The Museum of Science and Industry

A few weeks ago, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. I took quite a few pictures, but didn't have time to post many of them. So here they are for your enjoyment, starting with the one of Nick sitting on a cow.

Here is Nick enjoying his ride on the combine.

I think Henry was a little overwhelmed by all of the Christmas trees. Actually, I'm just guessing. I have no idea why he looks freaked out in this picture.

I think Nick's favorite exhibit was the Idea Factory, where Grandma Toni and I watched him shoot water. "I like the shooting things!" said Nick. Yup. We know.

I love the picture below of Nick. He looks either fiercely determined or moderately constipated. Either way, it's cute, but he was actually trying to turn that gear.

Henry was, for once, not left out of the museum experience. MSI Chicago actually has a part of the Idea Factory that is just for babies, and Henry took full advantage of this place of joy.

That is a look of joy. . . drool, as well, but the joy is just behind the drool.

I wish I could find a baby obstacle course near my house to take Henry. He loved this one so much.

All in all, it was a pretty decent day.

Teaser Post

Greetings from pottyland. I've spent most of the last week sitting on the floor in the bathroom, singing silly songs and desperately listening for the joyful sound of success. The cord on my laptop doesn't stretch that far, so my posts have been somewhat sporadic.

I have a ton to post about, though, and thankfully, I'm on my spring break, so more updates are to come in the next week, including:

1. A pregnancy update. Yup. I'm 28 weeks now. It's getting harder to see my feet.

2. The extravaganza of raking leaves in March with the "help" of a two-year-old. Using a snow shovel.

3. A trip to downtown Chicago for the day, including The Hancock Building and a chocolate tour (Yes, such things exist).

4. An account of the coolest children's party (for a two-year-old) that I've ever seen.

5. Nick's trip to Naperville's Riverwalk.

Here are some of the pictures for you to peruse, in no particular order or context. More to come this week.

"I See Fishies!" Or, A Visit to the Shedd Aquarium

To celebrate the first day of 2011, Greg and I decided to take Nick to the Shedd Aquarium. Nick has never been before, mostly because every time we go downtown the line looks really long (out the door!), and we've never been brave enough to wait. I love going downtown, but the cost is often frustrating, so we don't go all that often. For this trip, parking cost $19.

Our hope was that since it was New Year's Day, everyone would be at home sleeping it off, and the lines would be more manageable. We still had to wait about 40 minutes, but at least our waiting was inside. Nick kept saying, "Fishies?" When we finally got to the counter, we were astonished at the prices. Now, the good news is that I got in for free, because I'm a public school teacher. Nick was also free because he's under 3. But Greg, alone, cost $37 with tax for admission plus the show. What will we do when we have two children over three? Urgh.

The aquarium itself was pretty cool, and Nick loved interacting with other children any chance he got. I have to work with him on his waving, though. If he says "Hi!" to another child, and they don't respond, he keeps repeating it and waving his hand in their face until they react. Oh, well. At least he likes to play with other kids.

I think Nick's very favorite thing at Shedd was the wave tank, which was pretty awesome. He kept asking for it to go "Again!" It was the only time he sat for more than thirty seconds the whole day.  :)

Despite the expense, I will say that the upstairs eatery at the aquarium (Soundings Cafe) is ten times nicer than most museum cafes. The food was well-made and they bring it to your table. They advertise organic, locally grown ingredients, and if that is true then I guess the price was worth it. The tables had a great view of the lake, too. Nick loved his pickle the best.

The show was really neat, as well, but this is when Nick started misbehaving. It was a Christmas themed show, and I think this was the last weekend it was running. There were lots of other kids his age there, and all of them sat quietly in their parents' laps. Not my boy. He kept moving around and climbing down to sit with another family that had a very cute little girl. Nick can be a big flirt. He loved the show, though, especially when Santa came flying out in a little boat that landed on the water. When Santa went away, Nick yelled, "Santa! Where Santa? Want Santa!"

After the show, there was a big hubub about Nick not wanting to stay in the stroller or  hold someone's hand. Our kid is very high-energy, and both of us worry sometimes about him not listening.

