All Hail the Conquering Hero(ine)!

A couple of days ago the kids and I went out for an outing and ended up being gone all day. When we returned home around 4:00, there was something wrong. I opened my door and was greeted by the noxious smell of natural gas. I turned the stroller right around and shut the door, hoping that the kids didn't get as big a whiff as I did. I called our maintenance manager, Ivan...well, actually, I called Robyn, just to get the moral support to call, first.

Ivan came to check it out and said, "I do not smell gas, I only smell the cinnamony." (He is from Slovenia and has a beautiful accent, and he was smelling my air fresheners, glad they work). Anyway, he was convinced that I was smelling "cinnamony", too, but I was still worried. He instructed me to wait an hour, come back, and then call him if I still smelled it. "I do not smell it, but gas is not joke. If you think it's wrong, call me." I did, and he came up and turned off the gas to the stove.
Then yesterday the stove repair-man came to check it out with his little gas-detecting magic wand. There was a teeny-tiny leak that he had to order parts to fix. Ivan and the repairman (who is also Slovenian and I suspect his name is also Ivan) just came by today to fix it, and they told me "You deserve award for smelling such little leak!" (I hope you are reading these quotes in a thick Slavic accent). So that's just what I'm going to do, award myself:

So Much to Wear, So Little Time

I just downloaded the pictures from my camera looking for one picture in particular. I was surprised to find that EVERY picture taken in the 2 days between downloads was a picture of Cadence dressed up in something different and amusing. A chip off the ol' block, she is!

Nacho Libre, if you were wondering.

Below: Cadence is sporting a necklace and bracelet fashioned for her by her cousins, Lauren and Avery. They brought it to me the day I had her. I've been hanging on to them for a while, it was fun to see how excited she has been to wear them. Mer, tell your girls that she wears them all day everyday.

What's more tender than a Daddy and Daughter with matching tats? In case you can't tell, they say "U of C Library". That's right, watch yo'self.

Better than Santa!

That's right, Grandma and Grandpa came to town. My parents did us a noble act of service and drove our car all the way from Utah to Chicago for us! It's been a long time since we've had a car (for those of you who don't know, we've been trying to sell our car and didn't want to drive it out here, so we tried to sell it in Utah. Well, after a couple months of no interest in our car, we decided we may as well drive it.) It's been an adventure without a car, but we're ever so ready to have wheels again!
Anyway, even more exciting than the car, for us, was the chance to have my parents around and to show them our city. It was just the rejuvenation I needed. They were so optimistic and positive about the city and all the things around us. They saw all the good in our surroundings, which is something, sad to say, I've had a harder time doing the last few weeks. It reminded me that I really do love this place. It took my parents' approval, I guess, to remind me of that. Thanks, guys.
We didn't get much time with them, but we filled it well, I think. The first thing we did was hop on public transport (our dear #6 bus) and go down-town to see Millenium Park and the "Giant Bean", which is actually named "Cloud Gate", I believe. Those in the know know it's really a big bean. We walked through down-town all the way to Navy Pier and my parents loved the beautiful buildings and the river, etc. You know, when you are from the West, you just don't get to see buildings as old and ornate as the ones that are a dime-a-dozen here. Also, my dad's fave all time movie is "The Blues Brothers", so being in "Sweet Home Chicago" for my parents was extra exciting. We quoted the movie as we walked under the El-train (do you spell it "L-train"?), and laughed about our fave scenes while we walked around their town.
Another thing that I loved was that it was really the first time that we had them out to just visit us. Since we lived so close to my sister in California, we always split our family visitors, and usually they would stay with her, since they had a lot more room than we did. I never minded that, but having them all to ourselves did add a new dimension, and I felt that it gave me a chance to learn a little more about my parents and to see them in a new way. It was fun to see their curious, adventurous side.
Anyway, I'm not the only one who loved having my parents around.
Spencer was really excited to show them everything and so as he played "tour guide" he often walked so quickly that he left us all in his dust and we'd have to remind him that they wanted to see what they were walking through (and that I was pushing a double stroller!).
Cadence was the lucky subject in a little bet my parents had going: "dancing shoes" vs. Transformer (in airplane form). The dancing shoes are the little plastic "dress-up" heels that have been around forever. Well, Grandma won. As exciting as a Transformer toy was for Spencer and I, nothing is as exciting for Cadence as shoes. She has worn them EVERY day since. She puts them on and then starts hopping and kicking her feet out and yells for everybody to watch her "awesome moves".
Campbell, too, loved having Grandma and Grandpa around. She got lots of attention and hardly ever got put down. She even woke up extra early and insisted on being cute and friendly (5:00 am), and guess who stayed up with her and kept her company? Grandma and Grandpa, of course.
My dad served his mission in Indiana, and being in Chicago with us was the first time he had been back in the Midwest since. At church on Sunday he was so friendly and introduced himself to everybody he could, especially all the locals. It was really fun to see him jazzed about our multi-cultural ward and to see him soak-in the diversity. To be honest, I didn't expect that. I guess I hadn't expressly thought about what they would do at church, but I kind of thought they would just quietly appreciate it and move on. I don't know. It was fun to see my parents like that. I guess because it was a different atmosphere than I'd ever seen them in, and I hadn't thought of it that way before.

