Fall Color 5k

I've been itching to get out and go for a family race since Claire was born. Of course, she was too little and born during the longest winter ever, so that couldn't happen right away. Now that we're on the verge of another long winter (snow flurries on Saturday, people!), we definitely needed to make it happen.

We signed up for a local 5k along with about 2,000 other people at the Arboretum in the suburbs. It's one of my favorite places in all of Illinois with so much for kids to explore and nature all around you. We went with friends to a concert night for kids there a couple months ago and it was just so great. Here's a little throwback to December 2012 with pudgy Benjamin at the Arboretum. He was just one month older than Claire there. You almost forget you're in the middle of a populated suburb when you're there. Benjamin loves the tree houses and children's garden and all the offerings for little ones. We don't have a membership, but plan to get one next year for Benjamin and Claire to run and play and explore.

The couple who took this photo ran with their Baby Jogger Citi Mini and kept pace with us the entire time weaving through walkers. Claire's snowsuit is a hand-me-down from Benjamin that was a gift... and it's awesome. And blue. :)

The runners with strollers were sandwiched between the runners and walkers. We were essentially behind the people who were determined to "run" and that often ran the first 1/4 mile and then walked. This is a relatively steep run (for Illinois), but the inclines felt good and made it interesting. Aside from the whining from the toddler to pick him up, it was enjoyable and over before we knew it. Not the fastest time (but we're such slow runners anyway), but considering we were dodging walkers left and right and pushing the kids in the double jogger, we were fine with our 34:00 time. It was for fun, after all. It was one of those days I could've just kept running because it felt so good with the 36-degree weather and was just so pretty. We plan to make this race a tradition for our family.

After our race, we had to get Benjamin all ready for his kid's dash! Check out the video on Instagram of Benjamin not in action. He was cranky all morning to begin with, so I expected nothing more, really. Finally Dad went in there and ran with him after all the other kids had dashed on by and then he melted in the middle of the dash. I then ran with him to the end with Claire in my arms. He wasn't the only crier, but anyway.

Much more content painting a pumpkin (for 2 minutes) than running that dash!

We are headed to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving this year and signed ourselves up for the Turkey Trot that runs us around PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates) and over the Robert Clemente Bridge. We'll be running that with "Aunt Mansa" and her boyfriend while the kiddos are back at the hotel with Gramie & Grandpa. Got to find some way to make up for the sizeable amount of Prantl's Bakery Burnt Almond Torte & Primanti Brothers I plan to eat while there!

Maryland Grandparents Visit Chicago

Benjamin has seen so much grandparent love this past month. Lucky boy! Good thing, because when he opens the family photo album I made him of all the people who love him, he always stops at the pages with both his grandmas and does a little whiney grunt like where are they? It's adorably pathetic and totally sad. Benjamin wishes his grandparents were closer, too.

But, he is quite a lucky boy to see them as frequently as he does! Benjamin's Maryland grandparents were here for a long weekend and we not only got another date night without the bambino (praise JESUS and thank you Thai restaurant for some of the best Thai we've ever had!), but Benjamin got lots of quality time pulling his grandparents wherever he wanted all weekend long. Kid heaven.

We visited Fermilab out in Batavia, IL and an awesome pumpkin patch where we pet lots of animals, ate lots of delicious fried delicacies like cider and pumpkin donuts and funnel cake, went for B's third hayride on a "kuck" which is really a tractor (he loves them) and picked pumpkins that we later carved and made pumpkin seeds from. We also suited Benjamin up in his scarecrow costume for the first (of three) times for our church's trunk'n'treat and pumpkin drop where Benjamin (and his grandpa) scored some treats and checked out some cool decorated trunks.

At Abbey Farms. This child loves petting zoos and anything he can hang from.

At Fermilab and back at home carving pumpkins. His face says it all-- he was not sticking his hand in the gooey pumpkin and happily directed us to put the contents in a bowl. This kiddo is not a fan of getting his hands covered in anything.

More photos from the Farm. They had old Radio Flyers and Benjamin enjoyed being toted around in them.

A mix of park pictures and the trunk'n'treat. More hanging from things-- these ziplines are a serious favorite.

Our adorable scarecrow, his grandparents, and our friend's daughter in that last photo. She's part of a train that her brother chose and designed.

And here are photos of the seeds we made (soy sauce/olive oil & butter/cinnamon/sugar) and the pumpkins Benjamin's grandpa and dad carved out for him! He also discovered the treats Mom pulled out for the trick-or-treaters when he woke from his nap on Halloween and promptly figured a way to get himself one of those "deets" and repeated the word for HOURS. He was sad when the trick-or-treaters knocked on the door and then promptly left. He loves people and doesn't like it when people go "bye-bye".

