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.

To Mecca

Or so I'd refer to the experience that is the "new" Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. We needed groceries, dinner and to leave the house yesterday, hence the 5 p.m. trek to one of the busiest stores on a Sunday evening.

We managed to get a parking spot on the third floor next to a giant snowbank. The Boy's fear of heights is contagious, affecting The Girl on this trip. The Dad and The Boy took the escalators while The Girl, The Tot and I waited forever for the single elevator, while DINKs in black Northface jackets gave us the stink eye as they hurried past with their gourmet cheeses and bouquets of freshcut flowers (in a single brown paper bag).

We headed straight for the Riverview lunch counter for Whole Foods' take on the Woolworth counters of old: burgers, fries, dogs, shakes and rootbeer floats. The Dad, The Boy and I ordered cheeseburgers, which reminded me of In & Out - right down to the iceberg lettuce on the freshly baked buns. The Girl had a grilled cheese and The Tot nibbled fries and sucked down his dad's vanilla malt. Not bad for $30 -- far less than a similar meal at Johnny Rockets.

After dinner, we got our shopping done as quickly as was possible with 3 kids and the St. Valentine's Day gourmet foodie/yuppie crowd.

Organic Mecca

Yesterday, The Girl had a birthday party to attend at Fantasy Kingdom in Lincoln Park. The party was drop-off optional, so I took advantage of The Girl's being completely absorbed in playing with her little friends to head to the not-so-new-anymore Whole Foods in Lincoln Park with Beth and Jenna, whose daughters were also at the party. 

Truthfully, I was more interested in talking to my friends about what's going on in their lives, school news, classroom gossip, and other bits, than I was in gaping at the third largest Whole Foods in the world (Austin and London are #1 and #2, respectively). I was pretty impressed, however, with the electronic shelf price tags, the macaroon bar, and just the sheer amount of organic food. Seriously, I had no clue that there were so many processed "natural" foods. I'd like to take The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot back to the diner for nitrate-free corn-dogs and organic milkshakes.

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.

Vella Cafe

With The Dad and The Boy out of town with the car, I decided to take The Girl and The Tot on a little adventure on the L this morning. After a thorough read of good-for-kids brunch spots in Logan Square and Bucktown, I decided to hit Vella Cafe. To echo the Yelpers, it's hard to believe that this tiny building under the Western Avenue L stop could be so full of light, air and space, but it was. I ordered the polenta triangles for me for $8, a $3 side of scrambled eggs for The Tot, and a $4 cinnamon-sugar crepe for The Girl. Also ordered fresh-squeezed OJ ($3.50) for The Tot, fruit lemonade ($2) for The Girl, and an Olla something latte ($3) for me. With the exception of the cherry-lemonade, which was too sour for the The Girl, it was all good. The polenta-cheddar triangles were smothered in scrambled eggs, cheese, and salsa verde; yum! The Tot mostly ignored his eggies in favor of eating bits of The Girl's crepe (which she called a "grape" -- a good reminder to use the proper French for such words).

She asked me if I could make crepes at home. I told her I could, but I needed a special pan for it, and suggested we get back on the train to get to that store (Sur la Table). So we got back on the Blue Line, transferred to the Green Line (The Girl wanted to ride the Pink Line, but the green came along first), and then again to the Cubs-Fan-packed Red Line, disembarking at North & Clybourn. We headed over to Sur la Table for our $25 crepe pan (and $4 India Tree pink sanding sugar), then did a bit of impulse back-to-preschool (assuming there is PFA in the fall) shopping next door at the Carter's outlet. And then we went home the long way, transferring to the Blue Line at Jackson.

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?

May Flowers

Last fall, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum started offering one-off classes for preschoolers and early elementary-aged kids. I pulled The Girl out of preschool, and took her (and The Tot) down to the museum this morning for the second of their spring-summer session classes for 3-6-year-olds. Today's class, May Flowers, was engaging and informative, and great fun for The Girl. It was also a good value, at $7 ($9 for non-members). In the class, they read books, picked dandelions outside and used them to make stamp-pad art. Then they opened up the class to revolving stations within the room; The Girl pounded fresh flowers to make art, used fresh flowers to make "stained glass," decorated flower stems on a paper wall, and made a rainbow flower collage. The Tot and I played with a giant bin of fake flower petals, tossing them up in the air and at each other and giggling.

