10 years!

 Wes and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this October!  We had a (kid-free) overnight trip to Connecticut the weekend before our anniversary, which was awesome!  He surprised me with a ten diamond anniversary band that night.  I told him his gift would be late.

The cool news is that he was getting inducted into the University of Chicago Athletic Hall of Fame at the end of October.  He was an amazing college athlete--football and track.  He still holds the University records for the Hammer throw and the 35 pound weight throw.  He went to nationals every year of college (and would always bring me back a shot glass from the cities he went to!).

My plan was to do an extreme living room makeover while he was away. We had a rather sterile living room, with furniture that was way too small for him to get comfy in.  Here are the before pics:

 He left for work on Thursday night at 10:30pm.  He had a Friday morning flight and was returning at about 2pm Sunday.  Thursday night, I moved all of the furniture out of the room, washed the walls, and prepared for the makeover.

I wanted a Chicago Bears theme, but a subtle one--one that would not require repainting before we sold the house!  Deep colors are to be expected in a historic Victorian home such as ours, so it was perfect.  So, we started; one of my legal assistants spent the day painting while I assembled the new TV stand and made other preparations.  I needed to spray paint picture frames orange, and frame pictures of Wes and the kids wearing their Bears gear.  My other legal assistant held down the fort at the office, but had made awesome pillow covers in orange to add some color to the room!

 The furniture arrived on Saturday morning.  We painted, framed, hung art and new curtains, placed furniture, and it was done...almost!

 I needed the TV to be hooked up!  There was a Bears game to watch when he came home!  With some help from a friend, we extended cable and he managed to set everything up so that when Wes walked in the Bears game was on!  (Too bad they were losing.)

 He was pleasantly surprised by the finished product.

 I think it turned out pretty well!

 There's a huge sofa, but if Daddy's on the loveseat, the kids want to be too!

Mission accomplished.

Wes was surprised.

He loved the room.

I love him.

It all works.

 

I cannot top my written anniversary tribute to him from last year.  It's all been said.

2013 Anniversary Post

 

The sentiments are still the same, the love only stronger.

Happy anniversary, my love.



Father's Day!

 It started with coffee in bed.  Quietly hanging the banners the kids made into our bedroom while Wes was sleeping.  A few presents, and then a family day.

We went to Animal Land...and the kids had a blast.

When did they get so big?

 We enjoyed the petting zoo.

 And the safari ride was low key at first.

 Everyone wanted the view from Daddy's lap.

 Until the ostrich came calling.  And the ostrich wouldn't go away.  It was huge!

There were lots of giraffes too.

 And a place to feed deer, right up close. 

We had a great day.

I am truly blessed that my children have such an amazing father.

Happy Father's Day, Wesley.



Christmas time is here!

 Two weeks before Christmas we got SNOW!  Lots of it.  It was light and powdery, and no good for snowman making, but the kids had a blast.  Tommy was too little to really go out in the snow last year, so this was his first time in a snowsuit playing.  The snow was up to his waist, and he really couldn't move around too easily.  Once we convinced him to stop taking off his gloves, he had a pretty good time.

Tori decided that slides and swings are even more fun in winter!

 And then it was Christmas.  This was the first year we stayed home.  I was really kind of bummed about it at first-we have some local family that we always spend Christmas with, and we decided that a 3 hour round trip with the kids wasn't going to work this year.  I told Wes we still needed to dress up and do Christmas dinner right.  So, we did, and it was lovely.  I made a turkey, prime rib, mashed potatoes, rutabagas, sweet potatoes, veggies, bread, stuffing, and a cheesecake.  Needles to say we were eating leftovers for days!

The kids had fun--Tommy's old enough this year to understand the concept of presents, and we watched all the Christmas shows together--Hoops and Yoyo Ruin Christmas being the favorite of everyone (except Wes).

 Wrapping each kid's presents in different wrapping paper makes life a million times easier.

 Tablets for everyone.  Totally cheap Droid tablets ($59 each) that will keep their grubby mitts off my Nexus.

