The Slog After Christmas

The slog after Christmas.  Always the slog after Christmas.  

This year, some alumni from North High played an Alumni game, the first in a while.  No one fought and no one died (we did have a defibrilator and a fireman on hand, just in case).  

There were several old faces that I was glad to see!

I took the trip down to Ft. Myers as a chance to do a couple of shakedown Kayaks with Dad, which was really fun.  

We've been struggling a little on the homework and school work front.  Nico's math teacher is frustrated with him.  He does sloppy work, doesn't seem to be interested in producing good work, etc.  In one sense, I understand.  But then, I have to remember that he's quite young and he's just immature.  

Christmas In Texas- One of our Favorites!!

Christmas was a little weird this year.  We had plans to drive down to Texas to see Nicole and her family, but not till Christmas day.  Also, Christmas was on a Sunday, so we didn't really have a lot of time to enjoy the holiday in Chicago.  I worked pretty much up till Dec. 23.  I lost some of my vacation days because I was fairly focused on getting a couple of research projects done.  Plus I was working on course prep for a new course I was scheduled for during winter quarter. 

Nico had a winter show again this year.  It was by far the best one since he started there.  Lots of class singalongs.  It was my favorite.  

We ended up with a real tree again this year.  Bought it from a Wisconsin tree seller posted up at the Jewel on at Clark and Ashland.  Nico helped decorate the tree (a lot this year).  

We had the G family over for dinner on the 23rd.  The boys decorated christmas cookies.  I made croissants (pictured below).  They are a lot of work.  But the kids had a blast.  Nico and the middle boy (J) had a hard time getting along.  

One of the sweeter developments this year is Nico wanting to give gifts.  He wrapped up some old toys for the kids as gifts.  I ended up taking him to Target to buy gifts instead.  But it was sweet.  We also gave him a little money to buy gifts for us at the school bazaar.  He has really good taste.  He got me a ceramic pencil cup from Berger and some body sprays from the bazaar.  He also got Dave a hands free phone holder for the car.  

We also ended up having the talk about Santa.  I didn't do it well, because it was unexpected and I was unprepared.  I was sorta taken aback about how grown up he is.  

Reading Jolabokaflod on Christmas eve.  

Christmas was good this year.  Nico got a big nerf gun.  BJ (Kevin's friend from childhood) hooked m up with some rechargeable chinese batteries.  Nico's nerf gun leaves a bit of a mark.  Dave's parents got him a City kit, a razor scooter, a baseball bag, and some Oyo legos.  Gran and Gramps got Nico the Osmo coding set (we learned about Osmo from Dave's best friend's family at Thanksgiving).  It comes with a couple of kits-tangram and letters.  The coding set was an add on. It is the best of the three.  So much so, that I like playing with it.  :)

Dave and Nico got me a judo gi.  So excited.  I am going to be able to start my "training as a judoka for one year" life list item.  

Nico and I got Dave a new kindle.  

The trip to Texas was relatively uneventful.  We were 2.5 hours late to getting our rental car and it was gone.  So we ended up with a 15 passenger van.  It was nice to have that much room. It would have been better without all the seats though.  

Nico and the cousins got along famously.  He and Maddox would play sports outside for HOURS. 

For me, the Bain kids get more fun every time I see them.  Jo is very sweet and so clever.  She had oral surgery while we were there.  Becks is still pretty cuddly and chatty.  We had a couple of really funny conversations.  Em liked hanging out and doing arts and crafts stuff.  Maddox is funny because he seems so grown.  He and Nico bonded over dude perfect- and were just plain silly.    

On our way back to Chicago, we made a stop by Royse City.  So far, this is the second pic of Dave and Nico in front of that Royse City sign.  I hope we can keep taking them- it would be Nice to have a series of like 10-20 of those.  So, I just need Nicole and Cody to never move. :)

We took our time coming back, and stayed the night in Missouri somewhere.  We stopped off in Jeff City so Dave could check out Mizzou.  We had lunch at one of his old stomping grounds (and watched the U of L bowl game).  After, the boys dipped into a campus gear store to get Nico suited up with a long sleeve t and an Oyo Mizzou guy.  

We made it back in time for New Years Eve with the G family.  Which was awesome and fun.  I managed to NOT get schnockered this year, which was a huge win.  

Thanksgiving in Florida

Thanksgiving was really fun this year.  Morning of, we flew down to Miami super early.  We got in town just in time for Thanksgiving dinner with Dave's parents.  

