And once they were asleep, us adults (and the older kids) sat by the fire, stared at the incredible star-filled sky, and talked and laughed for hours....also without a care in the world.

I can't even describe how beautiful the night sky was-shooting stars and constellations everywhere you look. It's really magical.

I wish the whole family could have been there, but it was still a great time filled with memories.

We miss the Florida peeps already! We're coming to you next! =)

Triple Birthday Time

2011-07-06T22:16:00.000-05:00

The end of June wraps up crazy birthday season in my family, and my mom hosted the triple birthday for Alice, Wyatt, and Ryan once again. It was a perfect evening, and we all had a great time. I hope these three continue to celebrate their birthdays together as they grow up-Even if it's at a bar one day!--This annual day of family fun is something I really love about summer.

Phoebe learned to jump and she couldn't stop! Sooo cute!

Pinata time!

CANDY!!!

We're the cool dads

What a colorful and happy bunch!

My Birthday Girl Flower Girl

2011-06-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

Here's to my little girl- The girl who has made our world an even better place when she entered it. She rocked it at her uncle's wedding on Friday-Best flower girl in the world, and even better little dancer at the reception.

And you're THREE YEARS OLD TODAY.

Alice, you never cease to amaze me. You are so spunky and spirited, yet so gentle and sweet. You are a lover of life,

A nurturing soul.

You'll do anything to make your cousins and brother laugh.

You have a way with words...already. When you talk, you EXPLAIN-with intensity and description. I love listening to you talk-Except when you are tired or just being moody...Then you clench those little teeth and let your emotions take over. You can be a little devil...

and a crude little princess too!

But that's what makes you YOU. And I love it. Speaking of princesses, you love anything princess, anything animal, anything sweet, and anything PINK.

I'll be honest, you make me work hard at my job as a parent. There are nights when my patience runs out. But then you climb onto my lap, and lay your head on my shoulder, and I kiss your head and squeeze you and remember that you're still my angel.

You are my sweet and silly and loving little wonder.

I am so very happy and blessed to have you in my life. Happy 3rd Birthday, Alice Erin. We all love you...as you say... "all the way at the moon."

Don't ever lose that smile....

My Favorite Shots

2011-06-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

I wanted to post my favorite shots that I got from the Double JJ Weekend

So proud of his new cowboy belt

Her new pony, Gallop, which she learned how to do that weekend =)

Cowboy Livin'

2011-06-22T23:21:00.000-05:00

My dad has always been a cowboy at heart. Ever since he was a kid, he had a love of horses and the whole cowboy lifestyle. As soon as he and my mom had the money, he bought a farm in Wisconsin so he could finally have horses. We spent just about every weekend up there, and we loved it. As my best friend Meghan always reminded me, "How many kids in Chicago could say that they actually had a pony?!" We DID have a pony! And we loved Tony the Pony. The farm was such a significant part of our childhood. We LOVED riding horses and running free in the open air, discovering nature and getting dirty.
Eventually, it was time to say goodbye to that phase of life, and my parents sold it when I was 12 or 13. We will never ever forget it. I'm so grateful that they gave us that experience. So, now you have a little background on the cowboy blood that runs in the Wilcox family...On to present-day...
My mom wanted to do something special for my dad for his 65th birthday, and she hit the jackpot:

The DOUBLE JJ RANCH is in Rothsbury, Michigan. It has been around since the 50's. Actually, my MOM used to go there as a teenager with her friends! Back then it was a much smaller ranch for teens and young adults. It was NOT a family resort. I googled an image and found this:

How fun does THAT look?! (I'm kinda jealous, Mom!)

Today, it is a family resort on a ton of land with a million options of things to do. They have an Old West town, horse back riding, rodeo, petting zoo, golf, indoor and outdoor water park, and camping, to name a few. I can't describe how wonderful of a place it was for our family of 19 (My dad's brother and his wife came too).

