play time

my friend, kim and i have been trying to plan a get together for months. literally months!!! our conflicting schedules, cancelled play dates, sick kiddos, and busy months have delayed a get together that has been long overdue!

fiiiiiiinally, we were able to settle on a date and we stuck to our guns. i headed out to kim and mikey’s abode in no time flat. they live far away but not too far away. it may take 50 minutes? sometimes faster, sometimes longer – it all and always depends on traffic and what time of day it is.

i love coming over to their place because it’s so much more kid friendly. mine and hc’s place is more like a museum {kind of…not really. ok, just a wee bit}…plus, once our basement is finished, it will be so much more fun and kid friendly when the playroom downstairs is set up!

anyhoo, olive was quite excited to see brady and play with the plethora of toys! when we arrived, of course ellie needed to be in my arms and get comfortable before she explored on her own {it only took about ten minutes}. i was so excited to see kim! immediately, we started gabbing and gabbing. when kim and i first met {oh…9 years ago??}, we couldn’t stop talking to one another. ha! we went on and on about everything you could imagine! we just instantly clicked. so, when we get together, time just flies by!

i brought over stan’s doughnuts and kim provided lunch! the kids started to warm up to one another and the rest of our time there was relaxing, fun, and filled with lots of cute moments.

we were there for several hours but honestly, i felt like i could have stayed all afternoon! the kids were being silly together and i was having a great time catching up with kim. her hubby, mikey ran out to grab the adults tacos and such, while kim prepared a quick meal for the kids.

after lunch, we yapped, hung out, i nursed ellie, the kids played some more, several diaper changes ensued, and then we ate doughnuts! much to my dismay, i needed to round the kids up to head home. olive didn’t want to go, i wanted to talk more, and ellie needed a nap!

we said our goodbyes and sadly went on our way home. oh, how i love hanging out with kim, see her growing crew, and i love that our kids get to play together! oh, and we got to hang with mikey too…we never get to see the busy guy!

thanks for having us over kim! we always have such a great time seeing everyone and hopefully it’s not months until we see each other again!!! i see pool and zoo dates in our future!

{p.s. picture overload…lots of multiples but i couldn’t narrow it down!}

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[sweet girls]

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[olive’s face cracks me up. it’s her awkward, not sure face. hahaha!]

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[sweet girl was obsessed with brooklyn’s toys!]

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[this babe is too much!]

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[the cutest kiddos around]

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[gnawing on an apple slice]

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[ellie eating her mac n cheese!]

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[i love her hair]

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[ellie baby]

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[oh how i love this pic of them!!!]

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[look at mason’t stare down!]

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xoxo

a good day

i was excited for some me time!

my girlfriend dana is pregnant and due at the end of june. i’m trying to squeeze in time with her before she has this bebe. so, when we do make plans {of late}, we typically make them exclusively between us. now, we love hanging all together with the hubs but lately, we or i need the girl time, only.

the two-three hours away is so refreshing for me! i love being able to go with the flow, relax, not have a kid interrupt our conversations every two minutes, actually finish a thought…and think. i love being fully present and engaged with that person in front of me. honestly, with my kiddos, it’s hard.

so, being able to get away for a few hours to resets my mind, my sanity, and reenergizes my soul. i’m so thankful that i am able to do that every so often!

dana and i decided to have brunch at mhenry’s. oh, how i love that place!!! i can’t tell you how many years i’ve dined there but i know it’s been a long time! the weather was so unbelievably crappy that day. it was coooold and rainy, like 40 something degrees cold, it felt like winter again. there were folks in puffer jackets and winter knit hats at the local nursery buying flowers to plant {where are you spring?}!!! hahaha!

the most amazing part of the morning? there was no wait for a party of two!!!!! what?! i guess not too many couples go out for brunch, just large groups. ha! it was soooo crowded in there but as soon as i walked in, they seated us!

