We're almost ready....

Eddie and I tried on our Halloween costumes a little early, and I have to say....we're looking mighty cute!

{woody + neigh + sucker = happy eddie}

{and my seriously kick ass witches hat, which came from walmart for $9! best thing I've ever gotten at walmart, people! i'm wearing it with a cute black sweater dress, purple and black striped tights and my black boots. cute, kinda mom-ish but not quite a halloween themed sweater vest yet!}

Courtside

{courtside. well alright then}

{let me say now, i know nothing about basketball. once upon a time my childhood best friend, kristen, was obsessed with the bulls. so back in the day, i knew a little about basketball, but that's really all i've got. we basically took these tickets for the experience of it all, because it is one cool experience!}

{why were we there? Werner ladders, of course! thank you Werner!}

So. We were close. Really close. And I'll let you in on some of the new things I learned about basketball.

1). Those thuds when they fall? Extra loud when you're right there. And you can't help but wince.

2). Those padded folding chairs they put up for the floor seats? Insanely comfortable! Hubby has some back issues and I was worried he was going to hate them. Their comfort was the first thing that he commented on!

3). And when you're this close.......

.....the amount of eye contact you make with the players is weird, a little uncomfortable and totally funny. That was the one thing that surprised me the most....they look at you. Like, really, really look at you...like they know you, like they're trying to figure out who you are. It also made it hard to take an actual picture of them, which is why I have the feet picture. Let's see you try and take a picture of basketball players when they can turn and look at you any second. What are you supposed to do then? Ask them to smile? Be all "SAY CHEESE!!!!!" Ha! I don't think so.....

Which brings me to my favorite thing that I learned at the Bulls game.

4). The players really appreciate a good push up bra.

HA! Hahaaahahahahaha....oh man. Sorry family.

But really. Lots of stares. And I'm not ashamed to say that I spent the better part of the night leaning forward. Don't worry...husband was by my side laughing! I like to think that it helped them win....me and my push up bra...doing what we can to motivate the Bulls. Ha!

{and win they did!}

{the sad part? I was more geeked about being able to see the bottom of the big scoreboard then I was about seeing the game! Our normal 300 level Blackhawks tickets don't really give that view...hehe}

And the final thing that I learned?

5). Joakim Noah is the cutest thing on the planet. He wasn't playing when we were there (he had a nasty sounding cough, so if I get sick soon, you'll all know why!) but was cheering his ass off. It was so cute! A player would be huffing and puffing on the side and he'd yell to them "I see you son! I see you! You're working hard out there! I like it!" and while I'm sure my typing it doesn't make it sound as cute as it was, but I promise you, it was adorable.

So there you have it. I think I have now represented all of the Chicago teams on this blog....and that's just in the past couple of weeks! Who knew were we so sporty?

October 15

While I didn't mention it on the blog, October 15 was weighing heavily on my mind. Some of you may know that October 15 is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day....and through blogging and being a member of a pregnancy/mom online community I have a connection with many women who have experienced these losses. I have mentioned a blogger friend's "Doodles" here before and I think I have mentioned another blogger's baby Jack before as well.

Baby Jack's mom recently had a beautiful, tear-jearking blog post regarding how to keep Jack's memory "real" for his sisters...and if you need a good cry, go ahead and read it here.

The nice ones

The benefits of knowing a season ticket holder....

Our friend Keith has season tickets to the Stanley Cup winning Chicago Blackhawks. A benefit of being a season ticket holder is fun special events, many with opportunities to see the cup. A benefit of being friends with a season ticket holder is to latch on and beg to attend these cup-meeting opportunites.

Just kidding, we didn't beg. But we latched on for dear life!

Kidding. Kinda.


So. Anyway. This weekend we went to see the Stanley Cup. My main goal was to kiss it - germs be damned - and to not get in trouble for doing so. Turns out, they actually don't care if you kiss it! Score one for me!

