A Visit from an Iowan Friend, Part One

I've been very busy the last few days. My friend Gardenmom came to visit us from Iowa with her eight-year-old son, and we had a blast. I'm oh-so-deeply exhausted, but in a good way.

She came to see the baby and have a mini-vacation. Gardenmom also spent a lot of time holding the baby. Henry is a cuddler, so he really liked that.

Gardenmom and I have been friends since college. We've tried really hard to maintain our friendship, and visited one another about once a year since she moved way out to Iowa. Usually we go to lots of exciting places, but this year I just had a baby, so we took it kind of easy. For Nick, it was enough to have someone to play with. He didn't remember Gardenmom's son from last year, and he just called him "that guy" for the first two days. As in, "I don't want to take a sleepy nap. I want to stay here and play with that guy." (pointing)

Nick has a new role model now. I'm all for it, because Gardenmom's son is eight, and fairly well-behaved. We went to the outlet mall, and out to eat on Friday. I made a colossal mistake, though. I didn't think to bring Nick's stroller, and I forgot the tether (leash) for him. He used this as an opportunity to head for the hills whenever possible. We were a funny sight: Nick running, with Gardenmom's son following behind, and me chasing them both. It was a full day of shopping. Henry, thankfully, slept in his stroller most of the time.

At one point, though, we got to a dressing room area in a store where we were the only customers. So I let the boys run wild. Hey, you've gotta pick your battles, right?

The boys entertained one another, and frankly, having an extra child ended up being less work because the older one entertained the annoying one, to a certain degree. 

We visited Mimi's Cafe, one of my favorite casual places, and had a nice lunch. Nick stayed in the booth most of the time, but then again, he had entertainment. And dessert. That was the "reward" for sitting.

Then we went to Houlihan's for dinner. We ordered some fancy fries for Nick, and at one point Gardenmom decided to sample one of them. Nick gave her the dirtiest look I've ever seen. I didn't snap the worst of the dirty look, but this is the face he made when she took another french fry.

My boy gets possessive over his fries. I was really tired that night, but I know I worked off all of the food, chasing after Nick. I am never going to forget the leash and stroller again! It was very nice to have company, though. I wish there was a faster way to travel to Iowa, so we could visit more often.

Who are you and what have you done with my son?

Nick had a really good day yesterday. He hasn't had too many well-behaved days of late, so I was absolutely thrilled. Frankly, it seemed like I had borrowed a different two-year-old for the day. Weird.

I packed up the boys and picked a random park. It was one we'd never been to before, and we thought it was pretty cool.

Nick loved playing at this park. It was designed for kids his age, and I hope I can remember how to find it again. Is it weird that I drive through random Chicago-area subdivisions looking for new parks? Hey, it's cheap entertainment, anyway.

Henry napped in the carseat the whole time we were at the park, and I kept the cover pulled up so he was shaded. It's kind of nice that newborns sleep so much--this will be harder once Henry starts crawling around.

You want to know what the best part was? I gave Nick a five-minute warning before we left, and he actually heeded it. "One more time on the slide! On the slide!" he said. And then, indeed. . . he went down the slide one more time, took my hand, and walked to the car with no screaming, dragging, or threatening.

Then, we went to Target and, miraculously, had no screaming, even though I had to pile groceries up on top of Nick, and an avalanche of Greek yogurt and toilet paper came crashing down on him. All he said was, "Mommy, I stuck! Ouchie!" So how do people with two children go shopping? Do they drag a second cart behind them? I can't figure it out. Henry (in his carseat) fits in the front of the cart, and Nick sits in the back part. But where do I put the groceries? This is a serious dilemma. Any suggestions?

So I decided to push my luck and take the boys to lunch after our Target trip. I was an incredibly daring woman. Also a hungry one. Plus, Henry had this funky looking rash across his nose and cheeks. He got it while we were at the park, even though he was in the shade every second and it was only in the lower 80s. I think it must be heat rash, because it happened to him again today. Anyway, I figured I'd go to a restaurant and chill in the air conditioning for awhile, and if the rash didn't go away, I'd head to the doctor's office before going home.

I decided on Houlihan's in Naperville at Route 59 and 95th Street, mostly because I love their small plate menu. It's perfect for Nick and I to share. Check out his perfect lime-squeezing technique. He knows just how to put a little citrus on his calamari.

He doesn't just eat the rings, either. Nick loves squid.  :)

Nick was remarkably well-behaved, once again because of the promise of a sweet reward at the end of our meal. He (generally) stayed in his seat and used an indoor voice. Nick shared my lunch, and ate everything I gave him, even my tuscan bean salad (which was delicious!). They let me substitute spinach, and I think this is my new favorite summer salad. Nick loved it, too.

