nice things

we've gotten to that point in life where we look at our closet and wonder why we have nice things {wedding gifts} that we are saving for some vague, far off life filled with dreams of a real house with a real backyard and huge family dinners and an amazing kitchen space with a real pantry and the list goes on or a holiday that happens once a year. nonsense.

we now use our china whenever we feel like it. tonight we broke out this lovely pitcher. i feel like we needed some pewter goblets to go with it to complete the mood.

i don't always see the value of saving pretty things for someday anymore. use em or lose em. i like being fancy sometimes and now these beautiful pieces are getting used instead of collecting dust. in the words of ferris bueller: life moves pretty fast. if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

happiness is harry potter and ice cream and nate

i had a poop day. boo. nate's been working until 1 am for the past two nights, meaning we hadn't had a face-to-face conversation for awhile. i couldn't bring myself to go to my grad school class after work today. i feel exhausted all over. i love those little kids i teach, but today all the yelling just gave me a headache. and then this conversation happened...

n: why don't you buy some ice cream and popcorn on your way home and we'll watch harry potter?

i love him. nate, not harry potter. although i love him too.

beauty and the beast

i've been looking forward to this for awhile...

someone thought it would be brilliant to buy a front row ticket for their 3 year old little girl, who promptly started screaming at the top of her lungs when the prince turned into the beast in the first five minutes. she came back later when she'd settled down and announced super loudly "MOM! i'm ready for my snack now!"

i cried when belle and the beast danced (you can roll your eyes. but it was beautiful moment).
nate said he would have been a better beast. minus the amazing vocals, this beast was lacking in the scary department.

i loved it

land of lincoln

our car is now part of the land of lincoln. goodbye ski utah! plates.

let me fill in the words for this picture:
"i can't believe IL dmvs aren't open on saturdays. i had to take a day off work to register our vehicle. dmvs suck the happiness out of the air. is any dmv worker truly happy? the environment is toxic. three separate buildings, five grumpy employees, two security guards, and three credit card transactions later, we are official. who knew this process was so awful? wait, me. that's why i put it off for six months."

ahhh, but it's done now.
i'm very grateful to have a car, just not grateful for u.s. vehicle licensing laws and dmvs.

the sister

i'm just thinking about my sister today.
i love my little sister.
she is taller, more athletic, has amazing eyes, and is never afraid to be herself.
i wanted a sister so badly before she was born.
my barbies were always attacked by street sharks, g.i. joes, and ninja turtles.
then steph came along.
why isn't there a sister's day?

adventures at legoland

last friday my school went on a field trip to legoland. i was expecting the disneyland of legos, like i'd seen in pictures and fabricated in my head from honey i shrunk the kids. mmm, nope. more like a two story building in an outdoor mall in the suburbs. this only goes to show that the husband is always right about things like this...no expectations = happiness.

so at the entrance of mini legoland is a replica of chicago's downtown area made out of legos, naturally. my coworker looks at this building below and says, "hmm, i don't remember the name of this one."

me: yeah, i can't remember either but i think it has prudential in the name.
her: oh! i remember. kids, this is the EMPIRE state building!
kids: wow! the empire state building!
me: well, it looks a little similar, but this building is in chicago
her: yeah, the empire state building. hah, can't believe i forgot that one!
me: well, i think (know! duh) the empire state building is actually in new york city
her: hmm, nope this is downtown
me: (under my breath as i walk with the kids) kids, that's not the empire state building. let's go look at lake michigan...
you know all those statistics about how many americans can't point out america on a map? i believe them all.

being the teacher is fantastic because you get to pick your field trip group. read: dish out all the behavior problems to other people. at one point, the cute little girls in my group were all in tears as we stared up at the lego version of hagrid. hagrid! the gentlest creature in all of harry potter. if hagrid is scary, i fear for them.

field trips are the best (except for that one time i lost a kid at the pumpkin patch. whoops). every other day i wish i were five again. seriously, what an ideal age.

disclaimer: i promise i'm not that mean about dishing out all the wild kids to parent chaperones. they usually end up back with me, but it is really nice to have a break from constant barking. come back! hands out of your nose! stay with me! hold hands! no whining! no pouting either! you're not a baby! do we need to call your mom? do we need to call santa? :)

hello seattle

i've been listening to this song on repeat.
it's been almost a year since i've been home, and i miss it.
after you get married, and build your own family, and make your own home, when does home become somewhere else? or does it?
i think seattle will always be home to me.

st. paddy's day

saint patrick's day is a big deal here.
big.
the drunk party starts at like eight am. we went to the annual dyeing of the river. even though the weather was drizzly and gray (feels like home to me), my bangs were a royal mess, and the windy city was definitely windy, it was cool to be in the middle of all the celebrating.
gray is the new green or i completely forgot to wear the holiday color of choice.

then we did something we never do.
we went to TWO movies. in a row.
alice in wonderland and 3D avatar.
the whole time i was thinking of our friends who told us to go see as many movies as we can while we're babyless.
while no groceries for the week were bought, no cub scout activity was planned, no homework was finished, no clothes were washed, and no bathroom was cleaned, it was an awesome weekend.

happy monday
i'll go do my three loads of laundry now

from my class...

in my morning circle today. we were talking about how to deal with disappointment:

me: what helps you feel better when you are disappointed?
N: uh, one time, my brother went to jail and then i was like...he...ate my cookie...and then my mom whooped me.
me: N, you don't have a brother and your mom did not whoop you.
N: (just smiles)
me: don't tell stories N
N: OKKKKKAAAAAY ms. lawler. sorry. i love you.

this girl is a hot mess and the most hilarious, sassy three-year-old alive.

oh hey sun. it's been awhile.

look who finally came out this weekend.
it was beautiful.
i don't want to get my hopes up, but i could really go for some spring weather right about now.

today. march.

- i definitely watched the land before time by myself tonight. it was produced by george lucas and steven spielberg. duh, that's why it's so good
- we caved and got cable and dvr for the olympics. i've never had dvr before in my life. a.mazing.
- as i was watching the dvr-ed olympic closing ceremonies, fireworks erupted out our window over lake michigan. perfect timing? yes. i cried.
- chicago LOVES fireworks. is there something i'm missing about march 1st? was that huge show we just watched in anticipation for st. patty's day? chinese new year? i don't know.
- it's still gray here, and probably will be for... don't think about it
- one of my students told me her dad had to go back in a "cage" (jail). she also said, "my mommy told me not to tell you, but i am"
- i'm loving teaching right now