{we waited in a long line}

{the boys eventually wandered up..hehe}

{3 of my favorites}

{aren't we adorable?}

{oooohhh fancy}

{i found the ice girls for keith, and like any good friend, brought them back so he could chat 'em up a bit}

{as i said before...probably the only girls that wanted a picture with them...but this is as close as hubby's getting to the tilted kilt, so he'll have to take it!}

{love, love, love this picture!}

{keith, kissing up the ice chick picture...}

{holy hell! check out that ring! the lady checking 'the list' was rocking this, and gladly showed it off to us. it was seriously and completely crazy huge...hard to believe that the player rings are even bigger!}

{oooohhh....we're almost there!}

{muah!}

{now, let me say that I gave the cup a big, huge kiss, full lips. Keith actually kissed the cup cup, which makes me cringe a little...i figured that the rings were at least a *little* less germy. Erin went for the fake kiss and Hubby just laughed at all of us.

{aww....hello there!}

{the case}

{check out the gloves! that's Howie the cup handler. He's been with the cup since this all began, and told us some pretty good stories. He is from Canada, apparently pretty close to where Erin's family is from, and they quickly bonded like the friendly little Canadians that they are. We chatted with Howie for quite a bit and he was super nice. One day, we plan to take Howie out for drinks...he asked us to keep in touch and we totally will!}

{Isn't this picture great? Too bad I didn't take a picture of Keith's face when he tried to pick it up. He learned that it was heavy, got yelled at just a little and a shake of the head from his terribly understanding girlfriend}

{check out our cute little pin! isn't is great?}

{and when we got back to my parent's house, we had one cute little man waiting to hear all about our trip. He was totally in love with Daddy in his jersey, which I will admit, Momma is too!}

Thank you Keith and Erin for taking us! It was so super fun and something we'll never forget!

Wow

Driving home tonight, Eddie started freaking out.

:::::::::

MOM! MOM! MOM! MOMMA!

MOOOOOOOOOOM! MOOOOOOOOOOOM! MOOOOMMMMMMMMMMAAAA!!!!!!


yes eddie


Wow, Momma! WOW! LOOK MOMMA!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!

what eddie? what do you see?
(turn around to see what he's pointing at)

The sunset? Do you like the colors?

Wow, Momma. Wow! Sunset....is pretty Momma. Wow.

::::::::

Thank you, Eddie. Thank you for showing me, yet again, to appreciate the little things. To look at the sunset and say wow. To take the time, pay attention, and love it all. Because they're far too many things that go without appreciation, without wow's.

Lists

I commented on another blog, one asking to list 3 things you are loving at this moment.....it was cute, so I thought I'd share.

1. Drinking coffee with honey (we're out of cream!) and I've reached the bottom of the cup where the honey is apparently hiding. I'm riding the line between yummy and too-sweet and enjoying it.

2. The crunch-crunch-crunch sound of Eddie eating an apple next to me.

3. The fact that Hubby is taking a week long vacation next week...one in which all we plan to do is fun outings that he rarely gets to go on. I'm so excited!
 
 
And because I'm always honest, I'm going to list one thing that is bothering me. Just one.
 
1. I wish that I could hold onto confidence for more than 1 minute. I found a fun job that I'd love to apply for - and that, at one point, I really thought that I would be perfect for.....until I began second guessing myself and questioning why I was even so confident in the first place. So instead of jumping, instead of taking the risk, I'll leave it be.
 
 
And because we can't end on that,  I'll list some of the funny things Eddie is doing lately.
 
1. His favorite thing in the world right now is to jump on the couch. He'll do flips and fling his feet into the air landing on his tush in a fit full of giggles. They're the kind of giggles that you know he's peeing a little bit, right that moment, from laughing so hard. And it's giggles like that where I'm thankful that he still is in diapers, because those giggles are too great to worry about him peeing his pants. Heh.
 
2. He's still in love with horses, which we've all taken to calling "neighs" because god forbid any of us call them horses. We drive by any number of them and he'll tell us what they're doing....."eating grass!" "neigh's napping" or, occassionally, when there are no horses, you'll get the always funny "maybe watching tee-bee" (tee-bee = t.v.)
 
