Lincoln Park Wine Festival

Next Up...Look who I surprised at the first Annual LP Wine Festival while she was working her VFISH  Booth  :) Cheers!!!

Daisy's Boat Ride

This little Daisy will soon be graduating to a Brownie. We are celebrating with a boat ride on Lake Michigan with her Daisy Troop.  And "twining" again in matching leggings as she requested :)

Josie's Babies

Just a few more days & Josie will be home to care for her babies this summer. Mommy is ready for a break!!! :)

Bring On Summer

Last week walking to school as 3rd & 1st Graders :)

Memorial Day Cubs Game

Enjoying the holiday weekend with Papa Will at the Cubs Game. And peanuts & hot dogs too :) Let's Go Cubbies!!!

Cheers To Us

Congratuations to US as WE did it...yahoo!!! #312

Soldier Field 10 Miler

2nd Annual Soldier Field 10 Miler with my favorite Brother-In-Law.  It's all about where you finish.  #50yardline #soldierfield

Shredding

Cheers to Shred 415 & me & to all my amazing mommy school workout friends who joined me for this fun school auction night out!!!

Veggies

We are ready to plant our garden this weekend :)

Twinning Again

Josie drew this picture of us for me at school. I'm not sure why she is calling me formally by "Laurie" but I love it that we are still twinning!!! :)  And I love my very long hair too!!!

Library

It's hard to believe that the school year is over in 2 weeks & this is the FIRST & ONLY time that I got to volunteer for Library.  I wish I could have volunteered more as I love to read to the kids & Josie loves it when I come too as she gets to sit next to me while I read. She must have asked me EVERY week since school started last August when it was going to be my turn to come to library.  And every time she asked I told her that I was scheduled to come later in the year.  Well it's now later in the year & finally today is my day to volunteer.  As usual, Josie asked me this morning when it was going to be my turn to come.  So I told her that I was coming later in the month as I wanted to surprise her :)  In second grade parents don't get to come read to the kids anymore so I wanted it to be extra special for her.  I arrived plenty early & took my seat in the rocking chair & waited for the first graders to arrive.   Josie was one of the first to come in & when she saw me she yelled "MOOMMMMYY!!!" & ran across the entire room to give me a hug.  Awe it melts my heart.  I'm sure going to miss reading at library next year but I sure am glad that it was worth the wait for both of us :)

Josie's Fan Club

I'm not sure what it is about Josie but all the older girls love her.  The 4th Graders are the 1st Graders "Reading Buddies" so many of them know her. Today the 4th Graders came to Gracie's Brownies meeting to talk abut becoming a Girl Scout.  And after their presentation they spent all their time in the corner hanging out with Josie.  The next day outside school one of their moms came up & told me how her daughter came home talking about Josie & that we can drop her off anytime I need a break this summer. Really?!?!?

Cubs Win!!!

We scream for ice cream & our Cubbies.  Great day at the old ballgame.  We are celebrating the first cubs WIN we've seen this season & 6 wins in a row too!!!   Go Cubs Go!!! :)

Happy Friday

Burgers & Sriracha Beer...Happy Friday!!!

It's A Wrap

St. Clement Spring Concert 2015...It's A Wrap. Wonderful performances by our girls tonight. I love how much they love to sing & dance. It's definitely good for the heart & soul :)

Mary Poppins & Burt

Mary & Burt (aka Josie & Conor) celebrating post Spring Concert :)

Les Poissons

In French "Les Poissons" means "fish".  Gracie was very excited for us to see the "surprise" when the Chef chases Sebastian the Crab across the stage.  Another fun-filled performance & I love to see both boys & girls singing & enjoying themselves.  What a fun night for all of us. Oh my this brings back grade school memories for me too :)

Under The Sea

Gracie sang songs from one of my favorite movies, The Little Mermaid.  She is in the second row on the left hand side too.  She is very close to the BIG ORANGE Squid who had to be very hot in his costume!!! Unfortunately, the girl in front of her had a big chef hat on so you can't see her as well as Josie.  But keep watching as every now & then when that chef hat moves in just the right way, you see her singing, smiling & dancing with flowers in her mermaid hair.  Wow, the Third Graders did an amazing job too!!! 

