As a last minute decision, Adam decided to book a few nights stay in St Louis for Jack’s spring break.

It was last minute because Adam didn’t know if he would be too busy with work to go or not. But in the end he thought he could swing it.

Of course, once it was booked and the kids were told, he got busy, In fact, I’m pretty sure anytime Adam decides to book a trip, it gets busy. Hmm, I think I’m onto something here. Next time he is worried he’s not busy enough, I’m going to suggest he book a trip.

Still, it’s Adam, so he managed to juggle it all like the superman that he is.

The kids got to see Lincoln’s cabin on the way over to St. Louis.

Museum at Lincoln’s Cabin in Lerna, IL

Walking the grounds at Lincoln’s Cabin

The boys spent precious few minutes walking around the museum and log cabin, complaining about the bugs. We are definitely raising city kids. Half of them didn’t want to get out of the car for the picnic!

Finally we got them all out and they actually spent a lot of time throwing sticks into the lake (Aaron was in stick heaven) and blowing dandelions. We could have just stopped at the side of the road instead of driving the extra hour to Lincoln’s cabin! Still, it was cool to see them settle in and be boys. 

To destroy the dandelions, throw things, get sweaty and play in the mud. The city is too restrictive for that kind of fun.

Next, on a tip from my friend Debbie, we headed to Laumeier Sculpture Park. Really cool sculptures that the kids were disappointed they couldn’t climb all over.

Instead they spent a huge part of the time throwing rocks at this tree. Aaron collected rocks instead. Raising boys is nothing like my childhood and a constant amazement to me. 

The next day I took the boys swimming at the pool while Adam worked.

Waving to Adam while he works downstairs

Then after the work calls were over, we took in the Gateway Arch.

If you haven’t been, let me warn you – you get to the top by taking a very small, 5 seater tram. All the kids were completely freaked out by it. I thought we were going to be stuck up there but Adam managed to convince them to get back in the little tram to get down.

That afternoon we visited City Garden. This time we climbed the sculptures with abandonment. 

The kids seemed to really enjoy this park. It was small but lately I’m realizing less is more with the kids. A small new park can make for much more fun than a busy museum.

But still we tried the busy museum anyway. We heard from many people not to miss City Museum.

People were right. This place was amazing. Unfortunately, we were short staffed by at least one adult. Ben needed Adam’s complete attention, which left me with the other three. Jack’s interests were vastly different from the twins and he is still to young to feel comfortable exploring alone.

No maps at this museum!

Ball pit fun

Ben and Adam on one of the many slides

I think I’d like to come back to this museum when the kids are older and less scared heights and see through floors. And bugs. Besides we ran out of time before checking out Forest Park. Which means we were already talking about returning even as we were driving home…

Jack had another day off school today, this time it was for report card pick ups.

It is still cold out but not so cold that we were stuck indoors. So we decided to head down to the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Lion exhibit

Regenstein African Journey

Black Bear at the Pritzker Family Zoo

Otter at the Pritzker Family Zoo

Now that the twins aren’t napping, we had the whole day to explore!

Climbing Structure at the Pritzker Family Zoo

We even had time to stop by the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Jack likes to count the plastic dinosaurs hiding in the fern room.

Time to stop and smell the flowers.

Frame exhibit at the Conservatory

But the fun didn’t end there! Still we had more time to picnic in the gardens in front of the zoo.

Why walk when you can run everywhere?

The flowers haven’t been planted for the year, and the fountain hasn’t been filled yet. It gave us an opportunity to play in the empty fountain. Did you know the mermen in the fountain were naked?!

Aaron inappropriately touching the statues and laughing hysterically.

And still there was MORE time. We went to the Cummings Playground, located right in front of the zoo, next.

By the end Jack was so tired he was leaning against the stroller from exhaustion. I think everyone will sleep well tonight, including me!

We recently renewed our membership to the Museum of Science and Industry. I love this museum. It’s so large that you can go 20 times and have a different experience each time you enter.

