Summer reading, gladiator-style

The Aurora Public Library, like many libraries, has a summer reading program for kids. You know how this goes, right?  Kids read a certain number of books (or in the case of non-readers, kids are read to for a certain number of hours) and they receive a prize when they meet the reading requirement. 

Last year, I signed the Little Guy up for this and we had a good time.  Prizes included pencils, bookmarks and coupons for free dinner items at local restaurants.  It was nice.   

This year, I learned that the APL also has a summer reading program for adults.  Adults have to read six books for an entry into a Grand Prize drawing, and there's something in there about receiving a free book.  Each person can enter the Grand Prize drawing up to four times.  

Now, I don't know what the Grand Prize is nor do I care. I do know that the adult summer reading program gives me the chance to read (which I like to do anyways) on a competitive level.  Competitive reading...isn't that awesome?

Finally, a sport at which I can excel.

The contest, er...reading program, started on June 4 so I am a little behind.  Here's my first stack:

First up is Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened.  Jenny Lawson is The Bloggess, and if you don't read her blog I suggest you start immediately. 

The Aurora Public Library is having a book discussion for The Zookeeper's Wife in mid-July.  I am thinking of going not to discuss the book, but to check out my competition. I'm hoping to intimidate my fellow reading gladiators by convincing them that not only am I a better/faster/more awesome reader, but that I will win this competition OR ELSE.  My intimidation plan so far includes bringing a huge stack of books to the discussion group, opening them all and reading a bit from each before switching over to another.  I will occasionally, randomly and dramatically slam one shut and scream at my competitors "Another book bites the dust. IN YOUR FACE!"

That sounds intimidating, right? I just don't want to be too over the top and scare someone out of the competition.  When I win, I want my victory to be over thousands of fellow area readers, not just a few people who didn't attend the discussion that day and weren't able to witness my gladiator-level reading skills. Please let me know if this intimidation plan seems like too much.

Candy Construction, while on my reading list, will not be used in my intimidation plan.  Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to be screaming "IN YOUR FACE" and then someone would be all "But you're reading about candy construction!?" 

How can I intimidate competitors with a book featuring edible crafts including this totally adorable rice krispie treat pirate ship (which is perfect for the Little Guy's 5th birthday, by the way)?  The answer: I can't.  And that's why Candy Construction will be read in the privacy of my own home.

So that's my Phase One reading for the Adult Reading Program: Literate Gladiator competition.  Though I have yet to log a book, I feel really confident in my ability to kick ass in this contest. Wish me luck, dear readers!

Unless you are a competitor, in which case....IN YOUR FACE!

Have a book suggestion for me?  I'd love to know what's on your summer reading list! Let me know in the comments.  Happy reading!

We Grow Dreams

Last year I heard (can't remember how) about a great greenhouse/nursery in the Western Suburbs whose mission was to give folks with developmental disabilities training and work experience while providing high-quality plants and seedlings to the public.  I was intrigued, but never had the time to go.  Finally, this spring I made it there.

We Grow Dreams is a great source for beautiful flowers and vegetable seedlings.  I took the kids on Mother's Day, and purchased some eggplant, summer squash and winter squash seedlings for the vegetable garden.

We had a great time wandering in and out of the greenhouses admiring all the plants. 

In an unrelated note: thanks for the Thing 2 shirt, Shannon!

The good folks at We Grow Dreams have an extensive aquaponic vegetable garden. 

Of course, while I was marveling at the entire system, Little Guy and Little Miss were fascinated with the fish...

...which the folks at WGD were kind enough to let them feed.  It made their day!

If you are in the western suburbs, be sure to check out We Grow Dreams in West Chicago.  Happy shopping!

***Disclaimer: We Grow Dreams has no idea who I am. But I was VERY impressed with their seedlings, and their mission, and I just had to share this organization with you!

Summer fun

Okay, it's still spring, but the free and fun family activities have already begun.  A few weeks ago, I took the kids to the Kane County Farm Bureau's Touch-A-Tractor event. Little Guy and Little Miss had a ton of fun (maybe too much fun--there were temper tantrums as we were leaving) and I was happy to have a free, family-friendly activity to share with the kids.

In the coming weeks, I'll be searching the web and newspapers for more fun, free family events to fill up our summer months.  As I found last summer, there is plenty to see and do around here. 

For tips on how to find free or low-cost events in your community, read this post on Living Well and Spending Less in the Summer.  Happy planning!

Honey honey

Did you know that September is National Honey Month?  I'm a big fan of honey, buying local and bees, so this is right up my alley. Honey is my preferred topping for toast, and since I'm also a big fan of toast, I go through a lot of honey.

This summer I was able to get my hands on several kinds of local honey.  I purchased this honey, from Lorence's Honey Bee Haven of Aurora, at Soup to Nuts in Geneva.  I'm almost to the end of the one pound jar, and believe it or not, I plowed through that in less than two months. THAT'S HOW MUCH I LOVE HONEY.

Next up is honey from the Cook-DuPage Beekeeping Association. This is a recent purchase so it's not open yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

Finally, I have a jar and bottle from my favorite beekeeper Dr. Ed Bell of Belfry Bees Honey. I purchased both at the West Galena farmers market here in Aurora.  Note to self: stop by there tomorrow and pick up some more!

