LC Back in Action
Made for big evening playing in the car tonight!
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Brutal Reality
Frankly, I was the smallest I've ever been in my life this time last year.
I don't obsess about my weight. I knew then it wasn't sustainable (I experience great joy from eating good food, and sometimes good is defined by pizza.)
Knowing myself and where my strengths lie, I workout instead of eating more responsibly.
That said, my tight pants today (not to mention all the other cute clothes in my closet) have me rethinking this a bit.
I'm tackling a different, rather sizable personal challenge right now (more to come on this later), but with that behind me, I might just be up for trying something new.
Any thoughts on things to try? Following a friend's journey here (oneburpeeatatime.com) and super curious about this cleanse.
What else?
What if I tried to eat
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Terrarium!
I've been obsessed with these little magical artworks since seeing Twig Terrariums at Renegade Art Show last summer in Chicago.
I find them insanely awesome - so creative in their simplicity, full of life (literally) and character.
This morning we all headed over to Sprout to pick up hubby's Macho Ferns. Hanging plants for the deck that surely are genetic mutations on steroids. Imagine what your very best fern looks like in September after months of sunlight, love and care - and multiply that by 10, in May. I'll follow up with a picture later...
Anyway, Sprout is kickass in it's own right. Everything there is so well thought out. And it's been taken over by terrariums. They have all the fixings to make your own, but also have dozens to choose from.
I picked this one out as my Mother's Day present.It's housed inside an old electrical box and now hangs in our foyer.
I'm obsessed.
I don't think I'll ever be creative enough to design my own, but they had so many amazing options to choose from I think we could make a home for many more.
Thanks to my cute people for insisting I pick one out, and then hanging it while I was out for a run.
Hubby has extended Mother's Day into Mother's weekend and I'm so happy ;)
Wishing a special day tomorrow for our mom's and all the mom's we know!
Im present.
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Stella, my Stella
Beautiful Stella who is the sweetest dog God ever created...we worried about her when the Ben arrived.
She was anxious towards children and scared of all the noise they created.
How would she cope going from center of our lives to second to baby?
Instead she transformed into the ultimate protector. Sleeping outside their bedrooms for months when they were babies, even though that meant giving up prime real estate in the king-sized bed upstairs.
Like the theme of the oft-read 'Giving Tree' she loves and loves and asks nothing in return...well, actually she has perfected this paw drag on your arm begging for attention to anyone who walks in the front door, but it's cute ;)
I worry that she's slowing down. She actually tucked her head under a pillow this week one early morning when I was heading out for a run and looked her way, no longer interested.
But she still scampers with delight over our evening walk and strides proudly next to the stroller even though it's often driven by a wild three-year old crashing into her a million times over the course of four short blocks.
I saw her sleeping on the couch this morning and snapped this pic. Doesn't do her beauty justice but thought I'd try giving her a bit of much-deserved airtime.
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Good Night Moon
Ben reading to Gigi. Teaching her words. Holding her hand.
Never fear, these heart-felt exchanges are inevitably interspersed with hitting, pushing and biting but these are the moments that keep me sane and smiling :)
Good night moon.
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Super Heros
We turned to super nanny Paula as a last resort to cover Thursday night while I'd be traveling home on a night flight from LA.
And then Paula got sick. That's never happened to us before and suddenly a normal morning turned to confusion as we tried to patch something together.
As a last resort, I called my mom. Curious to see if she could even be considered.
And true to form (we are beyond SO lucky) she responded immediately and said she could drop everything to come to Chicago.
As it happened, we needed her. And as promised, she jumped on a flight (in my mind she just flew here wearing her super hero cape) to rescue us.
She stayed with the kids Thursday, allowed me a brief reprieve as I landed after 3am from LA, and then stayed the weekend to keep me company while hubby was in FL for work.
The kids adore her, I loved her company, and we're all feeling nestled in a secure hug knowing even when it feels like we're alone to figure out how to juggle it all, we still have a hero on our side helping us pull out all the stops so the kids don't miss a beat.
Thanks baba for flying in to save the day. It was helpful beyond anything you can imagine, and super treat to boot having you with me this weekend to help out with kiddies.
We're so lucky and love the fact that kids will talk for weeks about the few days they got to spend with you.
Baba ROCKS!!
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Dinner time Games
Open quesadillas (covered in cheese - dairy!) are my partner in crime. Along with theatrics including car noises and helicopters delivering heaping bites into unsuspecting mouths.
Enthusiastic audience none the wiser.
Dinner is a success!!
What tips do you have for getting your kids to eat healthy? Please share!!
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Little People
A couple snapshots from Children's Museum this weekend where Gigi took a particular shine to the construction exhibit. Countess repetitions of nuts and bolts before being pried away to watch her brother traverse the rope tower and suspended bridge.
My favorite though, was listening to Ben read her a story the following morning. Note call out of 'cardinal' which we've been working on. My birders steep themselves in knowledge of the half dozen varieties we see in our backyard.
Ben ran outside tonight and alerted me of the empty feeder. He insisted we fill it up immediately and the three of us then proceeded to wait quietly for the sparrows to return. Gigi lives for birds and could watch them fly in and away all day.
Cheers.
- Posted from Chicago, IL
Lettuce rejoice!
This amazing, unseasonably warm spring still has me totally confused but today I finally caved to the temptation and started buying plants for the garden.
It started innocently at the grocery - chard, kale, lettuce - but then I ran into Home Depot for bird seed and had to pass the herbs and veggies on my way through.
So the kids and I enjoyed a glorious lunch on the patio before going to work on strawberries (to fill out existing patch), sugar snaps, a few toms and a batch of herbs.
They loved it and it turned into big project filled with worms and digging and dirt everywhere.
After naps we picked back up in the backyard, moving bricks, cleaning out, and also found Ben's trike in the garage. Big hit on the evening walk as the kids took turns pushing and riding.
Excited for a productive weekend which might include posting Easter pics from last Sunday ;)
Happy Friday!
- Posted from Chicago, IL
City Kids
In the meantime, watching a hail storm last Friday morning, catching up on this week's circulars, and our evening walking - sibling style.
Consider this my attempt to keep myself honest, going to try to put some of Ben's quotes to the blog. The conversations of late have been priceless. Likely lost without context or understanding of his vocabulary right now, so these will be more for my enjoyment and memory keeping.
After installment of new 'Lightning McQueen' bed, which hubby went rouge on, Ben has been overcome with excitement. Sunday morning he insisted everyone come downstairs, in order for him to proclaim 'this is awesome!'
A few 'oldies' but goodies include,
-'mom, I like your new sweater. You look cute.'
-'dad (or mom), don't go. Ben misses you'
-'mom, please make Ben dinner!'
- Posted from Chicago, IL
