Ahhh, Silence

I was looking through some old photos today (electronically, of course....a sign of the times, right!) and ran across this picture of M. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of M. It's from a couple of years ago at Christmas time and simply makes me really happy. Not just because she was sleeping (but that may have something to do with it). To me this picture captured the pure innocence of a 2 year old. Her chubby little cheeks have long passed and have been replaced with sassy talk.....oh, how I long to pinch those cheeks, but that's OK. All part of the fun of having kids. She's an angel in my eyes nonetheless --well, most of the time :-))

Tapas With The Ladies

Last night a group of lovely ladies from the neighborhood piled in a "soccer mom vehicle" and headed to the City. A night out on the town at Cafe Iberico with lovely ladies was what was in store. This was long overdue and we all decided that our little outing must become a regular event. No excuses! I'm there!

10 YEARS

Sardines at Anteprima.....yummy but a lot of work!

Yesterday Chris and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Time has flown by but at the same time it seems like we have known each other all of our lives. We had a low key night. Went to dinner in the city at Anteprima (the grilled octopus salad was amazing....will definitely go back!)Then, had dessert at my favorite little pastry shop in the city.

We are certainly very fortunate that we have each other. We have created quite a beautiful family and life together in a mere blink of the eye. Thank you, Chris, for being my rock, my inspiration, my "chill pill" and my partner in life! You're a cool cat! I look forward to many more exciting years together and can't wait to see what other adventures are in store for us.

OLD

I've never felt so old as I did this afternoon. I'm not one of those gals who talks about how old she feels. Those words don't often cross my lips or my mind for that matter---because I don't think I'm old. If not for my kids I would feel like I'm in my early 20s. With the kids, let's say late 20s. But this afternoon.............I attended my first Pampered Chef party. Yep, until today I was a Pampered Chef virgin and sort of wish I had stayed one if not for my friends who were there. Not that I have anything against the products or really the concept. However, it is one those activities that I associate with putting my hair in rollers, covering with a night cap, lathering my face with Oil of Olay (the kind my mamaw uses) and going to sleep, or playing bridge. There were at least 35 ladies at the party and I was by far one of the youngest ones there (along with my 2 friends). Don't get me wrong it was nice getting away from my 4 year old, 4 month old and 37 year old for a couple of hours. And it was really nice catching up with my friends but frankly I'd rather do that over a nice bottle of wine in a more intimate setting. On a positive note, I ordered some kitchen stuff that I'd been wanting.

Raccoons

Excerpt from our dinner discussion tonight:

M: Daddy, do you know where caterpillars live?

D: I don't know, where?

M: Trees

Dad: Do know what they eat?

M: Yea, leaves. And they turn into RACCOONS, then butterflies come out of them.

After School Programs

M's first day of kindergarten is a little less than a year away and we are already thinking about her after school programs. Crazy, huh! I am the first to admit—before having kids I was one of those people who lumped those type of parents into the “are you crazy” category. I had not really thought the school thing through. I just thought the parents were oober competitive. While that may be the case with some, I now realize that these programs have deadlines that are set far in advance. And, in the case of after school programs, the most convenient programs are hard to get into because space is limited. And to add to that limitation, if you don’t get in with your first child, you can forget about it with any other subsequent kids. All of this I have learned from talking with my neighbors who have kids in school already. It’s not like this stuff is nicely explained on the school’s website. Well, the application for the after school program that I wanted for M was due Oct. 30th. I was told that there would be a few slots open for her class (maybe 10). Luckily that was a day when Chris is home with the girls. I had him at the office with the application (and the girls) in hand before the office even opened. We got the letter this week. M was accepted!!!! Yippee! This is such a huge weight off my shoulders. Now, ARose is a sure thing! Next will be deciding which foreign language M should take…..

SOS

Help! We can't find our car. Anyone seen it :-))

Annie and the Elmwood Crew

M and I had our own little date this afternoon--we saw a local production of Annie. It was really nice to have some one on one time with M. With a new little one in the house you miss that quality time without even knowing that it's missed. We were both excited about our date. M asked me for the last few days if today was the day. Even with M's reminders and a note on my calendar I almost forgot about the show. I felt terrible!!! We met some of the "Elmwood Crew" at the show and enjoyed some ice cream afterwards. The most precious part of the show was at the end when M started singing along with Annie. Too adorable!! (Oh, and Annie......she was IMPRESSIVE...and only 10 years old). Perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

A night with the Master's

I think (or at least I hope) it is pretty obvious that family is priority for us. While we love our life in Chicago at times it can be really tough without having family close by. Chris' cousin Stephen lives downtown ( I have to admit that we forget this some times as he is young, single, hip....meaning, he's not into hanging out with us "old folk"). Well, single not for much longer. Stephen just got engaged and is getting hitched. Yipppee, I since a future OP'er in the making! His parents came to town this weekend to help him move into a bigger apartment (Aunt Fran being the typical Italian mom came up early to pack for him while he was out of town---yeah, I know). So we took this opportunity to celebrate with the gang. Some pizza and salad from Freddy's and wine, wine wine. We absolutely love these guys and only wish that we had more time with them. The times we have are certainly special. Can't wait to see you guys over Thanksgiving!

Oh, and M found a playmate for life with Stephen. Too cute!

The L Ride

Pablove with Lance