Our latest foray into the wonderful world of animation:
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday in the Neighborhood
We spent Sunday morning at the Farmers Market, now indoors at the Congress Theatre.
We dropped off all the goods back at home, and we went to Holstein Park. We found this leaf with a bunch of weird things on it, which we can not identify. Any idea? Eggs? Disease?
And there were more opportunities to get very very dizzy.
We dropped off all the goods back at home, and we went to Holstein Park. We found this leaf with a bunch of weird things on it, which we can not identify. Any idea? Eggs? Disease?
And there were more opportunities to get very very dizzy.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Morton Arboretum
We went to the Morton Arboretum to check out the animal houses before they closed this exhibit.
First, a trek through the wetland. The Pollywog Pond:
The skunk den:
The Great Blue Heron nest:
On our own walk through what turned out to be a sort of wetland (the piles of leaves were hiding substantial puddles, and the boys were only wearing their Crocs, yuck), we found a Buckeye tree, and we collected a whole bunch of buckeyes.
On to the Woodland Romp, where we saw the Raccoon Den:
We also collected an astonishing number of ladybugs from the Fallen Log house.
The Squirrel Drey:
Then we went on a hike to the Big Rock, a large granite boulder that, thousands of years ago, was apparently picked up by a glacier and carried here like a little pebble, probably from northern Michigan or Canada. It's hard to imagine this giant rock was carried like a pebble, but we tried. It is estimated to weigh about 14 tons.
It was notable how this walk through the leaves compared to our walk in the leaves two weeks ago, when all the leaves were bright and soft. These leaves were dry and crunchy and made such noise when we walked that Otto found it disturbing. He wanted us all to try to walk through them without making all that noise. Prior to that, we were all stomping and kicking and making as much of a ruckus as possible, so I suppose we went a bit overboard. We tried to walk through as quiet and stealthily as possible. But that was pretty difficult.
We found mushrooms.
Slightly off-trail.
We ate a delicious lunch in the cafe at the visitor's center, but we left plenty of room for the freshly popped kettle corn. I'm not usually a fan, but this wasn't too sweet, and it was still warm. It was hard to resist.
The boys joined a lot of other kids and rolled down the hill. Many times. It was such a great rolling hill, and almost no one was able to roll straight down. It was hilarious to watch all the kids colliding into each other and standing up, completely dizzy. I remember loving that sensation, spinning myself around until I was so dizzy I would fall over. I absolutely hate to be dizzy now, and in fact, my equilibrium is somehow off, and I often find myself dizzy, even when I'm just sitting up from lying in bed, or getting up from the couch. It is nothing but unpleasant, in my opinion. But here are a bunch of kids, saying, "Bring it on!"
We walked the maze, which at first, the boys thought was totally lame. Until they got lost in it and realized, "This is a REAL maze!"
Then, we checked out the children's garden, where there is some of the best playground equipment we have ever found.
It was warm enough to wade in the water. (!) Our children decided to risk it and leave their shoes on. Otto slipped, but at the end, and he didn't actually fall in the water.
As we were walking toward the car, Otto pointed out a patch of trees by the lake and said, "Look at this beautiful spot where we could sit and watch the sunset!" It's so funny to hear them say things back to you, in a sort of excited tone which most likely mimics your own way of talking. But there was no denying that Otto had a great idea. We sat under the trees, eating the last of our popcorn, as we watched the sun set behind the trees on the lake.
First, a trek through the wetland. The Pollywog Pond:
The skunk den:
The Great Blue Heron nest:
On our own walk through what turned out to be a sort of wetland (the piles of leaves were hiding substantial puddles, and the boys were only wearing their Crocs, yuck), we found a Buckeye tree, and we collected a whole bunch of buckeyes.
On to the Woodland Romp, where we saw the Raccoon Den:
We also collected an astonishing number of ladybugs from the Fallen Log house.
The Squirrel Drey:
Then we went on a hike to the Big Rock, a large granite boulder that, thousands of years ago, was apparently picked up by a glacier and carried here like a little pebble, probably from northern Michigan or Canada. It's hard to imagine this giant rock was carried like a pebble, but we tried. It is estimated to weigh about 14 tons.