I know that it is normal for a two-year-old to be defiant, but it was frustrating seeing all of the other kids his age walking contentedly with their parents while our child kept trying to run away. It's all about being more stubborn than your kid, though, and eventually Greg and I convinced him that he'd have to pick: hold hand or stroller. He did better after that little power struggle. Especially when we found the Polar Play area where little kids can climb and play, pretending to be penguins.

We ended up staying at the aquarium the whole day and not leaving until after 5 p.m. (We wanted to get our money's worth, you see.) Despite Nick's misbehavior, it was a very fun day, and Nick thoroughly enjoyed himself. When we went out this morning, he asked me, "We go see fishies?"

I had to tell him, "Not for awhile, baby." Especially considering the price of admission.  But I'm glad we went, even though my feet were killing me the next two days. Many of my pictures turned out kind of blurry because of: (1.) the constantly moving two-year-old, and (2.) the poor lighting. But Greg got some pretty good video of Nick talking about the fishies.

If you've got plenty of dough, I'd highly recommend the Shedd Aquarium if you've got little kids.

Anniversary Trip 2010 Part V: Hancock Building and The Beach

I promise this is the last post about our Chicago trip.  Really.  : )

I'd never been to the viewing deck at that Hancock Building before, so Greg and I decided to take the elevator up and get some pictures last Thursday. It is quite hard to take a picture of yourself with a camera, as Greg discovered.


















When we got to the counter to buy our tickets, I asked the cashier if he had any discounts for teachers. I try to always ask, because in many places, I get discounts or free admission when I show my teacher ID. The man told us that no, they only had discounts for military personnel. Then, for no apparent reason, he gave us the military discount, so instead of paying $15 per person, we paid $5.50. Greg was surprised and uncomfortable when he saw the receipt. "Why did that guy do that?," he whispered as we waited to board the elevator. "That is really weird."

"Either he was just being nice, or I've still got it," I replied. He was probably just being nice. Sigh. But I do remember the days when free admission/drinks/etc. came my way more often. I'll take my discounts any way I can get them. Especially for a view like this:

I have to say that I like the view from the Hancock Building better than the one from the Sears Tower. For some reason, I felt like there was more to see. Perhaps that's because we were farther north and closer to the lake. One of the weird things I noticed was all of the swimming pools on the top of buildings. They seemed weird and out of place to me. Why put the pool on the top of the building, especially if it is thirty some stories?

I loved that there was a coffee shop up there. If being 94 stories up isn't enough of a high, you can get a caffeine high at the same time. Here's Greg having an espresso. I had a coffee with Bailey's--it's nice to mix just a little kick into the coffee.

One other neat thing that I noticed was the green rooftops. There were only a few, but they instantly drew my attention.

The view was incredible, and we stayed up there quite a long time. I, too, am trying to learn how to take pictures of myself. Very challenging.

After we took the elevator back down, Greg took us to a pretty little park on the west side of Lake Shore Drive. The weather was lovely, not too hot or too cold. But as soon as I saw that there was a beach across the street, I wanted to go. I absolutely love shorelines and beaches, and I'd never actually walked on any of the Chicago beaches. I love the way the waves come in on the shore and crash a bit, even though it's just a lake and not an ocean.

It was such a lovely day that I took off my shoes and walked in the surf. Greg, on the other hand, did not want to take his shoes off or enjoy the water. He insisted that the last time he'd touched water from Lake Michigan, he'd gotten mono six weeks later. So he stood around and looked impatient while I enjoyed the sun, sand, and water. Note my shoes standing next to him, empty.

I would've stayed on the beach longer, but Greg was bored and it was almost time to catch our train back to Palatine. Our trip was over.

Anniversary Trip 2010 Part IV: Carmine's, Old Town, and Reminiscing

Back to our Chicago Trip. . .

Wednesday night Greg and I walked to one of his favorite restaurants, and Italian place called Carmine's. It's on Rush Street and the food was delicious, if overly plentiful. It was a bit pricy, but the grilled calamari/octopus/shrimp was perfectly cooked, and the lasagna had an amazing sauce. I'd definitely recommend this place, especially if you like classic Italian food.

