bike the drive 2017 -- the drama

so many possible dramatic themes to this year's bike the drive in chicago (the sunday before memorial day). the absence of holli, and the last-minute substitution of my mom. the threat of severe storms. waking up the morning of the ride to discover that the sun had been extinguished (or it was 4 am). the treacherous betrayal of barb's front-tire tube. the heroic efforts of max during his first bike the drive, and the constant, inextinguishable power of liam during his second. the effortless, let's call it grace, with which i smoothly dispatched the 30 miles of the ride. but what about the blueberry mini-muffins, you ask? what about the muffins?

sunrise just south of the chicago river bridge

we were set to do bike the drive this year, with liam making his second ride and max his first. unfortunately, holli was hit with a severe sinus infection that knocked her out for almost three (!) weeks and left her with an epic pile of work to negotiate, so we needed a substitute. barb (my mom) was ready and willing to take her place, and the boys and i crashed at her and kevin's house the night before. after a delicious dinner of grilled italian sausages and various fixings, we all went to bed early and got up before the sunrise. there's a 4 in the morning too?

storms had been predicted all week for sunday morning, and a line developed late saturday in eastern iowa and advanced toward chicago. forecasts called for its arrival anywhere from 9 am to noon, which might have put a damper on the ride. thankfully, the storms headed north of chicago until later in the afternoon, so we were treated to a beautiful day, if somewhat chilly during the early miles.

the caravan downtown was uneventful, but after parking and unloading the bikes, we discovered that barb's front tire was totally flat. seems that the 20-year-old tube had decided to give up the ghost sometime between the night before when i inflated it and our arrival downtown (liam, who rode with barb, reported hearing air escaping during the drive down, which made it extra cruel). so mom was out, and our merry band of warriors was down to three.

we pressed on, and it was a good ride. the city was beautiful, as usual, despite a certain name on a certain building along the river ruining an iconic view of our magnificent city. liam was unstoppable, of course, and max was a champ, devouring bagillions of chocolate chip cookies at every rest stop.

the mural at the bryn mawr underpass, muffins and cookies await at the nearby rest stop

max enjoyed watching the many sit-down bikes and trikes, and he was very happy to see that bike the drive wasn't a million bikers packed handlebar-to-handlebar for all 30 miles. we were all surprised at the dude doing the ride on roller blades, however. wish i got a picture of that.

heading south, just before the michigan ave. exit

after the northern leg, which consisted of many hills (overpasses), i was worried that max would want to call it a day and skip the southern leg (grant park to the museum of science and industry, and back again), but he was game to try. liam, of course, was anxious to press on already. that kid is a titan.

so it was a good ride at bike the drive, despite holli's absence, barb's exploded tire, impeding storms, and uncertainty at both home and abroad. not to mention how much it cost to park in the grant park garage (way too much). i'm already looking forward to next year.

get yer goat(s)

You may remember Coco, my parents' new goat, who lives happily in her pen with Lil Debbie the pot-bellied pig. Funny story: When my sister Bethany bought Coco, they thought she was a baby goat, but it turns out she is a pygmy goat ... and that she brought a little something extra when she came to live at my parents' house. That's right, Coco was with kid(s). Well, last night, Bethany texted to say that the big day had arrived, so Henry and I headed over to watch the proceedings.

Happily for Henry, most of said proceedings were over by the time we got there, as Coco had already birthed a boy and a girl. There was some suspense as to whether there would be a third kid, but that turned out not to be the case. But Henry was on hand to watch the kids take their first shaky steps and bond with their mom, all the while being sniffed with interest by Lil Debbie. So now, if you're keeping track at home, that pen contains Lil Debbie, Coco, the kids (who apparently will be named Pebbles and Bam-Bam), and three ducks. You know, a modern family.

happy last day of school!

Friends, I can hardly believe this day is upon us: The joy of the children. The dread of the work-from-home mother. The summer break. Heaven help us all.

awards day

Check it out! Henry won first prize for first grade in the Tri Kappa Spring Student Art Show! We didn't even know he was entered, so imagine my surprise when the school called to say he had won a cash prize and to ask if I was ok with them giving said cash prize to my first grader. (I was.) He was so excited! The prize was $15, which is a LOT of money for a first grader; he plans to spend it on "lots and lots of gum." Here's our Henry with his winning entry, "Shadows," and his ribbon and prize money.

And yes, yes, you should insert your "I guess artistic talent skips a generation" comment here.

pupdate

Generally speaking, Pluto is an amazingly calm and tolerant puppy. He's almost four months old now, and he's graduated from basic dog school (we might enroll him in more advanced classes later on). He follows commands really well, and he is already completely devoted to his boys.

Which is not to say that he doesn't go into wild puppy mode sometimes. I left him to his own devices outside today for a little bit too long, and he managed to get to several of Mike's plants and create a giant mess outside. Oops.

me: "Just wait until Mike gets home."

Pluto: *slinks away*

cutest

On the way home from Naperville, we stopped by my sister's place to borrow a tiller from Joe. Since Pluto was with us, he got to get a little more socialization, this time in the form of meeting Benson the steer. Is this not the cutest picture? I'm going to look at it every time life gets stressful or overwhelming.

Pluto did not get introduced to Josh and Ernie the donkeys, because they would kick him into tomorrow. (They are not dog donkeys.) However, Josh and Ernie still got some attention: Liam and Max had fun helping Bethany groom them.

happiest mother's day!

This week, when I was in Henry's class, busy helping the kids track the growth of their seeds, one kid got busted for doing something he shouldn't. Turns out he thought another kid was blocking the teacher's view of him. "Are you back there building a fort?" asked Mrs. U.

Before the kid could answer, and almost before I even knew what would come out of my mouth, I said, loud enough for the whole class to hear, "I built THREE Forts!" After about 15 seconds of silence, the first kid got it, and the next and the rest, and pretty soon everyone was sharing a moment of joyful laughter. And today, I feel just as joyful, because I built three Forts, and they are the best.

And of course, these three Forts wouldn't be possible without our own moms. We are so thankful to them both, and so glad we got to spend time with them today (and really, every time we get to spend time with them).

Happy Mother's Day!

last-minute founder

These children! They know I'm not the world's most artistic or creative mom, and yet they somehow think I can pull a rabbit out of my hat every single time. Case in point: Today after school, Max tells me that he needs to be Thomas Jefferson for a school project TOMORROW. I'm not gonna lie, panic ensued and expletives were involved.

In news that will surprise exactly nobody, after I got over my initial frustration/shock/bewilderment, like the spoiled princess I am (ha!), I called my mommy, and she saved the day. In further news that will surprise exactly nobody, she saved the day within 10 minutes and using materials she already had just laying around the house. (Side note: Her house is much more interesting than mine.) Max and I headed to Hamlet, where she used a piece of fabric to create a neckpiece (cravat? I'm not even sure, but it totally looked authentic), squeezed my growing boy into one of Loni's blazers, and crafted the perfect wig for him out of cotton batting. He tried on some riding boots of Lon's too, but she has freakishly tiny feet (which is funny since I have freakishly large ones), so we ended up going down the street and finding the perfect pair in Klaudia's closet.

So without further ado, I give you Max "Thomas Jefferson" Fort: