Today on Kristen’s suggestion we visited Millennium Park. I was avoiding it when it was just Kristen and I watching four kids. It’s so big, open, and crowded that I find it nerve racking to watch Jack and Ben plus the twins. Even though the older boys occasionally play together, more often than not they run off in opposite directions, determined to do their own things.

How did I go from being a mom proud of the fact that, apart from an occasional Saturday night sitter, I watched the kids by myself most of their weekday waking hours to a mom who needs three people to cover four kids?

Listening to the singer at Millennium Park

Millennium Park has a family fun festival with a Wiggleworms singer at 10am, followed by a reading circle at 11am and a bunch of things to play with inside the tent like building sticks, bean bag toss, and arts and crafts. They also have the bean (Cloud Gate, by artist Anish Kapoor) and the fountain (Crown Fountain by Jaume Plensa).

The fountain is a good hour of entertainment for the kids. It’s basically a slab of water that they can run and splash in with two tall buildings on either side. The buildings have faces that change. Every 15 minutes they spew a stream of water out of their mouths.

Ben, Jack and Kaden playing at the Fountain

I love how unique it is. A singularly Chicago experience. It also reminds me why I’d make a crap artist. If I was on the planning board and someone said, let’s put slab of water up with faces spewing water out of them on either side I’d probably tell them to stop taking so much acid. Luckily someone bought the vision. It totally works.

Last Day of “Work” for Auntie Doris – We’ll Miss Her!!!