...and even more trains

This will be my last post on trains. At least for now.

Last night my husband and I had plans to go out - dinner, movie, a little shopping - it was going to be a great night. But our youngest son just couldn't kick the bug that's been bothering him over the last few days. So instead of going out, we took the kids to my in-law's for a little while.

No matter how bad you're feeling, a little train action can perk you up. Especially when you're 3.

Here's my father in-law's home office, where he's built a train track that runs around the perimeter of the room:
He turned the trains on about 2 minutes after we arrived. Per the requests of our train guys.

Here the train is about to enter a tunnel...

...that my father in-law built. The little markers on the tunnel show the family line. The line begins in the towns where my father in-law and mother in-law grew up. The following stops show where they lived after they got married and where their children were born.

The kids love seeing the trains come through the tunnel.

I'm too short to get them up here, but their daddy can lift them up (although I think it's getting a little harder each time!)

We didn't stay here too long, and got the kids home quickly to get to bed early. But our littlest boy is still feeling sick today, so it looks like another day of rest is on the agenda. Thankfully he's the only one sick so far. And hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

cookie time

Word has it that our new neighbors have moved in. Remember them? I was pretty good at keeping you updated on their construction progress, then autumn came, holidays rolled around, and I got distracted. Well, to bring you up to speed, here's their house today, Saturday, January 12th:

Do you remember how things used to look? It was about a year ago that I told you the old house would be coming down. Now that it's down and the new one is up & finished, it's time to tour! Of course we'll give them a few weeks to get settled, but curious minds want to know what it looks like inside. I know I'm not alone. My husband will shake his head when he reads this, but all the women around here (including moi) have been anxiously awaiting an invitation to tour the new place. As you know, we have met the couple (v. nice) when they came to our tailgate party in the fall, and they did say something at one point about a house tour...and well, you just can't forget a casual remark like that, even if it was made after a couple of beers!

I think the reason everyone around here is so curious is that...well, this couple is just like us. In the midst of tear down craziness - big, very expensive homes with all the amenities and no backyards being built throughout our neighborhood - this new home is not crazy. The woman lived here with her family when she was in high school, than bought the older (and deteriorating - she said) home from her parents a few years ago. When she met her husband, they made the decision to stay here and build a new home, one that would be big enough for them to raise a family in and stay here for good. So - good for them! But my question is, what does that buy you in this market? What kind of construction do you get from big-time builders when you are small-time?

Like I said, curious minds want to know. Because you never know what your own situation will be some day.

Anyway, to welcome the new couple to the neighborhood (I guess I am welcoming them back to the neighborhood), I made them cookies this afternoon. We'll see how far cookies go in securing me an invite. Oh heck, you know I'm just happy they're here at last.

more trains

Saturday we visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to check out the winter train exhibit.
Trains were running throughout mini scenes of Chicago. All the structures and buildings were built from plants, braches, twigs, moss - everything from nature. It was spectacular!

Of course my two little engineers thoroughly enjoyed being up close & personal with the many trains, trams, and trolleys that wound their way throughout the different tracks.

And it's nice to look back on a fun day like that when we are faced with today: feeling sick and staying put on the couch.

As my son said to me this morning, "maybe we should kiss and snuggle all day today". I think that's a good idea.

wearing flip flops

Today I'm wearing a short sleeve t-shirt and jeans. And flip flops. Soooo nice for January, let me tell you! I know that many of you are enjoying this (temporary) warm up right now. What a welcome way to usher in January. The snow and cold will return - and soon - but for now, let's just enjoy this balmy weather and feel the air on our skin. Hooray!

Today was my son's first day back at school. Boo hoo...you know I like having him around. But when I picked him up he was all smiles and his notebook says he had a good day, so good for him. I mentioned previously that he has been struggling in school. I will fill you in on that soon.

Saturday night my husband and I went to a party. This couple, friends from way back, has a holiday party each year. This year they were a little late because they have just finished their house renovation project. Literally just finished - days ago! They live in a split level home and they added a new half story to the top, which is now their master bedroom & bath, and they added on to their main living space by bumping the house out back a bit to add a big family room. The result was/is terrific.

