Just Another Manic Monday

I got The Girl to school this morning, and took The Baby with me to run errands. First, we went to the bank, and then over to the new Disney II to register The Girl for pre-K. The Baby was very interested in the junior high kids currently there (and they, at least the girls, were pretty interested in him as well).

We had lunch at our usual pre-Treasure Store spot: the Vienna Beef Cafe and each had a hot dog and fries. Then we hit the Treasure Store, which was kind of a bust. We went back to pick The Girl and her friend from school, dropped off the friend at her house, and got on the road for the long haul to Naperville, to fetch The Boy from Grandma-and-Grandpa's house.

And that's where the problems started. I'm sure everyone knows the saying about Chicago: There are two seasons in Chicago: Winter and Construction. If there was construction along our route, The Great White Moose and I managed to find it. We got stuck in the construction along the Oakbrook toll plaza, the 3-lanes-down-to-1 problems along 22nd Street in Oakbrook, and the repaving right by the I-355 on-ramp. We also had to take a detour getting to Grandma's house when I realized that the Bailey Road bridge was out. And throughout all this, The Baby screamed bloody murder. My nerves were fried by the time we arrived at Grandma's house.

We played for about 45 minutes at Grandma-and-Grandpa's house, and then they took us to dinner at The Patio. The Girl and I each had 1/3-lb. cheeseburgers (and The Girl ate most of hers!), while The Boy had a hotdog and fries and The Baby sort of had a grilled cheese and fries. Then we got back on the road to come home. I took I-55 to the Kennedy on the way back, and it was a good choice because we made fantastic time coming home. We got back within 45 minutes. The Baby was crying again towards the end, but it was only the last 3 minutes or so of the trip.