Clean up, Clean up, Everybody Clean .... Oh, Wait

"It's not fair!" whined The Girl to me last week. I had asked her to put away the toys, clothes, books and art supplies that she and a friend had dragged--and left--out after that day's playdate. Although this plaint is commonly issued from The Girl's lips, as I helped her to put away these things, I realized: she's right.

It's not fair. But how did we get here? When The Boy, The Girl and The Tot were younger, I preferred to pick up the detritus of play myself. In our tiny Chicago foursquare, doing it myself was expeditious. But now that my children are bigger, and their toys are smaller, space efficiency is less important to me. And after three kids, the concept of "a place for everything and everything has its place" is considerably less important to me. But, I'm still working out how -- or whether -- to broach this subject with my friends and my children's friends. The subject has never really come up.

And it's an interesting question for which there is no one answer. Like common sense, the only thing common about it is the diversity of approaches. When I was a child, my parents and most of their friends were firmly in the "clean up before you go home" camp. But their attitude was not universally shared, even by neighbors or friends. To wit: as a child, I remember becoming incensed with a neighbor child who suddenly had to go home every time it came time to clean up. It seemed so patently unfair that I once physically blocked the doors until she agreed to clean up. (She didn't. My mother intervened. She wasn't allowed to come over to my house anymore. In full disclosure, she was two years older than me.) OK, so blocking her from leaving was wrong, but even as an adult, I don't understand why didn't she have to follow the rules?

Admittedly, the rules of engagement are different for my children than they were when I was a child. The only time my mother accompanied me to a playdate was when it was outside the neighborhood. While drop-off playdates are now the norm for The Tot, The Boy and The Girl, the rules for clean-up have not yet been established. Maybe now is the time to start laying the groundwork for play. House rules, if you will.

What do you think? What have you done? Do you have established rules for clean-up and playdates at your house? Do your children follow a certain protocol?

Too Good to Be Real

That's how The Girl described her Snookelfritz sweet mint ice cream. I would describe it as too rich for my milk-intolerant self (the things we do as parents...stopped drinking milk when The Tot was a babe and haven't been able to tolerate much of it since), but: if you love milk, ice cream, and fresh ingredients, I highly recommend that you try it. We found Snookelfritz and lots of other organic goodies (farm eggs! fresh cream! a giant pretzel bun! arugula!) at the April Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, where The Girl and I began our long Saturday morning Mama-The Girl playdate. (Yes, my five-year-old is weird: her idea of a good time is helping me at the grocery store, do the laundry, etc. I hope as her abilities grow, she'll start thinking that a mother's chores include going to work as well.)

Anyway, we went to the Green City Market. For some reason, I thought it was outside and found primo parking just off North Avenue. We ended up walking all the way up to the butterfly museum and back, passing tons of joggers and families of three pushing strollers. It was a long walk for me, let alone a not-quite 5-year-old with short legs. It was a beautiful day, but quite windy. We stopped at Starbucks for some iced tea on the long walk back. The side trip sparked a conversation about the origin of the name Starbuck. The Girl's theory is that it's called Starbucks because you can get drinks for a buck there. 

By the time we returned to the car, we were both pretty tired, but still had to go to Trader Joe's to do the bulk of our food shopping. A man about my father's age heard our conversation and was chuckling at the girl's reasoning for what went in my cart versus hers. I'm glad that we are so amusing, but it was actually quite refreshing to run errands with just one fairly helpful little person, in the city on a gorgeous spring day.

Queuing Up

From Blogger Photos

Yesterday, I had a completely new parenting experience: queuing up to get good seats at The Boy's and The Girl's holiday concert/show at school. The photo above shows the line stretching around the corner as we eager parents waited for 1/2 an hour or more in the 6-degree weather for a seat in the gymatorium. I don't think I've ever waited in such conditions for anything, having been blissfully unaware of the music scene until well into my college years, at which time ticket-by-phone was available. 

