Whew...the day got away from me

My day is nearly over and I"m JUST now sitting down to the computer to post this blog post about our trip to Chicago...I could just give you the play by play run-down of our day, but then I would have to put myself in the same category as Little Munchkin who seems to have the need to keep a running commentary of every moment of our lives...I honestly don't know WHERE in the world she gets the desire to hear herself talk and talk and talk...hmmmm...perhaps I'll discuss this with myself in the mirror tomorrow morning...ahem

So...Chicago...

Let me begin the tale of our adventure as it commenced in the dining area of Buca De Peppo the Saturday night prior to departure.  I had received a gift card to this restaurant and as gift cards manage to burn holes in the pocket of my Italian Stallion, we had this card all of about 2 weeks...but that was because I didn't tell him about it until 2 days before we went...so in reality, it burned a hole pretty quickly. 

After a delicious start of garlic toast and salad...we (and by WE I mean Italian Stallion who also finds it difficult, at times, to keep secrets for very long) decided to tell the girls the SURPRISE for the weekend.  The SURPRISE being a trip to Chicago...they were ecstatic to say the least...I think their favorite part was, "You mean we get to skip school???" 

Turns out it was a good thing that we told them b/c the amount of packing required for a family of 5, along with each of their dolls and their dolls suitcases, apparantly takes more than the average time requirement...I also completely forgot that dolls NEED a different pair of shoes, pjs, outfits, coats, accessories and play materials for each day that they travel...this of course IS a necessity and can NOT be taken lightly...and so an extra suitcase was called upon...I think at this point, you could just refer to me as the lady in waiting...waiting...waiting...on 3 girls and 5 dolls...

After falling into bed by 11pm that evening, we were up at O dark Stinkin' Early in the morning to get a jump on the road...we left by 8am and made a stop at Meijer for much needed donuts and couple of bananas...cuz, really, who can go on a road trip without bananas? 

We arrived in Chicago by 2pm their time and bundled up straight away to head to the American Girl store to "scout" out the premises...Daddy surprised us all with a large sum gift card that he had won at the office!  KUDOS to Cranel, Inc!  The store was wall to wall people, and so we did what any parent would do in this case...we gave the girls the camera and told them "Just go take pictures of things that interest you...we'll hang out here and hold the coats!"  They had lots of fun and after exhaustion and whining began, we thought that would be the perfect opportunity to make them sit still in a restaurant!!! 

And so we headed to Giordanos pizza for some Chicago style pizza...Some favorite memories will be playing with mozzerella sticks and eating the leftover pizza for 2 days.  It was delicious and broke up our mile walk back to the hotel. 

It was blustery cold outside, but the girls were absolute troopers...even Little Munch who wanted to walk by herself...big 3 year old that she is...They hoofed it far in that cold and we were proud of them. 

Thinking that all that cold, and walking and full bellies would make for a leisurely morning, Italian Stallion were surprised figured that we'd be up at the crack of dawn again and were ready for a morning of swimming on the 27th floor of our hotel, overlooking the city.  Due to Italian Stallion's crazy travel schedule of late, he has racked up the points and therefore a few free hotel nights were available!!! There was even a free hot breakfast each morning...which was heavenly, I might add...and the girls kept saying, "Hey, Mom it's now 9:05...everyone else is listening to announcements and I'm sitting in a hottub on the 27th floor!!!"  My girls have their priorities straight I tell you!

We went to the Museum of Science and Industry Monday morning, which was free admission, and were able to see the Christmas tree displays from around the world...I went to the Scotland tree cuz I'm 1/164758694056837 Scottish and it just seemed IDEAL that I get my picture taken in front of a tree from my heritage.

After making our way back to the hotel to bundle up, we headed towards Michigan Ave...our destination was the AG Store, but we were planning some stops along the way...one being Lego Land, where we actually purchased our very first lego set...being that we have only girls, this was a new concept to us...but we are just those types of parents, that want those well-rounded features in our kids...that, and I think Daddy could only handle so many Hello Kitty shops and princess dresses...

