A little bit of this and that . . .

Winter break is drawing to a close.

I've enjoyed *almost* every minute, but admit, I'm looking forward to getting back in to a routine.

I'm sure I will take that statement back on Monday when we are knee deep in homework again.

I spent time trying to organize our calendar for the semester.  It's filling up quickly.  My MLK weekend trip with Amy and Dana has been postponed until February.  Sad to have to wait, but looking forward to our K-State Galentines weekend.  When I asked Bassam if it was okay if I traveled on Valentines Day for the weekend he said, "I'm not on call, so why wouldn't it be?"    Yeah, he's a romantic, ladies.

In other news. . .

The kids, my parents and I went to the "Other World Encounter" exhibit that was out in one of the buildings at the Fairgrounds.  It was a gray, cold and rainy day, plus we had a Groupon, so it was a nice way to spend part of our afternoon.

Now how to explain what it was . . . that's much harder. The online description was, "Think...Arts Festival meets Science Fiction Movie meets Escape Game! An interactive experience where new technologies (augmented/virtual reality, holograms, projections mapping) are merged with artistic content. A REALLY hip and awesome experience to share with friends."

In my own words? It was interactive art, lights and technology.  There was slime and other tactile components, too.

Hip?  Probably not.   A little weird?  Yeah.  It was.

But we had a good time!

Happy Easter!

He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

It was a bit of an unusual Easter for us.  Instead of getting dressed up in our Easter best for church and helping coordinate the egg hunt at church, we were were off to serve breakfast to the homeless down at St. Paul's in Nashville.  Our church has the 1st Sunday of the month and of course for April, this fell on Easter.   Not surprising, a lot of the usual volunteers didn't want to serve on Easter.  Everyone has family in town, and let's be honest, Easter is probably the best church service of the year.   So my friend Christy and I decided our families would do the breakfast together.   We served up pancakes, sausage, cereal and fruit.  Plus, Christy scrambled up 18 dozen eggs which she brought down in crockpots! 

The numbers were down this month, which although means leftovers, also means that fewer people in the shelter.  Good news!  We packed it up and brought it over to one of the shelter kitchens who said they could use it.   We prayed with the pastor at St. Paul and left feeling the amazing spirit of Easter. 

This afternoon, we enjoyed a yummy lunch out with my parents.  It was the first time I've ever eaten out for Easter.   I missed some of our family tradition dishes, but no clean up and dishes?  That's alright!  It rained on and off earlier today, but when the showers cleared out, Bassam and Matt headed to the golf course.

Now it's nearing dinner-time and we need to start think about digging out our backpacks and looking at the week ahead.  Spring break is OVER!   Although the weather has been a little hit or miss, we crossed a lot off our to-do lists, relaxed, were hometown tourists, plus enjoyed a quick visit from my Uncle George and cousins Cathy and Theresa, and their kids who stopped in for the night on their way home from Alabama. 

Now the roller-coaster ride to summer begins.  Just 7 weeks to go!

Shhh!

Here we are on the eve of the last day of 2017 (New Year's Eve Eve?) and for the first time since the kids got out of school, the house is quiet.

The Clarks were here first.  Then Lina, David and the boys were in town.  Finally, my sister, Rich and his kids arrived this week.   With all three families there have been outings, meals and gatherings for play.   I wouldn't trade a second of it.  But when my parents, Amy, Rich and the kids left tonight, we all sat down in the family room and for a moment,  the house was completely quiet.  Nothing cooking in the kitchen, no boisterous card games . . . heck, even the washing machine wasn't running.

Unheard of!

But before long, Bassam was watching college football, the dishwasher was whirling,  and the kids were giggling at a video on YouTube.

Back to reality, I suppose.

We are rarely blessed with a holiday where we get to see so many of the special people in our life.   It's been a fantastic, frantic, fun-filled 9 days!

Cheers to 50 Years!

Tonight we celebrated my parents 50th wedding anniversary.   We started the day by sending them a video of photos from the last 50 years. Then we had their yard decorated so everyone in the neighborhood would know they'd been married FOREVER!