It was notable how this walk through the leaves compared to our walk in the leaves two weeks ago, when all the leaves were bright and soft. These leaves were dry and crunchy and made such noise when we walked that Otto found it disturbing. He wanted us all to try to walk through them without making all that noise. Prior to that, we were all stomping and kicking and making as much of a ruckus as possible, so I suppose we went a bit overboard. We tried to walk through as quiet and stealthily as possible. But that was pretty difficult.
We found mushrooms.
Slightly off-trail.
We ate a delicious lunch in the cafe at the visitor's center, but we left plenty of room for the freshly popped kettle corn. I'm not usually a fan, but this wasn't too sweet, and it was still warm. It was hard to resist.
The boys joined a lot of other kids and rolled down the hill. Many times. It was such a great rolling hill, and almost no one was able to roll straight down. It was hilarious to watch all the kids colliding into each other and standing up, completely dizzy. I remember loving that sensation, spinning myself around until I was so dizzy I would fall over. I absolutely hate to be dizzy now, and in fact, my equilibrium is somehow off, and I often find myself dizzy, even when I'm just sitting up from lying in bed, or getting up from the couch. It is nothing but unpleasant, in my opinion. But here are a bunch of kids, saying, "Bring it on!"
We walked the maze, which at first, the boys thought was totally lame. Until they got lost in it and realized, "This is a REAL maze!"
Then, we checked out the children's garden, where there is some of the best playground equipment we have ever found.
It was warm enough to wade in the water. (!) Our children decided to risk it and leave their shoes on. Otto slipped, but at the end, and he didn't actually fall in the water.
As we were walking toward the car, Otto pointed out a patch of trees by the lake and said, "Look at this beautiful spot where we could sit and watch the sunset!" It's so funny to hear them say things back to you, in a sort of excited tone which most likely mimics your own way of talking. But there was no denying that Otto had a great idea. We sat under the trees, eating the last of our popcorn, as we watched the sun set behind the trees on the lake.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Zippety Zoo Da
We've been reveling in the string of warm sunny days we've had in the last week, especially after the cold and gray October we had. We spent a particularly lovely Friday at the Brookfield Zoo.
They still had their giant pumpkin on display.
And we found the peacocks, roaming around the grounds as they are wont to do. We were really excited to see them, since on our last two visits there, we didn't find them.
And we visited the Macaws, Max's favorite.
Otto showed this little Penguin his Puffy, and we can only assume the little guy was pretty confused. We imagined he was asking Puffy, "How did you get on THAT side of the glass?"
The giraffes were enjoying the afternoon too.
We walked the trail along the lake, which we have never done before. I hadn't even realized it was there until our last visit, when we saw it towards the end of the day and were too tuckered to tackle it. On this visit, I knew I wanted to take the extra time to do the long loop, and luckily, the boys were excited to do it too. We looked for birds and other animals, although we didn't really see anything of note. A lot of squirrels. Still, it was a perfect day for a walk in the woods.
They still had their giant pumpkin on display.
And we found the peacocks, roaming around the grounds as they are wont to do. We were really excited to see them, since on our last two visits there, we didn't find them.
And we visited the Macaws, Max's favorite.
Otto showed this little Penguin his Puffy, and we can only assume the little guy was pretty confused. We imagined he was asking Puffy, "How did you get on THAT side of the glass?"
The giraffes were enjoying the afternoon too.
We walked the trail along the lake, which we have never done before. I hadn't even realized it was there until our last visit, when we saw it towards the end of the day and were too tuckered to tackle it. On this visit, I knew I wanted to take the extra time to do the long loop, and luckily, the boys were excited to do it too. We looked for birds and other animals, although we didn't really see anything of note. A lot of squirrels. Still, it was a perfect day for a walk in the woods.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
To Market We Go
The Logan Square Farmers' Market has moved indoors for the winter, and lucky for us, they've chosen the Congress Theatre for the location, which is just a one block walk from our house. It's a treat to see this space in the daylight. There's a noticable haze throughout the lobby, no doubt the remains of the previous night's concert audience. There was recorded music on this visit, something light and airy, trying to capture the feeling of a warm fall afternoon and highlight the crisp, delicious apples and pears that dominated the stands, but they could not completely mask the grungy factor of the actual space, which we considered a bonus.
Of course, there were crepes to be eaten.
And we had lots of fun with our remote control, which we've only recently been using to get some family portraits. Otto took several self portraits.
