And the Answer Is......

What to do when you are faced with basement troubles.... go kayaking and visit the new Whole Foods nearby, of course. It was a great afternoon and highly recommended as a stress reliever. We all had a blast. M got a little bored at the end and found my lipstick in my wallet as you can see in this family shot.

Basement Woes

When we decided to have carpet installed in the basement, we had never seen or experienced a water problem. We struggled long and hard over this carpet thing and decided to roll the dice. As luck would have it, less than 1 week after we had it installed a couple of years ago we got this crazy storm and .....you guessed, we had water. After last weeks microburst, I loosely checked the same area but didn't see (or want to see anything). The smell tells you all you need to know and I couldn't ignore the smell any longer. Each day I would go into the basement, I smelled musky mold. We knew this day would come. The good news is that it is isolated to one side of the house and doesn't creep in too far. The bad news is that it's a BIG HASSLE AND MESSY!!! I hate mess. I especially hate mess when I'm trying to nest. And to top it off, we are expecting a lot of family over the next few weeks.

C'est la vie !

Early Birthday Party for M

M's teachers (Big Mike and Ms Alice) are going on a well deserved two week vacation to California to visit their son (on a motorcycle no less....can we say, "ouch, my #@!"). They will miss M's actual birthday so they celebrated with the other kids today at school. M was so excited. Lucky her, she will end up getting to celebrate 3 times this year!

M's Interview

A while back we got the idea from a friend to interview M. Enjoy!

Cupcake Day

While Chris was out this morning punishing himself by competing in a triathlon that had white caps in the LAKE that he was swimming, M and I stayed home and declared today Cupcake Day. Personally, I'd go with cupcakes any day over a swim, bike and run!!!


Here's a sample of M's bite size creations (chocolate with chocolate chips, vanilla frosting and sprinkles)....

A Day with M

This morning it dawned on Chris and I that this could be one of the last weekends alone we have with M which I have to admit makes me a little teary eyed. We got an early morning jump by heading out to the farmer's market first thing. This is the time of year that Chris and I eagerly anticipate.....zucchini blossoms !!! If you are not at the market within the first hour it opens you are probably out of luck and not going home with those precious blossoms. Our plan worked as we made it.

BEFORE

AFTER (stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto and coated in a beer batter)

Another advantage of getting an early start is that you don't have to wait in the crazy donut line at the market (but the truth of the matter is that the homemade donuts--plain, powdered sugar or Cinnamon---are surely worth the wait!). Nice breakfast!

Heard of the Philly cheesesteak stance? Well, M has perfected the powdered sugar donut stance!!!

We then played the rest of the day.

Oh, wait, Chris did a little work. Each year I plant annuals in our front flower beds, but this year there is a little something (or a big belly) preventing me from doing this. Without complaint, Chris jumped in and did the job for me. I know......lucky girl!!

Oldies, but man are they goodies!

Uncle Mike's anti-establishment days.....

A smooth operator, no doubt!

Ok, I saved the best for last.....while I am impressed with Uncle Mike's flexibility, this is just NASTY!!!

Father's Day

I was under instructions not to plan ANYTHING for Father's Day this year. OK---anyone who knows me knows that was not going to happen. I couldn't resist making Chris his favorite meal tonight----mussels with crusty bread. But the rest of the day was really laid back. Lunch at Ina's (I recommend checking this place out), nap, pool and lots of family time. Chris' favorite part of the day was watching a foodie show on the couch with M while she fell asleep on his lap. M falling asleep on Chris' lap NEVER happens so he made her promise that she would do that every father's day.

Ang brought over the most adorable cupcakes. Your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, these look like miniature hamburgers but they are really cupcakes stuffed with brownie. OMG....delicious!!! Ang, I need the recipe.

My Birthday

Yesterday Chris surprised me with a massage for me and my friend, Ang, at the Urban Oasis. This place offers prenatal massages where the table has a whole for your belly. It completely took the weight off my belly.....like I wasn't even pregnant. I felt rejuvenated!!! Afterwards, Ang took me out for a lunch celebration at Le Colonial --a French Vietnamese restaurant (Ang and Brian just happened to have gotten engaged at this restaurant a few years ago!).


When Ang and I got home from our massages and luncheon, we were treated to chocolate homemade cake with ganache as the filling and buttercream icing. Delicious---all 3+ sticks of butter!

Later that day, we went on the South Oak Park house walk, joined that event's party that night and then literally fell into bed.


Perfect birthday!!!