Happy Halloween!

Owing to my disdain for children's princess culture, I've made a deal with my girls that every other year they can dress up as a princess for Halloween. The other years they must branch out and try something else. Hopefully when they are grown enough to understand life is about more than ballgowns and boys, they will appreciate those non-princess Halloween years a bit more. Usually I dread the princess years, but this one wasn't so bad. 

The Disney Frozen Fever Elsa dresses were sold out long before Halloween, so Liesel was forced to choose another princess. I was pleasantly surprised she went with Belle. Since she's such a bookworm herself, it was rather fitting.

Back when the movie came out, I thought her hair was a bit odd-- half up, half down, with twists and a bun in there? Recreating it in real life was a bit of a challenge, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Ireland finally got to wear the coveted Elsa dress. I'm terrified the flimsy top is going to rip before all the girls have had their turn, but Ireland was ultra careful as she wore it to several Halloween parties.

With her favorite colors of pink and purple, Gita was thrilled to be Rapunzel and wear the crown of braided hair. When it was time to snap this picture, she was a bit cranky which is funny because I remember Ireland was the exact same way two years ago when she wore it. Maybe there's something about being locked up in a tower that puts one in a mood.

Sydney was so excited to be Merida, and even though it's one of our newer costumes, this one was starting to fall apart. Sydney wanted to LIVE in this dress and for the most part, we let her.

 Getting that perfect group shot always takes a bit of coordination... 

...but since the girls aren't allowed to go Trick or Treating until I'm satisfied, they come around eventually. At one of the doors someone commented, "Aren't you beautiful?" and I'm not sure if it was Sydney or Gita, but the response that was given was, "Yes, we are!"

With his new grizzly beard, I out and out stole Brent's costume idea from my sister Whitney and her husband Tim.

It's really nothing more than a red and black plaid shirt and some paper towels, but so many people commented on it. Several asked Brent if that's why he had grown out his beard... just for the costume.

I was so, so, SO excited to be Rosie the Riveter!!! I went all-out by carefully finding a dark blue chambray shirt, ordered the name tag and the pin and instead of using any old, red, handkerchief, I found an Etsy shop that sold the polka dot hair tie. I wore the pin curl all day and received so many compliments on it! I loved this costume and I'm determined to dress up as a culturally significant woman every year. I'm thinking Amelia Earhart for 2017...  Again, when the girls move out of the princess-crazy phase, it will be nice to have costumes like this one on hand.

Usually I'm not one for haunted houses, but Brent and I were invited to go with another couple. It happened to fall on a day when the girls were really a handful and the witching hour was more than I could bear. As we walked through the insane asylum section and the mad doctor section and the clown with the chainsaw section, it really just reminded me of the day I'd just had and didn't phase me much. Not to mention several of the actors broke character to comment on Brent's beard. That said, it was dark and the floor changed height so often, I felt bad tugging on the coat tails of my sweet friend who is pregnant. Brent watched my backside and we got through ok.

We grabbed some dinner afterwards and I have to say it was actually a really nice time! I don't typically get excited about Halloween, but this year it was particularly fun and memorable.

Turning 40

I had every intention of ignoring it. Several girlfriends asked to spearhead a birthday dinner and I politely refused. When they insisted, I told them my next available evening was in January. Looking back on my 30's, I feel so very, very tired. I've had a baby on my hip for the majority of that time. Long periods of separation from Brent have taken their toll. For the most part, I'm happy with where I am in life. I'd love a bigger budget to fix up the house, and I'd love to own some decent furniture, but more than anything I just want to sleep. I was in no way planning to celebrate my 40th birthday. 

Brent texted me to let me know he would be running late and inwardly I was irritated. He knew it was the witching hour, and even though I wasn't asking for a huge celebration, couldn't he book it home? I was aching for some relief from the demands of mommy-hood and just wanted to hole up for the night. Then Ireland told me I needed to come to the door. More inward irritation. Couldn't everyone just leave me alone?

Bursting through our front door poured my SNCP girlfriends. Wave after wave of shock hit me as I mentally registered their excited, happy faces. Ever since we bought this house, I've wanted them to visit so I could host them, show it off to them, share it with them. Here they were... out of the blue, with Brent bringing up the rear and giving me a knowing grin.

They say hindsight is 20/20 but that's not the case here. It's all still a blur. I remember tiaras coming out of nowhere for us all to don (including the little girls). I remember the beautiful cake and the singing. I remember my voice pitching higher and higher as I kept saying, "WHAT?!?!?!?" I remember showing them around the house and I remember them ushering Brent and I out the door for a date. Since our anniversary earlier this month looked like this:

 we never did properly celebrate 10 years of marriage. Brent and I had been wanting to try a burger place called Tracks we've heard a lot about and with four babysitters, we had no excuses.

