Secrets, surprises, and dates

We have one special date night a month. We set aside a certain amount each month and wait for that perfect time (or make the perfect time) to go out just the two of us. Last week Joel said we should go out Friday and send Izzy to my mom and dad's for the night. So I made the arrangments and we looked forward to a fun evening together. Joel kept saying how excited he was, and I thought he was just being sweet to be so happy to spend undivided attention with me. But Friday morning when I dropped him off at work, he gets out of the car, and walks into his work but before the door closes he turns around and says "Oh, make sure you pack an overnight bag!" I was shocked! But he wouldn't tell me anything. So all day I tried to figure out where he was taking me. I was already so excited because we were going to my favorite place...Utica Square...to do some jean shopping (since I can't find jeans for my body at just a normal store) and then to dine at P.F. Chang's, and then end with some delicious coffee at Starbucks. But with this added surprise, I was so excited.

The time came, I dropped Izzy off with mom, and picked up Joel. He was waiting for me outside and once he was inside the car I asked him to please reveal the secret. At first he wouldn't, but after telling him that I wanted to be able to enjoy the evening and look forward to what was coming, he broke down. He had found this adorable little hotel at 6th and Peoira calld th Savoy. It was charming! We had such a fun time. We both found jeans that we desperately needed. Dinner was sublime, coffee was delicious, and the hotel was fabulous! We slept in till 9:00 Saturday and we felt so refreshed and our love rekindled. We should do this more often.

Summer time

Growing up the icecream truck was a novelty. It was a such a treat whenever we got a chance to get one of those dripping, cold, delicious, creamy icecream cones!

So the other day when Izzy woke up from his nap we were sitting on the couch when I heard the famous icecream truck song. I couldn't resist it! I grabed Izzy, and my dollar and rushed outside to make sure I didn't miss it. Izzy wasn't so sure what to think about the popcycle, but it was sure cute to watch him!

"What is this, mom?"

"These are a few of my favorite things"

Besides Sound of Music and Julie Andrews being on of my favorite things...I love rainy afternoons when the house is cleaned up, the baby is in bed, and there is nothing on my to do list but to take a nap. I was a little bummed when it stopped raining and I started to see the sun peeping through. I tried to hurry home so that I could still fall asleep to Sense and Sensibility while it was still a little overcast. You might wonder what the two have in common. Nothing really, except that Sense and Sensibility has a rainy part in it, and it such a calming movie with beautiful music. Just writing about it is making me crave it. Oh, but I have to mention one more thing about favorite things...and this has absolutely NOTHING to do with my favorite things but I thought it was clever. I just saw a commercial the other day...a hair one...with clever words put to the tune of this song ending of course with the phrase "these are a few of my favorite things". It was cute. Okay, so that was random. But I really encourage you to take off your red shoes, fix a cup of tea, and put on one of you favorite soothing movies and enjoy this cloudy day!

Giving in

Okay, so my last post was raving about the extra time we had in the evenings since we were on a tv fast for this week. Well tonight we are giving in. We were craving some down time with each other, time where we didn't have to run down our voices reading out loud, time where we could just cuddle up and veg. I know it sounds pittiful, that we can't even make it a week, but here is the deal. Last week, I left town Monday and didn't get back till Saturday night, and during that time there was no tv, except for a little bit on Friday afternoon. So there was already a week of fasting. Joel and I have fun with our little shows and we have come away from this knowing and wanting some nights where the tv stays off. Anyway...we gave it a shot, and really this is the only night that we are cheeting. Tomorrow night we are busy, Friday night is company, and then the week will be over. We needed this, it was good, but we are looking forward to cuddling up, eating popcorn and oreos and milk, and having some laughs.

"Delightfully Delicious"

Today we had our first family outing to the donut shop! One of Daylight's Donuts slogans is "Delightfully Delicious" and it was! It was fun to see all the old men coming in who come everyday. One gentleman said that he had been coming everyday for 30 years! I don't think that we will be doing that. But it was fun for a Saturday morning, and Izzy loved the blueberry donut!!!

