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.
Showing posts with label green city market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green city market. Show all posts
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Fucking Fours
Yes, I just used profanity on a blog that is primarily about my children. The Girl is four and she is a hellion in a dress. My mother calls her age/stage the fearsome fours, but my old neighbor, Debra, referred to them as the fucking fours. I think Debra's description is more apt for The Boy's four-year-old behavior and certainly describes The Girl's behavior of late.
We were supposed to have a nice outing with our friend Jenna and her kids, going to the Green City Market for organic goodies and then strolling down to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to eat our lunch and explore the museum. But, as I should know by now, things often do not go according to plan.
And today I was that mom -- the one screaming and sprinting down the sidewalk, totally out of control. I was the mom that other moms look at and sigh with relief that they are not, and their children are not mine.
I lost The Girl. Or more accurately, she ran away from me. And not just ran, she sprinted the full length of sidewalk from the south end of the Farm-in-the-Zoo to the U-shaped drive at the Cafe Brauer. The Tot and The Boy were walking, so we were paced much slower than she was. As I came around the curve along the farm fence with the boys, I called to her to stop. She turned, looked at me, and then ran along.
By the time I came to that curve, I could no longer see her -- the path was crowded with kids-on-strings, strollers, and other groups coming south along the east side of Stockton Drive. I sent The Boy to run up to her, but when I came to the entrance of the Zoo farm and still saw him running, I really began to worry. By then, I had The Tot in the stroller and sprinted down the sidewalk. A man with a kids-on-string group asked me if the boy in the red jacket was mine. I said yes, but I was more concerned about the girl in the green sweatshirt. He dropped his backpack and sprinted north. He was running, I was running, The Boy was running, I was doing the mom-panic shriek and I could hear moms pushing strollers in the opposite direction ask what was wrong as I ran past them.
Finally, The Girl had stopped near the entrance to Cafe Brauer. I grabbed her, and yes, dear readers, I spanked her.* Then I took her wrist and we rejoined Jenna & her kids. We said sorry and good-bye, and The Girl screamed all the way back to the car: she could not walk, her feet hurt, she was tired, etc. Later, when we were sitting in traffic on Fullerton, I explained why I was upset with her, to which she replied that she "couldn't hear" me and she just wanted to go to the nature museum.
* Despite using it twice in the past 7 days, I don't consider spanking to be part of my parenting toolkit. Given how often we go on outings, I didn't think it was necessary to remind The Girl to stay close to me. Clearly, I was wrong about that. What corrective action would you have taken if your child ran 2 blocks away from you?
We were supposed to have a nice outing with our friend Jenna and her kids, going to the Green City Market for organic goodies and then strolling down to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to eat our lunch and explore the museum. But, as I should know by now, things often do not go according to plan.
And today I was that mom -- the one screaming and sprinting down the sidewalk, totally out of control. I was the mom that other moms look at and sigh with relief that they are not, and their children are not mine.
I lost The Girl. Or more accurately, she ran away from me. And not just ran, she sprinted the full length of sidewalk from the south end of the Farm-in-the-Zoo to the U-shaped drive at the Cafe Brauer. The Tot and The Boy were walking, so we were paced much slower than she was. As I came around the curve along the farm fence with the boys, I called to her to stop. She turned, looked at me, and then ran along.
By the time I came to that curve, I could no longer see her -- the path was crowded with kids-on-strings, strollers, and other groups coming south along the east side of Stockton Drive. I sent The Boy to run up to her, but when I came to the entrance of the Zoo farm and still saw him running, I really began to worry. By then, I had The Tot in the stroller and sprinted down the sidewalk. A man with a kids-on-string group asked me if the boy in the red jacket was mine. I said yes, but I was more concerned about the girl in the green sweatshirt. He dropped his backpack and sprinted north. He was running, I was running, The Boy was running, I was doing the mom-panic shriek and I could hear moms pushing strollers in the opposite direction ask what was wrong as I ran past them.
Finally, The Girl had stopped near the entrance to Cafe Brauer. I grabbed her, and yes, dear readers, I spanked her.* Then I took her wrist and we rejoined Jenna & her kids. We said sorry and good-bye, and The Girl screamed all the way back to the car: she could not walk, her feet hurt, she was tired, etc. Later, when we were sitting in traffic on Fullerton, I explained why I was upset with her, to which she replied that she "couldn't hear" me and she just wanted to go to the nature museum.