Tonight we we all went out to dinner and we gave them a scrapbook full of letters and photos from friends and family with anniversary greetings.   I know they will enjoy reading them even more than we did when we put it goether!  We also had a fun piece of subway art made with the names of the towns they've lived in over the last 50 years. Despite living in our house in Illinois for over 30 years, they moved around a lot before that, so there were plenty of names and places to fill it up!

All in all, it was great day.  So happy to celebrate this special milestone with my parents!

Welcome home!

It's official . . . my mom and dad are residents of Tennessee!

They closed on their Illinois house yesterday morning.  Because of the ongoing crappy winter weather in the Midwest, they didn't arrive here until this morning where they were greeted with sunshine and temperatures in the 60s. 

Their stuff won't be delivered until Monday or Tuesday, so they are with us for the next few days, taking care of the myriad of errands that come with moving. 

I will miss going "home" to this wonderful house that I grew up in.  We moved in when I was a 2nd grader, just like Gracie is now, so it is full of memories. My sister and many friends are nearby, so I know I will see it again, but of course, it won't be the same just doing a drive by!

The truck

So the big news in our neck of the woods is that my parents have survived their last Chicago winter and in just one week will be moving to Tennessee.  After almost a year of looking (although certainly at times with more gusto than others), they found a beautiful home 15 minutes from us.  Although it has a small upstairs and a basement for my dad's woodshop, it is basically one-floor living, which is exactly what they wanted. 

Their current home is basically the house I grew up in.  We moved there when I was Gracie's age,  so it's been 33 years.  When we moved in, Mom and Dad were the young ones on the street.  Now . . . well, they're not!!   While it makes me sad to think of someone else living in "our house," the people that are buying it are a young couple with a baby so there is something cyclical and wonderful about the idea of another little boy or girl growing up in that house with sidewalks to learn to ride their bike on, a huge park across the street and a neighborhood full of kids who could be classmates and lifelong friends.

My dad made a final road trip to Nashville to drop off his pickup truck.  But the pick up was far from empty.  In fact it was the second time he'd come down with the bed of the truck full of TOOLS!

I'm not going to lie, there was something oddly familiar when I watched him back his  truck into the driveway, weighed down with a big, heavy load of tools, packed in tightly and held down with straps and bungee cords.  And then it hit me. 

Wah wah wah wah . . .

Uh huh . . . it was Sanford and Son!!

And now hours later (with my dad already on a plane back to Illinois) I find that for the life of me I cannot get that theme song out of my head. 

Seriously . . . that might be the best theme without lyrics ever. 

And now it can be stuck in your head, too!

From Nashville to Chicago and back again . . . .

The kids and I are back at home after a wonderful, adventure-filled week in Illinois.   Bassam had to miss this trip as he worked all week and is on call the entire Thanksgiving weekend.  Poor guy.  I think we had been in the house exactly 30 minutes tonight before he had to get in the car and go back to work.

Luckily he made back in time to chef up some yummy salmon for dinner.  I'm not going to lie, I wasn't much in the mood for cooking, but was even the less in the mood for going out.   8 hours in the car kind of takes it out of you.

Which is precisely why I would never make it as a truck driver, cab driver or the driver of the Google maps car.

I was almost tempted to get in the car after checking my email and seeing that everything at the Gap was 50% off for Black Friday, but instead I sat on the couch with the iPad and ordered online.  

Life is good.

Here's a quick recap of adventures our adventures in Chicago . . . . .

We arrived on Sunday night.  We ate dinner and I think I went to sleep shortly thereafter.  Exhausted. See comments above about careers I will not be pursuing.

On Monday morning we were up early and drove downtown with the masses.  However, while they headed to work, we had something more fun on the agenda.   My mom, Gracie and I went to American Girl on Michigan Avenue.  Despite thinking we were "One and done" with dolls, it's really the only thing Gracie wants for Christmas,so I caved and she picked out Kit Kittredge doll.    And maybe a few other things.

Two and through!    That's it!

We also enjoyed a delicious and froofy lunch in the American Girl dining room.  I've said it before, these people don't miss a trick.  Everything is beautiful and no detail is overlooked!