Disney store, the Apple store and a pit stop at Ghiradelli's for some ICE CREAM...it just hit the spot on that below freezing day...yummmm nothing like ice cream to warm your insides...:) 

Finally making it to the AG store we let the girls make their choices and Little Munchkin was able to get her first doll...to which, after searching doll and after doll...when Daddy pulled the last one off the shelf she said, "OHHH THAT's my Emily!"  She hasn't let go of the doll yet...she sleeps, eats, and even poops with little Emily...

We used hand warmers to keep us warm as we trudged back to the hotel, played a bit with the purchases and then headed out again to cross the river to the old Macy's to see the Christmas displays in the windows...It was a late night when we arrived back to the hotel and Daddy saved the day with a run to the hotel lobby for mac and cheese and more bananas...God bless bananas!

Our last day Chicago saw us swimming again and then heading to the Field Museum (another free admission day) to see SUE the dinosaur and just enough historical stuff to be able to qualify for a "educational" field trip for an excused absence from school!!!  And then we headed home.

I know I sounded a bit lacking in the enthusiasm and heavier on the sarcasm, but really, that was just for "effect"...as if I had some literary sense in the first place...but REALLY, it was an AWESOME trip...the girls were amazing, the time we spent together playing on the elevators, giggling, snuggling in the king side bed, talking and just being together was soooooooooo worth it!  I am sooo grateful for these opportunities with our kiddos...and the fact that we had a free gift card to even make purchases was just icing on the cake...

Little Munchkin was asking in the car today when we could all go back again...

Someday baby...it was definitely worth the trip!

p.s. little side note...I did NOT bring my camera, my baby, my "connected at the hip" piece of equipment and therefore I was feeling a little helpless as I tried to figure out the small point and shoot...so please bear with my lack of photo taking abilities with regards to this post...I wanted our trip to be about the experience rather than Mommy DOCUMENTING the experience while she missed half of what was going on trying to get the best "angle"...

We're Back from Chicago

We’re back from Chicago!!!

Back? We didn’t even know that you WENT to Chicago…wait, have you been there this WHOLE time?


Ummm..no…we went on a:

“Daddy’s been traveling so stinkin’ much that we all were missing seeing him and Mommy is going crazy cooped in the house editing picture until her eyes bug out at 2 in the morning, so we’re taking off for a 6 hour drive to a hotel with a pool and shopping stores galore in order to spend some much needed time together” vacation.

We’re back now and I’ll elaborate on our “chirstmas fun” in a bit..

But first, I need to say.... “WOOHOO…the crazy photography season is coming to a close…

This, in literal terms means, that my family will now have clothes to wear that don’t stand up on their own in the corner of their rooms…we will eat things other than mac and cheese, frozen pizzas and other such “meals’ that come pre-packaged and ready to go…the office will resume it’s more “organized’ look as envelopes, receipts and packaging tape are efficeiently tucked away until next year…Mommy’s library bag will come back out and be filled with novels for her to enjoy over the winter months…and finally, snuggling will again resume late at night as Mommy will actually be able to come to bed at a decent hour! (I’m sorry if that was TMI on that last note, but it makes me happy)

After unpacking, multilple loads of laundry, cleaning out the fridge, changing what I can only explain as Mt. St. Helens erupting in Little Munchkin’s diaper (this is what traveling does to people)…I am happy to announce that our house is on it’s way back to the “nice” version of HOME!

Another added benefit is the fact that I may actually be able to get back to updating our family blog. Granted, I do have a wedding edit to finish up and a few loose ends, but nothing like the past 3 months…

And so…I leave you today with this…in the hopes that I”ll be back tomorrow to give you the scoop on our Family Adventure in Chicago…

I hate shoe shopping and praise for single-moms

I've been to 3 Payless shoe stores, Sears, 2 Targets, and 3 Kohls attempting to locate shoes for my eldest daughter so that she can "put to rest" the hot pink croc from the summer that she's been wearing daily to school.

To NO avail...

Too big, too tight, a picky spot, they slip off, I can't run in them...the list of excuses is long and we are still without shoes...I'm sure I'll be getting a call one wintry day with tears b/c snow has squished through the croc holes.  What must the school staff think of me?

