This is the kinda crap I love!!! I'll try to upload the actual video later! I am at work crying because I loved this so much!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Picking Norah up!
So the routine we have is that Josh will typically take Norah to daycare on his way to school in the morning and I pick her up. I really enjoy picking Norah up at the end of my work day because her reaction to seeing me is so fun!
She gets so excited and runs as fast as she can sometimes whipping objects across the room that she might be holding as she runs! One day she threw a plastic hamburger across the room and underneath a shelf like she was trying to skip a rock across a pond!
Anyways, it cracks me up everyday and it makes me feel like the most important person in the world. Betty, Norah's daycare provider, loves it too!
So this morning before I left for work I grabbed the camera and told Josh to let Betty know that I was going to try to get Norah on tape when I picked her up. I figured Betty would think I was crazy, but was willing to sacrifice that to get the moment captured! It turned out Betty was completely ready for it and turned the lights on as soon as I got there so we could get the best quality filming accomplished. Norah however was on the ball and started running before I could get a great shot. Nonetheless here she is in all her glory!
FYI: It takes awhile for the door to open so don't loose interest, the whole video is only 41 seconds! Enjoy!
She gets so excited and runs as fast as she can sometimes whipping objects across the room that she might be holding as she runs! One day she threw a plastic hamburger across the room and underneath a shelf like she was trying to skip a rock across a pond!
Anyways, it cracks me up everyday and it makes me feel like the most important person in the world. Betty, Norah's daycare provider, loves it too!
So this morning before I left for work I grabbed the camera and told Josh to let Betty know that I was going to try to get Norah on tape when I picked her up. I figured Betty would think I was crazy, but was willing to sacrifice that to get the moment captured! It turned out Betty was completely ready for it and turned the lights on as soon as I got there so we could get the best quality filming accomplished. Norah however was on the ball and started running before I could get a great shot. Nonetheless here she is in all her glory!
FYI: It takes awhile for the door to open so don't loose interest, the whole video is only 41 seconds! Enjoy!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Loads of pictures!
I posted lots of pictures for ya all! We have had a busy few weeks. This weekend was nice and relaxed though so that was great. Friday night we had some friends over and played games. Saturday morning we had some friends over and ate pink pancakes! Saturday night we had a nice home cooked meal and then went to buy our tv converter box, but we ended up buying a new tv instead!
Once we got to the store and realized that we were not too far off from buying a new tv it did not make sense to buy the converter box. We were planning to get a new tv with our tax return so we just went ahead and got it knowing our return will be here this week! We got a great deal because there was a sale and the tv we wanted was the floor model so we got an even bigger deal!
Today we took a walk after church and each got a doughnut at Dunkin Doughnuts! It was a nice treat. After we got home Josh built a fort and he and Norah played in it awhile. I rearranged Norah's bedroom while they were playing! I love to move furniture around! (Check out Josh's blog for more in depth coverage of the fort! Click here.)
That was pretty much it! Josh is making peanut butter cookies now and I am watching Extreme Makeover!
On to the pictures...
I do not know if all cities are the same, but in Chicago all of the museums are required to have 52 free days to receive a certain amount of funding. We took advantage of one of these free days at The Museum of Science and Industry. I did not really take pictures while we were there though, but afterwards we went to a little restaurant for lunch and Norah slept through the whole thing. I think she looks so funny all bundled up and sleeping.
We went to some friends house to watch the Super Bowl! Norah was more interested in the dog cage though. She was not happy to have to come out of it and leave at the end of the night.
Last weekend we went to Canton, Ohio for Adam and Carrie's baby shower. They are expecting their first little one at the end of March. We could not be more excited for them!
Here is the present pile.
Carrie's sister Amanda and her mom did all of the decorating. Amanda was the designer of it all. It was amazing! The theme was Pea in a Pod and it was the most consistent themed shower I have ever seen.
One of the food items were these little pea pods which were so cute!
Here is Carrie opening little hand made booties from her grandma!
I made this little hat for baby Babcock!
We test drove it on one of the twins that was in attendance!
Later that night we went to a friends and Norah ended up in a penguin costume!
Not sure how that happened but she looked cute!
