Knitting season

I wasn't sure Riley would be chill enough around yarn to let me knit, but she's been pretty good lately, so I'm back at it! I decided to tear up a couple of sweaters I knit a few years ago to re-use the yarn and have been having fun working on some smaller projects. I've even got Molly going on her first scarf (go Molls!).

I've also found a new knitting group to join. There's a little yarn + fabric store in Evanston that has drop-in BYOB knitting nights. I went earlier this week to test it out and ended up staying for 2 hours. It was fun! Knitters are my people :)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to bringing my craft bag along on our Colorado road trip. I've promised to make Molly a matching red hat and to let her help me with the pom pom. Think I might try a pair of socks next. Hopefully I'll remember to post pics when I finish.

New hat. Free pattern can be found here.

New knitter

Thanksgiving 2018

I say this every year, but Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday ... it's all about food and family (and football). And this year did not disappoint (go Bears).

Betsy, Archie, and I started out the day with the Evanston Flying Turkey 5k and then the family traditions carried on from there. Bagels and coffee in the morning, skyline chili dip in the afternoon, and the typical Thanksgiving menu for dinner around 4pm.

We were planning to host at our house this year with the new kitchen, but ended up doing it at B's instead. I think Riley might still be a year away from behaving herself through an all-day group event. Next year!

Two little turkeys playing "rolling pins" in the back yard

Another little turkey looking adorable in the kitchen before dinner

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

The life of Riley

Whew, what a whirlwind! We've had Riley home with us for about 6 weeks now and I feel like I'm just coming up for air. It's been good. It's been fun. But we're also exhausted and a little overwhelmed, trying to figure out our new schedule and routine. Especially with a new school year starting and crazy work schedules. We've made so much progress, but we've also had some setbacks. Overall though, I think we're finally getting to a pretty good place with this puppy of ours :)

She sits, she lays down, she plays fetch, and she'll come to a target. She's pretty good about letting us know when she needs to go outside (though she did randomly have 2 accidents last week without giving us any sort of warning). We're still working on the jumping, nipping, and chewing, though all 3 of those things have definitely gotten better. And she still has no idea how to act around other dogs. Sometimes she's totally scared, other times she gets growly, and other times she wants to play. Who knows ...

Another day. Another stick. 

It's taken a little while, but I'm finally starting to get comfortable with being a dog mom. There were a few times in the beginning when she would start nipping at me and I would just go hide in another room. Ha! Now I feel like I can usually make a pretty good guess as to what she wants. And I think I've earned her love after about a million games of tug of war.

The Molly-Riley relationship is a little more complicated. Molly is definitely over her fear of dogs. Yay, mission accomplished! She loves Riley ... sometimes. Other times, she's totally indifferent, or even annoyed that the dog gets so much of our attention. I think Riley has caught on and is now nipping at Molly a little more than she used to. We'll need to work on that.

But that's what training is for! Thank goodness for Kiki, dog trainer extraordinaire. (Check out her website for a few videos of Riley in action). She has taught me so much over the last few weeks. Probably even more than she's taught the dog :)

Family fun time

It's been over a week since Aunt Suzie came to visit (Suzanne for anyone who isn't a niece), but life with a new puppy offers few breaks for blogging! We picked just about the hottest weekend of the summer, but still managed to enjoy a bit of Chicago with an architectural boat tour on the river and a Saturday stroll through Lincoln Park. Mostly, it was just good to spend time with my aunt!

Posing on one of the lakefront fields at Northwestern. Ignore the fact that my eyes are closed

We were lucky enough the following weekend to have a return visit from Joe, who just finished up a few weeks of work in Wisconsin. We met cousin Erin at the Cubs game and saw a come from behind W vs the Nationals. I hadn't been to Wrigley in forever and it was so much fun to see the changes in the neighborhood and be in the stadium again.

Looks like we need to get Erin some Cubs gear

Last, but not least, I have to give George a birthday shout out for turning 4. Betsy and Archie had a big family party and Molly had a blast, as usual, hanging out with all of the cousins on Archie's side of the family. Here are the boys, waiting patiently for the cake.

Look how grown up they are - George is 4 and James is about to start Kindergarten. Where does the time go?

The family fun doesn't stop there ... my parents are still in town for about another month, and then we also get to see Jake, Jon, and Adina at the end of August for the Bucktown Arts Fest!

Puppy love

Meet Riley, the newest O'Grady. She's an 8-week old goldendoodle puppy and we are officially obsessed!

