We're Moving.

I have lived in the city of Chicago for 12 years. It's where I became an independent adult. It's where I relocated after leaving the home I'd lived in for 18 years, which was situated in a small, white, suburban town. It's where I first used my (ahem) fake I.D. It's where I rented my first apartment. It's where I opened my first checking account. It's the home of the first public transportation system I learned to navigate. It's the home of the first--and best--jazz club I've ever frequented. It's where I learned the pedagogy required to teach music. It's where I fell in love for the first time. It's where I learned to cook, to interpret music, to stop procrastinating. It's where I owned my first home, and nursed my first baby.

Oh, Chicago, how I will miss you. I will miss your free zoo and your aquarium. I will miss your little parks in the middle of a busy city block. I will miss Lincoln Park, my original stomping ground. I will miss Andersonville (my second stomping ground), which I witnessed pull itself up by its bootstraps to become a trendy, yet charming, little neighborhood. I will miss living 20 minutes from the airport, and a swift 4.5 hours from my mom. I will miss being able to zip downtown for a show. I will miss watching the Thai delivery guy drive on the sidewalk to our door. I will miss the crazy, toothless Polish lady down the street who always steps outside to say hello to the Munchkin. I will miss my new neighborhood friends. It will be a big inconvenience to find a new veterinarian, and a new pediatrician, and a new dentist. It will break my heart to have to find a different music teacher for our little mommy-and-me class.

Dear Chicago, I will miss you so. You can keep your parking tickets, your city stickers and your "boots," but I'll be sure to visit often so I don't forget about the rest. Thanks for 12 inspiring years.

(For the record, my NEW town is where I met my husband. Trump card.)

WE'RE MOVING!!!

We will have three playgrounds within a 10 minute walk from our new home. We will have a yard, a porch, and a deck. We will have a basement and a storage room. We will have a kitchen with a garbage disposal. We will have a guest room. We will have many, many closets. It will not take 15 minutes to drive 0.5 miles to the grocery store. We will be able to walk to the elementary school, and not have to worry about whether or not it's a "good" school. We will be two minutes from rehearsals for our theatre group. We will have Target, Kohl's, Costco, and various other "frequent flier" stores much closer to home. Oh, and we will actually be able to SHOP at Costco, because we'll have somewhere to STORE what we purchase. We will be minutes from some beautiful Outdoor Entertainment Facilities (trying to keep our new location somewhat secure ;o) ) and a charming downtown area with shops and restaurants. And you don't have to take public transportation or pay for parking to get there.

Here that? It's the sound of me breathing a sigh of relief.

Holiday Report Card: The Flight

As many of you pointed out, the flight WOULD end eventually. And it did. :o)

On our way out of town on December 22, The Munch and I flew by ourselves. We thought we'd be able to have assistance from my mom through security and to our gate, but the lovely folks at the Northwest ticket counter decided to surprise us at the last minute and DENY our request. "Added security measures," they said. (Ironic, I know, given recent events.)

So the boy howled his way through security (shoes off, by the way) and through our rushed 5.5 minute breakfast, after which I struggled to get the #@$% car seat into its cover and schlepped onto the plane. Through nothing short of a Christmas miracle, some guy in the very last row (which just so happened to NOT be in the same location as the restrooms) asked us to switch our aisle seat for his so he could sit with his family, and we ended up with an empty seat next to us. THANK GOODNESS. I honestly could not have imagined juggling a very antsy little boy and all. his. stuff. without a little extra elbow room--especially since we sat an additional 45 minutes on the tarmac prior to takeoff.

Equipment included in diaper bag (besides the obvious): New board books, favorite board books, toddler crayon thingies, coloring book, iPhone loaded with episodes of "Sesame Street," four nesting cups, kid-friendly cell phone, snacks. The Munch's favorites? None of the above. Except for the snacks. I'm pretty sure he ate for a total of 1.5 hours.

BUT. We survived and arrived unharmed. And our shorter-by-two-hours return flight had a dad, ANOTHER EMPTY SEAT (crazy, I know), more snacks, and a Benadryl-induced nap to help it along.

Thanks for all your advice! More holiday report cards to come...when I can get the stories and photos together.



Oh! and P.S.: The Go-Go Kidz Travelmate was a huge help. I highly recommend it if you have a real stroller waiting at your destination.

There Are (Almost) No Words

I was supposed to be heading to bed over an hour ago. I was headed there thinking about how lousy my day had been. About how difficult today was without my husband here to help me. About what a chore it is to pack for vacation (and well aware of the irony). About how much "pain" I was in, having ripped a nail well below the quick. About how my bad mommy moments almost got the best of me today.

Then, as I was catching up on some blog-reading, I read an article written about Stephanie "Nie Nie" Nielson. I have read Stephanie's blog sporadically, as directed by Kage, but only began following her days before her nearly fatal plane crash in August 2008.

Thirty minutes of tear-shedding and reading later, attitude adjusted, I am heading to bed. But not before sharing this impossibly brave woman's story. Save it for when you have time to read all ten chapters.

Tomorrow I will start the day uplifted: Reminded that I am blessed to be a mother, with a providing and loving husband, with a supportive network of family and friends, with a stunning son, with my body whole and intact...alive to bask in the glow of the day.


The Article: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/stephanie-nielson-intro-120609.html

Nie's Blog: http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

"Fun Holiday Game!" Answers

ZERO responses. Whatever, people. Surely someone is wondering though, so here you are:

Crack crack = Cracker
Bup = Cup
Gyer guck = Fire Truck
Uck = Yuck
Bomb = Balloon
Ish = Fish
Ah-ee = Ollie (the dog)
Ahtch = Ouch
Dee dee = Kitty

Making the Best of a Lousy Situation

Cricket Fest

Nope, not the kind you play with a bat. The kind that appear when one's blog is neglected. Sorry, Internets!

