Mothers Day

This Mothers Day started at 6:30 a.m. with a little lady looking for some snuggles and cartoons. Being that we were at our friends' house in Chicago we padded quietly downstairs for some early cartoons and snuggles. Once we were cuddled up on the couch Addie turned to me and said Mama is today Sunday? When I told her it was, she gave me a huge hug and said Oh good! Happy Mothers Day Mom, I love you!

We had a delicious breakfast with our friends, lingered in Chicago for a bit longer and then hit the road to try get home at a decent hour. Both Andy and Addie were sleeping by the time we hit Indiana and I got to enjoy a car free of questions while listening to the Cubs game on the radio. The few hours of listening to what I wanted to without answering dozens of questions was gift in itself.

We made it back to Cincinnati in time to stop by Gramma Patty's for a little picnic, wiffle ball (Addie hit the ball all by herself!) and chocolate covered treats. By the time we made it back to our house it was getting close to bed time...but Addie was excited to give me the gifts that she had made.

I got pampered with an hour long massage (thanks for helping her pick that out Andy!) and several preschool creations. Her hand print in pink paint to remind how little she is. A butterfly beautifully decorated with scraps of tissue paper and a poem about mothers. A handmade picture frame with a picture of my little cutie. And my favorite, a sheet called Meet my Mom which made me laugh and kind of made my day:

Meet My Mom

By Addie

What is your Mom's name? Jessica

How old is she? 29 or 26 (um, hells yes, thanks sweetie!)

What color is her hair? Brown

How much does she weigh? 50 lbs (sure that sounds about right - give or take a few)

What does your mom do around the house? She mops and sweeps and cleans (Hysterical, since the two chores I do the least is mopping and sweeping)

What is her favorite drink? Iced Tea (thank you, sweet angel, for not saying wine)

What does your mom cook? Yummy dinner, Yummy breakfast, Yummy lunch (errr, no your dad does most of that, but I'll take the credit)

What is your Mom's favorite TV show? The News (don't I sound informed?)

Where does she like to go? Target (um, yep. No argument there)

How do you know she loves you? She lets me make crafts (that is a sign of love because crafts drive me batty!

Summer in the Chi - for a minute

Is it kosher to blog about a bachelorette party? Probably not, but I'll still give you a bit of insight to the weekend, because, really, I am not know for my properness.

• I made record time getting to Chicago and successfully caught a Thursday night softball game. We then headed to Four Shadows (which used to be Lee's- we always swore we'd never step foot in the "new Lee's" - that lasted about two months) to hang with some of the gang and munch on a little bit of everything. The night ended with wine at Karen's and plotting for Friday.


• Friday. Friday was one of those almost perfect summer Friday's in Chicago. A Cubs game - yes they lost (and to the freaking Reds of all teams) but the weather was perfect, our seats were fabulous and the beer was cold. Cubs turned into Bin 36 (holy cheese and wine batwomen!). Bin 36 turned into the Signature Room (an Old Fashioned that sadly was icky) which turned into finding Phelan. Finding Phelan turned into going home after two drinks and leaving Michelle with Phelan unsupervised, which, of course, resulted in Michelle being broken all day Saturday. Phelan breaks everyone.
  

.

• Saturday was all about girl time. Girly girly girliness. First thing in the morning Karen and I went on a champagne/tums/tiara run. We feasted on fresh New York bagels and iced coffee and got ready to be slightly pampered. Off we headed to Vie's for nails (and insanely personal massage chairs) with pink champagne served in shamrock flutes. Our lovely pampering was followed by a quick lunch at O'Donovan's, a mini nap and getting prettified for the main festivities.
  
  
  
• And the main festivities? Those were fabulous too. An amazing amount of eating was done at Quartino - there were at least four types of risotto, five varieties of cheese, a delicious duck procuitto pizza and a gallon or six of sangria. Christie was given sweet shower gifts (the best illustration prize going to Karen), watched a silly video of Michael, and wore a homemade hat of bows. We headed up to Bye Bye Liver for a raunchy, hysterical stand up comedy about drinking and dating and ridiculousness. We had planned on doing a fancy pub crawl, sipping fancy drinks - I don't know who we were kidding. We beelined our behinds to the G&L, one of our favorite old haunts and parked our butts on stools and laughed and drank and told stories. Jello-shots and late night pizza rounded it all out....and I think it was just what we needed, and hopefully what the bride needed.

• Sunday equalled brunch, which led to mimosas, which lead to mojitos. All of which lead to sitting on the couch with some of my best friends being ridiculously thankful for my weekend away. So, thank you, Michael, for asking her to marry you - it gave me an excuse to party in one my favorite cities with some of my all time favorite people.

• Monday found me in the car heading south by 7:30 a.m. - Karen headed to work, Christie frolicked for a few more hours in the Chi, and Matt was thankful to have his couch back. And by 1:15 p.m. I was getting one of the best hugs I've ever had from my most favorite three year old.

The Girls Get Away

Last Friday I loaded up my car with board games, peach sparkletini, wine and cheese products and headed toward my Girls Get Away in New Buffalo, Michigan.

