Bye bye Kathy & Judy

For about a year now I've been listening to the Kathy & Judy show on WGN radio. They are actually the main reason I really wanted a radio in my kitchen (which I got for mother's day). They have been on together for 20 years and have a huge fan base. Heck- I listen to it as well as my mother in law and other men and women of all ages. And all sorts of backgrounds too. Priests have called in, doctors, stay at home moms, white collar, blue collar- somehow they seemed to have conversations that talked about everything.

And it was always a safe bet that every Thursdays from 10a-11a you would be laughing your head off- it was "Sex Thursday" where they talked about things only you and your closest friends ever did. Or sometimes it was a question you had but a topic no body talked about. Very funny, funny stuff.

A few friends and I have dubbed them our "radio moms" as it was mentioned that you have "conversations" with them that you would normally do w/ your own mom. And being that a few of us lost our moms- it meant something. I myself called into the show a few times and was on air talking w/ them a few times.

Well- WGN announced that today was their last show. 20 years and millions of listeners and it's over. It's how Chicago radio works- actually they are lucky that they got to do a last show- most of the time the dj's walk into work and are told to go home.

This changed has literally stunned so many of us in this city. And it has definately stunned me. I called Nancy (my mother in law) to let her know it was the last show and she turned on the radio right away. As Kathy & Judy played their final song and said the final good byes- I balled my eyes out. They meant something to me- and were a part of my every day life.

How ironic that their last day happened to be on the 7th anniversary of mom's death. At least my "radio moms" are healthy & happy and still employed by WGN (until next year). I'll listen for their voices on the radio commercials- assuming I'm still listening to that station.

I'm an official Southsider!

If I'm not mistaken- there are three requirements that need to be met in order to be considered an offical Chicago Southsider (outside of the obvious living here). First is to know where a location is based simply on the address (starting from Congress which is the middle of downtown Chicago- the streets are numbered. We live at 15220 Ridgeland- so 152 blocks south of the center of downtown). Know the distance between places based on the address (every 8 blocks is 1 mile- for the most part). And most importantly- go to a White Sox game.

The baseball battle in Chicago has been going on for years and unless you are an "outsider' the team you support (Cubs is North, Sox is South) shows where you are from. Although I will always be a Packer fan- I never had much allegience to a baseball team before. Shortly after we got married, the White Sox won the World Series- I guess that started the excitement for me.

My friend Julie got us free tickets to go to last night's game- against Minn Twins. I'm not sure if the excitment of being there was because it was a major league baseball game or because Tim & I were there w/out the kids- either way it was wonderful. They won- which helps too :)

Oh- I also think there may be a fourth requirement for former Wisconsites (in order to be a Southsider). And that is to no longer call a drinking fountain a "bubbler." That is another one I can't let go of :)

Here are some pics:

one of those "self snap shots" at the game

Bobby Jenks- the closing picture hard at work- this was very exciting to see actually- you hear so much about him and his fast pitch (close to 100mph)

During the game- right before the 7th inning stretch- we had nice neighbors in the seats next to us.

Tim outside the stadium before the game!

Me actually during the game

We conquered the zoo!

Yesterday, I did it. A big achievement if you ask me. I took both boys out to the zoo- by myself! May not seem like a big deal to most- after all isn't that what mom's do? I've handled the grocery store and play dates but a whole day at the zoo was a big step.

So many don't believe me when I say that Tommy can be a difficult baby- that is because when there are people around- especially when they are paying attention and flirting with him- he is an angel. When it is just him, Timmy & myself home- he demands that attention from me- nonstop. Tim has seen it now- and so has Nancy & Tom. At least I am no longer alone. I should probably also mention that if he (Tommy) doesn't feel the proper attention is being paid to him- he lets you know by screaming on the top of his lungs. Nothing is wrong- he doesn't need to be fed, changed or anything- just no one is paying attention to him. There are times I don't have to interact with him- he is able to play on his own. But don't dare leave the room!!

With that being said- going to the zoo was a major accomplishment. My goal is to get Tommy on a specific schedule. I was trying to figure out what "his" schedule was but after consulting my child psychology book (glad I never sold that one back to the school) I'm going w/ the "parent led schedule"- meaning I'm trying to guide him into a schedule vs. trying to figure his out. The past couple of days have proven to give me hope.

Both Timmy & Tommy had a blast at the zoo. Timmy walks around a lot more now- which makes the double stroller lighter :) We were very excited to see the lion up & awake and actually playing! We also saw the bears (inc. the three polar bears), camels and other stuff. There was a lot of kids at the zoo- end of year field trips- so it made it hard to get around much.

We actually may be going back today- do I dare!!??!! :)

The best mom's day

It was a great mother's day, even though it started off w/ Tommy waking up at 3:30am (due to not being able to breathe- I put him in his car seat so he was sitting up- he went back to sleep- whew!).... And then Timmy crawled into our bed at 5am. Tim got up for Tommy's 6:30 bottle and told me to go back to sleep. And I did- all the way until 8am! Do you have any idea when's the last time I slept until 8am is??? Funny though- how my first reaction was "oh my gosh, it's way to late- I need to get going..." After walking out and realizing all was just fine my second thought was "man- that rocked!"

Tim took us all out for breakfast and despite getting the wrong food and having a long wait- both Timmy & Tommy were angels!! We came home and hung outside and once inside I got my gift. A Sony CD/FM/AM under the cabniet player- and it has an outlet (& a holder) for my MP3 player. When Tim asked me what I wanted- my response was that I didn't want to think about what I wanted and to just get me something. He was excited for days about his idea- as well he should- it was a great one. No more grabbing the itty bitty shower radio and trying to tune in a station in the morning.

Pic of the boys- Timmy thinks it's funny to go in and play w/ Tommy in his crib. Timmy is becoming an EXCELLENT big brother. I think the threat is wearing off and he is starting to "dig" his new role.

Sox Puppets

Timmy has a book (that we read often) where the Mommy & kids make sox puppets. So Timmy has been asking for a couple of weeks to make them. We finally did it this past Saturday (w/ both kids sick we had nothing else to do!). We gave our sock puppet goofy ears by using a pipe cleaner and then Timmy wanted to add these heart antler things.

Here is a pic of Timmy playing w/ the puppet....
And I tried taking a picture of the kids when I did a little puppet show... they loved it!

Timmy is off to school????

We had the IEP meeting for Timmy and it's official- he will be going to Pre-School (thru the school district) starting Aug 26. 2 1/2 hrs a day, 5 days a week. I have some mixed emotions on this one. Part of me is on the lines of "what- school already?? He's only 3!!" It would help if it wasn't 5days a week (we don't know if it is am or pm yet). Tim doesn't start teaching until the first part of Sept so we had anticipated a longer summer vacation- not so much any more (my sister in law, Christine, has been warning me for years how school can get in the way of fun!). It just came so quick- he is only 3! I know it is going to be good for him though. Although he has come a LONG way in his speech- there is still more work to be done. (and thank God for such a wonderful system for giving him the help he needs so early!)

So that is the loving, caring, nurturing mom side of me. The conflicting emotion is somewhere on the lines of... Yahoo! 2 1/2 hrs w/ only one child! Which makes it easier to get to the gym, to shop and do other errands. It also gives me a chance to spend some one on one time w/ Tommy- something I had the blessing to do w/ Timmy before our little guy came along.

Better start living it up while I still have him around! Good thing Spring is finally here!