All this has been happening amidst my husband's travel schedule---which in my humble opinion---has been grueling!

And this my praise for single moms...

At 11, 1, 2:15, 3:30, 4, 5:30 and 6:40 IN THE MORNING

As I scurried down the hallway to attend to my screaming 3 year old due to:
~" I Neeeeeeeeeeeeeed my daddy"
~"My bummy itches"
~"My toe hurts..put some cweam on it"
~"I"m not sleepy anymore"
~"I close my eyes and it is scary"

As my sweet Peanut sobbed down the hallway at 2am complaining that her ankle was in "terrible pain"...

As my brain was trying to compute all that was occuring in the wee hours of the morning trying to process and make a plan:  Do I schedule an x-ray?  Do I scrap my plan to continue to shoe shop the following day? Can I just sit on my bed and eat chocolate until my Italian Stallion comes home?

I became painfully aware of just a sliver of what single-moms must deal with on a daily basis...

At a parent/teacher conference recently my husband was stopped mid-sentence as he politely & apologetically explained that he has been traveling much as of late...

The teacher explained that she was accutely aware of when he left and when he returned based on Peanut's demeanor.  Apparantly she is rather subdued & sad in class when her daddy is away...

This "season" has been rough...I don't htink I realized the impact it has had until we're now nearly at the end...

The holiday times will actually be a respit from the hectic schedule.  I think we've all been in survival mode & using any defense mechanism in order to push forward...

I know in my heart that compared to others, my troubles seem miniscule & in light of God's bigger purpose & plan, this IS just a season...

I suppose I'm more frustrated with my responses and reactions...

How much more I am aware now of my NEED for Christ and to have the peace in the storm and to guide my girls to that peace as well...

although, I can't help but wonder if just ONE pair of shoes wouldn't just help the situation a weeee bit...hmmmm???

What I've been up to

To clarify, especially to my darling friend Marla, the "surprise" mentioned at the end of this post does NOT indicate anything with regards to a pregnancy!!!  Think more in the arena of "trip" or "excursion" for our family rather than adding to the NUMBERS of our family...just wanting to set the record straight!

It's been awhile.

Let's see if I can recap up to this point...

My eldest turned 9.
I edited a family photo shoot on the computer.
Sweetpea had a Science test and did super.
I photographed 2 families at a park.
Peanut figured out how to get herself all the way across the monkeybars.
I edited the two family photo shoots and shot another wedding.
We broke out the Wii and it turns out Little Munchkin is an AWESOME bowler and frisbee thrower.
I edited some more in front of the computer.
Sweetpea had a sleepover birthday party and we "camped" out in the living room in our HUGe tent.
I had some more photo shoots.
We had some friends over for dinner and I ate some good white chicken chilli.
I posted the shoots on facebook and my website/blog.
We cleaned the house and the girls whined about putting away their clothes.
I may or may not have cursed at the computer.
I sat down and sped read a book...and am now currently watching Harry Potter.

I do hope to get back to a regular routine after Thanksgiving...and I'm looking forward to a surprise coming in up December...details TBA later:) 

Have a great week!

Happy Birthday SweetPea

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

You changed my life!

You made a dream come true!

I found a part of me in you!

I thank God for entrusting you to me for these years on earth. 

I watch you grow and learn and succeed and fail.

I watch you cry and want to take away the hurt.

But, I want you to be strong and so instead of taking it away, I just cry with you and remind you that not only do Mommy and Daddy love you...but, Jesus loves you more than we could ever imagine.

I cheer for you!

I probably drive you INSANE with my craziness!

I'm pretty positive that I embarrass you at times...and then I see you smile...so at least I know you don't think I'm completely crazy!

You are compassionate, thoughtful, and friendly.

You are demanding of yourself and give grace to others.

You are dramatic and sometimes overreact (and I have NO idea where you get that at all!)

But, I love the emotion sweet one!

You are loved beyond what you could even imagine!

Happy Birthday!

Rapunzel

My older girls were in the play, Rapunzel, last week.

Oh, and welcome back Ms. BlahGGER who doesn't show up for days on end...

