Milwaukee Art Museum= Calatrava!!!!!

My lovely sister and her lovely husband kidnapped our children this weekend. And my lovely husband and I celebrated 11 years of wedded bliss. In true form, we saw some famous architecture:)

Enjoy!





The "ribs" are "wings" that open and close to protect the center space from the sun. So so unbelievably cool. And so ridiculously expensive I'm SURE.
















Look....even the parking garage was fabulous!

Pancakes

"Who wants Pancakes?"
"MeMeMe!"
"Who wants them cut up?"
"Not me!"
"Who wants them rolled like a taco?"
"Me!"- Logan
"Not me! I don't want water on my taco." -Sylvie

I got tagged!

I got tagged by Chau (http://ky-an.blogspot.com/) So I guess I'm supposed to tell everyone 7 things about myself. Hmmmm.....7 things interesting enough to write about?

1. I wrote a lot of stories when I was young. I have binders of stories and one novel. Meant for the age 8-12 set, so maybe I'll publish them someday! With some editing of course! So....when I wrote these stories, I started drawing floorplans of the houses where the stories took place. It didn't really occur to me to consider architecture until High School. In Junior High I planned to make a career of writing. And when I went to a writing seminar, I found out that rejection is a huge part of writing and got discouraged with the idea of writing as a career.

2. Raising Logan is like raising my brother. Raising Sylvie is like raising my sister. They remind me so much of my siblings as I was growing up it's ridiculous! I cant' wait to see if one of my siblings has a child that reminds them of me!

3. When I let the kids watch tv, I don't mind watching Caillou, Max and Ruby and Disney movies. I despise Dora (she yells everything), Cartoon Network (it's like one long barrage of images) and Sponge Bob (he's annoying).

4. I lost my teeth in the wrong order. I grew them in the wrong order. Logan grew his fangs before he grew all the front teeth.

5. I am still friends with some girls I met in High School. My mom is still friends with girls she met in High School. I hope someday my kids have strong friendships like that.

6. I have a TON of first cousins. And most of them are taller than I am. Even the younger ones. I hope my kids are both taller than I am eventually.

7. My husband used a pickup line that I was impressed with at the time. He said "What's it like to see the world through green eyes?" Swoon.

Not earth-shattering but heck, there you have some things you may or may not have known about me!

Wanting things...for others!

Logan has been a bit obsessed of late with owning things. Like wanting all 6 Transformers McDonald's has in their Happy Meals. I've been trying to explain to him that just because there are a lot of toys out there, does not mean he needs all of them.

So his new thing is to get all excited about things he sees and tells me I should get them for me. Today there was an infomercial for some purse that can hold everything. He got all excited and told me that I needed to get it so I didn't have to put my cell phone in my pocket. I keep telling him he can get me something for my birthday. Too cute!

Bedtime Stories at our house.....

A few months back it was easier to read good books to Sylvie. Lately all they wants is to obsess over the Disney Princesses. And in addition, Logan loves my storytelling. So now our tradtion is for me to read one or two books and then Logan is begging for a story. But he doesn't let me tell a story, he wants to interject. At first I got annoyed, but now,...my stories sound something like this ...
Me:"Once upon a time...there was a Transformer. And he was..."
Logan:"Blue. Optimus Prime."
Me:"And he was at a birthday party and heard someone crying. It was...."
Sylvie:"A Princess!"
Me:"And this princess was wearing...."
Sylvie:"A Pink Dress...."
Logan:"And then the transformer comes and shoots the bad guy!"
Me:"And they all have cake and pink marshmallows."
And there you have it. Storytime at our house:) I'll have to draw some pictures and write out the story and illustrate it. But then again, the best part is that they make up new ideas each time!

Logan's Plan

We were all tripping over one another to get into the house with armfuls of groceries when Logan stopped to pick up a rock. He placed it gently near the door and said:

"Mommy, I put this rock here. That ant could climb the rock and then that ant won't go in the house. That is my plan. Then we have no ants in the house because we have rocks outside for them to climb on."

Sounds like a plan to me! Think it'll work well enough to cancel Terminex?

She Fell In!!!!

Poor Sylvie! We went to the zoo today and I noticed a public toilet stall labeled "For Toddlers." I showed her the little potty and she was really really excited. She wouldn't let me help her, and she fell in butt-first! The seat opening was too big. I had to change her entire outfit poor baby. But she was horrified that she couldnt' do it all herself the way she thought it would work.

Hour One....Hour Two.....

Let's pretend you are on the roadtrip with me and Sylvie to Champaign this morning....This is what you will hear....

