The Walnut Room

We made it to Macy's by 10:00 AM and went straight to the Walnut Room to see about getting a reservation & pager (last year the line was wrapped around the store, people waiting to get in).  Incredibly enough, there was a table open... in a super-bonus spot... RIGHT NEXT TO THE TREE!   

The whole dining experience lasted about 2 hours... and was so fun and memorable.  The Fairy Princess visits each of the tables, sprinkling "fairy dust" (glitter) on your head while she tells you to make a wish.  It was really sweet and the girls LOVED it!  Mom must have gotten slipped some ecstasy again.... just like last year, feeling as if she were literally in heaven... mouth agape... and oohing and aahing at everything.  Typical Mom.  :)   

Dulaney put it best when she said, "This is the best day of my whole life." 

The Tree was OUT OF CONTROL!  This is the view from my seat.  

Aerial view of the tree.  

 Admiring the gorgeous-ness of the spectacular tree... and drinking a "Poinsetta" (Champagne with Cranberry juice)

 Mom... making her wish!

My GORGEOUS Niece (Dulaney) & the Fairy Princess

That Fairy Princess was hysterical... no joke!  Probably could use a little Prozac.

A little over-excitement over the Fairy Princess & her magical fairy dust! 

Someone is missing from this pic!!!   

Such a good girl...

Talk about great seats!  And look at little Ava at the head of the table!  :)

My Sister Steph & Mom  

Mom & I

My Sister (Steph) and her daughter Dulaney Jean

Look at Laney's cute Snowman dessert... so adorable!

"Puh-lease!  No pictures!"

  

We DO have fun... no denying that!

Little splashers

The kissing cousins had their first bath together!!  They were so cute!!  Ava was super excited... splashing like crazy.  It's safe to say that after the bath, more water was OUTSIDE the tub than inside.  So much fun!

Little wrestlers

Just us girls

On night one of our girly-get-together, we all put on our Christmas jammies and had a dance party in Ava's room. It was so fun... we were all laughing hysterically. At one point, Ava climbed on top of Dulaney and pinned her down... only to laugh and drool all over sweet lil' Laney! 

 Sweet Laney was reading "Pat the Bunny" to Ava

Book club 

 Dance Party!

 Get down!

 I like to move-it, move-it!

Snow day!!!

The girls (my Mom, Sis & Niece) arrived yesterday morning (seems like weeks ago, considering all of the things we accomplished during their visit!!!). We had the BEST time... and have vowed to make this an annual tradition, going forward. I picked them up at the train station in Naperville (appears to be about 1 minute closer to our house than the La Grange station... which also means we get to spend more time with one another!). I picked them up and we went to the house for them to get "comfy" and then we were off to shop. We were in search of snow suits for the girls (for Ava & Dulaney... not us, silly) and the accessories to make the perfect snowman.

We searched Target head to toe and tried to be creative for our Mr Snowman. This is what we came up with for the poor guy's features:

Carrots= nose (duh!), Oreos= eyes, licorice bites= mouth

Next task was to dress the girls.  How could it be possible that they could become even MORE adorable?!  Well... it happened.  Here are some pics of the sweeties:

She looks like a pink Michelin Man!

Look at my beautiful Niece, Dulaney Jean! 

There couldn't possibly be a CUTER pic than this.  Nuff said.  

Snow bunnies!

Easy on the carrot, Steph.... 

We did it!!!

VICTORY!!!!

"Not so sure about this white stuff, Mom."

The Gilbert Boys

Say "NO!" to crack

 

Steph & Laney

 

Ava & Mommy, exploring the property

The Heathens 

Good times at Hogwarts

Guilt is the heaviest weight

So, yours truly is feeling some serious Mommy guilt this evening.  Why you ask?  Ava is in the stage where she is acting out, aggressively. Not all the time... only when I try to change her diaper or when I pick her up (because she'd rather be walking/ running).  Articles tell me that she's acting like this because she is frustrated that she can't "tell" me what she wants/ needs.  But she hits me hard. In the face.  Pulls my hair.  Smacks my chest.  I got so fed up today that I raised my voice (almost yelling), grabbed her hands and stared her right in the face, saying "STOP.  DO NOT HIT ME. THAT IS ENOUGH." Then I put her down, only to leave her crying in a little pile, while I walked away... leaving her confused and sad.