But: Elfis and the Sleigh Riders was well-worth the wait. My space in line gave me a seat in the third row, so I could see everyone fairly well. The Boy had a tiny speaking part, and both The Girl and The Boy sang one or more of the 5 songs in the set. It was very cute.

I took the day off of work to see the show, but I also got to have coffee with my friend Becky in the morning and take a long nap in the afternoon. The Girl was wiped from the show, so we all settled in for a long afternoon nap.

Bag Tutorial

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who have read my blog today. I'm always happy to capture an audience's attention, if only for a day (or five). A few of you asked for the link to the tutorial. Although I've found and loved and used many Sew, Mama, Sew tutorials, like this rice heat therapy bag and this pretty garland, I used this Craftster tutorial to make the bags (using this method of strap construction) in my Giveaway post. 

These are my latest projects. I'm so excited about the Oliver + S pajamas I'm making for The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot for Christmas morning. Liesl has some fun tricks for waistbands and hems that have made construction so much easier. These are the pair I've finished for The Tot, using a trains flannel print + red flannel trim:

And these are the pants I've done for The Girl, with a white snowflake dot on red background, with a funny red and white trim repurposed from an old baby blanket. I wasn't quite sure how the reds would look against each other, but I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

Flashback with a Twist

With the work-holiday, today was like a flashback to November 2008 -- plus two. After staying up way too late last night to work on my first Oliver + S project, I slept in a bit this morning. Then The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I headed out to Aurora to visit Cara and her ever-growing brood (the plus two since last year are Kenley and Tillie).

Cara and I had an an old-fashioned mom-visit, complete with tea and toys and kids running around all over the house. The Girl and Gracie, and The Boy and Johnny started back where they left off, playing Barbies and dolls, and battlefield-stars, respectively. The Tot eventually warmed up to the toys in the living room, and was quite upset when we left around 2:30 because Tillie had to go to the pediatrician's office. 

All three kids fell asleep in the car on the way home (w00t!). When we got home, The Boy and The Tot went on the L with The Dad, while I took The Girl to the Treasure Store. We picked up Aunt Sam, who is visiting from Texas this week for the holiday, along the way.  I love the Treasure Store: this cabinet (in white) for $20, plus the usual clothing deals. The Girl drove our departure from the store, but I want to go back for the mod cabinet and about half a dozen other pieces.

We had planned to go to CBA for dinner, but discovered after we parked and paid our LAX fee that it was closed for the holiday (or maybe it closes at 3 p.m.? I can't remember a time that I went there for anything other than lunch). I was quite surprised, but most of Lincoln Park-DuPaul seemed to be buttoned up for the day, actually.  With rumbling bellies, we trekked up Armitage to Halsted to see what sort of food we could procure that would be as suitable for me, Aunt Sam, and an adventurous-but-messily-attired 4-year-old

...and ended up at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba! I've been there only once before, in 2003, for a moms' night out with our playgroup. On that occasion, we waited for 20 minutes for our reservation. Tonight, we walked in and were seated immediately. Cafe Ba Ba Reeba is definitely tapas for an American (Chicago, Lincoln Park) palate, but it suited The Girl just fine. We ordered a few pintxos, potato salad, baked goat cheese with tomato sauce, artisanal cheese plate, chicken empanada, and fried green peppers. Plus mango sorbet and caramel-almond cake. The Girl is, and always has been, a fantastic dining companion, especially outside the negative influence of her brothers. She eats everything, is willing to try almost anything, and can be entertained with a pencil and paper or people-watching. We sat just opposite the main prep bar, so we had lots to see.

Disney II in the News

Along with the rest of the school and its community, the PR machine at Disney II works. Disney II was the lead in today's New York Times story about parent-led fundraising and Arne Duncan/President Obama's developing push for an extended school day. The Boy's class is pictured in the accompanying photograph.