One thing that caught my eye during the party was that they had all these great pictures of themselves, their kids, their friends and family flashing up on their new tv above the fireplace. Apple tv, I had never heard of it until a couple of weeks ago and now I'm seeing it in person. Very impressive! But even more impressive was the fact that there were so many pictures of just this couple: on vacation, in their backyard, out to dinner. I said to my husband, 'we don't do that any more'. It seems like every picture we have is our kids, there are no pictures of us, certainly none of us together. I told him that this is my New Year's resolution - to get us together more. Pictures, dates, you name it. It will be easy to start with pictures. We can snap pictures of the kids any time (and we do) but much more challenging to get a few of us.

We decided to start on the resolution right then and there and my husband flipped open his phone to take this:Hey, it's a start!

backtracking

So here we are on Christmas Eve. I wanted to show you my husband's parents' house, which is close to where we live. We went to dinner with them (and their friends and their friends' families) for Christmas Eve, then came back to their house for dessert. It was a lovely way to end the night.

This is their house, all decked out for Christmas. Look closely and you'll notice that they have a train track erected around the tree in front. This is just for Christmas. My father in-law loves trains. He has passed that love down to a few of his grandchildren, including my sons. The Christmas train ("Santa's Fe") runs along on the track when the decorations go up. Although it was a freezing night, my sons chose to stay out here and watch the train for as long as possible (with their daddy and grandfather.)

Here's a closer view of one train admirer, as well as the track and train.

Admirer #2. Did I mention it was a freezing night? I was too much of a wimp to stay outside for long. My husband snapped all of these pictures.

My father in-law has trains on the inside of his house as well. We didn't take a picture that night, but inside his office in the house he has built train track that runs along the perimeter of the room, suspended from the ceiling. There's even a tunnel that's a part of the scene, too. Some day I'll have to go back and snap that for you. For now, I can show you a shot of the tree that was running (where else?) under the Christmas tree. My boys were in heaven. In fact, we stayed over here until about 11 p.m. The boys are 5 and 3 years old. But as long as the trains were moving, eyes were wide open!

Let's move on from the trains to house decor. This is the dining room. A few years ago my in-laws redecorated their house, almost the entire first floor and a guest bathroom upstairs. I don't have any "before" photos. But you can probably tell that the change was beautifully done.

The area rug in this room that you see above inspired the hand painted border. Just beautiful!

More hand painting was done on the banister in the foyer. If I had my druthers, I would love to have this done on the banister that is in the upstairs of my own home. It is so, so pretty.

The same artist who painted the banner and banister also painted these lovely blooms in the foyer, which travel up the stairway. I know these pictures are nice, but you really should see them in person!

This is a picture of the living room. That's me sitting over there beyond the tree in the family room. Not one of my better poses, but you know, it's not about me. It's about this gorgeous house!

Aah, Christmastime. I told my mother in-law that I was ready to check in for the night. She did a wonderful job with her decorations. This was the first Christmas that she and my father in-law spent here, post decorating project. For the last few years they have traveled down to Charlotte to be with my sister in-law and her family. I think they both enjoyed seeing their "new" home filled with all of their old Christmas treasures. By the way, that's me again in the plaid pants. I am speaking to my son, who is standing in front of my mother in-law (far left) and her friend.

Voila! The kitchen. The most dramatic change here was that everything was gutted and the footprint of the entire room was changed. Picture dark, hanging cabinetry, small preparation space & eating area, and you get the idea. It turned out great.

This view gives you a better idea of how the kitchen now flows into the family room. There used to be a little half wall between the rooms.

That's all the photos I have from our time at my in-law's. Now we are home, and milk & cookies are waiting for Santa. We all opened our Christmas Eve gift, which was new jammies for everyone.

One more shot of the tree. Now that it's down, I miss it.