Ahem...yes well...I'm sorry for that...the snot that has built up in my nose has apparantly brought in luggage and set up residence in my entire sinus areas...which now allows me for yet another excuse for my absence of late....

And so...where was I?
Yes...LAST week, my girls were in a play...Let me begin by saying that it OVERJOYED...no...it THRILLED my soul that my daughters wanted to PERFORM!  I know, I know...it's pathetic, selfish, "all glory to me-ish"...but, I just sooo wanted to "Show the world" (or at least the handful of parents and grandparents that crammed their bodies into the teeeeeny, tiny room) the fact that my girls DO enjoy applause and can be in the spotlight...

well...they kinda like the spotlight...

If the spotlight is center stage and they are down the hallway, in another room, in a group of other kids doing something completely different than acting in a play...

So

Where does that leave us with regards to the play itself and PERFORMANCE night?

They thoroughly enjoyed each and every practice...they read their lines at home and practiced in the car...they're looking forward to the new Disney movie, Tangled...all the "stars" were in our favor...

This was Peanut on the night of the performance...up on stage...

What?  Can't you see the PURE JOY that exudes from her very soul?

Yeah, she was doing everything in her power to hold it together and not lose it to tears...bless her heart!

They DID have fun though...and I DO have pictures to prove it...I'm thankful that the play was "low key"...and there weren't more than about 30 people in the room to watch...just their crazy mother hopping all over the place taking flash pictures and blinding everyone for miles made them resort to rolling of the eyes and stern looks!

I am happy though...so proud of them for trying something out of their comfort zone...for making new friends...for challenging themselves...

And although Italian Stallion deemed the watching of the HOUR AND A HALF performance a tad, "painful"...I, for one, was thoroughly pleased and bursting with love for my girlies...and then we went home and had pizza and ice cream...

The End.

Randomness

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:" ~Ecc.3:1

I'm not sure if photography and christmas cards fall under the complexity and context of this verse, but I'm going to hope so...perhaps it catagorizes itself under vs. 6 where there are times to search and give up, keep and throw away? 

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed the outlet that photography affords me...and although it is with great pleasure that I help create memories for families...and it is often with giggles and Ah-Ha moments that I design cards...Well, I have to admit that it takes time...and apparantly, a lot of it...

Italian Stallion reminds me that it is a season...the FALL season to be exact...the time when everyone wants those family photos so they have them for those long winter months when everyone is holed up in the house dreaming of spring...it just takes a lot of my time and therefore other things have to go...

The blogging being one of those things...I knew coming into this time that it'd be hectic, but I had high hopes...what I didn't figure into the equation were the mounds of laundry, multiple scooter rides and late night games of rummikub with the girlies...and therefore...I've been a bit lax when it comes to blah-ing to all of you...(or at least the handful of people that happen to stop by here every once in awhile)

I want to interject here as I write b/c my husband has just pointed out specific dynamics of our children...Let me set the stage:  Sweetpea is in the top bunk in her room yelling for us...why?  Well, because Peanut has gone over to lay down with Little Munchkin in the purple room b/c Little Munch apparantly needed some cuddle time with her sister...Sweetpea is yelling to tattle on Peanut.  Peanut however has fallen asleep...SOUND asleep in Little Munchkin's bed...Little Munchkin, upon hearing Sweetpea's weak yells for Mom and Dad, decides it is HER duty to overpower those pathetic cries and scream at the top of her lungs that Sweetpea NEEDS us...all the while, Peanut, the reason for all the noise in the first place, remains utterly and soundly asleep, oblivious to all that is going on around her...

Just wanted to throw that in there...this is a nightly occurance...fun times!

And so, that's just my little explanation as to why I may be incredibly sporadic in the coming month(s) with regards to the blog...I want to return once the sessions have settled down...I'll come back and let you know the Italian household happenings as I am able...

IN the meantime...here are a couple of things I've enjoyed lately and would LOVE to expound on them in the future:

You've GOT to see: How to Train a Dragon  (awesome movie)
Read: Sarah's Keys (oh, my...heart breaking, but incredibly vivid and well developed literature)
Play:  outside in the sun when you can...jump in leaves, scooter down the street, have a bonfire and eat smores...

See you soon!