Working Moms Circuit

As recent posts would indicate, I went back to work earlier this month. A job opportunity fell in my lap and it seemed wise to take it, especially in this economy. There are lots of things I missed about not working, especially as it became harder to execute adventures between The Boy's schedule and The Tot's nap.

Although I miss spending quantity time with my children, going back to an office after 6 years at home/working evenings is a new adventure of sorts. I'm used to running into random friends on weekdays at the treasure store, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, the park, etc. Now I run into fellow working moms, our children in tow, at odd times and places, like Target at 7:30 on a Friday night. And there's the new adventure of finding, hiring and, well, having a nanny, tossing about phrases like, "My nanny can pick The Girl up," while arranging playdates with my SAHM friends. (The Tot and The Girl like Natty a lot [I can't make myself use "The Nanny;" it's too The Nanny Diaries for me and I'm sooo not Mrs. X]. The Boy is mostly in aftercare at Disney II.

The Library

Hell hath no fury like the woman whose child's first and most recent library experience was marred by a crabby security guard. I keep trying to like the Independence branch of the CPL, I really do. But it's darn hard when I have an unpleasant encounter with a staff member (usually the same security guard) about once each year. I'd complain to the higher-ups if I knew to whom I should direct my complaint. The head librarian at Independence is about 5 years younger than the folios at the Rare Books Room; I don't think she cares.

But I just had another run-in with the security guard at Independence and I'm fed up. I stopped going to that particular branch for about 2 years after my last major encounter (in which same security guard told me that I "had" to cover my nursing baby's head with a blanket because I was nursing him in the library. My response:"No, and it's illegal for you to suggest that"), but slowly returned to my closest branch after racking up major fines in forgetting to return my books on time to Sulzer.

What was the problem today? I walked in to the library at 4:25 p.m. with three kids, a stroller, and a Razor scooter, the latter of which I planned to fold up and put into the stroller, but didn't yet do so because The Boy was so excited to enter the library and get his first library card. Security guard: "You have to leave that behind the desk." Me: "I was going to fold it up and put into the stroller." Guard: "That's OK for today, but you can't have that in here." If I folded it up and put it in the stroller before I entered the library, they'd never know it was there. Nit-picking at its finest. Next, the guard tells The Tot that he can't be around the corner from the desk; he has to be with me. Does she not work with children? How does she not know that 2-year-olds do not necessarily stay with their mothers?!? The librarian who was helping us fill out The Boy's library card application told us that the library was closing at 5 p.m., so we went around the corner to look at books.

We ran into The Girl's classmate's dad, and he tells me that the Independence branch is so much better in terms of book quality than the Austin-Irving branch. Meanwhile, The Boy and The Girl pick out books.

At 4:45 p.m., the guard comes over to tell us that the library is closing in 15 minutes and that if we want to check out books, we should do so now, and if we aren't checking out books, we should gather our things. There are two other patrons in the library, including our acquaintance. The Girl starts to freak out that she's going to be locked in the library, pulling on me and crying, despite the fact that it's now only 4:47 p.m. and we have to wait for the people in front of us to finish checking out. (She gets really anxious the end of any event -- movie, concert, flight, etc.) In the middle of this, The Boy leaves his books in The Tot's stroller seat because he doesn't want to carry them, and The Tot gets mad and tosses them out. So then the guard is chastizing him/us for that, The Girl is freaking out, and I am ready to lose it. At 4:50 p.m., we get to the checkout desk and there are no other patrons in the library. I asked the librarian calmly and nicely if she could refrain from pushing us out the door as my daughter gets very anxious about being locked in, etc. The security guard overhears me and says, rudely, "We close at 5 p.m. I do this every day." As if I was somehow calling her experience into question; I was just asking, very nicely, for a little accommodation for a scared 4-year-old girl.

The best part of this? I walked into my house at 5:04 p.m., and we live about a 6-7 block walk from the library.