3. And T.V....it must always have one of 3 options. 1) Mickey 2) Hockey 3) Football. It's all he wants. The boy is insane for hockey and will watch pretty much the whole game, cheering for the right team and all! It is so funny. Since Hubs is off this week, we're hoping to get him on the ice for the first time, which should be super fun.
 
 
Phew. Random. Sorry!
 
 

How Tall This Fall

{2008}

{2009}

{2010}

Originally I didn't think there was much of a difference between last year and this year, but WOW...to see them next to each other is crazy! Totally different. And, obviously, this year was oddly warm...I don't really expect to see shorts in any more of these annual pictures!

What I can now say....

What I couldn't say on the last post, and what I can say now is.....


MY BEST FRIEND IS GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


her boyfriend, Mike, proposed yesterday. I couldn't say anything until it became "facebook announced", but it has been announced and I can shout it from the rooftops. My best friend, in the whole world is going to be a bride. We're going to go dress shopping, and talk about flowers and receptions and I'm going to tease her that she is a bridezilla, even though I'll love all of the bridezilla moments. I can't wait to experience all that goes into my best friend's wedding.......I think I'll enjoy it even more than planning my own! So watch out world......Steffi's getting married!

Miss Stefanie

Yesterday was my best friend Stef's birthday.

In my life, Stef is kind of a big deal. She is my girl version of a soul mate....my sister, my bestie and the one who knows me better than even my husband. Heh. Sorry, Hubby...but it's true. Stefanie can walk into a store and tell you the exact outfit I would pick out. She can tell you what I like, what I don't, and how I show you each. She is funny, she is cute, she is smart and she is loved by many, many people. We've seen each other through braces, boys and drama. We've screamed together, laughed together, and held eachother when we cried.

She is my sister. My soul mate. And I love her more than the world.

Now if only she would fix her damn phone so I could CALL THE WOMAN.

{this weekend we went to dinner for her birthday}

{with heather (and luke), me (and hubs), stef (and mike) and shara}

{we made stef do saki bombs. which are apparently illegal? benihanna wouldn't serve them to us, so we gladly have them the middle finger and made them ourselves}

{can we just focus on that action shot for a second? awesome, right?}

{go stef!}

{please don't puke!}

{this was our benihanna chef. can we focus on his name for a second? look at the name tag. look at his face....name....face......name.....face......now COME ON. Dude's name...NOT YOSHI}

{hi luke!}

{the boys did some saki bombs}

{cute!}

{Happy Birthday, my Steffi!}

Me.

While I know I have been neglecting the blog, I have not been neglecting myself. Crazy thought, right? A mom who is actually taking...time? Time to be pretty, time to get fit, and time to find the girl that once was.

Part of this post is inspired by a comment on my last post, asking me if I've lost weight. The easy answer is yes, I've lost weight....and in the process of losing almost 25lbs (so far...I still have much more to lose!) I've found something much more important.

ME.

{please excuse the small, icky phone pic. But please, notice the rocking outfit and my general cute-ness!}

A couple months ago, I approached an old boss of mine about going back to work. They were happy to have me back, and I was happy to be back. So, twice a week I've been teaching swimming again. And my God, it makes me so happy. I left the club long ago because I felt I wasn't able to be seen as an adult -  I was constantly seen as the 15 year old who first started as a lifeguard. I would have never guessed then, and it still baffles me now, that I would return to that same place and find something I didn't really know was missing. Well....that's not totally right. I knew I lost something....I knew I felt a hole in me - one that I knew I needed to fix...but until I began fixing it, I didn't realize how lost it was.

After I taught, I swam. And I still swim. And in that process.....I remembered what it felt like to not be self concious. To not worry of what everyone thinks of me, to clear my head and to think more than I should, all at the same time. I've always been a fish.....but I never quite realized just how peaceful swimming was for me. Yesterday I did a Saturday morning swim....the sunlight was streaming in through the windows, reflecting on the bubbles I had made seconds earlier. And I'm not trying to be corny or anything....but it was my church. It was so beautiful. And at that moment, I thanked God....fate....myself....my zodiac sign....whatever you wanted me to thank, I did. Because those bubbles, the sunlight, and the wooshing of the water in my ears was the happiest I've been in a long time.

