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We're on our way!

May 29th, 2010 by

We are packed for Italy, the kids are packed for a week at Grandma’s, and we’re in Detroit to drop them off and attend Lisa and Andrew’s wedding (which was beautiful, by the way). Wow! I can’t believe it. We’re doing a crash course of Pimsleur Express Italian in the car, but I’m thinking it would have been more productive to review my French. I’m lost! I am proud of our packing, though–just one small carry on suitcase and my messenger bag for both of us for the week.  The things you can manage without kids…  Tomorrow, we’ll be on a plane to Rome by ourselves!

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Playing Outside with Friends

May 27th, 2010 by

Addy and Gabe came over for one last play date today.  The weather was so perfect for playing outside–playing tag, doing sidewalk chalk, and riding bikes.  Here’s a sweet picture that Jen took of our crew.  We are going to miss them!

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Pretending

May 26th, 2010 by

Tommy has really started pretending lately.  It’s such a fun developmental stage!  Tonight he told me that he was pretending his car wash fuzz was ice cream.  Yum!

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Saying Our Goodbyes

May 25th, 2010 by

We’ve started saying our goodbyes, and strangely enough, I’m feeling a little sad about leaving Chicago.  Wow!  What a difference a year makes.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited about getting out of big city traffic, being able to drive to someone’s house and (gasp!) just park out front (for free!) without circling for half an hour, living 10 minutes from everything, and the list could go on and on.  But I have to be honest–I don’t hate Chicago anymore (maybe strongly dislike is more accurate now) because we have made some good friends.

Today we had probably our last playdate with Dana and Reagan until we meet up on the East Coast.  One of these years I’m going to get a really good picture of Tommy with his first Chicago friend–but we have so many good memories with her (Tommy categorizes museums as “where I went with Reagan,” “the other place I went with Reagan,” “the other other place I went with Reagan,” and “where I did not go with Reagan”) that I guess it doesn’t matter if I never got a picture of both of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. 

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…and Eating Sand

May 24th, 2010 by

Since it’s in the 80s and our AC isn’t working, we thought it would be a splendid plan to take the kids to the beach for the morning.  After all, it’s free (well, not anymore now that there are meters at all public parking lots, apparently…), and Tommy loved it last year! 

Well, I’m glad we only payed $2 to park.  After a bit of wading with Daddy, Tommy decided to eat sand.  His sister sat with her sunglasses and hat on for a few minutes, screamed when I dipped her toes in the water, and wailed whenever I ventured off the towel to play with Tommy.  We headed for home after an hour.  Hardly seemed worth all the sunscreen or bath time afterwards, but at least we have some pictures to remember it.

Posted in Elizabeth, Family, Tommy | 2 Comments »

Eating Dirt

May 23rd, 2010 by

At the church picnic today, Tommy and Gabrielle decided to beat the heat by lounging in the dirt of the baseball diamond.  By the time we left, Tommy had been eating dirt, was orange from scalp to toes, and had to be stripped before getting in the car.  Kids these days!

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Chicago Museums: The Nature Museum

May 22nd, 2010 by

Today we visited The Notebaert Nature Museum.  As a homeschooling mom, I would give it 3/5 stars.  I actually enjoyed the Planetarium more, but this has more potential educational value for younger kids.

Key Age Range: PreK to elementary.

Time:  This morning we did everything except the water exhibit, and it took us an hour, including a potty break and a snack.  If we were there for a school project, we might stay two hours max.

Food:  You won’t be here long enough for lunch, but if you are, there’s a little display with $4 sandwiches and various healthy snacks (babybel cheese, pretzels, granola bars) for under a dollar.

Parking: During the winter, parking is free in the lot across the street.  We parked in the zoo lot down the street because I have flat rate $7 parking with our zoo membership.

Fun Factor:  Well, it’s a lot of looking…at bugs, frogs, fish, turtles, etc.  The water exhibit is hands-on, but Tommy is a little young for that.  The under 7 play area was lots of fun for both kids–a kid-size mole’s tunnel, beaver lodge, and a few other fun things.

