Chicago's Maggie Daley Park

Guys, this might be the best park ever. 

After visiting Maggie Daley Park for the first time last winter, MY MIND WAS BLOWN. It's seriously amazing. To fully enjoy the park though, take my word for it and follow these two rules: 1) Never, and I repeat never, ever, in a million years go to the park on a weekend after 10am, and 2) Don't even think about coming here with more than one child to watch. You can thank me later.

My secret, that I can now share publicly since I no longer live in Chicago (crying face), is that Maggie Daley at 8am or earlier on a Saturday or Sunday is the shiznit. Pay parking starts at 8am (we always park on E Randolph), so if you can make it in earlier you'll score some free parking, plus the park is empty, as you can see from my pictures. To ease the pain of getting up early, make a stop before or after at Do-Rite for equally mind blowing donuts and some Dark Matter coffee. 

Oh hello, drab wintry Chicago. 

The slides can be ridiculously fast and I've heard of a few broken leg stories, so be careful, but wow, they're amazing. And big. Little m enjoyed the equipment as a brave 3 1/4 year old but I wouldn't recommend the park for anyone much younger. Yes, there are specific areas for the little ones (the splash pad area is pretty darn cute with little statue animals for the youngsters), but I wouldn't make a special trip out unless your child is a bit older. 

  

Whether you're visiting Chicago or just playing tourist in your own city, I highly encourage you to spend a morning at the park, followed by a walk over the bridge to Millennium Park to get a picture with the bean, and to top it off, bring a bathing suit for the kids and let them play in the cesspool at the Crown Fountains! 

Bravo, Chicago, on creating the most fabulous park I've been to. Your streets may be riddled with pot holes but at least you have beautiful Maggie Daley park. 

O Christmas Tree

I just realized that last year I did not write a Christmas post! How sad, our first Christmas in our own home and everything. So this year you get two for the price of one, how's that for luck? 

For the past two years we've gone the cheapo route and bought trees from Home Depot. Last year our tree was great quality and lasted forever but this year I feel as though it's drying out quicker. Either way, I got a kick out of comparing pictures - taken exactly one year apart. How the time flies! 

Picking out the perfect tree! Look at how M looks exactly the same but Little m is so different.

 

Securing it onto the car.

And the best part, decorating.

 

This year Little m was SO extremely excited to help her daddy with the star. Days later she would tell anyone who was visiting how she put the star on "all my self". She also loved placing the ornaments on the tree, every single one onto the same branch, of course! She's also a great water girl, reminding and helping me fill up the stand every morning. Even now, 21 days since it's been up, as we come down the stairs every morning, she is awed by the glowing Christmas lights. "Wowwww, yights!"

Oh I just love this girl and Christmas is a million times better with her around. 

Bucket List, Complete!

I previously posted about our fall bucket list and for once in my life, I can boastfully announce that we completed it! Here are a few highlights:

A hayride! A hayride through the city streets, but it still counts, right? 

Apple picking and pumpkin patch. We had so much fun at County Line Orchard this year and were able to cross two things off our list in this one outing! Oh, plus we bought apple cider here, so make that three things to check off!

Apple pie. With our freshly picked apples I made a pie to celebrate our Canadian Thanksgiving. I think this is the best thing my mom ever taught me to make. It is just so good and Little m approves as well. I also made a pumpkin pie for American Thanksgiving, so that crosses two delicious things off the list. 

Pumpkin carving. Well, this is a given, along with roasting pumpkin seeds, attending the park's Boopalooza and trick or treating. What would Halloween be without these fun activities? 

Jumping and crunching in the leaves. This is one of Little m's favourite things to do while we walk the dog. Every day, crunch crunch crunch! So cute to watch.

And a couple of things that were on the list but not huge successes - leaf rubbings (no interest) and watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Wow, that is the worst movie EVER. Will not be making a repeat appearance on a future must-do fall list. 

And with that, we can now move on to our Winter Bucket List. What perfect timing, as today is the first day of winter, and look at that, we've actually already completed half of the list! 

 Stay warm, my friends.

Lake Geneva Getaway

This past Thanksgiving (American rather than Canadian), our little family and another little family rented a house together near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for a week away. Oh, it was just what I needed. An entire week of wearing yoga pants, sleeping in, watching tv, playing board games, and little else - heaven!

