My City My Chicago New York?

I took this photo while on a 7 a.m. walk through Central Park--one of my favorite green spaces in the world.

What will Sam say next?

I can never be quite sure what this little guy is going to come up with! Today, he asked me to read him the story of Snow White. As we all know, in the story, the queen turns herself into an old "hag" to fool Snow white into eating a poisoned apple. Of course, Sam asked what a hag is and I told him: "a hag is an old, ugly woman."

Fast forward several hours to the family outing to Target. As we were checking out, Sam quitely pulled me aside and asked, "so Mom, is she a hag?" pointing toward the cashier.

Words failed me as I shuffled him out of line--the cashier looked EXACTLY like the hag illustration in the disney book we were reading!

Kid Quotes

I picked up Sam from school today and he had a little pout on his face.

"Sam," I asked, "did you have a good day at school?"

"No," he answered sadly, "I didn't get to show my diarrhea to my class and to my teacher."

"May I see your diarrhea?" I ask (taking a bit of a risk, but figuring there has GOT to be a logical explanation for this.)

"Sure," he says, brightening up a bit while proceeding to pull out a calendar book Rob had given him that morning.

"Oh."
"Sam? Tomorrow, try asking your teacher if you can show your DIARY to the class."



Sam threatening Snow White and two dwarves with Bakugan doom.

Mexican Day of the Dead

I LOVE the Mexican celebration of Day of the Dead (November 2nd). Many people think it's morbid and don't understand the calaveras (sugar skulls) used to represent the deceased. Actually, el Dia de los Muertos and the altars that commemorate loved ones who have passed away are a true celebration of peoples' lives.

Every year, I take the kids to see the Day of the Dead exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago. We enjoy the colorful artwork and the altars and then we head on over to one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants--Nuevo Leon. But before we leave the museum, I always let the kids pick out a calavera. These colorful skulls are used to decorate the altars throughout the exhibit. (You can learn more about el Dia de los Muertos here.)

This year, I ordered a skull making kit to make our own sugar skulls at home. At first, I was a bit intimidated by the whole process, but I quickly learned how easy it is to make a sugar skull. In fact, I let each of the boys decorate a calavera as well and I was pleased with the results...

Joey's calavera:

Sammy's Calavera (at least I think that's a sugar skull under there!)

My City My Chicago

As baseball season comes to a close and cold weather sets in, I am reminded of the BEST place in Chicago to play and watch Little League baseball...Thillens Field.

Happy Birthday Lily!

You are the apple of our eye(s)!

My City My Chicago

View through the ceiling of one of the Burnham Pavillions at Millenium Park. Celebrating 100 years of the Burnham Plan...the plan that made the lakeshore accessible to all.

You Make Me Happy

I went upstairs today to get Lily after her nap/quiet time. She greeted me with the heartiest "You make me happy!"

Just pick me up off the floor! Way too cute!