I Want To Introduce You To Someone

This is my new babe. For those of you who know me in real life who may be getting this news for the first time here, please accept my apologies (with the events of the past few weeks, I am scatterbrained about who I have and have not told).

This is our Christmas baby. All four of us are anxious to find out if we have a new brother or sister.

We are so lucky.

Sad News

This blog is a place where I usually chronicle my happy exploits with my two little ones. Not today. In order to explain my absence for the next week, I wanted to share the news that my father passed away yesterday after what was truly a heroic, three-year battle against death. He wasn't ready to go, but his body had done all that it could.

So my next week is going to be spent giving my Dad a proper send off, having talks about why our Papa had to go to heaven and remembering the man who was dancing at my sister's wedding only ten days ago.

He was a pretty remarkable guy.

I will be back in July.

The Summer Solstice!

In all of my excitement over my birthday and then all of my lack of excitement over cleaning up a very unpleasant situation (see here for more of the details), I forgot that it was the Summer Solstice today -- the longest day of the year. I love this day. Go on over to Chicago Parent to see the article I wrote about family activities for the summer solstice. You still have time to do some of them!

A Positively Putrid Present

WARNING: THIS POST IS ABOUT POOP.

Today is my birthday and boy, oh boy, did Brendan have a special surprise for me. This morning while I was taking a shower (and mistakenly thinking that Brendan was playing with Ellie in her room), he tried to change his own diaper -- which was full of poop. Apparently, his attempt to handle the situation in his own wasn't going so well so he decided to leave his room (which was already basically a HAZMAT situation) and come to my bathroom to get me -- touching no less than fifty surfaces (including my bed) on the way.

I can not (and, to maintain some dignity, will not) go into any more of the details.

The rest of the day has been much better.

A Sure Sign of Summer

Strawberries from the farmer's market. These little lovelies have me dreaming of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and strawberry jam crepes. Oh the possibilities.

Camp

An excited girl on her first day of camp (and the little brother who wishes he was going too).

A Wedding Recap

I am still pulling myself back together after my sister's wedding -- which was absolutely everything you would want a wedding to be. Ellie delivered a text-book flower girl performance and Brendan stole the show in his tuxedo. They danced like maniacs until they literally collapsed -- totally exhausted.

I could upload thousands of wedding pictures -- but I won't. Here is a picture of my little group successfully making it down the aisle and another the the beautiful bride and flower girl.

Now on to other fun summer plans. More on that tomorrow.

We're Going to the Chapel . . . All Four of Us

My sister is getting married on Saturday. We are excited. We are busy.

I am the matron-of-honor. David is a groomsman. Eleanor is the flower girl (and she wants to walk down the aisle by herself, thank you very much). Brendan is one of the ring bearers (and after having his tuxedo jacket on for three seconds, declared it "too hot").

Should be interesting. Have a good weekend.

My Dishwasher is Broken

My damn dishwasher is broken. Is it the end of the world? No. Is it enough to make this Mama super crabby? Sure is.

Brendan asked me for a yogurt smoothie today and all I could think was, "God, another dirty glass. Great. Damn this kid for needing hydration."

After hours on the phone discussing two very different interpretations of the Miele warranty policy (I lost), I finally have a service called scheduled for Thursday morning. If only no one needed to eat until then!

I'll be back when the kitchen is clean and I am in better spirits.

Why You Should Read the Chicago Moms Blog

Hey Chicago Mamas, are you reading the Chicago Moms Blog? The site is the collaborative effort of moms from all sorts of backgrounds with vastly different takes on being a mother. Some of the posts touch on the personal struggles, failures and doubts. Some are laugh-out-loud funny. Others are light-hearted reflections on the changes that mommyhood brings (like the one I wrote about my messy purse today). Have a read.

Happy Birthday Little Blog

My little blog and I have been together for one year now -- a happy, happy year.

Some people hold cool giveaways or contests in honor of their "blogiversaries." Isn't that a dreadful word? I am not going to do any of those things.

I thought I would just repost the first post I ever wrote. I really liked it at the time -- and I still do.

New Project! New Project!

I have been working, working working on a new project for the past two weeks and now I can finally share it with you all.

I am the new Chicago "City Expert" (their words, not mine) for a fabulous website called Savvy Source. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be involved with this project!

The site is designed to provide parents of preschoolers (ages 2-6) information on local preschools, classes, and activities. And that is where I come in. I am going to be posting to my Being Savvy: Chicago Blog every day (yikes!) about great (often free or low cost) activities for you and the little people in your life. Truth be told, this job is easy because Chicago has so much to offer families with little ones (after all of my research, our summer calendar is filling up already).

I hope you will check it out and leave a comment (a nice one, please). And if you aren't local, check out the drop down box, see if your city is listed and go check that blog out.

Now back to work . . . .

Some Sappy Reflections On My Brendan

Forgive me for a moment while I gush about my boy.

Brendan and I had our last Montessori Parent and Toddler Class today. Each class, the teacher hands out a clip board with a Montessori-related quote and the parent is supposed to make some reflections on their child. You would not believe the stupid things that I write (i.e. "Brendan seems happy today."). At the end of the session, the teacher gives each child a little bound book of their parent's reflections. I absolutely know that there will be a day when my children are the floor belly laughing about the totally uninspired things I wrote about them.

Today, the quote went something like this: "The first task of any Montessori instructor is to reflect on the individual personality of the child. Write about your child's personality."
I wrote, "My child is pure sweetness." What else could you possibly say about Brendan?