 Santa did not have a goddamn clue  appreciate quite how large the playhouse was going to be--it is two rooms and takes up almost the entire playroom.

 We put on our Christmas dresses and had a lovely dinner.

It was a great day.

As we move into 2014, I'm feeling a bit inspired.

I lost another classmate last week--this time to a heart attack.  And another close friend has cancer.

As Gru would say, "Light bulb."

I'd like to start doing a better job of appreciating what I have--of making better use of my time--paying more attention to Wes and the kids when I'm home and drawing a better line between work and family, and taking better care of myself in the process.

Cheers. 

Happy Anniversary, my love.

 I met you at 17.  I was a small-town kid, in a big city, going to college in your home town of Chicago.  We were student athletes, running into each other in the Fieldhouse.  My freshman year, we both lived in Woodward Court--you were a friendly face when we moved in after living in the sports dorms.  We were both work study kids--and we had jobs at the Fieldhouse/gym.  You were a supervisor, and I checked IDs when people came in.  It was 1991.  I worked until midnight, and would walk home alone after work, because there were streetlights and sidewalks, so I was safe, right?  At some point my first year, a woman was taken (kidnapped seems like too dramatic a term) in the evening, in the proximity of my walk home.  My next night at work following that event, you showed up to walk me home.  I insisted that I didn't need help and could do it alone.  You showed up at the Fieldhouse at the end of all my shifts to walk me home.

At some point, you kissed me.

We dated.  We loved with all the fervor of young adults, squeezing into my dorm room's twin bed for the night, playing songs, madly in love.  You were my date to my sorority formal.  I always felt like I never quite good enough in those sorority days....my sorority sisters all had more money, nicer clothes, were thinner/prettier than me, etc., and you knew how I felt.  Like me, you were a kid with parents who worked for living--who were sacrificing to send us to college.  I remember at that formal, our Rose Ball, at the Hotel Intercontinental downtown, we stood on a balcony and you told me...something along the lines of me often comparing myself to my sisters....and that on that night, I had them all beat.  You made me feel like the prettiest girl at the ball.

 

And, we dated.  At some point that year, we stopped dating.  That was all me.  I remember agonizing over my decision to my best friend Gina, telling her that you were the kind of guy I wanted to marry, but that at 18, I needed to see what was out there.  So we broke up.  And you were wonderful.  And so began a epic friendship that would span hundreds of miles and committed relationships.

I eventually moved back to New York.  You would visit every year, on your way to see family in Connecticut.  We would write letters, talk on the phone, and stay in touch, never mentioning whether or when we had significant others of our own.

And then there was the visit in 2002.  You and a few friends from college were supposed to come...only they didn't, and you did.  It was just you and me for a weekend, all alone as adults, spending time together.  And you kissed me.

We decided that weekend, that despite the fact that you were in Michigan and I in New York, that we would date exclusively.  I planned flights and you planned road trips.  We talked every day.  During one trip you gave me a ring, and announced you would move to New York.  You didn't tell me how much you were sacrificing career-wise to come.  But you came.  When you proposed, I questioned you...were you sure...I declared that I never wanted to have children, and that you needed to be a dad.  You chose me over fatherhood.

You came to New York, and we married in Las Vegas.

When you moved, you brought lots of things.  Among those things were all the letters and cards I sent you since we parted ways.  I read them--and it was an awakening--my letters to you were so affectionate, so caring, that I realized that you had always held such a special place in my heart, even when I didn't know it.

And then, one day, I wanted to start a family. I was the woman who professed I would never want to, and you loved me anyway.  I've always described that awakening in me as once the pieces of your life fit together so well, and you love someone so much, you want to expand that love.  And so we did.

Dani, Tori, and Tommy.  I can't imagine life without them, or you.

I know that when we said our vows, we pledged for better or for worse.

I recognize, sometimes, perhaps even often, I test that vow.

There is no me, without you.

You are the rock that holds our family together.  I'm the silly string that makes it a fun mess.

You have encouraged and supported me to achieve my goals, at the sacrifice of our time together.  You are the best father I could have envisioned for my children.

You are the most patient and loving husband I could ask for.

