Where Nature Dominates

Our neighbor has a tree growing through their house.  I thought it was peculiar until this Spring when the tree bloomed punk-rock neon pink flowers, like an umbrella over their slate-blue house.  This is clearly a tree to build a house around.
In the city, architecture dominates over nature...but here in the county, nature has the upper hand.

Spring Surprises

We moved here at the end on the Summer and the yard had been neglected for a couple years, so we have no idea what is growing.  Everything has been cleaned up and starting to bloom...so we get new surprises every day.  Like this little Magnolia tree, it's so pretty.  We've also discovered lilac, peony, rose, and raspberry bushes.  

Beautiful Dream

I recently had a dream that I was riding a bicycle and white fluffy clouds floated over me, dropped strings for me to catch and then transformed into giant white geese.  I also recently finished the final round of work for my my additional teacher certification, so I am thinking the dream is related.

Pinewood Fever

The night Nolan got his block of wood to prepare for the Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby, I said that we could work on it in the morning.  At 5:57am, I awoke to noises downstairs.  This is the scene that I found.  Really.  The table had been clear the night before.  I'm not sure what he was planning for that giant saw.   

Chipmunk Bush

While looking out at our frosty backyard, I said to Dagny, "We should plant a butterfly bush in the Spring." To this Dagny replied, "And also a chipmunk bush, because they are so cute."

Ice Skating

We were surprised to find that people ice skate on the lake once it freezes.  It never occurred to me.  I don't know how to skate and neither do Mike or the kids.  It looks like fun though so we got skates and have been trying to teach ourselves.  Luckily for us, there is a small wooded island by our house that hides us while we fall down.  Try to spot us in the picture! 

Haircut Shock

I had my hair cut short this week, I've been thinking about it for awhile but I didn't tell anyone.  Upon seeing me, Dagny cried inconsolably and refused to look at me.  Nolan was aghast, and tried to politely tell me he liked it better before.  I like it...but mothers are not supposed to change.  But, like all change, they will get used to it and then it will seem normal.    

Leaf Burning Mania

We have 22 white oak trees around our house.  The leaves had been piling up all Fall.  The guy who mows our lawn promised me that after the last leaf fell, he'd come with a magical leaf vacuum and take them all away.  But he stood me up, there is no such magic.  Now it's just me, a metal rake, and a match.   

The Search for Mike's Chair

 

Mike broke a vertebrae in his spine 2 months ago while playing tennis.  PAINFUL.  This past week his mom came out to visit for Thanksgiving.  She saw how much pain he was in and offered to buy him a comfortable chair.  This began a week long search for such a chair.  It took our combined brain power, time and commitment...but we found a chair.  It's coming this Friday.



You Say Banana, I say Bonona

Me:   Dagny, get that dirty banana peel off of your hair!
Dagny:   But MOM, I am a beautiful princess...watch me dance.

Mike's Feathered Children

There is a tall pole in our backyard with a collection of bird feeders.  It was in sorry shape when we moved in, but Mike has taken it upon himself to fix it up and consistently provide birdseed to the birds.  We all love to watch the birds.  But Mike really loves those birds. 

Strangely, the middle peanut feeder has recently disappeared.  A human would have to climb a ladder to get it...so our best guess is a squirrel somehow made off with it. 

Pumpkin Eating Dinosaur

My mother and step-dad visited us this week.  We spent a chilly Fall day at Goebbert's Farm.  Our favorite attraction was the pumpkin-eating mechanical dinosaur.  A man hidden in a shed controlled the dinosaur like a giant claw game, making it pick up pumpkins and crush them with it's monstrous metal teeth.     

Nolan Has Found His People

The goals, the badges, the uniform, the survival skills, the comradery.  He's read the handbook front to back several times.  If ever there was a group well-suited to Nolan, it's the Cub Scouts.