Let's start off with the accommodations:

There is a hotel and lofts, I believe, but we stayed in the area that had campsites and log cabins. Our families each had a cabin to stay in, and we shared a common yard area with a firepit and picnic tables. It was all ours, which everyone loved. We could spend as much time together as we wanted, but if we needed a little break, we had our cabins to retreat to.

Jammin' by the campfire

The kids turned into cowboys immediately upon arriving here. In fact, Jack was pretty much a cowboy for the entire weekend. From the moment he woke up, he'd put on his hat, grab his gun--the first time I let him play with toy guns...for some reason it just seemed less violent being a cowboy! -- and step onto our front porch to see who was awake and ready to play.

It was so cute to watch them, especially since that was what my dad said he always played as a kid.

Aren't these kids adorable in cowboy hats?! They should come back in fashion!

Even the girls joined in on the cowboy fun

Next, the Old West Town, aka The Back Forty Ranch. This was right by our cabin, and it had so many things going on each day.

There was a craft barn, a pool and waterslide (outdoor), a general store, a restaurant, an ice cream shop, and great activities for everyone. The staff was INCREDIBLE. They are a very well trained, personable group, and they were not overbearing.

One of the things at the Back Forty was the petting zoo. OMG, some of the cutest animals were in this place. The kids (and I) could have spent hours there. It wasn't like a petting zoo you see at a fall fest. These animals are clean, happy and they have a lot of space.

"Don't mind if I DO eat your hat, Ryan!"

Check out these baby Llamas! They looked like stuffed animals. I wanted to take one home.

So did Alice...

She pretty much wanted to take every animal home.

And, as if the Back Forty wasn't enough, the resort also had an indoor water park to spend our time in.

It was not over crowded, it had plenty for the kids to do, and it was overall a great waterpark.

Next, the horseback riding. It was awesome getting back on a horse, and we got to bring Maddy and Hannah for their first trail ride!

It was so relaxing walking through trees that went as far as the eye could see. As my mom put it, they were so tall, they were "cathedral-like." The entire trail ride was relaxing and peaceful (we chose the walking trail...some of the others did a running trail, so their experience would not be described as calm and peaceful, I imagine). Whether we were walking or running, it didn't matter-We were all back in the saddle,

and our number one cowboy got to ride again...

Last, but not least, was the Pig Roast and Rodeo. We took a hayride to the event, which was an added bonus to the experience. The kids thought it was the coolest thing.

It was chilly, but still so fun and so memorable.

The cowboy play continued, of course

Everyone could participate if they wanted to. My brother and the older kids tried to get a ribbon off of baby bulls, Shane rode on a sheep (for like 2 seconds), and the younger kids got to try to catch a duck.

It was a great evening. The cowboys even temporarily became bulls and bull riders after experiencing their first rodeo.

To sum it all up:

Believe it or not, we were only there for two nights. We would definitely stay longer next time, and there will be a next time. I'm sure of it. This was just too perfect of a place for us. I don't know if all families would enjoy it the way we did, but I can't imagine anyone NOT having fun here.
I will treasure the memories from the weekend, and I KNOW that the kids will never forget those unique experiences and the wonderful quality time spent with FAMILY.

Catchin' Up...Jack's Graduation

2011-06-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

So I am FINALLY able to devote a little of my free time to blogging again. School is almost over (It's crazy to me that school doesn't get out until June 21st-I feel like half of the summer is gone by then!). I just graduated my last class of kindergarteners. I won't be teaching kindergarten special ed anymore. 10 years of a good thing has come to an end, but I'm sure things happen for a reason. More on that as the plans for next year unfold.
Now, onto the big things that have been happening on the home front.
On June 1st, Jack and Ryan graduated from Junior Kindergarten. Their class had a little ceremony and he got a diploma. Kerry arranged a play date/picnic with the class at a park. It was so nice to talk with the parents and watch the kids play. I really love his class. They're such a nice group of people-kids and parents alike!