Today was a big day. I got an i pod touch, Joel is getting an iphone, and we are going on a spontaneous road trip to Colorado July 30th to see a favorite bad of Joel's!

I have had several planners to help me stay organized. My favorite one was one I got from Franklin Covey, but it was pretty big and bulky. Once I had a baby, and I was carrying a diaper bag, my purse and...a baby, It was a little too much to carry a clunky planner. So I got creative and tired some smaller ones that could fit in my purse, but nothing as worked out. So Joel suggested an ipod touch. I was a little hesitant because I like the feel of paper and checking things off with a realy pencil, but once I saw and touch an ipod touch, I was sold. So until today it has just been a wish and a convience that I wasn't sure would ever happen. But today it became a reality. Then for Joel...his work is buying his phone!

As for the rode trip? Well, one of Joel's favorite bands are doing a reunion tour and for years Joel has been saying that if they ever got back together we were going to take a road trip to go see them. The closest place they are playing is Colorado on July 31st. So...Colorado here we come!

Chitown

Okay, this is take two of this post, because after I had spent like 3 days writing and posting pics, I lost it all!

So here it goes. Vacation this year was a trip to Chicago! It was a vacation from our every day lives, but it wasn't that restful. We had a blast though, and boy did we fit a lot in.



We arrived in Chicago on Wednesday June 9th. We stepped off the plane and onto the train into downtown. We stepped off the train onto a platform that only had stairs. So Joel with 3 bags of luggage, and me with a stroller and a baby, we made it down the stairs....I don't know how really, but we did...Oh, I carried the stroller down WITH Izzy in it, and somehow Joel made it down with 2 roller bags and a duffle. Joel didn't know which way to go exactly, so we headed out one way, then thought we should turn around. So we did, then he dicided that we were going the right way the first time, so we turned around again, and finally made it to our hotel. That afternoon we loaded up the stroller and hit Michigan ave in awe of the tall buildings and nice fancy shops! We saw the old water tower, stopped by the Hershey's store ate some chocolate, walked some more, went in and out of stores, oohing and ahhing over the very high priced items, and of course, visited the Drake hotel.

We were taking pictures and then a bell man came up to us and in all seriousness said "we have a policy...that when we see a pretty family, we have to take a picture." The policy part scared us. We thought that we were in trouble.

After the Drake, we headed to the lake. It was a warm day, so Izzy and I waded in the water while Joel took pictures. It was gorgeous. It is a lake that looks like an ocean.We at at Uno's that night after waiting an hour for our pizza to cook, and Izzy didn't have enough patience, so he fell asleep.


Thursday we hit the road runny pretty early and headed to the train station. But not without stopping by one of the many Starbucks. We took an hour train ride into Lake Bluff where my mom grew up. It is a very quaint little town that you could walk through in 2 hours. We saw both houses that she grew up in, saw the lake again, and took lots of pictures. We had a great time!

Lake Forest was another stop, where we walked around the cute little square and had lunch in a quaint sandwich cafe. By this time the weather was moving in, so it was getting a little cool. Then we missed our train. We were actually there at the station, but on the wrong side of the tracks! So we killed another hour before we took the hour long train ride back to the city!

Once back in the city we hit the library, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography that left us completely depressed, but we were quickly cheered up by Degas, and Monet at the Art Institute. Dinner was at the Italian Village where Frank Sinatra supposedly ate. It was good, but we were all tired, and Israel wouldn't stop moving. We dropped dead that night.

Friday we woke to the whole city in front of our hotel. There was a parade for the hockey team who had just won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years. We had to walk a little farther to catch a bus to the zoo because of it! We missed our Starbucks that morning, so we were a little sluggish at the zoo, but it was still a good time. The next stop was Wrigley Field, and to get there we had to walk a little was, and then wait for a bus that wasn't already full. We found out that the Cubs and White Socks were doing an exhibition game and it was the first one. Wrigley field was alive and hoppin'. It was so much fun. We took the El back to the city to visit the man eating lions at the Field Museum. On the way back to the hotel we walked through Grant Park and then saw the Bean. We then took a sheet from the hotel, stopped and picked up some Chicago hot dogs and headed back to Grant park to enjoy some Blues with thousands of other Chicago poeple. It was so much fun!