The harbor on Lake Michigan - - - - My ass kicking Bloody Mary - - - - Melissa enjoying Ali's martini

There were eight of us - four moms and four non-moms (although one will be in early fall), also spilt up as: four women who wake up at the crack of dawn and four women who still possess the ability to sleep in.

In the two and half days that we were there we had only one real meal - everything else that was consumed was essentially a snack or revolved around a cheese based dip.

Ali's martini ~ Hot and Dirty - - - - Michelle's version of an energy drink - - - - - - - Laura's usual ~ a Bacardi & Coke

We shopped at the outlets, sat in the sunshine on the deck chatting, wandered into town to have a scrumptious lunch. We drank our fair share, but were still in bed well before midnight. There was a lot of laughter, a few inappropriate photos (some that got erased, some that will never be published on the Internet. You're welcome, Ali).

Keelin & Karen in full decorating mode - - -- Mich with her hat & camera - -- - Sue & Keelin getting ready to bet on the Derby

We decorated our own over-the-top Derby Hats, played a cutthroat game of charades, and laughed and drank some more.

Andy informed me that a boys weekend would never involve a craft or going to bed before midnight. I informed him this was Girls Weekend. There were no rules, except each girl was allowed to do what they wanted when they wanted to.

But mostly I believe what we wanted to do was to be together. To have a few drinks. To not count calories and to laugh. Repeatedly.

That mission was accomplished...and I kind of wish Girls Weekend was not a yearly thing, but a monthly thing. Or a weekly occasion.

But then again, how many Derby Hats does a girl need?

Kind of a Downer

Today, while Addison ate her delicious lunch of turkey cheese dogs and goldfishies, I let my mind go numb by scanning Facebook.
Facebook is the devil - but I am hooked.
I have learned to limit my time on it, but the amount of time is sucks from me is astounding. I can go blind reading other people's useless information.
I was scanning who was eating what, and how everyone felt about Friday, and who jumped to the next level in Mafia Wars when I got slapped in the face by one update.
A mentor of mine's posting announced a memorial service for an amazing guy that I on occasion worked with in my previous life.

I had no idea that he had passed. At 37. Unexpectedly. The father of a one year old.

I ushered Addie off to her nap and then sat down to read about Joe. And everything I read reminded me exactly of the person I collaborated with. Full of energy, dedicated, motivated, passionate, funny and focused on bettering the lives of kids.
I sat a few more minutes, and then I wrote a letter to my old mentor (his former employer) with my condolences. I wrote a memorial check to his scholarship fund.

And I felt quietly sad.

Sad because he was an inspiring, intelligent man.
Sad because I barely knew him and thought highly of him - what possibly could his family and friends be feeling?
Sad because hundreds of children benefited from his spirit, but even more will never have the opportunity to know him.
Sad because remembering working with him made me miss my old existence - in the thick of the chaos, mess and joy of other people's children.
Sad because he had recently become a professor of social work, and had much to offer the field.
Sad because he had a one year old and a wife.

Sad because there is a shortage of amazing men in the world.

And it made me take stock of the amazing men I am fortunate enough to know. The men who come home and play with their children even though they are tired. The men who know a foot massage or a bottle of wine can brighten the day of their wife. The men who show up to work everyday during chemotherapy. The men who mow lawns at dusk, who grill dinner and who take bath time duty. The men who teach, who coach, who care.

I know that my mentor will honor Joe's spirit with her organization. I know that there are many children whose lives were changed for the better because of him. And I am sure that out there, somewhere, there are other men who are amazing and dedicated and motivated and passionate - just like Joe.

My Kind of Town

Five hours up the road (okay, up a couple of roads) is Chicago. Everyone knows my love of Chicago.

College in Chicago lured me away from home. It is where I met some of my very best friends. It is where I fell in love, married my husband, bought my first home and gave birth to my daughter. Chicago taught me the how truly amazing a hot dog can be, how to be a fanatical baseball fan and the beauty of a well made martini.

Moving away broke my heart, but returning for a minute or two makes me smile from ear to ear. I love to see the fountain in Grant Park, the boats in the harbor, the sun sparkling off the skyscrapers. I love the little neighborhoods, the shopping and the energy. My family. My friends. The freaking pizza.

Me + Chicago = an endless love.

Addie and I escaped the debaucherous boys football draft in Cincinnati and fled to Chicago this past weekend. We primarily played with Grampa, Gram, Emmett et al. But we managed to sneak in a visit with some Chicago pals ~ Addie played with Sam's toys, sat on Tool's lap, learned from Karen how to put her coat on all by herself (side note: she learned this skill because in Chicago it was cool enough to require coat!) and sat outside wrapped in a Snuggie with Michael. We met Baby Seamus, scarfed down mini corn dogs at Riverview and were reminded what great friends we have.

And as much fun as we had in Chicago, we had equally as much fun hanging in Glenview. Addie scarfed down sweet treats from Gram and Grampa. She ran wild in their yard, played with the sandbox and wore off energy with her "baby" cousin Emmett.

