Sunday, August 30, 2009

Gumbo and Lily

Our neighborhood has a ton of dogs, and Gumbo's the type of dog to get to know everyone (canine or otherwise) that we pass on our walks. So, we have actually become good friends with some of our neighbors. But one dog stands out from the rest...Lily the beagle.

While Gumbo does not shy away from any dog, big or small, Gumbo does have a special affinity for Lily. They are about the same size and play at just about the same pace. Lily is definitely Gumbo's favorite. Lily's people, Jeff and Laura, have taken Gumbo on many overnights, and we have done the same. On the Saturday of our staycation, Laura was out of town and Jeff had a gig until late, and Lily came over to have a sleepover with G.

They wrestled on the bed...a lot...


And they rested...a bit...


And then they wrestled some more...


And a couple other funny pictures of Gumbo's bad habit. Actually, any time you give him a treat like a rawhide chew or an asparagus or green bean, he always seems to carry it this way. And we finally got a picture of what looks like a dog about to light up!




The rest of the story

So we really did have more than one day on our staycation. It has just taken me this long to have a moment to blog about it. We really enjoyed our four-day break from the mundane parts of life: laundry, grocery shopping, chores, work, etc. A little break from it all was great.

On Friday we did something we have not had time to do and were at the same time putting off: registering for baby stuff. We went to be overwhelmed by the mass consumerism that is somewhat necessary for welcoming a new little life. While quite a bit of what we encountered is completely unnecessary, somethings you really do need. We also were able to buy paint for the crib to take it from periwinkle to white. I think the color was actually something like Fresh Snow, but we'll just call it white. Otherwise, we spent Friday lounging around the house and cuddling on the couch.

Saturday was a fuller day. We took ourselves back downtown. As long as we have lived here, Vince has never been to the Bean...the Cloud Gate, actually...but everyone just calls it the bean. Wonder why?



We had fun taking pictures of ourselves....


Vince's first visit to the Bean


Jellybean and the Bean



Chicago reflected





Vince also really enjoyed the twin fountains with the huge LCD screens that had faces of Chicagoans spitting water on the crowd playing in the water. It was quite cool this day, but that didn't stop all the kids and a few adults from jumping in.



This is a picture of us NOT going into the Art Institute.


So, we planned to visit the Art Institute to see the new modern wing that they finished not very long ago. We even went to the trouble to get our friend's membership pass so that we could go for free. But it turns out that you have to BRING the pass with you when you come. :) We were about to get off the El when Vince said, "Did you remember to grab the pass?" "Nope." Oh, well, I guess the Art Institute will have to wait until another day. Another point for baby brain.

Finally, we went to lunch at Blackies for great burgers and headed home. Once we got near our house, we ran into our neighbor Jeff walking their beagle Lily. "Sure, we'll take care of Lily for the night." And next thing we know, Gumbo's having a sleepover, but I will get to that in the next post.

Sunday morning, it began. The Dexter: Season 3 Marathon. Vince and I got into the show Dexter last year sometime and have been getting the discs from Netflix. Well, season 3 just came out on dvd, and so we ordered them. And then we picked up the rest of the season at the blockbuster. Yep, we watched the entire season almost back to back. We did stop to go over for dinner at our friends Nigel and Nancy's place, but that was the only interruption. The problem is that now we have to wait for season for to begin, end, and then come out on dvd. Maybe we should have spread them out.

Regardless, this is how we spent our staycation. A little bit out in the world, and a little bit curled on the couch. Just as it should be. There won't be another break from work for us until the baby comes. And I'm not anticipating that feeling much like a break!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Staycation - Day One

Vince and I knew we needed to take a vacation before the harriedness of the fall began, and so we decided to take Thursday and Friday off of work and have some fun. We originally thought about going up to Door County in Wisconsin and having a few days away. But as the time approached, we decided instead to stay in Chicago and enjoy some sights that we've been meaning to do.