 

While I was emptying my wallet, my dad and Matthew headed over to the Adler Planetarium.  No pictures of that outing but Matthew tells me it was an awesome "guys' day" and I think he rather enjoyed choosing what they would see and when.   The Planetarium's cafeteria is the best of all the museums (think Panini's made to order instead of cafeteria hamburgers!) and the dining room is windows all around overlooking Lake Michigan.

Monday night I was able to catch up with my high school pals at Betsy's house.  Good wine, good friends and yummy lasagna.  What could be better? 

On Tuesday we were off to LEGOLAND in Schaumburg.  The kids had been a couple times before, but I was a newbie!  Wow!  It does not disappoint.  Despite there being scads of buses of kids visiting on a field trip (Seriously!??!   I'm fairly certain I NEVER went on a field trip like that!), we were easily able to see and do everything we wanted!   That place is impressive--and I'm fairly certain, also a gold mine!

When we returned from our daily adventures, the kids got really in to playing cards.  They aren't quite the card shark I was at that age playing euchre, rummy  and 500 with my cousins and grandparents, but there were some ultra competitive games of go-fish and crazy 8's. 

On Wednesday, Gus, the kids and I gave GG some Thanksgiving-prep time and took the kids to Bass Pro Shop for some fun in their holiday kids area.   Not only did they have fun with the guns, bows and arrows and remote control cards and monster trucks (nothing says Christmas like that, right?!?), but we bought a Christmas present for Bassam while we were there.   And no, it's not camouflage or a weapon of any kind!

Afterwards we went to IKEA and cruised around there for an hour or so AND had lunch.  Can't beat IKEA's Swedish meatballs!

Later on Wednesday, the kids headed out with Aunt Amy for their traditional trip to Enchanted Castle and dinner at Omega.  They apparently won thousands of tickets and came home with loads of plastic trinkets and candy, half of the former can undoubtedly be found under the seats of my car!

Thursday was Thanksgiving!   So much to be thankful this year!  My mom made a wonderful feast and we were joined by Amy, my Uncle Harry and cousins Erik and Alicia.  It was the first Thanksgiving without my Aunt Jeanine. She was definitely missed, but I'm sure she was watching down on us and smiling.

So that was my week in a nutshell. We are now home and are admittedly, happy to be back in the more temperate winter Nashville climate.   There are still bags to be unpacked,  mail to be sorted (I don't think Bassam opened anything while I was gone)  and Christmas presents to put away . . .but we'll get it all done. . . .eventually!

Weekend!

It's Sunday afternoon.   It's a little cloudy, a little wet and the Bears are playing badly.  Yet, I have to say....it's not a bad way to spend a Sunday. 

Family Fun Night went off without a hitch. Or maybe there was a hitch and I just don't know about it yet. Either way, the weather was fabulous, the crowd was great, we didn't run out of food and everyone seemed to be having a fun time.   I arrived at school shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday and got home just before 10 pm, less a 15 minute trip home to take the dog out and change clothes.   It was a really long day, but completely worth it.  My parents arrived in the late afternoon and got to see what all the excitement was about and even saw my kids briefly as they whizzed past them with their friends from one area to another.   

Saturday was equally crazy.   It was Oktoberfest at our church, so we enjoyed brats and beer for lunch, along with a silent auction, live music and games for the kids.  We brought home an obscene amount of prizes in the form of paddle balls, whistles, kazoos,noisemakers, vampire teeth and other plastic doo-dads.  

Just between us, I wouldn't be surprised if they slowly began to disappear from the house.

From Oktoberfest, we went to see Matthew's flag football game.  It was Seahawks vs. Cowboys.  The Seahawks won 31-22.....thanks in part to a safety and extra point scored by Matthew!   So glad he decided to put on a good show for GG and Gus!    Needless to say he as super excited.  Bassam, the kids and my dad finished off the day with a little more football at the Vandy/UAB game, while my mom and I retreated home to work on Gracie's Halloween costume. 

And of course, I mean my mom was working on it.  

Which leads us to today.   Church, homemade pizza made on the grill and football.   It's not like a lazy Sunday afternoon sets the tone for the upcoming week. I peeked ahead to the calendar and it's nuts. But for now, we'll enjoy the day we have.   Even if it means watching the Bears.