As is often the case, the highlight of my meal was dessert, which was a chocolate mousse cake that just melted in my mouth. I wish I'd saved more room, because this cake was phenomenal. The chocolate just melted in my mouth. It's funny, but ten years from now this trip will be a fuzzy memory, but I do believe I'll remember this cake. That's how my memory works. Our waitress took this picture of us, but unfortunately the cake wasn't in the picture.  ; )

After dinner we walked down to Old Town to see Second City's mainstage performance. I've been a few times, but Greg had never gone to see Second City. The show was called: "Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies in the End." It was pretty funny, though some skits were better than others. I think my favorite one was about a lady trying to keep squirrels off of her bird feeder. There was a lot of physical comedy, and I loved when the actors pretended to be office supplies, like a stapler, a water fountain, etc. Also, it was so nice to be able to drink and not worry about who was going to drive. I had several mugs of coffee with Bailey's, and that probably made me laugh even more. We weren't allowed to take any pictures at the show, but I had Greg snap this shot of me near one of the Old Town signs. This part of town was not as upscale as the Gold Coast, but there were a lot of neat looking shops and quaint bars and restaurants. I'd like to explore this area again, because even though we were very early, Greg wouldn't let me go into any of the stores. (Deep sigh.)

After the show, we decided to walk to the El Station, but discovered (after walking a mile in the opposite direction) that it was closed. By the time we'd walked back to the hotel, we probably worked off all of our dinner and dessert. I was glad I'd worn my comfy flip flops. It was a great evening--it's nice to go on dates with my husband. Evenings like this one take me back five years and make me reminisce back to when Greg and I were first dating. Our first "real" date was on the Gold Coast, in downtown Chicago.

***Flashback*** You know how in a movie, the screen will go all fuzzy for a second so you know there's a flashback? Well, I don't know quite how to do that in a blog, so I'm just going to tell you.  ***Flashback***

Greg and I met online, at Yahoo Personals, to be exact. Both of us were looking for a long term relationship. I was 27, and Greg was 31. We chatted via email for a good month before deciding to meet. Greg was living in Oak Park at the time, and we met at a coffee shop and talked for several hours. While waiting for me to arrive, he was reading a book--"The Wine Bible." That made me giggle, but was kind of a relief after dating guys who wanted to do shots of Jagermeister and chug countless beers. Greg was obviously a little more refined than that, though I was also a little amused by the little earring he wore in one ear. It didn't seem to match with the rest of his personality.

I remember what I was thinking of that first evening. Greg was very polite and gentlemanly. I liked that Greg was older than me, mature, and well-educated (Greg has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kentucky). I remember we talked about Europe, because I had been and he'd always wanted to go.  He asked (very politely, I might add), if he could take me out the following Saturday, and I accepted. During the following week, he called me and told me we'd be going downtown for dinner and that I should wear something nice. I was flabbergasted when he showed up in a suit, with a bouquet of flowers. Very nice presentation.

My jaw dropped when I saw where he was taking me--on a horse drawn carriage ride through the city. The funny thing is that the carriage ride took off right by the Water Tower, which is very near where the Whitehall Hotel is located. Our driver even took a picture of us, though it was a Poloroid and has kind of faded.

I think Greg wins for most romantic first date ever. He was trying to impress and he did. We even went up to the Signature Room up in the Hancock Building for dinner. Does it make sense now why going downtown reminds me of our first date? One of the secrets to a good marriage, I think, is planning adventures to go on together. Hopefully we'll have lots more adventures this year.

***Flashback over, pardon my digression***

Anniversary Trip 2010 Part I: Hotel and Dinner Cruise

After two years of being married, I finally feel, well, married. You see, I finally have tan lines on my left ring finger. I just noticed them when I took my rings off last night. I guess this means I'm really married.  ; )

Seriously, though, Greg and I have done pretty well for two years of marriage. One of the ways we stay sane is to go on dates as often as we can, just the two of us. So, to celebrate our second anniversary, we planned a trip to Downtown Chicago. Nick stayed with his Aunt Sarah and Grandma Toni (Thank you!), and Sarah took us to the Metra Station so that we wouldn't have to pay for parking. We stayed for two nights and three days (Tuesday-Thursday), and we just got back last night. I'm going to have to talk about this trip in several posts, because we did so many things while in the city. Greg only gets twelve days off every year (that's vacation and sick days combined), so he wanted to make the most of his time off, and we did a lot.