This week (and when I say week, I mean it) I took the twins on Thursday morning to see the new Brick by Brick Lego exhibit. Then, on Friday I returned with Jack and 3 of his buddies from school.

Thursday with the twins.

Friday with Jack and his friends.

The twins spent about 40 minutes exploring exhibit but the older boys were dragged out after two hours of fun, only because their bladders demanded it.

There were many amazing creations by Master Architect Adam Reed Tucker. But the most time was spent in the hands-on exhibits.

The twins preferred to work in the duplo section of the exhibit.

Hope that nose picker isn’t fondling my kid’s legos later…

The older boys took to the more traditional legos.

The older boys also spend a long time at the car building site.

Still there was overlap, exhibits that made sense for any age, like this one where you have 1 and 1/2 minutes to build a structure then see if it can withstand an earthquake.

I’d have to say it is a great exhibit for any age and it’s definitely worth the drive down to Hyde Park to see. So worth it that Ben and Adam are going back tomorrow so Ben can see it too!

As our schedules get busier and busier, it gets harder and harder to have large group gatherings. There were quite a few emails going around trying to find a time we would all be available. But in the end, I was pleased to see so many regular participants were able to attend the annual easter egg hunt.

Sadly we couldn’t get it perfect, so Kelly and her kids were dearly missed. Hopefully next year she won’t be bound by naps. Also Karen and her kids, who have recently moved to Spain were noticeably absent.

Even though the extra testosterone those moms throw off was missing, there was still more than enough to go around.

No one will mess with this gang in the playground.

Wrestling for fun. I’ll never understand boys.

Actually, there was a precise 20 minute time period where all the kids who could attend were present.

We quickly put the eggs out and lined them up.

And then they were off!

Like most activities with kids (meals and laundry to name a few) we parents spend so much time preparing – buying eggs and candy, stuffing them, placing them out for the hunt and then the kids plow through it all in 10 minutes or less.

Time to eat the spoils.

It turned from a windy, wintery morning to a sunny, warm (for Chicago) afternoon and I was glad in the end to have made such an effort again. Nice for the kids to frolic in the fresh air and open spaces together.

Nice for the adults too.

Ben’s Spring Break did not coincide with Jack’s this year. I think it was probably for the best, since our 4 kids need 2 adults to supervise, but any three is okay to handle alone.

We tried very hard to plan something fun for Ben each day of his spring break.

There were surprise sweet treats like unexpected donut stops, a visit to the new Nothing Bundt Cakes shop that just opened, and chocolate from Papa.

Special visit to Papa’s office

Surprise Donut Stop

Nothing Bundt Cake

Also other treats, like his favorite meals, Potbelly’s, Wendy’s, Shine, and McDonald’s.

Shine for Shirley Temple’s and Pot Stickers.

Potbelly’s Pizza Sandwich and Milkshakes.

And there were fun activities like a playdate with his classmate, visits to a few parks, a special visit with his father to the Art Institute, and a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry.

Oz Park

Oz Park

Art Institute

Museum of Science and Industry

Playdate at Jump Zone

After school at Jack’s school.

Montgomery Ward Park

It was tougher than I remember to add an extra kid to the mix and for Ben, I’m not sure having a week off of his normal schedule was particularly relaxing for him. Still, we tried our best to make this a great week for him. I just hope he remembers it that way…

Remember my clean eating post?

Clean Eating

I was pretty happy with the results and decided to start another program with my coach, called the 21 Day Fix. This program consists of daily 30 minute workouts and a bunch of plastic containers for you to measure your daily intake of food in.

Sounds complicated but it was actually a lot easier than a calorie counting app and as a bonus you learn to eat in the right food groups, not just count calories. At the same time, you also have the flexibility to pick what you want to eat.

I really, really enjoyed it. And I had A LOT of success with it.

I lost a total of 4 pounds but more importantly, I lost 1 and 1/2 inches off my waist.