Fast, fast weekend

I'm baaaack!!

It's been three whole days since I've posted anything.    Have you missed me? 

If your life is anything my like mine, your week is all kinds of crazy. You understand that there was no time to blog because you haven't had any time to read it anyway.   

My parents came in to town on Friday.   It had been a busy day at school for me, so it was out to Mexicali for dinner.  Yumm-o!   Bassam was so busy that he didn't even get to join us. I think he rolled in around 8.  Talk about somebody glad for the weekend to get here!

On Saturday, Matthew and some of his scout buddies had to do the second part of their food drive, so they met up at our house, inhaled Krispy Kreme, and then cruised the neighborhood looking for bags of food left on front porches.   The Pack collected over 650 pounds of food, so it ended up being a great project.  Meanwhile, my mom and I checked out this amazing art show in Nashville.   It was billed as a "Valentine's Market" so there was tons of jewelry, which of course we both love.  Lots of "upcycling," ---old things fashioned in to new pieces.  I scored a great bracelet and necklace and my mom got a necklace, too.  We spent the rest of the time admiring all the cute art and other goodies, lamenting the fact that we aren't more crafty and creative.

Which isn't entirely true.  My mom is plenty crafty.  I think she was "sympathy lamenting," for her less-than-crafty daughter.  

Saturday afternoon, we all went to Matthew's basketball game.  The team won, but the real excitement was Matthew's coach getting thrown out of the game for arguing with the referee.   Seriously?    First of all, the kids are 9 years old.  Second, we were WINNING.  

Not pleased about that all.  Not only is it a horrible example for the kids, but has ANYONE ever seen a ref say, "Oh you're right.  I made a bad call."   Shut up, coach. 

So how do you top that on Saturday night?   My mom, dad and I found ourselves playing an impromptu game of  "Name that Tune" with Bassam as he searched through 600,000 possible ringtones on his new phone.

Yes, 600,000!

In all fairness, there must have been 14 different versions of the "Imperial Death March" from Star Wars, so there probably weren't more than 450,000. 

Do we know how to live it up or what!??

On Sunday, we had to divide and conquer a bit.  Gracie and I headed to church early so she could go to her first communion class before worship.  The rest of the family stayed home and we came home right after church, only to change clothes and leave for Vanderbilt 20 minutes later. Gracie participated in the "Be Healthy, Just Cheer" event at Vanderbilt again.  They spent an hour and a half with the dance team learning a routine and then got to perform at half time of the women's basketball game.  GG, Gus, Matthew and Bassam came to the game and got to see her dance.   We ended up leaving shortly after halftime as it was a 3:00 game, Gracie was exhausted and we wanted to be home to relax a bit and enjoy a family dinner, which was some yummy jambalaya that Bassam had made.

By this morning, the kids were back at school, Bassam at work, my parents on the road back to Illinois and I was back in the library kicking off week 2 of book fair.

Back to reality!  

Home Sweet Home

We are back home after an oh-so-fun week in Illinois.    I am utterly exhausted but promised myself I would update the blog tonight.  And since it's not yet 8:00 pm and pitch black outside, I'm already thinking about bed.

And yes, I realized I sound like a 70 year old woman named Agnes trapped in a 39 year old body when I say that.

The kids and I drove up to Illinois after church on Sunday.  It was a later start than I prefer, but we made it up there by bedtime.  Of course, it was pitch black by 5:00, and as I may have mentioned, I get pretty tired once that happens.  

Sorry, there goes Agnes again.  

Anyway, we sprung into action on Monday morning and divided along gender lines for the day.   While Gus and Matthew went to Legoland Discover Center in Schaumburg, GG, Gracie and I hopped the train for our long awaited American Girl excursion.

Despite my hope thought that the redhead would abandon her interest in a doll, it has remained front and center and really, the only thing on her Christmas list.   We had the whole American Girl experience, starting with brunch in the American Girl cafe, which admittedly was oh-so-yummy and downright adorable with all it's sweet details.