Peggy Notebaert

This morning, we all (even The Dad!) piled in the Great White Moose and drove down to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. It's among my favorite spots for children aged 18 months to 8 years or so. Apparently, given the number of young families waiting in line (to get in, at coat check, for the bathroom), I am not the only parent to feel this way. Sunday mornings are an ideal time to visit the Field and the Shedd, but I suspect that many others feel that the butterfly museum is less of a (time) committment than Chicago's powerhouse sites on the museum campus.

The Boy, The Girl and The Tot were fairly cooperative in setting the day's agenda for our visit. We first went to the slide section, on to the water section, up to the butterflies, through the Amazing Amphibians special exhibit (the zip line was an immediate hit!), and down for lunch as the smell emanating from the caterers prepping for the day's private event inspired immediate hunger. After lunch, we went back briefly to the slide area, but The Tot began to rub his eyes after only about 15 minutes, so we called it a day. The Boy is starting to understand some of the science/learning aspects behind the exhibits, which is nice for me. Maybe one day soon, they'll stand still enough for me to read the placards, if not to pay attention to them themselves.

On fait le conaissance de Kenley*

* We met Kenley today!

The Girl, The Tot and I trekked up to Schaumburg this afternoon to meet Cara, Grace and Kenley at the giant blue box. In the latest installment of "How small is Chicagoland?" we ran into B., F. and G. in the lobby as we were putting our coats in the free lockers and chatted for a bit before Cara & crew arrived.

We all had lunch, dropped the girls into Smalland and did a bit of shopping. Kenley seemed to like The Tot, who tolerated K's hugs for the most part. Unlike The Boy and The Girl, The Tot has not spent a lot of time with Cara -- and he was not a fan. It's bizarre; I've never seen a child who doesn't love Cara before. But The Tot apparently had to prove a point, stubborn little bugger. The four of us managed to do all of our shopping (bookcase for her, IVAR shelf for me) while the girls were in Smalland. I bought The Tot and The Girl each an ice cream at the end of the trip, and they both fell asleep on the way home.

fish! fish! fish!

It's been too long since The Boy, The Girl, The Tot and I have had a real outing. So today, we got up and went museuming. I gave The Boy and The Girl a choice between the Field, the Shedd, MSI and the Nature Museum. They chose the aquarium. So that's where we went.

I managed to get 3 kids and myself out of the house pretty darn close to 9 a.m., so we arrived at the aquarium on a Sunday morning not long after it opened. My kids will grow up to pay full price because they can, a side-effect of having a mother who is too cheap to pay for parking when there is a cheaper/free alternate nearby. We parked at Meigs Field and walked over to the aquarium. I was a bit scared that you can no longer park there; there were about 20 Park District security vehicles in the lot. One of them stopped us on the walk over to say hello, but he said it was fine to park in that lot.

The Oceanarium is closed for renovations, so we spent most of our time in the main halls. It seemed to be Volunteer Day at the aquarium. We watched Nickel for awhile in the main tank -- The Tot was not at all cognizant of the tape line on the floor around the main tank during the presentation and was pressed up against the glass anyway. We also did a couple animal discovery centers, learning about turtles and skinks. The Tot and The Girl both touched the skink. The Boy and I were wimps and didn't want to touch it.

We also went downstairs to the Underwater Reef exhibit, which was unusually crowded as the Shedd apparently just started doing guided talks of that exhibit.

Total expenditure: $1.75 for a box of popcorn. We are members and parking was free.

Jammin with Julie, Coffee, Errands

We started the day off by seeing the drive-through teller at Midwest Bank to make both deposits personal and deposits for CFC. The Boy was not happy about sitting in the car for 20 minutes while I took care of my business, but he changed his tune when the teller enclosed three sets of lollies for the kids. Our main bank is out-of-state, but I've been so pleased with how incredibly nice the folks at Midwest Bank are, I bring them my local banking business.

