31 August 2011

a quote for the day.

"I look at the carts at the supermarket laden with frozen dinners and other quickie food that need only to be heated in the sterile microwave. I often feel sorry for the people who are missing out on the endlessly rewarding experience of cooking, even if it is just for oneself."

-Judith Jones, "The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food"


30 August 2011

a little surprise.

Jon called me on the way home from work and said "Honey, I have a surprise for you." My response, "Did you stop at the store and get the ingredients for dinner (so ya know, I didn't have to take all three kids)."
Jon, "No no, it's bigger than that."
"Is it something pretty that I can wear, like jewelry?" I replied with excitement.
"No honey, but I thought you would say that."
"Is it flowers, because I'm such a hardworking mom?"
"No, but one day I WILL get you flowers."
"Ok, I give up" I said.
"It's a sweeper! Isn't that great? I knew you would be surprised."

Now...I do have to say that my honey listens. I have been complaining for quite some time that our sweeper doesn't work. I'm not sure why I just didn't stop and buy one myself, but this was a nice little surprise. AND the timing couldn't be better. Bailey is going through an unusual molting season, which, apparently, only happens every three years.


DSC_0296
Jessica is very excited about the sweeper too.
DSC_0325
DSC_0328
These balls of fur are all over our house. It's really out of control.
DSC_0318
Good thing he's so cute.

29 August 2011

my baby's a kindergartener.

DSC_0004
DSC_0005
DSC_0013
DSC_0017
DSC_0015
DSC_0023
DSC_0022


He was excited and ready to take on that first day of school. He was the first one to wake in the morning; dressed, shirt tucked in, shoes on and teeth brushed. While I was certainly excited for this day, I was not willing to let go of my little boy so easily. I just can't believe how fast time goes (don't we say that all the time). And to think, I even had an extra year with my little man because we choose to hold him back. The best decision we ever made. Over a single year he blossomed into a leader and eager learner.

Unfortunately we had a rainy first day of school, but that didn't stop our smiles. Joshua was very interested in Jonas' classroom and had to come with us to check it out. As we ran between the raindrops we entered school and were greeted by his new teacher. He hung his raincoat, put away his backpack and greeted friends right before the school bell rang.

When it was time to pick him up I honestly think I was so excited that I couldn't contain myself. I wanted to hear about every single detail. We just had to go get hot chocolates and chat about his first day of kindergarten.

Jonas' comment about his first day of school, "But mommy, I didn't learn to read today." This little man is SO eager to learn how to read (which we have been working on at home). The good news is that mom survived this day. I may have cried, I may have snuck in some extra kisses that night, but I have never been prouder of my Jonas. He's such a big boy.

27 August 2011

pieces of our day.

DSC_0083
jess pool
DSC_0109DSC_0121
DSC_0123
DSC_0111
DSC_0286
DSC_0139
DSC_0289
DSC_0299
DSC_0303
DSC_0305
ice cream boys
DSC_0320
movie night

a mother's love. summer sun. pool days that linger. nature's beauty. a lego challenge. baby building blocks. happiness. garden food. dinnertime silliness. a sweet treat. bailey. movie night and couch cuddles.

26 August 2011

chicago road trip. day three

Jon played a round of golf this morning so I took advantage of my time and slept in. And then, I did something I never do, I had a quite breakfast all by myself. I enjoyed my coffee, took my time, read the newspaper and caught up on some emails and blog reads. And then it got even better....I headed out into the city for a nice stroll and shopping. Jess got a few things from American Apparel, I found some hooks I've had my eye on from Urban Outfitters and I found an awesome hat for fall. The best part is I got to meet my sister for lunch! I can't believe that we'll go weeks without seeing each other in our hometown, but then we meet up in Chicago on a random Wednesday. After lunch, catching up with Becky, a bit more shopping and a latte I headed back to the hotel to get ready for our last night.

Once again, we headed to The Girl and the Goat for drinks and dinner. We tried to order different fare than the first night so we could fully experience the menu. On tonight's agenda were fried pemaquid (oysters), grilled pork ribs with tomatillo mushroom slaw and pan roasted wild striped bass with heirlooms, sea beans and fingerling chips. Oh, and the breads! I forgot to mention the mouth watering breads that are all made in house. Amazing!

At tonight's dinner it was only Jon and I, but we did chat with a great group of guys from NYC who are also in the restaurant industry. And they happened to be in town for Phish, so they must be cool. After dinner we headed to the Willis Tower to meet our cousin and a friend. We had a beautiful view of the city, enjoyed a drink and caught up with friends.

Once we changed into our dancing cloths we headed to the show. I love that all three shows were so different and there was a different energy for each night. Tonight they opened second set with Crosseyed and Painless and they continued this melody as a theme for the entire night. Personally, I loved it and felt that is energized the crowd. It was a great set to the end of a three day run. My only complaint was that they ended second set with a week Antelope (personally, I loved the Antelope at Blossom).

We had an amazing three days and three strong nights of Phish. I am SO glad that we made the last minute decision to go. Thank you grandmas and grandpas for taking care of the children, and thank you for understanding this passion of ours and our music obsession.

