Woah.

Resistance

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Sky Full of Bacon Short: Making Illegal Cheese from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

this is part of a raw milk cheese article run by Chicago public radio/WBEZ/Worldview on 2/22/2010

Sky Full of Bacon Short: Making Illegal Cheese from Michael Gebert on Vimeo.

'Find Me A Dodo' And Other Absurd Requests - The Picture Show Blog : NPR

Ian + Flour = Fun

030, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Chatterbox

Noa has said his first words this week. Dada came out of his mouth first but it was followed the next day by Mama. Good boy. And he has more teeth sprouting!! He now has three teeth on the top! I had said to Aaron that he was acting like he was teething - and so I checked to see if he was getting the next two on the bottom. Didn't even occur to me to look on the top, then he had his mouth wide open giving a hardy wail and I see this extra tooth staring at me!!

I can't believe how fast it all happens...

Thus starts a new year and a new decade of our lives...

Ian started preschool yesterday at Independence park and I think he loved it. It's a program through the Chicago Park District. He goes everyday for two and a half hours - they do an hour and a half of learning activities and one hour in the gym playing. Aaron said Ian's face lit up when he saw all the kids. I think the program was a great find by Aaron and probably just what Ian needs. It must be a little stressful though because he had several accidents yesterday and that hasn't happened in weeks. A bit of a frustrating day for Aaron as Noa is sick and cranky too.

Noa went to the doc yesterday and has another ear infection, other ear this time. Poor little guy, two ear infections and one stomach bug in just three weeks. Both boys go in Friday for H1N1 boosters, then they want to see Noa again for follow up in a couple of weeks. We are all trying to settle in for a nice, uneventful winter. Actually, that's my New Year's wish... an uneventful year. No new babies, no moving, no new job, etc, etc. It's been a tumultuous decade for me - all of this going to school, getting married, having babies, moving multiple times, starting a new job, blah, blah, blah... Nice and uneventful - that's my hope!

My grey hairs seem to be multiplying lately and I am actually a little glad to see them. I see them as sign of a little wisdom and the hope of less of the chaos and drama of youth. (Either that or it's an outward sign that my kids are driving me nuts!!)

oops

oops, I just noticed the snowman made two blogs... oh well. he was a good snowman, he deserved it. live on little snowman!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Ian's first snowman! The snowman didn't survive the rain we had on Christmas but he had a good run. Ian would check on him every morning. I'm sure there will be grander snowmen to come. Maybe next time he will even help me build it :-)


Christmas morning. Ian loved leaving cookies and eggnog for Santa and even insisted on a carrot for the reindeer. He is still young enough that he was actually the last awake that morning and it was so great to watch him discover the signs of Santa. First it was the cookie are gone, then that the stockings were full, and then he squealed in delight at the new white presents with Santas on them he found under the tree.


Noa loved unwrapping presents but was more interested in eating the paper than with what was inside. Both boys had a wonderful Christmas. Gifts were generous and truly loved (thanks to all!!). It was great to see everyone over the holidays but it is nice to be home.


Last night the boys got their annual bath. I love seeing Noa sitting up and splashing about with Ian. I have high hopes that they will become friends as well as brothers this year. After the bath, we packed the gang up and went to my co-workers house. They live nearby and have kids a few years older. It was a great time. There were lots of people our age with small children who live in the neighborhood. I think this is the first time that Aaron and I have met a really nice group of our peers since we have been in Chicago. Nice to talk to adults!! Ian had a great time too, running amok with all of the kids and Noa was just a doll, flirting with all of the ladies. We made it all the way to 9pm when I thought that we had kept the boys up long enough and we were pushing our luck.

Glad to be alive and healthy for another year! Best wishes for all!

List made, checked twice... Santa is ready!

We're having a lot of fun around the house these days. Ian can't wait for Christmas. I am choosing to think it is his anticipation that drives his, "Stop singing that!" comments. You know, that he is so excited about Christmas that he just can't stand to hear his Mom singing Christmas songs around the house!



Noa is blissfully unaware of the activities around him - he's my cool cucumber. After all, all he wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth, and he got that! Both top teeth have now broken the skin and are working their way down. It's so strange to see my little guy sitting up with teeth. I swear he is growing up much faster than Ian did. He is really interested in food and will grab plates and spoons if you aren't watching carefully.

Two of these pics are from our trip to Christmas at Brookfield Zoo. That was really a great night and is sure to be a part of our Christmas tradition for years to come. People right behind us in line to see Santa had been coming for 20 years. The kids were all grown up and they sat on Santa's lap for a picture. I love it!