This is Norah trying her best to be "gentle" with the twins!
Norah's hair has been a bit crazy lately. She has curls in the back which we love, but after a nap they quickly turn into corn rows or it teases way out and sticks up everywhere.
Here is Babs pushing Norah in the baby jogger on our walk.
This is Norah and I friday morning before I wet to work and she went to daycare. Her nanny is wonderful! I love talking with her everyday when I pick up Norah. She is so cute because she sent invitations to all of the kids to invite them to a Valentines Day party on friday at daycare and she would be providing the lunch! The invitations were so cute and they said to wear pink or red. Well Norah happened to have Valentines pj's that she could get one more wear out of them. They have a big pink heart on the butt, which I forgot to get a picture of, but we also had a little hat with hearts on it too!
The feet of the pj's are my favorite part!
Once we got to the store and realized that we were not too far off from buying a new tv it did not make sense to buy the converter box. We were planning to get a new tv with our tax return so we just went ahead and got it knowing our return will be here this week! We got a great deal because there was a sale and the tv we wanted was the floor model so we got an even bigger deal!
Today we took a walk after church and each got a doughnut at Dunkin Doughnuts! It was a nice treat. After we got home Josh built a fort and he and Norah played in it awhile. I rearranged Norah's bedroom while they were playing! I love to move furniture around! (Check out Josh's blog for more in depth coverage of the fort! Click here.)
That was pretty much it! Josh is making peanut butter cookies now and I am watching Extreme Makeover!
On to the pictures...
Norah loves to dump out her books from her nice organized book basket and sit in it and then read her books. I think she looks so cute it the basket.
And another similar shot from a different day.
And another similar shot from a different day.
I do not know if all cities are the same, but in Chicago all of the museums are required to have 52 free days to receive a certain amount of funding. We took advantage of one of these free days at The Museum of Science and Industry. I did not really take pictures while we were there though, but afterwards we went to a little restaurant for lunch and Norah slept through the whole thing. I think she looks so funny all bundled up and sleeping.
We went to some friends house to watch the Super Bowl! Norah was more interested in the dog cage though. She was not happy to have to come out of it and leave at the end of the night.
Last weekend we went to Canton, Ohio for Adam and Carrie's baby shower. They are expecting their first little one at the end of March. We could not be more excited for them!
Here is the present pile.
Carrie's sister Amanda and her mom did all of the decorating. Amanda was the designer of it all. It was amazing! The theme was Pea in a Pod and it was the most consistent themed shower I have ever seen.
One of the food items were these little pea pods which were so cute!
Here is Carrie opening little hand made booties from her grandma!
I made this little hat for baby Babcock!
We test drove it on one of the twins that was in attendance!
Later that night we went to a friends and Norah ended up in a penguin costume!
Not sure how that happened but she looked cute!
This is Norah trying her best to be "gentle" with the twins!
Norah's hair has been a bit crazy lately. She has curls in the back which we love, but after a nap they quickly turn into corn rows or it teases way out and sticks up everywhere.
Here is Babs pushing Norah in the baby jogger on our walk.
This is Norah and I friday morning before I wet to work and she went to daycare. Her nanny is wonderful! I love talking with her everyday when I pick up Norah. She is so cute because she sent invitations to all of the kids to invite them to a Valentines Day party on friday at daycare and she would be providing the lunch! The invitations were so cute and they said to wear pink or red. Well Norah happened to have Valentines pj's that she could get one more wear out of them. They have a big pink heart on the butt, which I forgot to get a picture of, but we also had a little hat with hearts on it too!
The feet of the pj's are my favorite part!
So they had cheese pizza, milk and doughnuts for the V-day party!
It was a huge success for the kids. I was sad I could not attend!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
It was a huge success for the kids. I was sad I could not attend!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
Monday, February 9, 2009
On my own
Have you ever heard that song from Les Miserables? Oh I love it, but that's not what I'm referring to.
So, I started on my own at work two fridays ago. It's been good, but as with any new job, there is adjustment. I have a whole new set of co-workers to get to know and learn their personalities and they will be learning mine. That's actually been good. I think I can fit it pretty quickly with people. Once my initial shyness wears off.
