Things like hanging all those maternity clothes on loan from friends, instead of leaving them strewn across the bed in the second bedroom. Things like asking Sweets to put his 3-4 toolboxes he had in our second bedroom back in our storage container with his other tool boxes (yes, the boy has many!). Things like finally discarding our old lighting fixtures and that awful electric fireplace. You know, things like making the second bedroom a place where you can actually see the wood floors and, I don’t know, maybe even live for a week or so.

Oh yeah and a couple other things, too. Things like going crib shopping. OMG, friends, do you understand how many crib manufacturers are out there? And how the prices vary from $150 to $1,250 (and up)? And how not every store carries every manufacturer, so you might actually have to go to many stores before seeing all the cribs you think you need to see? Do you realize how overwhelming this process might actually be?

Yes, I’m sure some of you do. Thankfully, Sweets and I are being pretty common sense about the whole thing. Kind of like wedding dress shopping (for me), we don’t need to see every crib out there. Once we find one we like that is in our price range, we’re stopping our search. No need to exhaust ourselves. So, over the weekend, we went to Buy Buy Baby, which was recommended over stores like Babies R Us and Target (want to know why? It’s all about customer service). And we’re not sorry we went. Each employee is an expert in their department (and if you’ve ever been to the other two stores, you’re lucky if you can even find an employee, let alone one who can answer questions about recalls and most popular and most complained about cribs!). We talked to one guy for about 30 minutes about cribs, picking his brain on the best and the worst of their lot. And, we actually found a crib (with accompanying furniture) that will likely work for us.

Another lesson learned? Do a little at a time. Stores like Buy Buy Baby (owned by Bed, Bath & Beyond and set up very much in the same way with departments and merchandise from floor to ceiling) can be incredibly overwhelming if you think you’re going to get everything done in one day. Sweets and I went with the intention of looking at cribs and only cribs. We bypassed all other departments, spent about an hour or so looking at cribs. And then, only after our mission was accomplished did we allow ourselves to look at play yards (which will double as a bassinet for us) and strollers (we only did a fly-by of that department, because it was entirely too overwhelming and we hadn’t yet researched what will work for us). After we left the store, we decided we need to allot a few days over the coming months to return there with very specific goals – that way, we can put together a registry on our own time without becoming overwhelmed by the process.

Oh and one other thing we did this weekend? Watch the World Cup Final soccer match, pitting the Netherlands against Spain. Neither team has ever won the World Cup championship, so this game was a big deal. My summary of the game? The Netherlands played a defensive game, throwing all their man power into blocking Spain from scoring. It was frustrating to watch the goalie and defensive players kick the ball to clear it from their side, but not kick it to anyone and often kick it out of bounds. I played that kind of soccer in high school when I was on the junior varsity team. I expect more from professional teams. Spain played a big fat pathetically dramatic game, where they’d fall to the ground and roll around in misery if the wind blew the wrong way (they must have watched lots of Duke basketball in preparation for this game, because their strategies are frustratingly similar). And finally, the reffing? Ugh. There were too many calls, preventing the teams from just playing the game. The momentum was constantly stopped short, because the referee blew his whistle far too often. Frustrating all around. That said, I was glued to my seat until the very end of the extra time. And wasn’t necessarily cheering for the winner, but wasn’t necessarily upset that they won. (No spoilers here.)

I’m pretty exhausted now that Monday is here, but there’s no rest for the weary. I have a job to do and guests to entertain. How was your weekend and the start to your week?

It’s easy for us to describe where we live. I live in a big city, she lives in a more rural locale. I lock my doors, including the deadbolt, at night. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have to. Etc. But, do you really know what that means? I’ve always been a very visual person, so I figured a photo essay would help. And guess what? Mandy signed up for one, too!

Neighborhood. The first photo is a profile shot of our building. I took it from this angle, so you could see how residential our street is. Lots of tall, mature trees and buildings similar to ours.

Green Space / Outdoor Space. About a block from our house sits a huge, 40-acre park situated between a high school and an elementary school. The park boasts a soccer field, 5 softball/baseball fields, a football stadium, 2 tennis courts, a playground and areas devoted to prairie land (where they let native plants grow the way they would have before we settled and developed the land). Not photoed here? The Chicago lakefront, which is only a couple miles from our front door!

Transportation. Living in the city, we have ample ways to get from point A to B. The photo below depicts a few options (driving and taking the train). But, there are others. Not seen in that photo? Pedestrians – it’s often easy to walk places. Bicyclists – many of our main roads have designated bike lanes to make commuting easier. Buses – where Chicago lacks in a subway system, they try to make up for in their bus system. Taxis – for those without cars or those not capable of driving (had a few too many?), there are cabs almost everywhere you turn. The beauty of living in the city is there is always an option.

