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March 2, 2004
March 2, 2004
I can’t believe its March! We had a thunderstorm in Chicago yesterday! We were lucky enough to have a touch of spring over the weekend and it is hard to hear that there is snow in the forecast for later this week again!
Since I Last Wrote:
Again, a whole month has gone by since my last update. I really mean to be better! February was another busy month at our house – but also a very fun one. The first weekend of the month, Mac had to be in Nashville for a company sales meeting. I can accept that he has to travel for work…that is just how it is – but I was pretty angry when they decided to hold a sales meeting from Thursday – Sunday – HELLO? Make them all go to Nashville during the week – but the weekend? OK – that’s my rant for the day! Well, he flew back in on Sunday afternoon and Jake and I picked him up at Midway Airport. We decided that since we were so close to the city and it was a nice day out that we would take Jake to the Museum of Science and Industry. Much to our surprise, we arrived and found out that it was FREE weekend! Wow! Jake really enjoyed the museum, especially the trains and planes – we’ll have to go back soon.
The following weekend Mac had to work on Saturday in Michigan at one of his dealers’, so I found Jake and I a REALLY CHEAP flight to Detroit so that we could all spend the weekend together. While Mac was working, I took Jake to the Henry Ford Museum. What a cool place! We had so much fun – before we knew it the afternoon was gone. We went back to get Mac and then we had ‘Valentine’s’ dinner at a small pub in downtown Ann Arbor. Couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than with my two favorite guys! Mac also surprised me w/ a ‘little blue box’ – a silver ring from Tiffany. Wow!
That brings me to the weekend of the aforementioned (last entry) bachelorette party. Know what? I just didn’t go. Jake was fighting a bit of a cold and we were all snuggled in at home and I just didn’t feel like driving into the city for an evening that I was dreading anyway. We FINALLY got to spend a weekend at home, together (all of us!) and it was fantastic. We truly had nothing to do and didn’t have to ‘be’ anywhere!
The last weekend of February (this past weekend) – Mac had to work in Minnesota on Saturday. Originally Jake and I were going to drive (7 hours) to Minneapolis on Friday night and then drive home again on Sunday afternoon. Last week they began forecasting beautiful weather (for Chicago this time of year) – high 50’s both Saturday and Sunday. Then my girlfriend called to tell me about a fun fair at the elementary school that Jake will attend in the fall (we hope – more on that later) and asked us to go. Her daughter is in kindergarten there this year and her son will start with Jake in the fall. Her husband was also out of town so we thought we’d just make a day of it with the kids. All of this was enough to make Mac and I decide that it would be ridiculous to spend so much time in the car on such a nice weekend. We also thought it would be great for Jake to see his new school.
Jake and I started Saturday morning outside – he wanted to ride his bike – so I put on my running gear and off we went – we biked/ran for over an hour and it was GREAT - to be outside in warm(ish) weather with the sun shining was so nice. Then we showered and headed out to pick up lunch (Mickey D’s) for Jake and I and Laura, Matthew and Elizabeth. We also made a quick stop at Starbucks for and apple juice for Jake and a mocha for me! After lunch we headed to the fun fair. What a wonderful school. It is only 2 years old and it has all the bells and whistles (it should, our taxes are high!) – I am really excited about Jake attending Homestead Elementary. Here is where the disturbing news comes in. The PTA was there discussing some of the issues – apparently based on numbers now, the school will be overcrowded next year. Thus, they are thinking of sending EITHER kindergartners or fifth graders to the junior high. Now, I guess Laura and I are biased, but for our boys in kindergarten to be sent to the junior high REALLY bothers us. Again, I’m biased, but it seems to make so much more sense to send the fifth graders, since they’d go the following year anyway…All we can do now is attend the school board meetings and hope that it all works out.