I didn't take many pictures at the park because I was too busy sitting back and enjoying the day and good company. =)

My first iMovie

2011-06-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

I have so much stored in my brain and in my camera that I want to blog about, but I just have no time. One thing I did accomplish is my first iMovie on our Mac. I am pretty happy with it, but I'm excited to learn how to make them even better.
Hopefully, once school is done and my life is slightly less chaotic, I'll be able to that.
In the meantime, mute my pink music box on the side and take a look at Memorial Day weekend spent in Michigan...

A Blast of a Birthday

2011-05-16T22:23:00.001-05:00

Jack turned 5 last week! FIVE?! Really? Despite my typical sappy and sentimental feelings when my kids have a birthday, I have to admit that I wasn't too sad about his birthday. I think a lot of it had to do how much he was looking forward to this day. It was the first time I sensed REAL excitement about having a birthday. And this is probably the first birthday he'll really remember when he's an adult. I really love this age. Jack's really fun.

He wanted to have an outer space birthday party, and I couldn't wait to give him one that he'll never forget.

We sent out invitations with this picture on the front to his cousins and some of his closest friends.

The kids had, well...a blast. They got to play with his new space shuttle toy, dress up in his astronaut costume and ride the inflatable shuttle,

make space glasses and jet packs,

have moon rock races,

and eat moon cake, of course!

(This cake was surprisingly easy to make, btw. Here's the link).

I decided to let Jack choose who he'd like to invite rather than ME tell him who is coming to his party. Luckily, he wanted all of his cousins and some of my his favorite little friends. It was a perfect little party.

One of the gifts he got was a rocket launcher. It's a very cool toy. The kids had so much fun jumping on the launcher and watching the rocket soar up into the sky:

How cute is my nephew Wyatt? He came as Buzz Lightyear

And then later that evening, Mike and soon-to-be-aunt Maureen came over, and the rocket launching continued.

When Jamie was putting Jack to bed, he came running out of his room, gave me a huge hug, and said, "Thanks for the BEST birthday party ever. I LOVE YOU!"

melted. my. heart.

So, here's a little note to Jack (for him to read one day when he's being an evil teenager and I want to remind him of how sweet and innocent he was) Feel free to skip over it, if you want:

Dear Jack,

When I met you, I knew I would love you no matter what. But you certainly haven't made it hard to love you.You are such a wonderful and adorable little guy, although you're starting to act more like a kid and less like a little boy. You are so independent now: You can read. You can swim. You play t-ball. When you wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream, you just come and ask me to turn on the fish tank light instead of crawling into bed with us. You even sleep without your monkey (only because we left it at Kerry's..You still love Monk). I love the way you so happily play with other kids. You adore Shane and Ryan, but you love to play with just about anyone. You're usually very kind (sometimes you choose to make Alice scream, but that's to be expected). And you're so funny and smiley. I couldn't have asked for a better boy to be my son and to be Alice's brother. You make me so proud, and you never forget to tell me that you love me...That means the world to me. I love watching you dance and sing your current favorite song (that you make me play over and over again)-Rolling in the Deep by Adele. You're extremely good at video games-I'm not proud of the fact that you play video games but Daddy keeps reassuring me that you're learning to be creative and use fine motor skills when you play. You also love to play with race cars, space ships, and legos.

Every night, you and Daddy read a chapter book together, and then play a few minutes of Risk on his phone (I've heard you use the words, 'Fortify" and "Retaliate"). You tell him you love him and you'll drink big kefir and watch the news in the morning, because that's what we do every morning. And when I walk past your room, you whisper, "Would you lay with me." I gladly lay next to you and watch you drift off to sleep.

I also gladly give you a "tight hug and tight kiss," followed by a "regular hug and regular kiss" when I leave for work in the morning. You're so sweet. Stay that way forever. I love you to the moon and back, my sweet Jack.

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom

Easter FUN

2011-04-25T18:11:00.000-05:00

It's been a wonderful 2 weeks leading up to Easter. I spent a lot of time with Jack, Alice, and Jamie. I was able to help in Jack's class with art projects and the Easter party, and we also had time to make crafts at home.