From there, we met up with our personal shopper, Enchantra (yes, really her name and she was the sweetest thing ever and more helpful than you can imagine!) who helped Gracie select her doll and two outfits to go with her.   The personal shopping sounds froofy, but let me point out that it's a complimentary service and wildly useful to any parent who is not really doll savvy.  

And that would be me. 

There was no up-sell.   She asked me in advance what we were shopping for,and when Gracie had selected those items she said, "Okay, Gracie, we're finished."   Niiiiiiice!!  Then she took me to a lounge area where she rang up my loot (cha-ching!) and sent me out with gift bags of bottled water, candied popcorn and chocolate covered pretzels for each of us for the ride home. 

These people didn't miss a trick.  Very Disney-esque.  It's all in the details.

From there, Gracie went to the photo studio where she had her picture taken with her doll that was made to look like an American Girl magazine cover.  She loved that.   But after the photo, it was time to say  goodbye to her yet-to-be-named doll, as she won't officially be hers until Christmas, although I did let her keep the picture! 

We met up with the boys for a late lunch.  Legoland Discovery Center was a hit, although there are no pictures to share.   Gus and the iPod touch camera are a little incompatible, it seems.  But Matthew gave us a blow-by-blow description and it sounds nothing less than amazing.  I'd like to go over there next time, too.

Monday night, I got to enjoy an awesome girls night with my pals, Betsy, Beth, Michelle, Mindy, Jenni, and Kim.   So grateful that they changed their schedules so I could be there for their monthly gathering.  Always great to catch up with some of my oldest and dearest friends!

And speaking of dear friends, on Tuesday I drove to Kankakee to meet up with my friend Kendra who lives near Champaign. We lunched, we shopped and talked like we had last seen each other a few days ago instead of last July. 

The kids spent Tuesday at the Arboretum with my parents and then that evening got to go out on their regular excursion to Enchanted Castle with Aunt Amy.   They came home with full bellies (only Aunt Amy would let them get chocolate chip pancakes for dinner!) and a bag full of prizes.

A large portion of Wednesday was spent getting to Midway aiprort, sitting around Midway airport and attempting to get home from Midway airport.  Bassam's 1 hour flight turned into almost 7 hours of travel due to heavy fog in Chicago.  Really, it was still a 1 hour flight, but there were 2 1/2 hours sitting around the Nashville airport, an hour flight, 90 minutes sitting on the plane waiting for a gate and then the long ride back to my parents.   The day ended on a high note, however, as we had Portillos for dinner. 

Finally, Thanksgiving arrived.   While my mom got to cheffing up the feast, the rest of us went bowling on Thursday morning.   The kids were so hyped us, I think it was probably good to get them out of the house.   Besides, Amy had to work that afternoon, so it was a chance to spend part of Thanksgiving with her. 

 We bowled three games before returning to a house full of good smells.  Dinner was amazing and my big contribution to the day came afterwards when I cleaned up the kitchen and all the dishes.  Some people cook, some people clean.  I'm the latter.

The rest of the day was spent combing the ads, watching football, a trip to the park (it was around 60 degrees all week!) and finishing off the day watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Although it was as few people as I can remember around my mom's Thanksgiving table in a very long time, it was a great day!

 
We were up early this morning and on the road before 8 am.   While we had originally planned to stay in Illinois another day,  Bassam's sister and her family were in town back home and leaving on Saturday morning.  We rolled in to Nashville a little after 3 and were at B's folks by 4.  Not only did his mom have a wonderful dinner for us, but we got to catch up with Lina and David and the kids got some cousin time.   

Although I haven't unpacked a single suitcase and there is a pile of mail to sort, I just might head off to bed.  After all, we still have a full weekend with virtually nothing on the calendar.   It's been quite a while since we've had a day like that. 

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful.  And thank you for keeping tabs on us here at And Charlie Makes 5.

The weekend is over, but not really.

The weekend may be over, but we're still home on fall break.   Hooray for sunshine, 80 degree weather and being able to play outside!

Despite by attempts by the kids to get them to stay longer, my parents headed back to Illinois this morning.  We had such a fun visit with them.    On Sunday, we went to church and then spent much of the afternoon outside.   That evening, my band was performing at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center as part of Nashville's Free Day of Music.  It is such an amazing venue to play at and we were given a prime performance time, right before the Nashville Symphony took the stage.   They had a kids zone as part of the event and the kids got to try their hands (and mouths!) at all kinds of instruments which they thought was a ball.