It was such a beautiful sunny day that we wanted to stay outside. The boys consented to go to the park, but they spent a large chunk of this time playing their DSi's while sitting beneath the shade of the slide (so they could see their screens, of course).
And so we lured them on yet another walk, this time to check out New Wave cafe, a newish coffee shop that opened up in the heart of Logan Square. The draw? They have an old Nintendo 64. It's so old and unreliable that there are printed instructions atop the player which say something like: "If the game stalls, wiggle the cartridge, then take it out and give it a kiss." There are more than a dozen games, but we found the one with our most favorite hero. Mario is everywhere we are, it seems.
No complaints here, though. We were able to have a relaxing time in both a park and a cafe, and take a long walk on a nice afternoon, too. It's all good.
Of course, there were crepes to be eaten.
And we had lots of fun with our remote control, which we've only recently been using to get some family portraits. Otto took several self portraits.
It was such a beautiful sunny day that we wanted to stay outside. The boys consented to go to the park, but they spent a large chunk of this time playing their DSi's while sitting beneath the shade of the slide (so they could see their screens, of course).
And so we lured them on yet another walk, this time to check out New Wave cafe, a newish coffee shop that opened up in the heart of Logan Square. The draw? They have an old Nintendo 64. It's so old and unreliable that there are printed instructions atop the player which say something like: "If the game stalls, wiggle the cartridge, then take it out and give it a kiss." There are more than a dozen games, but we found the one with our most favorite hero. Mario is everywhere we are, it seems.
No complaints here, though. We were able to have a relaxing time in both a park and a cafe, and take a long walk on a nice afternoon, too. It's all good.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween 2009
We started the morning with breakfast at Lula. There was a long wait, but luckily the boys had their DSi's and a good space on the floor.
Risotto with brussels sprouts, wild mushrooms and crispy parsnips.
Lamb tortilla with scrambled eggs, avocado, mole, black beans and spaghetti squash. It was really amazing.
We went to the Botanic Garden for the Spooky Pooch Parade. We didn't find them to be spooky so much as we found them to be cuties. But it was fun.
We gave treats to one particularly sweet doggie.
Astro dog.
There are over 300 mum plants in each of these towers.
We loved these berries, and it seemed especially appropriate for Halloween: don't they look like a bunch of tiny pumpkins?
Back at home, we did some more decorating. We realized we had a bit of a lost opportunity, seeing as our downstairs apartment is still empty. We could have had a "haunted apartment" set up down there, we could have had a little Halloween party in it, or we could have at least to put up some spooky decorations and hung out there while we passed out candy. Alas, it didn't occur to us until we were putting up our last minute decorations in our upstairs apartment.
Max tried to play a spooky song on the piano.
We made our own witch houses.
We spooked up the porch a bit.
Due to the construction project, our front stairway still has no light, so it is already pretty spooky. We put candles all the way up the stairs to give us a bit of illumination, but it was still pretty dim. We also hung strips of crepe paper in the doorway (think 70s beads, only these looked more like a mummy's rags). And hanging from the screen door, there is a little witch whose eyes light up, whose legs kick, and who cackles loudly when you open the door. In the background, we played a Halloween mix which features some pretty creepy laughs and some very eerie tunes. It echoed nicely through the otherwise empty stairwell. We wondered if it was almost too creepy, since our porch light is also out. We had to rely on the flickering lights from the jack-o-lanterns. But since we went out trick-or-treating in the early hours, we were only home to pass out candy after 8 pm, and most of the trick-or-treaters we got were a bit older. They seemed to think our decorations were appropriately scary.
But I suppose that is getting ahead of things.
First, we did our own bit of trick-or-treating. We realized it was the first time we could remember being out before dark. It was great to have Halloween on a Saturday, to have Martin with us all day, to be able to go out so early and be home for lots more fun in the evening. We also managed to have the longest session of trick-or-treating we have ever had.
Some of our favorite scenes.
The goodies.
And now, we're eating some of that candy and watching Harry Potter, which seems like a good way to end the evening.
Risotto with brussels sprouts, wild mushrooms and crispy parsnips.
Lamb tortilla with scrambled eggs, avocado, mole, black beans and spaghetti squash. It was really amazing.
