Errands and other things

Oof-da! What a day! We spent nearly the whole day in Lincoln Park, although not continuously.

In the morning, The Boy and The Girl had back-to-school haircut appointments at Snippets. The Boy got a buzz, The Girl got a gorgeous bob. And The Tot watched intently. The receptionist commented that the kids were really well-behaved. As much as I'd like to believe that's good parenting, I think it's more likely because it was 9:30 a.m. and they were fresh for the day. But, I'll take whatever I can get.

Afterwards, because we were right there, we took a gander through the Treasure Store. The Boy really dislikes the Treasure Store, but after awhile, he stopped complaining and resigned himself to the inevitability of the trip. Today's finds: Charlie Rocket shorts for The Tot, a cute jean skirt for The Girl, and two purses for me.

Then we went to lunch at the hot dog factory (Vienna Beef Factory & Cafe on Fullerton, Damen, and Elston). Although The Tot and I have been a number of times, it was The Girl's and The Boy's first time. They were really excited about it. It seems to be a popular lunch spot for area workers, they don't seem to get a lot of kids in there. Everyone regarded The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot with amusement as they enthusiastically ate their hot dogs, pickles, and fries (and squabbled over whose turn it was to drink the cream soda).

We returned home to let The Tot nap. The Girl, The Boy, and I played a few rounds of Memory while he napped.

When he woke up, we headed back to Lincoln Park to visit the cardiology department of Children's Memorial Hospital so that The Tot could get some tests (ped found a murmur). It was a long visit, but The Girl and The Boy were amused by three consecutive episodes of (the forbidden in our house) Spongebob Squarepants, plus the tech brought them each of the same little toys that he brought to distract The Tot from the ultrasound microphone. We did a quick cruise around The White Elephant on the way back to the car, and then headed home.