Lots of celebrating!

This weekend was full of celebrations! I started off the weekend tipping my hat off (literally!) to one of my best friends -- Adrienne. It was her bridal shower, and what a shower it was! I don't have the pictures yet to post but imagine a Royal Wedding theme with big hats and fascinators, tea and scones and ladies lunching. We toasted our bride and watched her open presents that she will soon fill her new home with. It was such a beautiful afternoon spent with friends celebrating a beautiful woman! To give you an idea of what we looked like...

Then, later that afternoon we celebrated the return home of a dear friend who moved to Guatemala and came home for the summer.

Rick also got to break in his anniversary present -- a new grill. Our old grill was not holding up to all the demands we've been making of it lately. Rick did a great job as usual grilling up some good food for good friends.

And, then on Sunday Rick and I celebrated two years of marital bliss. (Well, okay, mostly bliss and sometimes chaos).  Thanks to Gena and her new fabulous celebrity life in LA, we received a free night at one of Chicago's posh hotels The Elysian. And, thanks to Adrienne and her sister, we were able to spend the whole afternoon and night out while Maizey played with Owen and had a sleepover with her favorite auntie.


We arrived at the hotel and Rick immediately checked out the bed. (He gave it a thumbs up!)

We then did lots of shopping on Michigan Ave. and pooped ourselves out. We came back and relaxed in our suite.

 Then, we got ready for dinner at Table 52 (Art Smith's restaurant -- he's Oprah's personal chef!) We got dressed up, and I even pulled out my wedding earrings to wear. I don't get to wear them often, but when I put them on, they remind me of the happiest day I can remember.

 We ate ourselves silly and talked about how quickly time has flown by. We recounted the events of the last two years and toasted to many more. Upon our return to the hotel, Rick continued the celebration by lighting up a cigar he'd received as a gift from a friend. We stepped out onto our very tiny balcony and enjoyed the lights of the city and cool breeze of the evening.

The hotel entrance: view from our balcony.

 I continued the celebrations by indulging in some room service. Brownie a la mode!

 And today, two years to the date that we said our vows, we woke up early (because we are Mathewses). We took our time waking up and turned on the morning news shows. Rick read his paper, and I enjoyed the company of Matt Lauer and Ann Curry.

We enjoyed some breakfast in bed, and then we were off to get started with our day.

It's hard to believe it's been two whole years. Life truly seems to be flying by, and I wish sometimes I could hit a pause button. Taking time to celebrate each other and reflect on our blessings is something we try hard to do often, though it can be a challenge in the craziness that our lives have become. And the craziness won't be winding down any time soon. We both couldn't help but think about how our lives are about to change, and how next year's anniversary will probably look quite different than the celebrations we were able to indulge in this year. Nevertheless, we can't wait to begin the adventure. (Okay, we can wait a tad longer... sleeping in was really nice!)

Happy anniversary, Rick!

Father's Day

For Rick.

Though technically, you're not a dad yet, it seems only natural to wish you a happy father's day. I get so excited thinking about you as a dad. I have so many fears and doubts about parenthood, but the minute I start to panic, I picture you with our little peanut and instantly, a smile appears on my face.

I know what an amazing dad you're going to be for so many reasons. You don't have one selfish bone in your body. The sparkle in your eye when you come home to your little family. The excitement and energy that bursts out of your pores when you're around Elliott, Reid and Izzy. The love you are not afraid of to show to everyone around you...all the time. Honestly, I'm still not sure what I did to deserve you as my partner in life, but I am so grateful and excited to share this journey with you. I can't wait to watch you fall in love with our little turkey.

Cheers to you, Daddy-to-be!

And to our own dads and grandads -- Happy, happy father's day to you. Thank you all for setting examples of what it means to be great dads. We're so lucky to have you as role models and teachers.

Happy Birthday, Izzy!

Izzy turned one this week and what a celebration we had! The whole Voticky/Friedman/Passman clan arrived in Chicago ready to party. We had a Friday night cook out at our place to kick off the weekend. No one could put Izzy down the whole night...we all just wanted to love on her non stop!

