Class Trip - Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Noah's class took a field trip yesterday to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.  We are so fortunate to live in a city with so many great places and museums at our fingertips!  I was lucky enough to join the class as a chaperone...I was as excited as the kids...this was the ONLY place in Chicago I had not visited! 

This was my group to look after. They behaved soo well - the whole class did. It was so fun for me to see their excitement....

(Noah and his two friends)

One thing this museum is known for is their Butterfly Habitat. It is a beautiful area that is dedicated to butterflies. There are flowers and lush folliage all over to make them happy.  I apologize for not listing the names of each butterfly...it was just a little crazy in that place with excited kids everywhere!

(Noah looking at all the butterflies flying around the amazing waterfall)

Randomly placed plates of fruit are what the butterflies love to eat...funny, my kids would make great butterflies...except they aren't quite as quiet as butterflies. Hehe.

(See the pale green one sitting on the orange?)

For some reason, Noah has always said..."Mommy you love flowers and butterflies!"  Well, Mommy does love flowers...she does NOT love butterflies, well at least not some butterflies.  I don't mind the small, colorful, fluttery type - I can appreciate their beauty...but the huge, harry, moth-like ones - NO THANKS.  For some reason (Silence of the Lambs, maybe?) they give me the heebeegeebee's.  I just picture them getting tangled in my hair and flapping around and I can't deal...

This was one of those...it was huge!  Good thing for me it was up pretty high.

(note: as far as Noah is concerned, I do love all butterflies and even pointed this one out for him to see...why should my 'phobia' ruin it for him?!)

(huge, very creepy butterfly - probably about 12in across - yikes!)

(I did like this one - his wings looked like fur with an 'eye'spot.)

The 'lab' part of the habitat where they monitor the hatching of new butterflies.

Another exhibit was the National Geographic Crittercam.

They showed how cameras are attached to different animals in order for us to learn about how they live.

(Noah and friend peeking at a penguin)

Next was the 'Water Park' (my name for it)...

a hands-on area where the kids could pull levers, push buttons, float boats, etc to change the movement of water

(Noah and his class-mate getting their hands...and shirts, and pants, and shoes... wet)

We all had so much fun, but boy was I BEAT when I got home...so was Noah. Luckily, Jon worked from home to spend some time with Millie while I went.  When I got home I CRASHED!  I don't know how his teachers do it everyday!  As tired as I was, I know that I am very fortunate to be in a situation where I can volunteer in Noah's class and see first hand what he is learning...that made every minute of the crazy day worth it!  Thanks for a great day Noah!

Curious George...Live!

Curious George has been a staple in our house since Noah was old enough to start watching a little television.  We always started our mornings with good ol' George.  (One exception was during a period of time when I thought George might be to blame for Noah being a little behind on his speech - how could George be a good example when he doesn't talk and at times is a little 'too curious.')  Anyway, once I got over that we started including him in our mornings again and now Millie enjoys watching that silly monkey too. 
About three months ago Jon noticed Curious George Live would be in town...well, in Merrillville, Indiana - 40 mins away - close enough.  We have never taken Noah (or Millie either for that matter) to a 'Live' character show so we thought he would enjoy it.  So Millie played at home with her Grandma K for the afternoon (she would have LOVED the first 10 mins, but then would have lost interest...we learned our lesson after going to the circus!) and Noah and Daddy and Mommy had a fun outing together.

Noah's first reaction when George came out on stage. 

He was very excited and kept calling to him...'Curious George!' 

We were seated in the third row with no one in front of us, so I'm not sure Noah even realized anyone else was there to see George but him.  He was so intent and followed the plot through until the end.

George and the Man with the Yellow Hat.

Noah and Jon after the show. 

Noah is holding the balloon he just HAD to have. 

He was excited to use the $$ Santa put in the wallet he gave him for Christmas.

Also...Noah recently won a 'prize' at school - a $25 Visa Gift Card.  Since that doesn't really mean a whole lot to a 3-year-old I thought it would be a good idea to teach a little money lesson and tell him he could wait and use it to get something at the show.  When the time came, he pulled the card out of his wallet, handed it to the lady and even signed the receipt.  He thought he was hot stuff!

And this is what he bought...

You push the button on the side and the red, blue and green things light up and whip around while George spins in the middle.  We tried to talk him into something else thinking this thing wouldn't make it home before breaking (or before I threw it out the car window), but his mind was made up.  We quickly learned the 'Whirley' (as we call it) and the balloon string do not mix...but after untangleing it, it is still going strong...lucky me.  This morning I found him beating Bear in the face with it...better than his sister!

Noah truly enjoyed the show...so did Jon and I actually. 

Great idea Daddy! 

Millie, we promise you will have your turn!!

It's a Mystery to Me!