* Despite using it twice in the past 7 days, I don't consider spanking to be part of my parenting toolkit. Given how often we go on outings, I didn't think it was necessary to remind The Girl to stay close to me. Clearly, I was wrong about that. What corrective action would you have taken if your child ran 2 blocks away from you?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Organic Goodies in a Tiny Spot
I have been horrible about updating this of late. It's a good thing that my readers are like me as a blog reader: sporadic.
Last Saturday at 8 a.m., I happened to look at my planner and realized that it was one of the Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum days. The Girl and I had been talking about going to one of the indoor markets, so I managed to pack everyone up and drive us over to the museum for the market. Despite the gray, dreary, rainy day, Lincoln Park was packed. I managed to find a parking spot on Cannon Drive that wasn't too far from the entrance to the museum, but also managed to forget my produce-and-goodie-schlepping bags in The Great White Moose.
We arrived at the museum entrance, took the elevator (The Girl doesn't like the main open stairway) up to the second floor, and walked into a wall of people in the South Gallery. Unfortunately for me (and The Girl and The Tot), they were a people unaccustomed or unaware of the presence of wee ones; The Tot was quite the tripping hazard. Not much grows in the Midwest for harvest and sale in early March, so the market was a lot of potatoes and canned/prepared foods. Not that any one of our party minded! I managed to spend $30 in cash in just under 1/2 an hour -- on crepes, baked goods from Bennison's Bakery, fresh soft caramels from Floriole Bakery, Honeycrisp Apples from Hillside Orchards (I think), a plate-licking pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Co., and a $1 donation to the market itself in exchange for a cup of coffee from Blue Marble Creamery (too bad no one in my house really drinks milk). We went downstairs to eat our pastry/drink my coffee. On the way out, The Girl and The Tot joined the market's Sprouts for Kids program by trying some sprouts from a shallot plant. The Boy, who of course is the one most reticent about trying new things, did not want to participate.
It was pouring down with the rain as we were leaving the market/museum. Although The Tot and The Girl had jackets with hoods, The Boy and I were bare-headed. I had bought an umbrella at the gift shop, but it was raining too hard for us all to share it. Rather than have us all get wet (and listen to misery all the way home), I asked The Boy and The Girl to wait in the myseym entrance vestibule while I got the car. There was a Green City Market volunteer standing there and she kept an extra eye on them as well, for which I was extra thankful.
On the way home, we stopped at the 1730 Outlet on Wrightwood, which I had passed a few times previously. I was looking for stools, although I did not find any that suited my needs. If I needed modern furniture in the C&B style, this is the first place I'd look. We took a quick cruise through the Tag decor outlet, but though the prices were good and The Boy and The Girl were begging, the decorative pieces contained therein would be destroyed within 90 seconds of entering my home.
Also on the way home, we stopped at Costco. Yes, on a Saturday. Normally, I avoid that sliver of land between Clybourn and Ashland Avenues like the plague on weekends, but it wasn't too awful. Although we had to park in a remote corner of the lot, we managed to arrive at the warehouse during a break in the crowds. The Tot never wants to go in the cart anymore, so my job was made harder by tracking 3 kids in a store crowded with carts that could easily crush a small child, but we managed to make it through within a reasonable timeframe, forgetting only one item on our list. I discovered that you can pay for cafe items at the main check out lanes, so we had lunch at Costco as well. You just can't beat feeding a family of 5 for under $9.
Last Saturday at 8 a.m., I happened to look at my planner and realized that it was one of the Green City Market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum days. The Girl and I had been talking about going to one of the indoor markets, so I managed to pack everyone up and drive us over to the museum for the market. Despite the gray, dreary, rainy day, Lincoln Park was packed. I managed to find a parking spot on Cannon Drive that wasn't too far from the entrance to the museum, but also managed to forget my produce-and-goodie-schlepping bags in The Great White Moose.
We arrived at the museum entrance, took the elevator (The Girl doesn't like the main open stairway) up to the second floor, and walked into a wall of people in the South Gallery. Unfortunately for me (and The Girl and The Tot), they were a people unaccustomed or unaware of the presence of wee ones; The Tot was quite the tripping hazard. Not much grows in the Midwest for harvest and sale in early March, so the market was a lot of potatoes and canned/prepared foods. Not that any one of our party minded! I managed to spend $30 in cash in just under 1/2 an hour -- on crepes, baked goods from Bennison's Bakery, fresh soft caramels from Floriole Bakery, Honeycrisp Apples from Hillside Orchards (I think), a plate-licking pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Co., and a $1 donation to the market itself in exchange for a cup of coffee from Blue Marble Creamery (too bad no one in my house really drinks milk). We went downstairs to eat our pastry/drink my coffee. On the way out, The Girl and The Tot joined the market's Sprouts for Kids program by trying some sprouts from a shallot plant. The Boy, who of course is the one most reticent about trying new things, did not want to participate.
