I Am Fine (Apparently)

Well, kids, it's time for my annual pick-up story. That's right. The story where some creepy guy attempts to pick up on me and then we all laugh. This one won't disappoint.

On Saturday morning I made a trip to the Dominick's on Howard with little boy Gavs to pick up cleaning supplies and various items of a produce nature. It was in said produce aisle that I noticed a tall black man dressed nattily in a fedora, gold chain, and long overcoat checking out the bib lettuce...and me.

This brother lumbered over to me and said, "How old your baby?"

"Pardon me?"

"How old your baby?"

"He's eight months old."

"What his name?"

"His name is Gavin."

"You baby EIGHT MONTHS OLD?!"

"Yes," I replied. "My baby is eight months old."

"You baby is EIGHT MONTHS OLD?"

"Yes."

"GIRL!!! YOU LOOK GOOD! Some of those ladies that have babies are all fat after eight months, but, girl, YOU LOOK FINE!"

"Yes, well. Thank you."

"Um, hummm."

Apparently I am fine.

Thanksgiving

Gavin's First Train Ride

Every morning the El and the Metra roar by our bedroom window a dozen times while Gavin is having his morning nurse. Each time a train goes by he stops, looks, and listens, and then laughs and chatters. Joe and I are convinced that his first word will be "train." So, when the opportunity arose for me to take Gavin on a train ride, I was excited. On a freezing cold and lightly snowing day, Gavs and I bundled up and walked to the Metra station by our house for ride into downtown Chicago where we had lunch plans with our friend Miss Kelley in the Ogilvie Station Corner Bakery.

After riding the Metra downtown and back, I have a HUGE newfound appreciation of how difficult it must be to be handicapped, even after watching the struggle my brother and sister-in-law have transporting my niece in her wheelchair. The handicapped elevator for the train was locked down, so I had to haul Gavin in his carseat, a stroller frame, a stroller wind cover, and a massive diaper bag up the steps to the platform. Then, I had to lug everything onto the train during its 30-second stop for passengers. Fortunately, there were some nice men around to help me lift the stroller on, but how do handicapped people get onto the train? We repeated the process when we disembarked.

Wow. It was eye-opening to walk (or roll) in someone else's shoes for the day. I will gladly advocate to make things easier on the disabled whenever I can!

Go Wildcats!

Joe is happy that the Wildcats are doing so well this season--even making it to a bowl game! The Northwestern legacy lives on as Joe outfits Gavin in his own tiny sweatshirt, perfect for fall football games. Ahhh, boys! I don't understand all of this football hooplah, but then again I went to a school with an undistinquished football team called The Matadors. That can't compete with a Big 10 school I guess, but my school offered surfing as a P.E. elective, so who is really the cool one?

What We Do for Fun

We get a little slap happy at 5 p.m. each day. Baby play is the new happy hour.

Thought of the Day: Facebook

Ponder this. Is Facebook good or bad for our relationships and social lives? On the one hand, I am loving the fact that I have been able to connect with so many friends from the past--people I probably would never sustain e-mail or telephone relationships with because of time limitations. On the other hand, I spend a crazy amount of time each day checking messages, playing games, sending virtual goodies, etc. I'll admit it here (on the Internet...hee!hee!): I am addicted to Facebook.

If someone can help me, please FB me a message.

Crazy Mama

So my parents just arrived home from a cruise through Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. Check out my crazy mom on the camel!!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I'm learning that there are a lot of rewards and a lot of sacrifices in parenting. My rewards of late are heartwarming. Two days ago, with a mouth full of sweet potatoes, Gavs clearly said, "Ma-ma! Ma-ma!" Ahhhh. It warmed me down to my toes as he looked right into my eyes and assigned me a name no one else in the entire world has ever used to address me before.

And he rolls over both ways with ease. He's a tiny finger support away from sitting up. And he's completely frustrated that he can't yet crawl. We laugh as he lies on his stomach and bobs his head up and down as if he's trying to bang it against the ground to vent his feelings of helplessness over legs that won't quite cooperate in moving him to the toy he desires to touch. But very soon he will be able to grab any toy of his choosing, so I'll enjoy these last few days of pure baby helplessness. Crawling is one more little sign of his independence and of needing me less, and some parts of me want to delay that.

The sacrifices? Perhaps it's selfish, but I have no social life outside of having the weekly lunch or two with friends. Believe me, I am SO grateful for these women who are available to get together with me during day and the opportunity I have to set my own schedule. Otherwise, I would truly feel a prisoner of my own life some days. But I miss going out in the evening like nobody's business, and I'm not thrilled with this "taking turns" going out, alternating with my spouse. It would be nice to go out together more often, but it is expensive to do so when we factor in babysitting costs. And trading with another couple is hard with bedtimes and sleeping arrangements.

