where did you go???

I know I've been MIA. I wish I could come on and say "oh sorry, it'll never happen again!" but I'm afraid that given our current state of craziness that just isn't so. I do want to update everyone as to why exactly our lives are so insane these days, which I'm sure will make you understand why blogging unfortunately has had to take a bit of a back seat. It's temporary though. Soon we're going to be back to life as normal and I'll have some free time.... I hope!!! That might be total wishful thinking! lol

Alright. Where to begin. I guess our living situation is pretty much taking up the bulk of our time. Our current place is for sale, as we're moving out by the end of May. Our entire condo association decided to join together and try to sell our property to an investor. We're hopeful that it will sell, but I tell you, showings have been tough. The showings have pretty much all been during the day. The rest of the people living in our building are young professionals who are at work all day, so showing the place has been easy peasy for them. Us on the other hand, not so easy. Every time someone is coming I have to try and clean up the land of toys, then somehow get two boys and two dogs out of here. It's not been easy, and is just getting more difficult as I'm trying to pack up our place to move in a few weeks. There are boxes everywhere and life is just hectic to say the least. We'll get it done though. There's no other choice!!

I've also been working like crazy on some projects at Timmy's school. HOPEFULLY they're almost completed and in the next week or two I'll be in the clear. I'm a co-chair of the Social Committee for his school board. It's a fun position, but we're finishing up our last event of the year, and this one has a lot of tedious details to work out. I'm also working on his class yearbook, which is fun, but time consuming. I did get to spend the morning at school with Timmy to take some pictures the other day which I really enjoyed. Seeing how much fun he's having is really wonderful.

I did have time to take a quick break the last weekend in April. I travelled to Lake Buchanan, about 90 minutes outside of Austin, TX, to stay at an amazing lake house with about 45 of my closest girlfriends. Yep, you read that right, 45 of us. We're all ladies from an amazing mom's group made up of gals throughout the country, and a few Canadians as well. It was so amazing to get together and relax. The trip has been planned since well before I got pregnant, so I was a bit bummed that I couldn't take part in all of the debauchery, but it was still an amazing time with ladies I love. There was hottubbing, swimming, lots of drinking (not for the pregnants of course!), catching up with friends, and even a "prom night" at a local bar which was one of the highlights of my life. It was a spectacle for sure. Somehow I even managed to wake up feeling totally hung over one morning despite not drinking. All that fun is exhausting! And I sort of feel like I need another vacation from my vacation! lol

The day after I returned from TX we closed on our new place!!! Wooohoooo! It's a short sale that we've been trying to purchase since September. SEPTEMBER! Pretty much anything that could go wrong during the process did, and even up to the closing we weren't sure it was going to happen. Thankfully it did. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, apartment situated on the top floor of an apt building, and also has a 2000sq foot roof deck. It needs work. A lot of work. But that's typical of a short sale. I swear moving things have occupied nearly all of my free time these days, either planning, packing, shopping, or just thinking about what needs to be done! I've also spent countless hours trying to find an area rug to no avail. WHY IS THAT SO HARD?!?!?!  Luckily we do have a few weeks to get the big stuff done before we move in. We've already had painters in who redid the place from top to bottom, and the floor guys start later in the week. Those are the biggies. I'll blog soon with before, during, and after pics to show you guys the process. I think it's going to be really amazing when it's finished, and a wonderful home for our not so little family!

We've had a bit of time for some fun too in all the chaos. Yesterday Tim ran in the Cinco de Miler 8k (yes, he thinks that is fun), and the boys and I went to watch him. It was a gorgeous day and a laid back race, so it was a great time for our family. Tim also thinks he has a good chance of coming in the top 3 or so for his category. Before you get too crazy impressed he ran for a friend who couldn't attend, so he's hoping to place in the women over 45 category! lol. We're so proud of him!!! ;)   The boys even somehow medaled despite not running! In all honesty I am crazy proud of this new endeavor Tim has taken on. He's been running for his friend Jenny who was killed earlier this year, and I know her strength has been with him. At the very least she has added some fun flair to his running wardrobe as he's rocking the pink socks she used to wear in her honor!