Saturday it was raining, so in between the rain we finished up seeing the sights, and taking pictures and eating yummy burgers at the world famous Billy Goat's Tavern. Then we started the long trek home which ended at 10:00 that night!

We had a blast...came home tired, but we miss it already!

Highlights

I started writing this in may with the intention of mentioning some wonderful red shoe days of May. But I am a mom and a wife, and I was unable to finish the post and now it is June 5th. But I feel like there has been so much going on that I must document, even if it is just for my sake.

May 9th Izzy started signing "more"! We have been doing it for him for months, and I was overjoyed to see him finally catch on! It has made meal time a lot better (less screaming)

Mother's Day was a special day, and Joel made it very special. He made me a nice breakfast, and gave me some 8x10 pics of Izzy, once of which Izzy had colored the matt for it! Precious


We went to the Renaissance Fair this year with some dear friends, and despite the awkwardness of it all and how it totally freaked Joel out, we were able to make some really good memories.

We had several graduations this year that made life really busy, but it also called for a lot of partying! It was fun to acknowledge Abbie's college degree, and Sam's Highschool degree!

Weddings happened and along with it car trouble. Those were not red shoe days, but they were reality, so I guess I should mention them too. 

Birthdays followed and were very special as well. We had a big family party and everyone got really good gifts! I share a birthday month with Joel and two siblings, so we always have one big joint b-day party. We had the traditional strawberry shortcake for dessert and just had a all around good time.

Utica Square Summer Fifth Night started! We will enjoy every Thursday evening that we can out at our happy place listening to some cool music with a picnic and friend. Israel has started dancing and clapping when he hears music, so it is so fun to watch him.

Even though May caused us to almost pull our hair out with business. It was a good business, so we loved it. I love being busy with parties and such, so it will be kind of a let down in July when we don't have any more of those. What will I do with myself....Swim!!!!!

Have a wonderful Red Shoe day

Birthdays!

This month is full of birthdays for my family. Not only my small family, but my big family. May has always been a very busy, but fun month. Joel's birthday was the 19th, and it was so fun to celebrate with Izzy this year. We made him a banner that said "Happy Birthday Daddy" and Izzy colored each letter (well, he held the crayon, and I moved his hand). Today (the 23rd) is my birthday. Birthdays are important days in our household. The birthday girl or boy gets to have a special breakfast and eat off the "you are special" plate. Mom still takes us out to lunch, and then we get the dinner of our choice. Today, Joel went and got my favorite pastries from Starbucks, and we had a lovely breakfast together. My dear friend brought me a starbucks drink (my favorite) to church which I thought was so sweet! This afternoon was nap time for Izzy and I while Joel fixed our car. Tonight though, was perfect. I decided that I wanted Panera sandwhiches and dinner at the park. The weather was perfect, the atmosphere delightful, and the company sublime. Oh, and to top it off we got a snow cone on the way home! We are now home, Izzy in bed and watching one of my faves...27 dresses!

Thanks Babe for making this day wonderful!

Air Show

Joel loves airplanes. As a kid he wanted to be a pilot, and if he could, he would still get his license. That is the whole reason why we decided to decorate Izzy's room with airplanes. Joel talks about all the air shows that he went to with his dad, he runs outside everytime he hears something that sounds a little different than a normal commercial plane, and he has been wanting to go to an airshow with Izzy for awhile now. A couple months ago he found out that Tulsa was hosting an air show and we put it on the calendar. Saturday it came. We sat in traffic for over an hour until we finaly got to where we could park. We went ahead and parked, not know how far we would have to walk. I am not sure,  but I believe that it was probably a 2 mile walk! At least 1.5 miles. We finally made it and it was such a joy to see Joel smiling from ear to ear all day. It was fun to see all the cool planes and Izzy was wonderful. He even took a 30 min nap in the middle of all the noise. After a long afternoon we started the long trek back to the car, praying that it wouldn't rain. Well we were hoofin it, passing everyone! But we didn't make it time. It started raining, and we started running! I don't know how far we ran, not far, but we did it, Joel pushing a big stroller and me in my chaco's! We got to the car, Izzy having no idea what we just put ourselves through just for him, exhausted and ready to go home. But a good time was had by all, and we look forward next year!