lately, i’ve been on an egg and potato kick. i have always, always ordered the blueberry bliss cakes every time i have gone to mhenry’s but the last two times, i haven’t done so. times are changing!

dana and i chatted and left just in time to meet her parents back at her condo {her hubby scott was out golfing}. i told her that i wanted to say hi to her parents but needed to jet out afterwards to get home to the babes. i told the hubs that i would nurse ellie and put her down for her afternoon nap!

well, her parents arrived and scott came home not too long after them and of course i didn’t leave right away! how could i?! i love hanging out with these peeps, i had a hard time tearing myself away! fiiiiiinally i forced myself out the door. oh, i love her parents! her and scott, of course, but her parents are so much fun!

i finally hit the road for the long commute, happy and content on a beautiful day out with some good friends.

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[beautiful blooms]

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[sweet dana]

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[always a yummy menu]

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[fried egg sandwich]

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[pretty plants in dana and scott’s condo]

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[dana and scott]

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[can i just say that this pic is the first pic, in a loooooooooong time, where i feel like i don’t look like i look an old hag. for reals]

xoxo

olive’s last day of school!

ohhhhh it was olive’s last day of pre pre-school!

what. a. year.

i clearly remember her first day of school. she was nervous, i was anxious, and it was such a huge milestone for the both of us! fast forward to the last day of school and it was full of joy, laughter, and friendships.

olive had a wonderful time at school. her teacher, mrs. f, was so kind, sweet, caring, and loving. we couldn’t have asked for a better teacher to kick start olive’s education. she looked forward to every day of school. she loved mrs. f. she loved her my little pony toys that she played with every school day. she said lakshya and collette were her best friends. so many great memories created!

she learned how to put on her coat by herself, the days of the week, recognizing numbers and letters, the weather, colors, drawing, painting, cutting, shapes, the holidays, and so much more!

they hosted a costume parade for halloween {blogged}. they held a winter concert {blogged} and a mother’s day concert {blogged}. olive told me about thumbs up thursdays and special projects they worked on from day to day.

i always had a ritual. every day after school and before dinner. we would pull olive’s backpack out and we would look inside to see what she brought home and we would discuss her school day together. she would tell us about her friends. or what she learned. or whatever the focus was that day. it was my favorite part of our evening, listening to her talk about it.

i feel very fortunate to have been so involved with her teacher and all the fun activities they allowed us to be a part of. my most favorite volunteer event was when it was olive’s birthday and she was star of the day {blogged}! i was able to come in, observe their morning routine, watch olive lead the morning activities, and then i was able to read a story to the class! that was so much fun!! of course, we brought treats for all the kiddos to take home!

it seemed like the school year just flew by! before i knew it, her last day was upon us! i scrambled to put together a gift for her teachers and had to prepared my brain that this was her last day and i had volunteered to help out!

the kids got to take a field trip the ice cream shop – everyday’s a sundae! all the volunteer moms gathered outside the classroom and waited for the kids to come out. each mom was responsible for two kids each for our walk to the shop.

once we arrived at the ice cream shop, all the ice cream was pre-ordered and prepared! olive and her classmate kinley were the only two kids who ordered popsicles {their friend lakshya had pre-ordered ice cream but changed her mind last minute when she saw the other girls with popsicles!}!!! the rest of her classmates ordered ice cream! go girls! be YOUnique!

after the kids ate their ice cream, we all walked to the post office, where all the kids mailed letters to their parents. once we did that, we then all walked back to the school where we said our goodbyes and the kids continued on with their last day of school!

oh how bittersweet! it was such a wonderful school year and such a sweet ending for olive’s last day. thank you, thank you to all the teachers out there that do their best to further these kids minds and show them that you care!!! we appreciate you!

happy summer vacation!

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[waiting for her treat!]

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[she requested a popsicle]

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[oh my sweet girl!]

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[the last one to enjoy her treat]

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[spotted her paparazzi mama]

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[sending a letter to us…how sweet]

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[her new thing…biting the inside of her lip]

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[my diy teacher’s gift – MANI thanks for a great year!]

