Chicago Moms Blog

Ma Village, Let Me Show You It

Recently, CityMama wrote an ode to her small city, waxing poetic about all of reasons she is so content and happy to be living there. Well, the weather in early April in Chicago doesn't come close to matching the weather she has in the Silicon Valley, but in an effort to get myself through these last chilly days, I thought I'd talk a little bit about all of the reasons that I DO love living where I do, which is the city neighborhood of Roscoe Village. Many of my fellow Chicago Mom Bloggers are in the suburbs, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Heck, I grew up in the suburbs! But, I love the city lifestyle, and being in Roscoe Village offers the best of all worlds. Here's why:

Some think we're not that influential

I just read THIS article in The New York Times about a contact from Target's PR telling the blogosphere, in a nutshell, to buzz off.  They simply do not feel that they owe explanations to bloggers or "nontraditional media outlets".  But I really think they were just missing the point of one parent consumer's valid concern.  The concern of our children and the way the media targets them in sometimes subtle, sometimes obviously  sexual ways.  I think they may end up walking away with their tail between their legs  on this one.

Amy Jussel, Founder and Executive Director of Shaping Youth, a forum about media and marketing's influence on kids, merely expressed her concern and displeasure, as a parent and consumer, to Target's PR regarding a 20'x20'  billboard in Times Square of a woman spread-eagle with mainly her crotch in the center of Target's red bull's eye logo.

Remember to keep the lead out! And the PVC...roofies....

I know, I know, we're approaching a dead horse with this lead toy issue, but as this is Thanksgiving Eve and thus Black Friday Eve Eve, here's another reminder to check out Pickle's list of lead-free toys.

There is also an article in the latest issue of The Nation on toxic toys. "But the uproar over banned substances and rogue Chinese toy manufacturers has overshadowed an even more troubling issue: the toxins in toys that are perfectly legal. The United States remains one of the few developed countries to permit the import of plastic toys made with polyvinyl chloride additives called phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), which help make toys soft and pliable enough to be twisted or sucked yet durable enough to survive a 1-year-old's grip. A mounting body of scientific evidence suggests that phthalates impede the production of testosterone and disrupt the sexual development of infant boys."

A very "techie" holiday

The holiday season is creeping up slowly upon us and I'm starting to get in the gift-giving mode.  What will the lucky recipients receive from us this year?  Buying for family has always been a stressful thing for me.  My husband takes the backseat on this one.  In fact, if it were up to him, no one would get anything or they would get something really cheesy, picked up the day before Christmas and wrapped in newspaper.  I, on the other hand, love to shoot for the most unique gifts, ones that say, "I took the time to pick this out just for YOU".  I'm kind of into those personalized gifts.

Putting all of this thought into the perfect gift gives me a headache though.  It's a challenge to top what I've purchased the year before.  The expectations have been set and I must follow through.  Let the gift-giving season begin!

Lil' ol' me on national t.v.! - Update

UPDATE: Here is the link to the video of the show.

When I opened the email about a possible interview for a nationally broadcast television show, I thought, "That would be neat".  When I received the phone call that they were driving the 30 miles out to my house in the suburbs to film an interview, I thought, "Holy cow!  I need to clean!"  So, right away I jumped into the shower, then put the babe in the bath and made about a zillion phone calls.  The first being to my husband to tell him to high-tail it home from work and the second to my mom.  Who doesn't call their mom when they are going to be on national t.v.?

An hour later, the main floor of my tri-level townhome was sparkling clean while the other two floors left little to be desired.  Luckily, I needed to clean the house anyway for a couple of showings tomorrow because we're still on the market.  The doorbell rang and I was as ready as I could be to let in the cameraman.

Keep the lead out...Support Indie Crafters

Thanksgiving is next week people and we all know what that means. Holiday shopping officially begins. But what's a mama to do when it seems like every day that toy our lil ones have been begging for gets recalled? Even our BFF Dora was recalled over the summer!

This weekend is the DIY Trunkshow. Hit it. Hard.

Yes, yes, my BFF organizes it, but that doesn't diminish the awesomeness that is DIY. Imagine 2 rooms chock full of handmade goodies. Need a bag? Stationary?  Rings? Soaps? Yarn so you can get your DIY on? There won't be many toys, but come on, our kids have enough of them. But there will be dog sweaters!

So come on out on Saturday, shop til you drop and don't forget your tote bag to bring it all home. Or buy one while you're there! I figure that my arrival time will be around 10 am as we have a doggie event at 1 pm. Seriously thou, I look forward to this event every year because I can find handmade, quality, and unique things to buy my friends & family for the holiday season. I love my Target, but the trunk show is oh, so better.

Lead-Free & Worth the Trip

I’ve lived in Chicago a long time—long enough to see many of my favorite coffee houses, restaurants, and storefront shops come and go. But Baltika is still hanging in there (how much longer, though, is unclear). It’s moved from Wicker Park to Old Irving Park to Jefferson Park in search of reasonable rent. On Saturday, my daughters and I stopped by this gift shop, filled from floor to ceiling with European imports and folk art, to take advantage of one of its huge annual sales. The girls played with wooden popguns and wooden fruit and a charming When-Pigs-Fly mobile. And it occurred to me, as I played with the Russian nesting dolls, that I probably didn’t have to worry about lead paint on these beautiful handmade toys. I confirmed this with the proprietor, who told me most of her inventory is made for export to Germany and made to satisfy that country’s high standards. Hmm. . . high standards. There’s some feedback I can give the government on getting the lead out of our children’s toys.

Who said the suburbs aren't fun?

The husband, child and I went to this brand new shopping district today called The Promenade Bolingbrook located in Bolingbrook off of I-355 (right near Ikea).  It is nothing short of AMAZING.  No longer will we be sitting inside on these hot, hot summer days.  The Promenade Bolingbrook is an outdoor shopping area that is laid out like a little town.  It has streets running through it and a TON of shops like Janie and Jack and J.Jill.  It has some restaurants new to the area like Gordon Biersch Brewery (who provided us with exceptional service) and Teds Montana Grill.  The best part of this place for summer, however, is the children's play area.  It has fountains spouting up from the ground and the surface is nice and cushy, so there is no fear of your child getting really hurt if they fall.  The area is somewhat enclosed and loaded with benches.  Finally!  Somewhere different for parents AND kids.  Then, if all of that wasn't enough, I come to find that there is an INCREDIBLE family area!  It's inside and air conditioned.  There are couches and tables and toys for the kids, very large changing stations and even PRIVATE NURSING AREAS!  That's right, your own little room with a swanky recliner and a door.  Seriously, did a woman design this place?  But honestly, I couldn't have been more excited to be here.    I'm slapping myself silly that I haven't visited The Promenade before today.  The center just recently opened at the end of April and hasn't even had their grand opening yet.

The Promenade also has a stage for concerts and special events planned each month.  I'll be taking Hailey this week to meet Eric Carle, author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Clifford, the big red dog, for story time.

Check out their website and have fun rolling your cursor over "Kara" on the main page.  You can make her eyes roll.  Yeah, the Chicago heat is definitely getting to me.

Don't Pin Your Hopes on Katie Couric

First - It was awesome meeting so many of you last week! I feel like I have a whole bunch of new girlfriends.

I'm inviting you all to join me at Women and Children First in Andersonville on Thursday, August 2, 2007 to continue some of the discussions started at Blogher. I'm on the board of a national media reform organization, Women In Media & News, and we're having a house party at the bookstore! Not only that, but Women and Children First chose us as their organization of the month! How cool is that?

You have two ways to support the work we do:

Chicago: A Virtual Tour

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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!