It was delicious- especially the homemade potato chips. As we talked, Brent pulled another trick out of his hat. It's a tradition in my family to tell the birthday person one thing they like about him/her and if possible an I remember when... story. Brent had contacted as many people from my life as he possible could and collected those thoughts for me. It was 20 pages, front and back, of well wishes from friends and family. Although most of my actual birthday is a blur, I definitely remember not being able to sleep as thoughts flew through my head and I tried to wrap my brain around the fact that 4 of my dearest girlfriends were sleeping under the same roof. For me. For my birthday. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I do not deserve the amazing friends I have.

Brent took care of the girls so I could not only show off our house, but our city of Chicago. Janeal desperately wanted to visit the Home Alone house which is conveniently located near the city.

Her enthusiasm makes me laugh. She was sooo excited!

It's a beautiful house and I have to say I'm really glad we stopped by. It's not something I would have thought to do on my own, but the Home Alone house is situated in a really pretty neighborhood, so it was a fun drive on a pretty fall day. Lots and lots of thought-provoking conversation in the car.

LOL! She was really excited!

We had lunch at Ditka's so these ladies could experience the phenomenal pot roast nachos. I love the warm, moist towels they give out so you can clean your hands before diving in to dinner.

Our waiter was curiously hot-- meaning we all found him attractive. Usually people have their own taste but this guy was pretty fine in everyone's eyes. The text messages and pictures to the husbands, who were watching all the kids while we dined, was pretty hilarious.

We had the same cell phone case. What are the chances?

I guess it stands to reason if you hang out at Ditka's long enough, Mike Ditka himself will eventually manifest. We were waiting for our valet when he hopped out of his car. These women were in line in front of us and he kindly snapped a picture with them before rushing inside the restaurant. He insisted he was actually Dick Butkus, but a face this famous isn't confused easily in a city like Chicago.

We stopped by the American Girl store and took in all that girly wonderfulness. Well, most of us... Janeal hopped over to the Lego store. Sara spied this fedora and became Michael Jackson inspired.

Before heading south on Michigan Ave, we stopped by the Fourth Presbyterian Church and looked around. The stone and woodwork is beautiful and the climbing ivy makes it so tranquil a place- no small miracle given it's situated right on the Mag Mile. Turns out scenes from My Best Friend's Wedding was filmed here.

I had to take these ladies to the Bean for some photo ops.

No matter how many times I go, I can't get enough of the energy around this sculpture.

That energy was particularly palpable with the Cubs in the playoffs. It was fun to see the Art Institute Lions with their baseball hats:

and buildings lit up like this:

It was so unexpected, and such a whirlwind, it honestly feels like the whole thing was a dream. I was so busy soaking up time with my girlfriends, I barely noticed the dreaded entry into a whole new decade.

Maybe 40 won't be so bad.

The Shedd Aquarium

The truth about the Shedd Aquarium is that it is truly fantastic. It's also fantastically expensive, especially if you want to catch the aquatic show, which is $25 PER PERSON!!! When Annie casually mentioned they scored free tickets and asked if I'd like to tag along with a couple of the girls, I jumped at the chance. A trip to the Shedd was actually on our summer bucket list, but the cost was too prohibitive. It was the single, solitary item we weren't able to check off and the perfectionist in me was going mad about it. This felt like sweet redemption.

Annie's told me several times how they came about the tickets. Something about an uncle... conference or trade show... networking... maybe someone ran into a janitor for the Shedd? Something like that. In any case, I couldn't be more grateful! Liesel and Ireland are the perfect age to appreciate something like this and Brent was happy to stay home with the two little ones.

Of the many exhibits, the one with the anaconda stands out to me the most. Trying to spot the thing, then finally seeing it and following the long, winding body as it trailed and looped around that huge tank was a bit shocking. It was HUGE! I wanted to see the octopus as well and have since decided that they are truly creepy. Whitney recently told me about how an octopus that is put into a jar with the lid screwed on can actually unscrew the lid. Their eyeball is the stiffest part of their body so if their eyeball can fit through an opening, the rest of their body can follow. Definitely creepy.

The last time we went to the Shedd, it was a toss up whether the aquatic show would feature the dolphins or the beluga whales. Of course, everyone wants to see the dolphins, and I was worried we'd end up with the beluga whales again. Turns out they've revamped it so every show features dolphins. The seal and penguin they bring out in front is pretty fantastic too and again, I'm so very grateful we were able to see it for free!!!

Petting starfish- something you don't do everyday.

Because I drove, Annie wanted to treat the girls to a face painting. The artist's chair was empty and she was clearly bored out of her mind, but she really perked up when the girls presented themselves. By the time we left, there was a nice little line.

With Halloween coming up, Ireland got a zombie dolphin and Liesel got a witch dolphin. 

It's so nice to get some one on one time with these girls!

Parking for Museum Campus is at Soldier's Field so we get to walk by this cool water feature. This fall has been so incredible... it's actually been a whole season rather than just a day or two before the freezing weather blows in.

The long car ride was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Annie. It seems like I can't spend too much time with that girl! Sabrina was wonderful and seemed to have a really good time as well. Looking back at these pictures, I still can't believe we got to experience all of that... FOR FREE!!!