I think the biggest thing is that the pace is so fast! Nothing that I have ever been used to before. It is good in a lot of ways because the day goes by so quickly. I only get a 30 minute lunch break, but have found myself working through most of them. Some days it's 1:30pm before I even realize that I have not had my lunch yet.
Even though I have had hospice experience in the past every hospice is different. I am familiar with the setting, but there is definitely alot to learn.
I meet once a week with a woman who is an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). This is to work towards becoming an LCSW myself. I am only an LSW (Licensed Social Worker) now. Basically you need to have so many hours of supervision with an LCSW, 3000 hours of hands on clinical experience and then you have to take the board exam again, but it is a little more focused on different areas then the LSW exam....so, that will take about two years to do all of that. Not looking forward to exam again, but no need to stress about it now.
I asked Josh the other day if he thinks my overall attitude in life has changed since I started this job and as I was finishing the question and looking up at him he was already shaking his head yes very affirmatively! (Is that a word?) It was really funny! I laughed out loud. I felt like I noticed a difference in myself so it was nice to know that I was not making things up. ;)
I think this sudden warm up in Chicago has been wonderful too! Today I drove home, parked my car and walked to pick up Norah from daycare...that is not something I would typically do! I made sure to send Josh a text message to let him know of this life changing event in my life!
So, there's an update on things. Sorry no pictures of Norah...just feeling lazy about uploading.
She has been a little more snugly with us when we are with other people and more easily upset, especially in the evenings...I think she is getting her back teeth in and that is causing discomfort and she is also smack dab in the middle of the separation anxiety stage (12-18 months). Can't say I mind when she screams with joy when she sees me and wraps around my legs and will not let anyone else hold her. Expect Josh. It's fun!
Josh is doing really well in his classes. It's nice to see him enjoying it alot. I think I would cry every day if I had to take his classes! He thrives in this setting and is so excited about it. Although last night we were talking to a friend who is petitioning for PhD spots at U of C and other places and the process seems a little scary. This time next year Josh will be doing it. We will know in a year from now where we will be for the next chunk of time (possibly 6-8 years)...we are hoping for here...I think. :) I could go to a warmer place though, but we will see!
PS, I am so thankful for spell check...although I am sure my posts would be more entertaining if I just left my original draft!
So, I started on my own at work two fridays ago. It's been good, but as with any new job, there is adjustment. I have a whole new set of co-workers to get to know and learn their personalities and they will be learning mine. That's actually been good. I think I can fit it pretty quickly with people. Once my initial shyness wears off.
I think the biggest thing is that the pace is so fast! Nothing that I have ever been used to before. It is good in a lot of ways because the day goes by so quickly. I only get a 30 minute lunch break, but have found myself working through most of them. Some days it's 1:30pm before I even realize that I have not had my lunch yet.
Even though I have had hospice experience in the past every hospice is different. I am familiar with the setting, but there is definitely alot to learn.
I meet once a week with a woman who is an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker). This is to work towards becoming an LCSW myself. I am only an LSW (Licensed Social Worker) now. Basically you need to have so many hours of supervision with an LCSW, 3000 hours of hands on clinical experience and then you have to take the board exam again, but it is a little more focused on different areas then the LSW exam....so, that will take about two years to do all of that. Not looking forward to exam again, but no need to stress about it now.
I asked Josh the other day if he thinks my overall attitude in life has changed since I started this job and as I was finishing the question and looking up at him he was already shaking his head yes very affirmatively! (Is that a word?) It was really funny! I laughed out loud. I felt like I noticed a difference in myself so it was nice to know that I was not making things up. ;)
I think this sudden warm up in Chicago has been wonderful too! Today I drove home, parked my car and walked to pick up Norah from daycare...that is not something I would typically do! I made sure to send Josh a text message to let him know of this life changing event in my life!
So, there's an update on things. Sorry no pictures of Norah...just feeling lazy about uploading.
She has been a little more snugly with us when we are with other people and more easily upset, especially in the evenings...I think she is getting her back teeth in and that is causing discomfort and she is also smack dab in the middle of the separation anxiety stage (12-18 months). Can't say I mind when she screams with joy when she sees me and wraps around my legs and will not let anyone else hold her. Expect Josh. It's fun!