Hi there, Riley!

So far, it's kind of like having a new baby. We're spending all of our time staring at her and worrying about how much she's eating, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. She had 2 minor accidents her first day at home (good thing we planned ahead and rolled up the rug), but none yet today. Fingers crossed she figures this whole house training thing out sooner rather than later.

Jason was on duty by himself last night while I went to the Kenny Chesney concert with my sisters (that's a topic for a separate post!) and he was definitely a little frazzled this morning. Day 1 of crate training didn't go so well and both Jason and the dog ended up sleeping on the couch for a grand total of about 5 hours of shut eye. She's taken a few good naps today though, and even managed about 5 mins in the crate, so I am counting that as progress. Baby steps!

All tuckered out

Having a puppy is definitely a LOT of work, but it's also so much fun. Riley is a total sweetie and we're all getting a kick out of watching her play. Molly has been really good with her, though there are definitely times that the dog makes her nervous. Ha, there are times the dog makes ME nervous. But we are starting up sessions with a trainer in a couple of weeks and I think that will help all of us have a better handle on what to do. 

Looks like Riley is up from her nap, so that's probably enough for now. Expect many more Riley pics and posts to come! 

Eight is great

It seems like Molly is growing taller by the day. She's now 50 inches and 55 lbs -- 50th percentile all around. She has her ears pierced. She no longer needs a car seat. She's sometimes so sassy I can't stand it. But usually, she's a sweetheart, a total goofball, and my absolute favorite girl.

Molly has been waiting and waiting for this birthday. It feels kind of big time. She seems older now. At times, I can see the pre-teen coming out, and it makes me want to stop the clock. But I also love how she's changing and growing and I kind of can't wait to see what's going to happen next. 

Here are a few pics of the big girl at age 8.

8th birthday party with friends ... a gloriously messy slime party in the driveway :) 

Hanging out with Uncle Joe

With Riley ... soon to be our new family dog!

Mollypalooza

Today, Molly turned 8 on the 8th, making it her "Golden Birthday." We were lucky enough to celebrate over the weekend in Nebraska with approximately 30 to 40 O'Gradys and Molly's BFF, Ryan.

It was the most Midwestern of road trips. We drove through corn to get to more corn. The kids went free range for a few days while the adults talked and drank beer. Occasionally, you'd hear exchanges like this:

"Have you seen the girls?"

"Pretty sure they were heading North with the hula hoops."

Or this:

"Where'd Evan get to?" (My 3-year-old nephew)

"I told him to go pee by the side of the house."

It was glorious.

We stayed at Jason's Aunt Donna and Uncle Chuck's house and they pretty much rolled out the red carpet for us. It really couldn't have been more fun. We had an epic water war with the kids vs adults, caught fireflies and toads every night, rode in the tractor, ate junk food and didn't care. Molly loved it all.

It was a pretty special way to celebrate a special girl. Happy birthday to the Molls!

Checking out the view from the tractor

Taking as many Gator rides as they could get

Bowling with Ryan, who was such a good guest and earned her spot as an honorary O'Grady

Our fabulous hosts -- Donna, Becky, and Chuck

The birthday girl with her mom and dad

Cousin Will - the MVP of the water war, with Jon, Joe, and Jeremy

Corinne and I getting our turn in the tractor with "Farmer Steve"

Mini tractor rides in the shed

Hanging with my sisters in law and hopefully my soon-to-be sister in law ... no pressure, Jon! :)

Kids in the bean field at dusk

Home sweet half-finished home

The kitchen isn't quite ready yet, but we are! After 3 months in the condo and with summer (and my parents) almost here, it is time to be home. The house is still a little dusty, and the kitchen is still a construction zone, but the fridge is in, so I think we can make it work!

The big delay now is the countertops -- our top pick was out of stock and they didn't let us know until the day it was scheduled to be cut. We're on to plan B and I think I've convinced myself I like the new countertops even better. As of now, they are scheduled to go in on June 15. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until then for our sink, too. 

Here are a few pics of the kitchen, in its current state:

Our new, glorious, enormous refrigerator, in a new location away from the back door

The other cabinet color -- marine blue. There is an L-shaped peninsula under the tarp, also in marine blue, where we will be able to have barstools. Yes! Barstools!