We stayed in a boutique hotel on the Gold Coast right across from the Hancock Building. It's called The Whitehall Hotel, and it is in a really old building with tiny elevators. It was a pretty good place to stay, especially considering the price. When I first went to price hotels, we were disappointed and thought we wouldn't be able to stay downtown, because hotel rooms are incredibly expensive in the summertime. We're talking $130-$200 a night, on average. However, when I checked out Hotwire, I found a listing for a boutique, 4-star hotel on the Gold Coast for $98 a night. I didn't find out the name of the hotel until after I'd paid, but I wasn't disappointed. The room was a "Superior King," and was very nicely decorated. The only thing we didn't like is that they put us on a smoking floor, so the hallway was kind of stinky. But our room was great, and we had a terrific view.

Speaking of great deals, I got an amazing one on a dinner cruise using Groupon. We paid $40 each for a two hour dinner cruise on a boat called Mystic Blue. We boarded at 6 p.m. and returned at 8:30 p.m. When I called to book our tickets, I was told that dress was formal. So Greg wore his suit and I put on a nice dress and heels. When we stood in line to get on the boat, though, I was surprised to see what the definition of "formal" is for some people. Besides the staff, I think Greg was the only guy there in a suit. Men wore polo shirts and shorts or jeans with sandals, women wore jean skirts and flip flops. Honestly, more people were wearing shorts and sneakers than slacks and dresses. Oh well, I suppose it was better to be overdressed than underdressed.

The food was plentiful and well-made; I think my favorites were an Aloha Beef dish and a potato filled with scallops and shrimp. Since neither of us had to drive, Greg drank margaritas and I had an appletini. The view from our table was gorgeous, and there was a huge spread for dessert, with fondue and everything.

The waitress even brought us out a special dessert for our anniversary. It was a delicious cheesecake, and it tasted even better after my appletini.

We spent most of our cruise up on the deck, though, because we wanted to take in the fresh air and the dazzling skyline. The splendid views of Chicago, after all, were the whole reason for the cruise.

It was relaxing, to say the least, sitting up on the deck, listening to a live guitar player and watching the sun slowly set behind the buildings. I would have to say that this was probably the most romantic part of our trip.

After the cruise, we walked along Navy Pier and drank coffee and took pictures. We stayed up until midnight and walked all the way back to the hotel. I brought flip flops in my purse just in case my feet started to hurt, and oh, boy, was I glad I had done that!

3 Days of Pampering, Exploring, and Winter Weather. . . Day Two, Part Two

Well, seeing as we are snowed in and cannot go to Delavan today for Christmas #4, (blizzard conditions in Wisconsin)I'm going to finish reminiscing about our trip to downtown Chicago earlier this week. On Tuesday, after our afternoon nap, we went to the Christkindlmarket, which is a Chicago must, or so I've been told. I'd never seen it before, and despite the sleet/freezing rain/flurries, we set out to see what it was all about.

It was very pretty; Daley plaza was set up with booths all around with food, ornaments, winter wear, and hot beverages. Greg and I split one of tastiest hot pretzels I've ever had and a cup of hot apple cider, which felt great in the cold air. We walked around and looked at all of the European tchotchkes. I especially liked the toy store that sold authentic wooden puzzles and games for kids. I was tempted but the prices made me think twice.
My camera has always taken pretty crappy pictures, and this trip was no exception. My sister actually told me over Christmas that there's something wrong with it. I'm not sure, however, if losing the original reciept voids the Nikon warranty. Anyhow, here Greg and I are standing in front of the big Chicago tree in Daley Plaza. It was gorgeous, and the picture doesn't do it justice.
Here I am on Michigan Avenue. you can see one of the Art Institute lions behind me. Isn't it nice that with digital photography, I can crop my rear end out of pictures if it looks too big? Something about puffy winter jackets tend to make everyone look like the stay-puff marshmallow man. But it kept me warm, anyway, and nighttime in the city is beautiful in December.
This is the sleet/freezing rain that fell on us as we walked around. We found a lovely hot tea place called Argo, and I had an Earl Grey Steamer, which was steamed skim milk mixed with Earl Grey tea (my favorite), bergamot, and a shot of vanilla. yummy. Before we went to dinner, I made Greg take a picture of these pigeons. They were hanging around the flame, and I don't blame them. It was cold and wet. I thought it was cute how they stick their heads down in their birdie armpits to keep warm. If that one had gotten any closer to the flame, though, he would've been a roasted pigeon.
After Christkindlmarket, Greg took me for dinner at Trattoria #10, where we had had dessert Monday night. It was so good we were inspired to visit again for dinner Tuesday. I had the best caprese salad ever and a lobster ravioli that was so good I can't even put it into words. Greg had a magnificent lamb dish, and the chocolate cake we had for dessert was absolutely spectacular. My tummy was so happy. It's funny how I may forget the other details of our trip, but I will remember that meal as long as I live.


