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 ____.

Shopping!

OK, so not only do I enjoy doing things with the kids in and around Chicago, I also enjoy the hunt for cute clothing for me and the kids. Today, while The Boy was in school and The Girl was at Mother's Day Out, I took The Baby, drove up I-94 and went to a townhouse in Park Ridge for the Boden trunk show sample sale. I tried on lots of things, but only bought a cute jacket for me, a t-shirt for The Baby to match a previously purchased shirt for The Boy, and a few cute things for The Girl. Ah, nothing like shopping on a rainy Monday morning!

Family Day

In honor of the Bears' byweek, we got out of the house on an outing. The Boy made a special, if odd for him, request of going to the butterfly museum. So we went. I'm not used to parking in Lincoln Park on a weekend and our Lincoln Park Zoo membership expired, so we had to scout around for parking more than usual. We did manage to score a spot on Cannon Drive, thanks to The Dad's watchful eye. It was a bit further away from the museum than I am used to walking, but we followed the path past North Pond and the playground and it was quite a lovely little walk there and back.

First up, because we were all starving, we got a snack. Unfortunately for all of us, I am not used to going to museums on weekends and the cafe was nearly emptied of all its usual delectable organic snacks. Still, we found a few things and ate them. Then we did our usual tour of the butterfly museum: the waterworks, the slide area, then upstairs to see the butterflies themselves. Although we have been members of the Notebaert for two years, The Dad had never been to the museum before. At around 1:30 p.m., we were all starving so we left.

We walked back along the path in front of North Pond. I told The Dad that one day, we will have to get reservations for the restaurant and find a babysitter to watch our brood. It seemed an idyllic spot for lunch or brunch. We didn't stop at North Pond today, but we did stop at the playground at The Boy's request, letting The Boy and The Girl ride the swings and climb on the equipment.

I dropped The Boy and The Dad downtown so that they could have lunch together and take the train home. The Girl, The Baby and I headed out to the suburbs to go to a Lia Sophia party at a cousin's house. The Baby started screaming inconsolably around the merge from the Ike onto I-88, so I pulled off into McDonald's showcase at Oakbrook. We still hadn't had lunch. The Girl had chicken nuggets, I had some chicken selects, and The Baby nursed.

We went to the Lia Sophia party in Naperville and had a good time. The Baby crawled around and pulled up on the sales consultant's bins, charming all the ladies there. The Girl looked at jewelry and then played with her second cousin. She was over-the-moon with happiness because her great-aunt and uncle gave her juice for the car ride home. We all had a good time, and then it was time to go home.

It's a Date

Today, The Boy and I had a mommy-son date. We "doubled" with our friends C. and J. The four of us went out to lunch and then to the AMC Cantera to see Jerry Seinfeld's The Bee Movie. I was disappointed in the movie. It was only 90 minutes long, but there was a very long half an hour in the middle of the film where I was thinking, "when is this going to end?" but The Boy had a good time.