R.I.P., Little Chipmunk

Dagny and I were playing in the back yard with some neighbor friends, when a giant hawk dropped from the sky onto an unsuspecting chipmunk, just feet away from us.  The hawk then proceeded to eat his catch RIGHT IN FRONT OF US.  Yuck!

Water Towers

A lot of the towns out in this part of Illinois have gigantic, looming white water towers.  Like modern, puffy, white, space-ghosts that contrast the rolling green hills and lush trees.  They look a bit like the knobby wooden handles on a toddler puzzle, each town being a piece in the puzzle. 

Down the Rabbit Hole

About a month ago, our family left our apartment in Chicago and moved into our own house in beautiful Tower Lakes.  We managed to get all of our belongings into the house and have slowly been sorting things out.  What an insane process! 

So many changes.  Wildlife, a lake, a yard, new schools, commuter rails.  It's all sinking in...I truely love it.

Stranded at the Beach

We spent last week on vacation at Cape Cod with Mike's family.  One day Dagny and I got locked out of the house with nothing but a bucket of sand toys.  So we camped out on the beach, got really dirty, and took a little nap.  

Dagny in the Zone

It is sidewalk chalk season.  This year Dagny has thrown herself into the medium.  Her world narrows to a chubby piece of chalk and a bumpy sidewalk surface.  She'll sprawl out and draw her lines, back and forth, until her knuckles bleed.  I think we may have another artist in the family.

Supermoon Surrealism

This past week we experienced a supermoon.  I am guessing the supermoon caused the freak hailstorm we had in the middle of the night.  The hail hit our windows and caused cracks in our kitchen skylight and also caused Nolan to get up and start sleepwalking around the apartment.

Gram's Magic Jellybeans

My mother came to visit the week before Easter.  She brought some magic jellybeans and planted them with Nolan and Dagny before she left.  On Easter morning, we discovered that they had grown into giant lollipops!

Pop Rocks Moment of Zen

A couple weeks ago, we had a string of hot days in the middle of March.  One of those days we spent every possible minute outside soaking it up.  The sun was going down, and we finished off the day with a bag of Pop Rocks.  It was Dagny's first time.  She just stuck the whole bag on her tongue.

I'm Back

Last week I finished my last night class.  I walked out to the cold, dark campus and thought about throwing all my papers up into the air.  Being DONE with something is so sweet. 

CooCoo For Cocoa

 

Santa brought Nolan a new pet for Christmas.  It is a baby bearded dragon, Nolan named him Cocoa.  He is a very charming little lizard and we are all smitten with him.  Along with Cocoa, we also care for 20 or so crickets each week.  They have the grim fate of being Cocoa's breakfast.

The Coat Wars

I dedicate this to all the parents out there engaged in a coat war.  Stay strong.  It's a long winter.

Penny Masters

Mike and Nolan have started a penny mining business together.  They buy pennies from the bank, sort them for copper (1982 and earlier) and then sell them on Ebay.  They have a fascinating machine that sorts the pennies and it is worthy of it's own blog entry.  They asked me to make a logo for their business, that is what this illustration is. 

Radish Roses

This is another illustrated recipe contest entry.  The contest was to make a healthy holiday recipe.  You can see the full sized version on the They Draw & Cook website. 

I had fun cutting up lots of radishes for research!  Dagny was intrigued, so  included a black-haired version of her in the picture.

Telephone-pole-saurus

Lately when Dagny is eating at the kitchen table, she covers her eyes and says,

"Me scared, the dinosaur is roaring at me." 

From her chair she can see into Mike's office.  I didn't see any dinosaurs in there.  Then a couple days ago I was walking into the office and noticed the telephone pole outside the window.   

New Star Chinese

I used to love eating at restaurants, someday I will again.  But right now we are a family of four picky eaters with different tastes and the youngest one refuses to sit while eating. 

Once in awhile we find a place that works.  Last weekend while coming home from the zoo we stopped for Chinese food and everyone was happy.  It was an overall awesome day.

