2014/07/19 Saturday: Ceiling Fan

Nick replaced the ceiling fan Henry broke a while ago.  The hardest part was picking out the replacement.  The kids rode the hand trains at Rehm Park this morning.  Gigi and Henry were very excited about their new Minnie Mouse nightgown and Ninja Turtle shirt, respectively.

2014/07/18 Friday: Locked Out

I had a cleaning lady come today, which was great except for that she locked me out of the house.  She locked the storm door, which has no external lock so we were locked out of the front.  She locked the back door, including the doorknob which we never carry a key to.  We were about to break a pane of glass when our neighbor's friend suggested drilling through the doorknob.  Our neighbor Carlos then drilled through the doorknob, yay!  $16 replacement doorknob later and we are back in business.  Also, we found out our windows are really, really secure from the outside (short of busting glass, of course.)

2014/07/17 Thursday: Swimming Line Up

2014/07/16 Wednesday: Photo by Henry

Photo taken by Henry at my doctor's office.

2014/07/15 Tuesday: Hair Loss

I went to get Gigi out of her car seat, and she was holding a big chunk of her hair in her hand.  Her hair is going through an interesting phase, and her hair twisting habit isn't helping anything.  She's getting new growth that's pushing her hair up, the patch of hair she cut up at the top is now long enough to stand straight up, and then the hair she pulls out by twisting it is just adding to the party.

2014/07/14 Monday: Pregnant in the Park

Nick took this pic of me at the park with the kids.  We are excited to meet this baby. Due date is 9 days away.

2014/07/13 Sunday: Snazaroo Face Painting

Having good face paint is about 85% percent of the battle.  We have a snazaroo kit, and I just do what the booklet says to do and we get pretty good results.

2014/07/12 Saturday: It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's a rainy day.  We went to morning story time at the library.  We were planning on meeting residents for a barbecue at the beach, but the party turned into pot luck in a resident's condo.  It's still fun.

2014/07/11 Friday: Have a Cow

We got a free slurpee on the way to swim lessons to celebrate Free Slurpee Day.  Then in the afternoon, we dressed up as cows for Chick-Fil-A's Cow appreciated day.  The kids and I and our friends, the Lloyds, all dressed up so we could have our choice of free meals.  You can't eat dignity.  The table where we sat is very visible to those going through the drive-thru, so there was lots of stares while I ate.  

2014/07/10 Thursday: Reptile Night

Swim lessons earlier today.
Then tonight "The Frog Lady" presented at the library.  The kids had a lot of fun.  I learned not all frogs are toads, but all toads are frogs.

2014/07/09 Wednesday: Swimming Improves

Swimming lessons are going much better than the first day.  Henry is getting underwater- not exactly voluntarily, but it's happening without too big of a panic attack.  Gigi loves it all.

2014/07/08 Tuesday: Hawaiian Night

After seeing all the kids in swimming lessons yesterday, Henry decided he wanted to join in on the fun.  That's a huge step for us.  He had his first lesson today, and I think having him there made it much better for Gigi.
In the evening, we walked over to the village commons for their concert series.  The theme was something to do Hawaii, even though the music was not from the islands.  It mostly involved the umbrella on the straw in the drink special.

2014/07/07 Monday: Swim Lessons

Swim lessons were off to a Rocky start.  Gigi started having a hard time, and it proceeded to be a meltdown.  The staff seemed to be ignoring her as she sat in line on the side as things escalated.  They don't allow parents by the pool, so it was difficult to go help here.  I finally got someone to help me, but they just went to here- they didn't let me go get here.  Finally they brought her to me as the fire alarm went off.  At that point, we were done even though lessons weren't.

2014/07/06 Sunday: A New Seal in Town

The kids found the back-up seal in the closet.  Pupcake, Henry's treasured seal is a Monk Seal from Douglas Cuddle Toys.  I bought a spare seal a while ago, just in case Pupcake ever goes missing.  But now the kids have found the spare in the closet, so there's no keeping it there anymore.  The spare is now Sealia, or Cealia.  I'm not sure how we will spell it.

2014/07/05 Saturday: Goodbye Currans

A picture in front of the Curran's house, right before they drove away in their moving truck to move to Utah.  We will miss them!

I was watching the girls at my house, which is why Charlotte's face is painted as Hello Kitty.

2014/07/04 Friday: Fourth of July

We celebrated at the Riverside village's party in the morning.  Gigi made us wait in line to get her face painted.  It was totally smeared off  an hour later.  The party was fun, even though there weren't horses this year.

So I painted both their faces at home later.  We are getting good use out of the Snazaroo kit Liz gave us for Christmas.

We saw deer on Des Plaines.

In the evening we watched fireworks on the lawn on the far side of the Country club.  You could see the party in the distance for actual country club members.  Even to be on the lawn, you had to show your ID that you lived in the village.  Their tolerance for hoi polloi is limited.

2014/07/03 Thursday: Ride to the Park

2014/07/02 Wednesday: Toddlers on a Bath Rampage

Leave toddlers alone for two minutes and they're filling up the bathtub and getting water all over the floor.

2014/07/01 Tuesday Pretty Pregnant

3 Weeks until my due date.

2014/06/30 Monday: Caesar Relaxes

2014/06/29 Sunday: Tiny Tea Party

2014/06/28 Saturday: Friends on Bikes

We had J & T over for the day.  J is getting great at riding the 2-wheeler.
In the morning, I went to breakfast with some Chicagoland medical wives.

2014/06/27 Friday: The Robin's Hatchlings

The robins are thriving on our porch.