...and with that... Halloween is complete. Now what to do with those two rotting pumpkins on our doorstep...

Leave(s) Me Alone

Not a fan.

Fall Schmall.

Fall is here my friends. I used to adore this season. Pumpkin smells, fun traditions, hot cider, cinnamon, apple pies, apple picking, light sweaters, new TV shows... who doesn't love fall?

 Take that, pumpkin spice lattes!

I'm dreading the seasons changing this year. I couldn't wait to get out of winter last year. It seemed to last longer than normal-- perhaps because it was our first Chicago winter or because it was the season my son died. There's no surprise that I wanted it to pass immediately. I find myself already wanting to decline (unsent, but expected) evites about visiting the pumpkin patches/farms like we did last year. I can't. My son should/would/could be sitting up on a stupid pumpkin and I should be trying my damndest to convince him that "mommy" was where he should be looking for a good shot through my fancy DSLR that has sat in the closet unused since we purchased it in November. I can't decline these invites forever, but I hope that next year I'll be visiting with kid in tow. I don't have a whole lot of control over those dreams, though.

I'm wondering what to do about Halloween. I had my baby shower on Halloween last year and arrived home mid-afternoon to a bunch of children lined up at our door for candy! I gladly handed out the chocolates and rubbed my enormous belly as I met neighbors and pridefully acknowledged that we were expecting our son in December. I had assumed we'd have a little squirrel or something all dressed up this year sitting in our foyer as I handed out candy to neighborhood children. Luckily I hadn't picked out an outfit in my mind yet. What now? Do I buy the candy and leave a bowl on the porch and allow those questionably too old teenagers steal it all? Just subject my wonderful husband to the madness? Go out for an early dinner so we're not home at all? Making plans to avoid other plans/events can be really exhausting.

I already addressed my boycott for the rest of the holidays this year. How the heck will I avoid the music? THE MUSIC. I can barely go there in my mind and yet, in about one month, we'll be seeing garland and twinkling lights strewn all over the stores. I might have to close our blinds for the entire months of November-February. Our neighbors left their lights and wreaths on their house until MARCH this year. Perhaps a friendly PSA will be helpful to remind them of their negligence.

Fall TV hasn't let me down yet, but I'm definitely dropping the X-Factor from the list. We're also enjoying some college football and watching the Bears games. We've lived here 1.5 years. It's time we start paying attention to their beloved Bears. We've managed to watch the first two of the season and will have to indulge in the Packers v. Bears game tomorrow. Also, since the husband is a USAFA grad, we're going to be driving to South Bend for a Notre Dame v. Air Force game in two weeks! I can guarantee we'll be dressed in Air Force paraphernalia and be the absolute minorities in that stadium.

And since we'll be in South Bend, I may or may not be requiring that we eat at one of my favorite fast food joints from LA for both lunch and dinner. Oh, and I might bring some home to eat later as well. Sometimes it's a wonder my husband doesn't realize how lucky he is to be married to a cheapskate like me. Hahah. There are no Del Tacos in Illinois. Or Baja Fresh. Or Fatburger. At one point they all existed here but were booted by the locals. Boo.

I also found a new love on our Whole Foods trip this morning. New record: 7 items for $23.55! I know, be impressed. I guess I'll also have to confess that I bought the Living Social deal $10 for $20 worth to spend. When you make Whole Foods half price, it all of a sudden becomes normal. Otherwise, it breaks the bank. I'm not a huge soft cheese fan, but do love Brie, mozzarella, and chihuahua cheeses. I thought this was delicious! Very exciting, new find! I know it's not new, but new to me!

Back to college football and the to-do list. I'm airing out the house, cleaning all the bedding, mending some loose buttons, and attempting to clean. I've been sick the last week and totally unmotivated. I finally have some energy back and will be putting that to good use. Then, date night with the husband. Totally overdue. Also, I have to mention something awesome. I love Born shoes, but the last two pair of loafers I purchased cracked at the sole in the same spot! Since it was defective and I really hate my $100 shoes breaking on me unexpectedly, I wrote the company an email about the manufacturing issue since it's happened twice to the same style of shoes. They asked me to send them the defective shoes and they'd replace them with a new pair of my choice for free! Well, the cost of shipping the old pair back to them... so around $10. It appears they no longer carry loafers, so I had to choose more Mary Jane-style shoes so I can wear them to work with respectable khakis, etc. I had to provide them with 3 options, so I did... I threw in the $200 pair of boots at the end just in case they happen to be out of the other two, knowing full well that they won't be. A girl can dream.