The range is in the same spot, but you can see we now have a double oven -- hurrah! It's a little hard to see, but the pantry is to the left of the back door where that wood wall is. The right side (not shown) has a bench, shelves, and hooks for our coats

This is the money shot. The unobstructed view from the kitchen into the dining room. I LOVE how open it is. The photo is a little dark, but you get the idea

Friends 4-eva

There's just something so easy about being around old friends. It doesn't matter how much time goes by, it seems like we can still just pick up right where we left off as soon as we get back together.

On that note, it's been a pretty good couple of months for seeing my friends from high school. Lindsay lives here of course, and now that my schedule is more flexible, we've been able to pick it up a bit with Friday lunches every month or so. Then at the end of April, Jason and I went back to Cincinnati for a music fest (National Homecoming on Smale Park along the Ohio River ... it was amazing). We got to see Dana and Lauren while we were in town and also see how much cooler Cincinnati is than when I lived there (Covington, KY and Over-the-Rhine neighborhoods especially).

Natalie is the farthest away, but she is so good about visiting Chicago. It was my turn to get out to Arizona though, so Jason, Molly, and I went to visit Nat and her family over Memorial Day weekend and had such a good time. It felt like the kick-off to summer. They have a huge group of friends in AZ and had a big BBQ one of the nights. We got some swim time in at the pool, checked out Top Golf for the first time, and then we also got to see another friend from high school, Eric, and his brand new baby Declan. Declan is a magic baby -- so cute and so good. He never even cried once when we were at dinner. He just looked around at everyone and let us pass him around until he fell asleep. Aww.

It's hard to believe I've been friends with this crew for more than 20 years! We've got our reunion coming up in Sept. I was on the fence, but think I'm definitely going to make the effort to get back for it now.

Out in Cincinnati with Dana and LT

Molly at the pool with Natalie's two darlings, Eva and Cole

Finishing up dinner with baby Declan. Jordan, Natalie, and Meredith are in the photo. Jason, Eric, and I were on the other side of the table. I always say this ... we should have taken more pictures!

Love to all the moms

Molly has one babysitter, Courtney, who is just heads and shoulders above the rest. She watched Molly overnight a couple of weekends ago when Jason and I went to Cincinnati, and of course, she was thoughtful enough to have Molly do a Mother's Day art project. How sweet is this? Definitely going on the wall somewhere.

A Mother's Day surprise for me :)

Overall, we had a pretty low-key Mother's Day, but that's what made it wonderful :) I had some phone time with my mom, some alone time thanks to my thoughtful husband, some family time with my sister, Archie, and nephews, and some one-on-one time with my girl. I felt pretty loved. Hope others out there are feeling the love, too!

Progress!

Kitchen update: we have cabinets! It's been a long wait, but the cabinets are finally here. I just dropped Molly off at lacrosse and found the guys all at the house working. On a Saturday! Hurrah! I can't wait to see how it looks after the weekend.

As of now, our appliances are scheduled for delivery on the 21st, but there is a chance we'll be able to move that date up. Double hurrah. I am SO ready to be back in our place ...

It's finally starting to take shape

First Communion Day

For someone who is not Catholic, I have somehow managed to spend quite a lot of time sitting through Catholic Mass. Yesterday's Mass was my all-time favorite though because my sweet little girl was all dressed up to receive her First Communion.

We had a fun mother-daughter morning getting ready. Molly had very specific instructions for how she wanted me to do her hair -- in a high pony tail with curls. And I have to say, she looked beyond adorable in her white dress, veil, and gloves. 

I know she was nervous about the whole thing. The kids all had to walk down the long aisle with everyone staring at them. But she did great and I just felt so dang proud of her up there. Bravo, Molly!

So happy Marsha and Steve were able to come in town to celebrate with us! 

Wonder

Molly and I always read together before she goes to bed. When I pick the book, we usually end up reading one of my childhood favorites, like Pippi Longstocking or Charlotte's Web. When Molly picks, it's usually one of her favorites, like Bad Kitty or Dork Diaries.

Lately, we've been reading something that's new for both of us -- Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The movie version came out last year, but we never saw it and decided to read the book first. I'm so glad we did because it's really, really good. Molly has even been tucking herself into bed early to give us extra time to read.

The only problem? This book keeps making me cry. There have been times I've had to hand it over to Molly to finish the chapter while tears roll down my cheeks and I lose the ability to speak. It's not always what Auggie has to go through that gets me so choked up -- he's a 5th-grade boy with significant facial deformities. More often, it's the conversations he has with his parents that just kill me.