Josh is doing really well in his classes. It's nice to see him enjoying it alot. I think I would cry every day if I had to take his classes! He thrives in this setting and is so excited about it. Although last night we were talking to a friend who is petitioning for PhD spots at U of C and other places and the process seems a little scary. This time next year Josh will be doing it. We will know in a year from now where we will be for the next chunk of time (possibly 6-8 years)...we are hoping for here...I think. :) I could go to a warmer place though, but we will see!
PS, I am so thankful for spell check...although I am sure my posts would be more entertaining if I just left my original draft!
Friday, January 9, 2009
New Year's and lots more!
I have to say this was my favorite New Year's Eve celebration in quite some time. The reason being is because I got a job offer!!!! I am officially a hospice social worker!!!! Yeah!!!
It's been fun because literally it has been about 10 years ago that I first heard of hospice as a freshman in college. The day I heard about it, I'm pretty sure I went home and told my college roommates that I would work for a hospice someday.
I loved the organization and everything they were about. I wanted to be a part of it and so I became a hospice volunteer. I loved this perspective on life that I had as a college student taking a few hours out of my week to go and sit with hospice patients while their caretakers went to get groceries or to get their hair done.
I had one patient that I really enjoyed spending time with. He was a sweet sweet little man and his wife was even sweeter! I loved being in their little apartment. Not too much happened. We just sat quietly in the living room together. Sometimes we would talk and sometimes we wouldn't. We didn't watch tv or listen to the radio. We just sat together and listened to the oxygen machine drone. It was such a change from my crazy life on campus with my roommates! ;)
After I graduated and worked for three years in Pittsburgh I finally applied to grad school which took some proding from some good friends and family. I did not think I would be accepted or if I got accepted I did not think I could do it part time and still work. I had every excuse.
I actually thrived in grad school. I got the best grades I had ever had. My advisor was awesome! He helped me finish the program sooner than I thought and he was such an encouragement through my whole time there with working part-time, getting engaged during mid-terms, moving an hour away and then getting pregnant!!! I can't believe I had good grades through all of that!
I loved my field placements with the two hospice programs that I worked with in PA. I learned so much from the people that I observed and worked with everyday.
This truly is a dream come true for me. I told a friend today on the phone that I am finally doing what I was created to do!
So, thanks for listening to all of my reminishing. On to the details. I work for Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. They have an inpatient unit at a hospital on the south side of Chicago, which is where we live. The hospital is called Holy Cross Hospital. We have a whole wing of a floor that is for our hospice patients only that need some extra help with symptoms that may be out of control, respite for their caretakers and other things that might come up. It is busy enough to need a full time social worker and that is what they are getting! I can't wait to begin on the unit!
My orientation started on thursday (the 8th). I will be in orientation/training until Jan. 30th and then I am on my own on the unit! I am so thankful for the in depth training this organization provides. I feel very confident that I have the support of the organization and can do a good job with how well they are preparing me.
It's so funny because usually orientation is boring, but I love it!!! I love talking about the different components of the team and learning Seasons angle on things!
Well, I'm sure that you have heard enough about the job! On to more important things like pictures of Norah.
We drove to Madison, WI on New Year's Eve weekend, which is where Josh's oldest brother and sister-in-law live, Tim and Marisa and their dog Bailey.
Norah loves Bailey. I think Norah started to get on Bailey's nerves by the end because she got so much attention. Bailey just took it in stride and exited the room if Norah was running around crazy!
Norah enjoyed that cake!
One of the nights we were there some Madison friends came over and Marisa put the beer in the cooler and loaded it up with some extra snow that they found in Madison!
We came home sunday night because Josh started classes again on monday. Here are he and Norah getting back into the grind of studying!
Norah has also started drinking from a straw! I think it's so cute! She loves it and it's a great way to get her to drink more water! The cup is from my grandparents. We used to use them when we went on vacation with them in their trailer when we went camping!