So back to going out in the evenings. I had three social engagements lined up for this week in the evening and was very excited about that prospect. But one-by-one, they all fell off the radar. A tapas dinner with other women that was cancelled at the last minute due to a medical emergency. A dinner with a group of friends that I couldn't attend due to Joe's work schedule. A going away party for some of my old CoOp office members, one block from my home, missed tonight because I wrote down the wrong date. That really sucks. The saving grace to this week and my unsocial social life is a dinner out planned with two girlfriends over the weekend. But watch out girls, I might get the flu at the last minute the way this week is going!

Okay, enough whining about my social life. I just really want to have one, but all in due time, I guess.

Bradley Babies

The babies in my Bradley class are now around the seven-month mark and thriving! The mamas and babies still get together every month or so, and our latest gathering was at our place last week. I thought these munchkins were so cute together! Pictured above are Gavin, Isabel, Finn, and Andrew.

Oh, Baby!!

Someone learned how to eat and how to play in the exersaucer in recent days...and no, it wasn't me.

October in Pictures

Daddy & Gavin
My cousin, Derek, on his way to an assignment in Korea with his family
Derek's daughters with Gavin at Weber Grill

My friend, Paige, who just happened to be in the city the same day! We met at Starbucks between our hotels.

Check, Please!

I was at the Lucky Platter in Evanston today with my friend, Claudia, and our babies when we noticed a film crew rearranging furniture inside the restaurant. It turns out that we were there while they were filming an episode of one my favorite television programs, "Check, Please!"

Believe it or not, this is the second time I have dined in a restaurant in the midst of it being filmed for review. The first time was at Lupita's, a little Mexican joint by my house, as local food critic Phil Vettel lurked about. Coincidentally, the filming coincided with me smuggling a bag of corn chips into the restaurant since I don't really care for the restaurant's fried flour variety. Imagine my surprise when a camera panned my table, but imagine the restaurant's surprise if they had noticed that their chips had been replaced with "the chips in the green bag" from Jewell.

We Got a Puppy!

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I am not a Halloween celebrator...for various reasons. However, I did dress Gavs up in this costume that his Grandmother gave him and took him out for a photo shoot in our courtyard. So cute! My kid may never trick-or-treat, but I'm all for using imagination and dressing up.

What's your take on Halloween?

Stabbed with a Stiletto Heel

Can you see the pain in my face? I can't believe Joe caught this on film!

More Fun Photos

Birthday Fun

My amazing husband surprised me for my birthday and flew in two of my dearest friends--both of them the maids of honor in our wedding--and my mother. Mom, Larisa, Cherice, and Cherice's boyfriend, Rob, all arrived late Friday night, knocking on my door as I was getting ready to turn in for the night. There was a lot of excitement as they arrived at different times between 9:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m., and Gavin alternated between laughing because he wanted to get up and see the people and screaming and crying when he heard my surprised exclamations upon answering the door. All in all, it was great fun and I was truly shocked! Little did I think I would celebrate my birthday with a houseparty of six adults and one baby.

On Saturday evening, we had a little pre-birthday party at our place where Joe brought out his mega magnum of Krug that he has been saving for years. It was so yummy and it's a good thing we had a bunch of houseguests and parents to enjoy a toast with us since it would have spoiled sitting in the fridge after the fact. And Larisa displayed her culinary talents as a chef and put together a beautiful array of antipasta. It was so nice I didn't want to eat it, but I have included photos.

After our little pre-party, we walked over to a local restaurant called Campagnola and enjoyed a birthday dinner with a group of friends. Yummy food, good conversation, candlelight, fun music...it was the perfect birthday celebration. We even had a bit of excitement at the end when we decided to pop the entire box of birthday "poppers." A bunch of us girls spent about ten minutes popping every last one. Nicky even popped one on her hand. Ouch! Of course, that was nothing compared to my friend Cherice accidentally stepping on my foot with her Manolo Blanik stiletto. Even though it was painful, the pictures are so funny (yes, Joe caught this on film!) that I have included them. Ahhh...girls being girls!

I had so much fun over the weekend, and enjoyed the surprises. My husband rocks!!

Changing Decades

Wow, it's been a long time since I've changed decades. And in just 28 minutes I am leaving my 30's...a place I have comfortably resided for the past ten years. My 30's have truly been the best time of my life--so far. In my 30's I lived in Atlanta, traveled the world with my job, met life-long friends, figured out if I wanted to get married, got married, moved to Chicago, worked on building a marriage, made more life-long friends, figured out if I wanted to have a baby, had a baby, and built a family. Pretty eventful.

How things have changed from my 30th birthday when I broke up with my then-boyfriend after a disappointing birthday dinner where he complained about the cost of the meal the entire time! My 40th birthday was celebrated this past weekend with an intimate dinner party thrown by my husband and close friends. I'm glad to be at this place now and I can't wait to see what the next decade brings. Thanks to all of you for being a part of it.