Hour One
"LaLaLaLA...LaLaLALA...Elmo's World......"
"Mommy...that's Ernie! See him?" "Yes, he looks so happy." (No, I wasn't watching the DVD in the back seat)
"Here Sylvie, here's a Color Wonder Marker and a princess Book to color in......"
Insert Blissful silence for a LONG time (with Elmo in the background......)

Hour Two (after bathroom break and snack)
"Mommy, are we HERE already?"
"No, not quite."
"I am going to Cinderella's party." (or a friend's baptism, same thing right?)
"Here Sylvie, play with this toy."
"Mommy I dropped it."
"Mommy can I have your bracelet?"
"When we get to church." 4 seconds pass
"Mommy can I have your bracelet?"
"When we get to the church." 4 seconds pass
"Mommy, where is My bracelet. I want to go home and see DADDY!!!!! AND LOGAN!!!! AND WHERE IS ABBY?!?!? OH NO ABBY IS STILL AT THE HOTEL~" tears, sobbing, tears, drama,
"Look Sylvie, you can wear Mommy's bracelet!" 4 seconds pass.

"Mommy I dropped the bracelet."
"Are we there already?"

"Look at that Sylvie.....it's a massively huge red barn. See it?"
"I can't see it."
"Look Sylvie, see those 3 miles of green plants? There is corn in those plants."
"I can't see it. I want to see the corn Mama! Are we there already?"

And on and on and on for many rows of corn.......Maybe it's better that you werent' in the car to hear it in person.

On the upside....I had a blast seeing an old friend and her new beautiful gorgeous baby baptised. And the party was hot, but it was outside and at a park and pavilion and lots of fun. With tons to eat and drink.

Even better.....Sylvie slept the WHOLE way home. :)

A Boy Eats Chocolate...A Girl Eats Chocolate...

I gave the kids some M&M's for dessert and the bag was on the computer desk. I was attending to Miss Crazy Pants and started getting mad that I saw Logan go back to the bag again after I told him we were done. He said "But I need 2 more yellows!!!!"

I look over to see this.....(ignore the various projects behind him!)


And Sylvie....with gusto...inHALED hers.


And just a cute pic of Sylvie's SECOND pony ride....

My Current Favorite Picture.....

You know when you capture your child in a photo exactly the way you see them when you close your eyes at night how excited you get? Well that's this picture. Kids never stop, especially for a photo. Capturing the depth of their face and the expressions you most love....is Bliss. My Sylvie in her Mermaid Dress on a Saturday Morning.

Happy Day Tidings +Whine #1 +Whine #2

Okay let's get the whining over with.....

Whine # 1: I'm in awe that my 2-1/2 year old is one of the few who has mastered the art of potty training. But it's kind of like giving a 14 year old a license to drive. She's too young for the responsibility! She knows when and how to hold the power. Mommy won't play with me? Oops time to go to the potty and have her help me! Mommy wants to leave the zoo, nope, I need to go christen every public restroom we find at least twice. Bedtime? Nope! She manages to poop twice or more and pee at least 3 times between the hours of getting ready to go to bed and the second and third trips I make up the stairs to help her out! The child pees like a pregnant woman! Maybe it's all the "Princess Munks" (white milk in a Princess cup to you and me) that she insists on having!

Whine #2: I almost forgot this one! My teeth hurt! But the good thing is I found some cancer sore/toothache stuff upstairs and it's working miracles. Off to the dentist as soon as I can/ they let me.

Okay.....Happy Tidings Day

Can I just say I had a GOOD week at work last week and so far this week?! I was so in my element. I seriously need to get reminded why I chose to go to grad school and pay all those student loans every few years to remember that I LOVED college- it just suits me:) So my boss is hopefully starting to realize I will be handing out resumes soon if he can't find things for me to do. He's been asking me not to come in due to lack of work every few weeks this summer.

So he asked me to do a research project on green architecture for one of our clients and to create an office standard. I passed one exam on green architecture but the residential portion didn't even exist when I took it (3 years ago) so here he hands me the residential book and wants me to summarize it! Some people, like my husband, would probably shit a brick. Me... I call my husband from the other room because I'm so excited to have this book in my hands (costs $125)and get time.,..and paid....to read it! Woohoo!

So a few days later, I have a sweet typed up document and binder for the client, getting kudos from my boss. So, that, along with us scoring a NEW house project in the office, everyone is happy. PLUS, even better news....My boss is going out of town and when he talked about it I thought he was going to ask if either I could not work next week or watch his three children for him so he could vacation alone....but no. Instead he asked me come in later in the week. My mom is available to babysit, so I can get 2 full weeks of 3 days a week working in a ROW. We're on a roll here!!!