After the 1-hour class, we went downstairs to play in the slide area, which wasn't as crowded as the rest of the museum, which was hosting two large school groups during our visit. After about 45 minutes, we headed out to Panera for lunch, and stopped at Gymboree to get some clothes for the boys with the 30% off Circle of Friends coupon that Gymbo mailed me.

The Tot fell asleep on the way home, and I dropped The Girl off at a friend's house for the afternoon. The Tot and I are watching WTTW and having a wee cuddle on the couch.

CBA

Yesterday, I had a craving for a really good, but somewhat inexpensive, lunch. I also had a bunch of little errands to run at destinations within close proximity of each other, but nowhere near our neighborhood. I picked up The Girl from preschool, and we headed southeast to Lincoln Park. The Tot fell asleep in the car on the way to pick up The Girl, so I was able to run a quick in-and-out errand on the way to lunch.

We had lunch at CBA on Armitage. This is probably not a destination for anyone not immediately in the neighborhood or as a post-class lunch spot after Wiggleworms class, but the pull of The Wrigley Fielder draws me in a couple of times each year. The Girl wanted something with salami on it (she's a weird kid), so she got the E-Town Express, which she loved. The Tot commandeered half my Wrigley Fielder. Total for 2 bagel sandwiches, 2 chips and a bottle of Nantucket Nectar was about $15.

After lunch, we ran errands: Gap Kids for returns, next door to the busiest CVS I've ever seen for postage stamps, back into the car to the Carter's Outlet off Clybourn and next door to Sur la Table for Mother's Day treats. We got back home about 2 p.m. and left the TV off, making chocolate chip-M&M cookies instead.

The ballet-soccer Monday Mania wasn't as bad as it has been, although I made the mistake of walking to ARCC, over to school to watch The Boy's soccer practice, and then back home again, so The Boy and The Girl were pretty much exhausted.

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.

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.

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.

Green Mamas

The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I were out of the house like a shot this morning to visit the Butterfly Museum before The Tot needed a nap. It, too, was deserted. We checked in our stroller, played around in Riverworks (The Tot was soaked) and then were the only 3 kids in Hands on Habitat for quite awhile. While there, I noticed an informational flyer about the museum's early childhood green programs. Alas, The Boy gets out of school later than the museum's 3:30 p.m. start time for kids 5-7 and The Girl is in preschool during the 9:30 slot for kids aged 3-4. One side of the flyer advertised the "Eco-Mama Cafe," a new class/discussion group for new/green moms. It's for babies under 6 months. I am bummed because I would totally go for something like that if it were geared toward The Tot.

Anyway... I used the opportunity of putting 3 sets of laced-up shoes back on their little feet to start teaching The Boy and The Girl how to tie their shoes. The Girl was really interested. The Boy, for whom this skill is more pressing, was not. Then we walked down the hall to the vending area and had snacks: cheese sticks and apples for The Tot and The Girl, celery with peanut butter for The Boy.

We went upstairs to see the butterflies next. The Boy didn't want to go through the haven, so he stayed in the information area outside the haven while The Girl, The Tot, and I zipped through. The Girl cracks me up because she really wanted to see the butterflies, but once we got in the haven, she showed trepidation about exploring the area: she would not let go of my hand and moved with me the whole time. She was scared of a butterly landing on her. The Tot, meanwhile, found the butterflies quite interesting and didn't mind when one lost its way and fluttered against his neck before flying away. He wanted to touch the butterflies.

We went back downstairs to check out the marsh exhibit, but The Tot was done by that point. He kept walking over to the Riverworks area and would not be deterred, so we called it a day and went home. The Tot fell asleep in the car.

Ghosttown

To compensate for our disastrous afternoon yesterday, I took The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot to the Field Museum this afternoon. It's not The Boy's favorite thing to do, but I parked in the lot by Northerly Island and we all walked over to the museum together. We walked along the lakefront, which was really quite pleasant, although I bored the kids by telling them yet again that Mama used to come down to this harbor when she was a little girl to go out on Grandpa Texas' sailboat. (The Boy: "Mom, you told us that last time.") The weather was lovely -- sunny, warm in the sun, cool in the shade with a nice breeze. We stopped to admire the view of the city:





before continuing on to the museum. As we flashed our membership, there was someone in front of us with her kids who I knew, but I cannot remember from where. We ran into them repeatedly throughout the museum today. The museum was a ghost town.

