Some Firsts

First Chicago Hot Dog

I have heard all about Chicago Dogs. Being someone who enjoys a good frankfurter now and again, I have really been looking forward to enjoying one Chicago Style. Apparently, my sausage radar is broken because the first place I chose to experience the famous Chicago Dog was a disaster. I didn't know you could make a hot dog taste that bad. I guess my REAL Chicago Dog experience is yet to come.

First Chicago Date Night

I adore my kids - I really do, but this is probably one of my favorite firsts since being here. Although the itinerary of this date night might seem ordinary and cliche, getting away from the kids and being with just Mitch for 4 hours was DELIGHTFUL! We dined at Deleece and went to "What To Expect When You're Expecting". I highly recommend the movie to anyone who has ever been pregnant - we had some good laughs remembering all of the emotions and experiences we went through during my pregnancies with Ben and Lydia. Mitch even liked it and said he needed to find a "Daddy" group like they had in the movie.

First Organized Sports Event

We signed Ben up for Soccer with a couple of boys from the ward. I thought Ben would LOVE it. I was wrong (definitely a first). You would have thought we signed him up to be a prisoner of war. He screamed and cried and ran away from the coaches the entire hour.When Mitch heard about our Soccer experience and he was totally humiliated. No son of his would act that way while participating in organized sports! He decided to get away from work for a few hours and supervise the next soccer outing. (That should indicate to you how important this was to him). Mitch gave Ben a pep talk the entire morning and the entire drive into the park. You would have thought that Ben was going to compete in the World Cup.

Ben still threw some tantrums and tried to run away, but honestly, it was like night and day compared to the first time. Mitch was still a little disappointed, but he didn't have that first practice to compare it to. It gave me hope that maybe it might turn out to be a good experience for Ben if we stick with it.

First Chicago Festival

During the summer, you can go just about anywhere and there is some sort of festival going on. Every Thurday night there is a festival at Lincoln Square. The kids and I attended it for the first time last week and it was a blast! (not that you can tell from the picture).

It is hard to visit the square and not enjoy a cup of ice cream or gelato from Paciugo.

First REAL burger in Chicago

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I am a health FREAK. I always make sure that I get to proper servings of bread/grains (hamburger bun), vegetables (lettuce, onions, potatoes, ketchup), dairy (cheese), protein (ground beef patty) & fruit (lemonade). Seriously - if I don't maintain my strict diet, I go nuts!
Whenever I have asked anyone about a local place is to grab a fantastic burger, they always recommend a pub or bar of some sort. Since it is usually just the kids and I at each meal, I haven't been able to patron any of the recommended places. One day I was feeling extremely malnourished, so I looked up the nearest Five Guys (the perfect place for my diet). The nearest one was 20 minutes away (only 4 miles, but in Chicago - it might as well be 20 miles). By the time we arrived, the kids had fallen asleep and I couldn't find parking close enough to do take out. I was heart- broken. Seriously - I even got the burning in the eyes. After Ben's soccer practice, Mitch insisted we take care of my nutritional needs before heading back to work. That man truly knows the way to my heart :) I finally had my first REAL burger in 2 months. It was FANTASTIC! I almost had an "Andrew" moment with that beef patty. (ha ha! Love you, Andrew!!)

First Chicago Battle Wounds

This wasn't even my child! Thursday morning we were able to watch Jane & Wendy. Jane is 3 which means she and Ben create a tornado of running, giggling, screaming, and occasional crying. It is just part of the Ben/Jane package. As I was rocking baby Wendy to sleep, I heard Ben and Jane screaming and figured it was just regular toddler quarreling. I laid the crying baby down, quickly scooped Jane up, scolded Ben, sat Jane on the couch and told them to sit and watch cartoons until I had finished putting the baby to sleep. About 30 seconds later, Ben came running into the bedroom telling me that Jane had painted the couch. Jane seemed fine, but there was blood everywhere. Oops! Don't you want me to watch your kids now? :)

Apparently Ben had given Jane a push into the entertainment cabinet which was the cause of the screaming. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly and the cut isn't too bad, but I'm sure Jane's mother is writing on her own blog about how her kids barely escaped from my house with their lives.

My good parenting streak continued this morning with Ben getting out of the tub, slipping and chipping his front teeth on the toilet seat. The picture doesn't show it too well, but the tooth on the left is bent back a little. Poor kid is having a hard time eating and keeps telling me we need to go show Daddy so he can fix it. I don't think they taught dentistry at the Law School.

First Story Time

 

We just happened upon Story Time as we were walking through the Square this morning. This woman was fantastic!! We may have to make it a Friday tradition.

First Super Hero Dance Recital

Ben & Jane having a Super Hero Dance-Off.

Just living the dream here in Chi town!

Private Eyes Are Watching Me...