We went to the Botanic Garden for the Spooky Pooch Parade. We didn't find them to be spooky so much as we found them to be cuties. But it was fun.
We gave treats to one particularly sweet doggie.
Astro dog.
There are over 300 mum plants in each of these towers.
We loved these berries, and it seemed especially appropriate for Halloween: don't they look like a bunch of tiny pumpkins?
Back at home, we did some more decorating. We realized we had a bit of a lost opportunity, seeing as our downstairs apartment is still empty. We could have had a "haunted apartment" set up down there, we could have had a little Halloween party in it, or we could have at least to put up some spooky decorations and hung out there while we passed out candy. Alas, it didn't occur to us until we were putting up our last minute decorations in our upstairs apartment.
Max tried to play a spooky song on the piano.
We made our own witch houses.
We spooked up the porch a bit.
Due to the construction project, our front stairway still has no light, so it is already pretty spooky. We put candles all the way up the stairs to give us a bit of illumination, but it was still pretty dim. We also hung strips of crepe paper in the doorway (think 70s beads, only these looked more like a mummy's rags). And hanging from the screen door, there is a little witch whose eyes light up, whose legs kick, and who cackles loudly when you open the door. In the background, we played a Halloween mix which features some pretty creepy laughs and some very eerie tunes. It echoed nicely through the otherwise empty stairwell. We wondered if it was almost too creepy, since our porch light is also out. We had to rely on the flickering lights from the jack-o-lanterns. But since we went out trick-or-treating in the early hours, we were only home to pass out candy after 8 pm, and most of the trick-or-treaters we got were a bit older. They seemed to think our decorations were appropriately scary.
But I suppose that is getting ahead of things.
First, we did our own bit of trick-or-treating. We realized it was the first time we could remember being out before dark. It was great to have Halloween on a Saturday, to have Martin with us all day, to be able to go out so early and be home for lots more fun in the evening. We also managed to have the longest session of trick-or-treating we have ever had.
Some of our favorite scenes.
The goodies.
And now, we're eating some of that candy and watching Harry Potter, which seems like a good way to end the evening.
Friday, October 30, 2009
More Halloween Activities
We made our mummy craft, thanks to the cute little craft kits from Millie's party on Tuesday.
Max designs his AT-AT driver pumpkin.
Boba and AT-AT Driver.
Martin's very menacing Jack.
From the inside.
The pumpkins are starting to gather.
We were all having too much fun carving to bother making dinner, so we ordered pizza, and Max and Martin went out to pick it up (as well as some candles for our pumpkins). Lucky Vito's forgot to pie cut it (it tastes so much better in triangular shapes, in my opinion), and the delivery boys apparently tipped the pizza on its side on the way home, so it was a bit of a mess. But it still tasted really yummy.
Max designs his AT-AT driver pumpkin.
Boba and AT-AT Driver.
Martin's very menacing Jack.
From the inside.
The pumpkins are starting to gather.
We were all having too much fun carving to bother making dinner, so we ordered pizza, and Max and Martin went out to pick it up (as well as some candles for our pumpkins). Lucky Vito's forgot to pie cut it (it tastes so much better in triangular shapes, in my opinion), and the delivery boys apparently tipped the pizza on its side on the way home, so it was a bit of a mess. But it still tasted really yummy.
Midnight Circus
We headed down to Daley Plaza for three showings of Midnight Circus, the fabulous bunch of actors, acrobats, aerialists, clowns and musicians who take over Franken Plaza every October to amaze and delight us.
We went with a huge group of other unschoolers, many of them the same kids with whom I have been viewing Midnight Circus since they were toddlers, and several of them are now taking their own circus arts classes.
Before the second show, gathering on the Picasso sculpture.
In captive conversation.
During the performance (our group comprises most of this section).
Ivana Ivanova wishes the MC a happy birthday.
A head to head competition.
Guest appearance from David Boo-ie, normally with Cirque de Soleil in Montreal, but apparently in town and up for performing with his old friends.
The king rides again.
The big finish.
The usual reference to Thriller seemed a bit more passionate this year.
After the show, we checked out the oragne fountain, which, reportedly, does NOT taste like Orange Crush.
The farmer's market is there on Thursdays, so there was the added fun of that.
Look who's coming to the Chicago Theatre. Just in case we need a bit more acrobatic inspiration to our autumn.