Today I presented the green info to the new clients and they were impressed, excited and no one fell asleep. Plus I didn't studder or pass out from fear or nervousness. Not that I thought I would....but one never knows.

Anyway, I am enjoying this "Green Architecture" piece of things and hopefully tomorrow is a good one and a good weekend! Heck, let's just hope for no really bad days anytime soon okay?

Oh, I'll throw a Whine #3 in there for good measure. A rep came into my office from Balthuis I belive it was? It's a kitchen company, and they brought with them some eye candy on some fabulous kitchens that are amazing pieces of art (think white modern, sleek stainess, blue enamel, self-closing drawers, fantastic wood graining). So I'll whine that the drool that fell from my mouth onto the pictures of said fantastic kitchens is probably as close as I'll ever get to using one. But that's okay. I'll live without one. I think. Even the rep said he gets depressed going home to his own kitchen.

They did give me a free potholder. It's made of suede and is embossed with their name. I may frame it and put it over my kitchen sink to look at while I do dishes.

A Touch of the Patriotic Fever,....

We did the whole shebang this year. Started the morning out with birthday cheesecake to celebrate Jorge's birthday. Logan has been in anticipation of birthday celebrations for Jorge for some time now. He can tell you the whole lineup of birthdays leading up to his 5th birthday in November. His little sister...eh, sometime after HIS birthday, so who cares right? I think he was a bit disappointed in Jorge's choice of cheesecake, but ate it with gusto just the same. He's getting more willing to try new things lately, it's a lot of fun! Still would live on hot dogs if I let him...but willing sometimes to try is a big step!

So...after the cheesecake we hit the local parade at the end of our block. I wasn't sure on the start time so we were waiting around awhile. And we had a swarm of ants on our front walk so the kids were freaking out over that. Then my inlaws surprised Jorge by showing up to the parade- fun!

So, parade, relaxing and finally we decided to go to the Family Fest at a nearby town. Bounce houses were Logan's favorite and Sylvie had her first pony ride. She obsessed over the animals while Logan won all the games of ball throwing and water gun shooting.

Fireworks were the night before, huddled under a blanket as it got REALLY cold! Kids did well and we all enjoyed.

Back to the daily grind around here and life pre-July4th. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

This is our house....my flowers came out pretty good for having a 2 and 4 year old help/take over didnt' they?

















Looking at the petting zoo animals

"Me So Funny Mommy!"

Dinner has been over for over an hour now...and the kids didn't really eat too much. But they had eaten at my in-laws house so I didn't push things too much. I sat down to eat a bite of dessert and Logan wanted some. I said
"Logan, did you eat your pizza?" He said
"Yes." Then, before taking a bite he went running back up to the table and said
"Oh no! I forgot! Me no eat Pizza yet! Me so funny mommy!" He took a bite and then came running back to claim his bite of dessert.

What a good boy I have!

Millenium Park in Chicago!

We met Jorge for lunch downtown and then I took the kids to Millenium park. It was so much fun! I have about 50 pictures,.....but here are a few highlights!

The YARD sale

It must be a spring cleaning thing and a desire to make extra money that gets people to insanely think that it would be a great idea to put all their extra stuff from inside their house to their yard or garage and put colorful price stickers all over it!

So I decided to have a garage sale back in April or May and started pulling things from every nook and cranny in the household and purging of all extraneous, duplicate or non-essential. It feels good to clean out everything, especially with dreams of making big bucks on the stuff! I made a decision to sell the kids clothing from size 18 months and up, 6 tubs of newborn and baby sizes is plenty! Many hours of free time were devoted to this preparation over the weeks, but I still spent all day Friday getting everything upstairs and ortganized.

So the night before I was giddy excited and the morning of....I think I woke at the 5 o'clock hour....which I probably have not done spontaneously since I had to drive my dad to work before going to High School. I jumped in the shower and quickly staple-gunned my mark on the neighborhood (illegally).

We started getting the house and kids awake before hauling stuff outside. Rain was on the forecast so we were debating the location of the sale. Meanwhile....the dog starts freaking out and running around. And I hear some unfamiliar voices. I had a big sign on my front door saying "Garage Sale HERE" with dates and times. Apparently a sweet older couple thought I meant in my LIVING Room! They asked if it was 1st floor only adn I kindly informed them it was going to be outside and was nowhere near set up, and 2 hours prior to start time. Then I freaked out and jumped into hyper-drive setting everything up outside! I knew garage salers came early but WOAH!