So where is my gratuitous “before and after” photo? Well, as it turns out, 1 and 1/2 inches off my waist and four pounds light isn’t exactly where I want to be.

But don’t fear, the picture is coming.

Right after I do just one more program. Or after I do however many programs it takes to get my freakin gratuitous “before and after” shot!

Now that I’m seeing some results, I’m jazzed to keep going, to push myself to see if you really can get your body back (without surgery) after birthing four children.

This time Coach Megan is starting a 22 Minute Hard Corps group. It’s 8 weeks and I’m hopeful if I stick to the rules, which means eat right and complete a 22 minute workout a day, I will be “Beachbody” ready, as the company is so aptly named.

Want to shape up before it’s time to bare it all at the beach this summer? Would love to have some friends join me in the group, it’s a great way to be healthy and social all at the same time.

(I’m not a coach, and do not get paid or compensated in any way if you join. It’s just more fun with friends.)

In another desperate attempt to help Ben’s anxiety and issues at school, we started a gluten free, dairy free, low refined sugar diet.

Home made lactose free yogurt

This time around we gave it a full month and instead of buying store bought gluten free flour mixes, I went to the ultimate source for recipe perfection – American Test Kitchen.

I spent a lot of time changing to rice flours and paleo recipes with cashew, almond meal and coconut flour.

Sam helps mix the America’s Test Kitchen Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

If this is something you are thinking about doing, I highly recommend trying both thier How Can it be Gluten Free and Paleo Perfected. I swear you’ll never miss gluten or dairy again!

Paleo pie crust

Most websites that I stumbled across while researching this said you will see results within 3 or 4 days, if there are any to be had.

The first week we tried it, both Sam and Jack were the same. We noticed Ben was slightly calmer. Aaron surprisingly had a perfect week.

Minimalist Baker’s 3 ingredient Peanut Butter Granola Bar

Then we went over to Nando’s Peri Peri, where the kids menu had an unlimited bowl of frozen yogurt for dessert.

For the next 4 days, Aaron was back to his usual whiny, tantrumy self and Ben became combative and argumentative.

Paleo Omelette

I had no idea if I was projecting or if the diet had any real effect, so I decided we were back on the strict diet the following week.

I was cooking and baking so much I started running my dishwasher 3 times a day.

During that time Ben showed little to no improvement and after a month I’m sad (and a little relieved) to say that diet is not a factor in his Sensory Processing Disorder.

I was secretly hoping such an easy fix would be the answer but unfortunately it is not.

In fact, last night we had a few friends over and let Ben eat as much gluten and diary as he pleased. We noticed he was playing hide and seek in the dark along with the other kids, acting just like all the other kids. In the past he could never hide, and certainly couldn’t play a game of tag. He has learned how to do this with his occupational therapy through many, many sessons of hard work, and no amount of gluten, dairy, or sugar could undo that.

Just one of the gang.

It wasn’t a total waste of time, though. Besides finding some great new recipes, we realized we had let too many processed foods with refined sugars creep back into our house.

When the ban was lifted, we decided to leave Nutella, a morning staple before the experiment, off our diet. Today at the grocery store I walked by the shelf stable cheese and crackers and decided if they want cheese and crackers, they can eat real cheese on real crackers from now on. I didn’t pick up the package fruit bars, granola bars and pop tarts either.

One of the unexpected perks of going to Jackie’s wedding in Costa Rica was reconnecting with Adam’s west coast cousins.

Jackie’s oldest brother, Brett, actually has a place here and comes for work every so often.

This time he gave us the pleasure of his company for the evening.

I got the chance to hear some of the stories from before my time with Adam, it’s always fascinating to hear other people’s perception about what life was like for your spouse before you came into the picture.

And just like all the other Baumgarten’s who have come to visit our kids, the kids were instantly charmed by him.

Ben sitting on Brett’s lap

It was a delightful evening, one of hopefully many more in the future.

Parenthood can be quite an isolating era in one’s life.