I also found this really fun idea here, and decided to do it.

So the day before Easter, Jack and Alice received an envelope in the mail from E.B. I made these seed packets using clipart and a seed packet template. It was pretty easy for someone who does not do Photoshop or any other crafty things like that. On the back, the instructions read

(I wasn't watching them closely, and they started eating the jellybeans before I could even tell them what they were! Luckily there were enough left to plant...Whew!).

They were really excited to get to work.

The next morning, when they came outside, they found these!

Let the sugar rush begin!

There was some egg and basket-hunting in between candy-eating sessions.

Oh and if you saw the movie Hop (or the previews), you know that jelly beans are actually Easter Bunny poop. Gross, huh. Well, he left some all around our house.

I wish knowing it was poop would deter me from eating it!

Dance party in Dayton

2011-04-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

So this is a cute little impromptu dance party with all the kids when we were in Ohio. Pause the music on my sidebar (the pink box on the right) so you can hear the music in the video (This happens to be Jack's favorite song right now).

Play Ball!

2011-04-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

Jamie has been waiting patiently for his son to be old enough to play baseball, and to hopefully WANT to play baseball. This year will be the year. Jack has taken a real liking to playing baseball, and he is finally old enough to play on a t-ball team. Jamie, of course, volunteered to be the coach. Almost every night, Jack asks Jamie if they can go out and play ball for a while. It's so cute.

And, not to sound biased or anything, I think Jack's really good (I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since it's in his genes). He hits balls that are actually pitched to him and he has pretty decent aim and strength in his arm (we're still not sure if he's lefty or righty!). One thing we'll have to work on is his base-running. EVERY time he hits the ball, regardless of how far the ball has gone, he does this....

Drops the bat, runs in a big circle....

aaaaaannd then falls to the ground,

as he "slides" into home plate.

SAFE!

It's hard to believe that this little guy is going to be five in a few weeks.

It going to be a fun summer!

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-19T14:02:00.001-05:00

Spring Break is a two-week vacation for me this year (because we are a year-round school now). It's been sooo nice to not have to think about work and to be able to focus on and spend quality time with my own kids. This weekend was an especially memorable one, because I spent 4 days straight with them at a hotel in Dayton, Ohio. Why, you ask? Well, my very best friend from college, Anne, lives in West Virginia (My friends Amy, Tracy, and I went and visited her in January, if you recall). So over this break, Amy decided that we should meet up with Anne halfway between Chicago and West Virginia-this time with the kids. I was excited to finally use our car to its full potential for an extended road trip. We filled every single seat, used the DVD player frequently, and drove it until we almost ran out of gas-literally! That was a thrilling five miles of driving in the middle of the country!

But luck was on our side, and we came across this tiny gas station just in time!

And then we found ourselves in this beautiful little town.The trees were in full-bloom, which made me so anxious for spring to arrive here in Chicago.

With six kids in tow, us three adults had no agenda, other than to hang out, have fun, and swim in the pool. The kids were great entertainment. They were truly adorable, as they played together and got to know each other.

We did happen to find a great children's museum and the United State Air Force Museum.

Look at this precious face!

Our little "class" lecture about rules before entering the museum

Alice decided that she could tell Olivia the rules since Olivia's younger

Olivia showed HER, and started telling ALICE what to do :)

So they both gave each other simultaneous rules and warnings

"Find your partners"

Cute little otters!

And, now, here is the grand finale of the trip. Without any planning or preparation, Jack suddenly learned how to swim! AND, I happened to have our new underwater video camera to capture it!

I realized at the end of the weekend that I never took a picture of us girls. We were all quite busy keeping these kids happy, though. Which, of course made us happy (the nightly cocktails helped too ;)

It was a trip to remember, for sure. Old friends and new friends, and lots of smiles.

