Chicago Moms Blog

Aaaaaaar! Pirate Talk

Yar! I need me grog!  What, you don’t talk pirate?  Ok, in plain English – Yes, I need some alcohol-after-a-whole-hour-with-a-bunch-of–bratty-kids…er... I mean pirates.

That aaar became more like an aaaargh.  Today I took my boys to see Emerald Theatre Production's “How I Became A Pirate” musical based on the book and I have to remind myself next year to hold off on kid theatre shows until fall.  I'm an avid musical theatre fan so my kids naturally enjoy it because they have been seeing shows since they were wee ones.  We frequent a lot of children’s company production shows all over Chicagoland and even threw my son a big birthday party inviting his entire preschool class and family to watch Disney's Aladdin the musical. My boys couldn't stop talking about it, and it shows how much our kids love live theatre. But I just realized that this was the first time we actually went during summer. And after today, we will never do that as a "summer-thing-to-do" again. Ever!

Stevie, it's a Wonder we made it at all

Call me crazy. My husband and I buckled our two girls, 11 months and 3 1/2 years old, into a stroller and Blue Lined it into the city Saturday evening for the free Stevie Wonder concert at the Taste of Chicago.

It was a mob scene. Wall to wall people so crammed together the crowd actually stopped moving. The lines for food tickets were 30 deep. The air was rich with the aromas of cooking oil, barbecue, port-a-potties and bug repellent. I knew we'd left yuppie-ville behind when I heard the tenth person comment with wonder on our Phil & Teds stroller. They're as common as squirrels in Oak Park.

I was pressed flesh-to-flesh against the rest of humanity. My oldest whined, "I'm thirsty. Where's Stevie?"  My youngest threw her paci into the abyss and started screaming. A woman in the crowd quipped, "That baby wants to get the f*&k out of here too!"

Art Is For Your Heart

I'll never forget the time my brother and I watched an episode of The Muppet Babies where they made an art museum in their nursery. For the rest of the day we drew and colored and hung our artwork all over the playroom, inviting Mom & Dad to see only after we'd covered every inch of the walls.

My brother went on to attend art school many, many years later. And I went on to pursue theatre in Chicago, paying rent by working in the Art Institute's Museum Shop selling books and posters and eventually working through one of the most successful and largest Monet exhibits of all time. Possibly the longest hours I'd ever worked, but probably my favorite and most interesting place I'd ever work. I was trained by Ed Harris' dad, and my new fascinating co-workers took me to courtyard parties, dinners with hummus, and through the musty paperbacked shelves of Powell's Books. We ate cheese sandwiches on our lunch break at the School of the Art Institute's cafeteria and walked through the Hall of Armor at night, with all the lights off, chills up our spines the entire time. (I swear one time I saw blood on the floor.)

They Look Good On You

Babywearing is all the rage lately- whether you're a new Mom, celeb Mom, or an old pro. Many parents wear their babies to keep them close, some wear them out of convenience, and others just need to keep track of all their kids. I tend to fall in, um, all those categories.

It's quite fashionable to wear your baby as an accessory- so many stylish slings, wraps, and carriers are available now in boutiques and online. More kids and smaller cars leave little room for bulky strollers, but a sling can be taken anywhere. And if you're breastfeeding on the go, wearing baby is the best way I've found to be discreet and get the job done. I have heard from many parents, however, that they have tried to wear their baby but they "just didn't get it." They can't figure out just how to use their carrier or haven't found one that really works for them.

Dressing The Bumps And Bruises

The hubs and I are attending the Wings Of Hope Benefit next Friday at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in honor of the American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation. The E word. Not something very popular or comfortable to talk about, but Epilepsy is real and more common than you may know. We went through the darkest of times when our son was diagnosed just over 4 years ago. Thankfully and miraculously, our son is seizure-free and medication-free now, and we are honored to wear Noah's success as a badge and share his story, one that continues to bring hope to parents wishing the same for their child. This benefit is sure to be emotional and uplifting and will not only raise awareness (with special speaker Hunter Tylo and People Magazine in attendance), but from the proceeds will also provide educational initiatives and support programs to those living with Epilepsy. And this event also has this preggy Mama wondering just what am I going to wear?

