Great Wolf Lodge

What better mid-winter getaway than a trip to a waterpark with friends?!   Jason, Will and I packed up and drove to Kansas City for a fun filled weekend, including meeting this new baby girl!

We stayed two of the nights at the Legends at the Great Wolf Lodge.  If you want to know how to get two little boys to sleep soundly, the answer is take them to a waterpark!   I didn't take any pictures while we were inside the waterpark, but we were all worn out from the climbing and sliding.

Just as we always hoped (before we had kids), our boys played like the best of friends.  They had a slumber party in their Kids Kamp on Saturday night and at home on Sunday night.

Super Bowl Sunday with three kids was relatively tame - starting with Cabela's for the boys and a lovely brunch with a friend for me.  That evening we watched the game and filled up on tasty treats before all heading to bed at a mostly respectable hour.  (FYI, the Babylandia commercial was one of my personal favorites!)  On Monday we packed up and headed home. Will was an outstanding traveler for our roadtrip.  He was very low key with a minimal amount of whining.  On Friday he spent most of the drive working on a coloring book, and on Monday he napped (me too!) and played with his Cars.  

 

Inauguration Day

This inauguration day isn't as exciting for us at the last one was when we were living in Washington DC!  I was so excited to attend the swearing in along with the masses on the Mall!  I stood between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.  I seem to recall that I packed everything I needed into my ski coat so I didn't have to bring a bag or purse.

Jason wasn't able to join me, since we had just returned from our warm Los Cabos Babymoon, and his co-workers in Wisconsin didn't have the day off like mine in DC did!  Instead, I took the "little guy" who was still baking in my belly!  Here was my 22 week belly shot before I left the house that morning.

I was very happy to have that internal heater on such a freezing cold day.  I was also happy with the clean and readily available portable toilets set up on in front of the White House!

After the swearing in ceremony, it was a very long, slow process to exit the Mall and the immediate area.  My legs hurt the rest of the day due to the hour of shuffling that was required.  I stopped for lunch to warm up at one of my favorite restaurants, and then took the Metro home to thaw out and watch the parade on TV with Jason.  To witness it live was likely a once in a lifetime experience and definitely ranks in my top 5 living in DC experiences.

Winter Days

We're officially in the midst of winter, and although we haven't had any measurable snow, we do have cold and sometimes windy days.  We've also had ice on our deck several days.   Yesterday it wasn't too windy and the sun was out, so we loaded up the wagon with a few sand toys (our sand box is "closed" for the season since the sand is frozen) and walked down to the school yard.  Will was in such serious sand box withdrawal that he didn't even look at the slides or swings while we were there!  We spent an hour building mountains before the wind picked up and we needed to head home.   As we were walking home, Jason was just getting home from the funeral.  He "raced" us the last block home and amazingly enough Mommy running with the wagon was faster than Daddy's car!   

Wait Wait. . . Don't Tell Me!

One of our favorite NPR programs is "Wait Wait. . . Don't Tell Me!   It is recorded in front of a live audience each Thursday night in downtown Chicago.  There are a lot of NPR nerds in this city, so it's hard to get tickets!  The panelists were Mo Rocco, Roxanne Roberts and Peter Grosz.  The "Not My Job" guest was Melinda Gates! 

Sadly Jason's parents weren't able to join us due to the passing of Ed's father.   We will get tickets another time so they get a chance to enjoy the show too.

While we were enjoying the show, Will was hanging out at Uncle Ryan's house where (as he told us MANY times) he had a "really fun time."  Apparently in addition to hot dogs, mac 'n cheese, and yogurt for dinner, they decided to have mixed nuts for a snack.  Gotta love the giant hammer as a cracking tool!

Quiet New Year

We did lots of napping on our time off from work and school these past few days.   We also worked in a trip to the children's museum and one to the pool.   Other than that, we ran errands and we played planes, trains, and automobiles!  Our New Year's Eve involved errands; dinner out; and then a rousing game of Memory which Jason barely won.  It was almost a three-way tie! 

Still no snow this fall or winter, so I don't know what's in store for January and February.  

And we've already spent most of our holiday gift cards - including one to a local restaurant chain that involved a bathroom accident, but not the kind that you'd expect of a preschooler.  In a terrible case of good mothering gone bad, I wiped down the soiled toilet seat in the ladies room (seriously people, clean up your mess!) with a disinfecting wipe but didn't wipe the resulting "wetness" off the lid.  When Will sat down, he bent forward to brace himself and slid off a slick seat head first onto the bathroom tile floor.  He didn't bleed or get a bump, but I couldn't let go of him the rest of the night.    Yesterday when we were at the pool, I held onto him the entire time he was sitting on the wet seat that he created.  When I wiped the pool water off the seat when he was done, he looked at me happily and said, "That seat wasn't slippery!  I didn't fall off!"  Uh, no buddy.  Mommy's not going to let that happen again!  

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  We moved up the holiday for our purposes to accomodate travel schedules, so today is our lounge around the house (Shields')/fly home (my parents)/detox with yoga (my brother) day.  

 

Our Christmas was three full days of fun!  On Saturday we ate yummy cookies that my mom brought from a woman in my hometown called the Cake Lady.  I enjoyed my favorite frosted sugar cookies and Will ate on this sugary square.  We think we identified it as a rice krispy treat covered in almond bark

Then Will opened a few of his presents. It ended up being a Mr. Potato Head themed day.  I got him the Toy Story 3 Potato Head set, and Ryan got him a Potato Head themed Playdoh set and LOTS of extra Playdoh.  Here, Will, Uncle Ryan and Grandpa Roger are busy making their creations.  For me the best part of Saturday was date night at the movies!  Jason and I found a cool movie theater with big recliner seats and food and drink service and went to see "This Is 40."

