Shopping!

OK, so not only do I enjoy doing things with the kids in and around Chicago, I also enjoy the hunt for cute clothing for me and the kids. Today, while The Boy was in school and The Girl was at Mother's Day Out, I took The Baby, drove up I-94 and went to a townhouse in Park Ridge for the Boden trunk show sample sale. I tried on lots of things, but only bought a cute jacket for me, a t-shirt for The Baby to match a previously purchased shirt for The Boy, and a few cute things for The Girl. Ah, nothing like shopping on a rainy Monday morning!

Family Day

In honor of the Bears' byweek, we got out of the house on an outing. The Boy made a special, if odd for him, request of going to the butterfly museum. So we went. I'm not used to parking in Lincoln Park on a weekend and our Lincoln Park Zoo membership expired, so we had to scout around for parking more than usual. We did manage to score a spot on Cannon Drive, thanks to The Dad's watchful eye. It was a bit further away from the museum than I am used to walking, but we followed the path past North Pond and the playground and it was quite a lovely little walk there and back.

First up, because we were all starving, we got a snack. Unfortunately for all of us, I am not used to going to museums on weekends and the cafe was nearly emptied of all its usual delectable organic snacks. Still, we found a few things and ate them. Then we did our usual tour of the butterfly museum: the waterworks, the slide area, then upstairs to see the butterflies themselves. Although we have been members of the Notebaert for two years, The Dad had never been to the museum before. At around 1:30 p.m., we were all starving so we left.

We walked back along the path in front of North Pond. I told The Dad that one day, we will have to get reservations for the restaurant and find a babysitter to watch our brood. It seemed an idyllic spot for lunch or brunch. We didn't stop at North Pond today, but we did stop at the playground at The Boy's request, letting The Boy and The Girl ride the swings and climb on the equipment.

I dropped The Boy and The Dad downtown so that they could have lunch together and take the train home. The Girl, The Baby and I headed out to the suburbs to go to a Lia Sophia party at a cousin's house. The Baby started screaming inconsolably around the merge from the Ike onto I-88, so I pulled off into McDonald's showcase at Oakbrook. We still hadn't had lunch. The Girl had chicken nuggets, I had some chicken selects, and The Baby nursed.

We went to the Lia Sophia party in Naperville and had a good time. The Baby crawled around and pulled up on the sales consultant's bins, charming all the ladies there. The Girl looked at jewelry and then played with her second cousin. She was over-the-moon with happiness because her great-aunt and uncle gave her juice for the car ride home. We all had a good time, and then it was time to go home.

It's a Date

Today, The Boy and I had a mommy-son date. We "doubled" with our friends C. and J. The four of us went out to lunch and then to the AMC Cantera to see Jerry Seinfeld's The Bee Movie. I was disappointed in the movie. It was only 90 minutes long, but there was a very long half an hour in the middle of the film where I was thinking, "when is this going to end?" but The Boy had a good time.