Go Speedracer Go

Liam wants to be a racecar driver. He wants his racecar to have a fishtank in the back too. So it seemed only natural to take him to a real race. Last weekend we went to Elkhart Lake, WI with Eric's brother Andy and his girlfriend Erin. The resort was beautiful and the cars were very cool and even the Bears Packers game at the Wisonsin dive bar was fun. Unfortunately Brendan came down with a cold our second night there (and we didn't know it yet but Liam did too.) Vacations with kids are different. I personally like to go somewhere with little expectations, no itinerary and maybe only a vague idea of what I want to do. With Liam and Brando there's about 6 extra suitcases to bring and at least some preparation is vital. Unfortunately you never think of bringing humidifiers, do you? So, bedtime. Brendan was having a hard time falling asleep with the cold so Eric was in with him and I was watching a very strange show on the History channel about, you guessed it, the antichrist. It was a Nostradamus thing that normally I wouldn't have watched, but what roped me in was this weird teaser they kept offering that seemed to imply our president might be the "3rd and final" antichrist. They even went so far as to have an actor who slightly resembled the prez who they'd show every time they proposed their ominous questions, "Could this third and final antichrist be an intelligent, popular, charismatic man who leads a nation to glory just before he destroys the world forever?" It was so strange and filled with so much overt innuendo that I just had to keep watching to see how they were going to finish it. At this point either way would be bizarre. If they said "no it's definitely not our president" then why did they keep alluding to him as if he was, and really how could they say that with any authority since it's all a bunch of mumbo jumbo anyway. The conspiracy theorists would have a field day with that. If they said it is him or could be him that would be sooooo incredible it doesn't seem possible. So how would it end? I literally sat through 45 minutes of this show and then just when they were going to get to the bottom line, Brendan wakes up inconsolable and needing me and so I didn't get to watch the end. Unbelievable. Conspiracy, right?
So around midnight Brendan woke up with this 3-packs-of-Camels-a-Day cough, the likes of which I'd never heard before. Well, had we been at home I would have put on the humidifier and if it was bad I would have brought him into the bathroom with the hot shower arunnin. No humidifier, but I ran the hotel hot shower and sure enough he stopped coughing and fell back asleep. Eric went down to the front desk to get some extra pillows for Brando (didn't want to have them bring them up and knock on the door and wake everyone) and I asked him to leave the shower running so the noise would be in the background til he came back. Sure enough less than one minute after Eric left the fire alarm in our room goes off. We had a 3 bedroom setup with a kitchen and dining room and the three bedrooms were all clustered in the back. This insane blasting alarm would not shut off, and a minute later the front desk calls to see what's going on. I explain what happened and ask how to turn it off. "Just open the patio door" was their reply. Great idea, but all it did was cause dozens of worried hotel guests to start looking out their doors and windows wondering if the building was on fire. Erin and Andy came out of their bedroom and we all tried to make it shut off. Liam and Brendan somehow slept through it, in spite of it being a foot away from each of their open doors and it literally stayed on for 10 or 15 minutes. Finally Andy pulled it out of the ceiling. A minute later Eric came back, unaware of what had happened. Then the front desk tells us we have to put the smoke detector back in or the Fire Department's going to come. It was really a joyful experience, especially when after everyone was back to sleep Liam started crying at the top of his lungs because his cold finally set in and he felt awful but was so tired the only thing he could do was cry. I think Eric and I maybe got two hours of sleep that night, and we woke up before 7, packed up our stuff and left before Erin and Andy even got up.
Then I kept Liam home from his 4th and 5th days of preschool. On Thursday he seemed much better and I thought he was ready to go back. He definitely wanted to and I didn't think he seemed contagious (bear in mind that I ABHOR when people bring their sick kids anywhere near me or my kids, so I would not want to be a hypocrite but I really felt like he was ok.) I went to work and Eric called saying he wasn't sure if Liam should go. I'm like "I think he's fine and should go, but it's up to you." So based on my prodding Eric decided to send him. On the way back from dropping him off Eric calls to tell me that yes Liam went to school but the weird thing was that the class won't be going outside and they're canceling the ice cream social because there's an escaped convict on the loose in the neighborhood so the school's on lockdown. Well didn't I feel great for convincing Eric to let him go.
Alls well that ends well. I actually feel sort of sorry for the convict because he knew he was probably going to be sent to prison for the next decade plus, so when he saw an easy opportunity to escape he did it, and in all the time he was on the lam he didn't hurt anyone. I read someone saying he hopes he "goes to jail for the rest of his life" which I think is absurd, considering murderers don't even always go to jail for the rest of their lives. I think it's just a sad commentary on our penitentiary system, when the guys ends up in jail for nonviolent crime at age 18, and he just goes back and forth between jail and freedom for the rest of his life. Really isn't there any way we could help first offenders not end up back in jail? Of course some people won't be reformed, but our overcrowded prisons are probably the worst thing you could do for people gone astray. The whole system's a mess, that's my opinion. Anyway thank God everything ended peacefully and safely. And on a happier note, Liam sent his first text message today. Eric got a new phone after a wayward load of laundry did in his old and much beloved phone. This one has a keypad which intrigues Liam, and all on his own he texted me and my niece Kelly a message. He wanted to also text our babysitter but she's only 12 and doesn't have a cell phone. What was his message? "Liam" Succinct, just like he is.

