Decatur Children's Museum

Last weekend, we were desperate to get out of town and see something new, so we headed south to the Decatur Children's Museum.  I have to say that the Children's Museum of Illinois is ten minutes from our house, and is fantastic, but we're pretty familiar with the place and we wanted a little adventure.

The museum reminded us all of the one in Normal.  It was maybe a bit shabbier, but hey, new toys are new toys!  Some of the familiar areas were the grocery store

the water play area and plexi-glass painting,

and all of the different "drive-y toys."

They had some new and different things to do, such as giant bubbles, a gear wall, and a skeleton who pedaled his bike as you did.  (Jacob wasn't quite big enough for the bike, but he tried!)

They also had a designated toddler area which Carter promptly escaped from.

But the highlight of the museum was the "fix-y car."  The hood stayed propped open, and kids could change the air filter, check the oil, and do all kinds of car maintenance including tire changes and license plate changes.  It was seriously awesome.  I didn't think Jacob would ever leave!

The other highlight of the trip (well, it was a highlight of mine, anyway, was getting a few other really cool pictures of the boys.

We spent about a hour and a half there, which is a long time for us, and definitely felt it was worth the trip!

Nothing Has Broken Today and a Collection of Other Happy Scenarios

At the beginning of the year, I decided I would see how many weeks we could go without any major and/or expensive repairs.  I didn't tell anyone about my plan but thought to myself that I would just count each week that went by and focus on the fact that nothing had broken.

Well... about two weeks into the year, I decided that was a stupid idea and decided to try for a day.  One day where nothing new broke.  Last week almost forced me to abandon this plan as well.  Today, though, today nothing new has broken, gotten torn up, or lost.  I realize it's only 2:00 in the afternoon, and I shouldn't count my chickens, but this is amazing.

Another great thing:  this morning I had the best cup of coffee that I've had in forever.  Yesterday we got a new coffeemaker (old one died), and the difference is amazing!

Happy Scenario #3:  There is finally a mirror on order for Jacob's room.  I've wanted a rope mirror there forever, but I didn't want to pay the prices I was finding online (I'm looking at you, Pottery Barn Kids).  Last week, I checked Etsy, and found what I hope is going to be the perfect mirror for a much lower price.  It even hangs by a real boat cleat!  It's currently stuck in transit because of bad weather from where it ships in Hilton Head, but I'm hoping to have it by the first of next week.

So then I got inspired to change things up in the rest of the house and ordered some new pillows!  I ordered two in the fabric below

and one in tan and cream chevron.  I'm keeping the solid blue ones that are on the couches now, and I have my fingers crossed they will all mix and match well.  On a related note, online shopping rocks.

And finally, one good thing about the relentless cold and wind is that it gives me a reason to have some hearty comfort food. I made Spinach Chicken and Noodle Soup from this recipe and it was fantastic.  I've made quite a few recipes from his site, and I highly recommend it.  Easy and delicious!

What I'm Watching

• I"m watching Nashville, of course, because it's awesome.

• I'm watching the bird's nest.  We have had winds that blew over the next-door neighbor's fence and yet, here's this nest, still in the tree.

• I'm watching Carter, whose new favorite trick is, "Cross Your Fingers!"  

• I'm watching The Good Wife, because it is also awesome.

• I'm watching some really boring kids movies because I keep forgetting to rent a decent one from the library for our Friday Movie Nights.  FYI:  food- in this case Valentine's candy- is still the best part of movie night.

• I'm watching a lot of mid-winter, cabin-fever, bored-and-getting-into-trouble shenanigans.  

Before My Eyes

A few weeks ago we were at a restaurant, and when the waiter came to take our order, Jacob spoke up, completely unprompted:

"I'd like chicken nuggets and fries, please."

Frank and I just looked at each other and laughed.  We had no idea he knew how to order for himself.