Shopping. One of the things that defines Chicago neighborhoods is the shopping centers. And by shopping center, I don’t mean mall or strip mall. It’s often a street or a junction of streets where boutique shops, sometimes big-name stores, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues all converge. My neighborhood has all of the above, though it’s definitely a slightly more mature neighborhood than some of the others in this fine city. And by mature, I mean, you see more families than college students, more groups going out to dinner than stumbling out of bars and more trees than pavement. And all of it is ok, because one of the reasons I love this city is all the options it provides to those of us who call it home.

And there you have a short tour of my neighborhood. It’s nothing fancy or ritzy or anything most tourists consider a destination. But, it’s what I consider some of the best city living around. Tell me, were there any surprises about my neighborhood? Things you weren’t expecting to see?

And don’t forget to go visit Mandy’s post about her neighborhood once you leave me some comment love. =)

Nevertheless, we Americans like to celebrate, even if we’ve forgotten what it is we’re actually celebrating. And so, my extended weekend likely mirrored that of yours and yours and yours. Cookouts. And fireworks. And time spent with family and friends. Am I right? =)

Saturday, a few couples in our building had a little garden party-cookout. We brought down my old kitchen table (which is dismantled and stored under a bed) and set it up in the front yard. Our neighbors brought down their grill. And we pulled out chairs for everyone. One neighbor and I went shopping for burgers, brats, salads, chips and all the fixins. Another neighbor made a homemade apple pie. We gathered in the shade on a beautiful 80-something degree day. Let the dogs (all four of them) play together and in parallel. And just enjoyed the day.

Sunday, Sweets went off to work (he’s required to work one holiday a year, so he chose July 4th, which works well for us, because we don’t usually plan travel at this time of year). I went to the gym with my neighbor. Did about 5 loads of laundry. Unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. And made myself useful around the house. Until I took a nap after lunch. When Sweets got off work, we jumped in the car and drove to the suburbs for a cookout with a bunch of his family’s friends. I brought homemade potato salad, which actually turned out to be a duplicate to Sweets’ mother’s potato salad (thankfully, she was willing to share the potato salad spotlight and both salads were a hit!). We stayed until just before the fireworks began and then headed home. It had been a long day for Sweets and it wasn’t the end of the world to miss the actual show.

Monday was a much-needed day off for both of us. We set the alarm early, but wound up turning it off to sleep in a bit. Sweets went for a long bike ride, while I took SoMi for a long walk. We ate breakfast together and then I left for a few hours to spend with my family.  I brought a taste of my potato salad for my uncle, because I was following his recipe. Of course, his recipe has no measurements (a little of this, a dash of that), so I was nervous about what he’d think of my version. In fact, he liked it. He thought it might need a little more salt & pepper and more Hungarian paprika (his secret ingredient), but otherwise, it tasted great. Phew! Mid-afternoon, I picked up Sweets and we went on a whirlwind of errands – PetSmart for dog food, Target for paper towels (and somehow a million other things – typical!) and Jewel for some food stuffs. We came home and did nothing for the rest of the day. Rested up, because we’re all too aware that work weeks after a long weekend feel more like a 6-day work week instead of a 4-day week. Sigh.

Did any of you do anything fun or exciting or unexpected over your weekends?!

Dear Former Tenants: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for finally moving your offices. I’ve only been hearing about this move for the past year and wondering when it would finally take place. I’m not sorry to admit I’m excited to have the bathroom to myself. While the women of your office were generally clean (except that one older lady who liked to pee on seats and not wash her hands), I must admit I’m pretty darn stoked to have the secret bathroom at the back of our floor all to myself. That said, I’m kind of jealous your offices moved downtown. I think I’d still be willing to share a bathroom if our offices would move closer to where I live!

Dear Window Installers: Thanks to you, a good chunk of our garden has been ruined for the year. We counted no fewer than three beautiful plants that were trampled  beyond recognition due to your day spent in our yard. I get you had a job to do. I just wish we had known that you wouldn’t step around our plants; at least we could’ve temporarily moved them to give you the space you needed.

Dear Teenage Taggers: We’re sick of you. No, seriously, we’re sick of you. You come through our alleys, mark up our garage doors and dumpsters and think we won’t mind. Well, we do. You’re not welcome in our neighborhood. We’ve been in touch with our Alderman and the police. People down the street have installed a “Monitored by Video Surveillance” sign and will hopefully follow-up with installation of actual cameras. You’re praying on innocent people, but we’re not dead. Remember that.