A week to remember

A week ago today I headed out with my Izzy to brave highway 75 all the way to Texas! All. By. Myself. I took along with me my trusty helpers, the Hide 'm' In Your Heart Steve Green DVDs that Captures Israel's attention for the full 30 min. They were a life saver! He did a wonderful job, even though he didn't sleep as long as I would have liked at first. But it all turned out well, and we made good time.

I was going to see my friend who has a daugter 6 weeks older than Izzy. They spent Thursday afternoon getting to know each other and trying to figure out how to share their toys. We had a great time together, and even managed to get away for the evening by ourselves because Hannah's husband (yes we have the same name) offered to stay home and watch the sleeping babies. But our good times were quickly over when I woke up Saturday morning throwing up. This was not good since this was the day that I was supposed to make the treck home. Hannah and her husband were wonderful and took care of me and Israel until I could somewhat function again. Hannah's family lives in Texas too, so she took the kids over there to play for the afternoon while I rested. So instead of coming home Saturday, we left Sunday morning and made it home just in time for me to collapse in bed for a long afternoon nap. While I was gone though, Joel and his dad were hard at work here putting in new windows!

The day after we got back: Monday, and Tuesday and Wednesday...Israel has been whinny and cranky and not much of an eater. I think he is teething again, but haven't seen anything yet. I am hopeful for today, even though he went to bed at 9 last night and woke up at 6:30 this morning. We will see where that leads us.  But thankfully he is a strong growing boy (59th percentile in height and weight, 10th percentile in head) And we are loving him.

Me time

Amazing enough I got some me time tonight. Joel went to spend some time with a friend, so what did I do? I got Chinese take-out, put the baby to bed, took a shower and then gave myself a pedicure and manicure! It is 10:00 and I just finished! It was lovely. Now I am watching HGTV and wating for my honey to come home.

Happy places

I have a couple places that when I am there make me very happy. Utica Square is one of them because it has so many special family memories and fun times. We have spent summers there listening to music and winters drinking coffee and looking at the lights. Starbucks is another one of my happy places. The smell is one of my favorites. I have thought it would be fun to work there, but then I think it might ruin it for me and I don't want to take that chance. I love going there with Joel or as a family or with friends, to relax and drink my coffee. My new favorite there is a tall decaf mocha coffee with a morning bun. Delicious! All my worries disappear for an hour or so when I am at these places. At Utica I feel like I am driving into a separate world where everything is classy, beautiful, comforting, and sophisticated. It is enchanted in that even when you are having a bad day, or something you don't want to remember happens there, you don't associate it with that bad thing. It can only be remembered as something good, and as bringing joy. For that I am thankful.

Of course the other happy place is my home (especially when it is clean), but right now it is not my happy place because I have no groceries and it is dirty. The floor has enough dirt on it to...be disgusting! But I am not motivated to clean right now because it is March 20th and it is snowing outside - big, giant snowflakes. It is beautiful but it still makes me want to cry because I am SO ready for spring. I really want it to be sunny and nice so I can open my windows, and finish my spring cleaning. But despite the weather I better leave you to think of your happy places, (and hopefully one of them is your home, because that is where you are on this snowing spring day) and get started on my to-do list.

moment worth recording

My dear husband, bless his heart, was getting breakfast this morning while I was feeding Izzy. He was making us both toast with carmel apple jam. All of a sudden I heard: "This doesn't look like the jam....it is BBQ sauce!" He had put BBQ sauce on his toast! Anyway...I thought it funny enough to share with you. Hope you got a laugh out of it!