As for today, after my parents hit the road today, we spent the day running a few errands, eating lunch at the hospital with Bassam and then having Matthew's pal, Jackson, over to play.

All in all, a good weekend--and not a bad Monday either!



Fun Fall Day!

We had a fun time tonight at the Ghouls of Grassmere at the Nashville Zoo.   It's always such a fun event and the kids love an extra opportunity to chance to wear their Halloween costumes!  My parents are in for the weekend (which was important since my mom  made Gracie's costume), so we had already had a full day of Vanderbilt football (Bassam, my dad and the kids) and shopping (me and my mom).   I figure the fact that kids zonked out in the car on the way home tonight and I'm not far behind is a sign that a good day was had by all.

So even though Halloween is 11 days away, I can't wait to share my kids Halloween looks. 

Matthew makes an awesome ninja!  I was surprised he kept the cover over his mouth the entire evening, although it sometimes made it hard to hear if he remembered to say "thank you" as he racked up treats.

 
And Miss Gracie is the sweetest 50's girl ever.   GG made her this beautiful poodle skirt (and there is a matching bag--will make sure I show it in the Halloween night pictures), which she loves to twirl around in.  However, her favorite part might be the cat-shaped glasses with the rhinestones!

No glow

It's official, the post-vacation glow is gone.

If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably somewhere in my mini-van, but that's only because I've spent a lot of time in it lately.

On Saturday morning, B and I got up and started on our trek to fetch the kids from "Camp GG and Gus."   Our first stop was Champaign, IL.  We rolled in to town around 3 pm.  I dragged Bassam on a nostalgia tour of my college days, snapping pictures of this, that and the other before stopping the bookstore to update the family's collection of Illini gear. 

Lucky we came when we did.   Alma Mater over here on the left is being taken down soon.  Unlike Joe Paterno's statue, this lovely lady is being restored but will be back on campus for graduation in May.  I would have been bummed had I popped over for a photo op and she was missing.

The old homestead looked the same.  I spent all 4 years at Illinois living in ISR.   2 years in 609 and 2 years in 213.  I'm fairly certain the room looks exactly the same as they did when I left in 1995, which is nice because when I lived there it looked exactly the same as it did when my Aunt Jane lived there 30 years earlier. 

Bassam was less than thrilled with this photo op.   Fellow Illini will recognize the Morrow Plots, which is the oldest experimental field established back in 1876.  It's on the National Registry of Historic Places and because of it, our undergraduate library is located underground, because as the song goes, "you can't throw shade on the corn."   Regardless, given my husband's obsession with corn futures (fed by my father, might I add), I felt it was appropriate that we snap this picture.

At dinner time we hooked up with my dear friend, Kendra who I met working in the news department at the radio station way back in 1991. Since Kendra works for UIUC, we did some more touring of campus after dinner and a stroll through downtown Champaign, which is far less dingy and much more hip than it was when I left college.    We finished the evening off at one of my favorite places, Jarling's Custard Cup.  And who should I run in to but my cousin, Don (who only the day before had returned from a 16 month deployment in Saudi Arabia) and his family!  A wonderful, small world!

The next morning, we were off to fabulous El Paso, Illinois for the Gustafson family reunion.   While I was bummed by the absence of many of my cousins, I was thrilled to be reunited with Matthew and Gracie and see my parents, aunts, uncles and other relatives.  The kids were talking a mile a minute about all the things they had done with GG and Gus and then were off to play with the gaggle of second cousins who were there.  I love how they only see each other once a year at the most, but pick up like old friends when they are together. 

Unfortunately for us, it was to be a short visit since we decided we would need to hit the road by 2:00, since we were driving all the way back to Tennessee that afternoon/evening.  Of course 2:00 turned in to 2:35, but thanks to a single stop for gas and food and no traffic/construction, we got home shortly after 9.   Still, it was a looooong day.

