olive’s pre-k graduation

Posted on May 24, 2019 by tandem in love

pre-school came and went.

i remembered the first day of pre-school so well. it wasn’t cold nor warm…it was in-between. i was excitedly anxious and olive seemed unaware of what was really happening. i got her dressed for school, a long sleeved white tee, teal jumper, grey knee socks, converse shoes, and i kept her hair down. i snapped a few pics outside and we scurried our way to school.

as we got out of the car and held hands in the parking lot, she became scared and nervous. i saw it in her expression although she didn’t say a word. we walked inside and waited in the hallway and she clung close to us, afraid of the unknown behind the closed classroom doors.

two years later…she loves school. she looks forward to it every time and absolutely loves learning, playing with her friends, and enjoys the creative activities it offers. i think some moms are sad that their children are moving on up but i felt happy, slightly tinged with sadness that this milestone was ending but so satisfied that she has grown so much and has become such an amazing person already.

graduation was quick, fun, and exciting. the kids sang four different songs to us and i actually cried when the announcer said it would be the last time the kids would sing the goodbye song to us…yes, it made me tear up.

olive’s name was called and she walked up to accept her diploma. it was so darn cute! she shook both teacher’s hands and stood there for a few seconds to face the audience with a sly smile. oh, my sweet girl. i love you so.

after the graduation, we went out to brunch at a local place and saw some of her classmates there and they had fun playing together near the end of our meal.

oh baby olive, i am so proud of you. so proud of your growth, your gregarious nature, your willingness to learn, and how far you have come with your knowledge and application. thank you for always teaching me on how to be a better person, a better mom, and level set me to the joys in life. i love you so much and only hope that this world only surrounds you with love, kindness, and faith.

[she’d always sit like this and i would change her shoes for class on snowy or rainy days]

[she was fussing with my camera and i snapped this sweet pic of her]

[she was being sneaky and kept creeping up onto the stage]

[getting up to accept her diploma]

[smiling for the crowd]

xoxo

olive’s first cubs game

Posted on May 20, 2019 by tandem in love

hc took olive to her very first cubs game!!!!! i was so excited. hc was so excited. olive was so excited! the day had come and the weather stunk. absolutely stunk. it was cold, rainy, gloomy, and did i mention cold? hc was a bit bummed but i said, take her anyways! bundle her up, bring lots of layers, a blanket, and if it got too cold…you can always leave but it’s the experience that was most important!

so, there they went. olive was so game for it. they explored the area, took pics everywhere, and baby girl was a complete trooper! as elsa said, “the cold never bothered me anyways!” LOL the good news was their seats were under an awning, so they were protected from the ongoing/intermittent rain.

olive enjoyed a big cup of pepsi and of course, a hot dog! she loved the music and bopped along to the tunes and enjoyed watching the game. one of her favorite things about the visit was meeting the cubbie bear! she thought he was so cool, bragged how she high fived him and he picked up for a pic!

this girl was steadfast in staying and enjoying the game despite the crummy weather. so much so, baby girl stayed through 10 innings! yes, 10 innings! after the 10th inning, she said she was ready to go home! i don’t even think i’d survive 10 innings in the cold and rain! i was so proud of her!

hc and olive packed up their items and headed out. she is so darn good! hc even offered her to get a souvenir and she declined. she didn’t need one. whaaaaaa?! gosh, i love her!

her first chicago cubs game was a success! she thoroughly enjoyed it! i can’t wait until she goes again and this time around, it will be warm out! i demand it. i guarantee it. no if’s and’s or but’s…ya got that chicago weather? please and thank you.

[that’s a big cup of pop]

[hello hotdog!]