You are my best friend, my confidant, my love.

It's been nine years on paper, but two decades in my heart.

Happy Anniversary, my love.



40 is the new, well 40.

I turned 40 a few days ago.  We had a rocking party, with lots of friends, and it was awesome.  There's an overdue retrospective of how I got here, and where I'm headed, but tonight's not the night.

 

It's been hard to make time for blogging lately.  Work has been crushing me, and things have been downright chaotic at home.  Not in a bad way, but certainly, I could and should be making more time for the things that are important.

Like this little dude.

 

 Our house is now officially high chair free.  Everyone sits at the dining room table, like big kids.  It blows my mind that my three children are pretty much conversational.

 Working so much means that I try to pack as much fun into the limited time I have with the kiddos.  Tori's always up for a fashion show.

Dani rocks her school uniform.

 We went apple picking.  I'd never been before.  There was a wagon ride, and a hay maze.  There was also a huge corn maze that I didn't dare take the kids into, lest the state police helicopters have to rescue us when three kids decided to run in three different directions into the corn.

 Every one in one hundred pics results in near smiles from everyone.

 I was pleasantly surprised at how low to the ground the apple trees were.  The kids had no trouble picking them.

 And nothing tastes as good as a minutes-ago picked apple.

 

 I love this picture.  Its the kids walking back to the apple farm, each following their own path, but sticking together, keeping pace with each other.

 We made masks this week, and tons of Halloween decorations--pumpkins and bats are all over our house, we're working on the Halloween costumes, which should be pretty darn cool this year.

 Tommy wasn't so keen on wearing his mask.

See his curls?  Gone.  Big Man gave the little guy a buzz cut while I was at work on Friday.  He went from looking like my little baby boy, to a kid.  A KID!  Where'd my baby go?

Little Dude turned two.

 Tommy turned 2 on the 16th...good thing he doesn't know his dates, because we had cake on Saturday.  Grandma and Grandpa sent presents for all the kiddos, and fun was had.  Probably our last birthday without a kid demanding a party.

And what to say about this little tyke?  T is for Tommy and for Temper and for Tantrum.  He is Mister If I don't get my way I will scream until you give in.

He's also destined to be the class clown, amusing his sisters at every turn with silly faces and gestures.

He's the daredevil.  The only kid we've really seen bleed.  Because when you are jumping off of everything, and getting in to it all, you are bound to get a little banged up.

He likes to announce "HAND" as he extends his so that he can lead you where he wants to go, which is, most often, to the kitchen for cookies. 

Amazingly agile, he could climb the stairs like a big boy months ago.  He's our little mimic, repeating everything the girls say.  Tonight at dinner it was "Chuck E Cheese" over and over in varying voices to Dani and Tori's delight. 

He is, by far, the best snuggler of the three.  When you pick him up, he wraps his arms around your neck and places his head on that sweet spot on your shoulder made for baby heads and just snuggles.

He is love.  He is energy.  He is chaos.  He is our Tom Tom.

 And he loves his sisters.  "DANEEE. TOWEEE" he calls, often when they sneak away to do something else.

 

 We went to Animal Land a week ago.  Tommy had no fear.  He touched every animal he could, feeding them, petting them, and at one point, picking up a huge piece of deer poop that we thought was a rock.....ugh.

 He's game for rides, and whatever his sisters have in store for fun.

 On the safari ride, one camel followed us, and was fixated on Tommy.  All I could think was "please don't bite my kid's face off", but the camel walked along us, sticking with Tommy as he petted her nose and said hello.

 And then, of course there was some cake.  Dani helped me bake it.  What a difference a year makes.  He wanted a fork, he always wants a fork because his sisters use one.

He's an amazing boy, our little Tommy.  No doubt, because he has grown up with two smart, older sisters, his vocabulary at his age is amazing.  He's the king of the funny face, and without a doubt makes Wes and I laugh at least once per dinner.  He's our little fireball, and I love him to bits.  Happy Birthday Tommy!

 

And, before I forget to add some of the recent fun things the kids have said.....