A brief synopsis for those of you NOT friends with me on Facebook:

1. I am music directing and appearing in "Snoopy!!! The Musical" with the href="http://highlandparkplayers.com/">Highland Park Players. Rehearsals start Tuesday. I'm playing Lucy Van Pelt. Awesome.

2. Brad left for Australia yesterday. He will be gone until the 20th. In the meantime, the Munch and I are on our own (with Oliver's "help") until we head to Mimi/Papa's on the 17th. And then...dum dum dum...I'm flying ALONE with my 15 MONTH SON to PHOENIX. Did I mention the flight is 4 hours? Did I mention that he doesn't have his own seat (what was I thinking?!)? More on that in a minute.

3. The tree is up and decorated. So are the boxes.

4. Ah, yes, the boxes. We are waiting, horror of horrors, on the IRS--of all departments. Well, WE aren't waiting, our buyers are. Meanwhile, we have still managed to hold onto the contract for the new house...for now.

5. The Munchkin's 15 month checkup was awesome. He's high on the charts, his walking looks good, his language skills are waaaay above the norm.

6. And a fun little story:
The Munch has a book with text that reads, "Oh no! Lost your mittens...etc." Well, each time we read it, I exclaim the "Oh no" part in a very Julia Child-esque voice. He thinks it's hysterical, so--naturally--I repeat it a hundred times and he laughs with his wonderful full belly chuckle that I love. Last night we were in the car headed back from the airport when I hear, "Oh doh!" from the backseat--about a hundred times. Only 5 minutes from home did I realize he was imitating my Julia Child impression. Ha!

Back to #2 for a second:
If you have any no-fail, must-have toys or activities to suggest for our flight, please do so. Already on the list are my iPhone (equipped with "Sesame Street"), stacking cups, a couple of new board books, baby cell phone, snacks.

15 Months

Height: 31.5 (75%ile
Weight: 25 lbs, 12 oz (60%ile)
HC: 19" (75%ile)

Dear Munchkin,

It's been three months since my last letter to you. I'm not gonna lie--it hasn't been an easy three months, though in addition to the struggles of toddlerhood, my life has been tinged with stress and sadness completely unrelated to you. But the toddlerhood part is no picnic. I see your giant personality emerging, and though it's fantastically awesome, I start to wonder just how much influence your old mom will be able to have in shaping it. Surely the stubbornness, temper tantrums, lashing-out-by-throwing/hitting-things/people is a product of "nature," not "nurture," right?

But, oh, when the nasty temper and tantrums subside...how wonderful it is to watch you learn. Listening to you expand your vocabulary is inspiring. Watching you watch me and try to do as I'm doing (wrinkle my nose like a bunny, pucker my lips like a fish) is marvelous and hilarious.


Here are some highlights of the last three months:

- Your first class at Gymboree. You made it pretty clear that the "organized activities" were a waste of your time (minus the bubbles and parachute parts), but boy did you LOVE the Gym itself. My brave little boy explored every inch of The Padded Room, including the trampoline.

- Learning to walk!!!

- Adding to your Word List: book, again, out, down, in, cup, kitty, brush, yeah. (Which you pronounce as "hhhyyyeah," because you're doing it in the whiny sheep voice you use after we ask, "Did you get hurt?")

- Displaying a touch of Mama's OCD with your toys: Legos in the red wagon, puzzle blocks in the green wagon, cars in the dump truck, balls in the toy box, etc. (Atta boy.)

- Favoring your right hand--for throwing things.

- Stacking puzzle blocks 10 high without knocking them over.

- Figuring out how to use the shape-sorter.

- Riding in the Car Cart at the grocery store for the first time. So exciting!

- Taking a walk (where YOU actually WALKED) to the mailbox.

- Pointing out the fish ornament on the Christmas tree.

- Trying to fill your cup with the water on the front of the fridge.

- Getting on and off your ride-on toys without help.

- Walking your train toy all over the upstairs.

- Scaring yourself when you made a sound on the kazoo.

- Singing the "Bye Bye Toys" song with me, and using the correct interval for the "bye bye" part (minor 3rd, or sol-mi, for the music geeks out there). And doing it again in a higher key! (Squee!)

- Playing with Oliver and his "babies."

- Trying to hug all the boys at music class.

- Charming the pants off all the ladies at the grocery store time after time after time.

- Being such a big boy while getting your hair cut. (TWICE in the last three months, people. The kid's hair grows like weeds. Though I shouldn't be surprised. I did, after all, have to trim his mullet when he was 5 days old.)

- Chasing the cats at Grandma's house, and trying so hard to hug Melanie (the 17 year old cat) by putting your head down on her body.


Love,
Mom

Soup's On!

In honor of Kris' memorial service tomorrow, tonight's dinner was "Greek Something or Other Soup," which turned out to be one food she would actually EAT. :o) It was passed along to me by my mom, and to her by my Aunt Barbara. It makes a lovely red and green colored soup, perfect for Christmas. Enjoy! (Ooh, and don't skip the feta. It's my favorite part.)


In large pot, saute lightly in olive oil:
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped

Add:
4-6 cu. chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cu. arborio rice
6 cu. baby leaf spinach
1 can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
Fresh thyme to taste

Heat soup on medium heat for 20-30 minutes to cook rice and veggies.
Serve with crumbled feta on top.

Fun Holiday Game!

It's called, "Guess the Word or Phrase Based on the Toddler's Pronunciation!"

Crack crack =
Bup =
Gyer guck =
Uck =
Bomb =
Ish =
Ah-ee =
Ahtch =
Dee dee =

Have fun playing! (Some of you will have more advantages than others. Let's make sure we play nicely.)