It's been fun because literally it has been about 10 years ago that I first heard of hospice as a freshman in college. The day I heard about it, I'm pretty sure I went home and told my college roommates that I would work for a hospice someday.
I loved the organization and everything they were about. I wanted to be a part of it and so I became a hospice volunteer. I loved this perspective on life that I had as a college student taking a few hours out of my week to go and sit with hospice patients while their caretakers went to get groceries or to get their hair done.
I had one patient that I really enjoyed spending time with. He was a sweet sweet little man and his wife was even sweeter! I loved being in their little apartment. Not too much happened. We just sat quietly in the living room together. Sometimes we would talk and sometimes we wouldn't. We didn't watch tv or listen to the radio. We just sat together and listened to the oxygen machine drone. It was such a change from my crazy life on campus with my roommates! ;)
After I graduated and worked for three years in Pittsburgh I finally applied to grad school which took some proding from some good friends and family. I did not think I would be accepted or if I got accepted I did not think I could do it part time and still work. I had every excuse.
I actually thrived in grad school. I got the best grades I had ever had. My advisor was awesome! He helped me finish the program sooner than I thought and he was such an encouragement through my whole time there with working part-time, getting engaged during mid-terms, moving an hour away and then getting pregnant!!! I can't believe I had good grades through all of that!
I loved my field placements with the two hospice programs that I worked with in PA. I learned so much from the people that I observed and worked with everyday.
This truly is a dream come true for me. I told a friend today on the phone that I am finally doing what I was created to do!
So, thanks for listening to all of my reminishing. On to the details. I work for Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. They have an inpatient unit at a hospital on the south side of Chicago, which is where we live. The hospital is called Holy Cross Hospital. We have a whole wing of a floor that is for our hospice patients only that need some extra help with symptoms that may be out of control, respite for their caretakers and other things that might come up. It is busy enough to need a full time social worker and that is what they are getting! I can't wait to begin on the unit!
My orientation started on thursday (the 8th). I will be in orientation/training until Jan. 30th and then I am on my own on the unit! I am so thankful for the in depth training this organization provides. I feel very confident that I have the support of the organization and can do a good job with how well they are preparing me.
It's so funny because usually orientation is boring, but I love it!!! I love talking about the different components of the team and learning Seasons angle on things!
Well, I'm sure that you have heard enough about the job! On to more important things like pictures of Norah.
We drove to Madison, WI on New Year's Eve weekend, which is where Josh's oldest brother and sister-in-law live, Tim and Marisa and their dog Bailey.
Norah loves Bailey. I think Norah started to get on Bailey's nerves by the end because she got so much attention. Bailey just took it in stride and exited the room if Norah was running around crazy!
We went to a resturant for lunch one of the days. Marisa offered to be on Norah duty. Norah was being very sweet and I thought this was a cute picture!
Uncle Tim decided that since he missed Norah's actual birthday he was going to make her a cake and hand decorate it!
Here are the two of them with the final product!
In case you are wondering what is on the cake, it is the Quake symbol, which is a video game that Tim liked from when he was younger. It was great!
Norah enjoyed that cake!
One of the nights we were there some Madison friends came over and Marisa put the beer in the cooler and loaded it up with some extra snow that they found in Madison!
We came home sunday night because Josh started classes again on monday. Here are he and Norah getting back into the grind of studying!
I spent monday and tuesday with Norah visiting my former co-workers! None of them had met Norah before so it was really fun to take her to meet them. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures with anyone.
Norah did fall completely asleep on the bus on tuesday when we went downtown to Rush University. I thought she looked so peaceful so I snapped a picture!
Norah did fall completely asleep on the bus on tuesday when we went downtown to Rush University. I thought she looked so peaceful so I snapped a picture!
In our time together at home Norah threw our remote for the computer inside the depths of one of her toys. I tried for about 10 minutes to get this thing out and then ended up taking the toy apart to get the remote out!
Norah has also started drinking from a straw! I think it's so cute! She loves it and it's a great way to get her to drink more water! The cup is from my grandparents. We used to use them when we went on vacation with them in their trailer when we went camping!
She's so big!!!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Chicago Weather/Christmas and more!