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xoxo

mother’s day at argyle

for mother’s day, we wanted to take my mom to an area that she loves going to – argyle!

we planned on going to a restaurant we have been to before, on mother’s day five years prior {that was when i announced i was pregnant with olive!!!! it was such a fun, amazing day to celebrate!}.

we made the trek to uptown…it’s such an obscure area to travel to. we circled around a bit to find parking, it was super crowded and busy. after a few rounds, we finally scored a spot off on sheridan road. we didn’t mind walking for it was such a nice day, a bit cold but nice and sunny out!

my bother, dan, and his girl agata were already there, always on time and always wondering where the rest of the clan else was. the usual. everyone was 5 to so many minutes late behind! ha!

my brother huy and his wife, tashina, were in town! they had a wedding to attend to and it was awesome it fell on mother’s day weekend, so my mom was able to spend the day with allllll her children!

we started to order food, of course, first with appetizers and then with entrees. after a tedious process of getting everyone’s orders and ordering random dishes for everyone to just share, the server comes back and tells us we cannot order anything stir fry. ummmmm, ‘scuse me??!! that eliminated almost half our entrees. oh, i was so irritated. he gave us an excuse that their stir fry cook called off and they couldn’t make any stir fry dishes. wtf. that made no sense. i am sure all the cooks there that day knew how to make most of the dishes!! c’mon…it’s a vietnamese restaurant with all tenured vietnamese workers and no one knows how to make fried rice??? i hardly cook, and damn…i bet i could have rolled up my sleeves in the kitchen to make that. or send my mom in, ’cause she’s a bad ass cook!

i, honestly, believe that most people order pho or other easy, pre made dishes on sunday and because our group was so darn large and there were so many orders, they gave us that excuse. maybe they were short a cook, fair enough, but don’t tell me no one knows how to stir fry anything in that kitchen right now!!!

we went back and forth with the server and spent some time looking over the menu again. everyone took some time to rethink their entrees when the server came back out and said, “ok, we can make the stir fry dishes but it will take a very long time.”. fine. i said go ahead. ohermgawd…it took forever. the ironic part was the dishes that were ready to serve, came out dead last. four people order the bun boa and it took forever for them to get their soups. whaaaaaaaa?

needless to say, it was terrible. absolutely terrible. we will never eat there again. everyone was so disappointed. the food wasn’t great, the portions were tiny and too much money. i won’t even put their name in this post because it was just disappointing.

after lunch, my mom shopped around a bit while us kids sat in the stinkiest coffee shop. yes, it smelled awful. so unpleasant but the kids were having fun playing with the board games they had on the side!

after a half hour or so, we all headed home to get ready to go back to my mom and dad’s house for food part 2. my mom had made pho, so we all gathered over there for sunday dinner and to hang out with huy and tashina, since they were leaving the next day.

despite the restaurant being subpar, we all had a wonderful mother’s day! praise to all the moms out there who work their butts off balancing a career, or the house, or both, the kids, the hubby, and everything else that goes on in-between. our role is complicated, messy, stressful, amazing, fulfilling, and so full of amazing love. thank you for all that you do to raise good humans!

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via tandeminlove.com [who’s in charge?]

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[isn’t she so sweet? but oh so naughty!]

