In the area of baby gifts, we have seen more than our fare share. For the twins alone I ordered 40 thank you cards with their picture on it. I’ve long since run out. In fact, I’ve gone through another 10 pack of store bought thank you cards and still the gifts are coming in. I have another two thank you’s I need to write right now.

Some of my favorite stuff was the monogrammed stuff.

I loved it when the twins got cute little onsies with their names or the first letter of their name on it. Especially before people could tell them apart.

With Jack, the cutest monogrammed thing I got was a fancy baby burp cloth from our friend Andy Weil. I thought it was such a great idea I gave them out for years to other people having babies.

And Ben got the cutest cloth backpack with his name on it and an embroidered dump truck from our friends the Lafayettes.

Some people, like my friend Jessica sent up four beach towels with all the kids names on them. We use them every time we go to the beach. A fitting gift from my Florida friend.

Today I received a monogrammed gift that completely made my day. So cute and so original! Among other things in our gift bag, there was this…

Monogrammed Kippahs from Heather

One of the many perks of having a family member living in your basement are the last minute dates with your husband.

A few times a week we try to get out after the kids have gone to bed. Even if it’s just a walk around the block holding hands, or an errand long over due, it’s still nice to be out just the two of us. Mostly we’ll sidle up to a bar for a quick drink, maybe an appetizer, and then head back in so we are in bed before 10pm.

We’d never higher a sitter to do this. Firstly, we never know when all 4 kids will be asleep. Secondly, we never know how tired we’ll be from the night before. Thirdly, what sitter would be willing to come over for less than the 2 hours it takes us to wander the streets?

Beef Carpaccio from Gemini Bistro, a non pregnancy treat!

We’ve checked out quite a bit of local outdoor seating areas like Gemini Bistro for dinner, Four Farthings for a quick drink, and Zella‘s patio area, where we were surprised to see you can still smoke at.

I also made it to the grocery store without any kids at all. Having the luxury to leisurely wander around the aisles is something I really took for granted before I had kids.

Later on this month we plan to dine at Charlie Trotter’s before it closes. There is also talk about checking out some of the new restaurants that popped up in the Near North neighborhood.

Last night with a little bit of trepidation I agreed to go see The Dark Knight Rises at the IMAX theatre at Navy Pier. The movie was 2 hours and 45 minutes long. We would definitely pay for it in next day.

It turned out the kids were in bed so early we even had time for a drink and oysters at Riva beforehand.

In the end I was glad we saw it on the big screen. It was just that kind of movie. I did feel very old, though. I found the volume too loud, the scenes too violent and the plot hard to follow (it’s possible that was from from the martini and sleep deprivation, not age). Still it was amazing to watch, explosions, beautiful people and show stopping scenes like the opening one where one plane overtakes another.

When we got home at midnight, we found Grandpa Devensky sitting in the kitchen with Jack and Ben! Five minutes later Aaron woke up to feed. Since we wouldn’t have gotten any sleep before midnight last night (or after for that matter), I’m even more glad we forged ahead and went to see the movie.

For months we have been throwing toys in whatever bin is closest. The chaos was getting to me. The kids as well, how many times a day did they ask where this toy or that toy was? We were unable to play with half the toys because of all the missing pieces.

For a few weeks I’ve been selling the idea of ‘The Great Toy Clean Up’. How fun and exciting would it be to sort through all the toys and find all the missing stuff?!!!

I kept telling Grandpa Devensky how good Jack was at sorting things with wheels. In front of Jack.

I was hoping all this talk would psych them up to help clean up this huge mess.

Before

So Jack and I dumped all the bins. Ben, surprisingly spent quite a long time sorting things. He wasn’t very accurate, which led Jack to police him, which led me to yell at Jack, which led to Jack not helping anymore.

In the end it was Adam and I walking the basement a thousand times over, dropping things in different bins. Besides the joy Ben got every time we found another miniature toy for him, it was not fun. Neither was cleaning up the three times Ben peed on the carpet this morning. Adam jokingly asked me who the idiot was who bought the kids all these toys.

But I’m pleased to show this picture, after FOUR HOURS of sorting…

After

This week I received garlic, onion, a tomato, green pepper, cucumber, corn, kale, cabbage, chinese eggplant.

I was able to use the corn as a side dish and add the tomato with basil to fresh mozzarella the first night it arrived. Leftover basil was also used in various things throughout the week like salads or used with a blanched, oven baked green beans and tomatoes side dish.

The Chinese eggplant was put in a stir fry with the green pepper and garlic.

I still struggle with cabbage when I get it from Fresh picks. They seem to send it often and it’s not something I normally buy from the supermarket. After consulting my Chinese cookbooks, I decided a nice cabbage salad would make a great accompaniment to the eggplant dish, chicken stir fry and brown rice. I was able to use the cucumber in this dish as well. It had pickled carrots, shredded cabbage, ribboned cucumber, scallions in an asian sauce.

Kale was made into an old favorite – kale chips.

Onions went into my Bolognese sauce and the garlic gets put piecemeal into many different dishes.

This summer I spent a lot of time trying to plan when the best time to potty train Ben would be.

School starts in a month and if he’s not potty trained I’ll be home with three kids instead of two next year!

I drove Kristen and everyone else around me nuts trying to plan the perfect first three days for this epic event. What we would do these three days, which kid would do what while Ben learned this all important skill.

Then, last week I ran out of diapers. And so, instead of buying more I started potty training.

In the end, after all that talk there was no big plan like I had with Jack. Jack and I sat around a towel covered couch watching shows and drinking lots for three days. I had him bare bottomed. I asked him every two seconds if he wanted to go potty. I bribed with candy. I got frustrated. I yelled. I got in done in three days.

Grandpa Devensky and Aaron at the Beach today

Ben? I just put on underwear and hope for the best. It’s been a week now.

The peeing part has gone a lot better than it did with Jack. He can hold it for longer and gives tell tale signs when he has to go (grabbing his privates). He also willingly sits on the potty without fighting you.

The poo part is a different story.

Three mornings ago Adam found he’d pooped on his bedroom floor.

Yesterday morning he was awfully quiet in his bedroom. By the time I had put the twins down for their first nap and was able to check on him it was too late.

I smelled something unpleasant in the bedroom the minute I walked in. I looked up and  there, on the foot of Jack’s bed was a log of poop. When I climbed up to the top bunk to see what was going on I found a Ben under the covers. I lifted up the covers and there he was, in child’s pose, covered in poop.

Kristen calls Sam’s sleep position ‘The Starfish”

I do find it interesting that he picked Jack’s bed instead of his own to defecate on.

Kristen was the unlucky one to find the poop today. We were at the beach and he decided to go in his pants. She washed the shorts out as best she could and, like a cat, buried the rest of it in the sand.

Zack, Angus and Jack Burying Max

The Aqua Building

Today my friend Pam invited us to her father’s pool. It’s not just any pool. He lives in the Aqua building.

I was super excited to see it because I once watched an hour long special about the planning of this building. I never told anyone that before because it sound so dorky, but now I’m openly jealous of my former self. I’d never have time to do that now!

I didn’t realize that the building shares the pool with the Radisson. As such, it was more like a hotel pool, complete with cabanas and a pool bar that opens on the weekends.

They also have a great kiddie pool that Jack and mostly Ben can stand in. It’s a lot less stressful swimming with your kids once their toes can touch the bottom. It’s amazing how much fun can be had in a big tub of water and a few toys.

Kiddie Pool

This morning I really felt like I was on vacation. With my Dad and Kristen there I was able to relax a bit and chat to my friends.

Even Dad catches some shut eye!

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!!!