The Purple Pig

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Nikki

Mom and I out for a night on the town

Last night Mom and I went out to dinner for her birthday. She turned a whopping 73 but doesn’t act a day over 30.

The choice of dining venue proves it. Even though I live in Chicago, Mom found this restaurant and had to inform me about it!

The Purple Pig was the most innovative and exotic place I’d eaten in a long time. We actually had to get my iPhone out and look up some of the words in the descriptions to figure out what it was.

The fare was heavy on the pork items. I got the feeling they just ordered the entire pig from the butcher and found a way to use it all. Pork ears, bone marrow, pig tail were a few of the things I remember from the menu.

I especially like the section labeled ‘Fried Foods’. Why bother hiding them under another label like ‘Appetizers’?

Everything we tried was delicious. If you are looking for an unusual experience and are not Jewish, I highly suggest this place. We arrived around 6:30 on a Friday night and there was about an hour wait. Also the restaurant will validate for discounted parking at NorthBridge or 50 East Erie.

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Hanging in the Loop

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Nikki

Once again we were all boys, 9 of us together. I often wonder what it would be like if we all had girls. Would the goal of the day every day still be finding a space for them to exercise like mad in the hopes of tiring our kids out as much as possible? Or could we all just sit nicely doing arts and crafts?

We tried to do the Millennium Park Family Fun Festival but sadly it was over. Another sign summer is ending soon.

We still managed to find our own fun.

Surprsingly, after throwing their Transformers for a while, Jack's STARTED working again.

Ben also found ways to occupy himself.

Tree Hugger

We ended the morning at the Elusive Pirate Park. After spending the day at the beach yesterday and this morning walking the streets of Chicago, we thoroughly tired Japo out!

The Boys at the Pirate Park

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Japo Arrives!

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Nikki

Japo arrived yesterday and the kids wasted no time torturing her…

Owen and Jack take Japo as their prisoner

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More Summer Fun

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Nikki

It’s been a few days since I’ve blogged, which some may take to mean we are not busy. But in fact we continue at our frantic pace, perhaps it’s been too frantic for me to have any deep observations. Or maybe it’s because we have been trolling around our old haunts again so it doesn’t feel blog worthy.

Either way, for those of you interested, here is what we’ve been up to…

Friday morning at Fellger Park…

"Cindy teaching the boys to Gamble" - Pam

Followed by Emma Bornstien’s 5th birthday party at Pump it up…

Emma's 5th Bday, Pump It Up

Saturday was rainy so we hit the Children’s Museum for a bit. Then back home for naps and a trip to Epic Burger for dinner. The burgers (I had the Portabello Burger) were tasty, the fries soggy, and the service epically bad. I was accused of taking a drink cup that I was never given, we were given the wrong number then given the wrong food, then got that number taken from us but no new number so our food just sat there. Oh, and our order was taken wrong too. Here in Chicago we are so spoiled for choice that unfortunately one bad experience is enough to turn us away forever. The manager did give us a $10 coupon for our troubles, so maybe if we ever get around to using it things will be better.

Sunday we took the boys swimming. No photos allowed at the EBC, sorry. The afternoon was so lovely we decided to visit Oz Park for some T-Bal practice, playground and dinner picnic.

Batter Up!

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A Full Day

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Nikki

So much happened today that, when I look backed at my pictures today it reminded me of things I had already forgot about.

Like the free air show we got when we visited the zoo this morning. Fighter jets buzzed the area all morning. It was quite a juxtaposition.

Ben was obsessed with seeing the Camels today

It was a full morning. We were met by our friends the Lafayettes and the Hutchinsons, all with kids younger than Jack. I was pleased to see that Jack is not a snob about play mates. Even if they are Ben’s age or younger, he still enjoys and can find ways to play together. Ben on the other hand is still displaying Mice and Men Lennie-like behavior. He likes to hug everyone he knows, unfortunately he doesn’t know his own strength and always makes them cry. Hopefully it will pass soon, as these disagreeable habits in your child’s development eventually do.

In the afternoon we met six other families at Adam’s Park for another concert. Ben surprised me yet again with his fearlessness and quick learning ability by climbing this structure over and over again without help…

Fancy Footwork for a 2 Year Old

Meanwhile, Jack and his buddies played in the water park…

Jack with Zack, Oscar, and Angus

And if that wasn’t enough fun, we ordered pizzas and picnicked. Then we stayed to listen to the Dave Rudolf concert. Ben was so moved by the music he ran over and danced alone to the warm up.

Congo Line

We got home so late that I had to skip the bath. All I had time for was a quick wet wipes wipe down before bed. Not my best Mom moment but sometimes you just got to put fun before clean.

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Nothing can be Everything

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Nikki

For all my talk of fun places to visit in Chicago, sometimes the best thing to do is go exploring all the wide open green spaces along the lakefront.

Gang of Four

Jack and Angus have gotten to an age where they make their own fun. From all my parenting books I’ve learned that free wheeling, creative play promotes executive function, the thing that later on teaches you self-regulation. Today they ‘shot’ dragonflies, pretended to put Ben in hot lava and turned Max into ice.

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Summer Lovin’

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Nikki

Seems like it was only days ago that I was full of anxiety at the thought of watching two kids all day long for three months. But now it feels like the gorgeous, fun filled summer days are slipping by way to quickly. Now I’m suffering from a different anxiety, of how much Ben and I are going to miss having Jack with us all day.

Angus running from Jack with a Bucket, but Jack has no idea the bucket has a huge hole!

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Under Armour All American Baseball Game

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Nikki

A little surprise perk of signing up for Lil Sluggers this summer were the free tickets to the Under Armour All American Baseball Game at Wrigley Field.

The Gang Sitting Right Behind Home Plate

This is a game played by the best high school players in America. And Canada. Besides us Lil Sluggers families, there were lots of scouts there watching the players.

Scouts with their Radar Guns

Because it was not crowded, we were able to run around the entire stadium. This kids loved this. It didn’t matter how many snacks we had, they were itching to check the place out.

Look How Close We Got to the Field!

Traditionally, after the game they let the kids on the field to run the bases. Since it rained most of the game they cancelled it. Now that I know about it, I’m definitely going to try to go next year. Running the bases at Wrigley is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I don’t want my kids to miss!

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