The weather was so cold we went outside only a few times the entire week, which is unheard of considering dog walks at the very least are a part of our daily life. But, holy crap, winter appeared out of nowhere and even bundled in layers, we were numb within minutes! One day we bravely ventured out for a nature walk in a nearby park and enjoyed the first real snow of the season.

Duct tape is required to keep mittens on. 

Although M had to work a few hours most days, it was just so great having an extra pair of hands around to help with Little m and keep her entertained.

Trying to fix daddy's nose. Good luck! ;)

At the last minute I decided to cook Thanksgiving dinner and since I wasn't making everything from scratch like I usually do, the meal came together so quickly and easily. And it was good! Much better than the hot turkey sandwiches we were going to get an a local dive. 

Yum! 

We celebrated the other mama's birthday while we were there, which included cake at 10am, but what are vacations for if not precisely this?

Birthday celebration!

Little m had too much fun playing with her little friend and they ran around like maniacs all day long, just like kids should.

It was a wonderful week away and a nice break from reality, plus I was able to finish my Christmas shopping online and take advantage of all the Black Friday sales. Score!

A Spooktacular Halloween

As I sit here five days before Christmas, with Home Alone playing in the background of course, I figured it's time to post about Little m's Halloween fun. And my, what fun it was. Chicago really knows how to celebrate! We attended so many great activities this year and it was absolutely adorable watching the excitement in my little gal's eyes.

Carving pumpkins at Whole Foods Market

Crafting!

PJ pumpkin carving party!

So great seeing all our toddler friends dressed up!

Last year I randomly stopped at a garage sale and found two cozy costumes for 50 cents each, hence why I bought them both. Little m chose to dress up as a spider for a party at her daddy's work and my mom's group annual Halloween lunch - both on the same day, what an exciting time that was!
For the Halloween festival at our local park plus for the real deal, Halloween night, she chose the butterfly costume. Plenty of room for a coat underneath, which sadly, was a necessity this year.

Decorating pumpkins at Wicker Park Boopalooza

Actually,  it was more like umbrellas and rain coats were a necessity this year, but thankfully after the first 20 minutes of trick or treating, the rain let up. Trick or treating was so much fun but I can't even count how many sets of stairs I walked up and down. I was one tired mama by the end of the night! Little m became a pro at saying trick or treat and she especially loved when people let her choose her own candies! My little trooper spent close to two hours trick or treating on a couple of nearby streets that go all out every year.

Happy Halloween!

My parents visited over Halloween this year, which was a lot of fun, and they brought this cool light saber with them for Little m to carry around. So cute. Little m loved helping her granny fill up treat bags to pass out. To wait the rain out we practiced playing hide and seek by hiding treats up granny's pant legs and having Little M find them. Too funny.

Counting out treats

The lead up to Halloween night was just as much fun as everything else, I must say. This year Little m painted a pumpkin and then we stuck Mrs. Potato Head eyes, mouth, and arms in it. It turned out really cute and lasted SO much longer than the pumpkins we carved.

Painting her very own pumpkin

Actually, to be honest, I will tell you that I threw our pumpkins out just a week ago after digging them out from underneath a pile of snow. Two holidays collided at our house this year as our pumpkins sat for a couple of weeks in the glow of the Christmas lights!

I can't wait to see what next year brings! 

A Day at the Orchard

I have such fond memories of apple picking during the fall season as a child. We were fortunate to have a big orchard minutes from our house growing up. Here in Chicago, the closest orchards are an hour away, which isn't horrible, but it takes a bit more planning that a five minute drive. A few weekends ago, we packed the car up and headed out to County Line Orchard in Indiana. We got there right for opening at 9am and I'm glad we did because it just got busier and busier throughout the day. 

First up, was the children's farm. Little m is obsessed with animals and she basically ran around like a maniac saying, "More anmals! Real anmals!" This girl has no fear and is more than happy to feed and pet anything that will get close enough to her. 

Next up we took the "Moo Choo" tractor ride around the farm and orchard. It was a bit of a tight squeeze with the two of us. As we passed the orchard, Little m just kept pointing in amazement that apples were actually growing from trees! 

