Neil's First Party Invitation

Neil was invited to his first birthday party, well without Ben that is. Kaylah from his preschool class invited him to her fourth birthday party at the park near us. It was a super nice afternoon and the kids got to play in the splash pad, on the playground equipment and with bubbles. But the best part at least for Ben was the face painting, Neil refused, of course. (Yep, Ben got to go after all since I didn't have a sitter and Brian had two games to ref.) Also in attendance was another girl from preschool, Lily. Based on what their moms tell me it sounds like the two girl can't agree on who is Neil's girlfriend. Neil is such a cad, he can't even keep their names straight. It was an interesting party for me too since Kaylah's family is from the Philippines and her mom, Candice, was eager to introduce me to their cuisine. Have to say I had a really good purple yam dish with coconut.

Kaylah has told her mom, "Neil is so handsome, I want to marry him."

Ben with his face paint.

Sox Game

We took the boys to their first Sox game. Neil was quite into the game and Ben was quite into the fireworks every time they hit a home run. We ate all kinds of goodies; ice cream, hot dogs, pop corn and nachos. (...more about this later). We did stretch our legs a few times where we took an opportunity to visit Guest Relations and get certificates proclaiming their first game. Oh, not to mention we also received statues of Carlton Fisk, who we now realize is a retired Sox catcher. Finally, we took a trip to the top level of the stadium, well because Neil wanted to see it. Funny cause as we approached the stadium Neil said he didn't want to go in because he is afraid of heights. (The things out of this kids mouth, I tell ya.) So we managed to make it until the 7th inning and decided that was enough for us. Drove home, thought hmm real food might be a good idea. Pulled in a parking lot only to be meet with "no, no, no, I can't eat anymore my tummy isn't feeling well and I want to go home and lay on the couch!" So we drove them home. Made one stop because Neil's shade of green was becoming unusually alarming. But no puking... until we got home. He walked straight to the couch and threw it all up there. So there you have it our first MLB experience.

We are amused by how it appears Ben is having a beer instead of me.

Ben's Kindergarten Graduation

I will not bore you with the details of my latest camera/video debacle, suffice it to say I fear I am showing my age with my inability to properly document my boys benchmarks.

Here is Ben receiving his diploma plus a red stuffed graduation bear.

His class performed three songs for us all about how they were advancing to the first grade. One of them set to the music of the Addams Family. Which we were pretty amused by since we couldn't quite figure out his new found passion for snapping his fingers. Boy he sure didn't know all the words to the song, but he was able to snap at all the right places.

I think Ben felt special on this day, but not as special as some of his classmates given the new suits, dresses and bouquets of flowers and balloons they were given. (I am suppressing an eye roll here.)

Ben with Mrs. Baranoski who he has had a crush on all year.

Our First T-ball Game

I was hoping to share some highlight videos from the game, but the either the new iPhone video or the new blogger technology keeps showing it very small and un-viewable. Sorry. Anyway both boys made good catches, throws and hits.

The best part was Neil was given the game ball. Coach Joe said he made some good catches and hits. Plus Neil only stomped his foot once at him. Here they are together.

Neil is quite proud of his award, guess it will need a case.

Special note for Busia: Nope, we didn't even have to buy the whole team ice cream for that ball. We'll bring snacks later this season.

Spring Break in Madison

Let me start by saying from here on out I must figure out a way to get our trips moving in a southerly direction. We've had a nice warm spring and when you travel north it's down right cold.

Now to the real story. Went to Madison. Stayed at a hotel with our travel points that had a mini indoor waterpark. This was perfect for Ben, the slide was big enough to keep him happy and I guess too big for Neil since he refused to go down.

We also spent an afternoon at the Children's museum followed by dinner with friends. Did I mention this ended up also being a pub tour trip? Yep, we hit Great Dane, Graze, Old Fashioned, and a surprise favorite The Grumpy Troll. Despite all the beer drinking we also toured the Cave of the Mounds. Neil started out truly scared to go in, but worked through his apprehension and ended up enjoying himself and asking questions.