The weather in Chicago has not been as terrible as I thought it might be. This was my biggest hesitation in moving here. However, last weekend was below zero for two days in a row! We took pictures of our windows in our bedroom because they looked like what should be the view from the outside, but no...these pictures are from the comfort of the inside of our bedroom!
Norah is up to all sorts of things these days. She is learning to do animal sounds which is really fun. My favorite are the gorilla and elephant sounds. We will try to get a video of that soon! She has been repeating us alot lately, or trying to, so we feel like she will be chatting up a storm real soon.
This Christmas we were here in Chicago. With the recession and money being a little tight we decided to wrap up things that we already own that we know we all enjoy. We had so much fun wrapping a bunch of things up for Norah once she went to bed Christmas Eve! We also wrapped things up for each other too, which was alot more fun than we thought it was going to be! It was fun to see what each of us thought the other really enjoyed or had forgotten they enjoyed at one time!
Norah quickly found the empty wrapping paper rolls first thing in the morning! Daddy made her a sword later in the day, but it is now in the trash because it got destroyed by our little "wrecking ball,"! (My cousin Jason nicknamed her this over Thanksgiving because, well, let the name speak for itself!
Here we are helping her get started!
This is me in my Christmas Onesie! I kept seeing these at Target and could not resist once they were 50% off! I'm also taking a call from my Aunt and drinking my iced coffee!!!! Yummy!
This is Norah's piano that she loves!
Here is a Raven beach ball that Norah loves to play with! Uncle Tim works for Raven and they brought this on one of their visits and well, Norah does not want to give it back!
Here is a picture of the aftermath from the morning!
This is a picture from my mind as a kid, which is so fun!
The best part was that after we opened presents we had homemade cinnamon rolls that Josh made the night before! They were so good and we have continued to enjoy them each day since! I took this picture today, so you don't think we ate that many Christmas morning!
So that was our Christmas! Josh made a video that condensed that hour and 15 minutes it took Norah to open her presents for your enjoyment. He has had this up on his blog for awhile, so sorry if you already saw it. Oh and Josh has polar bear pj pants on that I got him on discount too when I got my onsie! There was not a lot of great selection in the men's department, but I thought they were fun!
Norah is up to all sorts of things these days. She is learning to do animal sounds which is really fun. My favorite are the gorilla and elephant sounds. We will try to get a video of that soon! She has been repeating us alot lately, or trying to, so we feel like she will be chatting up a storm real soon.
One of my recent favorites is that she makes fish lips and gives kisses! Here is a picture below!
The week leading up to Christmas we got a big package in the mail from Uncle Jim and Aunt Charlotte! Norah had so much fun with the box itself and the paper inside to hold the packages still! Josh got a bunch of cute pictures so I added those below.
This Christmas we were here in Chicago. With the recession and money being a little tight we decided to wrap up things that we already own that we know we all enjoy. We had so much fun wrapping a bunch of things up for Norah once she went to bed Christmas Eve! We also wrapped things up for each other too, which was alot more fun than we thought it was going to be! It was fun to see what each of us thought the other really enjoyed or had forgotten they enjoyed at one time!
This is a picture of all the presents under the tree after we were done wrapping!
Norah quickly found the empty wrapping paper rolls first thing in the morning! Daddy made her a sword later in the day, but it is now in the trash because it got destroyed by our little "wrecking ball,"! (My cousin Jason nicknamed her this over Thanksgiving because, well, let the name speak for itself!
Here we are helping her get started!
This is me in my Christmas Onesie! I kept seeing these at Target and could not resist once they were 50% off! I'm also taking a call from my Aunt and drinking my iced coffee!!!! Yummy!
This is Norah's piano that she loves!
Here is a Raven beach ball that Norah loves to play with! Uncle Tim works for Raven and they brought this on one of their visits and well, Norah does not want to give it back!
Here is a picture of the aftermath from the morning!
This is a picture from my mind as a kid, which is so fun!
The best part was that after we opened presents we had homemade cinnamon rolls that Josh made the night before! They were so good and we have continued to enjoy them each day since! I took this picture today, so you don't think we ate that many Christmas morning!