The Tot and I started the new session of Jammin with Julie today. Oddly enough, The Girl chose to skip preschool, go to the full day of MDO, and come along to music class with us. With only The Boy to drop off at school, we made it to music class well in advance of its 9 a.m. start time, which is a departure from our usual method, which is to arrive 5 minutes late and try not to disrupt the flow of the class.

While The Girl is tall and looked Amazonian next to all the 1-2-year-olds, even The Tot looked big against the newest crop of babies in the class. It's weird to think of him at the older end of the age range. When I asked him if he wanted to jam with Julie, he nodded vigorously, which is amazing for a child whose standard response to any question is, "no." He listened with rapt attention, tried to touch the animal-puppets, helpfully put away the shakers, chased bubbles, and didn't want to go at the end of class. To me (and I think to Miss Julie), this means that music class is a success!

You, too, can Jam with Julie in the neighborhood (at Irving Park Lutheran Church) on Wednesdays and Fridays, now through April 22, 2009. Call Julie Helenius directly at 773-267-7607 or e-mail her at jtjujubee@aol.com. The 16-week session is $192, which represents a bit of a price break over the Old Town School's Wiggleworms classes ($240 for a 16-week session), which are similar to Julie's classes.

After music class, we schlepped over to CFC so The Girl could play with her friends, attend another music class (this time with Ms. Andrea, whose instrument of choice is a viola), and practice writing letters. Meanwhile, I spent the first hour of MDO visiting with my friends, drinking coffee, eating muffins and trying to divert The Tot from nursing.*

We ran to Target to buy a new iron and ran into a mom from The Boy's school as well as Becky and Baby G. The Tot had great fun helping me push the buttons on the elevator, pick out storage bins for The Dad, and eat Sour Airheads. Then we went home, had lunch, and he took a nap.





* It has been 20+ months and I'm still nursing this kid! I am a fan of breastfeeding and even extended breastfeeding, but this is ridiculous. Chicago is pretty pro-breastfeeding, even more than it was when The Boy was a baby, but nursing a 6-month-old in public is understandable and even cute. Nursing a gigantic toddler? Notsomuch (for me).

Moms & Tots, Playdate

The Tot and I started our Moms, Pops, & Tots Interaction class today at Independence Park. I haven't taken the class since The Boy was a baby (it is for kids aged 18-36M) and Miss Julie (now Kilbourn Park's Supervisor) was its instructor. I still see a handful of people from that class, but I was surprised to know many more moms/kids and even nannies/kids in today's class. I guess that is just one advantage to living in the same neighborhood and attending neighborhood events for the past 6+ years: recognizing or knowing many of the people in your children's activities.

Miss Teagan is the new instructor for the class and she kept the class moving with 1/2 hour of free play/socializing (The Tot liked the mini Little Tykes slide), 1/2 hour of singing/dancing and 1/2 hour of art/craft activity and snack. The Tot, who is normally quite slow to warm up to things (as Julie of Jammin' fame can attest), had so much fun that he did not want to leave to pick up The Girl from school.

But we did make it out of there and on-time to retreive The Girl from preschool. Afterwards, because we hadn't managed to see anyone from playgroup over the break, we went over to Becky's house for lunch and catching-up. The Girl and F. played rather well together, although The Girl inexplicably (to me) wanted to leave after about an hour. The Tot was extremely interested in Baby G. (9 months), which amused him a bit and scared the baby a lot. I got to drink coffee and visit with Becky. And a good time was had by all.

LEGO

Today, The Dad took The Girl and The Boy to Schaumburg's Legoland Discovery Centre. The Boy has been begging to go to Legoland since before it opened. Allison had taken her crew to visit earlier in the fall and pronounced it a nightmare for the toddler crowd, so The Tot and I stayed home to pack, nap, and rattle around the house together.