Step In Time

Another amazing performance from Mary Poppins :)

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

You certainly can't miss Josie on the left side of the stage in the front row with her "signature" red Mary Poppins Bag.   Wow, the first graders did a awesome job on a song that can not be easy to sing!!!  Love all the dance moves too :) Mary Poppins is very proud of you.

Spring Concert

Introducing The Little Mermaid (aka Ariel) & her good friend Mary Poppins. It was a Disney-Themed Concert tonight at school :)

Our Gorilla Expert

Look who got all 4 Stars in all categories on her Gorilla Report.  We are so proud of you Josie.  They said your presentation was flawless & we agree with them too.  Of course, mommy thought that maybe they gave everybody 4 Stars but Josie quickly informed me there were many kids who got 2 & 3 stars in some categories.  Which makes us even more proud of you as you were so nervous!!!  And as Mommy likes to say "You Nailed It" :) You are our Gorilla Expert!!! :)

Happy Happy Day To Me

 

Happy Mother's Day to me & to my favorite peeps who know me the best.  Thank you for my Starbucks & Lululemon gift cards & my bottle of bubbly.  I love that Josie loves me, Gracie says I'm her BMF (Best Mom Forever:) & Kris thinks I'm a his "Best Catch" :) I love you all too. This is the BEST day of the year!!! XOXOX

Zoey's Ice Show

Today we went to watch Zoey perform in her Ice Show.  It was the first time we got to see her in action on her ice skates.  It was the perfect show for us too as it was a Disney-Themed Show, Heros & Villains so their costumes were inspired by the movie & characters.  And of course, the songs were too. Wow, we were so impressed with how well Zoey skated in the 2 songs she performed in.  So proud of you Zoey!!! You can tell your hard work is paying off.  The girls talked about the show the whole way home. And of course, liked your costumes & performances the best :) We will definitely come to another show.  I love the photo of them after the show!!!

Gracie's Flower

Too bad all the grades don't host their moms for tea, right? Instead the third graders make their moms flowers using their thumb prints.  I love gifts like this. Thanks Gracie I absolutely love it!!! :)

#TBF Mother's Day Tea With Gracie

It's #TBF (Throw Back Friday) & we are back 2 years ago to when I celebrated Mother's Day Tea with Gracie when she was in first grade.  And Nana Marci was in town & joined us too.  Oh that smile of hers always lights up the room.  And it still does today too :)   Love the photo of her getting us some fruit.  I "heart" you Gracie

All About My Mom

I had to re-post this one from last year's Mother's Day.  It was fun to re-read her responses :)  I'm glad to see that she no longer thinks I'm 14 years old.  Although sometimes I do like to act like I am a kid.  And I've gained some weight too as last year the wind could have knocked me down as I only weighed 15 pounds.  I'm very glad to see that my job hasn't changed as my job is still to take care of her.  And I still have my good sense of humor too as I still am laughing at all her jokes.  And she does love to tell us all jokes.  The photo of her too with her missing teeth is absolutely precious.

Thanks Mom

HERE'S A HUG FOR EVERY RUG

YOUR FAMILY TRACKED WITH DIRT

A SQUEEZE FOR EVERY TIME

YOU HAD TO WASH & IRON A SHIRT

A KISS FOR EVERY TEMPTING MEAL

YOU'VE CHEERFULLY PREPARED

A WARM EMBRACE FOR ALL THE DOUBTS

AND WORRIES THAT YOU'VE SHARED

A WISH FOR EVERY CUP AND DISH

YOU'VE EVER WASHED & DRIED

A SMILE FOR EVERY TEAR YOU GENTLY

WIPED WHEN SOMEONE CRIED

AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST,

A MILLION THANKS TO YOU

FOR ALL THE SWEET AND LOVING THINGS

YOU ALWAYS SAY AND DO

Thanks Josie for a wonderful Mother's Day Tea Celebration :)
 

A Love You, A Bushel & A Peck

An amazing performance by the first graders :)

Mother's Day Tea

It's a tradition for the First Graders to host their Mom's for Mother's Day tea. And Josie was very excited for me to come as I was suppose to "just sit back & relax" while she served me.  I definitely like the sounds of that :)  They were going to serve yummy snacks & tea & pink lemonade.  Josie says that since most kids don't like tea, they decided to serve pink lemonade too.  She picked out the perfect outfit to wear & told me to try to wear something that matched her.   Oh I hope she still wants to dress alike when she's a teenager :)  I certainly felt very special as she greeted me with a gift bag which included an adorable photo of her in a tea cup & tea pot frame, a place mat that included many interesting facts about me according to her & a picture of me that she drew wearing a pink dress.