So, here we are. It's day one of our staycation! As long as I have lived in Chicago, I had never been to the Field Museum. For a while now, we have seen signs for the Pirate exhibit they have, and we've wanted to go. That's just what we did today. We slept in and then headed down to the museum campus to check in with the pirates.

The exhibit was excellent, and we learned a lot about this one particular pirate ship, the Whydah. We also learned interesting facts like....pirates never really buried their treasure. In fact, they rarely held onto their profits for very long at all. There was always good rum and women to spend it on. Also, we learned that when the pirates took over a new ship, they always asked the crew whether the captain was kind or cruel. If they said he was kind, the captain often received a small ship and was set free. If the crew thought him cruel, the captain was often beaten and tortured, usually resulting in his death. This should be a warning to all you cruel captains out there!

We got to see Sue, of course. For those of you who aren't familiar, Sue is largest complete T-Rex skeleton found in the world. And she was found right here in the US. Pretty impressive.

The most interesting part of my day happened when we were entering the "Our Evolving World" section of the museum. We were walking in when a boy (about 8) and a girl (about 10) rushed in ahead of us. We heard the grandmother yell from behind, "Oh, you don't want to go in there." "Yes, I do," yelled back the boy. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Because we don't believe in that bullshit."

Wow....did that just happen? "We don't believe in that bullshit"?!? I was taken aback by this response. I guess it's been quite a while since I've heard such a compelling argument against evolution, but there it was...right in the heart of the Field Museum. And I have to say, her words followed me for the next hour as we meandered our way through our evolving world.

I could not stop thinking about her. I kept thinking to myself, "how do you explain...if not for evolution?" And I would frequently bother Vince with similar quandaries. Until finally, he explained it all to me. "God didn't create the dinosaurs," he explained. "God created fossils."

Well, doesn't that just explain it all!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

In Our Belfry

So we were sitting around earlier this evening chatting and Gumbo suddenly started paying a little too much attention to the magazine basket. He has liked to chew on the basket in the kitchen that has towels and such in it. Then we heard this sound.

We both looked at each other at the same time. April said, "What is that?" My first thought was that it kind of sounded like a cricket or some other bug, but I wasn't quite sure. and Gumbo was entirely too interested. So I went to investigate. Now we have rearranged the furniture, but in our current configuration, the basket sits right next to the shelf in the photo below in the corner of the room.










So I pull out the basket, I see a much larger something on the side of the basket than I expected.
I must have made some kind of noise when I realized what I was looking at, because April asked, "What is it?"

"A bat."

"A WHAT?!?"

"A B-A-T."

Then she starts freaking a little about keeping the animals away and hoping the thing doesn't decide to start flying around. Needless to say, I proceeded to put the poor little guy outside. He didn't seem very happy with me for pulling him out of his nice dark hiding spot and putting him out in the sun.

The crazy thing is that we haven't had any windows open since the middle of last week, so how long had he been there?

Saturday, August 8, 2009

27 Weeks Pregnant



Amazingly enough that's where I am. 27 weeks pregnant. I have had a pretty easy going pregnancy up to this point. Nausea at the beginning, but that was more annoyance than problem. No major cravings, unless you count ketchup.

This past week my feet began to swell. My toes looked like Little Smokies, and I felt like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man when I walked. But I have only had one or two other swelling spells, especially since I'm hydrating and keeping my feet up any time I am sitting. My hips were killing me because I was sleeping so much on my sides, but then we got a new mattress. No more hip pain. Bending is taking more intention, but I can still tie my own shoes. I have to hold my breath, but that's beside the point!

We officially have another 13 weeks until the Jellybean joins our family, but we are starting to get ready. Yes, we are just now starting. We have a crib that needs painting. We've finally picked the bedding and such for the baby's room. We're working out childcare for a few months from now. We scheduling our hospital visit and newborn classes. There's so much to do, but I'm sure it will get done. Right?