father’s day ’18

we had a packed agenda for father’s day!

we headed out in the morning, drove north, to have lunch and hang out with hc’s parents. then several hours later, we drove back south to have dinner with my family.

it was a fun, whirlwind of a day but nonetheless, very fulfilling.

we started the day getting ready and scurrying out the door to make it to his parent’s house on time. it was a hot, hot day. so daaaaaang hot! we melted a bit outside, hanging out. i just couldn’t do it. when i am sitting outside, sweating, like really sweating, i have to beeline inside to the cool house. i. just. can’t. do. it. i am not outdoorsy and add in heat {and no pool}, i’m dunzo.

our afternoon was relaxing. we had lunch and hung out with rich’s parents, his aunt, his sister, and grace. plain and simple. after four plus hours, we packed up and headed south to meet my family for dinner.

there we met up with dan, agata, my parents and sisters. once we were seated, olive was being a riot. she was being so darn cute looking at the menu, as if she knew what she was looking at or for! ha! she’s too cute! she decided that she wanted to eat chicken and fried rice. good choice my girl!

olive entertained us and ellie was restless! she was in that fussy mood but the poor babe slept only a half hour that day, with all the traveling and distractions we had all afternoon. dinner was actually very good. we have eaten at this particular restaurant before and the service and food was always ok, but this time around, we were pleasantly surprised at everything!

  father’s day was well spent with our families. we had fun celebrating the dads in our lives!  thank you to hc for always being a wonderful father to our girls. they adore you. your patience, love, and silliness make our girls light up! we love you to infinity and beyond!

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[she’s so cute]

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[she’s a doll]

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[auntie missy getting her work out with this little one]

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[she’s a nut]

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[papa and dada]

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[jane and wendy]

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[watering the flowers]

*****

{part deux}

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[my sweetie looking over the menu. haha!]

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[kim and olive]

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[dan and agata]

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[thuy and mom]

[olive, is that you?]

xoxo

summa time

the few weeks before independence day can be so intense! there are so many things going on, i don’t have enough of me to be able to enjoy all the fun summer activities!

to kick off summmmmmma time, our neighborhood friends invited us to a local jubilee. that weekend was a h o t one. sizzling! we decided to watch the live bands and enjoy the festivities on the coolest night of the weekend, although is was only 90 degrees and humid that day. eep!

hc and i took the jeep there…the most perfect weather to do so! we left the same time as our neighbors, dianna and todd, and we all walked to the jubilee together. our other neighbor friends, john and laura, had already secured a spot for us by the stage.

naturally, the boys hung out and us gals hung out. we gabbed and the men talked about their manly things. after a bit, hc and i wandered off to do my instagram ‘things’ and then grabbed some grub from the healthy section of the jubilee. hahaha! cheesy tater tots, hot dogs, and other bad things for my summer bod. bahahahhhhhaaa!

we actually, really enjoyed the music! the first group was a little bit country and the second group was a little bit rock n’ roll. the latter group was a great cover band! the musicians and the singer nailed popular songs of the past! hc made a comment about how some cover bands try to add in their own twists but we love it when a cover band nails the songs as we know them {and this band did just that!}!

after a few hours, i nudged hc to go. it was after 9:30 {oh, we’re so old and with children} and we needed to get home to put the kiddos to bed and send my sister home {always so thankful for her being available to watch the kiddos!}!

we are so grateful for our awesome neighbors! we really had a wonderful time with our SE crew! cheers to more fun summer festivals!

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[me, diana, and laura]

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[all the healthy food you can eat!]

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[heart attack on a plate]

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[hc, john, and todd]

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[summer time]

xoxo

lazy pool day

we love our lazy pool days! although the weather hasn’t been on our side the last week or so. any day i had available to go to the pool, it rained or it was too cold. what?! such a bummer!

so, we finally had a beautiful day and off we went! we got ready in the morning, sprayed on copious amounts of sunblock, and packed up our things! the pool was full but not crowded. we headed to our favorite kiddie pool {the one and only!} and the girls got right in. there were a few kids in the pool and olive was scouting out some new friends. once it hit noon, a huge group of women in this area, with their kiddos, all left to have lunch. the kiddie pool pretty much cleared out and olive was so bummed. my girls and maybe one other kid was in the pool and olive wanted to go home. whaaaaa?