Ben loved this town where he could set up roads and buildings.

Neil couldn't get enough of the pizza oven where he turned the crank for the pizza to run on the conveyor. Let's hope he aspires to more than a job at Quizno's.

Hello? Can you come get me? Mom and dad put aside way too much time at the children's museum.

Hey look at me, "I'm just like Papa".

Too cool for school – at least this week.

Spelunking!

Easter Egg Hunt

Their mission was to find 56 eggs. They did manage to complete it... after a few rounds of hot & cold. My mission was to get a photo of them in precious bunny ears to show their girlfriends in 10 years. Accomplished. They should just be thankful I got the blue ones instead of the pink.

They also got a couple of travel sized games from the Easter Bunny. Primarily because a Perfection game was found at Walmart which caused an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. If the name doesn't ring a bell, it's the one with all the different shaped pieces that have to be put into place before the timer goes off and the game board pops up and throws all the pieces out. Also picked up a Hungry, Hungry Hippo game to be fair to the younger one. Had no idea it would be the home-run purchase. Neil played it non-stop until we left for our spring break trip.

More from Neil & Ben

Ben: Mommy, you have 2 rings. Daddy gave you that one for your wedding.
Me: Yes, and this one Daddy gave me for our anniversary.
Neil: When will Daddy buy you another ring?
Me: I don't know Neil. You should really ask him.
Neil: Yeah he should get you a snowflake ring next.
Me: Really, okay.
Ben: I think he should get you a heart ring.
Neil: Yeah and a Matchbox ring!

Things Neil Says

Heather: I'm offensive.
Brian: Really?
Neil: Yeah, Daddy, you smell!
Heather: Well, at least we know he knows what offensive means.
Neil: Yeah, cause I'm a genius.

Easter Bunny Visit

Ben was the only one brave enough to sit next to this giant bunny. But Neil has been doing a very good impression of a bunny since he bounces everywhere he goes lately. The boys also had breakfast where Ben indulged in two serving of eggs and sausages, while Neil managed to scarf down SIX pancakes. Keep in mind this was only an hour or two after their regular breakfast. Neil may end up to be one of those competition eaters.

Ben's Speech Update 3-12

Today I meet with Ben's speech Pathologist, Mrs. Capp, as well as his Kindergarten teacher and the assistant principal. They had completed his 3-year evaluation which is how often students with an IEP (individual education plan) are evaluated. Not that any of us were surprised, but Ben no longer qualifies for special education services. We are very proud of the tremendous progress Ben has made with his speech since he entered the Early Intervention program back when he was 2 1/2. His speech and language skills are now on par with that of his peers. It was so encouraging to get this news and we were especially proud to hear that most of the children who start this program with the severity of his delay have to continue until 3rd grade. I know Ben will miss his special time with Mrs. Capp each week, but were glad for the extra time he can focus on his regular classroom assignments.

My Birthday Dinner 2012

As many of you know this is quite an event for Brian and I. This year Brian started planning back in the fall. We saw a segment about a fine dining micro restaurant called EL ideas. So Brian checked into it and found he had to enter a lottery to win a seating. Talk about Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. We were lucky enough to be selected after a few months and Brian postponed our reservation until my special day. EL ideas is in southwest Chicago in an industrial neighborhood and without a GPS you could certainly miss it. To say it's small might be an understatement, their large seating is 16 diners. It's also BYOB which we received suggestions from the chefs a few days ahead of time. Thanks to Binny's they did some really great pairings for us.

The kitchen was open to the dining area so you could see the chefs working the whole time. A few of the patrons stepped in to watch close up, but I know as a designer I'm not much of a fan of having someone watching over my shoulder as I work, so I wouldn't impose it on someone else. One of the other diners did appear to be a food writer since he was taking pictures with a pretty nice camera and not just his camera phone like me. Oh, I didn't get all of the courses photographed, I was too distracted by the eating. To add to the intimate atmosphere our server was playing quite an interesting selection in music. Things like C is for Cookie, Green Acres theme song, and Solo Cup song. After hearing the Sesame Street theme song Brian mentioned we were curious if something from Schoolhouse Rock would be played. Later that evening we heard Three is the Magic Number. The slightly humorous music seemed to get all the patrons in good spirits and by our third course we started chatting with other tables. Primarily with comments about licking the plates but also about the wine we were enjoying.

