Strike Vacation.

The Chicago public school teachers were all on strike this week. 

Which means no school for the whole city.

So... 

We went to the beach.

Look at that sky!

Then on Tuesday Jared took the kids apple picking and to the dunes for the whole day till late. 

I worked till 2 and then chilled and enjoyed some rare quiet time. (movie, takeout, awesome)

And the next day we had play-dates and barbecued at the beach. 

Then on Friday I went with friends to Arlington Park Racecourse to watch the horses race.

Asher picked the first winner.

And I picked the next winner.

And somewhere in there Hannah gave her Barbie a haircut with my approval.

It was a really fun week. Better than summer vacation. 

Strike Vacation.

Our Newest Game.

Over the years we've made up our own games. Made up games are fun.

The Golden run.
Steam Roller.
Little Seat.
Fast Eagle.
Square Eagle.
(And more...)

The kids invented a new game today.

3rd Floor Catch. (kind of self-explanatory)

I basically throw stuff off the 3rd floor of our building. 

And they catch it. 

We did this for awhile.

 I'm tired.

3rd Floor Catch Game. from Cute Allens on Vimeo.

It's The Way It's Going to Be.

Once upon a time, long long ago,  I actually updated my blog weekly.

And then suddenly I didn't.

The End.

When I was prego with Asher, my constant craving was eating meat off the bone with bare hands. 

It wasn't a pretty time in my life.

I love the morning shadows on my walls. Do you see the fairies? A light wind makes them dance.

Asher was born to ride a bike. It's a sight to see.

This guy is cool. I've seen him for years walking around in my neighborhood. 

I see him twiddle on that whistle all over Hyde Park. 

His name is Ron the Piper. 

And I emailed this picture to him because he said he liked it.

I'm so sad that beach weather is almost over. So so so so sad.

We had the best beach summer.

And Asher loves his swim suit. 

He would wear it everyday if I let him.

I am my daughter's mother. 

When I see a weird bug I get excited and take a picture to show her.

Hannah was invited to a Sweet and Sassy birthday Party. She hated it at first. 

She's closing her eyes hoping it will be over soon.

Then she loved it.

He gets stuck in the position. 

He can't push off the wall to get back onto the couch. 

It's really funny.

This is my fake fire place in my house. At first I thought it was horribly ugly and weird.

This is a close up of the tile.

Now I love it.

Who wants a boring plain house when you can have cool 70's tile sprucing it up?

She is Amazing.

Last month I called up Jared's Grandma Mecham just to say hi. We chatted happily for quite some time.

The conversation turned to weather and of course I proceeded to talk about how hellish the winters are here in Chicago. I mentioned how they suck the soul right out of me and other negative feelings about it all. And then I made the awesome mistake of telling her I tend to swear much more during the winter. I figured she would understand and agree with my behavior.

She proceeded to tell me about changing and mending my ways. Awesome. I will forever cherish being lectured by Jared's grandma.

I still laugh right out loud when I think of that conversation. I love her.

Grandma Mecham, you are loved and will be missed by your family. Jared and I have been talking about how wonderful you are and what a great lady you were here on earth.

Enjoy Heaven. I hear it's rather awesome.

Picture of the Month - September

Hannah has a gift.

A weird gift.

But nevertheless... a real talent.

She has a connection with bugs.

This fly was perfectly capable of flight. She wanted it to crawl around on her finger.

She asked it to.

And so it did.

Very abnormal for a fly.

It stayed till she blew it off.

Frickin Freakin Awesome.

School started this week for the kids.

And a friend recently sent me a text asking...

"How is the mom of two kids in school going?"

I replied:

"Frickin freakin awesome."

It's true.

I made it.

I'm here.

I've got two kids in school and zero at home for a portion of the day.

Sure, Asher is only in school for 2.5 hours. And most days I'm working during those 2.5 hours.

But sometimes I'm not.

And then I'm at home. And it's quiet.

And I wonder if I've lost my hearing, but then I vaguely remember what silence sounds like. And I relax about my hearing and proceed to sit on the couch and stare into space.

It's feels so good. So good. So good. So so so good.

Okay, enough about me and my new found love of sitting in silence.

Here are my gorgeous babies on their first day of school.

First day outfit.

I took Hannah clothes shopping for school. I told her she could have full control over picking out her clothes. It was hard to keep my mouth shut when she chose Halloween themed clothing. But I did. And she bought them.

First day outfit. 

This was not his first choice outfit. The first one got dirty before we left. We changed him. He got the second one dirty. And I ignored it.

Asher has many many friends in his class. 

Asher's preschool class consists of mostly boys. Good luck Ms. Graham.

Waiting patiently for school to start. She is so beautiful to me.

Asher's teacher is the greatest teacher on earth. I love her. I adore her. I'm so grateful for her and that my kid has such an awesome teacher. Hooray for terrific teachers.

P.S. The teacher's union here in Chicago is about to go on strike. So the kids will most likely be out of school till it's resolved. Crazy. My client today said the last teachers strike was 25 years ago and lasted a few weeks. 

Summer vacation part 2. 

J/K I fully intend on working with them during the strike.