Alas, we are making the blog private. If you would like to continue to use our little stories for some mild entertainment or as a sleep aid, feel free to send me your email address. 

We'll make the privacy official in a week or two.

A Real Chicago Adventure

Last week Mitch was working such late hours, his boss gave him permission to go in late one morning. He thought it would be a fun idea to have the kids and I ride the train into town with him and drop him off at work. It was my first REAL Chicago adventure. 

 We live close to 2 different train stops. Mitch normally takes the "Metra". During rush hour, the Metra runs every 20 minutes or so and only has one stop between our house and downtown. It is also a much nicer train - kind of the "business class" train. We decided that with 2 toddlers tagging along, we should take the "brown line" which is one of Chicago's public transit lines. It has 16 stops between our house and downtown, but the stroller wouldn't be out of place and people would be less bothered by the kids. Ben, of course was so excited he could barely contain himself. 

The train ride into the city went fairly smoothly, but as we exited the train, we realized the downtown stations do not have elevators and the platforms are 2 flights of stairs above the ground. That became tricky with the stroller and the 2 kids. At least I had Mitch there to show off his manliness and carry the stroller with Lydia in it as I walked with Ben down the stairs. 

As we were dropping Mitch off at the door of his building, he said, "That was great! We should do this more often!" I was thinking to myself , "Easy for you to say - I still have to make it home... by myself!"

But I'm tough - I wasn't scared. In fact, I was excited! I had big plans while we were in the city. We bid our farewell to Mitch and headed towards Millennium Park! 

As I was walking down Jackson, I realized that I had no clue where I was going or how far of a walk this park actually was. I had been there once before and it didn't seem that far away - but I wasn't pushing a stroller then and it wasn't a hot, humid day either. I got a little mixed up and thought it would be a good idea to follow this tourist group on those standing scooter things. About a mile later, I ran into Buckingham Fountain. Not a bad detour.

Ben thought it was the most amazing thing EVER. By the time we got to the fountain, Lydia was out.

 Isn't she the cutest thing... but wait - let's zoom out a little...

Hmmm... isn't that fence supposed to keep people OFF the grass? That naughty little boy. His mother is so irresponsible to lose track of him like that! Wait a second... that little boy looks a lot like my son...

I was so focused on getting Lydia centered in picture, that I didn't even notice Ben. Then my attention was even more distracted when Mitch called during my photo shoot to see how we were doing. As I'm talking to Mitch, I casually look around to see if I can find Ben. I found him. He hadn't gone far - he was still in that same spot the camera caught him in, only his pants were down around his ankles and he was saying, "Mommy, I need to go potty!"

You can imagine the rest of the story. It was time for our "adventure" to move along.

I finally stopped and asked someone where to go and they pointed me to the part of Millennium Park I had intended to visit. The kids had an absolute blast!

This is the Crown Fountain. They are 2 glass brick towers that have water flowing down them and faces of Chicagoans are projected on the fronts. Between the towers is a splash pad the kids can run through.

 And we couldn't visit Millennium Park without seeing 'The Bean'. Its official name is "Cloud Gate". 

The train ride home was an adventure of its own. As I mentioned before, there is no elevator to the train platform, so I had to haul the stroller and the 2 kids (by myself) up 2 flights of stairs. We managed to make it on the train alive, but the car was packed. Standing room only. The only place I could stand was by the door. And at every stop, Ben tried to exit the train. About half way home, the train had emptied enough for us to get a bench, but then Lydia decided to SCREAM and cry through remaining 8 stops. Delightful. :) But we did have a fun day and although I may not brave the train again with my kids alone, we made some "Millennial Memories"!

Greater Good? I'm your wife! I'm the greatest "good" you're ever gonna get!

Meet the new "Incredibles"

"The Super" 
My Incredible Ben has been obsessed with his "super" (his cape). He wears it everywhere and announces to everyone we pass that he is a superhero.

 And of course if Ben's doing it, Lydia wants to join in. She added some accessories to her costume.

Our Super Friends

 Sitting next to Ben is Jack and his sister, Claire.

And this is Bryn & Grant and baby Ruby. We hang out with Bryn & the kids a couple times each week. I am soooo grateful for Bryn!

"Jack Jack's" Birthday Party. 

In the beginning, it was the perfect little boy party - watching "Cars" and eating treats.

 Then the girls took over!

Developing our Domestic Superpowers

Their Only Weakness

Every Superhero has a weakness and my little superheros decided water was theirs. We went to Welles to cool off in the water on a hot day and all they did was watch the other kids run in it.

The Underminer

Yes, that is a cupcake in Lydia's hand, but that's not what is all over her face. That would be the dirt. The cupcake is just an accessory.

The Super Fort

Our Super Ride

THANK YOU SARA!!

Super Diet

 Yum!

Super Dad
Enjoying a little reading time with the kids after a long work week.

Being a superhero is hard work!