2014/06/26 Thursday: T-Ball and the Big Game

Henry's been going to a t-ball skills clinic for a few weeks, culminating in today's big game.  As predicted, the kids are comically bad players.  Henry committed an error, but did it with enthusiasm.  His offence is better than his defense.  After the game, all the kids had Popsicles and then we hurried over to the library to catch the end of the bubble show.  We've been there a lot this week.

2014/06/25 Wednesday: Library Crafts

We made tie-dyed t-shirts with markers and rubbing alcohol at the library.  The library provided the t-shirts, so they fit the kids like tents.  The kids had lots of fun.

2014/06/24 Tuesday: Pet Parade

We attended the pet parade at the library.  Kids built a "float" for their stuffed animal, and then towed it around the library in what was supposed to be a parade, but in reality was more like wild animals running around a maze.  Henry insisted on continuing the parade at Costco.

Michelle and I attended a mom's night out event at the library.  We both had the goal of getting to know neighborhood moms.  However, a huge storm came in right before it was supposed to start.  The rain was torrential.  We were the only two women that showed up.

2014/06/23 Monday: New Stroller

Kate brought out our new stroller, purchased at the REI garage sale.

2014/06/22 Sunday: Baby Frank is Here!

Baby Frank finally made the trip to Chicago.  Katie was holding out on traveling with him until he was big enough to be vaccinated for pertussis.

2014/06/21 Saturday: T-ball and bikes

Henry had his T-ball skills class today.  A good portion of the kids were just playing with the lawn.  He does seem to throw really well.

That read speck at the top right of the road is Henry.  He was supposed to wait for Nick at the end of the park, but instead rode all the way home.  He was in trouble for crossing two roads and train tracks without us.

2014/06/20 Friday: MSI with Friends

We went to MSI with the Frandsen family to celebrate W's birthday.  I look for any excuse to visit the museum, and this was a good one.  Also, they're moving in the foreseeable future, so the more we see them now, the better.

2014/06/19 Thursday: Wake Up

She must have been really tired.  She's still asleep at 9.  Henry is almost always an early riser, but Gigi doesn't seem to be.

2014/06/18 Wednesday: Caesar's Buzz Cut

It was Caesar's turn to get a buzz cut.  He'll enjoy the summer much more this way.  This evening we went to a puppet show at the library as part of the summer reading program.

2014/06/17 Tuesday: Zoo with Jamie

We squeezed in a likely final zoo visit with Jamie and her girls today.  They are moving to Utah soon, and it's going to be hard on all of us.  Henry is pretty convinced he's going to marry Miss C when he grows up.

2014/06/16 Monday: Little Ninjas

With the summer session, most of the little ninjas are new, so Henry is getting to the the demonstrator of what they do.  He's really enjoying the attention and positive feedback.

2014/06/15 Sunday: Surgeons were Barbers

Henry's thick hair and this hot, humid weather don't get along well.  So we opted for a buzz cut.  Gigi begged for a buzz cut too.

The giant princess birthday balloon that's been floating around the house since the end of March got sucked into our ceiling fan and wrapped itself around the thing, choking it.

2014/06/14 Saturday: Time With Nick

Nick had the day off and we all had such a nice day together.  In the morning he and Henry went for a bike ride.  Gigi was sad when she found out they were gone and insisted she was ready to go riding, despite the fact she was wearing a dress and heels.

We went plant shopping, had lunch at Freddy's, then went camping in the backyard.  I did sleep inside though, and was eventually joined by Gigi.

2014/06/13 Friday: Teacher of the Year

Tonight was graduation for the chief residents of Nick's surgery program.  It was a lovely dinner.  My babysitting plans fell through, and so at the last minute I hired a professional nanny pretty much sight unseen.  It all worked out- she kept the kids alive, the house didn't burn down, and the kids described having a nice evening.

At the graduation, Nick was awarded the Resident Teacher of the Year for the second time.  This award is given based on the exit surveys of the medical students that rotate through Sinai during the year.

2014/06/12 Thursday: Heavy Haulers

Henry and his friend used the tricycle basket like a dump truck.  They had a great time, but there's also a large amound of Nick's fresh topsoil now on the sidewalk.

2014/06/11 Wednesday: Car Nap

She's worn out after a trip to Costco.  Jo Ellen sent us Butterfly larvae.  She sent us some last year and the kids really enjoyed watching the caterpillars turn into butterflies.

2014/06/10 Tuesday: Farewell Mr E

We took Henry's favorite friend to Legoland as a sort of farewell party.  He's moving to the Pacific Northwest tomorrow morning, and we are really going to miss him and his family.

2014/06/09 Monday: Tiny Gardeners

They love to spray things with the hose, or fill up the watering can and attempt to drown plants.

2014/06/08 Sunday: Virtual Youth Choir

Henry learned the song "What If" and then we recorded it in the office (set up as a little studio).  This was for his submission to the Eric Whitacre Virtual Youth Choir.  The song will be premiered at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  I think he's adorable singing the song, and he's a pretty good singer.  Nick gave me the fancy microphone for my birthday, after I participated in two other virtual choirs by Eric Whitacre.

2014/06/07 Saturday: Plants Galore

We are redoing the flower bed in front of our house.  Last fall we took out some ugly shrubbery, because it was both ugly and blocking the light into our living room.  My friend Janette created a garden plan for us, and we've been searching around for the plants she recommended.  Yes, Gigi picked out her own outfit.

2014/06/06 Friday: Busy Fun Day

Gigi has had a busy day.  For playgroup, we were guests at the Riverside Pool club.  After the kids wore themselves out swimming, she came home and had a n epic nap.  Then we had the neighbors over.