The Not-School Day at the park

 Clippard Park's sprinkler park is open for a few more weeks. This is where we meet weekly to celebrate our not school days in the fall, until the weather gets too cold. So we brought skates, paddles and balls, swim suits and lunch for a day with friends in the sun.

And of course the water sprinklers were off until we were getting ready to leave. They they sprang into action just in time for everyone to get soaked and head to the car to sit on my leather seats. YAY!

Then it was time to drop Brenda off with her friend Amy for a teen dinner and sleepover.

Back home our Rainbow Resource books came in. Everyone was very excited about this. Except Brenda who didn't choose any books this year.

And finally to the store for some hair dye...

Science... right?? Totally Science!

Back to school?

I remember being one of these moms once. I found these on my facebook this morning. I am glad that I don't feel like this anymore. I hope that some day they don't either. When you feel this way, it is a good thing there are schools to take the children away from home part of the time. I suppose.

 

Finally a Teen

The girl is two or three inches taller than me already! Her foot size is bigger. AND I HAVE BIG FEET! She just keeps biggerin and biggerin and biggerin! Happy 13th Brenda. A few weeks early, but we will be off to UGO when the actual day hits. Cannot wait to see what wonderfulness this year brings to you! Love ya!

New Addition to the Knitting Family

She assured me she was ready to learn. And there she goes. 6 years old, knitting like an old granny. lol.

A Bonding Moment, right??

Gaige turned 18 last month. Note the tears dripping down my face as I cannot handle the stress of my baby growing up. Anywho, for his 18th, Bret and I said we would buy him a used car and purchase a couple months of insurance while he gets himself a job and begins getting his ducks in their neat little rows.

Gaige says to me, Let's go on a road trip to Chicago for a weekend before school starts and see some sights. (that is me paraphrasing.) So how could I resist THAT? I couldn't. On to the bad news. The car we are purchasing from our really fabulous mechanic (how many people can say they have one of those right?) isnt really to pick up yet. And so I have to drive. Not so bad on long roads, not so good on Chicago streets when I don't really know where I am going, and there are these stupid bikers EVERYWHERE!!! Ok I digress. We were unhappy about the car situation. He wanted to drive. I wanted to finish knitting my socks while he drove. We went anyway.

 

I will put a list together of some must eats for me while I was there in case you should happen to find yourself in that neck of the woods (which are not woods at all unless you consider call the huge buildings redwoods, and you call all the cement sidewalks, streets, and yards grass.) But more about that later. Do you see it?????? Huh? Do you??? Do you??? The boy is standing next to me and..... drum roll please.... smiling!!!!!!!

 Here it is again! The boy is smiling!!!! A real smile!!!!
First photo... we are at Willis Tower. Went there when I lived out there. I totally WOULD NOT step out onto the skydeck. Gaige didn't want to either. It was fun to be there. The second photo is us on the Seadog Architecture Tour. That was really nice! I hear the best time to take this tour is at about 7 or 8pm as the sun is setting. I bet it is because the sights and info were really great! Our boat tour guide guy was cool! Loved it.

So I took him to some old stores and food joints that I  used to frequent when I was a resident. Years ago. We couldn't do EVERYTHING but I tried within our time budget. The Chicago Alley, although a little more mainstream than I remember (but maybe punk is getting more mainstream anyway) has a tatoo shop in it! Gaige insisted that we get tatoos. So we did. LOL. We both got the same tatoo, me on my shoulder, he on his arm. He tatooed first. When I was being tatooed he said, "Dad's gonna be really mad. I didn't want to say it before you started so that you wouldn't back out. But his is really goinna be mad." lol. I guess we cannot spend our lives worrying about how mad we are going to make other people.

A little about the bull totem...

Bull: This powerful totem reflects a surging energy force, packed full of heat, similar to sunlight. Bull will walk the journey with us into our past lives and assist us in recovering great insight. However, Bull warns us to use our inner strength without bullying others. Likewise, he teaches us to be assertive without becoming stubborn. In its most raw state, untamed Bull energy literally manifests itself as uncontrollable anger or passion. Guard against this tendency with great care!
More about other animal totems here...

http://www.cathyginter.com/TOTEM.html

or google it and you will come up with a bunch more.

Other places to go...

The Taco And Burrito House (totally didn't make it there but will be going back and this place will be first on my stop!)

Chicago pan pizza, Unos, Gino's East, Giordannos. (Not the Uno's in Cincinnati. That IS NOT chicago style pizza. Go and see!)

Sarki's (The most fab omelets ever! Go get a disaster sausage. You will be sold! Been going there since I was 2 or 3 years old. Sarki is long passed away, but the food is the same great stuff!)