We watched a bit of rehearsal for the 5:30 aerial act.
The boys took a few final slides down the Picasso. I love to say that.
The commute home.
We went with a huge group of other unschoolers, many of them the same kids with whom I have been viewing Midnight Circus since they were toddlers, and several of them are now taking their own circus arts classes.
Before the second show, gathering on the Picasso sculpture.
In captive conversation.
During the performance (our group comprises most of this section).
Ivana Ivanova wishes the MC a happy birthday.
A head to head competition.
Guest appearance from David Boo-ie, normally with Cirque de Soleil in Montreal, but apparently in town and up for performing with his old friends.
The king rides again.
The big finish.
The usual reference to Thriller seemed a bit more passionate this year.
After the show, we checked out the oragne fountain, which, reportedly, does NOT taste like Orange Crush.
The farmer's market is there on Thursdays, so there was the added fun of that.
Look who's coming to the Chicago Theatre. Just in case we need a bit more acrobatic inspiration to our autumn.
We watched a bit of rehearsal for the 5:30 aerial act.
The boys took a few final slides down the Picasso. I love to say that.
The commute home.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Millie's Halloween Party
Our friend Amelia loves any excuse for a party. She is a girl with a vision, that's for sure. I didn't take my camera, so I had to rely on my phone for photos. I am still kicking myself over that one, since there was so much thought put into all the decorations and the activities.
When we arrived, Millie (Amelia) had already set up a "scene" at the dining room table.
Those are real potatoes those skeletons are "feasting" on—they've been a science project on their bookshelf for quite some time.
There was bobbing for apples:
Make your own skull/ghost/mummy pizza:
Some really tasty homemade chili with spider pastries:
A pinata:
Wicket, everybody's favorite Ewok, even showed up:
We didn't line the kids up and get photos of all of them in their fantastic costumes. You can see some of them in the pinata photos.
And many of the adults joined in on the action. Kelly and Craig were a witch and a vampire and had on ghoulish make up (so ghoulish that it was starting to freak Truman out, and he insisted that his dad wash that stuff off his face, which Craig did). I didn't get a good photo of the two of them, and I didn't get a photo at all of Kelly, it seems. She was too busy making pumpkin cookies to decorate (we ran out of time for that, so we just ate them, naked) and getting together the mummy craft (we ran out of time for that too, so she just sent all the kids home with the supplies). All that fun, and a gift bag too!
At the end, as most of the guests trickled away (some of them had to get home to do homework, two of them were former homeschoolers who jokingly shook their fists at us for being able to hang around into the later hours), the remaining parents sat around the table, shared some wine, and discussed costumes, Harry Potter, potentially haunted (or at least very creepy) houses and bloody noses. Martin stopped by after work (and was actually early enough to get in on most of the wine drinking fun). It was a very nice gathering, and we are really happy to have been included in on the fun.
When we arrived, Millie (Amelia) had already set up a "scene" at the dining room table.
Those are real potatoes those skeletons are "feasting" on—they've been a science project on their bookshelf for quite some time.
There was bobbing for apples:
Make your own skull/ghost/mummy pizza:
Some really tasty homemade chili with spider pastries:
A pinata:
Wicket, everybody's favorite Ewok, even showed up:
We didn't line the kids up and get photos of all of them in their fantastic costumes. You can see some of them in the pinata photos.
And many of the adults joined in on the action. Kelly and Craig were a witch and a vampire and had on ghoulish make up (so ghoulish that it was starting to freak Truman out, and he insisted that his dad wash that stuff off his face, which Craig did). I didn't get a good photo of the two of them, and I didn't get a photo at all of Kelly, it seems. She was too busy making pumpkin cookies to decorate (we ran out of time for that, so we just ate them, naked) and getting together the mummy craft (we ran out of time for that too, so she just sent all the kids home with the supplies). All that fun, and a gift bag too!
At the end, as most of the guests trickled away (some of them had to get home to do homework, two of them were former homeschoolers who jokingly shook their fists at us for being able to hang around into the later hours), the remaining parents sat around the table, shared some wine, and discussed costumes, Harry Potter, potentially haunted (or at least very creepy) houses and bloody noses. Martin stopped by after work (and was actually early enough to get in on most of the wine drinking fun). It was a very nice gathering, and we are really happy to have been included in on the fun.
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