Ken came in, telling me not to yell because I'm only making things worse... which made me feel even more terrible.  He took over at that point (to put her down for the night) and here I am now, feeling like an awful Mom for not being more patient with her.  I just don't know what to do.  I tell her constantly, "Don't hit Mommy.  That hurts Mommy"... or "We don't hit, Ava".  But she just laughs because she thinks I'm being funny".  Ugh... I'm now looking at every article I can find on how to curb your child's aggression.  I suppose this is the first of many occassions that I will feel guilty as a parent.  Let the fun begin...

Visitors GALORE!!

This weekend we are going to be hosting all sorts of guests!! Ken's sister (Lisa) and husband (Tom) are coming in on Saturday for a short visit. That night we have a Christmas party in the city to attend... our friends, The Peases are having their annual holiday fiesta. Tom & Lisa are coming with us... but Ava is not. She is getting her second night away from us since the big move. I've found that that babysitters that work at the gym are just as happy to babysit while not "clocked in". Hence, my new plethora of babysitting options.

After Tom & Lisa leave on Sunday, we'll be getting even more visitors!!! My Sister, Niece & Mom are coming up on the train so we can do our tradition of going to the Walnut Room (at Macy's on State Street) to have lunch & cocktails around the humongous tree. I wasn't able to go last year but we've made a pact going forward, that just us girls will get together, every year, and go to experience the magic. Last year, Mom was so mesmerized that you would have thought someone slipped some ecstasy in her martini. She was literally floating on air from the experience. Not to mention, she was covered in fairy glitter... from head to toe.

I am excited for Dulaney & Ava to see the huge tree and get sprinkled with the magical fairy dust, by the pretty fairy princess. I'm sure I'll take a million pics. We plan on going on Monday because we're convinced it will be less crowded. The nice part is that they give you a beeper for when your table is ready... so you can shop while you wait. How great is that?!? Sounds like a recipe for some serious spending!

So Sunday will consist of us just hanging out, doing some shopping, cocktailing... the usual. I can't wait!! I love having my family come to visit. And even better, I love having room to put them... and not sending them off to a hotel for the night!

It's official. I'm a Landlady.

I'm a Landlady! Well... sort of.  We have hired a property manager (thank you Mary for the referral) that finds renters/ deals & handles all repairs/ acts as the middle-man between us (homeowners) and the new renters.  Well... drum roll PLEASE..... He's found a nice, clean, shiny, successful (and might I say HOT) couple (mid to late twenties) that are practicing medicine & law and are in love with our condo... and have signed a lease.  Amen Brother!!!   Let's roll!!!  


Our goal is to rent the condo for a few years.  We'll see what happens after a few and decide whether or not to sell or keep it as an investment property.  It's located in a PRIME location so I feel the value (once the silly economy rebounds) will skyrocket!  A girl can dream, right?  :)

Mmmm!!!!! Ha ha!!!

Outdoor Christmas Decorations 2010

Makin some moolah!

So I have been trying to think of ways we could earn some additional income, even with me staying at home with Ava. Ken isn't into the whole "pimp out your wife" idea.... so I'm trying to come up with some other ideas. I tried Arbonne years ago and that never took hold... my friends probably felt like I was stalking them to come to parties... and then even worse, guilting them into buying products just so I would stop harassing them. I don't like that feeling. I would much rather have an online shop... were people could come and look around... and if interested, make a purchase. NO PRESSURE INVOLVED.  Ideally, I'd like to have a few separate tabs on my blog with links to companies that I am a "demonstrator" for. The companies I'm thinking of so far are:

1. Uppercase Living 
2. Thirty one
3. Pampered Chef
4. Lia Sophia
5. Avon
6. Passion party demonstrator

If I did all of them, I'd have the whole spectrum covered (home decor, accessories, food, jewelry, makeup & sex toys).  Something to think about!!  

And for the record, I was only joking about #6. I would NEVER have the guts to do that (think Andy Dick, in the movie Old School).  Um no.  I would not be able to keep a straight face if it killed me!