Yugioh

Nolan, like many kids, goes through phases of obsession.  He started when he was 2 with construction trucks, then puzzles, Bakugan, LEGOs, car symbols, chess, and now...Yugioh.  An impossibly complicated Japanese card game.  I don't get it at all, and I have tried.  I asked Nolan to draw me a picture of what he is thinking about when he looks at his cards, and the top part of this picture is what he drew.

A New Perspective

During Dagny's 2 year check up last week, the nurse measured her three times to make sure she is a whopping 37 inches.  Then the doctor came in, scratched some calculations on his clipboard, looked up and casually said that Dagny is on track to be 6 ' 2 ''.  Did I hear that right?  6' 2"??

Calder

Our cat Calder passed away last week.  He was sick for awhile and it was his time to go, we all miss him.  This picture is how I'll always remember him.  16 years ago, Mike and I drove out to a Bengal breeder's house deep in the Vermont woods.  Calder was a little white furry ball with bright blue eyes and a pretty pink nose.  We brought him home in a cardboard box.  He meowed the whole drive back to Boston until his voice went hoarse.  

2 Minutes of Trouble

I should have realized that trouble was brewing when I could peacefully brush my teeth all by myself in the bathroom.  In the 2 minutes it took to brush my teeth, Dagny meticulously colored her entire arm with a dry erase marker.

First Aid First Grader

Mike has always been an interesting gift-giver.  Recently, he bought Nolan a small first aid kit with a variety of band aids.  Nolan carries it in his backpack and likes to dispense band aids to children in need.  Always on top of his inventory, he tells me at night how many of each size are left. 

Top of the World

Last weekend we were walking around Lincoln Square looking for a place to have dinner when it started pouring rain.  So we ran inside of Gene's Sausage Shop and wandered up to the rooftop deck.  We sat under a giant umbrella, eating dinner, and watching the world.

 Today Mike and I have been married 10 years.  What a nice life we have!

Spy Cone Stand

As evidenced by my lack of posting, it has been a busy summer.  One thing Nolan wanted to do was have a snow cone stand, we finally did it last week.  I could make a book's worth of pictures of that day if I had time...but I'd like to focus on the sign, this is my rendition.

"Spy Cones" was Nolan's idea.  He offered 4 flavors, each with a "spy" weapon illustrated on it.  The "Spy v. Spy" flavor was Nolan's recipe: half Coke, half vanilla.

My Yellow Whale

About a year ago Nolan took apart his biggest Lego kit, a Star Wars starfighter.  While putting it back together, ONE Lego snapped in half...and Nolan washed his hands of the whole thing. 

So it has sat, unassembled, in a box, for a year, driving me crazy.  Despite my constant suggestions to put it together.  Finally, this week, Nolan put it back together.  I had to repair the broken Lego and add a bribe to sweeten the deal...but it's done!  He's been playing with it all week.

**Update**

I accidental knocked the starfighter off of Nolan's shelf and it is in a million pieces, again. 

The Little Lincolns Carpool

A lot of the kids on our block signed up for a camp that is a 20 minute drive away.  So we formed a carpool.  I had the afternoon shift for the 6 & 7 year olds.  Considering the possiblities for chaos, it all went pretty smoothly.  Dagny caused the most trouble, trying to pull the hair of the lucky person who sat next to her each day.  She'd always cry when they were all gone.

July 4th Mango

My mom, stepdad and nephew Shane came to visit from Massachusetts last week.  We had an action-packed fun time.  Chicago didn't have fireworks this year, and when July 4th came, we didn't have any plans.  So we went to the lake, along with a million other Chicagoans! 

The Mexican food carts were out in full force.  I was able to score us three plates of mango with salt, lime juice and chili pepper.  A frequent snack for me while I was pregnant with Dagny. 

Put The iPhone Down

School Talent Show

I give Nolan a lot of credit for courage.  41 car symbols, he got them all.  He's quite a kid.  This picture doesn't give justice to the real thing...here's a video also.