Summer Days

     Summer seems to be flying by. I know I have written about our debate to homeschool and I am pretty sure we will for kindergarten or try the virtual charter school if we get in, but for now I am going to keep Liam in preschool. Mainly based on the fact I can't make a decision right now and it's only 2 1/2 hours a day 4 days a week, so we will see how it goes. One day Liam loves the idea of going back then the next he hates it, but he's like that with most things, so it's no surprise. He actually starts August 13th which is only a couple of weeks a away. We will be in Indiana his first week though, so he'll start a week later. Here's some pictures from our last trip there.

                                                        Love this picture of them!

In other news I know I have been lacking on the posts and one of these days I plan to post more often. The days just seem to fly by and by the end I am exhausted. Plus it's summer and everyone is suppose to be lazier in the summer or at least that's what I'll tell myself:)

Keeping Busy: Green Goo

     Horrible picture with my phone, but super fun and easy activity with the kiddos. All you need is 1 cup of cornstarch, 1/2 a cup of water, and a couple of drops of food coloring. Mix together and let your kids enjoy the fun. If it's a little stiff add water, but it should be able to form a ball then ooze out of their hands. Liam loved this!

Donuts and Little Dudes

    I took these 3 little guys out for donuts the other morning to my favorite local coffee shop. Can they be any cuter?  Rory is getting so big, it feels weird to no longer have a baby in the house. He's a toddler now always on the move trying to keep up with his older brothers.

Summer Days and Thoughts on Homeschooling

   I can't believe tomorrow it will be July. Our days have been so busy and flying by. Most mornings have been spent at the park with friends, in the backyard, or meeting friends indoors to keep cool.
Nights have been spent grilling, at Liam's soccer practice, or going to Rainbow cone one too many times.

We also started family picnic movie night on Fridays which has been super fun. We lay out a blanket, eat pizza, and watch a movie. Our first night we watched Peter Pan and last night we watched The Fantastic Mr Fox, which was a movie even mom and dad enjoyed.
   In only a little over a month Liam will be back at school. I feel like it's coming too fast and I still haven't really decided about homeschooling. Some days I think it's a great idea while others I think I must be crazy for even considering it. It's such a big decision and I can see benefits to both. I just think since homeschooling is going against the norm it makes it hard to know if it is the right decision. Luckily when I told my family we were considering it they were supportive otherwise it would make the decision even harder. I guess no matter what decision I make there will always be doubts. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Beach Days

     It's been too long like usual, but life has been busy. Lots of time outdoors, weekends at the beach, and playing in water. We've been up to Long Beach Indiana twice this year already and it has been bittersweet. It's my husbands grandparent's house and they are nice enough to let us spend lots of time up there, but after his grandma passing not too long ago they have decided to sell it so this will be our last year there and we are trying to live it up:)

Weekend Update

  
  It's finally starting to cool down here in Chicago, but we had our hottest weekend yet. This weekend really seemed to fly by though, which surprised me since my husband was gone working for most of it. Friday he was off though and we went and got the rest of the plants for our garden, had lunch at one of our favorite Mexican spots, then came home to plant. Saturday was spent in the backyard playing in water, and I took out their little pool to splash around in since it was over 90 degrees. Then Sunday I took the boys out for coffee and donuts, stopped at the farmer's market where we picked up some delicious strawberries and focaccia, and then the park. Later I was even able to get my oldest to nap, so I could take lay down for a bit. Then we made dinner and had my favorite summertime dessert, strawberry shortcake. Here's to hoping this week goes fast since we are spending Memorial day weekend in Indiana. Hope everyone else enjoyed their weekend as much as I did. I also really need to take more pictures, so I have some more to share with you guys:)

Nature Museum

       Sunday we went to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum thanks to a great friend buying our family a membership for our sons birthdays. I can't believe we have never been there before. It's right across from Lincoln Park Zoo which we go to often, but I never thought of it. It's by far one of the best gifts they received for their birthday all of them loved it. Plus since they have so many toys it's great to get a gift we can all use as a family again and again. There was tons for them to do, yet it was a very peaceful place  I think my favorite part was the butterfly habitat. There are so many beautiful butterflies fluttering around and Liam was so excited when one landed on his shoulder.

