Category Archives: Chicago Mom Tip

Are $3.75 cupcakes worth it?

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I’m not saying we are experts in the culinary dessert world of Chicago. How could we be when Chicago rated as the 22nd fattest city in the America, according to Men’s Health?

Having said that, we do love our desserts. When I was pregnant we made the rounds and since we have had kids we have passed our knowledge down liberally.

Today we took them to Molly\’s Cupcakes. Their specialty is adding even more naughty to the cupcake by stuffing the cake bit of the cupcake with filling. Ben got the Cookie Monster, Jack the Cupcake Battered Filled one and I split the Boston Creme with my husband. I think I was falsely bolstered by all the skinny people in there at the time. I’m now thinking they were either from out of town or puking in the bathroom later.

What, you've never seen a frosting mustache before?

I must admit the swings instead of stools next to the bar, the sprinkle bar and the free use of board games was a great bonus.

Any more in there?

But I’m still not sure about the $3.75 price. Having said that, I don’t think most people agree. As you can see in the background, the seating area was filled of boxes full of orders for the day.

 

 

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Morton Arboretum

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I know I’ve blogged about it in the past but it mysteriously disappeared. The company hosting my website had no idea where my first set of blogs went so I am doing it again. The Morton Arboretum. I can’t praise it enough.

Another great day at the Arboretum

Every time we go we have a completely different experience. It’s humongous. Playgrounds, streams to play in, tadpole farms, rope bridges, and who knows what else. In fact we’ve only seen a very small part of it so far, mostly just the Children’s garden. But I’m looking forward to seeing much, much more!

Just be warned, bring a change of clothes. Your kids will be drenched.

Our membership expired for the Chicago Botanical Gardens so we renewed here. For $115 you can get 4 adults in (under 2 doesn’t count). And you can use your membership for the Arboretum to get in free to the Chicago Botanical Gardens which has a great train exhibit that Jack loves.

 

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Rain Boots

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In preparation for Jack’s field trip, which was suppose to be a walk through the North Park Village Nature Center, we went out and got his first rain coat and boots.

Of course, Ben had to have them too.

My little fire fighters

If you are looking for a good place to buy these – we got them at Snippets. They have all kinds of other fun designs too.

I realize the idea of the boot is to keep the foot dry, but what ends up happening is you think, oh you have your rainboots on – go ahead and stomp in puddles.

In the end Jack had so much muddy water in his boots that when I took them off I had to pour out the excess. Poor guy was wrinkled and shivering.

My million dollar idea, (and yes, I am one of those people who has a million dollar idea almost every day but somehow, I’m not a millionaire yet) is to make these boots with elastic at the top. To keep the water from seeping through the boot at the bottom AND the top!

In fact, I’m not totally against a head to toe waterproof Michelin Man type suit for toddlers to wear on rainy days.

Or we could just make an effort to stay in when the play grounds are soaked. Nah!

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Children’s Museum Visit

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Some days it just seems easier to pack drinks, snacks, diaper, wipes, camera, phone, wallet and some highly caffeinated drink for mom and go to a museum or some pay to play space than it is to just go home and hang out.

Seems counter intuitive, going home should be easier and more relaxing, but it’s not. It breeds toy envy which leads to wrestling which leads to punching, kicking and biting. It doesn’t seem to happen when we are out. Perhaps it’s because I have nothing else to do while we are out but focus on the kids, so I can stop the fighting before it starts. Or maybe new toys make for nicer afternoons.

Either way, this afternoon no amount of caffeine could make me face the toy envy, punching, kicking, biting and eventual inevitability of me screaming at the top of my lungs type of afternoon.

Luckily the Children’s Museum is open late tonight. Until 8pm. For any Chicago Mom’s out there it’s a great tip. A better tip is finding out that they have started a new membership add on. For $80 (prorated if you already have a membership) you can get unlimited parking. That’s about 4 visits of parking. Definitely makes it worth it. Especially if you are facing a summer of two kids with no help or school.

How angry do you think my husband is going to be when he sees this photo? I can't help it! Ben loves to dress up!

I found you, Ben!

We finished with a dinner of McDonalds at Navy Pier after the museum. I think that sums up just how tired and defeated I felt today. Jack couldn’t have been happier with his new Batman toys so I guess it was a win-win all around. The key is lowering your standard enough to see it is a win, I guess.

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