{may 11th, 2019}

xoxo

snow day in april ’19

Posted on April 15, 2019 by tandem in love

well, here it is again. it always snows in april, everrrrryyyyy year. i only know this for a fact because for the last ten years, i’ve celebrated hc’s birthday in this month and it always snows around his birthday.

well, i knew it was going to snow {hearsay from hc} but i had no idea it was going to snow almost 5 inches {canceling our birthday plans for hc with his family}! whaaaaaaa? we woke up to a snowy white landscape and it felt like christmas. LOL. hc told me it was going to snow allllll day, well ok! we had a cozy day in, we chilled, hc cooked breakfast, we played, and took pictures. hc went outside to check what type of snow it was and said it was prime snowman building fluff. sooooooo, when i put ellie down for a nap, hc and olive went outside to build a snowman.

they rolled it, stacked it, and built it as i mostly watched them from our bay window. they had gathered all the trimmings…coal, a wannabe carrot nose, hat, scarf, and stick arms. i periodically ran outside to capture some good moments while they were in process.

olive was humming/singing christmas songs as she built the snowman…it was the cutest thing to hear. ohhhhh, she’s the sweetest! she did such a great job building it with hc. she was all about finding the right items for the snowman and helping hc with all the accessories.

they put the finishing touches on the snowman and he looked marvelous! hc and olive were so proud! i must say, he was a good-looking one! we snapped some good pics and walked inside happy and satisfied with our lovey snowman. the only bad news for him is that it’s only getting warmer! by the evening, he was the leaning tower of pisa. i told hc he will topple over by morning! c’est la view monsieur!

even though it snowed and almost everyone in chicagoland almost crapped in their pants with anger, we really enjoyed it and loved every moment of it! it was f u n!

[bundled up and ready to roll]

[strolling in stride]

[they’re so proud of their snowman]

[yeahhhh, he’s drinking a beer]

[she’s so proud!]

xoxo

spring break staycation

Posted on April 4, 2019 by tandem in love

olive loves hotels. she loves staying at a hotel. she loves sleeping in them. she loves watching tv in the room. it cracks me up how much she loves being there. from one vacation to the next, olive will always hint to me how much she loves flying on a plane and staying at a hotel.

well, for spring break, we decided to do a staycation in our favorite city! there would be no airplane but definitely a hotel stay! on our way there, olive kept exclaiming how excited she was for our ‘family vacation!!!!!’. so adorable!

we stayed at the millennium knickerbocker hotel and my sister {last minute} ended up staying at the park hyatt hotel, a few blocks away! they were suppose to fly to california but some health issues put a stop to that, so they wanted to get ‘away’ and booked a room at a hotel off the ave too!

so it was extra fun having family with us! the kids jumped on beds, swam, ate, stayed up way too late, ate some more junk food, shopped, perused toy stores, explored, and then some!

the weather wasn’t so great {hello chicago!} so we didn’t venture outside as much as we liked but if you’re staying in chicago, i highly recommend visiting millenium park, lincoln park zoo, the shedd aquarium, the science and industry museum, peggy notebaert nature museum to name a few!

we loved eating at food life in watertower place, ghirardelli’s, aster hall at 900, benihana’s in the hancock building, eataly are some great places to take your kiddos!

we had such a fun time with the kiddos! they loved staying at the hotel, exploring new places, and breaking all the rules!

[immediately chillaxin’]

[the sweetest sisters]

*****

[watertower chicago lego store!]

*****

[walking hand in hand]

[my world]

[she’s so cool]

[really olive?!]

[swim time at the park hyatt hotel!]

[having fun with dada]

[she’s so happy]

[sweet kisses]

[laughing at the boys]

[best of friends]

*****

[ellie was enamored with the park hyatt’s dog, parker]

[she was too cute with her!]

*****

[this awesome new eatery is at 900 north]

[ordering our food]

[these three…ellie is not quite there yet]

[this was so so so so good!]

[she loves to talk. about. everything.]

[the sweet lady behind the counter gave olive her little chocolate heart for free!]

*****

[this picture just kills me. i love her so much, it hurts]

[silly sisters]

[ellie is always running off somewhere]

[she loved this ponycycle!]

[they’re so cute]

[wonderoll rolled ice cream]

[she loved american girl doll…what little girl doesn’t?]

[silly babes]

[she was so excited!]