This 2.5 pounds of honey is enough to last me through February, I hope.  And the great thing about honey is that it never goes bad, so stocking up can really pay off.  Since the Big Guy won't let me have a beehive, I consider myself very fortunate to have so many suppliers of local honey in the area. 

Celebrate National Honey Month by trying honey on toast or using it to sweeten up your favorite recipes. Find a local honey supplier here.  Happy honey-ing!

The Stink Tree and Fanta

Here in lovely Aurora, spring is here and the trees are in bloom.  Some tree blossoms smell terrific, and some smell downright foul. Sadly, I don't know the names of any of these trees, so for identification purposes, I'll name them myself.  If you know what these are, please clue me in.

This tree is next door.  I'll call it "Neighbor Tree."  It smells just fine.

This tree is all over the neighborhood. Let's call it "Stink Tree."  Why?  Because it stinks.  It really, really stinks.  What is this thing?

This tree smells good, and it's pretty.  I'll call it "Short Pretty Purple Tree."  I wouldn't mind having one of these in my yard. 

Finally, we have my favorite neighborhood tree.  I'm calling it "Fanta" because it smells exactly like grape Fanta.  And whenever I smell it, I want one...the tree and the Fanta. 

Next spring, I might go on a stealth mission to replace all the Stink Trees in the subdivision with Fanta trees.  People might be mad at first, but they'll thank me when the neighborhood smells better and property values rise, I'm just sure of it.

Fall fun

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to try to get out and enjoy fun fall activities as much as possible before cold weather drove me indoors.  Amazingly, between housework, exhaustion and mandatory events, I accomplished this goal.

Here's what I've been up to...

For my birthday, my family and I trooped out to Buckley Homestead in Lowell, Indiana to see a recreation of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  We had a great time!

At the Yorkville Labor Day Fest, I enjoyed my very first deep-fried Twinkie. YUM!

At the Aurora Fall Fest, we checked out a petting zoo (among other things) at Phillips Park. The Little Guy really enjoyed this.  I tried to sneak out a rabbit in my big green purse, but the Big Guy was on to me.  He has a strict "1 animal only" house rule.  Drats!

For the Little Guy's birthday, we took a bunch of family over to Blackberry Farm.  I had a blast on the carousel.  Okay, truthfully, as you can see by my facial expression, I was really dizzy and trying to make the best of it.  Those kids just don't get tired of going around and around, do they?  The Little Guy and his cousin must've ridden on the carousel a dozen times.  Crazy kids!

Most recently, the TMI household headed out to the Red Oak Nature Center for some hiking and cave exploration.  No dizziness involved here.

It was great to get that bunch of fall fun in before the weather got too cold.  These memories will help me make it through the cold months ahead.  Or at least until I can get my hands on another deep-fried Twinkie. 

Blackberry Farm

Recently, the TMI household packed up some cold drinks, some snacks and a well-stocked diaper bag and headed out for a fun day trip. We drove all of 10 minutes (we took the long way) to Blackberry Farm.

Blackberry Farm is a fun local attraction owned and operated by our park district. It's over fifty acres of park land with a recreated pioneer village, a log cabin and family home circa 1850, plenty of picnic space and fishing lakes. We went on the Great Train weekend to see a bunch of model trains set up by area enthusiasts.


The Little Guy is a train enthusiast. He was quite enthralled.

Blackberry Farm's many attractions include a bunch of barnyard animals, including goats and bunnies.

They have a wide variety of birds, including hens, roosters, pheasants, ducks and geese. The Little Guy enjoyed seeing all the wildlife.

They have pony rides in the cooler summer months, and a carousel. Funny story: the Little Guy was all serious on the carousel. Would not crack one smile. We figured he wasn't enjoying it, but of course he threw a tantrum when we pulled him off. I guess he liked the carousel after all!

Kids. They sure are strange sometimes. Blackberry Farm is a neat local attraction, and we'll be headed back in October for Pumpkin Weekends. Happy travels!

Phillips Park Zoo

We've only lived here a few months, but already I am really liking the City of Aurora. There's just so many family attractions to explore. Today, my family came into town and we headed to Phillips Park Zoo.

(Some of the pictures are hard to see because of my view through the chain link fence surrounding the exhibits. In person, it is a much better view!)

The peacocks put on a dazzling display. Sidenote: peacocks are very loud birds.

The herd of elk was enjoying the sunshine.

We saw a mountain lion (look at the top of the building above the green line) and river otters. Not in the same enclosure, of course.

They have a pair of bald eagles who share an enclosure with a turkey vulture.



The reptile house (no pictures, sorry!) was really neat. They had turtles, snakes, iguanas, alligators and a macaw. The kids really enjoyed it.


My niece Sunshine and Little Guy enjoyed the exhibits. In addition to the zoo, there is a large playground on the premises. When the weather is warmer, we'll head over for a picnic lunch and an afternoon on the playground equipment.

TMI wholeheartedly recommends taking your family to the Phillips Park Zoo. Admission is free (please leave a donation!) and aside from major holidays, the zoo is open year-round. Enjoy!