Today, we resumed our somewhat chaotic schedule.  I made it to 4:45 bootcamp.  Bassam was back to work.   The contractors arrived at 8 am.  And the kids headed off to Encore (an enrichment camp at their school) for the day, only after showing off each and every souvenir and trinket they got in Chicago (Seriously, Mom and Dad . . .is there a gift shop they DIDN'T go in!??)  and leaving them around the family room.  Then after school, we headed over to B's parents to see Lina and the boys who are in for the week.

And maybe with all that, you'll understand why the vacation glow is gone.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Recital!!

It finally arrived . . . . DANCE RECITAL!   As I have mentioned here multiple times, I have mixed feelings about dance.  I love that it makes Gracie so happy and seeing her run around giggling and dancing with her buddies is great.  However, the nutty "dance moms,"  the long hours and extra practices of recital week, buying coverpriced costumes undoubtedly made by a six year old in China and getting the crazy hairdo done correctly . . . . well, I'm less than excited about those things.

But seeing your kiddo on stage at TPAC with a huge smile on her face?   The BEST!

G was really excited that all over her grandparents were here to see the show, too.  And despite rolling out of TPAC a little before 9  pm with an exhausted ballerina in the backseat (and that was leaving after her second routine and skipping out on the finale), she still mustered enough energy to ask for ice cream.

I gave her an IOU.

Six!!

Today the redhead turned 6. 

Really?!?  Six?    Didn't we just take this picture a few months ago?

Nope, apparently not.

Because this is the little girl who asked for a birthday dinner of pizza, carrots, strawberries, pink lemonade and ice cream sandwiches made with the chocolate chip cookies. 

Where has the time gone?

While I can't easily account for the last six year, I can tell you where the last two days went.   My parents came in on Thursday to help re-do Miss Gracie's bedroom.  We didn't plan for it to be a birthday present (it's been on the to-do list for at least 4 months)--although Gus had made Gracie a new headboard and GG created a tulle canopy like the one she had fallen in love with at her pal's Anna house.  

Although she was set on blue walls, the rest of the room is full of other colors which seems a good match for her personality.  She shares my love for things that are a bit mis-matched, although she did choose this adorable quilt and pillow sham set (Yes, I had to tell my mom my mom that my kid wanted a store-bought quilt!).   As Gracie once told me getting dressed, "If you love a shirt and pants, they'll always match." 

She has a real future in writing fortune cookie messages. 

In the meantime, here is a peek at her new room!

 Happy Birthday, Gracie!!

My kind of town . . .

While Bassam went to New Orleans last weekend to the Final Four, the kids and I made a mad dash for Illinois to see my folks for part of Spring Break.

Apologies to my Illinois peeps who I didn't let know I was heading up.  Since we drove up on Saturday and back home today, we had just 3 full days and wanted to spend as much of it as possible with my parents since we hadn't seen them since Christmas (which is an unheard of amount of time for us to go between visits).  Outside of the family, I snuck in only a quick visit with my friend Beth, which was awesome. 

However, it's safe to say we crammed A LOT into those 3 days.  In no particular order, here are some of the things we did:  flew kites, visited the Brookfield Zoo, went to the Morton Arboretum, made multiple trips to the park, played miniature golf, an outing with Aunt Amy to Enchanted Castle, a visit to the DuPage Children's Museum and of course, the Adler Planetarium.

Add that to 8 hours of driving each way and you'll understand why I'm EXHAUSTED.



Still, it's a good exhausted.  We had a fantastic time, great weather--and now get a couple days home with Bassam before Easter. 

Life is GOOD!



Matthew and Gracie with Gus & GG (or GG-doodle, as Gracie has taken to calling her) at the Arboretum



Tales from Illinois . . . .

Tonight, we are all back under one roof.   The kids have entertained us with non-stop stories about their Illinois adventures (some of which make more sense than others).   I love that they had such a great time and got to do so many fun things.   In just 5 days they managed to make trips to the Adler Planetarium, Field Museum, DuPage Children's Museum, Morton Arboretum, MagiQuest, Broookfield Zoo and Enchanted Castle, plus took in the DG July 4th parade and multiple trips to the park.   My kids are worn out --so I can only  imagine how my parents are feeling.  Safe to say, all four of them will probably sleep well tonight (and hopefully past 6 am tomorrow!).