NYC

Joe and I traveled to New York City last weekend, where he accompanied me as I worked on the last Harvest event of the year at Madison Square Garden. We decided to leave Gavs at home with his grandparents since we were only away for two nights, and Joe really wanted to be able to check out the event at The Garden (every man's sporting dream, I guess!). Surprisingly, after leaving Gavs for four nights while in Philly a few weeks ago, this trip wasn't as hard for me. If you remember, I boo-hooed my way through the last one. Of course, I missed the little guy, but it was REALLY nice to sit in a restaurant with my husband and not hear little grunting noises whilst in the middle of my entree. Although I did miss the coos and giggles.

We arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon and checked into the Sheraton Towers in Time Square before lunching at a local cafe called Maison. It was relaxing to chill out with some nice pate and salad before hustling across town to mega department store Century 21. I've wanted to visit Century 21 since before 9-11 (when it was closed for a while since it is literally across the street from Ground Zero) and I finally had my chance on this trip. Honestly...it wasn't all that. Why? New York. Saturday. Crowded. Hot. Same merch as Loehmann's and TJ Maxx, but with a $10 mark-up. You get my drift. I am a pretty good bargain shopper it turns out. We did find some pretty groovy L.A.M.B. sneakers for Gavin, as well as shoes for Joe and a belt for me, but that was about it. No worries, though. We had a great time checking out the merchandise.

Taking the recommendation of my friend Nicole, we dined at a new restaurant called Elattaria that evening. For those of you who follow foodie news, Elattaria is co-owned by two chefs from Craftbar. The space is incredible--warm wood, beamed ceiling, "French apartment" decor. The only odd part was the close proximity of the kitchen to the dining room. I would have preferred they be separated due to the small size of the restaurant. Regardless, the food was tasty (I had tagliatelle with pork shoulder and Joe had the bivette: read, skirt steak). Check it out the next time you're in New York; it's in Greenwich Village.

Sunday was our morning for sleeping in, except I did not really sleep since I kept waking up thinking I had to nurse Gavin. Arrrghhhh! How frustrating. But at least Joe got a good night's rest while I did some work. After a nice lunch and a walk down 5th Avenue, we headed for Madison Square Garden to get ready for the event that evening, which was the main purpose of our trip.

During a Harvest event, it's always amazing to see the stadium doors open and people flood inside, all of them there to hear a Gospel presentation and some good music. This is the fruit of more than a year's worth of work for more than 100 churches, and is a highlight each time. At the end of the evening, more than 1,300 in attendance made a commitment to Christ. Pretty cool.

As I continued my work late into the night back at the hotel, Joe decided to go in search of food for us since we felt it was morally wrong to pay $20 for a room service hamburger. Afterall, if you can't find food options in Manhattan at 11 p.m. (a.k.a. "the city that never sleeps), there's nothing more I can do for you. Joe decided to visit the food cart we had spotted the night before, just down the block from our hotel, since the line was wrapped around the block. It had to be good, right? It turns out that the cart on 53rd and 6th, called "The Original Halal", was serving up delicious morsels of lamb and chicken served on a bed of saffron rice, replete with hot sauce, dill yogurt, and lettuce. We decided on the spot that it was the best food we ate in New York, and for only $6 (be sure to click on the link for some interesting Yelp reviews of the cart).

Alright, I know I'm overdoing it on the food talk, but I don't get out a lot right now so bear with me. I could tell you about Mercer Kitchen (pretty mundane) and our visit to the MacLaren showroom (Joe wanted to check out the Spitfire stroller. Don't ask.), but I want to be sure to save some stories for later. Later.

He Sucks His Toes!

I don't intend to turn this into a baby blog, but I am pretty baby-focused these days. Hence, the photo of my baby sucking his toes. I think it's both adorable and flexible. Why can't adults do this? It is a pretty cool party trick, but hmmmm...maybe not at the kind of parties I usually go to.

Away from Home

I went to Philly recently to work at a Harvest event. My trip marked the first time I left my little guy overnight and I was pretty nervous about how he would do...and how I would do. It turns out we both did fine. Apart from me forgetting some of my breast pump parts and having to go 17 hours between pumps (can we say OUCH!), I was so busy working that I didn't have time to call home every two hours like I originally thought I would. And Gavs had a great time with his daddy and grandparents, spending much of his weekend in a swing, laughing his head off.

I didn't do much of local interest in Philadelphia, which isn't really like me. But I was so tired from working late each night that I had little interest in doing anything except having breakfast with friends a couple of mornings and going to staff devotions. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to attend morning devotions three days in a row. It was great to listen to the messages and participate in worship (even by the Katinas one morning)--something that is not easily done with an infant. This was actually the most rejuvinating part of being away from home.

