Adoption
Over the past 5 days I have been anxiously checking email and Facebook to check on my dear friends trip to Ethiopa to see her son. This is the first child for “M” and “G” and I couldn’t be more excited for them both!
“M” texted all of us as she was holding her son for the 1st time, saying that it felt that her heart was going to burst! This feeling is no different for any 1st time mother, no matter HOW you become that childs mother. Every child is a blessing and I can’t wait to meet this little guy once he comes home to Chicago!
Kids bookstore and candy store in Chicago
On monday my friend and I made a quick trip to the city with our 4 year olds. We ended up finding to great places that I wanted to write about.
The 1st place we visited was Chicago Kids Bookstore located on Southport in Lakeview. The girls were excited to run in as there are books, toys, clothing and more. While we were there they were about to have story time for infants. There were cozy places for the girls to sit as well as large stuffed animals(horses, dogs, etc…) for them to sit on. It is a whimsical yet educational environment as after all it is a Bookstore 1st and foremost.
After visiting the book store we headed down the street a block or so to Candyality and let me tell you, good luck getting your kids out! The have candy from the days when we were young, as well as chocolates by the pound and every other candy you can imagine. We were greeted warmly by the owner who showed the girls around and gave them the golden rule of “not putting our hands in the candy bins and only using the scoopers”. There is a cooler in the front full of frozen treats, movie style popcorn, t-shirts and gift items available. My daughter picked up a little gift bag of treats for her daddy that said “SOME SUGAR FOR MY DADDY!” how cute is that? I ended up spending $19 on candy but so enjoyed my bag of chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate covered peanuts on the way home!
If you are in Chicago, these are both great places to visit with your Kids and are local favorites (not touristy spots). Just click on the names of the places above to visit their websites.
AVON walk for Breast Cancer 2009
For the last 2 days women and men walked (a marathon and a half)to raise awareness and money for Breast Cancer Research.
For my family our connection with the walk started 3 years ago but began in our hearts years before. My husband and I have done 5k walks since our 1st daughter was born, who is now going to be turning 7. We told ourselves that we would always participate in creating more awareness after counting more that 10 family and friends who had bee touched by the disease. Three years ago we began participating in the AVON walk. The first year I walked and my husband volunteered as medical crew. We were both amazed at what happened during those two days. We vowed to participate in the AVON walk every year! Our 2nd year, my husband volunteered as medical crew and I was told that I could only walk 2 miles a day for medical reasons. I was devistated but stayed around to cheer on our team as well as 12 staff members from my daughters school who decided to walk! This year, I am happily in my 8th month of pregnancy, but was told not to walk under any circumstances….so my hubby, 2 girls and I trekked to the walk to Cheer on our Team!! The same emotions were there as everyone crossed the finish line, doing something that they thought was impossible. Achieving something that will change their lives forever as it did mine!
Next year, I WILL WALK…and raise AWARENESS once again
Museum of Science and Industry / Idea Factory
The Idea Factory
First of all can I say “put on your walking shoes”. My girls were off of school for winter break so we decided to take them to The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We have gone 2 other times in the past few months, but for very short periods of time.
Our goal for this visit was to see everything we could see….at least that was our Brainy idea for the day. So we visited, the Farm area , The “Future”, The “I Spy” area, we went on a Submarine, went on an Airplane, visited a Ship, a Train, A miniature city with Trains (Chicago and Seattle), Watched Chix hatching…and now my 6 year old will NEVER and I mean NEVER eat an egg again, especially after seeing the stringy stuff in the shell…
Our favorite part of the whole visit was the “IDEA Factory” which is for kids up to age 10. It was awesome! There are wind tunnels, tons of water. Here is a little tidbit from their website:
Children can explore the attributes of four basic objects: cube, sphere, tetrahedron and cylinder. Using these objects, they’ll experiment and test their own theories about the fundamentals of construction, simple machines, light, color, magnetism, balance, air and water. For example, kids aged three to five years can explore the effect of differently shaped wheels on the speed and flow of movement and how air pressure affects the flow of bubbles.
Construction Crane encourages children to use hand-eye coordination to retrieve and move objects with an electromagnetic crane. Kids aged 6-10 years can use a crane to lift heavier objects remotely and determine how weight affects distribution of balance. They can also observe the different ways to manipulate white light versus laser light using prisms, lenses and mirrors.
The Water Spectacle contains 3,300 gallons of water and invites children to build and navigate their own boats, discover how water moves objects and help set off the great geyser—an enormous water spray that is triggered by manipulation of hand and foot controls.
This was the best part of the museum for my girls and a definite when you visit the museum. Just make sure to put on your walking shoes!
2009 Chicago Auto Show
1. Denali…favorite because it had multiple televisions and a passage to walk thru to the 3rd row
2. Suburban…very similar inside to #1 and cost much less
3. VW Mini Van…shiny black color and same favorites as #1 and #2, 3rd row folded with the push of a button, back door was also automatic
So we figured out that we need a 3rd row, but not all the time, and that when having a 3rd row it is much easier to have a walkway to the back rather than having to lift up seats. Do you need all the bells and whistles?
The highlight of the trip (in between all of the complaining that everyones legs were hurting and Are we leaving yet?) was the robot which was pretty cool, and the little mini cars and hybrids caught everyones attention.
So here are my final thoughts, if you are going to take children..GO EARLY! Don’t expect for them not to complain, its alot of walking no matter what however they can take lots of breaks sitting in the cool cars. I would rather spend one day looking at all the cars in one spot, than 5 different afternoons visiting seperate dealerships ANY DAY!