Don't let that stop you from reading it though :) It's sad at times, but also funny and heartwarming. And reading it together with Molly has led to some really good conversations about how things go at her school and with her friends. We're not finished yet, but unless this thing has a terrible ending, I think it's sitting in 5-star territory.

Condo living

We've been living in my parents' condo for about a month now while our kitchen renovation is underway. The latest update is that our cabinets will arrive the first week in May, so unfortunately, we still have a couple more months to go. But it's okay! My parents will be in Florida until June, so we are very lucky to have a place to stay while we wait.

We miss our house and neighborhood (and Jason misses his Sonos), but overall, I kind of like condo living. It suits our little family to be together on one floor. And I get to test out a capsule wardrobe! I know this doesn't sound like everyone's dream, but I love the idea of paring down my belongings to just a few basics and mixing and matching my way through the week. This is approximately what I've been working with for the past 4 weeks. Work-out clothes and accessories not pictured.

Full confession--I'm pretty sick of everything in the suitcase and am planning to swap out some of the tops later this week. But, it has showed me that I can get by with fewer choices. I'm thinking it might be time to go full Marie Kondo on my closet when I get home.

Other benefits of condo life? I love that there's a gym in the building! And Molly loves it too. She either takes a book and reads, or practices handstands and cartwheels for half an hour while I run or use the elliptical. This leaves no excuse for me not to work out.

My work out buddy

Thanks Mom and Dad for loaning us the place. Our kitchen is still without a finished floor or walls, but I'll post pictures as soon as we have visible progress!

Spring breakish

Our grand plans for a trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon for spring break were sadly abandoned when we saw the price of flights. So we decided to stay home and bring spring break to us with a visit from Marsha and Steve and a couple of fun excursions close to home.

I felt a little bad that we didn't go anywhere, but it was nice and relaxing to just sleep in, hang out, and enjoy the family time. Plus, we still have something to look forward to. We didn't book the spring break trip to Arizona, but we have plans to go for a long weekend over Memorial Day. Warmer weather is on the horizon! Let the countdown begin!

Hibachi night

Buying up the galaxy in Star Wars Monopoly

A trip to the Jelly Belly factory

A visit to our favorite pizza place in Bucktown -- Piece

Sing Street

We watched a really charming movie last night and I just have to pass it on. I think it's a hidden gem, because I had certainly never heard of it, but maybe I'm wrong. Check it out on Netflix -- Sing Street. It's an Irish movie, set in the 1980s, with a pretty simple plot -- a boy starts a band to impress a girl. We loved it!

Birthday month

March is a big month for birthdays in our family ... my dad, Sean, James, and B all get to celebrate. It was kind of a big one for the B this year - a milestone of sorts - so we made sure to get the adults out for a fun dinner. We went to a restaurant called Wood that was SO good if anyone looking for a new place to try. Happy birthday to all!

The adults in the fam - minus Terry who is taking the photo

James got to celebrate the BIG 5! 

Had to also include a pic of my girl - and Batman George in the background taking advantage of a quiet moment to play with his brother's new toys

This used to be our kitchen

Out with the old, in with the new!

There's no turning back now!

A delight to the senses

Jason, Molly, and I went to New York last weekend, and from the look of the photos, you'd probably think all we did was eat! That's partially true ... but we also went to sightsee, visit Jon and Adina, and hang out with a few of my best friends from college.

For a quick trip, we really packed a lot in and ended up having such a good time. Molly was a total trooper and just kind of did what we did all weekend. It was great :) She had only 2 requests -- to go shopping for a pair of aviator sunglasses and to try bubble tea. Luckily we were able to make both of those things happen.

Trying a slice of New York pizza. 

A kid in a candy store - Dylan's Candy Bar at Union Square

 

Pesce Pasta with Uncle Jon - neighborhood Italian spot in Chelsea

Molly finally getting to try bubble tea with Adina

My new favorite food -- soup dumplings
(P.S. That's Jason's thumb, not mine)

 

Thai style ice cream in Long Island City

That face says it all

Jon and Adina were wonderful hosts -- I fell in love with their neighborhood (Sunnyside, Queens) and had some of the best food ever at the New World Mall in Flushing. My only regret ... I did not take a single picture with my friends from NU! Courtney, Brian, Kirsten, and Manu all trekked in from their various neighborhoods with spouses and kids and I did nothing to document the occasion. Next time! Hopefully we'll be back soon :)