Spent all day yesterday with the lovely Michelle Harradine and her three boys. She is one of the most positive people I know. Just spending a bit of time with her probably saved me hours to listening to Tony Robbins.
Here we are waiting for our order at Johnny Rockets, which recently opened dangerously close to our house. I love this picture. The boys look like such a bunch of tough guys…
Harradine & Calisoff Boys
The past few weeks Ben started acting strangely. So strange, in fact that we took him to the doctor twice in two weeks to see what was wrong with him.
We knew he was teething. We also knew he had a cold. And we were transitioning him from crib to bunk bed. So, a lot of change.
But we still didn’t understand why our happy, always smiling, easy going little Ben was all of a sudden throwing temper tantrums for hours every day.
He cried when he went down for his nap. He cried when he woke up. At night he would cry or stay up for hours messing about in his bed.
Finally my father, who was visiting for a couple days, did some internet sleuthing. He found comments from other parents on different websites. One parent tried dropping the nap and found the tantrums went away.
Drop the nap? But his brother, who is twice his age still naps most days. How could he be ready to drop the nap at 2 and 1/2 years old?
I tried an experiment today. Is he really not tired at nap time or just scared in his new bed? I put a movie on and laid him on the couch. Guess what – no nap! Third day in a row! And surprisingly he barely suffered in the afternoon. Even better – no crying after I left him in his bed tonight.
Too early to be a trend, but promising…
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Ben pushing Grandpa around
The kids are always excited for a visit from Grandpa Devensky. He’s got an incredible ability to relate to each kid differently, each in their own way, at their own stage of development.
Both kids enjoy rough housing with him. There is a lot of wrestling going on around here lately. Poor Grandpa has already gotten his glasses broken this way. I’m sure he’ll go home with many new bruises from the boys and perhaps even a cold too.
Ben’s favorite game is to man handle him. He likes to push him into one room then another. Or shove him into a wall and laugh hysterically.
Grandpa joking with Jack
Jack hasn’t stopped laughing since Grandpa got here. Not only can he hold his own with the poopy jokes, but he can joke with Jack until he has him on the floor in a belly laugh.
All this would be enough to make me quite happy. But Grandpa Devensky is more than just enough. He even manages to think of me too. I don’t think I’ve touched a dirty dish since he’s been here! Thanks Grandpa! If only you lived closer…
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Dear Toys R Usuck,
Please do not split the customer service line in two, one for ‘guest relations’ and the other for ‘online orders’, then proceed to give preference to the ‘online orders’ even when there is a line practically out the door for ‘guest relations’. It makes me feel like a second class citizen.
Please train your staff so that when I finally get to the front of the line after waiting 20 minutes, they can actually help me instead of sending me home to do it myself online.
Please do not send me flyers that have already expired. I’m not even sure if this practice is legal.
Please train your staff so when you come in with an expired flyer, you do not have both a floor staffer and a cashier tell you that you are right and to stand BACK in the ‘guest relations’ line for another 30 minutes to fix it.
Signed,
Concerned Customer (or should I say ex-customer?)
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The Holiday Train
Tonight we were very lucky to have the Holiday Train come right by our house, go around the Loop and return us home. It took 40 minute and we didn’t have to switch trains at all.
We met up with a bunch of mom friends and their kids. Between us, our helpers and our strollers we took over half of a train car.
There were elves giving out mini candy canes. And there was holiday music. And lots of decorations. And one car in the middle with a live Santa in a sleigh.
Jack and Ben with some of their buddies
I like to take our kids to see all these things, even though we are Jewish and it makes for some creative explanations. Trying to explain that Santa doesn’t come to their house but comes to just about everyone else’s house they know can be tricky. Thank goodness for eight days of presents. That helps a lot!
If you are interested in seeing the Holiday Train, there are still plenty of days left. Every day they do a different route. You can see what matches your schedule best by checking the website: CTA Holiday Train Schedule.
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Our United Screening Approach test results came in the mail yesterday.
If you remember from my Pregnancy Update for Week 12, we were a bit concerned about our risk for Trisomy 21, or Down’s Syndrome.
In week 12, before we had the tests, both twins had a 1 in 106 chance of having Down’s Syndrome. After the test Twin A had a 1 in 309 chance and Twin B had a 1 in 252 chance. So taking the test dropped our odds of both kids having Down’s Syndrome, just not enough for the doctor to feel comfortable.
After the United Screening Approach test, the odds of Down’s for Twin A was 1 in 1,702. The chances for Twin B, 1 in 1,273. Our risk assessment has been down graded to “screen negative”.