Navy Pier, with the boat rides, some boat shuttles as low as $2.00, circus, showings, festivities, stain glass museum, beach within walking distance, must see for visitors. Then walk along the lake until you get to a good distance from Navy Pier and sit on the lake for the Saturday night fireworks that begin at 10:15 every Saturday during the summer.

We would have loved to seen a cubs game, but wouldn't luck just have it, they were in CINCINNATI while we were in Chicago. And now that we are back in Cincinnati, they are back in Chicago. lol. Anywho what is Chicago without the sports??

Being from Chicago and the outlying areas, Cincinnati Sports baffle me. They have a historic team like the Reds, and they don't sell out. Yet even when Chicago sports are not doing so well (my husband would laugh and the idea that there is a time in the last 10-15 years when they DID do well) Chicago rallys around their teams! Preseason and the Bears game was sold out! PRESEASON, guys!



 

See that Go Bears sign? THAT IS A HUGE BUILDING WITH ITS WINDOWS LIGHTED TO SAY GO BEARS!!! How cool is that? A city lit up for their people.

 

Totally the boy wants to go back next summer with me. ONLY he drives and I knit! This makes me so happy.

 

 

Jr. Roller Derby???

Every year when school starts up again, we start discussing what activities we want to do. It used to be soccer, Girl Scouts, dance, swim team. And that is a lot. Especially with this many kids. So one year I was late signing my kids up for soccer and found out they were full and not taking more kids. When soccer season started and we weren't running around to 4 practices and 1 or 2 games a week it felt real nice! So I decided never again. Our rule is Girl Scouts and ONE other activity at a time. NO OVERLAPPING. Usually it was dance during the school year and swim team in the spring and summer. Last year Brenda broke away to do tennis. This year Brenda and Bret have chosen Jr. Roller Derby as their activity! (Which I am so jealous of, btw... :-) Bret has already picked her RollerGirl name... Hullabaloo. lol. Marley being a year too young will choose dance. This is her first year doing jazz so I know she will be excited. Look for us to be around. 

 

Back to Not School Time

As I sit here, I can hear the hum of kids heading to school on their first day. We live across the street from the local high school and diagnal from the elementary. So my street is a path of many back to the old school days.

I read an article years ago about how so many adults tend to make big purchases in the fall. Every year as children, through teens, and into their twentys, autumn was the time for change. Getting back to school, purchasing new books, school supplies, clothes, shoes, etc. Then they become adults and subconsciously make big purchases during back to school time without even noticing it.

Although our family is not going "back to school," fall IS by far the best time for lots of that shopping. Three years ago, Walmart had 70 sheet notebooks on sale for $.10. This year it is up to $.17. Still a great deal and best time to totally stock up on those things. My girls color with them in the car to keep themselves busy, we write in them as journals, schedules, and so much more. Of course that is just one of the MANY MANY deals you will find during this time. We purchase clothes just like the rest of  'em. We stock up on supplies. We buy the deals.

This year one of the stores had a deal on oil pastels. Crayola brand. All the girls (with emphasis on Marley) have been pastelling the heck out of my paper every since.

I wonder if I am creating the same pattern for my kids of fall spending that they might take on to their adulthood. We don't head back to school. But we know the other kids are. We can feel it in the air. Suddenly no one can play, they are all shopping with their moms, they are all getting to sleep early to prepare for the early mornings ahead.

My girls... they sleep in today.

Camp Time Again

Every Year Brenda and Bret head out to Girl Scout camp for a week. This is their third year going away to summer camp. This year Brenda went to horse camp, against my better judgement because I thought it would be less than her expectations. Bret went away to a camp called Peddles and Paddles. Brend learned how to groom and ride a horse, which she assured me was better than my expectations. Bret took a one day canoe ride and rode her bike to a campout 13 miles each way. They make a ton of friends, they do all kinds of things they know I would not approve of, and they come back giddy with excitement. Of course:-)

This year Marley was finally old enough to do a camp. She and I attended Me and My Gal camp which is a two day, one night camp for girls and their mom, grandma, aunt, etc. Mostly it is moms, and over half are leaders. We canoed, swam in the lake and the pool, played a ton of girl scout games, learned some songs, ate smores, made vases, sit-upons, and pudding art with our tongues. We made new friends and had a great time together.

Here are some photos Marley and I took from the experience. She had the camera most of the time. This was one of Bret's favorite camps. I highly recommend this kind of a camp for all girls and their Gals. It is the ultimate camp experience for a little un who doesn't want to leave home alone, yet still wants to camp. It is time together without the other kids for just a small time. For us to make our own special memories.