Why the shoe pictures? Well, there was a Crocs store near our hotel, and I walked in to look at shoes for Nick. I think that Crocs make your feet look like boats, and I would never buy them for myself. The kid ones are cute, though. However, I decided (after looking at the price tags) that it was a waste of money to spend $29.99 on shoes for a little boy who would grow out of them in a month or two. Then I saw these. . . and I had to buy them. They are pretty comfy flats, and they don't look like Crocs. Plus, they were buy one, get one 1/2 off. And my feet should stay the same size, at least I hope so. It was a wonderful trip, and if we can swing it, we want to go again next year. Maybe next year we'll stay on the Gold Coast. Greg says that he knows of some great places around there. A romantic Chicago trip was a great way to start our Christmas week.

3 Days of Pampering, Exploring, and Winter Weather. . . Day Two, Part One

Tuesday was such a great day that I think I'll have to make it into two posts. Greg got us coffee from Starbucks and we reveled in the joys of sleeping in. It was snowing lightly when we left, and since I didn't have to drive in it, I thought it was beautiful. We walked down to the Art Institute of Chicago, one of Greg's favorite places in the city. He's always been interested in art, and since he started painting a few years ago, he spends hours looking at paintings in the many art books he collects. The lions were all decked out for the holiday, and we got to see the new modern wing.



Since the last time we were at the museum (maybe 1-2 years ago?), they redid a lot of the building and added this huge modern section. It was beautiful and bright, with amazing views of the city. However, they also jacked up the prices--$18 per person admission! We were only planning on spending a few hours there, so thank goodness they give free admission to Illinois schoolteachers. Greg wandered through the modern wing admiring the paintings and the freeform art. I liked this strand of lights you can see below. Not sure what it's supposed to symbolize, but it sure looked cool. Perhaps it is meant to stand for that feeling you get when you carefully put away your lights each year and then open them up next December to find a tangle. . . I guess the point of modern art is to make you think, and the artwork I saw clearly made me think. Some of the modern conceptual art made me think, "This artist must have had a very interesting childhood," or "Perhaps psychiatric drugs helped with this painting." Something about the peaceful quiet of art museums makes me feel very relaxed and sleepy. I actually napped a bit on some of the benches, and Greg saw me and suggested that after lunch we go back to the hotel for a nap. Don't get me wrong, I love art, I guess my attention span just isn't as great as my husband, who could probably spend 8 hours walking through the galleries.

I spent most of my time looking out the windows, actually. There's a gridwork overhang and you can see the chunks of snow gather in clumps and then fall to the ground. It was spectacular.
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We went to the one sit-down restaurant at the Art Institute. They closed down the old one and opened up a new one called Terzo Piano. It was ultra-modern and the food was spectacular and fresh and unique. I had the three-cheeseburgers lunch, and it was delicious. It better have been for $19! Greg and I shared, though, and he had a salad. I had a lamb burger with goat cheese, a wisconsin burger with cheddar, and a shrimp burger with this delicious sauce. It's funny how food is so important to me on a vacation. Sometimes I remember the food more than the things I'm "supposed" to remember. That lamb burger, though, I will remember for the rest of my life. It just melted in my mouth. mmmm
My favorite part of this restaurant, though, was the chairs. They had the coolest modern-looking chairs, and I'm not usually into modern plastic furniture. These chairs, however, are smiling. Check them out! They're grinning from ear to ear! I love them.
If you look out the window of the restaurant, you can see the metal gridwork I was talking about that goes around the whole modern wing. Look closely and you can see the snow chunks falling down. It was mesmerizing.