Sum, sum, summertime!

It's four weeks into summer already. Which, btw, how the hell did THAT happen? Someone must have  dropped a roofie in my lemonade the first week of June because I can't for the life of me believe that a MONTH without school has gone by so darn fast. I mean, sure, we've been busy....but still, a month?

I'm not even tired of the kids yet.

YET.

My day will come, oh yes, it will come.

I purposely slammed our schedule with events during the month of June so that in July we can all CHILL THE HELL OUT. Which is still highly unlikely.

The first week of our summer began with the Chicago Womens Funny Festival, which also meant that so many great friends came into town to see it!

We had memorable dinner parties at home

and frolicked in the big city

The Terrace at Trump Tower

and enjoyed the type of conversation that can only come from college friends. Friends who have known Eugene and I before we were Eugene and I. Friends that have moved away but still remain a presence in our lives. Friends that you can genuinely let loose and laugh with--those are the best, huh?! Spending time with them brought me right back to my twenties--and what a great place that was.

One of those aforementioned friends is Ed, who stayed with us the week after the show. 

Which meant there was even more laughter that filled our home--and if you know Ed, you'd know his signature laugh a mile away.

Don't believe me, watch this:

My kids adore him. As we waved goodbye to Ed,

we found ourselves shortly thereafter singing Happy Father's Day to Eugene.

Which brings us to the third week of June, which was marked with play dates and swimming. 

Lots of swimming.

I'm shocked that all three are not only looking at the camera but actually smiling. 

 Last Friday, as I was waiting for Eugene to arrive home so that we could grab our trunki's and head out of town for a friends wedding, I got a call that his flight was cancelled and that there was no way he'd make it home in time for the wedding. Three kids at a wedding by myself? Uuggh. Doesn't it just make you want to twitch?

Their suitcases were already packed and ready to go. 

 We promised the kids hotel swimming and my kids LOVE claiming their new hotel "homes," I couldn't strip them of that. So I packed the kids up and since Peoria was on the way to the wedding, I picked up a friend that was planning on attending the wedding anyway.

They spent the next morning tasting EVERYTHING that was offered at the continental breakfast (classy) and wreaked of chlorine from hours spent swimming in the indoor pool.

And by the time I finally got all three kids asleep for naptime, I had to wake them up 30 minutes later to get them all dressed for the wedding.

Taking care of three kids at a wedding was exactly as I thought it would be. I couldn't tell you how many times Mia inadvertently lifted my dress flashing my spanx to everyone. 

But thankfully I had friends in every direction willing to help out.

My kids ate Skittles all night long (dude, I was outnumbered) and took their sugar high 

to the dance floor. 

It turned out to be a great night, actually. 

Congratulations to Alison and Derrick!

We are all headed to Vegas next week to visit my new nephew and I can't wait to see our California and Vegas family again. But mostly? I can't wait to smother that little baby with our love, which I will most definitely do the MOMENT I see him. I'm coming for you Morgan!!! 

Oh and I plan to gamble. 

WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE.

Ding, ding, ding!

Empty Nest

With one kid on spring break, one kid in school and one kid to young for either--we tried to make the most of our pseudo time off.

We had a a playdate with the Olsens--which is always fun. And by fun I mean the kids run around silly while we moms sit, eat and yell at the kids in between mouthfuls. Just kidding. Sorta. But guess what? Chance has been initiated! All four kids included Chance in their pirate/treehouse/castle tower game. Which is a first. Which also means that Chance is getting old--old enough to make it into "the club." 

Sigh.

But really, this 20 month stage ROCKS MY WORLD because his personality is coming out like crazy.   And although he's not saying too much, he knows exactly what we are saying and is two steps behind his sisters at all times.

I promised myself I'd get at least one Easter craft in this week. So we created our own little edible nest. Much like a rice krispie treat but with shredded wheat and malted ball eggs. I borrowed this tradition from Kelle Hampton.

We slowly melted a bag of marshmallows and 3/4 of a stick of butter, added the crushed shredded wheat until we figured it was gooey, yummy and moldable. 

And let the kids go to town "forming" their own little nest

And,  yeah it was sticky.

But that's what made it so exciting.

Sweet Lili!

And watch out! 

There's a theif among us. 

I won't name names but he's got red hair.

So, what are you doing for Easter activities? Got any traditions you'd like to share? Post them in the comments, I'm always looking for some new ideas.

Happy Easter-time!

Gossip Girls

Playdates. Over the years I've hosted and attended many playdates. It's almost inevitable. What's funny is that the structure of a playdate is always the same the only thing that changes is which house you are in. I enjoy them. I especially enjoy them when it's with a close friend. Such is the case with my friend Tiffany. Tiffany and I competed against each other in college speech and pretty much got pregnant together. That sounds weird. Strike that. We got pregnant at the same time :) 

Back in Southern California our daughters, Bella and Lili were born about 12 hours apart. Almost immediately we scheduled our first playdate. I remember it well. Our kids slept the ENTIRE time. It was great. Tiff and I gabbed, gabbed, ate, gabbed, gabbed, ate some more, nursed our child, changed a diaper and called it a day. It was great. Same time, next week? This ritual went on for awhile until Tiff, Chad and Lili decided it was time for them to move to Chicago. Sigh. Long distance playdates aren't the same. We kept in touch pretty well and when we moved to Chicago 6 months ago we were eager to start up our routine again. 

I have so much fun on our playdates because frankly I think it's more of a playdate for me than it is for the kids. I enjoy sharing stories and swapping advice with Tiffany. I find peace knowing that I'm not alone in some of my parenting struggles. We laugh all the time. In fact, we have come so far since our first playdate. Two more children were added to the festivities and it makes it quite interesting, to say the least. I look forward to watching Baby Kallan grow and eagerly await the day when Bella and Lili actually let Mia play with them! Ta Ta for now!

Because straws make it taste better, duh!

Crashing the Ball