Ouch, That Stings

Me: Good night, Liam, I love you.
(kiss, hug)
Liam: I love you too, Mommy.
Me: Good night, Brendan. I love you.
Brendan: Good night.
Me: Can you give Mommy a kiss, Brendan?
Brendan: No way, Elmo.

My City By the Lake

This weekend we hung out downtown. Among the highlights were taking a carriage ride, hanging out in the WGN/NBC plaza with the 3 story tall statue recreation of American Gothic (couldn't help but thing about Doing Time in Park Ridge of course) and the fountains, window shopping on Michigan Avenue, swimming in the 1920s pool at the Hotel Intercontinental, which looked like it was pulled straight out of the Hearst mansion, and taking a ride on the water taxi. We forgot to check out Buckingham fountain so we'll have to go back. Liam and Brendan were both amazingly good, and really enjoyed looking out the window of our room down at the lake and lighthouse and the city 22 stories below. When we first got there Eric thought the woman who checked us in said we were on the 2nd floor, so he asked if we could get something higher and she said no. It made sense when we realized it was the 22nd floor. The best testament to how well the trip went was that we didn't even open the bag of cars I brought to play with. Truly that's unheard of. Unfortunately somewhere in the middle of the night we awoke to Brendan saying "Pwease, pwease" only to find him standing next to his bed with his eyes still closed trying to get climb back in. Apparently he had fallen out or scooted off and it was too high for him to get back in. But other than that and the crazy traffic on the way home, it was a perfect trip.

My New Eco-Friendly Water Bottle

It's sleek, it's pretty, it's stainless steel and very mod. Three things I don't like about it:

1. When I opened it (while sitting at the public service desk at work today) a huge stream of water flew out of it and onto and across my pants, so now I look like I wet my pants. It also gave me flashbacks to trying to change Liam's diaper at 2am.
2. When I drink from it, it makes a super-sonic screeching noise which reverberates throughout the library. At first I thought a security alarm was going off. It's so far from right I cannot even explain. And I am not joking.
3. My water tastes like metal.

So, I am going to have to reevaluate this $13 purchase. Much like I sadly mourn the loss of the $8 MORGAN embossed sippy cup that Brendan forced me to buy, which now has a big rip in the rubbery-plastic coating after Eric proceeded to wash in the dishwasher, against the advice of the large Hand Wash Only label, rendering it unusable.

LPZ

Here are some pics from a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Always good times. I should actually write something but I'm just too lazy today.






Here is Brendan blissfully passed out after the adventure:



And here's a set of pics when I caught Liam and Brendan practicing for Brendan's 21st birthday. Fortunately they only had play cups, but I'm gonna keep an eye on these two...

True Ramblings

Well, at the expense of having any social life recently, Eric and I have been moving full steam ahead with working insane schedules and fixing up the house. I think the end is in sight, with the only big project left on the docket painting the cabinets in the kitchen and having the countertops installed. The painting part is a lot of work, and I will be SO happy when it is done. Ok, off to play chase with Brendan and Liam!

Maseratis, Aston Martins and Rick Bayless

Sequentially I should post my After pictures of the yard, but I want to wait til they finish the casings on the back windows first.
Yesterday /last night was awesome. In celebration of 8 years of marriage, we dropped dos bambinos at the grandparents for lunch, then Eric and I got a bunch of stuff done including (finally!) ordering new countertops (bye bye Brady Bunch, we won't miss you!) and other miscellaneous jazz (how romantic. We ran into an Action Ridge neighbor that afternoon and she said her husband NEVER took her to Home Depot to celebrate their anniversary, poor lady.) Then we went downtown for drinks at Fado and dinner at Frontera Grill. It was seriously the best food I've ever had in my life, and the margaritas were insanely good. We forced ourselves to eat almost everything we got because we had never had such an extraordinary meal, and no one else seemed to be taking doggie bags. :o) Eric was excited because there was a bevy of upscale cars outside to oogle as well. Like a little touch of L.A. on Clark. Dinner was at 9 and we thought about going to a midnight movie afterward, but decided to come home instead and SLEEP! G&G Z were having a sleepover with the grandkids, which meant we got to sleep in today AND do my favorite lazy thing ever, which is wake up, eat breakfast and then go BACK to bed. It was truly fantastical.
Tomorrow our itty bitty 3rd bedroom will be magically transformed into a itty bitty purple and green playroom. I'll try to post before and after pics, as I know you are just DYING to see the metamorphosis.
Oh, and now I certainly CANNOT get that Eagles song Life's Been Good out of my head. "My Maserati does 185, I lost my license, now I don't drive." That's been with me since I asked Eric last night, "So a Maerati's a really expensive car?" and he laughed in my face, realized I wasn't joking and as he tried to explain it to me I sang that lyric and he said, "Yes, exctally. It's what rockstars drive."
Oh, and on our way downtown Eric was trying to make a call on the OnStar and it misheard him: Eric's response: Dammit
Onstar: Now calling - Eric.
Ok, who wants to have the next sleepover with the kids? They were apparently quite good. Lemme know.