The Dad got there at 10 a.m. when it opened and reported that the place was mobbed, with an entry line that stretched around the corner. He had a coupon for discounted entry, bringing the total for the 3 of them to $34. You can also buy tickets online for about the same price (plus a $3.75 convenience fee), which I will likely do in the future if we go again, as print-at-home tickets allow you to skip most of the entry line.

Since I wasn't there, I cannot report on the best parts of the center. However, The Boy really liked the make-your-own racecar and race-them exhibit. The Girl and The Dad liked the dragon ride. The Dad also reported that there is a cafe within the center, serving yummy sandwiches (and probably other things). Total for lunch was about $20 for the three of them, which seems about par for museum things.

Late-Night Crafting

The Girl asked Santa Claus for necklaces and rings. While I suppose I could go out and buy her these items, it's much more fun to make some. I was inspired by this garland, which I had admired weeks ago from a link on Sew, Mama, Sew, but didn't have the supplies (or the patience) to create a 6' long felt garland. For some reason, however, I'm willing to make the effort for my dear child. The necklace was pretty standard, but the rings (I made two) were more of a challenge. I'm rather proud of my handiwork, such as it is. I just hope The Girl feels the same come Christmas morning.

From Blogger Photos

From Blogger Photos

The Girl Has a Crush

...on N., who is The Boy's age. And for his part, N. is happy to accept The Girl's affection/attention. N. and his sister, M., (who is also 3.5) came over this afternoon for a little playdate. The Boy was a bit of a pill, but the girls and N. all had fun playing Candyland, dressing up, building with Magna-Tiles, and watching a movie. Many giggles were heard in our house this afternoon.

It was a nice addition to our day. The Dad took The Great White Moose out to the 'burbs today, so we were completely housebound. I have not left the house since Saturday evening, and although a pajamas-and-housework day was rather nice, I am ready to go somewhere tomorrow.

What a difference a year makes

During The Girl's ballet class this morning, I spoke with Beth T. about the neighborhood, schools, and Australia. She had gone on a tour of Disney II yesterday, and reported that she saw both The Girl and The Boy happily engaged in their respective classrooms. Our conversation reminded me how stressed I was last year over applying to and visiting schools, The Boy's Options for Knowledge Test date, etc. While next year, I may very well be back in the same boat*, it's been nice to be blissfully ignorant of the flurry of activity occurring right now in rising-kindergartener households all over the city of Chicago.

Disney II is on course to be a good, sought-after school. Beth shared that the school has already received 550 applications -- and there's still a week to go before the December 19th deadline. So far, I am happy with the level of education that The Boy is receiving. His teacher, Mrs. Callaghan, is phenomenal. I'd like to see her nominated for a Golden Apple award, but I don't want the school to lose her for the year that she'd be on sabbatical as a result. He's halfway through the year and I can see that he'll be reading at the end of it.

The Girl is an enthusiastic preschooler. Her teacher, Mr. Manesis, has nothing but good things to say about her behavior and interest in the various activities offered by the Preschool for All program. She is eager to go to school each day, and was more upset about missing school last week during a bout of mycoplasma than she was about feeling crummy for 5 days straight.

As for me, I've joined the school community wholeheartedly. Although it's difficult for me to volunteer in the classroom, I've gone on a field trip with The Boy's class, volunteered at the fall book fair, and am serving on the newly formed Disney II PTA. For those reading who are looking for involvement opportunities at Disney II, there is also an Interim Advisory Committee (IAC), which is a precursor to the LSC.

* Although there is a sibling preference system in place at Disney II, it's still a lottery system when there are more siblings than there are holdback spots for them. With many of The Boy's peers' siblings set to enter kindergarten in the fall of 2010, like The Girl, there's bound to be competition and angst over available spots. In addition, I'd like to have The Girl tested for gifted/classical schools, adding another potential element to the decision.

