"thanks mom, but i got it"

 picnic at the park

mid may
unrelated to the rest of this post

***

shooooooooot!
i really wanted to get some blog posts in before our trip!
it's just a lot of work to get away!
where are we going??
we're going to NORWAY for my dad's BRYLLUP!
which i am going to define as a wedding reception.
he and tove actually got married today! at city hall i believe ...
but they're having their reception separately!

besides being there for their big celebration, i'm also excited for Polarn O. Pyret.
Check out this perfectly timed post on ohhappyday... i love the comments.

Polarn O. Pyret
http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/sweden-polarn-o-pyret/
 

there is a store right in TRONDHEIM, NORWAY which is where we'll be.
and tove even used to buy poP for her girls when they were growing up.
so scandinavian! 
i wonder if we'll leave piper somewhere awhile she's sleeping in her stroller.

and if that all weren't enough already,
then little p is staying with the newlyweds while patrick and i go to ...
C O P E N H A G E N ! ! !

it looks like i'll be hitting the pavement with troels, our danish tourguide!

and how cute is this cafe???
http://www.theroyalcafe.dk/site.html


 
i wanted to get some better posts in about the things i am excited for ... but needless to say, i'm just thrilled for the trip.  flying internationally with an 11 month old! yesssssss!  who wouldn't be excited!?!

we'll have food, bottle and puffs, teether, books and an ipad loaded with new baby apps.
and if you happen to read this today, we're still taking last minute recommendations on long flights with a ~1yr old!

while the cat's away...

earlier this month, patrick went to england for work (london and cambridge) ...

of course we missed him terribly, but i'm getting better at handling the schedule while he's gone.

it often involves working after the baby goes to bed, but it's totally doable.

while he was gone, we even got to have a little fun.

we went to the farmer's markets and the parks in the early hours.

where we bought gorgeous peonies to scent up the loft for a GIRLS WEEKEND!

piper came with me for a pedicure and sat on my lap the whole time like an angel.

we also found a hole-in-the-wall brunch spot.

with a quaint patio perfect for babies who throw everything on the ground. 

 that spoon would taste way better with a little ground on it!

but that must not have been enough to tempt patrick home,

because instead of coming home, the next week he went to

SCOTLAND!!

(glasgow)

and a few days later, back to london!

so what did we do??

we went to brunch again the next weekend.

at a british pub.

we had crumpets and scones.

and cried out,

"you can get those here, too!"

and we went to a street festival.

with our cool friends.

"try to find these peeps in the UK!"

last year we went to this same festival.  it was the day christine thew a chicago baby shower, and i was just as pregnant as that lady in the background!

 we passed out from too much milk.

actually, kiira came over to babysit for a few hours and

piper had SO much fun with her, that after kiki left,

she couldn't even stay awake to finish her bottle.

btw, look how light it is when piper goes to bed!

and finally, we resorted to running arund naked (or next to naked)

nakey must have done the trick!

patrick rushed home and helped us back to our senses.
we like it better when he's here.

memorial day weekend: monday (finally!)

it was only a couple weeks ago, but now i can barely remember it.  the point of the dedicated memorial day weekend post series was supposed to be that it was the kind of weekend i could get used to.  finding family activities, enjoying quiet time, squeezing in exercise, making food, visiting eateries; we got our chores done AND had time for fun.  every weekend should be a four day weekend!

but ah yes, memorial day. 

it was a hot one.  piper and i went for a long walk to get some frozen kefir, and then stopped at a park afterwards. she got to taste the frozen kefir and eat the mango pieces from my topping. i politely shared. 

later that evening we went to one of our favorite outdoor patios and savored the last lick of the weekend over dinner and summery white wine. 

just the best weekend in a long time!

don't be over yet, weekend!

need a side of bacon?

click here, he he

memorial day weekend: sunday

piper and i took a foggy morning walk. 



