1883

Today, I took a field trip with The Boy's class to the Naper Settlement. Despite the fact that Grandma & Grandpa Naperville have lived in Illinois's second largest city for 20+ years (and I've been married to their son for 11 of them), I'd never been to Naper Settlement before today.

A walking history museum, Naper Settlement is sited on what is left of George Martin's expansive 1883 acreage. It's like Illinois's version of Colonial Williamsburg, but smaller and forward in time by about a century. We started the tour with the Martin Mitchell house, a circa 1883 brick-and-limestone building described to our little group as "the smart house of 1890." I learned a few interesting little tidbits in our 4-hour ramble around the grounds, including the fact that the Spanish silver dollar was once the standard monetary increment and two-bits is actually 1/8th of said coin (or 12 1/2 cents). Grandma Naperville met us there, and we had a nice visit with her as well as with the other chaperones in The Boy's class. The kids were well-behaved and seemed to have a great time.

Hoosiers

The Dad, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot and I went to visit Super Grandpa (as The Boy calls him) in Indiana this weekend. Super Grandpa is a nearly lifelong (save his Army time and a stint as a United tech at Midway in the 40s) resident of Syracuse, Indiana (winter population: about 3000). He lives on a channel just off Lake Syracuse (and Lake Wawasee), has a wood workshop in his cavernous garage, and likes to fish off his pontoon boat. He has led a very long, very interesting life (so far). So for the 3-day weekend, along with Grandma & Grandpa Naperville, we went to visit him. 

Grandpa Naperville docks a speedboat at Super Grandpa's property, so we spent much of our time going "full-speed ahead" (says The Tot) around Lake Syracuse. We also took out Big Mable and I spent several hours bumping behind the boat in the wake with (alternately) The Boy, The Girl, and The Dad. The weather was great and the water temperature was amazingly warm for Memorial Day weekend. We also got custard and ice cream at Joe's, spent one very long and uncomfortable night with all 5 of us in the hotel room, spent one night with just The Tot with his parents in the hotel room, which was kind of fun, watched The Boy fish with Grandpa Naperville, and took a sunset cruise along Lake Wawasee with Super Grandpa.

Oh, and I almost forgot: The Tot almost drowned himself in the canal on Saturday. Super Grandpa has a large lot with a large back deck, an expanse of green grass, and then a 1' wide concrete retaining wall before the channel. The Tot was drawn to that retaining wall like bees to pollen. Nothing we did or said could deter him from playing on the wall. And then he went in. Fortunately, The Dad was right there when it happened, so he leaped in after him, scraping his knee on the motor of the speedboat in the process. The Tot and The Dad were both dripping wet and screaming, but fortunately, both were fine afterward. The Tot stayed away from the retaining wall after that. The Dad's iPhone was totaled by the dip in the channel, but an iPhone, while expensive, is replaceable. Our youngest son is not.

We woke up this morning to overcast skies and arrived at Super Grandpa's house from the hotel just before it started to pour, so we waited out the worst of the storm before getting on the road. 

Santa, Baby

The Boy's homework project for this month is to write a short chapter book all about his family holiday traditions. It can be any holiday, but given The Dad's  and my own respective Roman Catholic/Episcopal upbringing, we are lapsed Christians who observe the secular Christmas.

One of our holiday traditions happened last week: the Santa breakfast at Morton Arboretum with Grandma & Grandpa Naperville. We have been doing some version of this since The Boy was two. First at Marshall Fields with his cousins and, once they aged out of the breakfast and toward symphony dress-up events, at the Morton Aboreteum. As The Girl and The Tot tot were born, they came too.

From Blogger Photos

And they put on a nice event for the breakfast at the Arb: they close the Gingko Cafe and have Mrs. Claus visit tables of kids and grandparents--some dressed to the 9s, some wering jeans and Santa sweaters--while they eat pancakes and quiche delivered by waitstaff. The highlight of the breakfast, of course, is the jolly old man himself, who arrives by walking down one of the Arb's many walking paths, dressed in attire reminiscent of Father Nature or St. Nicholas than the typical red-suited cad. He carries a giant walking stick/staff and wears a crown of leaves and branches. By the time he is seated in his oversized chair, a line has stretched the full length of the room and pancakes, sausages, and orange juice lie abandoned everywhere. It has been like this every year we've gone and 2009 was no exception.