Safe, trusty, rubber sole.

 Ray commented how these are a bit granola. Um, yeah. Who do you think you married, buddy? ;)

Okay, let the fall cleaning resume!

Awesome Weekend!

Our weekend started off on Friday night when Ray played volleyball with a bunch of friends in the co-ed league he joined. They won 2 out of 3 games! They've played a total of 9 games so far this season and won 5 of them. I usually go watch his games and cheer them on. After volleyball, we headed over to our friends' apartment, Tommy & Alli, where we everyone but me helped them moving the last major items from their current place to their new place in downtown Naperville. We had a great time though it took us about 15 minutes to find the place (oh, the north and south indicators on streets actually mean something? Haha). Sure, we knew that. We just weren't putting it into practice as Liz and I walked all around the streets carrying boxes and pillows. Oh, and a bottle of olive oil. You know... just in case. Their place is sooo cute and reminds Ray and I a lot of our first apartment together (though this will be their 2nd apt. together since they married in early 2010). The walls are painted similar colors, the rooms have similar flow, the house is old (the live on the top level), and the wood molding in the house is all original and so charming. Needless to say, we loved the place!

On Saturday morning, we woke up and headed off on the 9:30 train downtown to see my cousin TJ's soccer game at Moody-- where he attends college. The forecast for the entire weekend was set to be rainy and thunderstorms. Well, they were right about that rainy part! We were decked out in our jackets, rainproof shells, and umbrellas. It rained for about 1.5 hours of the time we were downtown and then stopped. We decided to have lunch downtown before his game and found the address on the Blackberry to Frontera Grill. If you watched Top Chef Masters or are familiar with who Rick Bayless is... he's basically THE chef in downtown Chicago. He's all about using unique, sustainable, organic ingredients in his dishes under the Mexican food genre. In the summer, they serve "rooftop salsa" made from ingredients organically grown at the top of that skyscraper in a garden. There are 3 restaurants he runs that are all connected on one street: Xoco (lower end, cheapest), Frontera (middle), and Topolo (high end). We walked right past them on our way and had to trek back about 2 blocks. We had no chance of eating at Xoco because of the crazy lines going out the door in the rain but checked out Frontera. They sat us outside (though rainy, still in the 60's, warm and covered). Ray ordered the chicken tortilla soup first and another entree he loved. I ordered some veggie enchiladas and did not enjoy them. I loved the sauce and homemade corn tortillas, but the filling was eh, gross. Collard greens and beets, basically raw, inside my tortillas. No cheese, no beans, no normal vegetables. Blah. I would go back because the quality was great, but would not be ordering that meal again. Here we are and here are the meals we consumed...


We headed on foot (Moody is about 2 miles from Union Station) to TJ's soccer game. My aunt was already there along with TJ's awesome girlfriend, Pauline. We had a great time catching up, watching them win, and watching TJ score a goal. It was parent's weekend at Moody and all of the players gave roses to their parents.

 The team being recognized before the stands at halftime.

After the game, we hung out with TJ, Pauline, and Robin for a bit longer and had dinner with them in the Ukrainian Village. We tried a restaurant called Shokolad and had some wonderful foods. I had some pierogies, others had borsch (beet soup) and pelmeni (dumplings with meat). We shared a few desserts and hung out for awhile before heading back.

After saying goodbye, Ray and I checked the train schedule and realized that we didn't have another train to catch for two hours! We walked over to Michigan Avenue and down State Street to check out this sign in all its glory...

Then we headed into a mall on Michigan Avenue and walked around the Lego store. Baby W may have a few legos... I'm a fan. Here I am with Lego Woody from Toy Story. Ray had his moment below, too. Yes, he has his hand on that man's thigh. Oh my!

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On Sunday afternoon, we carpooled to an Orchard in Malta, IL (DeKalb area), about 40 miles from our homes in the 'burbs. Here's the group in a photo...

Above are photos of Ray & Derrick holding Luke and Joel-- friends' kids. Below are photos of Kristi and Joel (mom & son) at the pumpkin patch where we attempted to find nice pumpkins without completely covering ourselves in mud.

Some great friends hanging out on the "hayride" wagon (no hay to be seen).

Post hayride shot of my amazing husband holding our iced cider (just like it sounds... basically a cider slushie... it was delicious and so were the donuts and caramel apple we bought to go with it!).