I unpacked their bags as soon as we got home (my attempt to ensure the clean rooms stay that way) and had two observations:

1.  My mom is awesome and sent home all of their clothes, minus the PJs they wore last night, CLEAN!!    Whoo hoo!
2.  I don't think my kids missed a single gift shop the whole week.   Seriously.  They could practically open their own souvenir shop with all the loot they brought home. 

Other things I learned . . . .

Matthew would like to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune when he grows up. Apparently GG and Gus "watch it every night" and he thinks it's awesome.    Before he left, he told me he wanted to go to Harvard.  Now he wants to be on the Wheel?!   Pat and Vanna, what have you done to my son? 

My kids conned GG and Gus in to thinking I let them chew gum.    I am surprised, because they aren't usually easily tricked, plus I have documented my no-gum policy here on this blog.  And as I look back to that entry, I realize I didn't even mention my big fear of gum in the hair.    I had to get a couple of unfortunately "haircuts" due to that very problem, and don't wish it for my kids either.   Since they  successfully chewed gum (read:  they didn't swallow it) in Illinois and are enamored with Aunt Amy's huge bubble blowing talent, they are gunning for more gum.   Truth be told, I don't actually have a problem with the occasional piece of gum, but just in case a swallowed piece of gum does stay in your stomach for 7 years, we're not going to make a habit of it. 

Finally, Gracie's slow poke habits at the kitchen table seem to be a home -specific problem.    Apparently she gulped down her milk lickety-split every morning at my parents and pretty much ate everything she was served.  While I am very pleased by that (because we have stressed the importance of good manners at other people's houses, especially during meals), I'm really hoping (but not particularly hopeful) that it will carry over to home.   I guess I'll know tomorrow when I pour her a glass of milk, right? 

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving the kids such an amazing week! 

What are the kids up to?

Got this email and picture from my mom today . . . .

1 parade, 2 kids, 88 pieces of candy (minus the ones they and we ate) -- 100 would not be out of the question!

Space . . .the final frontier.

Still livin' it up in Chicago while Bassam toils away back home.   I think he just wrapped up what is probably the worst  10 days of his job ever.   No need for a long story, but I can sum it up by saying he was the ONLY guy in town last week from his group at Centennial, the pager gave him (and me, for that matter!) no rest and then when he was due to get off call this weekend they guy who was scheduled to take over died.

Yes, died.   Stunk for Bassam because it meant three more nights of call -- but worse because a very nice man died way too young.

In much happier news, we headed downtown today to visit the Adler Planetarium which is Matthew's very favorite place to visit in Chicago.  We sat in on a cool 3D presentation towards the end where Matthew asked questions about the New Horizon space probe, which impressed the Adler staff member giving the talk.  We were planning to head over to the Field afterward, but my mom took a little tumble (ouch!) so we decided to cut our losses and head back to suburbia.  The kids and I hit the park, which was great because today was the nicest weather we're to have here. 

As for me, I'm headed out with the girls tonight which I am soooooo excited about! :) 

Chicken, m'lady?

GG and Gus took the kids and I to Medieval Times today.   So much fun!  I have a vague recollection of going to a similar place during our high school band trip to Florida (can anyone out there remember?), but strangely I more remember what I was wearing (peach leggings and an abstract printed top that my mom brought me from Arizona) than the actual show.  I know, be very scared (both of the outfit and my memory!) . . . it was 1988.

But anyway, Medieval Times was a blast. We were assigned to cheer for the green knight, who was kicking butt, until he ultimately lost to the red knight.  Boo!   He threw Gracie a red carnation at one point in the show, at which point she informed me that if he wasn't married, that she would like to marry him. 

Dinner was yummy  . . . . you know, except for the fact that you don't get silverware!   Soup (drank out of a bowl), garlic bread, chicken, spare ribs, potatoes and apple turnovers.   Our server gave them funky names (i.e., dragon's blood for tomato basil soup), which Matthew thought was hysterical!  The only bummer?  Medieval Times is a Pepsi place!