On Christmas, my husband and I each gave each other ornaments. This was a surprise to both of us. The Chicago marquee is from me to him:

And this beauty is from him to me:

I mentioned that I made pancakes Christmas morning. What I didn't mention was that I tried making them with pancake molds that I had purchased at Williams-Sonoma. I had a really hard time doing this! In my first attempt I was using them wrong, they were upside down on the griddle. The second attempt wasn't much better. By this time my sons were getting very hungry. Then it occurred to me that we still cut up all of their food for them before they begin eating...so the shapes probably would have been lost on them anyway. Oh well, A for effort and all that. If you want a set of pancake molds, let me know and they are yours.

Next post: post Christmas!

my present

I asked for and (oh so kindly) received a big pink mixer for Christmas. That Santa! He came through for me again. I loved it so much that after opening, I immediately made pancakes for everyone here on Christmas morning. The mixer will have a nice long run here in the LC, I'm sure.

And doesn't it fit in so well? As you can imagine, storage around here is rather limited. So this guy will have a permanent spot out on my counter - err, cart. Right next to the stove, where concoctions requiring mixing action will be assembled.

I took this picture with a gift my husband received this year from my parents, a new camera! We needed one so badly. We've been photographing everything since then. My husband took a lot of pictures on Christmas Eve at his parents' house...and I'm going to post those later so you can see them. I know, I know, Christmas is over. But who gets tired of pictures?

sweater weather

Hello, and Happy 2008 from the Little Cottage!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. From the looks of your blogs, it certainly looks like you did. What a treat it has been to visit you and spy upon your trees, your tables, your mantles, your delighted childrens' faces on Christmas morning! Oh, I do love blogland, don't you?

Things are good on this end. Thank you for your nice comments in December. I am back and feeling renewed. Ready to take on the challenges and enjoy the perks of this new year. New year, new attitude, new sense of determination. And optimism!

The picture above is a little bit of a trick. It is from 2 weeks ago. Right now we actually have more snow on the ground than this, probably about 4 inches. It is very pretty around here but very--brr brrr---chilly. Those of you living in the land of sunshine and gentle warm winds, I envy you!

Well, that's it for now. I will pop back soon for more of an update. Just wanted to say hi for now. Hi!!!

early holiday break

It's been a rough couple of days inside the Little Cottage, and so I am taking an early holiday break and closing up blogshop until January. My uncle died suddenly of a heart attack Monday afternoon. My oldest son is struggling a bit in school. I am feeling anxious and overwhelmed.

It's time to slow down, breathe a bit, and just be with my family.

I hope that you and yours have a delightful, healthy, happy, and wonderful holiday. I look forward to reading about your adventures, Santa's generosity, and the stories that unfold over the next couple of weeks.

Blessings to you all.

Merry Christmas!

what a week

This has been a fun week, but I must admit I'm exhausted!

The book club meeting went off without a hitch on Wednesday night. Everyone brought their 3 dozen cookies and I've been working on my stash steadily since then. Fortunately, I did not have 22 guests, I had 16. So everyone got a seat. A real seat. Oh, and we did our book exchange, too. I got "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Piccoult. Anxious to read this one, have never read anything by this author before but have always heard good things.

Tuesday and Thursday evenings this week I was working. Did I tell you that I got a job at a nearby clothing store in town? Well, I did. I've been there about a month. I mostly work evenings, from about 5:30-8:30. It's working out very well, and the job is easy-breezy. There's something about clocking in and clocking out that is so refreshing. When you leave the building, you don't give the work a second thought. Oh, and there's the discount, too. Nice!

Tonight is my husband's office party. Tomorrow night a neighbor is hosting a party down the street. They have a small house, like us, and when I ran into the hostess this past week she told me they were expecting 52 people. yowsers! We don't know yet if we'll make it to that one, still figuring out babysitting details. But it's fun to have the option...isn't it? Next weekend we have nothing, no parties at all! Maybe by then the break will be nice.