First up was a visit to the Crown Family Playlab. The Girl misheard me and wanted to know where the playland was. After I cleared that up, we had a great time inside the playlab. The Girl, The Boy, and The Tot had great fun in the Pueblo, moving corn cobs from room to room. The Tot, who loves corn on the cob, repeatedly tried to eat the different pieces -- maybe he was hoping that one of them would be real? We also played the drums in the Rhythm Section and read a book in the book corner before we moved outside the lab to have a snack.

While we were sitting on the living room suite outside the playlab, eating our cheese sticks and cookies, Jessica and Lil E walked by on their way out. Everybody's museuming before school starts!

After our snack, we went upstairs. The Boy wanted to see Evolving Planet, The Girl wanted to see the gems. Neither wanted to go to the other's choice. But we did both, plus a gander at Sue. The gems hall is missing several gems, plus The Tot did not want to be held and I did not feel comfortable letting him wander around a dark room alone, so it was a rather mad dash through the gems hall. Or as mad it could be with The Girl asking me to read every placard. Then we went to see Evolving Planet, although The Boy did not want me to read any of the placards and he went racing through.

The Tot was getting to the end of his rope in Evolving Planet, so we skedaddled. I carried The Girl most of the way back to the car, while The Tot rode in the stroller. It was a chilly walk. The Tot fell asleep in the car. We stopped at Trader Joe's in Lincoln Park on the way home.

How did I not know this was here?

Today, The Dad, The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I all piled into the car to attend our playgroup friend S.'s 2nd birthday party. It was at Adams Playground Park, on Seminary, tucked into a corner of Lincoln Park. It was an awesome space, with a shaded sandbox, two playground sets on recycled tire hardscapes, and a separate water playground within the lot. How have I lived in the city for this long and not known what a gem was lurking around the corner from my favorite strip of Armitage (with its Paper Source, Art Effect, Old Town School, and CBA)?

We got there late, so we had pizza and cupcakes with bright blue frosting, and then changed into our suits and played. The Girl, who normally does not like water features, was having a blast going down the water slide with The Boy and A., while The Dad and I enjoyed chatting with R. and M., and The Tot alternately walked around the water park and explored the traditional playground features.

After the park, we headed out to Naperville for a post-4th BBQ at Grandma-and-Grandpa's house. I had not planned to be out of the house for more than just the party, so we stopped at Meijer in Naperville to pick up disposable diapers and fresh clothes for everyone. The kids had a great time at G-and-G's house with their cousins.

9 to 5, and then some

The Boy, The Girl, The Tot, and I left the house this morning at 9 a.m., headed for playgroup. We rolled back onto our street just before 7 p.m., after dinner out. It was a full day. If it were in an 80s film, it'd be shown as a musical montage.

My favorite part of the day was not dining at Otom (more on that later), or doing a mad dash through the Treasure Store (ditto), but the 1/2 hour I spent picking ripe mulberries out of the trees in Lincoln Park with The Boy and The Girl in view of North Pond.

Stopped at the new Mobil to fill up The Great White Moose, and buy coffee (for me) and donuts (for the kids) at the new, hotly anticipated Dunkin Donuts. Then we were on our way to meet Cheryl and Sarah at the Nature Museum.


We managed to find a decent parking spot on northbound Stockton Drive. It was a tight spot, but I squeezed The Great White Moose in there. I let The Tot and The Girl out to run around while I pulled out the stroller and got our stuff. There was a boy of about 10 or 12 walking down the path, and he came up to me to tell me that The Girl had gone up to the two homeless men sleeping on the benches in the gazebo. I don't think she had -- it is unlike her to go up to any stranger, although she had been sitting on the benches just outside the gazebo -- so I just said, "OK." I suppose I should have thanked him, because he made a face and muttered something about "...disgusting." Oh well. I get that homeless people can be dangerous, but I don't know that something is going to happen to my kids in broad daylight while I am standing 10 yards away.

