I'm writing from Club Med Punta Cana*, turning from my monitor now and then to take a peek outside at the bright sun reflecting off the rippling surface of the ocean. Every now and again a small fishing boat or a pelican floats through the scene. How the heck did I wind up here?
Blogging.
Continue reading "Oh, the places you'll go when you blog " »
So often we are surprised by the good in other people. Whether it be someone helping out a lost tourist downtown, or someone simply holding the door open to a store, the recipient is almost always shocked that anyone is helping them. Why is this? Why are we so surprised when someone we don't know is helpful?
Over this past weekend I was down in Nashville at the BlissDom 08 conference, and on the way home I found myself stranded in Cincinnati. Our plane was late, then had mechanical issues, and our entire flight full of people was re-directed to other airlines--and relegated to the local airport hotels for the night. The mood was low, people were tired and starving (it was 1am and everything was closed), and I missed my babies.
As I stood in line to check into my hotel room for the night, along with 4 other passengers from my canceled flight, the woman next to me was asking the hotel staff for some contact solution. All her belongings were in her checked baggage, and the airline (Delta) would not let any passengers have their checked bags. They had none. She was stuck, and her contacts were stuck on her.
We left the house around 7:15 pm. Usually, I'm exhausted from a day of packing and cleaning and caring for our toddler but I was able to sneak in a two hour nap in the afternoon, so I could stay awake longer on the road. Generally I'm asleep after about an hour into the trip. I offered to drive because my husband just got off the road from his forty-five minute commute home from work.
We started out on our normal route out east on I-55 North and then took the brand new I-355 extension south to I-80. It was smooth sailing. I was driving, the toddler was quietly watching a movie in the backseat of the SUV and the husband was relaxing in the passenger seat.
My husband is temporarily living and working in London, so he wasn't able to travel with us to New York on Saturday (he will fly in and meet us here on Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving). So, as I've found myself doing way too many times before, I traveled on the plane, by myself, with both kids.
It was actually OK, though. I've kind of mastered it. It's not FUN, but it's do-able. Here, then, are my tips for a successful trip:
Continue reading "Tips for Airline Travel with Kids (especially of the toddler variety) " »
I blogged last week that I'll be attending the upcoming Wisconsin Go Run White House Project training. I spoke to an organizer on Saturday and she said that there is still some room left.
Here at Chicago Moms Blog and our sister sites, we have tackled political issues, IMO, every single day. And yes, I subscribe to the motto that the personal is the political, so many more issues are political to me than say Chris Matthews. We tackle education, health care, sexuality education (thanks Dumbledore), autism, race, immigration, on and on on our blogs. For those of us not schooled in the political process that others are, why don't you whip out that date book and see what you are doing the last weekend of this month? Whether you think you might run for school board or the Senate, I think this weekend will be awesome.
That's right, I got accepted to the Wisconsin Go Run training at the end of the month!
What's Go Run you ask?
Go Run is a two day training dedicated to demystify the political process and inspire a richly diverse group of women to join the leadership pipeline. Go Run provides the nuts and bolts of running for political office by focusing on areas like communications, fundraising, and campaigning - skills you can use in your work and in your community today and up to the day you decide to run!
One of the perks and pains of blogging is the PR push to review products. Sometimes, the ask is as thrilling as trying out a Swiffer, and other times, it's books or make-up or better. A few weeks ago, the CMBers were approached to test drive brand spankin' new cars for a week. Sure, it's a minivan, which I ardently resist in my quest to be just a tad bit hipper or sassier or something than they convey in my over-analysis and my prideful aesthetics that easily conquer mommy pragmatism. But when they surveyed me thoroughly on my work, opinions and weekly activities and then swiftly approving all that, invited me to roll a fully-loaded 2008 Dodge Caravan during a week I'm displaced from my home and normal routine, I was actually excited. They had me at "We think you are one of just 50 socially and professionally influential women in Chicago." My next and clearly logical thought was about my shoes.