So was I sad before? Was I depressed? I don't think so. I think I was just lost.

My friend Vicki and I were talking about all of this the other day, and she explained what I was feeling to a T. She said "I want to be Vicki, who is a teacher, and a mom"....and I think that so much of the time I was being "that young mom Maggie"....and I want Maggie to come first. Mom can be a bonus, a swim instructor can be a bonus....but Maggie has to come first.

And thankfully, I've learned the importance of this. So I'll pass it along.

Find the thing you love. Some people have running, some people have yoga, and if you're like me, you swim. Once you've found it, DO IT. Often. And embrace the changes that it brings.....my skin, often, smells like chlorine, my hair is a little crunchier....but I have muscles showing! My skinny jeans are too big! And since you're feeling good....LOOK GOOD.  Saturday night I got dressed up (see above picture). The clothes are totally out of my normal range, and it felt GOOD. As I walked around the corner, my husband's jaw actually dropped. Holy hell. The last time that happened? I'm not that sure, but I liked it. And if I can make his jaw drop, even better if I can make some other jaws drop...because let's face it, nothing feels better than when you feel cute. sexy. Overall, good about yourself.


Slowly but surely, the girl I was once is coming back out to play. Back out to enjoy, and be enjoyed. And so far, I'm loving every minute of it.

Catch Up

Sorry, ya'll. I know I've been slacking, but the urge to blog just hasn't been around me lately. So now I have about a million things to post about.....it will be random, it will be jumbled, and it may be long. We'll see how long this blogging bug hits me.

{eddie and v's favorite new thing is to play in dirt. constantly. they will sit for hours (literally) and dig, push the tractors around and get terribly messy.}

Mom and I tried to golf.

{my form is amazing, and you know it}

{lol}

We did much better at our cooking class, where Chef Mark taught us how to make homemade pasta and a couple of simple and yummy sauces.

{hi chef Mark!}

{eggs, flour and a little salt. easy peasy.}

{mix.}

{mess.}

{here's chef  Mark telling us the joys of an automatic pasta roller...he did this little batch by hand and I've got to be honest...I felt a little bad for the guy.}

{our cute little class. cooking day made for a fun outing for my mom and i....and even better, after we learned a little, we got to eat a lot! chef made a wonderful meal and then presented each plate himself, which was a neat experience. I've never had the actual chef come out and explain the dish...it made the food just a little more interesting. plus i got to try the club's signature brandy ice, which was so gross interesting. it came with a delish little cookie...lol}

{construction started on our street recently, and any day they're out there working you'll find Eddie just like  this....or standing outside and waving to the construction workers, desperatly trying to get them to notice him}

{the boy started a new game with eddie}

{called "let's watch maggie freak out!"...because if you saw someone throwing around your kid, you'd be freaking out too}

{too bad eddie loves it, and while scary, i know jim isn't really trying to hurt eddie. right? besides...he had something to celebrate....he got a little gift for his girlfriend Michelle....}

{which caused a big to-do in the hood, because now.....the bride/groom jokes are endless! ha! give us an excuse to make fun of eachother and we'll take it}

Phew. Are we caught up yet? Of course, many more things have happened since then. Eddie and I had a fun trip to the Morton Arboretum on a beautiful day, and I knowingly missed an amazing photo op because I just didn't feel like ruining the moment I was enjoying.....WEIRD, RIGHT? Can you all believe that my camera wasn't strapped to my hip the whole time? LOL, I'm sorry....and I'll try my best to recreate the amazing picture that could have been sometime. Maybe.

And I promise I'll try to blog more often...we have some fun things coming up....Scarecrow Festival, Auntie Stef's birthday dinner, meeting the Stanley Cup (!!!) at the United Center, some end of season zoo trips.....and of course all of the standard fall photo ops. Lots to blog about, for sure....unless the world swallows me up with the mess of things planned, I hope you'll all be able to read about it soon.