What Brendan Had to Say on His Sixth Birthday

My really big guy is  . . . really big. He turns six today. But he has really looked and acted like a six year-old for years. He continues to be the sweetest, kindest, coolest and most handsome boy a momma could ask for. Here is what is on his mind this year.

 

Favorites:

• Breakfast -- Pancakes

• Vegetable -- Corn

• Drink -- Juice

• Lunch - Pasta

• Dinner - Bolognese

• Toy -- LEGOS

• TV Show -- Electric Company

• Game --I would say bingo.

• Book -- LEGO books

• Restaurant-Brick's Pizza

• Holiday - Christmas because you get presents

• Animal -- Bunnies.

• Color - Gold. And the second is blue.

• Thing to do at school - Free choice centers. 

• Sport - Baseball

What do you want for your birthday? A couple of things. The LEGO Echo Base from Star Wars and the Millennium Falcon.

What do you love about each person in our family?

• Dad: He plays baseball with me.

• Mom: I love that you are really nice.

• Eleanor: That she sometimes plays with me down in the basement.

• Colin: Sometimes he lets me use his bug -- you know, that little thing that he rides around on.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Pittsburgh.

What are some of your wishes for this year?I want to have fun and play with my friends in first grade and be in the same class as Sebastian.

What makes you happy? LEGOS.

How old is your mom? 32 (thanks B man).

How tall is your mom? Ummmm. I am not sure.

What is her favorite thing to do? Play with us.

What does Dad do for a job? He works at the Sears Tower.

What is your favorite thing about Dad? He likes me a lot.

What is Mom's favorite food? Chicken and broccoli and beans.

What do you and Mom do together? Go to the store.

What makes you sad? When Colin is not nice and he hits me.

What is Dad’s favorite food? Casseroles (for the record, this could not be farther from the truth).

What does our family like to do together?
Have fun and celebrate. There is this commercial where this guy is sitting at a table and he says, "Let's celebrate." Me: Does that remind you of us? B: "Yep."

What going to be when you grow up? Maybe a policeman.

Who are you going to marry? I am not sure.

Anything else you want to talk about now that you are almost six? The only thing I really want to tell you is I need to know how much dollars the ice rebel trooper set is. That is what I want to know. It is a set that comes with Hans Solo and the Tauton and I do not know how much it costs. Can we at LEGOs on the computer now?

Takeaway from this interview: Life for Brendan is pretty much about star wars LEGOs. If you are interested in his answers from last year, you can find them here. 

What she had to say on her 8th birthday

I haven't blogged on A Hen and Two (now Three) Chicks once in 2012 (lots of reasons why -- too much to get into right now).  But if this blog exists for one reason, it is the annual birthday interviews. The show must go on! 

Today, Ellie is 8 years-old. She is as fabulous as always. Here is what she has on her mind this year. Keep at it, sweet girl!

Favorites:

• Cereal- Life cereal

• Vegetable- Green beans and broccoli

• Drink- Lemonade 

• Lunch -  Mom's homemade mac and cheese and grilled cheese

• Dinner -Beef tenderloin with Dad's good sauce, green beans and mashed potatoes

• Toy-Right now, it is probably my Barbies

• TV Show-Electric Company

• Game- Hide-and-seek

• Book-Pretty much all of the chapter books. Favorite? I like Ivy and Bean.

• Restaurant- I like Milk and Honey. Why? Because it is close to our house and I like to go there and have grilled cheeses. But I don't like that they come with a pickle.

• Holiday-I like Thanksgiving because I like the turkey. And I like my birthday.

• Animal or doll - I like all animals. I like my American Girl Doll Kanani and Gabby the Giraffe.

• Animal - I like all animals. No favorite really.

• Color - Turquoise.

• Thing to do at school - Art projects.

• Sport - I like all of the sports that I know how to do.

What do you want for your birthday? I want to have a good birthday and hope that everyone has a fun time.

If you could change your name, what would you choose? I like my name.

What do you love about each person in our family?

• Dad: I like that he teaches me sports and that he makes good dinners.

• Mom: That you are nice and you send me to school to I can learn and because you also make good dinners.

• Brendan: I like to play with Brendan and if I get bored, I always get to play with Brendan and Colin.

• Colin: He is funny and when he is calm, I like to play games with him. Colin also says funny things.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Maybe Paris.