I am a T-shirt and jeans kind of girl.  Don't get me wrong, I love to get dressed up when the occasion calls for it, but on a day to day basis I am usually in my 'mommy uniform.'  I have quite a collection of T-shirts and love them all for different reasons.  Some are just your standard, plain colored T's.  Some have a unique style or neckline (those I call my 'fancy' T's... hehe). Some I use just to layer.  A few have designs - not many though, I usually like plain. But the one thing many of them seem to have in common lately are HOLES!  I don't understand it!  It has happened to so many of my shirts and I don't know what is causing it.  ALL the holes seem to be right in front  at the bottom.  Some of the t-shirts are J-Crew tissue T's so they are thinner and I can understand that they would be at a higher risk for this to happen, but not all of them are thin.  Not all the T's are old either.  I have a shirt that I have probably only worn 5 times and it already has a hole in it!

Soo before I throw them out... I thought I would ask for your thoughts on what could be causing my dilema. 

Has it ever happened to you?

Please respond in the comments if :

1.  You have any idea why I am getting holes in so many of my shirts

2.  Any ideas of how to prevent it

3.  Creative ways on how to re-use these shirts (as you can see, some of them are no longer wearable, but I hate to throw them out...)

(The shirts pictured here are older and by far the worst)

Our typical morning.

I know I have written about our typical day before, but that was a while ago and since Noah started school last fall, the schedule has changed slightly. We still try to take Jon to work most days, pick up

a bagel, banana, etc for breakfast and then head to school. Eventhough mornings are hectic, it is (strangely) nice to be in the car for a little bit in the morning. Jon and I use the time to talk about what
we have planned for that day/week and the kids get some quiet time before the craziness of the day begins (unfortunately that waking up time isn't always quiet, hehe). After Millie and I walk Noah to class

we usually run a few errands, spend some Millie & Mommy time playing, then it is time to pick up Noah again.

Anyway, this morning was just like any other morning, except, for the first time I looked back and Noah and Millie were holding hands while sitting in their carseats. There are many times in the course of the

day that they are so sweet to each other...and definitely times when they are not! Today I am choosing to savor one of the sweet moments...

(as you can see, Bowman is also always a part of our daily routine!)

A December to Remember.

In 'Typical Tonya' fashion, I have been neglecting my blog.  The longer you are away from posting, the harder it is to get back into it!  I have been putting off posting my December to Remember post because I wanted to wait until I had time to sit down and write down every detail, every memory, etc....and in the meantime I am missing new memories... so here is a summary of our December.

Before December 1st even arrived I was in a race against myself and the clock.  I signed myself up to be a vendor at a nearby Holiday Fair to sell my custom stationery, labels, invites, etc.  I had never participated in anything like this before and had no idea what to expect, nor did I realize the time commitment it would entail.  Whoa was I in over my head, but with a little (okay, a LOT) of help from my husband and some great friends, I managed to pull it off and I was pretty happy with the outcome.  It was by NO means a money maker (I didn't even break even), but I can't quantify the benefit of what I learned.  Anyway, because of my attention to this project, I was behind on everything else I needed and WANTED to do for the holidays, but everything worked out and we had a wonderful Christmas.  I hope everyone who reads this blog (if there is anyone left out there!) had a very merry Christmas too!

Me at the Ascension Holiday Fair selling my 'wares.'

I think this was actually in November (oops)...we took the kids to the Circus.  Millie lasted for about this first 20mins and that was probably only because she likes popcorn, ha!  Noah enjoyed it though and said his favorite part were the clowns.  To me, the clowns were no big deal since I spend everyday with two of the silliest clowns I know!!!

Family picture at the Circus. 

Not the greatest picuture, but you take what you can get when you are at the mercy of a stranger.

An unsuspecting Millie is about to take a big snowball to the back of the head!  Good thing she's tough.

This was one of our first big snowfalls.  Millie and Noah both really enjoy playing in the snow...so does Bowman.  He loves to rip through the back yard and make the snow fly!

Millie helping Mommy do a little shopping.  I usually don't let her ride in the big area of the cart, but you do what you have to to get the shopping done sometimes...peacefully!!

The only decent picture I have of Noah's Christmas program at school.  We took good video, thank goodness!  Don't ask me why he is standing in front of the rest of his class...he kept turning back and forth trying to hit the poor girl's candle to his left while singing 'This little light of mine.'

Millie and Noah after opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa B's house.

Christmas Eve at our house.

Millie with her new kitchen and frying pan...look out Noah!

Noah and Santa at the K Family Christmas.  Noah LOVES Santa! 

He just opened the wallet Santa brought for him.

Noah and Millie after opening gifts at Grandma and Grandpa K's house.

Millie really needs to learn to 'watch her back!'

I am so looking forward to the year ahead.  As you can tell just from our December picutures, I am blessed to be the crazy mom of two little 'characters' and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us!
Also, thanks for being patient with me while I get my act together and start posting again...