Sunday was another gorgeous day! We started the day with another run/bike ride and then headed out for the afternoon. We spent a bit of time at IKEA – they have the greatest kids area that Jake just loves. Kids can be checked in for 45 minutes of playtime while parents shop. This works well for us, although Jake does actually enjoy shopping (to a point). Jake played and I picked up a few things I needed. I just love IKEA – their prices are great and they use such great, bold colors. It is an inexpensive way to change/brighten a room. After I got Jake, we had a snack of their famous meatballs and then we hit the kids section. They have a whole area where kids can try out most of the products. Jake just had a blast! Then we hit Target and the grocery store and still made it home with plenty of daylight to play some baseball and soccer in the yard and take a walk around the neighborhood. It was fun to see everyone outside for a change!
Monday brought some colder/rainy weather – but I’m still thankful for the great weekend. I also have a very exciting job prospect out there- I may be blessed with the opportunity to work for a company that would pay me more and let me work full-time from home – on my schedule. I don’t want to say too much right now because I don’t want to jinx it! Please keep me in your thoughts as I work through the process! I will hopefully know more late this week or early next week. I just can’t even put into words what it would mean to me to not commute 3 hours each day!
As luck would have it – Mac’s schedule changed and we get another weekend at home (all of us!) this weekend! I am so excited about that. We’re hoping to start in on some painting (right!) After that it is off to Madison, WI for a weekend, and then on March 17, Mac, Jake and Mac’s brother are flying to Vegas together. My parents will be on their way home from the California coast (they take a 3-4 week vacation each year – driving!) and they are going to meet up in Vegas and Jake is going to ride home with them. They are taking him to the Grand Canyon and other sites along the way. What a life our son has! I will miss him terribly – but it means so much to me that he gets this time with my parents. Jake loves riding in the car and we’ve all been stocking up on games, coloring books etc… We’re also thinking of purchasing a portable DVD player for the trip.
Then, the last weekend of the month is the wedding that I wrote about previously. We will go to the wedding, because that is what friends do, even if they don’t agree with everything surrounding it (namely that the couple, especially one half it, isn’t very nice to the other)…enough about that!
Getting Crafty:
I’ve broken out the knitting needles and crochet hooks! My grandmother taught me to crochet years ago. She also tried to teach me to knit and I just never got it. My grandmother was from Norway (my mom grew up there too) and in almost all of my memories of her she is knitting or crocheting. She knit me some of the most beautiful Barbie clothes I’ve ever seen (to this day). She also knit me socks, sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens – you name it, she could knit it. She crocheted too, but not as much as she knit. My mom on the other hand, has been a crocheter (is that a word?) all her life. My mom has always been my endless supply of beautiful baby afghans for all of my expectant friends.
About a month ago it hit me – I wanted to crochet again and I wanted to learn how to knit for real. My grandma has been gone for almost 15 years now, but I just know that she was pleased with my decision. Mom and I went out and bought some yarn and hooks for me to start with and then she gave me a refresher course in crochet. Amazingly, it came right back to me. Then I bought myself a ‘learn to knit’ kit and started in. It is definitely different than crochet, but I’m having a great time learning. I also inspired my mom to pick up knitting again – her mom taught her but she never stuck with it. My aunt has also taken up crochet – so I’m looking forward to sharing this with my mom and aunt for a long time. I have finished a couple scarves already and I have had friends ask me to make scarves for them too. It’s a fun way to spend my time on the train each day and it passes the nights when Mac is out of town and Jake is asleep.
Talk to me – anyone else out there a knitter or crocheter? How about a pattern/idea exchange?
Well…I need to get back to work. This is a (relatively speaking) shorter entry for me. Maybe the solution is to write shorter entries more frequently? I notice that I tend to focus more on our weekends than our weeks – I suppose that is because right now our weekdays are all pretty much the same and they’re pretty boring! I think as the weather warms up we’ll be more active all week too…anyone else out there have a bad case of spring fever?
Bye for now! Hope everyone is well!
Kristi
Mom to Jake
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