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[looking at uncle huy, in fear]

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[she loves uncle huy and aunt tashina]

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[dan and agata]

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[the crew]

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[hot pot]

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[i love this sweet face]

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xoxo

pre mother’s day celebration

hc’s parents came over to our place, one day early, to celebrate mother’s day!

it was a lovely morning. hc took the kiddos, got them ready, and let me have time to myself for a couple hours in the morning! it was fantastic. i laid in bed for a bit, pouring over social media {ahhhhhhh, i miss those days of just lounging in bed, after slowly waking up!}, got ready, cleaned up the house {again}, and lounged for {literally} a second before everyone got home and hc’s parents came over.

gramma and papa brought over toys for the girls and hc came home with all sorts of surprises! hc knows the way to my heart, pretty flowers, great wine, and starbucks! it was so adorable; i saw them come home, so i swung the door open. olive came running up with flowers in her hand and ellie sloooooooowly wobbled to the door {like sooo dang slow, olive stood at the door beaming and waiting for ellie to coincide with the surprise} with the biggest balloon!!! it was three times the size of ellie! hahaha! it was so dang cute watching them run towards me with the biggest smiles on their faces!

once everyone was settled, hc starting prepping for lunch. we visited with each other and hc cooked up a storm. it was super yummy and it was a very relaxing afternoon spent together.

jane and i drank some bubbly while the girls played and hc cooked up a delicious lunch for everyone {roasted potatoes, vegetables, grilled chicken, sausage, and cole slaw}. after lunch, we relaxed on the couch, watched clips of olive’s mother’s day concert from school, and ate cake! yuuuuummmmmmm!

after several hours, dick and jane left {to get home to sadie, their dog}. it was a wonderful afternoon spent with hc’s parents. it’s always so fun when you get to spend time with family!

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[hc knows the way to my heart]

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[gorgeous tulips]

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[flowers for gramma from olive and ellie]

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[a bit of morning bubbly]

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[playing with papa]

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xoxo

mother’s day concert

olive’s school hosted the moms and their families to the mother’s day concert!

i was excited. i love being involved in anything school related. i love supporting olive in any school activities. i find these moments, these years too short. i try my best to be present. i try, i fail, and i succeed. i am not perfect.

olive has become more tenacious, more vocal, more opinionated, and together we have become more combative. she levels out my thinking and really makes me look into the mirror, which i am so grateful for. i realize how difficult i can be, how irrational and temperamental i am. i absolutely love her honesty towards me and it definitely puts me in my place.

being a mother is such a great gift. i feel so lucky to be on this journey. the lessons i’ve learned, the selflessness, and the reflection i must look at helps me become a better person. having children forces me to be a better human as i help them become better human beings. it’s my calling. it’s my purpose. it’s what i am meant to do. children are the greatest gift in this crazy, messed up world!

anyhoo, the concert was so stinkin’ cuuuuuute!!!!! so cute! they did such a great job singing all their songs and i was so proud of olive! she belted out some tunes! it was so cute to watch and hear her sing her songs.

after the concert, each student grabbed their gifts for their moms and walked down to us! it was so fun and sweet to see olive so excited to see us and give me her present! it was a book of handprints…from september to may, celebrating each holiday or milestone throughout the school year. i loved seeing her hand print grow with each month…oh my heart!

after the gifts, they had cookies and water for us to enjoy. it was so darling and fun! i attached a video of one of the songs they sang. you can hear olive so clearly in this one. my heart is so full!

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[getting ready to sing!]

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[waiting for the teachers to call her down to give her gift to me]

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[olive ready to give me a mother’s day present!]

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[my focus was sooooo off but i love her expression here, so i had to post it.

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[how cute is this??!]

[my focus was sooooo off but i love her expression here, so i had to post it.

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[she’s so damn sweet]

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xoxo

bennett’s communion

we celebrated sweet bennett’s communion last week. it was a beautiful moment, welcoming jesus into his heart.

it was a busy week for us {i can’t imagine what my sister, kim, had going on for herself! she’s always sooooooo busy with the boys!}. i needed to shop for the girls and myself. we needed new, pretty dresses for this special occasion! i needed to do the regular, every day stuff like school, take care of things for girls, myself, and get the house in order. i needed to finalize the details of bennett’s cake and make his cake topper! could i have used the word needed anymore?! ha!