I am really looking forward to a short week at the office. My most generous boss has even said I could leave at 4 pm on Christmas eve (@#%&! scrooge!). My supervisor has let me know on the low down that the big boss won't actually be there so I shouldn't worry about it too much.

Ian is looking forward to visiting the Grandma's because, as he told me last night, there are kids to play with there. Ahhh... I feel bad that he is lonely. Aaron and I are aware of his need for interaction with other kids and we have enrolled him in the Chicago Park District preschool program. So starting the beginning of the new year he will be going to Independence Park every day from 12:30-3:30 for preschool. It's a three or four month program and very affordable. We are thinking it will be really good for him and Dad. At least it is the hope that this will provide him with stimulation, companionship and help stave off cabin fever. Lets all keep our fingers crossed because he is definitely squirrelly right now! It is enough to try a saints patience and Aaron and I are not in line for sainthood! Yesterday I busted him running around in circles spitting juice. I was in the process of feeding Noa and talking on the phone to Mary (who thought this was all very funny) and I hear this spitting noise. I couldn't believe he was spitting juice on the floor while running in circles. Do you think he was trying to get my attention??

Well it is time to stop procrastinating, get dressed and start this Monday. If I don't start the week, it won't come to an end.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Bliss

Noa has gotten one of his front teeth through the skin and the other is soon to follow. I can see the edge of it right below the skin. That and the anti-biotics have made our home a much quieter place to be. We had a great weekend! Saturday evening we packed the boys in the car and headed to the zoo. Brookfield Zoo has a Christmas with the animals and they put lights in all the trees and line all the lanes with decorated and lite Christmas trees. It was a great time AND we got to visit Santa Claus! Ian was so giddy he did a little happy dance, let out a squeal and ran up to Santa. That was worth the half hour or more spent in line.

On Sunday we made cookies and decorated them. Ian kept eating all the candies that were meant for decorations. He had no interest in trying a cookie or in the frosting - just wanted those candies. We had a great time - sugar buzz and all. Christmas is soooo much better when you see it through the eyes of a three year old!!

Watching Bugs Bunny

IMG_3068, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Stek.

Uncle Josh has a fan club in my house.

Nothing in particular...just another blog post.

Hi All! We had a great time at Thanksgiving, it was great to see the fam. Unfortunately all of us came down with Noa's cold starting about Friday for me and Ian followed soon after. Aaron was the only one that didn't seem to get hit too hard. I am taking today off because I just can't seem to shake it and Noa is headed to see Dr. Peter today for the same reason. Noa now rolls over both ways and will sit up by himself for brief moments. He has his left top tooth just under the skin so you can imagine with colds and teething there isn't a whole lot of sleeping going on in our house. In spite of all the chaos, and maybe because of all the chaos, I am happy. After all, if things weren't nutty, it's probably because I wasn't living.



Ian has been perusing the catalogs and deciding what he will be asking Santa for. We are planning on getting a tree this Saturday. That and the snow we are getting today will be sure to put us all in the holiday spirit. I'll have to see if I can save my cookie cutters from the playdough bin...

... and the little one said "Roll over, roll over"

Aaron tells me that Noa rolled over last week but I didn't get to see it. And apparently, now that he proved to himself that he could do it, he isn't interested in trying again. We are having fun thinking about the holidays and the first time we will spend Christmas in our home, with our children. Ian is excited about snow and the holidays.

We are going to make the plunge and go to the big T-Day parade this year. I don't know how crazy it is so I will have to get back to you. I hear it is about the equivalent of New York's Macy's Parade. But since I work one block from the parade I thought it would be pretty easy since we have access to a potty and hot chocolate. Also the L stop is right in front of my work, so really, it will take little effort to get there and probably much worth it for the expression on Ian's face.

Noa's awake so I am going to play with him while I have him all to myself.

All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!

Noa is singing this tune today. Apparently it isn't enough to have his two bottom teeth - he's going for a full set by Christmas. He's teething again and pretty miserable. It just dawned on me today what is going on, but the last couple of nights he has been waking and refusing the bottle. At first I thought he was just excited about eating solid foods (which he is) but he had a low fever today and was cranky and arching the back and then it clicked. He isn't refusing the bottle because he wants solids, he refusing because it hurts and sure enough when I tried rubbing his top gum to investigate, he got real pissed and I thought I could feel a ridge there. Forgive me if the teething thing is taking me a bit by surprise but even the doc was a little startled to see them at the last visit.

Happy Halloween!

Ian was the most adorable little snowman for Halloween (thanks Mary!). The weather was great, the candy was abundant and the enthusiasm was contagious! A wonderful night...