The din of children’s demands, tantrums and chatter is constantly in your head. Slowly it grows, so that you don’t always realize you are under constant auditory assault.  It’s hard to be conscious of the fact that the noise is slowly replacing what used to exist in the space before kids.

The music you used to listen to, the quiet moments of reflection or reading, and the adult chatter you used to actually choose to listen to and enjoy.

I told Adam at the start of the year it has been too long since we’ve seen some old and dear friends, then I made a list of people we needed to make a priority.

Well, it’s three months later and we’ve finally managed to see at least one of the people on the priority list – The Harradines.

Luckily for us, the Harradines are the kinds of family that doesn’t mind if it’s been a while, we can just pick up where we left off like no time has past.

They came bearing alcohol, including Rick’s home made beer’s. A yummy blueberry stout and another IPA that Adam enjoyed. He brews with a group of buddies and it sounded like such a fun thing I started to envision me and my girlfriends stomping on grapes barefoot in a tub, but he said it wasn’t even cost effective so I decided to keep that thought to myself and leave it to the professionals.

They have three boys of their own, two in double digits so Michelle is a pro at parenting boys. Look how she instinctively helps feed Aaron!

And yes, we had 7 boys between two families. That means a 5 pound brisket was decimated in almost one night.

Trent playing with Ben and Aaron.

And just like you can with old friends acting like no time has past, next thing you know Adam and Rick are bumping the old TV up the stairs and out the door, the one I’ve been trying to get rid of for about 10 years.

I’m pretty sure if you look up the definition of “good friend” in the dictionary, it will say, “helped you move heavy furniture out of your house.”

Gluten and Diary free dessert table (I’ll explain in a future blog….)

It was a throughly enjoyable evening that I must remember to make happen more often.

And now, what should I do this the new space in my basement?

Happy 9th Birthday Jack!

This was quite a year for Jack.

This year Jack got his own bedroom. I marveled how easily he closed the door and put himself to bed right from the get go. A short year ago he was upset if Ben was in a different bed than him, forget about a different room!

He started the school year almost getting a D in English but with a lot of hard work and perseverance he made the honor roll this semester. Some nights he does 2 or 3 hours of homework just to keep up, but he never complains. He just bears down and gets it done.

He has also continued to be a great big brother for all his siblings. He is at an age where I can ask him to help, really help. Not just grab a diaper for me but help me calm a screaming toddler and he has the social mastery to achieve it.

And in his normal unassuming fashion, he had very simple wishes for his birthday.

We started the morning with birthday pancakes.

Afterwards, he tried on the new outfit Bubbie got him – Lionel Messi’s soccer uniform. And he wore it while battling Adam with his new Nerf Guns.

Next he went to Hebrew school. Ben is already asking for the day off of school for his birthday, but Jack continued with his obligations like the responsible little person I can see him growing into.

He picked the Rainforest Cafe as his birthday lunch spot. He wanted to take all his brothers there to enjoy the lunch with him.

Growling Alligator was Fascinating.

Tree Frog Siting.

Lava Cake dessert, which Jack shared with all of us.

Ben enjoyed the dessert in his usual fashion.

In the afternoon Jack wanted to take all the gift cards he got for his birthday and spend them. So Adam dropped me home with the other kids and they spent the afternoon at the Lego store, Target, and Toys R Us. 

Adam spoiled him rotten at the Lego Store. Jack was lucky he went with Adam and not me. Not that Jack doesn’t deserve spoiling, he really has worked very hard and behaved very well this year. It’s just that Adam’s idea of spoiling and my idea of spoiling are different. Adam’s idea is my idea on speed.

Finally a dinner of leftovers from the party. Pizza and the cake that came with the the party package.

Our family of six managed to demolish 3/4ths of the cake. Two of the six of us aren’t even school age. Scary.

Then a final Nerf game, this time the whole gang joined in….

Happy Birthday, Jack! May your year be filled with as much joy as you give us every day.