The Mall

Today, I dragged The Dad to the mall. I do so only once each year or so, but it's still torturous for all involved. He was pretty good this year, despite a tight turnaround for lunch before our noon studio time at Flash! (and the only reason he'll consent to go to the mall at all). I stood in line to order at Corner Bakery (pesto cavatappi split four ways among me and the kids, and a turkey panini for The Dad) while The Dad took The Tot and The Girl to run off some energy in the center treehouse. 

Our photo shoot went really well, with individual shots of The Boy (who photographs really well), The Girl (who usually doesn't), and The Tot (who also photographs well), as well as the three kids together, and some family shots. I hate how I photograph, but the point of this exercise is to capture our family on film. After we were done shooting, we ran some errands around the mall to pass the time: the Hanna store to make a return and visit a friend, the Lego store to exchange The Boy's Y-Wing Starfighter that was missing parts, and Galt Toys in an attempt to appease The Tot, who heard "Northbrook Court" and assumed, "Hobby USA next to Nickel City."

When we got back to Flash! to look over our photos and make our selections, The Tot was very upset that we weren't going for another photo shoot. The photographer (Sam) took a couple off-the-cuff shots of him just to make him happy, which I appreciated. It was past naptime and The Tot was crabby. He, and both of his siblings, fell asleep on the car ride home. 

Old Orchard

I headed up to Old Orchard this morning for a mom-only appointment. As a favor to me (and another perk of working from home), The Dad stayed home with the kids. Then, because he had a Very Important Conference Call and asked me to take the kids out of the house during it, I turned around half an hour after returning and went back up to Old Orchard with The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot.

We hit Nordstrom for back-to-school shoes from its Anniversary sale, and then headed over to the cafe for "the usual." We meandered to the center play area so the kids could climb on the dragon. Unfortunately, it was 90+ degrees outside and the dragon was in direct sun. I tried to convince the kids to veer off into Pottery Barn Kids to play, but they were not interested.

So we got our photos taken at The Picture People instead. I made a quick dash through Janie & Jack for coordinating outfits from their sales rack. The Tot has a photo deficit. He's had two formal photo sessions since birth. As The Dad says, he's the neglected 3rd child. Today's photo session remedied that. I had not been to the PP since before The Girl was born; they've changed over to an all-digital format that reduces the wait time for photos. While we waited, we went to Starbucks for a snack (mama needs her occasional latte!) and then wandered around Restoration Hardware, where the kids annoyed the (patient, older) clerks and amused their patrons by asking a million and one questions.

Then it was time to go home. Traffic on the Edens was bad, as usual.