*****

[oh my]

[ellie insisted on wearing these glasses at night]

*****

[she loved seeing al the fish and animals – ellie screamed, terrified]

[she’s so sweet]

[it literally sparkled]

[olive loved how big this fish was!]

xoxo

down the rabbit hole

Posted on March 12, 2019 by tandem in love

an old friend pam, who i met through my friend carol, when we were – maybe 8-9 years old, hosted a first birthday party for her sweet babe leighton! the theme was alice in wonderland and it was so darn cute and cuuuuuute!

pam went all out. there were fun, festive themed decorations everywhere! an easel greeted us on the walkway. there were decorations on the front door, in the hallway, she made a photo booth, a tea party table…i felt like pam was my long lost sister in the party throwing/hosting department! i loved all the details! it was all so cute and perfect!

olive disappeared as soon as we walked inside. she spied the playroom and was gone forever. i chatted with pam’s bestie becky for a bit and made my rounds saying hello to people i knew. i was able to chat with pam’s mom, carol, for awhile, which was really nice because i don’t get to see her very much! i nibbled on some food, checked up on olive, and mingled a bit with some guests.

i convinced olive to sit down for some fruit and pbj, in which she obliged. she was having so much fun with the other kids! i love that she can mold into the new environments and feel comfortable befriending new people. she tends to play a lot by herself {which is ok} but i love that she can entertain herself and be fine or blend into a group.

after we sang happy birthday to leighton, we snapped some pics in the photo booth, and then later, pam opened up the presents given to leighton. olive was sooooo excited to help! i had to tell her a few times to back down and not prematurely open up gifts that were not hers! hahaha!

olive was very sad to leave. she was having so much fun! it fills my heart with joy that my girl was having a good time! i was a bit sad to pull her away but we needed to get home to the hubs and ellie.

thanks pam and ryan for throwing a wonderful, beautiful birthday party for leighton! it was perfectly done and you two are the best hosts!

[sweet pam!]

[tea party coming right up!]

[presents galore]

[croissant sandwiches]

[how cute is this cake?]

[she was like, no crown please]

[there is goes!]

[pam, leighton, and ryan]

[my sweet girl!

[pam surrounded by kids so excited to open presents]

[me and pampers]

xoxo

serena and lily

Posted on March 7, 2019 by tandem in love

we were invited to an event at a chicago shop called serena and lily {i am obsessed with everything they sell!}! it was to meet the author of the children’s book, a raven’s nest by raven roxanne.

we arrived a bit past ten, at the store, and we were warmly welcomed by the staff, greeting everyone at the entrance. they kindly took our coats and invited us upstairs, where the event was happening. once we hit the landing, we were enveloped by the gorgeous decor, a beautiful brunch spread, and the author made her way over to us to say hello!

i was in photo heaven! the lighting in the space was amazingly perfect and the aesthetics was beachy, coastal cool. the author, roxanne, was just about to sit down and read to the children. i ushered olive and ellie into the room and they nabbed a space close by. after the book reading, the children were encouraged to create their own nests…inspired by the book’s storyline.

the girls nibbled on some treats and sipped on sweet beverages, while i waited patiently for the author to sign her book! once we were done at the event, we traipsed our way over to a yummy restaurant called the blue door {the last time i was there, it was at the old location on armitage and now it’s on halsted}! ohhhhhh, it’s such a good place. again, the decor was inviting and cool and the food and drinks are even better! there was a teeny tiny wait, but the girls entertained themselves. or more so, ellie was rebellious and olive was trying to calm her down. sigh…pretty much how it goes everyday!

after brunch, we walked along armitage and peeked into a few shops! while we were at papersource, ellie completely fell in love with a dog there! the great pyrenees belonged to a couple, who was shopping there too. as soon as ellie saw the dog, she could not let go! like at alllllll! she was in love! it was soooooo darn cute to see her so enamored with this beautiful white dog! i told hc, we found the dog we will get! hahaha!

it was such a perfect morning! we had the best time in the city and the girls were sooooo darn good! let’s admit it, when no one is screaming, crying, fussy, loony, and upset, it always makes for a better time! they had a wonderful time at the event and we all enjoyed our fun, smooth, no bumps in the road outing.

{check out all the fun pics below!!!!}

[the delicious spread]

[the girls or girl intently listening. olive was so into it but ellie was side eyeing all the other kids]

[doesn’t she look so sweet and innocent?]

[raven roxanne reading her book to the kiddos]

[she spotted me and wanted up…when she wants me to pick her up, she says, “hugs”. melt!]

[oh she’s soooooo saucy and sweet. just look at that mug!]