We’re getting ready for this road trip Out West, and I’ve been talking—in various social situations—about how we’re just kind of winging it. We’ll be seeing Mount Rushmore and the Badlands and Yosemite. Doing some whitewater rafting in Dinosaur National Park. We have camping equipment, an awesome telescope, and some camping reservations, but that’s about it. Seems like there are families who would love to do what we’re doing (but I only know one who has), and then some families who wouldn’t dream of spending so much time in the car with their kids or who aren’t “camping types.” I’d put myself in the latter category, actually.
But as a teenager, I baby-sit for this really cool family. They would pack all the kids into their motor home, lay a map on the table, and ask the kids “Which way?” I thought that was fantastic, and that image of parenting always stuck with me.
So here I am, thirty years later—married with kids. Kids who, in my opinion, need to see this country like I never had the chance to see it. When Hubby suggested the road trip, I agreed without hesitation. Our daughters will be very involved in all decision making along the way. And this morning he made sure they could set up and tear down the tent by themselves.
We’re parenting by gut instinct now, and that can be overwhelming, as well as freeing. We have to expect more from our two girls, and more from ourselves.
I feel tingly and happy at the moment. Is this just the calm before the storm? Are we clueless, city people embarking on the hellish . . . or the sublime? Tune in to find out!
xxxxxx 
Selfmademom has already provided our readers with many excellent suggestions about what to do in Chicago while visitng our wonderful city during BlogHer. I am now prepared to supplement that information with a virtual tour of a weekend downtown!
My husband and I stayed in the Loop this weekend as a treat for ourselves because we haven't had a night out of the house together since our almost-3-year-old was born as a public service to you all who are coming to Chicago for BlogHer this week! My husband magically turned some air miles into a reservation for a suite at the lovely Renaissance Chicago Hotel [I knew there just had to be a silver lining to all that business travel he does] and my in-laws wanted to take the kids for the weekend, so we hopped onto Lake Shore Drive and in a mere 20 minutes became eager tourists in our own new city.
And let me tell you, visitors to Chicago are in for a huge treat - my only problem with this city is that there is far too much to do. How do we choose? Here's what we came up with:
Day One
1. As soon as we checked into our hotel mid-day on Saturday, we talked to the concierge about getting tickets for a riverboat tour - there is no better way to be wowed by this city! There are a couple of choices, but we were able to get last-minute tickets on Chicago Line Cruises Architecture and Historical Cruises. We spent an hour and a half out on the water, and the views of the skyscrapers were heart-stopping. I've always paid more attention to Lake Michigan, but now I get it: we are really lucky to have the Chicago River running through our city. Despite the fact that our particular docent appeared to have taken diction lessons from Marge Simpson, we enjoyed our tour immensely. A tip: arrive early to get seats up on the deck!
2. On the way over to the river cruise, we made a stop at HotTix for some half-priced tickets to a show that evening. We were hoping to get in to see Wicked, but alas, it was sold out. However, we were able to get tickets to a very good show at the Steppenwolf Theater, a venue I've been dying to get to since moving here. There were tickets to many shows still available in the early afternoon, including some other excellent theaters.
And, for the record, it just so happens that HotTix is located directly across the street from Ann Taylor Loft - which is having an excellent sale so that we can buy new clothes before BlogHer they can clear out summer clothes - and Intelligentsia, the best coffee shop in Chicago! [And if you can get a good-looking guy to hold your coffee for you while you shop, all the better!]
3. After the riverboat cruise and a stroll along the River Walk, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our night out. It's a quick cab ride ($8) over to Steppenwolf, which is in Lincoln Park. We recommend dinner at Vinci, an excellent Italian restaurant, which is just down the block from Steppenwolf on Halstead. The Vegetarian Plate was delicious! We needed reservations, but made them that afternoon without a problem. I would suggest taking advantage of the outdoor seating on a summer night.
4. We took another cab back to the hotel, enduring the most harrowing ride of our lives. We were both nauseated when we got out. Not only did we not tip this driver, but we told the group that was eager to jump in upon our arrival to wait for another one. Then we ran.
