Cynthia, I'll be in Chicago on Thursday and thought I'd just swing in and have lunch at your son's place until I saw the second to last paragraph!
Mike the pose is good but I think Michele is right about the light. Good round forms are essential to a happy painting. I look for temperature ranges (cool to warm) natural light will give you that. Morgan Weistling is great with temperatures-see his work.
http://www.morganweistling.com/