Wedding bliss

My sister-in-law is getting married in August! So last Saturday we went dress shopping! I decided to make her a wedding planner book to help her get organized (we need all the help we can get)! I even passed onto her the special pick diamond pen that I used when I went dress shopping! I almost cried (sniff, sniff). We had a blast. It reminded me of the fun times I had during my planning time. What an exciting time! Congrats Juls!

Well, I did it again...I got my ears peirced! I first had them done when I was about 13. Everything went great, and I was enjoying feeling pretty with earings. Then I went to florida, was purchased some cheap earings (even thought I thought they were wonderful). They were wonderful since they came from my aunt, but they were not very good for my ears. Those earings, combined with salt water added up to very infected ears. I didn't know this until a week ago. I only knew that ever since that trip I had trouble with my ears, until last year when I gave up wearing earings because I couldn't stand the feeling of repeircing my ears every time I tried to put them in. So for a year I went without until I was desperate to feel fiminine again. Having short hair, and just having had a baby, I was searching for things to make me feel like a woman. So I tried out the most modern clip-ons that I could find. I enjoyed those for awhile, until I got tired of the small collection from which to choose. So last Friday, I decided to ask if there was a chance I could get my ears repeirced without there being a problem. That is when I found out that the salt water probably started to erode the cheap earing causing an infection in my ear. So with a 14 karat gold earing, it would probably work. So I decided to take the plunge. I don't think I have been that nervous since I had a baby! What was making me the most nervous was know how much I was going to spend, when it might not work. But Joel was all for it, and the odds were good, so I did it. So far so good. I am a week into it, and they are still a little sore, but I read they could be up to 2 or 3 weeks. Anyway...I feel pretty, and so I am enjoying this while it lasts (hopefully that will be a long time).

Matchy matchy

I didn't think that I would be the type of mother who would match with my kids or make my kids match with each other. But I have come to find out that sometimes that happens and it is not on purpose. You know how sometimes you just "feel" like a certain color, or wearing a certain color? Well I do, and since I pick out Izzy's clothes I sometimes pick out clothes with the colors I feel like that day. Make sense? So somedays we are both wearing brown, somedays it is read, or....purple! Sunday I wanted to wear my new purple shirt that I got from the Gap with a gift card that my wonderful husband got for me! But at first I wasn't going to wear it until that night. But since I had purple on my mind, I picked out a purple shirt for Izzy to wear that morning. But then I decided to go ahead and wear my new shirt that morning, making it so that Izzy and I matched...not on purpose, I promise! But we did look pretty cute, so we took some pictures.

Valentine's Day!

I really wanted to do valentine goody bags for my nieces and nephews this year and for my sisters, and mom (okay, everyone) so I was just going to go pick up some conversation hearts and tie them up all cute in a plastic bag. But then I had a better idea. I would use the sugar cookie dough that was taking up space in my fridge to make cute little heart cookies that I could ice and put sprinkles on and it would be more fun, and a lot cuter. (I know...that is not a word). Sunday morning (valentine's day) Israel had a cold, it was snowing, so we thought it was a perfect day to stay home from church, so I decided to make my cookies. I had so much fun but wished all the while that Izzy was helping me, tasting the dough, and licking the spoons full of icing! I look forward to next year when he will be able to help me cut out the cookies and put the sprinkles on and add his little touch to the whole project. They turned out great and here is a picture to prove it!

A Snowy Tradition

If you know me and my family, you know that we have a lot of traditions. Mainly at Christmas time, but we also have little things all year round that are fun to do. Megan started this one way back when, and we have tried to keep the tradition going (or at least I have) even when she left and got married. Every time it snowed she would go out and get Mac and Cheese and Hot dogs! Every snowy day I remember in my childhood had mac and cheese. So today on this cold snowy day, we are fixing mac and cheese! I am so hungry so I hope this water boils quickly!

What do you do to make your snowed in days fun!