We made our way around the pond to the Nature Museum and met our friends in the Hands-On Habitat. From there, we went to the green house, Lawn Nation, and to do an activity in the activity/resource area. By then, Cheryl's kids were ready for a snack (as was I), so we headed downstairs to eat something, with the intent of going back to the exhibits. Unfortunately, Cheryl's daughter started to melt down at the end of lunch, so they went home. We attempted to do the same, but got waylaid along the way. I changed The Tot's diaper, and I think I must have left the cloth diaper and cover on the top of the changing table, because I don't have it now. The museum was very crowded with camp groups, so between that and the 7 kids (with 7 different interests!) among the 3 moms, I felt very frazzled. Although I'm happy that they offer a free/donation day, I try generally not to go to the museum on Thursday mornings because it's so crazy.

The Tot, who protested going into the jumpseat of the e3, fell asleep in it five minutes later, on the way to the car. So The Girl, The Boy, and I picked mulberries while he slept in the stroller, parked underneath the shade of the mulberry tree. The breeze blew, and it was quite pleasant to be under the shade of the tree, picking off the fruit in the heart of Lincoln Park. We filled up a half a sandwich-size baggie full of the berries, then walked over to the playground, where The Boy and The Girl played for a bit.

The Tot woke up, and The Girl declared that she had to go potty. Her pediatrician had called earlier in the week to request another urine sample, so we walked over to their office in St. Joseph to give the sample. It was the most frustrating and longest part of the day, as The Girl had performance anxiety about peeing in the cup. We spent 90 minutes in the doctor's office, alternately in the waiting room and in the bathroom before she went. At one point, I had promised ice cream if she went, so when she finally did go, we went off in search of ice cream.

It was hot and sunny and we were all pretty tired, so we walked as far as Pot Belly on Diversey before stopping for ice cream. The Girl had chocolate, The Boy had a vanilla cone, and The Tot had a vanilla frozen yogurt. I sprinkled mulberries in both The Tot's and The Girl's cups. The Tot did a fantastic job of eating his yogurt with a spoon held in his right hand.

This time on the way back to the car, The Girl fell asleep in the stroller. So we stopped to pick more mulberries from a tree on Stockton Drive. The Tot was covered in purple mulberry juice; he repeatedly sat down on the slope under the tree. The berries from the tree on the west side of the park were more ripe, juicier, and bigger than those we had picked earlier.

By then, it was 3: 30 p.m. and I realized that we didn't have much time to go home and change before dinner. Instead, we got into the car and I drove over to the Treasure Store. We did a mad dash through the store to get re-outfitted in clean clothes before dinner. I broke my own rule of washing everything bought at the TS before wearing it, but it seemed necessary. I'm somewhat proud of my resourcefulness in this situation. I could have gone to Gap and spent $100 to re-outfit us all; instead spent $15 that included a skirt (Express) + top for me, polo romper (Polo) for tot, shorts (gymboree) + polo shirt for boy, and dress for girl. We used water and a few cloths in the car to clean up, and changed in car in parking lot.

Then we headed down Clybourn to Halsted and down to Fulton Market, to Otom. The timing was perfect. Our reservation was at 5:15 and I pulled on to Fulton Market at 5:05 p.m.

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.

Closer to Home

I had a very full day yesterday. While The Boy was at school, The Girl, The Baby, and I met our friends Cheryl and Amelia at the Curio Cafe for coffee/breakfast. I love that place. They are so nice and accommodating of small children, and the food is really good. I had the pretzel bun with housemade strawberry cream cheese, while The Girl got the kiddie pancakes and The Baby had an egg and toast. He squawked up a storm when I didn't give him enough of my coffee. Afterwards, we walked around the block and the next block over, letting the babies (Amelia is 2 weeks older than The Baby) explore a bit. The Girl wanted to hold Amelia's hand, but she asserted that she was a "big" kid too and could walk alone.

Afterwards, we went back home so that The Baby could take a nap. The Girl did an art project; I started laundry (it's neverending in this house). Then we went to Home Depot for a replacement set of Allen wrenches, and to pick up The Boy from school. After fetching The Boy, we made amazingly good time down to Lincoln Park, to get our hair cut at Snippets. I got my hair cut, too. Total cost for 3 cuts and tip? $80. A bit pricy for a kid cut, but not bad for a bill that includes an adult's shampoo, cut, and style as well. And we all got lollipops for being good in the stylists' chair.