DSC_0281
drinks at the top of the Willis Tower
DSC_0283
DSC_0292
DSC_0293

fried oysters
DSC_0302
Chicago
a divided sky, which they played first set.



In case you're interested, here is the set list for night three.

And here are day one and day two of our trip.

So, just curious, what music floats your boat? I'm pretty open about the travels we do to see Phish, does anyone else have a similar passion?

24 August 2011

chicago road trip. day two

A late breakfast and then off to the Chicago Art Institute for us. I love going to art museums with Jon because we each have a different approach to the arts. Jon searches for realism in art and has a literal view, where I tend to read into symbolism and search for the meaning of a piece of work. Jon's an engineer. He looks at how something is built and how it could be rebuilt. I'm an English nerd searching for meaning through words and images. The museum was wonderful, as always, and brought back memories from when I took Jonas last January. After strolling through our favorite sections (Impressionism, Contemporary, Photography, Current Exhibitions and my favorite exhibit Ralph Eugene Meatyard) and of course stopping at the gift shop we headed for an iced coffee and home.

We met a friend of Jon's from college for dinner at The Girl and the Goat. If you are ever in the Chicago area I highly recommend this fabulous restaurant, the menu is phenomenal. We enjoyed the soft shell crab with sweet corn elote and chili aioli, seared tuna with lamb sausage, grilled blueberry and pepitas, roasted beets with green beans, white anchovy and avocado (creme fraiche on the side) and grilled octopus with guanciale, wax beans, radish, favas and pistachio-lemon vinaigrette. Nothing like taking it easy before heading to the show! We stopped back at the hotel to change into our dancing cloths and off we went. We actually had enough time to walk around and check out the lot where everyone hangs out prior to the show. I may have snagged some fashionable finds for Jessica!

Musically, night two was once again awesome. We had floor tickets this time so that meant we were able to get pretty close. If you're interested in the set list click here. Jon was pretty psyched because they played Let it Loose. While this night was on fire, I actually liked night one's set list better. But put me in a room with Phish and chances are I'll have fun no matter what they play!

DSC_0222
DSC_0225
DSC_0242
DSC_0245
DSC_0268
Picnik collage
Picnik collage 2
Phish night two UIC
Click here for day one of our trip ♥

23 August 2011

chicago road trip. day one

I've been meaning to post about our trip to Chicago, but ever since we got back I've been caught up in.....well.... caught up in life! Jonas starts school this week and Joshua starts next week and this means open houses, school shopping, grocery store extravaganzas, doctor's visits, music classes, soccer practice, swimming lessons and more. Fall is my favorite time of the year, but wow, each year it get's busier and busier. I'm so glad that Jon and I took a little time for ourselves and made a road trip to Chicago. Every fall we make a vacation just the two of us (the best marital advice my parents ever gave us). When we found out that Phish was playing for three nights in a row in one of our favorite cities it was a no brainer.......to Chicago we go. To save on money we decided to drive since it's only a few hours from home, and I love road trips! As soon as we got to the city we had time to freshen up then out the door we went. Our cousin just happened to be there on business so he joined us for dinner and nights two and three of the shows. First night we found a great local sushi bar that was exactly what we were looking for. After a quick dinner we hailed down a cab and headed to the show......I like to get there earlier because we collect the posters (I know I know, we're cheese balls).

So, here are some pictures from day one. I actually didn't take too many since we were running close on time. Don't worry, I'll make up for it on days two and three!

Jon
Such a serious driver

Chicago
Driving into the city

Sushi love
Sushi love

Steph and Liz
A highlight of the night! I met up with a fellow blogger, Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing.
She is an amazing woman and I love her blog.


Just in case you were wondering, here is the poster from the shows. Artist is Dan Grzeca. I love the symbolism that was potrayed in the poster and the music that was actually played by the band. Night one was very well executed. If you're interested in the set list click here.


I've gotta say....I know a lot of people don't get the whole Phish thing and our obsession. If you have questions let me know, I would love to answer ♥

20 August 2011

a sick mama makes for a tired mama.

Well, I was hoping to share my Chicago trip and pictures with you, but I woke up yesterday with a horrible cold. Unfortunately, it was Friday and one of Jon's busiest days. And, since we had been gone all week we had no food in the house so the kids and I had to make a huge trip to the store. Normally, this is a challenge, but yesterday... it was a real challenge. I decided to treat myself to a latte and a bouquet of beautiful fresh sunflowers. The striking yellow color makes me smile every time I walk into our kitchen. I also made an Asian Vegetable Noodle soup to help clear this cold. Today I am still sick, but Jon was a saint and hung out with the kids while I snuck in two naps (TWO, I know). We rode our bikes up to the park (well, the boys did, I pushed the stroller), made veggie burgers for dinner, watched a movie and cuddled in mama's bed with a book.
Even though I'm sick my little lovelies made my day better


Flowers for mama

Mama soup

Books
reading on the front porch with Jess and Joshua

Jonas
Jonas lost TWO teeth today.
we had to write a note letting the toothfairy know there are two

SITE DESIGNED BY PRETTYWILDTHINGS