The Boy and The Girl were quick to jump into line, but the tot had one destination on his mind: the train set up in the plant clinic across the way. He was not interested in the suited, bearded man that his memory is too short to remember from last year. And after The Boy's two- and three-year-old reactions to Santa, I'm perfectly OK with that. Truth be told, I have a hard time actively promoting the Santa myth.

So The Tot happily went to the trains with Grandpa while Grandma and I waited with The Boy and The Girl for the photo-and-tell-me-all-your-wishes opportunity. The treat bag at the end (Smencil, giant iced cookie, candy canes, mini coloring book and Christmas temporary tattoos) helped too.

From Blogger Photos

We got our free tickets to the train area and headed over to join The Tot and Grandpa. The theme this year was Hansel & Gretel, with lots of Necco Wafer-adorned roofs on the gingerbread houses lining the track. The Tot was beyond excited, but we had to exit after his excitement turned a bit possessive: he was pushing newcomers to the side, touching babies carelessly left in bucket seats, etc. He did not want to leave and took off his jacket three times before I gave up and took him out anyway.

Tot Turns Two

We celebrated The Tot's 2nd birthday today and oh my! I'm not sure that I am ready to say good-bye entirely to the babyhood stage of mothering. The Dad would argue that it's one step closer to the end of diapers. True that, but there's something irresistible about chubby babies tucked into mei-tei carriers or slings.

To celebrate, we had a little party at home for The Tot. Grandma & Grandpa Naperville came in and were joined by two families that The Tot sees most often: Allison, Becky and their respective children. It's probably not what Barbara Kingsolver had in mind with her recent book, but we ate locally: pizzas from La Villa and a wonderful chocolate carousel cake from Whole Foods Sauganash (this buttercream version was delish and comparable in price to those of Dinkel's Bakery, at $25 + $6 for the personalization on a 1/4-sheet cake). We had lemonade for the kids, beer and wine and water for the adults, and I made a simple ricotta-lemon-chive dip as an appetizer. The kids all played happily, leaving the adults to chit-chat.

The Tot wore his new "2" t-shirt from the T-Shirt Deli, which The Boy and The Girl helped me choose from the Andersonville location on our way to pick up the cake. He was in absolute heaven with the Sodor Bay Bridge that Grandma and Grandpa brought, although he first had to be distracted away from the plastic wagon of outdoor toys that Becky brought for him. The Dad and my gifts to him (Duplo Lego) are still sealed in their brown shipping box. We'll get those out on another day of this rainy week.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

Today, Santa Claus came not to our town, but to Lisle. Close enough. We met him (and Mrs. Claus, and Grandma & Grandpa Naperville) at the Morton Arboretum for breakfast. It was a nice time. The Boy ate his pancakes, The Girl didn't like hers, The Tot ate everyone's sausage and bacon. We saw Santa Claus walking up the path and got to sit on his knee (well, The Tot screamed bloody murder when Grandma held him next to Santa Claus). Mrs. Claus came over to say hello.

From Blogger Photos

After we had full tummies and had put in our requests to Santa (necklaces and rings for The Girl, a play gas station for The Boy), we went across the way to the train room, which The Tot loved. He did not want to leave when The Dad came to pick us up 15 minutes later.

Hey Look! It's the Bardoes

On Friday afternoon, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I headed over to the Bardoe family's house for pizza and playing. Everyone had fun -- even The Girl, who was bemoaning the fact that there were "no girls" (her age) with whom to play.

On Saturday evening, I agreed to babysit for the (sleeping) Bardoe children while their parents went out to dinner. I read Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd and took a nap. They also live within greater Independence Park, so I walked home in less than 10 minutes.

This morning, The Dad ran into the Bardoe family in the parking lot outside the Morton Arboretum. We aren't normally dressed at 9 a.m. on a Sunday, let alone in Lisle on a family outing, but we were meeting Grandma and Grandpa Naperville at the park for breakfast and a walking tour of the decorated scarecrows. Columbus Day afforded The Boy and The Girl a rare weekday off and they were invited to spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa Naperville's house. This is what people who don't watch football do with their autumnal Sundays!

Grandma!

Grandma Naperville came to visit today. She watched The Tot and The Girl while I had an appointment, and she stuck around to play with The Boy after school. We stopped at Smoque on the walk home and picked up some BBQ brisket to go. Yum!