So that was our Christmas! Josh made a video that condensed that hour and 15 minutes it took Norah to open her presents for your enjoyment. He has had this up on his blog for awhile, so sorry if you already saw it. Oh and Josh has polar bear pj pants on that I got him on discount too when I got my onsie! There was not a lot of great selection in the men's department, but I thought they were fun!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
A different Christmas
This year will be a different Christmas for us. Due to me taking time off for job interviews, we are not able to travel at all for Christmas. We were really bummed in a lot of ways, but there are moments that I think it may be nice to just be at our home and not have the stress of traveling. Traveling with an active one year old is a whole different ballgame compared to when she was a newborn and slept the entire way.
The part that has been great is that we have had a bunch of visitors this past week, which has been nice to see friends and loved ones before Christmas comes. With our string of visitors, we have also had some Christmas parties with Divinity School friends! It's been a lot of fun and we squeeze in naps when we can so we can keep going!
It all started with my birthday on December 12th! I had a great day at work celebrating with Bess, my coworker. She got me a chocolate cake to have with our morning coffee and yellow roses, then she treated me to lunch at a old school diner type place that had the greatest old fashioned hamburgers, fries and coke! I went with regular coke instead of diet since it was my birthday! By the way, I'm 30!
After work I drove home and Josh was making me homemade General Tso's Chicken, which is my favorite Chinese dish! It was better then any restaurant I've ever had! Seriously it was really good! He also had a bottle of my favorite wine, Moscato D'asti! Here is a picture of the meal! Oh and our favorite beer too! It's called Fat Tire. And Brussel Sprouts too, which is my favorite vegetable.
After dinner I was sent on a scavenger hunt looking for little pieces of paper all over the apartment. Throughout that search I had little clues to a website, which led me to this. After watching the video, I opened the ornament and it told me to log on to a Gmail account. When I did that, there was an e-mail in there for a gift certificate for a Swedish Massage for 60 minutes!!!! I have been wanting a massage for so long because I have never had one. I actually started crying when I went onto the spa's website to check out where I will be going because I cannot imagine having a massage for that long! I can't wait! I set it up for December 27th!
Later that night, we had 4 friends arrive for the weekend. Branden, lives here in Chicago about 40 minutes away and then Sarah, Jay and Wendy arrived from Canton, OH. We stayed up late catching up and then had homemade crepes the next morning. After that we went downtown and showed off as much of the city as we could. We came back and had dinner and then went back downtown for a concert with a band called Over The Rhine. It was a great concert! They have amazing voices! It was great seeing everyone and fun to celebrate my birthday for the weekend!
Here are some pictures from the weekend!
L-R Wendy, Jay, me, Norah, Josh, Branden, Sarah
The part that has been great is that we have had a bunch of visitors this past week, which has been nice to see friends and loved ones before Christmas comes. With our string of visitors, we have also had some Christmas parties with Divinity School friends! It's been a lot of fun and we squeeze in naps when we can so we can keep going!
It all started with my birthday on December 12th! I had a great day at work celebrating with Bess, my coworker. She got me a chocolate cake to have with our morning coffee and yellow roses, then she treated me to lunch at a old school diner type place that had the greatest old fashioned hamburgers, fries and coke! I went with regular coke instead of diet since it was my birthday! By the way, I'm 30!
After work I drove home and Josh was making me homemade General Tso's Chicken, which is my favorite Chinese dish! It was better then any restaurant I've ever had! Seriously it was really good! He also had a bottle of my favorite wine, Moscato D'asti! Here is a picture of the meal! Oh and our favorite beer too! It's called Fat Tire. And Brussel Sprouts too, which is my favorite vegetable.
After dinner I was sent on a scavenger hunt looking for little pieces of paper all over the apartment. Throughout that search I had little clues to a website, which led me to this. After watching the video, I opened the ornament and it told me to log on to a Gmail account. When I did that, there was an e-mail in there for a gift certificate for a Swedish Massage for 60 minutes!!!! I have been wanting a massage for so long because I have never had one. I actually started crying when I went onto the spa's website to check out where I will be going because I cannot imagine having a massage for that long! I can't wait! I set it up for December 27th!
Here are some pictures from the weekend!
