Beyond Recycling

For the past two years, I've been hauling our household's cardboard, paper, cans, bottles, and 1 & 2 plastics to the Recycling Center at North Park Village. The kids used to hate it, but I've been letting The Boy and The Girl help me sort the items into their bins so the errand has become a bit more tolerable to them.

We took advantage of the warm weather today to empty our basement of cardboard boxes by taking them to the recycle center. The center was mobbed, and the glass/can container was chock full and off to the side, awaiting removal. But with The Boy, The Girl, and The Dad helping, it went faster. After we had sorted all of our recyclables, we left The Great White Moose where it was parked and strolled around the grounds. The Baby rode in my mei-tei. We walked through the Nature Center, but it was a half an hour to close and our shoes were muddy, so we didn't stop to play in the Discovery Room and the center's other play room. We did a partial cruise around the Woodland, Savanna, and Main Loop trails. We could hear traffic and planes, but all we could see was nature.

It was different, and kind of nice. We will have to go back for another family march in the spring when things really thaw. I'll put everyone in rubber boots with a spare change of shoes so we can all have a really good stomp in the mud.

Bookish in Evanston

This afternoon, we headed up to Evanston to exchange a few duplicate books at Barnes & Noble and go to dinner afterward as a family. The Dad supervised the kids as they browsed for books while I returned our books. The Boy and The Girl love going to the bookstore. Actually, The Dad and I love going to the bookstore. It was one of our favorite things to do as a couple before we had children and although it's a bit more expensive to do so now (because everyone has to get a book!), it is one of our favorite things to do as a family.

The Boy chose a book about insects by Anne Rockwell and Firehouse Tales, one of those crummy, badly written Scholastic books that I dislike (and The Boy always wants). The Girl chose Princess Baby by Karen Katz after watching another little girl read it four times with her dad, and a Sandra Boynton board book. The Baby did his favorite thing to do with books: pull up on their shelves and fling the books off the shelves.

Afterward, The Boy and The Girl raced down Sherman, while The Dad and I walked behind, to Nevin's for dinner in their well-lit and pretty-from-the-outside dining room. The Boy had mini-cheeseburgers and The Girl had mac & cheese from the kids' menu. I had a yummy corned beef dinner and a light beer. The Dad had a reuben and a Harp draft. The Baby sat on my lap and shoveled mac & cheese, bread, fries, corned beef, carrots, potatoes, and whatever else was in reach into his mouth. Unlike my previous visits to Nevin's (usually on a Wednesday and with a group of adults), the service wasn't particularly attentive. But the corned beef was really good, and everyone ate their dinners. That's about the best I can ask for on a Saturday night with 3 small children.

Thanks for leaving!

On the way out to the suburbs today, we stopped downtown for lunch. I had a hankering for Portillo's, but I parked about 4 blocks away. On the walk over, we passed Ed Debevic's and since the lot was nearly empty, decided to go in. My childhood is filled with numerous aborted attempts to be abused by the waitstaff of Ed Debevic's. Aborted because the line went out the door and around the corner and no one wanted to wait 90 minutes just to get a table.

But today, because it was a snow-filled New Year's Day, it was easy to get a table. The Boy and The Girl were a bit confused by the attitude in the place. They liked the crazy crap on the walls, and the Rice Krispie treats that accompanied their kiddie meal hot dogs. They, and The Baby, looked adorable in the white Ed's hats the waiter snapped on their heads. But they didn't get the rude-to-customers schtick. And, I have to say: during the portion of the "show" when the waitstaff gets up to dance around, I was disappointed in their lack of enthusiasm. They were all singing and doing the movements, but there was no energy. Maybe because it was New Year's Day and they were all hung over and/or slightly bored. A few of the waitstaff came over to flirt with The Baby. One guy asked me which kid I liked the best. Yikes! What a question. (The Boy said he knew that I like them all "the best." Smart kid.)

I ordered the Route 66 chicken sandwich, which was pretty good. The Baby ate pickle spears and fries. The Boy and The Girl both had hot dogs with fries. The Boy and The Girl split a chocolate malted, made from Mitchell's ice cream. It'd be worth going back just for the ice cream, which I grew up eating at his original outpost in Homewood. The Baby has a milk protein allergy, so I cannot partake of ice cream until he weans or he ends up with flaming red cheeks and a grumpy disposition. I also got a slice of cherry pie, which I ate later and was really good--not too sweet.

All-in-all, I probably wouldn't take my children there again until they are older. I was a bit disappointed in the reality of my experience as an adult; it really does seem suited to a junior high to college crowd. The Girl was kind of anxious about the atmosphere and because we were sitting on an exit corridor, kept getting upset because people were leaving (and thought we had to leave, too). And although The Boy finds potty humor hysterically funny, he wasn't quite old enough to get the playacting rudeness yet. Surprisingly (to me), the back room was filled with little kids younger than The Boy. There seemed to be a kid birthday party there. I saw a 4-year-old in a giant black pettiskirt walk out past our table. It wouldn't be my first choice for a young kid's birthday party. A waitress told another table with two boys under 9 that they were "freaks and weirdos" for not ordering dessert (although I do agree!).

Peggy Notebaert

I have no idea who Peggy Notebaert is or was, but I love her Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. It is one of my favorite places to take The Boy, The Girl, and The Baby. It is small, with several small child-friendly exhibits and a dedicated place to play for the under-7 set. Our membership expires at the end of January, but I plan to renew. They have food in a small cafe, and their serving pieces are all compostable. Speaking of which, since it is the eve of the new year, one of my goals for 2008 is to get a standalone composting bin.

Today, The Boy had been housebound for long enough that he was making me crazy, so I loaded him, The Girl, and The Baby in the car for an outing. I had originally intended to go to Pottery Barn Kids on Clybourn to "browse" while the kids played, but traffic was so light, we decided to head to the Nature Museum instead. Apparently, I was not the only mother going nuts with small boys in the house because The Boy spent a good hour running around the under-7 area with twin 5.5-year-old boys. The Girl, who normally holds her own even with 4- and 5-year-olds, decided that she could not play with them because they were boys. The Baby alternately nursed and crawled around.

We split two organic cupcakes and a bag of pretzels from the cafe, then went upstairs briefly to look at the reptiles exhibit. I patiently read the names of each turtle, snake or lizard to the kids and we looked in each window to locate the reptile. The Boy knew that the Jolly Roger sign on some of the descriptions meant that that reptile was dangerous or poisonous to humans. Smart kid.

Isn't it romantic?

I forgot to post this!

Grandma and Grandpa Texas came to visit this weekend. After I picked them up at O'Hare (in the snow), we stopped briefly at home and then went on to the Loop to get them checked into their room at the Palmer House. The Boy, who has become quite a hermit since he started preschool full-time, stayed home with The Dad. And The Girl, The Baby, and I went with my parents to check out the windows and otherwise enjoy the festive atmosphere of the Loop at Christmas. As former Chicagolanders, my parents have fond memories of the city at Christmastime, my dad especially so, as he spent nearly 20 years working for an engineering firm located between Monroe, Adams, and Wabash, and knows that area quite well.

After Grandma finished her tour of the Macy's (formerly Marshall Field's) windows with The Girl, she spotted a really big ring in the southeast corner window. I noticed a few people in the back of the window, peering over and with cameras. I assumed that they were on some kind of special Macy's tour, but then I noticed the couple walking in front of us, in front of the window, and the man who turned, got on one knee in front of her and she started crying. I didn't see the rock, but it was apparently in the window with a sign asking ___ to marry ____.