March and April Highlights

The past month or so has been filled with lots of fun, great weather, and a lot of fun time with family and friends.


On Tuesdays over the past two years we have play group. There are six moms and a combined 12 kids (3 more to be born this summer)! Play group lunch a few weeks back.

Dan's cousin Marcia from Northern Ireland came to stay with us for a week. We had a wonderful time getting to know her and show her around Chicago. We ate lunch at the greatest little cafe in Wicker Park called Mild & Honey. I HIGHLY recommend!

For Easter we took a trip to Cincinnati. The weather was wonderful and it was great relaxing and hanging out. Isaac enjoyed the easter egg hunt. And Isaac and lily got to share a room at Anya (grandma's) house. Kind of a headache, but they were both soooo excited about it. They would be up there laughing and making all kinds of noise and when Dan or I would walk in the room to tell them to be quiet they would both immediately fall down into their cribs and act like they were sleeping. Pretty cute! One other funny side story, is that a week after we got back from Cincinnati we put them to sleep at a friends house and we all went out to dinner. When we got home I asked Ricky (babysitter) how it went. He said...well once I put them into their own pack -n- plays they went to sleep. He had assumed that I put them together in one crib. When actually after we left Isaac had crawled out of his and into Lily's.

Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds.

Hanging out in Anya's kitchen.

Lily's sweetest little easter dress. A gift all the way from New Zealand!

When we returned home from Cincinnati our entire yard was FILLED with daffodils!! I actually counted over 700. Seriously.

Lily enjoying McDonalds play land.

Isaac and Lily sharing bathtime with Kyle.

Good old uncle Mike...with a lap big enough for all the good little boys and grils.

My latest Art Projects

If I had more time on my hands, I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do with all the paintings I would be cranking out. I just LOVE IT!!! I highly encourage anyone who has any desire at all to express themselves through art to just go for it!! It is fun and exciting to create things that express who I am and what I see in the world around me. It is even more than fun and exciting, it is truely life giving. Below are some of my latest creations...

This is my take on a self portrait. I really wanted to find a way to express the way that I feel so many moments and people in my life have all collaborated to create what I am today. I cannot exist apart from all those people/experiences and the way I move out into the world is directly related. So this is my best shot at that. This project brought forth a lot of emotion for me.

A closer look at the pictures that compose my head.

After getting this far, I was really tempted to stop. I just loved the look of the painting without adding any of the pictures. There's a bit more drama here. But in the end I decided to add the pictures because it just got more at what I was trying to express. (I'm still kind of considering going back and painting over the pictures....a work in progress I guess.)

This was just a little project for my friend Bronwen who just had a baby girl named Sage. I loved the name so much that I looked it up and found the most amazing definitions...so that was my inspiration. (It's kind of hard to get the effect of how it actually looks because of the flash on my camera.)

I finally finished my ABC project for Isaac's room. I love how it turned out. Isaac loves his letters.

trains, boggle, and unexpected pancake shapes

We have recently found a fun way to spend a Saturday morning with two little ones. Take the train to a nearby suburb, get off, eat food, walk around, get back on train and go home. It's actually quite fun. The kids love it!! And it's especially fun when friends come with us.

Isaac has been in a real hugging Lily phase. I guess I shouldn't complain and just be happy that has moved out of the "pushing my sister down the stairs and laughing about it" phase.

Isaac is again being a little too affectionate with his sister for her taste. And I just can't get enough of little Ella's smile. So sweet!!

Right when you get off the train in Oak Park there is this little bakery call the Prarie Bread Company. I don't know if it is chain or not, but it is REALLY YUMMY!!!

Isaac just can't get enough of his little sister.

Fam train shot.

I LOVE this picture. It is so perfect. It is so Lily. The other day I decided as a special treat to let her play with the boggle game. Her and Isaac always beg to play with it, but I always say no. I decided to let her one night. And now she is totally obcessed. She will not let Isaac even touch it, which I repect. And as you can see from the look on her face she is VERY protective of her boggle game.