I did, however, find time to go to the Reading Terminal Market, which is a fantastic food market that sells just about any cuisine you can imagine. A bunch of us went to the Amish pancake place and ate delicious blueberry pancakes. Several of the booths were run by Amish families, which was interesting.

Happily, I was reunited with my sweet husband and baby after four days away, and Gavs actually reached his arms out and hugged my neck and gave me a sloppy open-mouthed kiss on the cheek. Oh, I just love those boys!

Practicing Dress Up

I've never really celebrated Halloween, even as a child, so Joe and I are not yet sure if "trick or treat" is a tradition we will follow in our family. I really have to think this through at some point, but I have limited mental capacity this month, I mean year. However, I couldn't resist buying Gavin a little costume because, let's face it, what is cuter than a baby dressed up like a peapod? I dare you to come up with something more adorable.

I know it's only September and I've already dressed him up, but a baby mama gets bored sometimes.

Anniversary and Other Stuff

Joe and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on Monday with an evening out at the movies ("The Women"--not so good, but so fun to be in a movie theater!) and dinner. We ate at Le Colonial, which is our favorite. We had a really good time (after a couple of drinks to relax), but the first half of the outing was somewhat stressful since Gavin developed "stranger anxiety" with his grandparents and screamed for two hour upon our departure. Yikes! But apparently he came around and gave them some giggles later in the evening. Who knew that a tiny baby could impact so many people's moods and emotions? I think we were all pretty tense about the situation. One more stop along the journey of parenthood...

In other news, this week Gavin had his six-month check-up. It's so incredible to think he has been with us for half of a year! He is just blossoming into a little boy already...chatting up a storm, refusing to sit because he likes to either stand up or lie down, giving us big belly laughs when we kiss his cheeks, and eating real food (well, real baby food). He does not seem like a tiny baby to me anymore. Dr. Shana says that Gav is right on track for six months and he is in the 50th - 75th percentile for height and in the 10 - 25th percentile for weight. It looks like his "baby blues" will remain, which is fun for me since I don't know of anyone else in my family who has blue eyes.

Needless to say, we are just besotted with this little boy. In fact, Joe called me this week from work and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I am in love with our son." Awwww...He is pretty darned cute and we have the evidence in the attached photos!

Perilously Close to the Edge

I am exhausted. Not necessarily sleep-deprived since Gavin is doing pretty well sleeping through the night. I am mentally exhausted from trying to "make things happen" in order to mother and work at the same time. Today was just a little slice of craziness...Juggling an altered last-minute schedule with Gavin's babysitter today that required me to work in one to two hour increments throughout the day. Watching someone else's child twice in one day (unplanned). Phone not working. A client's interviews scheduled on the wrong day and having to be rebooked with six different media outlets. Client annoyance. Starting to work again at 7:22 p.m. and knowing I won't be done for a few hours. No unplanned free time. No time to myself.

Something's got to give.

No New Tale to Tell

Nothing new going on here. All of my energies are going into working and taking care of the Gavinator--definitely more than a full-time job. I go to Philadelphia for a four-day business trip in a few weeks and am dreading leaving my baby boy for the first time. Such a bummer. But he will be well taken care of by his daddy and grandparents. I have another trip--this one to NYC--just two weeks later and was going to take Joe and Gav, but I think we've decided to leave the boy at home since I only have one day of work to do in the city. Besides, Joe is very excited that the NYC Harvest is at Madison Square Garden and wants to attend! That would be next to impossible with a baby, so it looks like Joe and I will have a weekend away. Our poor baby is going to wonder where his mama has gone in the month of October.

Well, if I have to suffer in New York (ha!), I am going to have some fun while there. Maybe we'll try Del Posto this time, which is Mario Battali's newest restaurant. And I'm definitely going to Century 21 for a shopping excursion. Have any of you been to New York lately? Any recommendations?

Top Chef

Gav and I went to the Green Market in Chicago with our friends Moon and Uriah today and were able to get in on a last-minute food demo with Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard and finalist Dale Lavinski. For once I wasn't bashful about asking for a photo, so here is Gav with Chef Dale!

Here are some "insider" things I learned about Top Chef while watching the cooking demonstration:

• The "block party" episode was shot in Ravenswood
• The producers were trying to create a fake on-camera relationship between Stephanie and Spike last season. Stephanie was glad that none of it aired.
• The Top Chef kitchen is actually just a sound stage in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere in whatever city they are filming in.
• Dale and Stephanie both named Gail Simmons as their favorite judge and the most knowledgeable about food out of the three judges. They thought Padma was funny and beautiful, but didn't have a lot of food expertise (reading between the lines). They seemed pretty blase about Tom Colichio.
• Dale and Stephanie used to work together at La Tache in Andersonville, and he actually nominated her for the show.

Cousins