Next up, we hopped onto the tractor to hitch a ride to the corn maze. It was a very exciting ride for the little one!

The pumpkin patch came later, and I was reminded how difficult it is to get a good picture of an active toddler! Here is her pained "cheese" expression!

And finally, apple picking! We ended up with 13 pounds of a variety of apples, plus our fair share of taste testing while picking. I think Little m ate her weight!

And after a busy morning, we ended with a picnic lunch where we fought off the bees while eating pb&j plus delicious (still warm!) pumpkin and apple donuts from the orchard's bakery. So good.

Finally, I was able to capture a real smile and I think it shows how much she enjoyed our day at the orchard. This will definitely become a yearly tradition! 

Fall Bucket List

This is the first October in many years that M hasn't had to study for an exam. I am thrilled! I love all of the fun fall activities and it's so much better experiencing them as a family as opposed to just me and my gal. I have a love of lists so it made sense to create a "Fall Bucket List".

It makes me happy every time I open my cupboard door and see the list. It's also nice to have ideas readily available for weekends or days that I'm not working, plus it gets us out of the house, which is the only way to keep my little one out of trouble.

And doesn't it feel great being able to check things off a list? We're not far into fall and we can already check off hay ride! It was a hay ride through the city streets, but still a hay ride, right?

What's on your must-do list for this season?

Ice Cream Social

It's been a month and a half since Little m turned two but I can't not document the big day! Horror of all horrors! Last year, for her first birthday, I hosted a rainbow themed party at my parents' house back in Canada. It was so much fun, but this year I really wanted to do something in Chicago that included all of her little friends. And obviously, I know this party was more for me than for Little m, but after having a child (and with the invention of Pinterest), party planning has turned enjoyable for me.

Me and the birthday girl!

I wanted something simple, so chose an "Ice Cream Social" theme. It was not simple. Not at all. Actually, planning was simple, but the execution was not. I arrived home the day before the party after a week away in Washington D.C., and had to clean the house, shop for groceries, prepare everything, etc. all the night before and morning of. Thank goodness I had major major help from my parents, or I probably would have spontaneously combusted. My mother-in-law also assisted with some food prep, which was nice. M didn't arrive home until the day of the party, so I couldn't even load him up with jobs. Anyway, everything turned out well - if you enjoy being surrounded by screaming toddlers, that is. 

Let's get to it. 

The party was at 3:30pm, so I served finger foods that I thought both adults and kids would like: tons of veggies and dip, cheese and crackers, grapes, cherries, and heart shaped watermelon pieces, tortilla chips with chicken salsa dip from Treasure Island grocery store (to die for), and the ever favourite crowd pleaser - bacon wrapped water chestnuts. 

I spent WAY too much time and effort filling water balloons and freezing them to create ice cubes and it was an utter Pinterest fail. Water balloons are so thin that they break easily if touched by anything, including juice boxes! It wasn't a big deal since the ice was already frozen but I will not be attempting that again. 

For dessert I bought a ton of ice cream and frozen yogurt, all types of cones and waffle bowls, plus all the fixings for ice cream sundaes. I cannot find the equivalent to a Bulk Barn in Chicago, so I had my mom pick up a lot of the toppings, which included: blueberries, raspberries, mini marshmallows, gummi bears, chopped up oreos, reece's pieces, homemade brownie crumbles, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, chocolate sprinkles, and maraschino cherries to top it all off. We had lots of leftovers, which I was not too upset over ;).

Instead of a more traditional goodie bag, I sent the kids home with a rice krispie treat in the shape of a sundae, inside of a chocolate sprinkled waffle cone. It turned out less cute than the example I saw on Pinterest, but such is life. 

This little monkey pretended to be so bashful during the birthday song, but we all know she was enjoying every moment.

And now just for fun, let's compare 1st birthday to 2nd. Look at that hair growth! 

I think the ice cream was a hit! It was the only time during the party that I could hear myself think over the noise of 12 children :)

Exactly 15 minutes after dessert, the sugar high hit and Little m was spinning circles in the middle of the room. Hilarious. 

Oh, this girl. I just love her to pieces. 

Thank you to all of our friends and family from near and far who came or sent their best wishes for Little m. We had a great day.