That First Spring Day

2011-04-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

It came unexpectedly, but long overdue. Yesterday started off chilly and not too sunny, but when we stepped outside later in the day it was SPRING. And it felt sooooo good. We played in the backyard for hours. We cleared leaves from our garden. We rode bikes up and down the block. We cleaned. We made robin's nest desserts (melted chocolate and butterscotch chips mixed with chow mein noodles and topped with chocolate egg candy of any kind), and Jamie BARBECUED delicious steaks. It was such a great day.

Yummmm

Bubble Nose

Of course, today is cold, crappy, and rainy. Boo.

Jack Got A Hold of My Camera

2011-04-03T22:17:00.000-05:00

I know my camera should be nowhere near his reach, but I can't help but love finding what he captured from his viewpoint.

And here's when I usually cut him off

Leprechauns and Rainbows

2011-03-22T21:31:00.000-05:00

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite days as a teacher, because I love to plan fun activities for my students, including having a leprechaun leave a mess and a pot of gold in the classroom. This year, I realized that Jack was old enough to do some fun things too, so I brought a lot of what I do at school home to do with Jack and Alice.

St. Patrick's day never used to be anything more than a little splash of green added to our day. I don't know if my family just never did anything, or if today's parents have one-upped our moms and made it into a big deal. I have heard of some great things you can do with your kids regardless if you're Irish or not. I love starting fun and memorable traditions with my kids. That's what childhood is all about.

So, here are a couple of things we did at home.

I read The Night Before St. Patrick's Day. This is such a cute little story (found it in my classroom library) about a brother and sister who make a trap and catch a leprechaun:

As soon as we finished reading it, Jack got straight to work making a trap in case a leprechaun came to our house.

He lured the leprechaun with a sign that says, "GOLD UP"

A shiny "gold" penny on top of kleenex, so he will fall into the can

We played outside for a while, and when Jack came in he found our window open with a trail of little gold rocks,

and shiny gold coins in the can. The leprechaun escaped, but we got some of his gold!

Jack couldn't believe it. He was so excited, and he felt really proud that his trap had worked...sort of.

Next year, maybe he'll catch him...I hear if you do catch a leprechaun, they turn to stone.
(In other words, anyone who finds a cute stone leprechaun in the next 360 days, please let me know!)

To keep Alice interested, we also incorporated rainbows into our day over the last couple of weeks.

And here's a fun science project that they both enjoyed. We put a few drops of red, blue, and yellow food coloring into a shallow bowl of milk.

Then, we put a drop of dish soap in the middle and watch the colors swirl together to make the rainbow.

They had so much fun watching this (and over-swirling the colors with their fingers until it turned gray), that they wanted to do it over and over again. So, instead of wasting all of my food coloring and milk, I gave them paint to mix and create art while they were at it.

Jack carefully mixed primary colors and took a long time to completely fill his paper with an "abstract," his favorite kind of art.

I know I'm slightly biased because I am Irish and I love color, but this has been a fun month.

And, I have to say, while I usually wish that I could be a stay-at-home-mom, how can you not love your job when you're given this?!

(They're twins and they made the rainbow and stuck it into a pot of chocolate gold coins. Isn't that so cute? I'm keeping it in my shamrock plant and keeping it in mind for Jack's teacher next year!)

HAVE A LUCKY DAY!!

Seeing Green...and Blue

2011-03-18T22:06:00.000-05:00

Green that I usually see at this time of year is from the St. Patrick's Day Parade, that is not the case this year. I did NOT go to the parade, which is something I'm never proud to say. The only times I've missed it since I can remember are from being too sick to get out of bed or from being pregnant (because who really wants to stand around a bunch of drunken Irish people if you're sober?!).
I wasn't sad about missing it this year though, because I was HERE instead:

Secrets Maroma in Cancun. Yah. Not too bad, huh.