On Saturday we went with Grampa to Wagner Farm and the Farmers Market - both of which little lady loved. At the farm Addison adored the fake cow that she could milk, the pen of roosters and geese and with the old fashioned ice cream parlor (mmmm, double chocolate milk shake).

At the market she helped herself to more than enough free samples of cheese, smelled the fresh flowers and checked out the bins of tomatoes. A perfect Saturday by our standards.

The rest of our visit centered around playing and laughing and having fun with family - all of which was done in abundance.

Garbage Day

As I predicted....bringing out the recycling was indeed HORRIFYING.

I wanted to post a sign on my curb that said "Don't Judge Me".

We are welcoming people into our neighborhood with an overflowing garbage can and two solid rows of empty pizza boxes, beer cans, beer bottles, wine and champagne bottles, and, for good measure, a few empty Gatorade bottles and diet 7up cans. CLASSY.

PS. I love the stop sign in the second picture...I think it's directly speaking to my liver. As in "If you keep this up, Jessica's liver, you are going to stop working".

One year later

This week marks our one year move-iversary.

Unbelieveable.

In this short year we sure have lived a lot of life.

Addison is almost unrecognizable now compared to then. Since we left Chicago she has gotten almost all of her teeth.

She has learned to crawl, walk, and now run. She has learned the meaning of hundreds of words, and has even claimed a few as her own.

She has grown like a weed. The clothes she wore this time last year would be hysterical on her now. She outgrows pants on a daily basis.

She has developed an endless imagination and can play for hours on end with her dolls, blocks, trucks, and puzzles. She loves to draw and thinks crayons and finger paints are the coolest.

She has gone from eating pureed mangoes and sweet potatoes to slurping down milkshakes and chomping on shrimp.

She is no longer just a blobby baby... she has all sorts of emotions and ideas. She can be painfully shy or the ring master. She can be patient and giving or irrational and territorial. She can be all rainbows and bluebirds or can give a tornado a run for its money. She is total little person.

She can sit quietly and watch Elmo's World so that mommy can hang out on the computer.

Andy and I have slowly turned our house into a home. At long last, there are pictures on the walls, a pool table in the basement and a seasonal wreath on the front door. We are making landscaping plans and talking to exterminators and picking up paint swatches everytime we are at Home Depot. Neighbor's wave from their cars as they drive by and notice if we are out of town.

At times I look back and cannot fathom that over 365 days have passed.

We have lost loved ones, faced family health crisises, and welcomed new babies into our circle of friends. All of this from our new home. Our new life. And while there are days that I miss Chicago so much it is palpable, I never have once wonder if we made a mistake by moving here.

This is where we will celebrate a thousand new experiences. We will watch Andy's baby sister leave for college. We will put Addison on the bus for kindergarten. We will fight over wall colors and plant choices. We will host birthday parties and Christmas mornings and family game nights. We will have friends come down to cheer on the Cubbies and we will plan family vacations to warm destinations. We will live our lives.

Here.

Not there.

And it will be wonderful, and mundane, and hard, and exciting.

It is home.

And I like the idea of that.

Friendship and Love

We have returned from our whirlwind weekend in Chicago celebrating the best things in life: love, friendship and adorable babies. Roberto and Keelin got hitched on Saturday, and on Sunday Addie turned ONE (much more on that later).

We arrived in Chicago Friday afternoon about the same time as Steve and Tamar, allowing all of us a minute or two to visit and enjoy each other before the festivities began. We were joined shortly thereafter by Brad and Jess, Gramma Kathy and, best of all, the reason for our visit: Mr. and Mrs. To Be, Roberto and Keelin.

A few hours later, Addie was out for a walk with Gramma and Andy and I were at the wedding rehearsal. After sharing a wonderful dinner at Salvatore's (mmmm, ricotta spinach pasta. mmmm, open bar), we headed back to the Hyatt for a night cap or two.

Saturday was busy with hair, makeup, bagels, kitkats, pretty dresses and then the main event: Keelin and Berto's wedding. I have had the honor of being in several weddings, and never before have I been with such a calm, relaxed, overjoyed bride. Keelin loved the hair, the fussing, the bagels, the gorgeous dress, but all she really wanted was to get down that aisle and hold Berto's hand...

As has been well documented in other shared pictures and blogs Saturday was nothing short of phenomenal. Addison enjoyed how her voice echoed in the church, how floofy and prissy her dress was and loved all the attention her Chicago friends lavished on her.

Andy and I had an amazing time...being back among our closest friends, telling stories, laughing - a lot.

And on a sappy, girly note ~ Watching two people you love fall in love with each other is so incredible. I was pretty much non-stop boo hooing most of the day Saturday. Purely happy tears...for heaven's sake I am welling up now. What has happened to me? I used to be so darn tough.

I did a horrible job taking pictures...I left that up to the pros and the rest of the paparazzi. But what a great excuse to come back to the Windy City...and how hard it was to leave yesterday.