Chicago=Good Food, Good Friends, Good Time!

Jason and I went to Chicago to spend the 3 day weekend with my good friend Kimmi. We had such a good time and it was nice to just get away for a couple of days. We got in town on Saturday around noon and took the train from the airport to meet Kimmi and her boyfriend, Peter, for lunch. Afterwards we headed to Kimmi's apartment and settled ourselves on her back porch stocked with a full cooler and several games. We did not leave that porch for hours! We had so much fun sitting around and playing catch phrase, bags, and mad gab. All highly entertaining games that only get more entertaining after a few beers! If you have never played Mad Gab you should buy it for your next game night. It's pretty simple but so funny. Each player picks a card which has a string of words on it that make no sense and they have to sound it out.

For example: hype people earth duh hey

Say it over and over. Can you figure it out?

Answer: Happy Birthday!

It's pretty funny to watch/listen to people figure it out when their eyes are telling them one thing and their ears another.

Saturday night we enjoyed a late dinner at a great little Mexican place in a part of Chicago called Boys Town. Let's just say Jason got way more attention than Kimmi and I!

Sunday we relaxed and hung out at Kimmi's place and then met up with my parents and my brother, Christian, who were all in Chicago as well. Christian lived in Chicago for years and was back for a wedding. My parents didn't want to pass up the opportunity to spend some time with him since he's in Denver now and it's hard for him to get home. So we had a mini family reunion!We went to Pequods for deep dish pizza, a Chicago specialty. It was delicious!

Restaurant of the Month: C

Last weekend Kelly and I ventured to Webster Groves for dinner club to a little cafe called Cyrano's. Cyrano's is a kind of funky, artsy cafe in the heart of Webster that offers small plates as well as a few entrees and delicious desserts and drinks. The walls are painted bright colors and covered in artwork. They also have a really cool room for private events with umbrellas and brightly colored lights hanging from the ceiling and mosaic walls - I'm dying to find a reason to have a party there!

Kelly and I shared a few small plates for dinner: crab cakes, mushroom pizza, and spinach and artichoke dip. Although they are "small" plates it was way more than enough food for us to share. All of it was delicious as was the featured wine we tried - a white blend. We were too full to try one of their famous desserts. I have however tried the bread pudding and it was yummy! The food and wine are great, but the atmosphere is definitely what makes Cyrano's worth coming back to again and again. It's cozy and colorful and the perfect place to have a relaxing meal with friends. Note: I keep meaning to bring my camera to dinner club to take my own pictures of the places and food, but I keep forgetting!

Spring

I am so happy that Spring is here! It was a long winter and I was more than ready for warm weather and sunshine. Jason and I were pleasantly surprised when we discovered we have tons of beautiful flowers in our front yard. We moved into our house in the middle of summer so we didn't even know what we had, but are very fortunate that the previous owners did a great job landscaping.


We celebrated Easter last weekend with both families. We went to church with Jason's parents and then enjoyed brunch and a relaxing afternoon. We headed over to my parent's house for an Easter egg hunt and dinner. I love having little kids around for Easter again. It's so fun to watch them and Millie really got into the egg hunt this year.



Other spring activities we have been enjoying:
Dinners outside
Wine nights on the patio and using the fire pit
Kickball in Tower Grove park
Going for walks
Pretty much anything that gets us outside!

Happy Spring!

Change

I am not usually a big fan of change. I'm a pretty routine person and change usually freaks me out a little. However, there comes a time when change is necessary and I have reached that point in my career. It's time for something different. I've made it my goal for 2010 to find a job that makes me happy and fulfilled. I'm happy to say that I have taken the steps to make that change! Starting tomorrow, I will be working at my current job part time and taking on the role of nanny for my nieces, Millie and Merrill, part time! I think this is the best possible thing for me right now and gives me the best of both worlds.

Some benefits to my new work schedule:

• I will be spending less time at a job that I don't really enjoy. I actually think this will give me a greater appreciation for my job and I will enjoy the time I am there more.


• I'm still keeping a foot in the door at my current company and as well as the business world. I don't know if I want to stay in the business world long term, but this gives me some time to figure it out while still gaining valuable experience.

• I get to spend more time with my two favorite little girls! I know it will be challenging in many ways, but I'm ready!

• I've recently been considering going back to school to get my degree in Early Childhood Education. What better way to test out if this is something I really want to do than spending time with a 2 yr old and 9 month old?!
  

While change is still scary to me and I know this will be a big adjustment, I am really looking forward to new experiences, challenges and hopefully some personal growth!

Goodbye March and Good Riddance!

I am so glad that this month is almost over. For all intents and purposes, March was not a good month at our house. After barely recovering from the passing of Jason's Grandfather, we received some more bad news last week. Jason's Grandma on his other side of the family had also passed away. It was like a bad case of déjà vu. No family should have to suffer so much loss in such a short period of time.