It got chilly fast in Chicago, so it was really nice to be in the sun.  So much so that Dave and Nico got some swims in at the pool.  The water wasn't heated (LOL).  Nico did not mind.  Dave did, a little.  I was excited to read and relax in a chair in the sun.  

On Saturday, the boys went to do judo at a big judo place down there.  I got to see one of my good friends from grad school (Ursula) who lives with her family in Cooper City.  We got our nails done and had a blast just hanging out.  

We also spent the afternoon with a family that Mike and Gay know.  They have a pretty sweet house with a pool and 4 kids, three of whom were pretty close to Nico's age.  Of course Nico had a blast.  We also got to see Dave's best friend and their family.  They have a son who is about Nico's age.  They hit it off.

It is comforting to know that we can take Nico places and he can figure out a way to get along and even have fun with other kids.

The Cubs

We've had a bit of a breathless October.  We have been particularly interested in the Cubs this season, because they were on such a tear.  The really good thing about living in Chicago is that all the games were on TV.  Also, one thing that I never appreciated before is how long the season is.  

If your team is good, the season just keeps going.  Which is a good thing as a Cubs fan. It's not great for being a worker, or a parent or a kid having to go to school.  :)

I don't think Nico made it though any playoff game.  He pretty much went to bed every playoff game night on the couch.  It was great. 

Of course this year's costume was a baseball player.  At least, that is how I am choosing to remember it.  He also wanted to go as a candy vending machine (an idea he got from Berger Park).  I am choosing to remember that he went as Kyle Schwarber for Halloween because I was too tired and worn out, with too little patience to make him a vending machine costume.  I really hope that this is one of those things that I think is a bigger deal than it is- and not that I am dooming him to a life-time of cheap, uncreative costume ideas because of this one experience.  

He doesn't seem to grasp the rarity of them winning.  He knows intellectually that it had been 109 years.  In fact, it was funny discussing whether or not they would go to the parade (I had to work and he was off of school).  His attitude was very much, "Let's just go next year when they win it." Which is a very funny thing to think, for any Cubs fans. 

I am loving that he looks up to them as players so much.  They all seem like good guys- none appear to be primadonna jerks.  They seem to work hard and really enjoy playing the game.  It's nice not having to think about what kind of message it sends that my kid idolizes a player who might be a jerk or who has a rough history with the law. 

Some things I think Nico might want to remember:

Belated Birthday at the Lake

So, Dave and I are probably bad parents.  We ended up having Nico's birthday 6 weeks after his actual birthday.  Meh. It is just that the summer got away from us.  Big time.  

So a couple of weeks ago, we had a birthday picnic at the lake. It was fantastic.  We got several of his favorites together at the lake. As you can tell, he had a blast.  

It was a fun group.  The day was perfect, the edge of summer starting to dull a bit.  We had burgers and brats and cake.  The kids split their time between being in the water and on the beach and playing sport.  Really, a lot of fun!

Fall sports are going again.

We have started a new session of judo. October 15-16, there is a big tournament at the Cohen brothers, which Nico is pretty excited about.  It's funny, but when he cut his leg earlier in the summer, he was considering all the different judo throws that he might or might not be able to do, given the stitches that he was going to have in his leg.  It ended up not mattering- the ER doctor said he didn't have any limitations on physical activity.  But, it was funny to me, because it shows how much the kid is learning about the sport.  

We also started soccer earlier this month.  It is pretty fantastic- because his best good friends from our old neighborhood are on the team.  Their dad (Dave G) is an assistant coach with Dave R.  So, it is pretty fun.  I am helping out by refereeing.  Like I get it, I understand that it is AYSO- so its volunteer run.  Which means that the referees are volunteers.  Its great because there is a lot less pressure than when you're refereeing games that you are getting paid for.  But still- it seems like the majority of the work done in AYSO is done by a minority of people who are involved.  

The End of Summer

The summer was disorienting, because it went by, both really fast and really slow.  Slow in the sense that childcare for Nico once summer camp was over was kind of a beat down.  And our house is so small... it was tricky with Dave trying to work from the house.  And if I worked from home to help out, it just felt like we were all on top of each other. 