So that's it for now. I feel like I could write a ton more about how crazy things have been, as I didn't even mention the fact that I'm now into my 3rd trimester, which adds another fun/stressful element to life. However I simply don't have time to write too much more. There is packing to be done! And laundry. And cleaning. And.... ugh. I'm tired already and it's only 9am! Pray for me friends! lol. I'll do my best to be back soon. In the meantime know we're here, happy, and healthy. Just busy as can be!

zoo fun

Last Sunday we had a decently warm day. Had it not been for the wind the day would have been perfect. But we do live in the Windy City after all, so you can't let something like that keep you house bound, therefore we loaded the boys in the stroller and walked over to Lincoln Park Zoo to have some animal fun and meet up with a few friends.

This might have been the first zoo trip where Henry was REALLY into the animals. He's been several times, but his awareness is so much greater now and he was able to see all the animals even if they were far away. He loved it! Timmy of course loved it as well, as he always does. It was a lovely fun little family day. Walking there and back was rather tough for this old body, and I threw my back out at the very end, but it was still totally worth it!!

my handsome guy ready to go

and Mr. Cheese Face!

my loves!  

excited to see Curious George

they had face painting at the zoo. it cost an arm and a leg, but Daddy caved and let him get a snake!

Tim took this, but I believe Timmy was being a snake. lol. Regardless of what is happening it's amazing!

the boys in a tornado simulator at the Farm at the Zoo. they all liked it at first, but by the time i got this shot Henry had clearly changed his mind! poor pup.

checking out the baby chicks

sweet baby was wiped out after a long day at the zoo!

random fun

We aren't always having fun adventures, but we're almost always having fun. With two crazy boys there isn't much of an option than to have a good time!!! I think these pictures from the last week speak for themselves!

my big guy was looking so cute the other day before school that i had to grab a picture of him. that coat slays me.

swinging buddies!

so this happened after bath the other night. i wish i could explain it.... but i can't. i do think it will make for great blackmail in the future!

henry was in desperate need of a trim so he went to the salon with grandma donna to get a little trim. he stared at himself in the mirror, very seriously i might add, the entire time. lol. 

happy guy telling jokes in the car :)

Sculpture Saturday

We've been pretty excited here in Chicagoland as temps are finally creeping out of the 30s, and on a few occasions even past the 40s. I know for a lot of you this is still incredibly cold, but after the long Chicago winters this feels near tropical! Last Saturday was supposed to hit the 60s so Tim and I knew we wanted to do something outdoors with the boys.

Side note, before we got going Tim & Timmy took a trip to the barber shop. Tim was going for a cut and Timmy was in desperate need so I sent him along. Henry and I met up with them just in time for me to get a few shots of the boy getting a cut. It was so cute seeing him sitting among the big guys.

Adorable right? Anyway, back to our outdoor adventure. About 25 min away from us is the Skokie Sculpture Park. It's basically a long narrow park that Skokie created on unused land next to the Chicago River, that is home to around 70 pieces of art.

Tim is big into sculpture and even attended art school for awhile. Because of this he was really excited to bring the boys, but especially Timmy, so they could talk about all of the sculptures. Timmy was very animated and excited to tell us what he thought each piece was supposed to be. He had some really great ideas. Tim was basically elated because at one point even Henry participated exclaiming "choo choo" over and over at a piece. It really did look like train tracks so we knew what he meant. Having both of his boys share in a love of his was really special to him. And having a long open space where they could run sure didn't hurt either!!

