It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Indeed, it is. It was in the 80s today! I think that mother nature was playing a cruel April Fool's joke on us and it will surely be a blizzard tomorrow ;)

This week, N started her activities at the park district. She had playgroup on tuesday. She enjoyed the slide, but that was really it. Daddy pushed her around in a wagon for a bit. Today she had playgroup again and they did some watercolor painting which she loved, and they played in a playroom. N actually didn't play in the playroom, she was very into her painting. I'm not too keen on the plastic toy bounty at the park district but if she likes the slide, she likes the slide. Perhaps she'll make a friend.

She also began her gymnastics class this week. She really loved it. It's in an actual gymnastics gym (bars, beams, and the like) and she really enjoyed it! I was thrilled. She started gymnastics at another park last fall and did not enjoy herself.. we dropped the class after two classes. This park is totally different, and she really loves it.

Easter is on its way, and we have decided that we probably won't be celebrating it as Easter. I've been following the blog Frontier Dreams for quite some time. The author, Nicole, celebrates the first day of spring, instead of easter, with the appearnce of the Root Children.. which are characters in a book by Sybille Von Olfers. N adores this story, so I'm adopting Nicole's idea. I also saw her tutorial for wet felted wool spring eggs, so I made some. I'm hoping they're thick enough.. just waiting for them to dry.

N is going to have all sorts of goodies in her Spring eggs & basket (basket will be from us, not the root children), and I'll be sure to fill everyone in when she sees them.

I realize that the equinox has passed, but we're going to celebrate this Sunday anyhow. Next year we'll do it on the real first day of spring :)

"A Place for Everything..."

"...and Everything in its Place."

I used to hear those words uttered frequently by my grandmother. Her home was always neat and tidy, and, like the saying says, everything had its place. As a child I brushed it off, I'm not a very organized person by nature. Yesterday, however, my grandma's old saying hit me right in the face.



I had sat down at the computer to nurse M, and check the status of an order I had placed. I heard a firetruck's horn honk. It was loud, but since we're near a main street, I figured it was just passing by. I then looked to the window, and saw a man I had never seen before standing outside of our yard. He had a look of pure fascination and awe on his face. I knew something was up, so I ran upstairs to Cecy's (mother in law's) house and went outside (I can't see anything from our windows). When I went outside, the entire neighborhood was outside, along with four firetrucks, complete with hoses and the ladder. I dashed to the backyard, to see the neighbor's house engulfed in flames. I ran back inside to get the kids dressed (it's cold out) and ready in case the fire were to spread and we needed to leave. I had initially thought that the fire was closer because of the large amount of smoke and fire that I saw. It was four houses south of ours. Here in Chicago, our houses are 3 feet apart, so things can get out of hand. The wind was in our favor and our house was spared. The house south of the house that caught fire also caught a little fire, but it wasn't bad. In the end, a family of 6, including 4 children lost their home. I am so deeply sorry for them, but at least no one was hurt.

But back to my revelation. When I was trying to get the kids ready, I suddenly could not.find.anything. I couldn't find M's snowsuit, hat, or N's shoes. What if there were a true emergency? I'd like to have a blanket or something ready to grab in a split second in an emergency. But nope, couldn't find it. What an eye opener.

Why I Don't Keep the House Tidy

It is no secret, especially if you've been a guest in my home. It is rarely tidy- and when it is, you've caught it at a 1 in a million chance and if you blink your eyes it will be untidy again. Seriously.

This is something that really irks my husband, and I feel bad. He works all day and our house is a disaster when he comes home. Don't get me wrong, the mess makes me nuts too! So, I've been thinking, and in trying to grow, I've formulated my list of previous reasons for not keeping the house tidy.

1. I had a major headache. Yeah, this happens quite often.
Solution: Keep my blood sugar up.

2. The baby was hanging off of my breast all day, and I couldn't.
Solution: Sling her.

3. N was flipping and bouncing off the walls all day.
Solution: Have her help me.

4. I couldn't do the dishes that have been piling up because I can't leave the kids alone.
Solution: Take M in her swing into the bathroom with me to wash dishes. Yes, we wash dishes in the bathroom.

5. But it's so hard to wash dishes in the bathroom!!!
Solution: Deal with it.

6. We don't have a place for anything, there's too much stuff...
Toss the un-needed, unwanted, and unuseful or donate it. Find a place for the important stuff.

And my mom's life long rule that I never seemed to follow? "When you get done with something, PUT IT AWAY before you get something else out!".

I think that's the golden rule.

Off to clean the casa.

Fun at the Chicago Children's Museum

Today we took the trip out to the Chicago Children's Museum. N had a blast!



She loved the purple raincoat that the CCM supplied!








Lake Michigan was especially choppy today!



On a side note, I purchased a beautiful Ergo carrier today!

Close to my Heart

Wearing my children has been one of the best things I've ever done. I wanted to pop in and share some photos.


M in her Moby Wrap, close to mama.


This was taken at a birthday party last Sunday. Hubby, his mother, and me, wearing M in her Mei Tai. (Yes, I know the strap is a little too close to my neck. Hubby tied it too tightly! Whoops!). And look at all of her hair!


N & I, last July. She loved riding in her sling.


N & I, in October, showing off in our Moby Wrap.

I haven't worn N in a really long time, and I'm very thankful that she's not jealous of her sister. Anyways, wanted to share that :)

It's been awhile!

I haven't blogged in probably 2 weeks! I've been slacking. Here's an update of what's been happenin' in our household.

Daddy & I installed our new kitchen table. It's awesome- honestly, we love it. It's a wooden black tabletop with a stainless steel pole leg, and brackets affixing it to the wall. It's bar-height, so we have tall chairs to go along with it. It really saves a ton of space. N sits in her high chair which is pretty tall, so she isn't left out of mealtime.

We went grocery shopping today. I've been making more of an effort to cook home cooked meals and get her off of the artificial colors, flavors, etc, and high fructose corn syrup. She did have a bit in ketchup today though...ergh.

Also, we have completely weaned her off of juice!! She is now a big fan of water, which she wouldn't touch before.

I've been working on a new knitting project- a wooly sleepy sack for M. I casted on about 20" worth of stiching (height), and am going to have to knit on probably another 20 more (maybe less) for the width. I've only got about 2" done though... so I've got alot to work on!

I'm also still reading "You are Your Child's First Teacher" so I've got alot on my plate.

M is going to be 3 months old on Monday and she's doing great!

Goodness...

I'm seriously never eating fast food again.

I decided to eat Wendy's today- and holy freaking moly do I regret it. I just feel generally icky and my tummy hurts. Gross, gross, gross.

Making changes for the better is great- but I did not need that fast food relapse!