Nico had a riot with sports though.  Swimming really clicked for him over the summer.  And he ended up *really* liking baseball.  I think we just need to accept the fact that he is going to have to be a two-sport athlete all the time now.  It looks like the fall is for soccer and judo, the winter is for either basketball or hockey and judo.  The spring is for soccer and judo again (or baseball?).  And the summer is for baseball and judo.  I guess.  I don't know.  I used to think I needed a personal assistant to manage my life.  Turns out, I need a personal assistant to keep up with Nico's sport schedules.

Overall a good summer.  They managed to get down to Louisville to see Mike and Gay and Tony and Kathy.  They did a little birthday party down there.  We decided to wait on Nico's birthday party in Chicago because there were so many of his friends out of town, traveling and such.  So, we are going to have a little birthday party at the lake this weekend.  I think he is going to have fun.  

*Interestingly* we are in a fantasy football league.  I say *interestingly* because, if you know how I feel about the NFL, you would say it's odd.  But the league is run by a guy I went to grad school with.  He and his wife and his best friends are really fun people and I really just wanted a chance to hang out with them more.  A by-product of this though, is that Nico is all about it.  He is really into it.  He loves helping me set the roster and thinking and talking about trades.  It is really adorable.  

So far the transition to 2nd grade has been very easy.  Nico has been a jem- he seems to be growing like a weed in front of my eyes.  He lost several teeth this summer.  And seems to be maturing a bit.  Still a sass-mouth, smartypants.  

Little Nicky Blue Eyes

I took these pics of Nico this summer and am really proud of them.  I wanted to keep them on the blog, so here is just a post of pics of my very adorable kid.  

Second Grade

This guy started second grade.  Can't believe that I am old enough to have a second grader.  He is in class again with Archie and Alex.  Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better set of friends.  Alex is Japanese-American and is into sport, about as much as Nico is (hockey is his big sport).  Archie is a huge sports fan- including Manchester City.  The three of them play after school pretty much every day.

Boy of Summer

How about if I don't do the thing I normally do, which is shamefully acknowledge how I have neglected the blog. How awful I am as a mother.  Yada yada yada.  I been busy, y'all.  

The thing is, that I was looking forward to the summer being a slow down from the spring.  It hasn't really been much of a slow down.  Work started pretty hectic, but it has "slowed" down a bit.  I say "slowed" and I mean just the "required" stuff at work.  I have so much that I am working on aside from the things I have to do.  

I am trying to learn R (a computer language and statistical package).  Plus I have several projects I am trying to wrap up.  I have a presentation later this month and next month (in Paris) that need attention.  And the sociology department asked me to teach a class in the Fall- maybe two.  I am trying not to be overwhelmed about everything, which is doable, as long as I don't think too long about all the things I am not doing well.  

We started Nico in Cubs Care baseball this year.  He really likes it.  He is the oldest kid in the class- he is almost 7 and the rest of the kids are either 5 or just turned 6.  So, he is head and shoulders above the class in terms of listening, coach ability, and athletic skills.  His coach seems to really like him- and has set him up with other baseball opportunities.  

He is so tan and so blonde right now.  At camp, he spends hours on hours on hours outside- playing sport, swimming, hanging out.  It is quite remarkable.  Most days at camp, he swims for at least an hour.  Plus, we have him in swimming lessons on Thursdays.  Speaking of which, he is finally turning into a fish.  He has always been a bit apprehensive in the water, but lately, he's going under water and overall much more comfortable.  In fact, Dave even has video of Nico asking his swimming teacher to throw him in the water.  

We started the summer pretty strong in terms of reading, but somewhere along the like, we've dropped off a bit, which is a shame.  

He and Dave are going down to Louisville next weekend.  Mike and Gay are coming up, and wanted to see Nico and Dave.  The plan is to stay with Cathy and Tony, and maybe even get a judo workout in.   Everyone is looking forward to it.  I wish I could make it, but next week is going to be a bit crazy with the camp schedule and I am going to need to get out in front of it.  I never get to have any fun!!

3rd Tooth Gone!!

Nico lost his third tooth yesterday.  HIS THIRD!!

It has been getting pretty loose.  Then yesterday after school he got kicked in the mouth (on accident) by a friend.  And it came out!!!

The tooth fairy came last night, and left the boy $5!!

2nd place judo

Nico's second judo tournament went pretty well.  He got thrown in his first match, but recovered pretty well.  In the second match, he got thrown and the referee called it an ippon, but was overruled by the other judges.  Nico jumped on the chance and pinned the kid.