What are some of your wishes for this year? I hope that we will see lots of doggies. And that we get to play outside a lot and go to the pool and that there is nice weather.

What makes you happy? My family and my friends.

What is your favorite things about Mom? I like that sometime she is funny and that she gives me ideas for things and helps me with things.

How old is your mom? 35 -- almost 36 (time to stop asking this question)

How tall is your mom? I don't know. Really tall. Maybe like 2 1/2 Ellies tall.

What is her favorite thing to do? Play with our family and have fun with people and not do too much work.

What does Dad do for a job? I think he is a lawyer. I think it means that he helps people with problems and I think they are called cases and he has to solve them.

What is your favorite thing about Dad? I like that he teaches me how to do things and if I need help with something, he will teach it to me.

What is Mom's favorite food? You like lots of foods. I am going to guess that your favorite is maybe pizza.

What do you and Mom do together? Sometimes if we go somewhere to do errands and we go shopping together and get people things.

What makes you sad? When people aren't nice to me.

What is Dad’s favorite food? French onion soup.

What does our family like to do together? We like to go places and have fun.

What going to be when you grow up? Maybe a teacher or a lot of other things. I am not sure.

Who are you going to marry? I don't know.

Anything else you want to talk about now that you are almost eight? I want a dog. I might want my ears pierced. I am not sure. It is almost my First Communion. I am going to be in third grade. And we are redesigning my room. In third grade, I am going to get a desk and a folder bag and it has all kinds of stuff that you work on in it. I am wondering what third grade teacher I am going to have.

Happy Birthday to my sweet (and super big) girl. If you are interested in her answers from years past, you can find trace back through the annual posts starting here.

What Colin Had to Say on His 3rd Birthday

Time for my favorite blog posts of the year -- the birthday interview! This is the first time that I've done a birthday interview with Colin. The process was . . . interesting. In truth, this interview took place in three different parts because he would quickly lose interest and he also insisted on asking me some questions as well (like "What color is my new backpack?" or "What should you make me for lunch today?"). It was slow-going.

Anyway, here is what my babe had to say on his third (so big!) birthday!

Favorites:

Cereal: Life cereal

Vegetable: Carrots

Drink: Juice

Toy: Truck

TV Show: Mickey Mouse Club House

Game: My football guys game from Santa. I put them in my new backpack to bring to Auntie LaLa’s (my Aunt Patti) House.

Book: Millie Moo

Dinner: Soup. Vegetable soup.

Lunch: Mac and cheese

Breakfast: Waffles

Holiday: Presents!

Animal: Rhinos! Don’t laugh Dad!

Stuffed Animal: My two bunnies and I go to sleep every time.

Color: Blue

Thing to do at school: Play a lot and have milk a lot.

Sport: Football

What do you want for your birthday? Have ice cream cake

If you could change your name, what would you choose? No, I want to be Colin still.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? To a football field.

What are some of your wishes for this year? More Christmas.

What makes you happy? My two bunnies.

What makes you sad? Lions in a cave.

How old is your Mom? 3

How tall is your Mom? Like this tall (showing with hands). Like a hundred pounds.

What is her favorite thing to do? Do baseball.

What does Dad do for a job? He goes to work at the Sears Tower.

What is your mom's favorite food? Broccoli and chicken.

What is Dad’s favorite food? Sauce.

What does our family like to do together? Go get our Christmas tree.

What going to be when you grow up? I going to be a football player for the Steelers.

Who are you going to marry? Mommy.

Anything else you want to talk about? Napkins. Groceries. And batteries. Hockey Jerseys. Also football guys.

Well, it’s been good talking to you. I hope you have a good year being three. Okay, thanks Mom.

An Early Boo From Us to You

Big day tomorrow . . . .

The Apple of My Eye

We have a lovely, little apple tree right in the middle of our city backyard. When I laid eyes on this 80+ year-old tree, my mind ran wild with the possibilities. I was smitten from the start.

Our little tree produces fruit every other year. It is fascinating, messy and overwhelming all at the same time. Watching the progression from spring until fall is truly amazing. Cleaning up the dozens and dozens of apples that fall to the ground each day is not as amazing (although every squirrel in Wicker Park is helping to do their part by carrying away half-chewed apples to save as a snack for later).

The picking and apple sauce making have become family rituals. And I love it when one of my littles says to me, "Mom, will you make me an apple pie?" How could I say no?

