Coffee

I don't know why but for the last couple "vacation" that we have been on I got in the habit of taking a picture of my coffee cup every day.  I guess because when we are at home I use the same cup every day and I often don't get to enjoy a hot cup of coffee every day, without reheating it 3-4 times.  

How fun to have such a variety as I enjoy my coffee morning.  it's almost as nice as the view on vacation.

 

camera

I think it's fun to allow a child to have some camera time.  You definitely can get a different perspective of the world.  The last couple of weeks, I have given my 19 month old son a point-n-shoot shock-proof, water-proof camera.  This is what he took...

He seems to like the flash so there a lot of face pictures.

Sunday we went to Cantigny park with my nephew.  He wanted to hold my nice SLR camera.  This is what he took...

Nice job Jack! he was very interested in using the view-finder.

Lord Stanley

We had an adventure today.  Blackhawks Joh McDonough brought the Stanley Cup to Edison Park.  My husband arrived at the park bright and early to save us great "seats" for the small program and hopes for getting close to the cup.  It was a long wait but my son was awesome!  I have several special treats and back-up toys if he got fussy and didn't need them  yeah!  he was also filmed by a few local TV channels since we were right up front.  Just wish we could have touched it.  Maybe next time they win. 

We had so much fun talking with the other people waiting.  Time did go by quite nicely.

Travel

I've learned over the years that preparing to take a vacation is much more than just packing and making sure the garbage is taken out before you leave. 

It's doing laundry at the right time, so you don't have too much waiting when you get home and not doing it too late so you are waiting for the dryer to finish before climbing into the car.  It's also a great time to clean out the fridge.  Eat leftovers so nothing goes bad while your going.  plus tossing out the few things that were hidden in the back long forgotten.  It's also making sure there's something to eat when you get home, so you're not stopping at the grocery store after spending hours and hours in a car.

It's emptying all the garbage cans to make sure nothing is sitting around the house for very long.  

It's multiple trips up and down the stairs, good for exercise but makes me wish we had a garage and live on the first floor.

It's also a good time to clean out the car... before filing it up and getting it dirty again.

It's amazing what needs to be done, whether your gone a few days or a couple of weeks.    

air plant

This is our air plant.  I bought it four years ago Valentine's Day for my husband, then my boyfriend.  It did not like our place.  18 months ago we moved out into my parent's house for almost two months and then into our own apartment.  the air plant continued to live in my parent's house under my mom's green thumb care... it started to thrive.  Once in our apartment it continued to thrive. 

The smaller plant is one of the original plants of four years ago.  The bigger plant with the colorful blooms is the new plant that grew in since moving to our apartment a year ago.  there is also a new "pup" starting to grow.  It's so exciting to see the changes in it.  when we purchased it, it was slightly red but hasn't been since then.  It has also never bloomed before either.  I am so exited and love to watch it change every day. 

summer

Summer is here.  There's no complaining about the heat and humidity... at least that's what I tell myself.  I am loving taking my son to the park.  We find so many wonderful things to do....

 I think we can also find some ways to keep cool. 

Ice cream

We have a tradition of visiting our favorite ice cream place in Land O'Lakes, WI for ice cream as often as we can during the summer. This year was my son's first trip to enjoy his own cone.

As you can see, he wasn't such a fan.  We tried it a few times and a few different ways but had no luck.  He normally like to eat ice cream...

He does like to have his picture taken... 2013

2012... 

falcon...

A few weeks ago in the evening after bottle time but before bedtime, my husband happened to look out the window. it's there, in the tree. sure enough it was a falcon. joined shortly later by a second one with something in it's claw. Very cool! i grabbed my camera and tried to take a few pictures. One flew away but the second stayed to eat whatever it brought.

May

May seems to have come so quickly.  A couple of 80 degree days probably helped that transition but now we are back to spring, cool and rainy.  We did get outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and all the beautiful trees in our neighborhood.  I have no idea what kind of trees most of these are but they sure are nice to enjoy on a spring time walk.    

April...

April has been a super busy month for us.  Not only has my son had a runny nose for most of the month, he is also transitioning from two naps to one, much to my dismay.  I loved two naps.  In the morning I could relax, shower, and drink coffee.  The afternoon nap which was usually longer, I could get things done - laundry, cleaning, knitting, etc.  It was great.  Now not only is my son adjusting, so am I.  not sure who's it harder on.    :)

We also celebrated my oldest nephew's birthday.  9 years old.  wow!  I was commissioned to make a cake... here it is...

 He loves to play Angry Birds so I used that theme to decorate the cake. 

 He also loves sweets, so after being inspired by Pinterest, I made the cake a pinata cake.  so much fun!