Crossing the bridge on the way to Lake Michigan, with Hyde Park in the background. Hyde Park is where Barack Obama is from, did you know? Yep, his house is just about four blocks from ours, on the same street. Literally. My parents thought that was really amusing. Spence and I are just still sore that the Obama's never brought us banana bread.

What else was great? Everytime I made a meal, my mom was in the kitchen cleaning up as we went. The kitchen stayed clean the whole weekend! (That NEVER happens.) And she just knows how to spend the most quality time with the kids. Mom is the best with Cadence. She hasn't had a child of her own that age in almost 14 years, but she knows immediately how to engage her and keep her happy and busy. It's so relieving to have them give my kids the same love and care that I remember...it's comforting.At the "Idea Factory" in the Museum of Science and Industry.

One more really great thing. The Museum of Science and Industry! We've been waiting for quite a while to show Grandpa the "Farm Tech" exhibit, which showcase a real tractor and a real combine, as well as a myriad of other displays that teach about farming and how technology is used on the farm. Dad grew up on the farm and loves Tractors. Cadence happens to be in love with the tractor, too. So she and Grandpa took the tractor to Utah and saw everybody. Of course that's not all there is to see and do at the museum, and they got to see a few more exhibits before naptime, but we're hoping that someday they'll come back to see the rest!
They flew home Tues. morning, before Cadence got up. She asked for them all day. She had so much fun! We loved having you here with us, Mom and Dad! Thanks again for everything, we can't wait to see you again!

Lake Michigan is only about six blocks away from our place. If you look closely, you can see some of downtown in the background. Most of it is being covered by us.

Priceless Pictures

This one is a little whited-out, but I love the way she looks at me, and I finally captured it on film.

Here's a shot of Cadence's hair in a triple-pony-tail. It's so fun to do her hair up. She's so feminine!
The best we could do as far as getting Campbell to smile for the camera. Her smile is so heart-melting.
This particular morning before we went out to play, Cadence told me she "wanted to be a girl". So I had to take pictures of how sweet and girly she was. If you look closely you'll see that her fingernails are "barbie pink".
They really quite enjoy eachother.
At a backyard barbecue somebody brought her toy-poodle puppy, who was the perfect size for Cadence to play with. They followed one another around and had so much fun (really! The dog was as into it as Cadence was, if you can believe it). It was the most adorable thing that has ever happened on the face of the earth.

One of Those Days

"Just one of those days that a girl goes through
When I'm angry inside, don't wanna take it out on you...
Just one of those days..."
Anybody remember that song from approx. 1988?
Anyway, it was. I could complain for paragraphs about why and when and how it all started and where it ended. It doesn't matter. I just didn't have it in me today. I was a terrible mother to a cranky little toddler and a newly-social infant.