In a week or two, most of the apples will be gone. We're doing our best to make use of as many as we can (and giving away apples to anyone who is interested).

I already can't wait for spring of 2013 when I see the pink buds appear and we can do this all over again.

Let's Go Bears!

There is a crazy amount of jersey wearing, tackling and (attempted) punting going on in my yard these days.

And when they aren't playing football, they seem to be watching football.

So Go Bears.
And Steelers.
And the Wolverines.
And the Fighting Irish too.

{so much football}

Attention: Moms Interested in Making Some Extra Money

Over the summer, I told you about a unique, local company called Focuscope. This company is looking for moms who want to share their opinions in exchange for a very fair compensation. Your thoughts and ideas in exchange for money. That simple.

There is one upcoming opportunity in particular that I want to tell you about. Focuscope Market Research is looking for Moms with children under 13 years of age to participate in a research survey on the topic of children’s entertainment. This project is taking place at their Chicago and Oak Park offices. The compensation is $125.00 for a 2 hour focus group (not bad for two hours of your time). Prescreening is required in order to qualify. And don't worry, absolutely no sales are involved in this experience. Focuscope just wants to hear your opinions.

Interested? Please call 708-386-5086 and ask to speak with Daisy in order to learn more. And Don't delay -- the deadline to apply for this opportunity is September 23rd.

Cross-posted on Wee Windy City.

Back to School for my BIG KIDS!

It's that time of year again.

Ellie has been at this for awhile now. You can take a little trip down back-to-school memory lane by clicking here (she was soooo small when I sent her off to preschool!).

Of course, Brendan has already been to school before as well.

But this is the first time that they are heading off to school together. And it is pretty cool.

As for Colin, he insisted on bringing his little backpack along as well. However, he was fine to say goodbye to the big kids and head to Target with me to pick up a new baseball bat.

Next year, little man.

Spicy Little Things

I've had a bumper pepper crop this year. I am picking poblanos, serranos and jalapenos daily.

We eat our fair share of peppers, but we can't keep up (and I can't bear to let all these lovely peppers that I've been cultivating go to waste).

In an effort to preserve some of these tasty little guys, I came across a really simple recipe for brining peppers and decided to give it a try.

They are in the fridge right now -- getting all sweet and salty (and of course, hot).

I have lots of plans for these preserved peppers (only a small portion of them will come to fruition I am sure).

I'll report back in a week or so with the tasty (or not-so-tasty results). And let me know if you like peppers -- I've got plenty to share!

Keep on Canning (plus a giveaway)!

A few summers ago, I got it in my head that I should start making jam. So I did. I bought a flat of raspberries from Seedling at the Green City Market, a few boxes of pectin, some jars and then I made some raspberry jam.

This jam was so tasty that I decided to give away all of the jars that I had made and then make some more.

This raspberry jam ritual has become a fun part of summer for our family. I make jam. I give my jam away to people who seem interested. They eat up all of of their jam and return the empty jars to me (I assume in the hopes that I will fill them up with jam again).

In case I haven't made it clear yet, I really, really like to make raspberry jam. But that is the extent of my canning experience. I am stuck on raspberry jam.

This summer, I plan to expand my horizons. When I learned that August 13 is National Can-It-Forward Day, I felt inspired to take my canning to the next level -- tomatoes! I am going to can salsa, sauce and just plain old tomatoes.

Jarden Home Brands, makers of the classic Ball and Mason jars, has teamed up with Canning Across America to sponsor Can-It-Forward Day (this day-long celebration will feature home canning parties, local events and online instructional canning videos and cooking demos).

If all of this talk about canning (and yummy, yummy jam) has you thinking about giving canning a try, I have a fabulous opportunity to share with you. The truth is that canning requires just a few simple tools (but you do need to carefully follow the instructions in order to ensure that your food is properly preserved). The maker of Ball jars makes a Canning Discovery Kit that gives first-timers easy-to-follow recipes and the basic tools to get started. Ball sent me one of these kits to try and I've really enjoyed the contents (again, see photo of raspberry jam above).

Ball has generously offered me one Canning Discovery Kit to give away to one of you. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post (be sure to leave your name and contact info so I can find you if you win!). You get another entry if you share this post via Twitter or Facebook (just leave a comment letting me know that you did that too). All comments must be received by Wednesday, August 17 at midnight. I will select a winner using random.org and contact that lucky individual next week.

Swim, Jump, Sun. Repeat.