We've had a bunch of work done in our house recently, and I was somewhat friendly with the contractor beforehand...so that meant that he shared a number of meals with the family.  One day, his car broke down and he took a cab to our house.  We would routinely bring him home.  On day three of no car, he mentioned at dinner, "I just feel naked without my car."  Dani leaned over to me and said loudly, "Why does Mr. M think he doesn't have any clothes on?  He's wearing clothes!".  I looked at Wes, perplexed (probably because we weren't paying too much attention to Mr. M), but Mr. M caught on--and pointed out to us what she meant so we could explain.

 

In other news, and funnies, Dani is starting Pre-K next week.  We received a packet in the mail two weeks ago with information from the teacher, and which advised us of the dress code:  solid color collared shirts and pants/shorts/skirts in designated colors.  Reading it, I explain to Dani that she will need to wear solid shirts to school.  She looked both disappointed and perplexed.  "Mommy, will the shirts be hard?", she asked.  I looked at her, not having a clue...and asked what she meant.  "Mommy, solids are hard...you know that," she said.  There has been some talk of liquids and solids with water and ice cubes, but it's easy to forget how literally words can be taken.  Ice cubes are solids, and they are hard, so wouldn't the shirt be hard too?

 

These kids, all amazing in so many ways, but I feel like I'm leaving Tori out.  Perfectly potty trained, she's been accident free and wearing underwear to bed for about 6 months...amazing.  At newly 3, she can write most of her letters, as she showed me with chalk on the sidewalk yesterday.

 

They are amazing little peeps, my kiddos!

Father's Day, a Dani, Tori, and Tommy Guest Post.

Hey, Tori, I've been thinking.  Isn't Father's Day coming up?  Are we supposed to be doing something for Daddy? (Tommy)
Tommy, can't you see I'm busy playing on Mommy's tablet?  Leave me alone.  (Tori)

Oh, wait!  Tommy, you're right!  Father's Day is coming up. What should we do?
I dunno, Tori, let's ask Dani.  She knows everything.

DANI, DANI WE NEED YOUR HELP!
DEEDEE DEEDEE HEP HEP!
What do you guys want? (Dani)
Dani, it's almost Father's Day, what are we going to do???
Deede, faga day, doooo?
Don't worry guys, I've got it under control.

I'm totally online right now ordering Daddy some really cool stuff, and getting us Father's Day shirts to wear.  Tori, go in the kitchen and get me Mommy's wallet.
OK Dani.  What are we getting Daddy?
What do you think we should get Daddy? 
Let's get him some coloring books!  And some cookies.
Coookie!  Cookie!

GUYS!  We have to think about Daddy!  He's super fun, and he doesn't want coloring books!  Remember when we climbed in his shirt and we were the three headed Daddy monster?  Maybe we should get him a new shirt?
Daaaddy!  Kitty!  Funny!

 Hmmm, you're right, Dani.  I will sit here and think about it.  What can you buy for the best Daddy in the whole wide world?  He gives the best hugs.  Can we give him hugs?  He likes brownies, can we make him brownies?
Cooookies!
Now you're thinking, Tori!  We can bake him brownies.  Let me get Mommy to help.  I think we should color him some pictures too.
Crayons!  Paper!  (puts crayon in mouth)
Okay Dani, I'm going to draw a picture for Daddy.

 Daddy is good at pushing us on swings.  I will draw the playground.
Playground!  Outside! (puts on shoes)

 Daddy always takes us outside.  Remember when Tommy helped him mow the lawn?

 

When I think about Daddy, I am happy.  He is big, and brown, and tall.  He gives me kisses, and he taught me how to snap my fingers.  He plays the Beatles for me, and he gives the best hugs!

Daddy always reads books with me.  And he makes the best pancakes.  I love pancakes.

Pancakes!  Pancakes!

 

Wes,

Dani, Tori and I join Tommy in raising our sippy cups to you, this Father's Day.

I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father.  You are the foundation of this family; the solid base from which we all grow, together, learning, loving, and striving to make you proud of us, and hoping that you always know how much we truly adore you.