 

"i'm in my pjs. shh, don't tell."

reminds me of 'midnight in the garden of good and evil'

and we stopped at the market

and we made breakfast as it got darker and darker outside

blueberries, spicy potatoes, goat chees and spinach egg pie and
leftover banana pancake square in the back topped with yogurt and mint



for most of the day it rained doomsday outside and the daytime sky looked every bit of night. we took advantage of being rained in by using the time to book a trip. 

bye bye storm

(taken from the roof deck)

eventually the storm rolled out, and we ended the day with a family walk to pick up dinner in the warm post-storm evening.  it was a rainy day, but it was a  good day!

memorial day weekend: saturday

woke up to a perfect morning for a run!

honoring the holiday
before the Soldier Field 10 Miler race began, as all 15,000 runners were lined up, we stood quiet for a moment of silence to honor those who died in our nation's service.  we are so lucky that we can get up on a saturday and run, just because we want to! but it was when the bugler played taps that i got teary eyed. it was emotional!  i'd like to think that i was not the only one who got a all verkempt out there, but i was too shy to look around with my soggy eyeballs to check.

the race
the race was just what i needed to feel encouraged. i'm absolutely no speed demon, but at least i finally met my old long distance training pace during this race ... definitely a step in the right direction!  hip hip hooray!

embarassing race photo

and that looks like some major under pronation

post-race
i met up with amy and her running buddies in old town.- brunch tastes even better after a race! can't wait for the next race amy and i both signing up for in the fall.

---

gloomy day activity

that afternoon it was super-gloom outside so we brightened up our day by finally shopping for some balcony plants. piper LOVED touching all the different kinds of plants. she about catapulted out of the moby reaching for all the branches, buds, sprigs and leaves.

this year's "garden"
we got some lettuces and kale for one planter, and some mint and parsely to grow next to the chives, sage and oregano that came back from last year in another planter.  the leftovers aren't the prettiest, but i'm happy to have my favorites on hand for summer. 

probably the best these plants will ever look was before i planted them

fresh rain

we got also got few greens for the other planter.  potato vine is one of my favorites.  i never knew it until i moved to chicago, where it runs rampant in all the balcony planters and the pretty pots that sit on stoop steps in the warmer months. 

got a "tree!"
but what i am MOST excited for this year is the gardenia tree we got!  i love this smell almost as much as i love the smell of orange blossoms.  

strollers are so handy!!

this is the only shot i got of the gardenia tree.

---

chicken feed
and with the evening, came the rain. so we decided to try a new spot for dinner. we went to FEED, which has a chicken theme. it's an order-at-the-counter type of place. super kitschy, kinda southern, byob, and perfect with a babe. they even let piper play with some of the chicken kitsch, while we stuffed our faces with bbq chicken sandwiches, fried okra, and sweet potato fries.

which came first, the wooden chicken or the plastic egg?

i flopped into bed that night, full and happy from the day.

memorial day weekend: friday

boom! our company gave us the friday before memorial weekend OFF, so we all got a four day weekend!  every weekend should be a four day weekend ... ah, it was glorious.

friday

piper and i had a playdate with piper's old flame, mason.  they've known each other a long time, and while mason was really interested in her the last time we met up, this time he totally played it cool.  we met up at the bright hour of 7:15am. this is what my life has become -- i schedule play dates for 7am!! 

from there, we went to miss amanda's place, which was open only until noon because of the holiday weekend.  i had about 2.5 hours before i'd have to turn around and pick piper back up.  in that time frame, after a visit to a garden shop and an interior design store, i managed to set my heart on:
1) getting some kind of small "tree" for the balcony; and
2) wall papering the wall behind our couch (... some day).

 grand street gardens is right by piper's daycare

this isn't the wall paper i'm in love with.

i'm not even in love with any particular wall paper.

just the idea of wall paper.

it's like a bad romance.

then  i picked up pippers.

did you know that all that heart-setting can build up quite an appetite?
did you know that you can satisfy a heart-setting appetite with indian buffet?
piper at about 3 peas.  i ate the entire buffet.  smoosh.  naptime.

papa P came home from work early and we all played our hearts out the rest of the day.  a great start to a long weekend!

mother's day

whatever is happening with pipers hair looks like a helmet.

picnic + racetrack = happy mother's day!

we swung by the taco window at big star, our local honky-tonk western shirt wearing tex mex establishment, and loaded up on some goods before heading out to the race tracks.

we scarfed down our picnic at the racetracks

then met up with patrick's co-worker, her husband, and kids

piper and jacob: it wasn't quite love at first site

however, big brother ben did take a liking to the little lady

mr. money bags!

i think we came out ahead $6!!

by the end of the day we had a very grumpy baby after skipping her nap,
but it was worth it!

... and for a mother to play dress up with her daughter ...
a swim set for the little one!
how adorable is that baby bikini!?!?!?
and those baby sunglasses!?
don't you want to squeal?
this was sent from amber and b for mother's day!
such a sweet, sweet gift.

piper got me the flowers, but

now that i know patrick does read this blog, 

 i want to say thanks to him for some of the other flowers this year ...

valentine's day flowers

anniversary flowers

thank you!