And yes, I still fit in the wedding dress... barely. Noa only made it for a short turn around the block. He didn't even get his costume on as the goal of the walk for him was to fall asleep. He did this in no time and Ian and I did most of the trick or treating and Aaron manned the candy dish at the home front. Lots of fun!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Jon Stewart...

I love it when Jon digs up old footage to show how pundits contradict themselves. Especially when he's gunnin' for Fox News.



The scary thing is that Fox News has the highest ratings of any TV news program.

SAHD

So that is the unfortunate acronym for my current occupation. It sounds depressing but it is anything but! I am diggin' staying home with the kids. Granted it is exhausting and testing but it is worth every moment. The biggest challenge so far is getting out of the house. It is easy to cloister ourselves and never leave the safe zone but we get a little stir crazy. It helps now that Ian is comfortable using other bathrooms and will stay dry all day.

We have been going on adventures this week. Last Thursday we went to the Modern Wing of the Art Institute to visit the Ryan Education Center. This turned out to be just a big romper room. They had Caldecott honored artwork on the wall, floor puzzles depicting major works of art, a big bookshelf, and lots of blocks. They had a monitor running a program that morphed from one painted face to another and half a dozen computers. The consoles were nice with flat screen monitors, and a roller ball and a big round button built into the table acting for the mouse (no keyboard). They had a mask making game and a 'match the right bust to the right classical painting' game. These were definitely geared towards older kids.

After we had our fill there we went out to millennium park and walked the gardens and the sculpture park. We went over the Nichols Bridgeway that connected the gardens to the sculpture terrace on the roof of the Modern Wing. Ian thought it was grand! It crosses over Monroe with great views of the lake and downtown. When I figure out how to download photos from my phone I'll post the pics.
For Ian's birthday we went to the Shedd Aquarium. Ian's favorites were the small sharks and the turtles (he knows the difference between turtles and tortoises and will tell you about it). After we had our fill of aquafriends we took a walk along the lake and through Grant Park down to E's office where we had hot cocoa and then went out for pizza!

p.s. One of the frustrating things is Ian's refusal to pull up his pants after he uses the bathroom. He knows how but he'll shuffle about until he falls or his pants come off rather than appease me. Where does this stubbornness come from?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IAN!!

My little boy is growing up. Last night we took a walk together after dinner. It was a warm fall evening and the star (we do live in Chicago, you can't see many) was out. Ian and I walked around and looked at all the halloween decorations and picked fall leaves. It felt really special to be out with my birthday boy at night. He was just as excited to be outside in the dark too. It's nice that he really participates in social interaction now. What a great kid I have (two!) and how grateful I am to be a Mom.

Teeth!

As I was writing that post yesterday, about how Noa was going to have a tooth in a week or two, he probably already had it in. Yesterday Aaron informed me that his right tooth had busted through the gums and that the left was going to be right behind it. I remember, with Ian, that this first year just seemed to go by so slow. We were so focused on his every breath. Now with Noa, we are so busy, that I can be focused on life and look up and he has teeth! The time goes so fast. My Mom and Dad are coming to visit today, Ian will be 3 on Tuesday and his party is next weekend. There is always so much to do that time just whizzes by. Next thing you know it will be Christmas and Noa will be sitting up, rolling over, and eating! I have to remind myself to stop and enjoy it while it lasts...

Busy, But Happy

Life is good for us in Chicago. My job is going much better. Ian's journey on the potty train is almost over. The budget is actually working (there was definitely a fear that we would not be able to make ends meet with two chillins'). So we are penniless but happy. And not so penniless either. We are gradually paying off the credit cards, so things are good. Now if only the car would last a year more... (at least) and Noa is helping with that as he absolutely hates riding in the car or in a carseat - hard to tell. We are grateful that we live in a city that has such good public transportation. If we lived in GR, this would be hell. Ian is really excited about his upcoming birthday. I'm not so excited about mine... 41... why does time have to pass for me to grow wiser and more content? I guess the good news is that I am a little bit more wise than last year and just a wee bit more content.

Noa's first little point of a tooth receded as his gums swelled up and teeth started moving some more. So where I think the speck of a tooth first appeared on the left side, his first tooth will be on the right. He is definitely teething now and I can see the whole ridge of the right tooth just below the surface. I think it'll be out in the air in a week or two. The boys go to the doctor on the 21st - Ian for his 3 year, Noa for his 4 month. Ian will get a H1N1 shot as well as a seasonal flu shot and I will get a H1N1 for Noa. We have kept up a minimal bit of nursing just so I can (hopefully) pass antibodies to him.