Dear Tourists and Suburbanites: Go away! OK, that’s not entirely fair nor true. Let’s try this one on for size…  when you have your summer hours (i.e., no work!) and I’m still working, your insistence on coming downtown during rush hour ruins my commute. So … I’ll welcome you with open arms into the city so long as you come down for the Taste or to see the museums or whatever else you’re coming to see at either 3PM or 7PM and not between. Then, we can all get along.

Dear Body: I was patient with you through 3 months of morning sickness. I accepted that it came with the territory. But, this whole set-back into feeling queasy again? After a couple weeks of feeling great? Totally not cool. It is no longer acceptable to behave that way. Let it be known, I’m watching you.

Dear Homeless Guy: I noticed you in our park the other morning. I’ve never seen you (or any other people residing in the park) before. I know you might be a perfectly harmless guy, but letting you set up shop in our park isn’t a good idea. I’m pretty sure there are city ordinances against sleeping overnight in city parks. While I know shelters wouldn’t be your home by choice and might not accept that huge grocery cart overflowing with your valued possessions, please know it’s a more suitable place for you than our park.

Dear Police: Please note the homeless guy setting up residence under the fir trees in our park. I expect you to be as diligent about permanently removing him as you have been about removing dog owners and their unleashed, but well behaved dogs from the park. I’ll be paying close attention.

Dear FIFA Refs: I am blind. I can’t see. I wanna be a referee! Seriously. There were some astoundingly, outrageous and egregious calls made during last weekend’s World Cup soccer matches. I still don’t understand why you’re one of the last holdouts on instant replay. But, if you insist, the least you could do is install another ref in the press box to help confirm your calls, especially on the big plays. It’s only fair to all the players who put their heart and soul on the fields, let alone the millions of fans who are watching.

Phew, I’m feeling better now. How about you – any letters you’d like to write?

Anyway, this past weekend? Was one of the seemingly few fully free weekends we have until this fall. Sweets had a happy hour party thing to go to on Friday night. He skipped in. In preference of spending a little time at home with SoMi and me. We almost cleared out our DVR of shows like Friday Night Lights, Top Chef DC, The Next Food Network Star and Wipeout (Sweets howls when watching that show, which entertains me to no end).

Saturday, Sweets and I set the alarm early, so he could go on a long bike ride while I took SoMi for a long walk. We then spent a few hours not really watching after, but being on site/on call for a family member who recently had major surgery. We also watched the first half of the US-Ghana soccer game. We came home to watch the rest of the soccer match (and the unfortunate outcome for the US team). I might have napped for a couple hours. We watched the Cubs-Sox baseball game. I started to make another dress. Did laundry. Ate pizza. And passed out later than planned.

Sunday was another early morning. We met friends at a local watering hole to watch the England-Germany soccer match. Had our friends not arrived at 8:15 (45 minutes before game time), we wouldn’t have been able to sit down to watch the game. The place was packed. As the skies became more cloudy outside, the satellite went out inside. Thank goodness for smart phones. Someone yelled out that Germany had scored and a few other patrons (in a heavily English bar) yelled happily. Within 10 minutes or so, the satellite readjusted and we were all happily watching the game. Sometime later in the game, second half, with Germany already up 4-1, there was a flat out power outage. Not only did all the TVs go blank, but the already warm bar (no A/C) got downright sweaty once the ceiling fans stopped whirring. When it was clear this outage would not be reversed anytime soon, we paid our bill and went on our way.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my summer goals. I published this post before announcing my pregnancy, but if you go back to that post, you’ll see I allude to changes we want to make around the house related to the new addition. Things like organizing the second bedroom (into a nursery!) and adding more shelves to our laundry room (so we can store diapers!). After the soccer game, Sweets and I made our way to the Container Store to inquire about some shelving for the laundry room. Working with one of their consultants, we put together a plan we think will work nicely for us. It’s not cheap, but given we don’t have a mortgage payment in July (thanks to refinancing), we’ll use some of that money towards our shelving project.

The rest of the day was spent at home. Watching the Argentina-Mexico soccer match. Doing more laundry. Doing some research into daycare options (around here, some of the more popular options have wait lists of up to 2 years!). Working on the dress. You know, stuff to keep us out of the heat, humidity and threat of rain.

Our weekend wasn’t particularly exciting. But, we were productive. We did spend time with each other. And we certainly enjoyed some of the freedoms we will miss for the rest of this summer when our lives are already planned for us.

Was your weekend planned for you or were you able to be spontaneous? Any highlights you care to share?