MyTrip Day Three -Five: Big Day, Bean, and white castle.

This was my roommate until Saturday morning.

I thought it was beautiful, Rob and I joked about me sneaking around and sleeping in it while no one was around.

Sarah looked beautiful in her dress, and though chilly out she didn't let that ruin her big day, or that fact that the wind kept blowing her veil every which way.






Check out the bridesmaids huddled due to the Brrrr weather.

Poor things, they looked great though.




Patrick picked out the wedding cake I loved it, so did everyone else.

I swear there was a line of people taking pics of the cake...especially the guys.





After giving away his little girl, he threw her a concert.

This was really cute.

Rob and I

Sweetest woman ever!

I just had to throw a pic of Bella in here...I love her.

And Oh! The BEAN!!

Its actually a art sculpture called "Cloud" in Millennium Park.

Rob and I really loved bean...sigh, I miss you bean.

And a few hours before I left I had my first taste of White Castle.

The meal was good and all I kept thinking about was the scene in Saturday Night Fever where they ate at the White Castle.

All good things have to come to an end.

I took this pic of the sun going down...it was gorgeous.

I was happy to see my little family waiting for me when I got off the plane.

It was nice to be home.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!!

My Trip Day Two: Chicago Pizza, Seasons, and where was Long Duc Dong?

Friday was Sarah and Patricks rehearsal dinner so before that Rob and I decided to hit the Windy City...and it lives up to its name.
We walked around and shopped and I think I was banned from C.O. Bigelow for spilling coffee beans twice, tripping over a fancy spot light, and overflowing my take home sample.
No I wasn't drunk.

Then we stopped at Uno's.
OH MY GOODNESS!
You don't know pizza until you have eaten Chicago pizza.
I oohhhh'd and Ahhhh'd during my whole meal it was above and beyond delicious.



Next fall leaves.
I was obsessed with the changing leaves since its something I have never seen before.
We tried to catch leaves dancing in the breeze but they weren't cooperating with us.

We ended the day with the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

And last but not least a song.
A song to Rob for his birthday.
Yes, everyone forgot it was his birthday.
We all joked about "Sixteen Candles" and wondered who was going to check for boobies.
We sang and had him blow out the candles on what was the worst dessert EVER!
Think gelatinous stuff with apples in it...blech.
We all just ate the whipped topping off it.



Hope you loved your gifts Rob, by the way who gave you that fabulous apron???

My trip Day One: flights and apples.

My trip went very well and I loved the time Rob and I got to spend together, even if it was a bit rushed.
The flight to Chicago Midway was super bumpy I felt a bit sick...no FUN!
Good thing was I had a window seat and was able to take pics while in air...very nerdy.




I was greeted by Rob and Sarah, then shortly upon arriving at their home they mentioned "Apple Picking."
Sarah was shocked that I had never done it and in a flash we were on our way to Hobart, Indiana for some apples.
I love, love, loved it!




The three of us complained of gurgling stomachs afterwards. I think we ate way too many apples. We were allowed to eat them straight off the trees.....oh and boy did we ever eat apples.

Rob and I taking a photo op in the Apple orchard after scarfing down tons of them.



Isn't that just the most perfect looking apple?
I fell in love with it until I tried to pick it off the tree but it had a huge rotted out hole in back.
Oh ...I was so sad.

We took the tractor ride back to the main building where we loaded up on OH MY GOODNESS the most delicious Apple donuts EVER!

Though we all swore they had no Apples in it, but we didn't care they were too good and still warm.

At the end of the day I got to meet more of the family when we sat for dinner.

They were all lovely, and I finally got to meet Nonni, Rob's grandmother.

I have heard so much about her and finally I was happy to meet her in person.

Cutest woman ever!

I almost packed her up and brought her home....her and Bella Sarah's Yorkie.

(Believe me you'll be seeing pics of both of them soon)

I will post more vacation pic's, believe me there are tons of them!

And I AM OUT!

I am out the door tomorrow and heading for Chicago. The home of Oprah and delicious pizza...I can't wait! Though I already am missing the boys. Nick told me to just go with Rob and have the best time ever. Which for us two it means Eat, shop, Eat, shop, Eat, Eat and Eat some more.
Will post some what I am sure will be fabulous pics upon my arrival back home.

Have a great weekend!!

"Color Change" can be great for some of us

What Nick and I can't stop talking about...

Last week Zenon had his color changed. For those who don't know what that is well here's the break down.

Your "Green" when the day starts and of course "Green" is good.
"Yellow"- you had to be warned about something
"Orange"- warned and had a privaledge taken away
"Red"- Oh you've been SUPER naughty and most likely sent to the office.

Well Zenon came home with "Yellow" and a note saying he wouldn't stop talking or moving around in ELA.

I explained to him he had to listen to Mrs. Mead at all times

But secretly I was THRILLED!

My baby who has speech issues....issues that made him rather shy was now getting in trouble for chit chatting with a classmate.

When I told Nick that Zenon had his color changed he responded with "Thats great!"

Funny thing is his teacher and speech therapist were thrilled too.
Other kids are getting in trouble for receiving notes about excessive talking.

Ours almost got a party in his honor!

On a different note Zenon didn't break his fever like we thought he had. He almost went 24 hours fever free when BAM! It came back.

We had to take him to a night clinic and he tested positive for Strep.

I just hope E doesn't get it or any of us for that matter.

Wish us luck.

Late night blogging

Here are a few goodies I contributed to the Boo-bash:

Eyeball popcorn balls



And my attempt at a scary cake.
Well...it scared Ethan and Zenon so mission accomplished...I think?