This morning, the dad of one of his school friends said that his son keeps asking to invite Jacob over to play. I said Jacob would love to, and then I realized:  this would be his first playdate where the parents weren't friends of ours first.  I would have no problems with leaving him at their house, but up until now, our playdates usually consist of the mom and I having coffee while the kids run around.


Today I also signed Jacob up for his second year of preschool.  It will still only be three mornings a week, but it will be an adjustment to our schedule.  I can't help but think of next year when I will be signing him up for kindergarten.  We've been stuck to each other like glue for four years, one month, and two days...it's going to be a major, major life change for both of us to be separated for seven hours a day, five days a week.  (and yes, I've already thought about half-day kindergarten, which, though unpopular in our district, is an option.)


Don't get me wrong.  I very nearly strangled him twice yesterday because he refuses to listen and pay attention.  Most of the time, I can't wait for him to grow up but every now and then, I realize... he is. Mother/son playdates will be a thing of the past.  He won't always request me to sing to him before bed. The corner in my kitchen won't always be a designated parking lot for Hot Wheels cars, and eventually Mimi, his beloved stuffed dolphin, will just sit on his shelf instead of joining in his make-believe adventures.


Did you know that there are 940 Saturdays between a child's birth and the time he leaves for college? Everyone says the time flies, and usually I am wrapped up in my days and don't think much about how my kids move towards independence each day.

But every now and then, I see it happening right before my eyes. 

Jacob, January 2011

Jacob, December 2013

The Obligatory Christmas Recap Post

Are you tired of Christmas Recaps?  I am.  I'm o-v-e-r the holidays and ready to start 2014.  Still, since this is kind of like my journal, I feel like I should recap a bit.

A few days before Christmas, we went to Frank's parents where we packed in a whirlwind of events including an extended family party on Saturday night, all the boys going to a Rams game on Sunday, our immediate family Christmas party/Great-Grandma's birthday parties on Monday, and leaving on Tuesday. Whew!

Here are a few shots of my in-laws' pretty decorations...

And our pretty Great-Grandmas!

The kids opened presents on a blanket because the glitter wrapping paper was covering everything and every one in glitter!

 Doesn't this look like a luxury car commercial?! The kids loved their big gift from Grandma and Grandpa!

On Christmas Day, the boys were happy to see that Santa had come!  Unwrapping gifts took less than 15 minutes!

We hosted my side of the family, minus my mom who was sick.  We had ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, spinach-and-apple salad and these adorable little grinch kabob appetizers!

We just hung out and played with all the new toys all afternoon.  Try as we might, none of the boys are at a good age for picture-taking.  Jacob didn't want to have his picture taken; Caleb gave me a cheese face; and Carter just kept running away.  Oh well.

I'll close the post with a few parting shots of our elf Kiki.  Kiki isn't one of those really creative, zip-lining elves, but he did have a few tricks up his sleeve, such as...

Taking a bath in marshmallows...

Making a snow angel in sugar...

Getting caught trying to toilet-paper the bathroom...

And playing the little kids' piano on the big piano.

This concludes the Obligatory Christmas Recap Post.  Happy 2014!

What's Up? (Picture Edition)

What have we been up to?

A little Christmas decorating.  (That's a police car driving through the Christmas village...the village and trees get rearranged on a daily basis.)

Some members of the family aren't very helpful at decorating.

Speaking of helpful, this man cooks AND cleans.

Which is a good thing, because he has been so clingy that I stuck him in the baby carrier one afternoon just to try to get some things done.  Unfortunately- or maybe fortunately, since he's really too old for that- he hated it screamed to get out immediately.

We put up a pretty tree.  (As pretty as it can be with all of the ornaments on the top 1/3 of the tree.)

And I've been trying to get some cute pictures.  That part isn't going so well.

Aside from that, we're doing some hot cocoa-drinking, which is really just an excuse to eat marshmallows,

some wrestling,

and some book-reading.

How cute is that last one?!

Hope you are having a great holiday season!!