Some days I just have to declare "survival mode", which means that I only expect myself to accomplish the bare necessities--wash the dishes needed for the meal at hand, keep the kids from starving or flushing themselves down the toilet, and if I never get out of my sweats, so be it. But today was like the 100th survival mode day in a row, and survival was almost out of reachWhile scuba-diving in SE Asia, my gear was slightly faulty and the vest that is supposed to help you maintain your desired buoyancy wasn't working. So I spent the whole time trying to keep at the right level undersea--if I went too low, I would sink really fast, but if I went too high, I would rise so quickly that my ears were in danger. (And something about the bends). This is a picture of me trying to stop myself from shooting up to the surface. This is how I feel every day. I'm just trying to find the right balance, but I spend the whole day wearing myself out--up and down and up and down, but no happy medium.

Anyway, I just needed to vent. Does anybody else have days where they wonder if they are as sane as they had thought? Or if they deserve to have such cute kids. I swear I can't keep up with Cadence. Should I really be expected to raise her? Ah well, it's not as bad as I'm making it sound. Confession: I'm a closet drama queen.

I have made some really great friends out here. Really. But I have to tell you, all you ol' friends of mine, I miss you. Really really. Thanks for keeping in touch, and thanks for being happy, shining examples of sane people even when life is crazyI need my sisters. And some dress-ups.

I should say thanks to Spencer, too. He's in "survival mode" with school, and he's still the one keeping me from losing it completely. He's a good man.

Spencer and Campbell (2 weeks old)--he had just shaved his head for the first time--and was about to go swimming--sorry for the immodesty (but you must admit it's nice, eh?).

A Few Words From My Favorite Conversationalist

Cadence is a crack up. I want to blog about these so that I don't forget about them.
Some funny things she's said:

We had a Family Home Evening lesson a few weeks ago about where we came from and who we are. We taught her that God is our Father in Heaven and that we lived with him before we were born. We taught her the song, Ïlived in Heaven a long time ago it is true..."
At the playground she has noticed that, since we are new, we are always introducing ourselves and telling why we are here and where we are from. She's really good to approach everybody and ask them their names. The other day, she approached a mommy pushing a child in a swing and told her, Ï lived in Heaven a long time ago, with Heavenly Father and Jesus!" I was pretty proud of her.

On Sunday we were walking out of church and a relative of ours, whom we haven't met before but is in our ward, approached us and asked me, speaking of Cadence, "Who's this little person?" I was about to say, "This is Cadence", but she beat me to the punch and introduced herself by proclaiming: Ï'm a saucy pirate wench!"

She's been watching a little DVD called "Little Bear", and in one of the episodes Little Bear eats too many sweets and gets a tummy ache. At the end he tells his mom, Ï think I lost my sweet tooth." Whenever she is overly tired or upset about something she starts crying about losing her sweet tooth and she absolutely MUST find it before anything is resolved! There is something very unnerving to her about "losing a sweet tooth".

We went to the library last week and while I was checking out a book my friend Katie was keeping her eye on Cadence. When I got back Cadence had found a young woman who was studying at a table and was telling her all about a book she had found and asking her what her name was, etc.

I was making an insurance phone call a couple of weeks ago and was speaking with the customer service rep, and Cadence was tiring of my attention being turned elsewhere. She was whining and hanging on me and then I itched my nose and she said, right into the phone, "No, Mom, don't pick your nose!" I was a little embarrassed.

Oh, she's so much fun. Her little conversations, opinions, and observations are so fascinating to me.

Oh, and a few milestones: She's slept in a big girl bed for a week now, and no problems yet. She adjusted to it seamlessly (so far). Today I put her hair in a little ponytail. just the top, and just a part of the top, but it was a girl hairdo, so it's a big deal. Yay!

Sisters are Friends

Cadence loves to kiss, hug, hold, and burp her baby sister.
Campbell is learning to appreciate it.