Dave has been working with him on his osoto gari.  In the first tournament, he would go in trying to throw it, way off balance and got countered pretty easily.  Well it worked, because in the next three matches, he quickly threw it and got ippons.

I was so proud!  He ended up taking second in the tournament, in his weight class.  There were a bunch of kids there, including some from the Cohen brothers. It was a lot of fun to watch!

I think it ended up being a great experience for Nico.  Dave and I were both a little worried that if Nico had a bad tournament, that he might not want to keep going in judo- only because it is kind of hard to keep going when you're not sure you're improving.

In any case, judo is done for now.  We will start back up again in the fall.  Maybe even try to sneak into a few camps this summer.

Spring

So much big news this spring!  We should probably start with Nico's first Judo tournament- the last Saturday of April.  He did pretty well- he fought against a couple kids who have been doing judo for much longer than he has.  He went 0-4 in the tournament, but managed a couple of really good throws. We agree that one of the main things that we he needs to work on is to not be overly committed to and off balance for a throw.  Most of the times he was thrown came about when he was off-balance trying to do something.

He had a really good time and paid attention for pretty much the whole day.  He was a champ- he didn't seem to be bothered too much when he got thrown.  

We also have been in the process of moving.  We decided in January to start looking for a new place, since our last landlord was raising the rent at the old place.  Given that there there was a lot we didn't like about the place (how far from public transit, lack of a dishwasher, overall junky appearance), it wasn't a hard decision to make.  Also, with only one dog, the backyard calculation changed a bit.  

We had been kind of discouraged about places in Chicago- it seemed near impossible to find anything in a safe neighborhood on the north side- we were thinking that we might have to move out to the burbs (and take Nico out of his school) or do something else we didn't want to do.  Dave (yeah, I am throwing him under the bus), because he reads DNAinfo every day, had heard about Rogers Park being real sketchy.  It is one of the few "pockets" on the north side of Chicago where there is some violence.  So, we (read: Dave hadn't really ever considered it).  

But then we started looking at places (in earnest) and ended up driving through Rogers Park.  It is really near Loyola- near the lake.  And Dave was like, this neighborhood is kinda cool.  Because some parts of Rogers Park (further west) are kinda of a shit hole- rents are fairly low here.  But there are several stops on the red line, which stops next to my office.  So, we focused our search here. 

We ended up finding a place in a building that has mixed use units.  That is, the first floor has a pet salon, a massage therapy place, and a theater.  The second and third floors are residential.  The back side has decks and wooden stairs and walkways.  There is also a little courtyard which is nice.  There is a place for grilling (if we did that) and a place to sit outside.  The back deck is big enough to maybe have some plants and such- and I am going to be putting my deck planters up soon.  

The residential spaces used to be a doctors office or dentists office.  So the layout in the common areas is fairly open.  The unit is three bedrooms and two baths.  Hardwood and tile throughout.  One of the bedrooms  is *much* smaller than the others- but that is where we've stuck JJ- its a little hidey hole.  The other two bedrooms are pretty big.  It's on the third floor- so we almost always have a nice breeze going.  Its all new- so the AC works like a boss- which is something I have never experienced.  It also has a dishwasher.  A dishwasher. 

Very happy with it.  Pictures to come!!

The Nico Sport Life

Nico's reading is really taking off.  He will read just about any book about sports.  Double bonus if you're talking Chicago sports.  In fact, this past weekend, he and Dave were playing "All Star Team of All Time-Cubs edition" which is where you name who you would have on a team, if time wasn't an issue.  Nico drafted obscure historic era catchers and short stops- guys he learned about in books.  

It was pretty great.

  

He really would do all of the sports, if we let him.  We're tying to keep it to 1 sport at a time, but sometimes we get a little overlap.  For example, he was in a hockey skating session while also playing basketball.  We're also in the middle of another hockey skating session- which will overlap with the return of spring soccer by a couple of weeks.  

We've also been on a mission to find a new judo club.  The problem with the club that Dave has been working out at (in Evanston) is that the practices are so late (starts at 730).  This means that if Nico is going to attend, he's not going to bed until almost 10pm, which is no bueno.  So, Dave has been looking around.  He found a club that practices in the late afternoon/early evening- so Nico has tried it out a few times.  Really likes it.  So that is his club now.  He is set to do a club tournament next week.  In conjunction with it, he has a Throw-A-Thon happening- where he is trying to get pledges for every throw he does in 2 minutes.  Maybe some grandparents want to kick in some money for such a worthy cause?:)