she seemed a bit sad all the kids left but i couldn’t seem to convince her that it was only temporary and that they were all coming back after they ate. well, she wasn’t buying it and i was indifferent, so we gathered our belongings and left. as we drove away, hc drove right by us!! oh em gee! first, what was he doing home? and second, we had to convince olive to go back.

it didn’t take much for us to say to her to change her mind, and ta da – we headed back to the pool with hc! yayyyyyyy! we chilled {with tasty libations hc concocted} and olive met another friend and was having the best time! ellie just moseyed around in the pool, doing her own thing.

we then walked over to the food area and ordered lunch. then the funniest thing happened. while ellie was sitting next to me, enjoying her food, she proceeded to pee the biggest puddle on the bench. whatever…they clean it anyways, she was soaked from the water, and we were at the pool! i was dying. ellie stopped eating, looked down at the puddle, and then continued to finish her food. hahahaha!

the rest of our pool time and afternoon was so relaxing and splendid! it was such a wonderful surprise to see hc and have him spend the rest of the day with us. it was the best kind of lazy pool day!

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[on our way!]

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[she’s so silly]

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[snack time]

xoxo

gymnastics

we signed olive up for gymnastics. a long overdue activity but nevertheless, we finally did it!

we all went to the facility to get olive signed up. as we were heading out the door, i told olive what we were doing. she didn’t seem thrilled. when we arrived, she still didn’t seem enthusiastic. once we walked inside and started chatting with the lady behind the desk, olive walked around, a bit, to explore.

after a minute or so, she walked over to me, beaming, grinning from ear to ear. i then asked her, “are you excited?” and she then shook her head up and down. she was so excited! she was loving what she saw and loved watching all the kids practice down below!

on her first day, she couldn’t wait to get started. i took her downstairs to wait and she was totally eyeing all the other girls down there! oh so funny! she made a comment on how they didn’t have their shoes on…i said, “that’s fine. we’ll take your shoes off in a bit”, then from the corner of my eye i noticed, as we were sitting on the bench, that she was slowly pulling her shoes off with her toes. i started laughing. i told her it was fine and that she could take her shoes off now.

she then started bouncing around and doing things i wasn’t sure what it was. kind of showing off to the other girls, like – look at me! i know how to do gymnastic type of stuff. *eye roll*. {please watch the video down below}

her first day was a success! she absolutely looks forward to it every week! we also signed ellie up for a mom and tot class! yay for me? hahaha!

i’m so excited to get both girls in gymnastics! what activities do your babes love? i’m always open to suggestions and seeing what my girls might love!

via tandeminlove.com[i told her, let me take a picture…uh, POSE.]

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[and pose…]

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[and pose. ha!]

xoxo

west lake market

i’ll try to make a long story short.

one day, while i was in the kids section at barnes and noble, i ran into a lady with her two boys. we started chatting and definitely clicked. we went on and on about random stuff, exchanged instagram handles {@tandeminlove}, and went on our merry way. we continued to connect on the ‘gram {@chicagomomgoesuburban} and we’ve been avid positive supporters of one another.

michelle is a writer for chicago parent magazine, a photographer, a blogger, and a mom to three boys! she’s multitalented, fun, and most importantly – super sweet. our paths were meant to cross! recently, she invited me to a fashion event at west lake market. it’s kick off was this past sunday. this event happens every second tuesday of the month for the summer and i was excited to go!

i invited olivia to join me; i can always use some girl time. she met me at my car {i scored a parking spot} and we walked in together. at first we had no idea where the entrance was but a kind gentleman showed us the way.

as we were walking inside, we ran right into michelle! i forgot how tiny she is! we chatted a bit and she showed us the way upstairs to the vip event that just ended {we needed to nab our goody bags and pour ourselves some champagne}. we explored the the area. it was so cool! a perfect place for a bridal shower, a baby shower, or any sort of event!

we headed back downstairs to the market and perused the shops. there were so many cute things! it was also kid friendly, they had face painting and mr. dave – a fun guitarist who sang kiddie songs! i was eyeing a resale shop full of chanels and louis, there was a fun handmade, local candle shop, beautiful ceramics, and clothing boutiques! i purchased the cutest romper {long story but i have to say – thanks michelle for forfeiting the piece} from a shop call sanem, and a candle. plus, our goody bag was full of {ahem} good stuff!

once we were done shopping, olivia and i contemplated a few restaurants for brunch but we decided to stay and eat at eden. michelle had let us know that she was going to eden for a small bite and coffee. once inside, we said hello to her again and we met her sister in law kristen!

we nabbed a table and enjoyed a delicious brunch and lots of coffee. it was a wonderful time with my girl olivia. i love our chats…the conversations and connection i have with her makes my heart full. i love my friends. there’s never any judgement, there isn’t a tally list of who does what. it’s about enriching our lives with each other when we can.

cheers to good friends.