Actually, it was the most wonderfully relaxing 4 days I have had in many years. I can't even describe the tranquility and pleasure this place brought. I wish everyone could go here. Jamie won the trip at work, so we were there with 50 other people from his company. This made it even more fun. It was a perfect balance of time spent together, just me and Jamie, time spent with new friends, and some ME time. I got to listen to my music, think about things other than school, parenting, and house stuff, and I got a massage -- I tell you, I do believe I was in heaven. This is a glimpse into the private hydrotherapy area of the spa. It had a sauna, a lounge, and a bunch of pools. Some hot tubs, some cool sitting tubs, some with jets to massage your back, some with bubbles bellowing out from under your feet, and even a bubble bed that you could lay on in the water. It was absolutely amazing.

Another incredibly cool thing that this resort had to offer was swim-up rooms. So, not only was our room gorgeous,

but when we stepped onto our patio, we had our own pool:

Other highlights of our weekend include...
The wildlife. There were iguanas, beautiful birds, these furry raccoon-like guys, and even little monkeys, which we never spotted but I carried a banana around with me just in case.

The FOOD (all inclusive and oh-so-good)- Seafood to die for. A buffet like you wouldn't believe. And there was a guy who walked around the pool and served tacos straight from the grill! Damn good tacos, at that!

The people. There aren't too many good reports about what's going on in Mexico these days, but the people who worked here were so warm and kind. They were genuine and always smiling. There was not a glimpse of what goes on outside the walls of the resort. I'm sure they don't have the best life (or maybe they do...I hope I am wrong and they do), but they were so happy to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. Each one was nicer than the next.

The pools and the beach. There's something about the colors of the water, the sand, and the trees that makes me feel so at peace.

They had the most comfortable lounging chairs ever. PLUS, there are BEDS everywhere you go. Beds by the pool, beds under trees, beds on the beach.

Needless to say, I declared this to be the most brilliant idea and that I would no longer stay at a resort that doesn't provide me with such luxury (I also declared that Jamie MUST win more trips!--And, by the way, why can't teachers and parents be awarded trips for raising good humans?! Am I right?!)

It felt like a dream. We were gone and back in 4 days, but it's always such a treat to come home to two little adorable and smiling kids. Thank you so very much to my mom who, as always, stepped in and became 2nd mom to them while we escaped. We needed it more than we thought. It reminded me that we should all take time to stop and smell the roses as often as we can, because this world is just too darn stressful and we often forget that there are still GOOD things out there. And that it's good to SIMPLIFY once in a while.

Farewell to February

2011-03-05T22:40:00.000-06:00

We will never forget how February began...

It was EPIC.

The rest of the month was surprisingly pretty low key--but HAPPY. I really do like my family. =)

There wasn't anything too fancy, but we still had fun. From soup and sandwich night,

to a trip to Petsmart simply to get out--we seemed to beat those winter blues.

"Duzrts heor (here)"

We set up our own store, which Jack called Home Depot, even though was stocked with mostly food and toys. He labeled everything in the store with his cute inventive spelling:

"Foots aend vedbl "

Our biggest form of exercise while stuck indoors was dancing with the Wii. I will have to devote an entire post to this, because I have some fun videos and pictures of everyone dancing.

We also managed to spend one Saturday at the Museum of Science and Industry with Staci and Tom.

Alice got to see her friends...the baby chicks

while Jack got to turn his gears

I love that place.

February DOES bring an important day in our family:

Jamie's birthday was a Thursday night filled with Gale Street ribs, Black Forest Cake...

and whipped cream

(Look at that Daddy Love)

My mom had an Oscar-themed birthday party for Jamie and Kerry's birthdays. Isn't that fun?!
Dressing in a character was optional. My mom was a presenter, so she was all glammed up.

Nevermind that she was presenting a drink shaker instead of an Oscar.

Erin was the "Pink" Swan,

I was Mattie Ross from True Grit

My dad was Rooster Cogburn

and Jamie was Mark Zuckerberg.

She made steak "Oscar"style (with crabmeat on top) and homemade Oreo cheesecake. It was all so delicious.

And we sang to two of my favorite people:

Now, can we start to dream about Spring???