L-R Wendy, Jay, me, Norah, Josh, Branden, Sarah
Here we are trying to get a normal picture and one of us is struggling a bit!
The big Christmas tree in Daley Plaza!
This gang left on sunday and on monday, two former students of ours, who babysat Norah often while we were in Wheeling, flew into town for a four day visit! Ben and Annie are their names! It was so good to see them! We played board games with them alot while we were in Wheeling, so we were anticipating some fun! They were really sweet and brought Christmas presents for us. They got Norah some books, Josh a new board game, called Last Word, which was a lot of fun and we played it every night while they were here. For me, they got me the greatest gift ever! That's right folks, "The Happy's Head Trip"!!!!! I included a photo so you would know what it was and how you use it! It's awesome! Annie had one and I was so jealous!!!
While they were here we took them to the U of C campus to show them around. We also tried to do the blitz tour of downtown. The best thing was that they wanted to go to the top of the Sear's Tower to see the view, so I did a little research and it would cost the same amount of money to go to the top of the Sear's Tower for the view as it would to go to the Signature Room, which is on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building, and get the view and lunch! So we opted for that and we were not disappointed! It was really cool to be up that high!
Here are some pictures from our time with them!
This is Ben and Annie playing with Norah!
This is the view from our table in the Signature Room! It was so high up! There are swimming pools on the tops of some of the buildings!!! I thought that was only in the movies!!!
It was so cold while they were here!
Norah loves the piano and plays it all day long. She sits in her chair half the time and plays and the other half she stands, plays a song and then makes sure everyone in the room is paying attention and then she bounces at the piano and wants everyone to join her!
In case you have never heard of my mom the piano player, she may have only been world renowned in Beaver County, but you're missing out!
While they were here we took them to the U of C campus to show them around. We also tried to do the blitz tour of downtown. The best thing was that they wanted to go to the top of the Sear's Tower to see the view, so I did a little research and it would cost the same amount of money to go to the top of the Sear's Tower for the view as it would to go to the Signature Room, which is on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building, and get the view and lunch! So we opted for that and we were not disappointed! It was really cool to be up that high!
Here are some pictures from our time with them!
This is Ben and Annie playing with Norah!
This is the view from our table in the Signature Room! It was so high up! There are swimming pools on the tops of some of the buildings!!! I thought that was only in the movies!!!
It was so cold while they were here!
Josh's oldest brother Tim and his wife Marisa stopped by on saturday on their way from Madison, WI to Cleveland. We made them a big old filling lunch so they did not have to stop at a crappy rest stop and eat food they would regret. They were supposed to come friday and spend the night rounding out our string of visitors, but Tim got the 24 hour bug and stayed at home an extra night to rest up. It was great to see them for a short time!
It fell below 0 today here in Chicago! It was a little crazy walking to church. I bundled Norah so good and she cried the whole way there! I felt so bad, but I wanted to make sure she was warm. I carried her in a wrap thing that my friend Katie made me so that we were body to body to add extra warmth.
This Chicago weather is crazy and especially when the wind kicks in. I had to stop at one point and make sure I was balanced. I was about the cross the street and the cars at the intersection all waited for me to get my balance and wait for the wind to pass and let me cross. It was very kind as they were sitting in their toasty cars!
I added a picture for my parents because this was their Christmas present for Norah. In case some of you do not know, my mom is a world renowned piano player so it is only appropriate for them to give her this gift!
This Chicago weather is crazy and especially when the wind kicks in. I had to stop at one point and make sure I was balanced. I was about the cross the street and the cars at the intersection all waited for me to get my balance and wait for the wind to pass and let me cross. It was very kind as they were sitting in their toasty cars!
I added a picture for my parents because this was their Christmas present for Norah. In case some of you do not know, my mom is a world renowned piano player so it is only appropriate for them to give her this gift!
Norah loves the piano and plays it all day long. She sits in her chair half the time and plays and the other half she stands, plays a song and then makes sure everyone in the room is paying attention and then she bounces at the piano and wants everyone to join her!
In case you have never heard of my mom the piano player, she may have only been world renowned in Beaver County, but you're missing out!
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