Extremely honored to be able to attend such a special night, I want to look my best. I am the face of a mother that has been through watching her child have 200 seizures a day. I saw him drift away before my very eyes and drift back and drift away again. And now I have him back for good. I want to show everyone what a survivor looks like. I didn't end up a haggardly mess rocking myself in a corner (as I seriously thought just might happen.) I made it. I'm not saying that I'm totally together, but I think I have been able to move on with life. And even if we still had the seizures as part of our everyday, we would still go on living. Life- it has this incredible ability to keep going on with or without us.

Where does our garbage go?

When my boys were little, garbage collection day was always a cause for celebration. The big, noisy yellow truck so close to our house was too much for them to resist. We'd stop whatever we were doing in order to run outside and greet the garbage men and watch our trash disappear into the truck. Oh, the excitement!

This Saturday, May 31, we'll celebrate trash in a more formal way. We'll get a first hand view of what happens to our garbage when it's not being used to build sledding hills in the local parks. It's one party that destined to leave us down in the dumps. You see, SWANCC, the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County is hosting its 20th annual Open House at the Glenview Transfer Station.

Chicago, don't take away our music!

This Wednesday, the Chicago City Council will vote to approve an ordinance that will completely damage  Chicago’s thriving music scene.  This is UNACCEPTABLE.

I have lived in the Chicago area for the past 11 years and do you know what brought me here?  The MUSIC and ARTS scene.  Had it not been for places like The Fireside Bowl (referencing Wikipedia, where my husband's old band is actually listed), The Empty Bottle, The Double Door, Schubas (where we take our toddler to see family-friendly matinée shows with bands like The Terrible Twos), Metro and so on.  Oddly enough, I posted about the music and venues I love right around this time last year.  Honestly, I probably would not have met my husband it weren't for our love of music and the venues mentioned above.  I have spent countless nights congregating at these establishments and never once have I felt like I was in any danger.  The staff at these venues obviously care very much about the people in attendance and take every precaution to ensure everyone's safety.  I know this first-hand.

Giveaway: The Big Sleep Show in Chicago

When new moms get together, what's the hot topic of conversation? Oh, come on, you know. It's who's getting some, who's not getting enough, and who's not getting any--sleep, that is. Sleep is a huge issue for moms, kids, teens, and families.

The Big Sleep Show is one of our newest sponsors. The Big Sleep Show is coming to Chicago,  May 9-10th at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, with find products, services and workshops all focused on sleep, how to create healthy sleep habits, and behaviors that can improve sleep. There will also be a hands-on interactive play area for children to learn about good sleep habits and a scavenger hunt for them as well!

The Big Sleep Show is giving away 2 sets of tickets to our readers.   To win a set of tickets, leave us a comment below!  What sleep issues does your family have? Tell us why you need these tickets.  Please be sure to fill out the email address field (which won't be displayed) of the comment section; we will only use this address  to contact you if you are the winner.  We will announce the winner on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

Pardon the Dust...A Chicago Bungalow Project

In the next month we are doing something we never thought we would do; a home remodel. When we purchased our home back in 2006 we never envisioned having to replaced the furnace, the AC, put in a bath tub, and build a new garage all in the first year of living there.

When we moved in to the 1917 Chicago style bungalow we already knew we were going to replace the existing 1927 one car garage with a new two car garage that also had attic storage so that was in our budget.

We did not anticipate the furnace going out the very first time we turned it on, AJ not being able to sleep upstairs without us (the traditional master is on the first floor), or a flooded basement just three short weeks after we moved in.

Your local Chicago school needs you!

We all know that the Chicago Public Schools are in a state of um, flux. They are trying things that other school systems don't do or maybe even, don't need. One of the experiments that seem to work in some schools is the Local School Council:

   

Local School Councils (LSCs) are elected bodies at nearly every Chicago Public Schools (CPS) elementary, middle and high school. The LSC has 6 parents, 2 community members who are not parents of students at the school, 2 teachers, the principal, and, in high schools, a student member. The parents and community members are elected by the parents and community residents around the school. Teachers are selected by the school staff. These members serve for a two-year term. High school student members serve for one year. By law, the LSC chairperson must be a parent representative.

    The LSC's major responsibilities are to approve the school budget and annual strategic plan (called the school improvement plan), to evaluate the principal every year and to decide every four years if they want to renew the principal's contract or hire a new principal. This is the strongest site- based management system in the nation.