[drawing their own nests]

[color choices]

[raven checking on everyone’s drawing]

[ellie’s nest]

[olive’s nest]

[dream bedrooms set and beautiful girl]

[can i please have this swing in our house?!]

[olive wanted to show off her picture!]

[with the artist and author, roxanne]

[my sweet girls]

[the beautiful little book]

[so dreamy]

[after the book signing, we ate brunch at the blue door!]

[this cuuuuute face right here was being very naughty at this moment but oh, that sweet face melts me!]

[i scolded her and she ran over to the stairs to hide]

[squishing her face into the railing]

[pouting]

[she loves her big sister]

[more coloring!]

[the hubs…don’t mind his beard]

[kale and brussel salad]

[we’re at papersource lincoln park]

xoxo

brunchin’ in the ‘burbs

Posted on February 28, 2019 by tandem in love

i was super excited for our date with kt. like suuuuuuper excited. remember when you had all the time in the world to meet your girlfriends for brunch/lunch/dinner {before kids}?? it was always so easy to get together on a whim, meet up, chat for hours, and do it again in no time flash.

well, long gone are those days! oh life! i, maybe, see kt a few times a year. like, whaaaaaaa? #truth. so, us finally getting a date on the calendar was a miracle and i couldn’t wait to catch up!

i picked olive up from school and we headed over to our meeting spot {we arrived sooooo early…i wasn’t sure how long it would take us to get there, so we were extra on time!}. we found a table right by the window, over in the bakery area, and made ourselves comfortable. kt wasn’t too far behind but the girls were just fine, entertaining themselves and admiring all the delicious and pretty looking desserts in the cases.

the one thing that completely fascinated me was that ellie was utterly enamored with kt! ellie is usually afraid of everyone. like seriously…everyone. sometimes her own grandparents, that she sees every day, bother her. hahaha! when kt walked through that door, ellie wanted to be her bff! i was floored. this cray girl doesn’t like anyone she doesn’t know and she grinned ear to ear when kt sat down at the table and immediately started chatting with her! wtf.

we majorly caught up on life. we so needed this time together! we gabbed about kids, work, all the crazy things in life, love, and everything in-between. we ended up staying there for 3 hours!!! the girls were soooooo good! so well behaved and they just entertained themselves the old fashioned way. no iPads, no phones, and we didn’t even break out the toys until 45 minutes or so before we left!

kt’s husband stopped by to join us the last hour! i was hoping to see him because it had been awhile since i last saw him as well! the time we spent there just flew by! this is so cliché but time flies when you’re having fun!

we definitely needed to go because i had to put ellie down for her nap. we said our goodbyes and gave big hugs. it was so good seeing both bobby and kt! the girls loved hanging out with them and we all had such a great time!

until next time my dear and hopefully not too long in-between our next visit! love you guys!

[i love this brute so much!!]

[i love french macarons]

[picture courtesy of my 5 year old!]

[helping kt open her gift from us]

[cheers!]

[raspberry gelato…mmmmmm]

[yuuuummmmyyyy, gelato]

[she’s too cute eating her gelato]

[my sweet girls!]

[peril cake pops]

[she’s so darn fun]

[i love my girls so much!]

[i’ll never stop saying that i set these two cuties up!]

[hugs!]

[my sweet girls…i love them so much!]

xoxo

valentine’s day ’19

Posted on February 19, 2019 by tandem in love

i was quite excited for valentine’s day! we had a fun filled day planned out and although it was the only day that was warm that week {50 degrees amongst the 20 degree other days}, we were pretty much spending the day indoors. our morning started with olive’s parent teacher conference {the teacher had such great things to say about olive!} and we cruised back home to cook a late breakfast and surprise the gals with valentine’s day gifts!

after a delicious heart shaped pancake, bacon, and hash brown meal, we just went about our day finishing up cleaning, the girls played with their new trinkets, and getting random errands done.

as the day wore on, thuy stopped by to spend the afternoon and evening with us, i started to set up the girl’s dessert table for some festive treats. we then decided it was time to start dinner, so while hc prepped the pizza dough, sauce, and cheese, olive cut out the heart shaped pepperonis! she also helped place all the pieces onto the pie before it went into the oven.

dinner was savory {the pizza was sooooooo good hc and olive!] and desserts were even sweeter! soon our day was coming to an end. it started out so great with wonderful feedback for olive at school, hc whipped up a decadent heart themed breakfast, we had fun shooting cute pics for the kiddie dessert table for two, and creating heart shaped pizzas for dinner! it was such a relaxing, slow, peaceful all day celebration. i couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend valentine’s day! it was perfection!