We're really looking forward to some warmer weather so we can enjoy more outdoor adventures as a family, and burn off some crazy little boy energy!

a very Good Friday

About a year ago Tim started a new job. While he still works in IT ::cough, computer nerd, cough:: his current position is working within the stock market. One of the unexpected perks of his job is that he gets all market, or bank, holidays off. This was the first year that we got to have three day weekends for Martin Luther King Day & President's Day, and now found out that the market is also apparently closed on Good Friday. Hooray for an extra day to spend together!

As if an unexpected day off wasn't enough the weather also happened to be lovely, and I think was the first day we've been able to take our coats off in 2013. Knowing it was going to be gorgeous Tim & I decided to take the boys to a playground I've been dying to check out that is situation right along the Chicago river. The boys had a fabulous time and burned all of that craaaazzzzzy little boy energy they have (seriously guys, it's out of control, I'm exhausted just thinking about how energetic they are!). They ran, they played, and we all basked in the sunshine. It truly was a Good Friday!

Hoppy Easter

Heellllllooooo. Long time no see friends. Sorry I've been MIA for so long. I was without a computer for a bit which I'll be honest made me feel like I need to seek some sort of treatment b/c I was definitely going through withdrawal! Luckily my super sweet hubby decided to recuse me and I am now the proud owner of a beautiful (mostly) new computer. I've been saved!!! (and enabled. lol)

I have a few posts coming up since we had a fun week with Timmy on spring break, but since today is Easter it's only fitting that we start off by resurrecting the blog with an Easter post. (get it? resurrection?!? too soon???) This would have originally been a two parter, as our Easter celebration covered two weekends, but we're just coming back with a bang and giving you one big old gigantic Easter post.

 Our Easter fun started last weekend when we attended Macy's annual Bunny Brunch at the Walnut Room on State Street. We attended last year and loved it so much that we decided that it had to become an annual tradition. This year was just as great as last and really made me feel like we've found a fantastic tradition for our little family.

The event starts off with a meet and greet with the Bunny. This didn't go so well. Timmy declared ahead of time that he would NOT be sitting on the Bunny's lap. This didn't surprise me as he wouldn't sit on Santa's either. We did convince him to stand next to him. Timmy also informed us that this wasn't the real Easter Bunny, but just someone in a costume. Not sure what gave it away... maybe the exposed ankles ;)  Henry's response was a bit more unexpected. We plopped him down on the Bunny's lap, and Hen was having none of it. Oh well, it made for some hilarious photos.

Next on the agenda balloon animals! A duck and a bunny were requested.

And then some face painting. This year Timmy requested Iron Man face paint. The result was hilarious, but he was delighted.

Oh, and at Breakfast Iron Man happened to run into Spiderman. It was quite an epic meeting!

Finally it was time to eat. A fantastic brunch for everyone!!

Part two of our Easter celebration was a good old fashioned Easter morning. Like last year we had our Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma D's. She has a lovely courtyard that has more hiding places than ours does, so it's a perfect place for a small scale Easter egg hunt. I dressed the boys in their Easter outfits (their ties somehow went missing...) just for photo purposes (priorities people!!!) and then headed over to Grandma's. The boys were super excited to hunt for eggs, and Timmy even let Henry find a few! 

Once all the the eggs had been found I tried to get a little brother photo shoot done. We did get one semi decent shot, and one hilariously bad one! Oh Henry.... he just has a mind of his own!

Next up we found our baskets and went inside where the boys gorged themselves on candy and played with toys, while the grown ups prepared breakfast (featuring eggs ala goldenrod, my favorite, prepared by my mama!). It was a lovely Easter morning.

Oh, and this happened. lol. Timmy got Star Wars Angry Birds jammies in his Easter Basket and insisted on putting them on right away.... with a blazer and some rocket ship Vans, and a killer pose. I can't even handle how funny he is.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter with friends and family. As I depart I leave you with an amazing awesome mid 80s Easter flashback. Just me and my cousin Kate rocking some awesome 80s shades. Love how I really tried to pump up some attitude to really complete the look! Happy Easter to all!!!