I've been told it's crazy to take kids to a sit-down restaurant alone, but I prefer it, honestly. Let's say I had chosen my only fast food favorite, Panera, instead. I would've had to juggle Henry, Nick, two drinks, plus our food tray simultaneously. Not a relaxing lunch. At Houlihan's, on a random Wednesday after the lunch rush but before the dinner rush, there were maybe three other tables filled in the whole restaurant, so we weren't annoying anyone. Plus, the waitress brought us everything, so I didn't have to juggle food.

It was a yummy lunch, and Nick earned his white chocolate banana cream pie. (I got to eat some, too, because I was also well-behaved in the restaurant.)

I forgot to mention Henry's behavior. I don't want to neglect my second-born.  ; )  He slept peacefully in his carseat the entire meal, then woke up while we were having our dessert and had a bottle. His rash was gone by the time we left. I'm figuring it must've been heat related, because we were in and out of my car all day.

Nick behaved himself all the way home, too. He asked me nicely to turn on some music. "No talking! Pweese! Want to listen to songs!" Lately, Nick has been doing this to me whenever I turn on the radio. Sigh. This means no more NPR for me, I suppose. I used to listen to NPR almost exclusively in the car, but Nick is not a fan. I miss it. Oh well, at least he doesn't criticize my choice of music. . . yet.

After such a wonderful day, I wanted to ask Nick, "Who are you and what have you done with my son?" I'm hoping this is a trend. Or, at least, a flash of what he'll be like once the terrible twos start to subside. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more days like this one.

Lunchtime Date at Houlihan's

I was bored this morning. Greg had to work, and I didn't feel like doing anything around the house. Nick tends to get a little stir-crazy if we just hang out around the house all day. Also, I was having a craving. . . for fried calamari. One of those cravings that just won't let up until you've quenched it. So I decided to go on a date with a very handsome fellow. He held my hand and shared my drink.

You know, one of the things I really like about being a mom (most of the time) is that I'm seldom alone. I feel weird going to sit-down restaurants when I'm by myself, but that feeling disappears when I have a pint-sized date along with me. Most of the parents I know tend to take their kids to more casual places over sit-down restaurants. I have a hard time doing this. Think about it: pregnant lady juggling a (nearly) 30-lb. toddler, a big purse, winter coats, a tray, and drinks. I'd much rather go somewhere where a waitress takes care of all the hard stuff. I know that toddlers are notoriously naughty in restaurants, but I figure that the only way to teach Nick to behave in public is to keep taking him out in public. I like to eat out, and I don't want to give that up just because I am a mommy. We went to the new Houlihan's on 95th Street on the south side of Naperville.

Our waitress saw how antsy Nick was and offered to bring us some baby carrots and ranch dressing right away. This was perfect, and Nick thought the ranch dressing was some kind of miracle. He loved it. I usually stay away from chain restaurants. But I'd heard good things about Houlihan's so we decided to give it a shot. I was floored by their great new menu. They have a whole "small plates" section that includes casual stuff like burgers and fries as well as more highbrow items like calamari and scallops. We ordered calamari (of course!), a spinach salad, fancy parmesan french fries with three different sauces, and chicken tortilla soup. Check it out:

For me, small plates are just perfect because I can't eat a ton of food in one sitting. (I had Roux-en-Y bariatric surgery back in 2003.) I love the idea of trying lots of different foods, but my favorite part was that they had the item I had been craving so much--calamari!

I also don't have Nick order from the children's menus, because I want him to grow up eating things other than chicken nuggets, pizza, and hamburgers. So we shared. Nick was adventurous enough to try everything but the soup. (The only reason he didn't eat that is because I'd forgotten a bib!) He especially liked the calamari dipped in chipotle ketchup. I ended up eating my whole salad, most of the calamari, some fries, and a few bites of soup. I took enough home to make another small meal.

I couldn't turn down the "small" dessert, either. We ended up with the white chocolate banana cream pie, and Nick would've eaten the whole thing himself if I'd let him.

Nick isn't always an angel in restaurants, but he was very good today. He ate a ton, didn't throw any food, kept his voice down (for the most part), and chatted with me the entire time. He was a very good date.  :)  Nick even earned a check on his hand for listening. You see, he usually sits in a high chair, but this time I let him try a booster seat. It didn't work because he couldn't reach the table, so he just kneeled and it worked fine. At one point, he tried to stand in the booth, and I told him, "No, sit down." He did, right away, so I gave him a check for being a good listener.

I think the checks are working pretty well, so far. We just have to keep pens away from him. As for Houlihan's, I think we've found a new spot to go regularly. I checked out their webpage, and supposedly they make all of their food fresh every day. I don't know about that, but it was sure tasty to me. Next time I want to try the mini-burgers and the goat cheese bread. Oh, and our whole meal? It was a little over $20. Not bad for such fancy fare.