This is what we've been up to for the past few weeks.
Hope you are having a much fun as we are.

Focuscope Wants Moms Like You

Moms are really smart, resourceful people. They have to be. When you are responsible for the day-to-day details for all of the little people in your life, you have to be on your game!

Moms are schedulers, shoppers, medics, coaches, teachers, cooks, maids and more. Moms know how to multitask, make ends meet and keep everybody in the family happy – and they do it every single day.

Focuscope Inc. , a local, family-owned market research company, knows how valuable moms and their opinions are. Focuscope Inc. is looking for Chicago-area moms to add to its database for future paid opportunities (that’s right – real, cash money in your pocket).

Members of the Focsuscope database are eligible to participate in various research projects, including focus groups, taste tests, product testing, and in-home studies. Focuscope, Inc has three locations: Oak Park, Chicago, and Oak Brook.

To become part of the database, all you need to do is complete an online form. Once you’ve completed the application process, you can expect to be contacted by Focuscope at some point in the future to determine if you are a good fit for specific projects. If you are chosen for a project, you will be compensated for your time (the compensation varies from project to project). If you aren’t chosen for a particular project, your name remains on the database and you will be contacted again for future opportunities.

Does this sound like something you might be interested in (after all, you too are a smart mama)? Simply fill out this form to apply to become part of the Focuscope database or you can click on the Focuscope badge on the right-hand sidebar to learn more about the company.

Disclosure: Focuscope is a new sponsor here on A Hen and Two (now Three) Chicks.

In Defense of Boredom

By now, I imagine that you and your little people are fully into the swing of summer. I know that we are (ice cream cones two nights in a row, kids up until 9:30 every night because it is so bright out, swimming every single day).

I can't believe that the 4th of July is nearly here. Sometimes summer seems to move so darn fast. With that in mind, I wanted to tell you about a story that I wrote in the June issue of Chicago Parent Magazine. It is called In Defense of Boredom: The Case for Underscheduling Your Kids This Summer.

I wrote this as mostly as a reminder to myself to take advantage of all of the opportunities that summer presents to take things a little bit slower. I hope you'll have a look.

Our Lil' Sluggers

Fun with Flubber!

There will be a day this summer when you think to yourself, "What the heck are we going to do today? I am totally out of ideas." And that should be the day that you make flubber.

This was one of our all-time favorite craft projects. It is a hit with both little and big kids. You too will find the whole process sort of fascinating. Bottom line: flubber is super cool.

Here are my instructions for making flubber from my June craft story in Chicago Parent Magazine in case you want to give it a try sometime.

Float Your Boat!

When I looked out my kitchen window at the puddles that remain in my backyard after yesterday's deluge, I remembered that I forgot to share my "make your own paper boat" craft with you from the May issue of Chicago Parent Magazine.

This is a super easy and straightforward craft. And all you need is some paper and tape so it's perfect for those "what the heck should we do now" moments.

Happy sailing!

What He Had to Say on His Fifth Birthday

Brendan didn't have a lot of interest in my birthday interview this year. And who can blame him. When you are ridiculously handsome and sweet, who's got time to sit around while your Mom asks you dumb questions? But I managed to get a few tidbits out of him any way.

Happy Birthday big man.

Favorites:

• Cereal- Cheerios

• Vegetable- Red peppers

• Drink- Milk

• Toy- LEGOS

• TV Show- Wild Kratts

• Game- Hi-Ho-Cheerio

• Book- The Jungle Book

• Dinner – Pizza and pesto

• Lunch – Buttered noodles

• Breakfast - pancakes

• Holiday- Christmas and Easter

• Animal – Tigers and lions and giraffes

• Color – red, blue, orange and yellow

• Things to do at school – "Make maps and books like the bird book and the mammal book."
  
  
• Sport – baseball, football, and hockey
  

What do you want for your birthday? "LEGOS! LEGOS! and tractors and trailers like my Grandma got me. Also some workers."

What do you love about each person in our family?

• Daddy – Because he is nice like when he takes us to Arizona.
  

• Mommy – Cuddling with you.
  

• Ellie - She lets me play with her. She helped my build my LEGO police helicopter.
  

• Colin – He lets my ride his bug.
  

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Pittsburgh.

What are some of your wishes for this year? "Maybe I will lose a tooth. I think I am going to like kindergarten because I am going to get to do homework."