The services for Jason's Grandma Schneider were held over the weekend and it was a wonderful celebration of her life. Jason's mom comes from a big family. Let me rephrase that. A HUGE family. She is one of 17 children. Yes, that's right, I said 17! It was mentioned several times that Jason's Grandma was a true saint for raising 17 kids and I have to agree. Not only did she raise 17 kids, but she did an amazing job. They are all great people and I have enjoyed getting to know them over the past several years - although it took me a while to keep everyone straight! Here are some more mind blowing stats of the Schneider Family. There are 61 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. Incredible.

So needless to say Jason and I are looking forward to moving on from this difficult month. I'm hoping April brings more warm weather and some happier celebrations!

Restaurant of the Month: B

This month Kelly and I took dinner club to a hole in the wall pizza joint, Blackthorn Pub. I'd heard great things about their deep dish pizza and had to give it a try myself. Blackthorn is located in the Tower Grove area and popular with locals. It's literally a hole in the wall bar complete with graffiti walls, paper plates and only a handful of tables. The menu is on the table and consists of two things: pizza and salad. That's it. The pizza is so good that they don't even need to sell anything else - well except beer of course - and they have plenty of that! Kelly and I settled on a green pepper and onion deep dish pizza and headed to the bar to place our order. We got a pitcher of beer and settled into our booth. They said it would take about 45 minutes for the pizza, but I think it ended up only being about 30. Although I've heard the wait on Friday and Saturday nights can be up to 2 hours! The wait was worth it! The pizza was delicious! The sauce is not your traditional tomato sauce and has more of a kick to it which I liked. The toppings were actually embedded between layers of cheese as well as on top. It was super cheesy and pretty heavy even with the light toppings but that is to be expected with deep dish. Kelly and I each had 2 pieces and could not eat anymore. Jason was happy to devour the leftovers within 10 minutes of me bringing them home ;)

This isn't our pizza but is a Blackthorn pizza. Mmmm.

A total dive bar, but with great pizza!

Would You Buy This?

I am wrapping up my writing class this week and have really enjoyed it. I feel like I got a lot out of it and learned how to effectively write for children. Our final assignment was to revise one of our previous writings. I submitted a revised version of a story I wrote called, The Day You Were Born. My teacher really liked it and is urging me to submit it to a publisher! I was so excited when she told me that she couldn't wait to see my book on the shelves. What?! I mean I like to write and I think I'm ok at it, but to think that I could actually publish a book and see it on the shelf at Borders is mind blowing to me. So, before I start trying to market my book, I thought I'd test it out here first. This would be a picture book for babies/toddlers. Try to imagine beautiful pictures that will go along with it (illustrators are usually picked by the publisher). Here it is:

The Day You Were Born

The day you were born, I woke up early feeling you moving around in my tummy. Daddy joked that maybe you were having a dance party in there, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before I got to meet you.

The day you were born, Daddy took me to the hospital and the doctor told us that very soon we would have a new member of our family.

The day you were born, Daddy held my hand as we waited for you.

The day you were born, Daddy and I heard you cry as you entered the world. Everyone cheered as the doctor held you up. You were finally here!

The day you were born, the nurse placed you in my arms wrapped tightly in blanket and a little hat to keep your head warm. Daddy called you his little burrito.

The day you were born, Daddy couldn’t stop smiling. He called the whole family to announce your arrival! Everyone was excited and wanted to know all about you; your name, how much you weighed and if you looked more like mommy or daddy.

The day you were born, Grandma and Grandpa came to the hospital to meet you. They couldn’t believe how tiny you were! Grandpa held you in the palm of his hand and kissed your forehead. Grandma had tears of joy in her eyes as she cradled you in her arms.

The day you were born, I thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The day you were born, I couldn’t stop rubbing my finger against your pink, velvety cheek.

The day you were born, I twirled your silky tufts of hair between my fingers.

The day you were born, I counted your ten little fingers and ten tiny toes over and over again.

The day you were born, you looked up at me with deep blue eyes that reminded me of Daddy.

The day you were born, I nuzzled my nose up to your neck and breathed in the sweet smell only a new baby has.

The day you were born, you scrunched up your face and let out a wail to let me know you were hungry. You had a big appetite from the start!

The day you were born, I watched you sleep on my chest, your mouth forming a perfect little O.

The day you were born, my heart was filled with more love that I could have ever imagined possible.

The day you were born, I was the happiest mommy in the world.


So, what do you think? Would you buy this for your kid? A friend's kid? Any kid? Jason thinks this would be a great gift for a new mom. I think he's right, but we both might be a little biased. I know the chances of getting published are probably slim to none and it will not be easy process regardless, but I'm excited to try and happy to have created soemthing that at least one person thinks is worthy of Borders bookshelves ;)