Fevers

After The Girl's ballet class, The Boy went over to play at Enver's house while The Tot, The Girl, and I went home to get ready for a birthday party. We were all cranky. The Tot slept for 1/2 an hour and woke up crying. The Dad asked me if I thought The Tot felt feverish. I said no, but then The Dad realized that I felt feverish. The Tot kept rubbing his eye and crying; we had just missed his pediatrician's Saturday hours, so we went to Urgent Care at Children's Memorial Hospital. The Girl stayed home with The Dad.

It turns out that The Tot had only a virus and had irritated his own eye from rubbing it so much. I'd like to point out now how much I am impressed by pediatricians in general, and the pediatrician at CMH who we saw today. They have such great tricks for engaging little people, making them comfortable with the doctor, and thus being allowed to examine the child. For some reason, this amazes me.

Afterward, I cruised through Whole Foods for chicken noodle soup and dinner, and picked up The Boy on the way home. Not surprisingly, The Tot fell asleep in the car and woke up in a much better mood.

Back to School Carnival

On Tuesday, we will officially be Disney II parents. Last night was the "back to school" carnival, a somewhat chaotic, but very fun and neighborly 2-hour event in and around the new Disney II. The Dad, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I caravanned over to the school at 5 p.m. for the start of the carnival. The Dad pushed the stroller, while I pulled The Boy's filled-to-the-brim blue IKEA bag of school supplies in the wagon.

We saw The Boy's new classroom (a modified "pod" structure that uses a partition to separate two kindergarten classrooms) and met his teacher, and ran our eyes over the class list. I think I knew one person in my class on the first day of kindergarten; The Boy will know five. All summer long he has declared that he doesn't want to go to school, but either its inevitability finally dawned on him or he found the carnival super fun because this morning he told Grandma Texas that he is going to kindergarten on Tuesday. Phew!

The Dad has been volunteering with the technology coordinator in the building all week; he was impressed by how much they had gotten done renovations-wise in only 48 hours. The Girl's classroom was still under construction, so she didn't get to see it. But she did get to meet her teacher, Mr. Manesis, again and ended up playing with his 3-y/o girl on the playground.

We saw the building, dropped off supplies, ran into lots and lots of people we knew, ate food from Smoque and Chicago's Pizza & Pasta, watched the Jesse White Tumblers, and ran ourselves crazy on the playground. The Tot, The Girl, and The Boy were all exhausted by the time we left and got them all into bed.

One on One

Today was a lovely day. I started out the day by taking The Boy to his STEP UP literacy assessment at Disney 2. I chatted with some other moms, including Ms. Sandra from CFC, as we waited for our almost-Kindergarteners to be assessed. Afterwards, I extended our one-on-one time by taking The Boy to our neighborhood Starbucks for a lemonade and seasonal cookie (him) and latte and seasonal cookie (me). There was a kid with his tutor at the next table over, and The Boy was more interested in what was happening over there than in talking much to me, but it was a nice day and we were sitting outside, so it was cool to just spend easy time together. Then, Mario Greco, our old Realtor happened by. I hadn't seen him since 2002. He and his wife left Lincoln Park to build a place in Old Irving Park. It was nice to see him and catch up a bit. I feel like the fact that Mario is moving to my neighborhood is a sign that it's no longer up and coming, it is there.

We bummed around at home for a bit. The Tot got a nap. We all had lunch. And then I took The Tot, The Boy, and The Girl to run a bunch of errands, including a trip to Costco for ice cream, to Office Max for school supplies, and to Gymboree to exchange The Girl's first-day-of-school dress.

After errands, I dropped The Boy and The Tot back off at home. And The Girl and I went on a Mommy-The Girl playdate. It wasn't much -- just dinner and a bit of shopping at Target. But it was fun to go out with The Girl alone. She is very chatty, and also enjoys helping me (thank you Eloise Wilkin's We Help Mommy). Plus, when left as the director of an outing, she's much more likely to listen to what her body is telling her; at 7:30, she told me that she was ready to go home and go to bed. So we did.