Birthday Butterflies

Today is The Girl's birthday. She's three. How did that happen? I had always pictured myself as a Mom of Boys, but she has been such a joy in my life. I can't imagine not having some girlie in our lives.

In honor of her birthday, we "hosted" playgroup at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. I had thought that because their Butterfly Ball is tomorrow and the museum will be closed, it would be fairly quiet in there. But I was wrong. The school groups were notably absent and it was not crowded, but they were working on the installation of their new special exhibit, so it was loud in the Hands-On-Habitat. Which kept scaring The Baby.

I did get to catch up with my friend Sarah and her little ones -- we talked about schools and real estate, of course. Her husband and his business partner are building a mixed-use green building adjacent to Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square.

After the museum, we ran a quick couple of errands in Lincoln Park: exchanging a broken table leg at Pottery Barn Kids and buying butter and eggs at Treasure Island to make a pink birthday cake for The Girl:

There I go again...

This happens to me every couple of months: I take the kids somewhere and realize that I am the only mother-of-(three)-small-children in tow there. It happened again today, when I took The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby to Just Indulge on North Avenue for ice cream (custard) after an impromptu late-afternoon visit to the Treasure Store. I was feeling pretty cool mommyish today. Not because I looked great or because I was in Bucktown, but because I was letting my children eat frozen custard and cheese popcorn essentially for dinner. The kids loved it and were surprisingly good while sitting in the car, in traffic, in the pouring rain, on the way home afterward. Mommy scored some points with the progeny.

In fact, even before he finished his vanilla custard with rainbow sprinkles, The Boy asked if we could come back again sometime. The Girl had chocolate custard with rainbow sprinkles. They both shared with The Baby, who begged mercilessly for spoonfuls of the cold, creamy stuff. I skipped today's flavor of the day (mocha) and went straight for a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. The custard wasn't as fantastic as Custard Cup, but it was good, simple, and surprisingly for that neighborhood, cheap. I actually thought they undercharged me at first because it didn't seem possible to get what we got for under $8 (with nearly 10% sales tax!) in the city these days. Heck, even taking the kids to Starbuck's for a milkbox and cookie each (and a coffee for me) is a $13 outing. But Just Indulge was a bit more reasonable. I hope it's still around for next time.

So how did we end up eating ice cream at 6 p.m. on a Thursday, anyway?

I once offered to take The Girl out for ice cream if she did not complain during a trip to the Treasure Store. In the mind of a nearly 3-year-old, apparently, this created a permanent link. When I say, "Do you want to go to the Treasure Store?" She responds, "Ice cream!" This afternoon, we spent a couple of hours digging through the racks, which is how we ended up eating frozen custard for dinner.

I picked up The Boy from school before lunch today, and we all headed southeast to the Nature Museum, to meet our friend Becky & her three kids, have our packed lunches together, and play. We did all that and after three hours of chasing, Becky and I were beat. Not surprisingly, The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby all fell asleep in the car before I could even get to Clybourn and Fullerton. I parked the car and let them sleep, while I did some work.

When they woke up, we went shopping. The Boy complained nearly the whole time, although he changed his mind when he found a treasure of his own -- the Plan Toys airport, for a mere $5. I think I'll make a convert out of him yet.

Mommy-Girl Playdate

Today, The Girl and I attempted to go on a "Mama-The Girl Playdate," as The Girl calls them. While The Dad, The Boy, and The Baby went to Home Depot with the car, The Girl and I hopped the bus (and then got on another bus, and then walked) to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Unfortunately, we missed the last entry by seven minutes, but we had a great time anyway. We talked about who we were going to invite to The Girl's 3rd birthday party, and what we were going to serve for food at this event, and other little things. I have to say, The Girl took not getting into the museum fairly well (although we did have the "why is it closed?" conversation about 15 times and I also promised to take her on an open day next week).

As consolation, we stopped to get a snack (pink ice-cream for The Girl, a red velvet cupcake and 1/2 a ham sandwich [which The Girl, who didn't want any real food when we ordered, promptly devoured] for me) at the Bourgeois Pig on Fullerton. The place was full of students, 60somethings, and various singletons with laptops; I had a moment of clarity while in the cafe: it seems that I am always going to places with the kids where I am the only mother-on-duty and the kids are the only children in the place. Hrm. After our snack, The Girl and I took a different route home, hopping on the Belmont bus and then the L.