 And, Izzy was pretty happy to partake in the love fest!

On Saturday, Allie put together an over-the-top, heck-of-a-bash! It was an Izzy-fest full of food and love and tons of hugs and kisses.

 

It was such a fun weekend and we all had a blast celebrating our favorite little girl. Happy first birthday to the cutest little girl we know!

Summer Cookin'

One of the things I love most about summer (and there are too many to list!) is the energy and enthusiasm for cooking great meals that emerges from within. Something about the fresh summer produce, the smell of barbecues in the 'hood, and the sun staying out past 5 pm makes me itch to get in the kitchen.

While I generally try to cook at least three nights a week during the school year, I try my hardest to cook 5 nights a week during the summer. I have more time to plan meals and go to the grocery store. I am home and have more time to actually cook instead of spending my evenings in meetings or grading papers. Generally, it's just easier and way more fun to pretend I'm Betty Crocker from June-August.

Recently I came across this blog Gina's Skinny Recipes and have bookmarked at least twenty of her recipes. They all look so delicious and she even calculates the Weight Watchers points for those of you who are counting! Tonight, I attempted to make these and they turned out delicious. I used Vodka sauce instead of marinara because that's all I had on hand, but these will definitely make it on the Mathews rotation! Hope you find some recipes to try out this summer, too!

Oh,  and if you're looking at the time stamp on this post -- no judgment. School's not out for 4 more days, so I'm allowed to eat the early bird special until Saturday. After that, you may judge away!

Pickles and Ice Cream

It's true... the cat's out of the bag.

Our little turkey will arrive around Thanksgiving and we are oh-so thankful.

There's some suspicion among the family that Voticky women are incapable of producing male offspring. We're curious what you think, so cast your vote in the poll at the top of the page. We will find out if we are Team Pink or Team Blue on July 13!

Mother's Day

I know a lot of amazing mothers.

This one gave me my own mother, and I am oh so grateful for that. She is full of energy, love and makes the best mandel bread around!

This one raised a man who knows no limits when it comes to love and generosity. You don't teach that, you learn that by example.

This one has taught me what it means to be a modern day mom. It's still sometimes strange for me to think she's a mother, but she is such a natural and has raised an amazingly happy baby.

But this one.... This one is special. She has this magical connection with each of her daughters and somehow knows when they're in need of some wisdom Mummy-ism. She knows what shoe size to buy each of them; she knows how to make them each feel unique and special. Mostly, this mom blows all other moms out of the park. She is my number one fan and my confidante. I love her with all my heart and am so grateful today, and always, to call her my Mummy.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Kraft Dinner

If you understand the meaning of the title of this post, you just earned mega points in my book. Explanation to follow....

It's cold out today. The sun didn't shine, my flowers are starting to wilt (surprise, surprise) and it just feels kinda blah. On top of which, I have a monster headache.

But, there are Friends reruns on and I have my comfy clothes on. Because Rick won't be home tonight for dinner, I'm on my own to come up with something to comfort my soul and fill my tummy. You know when you get something stuck in your head and it's all you want to do or eat or see? Well, this is what I decided today would make me feel better... at 4:30 pm...aka dinner time at The Mathews Retirement Home:

The funny part? My mom called before I decided to open this box of old-fashioned goodness and as we were chatting I told her that I just wanted to make some tonight for dinner. She laughed and said she was currently on her way to the grocery store to pick up a box because she had a craving for it, too! Oh, the mother-daughter bond.

So, why the blog title you (Americans) might ask? Growing up in the foreign land, our good ol' blue boxes of the cheesiest looked like this:

Kraft Dinner was a staple in our house. Seriously, by the time I was in middle school and was able to cook on my own... I swore I made the best Kraft Dinner of anyone in the house. My ratio of milk and fake butter to the powdery cheese was just perfect. I believe that's where my experimentation with cooking began.

So tonight, I indulged in the memories of my childhood and melted the yucky blues away with the cheesy goodness of the blue box. And, I have to say... this may have been my best batch yet!