So enough of my blathering here's the goods:
Crab featuring roe, grapefruit and lemongrass
Tuna with beans, anchovy and olive (This had a spring of lavender on it, which was a first for me.)
Turnip with cider, cinnamon and dijon (Bri was amazed by this course – and I was amazed he was excited about a non-meat course.)

Turbot featuring lobster, salsify and sherry vinegar (Here's where we wanted to start plate licking and yes I had to google salsify. It's a root vegetable.)
Truffle with potato, popcorn and romaine (Not real popcorn, but they capture the flavor in a dollop of heaven)

Jidori Chicken with sweetbreads, celeriac and raisins (more googling here)

Scallop with cauliflower, black garlic and radish (Brian I'm sure will be scouring markets looking for this black garlic)

Snail featuring pine nut, brioche and garlic

Marrow with chestnut, chard and blood orange (We were both surprised that this was not as rich as we imagined it would be.)

Lamb with couscous, harissa and cumin (More googling, a hot chili sauce. We had to mention to our server that this dish really need to come with a spoon, since it was served in a bowl and we couldn't quite get all of the last bits to our mouths.)

Venison with sassafras, date and pecan
Explorateur of grape, peanut and bubble gum (Here's where they lost me. Unfortunately I have a life-long hated of bubble gum flavor. It comes from having to choke down too many doses of antibiotics as a child.)

Chocolate with forbidden rose, cookies and pomegranate

Our chefs were Phillip Foss, Andrew Brochu, Michael Destefano, and Kevin McMullen

It was a really lovely meal and definitely ranks in the top five.

From Super Powers to Pirate Patch Time

For those of you familiar with Neil's Duane's Syndrome, you may have heard he had decided it was his super power. When he looks to the left he is able to have double vision to which he proudly proclaims, "I see two of you!" Well, we returned to the eye doctor today and learned that she is starting to detect a right eye dominance in his vision. She explained to him he is no longer allowed to use his super power, Ahh – kryptonite. The technical term for vision dominance is amblyopia of the left eye. So now we have to have Neil wear an eye patch over his right eye for two hours each day until we return to see her next month. The hope is to strength the weaker eye. We are calling the patches 'Pirate Patches', but Neil will be able to decorate them anyway he likes. Today he successfully made it through his 2 hours and only had to have the patch reapplied once.

Gingerbread House 2011

The boys have been jacked out of their minds about Christmas. For whatever reason, Neil has been talking about gingerbread houses daily. So today while at Aldi, I spied a Gingerbread House kit... and it was on sale, what could be better! Here is what was able to make it onto the house, the rest had to be eaten so it wouldn't go bad.

Neil's Preschool Holiday Party

Neil's class held a party today which was kicked off by a concert. The kids sang a few holiday songs then we enjoyed a nice buffet together. Here is a still shot of Neil with a few of his girlfriend's.

I had a chance to chat with a few of the other parents and they all said how they always hear stories of Neil from their children (I'm not sure this is a good thing). Anyway, the little girl on the far right recently told her mom that she and Neil were going to be married. True to his gender, Neil has never mentioned this to me.

Now if you have the six and half minutes here's the concert video.

Winter Wonderland

Went to a holiday event at the Parks and Rec center last night. The boys got a chance to see Santa, which had to occur separately since Ben had no interest in sharing his lap time with Neil. Neil asked for a toy train (the abundance of Thomas items must not be enough), while Ben asked for ear plugs (what he means is head phones). They had an opportunity to make a Christmas tree ornament, bounce on the inflatables, ride the mini train, see Santa's reindeers up close, and best of all watch a juggler's act. Both of them were totally into this guy. The absolute highlight was when he juggled fire and pretended to burn his butt. "He burned his butt!! Ha-ha.", Neil exclaimed numerous times. I was more impressed that the juggler was able to propel his 300-some pound mass on a unicycle. Either way he was quite an entertainer.