On Sunday we started the day with a trip to the gym to go swimming.   Then we all packed into one vehicle for a trip to the city.  First up was a stop at Macy's to (use the bathroom and) see the tree in the Walnut Room.  Beautiful! 

Then we headed down the street to Daley Plaza to Christkindlmarket Chicago.  It was tolerable until the wind came up.  By then we had indulged in enough brats, gluwein, candied pecans and cookies that we just packed up and headed home.  It was my parents' first time in the city for the holidays!

Back at home we unwrapped all of the presents under the tree before bedtime.  Will was very excited!  He was thrilled that his Daddy picked out Woody from Toy Story.  He was so excited to introduce Woody to his Buzz Lightyear that he couldn't sit still for a picture.  I was thrilled that Jason got me the Starbucks Verismo espresso machine I was coveting! 

Of course Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Ryan spoiled Will with lots of presents.  He got Cars-themed pajamas; Toy Story undies; and this cool construction apron!  Little boy heaven!

 

On Christmas Eve we played with our new toys (cappuccino anyone?!) and cooked a feast that included prime rib, roasted veggies, and chocolate cheesecake before retiring to the basement to watch A Christmas Story.   A very filling and satisfying Christmas!

We still have one last present under the tree that Will hasn't spotted, so we'll see how long that lasts.   No Santa and no Elf on the Shelf for us this year.  We dug out the Elf the day we put up the tree, but he was scared of it.  So it just hung in the tree all season as an ornament; we never read the book.  We also didn't talk about Santa coming, although he did point out Santa to us in pictures and on baked goods.   He didn't ask about or expect anything from Santa, so Mommy and Daddy got credit for the presents.  We'll see whether Elf and Santa come into play next year or not. 

Christmas Baking

Ryan and I did our traditional holiday baking on Saturday following our Grandma Leona's recipes for peppernuts and popcorn balls.  I was very concerned about the pink shade of the caramel syrup while it was cooking, but it turned out nicely.  One year we made green ones instead of pink ones, but it just didn't feel right. . . . I'm actually getting a good feel finally about those popcorn balls.  I barely have to watch the candy thermometer now that we've made them a half dozen times.  It gets a little less frantic each year!

Earlier in the day Will and I tried out a recipe that a friend posted on Facebook for Nutella cookies.   We're definitely going to make those again.  Next time I'll look for the Special Dark Cocoa!

We also had an early Christmas with Jason's parents.   Will LOVED that Grandma Hilary transformed a large cardboard box (that Jason was trying to throw away!) into a racecar - complete with door, steering wheel, "trunk," and vanity plates.  I'll have to get a picture.  It's amazing what scissors, crayons, and imagination can make!  He also made all of his guests play soccer with him.  I think Will's soccer is why I lost 2 pounds last week!  It certainly wasn't because of the sweets!

Preschool Program

Will's preschool class did their holiday program on Friday afternoon.  I sent Will to school wearing last year's Christmas photo sweater, and that may have been his downfall since he was overheated.   They sang the three songs we knew they were practicing (Five Little Snowmen, Itsy-Bitsy Snowflake, and Jingle Bells) and then a "surprise" song (We Wish You a Merry Christmas - sadly, they changed the words to We Wish You a Happy Holiday). 

 

When we got there, Will was very excited to see us.   He was flush and overheated - whether it was from running around in a sweater or because he just woke up, we weren't sure.  He sang the first song like he was supposed to and then stood and rubbed his eyes throughout the second song.   During the third and fourth songs I went and sat by him but he wouldn't sing.   Afterwards he got a little cookie and was fine again.  We learned they had skipped after nap snack time in favor of the cookies after the program, and that he hadn't eaten much of his lunch since he didn't like it.  After we fed him and took his sweater off moods improved.

Will likes self-portraits with my iphone since we can see the picture we're taking.   Here he is checking himself out (and blocking out Daddy and Mommy).   We went out for coffee and chocolate milk at Starbucks and then out for an early dinner at a new restaurant.   Will's kid's meal came with macaroni and cheese, fruit cup, milk cup and a tuxedo-chocolate-covered strawberry.  He LOVED it.

Holiday Magic

Yesterday Will and I went to Holiday Magic at the Brookfield Zoo.  This is usually an event that I call Brrrr at the Zoo, but it was 60 degrees yesterday! 

Everything turned out at planned:  Will fell asleep on the car ride there for his afternoon nap; we got to see our favorite animals before dark (giraffes - including a new baby!, polar bears, dolphins, and gorillas) then enjoyed the beautiful lights before it got too late.  We also loved the model train exhibit.

Amazingly, we were home, showered and in bed by 8:30!  I am really thrilled with how it all worked out. 

The only part of our day that wasn't planned was that Will opened up his car door as we were driving through Chicago. . . .It was dark (around 6 p.m.) and the overhead lights suddenly turned on.  I couldn't tell that at first what it was, but the dashboard indicator showed it was his door.  I pulled over into a random driveway to get out and reclose his door.  My doors automatically lock, but I learned they also unlock when you pull on the door handle!   I guess this is why people have child safety locks on their back doors?   I had no idea he could reach the handle when he was buckled in his car seat.  I've now learned the disadvantage of the compact car.  Now I need to pull out the owner's manual and figure out how to "lock" the back doors!