We had one customer show up early and ask about the sewing machine I mentioned in the ad. She paid full price and then ....well no one else showed up! Then it started raining. Then it started pouring and my neighbors and I started wondering what we were thinking! By then it was 9:15 and the kids were already bored with the "Yard Sale."

We all survived until 4 pm and the big highlights were....

*The fact that a double storm passed by and we got white clouds and it was so beautiful!

*My faith in human nature was restored watching a sweet hispanic family fawning over this beautiful 1 year old on mom's shoulders named Benny. They put on a hat from Logan at that age and I made them keep it....it was perfect for him. So cute!

*I met some of THE cheapest people alive. One woman looked lower income and wanted to pay $3 for items that originally cost $20-60 each. That's garage sale prices for you! But she bought two of my vaccuum cleaners, so that was good! Another family was horribly cheap and my neighbors were bartering with them on some furniture and it got ridiculous. They wanted everything for nothing and it just grated on my nerves so I didn't give in to them. Some of the things they wanted, I later gave away.

*Men love a good deal too. Jorge had a computer there and there were probably 4 very interested people but they ALL wanted to pay next to nothing. A computer is not really a garage sale thing, but we had it and it sure attracted some interest! We lowered the price, but no one wanted to pay that....so forget it!

*People all bought used shoes. And ignored the clothing I spent hours labeling and hanging so it looked nice. Hours. And Hours.

*Pets are fun at a garage sale! Especially turtles. They were a HIT! My nieghbors were trying to sell them. In the end, they went for free to a family down the block. So they have a new home but the little girl who owned them was pretty upset. The most interesting part was seeing all the other kids discuss it...they were talking about how sad the original owner was and how exciting it was that they stayed local.

*The last thing I learned is that the next time I want to make some money....I will NOT be having a garage sale. It was soooooo much work for what the gain was! We had so many people come through and the average person spent $4. Not a whole lot! The biggest hit was some boxes of candy my kids don't eat. Everyone bought 1-2 boxes!!!

McLatte

Jorge brought me a Latte. From McDonalds. It's a sugarfree "Large" latte. I don't think Starbucks even makes a coffee this gigantic! I told Jorge and he said "Starbucks is for wussies." Seriously now....this stuff is very chuggable and sweet and good and refreshing on a summer day. But does it NEED to be this large? I got their "free sample" the other day and it was the size of their yogurt parfaits. Probably a good "Small" size. This one in comparison is so huge!

Here you go.....enormous and tasty! With our nasty tile and countertop that are kinda "retro" cool but still scream 1967 dontcha think? The Diet Coke is obviously for comparison's sake.

She can blow bubbles now!

First...she gets ready...


Breathe in deep....


Then she blows the bubbles- such a big girl!


So dainty....




She's imitating the "Baby Mozart" Dragon - Bump Bump Bump - BLAH!!!!

Adventures in the Kitchen

I was multi-tasking as usual. Making steaks on the grill and baking sweet potatoes in the oven to make a sweet potato casserole. I came in from outside and went to grab the sweet potatoes. I had a cookie sheet in the level below them so it could catch any drippings (which seems to happen). So I grabbed that first with my potholder. Well...or so I thought. Make that....I grabbed that flaming hot cookie sheet with my left hand! Aaah!!!!! Ouch! I dropped it right away and quickly got the potatoes out and my hand under water.

Meanwhile the kids came in with me so they started barraging me with requests for everything - juice, certain tv shows, a pony, a massage....you name it. I had to tell them I was hurt and needed to take care of my hands first. Logan quickly said "I'm a good boy and I'll sit here." Sylvie was relentless and I was starting to freak out from the pain. She wanted juice. She wanted mommy to hold her. She wanted marshmallows. She wanted attention. AAAAAAHHHHHH!

I started thinking of the recent stories of moms I have read about who had their kids present during childbirth and how the hell they dealt with a whiney child during those worst pain moments. And thought....that's what the deep breathing is for. To block out the whining. I get it now.

So I, who have apparently not mastered the techniques of the hypnotic childbirth methods, threatened a time out, asked her to please please please go find something to play. And when all that failed and the "Mommy....Mommy....Mommy....Mommy" started I asked her "WHAT!?!?!?!" and she said "Mommy,....I'll be like this 'shhhhhhh.'" Meaning she would be quiet for me. Thank goodness she was and she got her hug as soon as I got some massive ice packs on my hand. It took all evening but now the pain is almost gone, just a weird sensation in my hand.