I hope you have a great weekend, see you next week, or sooner!

about 5 inches

The snow started yesterday evening around 5 p.m. and continued through the night. No school closings today, by the time morning came the streets had been pretty much cleared. The newspaper says we may get more snow tomorrow night. It feels so festive and pretty - the first snowfall, that is. I think everyone's outdoor Christmas decorations look better with snow. Don't you?

Knowing this was coming, yesterday my youngest and I headed to Target to get new snow boots for my oldest. And some new snow pants. When he gets home from school later today we'll be out there. He LOVES the snow! As long as I have enough time to get ready for my book club guests tonight, I'll be happy to be out there with them both.

scenes from a shower

Sunday's shower was a raging success. Yes, the skies had opened up and we got our fair share of sleet/slush/snow - your basic ugly winter mix. But that was mostly Saturday. On Sunday it poured rain - but at least no one had to wear snow boots! I remembered to take a few pictures, it seems like I always forget when people come over, but this time I didn't.

Here's one right before the guests came over.
The bride-to-be Brigid in a beautiful cream/gold dress and sweater. Looking calm and relaxed and ready to assume the spotlight, which she did graciously.

Co-host Kelly is wearing the cute little black number. She brought a tasty chicken/pasta/tomato dish. It was her own concoction, and I must say, very delicious.

The beverage/dessert table. I got the cupcake cake last year for my son's 5th birthday and have been getting them for each party since. There's no "make mine a small piece" when everyone has a cupcake to eat. And let's face it, who turns down a cupcake!? This one was half vanilla & half chocolate. Yum Yum.

I was sorry that I didn't take a picture of the buffet before we got started. But here we are in an eating action scene. Fresh fruit, Kelly's concoction, and then a platter of muffins/breads to choose from.

I must say that Brig has the nicest friends. She is a nice person herself, so it's no surprise. But these are fun, interesting women, who know how to relax and have a good time. It will be one big party on February 23rd!

Presents galore!! (this photo is a little fuzzy...I'm sorry about that. Looks like I need a new camera pretty soon!)

Me and Brig. I loved hosting the party in her honor. She deserves every happiness in the world!

two showers and a cookie exchange

I borrowed this punch bowl from my mom and brought it back with me after our Thanksgiving trip. It was my dad's mom's...isn't it something? There are 16 glass punch cups that go with it.

Well, guess what, I have need for those 16 punch cups!

Tomorrow I'm hosting a bridal shower for my dear friend. There are going to be 16 guests (totally random how this worked out...but it's perfect, wouldn't you say?) So I'm making up a champagne punch that packs a punch! Three bottles of champagne, a fifth of gin, gingerale, tonic water, lemonade - you get the idea.

I'm awfully excited about the shower. But there's another shower - this one from the sky. We're expecting sleet & snow tonight. I guess it must be a lot, because my husband was just telling me that United has already cancelled flights for today, in anticipation of this bad weather (which hasn't even arrived yet??)

So,

Two showers...let's hope one doesn't wreak havoc on the other. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and my guests!

Ok, then next week - use #2 for the punch bowl - I'm hosting our December book club meeting. I'm very excited about this. Our last meeting of the year involves a cookie exchange as well as a book exchange. I mean, we wrap up a gently used book from our own shelves and bring it to exchange. We draw numbers and pick books that way. It's very bookish and nerdy, wouldn't you say? But oh so perfect for a book club!

We're also discussing my book selection, which is my favorite book of all time, Marjorie Morningstar. I know some people laugh at this book and its old-fashioned ways. Some others see it as a book that got more recognition than it deserved for its time (it made the cover of Time when it was first published). Me, I simply love the story. I first read it when I was 18 and I've read it half a dozen times since. And I love it every time.

So...book club is Wednesday night. Oh, did I mention there are about 22 people in our book club? There was 14 of us when I hosted last time. I hope I can come up with 22 chairs. A few people have told me they don't need a chair, they will gladly sit on the floor. I didn't have the heart to tell them that the Little Cottage doesn't even have space for 22 bottoms. I'm sure that we'll figure it all out when the time comes.