The Zoo

On Monday we had a fantastic trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo with some friends. And get this... it was totally free. The zoo is always free and we found street parking. Woohoo! If packing continues to go well maybe we'll go again before we move.

Christmas Time Bliss

We were in Chicago for Christmas. This was not the original plan and therefore we didn't have much to open. Jason got a few law books from Amazon and Calder got his exersaucer (thanks Grandma Kate) and pajamas.

We got together with friends in the afternoon for brunch which was wonderful and delicious.

This is one of my Christmas decorations. It's pretty cool. The pieces all come apart and fit together like a puzzle. Calder didn't particularly like riding in the sleigh but his parents thought it was funny.
These are Calder's Christmas pajamas. I promise he doesn't have the world's largest bottom, but with cloth diapers it's hard to make it look small. I made the pants out of flannel. The top is from Grandma Jan.

Earthquake

This is what was going on at our house at 4:37 this morning.

Cami: "Jason... Jason... JASON!"
Jason: "What?" (as he sits up quickly)
Cami: "Why is the bed shaking"
Jason: "It's just Deebo" (as he lays back down)
Cami: "I guess I had a dream we had an earthquake"


This is what was going on at our house around 6:45 this morning.

Jason: (turning on the news) "Whoa... there really was an earthquake this morning"

I would like you all to know that Deebo doesn't sleep on the bed nor can he shake it in any way. Somehow this was an acceptable response at 4:37 because I didn't argue.

Where We Live

I'm sure Melanie won't mind and I never remember to take pictures of our street. So, since Melanie just posted pictures of the street that we both live on, I'll link you to her.  Thanks Melanie!  Oh, we don't live in the same building, but all the other pictures are applicable. 

Escape Artist

Deebo has a new, not so handy trick.  He learned how to escape from the tennis court.  It didn't help that the snow made it so the door wouldn't close all they way.  Deebo waited until Jason was on the other side of the court before running and pushing all his weight on the door forcing it open. Both boys took off running. Deebo thought it was a great game. He would run to the end of a block and turn to make sure Jason was able to see which way he was going.

Jason was huffing and puffing behind him, scared to death Deebo would get hit by a car.  Deebo has a very interesting approach to crossing the street.  If a car seems to be coming when he is ready to cross he just turns the same way as the car and runs with it until it passes him and then tries to cross the street.  If there is a car going the other way, he runs with it until he is passed.  It's a pretty smart yet terrifying approach.  

Jason and Deebo had a good 6-8 block run.  Deebo finally go distracted in an alley.  Thanks heavens for the tempting alley food.  Jason lunged at him and basically took Deebo to the ground to avoid a near miss.  Deebo is not allowed to go to the court until the snow melts which is a bit of a bummer because loves to run in the snow.  

I promise Deebo likes us.

Chicago

There are so many unique things about Chicago. Some of them really make me laugh, others are inconvenient and others are just plain rude. Here's what I'm talking about:

They say washroom instead of restroom or bathroom. I actaully have picked this up and will probably continue to use it for the rest of my life. I like the way it sounds but I'll admit when I first heard it I was so confused. I was at work and a coworker was showing me around the office. He took me to a tiny door behind the patient charts and explained that through that door is the washroom. I was thinking maybe we had some sort of laundry room at work for our lab coats and stuff.

I've mentioned this before but I think it is so weird when you get pulled over they take your license and you have to use your ticket as a license until you go to court.

The mob is called The Outfit. 

Taxes are higher on everything including tires and car leases.

Freeways have names like The Dan Ryan and The Kennedy as well as numbers. They do this only to confuse those of us who aren't from Chicago.  People from Chicago don't even know the numbers of the freeways, just the names. 

When you're driving down a narrow one way street you should feel totally validated stopping wherever you want and run an errand or two.  Oh, as long as you put on your hazard lights.  

You honk for everything.  If you see someone you know, if you want to let someone into your lane, if you are upset at something and even if you are coming out of an alley.  If you're in Chicago and aren't sure what you should be doing... Honk. 

SNOW

I'll be the first to admit that I don't like Chicago winters.  I don't really mind them until February when it's still horribly cold and windy and has been for months. But, I really like to watch snow falling.  I had a late work meeting today and didn't leave until around 6:30.  It was so nice to not have very many cars on the road and be able to watch the snow coming down.  I think it is so beautiful and clean.  Jason got some pretty good pictures of it.  If there's something I'll miss about Chicago winters it will be the snow.  

Getting Pulled Over

So, I got pulled over a few weeks ago for the silliest thing! I was talking on my cell phone. What is most rediculous is that I normally use my hands free set, but it broke and I absolutely had to call my sister to hear how her most recent date went. The cop was quite aggressive and I was close to tears. I know... totally lame. Well, in the end he said he would let me go. So, I've been pulled over four times and not left the scene with a single ticket. I feel so lucky.

I am especially afraid of getting a ticket in Chicago. They take your license and you have to use your ticket as your license until you go to court. AND YOU HAVE TO GO TO COURT. In Oregon we could just send in the money for the ticket and go on our merry way. So, here you have to take a day off to go to court. It's such a waste of money. I don't see why the city pays a judge to sit there all day to deal with traffic violations.

And yet... they still want to raise taxes. There is a tax on the number of treads on the tires you buy in Chicago, 9% sales tax with a suggestion to raise it to 11%, and an extra special tax to lease a car. I do love Chicago, but goodness there's a lot of taxes for a girl to remember.