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Friday
Work. Lots of work. I actually left a little early, but since I got there Really Early, I still worked a lot. I came home and basically collapsed, much like any other Friday.
Saturday
Slept in a little, then got ready to host the Scion game. I had to do some research and a little bit of preparation for what I expected my players to want to do. They fooled me a little, but not terribly much. They actually chose to NOT pick a fight. They probably would have won, but someone would have died a little in the process.
Sunday
Woke up reasonably early and packed the car and the kids. We drove to Chicago and the traffic, naturally, sucked. We made it to the Field Museum right about noon and spent the entire afternoon. We saw DINOSAURS and stuffed ELEPHANTS and SPARKLY GEMS and all sorts of other things. By the end of the afternoon, we were all very footsore. On the way back to the car, Ox demanded to be picked up and carried. He then dropped his head on Downwood's shoulder and was asleep about 3 minutes after getting in the car.
We didn't buy the tickets that would let us go into any of their special exhibits. The only one that Downwood was even tempted by was the Vikings exhibit. On the way out, we found out that Vikings will close in November. The incoming exhibit to replace it? All about ancient Greece. I WILL BE BACK, FIELD MUSEUM!!! I WILL BE SO BACK FOR THAT!
We made our way out to a nearby suburb and to our hotel. The hotel, including dinner at Portillo's, was the cheapest part of the weekend. Ugh. But they had a pool and we went swimming. It was nice.
No one got a good night sleep, though. I forgot to turn on my podcast. Emi talked in her sleep and woke up Ox. Ox talked in his sleep and woke up Downwood. Downwood tossed and turned and woke up me. Vicious cycle all around.
Monday
The hotel breakfast was respectable. Ox ate 5 Frosted Flakes. Emi ate three bowls of Froot Loops. We sang Happy Birthday to Emi. We packed up the car and drove back into the city to hit the Shedd Aquarium.
The line to get in the Aquarium was long. It took about an hour to get from just outside the front door (where we started) to buying tickets. I took the kids over to a bench and let them snuggle/play on my phone. Downwood took one for the team and stood in the line the whole time.
Once we got into the aquarium, Emi started being a pill. Her feet probably still hurt from the day before, she was hungry, and she was thirsty. And some of the tanks were too far up for her to see. Ox had to be picked up for most of the tanks. There *are* tanks that go down all the way to the floor that he could easily observe, but many of them are up on the wall at grownup height. We saw sharks and fish and turtles and more fish.
By the time we left, the line to get in was down the steps and across the block. It was 95 degrees and muggy. Ox demanded to be carried again. We got in the car and headed for home, once again through very slow traffic.
Overall, the value for the Field Museum was FAR, FAR SUPERIOR to the value of the Shedd. Field has more things to look at, cheaper tickets, and wasn't nearly so crowded. There were probably more people actually in the Field than in the Shedd, but it's so huge that it still felt wide open.
Today
We sang Happy Birthday to Ox. I did a bunch of laundry and got a couple Hogswatch sewing projects cut out. We took Ox to the elementary school for his pre-4K teacher meeting. Our school district is completely amazing. He'll have the same teacher pair that Emi had, so they're totally down with handling food allergies.
We played a lot of Lego - both kids got multiple sets - watched Mythbusters, read books, made lotion, and generally relaxed. It was a pretty good birthday, according to Ox.
I just...I've no idea how my kids got so big so fast. The days and hours are long, but the years are just flying by. Ox is still my snugglebug. He's still the one who will climb into my lap and demand cuddles. Emi will snuggle sometimes, but it's getting rarer. They're just so big and changing so fast. I know I sound like every other mommyblogger out there, but it's still true. I love my kiddos and am excited to see the people they'll grow into. I just need to soak up these snuggles now.
This week:
Wednesday - Paint Nite at a bar/restaurant in town
Thursday - Nothing. Woo!
Friday - Take Ox and drive to my mom's for a potty-training intensive weekend.
