Conservatories and happy meals...a monday morning tale
So, we headed to the Garfield Park Conservatory this morning. I used to take Claire and Sammy there all the time when my old best buddy used to live here, but after she up and moved to Atlanta, I couldn't bring myself to go back very often...just too sad.
But, enough is enough and it was time to stop mourning and go back. I remembered why we used to like it so much. It's hot and muggy in there! And since it's 17 degrees here in Chi-town right now, we love hot and muggy! Of course, this meant that we had to take off 5 layers of winter clothes, hats, scarves, and mittens when we got inside, and guess who got nominated to carry it all? The mommy, of course.
But it was really fun for all of us. Claire went to the craft table in the children's garden and made an orange with cloves stuck into it to hang on the Christmas tree. I realized that the last time I went there Claire still needed help with the craft, and Sammy was still wandering off and ending up in the tropical fish exhibit. But now they are so much more independent! Granted, Sammy did go over to the baby area (where I used to let him play with the foam blocks) and wreaked a little havoc there before I realized what was going on. A mom nicely informed me that he was kicking the blocks around and also throwing them. I took him out and apologized.
It has a pretty sweet play area for the kids complete with blocks and books and insect/animal puppets. Most the moms had younger kids, so had to be on Sammy alert the whole time, but he actually did really well.
There is a great slide that goes through the middle of it, and they did that some.
But then Claire found a little girl her age to play with. They were first pretending to be monkeys, but then, when they started eatting the wooden food, I asked them what they were doing and Claire and the girl said simultaneously "being teenagers!" I asked them what teenagers did, and they said "they go on picnics!" Alright, I guess that's tame enough. Haha.
Here is a picture I took of a woman who had a cute outfit on. I was pretending to take a picture of the whole room, but really I wanted to show her cute outfit. Isn't she so cute and urban? I like her little hat and sloopy-necked sweater,
but my favorite part was her boots. I checked them out and they are Uggs. I'm not even going to bother looking that up because I just never buy nice shoes, but it didn't help that while I was walking around with the kids, my WHOLE sole of my boot came off my foot. Only the front inch was hanging on, so I had to drag my left foot on the ground instead of stepping. It was very embarassing and people kept holding doors for me thinking that I had a disability. Oh well, I'll take help anywhere I can get it!
But, enough is enough and it was time to stop mourning and go back. I remembered why we used to like it so much. It's hot and muggy in there! And since it's 17 degrees here in Chi-town right now, we love hot and muggy! Of course, this meant that we had to take off 5 layers of winter clothes, hats, scarves, and mittens when we got inside, and guess who got nominated to carry it all? The mommy, of course.
But it was really fun for all of us. Claire went to the craft table in the children's garden and made an orange with cloves stuck into it to hang on the Christmas tree. I realized that the last time I went there Claire still needed help with the craft, and Sammy was still wandering off and ending up in the tropical fish exhibit. But now they are so much more independent! Granted, Sammy did go over to the baby area (where I used to let him play with the foam blocks) and wreaked a little havoc there before I realized what was going on. A mom nicely informed me that he was kicking the blocks around and also throwing them. I took him out and apologized.
It has a pretty sweet play area for the kids complete with blocks and books and insect/animal puppets. Most the moms had younger kids, so had to be on Sammy alert the whole time, but he actually did really well.
There is a great slide that goes through the middle of it, and they did that some.
But then Claire found a little girl her age to play with. They were first pretending to be monkeys, but then, when they started eatting the wooden food, I asked them what they were doing and Claire and the girl said simultaneously "being teenagers!" I asked them what teenagers did, and they said "they go on picnics!" Alright, I guess that's tame enough. Haha.
Here is a picture I took of a woman who had a cute outfit on. I was pretending to take a picture of the whole room, but really I wanted to show her cute outfit. Isn't she so cute and urban? I like her little hat and sloopy-necked sweater, 
but my favorite part was her boots. I checked them out and they are Uggs. I'm not even going to bother looking that up because I just never buy nice shoes, but it didn't help that while I was walking around with the kids, my WHOLE sole of my boot came off my foot. Only the front inch was hanging on, so I had to drag my left foot on the ground instead of stepping. It was very embarassing and people kept holding doors for me thinking that I had a disability. Oh well, I'll take help anywhere I can get it!
So, after the conserv, we stopped by my favorite cheap shoe store, Payless, and I bought some much uglier and cheaper black boots. I have to wear something and Matt's gone this week so there is no time for extended shoe shopping!
Then, in a throwback to the old days when I used to be not as conscious of my children's nutrition (I didn't know about locally grown food...that's for sure!) I hit McDonalds. But it was 2pm by then (very late for Sam's nap) and we were all starving. I thought it would hit the spot, but instead, 10,000mg of sodium later, I am completely dehydrated and I literally feel like my esophaugus is lined with grease. Yuck. But I'm not hungry!
Anyway, that was our Monday. Conservatory: Yay! McD's: Yuck!
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