                                            After sitting patiently a butterfly landed on him

                                                  We got to see a mama and her baby:)

                                                                Our Little Walker

                                                                 Taking a Break

                                                            Having a snack

Rory turns 1

   

     I just had to share this pictures because I love them so much. Last Wednesday our littlest guy, Rory turned one. I can't believe it a year goes by so fast. He started walking at 11 months, just like I predicted and now he's really walking all over the place. We had a pretty low key celebration just dinner and carrot cupcakes at home I got the recipe from smittenkitchen and they were delicious I've never had carrot cake before and these were amazing. We're actually having a party for all 3 of them this weekend, I figure better late then never. Poor little Rory is sick though, so I'm hoping by Sunday he will be better for the party.

Birthdays

    Today was a weekend filled with birthdays. My middle guy, Declan turned two on Saturday. We spent the day at the children's museum then had dinner and cupcakes at home. He was so excited when we sang him happy birthday, it was so cute. As he gets older his personality shows more and more. He is such a sweet and funny little guy. I just love watching him grow and feel so lucky to be his mom.

 
     Then today was my husband's birthday and we spent the day outdoors at a nature center. Then after naps we had dinner and watched a movie. It was a great weekend. I love when Jack has off the whole weekend since it is a rare treat. Things are always more fun when he's around. Hope you had a fun weekend:)
  

Weekend Update

      We did end up making it to the waterpark Thursday afternoon and had a fun night splashing around and after ate dinner in the small town, then back to the hotel for bed. I was a little nervous about staying in a hotel since it was our first time with all three, but they did great. Unfortunately that night I ended up getting the stomach flu, so all of Friday was spent in the hotel room for me. Jack was awesome though, he took all three of them for the whole day without complaining and I know at a waterpark and indoor amusement park that was no easy feat. Saturday I felt a bit better, and we went to the amusement park before heading home. Unfortunately with all the chaos we didn't get any pictures, but the kids had tons of fun so I'm sure we will do the trip again next year.
  We wanted to make sure to be home for our annual Southside Irish Parade in our neighborhood on Sunday.  It actually got cancelled two years ago since it became too crazy, and this was it's first year back as a more family friendly parade. Sunday was a perfect sunny day and wonderful weather for a parade. I was excited to be able to share a neighborhood tradition with my kids since Liam was only one at the last parade.

                                                 Lil Hooligans getting ready for the parade

                                                                               Smores

      All I can say is I am so glad we have our parade back. Lots of people were nervous but it turned out to be a very family friendly event. We spent the whole day outside with family and friends. Eating lots of corned beef and later having a campfire and making smores.Perfect family fun:)

Leap Day Baby

      Today my oldest gets to celebrate his first birthday since the day he was born. We had a whole day planned for him and I was super excited about being able to celebrate, but life had other plans and soon after Liam woke up to a room full of balloons and a birthday banner, the poor guy threw up all over. So we had to make other plans. Luckily it's super nice out so we've been outside most of the day playing and hanging out. Liam seems ok although he hasn't ate much and complains his stomach hurts from time to time. We bought he a big boy bike with training wheels and he has been trying to get the hang of it. Although these weren't our original plans we still had a fun day. Happy Birthday to my first baby!

A Day at the Museum

     It's been cold and snowy here, which for me is the perfect weather to just stay inside and play. Getting 3 kids all bundled and outside is lots of work, so we seem to do less outings in the winter. Yesterday though we decided to venture out and went to the Museum of Science and Industry. The kids loved it and it was nice to get out of the house for a few hours even though by lunch Liam seemed to suddenly not be feeling well which cut a trip a bit short but that's okay. Here are some pictures from our day, hope you enjoy!

Springtime in January

                   It's hard to believe that yesterday felt like spring when today looks like this.

We've been super lucky with a mild winter so far here in Chicago. We heard it was suppose to start getting cold, so yesterday we took a trip to the zoo to enjoy the nice weather.

                                               I can't get enough of that face

Super Liam, also know as Chapstick boy due to his obsession with putting it on about every 10 minutes yesterday
                      

                                                     He wanted a picture with the penguin

                                    He loved the tigers, he's at that age where everything is fascinating

                                                    Tired Baby, he's a trooper though