[i gave these pink pails filled with goodies to the girls for valentine’s day]

[they were loving their surprises]

[she’s so sweet]

[she loved her gift!]

[she loved the magic marker]

[yummy heart pancakes, and bacon and hash browns, for breakfast]

[i had so much fun setting this up for the kids!]

[sweet vanilla cupcakes for the girls]

[my favorite]

[pink milk]

[that face of should i touch the frosting or not?!]

[mmmm, got it!]

[delicious raspberry bars…my favorite!]

[she was throughly enjoying the frosting]

* *** *** *** *

H E A R T S H A P E D P I Z Z A

[olive cutting heart shaped pepperoni’s]

[she’s like POW, heart shaped pepperoni…booyahhh! hahaha!]

[now for the toppings! we made cheese, pepperoni, bacon, and mushrooms]

[hc hard at work! always the consummate cook]

[it’s done!]

[ellie checking out my sister’s phone. you’ll love the next pic!]

[a picture with the pizza and ellie showing us a picture of the pizza! LOL]

xoxo

classmate cards

Posted on February 13, 2019 by tandem in love

i recycled the idea we had last year, for olive’s valentine’s day cards again for this year. i absolutely loved making her cards last year {she loved it too!} but i am fond of the idea of capturing her personality and growth each year with the same type of card. i think it’d be fun to make one each year until she outgrows it!

i gathered all the components that we wanted to assemble the valentine’s bags for her classmates. a maze sheet, slime, valentine’s day card, holiday stickers, festive bandages, and ring pops; we purchased it all at target {our favorite place!}. olive placed all the goodies inside each bag, sealed it with a sticker and adorned it with a crafty heart.

she specifically wanted to cover the clear heart on the bag with the paper heart so her classmates didn’t peek into the bag of goodies and spoil the surprise! i love her thinking! she graciously made 18 bags so patiently and loved it to the very end. although, near the end, we tag teamed the sealing of the bags to be faster!

this whole over the top valentine’s day gifting is sooooo me. i am super happy olive enjoys it too but i loved this kind of stuff as a child and didn’t have the means to really create such things and i love that i can do it now. i am hoping olive grows up to love it too! maybe she will, maybe she won’t but i know that she definitely doesn’t have to do it because i am crazy about it!

happy valentine’s day week!

[treat bags]

[she’s such a sweetheart]

[all the goodies]

[assembling her bags for her friends]

[band aids…cause every kid loves bandages!]

[olive loves puzzles and mazes]

[creating her valentine’s day card]

[yummy earth pops and olive]

[she cracks me up!]

[olive’s hard work looks so good!]

xoxo

valentine’s day cards ’19

Posted on February 8, 2019 by tandem in love

olive and i made her annual friends and family valentine’s day cards the other week!

we started this when she was three? gosh, i can’t remember {i guess i should reference my blog to find out…hahaha!}. prior years, olive used to paint paper hearts and adorn them with stickers but this year, i decided to buy pre-made cards and have olive decorate them and sign her name {which she loves to do!}.

ellie joined in on the fun by coloring on her own as olive went to work fancying up her valentine’s day cards. olive is such a trooper. seriously. i am amazed by her discipline and tenacious ways. she listens, she works hard at her projects, and doesn’t complain. we had 18 cards to complete and she did each one with joy and ease. only near the end did she says, “kiki, my body is getting tired!” oh, she’s too cute! i told her she only had three more cards and she was done! she happily finished them and was so proud of her results! i love that she’s so honest, real, and dedicated to what she is doing. whether she does it for herself or for me, i am amazed that she does it with selflessness and love.

we wrapped up our project and the girls happily ran off to play. we added an extra valentine’s day sticker card inside {attached with festive washi tape of course!} and i finished her crafty cards with a bit of calligraphy, a pretty stamp, and more envelope flair.

we sent them out through snail mail and can’t wait for our friends and family to receive a little bit of extra love in their day!