Educational Factor:  It’s sortof like Field Museum/Shedd Aquarium Lite.  The material is presented in a kid-friendly way, and I could probably learn a lot about bugs and reptiles there.  The staff is the friendliest of any museum I’ve been to–I could actually see myself taking Tommy to a nature class there because I think they’d get how to explain things to a 3 1/2 year old.

I’m glad we went with a free pass.  The family memberships are relatively cheap, and if one of the kids gets really into this stuff, it would be the sort of thing they’d love.  But since I’m not the biggest nature fan, we probably won’t make this a high priority when we’re visiting Chicago.  Since it is just across the street from Lincoln Park Zoo, it might make a good addendum to a zoo day (or a good refuge if it’s too hot, cold, or crowded at the zoo).  The bathrooms have a nice couch for nursing and are very clean.

“Mommy, is the turtle happy or sad?”

looking through the periscope in the mole tunnel

I don’t even know if there were fish in that tank.  Elizabeth just liked pulling up on it.

Tommy liked the slide in the kid area before any other kids arrived.

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Chicago Museums: Museum of Science and Industry

May 21st, 2010 by

Today we visited The Museum of Science and Industry.  As a homeschooling mom, I would give it 5/5 stars (our favorite thing to do in Chicago)!  We go several times a year, and we often take guests there. 

Key Age Range: PreK to Adult, with exhibits that can be enjoyed on a variety of levels.

Time:  We generally will spend three or four hours there, but that’s not enough to do it justice.  Families with kids who don’t need to nap could put in a full day.

Cafeteria:  Very crowded at mealtimes, basic school cafeteria fare.  Pretty pricey–I packed us a lunch and just picked up some sides, and it was still $20!

Parking: If you get there early enough, there’s a free outside lot.  No longer–now it’s $1 an hour metered parking.  Otherwise, a $14 parking garage.

Fun Factor:  Tommy loves it.  There’s a ton of hands-on stuff, lots of activities to watch (the huge model train exhibit being the favorite), and a good mix of audio-visual presentations to keep interest up.  We checked out the specially designated little kid area this time.  Lots of activity and balls splashing in water, but it didn’t engage our kids.  Maybe at a different developmental stage.

Educational Factor:  I’m not sure how much Tommy is learning when we go (if he watches baby chicks coming out of eggs, is that science?  I guess so), but for elementary and up, there’s a wealth of knowledge. My favorite exhibit, the U-505 (the only German U-boat on display in the US), takes about a half hour, but we go through it just about every time because there’s so much detail!

All in all, we’d probably be there every week if we could swing it!  Definitely worth a family membership.

Posted in Elizabeth, Family, Homeschooling, Tommy | 1 Comment »

Showing Off Her Teeth

May 20th, 2010 by

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amazingly bad timing

May 19th, 2010 by

So the stomach flu has hit us full force.  Derek’s still under the weather, I’m queasy but trying to hold things together, Lizzie’s fussy but just threw up once yesterday (and maybe it was spit up), and Tommy has been throwing up today.  Our house is the worst it’s ever been–mounds of dirty and clean laundry, carpet/upholstery cleaners out, dirty dishes, scattered toys, and buckets in strategic areas.  Of course today was the day that our landlord decided to drop in unannounced and take pictures of the house to put it back up on the rental market.  I was so embarassed–everyone who sees our house on craigslist is going to think we’re total slobs!–and I promised him that it will never be this bad when he brings people through.

We’re super bummed because today we were going to go downtown and have a picnic at Millenium Park with Tommy’s best friend–he’s been talking about his picnic with Reagan all week, and of course we had to cancel.  He’s also been asking when our Bible study friends are coming over, and I had to cancel the small group potluck for tonight for obvious reasons!  Tomorrow I was supposed to pick up my friend Joenay to take her to mom’s group at church, and the other friend she knows well is out of town.  I hate cancelling things when we have only a week and a half left to see people and say goodbye!=(

Posted in Elizabeth, Tommy | 2 Comments »

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