Doin' Girl Things

2011-02-25T22:41:00.003-06:00

My little girl LOOVES pink. I don't know if this is an abnormal love for pink, or just the typical 2-year-old girl obsession. I was more of a tomboy, so I can't really say I had a phase like this, but while the boys were at the Blackhawks game last Friday night, I told Alice that we would make Pinkalicious cupcakes. She was tickled...pink (Sorry, I had to!).

If you're not familiar with the story, it's about a little pink-loving girl who eats too many pink cupcakes, which causes her to turn pink. Then she continues to eat them and turns red and has to eat green veggies to return to normal. It's really cute, and, as I've mentioned before, Alice recites it word-for-word.

Needless to say, she couldn't wait to make her own pinkalicious cupcakes (we've been on a bit of a baking trend in case you haven't noticed),

Aaaannnnd, eat them

For a sweet-lover like Alice, she actually doesn't even eat an entire cupcake. She eats the frosting, and that's it. --

------------Oh, and the cherries...

And in case you were wondering, we did NOT share these with anyone...

and she did NOT turn pink.

Doin' Boy Things

2011-02-22T22:46:00.000-06:00

This weekend was packed with some major father-son bonding time. From the moment Jamie became a dad, he could not wait to share those special moments with his son- the same way he and his own father have done and still do together.

As Jack is getting older (which seems to be happening way too quickly for me lately), he seems to be appreciating and enjoying the time they spend together more and more. It's so wonderful to watch this bond, knowing that each is enjoying what they're doing, mostly because they're just loving being with each other. Of course, Jack has not failed Jamie in his interests either. Their common love for sports and cars is quite fascinating, and that is why this weekend was noteworthy....

Friday night, they went to Jack's first Blackhawks game. I didn't even give Jamie the nagging mom reminders that I so badly wanted to say, like "Don't let him eat too much junk food," "Make sure he washes his hands," or "You don't have to stay until the end of the game if it's getting too late." I let them go have fun and be boys together, and that's just what they did.

They did stay until the end of the game. Jack did eat junk food. And he probably did not wash his hands (or at least not as thoroughly as I would have!). But he had a memorable first game and they both had a lot of fun (after Jack got over the intense noise level that a hockey game can bring).

Then on Sunday, they spent the day at the Auto Show (joined by my brother-in-law, Matt and Shane). It is a very awesome place for a kid who absolutely LOVES race cars and basically anything with engines and wheels.

Jack has not stopped playing with his Hot Wheels cars and telling me about the particular ones that he saw that day. He told me that he wants to save his money in his piggy bank to buy a Lamborghini. Ha!
And he wants to be a real race car driver one day....I'm not so sure I'll be able to control my nagging mom reminders if he truly does become one...I shudder to think about it ("Wear your helmet!" "Don't go TOO fast!" "Please be careful" "How about taking up something like knitting instead?!" etc. etc.).

Brrrrr-rookfield Zoo

2011-02-20T22:58:00.001-06:00

Seriously, only in Chicago does a family decide that as soon as it hits 40 degrees, we should go to the zoo. But that's EXACTLY what we did last weekend. We weren't the only ones, though. Both of my sisters met us there too.

It was really a fun day. Not too much action by the animals, except for the polar bears, of course.

It really wasn't that cold, but it was still nice to "escape" Chicago's winter for a while. I loved the tank with basically all of the Finding Nemo characters:

And then there was this adorable penguin who kept swimming up to us.

This beautiful alligator was so still, I thought it was fake.

Little Pheebs loves turtles

And Alice loved the lemurs so much that she wanted to be one. She dressed up like one in the children's zoo and was so excited to show her little lemur friends her tail.

She kept saying to them, "Look, lemurs. I have a tail like YOU!"

They were less than amused.

They just sat. Looking around. With their tails hanging.

She wasn't offended. She was just delighted to have a tail.

It was a great day. Something so wonderful about living here in this amazing city is that, places like this, that are typically jam-packed during the summer months, are actually BEST to visit during those off-season days. This was one of those memorable days.