All About My Mom, According To Josie

My mom is 42 years old 
(I'll take it as last year she said I was 14 years old :)

My mom weighs 118 pounds 
(Yay I've gained some weight as last year I was 15 pounds)

My mom's favorite color is pink (and it's hers too)
My mom's favorite food is cheese (funny as this is her favorite food :)
My mom always says "I love you"
My mom cooks the best brownies (yes I do!!! :)
My mom's job is to take care of me
My mom laughs when I make funny jokes (yes I do!!! :)
If my mom had more time, she would love to dance  (Is this a hint to dance with her more?)
My mom & I like to play the Wii (Once again so we can dance :)
I love my mom because she is awesome.

Why I'm The World's Best Mom, According To Josie

"My mom rocks! She is silly." (I kind of think I am too :)
"When she hugs me, it makes me happy."  (Awe!!!)
"I love doing things with her, especially going to Disney World." (Is this a hint she wants to go back!!!)

"She is good at cooking." (I like this one!!! :)
"She really is the best!!!"

Love, Josie

Dear Mom

Dear Josie: Thank you for your lovely invitation inviting me to Mother's Day Tea at school.  I would love to attend & celebrate with you.  I will RSPV on the tea pot.  What a cute idea :)

Love, Mommy 

Happy Birthday Dad

He's the reason I love baseball, country music & accessories as oh how he loved to wear & collect ties.  His baby blue eyes & humor were one of a kind. Today we celebrate him on his birthday. And I know there is a party going on up there in his honor tonight.  
Love you, miss you, cheers to you dad.  Wow 14 years!!!

And a special thanks to my hubby who took the afternoon off today to celebrate my dad with me CHEERS TO ALL OF US!!!!

Questions Anyone???

Being the first President came with a lot of questions by the third graders.  At one point we had to stop the video as there was no end in sight!!! :)  They certainly loved GEORGE!!!

Presentation Day

Wow George Washington you did amazing!!! :)

Presentation Day....All About George

Thank you George Washington for telling us about your amazing  life.  You & Gracie are certainly One-Of-A-Kind :)

Practicing Being George

Well I'd say she's ready for tomorrow.  Great Job Gracie!!!

And how did you become so grown up?!?!?! So Proud :)

The One & The Only...George Washington

Introducing the First President of the United States of America, George Washington

The Third Graders are studying important historical figures.  They each picked an important historical figure to research & write a report that would be presented to their class.  Gracie chose our first President & one of our Founding Fathers, George Washington.  She came home with some very interesting facts about him from the library at school.  She began typing her report & collecting photos for her poster.  She also had to include a timeline about important events in his life.  Gracie wanted to go with a red, white & blue theme & Mommy suggested adding stars as her border so it was all starting to come together. It was HIGHLY ENCOURAGED by her teacher to dress as the historical figure on the day of the presentation.  And being a girl that loves to dress up, Gracie was up for this challenge.  Her only request is that she wanted to wear a wig for his hair. So mommy looked online & saw that they sold George Washington kid wigs at The Party Store.  Lesson Learned: DO NOT ASSUME that they sell wigs in the store as they were just online & only sold in the store for Halloween. There was no time to order to get the wig on time for her presentation so I had to come up with a back-up plan.  I broke the news to Gracie after school & after coming up with a back-up plan which was to make our own wig out of a white baseball cap & lots & lots of cotton balls.  We were all set to create our own wig the day before her presentation.  And then after telling my story to a mom outside of school, she said she had a wig we could borrow.  So I let Gracie decide since she did like the idea of making one out of cotton balls. She chose to borrow the wig as long as she could keep the white baseball hat I had already bought :)   I know I'm biased but I do think she makes one good looking George Washington!!! Go Get Em Gracie. I mean George.

Margaritas....Mucho Bueno

A Cinco De Mayo "Salude" from me & my other date as you can see by his blue shirt :) #weloveourmexican

Happy Cinco De Mayo

Happy Cinco De Mayo from me & my date :) Oh how she loves her fancy kiddie cocktail glass. Fruit snacks, ginger ale & math homework.  The perfect combination.  This is how we like to roll.