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The weather's getting a bit nuts, so I'm going to keep the text brief and post this quickly. That way I can be prepared for the kids to come in all worried about the storm.

I've had an excellent birthday weekend. Last night Pete took the kids to Deerfield and we headed out. First stop was Evanston to see Bridesmaids. Highly recommended. We loved it. After that we drove down to Lincoln Square and attended a Chopping Block class. Here was our main course, pre-boil.

 Here's Pete with the rest of the raw ingredients.

 You've got to hand it to him, the man has technique.

 I just found this bowl kind of pretty. It was the remoulade sauce for the fried oysters.

 Here we are, ready to fry.

 And here's Pete making friends with the crawfish.

 

Perhaps "taunting" the crawfish is more accurate.

Our classmates were all quite pleasant. We chatted a bit and let the two husbands do the heavy lifting.

 Everyone told me we would have to suck the brains. I didn't really see what all the fuss was about. I was probably doing it wrong.

 I got to do the Bananas Foster. Here's a picture of me tipping the pan to set the rum afire. I thought I was going to lose the whole thing over the stovetop, but I was successful.

 Full and happy:

But our night was not over. We went over to Martyr's to see The Opposition Party play. They're an afro-pop group, several members of which are friends/former roommates of Pete's.

This morning Pete and I slept in until 8AM and then headed out for a breakfast which was uninterrupted by children needing to go to the bathroom. The day was sunny and beautiful. After we picked up the kids Henry went to baseball practice. Clara and I walked up to Walgreen's and back over to watch a little practice. After naps we went over to Sharon's for some dinner and cake.

 She and the girls had put up streamers and balloons. Sadly, the weather had turned a bit by then, so we weren't able to hang out outside, but we still had a very nice, mellow time.

 The kids helped me blow out my candles. Pete thought the cake looked like it had experienced a chocolate tsunami. It was delicious.

 Thanks to everyone who called, sent cards, left messages on facebook or otherwise wished me a nice birthday! It was a very nice day!

And now we just have to get through this thunder and lightning...

A couple more...

...pictures from a Very Hawkeye Birthday.




In other news...tomorrow's post will probably be about a new baby cousin for Henry and Clara!!!

Hawks and Birthday

First Hawks game of the season. I went with Sandy, her sister Sarah, and Carrie. We had a great time and the Hawks won.
It was also the 2nd birthday of my sweet nephew Anders. Here he is with Clara and Henry.
Anders had a fun birthday party at City Park. We had some pizza and rode the rides. Hooray!
These pictures are all from Pete's camera. I'll post some more when I load mine.

Getting Old!

This blog is getting old! 700th post today!
Oh yeah, and me too....35 now. Goodness.
It was a pretty great birthday.
Friday evening we enjoyed some Lou Malnati's and watched Charlotte's Web (2007) because we had just finished reading the book. Around 7:30 Rob and Eleanor arrived. Eleanor was immediately excited to play in the kitchen, while Clara was immediately excited to play host.
Saturday morning came early. Henry woke me with happy birthday wishes at about 5:55. Eleanor is not a sleeper-in either, so we got up and had crepes. Pretty much anything served with strawberries and Nutella promises to be good.
Then we had some gift time. Henry and Clara picked out an awesome pair of lavender Chucks for me, but we need to exchange them for a larger size. Those tricky Converse sizes...
There was lots of nice book-reading time too.
Shortly after lunch Adelaide arrived with Amber and Jeff. The kids all laid down for naps. Henry conked out, Clara napped for about an hour and Adelaide spent her time peeking out the window at us as we tried to set up for the party.
Party set up involved food-prep, chair borrowing, balloons etc.
And then guests started to arrive!! Pete grilled up some meats, Amber and Mary and lots of other people contributed tasty eats too. There was lots of yummy food.


I love this photo for so many reasons.
I think people enjoyed themselves!
Thanks to Mary for taking pictures. Here's proof that I was at my own party.
And so were lots of other great people...
And lots of kids!
Clara was working the crowd for drinks (we had a kid's cooler of juice and chocolate milk). In this picture she has a strawberry dessert cake in her hand.
This one comes with a bit of a story. Henry and his pals had thrown a frisbee over the fence. I led a small army to retrieve it from the yard which backs up to ours, which means we had to go half-way around the block. While we were over there looking for it I heard Pete's voice back in our yard saying "where is she?" I jumped up to look over the fence, only to see that he was out there with the birthday cake and candles lit. So in this picture I'm pointing and saying "I had to run from all the way over there!!"
Here's another fun one. We had a crazy candle that spins around, opens up like a flower, and plays music.
After difficult and late settling down for some kids (mine), we had another fairly early morning. Fortunately the kids were happy to play together quietly for a while before everyone had to hit the road.
Thanks to all for a delightful birthday!

Henry

Tomorrow at noon he'll turn 5 years old. My hilarious and smart and sweet and rambunctious and wild and loving little guy. Here are some pictures in no particular order (except for the first and last). I had to stop because I could have spent all night doing this and it's already 11:30 and I have to get up early to host a party in my pajamas! The skunky decorations are up. Guests arrive at 9AM. I'd better go wrap some gifts and get some sleep.










I love you Henry. Bunches and bunches.