But....in true supermom fashion I will let you know that with an ice pack in my left hand and in a lot of pain I managed to skin the sweet potatoes, guide the kids in putting the chunks into the kitchenmaid mixer. Warm the milk, melt the butter, mix it all together, spray sweet potatoes OUT of the mixer all over the place, cook it in the oven, cook the steaks on the grill and clean up toys. Oh, and play outside and give the kids baths. I am truely the supermom I was meant to be tonight. Now let's hope I can go back to regular old MOM tomorrow!!!!!

We hit a milestone.....

It's morning....we are all half awake and trying to eat some breakfast. The tv is on kids tv and the sweet quiet show cuts to loud, obnoxious commercials. I glance up and see the Polly Pockets Pool Party. Complete with 6 giggling girls and what looks like a LOT of fun. Quickly followed by....

Sylvie: "Mommy....oh I LOVE that. I NEED that. We could get that? I really really like that. It's so pretty...Mommy? See that?" and the look of sheer awe on her face wondering if anything could possibly be so wonderful and could we possibly have one of those in our house?!?!

Oh boy.....it might be a LONG 16 more years til she gets to college.

Happy thoughts

Here are happy thoughts of the day.......We have been blessed enough to experience some cool weekends lately. One was a weekend at my parent's cottage in Michigan. The kids were thrilled with the beach. My husband came and when he took his shoes off to feel the sand, and encouraged the kids to do the same, I think I fell in love with him all over again.

Melding two families is difficult. And if you have two different cultures and upbringings, can be even more difficult. But the fact that he loves my family and I love his family, this is fantastic. Do they drive me crazy? Sure! But heck, his lazy brother who has things handed to him got a JOB. Yes a job. So we celebrate the victories and try to overlook the rest, no?

Oh, and here is Logan's t-ball experience for today! How exciting! He is doing a very low-key tball thing through the park district.







My dad, my son, my husband



Oh, and can I whine that Photobucket was RIDICULOUSLY slow today?

Here's Logan's t-ball pics

Been too long

So does every blog have one of these posts? I would say "I've been busy" or some other lame excuse but I really have been trying to decide...do I pour my soul out to the internet or post pretty pictures for grandma to see each week? So, I decided I'll email grandma pictures and I'll drink a glass of wine and see what comes out of my fingers:)

So, the first big thought I remember thinking I should blog about was about a week ago. I got a chance to ride my bike. This is my passion. For sure. And if nothing else it brings me back to my teenage years when I was able to do this every day if I wished. But I biked all the way until I moved to Seattle - when HILLS and mountains got in the way. We did haul our bikes around sometimes, and if we lived near a path, I rode on it. But as far as regularity...not so much. I was riding around in springtime thinking about this and that and it dawned on me...oh my gawd I am a bit of my father. He has all these stories of how he goes in his "think-tank" AKA "hot tub" and comes up with these fabulous ideas on what the next step of his life is. The one I love best is "I will be a farmer." So he bought land and an antique tractor and hired out people who knew what they were doing. I love it. I love being like my dad. So I was riding around on my fabulous bike path that I am still mad I never discovered for the first 2 YEARS I lived here, and thinking "There is so much more to me than this. I am not living my full potential." You know when people have pass away and their eulogy is all about losing this fabulous life on the earth...well I feel like I COULD be this fabulous person. I try to be the best possible to my kids. And really you would probably puke at how much fun I have with my kids. I really do adore kids. I offer to babysit other people's kids, but they usually turn me down:)

I guess I turn on the mom guilt sometimes and feel like I need to do more. But at the same time I feel like I'm kind of biding my time and it hit me a week or so ago that there is something BIG waiting for me. I'm an architect. I love it. It makes me happy to draft away, to create space. I interviewed for this job downtown and I wanted it so badly. I wowed the interviewer ( a partner in the firm) to the point that she said "wow!" after I finished speaking about architecture and what it means to me. She kept pushing me to see if I would go full-time and I would not. I had gone from a SAHM and moved from Seattle and that life to Chicago and this life and it was not the time. I got the call that I did not get the job based on not letting go of my part-time dream. So I got a slew of part-time jobs that have not fulfilled me completely. And the last job, I was really getting into it, and work slowed down to a crawl and he let his employees go. A huge life event I got through.

Did I mention yet that I have this fantastic husband who is truly my soulmate? When he is gone, I don't worry about how I will survive two crazy children like most people do, I worry how I will survive my days without him. 11 years and counting.

So it's been slow in my current office and it's hard to decide whether I should move on. I think I should stay. Now is not the time to move. Yet I see it there someday. Something big. Something that will overwhelm me and fulfill me. But it will be hard to leave raising my kids to someone else. But it is me. I see it...and I hope when I need to jump on that train, I am ready.