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[me and olivia]

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[champagne and berries]

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[isn’t this a cool place?! it can be rented for special events!]

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[after the event, we had brunch at eden]

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[isn’t she beautiful?]

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[avocado eggs benedict and salmon]

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xoxo

a last minute soiree

hc, last minute, put together a petit party for his former colleagues.

he invited his friends jeri, max, and dave {and their spouses and kids} to our house for a saturday night dinner. i was throughly impressed by hc’s efforts. he killed it. he went grocery shopping, prepped all the food, set up extra tables, decorated the kitchen, got creative with the place settings, dressed olive, took care of the kids, and pretty much remembered all the details. very much like i would do! kudos hunny! that was pretty awesome!!!!

i came home and just made a guac dip. a very important job. hahaha!

jeri was first to arrive, then dave, then max {much later}. we served apps, drinks, and ran after our kids. oh, to be a parent. you can hardly finish your sentences or barely remember your train of thought. i was talking to jeri about how hard it is to balance it all. women are programmed different then men. we multitask the shiznit out of everything. we remember so much. we plan, we accomplish, we follow up, and we get it dooooooone {well, most women}. sometimes i’m exhausted by the thought of what i do check of my mental list!

what was so good was that most of the kids were older, so they played together. took care of themselves, and were independent. yes! ellie was still napping, so i had my hands free for a second and jeri had baby g, so it was a bit relaxed and less chaotic. jeri and i could visit with each other without too many distractions.

soon, hc fired up the grill and cooked up a storm. all of the food was delicious! burgers, brussels sprouts, tater tots, corn, and so much more. seriously, the hubs did such a good job hosting and coordinating this all!

the kids played, the adults hung out, and we called it an early evening because, yep…you guessed it, we all have kids and they need to go to bed! it was a great time, even though it was only several hours, it was good to catch up with everyone and share our stories. the kids were adorable and played so well together. thank you maggie for being such a good big ‘sis’! she was sooooo good with the girls and especially great with little miss ellie.

after dessert, everyone gathered up their belongings and went on their merry way. we were left with crumbs on the floor, toys everywhere, and great memories. it was so wonderful to have everyone over. we don’t get to do this very often with this group so it was very appreciated. plus, miss jeri and john are moving soon, so this was very needed!

thank you to hc for putting this together, instigated by jeri! it was a beautiful evening spent and hopefully, we can do this again soon.

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[dave, maggie, and dana]

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[hc set up a ‘bar’ area, or more like a glassware area for drinks]

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[john, jerry, and giuliana]

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via tandeminlove.com[ellie loves babies…although i feel like she’s still a baby! i can’t remember if guiliana is 9 or ten months old but ellie weighs one pound more than her!]

via tandeminlove.com[ellie kept putting her hand on her cheek]

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[he’s so sweet with his sister{s}]

via tandeminlove.com[i loooooove this sweet picture of them together]

via tandeminlove.com[gina, moi, and jeri]

via tandeminlove.com[the kiddos minus one sleeping and another refusing]

via tandeminlove.com[the gang]

xoxo

ballet recital

olive had a winter ballet recital that was very informal. her spring recital was much more formal. full costume, make up, and a full line up on stage!

i don’t know why i was filled with anxiety. call it the typical mama nature. i was nervous about olive’s will to perform {we practiced together but you know…she’s only four!}, i was nervous about getting there on time. i was nervous that i would forget something on her costume. i was nervous we wouldn’t get front row seats. i was anxious about having people over {which we do on the regular}. it was just one of those days. don’t you have those too? eveything i stated above, i always encounter or do all the time but that day, i was filled with tension.

well, i survived and got over it and everything went super, duper smooth! we got ready early, had enough time for pictures, arrived early enough to grab seats [although our invited guests arrived earlier than us!! yahoo! what a relief to not have to fight for seats and  nab front rows! we needed at least 18 seats for all our attendees.}, olive met and greeted with her guests, got checked in, her costume was in tack {i remembered her ballet shoes!}, and we were able to relax before the show began.