i usually like to do a trial and error when it comes to creating something new. i need to make sure i have the right supplies and that the topper turns out perfect, cute, and right for the occasion. but i didn’t. i ran out of time and before i knew it, it was the night before his communion and we were tied up with celebrating my dad’s birthday and i didn’t get a chance to make a prototype and buy any additional supplies that i might need!

after my dad’s dinner celebration, i rushed out to the store to pick up his cake and decorative supplies for that, then rushed home to start making his cake topper. i had an idea in mind but that was an utter failure. i was at a standstill. what was i going to do??! thank goodness my craft supplies are like a mini hobby lobby downstairs, in the basement. i rummaged through my stuff and came up with a topper. i felt like i could have done better but with the means i had at hand, the topper turned out cute and perfectly matched the theme of his cake. phew!!! i was a mess for a hot second, i was so worried i wouldn’t be able to produce a topper my sister had asked of me and for bennett!

the day was going to be absolutely beautiful! warm temps and a sunny day! we got ready and arrived at the church early! just what we wanted. we found our pew and waited. mass began and it was beautiful to watch. these little souls, so smart and cute…accepting the body of christ. what a moment. bennett was so darn cute in his suit and bow tie and did so well. what a proud moment!

after church, we headed on over to mon ami gabi for lunch. i needed to get there to place the flowers and decorate the cake! i get stressed about doing stuff when people are there, so it was important for me to hurry the eff up! ha!

when i walked in, dave was already there. no matter but i wanted everything in place before the other guests arrived and before kim got there! i almost made it. i was still decorating the cake when a whole crowd came in. after a few tiny decor add on’s, the cake was done! yay! now, where’s my drink?!!

we mingled, sipped, and snacked. it was a really great time. lots of good peeps all in one place, celebrating bennett’s special day!

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[the church administrators were adamant about not taking pictures, so i didn’t get any good pics of bennett’s first communion!]

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[olive was upset the sun was so bright]

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[lynne, patrick, and barbara]

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[cha quyen]

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[kevin and family]

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[kevin and lisa]

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[agata and dan]

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[dave and steve]

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[mom, dad, and thuy]

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[bennett’s first communion cake]

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[my diy cake topper]

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[dan and agata]

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[flowers by kim]

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[kim and kevin]

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[lisa and thuy]

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xoxo

hb dad!

we celebrated my dad’s birthday by going to one of their favorite restaurants, minghin, in naperville. we all met up there early, in fear there would be a long wait but there wasn’t a wait at all! yay!

it was going to be a full house with everyone being able to make it to dinner. we ordered copious amounts of food, chatted our way through dinner, and enjoyed each other’s company. of course, ellie, being the smallest one there, entertained us relentlessly with her silly antics.

we laughed at the use of the lazy susan. every time i tried serving food, someone would simultaneously try to move the damn table, causing me to try to serve the food while keeping up with the spinning table top! hello?! it’s my turn to serve some food! then kim and i had a competition on who could keep our part of the table the cleanest {i swear we are not that messy of eaters!}. kim lost. hahahahahaha!

dan challenged bennett to eat vegetables and earn money, which he did and gained! the brothers continued with their bromance and rich and i shared a story of the hostess’ quirky, typical asian nature and behavior. a short story that would be long to type, so, i can tell anyone of y’all in person if you’d like. ha!

it was another beautiful evening out. the weather had finally, finally caught up and it truly felt like spring. april was the longest, coldest, snowiest month this year. once dinner was over, the crew and i jetted out so fast; we needed to get bennett’s communion cake at the store and i still had to make his cake topper!! yikes!

happy birthday to my dad. the most kind, gentle, loving human being i know. i love you so much, words can’t describe how much you mean to me. you have always been there for me, loved me no matter what trouble i caused, and supported our family through the worst and the best. thank you. you absolutely mean the world to me and i am so thankful to be your daughter.

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[happy birthday dad!]

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[sweet baby girl]

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[me and my thug]

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[ellie and super aunty thuy]

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[cheers to dad!]