Day Two
1. We lounged around the hotel room for hours. Sleeping in, room service, blogging reading the paper...total relaxation. As my husband pointed out, just having 5 quiet minutes is relaxing when you have young children - so having a day and a half all to ourselves was divine.
2. Back to Intelligentsia by way of Border's for reading material. I made that stop at Ann Taylor Loft that I'd been dying for since yesterday, and found some great bargains!
3. We walked over to Millennium Park, bought a picnic lunch in the Cafe there, and strolled over to the magnificent Pritzker Pavillion to eat on the lawn. Live music, lots of families...there's always something great going on here, and don't forget to check out the Crown Fountain! Here's the schedule of events.
4. From Millennium Park, it's a short walk over to the Art Institute of Chicago - and wow, is it worth seeing. This is a world-class museum, and we loved both the classic Impressionist art and the incredible modern art, especially the photography. There's an especially impressive exhibit by Jeff Wall going on right now. The outdoor cafe at the museum is excellent and I've heard that the indoor cafe is also a treat.
In the late afternoon, we got back in the car and headed home to relieve my wonderful in-laws. It's remarkable how, in these child-raising years, a day and a half away can be all that's needed to feel refreshed and like a sane adult again. (Equally amazing is that it's possible to do so much in such a short time when you're in Chicago without your kids!)
I feel so lucky to live in this magnificent city, and truly hope that all you visitors enjoy it!
We’re headed to Springfield in a few weeks. No we’re not off to Vermont, the newly-minted Land of Homer, to see the over-hyped Simpson’s movie, we’re headed downstate to the Land of Lincoln, our very own state capital.
For some reason I can no longer recall, or even fathom, we decided to take a family trip there when the boys were only 2.5 and 4.5 years old. D'oh! What were we thinking? It was horrible, hellish. It set the standard by which we judge all other family travel disasters.
First off, the drive down took about 1.5 hours longer than expected. Meaning 1.5 hours more for our energetic young boys to grow restless and frustrated trapped in their car seats. And the weather was horrible, so we couldn’t just let them play at a rest stop along the way. We got off to a bad start and things only got worse.
It turns out the town of Springfield (back then, anyway) pretty much shut down on the weekends. The children’s museum was closed on Saturday and Sunday. Okay, Sunday wasn’t a surprise, but Saturday? I hadn’t bothered checking the hours because who would expect a kid’s museum to close on weekends?
Our finest, most gourmet meal of the trip was at Ponderosa. And as for lodging, it turns out our hotel was hosting a Jon-Benet Ramsey type beauty competition. While Smartypants has always had an eye for the ladies (at 3 he posted his first bedroom pinup—a Baby Gap ad featuring a pregnant Marlee Matlin) he was clearly confused by all these tarted up little girls. These prostitots gave DH and me the creeps…and they were everywhere.
But the worst part, the worst part was getting the boys to sleep. If we had been on an airplane we wouldn’t have merely been kicked off, we would have been banned for from flying for life.
That I sit here struggling to recall the specifics of the boys’ behavior is a sign of how joyously far removed we are from toddlerhood. There was yelling and screaming and crying, and not just from me. It was horrible. For a minute there I thought DH was going to drive back to Chicago that night…possibly without our kids…or me. The boys fought sleep hard, but sleep eventually won. Finally. Thankfully.
Until a freakin’ frat party in the hallway woke us all up around 2:00 AM. Did we jump in the car and just hightail it home, putting an end to our misery? Honestly, I have no idea. I must have repressed the memories and I’m not sure I want to dig them up.
But I am ready to replace them. At 7 and 9, the boys are old enough to have a sense of history and Abe Lincoln’s role in it, and I think this trip will go much smoother. Plus, we’re traveling with a set of cousins as well as pair of grandparents, (and maybe a Nintendo DS and a Gameboy) so we’ve got some distractions. We’ve also heard nothing but good things about the new Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library. I very much hope this trip will put the spring back in Springfield for us.
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