It was pouring down with the rain as we were leaving the market/museum. Although The Tot and The Girl had jackets with hoods, The Boy and I were bare-headed. I had bought an umbrella at the gift shop, but it was raining too hard for us all to share it. Rather than have us all get wet (and listen to misery all the way home), I asked The Boy and The Girl to wait in the myseym entrance vestibule while I got the car. There was a Green City Market volunteer standing there and she kept an extra eye on them as well, for which I was extra thankful.
On the way home, we stopped at the 1730 Outlet on Wrightwood, which I had passed a few times previously. I was looking for stools, although I did not find any that suited my needs. If I needed modern furniture in the C&B style, this is the first place I'd look. We took a quick cruise through the Tag decor outlet, but though the prices were good and The Boy and The Girl were begging, the decorative pieces contained therein would be destroyed within 90 seconds of entering my home.
Also on the way home, we stopped at Costco. Yes, on a Saturday. Normally, I avoid that sliver of land between Clybourn and Ashland Avenues like the plague on weekends, but it wasn't too awful. Although we had to park in a remote corner of the lot, we managed to arrive at the warehouse during a break in the crowds. The Tot never wants to go in the cart anymore, so my job was made harder by tracking 3 kids in a store crowded with carts that could easily crush a small child, but we managed to make it through within a reasonable timeframe, forgetting only one item on our list. I discovered that you can pay for cafe items at the main check out lanes, so we had lunch at Costco as well. You just can't beat feeding a family of 5 for under $9.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Disastrous Morning
Well, that was a disaster. I took The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby with me this morning to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park/Old Town. After eying all the gorgeous produce on display in Seattle this weekend, I was jonesing for some produce that I could actually take home and eat. Plus, the weather today was perfect for the market -- 70, sunny, with a slight breeze.
Apparently, everyone else with small children had the same idea because the market was mobbed, and parking was difficult to find. We parked on Wells at least 3 blocks away from the market itself (at least the meter was broken) and walked over with the stroller. The Baby was one giant temper tantrum, starting from the moment that The Girl got out of the car and wanted to get in the front of our stroller. He didn't want to ride in the jumpseat. So he threw a tantrum, complete with top-of-the-lungs screaming. I decided to ignore him, which is apparently not done in Old Town. A sales clerk at Handle With Care peeked her head out at him, and not in a sympathetic way. If I could afford to shop there, I wouldn't anyway just for that.
At the market itself, things were not much better. The Girl wanted to get a pastry at Bleeding Heart Bakery, and I got one for The Baby as well. The Boy didn't want anything. We sat down in the kiddie chairs set up by the demo table adjacent to the bakery's stand, but The Baby took one look at The Girl's raspberry bar and went ballistic. Screaming ensued, pretty much until we left the market. While I strapped a writhing, screaming Baby into the stroller, an older, bearded man made a comment that The Baby was protesting his loss of liberty. When I said that he'd been screaming before I put him in, he noted, accurately, that he was just tired. With the wait for a crepe totaling more than 30 minutes, there was little reason to stay. So we headed back to the car. At least The Baby stayed awake until we got home.
Apparently, everyone else with small children had the same idea because the market was mobbed, and parking was difficult to find. We parked on Wells at least 3 blocks away from the market itself (at least the meter was broken) and walked over with the stroller. The Baby was one giant temper tantrum, starting from the moment that The Girl got out of the car and wanted to get in the front of our stroller. He didn't want to ride in the jumpseat. So he threw a tantrum, complete with top-of-the-lungs screaming. I decided to ignore him, which is apparently not done in Old Town. A sales clerk at Handle With Care peeked her head out at him, and not in a sympathetic way. If I could afford to shop there, I wouldn't anyway just for that.
At the market itself, things were not much better. The Girl wanted to get a pastry at Bleeding Heart Bakery, and I got one for The Baby as well. The Boy didn't want anything. We sat down in the kiddie chairs set up by the demo table adjacent to the bakery's stand, but The Baby took one look at The Girl's raspberry bar and went ballistic. Screaming ensued, pretty much until we left the market. While I strapped a writhing, screaming Baby into the stroller, an older, bearded man made a comment that The Baby was protesting his loss of liberty. When I said that he'd been screaming before I put him in, he noted, accurately, that he was just tired. With the wait for a crepe totaling more than 30 minutes, there was little reason to stay. So we headed back to the car. At least The Baby stayed awake until we got home.
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