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[sweet nephews]

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[he’s so sweet to the girls]

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[oh i love this face]

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[bennett earning some cash]

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xoxo

brunch with mutts

i met mutters or mutts {also known as danielle}, hmmmmm, maybe 8 or nine years ago??? it might be longer but i honestly can’t remember. she could clarify but that’s not the point. i have known her for quite some time and have seen her grow as person.

she was a single lady {all the single ladies!!}, dating a douche on and off and finally reconnected with an old flame that led into a serious relationship, then into an engagement, then into marriage, then into pregnancy. the circle of life, non? for some, not for all, but definitely a circle that goes round and round for most.

anyhoo, mutts and i were really close all the years we worked together and when i went my separate way, we stayed in touch. she’s a sweet, silly, and sassy lady who cracks me up. i love seeing her, hanging out with her, and now she’s expanding her family and it’s so awesome to see.

we met up for brunch the other week and holy cow! she’s was due in eight days! wowza. i was like, don’t have the baby while we’re eating. haha! just keeding. having a baby is nothing like what is depicted in the movies.

we had a great time. we talked about babies, birth, life, work, kids, and all sorts of stuff. my girls were being great and i was really surprised how calm ellie was being. sometimes, when i/we are at a restaurant for too long, she becomes restless but that day, she was happy as a clam sitting in a high chair.

maybe i was was talking too much but i felt that i barely ate my food! after a hour and a half, we decided to go. mutts was going to go get her nails done and us gals were going to go shopping.

it was a gorgeous day out and we were excited to get out there and shop for new shoes, dresses, and fun stuff…whatever we needed. we said our goodbyes to mutts and wished her luck on her upcoming labor!

well i am happy to say that she delivered her sweet baby girl, skylar, on may 12 at 4:05 am weighing in at 8lbs 4 oz. congrats anthony and mutts!!! we are over the moon at your sweet blessing!!!

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[ellie being entertained by paper]

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[mutts]

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[my sweet olive]

xoxo

a lovely day

it was a nice but cool day. the sun was shining, so it felt lovely but in the shade, it was a bit chilly. nonetheless, it was a wonderful day to explore the city.

we did our best to get up early to beat the brunch crowd. 11-11:30 am is prime brunch time, that is when the wait gets cray. it’s the perfect time because you don’t have to wake up early but it’s early enough to not be completely starving. soooo, we arrived at the bongo room at 10:25ish and we waited, maybe, 20 minutes for a table for 5? score!

of course, brunch at bongo is always delicious. i usually get their seasonal pancakes but i was totally feeling eggs and potatoes that day. yuuuummmmm. hc and i each got a drink {mimosa for moi and a frou frou drink for hc}, it’s five o’clock somewhere, isn’t it?!

after brunch, we decided to explore bucktown. we love shopping around the area. we love the eclectic vibe and exploring the fun shops. what i find so interesting is that grace pretty much likes the same stuff i like, to a degree. we have similar tastes in some fashion, make up, and accessories. what is very different is that she is wayyyyyy younger and we interpret our choice in fashion through our age appropriate styles. i really enjoyed exchanging our opinions around items we liked though, that was a lot of fun!

while we were eating, i had text olivia and dana to see what they were doing. dana was busy but olivia and aaron decided to meet up with us {they don’t live far from the area}! while grace, the girls, and i were shopping at benefit, olivia and aaron showed up! it was great seeing them, even if it was for 45 minutes! after buying a few things at benefit, we all walked to reckless records and shortly thereafter, we had to leave to take grace to her driver’s ed class.

it was a beautiful, lovely day. it really was. i thoroughly enjoyed our day at brunch, shopping, spending the day with my family, seeing olivia and aaron, and just being in chicago. i love my tribe and i love chicago.

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[my tribe]

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[my sweet girl]

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[she absolutely adores grace]

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via tandeminlove.com

[nice whipped cream]

via tandeminlove.com

[pretty fruit plate]

xoxo