Enjoyment

Despite the nasty weather we made the most of the weekend and managed to have an awesome time....birthday parties, hanging out with friends we have missed, biking, watching movies with dripping rain in the background, singing and dancing to the 80's, parades, BBQ and even a bit of pool time.  Just being silly, really.  Isn't that what like is all about?  Perfect!

Awwwww

M's BFFs were out of town over the weekend and this is the note they left for her in the mailbox.  So sweet!!

Great Bilingual Children's Reads

Before You Were Born, Mi Amor.  A book with a gentle, sweet bilingual story about family awaiting the arrival of a new baby.  I just love this book.  It was a gift to M when I was pregnant with ARose and quickly became her favorite nighttime book....reading almost EVERY SINGLE night when I was pregnant.  I guess it in some way made M feel closer to the baby in my belly while at the same time seeing how special she is too.

The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred.  Another sweet, bilingual story.  This one is about a farm maiden who makes a cazuela (pot) of arroz con leche with the help of farm animals providing the ingredients.  It has a really nice rhythm which you can have a lot of fun with.   Spanish words are weaved throughout the book effortlessly.  The book even offers up an arroz con leche recipe which I can't wait to try out! And, did I mention the artwork?!!  The illustrations are beautiful.  If the style looks familiar to you it's probably because Rafael Lopez is an award-winning illustrator and artist. His 2008 Noestra Voz poster was selected by the Obama/Biden campaign as an official poster at Artists for Obama.  He has created several US stamps and won several awards as a children's book illustrator. 


Samatha Vamos is the author of both of these books.  We had the pleasure of meeting her over the weekend at a local book signing.  She was genuinely warm and just what we expected (we've heard lots of wonderful stories given that we are neighbors with her dad!).

 

Highly recommended!

2011 Irving Staff Appreciation: Giving Thanks

It helps to be "in the know" about the best committees to join at your kids school!!!

While this year I came to Irving feeling like an outsider (I am a newbie to the system afterall), I am so thankful for not coming in completely clueless.  Luckily, I had a tiny bit of insight about what to expect.  Especially, when it came to the "cool, fun" school committees.  I imagine like most outside working moms, there is guilt in pretty much every aspect of your kids' lives.  Not being about to participate in most of the school activities simply adds fuel to that nasty fire of guilt.  So being able to participate in THIS committee made all of that guilt go away.  This is something I've been looking forward to the last couple of years! 

On Friday, I had the honor (along with about 50 other people) of celebrating and thanking all of the wonderful, extraordinary staff at Irving Elementary.  Nine years ago this Staff Lunch Appreciation Day was born by one of my dear friends, Mel.   Over the years, it has blossomed and I believe it is safe to say this event is one of the hightlights of the year for the Irving staff and the committee members.

This year's theme was Thanksgiving - perfect!   It felt nice to show my gratitude to the men and women who help educate our kids and mold them into good citizens.  I even got to host M's teacher, Ms. Ricchio.  M adores her and so do I.  She is fantastic!  These men and women....that's what I'm thankful for!

Ms. Ricchio on the left at the end of the table

A Ho Song

I have to share this story with you.

M was prancing around the house this morning happy as good be singing a new song--- “I’m a ho-ho-ho-ho. I’m a ho-ho-ho-ho”. Initially I had to do a double take. Yep, that’s what she was singing. Not in the Santa sense. Obviously, though, not where my mind went either. I’m not sure of what sense to be honest! I had a 10 second internal struggle….Should I tell her to stop singing that song at the risk of possibly starting a conversation that I am not (and will not be) prepared for years to come. Should I encourage her to change the words at the risk of shattering her little creative heart? (OK, that was overly dramatic but you get where I’m going with this.) Or should I simply ignore? I chose the latter. The no talking angle was the best angle for me. Maybe she will forgot about her little tune for now (but given her relation to Chris, repeating one line phrases from songs over and over again for days on days….well maybe not!). I can only hope that if she sings this song at school, none of the kids close by get it either!

Lady Bugs by M

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day (late) to all of you mommies out there!

This year I participated once again in the Y-Me Race At Your Pace in support of the National Breast Cancer organization, an organization that offers free programs and services to men and women affected by this disease. It seems that pretty much all of us have been touched in some way by breast cancer. My family has and we beat it! Last year was a surprisingly emotional event for me and I made a promise to myself to make this event an annual tradition. So that''s what I did. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Chris, the girls and MomMom were there cheering me and the other 20,000 people on. I can't think of a better way to spend Mother's Day. A special thank you to those who supported me in this event!!


Truly inspirational!




And, check this out!  The coolest porta.  Yes, they actually were cleaner.  Guys were waiting outside to give the portas a little freshing up after every few minutes!  Nice touch!

"Porta Jane: Because John Can't Aim"

Another Year

........another year older for Chris on Saturday (no complaints since it's better than the alternative) .  Shhhhhhhh...he is inching his way closer to the big one!!  Chris' birthday was extra special this year because his mom visited us this weekend.  It was really, really nice to have her here for the big day. 

All he wanted was a bike ride in the morning so that's what the birthday boy got.  Then we headed to the city for a little walk around the neighborhoods and lunch at Feast (which was yummy!).  Dinner at Kyber Pass in Oak Park (yummy as usual).  As luck would have it (or was this planned ...hmm!), we were treated to belly dancers at the restaurant.  M and ARose (and Chris) were mesmerized by the dancers.  M even got to enjoy them (shoot, forgot my camera all day!!!).  Finally, birthday cake around 9 pm (ARose couldn't hang for it). 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOOTS!

On the Fritz

Borrowed from Nanny Goat

Wow, I feel so out of touch. Our home computer has been on the fritz for over a week. Apparently Google’s Desktop and Dell don’t always jive. We’ve learned our lesson!! Whew, dodged the financial bullet of buying a new computer! On to some updates.....