I never for a second thought the twins for at risk, but it’s still nice to see it on paper.
Pin ItThis weekend we braved the cold to see another winter treat – Holiday Magic at the Brookfield Zoo. Like everything in the suburbs, it was bigger and more crowded than we are used to in the city.
Laser Light Show
We rode the carousel, watched some ice carving, played in a playground, saw a laser light show and got some dinner.
We missed a lot, like the Holly Jolly Theatre which looked very crowded, the Great Bear Wilderness exhibit which was too far to walk too, and the Children’s Zoo. I also read there would be a magic show but couldn’t find it anywhere.
It was cold out!
Unfortunately during dinner Ben started coughing while eating and threw up. All over me. It was time to go home. It always amazes me to see him vomit. So much liquid comes out. I just don’t understand where he’s storing it all!
Unless it warms up considerably, I’m not sure if I’ll go back. If I had the choice, I’d check out the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights again instead. I felt the light displays were better designed. Also the lay out of the Lincoln Park Zoo makes for a much more quaint experience.
Pin ItSeeing the Zoo Lights a few weeks ago made me wonder what other winter wonders I should seek out for the kids. I did a little thinking about holidays in the past, and a lot of research, and here is what I’m going to try to see before all the magic ends…
1. Brookfield Zoo. They also have Holiday Magic, another spectatular zoo light exhibit. In addition to the lights there are over 400 decorated Christmas trees, ice sculptures, magicians, and jugglers. Many exhibits are also open, like the Hamill Family Play Zoo which has lots of holiday kid friendly activities. The lights run from 4pm – 9pm for three weekends. December 3rd and 4th, the 10th and 11th, and the 17th and 18th. Also open from December 26th until the 31st. Regular admission fees are $13.50 for adults and $9.50 for children over 3. Parking is $9.00 per car/van.
2. Train Exhibits at the Chicago Botanical Gardens Wonderland, open November 25th – January 1st from 10am – 6pm and the Morton Arboretum Enchanted Railroad open November 25th to January 8th, 9am – 4pm. While at the Arboretum, search for the Hidden Gnomes in the Children’s Museum and join in on their Winter Outdoor Play.
3. Winter Wonderfest at Navy Pier. Open December 2nd – January 8th, exclusive of holiday hours. Most days they open by 10am. Closing times vary. Admission is free but you’ll need to buy an activity wristband to ride the rides. They go for around $15 – $20 depending on the package you decide on. If you are at Navy Pier, you can also visit the Childrens Museum. They have a fake snowball and fort exhibit as well as a ‘ice skate with your socks’ rink for kids this winter.
4. CTA Holiday Train. The train is decorated with lights and more. Santa and his elves ride the train passing out candy canes. It’s a great little afternoon activity. Normal CTA rates apply.
5. Ice Skating at Millennium Park. The rink is open on Friday, November 18, 2011 through Sunday, March 11, 2012, weather permitting. The rink is free and open to the public. Skate rental is available for $10. Hours vary so check the website.
This is posted and more on my growing group of lists for Chicago at Hidden Little Gems.
Pin ItThird night in the bunk beds and already we had our first night of success. Both kids slept until morning in their own beds. I hope writing about it doesn’t jinx it!
Anyway, the reason I’m thinking about the bunk beds is because I wanted to pass a little mom tip onto people with bunks or beds with sides. Get Huggers!
We got ours from Olive Kids, but if you search google for comforter huggers they are everywhere.
Look how Nicely They Tuck in!
Fitted AND Reversible.
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Not sure what the proper way to integrate a 2 year old and a 4 year old who sleep in separate rooms to bunk beds. All I can do is give the advice on what NOT to do.
1. Besides measuring if the beds will fit, keep in mind what is on the wall and the floors as well. This way you will not get your new bunk beds installed and say, for example, now be turning on and off the light with a chopstick.
2. Transition is a slow process. Perhaps in hindsight I should have transitioned my 2 year old, Ben, from a crib to a toddler bed, then a toddler bed to a real bed. Because now as it stands he thinks this new arrangement is a big sleep over party and is keeping everyone up. Of course, I have no where else to put him…
3. Wednesday is not the best day to have your beds delivered. The best day to have your bunk beds delivered is a Friday. It’s already hard enough to get the used to the new sleeping arrangement. Don’t add a ‘school night’ bed time to the stress of it.
4. If both your kids wake you up all night, don’t assume throwing them in the same room will end your frequent night waking. They are of no comfort to each other. And when I finally got them both in the same bed, Ben woke up and tried to wake up Jack as well!
The New Bunk Beds!