Ben's School Journal's

Ben has been keeping a journal each month at school. Here are some of his entries:

An apple is red.
I play.
I went out to eat.
A pumpkin.
Carrot.
A berk is brown. (Not sure what what a berk might be.)
I went out to eat.
I like to eat turkey.

Trick or Treat

Ben decided against the awesome make-up. Too itchy. Oh well maybe next year.

Pre-Halloween Dress-up Pics

Here's Ben ready for his school party.

Neil got this cool dress-up stuff courtesy of Busia & Papa's Birthday gift.
We'll see if he ditches the Batman costume for this when he goes trick-or-treating.

Ben's Speech Update

Direct quote from one of Ben's Speech Pathologists
"I just wanted to touch base with you about Ben’s speech. First off, he is an absolute gem! He is a hard worker and very polite! I have noticed that he is speaking VERY clearly lately, especially when he slows down and thinks about what he’s about to say. He still has some errors which is not unusual, but he is self correcting!"

September 11 Half Marathon

I feel like I've been working on this forever. But the day finally came and the weather was mostly cooperative. It was sunny, but a little too warm for my liking. I've run this trail 3 times before in preparation and knew it had been kicking my butt. Running trails is definitely not like running in my neighborhood. So that said I was very pleased that I was able to truly run until about the 9 mile mark or so. Okay, truth be told I did allow myself to walk at the water stations, much harder to drink and run than I realized.

This route was mapped out to loop back on itself in a couple of locations. The ironic thing about this was I was able to run past the 5 mile mark with the race leader (a very tall man), only he was on his 9th mile. The race also had some pace setters running with signs. I knew I was good when I was in sight of the 2:15 and 2:20 for quite some time. Only thing was 2:20 must have injured herself cause I passed her while she was walking at about the half way point so much for that strategy.

I was able to keep one woman in my sights until the 9 or 10 mile mark which carried me through mentally. We talked before hand and she told me this was her 7th half and that she would be doing the full Chicago Marathon in October. So in my mind I was always in good shape if I could still see her. Once she lost me I had to find a new mental focus that came way of a man who was running the race with a flag. It was humbling to think about the people who lost their lives 10 years prior and what they endured was so much great than what I was currently doing. Now when I say he carried a flag. I don't mean a little 8" flag, I'm talking a 3 foot flag on a pole.

So here's my thoughts about my time and the point when I could no longer run that kind of makes me sad. As I mentioned there were a few passes where depending on where you were in the race determined which direction you would turn. Coming up on the 9 mile mark, someone ahead of me panicked and mistook a pass for a switch and started yelling that we were going the wrong way we missed the pass. So just like a herd of dumb sheep many of us turned back. My poor weary brain allowed this to happen so I can only blame myself. I'm not sure how long it took, but someone finally came to their senses and realized we were going the right way. So back again. I like to think I could have done the race in under 2h 30m if it hadn't been for this, but I have no plans to do this trail again to find out. Shortly after that is when I started my run and walk method to finish the race.

I'm happy enough with 2h 36m 29s. I would like to do another half marathon in the future, but the next one will need to be on concrete or asphalt; no more trails... at least for the time being.

Notes about how I feel on day 2: My muscles all still feel really good I did about three mini yoga sessions yesterday so that must have helped. What is really bothering me is my knees, my throat and my eyes. Had a ton of dust in my shoes so maybe that's why my throat and eyes are so sore. Next time I'll remember to ice my knees that day. Also found out my official chip time was 2h 34m 35s.

Even felt pretty good at the end.

The sign Neil made for me.

The sign Ben made for me.

My medal which Neil enjoyed wearing around for about an hour.