the lights went down and the first act performed. olive’s group was the second act and i was so excited! the curtains closed and a few minutes passed by. then the curtains swooshed open and the crowd gasped in awe {a lot of ohhh’s and awwww’s}, little ballerinas on stage looking so cute!

olive did so well! she was poised and did a great job executing her routine. i loved watching her and was so proud. everyone was giggling at how cute the little ballerinas were. at the end of their performance, when they all jumped forward into their final positions, was so stinkin’ cute! just watch it on the video…pardon the small screen capture. i was taking pictures and my sister recorded the performance.

after the recital {17 acts all together!!!}, i went to pick up olive to meet her guests. everyone showered her with flowers! it was too cute! we all headed back home to our house to welcome our guests for the after party. we had pre-ordered food {although we had a situation with picking it up} and set the house up {a little decor + dessert table} before we left to be ready when everyone arrived.

it was fun, relaxing, and perfect. everyone enjoyed their food, their drinks {ahem…missy and aunt wendy}, and the desserts {diy’d the cake!}. the weather was perfect for an evening outside. what a beautiful day! olive’s recital was awesome and our evening together as a family was even better.

great job on your ballet recital baby girl! you were absolutely fabulous!

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[my darling babe before her recital]

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[she’s so cute]

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[first act, imagine dance team, then olive’s group!]

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[ellie enthralled]

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[ready to begin!]

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[true colors pre-k jazz/hip hop]

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[how far i’ll go/ballet]

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[na na na pre-k ballet]

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[sing! tap]

www. tandeminlove.com[na na na pre-k ballet II]

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[the end]

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[olive and ba]

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[olive and super auntie thuy]

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[dan and agata]

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[barbara and lynne]

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[grandmas]

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[gifts from grandma barbara and aunt lynne]

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[she loves her whale unicorn from aunt lynne – narwhals]

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[she’s so sweet]

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[diy cake]

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[fresh peonies from our yard]

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[french macarons]

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[flowers from her recital and gifts]

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[dessert table]

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[flowers from reagan]

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[sweet girls – olive looks like my sister’s daughter]

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[grainy {my flash died} photo of ellie eating macaron]

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[hide and seek]

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xoxo

memorial weekend

it was a wonderful weekend. a really wonderful weekend.

thank you to the men and women who have given their lives so we could live freely. we are forever in debt and grateful for your sacrifices.

sunday was very impromptu and perfect. we decided, last minute to hit up the pool. fabulous idea! then we invited our family over, last minute, for a grilling evening adventure! oh, it was just what we needed!

pool time was fantastic! we packed up our things {well, hc did a majority of the packing! thanks hubs!} and jumped into the jeep and arrived at the pool club we just joined! we were so excited to check it out. we shopped a few places last year and this year, we decided to join a swim and racket club. we loved that it is private, well kept, and offered quite a few amenities. plus, it was time. it was the right time for the kiddos and we were ready to join a place!

olive was such a diva. she picked out her heart sunglasses, asked to wear her hat, and strutted around like a boss. haha! ellie loooooooooved the water. she’s a mermaid!! she was having so much fun! it was the cutest thing to see! olive is more reserved and was bothered if the water hit her face. oh olive! ellie didn’t care! she dipped her face in the water and ‘swam’ around like a pro.

we were having such a great time! we loved the pool – it was clean and well kept. the grounds looked very well manicured, the parking lot was freshly sealed and painted, and the tennis courts looked so nice! we’re so excited for summer!

after the pool, our family came over for a fun alfresco dinner. hc cooked up a storm, we made pink vodka lemonades, we ate outside {it had cooled down to a perfect evening temperature}, and the kids played. it was a lovely ending to a great day.

honestly, if every day could be this good, our life would be utopia.

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it was a wonderful weekend. a really wonderful weekend. thank you to the men and women who have given their lives so we could live freely. we are forever in debt and grateful for your sacrifices.

[we’re ready for the pool!!!]

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[i love them. so, so much!]

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[pool ready]

www. tandeminlove.com      [hiiiiiiiiii! we’re so excited to be at the pool on this hot day!]

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[my water baby!]

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[the sweetest profile]

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[she was too cute in the water]

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[olive lounging and drying off]

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******

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[pink vodka lemonade]

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[agata and ellie]

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[look at the plane]

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[i loved that my dad purposely kicked up his feet for the picture]

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[really dan?]

xoxo