What makes you happy? "Ellie because when I hurt myself she gives me her stuffed animal to sleep with."

What makes you sad? "Nothing."

How old is your Mom? "15" (thanks, buddy)

How tall is your Mom? Showing with hands "This tall."

What is her favorite thing to do? "Spending your time with me."

What does Dad do for a job? "Work."

What is Dad’s favorite food? "Pizza."

What does our family like to do together? "Play baseball."

What going to be when you grow up? "A guy who is silly and laughs like a clown."

Who are you going to marry? "I don't know. I am going to live by myself with two Huskie dogs."

What was the best part of your bowling party today? "Opening my presents."

Totally toothless in Chicago

Ellie lost both of her two front teeth this week -- one at Easter brunch (to the total horror of her two year-old cousin who could not believe her eyes) and the other came out tonight when she gave it a little pull.

Ellie is delighted at the prospect of being visited by the tooth fairy twice in one week (who wouldn't be?)

When I tucked her in tonight, she said, "No apples in my lunch tomorrow, okay Mom?"

No apples for awhile Ellie Bellie.

What She Had to Say on her 7th Birthday

Time for my favorite blog posts of the year -- the birthday interviews! As always, Ellie had lots of interesting things to say. As always, I think she is the most fabulous little girl a mom could ask for. Happy 7th Birthday to you, Ellie!

Favorites:

Cereal: Three Sister's Graham Cereal

Vegetable: broccoli

Drink: water

Toy: American Girl Dolls

TV Show: Wild Kratts

Game: Hide-and-seek

Book: "The Puppy Place Series. My favorite so far is Buddy. It's like the best one ever."

Dinner: "I have three: Mommy's homemade mac and cheese; Dad's steak with Bernaise sauce and the skirt steak with that butter sauce, mashed potatoes and green beans."

Lunch: Mac and cheese

Breakfast: Waffles

Holiday: "Is your birthday a holiday? No. Actually Christmas."

Animal: Puppy Dog!

Doll: "I need to pick three. Kit, Ruthie and Bitty Baby -- I call her Lulu. I have two babies named Lulu. I am reading a book with a character named Lulu in it . She likes horses."

Color: blue and green

Thing to do at school: "Recess and there is some subjects that I like as well. Art, dance, technology, library, and I think that's it. Oh, and music."

Sport: ice skating

What do you want for your birthday? "American Girl Dolls stuff, Pet Shop Stuff, Critters for my doll house and maybe some new clothe."s

If you could change your name, what would you choose? "Ava. Because then I would be one of the first people in line."

What do you love about each person in our family?

• I love Dad because he takes us on trips.

• I love my Mom because she signs us up for good things that we like.

• Brendan: He is funny!

• Colin – That he is also funny.

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? "To horseyland. Where is that? In the middle of the world."

What are some of your wishes for this year? "Well, I hope that Alex and me have lots of playdates and we start that Puppy Place town we are going to do. I started the idea and Alex added things into it. He decided to buy this area of property and I thought it would be good to buy this whole street. Then I decided that this should be near Disneyland so that people would be like, 'This is a great area. It is so close to Disneyland.' So I decided that is where the area should be. This might happen when we are a little bit older or maybe an adult will help us. I think we are going to call it Puppy Place Street, but I don't know yet."

What makes you happy? "My family, My friends, my teachers."

What makes you sad? "When someone is mean to me or I do something wrong."

How old is your Mom? 34

How tall is your Mom? "Pretty tall, but not as tall as Dad."

What is her favorite thing to do? "Play with our family."

What does Dad do for a job? "He works at the Sear's Tower."

What is your mom's favorite food? "I don't know."

What is Dad’s favorite food? Fish.

What does our family like to do together? "Play outside and have fun together."

What going to be when you grow up? "A mommy. I am also going to be a teacher, ballet teacher, and I think that's it."

Who are you going to marry? "Joey. I don't know."

Anything else you want to talk about? "Well, that I hope that Lily* is able to come to my birthday party and celebrate it with me and that everyone has a good time and that I have a good birthday."

* Those of you who know Ellie probably know that this is the name of her imaginary friend who lives in California. But she also has a real friend named Lily and that is who she is talking about here.

If you are interested in what she had to say in years past, you can find it here.

Time to make the Easter Eggs!

Looking for a fun alternative to store-bought dyes? Read more about using bleeding tissue paper in my craft story in the April issue of Chicago Parent Magazine.