Llama.

A few fun and cheesy shots of the cutouts... Joel's is quite classic.

Our wonderful friends, Derrick & Liz, with Joel.

And finally... we bought a 1/2 gallon of fresh cider and hopped up in this chair for a photo before making the drive back to the 'burbs with our friends. It was a nice fall outing in some pretty nice weather! Like I said... the forecast said thunderstorms ALL weekend and we didn't have a single one until we got home that evening. It made for a great weekend to explore. We're excited to take Baby W back next year!

Leaves, Leaves Everywhere!

Last week, our friends Alison, Nic, Gab, and Scotty came to visit. We had dinner downtown with them one evening and they came to stay with us the next evening. While Nic worked in the city (after they visited the Chicago sites in our amazing 78 degree weather, the rest of the clan came to stay with us in the 'burbs.

It's fall here. Like... no-more-leaves-on-trees fall. They're ALL on the ground. Literally. Here's Gabby playing in the leaves as Ray raked them to the curb for pickup.

We also received a fun fall package from Ray's family... which included Sprinkles cupcake mix, sprinkles, a fall spatula, chocolate, and socks. Very fun and festive...especially since Gabby opened every individually wrapped present for me! She enjoyed that!

I made the cupcakes on Sunday night and took them to our small group on Monday. These were some seriously decadent pumpkin cupcakes-- like a whole stick of butter decadent--for 12. Yeah, I know!

 End result... minus two which made their way to Ray's belly. :)

I stole borrowed this photo from Nic's picture site to add here... partly because Alison and Scotty didn't make it on the blog otherwise (well, neither did Ray or Nic), but also because I was spotted obviously pregnant in this picture... with really fancy hair I might add.

We had just finished breakfast at Tangerine here in downtown Naperville where we had pancakes the size of basketballs... and were headed for a river walk. It was so nice having them out and sharing our fall leaves and this beautiful time of year before it turns so cold we won't even want to go outside with them.

Fall is Fun.

Could my titles be more lame? Didn't think so. I could really use some assistance.

This will be a smorgasbord or photos, so prepare yourself. I just don't know how else to post them other than in one lump sum. Plus, this will be my 3rd blog post of the day and I believe that's a record.

This is to get you in the fall mood, especially to my peeps in California who surely don't experience this. I hadn't either until last September when Germany brought so many gorgeous colors to my attention.

Invasion of the leaves in our yard! I also purchased two large pumpkins for a smoking deal at Aldi ($1.99 each!). I'm still a proud German supporter all the way from the States. Hello to our German readers, too. Happy autumn to you all!

We attended a wedding for a few friends, Eric & Kim, who were married in late September. They're already back from their honeymoon so it's about time I get these posted. This one is my favorite because there is more personality...

...and the more boring shot... a bunch of our Chi-town friends. There's also a picture of all the girls out there somewhere but since I was in the photo, I have no proof.

Now this little gem. I mentioned before that I would be heading to the Salvation Army to find some "throw away" clothes for our messy insulation project this weekend. I was literally walking down the aisles (after a woman asked me if I worked there. hm.) when I received a call from Ray-- don't buy clothes because he'll be using a heavier duty suit from work. Okay, fine. But, I couldn't leave without finding something fun and tchotchke, right? So here she is. Birdie. She cost me an entire 95 cents and I fully intend to spray paint her white and put her in Baby W's room. In person, she is more of a dark brown stain but the lovely flash paired with the oh-so-dark kitchen makes her whitewashed. The tree branch snowman for Christmas is not pictured (for $1.95), though it will likely make an appearance in the next couple months. Stay tuned.

We also spent some time in Colorado as I flew the very last few days before I was no longer allowed (according to my OB). On our drive to Denver, we saw some gorgeous creatures. We love moose. You probably knew that because we are obsessed over that wall hanger in Baby W's room. But, here's a photo of a mom, baby, and daddy (bull) moose we caught on our way from Denver to Steamboat Springs.

 Just beautiful, right?

You may remember, if you've been following our journeys for awhile, that we took a boat early in the morning and hiked 4-5 miles just to see a bull moose in the Grand Tetons last summer. He had a much larger rack and we were considerably closer to him out in the wild... it was a cooler experience because it was so serene and we found him. While still cool, we just saw these three off the side of the road and along with about 40 other camera-snappers, we caught it on digi-film.

We're enjoying fall... looking forward to more fun as we adventure around the Midwest during this beautiful season.