OK...so Dan tells me that I am really immature for taking this picture or thinking this is funny, BUT...I noticed the other day that this pancake somehow formed in the shape of a butt. I thought it was so funny that I just had to take a picture. Hope it might make one of you laugh.

Laughing

These days just seem to be filled with laughter. I love Isaac's take on life and language. It is so innocent and sweet and many times make me laugh so hard!! Two funny stories:

1. This past weekend I was getting ready to take a shower. Isaac was in my room with me while I was changing. He looks over at me and kind of gahsps and says....Mommy...you have a PRETTY BIG butt. I just burst out laughing. I guess it must have been kind of shocking for his little eyes. Because of my laughter he just kept saying it over and over...really great for my self esteem. :)

2. Isaac is in the stage where he is always talking about who has a peepee (boy parts) and who has a peepers (girl parts). The other day we were in the car and he said that sitting behind him in the car were Pac (his imaginary friend), God, and thunder (there had been some thunderstoms that day). He told me that Pac, God, and thunder all have peepees. Good to know Isaac... good to know. :)

Changes

We have been having some fun days lately. I feel like I have finally hit a sweet spot with the kiddos. They are both pretty independant and sweet and funny and just fun. I have been really appreciating my time with these little people, as I often think about how fast they are growing and how soon they will be off to doing their own things. Last night as I got into bed I said to Dan, "just think...there is going to come a time when there won't be any babies to look in on, to touch their soft cheeks or hair, to just gaze at while they are sleeping." And we both felt a little sad just thinking about it!!

The other day at dinner I asked Isaac, "When you get older are you going to want to go out with your friends all the time, or are you going to like to hang out at home with mom and dad." He looked at me and just said "PAC!" (like 2 Pac or Paco). He often says Pac, when he doesn't want to answer you. He went on to tell me that he was going down the street to Pac's house. He got down from his chair and said, "I'm going to put my coat and shoes on and I'm going to Pac's house." He started walking toward the door. Then he came back up to the table and said, "By the way, I'm taking the car." Dan and I couldn't stop laughing. It was a real picture of the future.

One other funny thing, is that as it has been so cold outside lately, we always walk outside and say "BURRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Isaac has turned Burrrrrrrrrrr, into Burrrrrrrrrdies. So now when it is cold out side he says, "Mommy, it's burdies outisde." I just love it!! It sounds like something my brother RJ would say. Isaac definitely has silly in his genes.

minus clothes = awesome!

Tonight our friends the Potoshnicks came over for dinner. Noah and Ella (twins that just turned two), Isaac and Lily, all love playing together. And we found out that taking their clothes off makes everybody VERY happy. This first picture was not easy to get....as refrenced in all the other pictures (below) we took leading up to this one. Some are quite funny.

Isaac was the only one who decided to take off his diaper, but kept on his awesome neon blue socks.

Lily, working on downward dog...future yoga instructor.

Butts.

MY FAVORITE ONE!!!!!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Isaac's stride in the background.

Art

Before Christmas I decided to try painting. I have always wanted to try, but since I've never actually "learned how", I thought that it wouldn't be worth it. I finally just went to the art store, bought some paints and started. I have LOVED IT!!!! As soon as I put the kids for their naps I break out the paints. I wish that I had taken pics of a bunch of the stuff that I made for Christmas presents, but today I took some pictures of other pieces that I have recently finished and wanted to share them with you. Today I just finished "51" and I think it is my favorite thus far. It was a very large canvas...so that presented new challenges. Here's a sampling.

"51" - the small writing is psalm 51.

This is just a closer look.

"Lay your deadly doing down" - This was for Dan for Christmas. It has his favorite quote on it (Lay your deadly doing down, down at Jesus' feet, stand in him, in him alone, wondrously complete: James Proctor).

This one I actually made awhile ago. It is made with all different fabrics. It speaks to me all the time!!!