Work. Lots of work. I actually left a little early, but since I got there Really Early, I still worked a lot. I came home and basically collapsed, much like any other Friday.
Saturday
Slept in a little, then got ready to host the Scion game. I had to do some research and a little bit of preparation for what I expected my players to want to do. They fooled me a little, but not terribly much. They actually chose to NOT pick a fight. They probably would have won, but someone would have died a little in the process.
Sunday
Woke up reasonably early and packed the car and the kids. We drove to Chicago and the traffic, naturally, sucked. We made it to the Field Museum right about noon and spent the entire afternoon. We saw DINOSAURS and stuffed ELEPHANTS and SPARKLY GEMS and all sorts of other things. By the end of the afternoon, we were all very footsore. On the way back to the car, Ox demanded to be picked up and carried. He then dropped his head on Downwood's shoulder and was asleep about 3 minutes after getting in the car.
We didn't buy the tickets that would let us go into any of their special exhibits. The only one that Downwood was even tempted by was the Vikings exhibit. On the way out, we found out that Vikings will close in November. The incoming exhibit to replace it? All about ancient Greece. I WILL BE BACK, FIELD MUSEUM!!! I WILL BE SO BACK FOR THAT!
We made our way out to a nearby suburb and to our hotel. The hotel, including dinner at Portillo's, was the cheapest part of the weekend. Ugh. But they had a pool and we went swimming. It was nice.
No one got a good night sleep, though. I forgot to turn on my podcast. Emi talked in her sleep and woke up Ox. Ox talked in his sleep and woke up Downwood. Downwood tossed and turned and woke up me. Vicious cycle all around.
Monday
The hotel breakfast was respectable. Ox ate 5 Frosted Flakes. Emi ate three bowls of Froot Loops. We sang Happy Birthday to Emi. We packed up the car and drove back into the city to hit the Shedd Aquarium.
The line to get in the Aquarium was long. It took about an hour to get from just outside the front door (where we started) to buying tickets. I took the kids over to a bench and let them snuggle/play on my phone. Downwood took one for the team and stood in the line the whole time.
Once we got into the aquarium, Emi started being a pill. Her feet probably still hurt from the day before, she was hungry, and she was thirsty. And some of the tanks were too far up for her to see. Ox had to be picked up for most of the tanks. There *are* tanks that go down all the way to the floor that he could easily observe, but many of them are up on the wall at grownup height. We saw sharks and fish and turtles and more fish.
By the time we left, the line to get in was down the steps and across the block. It was 95 degrees and muggy. Ox demanded to be carried again. We got in the car and headed for home, once again through very slow traffic.
Overall, the value for the Field Museum was FAR, FAR SUPERIOR to the value of the Shedd. Field has more things to look at, cheaper tickets, and wasn't nearly so crowded. There were probably more people actually in the Field than in the Shedd, but it's so huge that it still felt wide open.
Today
We sang Happy Birthday to Ox. I did a bunch of laundry and got a couple Hogswatch sewing projects cut out. We took Ox to the elementary school for his pre-4K teacher meeting. Our school district is completely amazing. He'll have the same teacher pair that Emi had, so they're totally down with handling food allergies.
We played a lot of Lego - both kids got multiple sets - watched Mythbusters, read books, made lotion, and generally relaxed. It was a pretty good birthday, according to Ox.
I just...I've no idea how my kids got so big so fast. The days and hours are long, but the years are just flying by. Ox is still my snugglebug. He's still the one who will climb into my lap and demand cuddles. Emi will snuggle sometimes, but it's getting rarer. They're just so big and changing so fast. I know I sound like every other mommyblogger out there, but it's still true. I love my kiddos and am excited to see the people they'll grow into. I just need to soak up these snuggles now.
This week:
Wednesday - Paint Nite at a bar/restaurant in town
Thursday - Nothing. Woo!
Friday - Take Ox and drive to my mom's for a potty-training intensive weekend.