Tonya and John really out did themselves!
Their back yard transformed into a Carnival like state and the kids had a major blast.

They had a pumpkin decorating (styrofoam pumpkins that is), Tatoo station, Toss the bean bag..umm I mean rice bag, pick a skull (think pick a ducky), kids decorated their own candy bags, jump house, a movie under the stars and so much more.


Zenon decorating his pumpkin




Aunt Joan helping little ones decorate their treat bags.



Little E picking skulls for candy.



I caught Zenon and Ethan really intrigued by the train passing by.
I thought they looked pretty cute.



Well all fun came to and end and here is why I have been so busy and now doing some late night blogging.....Zenny is sick.
It's the pits when your kiddos are not feeling well.
Lots of hugs, kisses, jello, O.J. ,Cartoons, and no school.
I was bummed about the no school part....he broke his "Perfect Attendance" Record.




Good news is he broke his fever tonight and seems to be feeling better.
No school again tomorrow, he hasn't been fever free for 24 hours.
Better safe than sorry.

Movin' and a Groovin'

Tomorrow is the Halloween Party at Tonya's and the boys couldn't be more excited.
The kids are excited and us mommies are already exhausted just with the preparation.

Here are a few things I finished up this week:


Ethan's Spritle costume as you can see his teddy bear Bennett will be Chim Chim.
The ears I sewed on the hat look nothing like monkey ears...I just couldn't figure it out!



Zenon is going to be Racer X and loves trying on his costume, I finally finished this up while watching some DVR'd Oprah...Oh How I love the Oprah.



This????
Well I want to see what I want to make so I can set up a stall at the schools craft sale.
Not sure if I am going to for sure but I'm leaning towards Tutu's and felt food with a play apron set.
If I don't make enough I can always store for gifts later right??



This is to come.

As soon as I fly off this computer I will bake a big sheet cake, a dome cake which will become a Bleeding Brain cake...gross, Popcorn balls, Rice Krispie treats, Banana Boo Bars (type of banana bread thingy), spooky tortilla chips, and I have to cut up some fruit and cheese for a tray.

Nick shook his head as to say "What did you get yourself into?"
But he didn't utter a word.
Lord, Knows I couldn't of handled hearing it.
Good thing is I LOVE to bake, its my therapy :)



Hope you all have a GREAT weekend and I will be posting pics from our BOOOoo bash!

~Liza

Just a little Diddy.

What do we do while waiting in the car for Ethan's therapy appointment?

Pops reads the funnies.




Ethan draws a self-portrait.



Momma does what she does best...cuts coupons.



I usually sit in the back seat and read to Ethan, but since were Van-less for now and in grandma's coupe we had to make some changes.

Yes, we are van-less we think we have transmission issues. Blech.

On another note.....Nick is adjusting well to his new job. I am so happy I think everyones prayers are showing in our lives right now.

Yes, I did say NEW job.

On October 1st while I was packing Ethans school lunch Nick walked through the door and said the words no one wants to hear during this economic time, yet so many families are hearing them.

"I no longer have a job, I was laid off today."

After he picked me up off the floor and we cleared our heads we did what anyone one would do in a time like this.
We Prayed.
We Prayed for us and all the other families the company laid off..a total of 600 employees Nation Wide.

We put all our fears in God's hands and WOW the beautiful power of prayer!
Nick was hired by a company the Very next day.
Though he didn't start until this week for they had to do the whole background check and so forth.

So thats good news there.

And HALLOWEEN!!
We are preparing.
As you can see below I have handpainted 25 styrofoam discs for the Halloween party this weekend.



These are for our pumpkin decorating station.
Now that I have these out of the way I have tons of baking to do and I have to finish up our costumes, speaking of costumes I have to run out and buy some ribbon.

Have a great Day!

A new home for the MonkeyLemur.

I have a new home...yes, I surely do have a new home.

After many a head aches with my last blog I decided this was my best bet. Not to mention my friend Jessica has a lovely blog on here and I decided l would follow in her lead.

PUMPKIN PATCH FUN:
I volunteered for Zenon's first Kindergarten class trip.
The weather was fabulous and the pumpkin patch was really quite nice.
The day started out simple enough.... making name tags and packing up many wet wipes and sanitizer.






Upon our arrival there were many activities like rides, shopping at the general store,

Marshmallow roasts,



Pumpkin decorating,



And so much more. Though all good things had to come to an end and us volunteer moms weren't complaining about the "End".
21 Kids at the end of the day = Exhausted teachers and moms.
But you can bet I will be signing up for their next trip.

MOVE OVER PICASSO!!

The boys spent the day drawing family portraits. They are really digging their "Ghetto" dry erase boards.
Why Ghetto?
Well because they are actually scraps grandma and grandpa had at the lake house and I recognized them as the same thing dry erase boards are made of.
SOOoo I ran to Wally Martinez and bought EXPO markers.
They are totally loving it!

This particular piece is a Zenon original.
The four people to the far left are Mommy, Daddy, Zenon and Ethan.
He then decided to draw a cake (next to mommy) and he added his cousin Ryley on the far left.
Too cute.





This next piece is a Ethan and Daddy original.
Little E was having a hard time, so Pops decided they should work as a team.
E was quite proud and didn't hesistate to show off his masterpiece.




And I didn't hesitate to snap up what seemed like a hundred photos of their drawings.
Can you blame me?

Hope you have a great weekend.

This blog originally started on www.monkeylemur.blog.com