Date Night in Chicago

Now that Pupa is a bit older, my husband and I are managing to sneak out on more and more date nights. The baby is in bed by 7:30 on the dot, and Fratellone loves hanging out and watching movies or playing games with the babysitter, so we no longer feel so guilty about leaving the kids. It's not always easier to snag our fave babysitter, but in the past couple of weeks we managed to catch This at the Wit Theater (*highly* recommended) and Gods of Carnage at the Goodman (go see it! review forthcoming...). We supported our son's school at a fun benefit at the University Club. Tonight, I'm going on a date with mom, actually to a Tupperware party (and I love Tupperware!). And this Saturday night, we're going to see Boukman Eksperyens, a 10-piece Haitian ensemble that I adore, at Northwestern's Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

Chicago Parent just published my latest post with 7 Great Date Night in Chicago Ideas. Check it out here.

On a (*kind of*) funny note, when my husband and I came home from the Goodman on Tuesday night, we were surprised to find Pupa still awake. She was playing with the babysitter and still very peppy for a baby girl at 10 p.m. "She just wouldn't go to bed!" explained the babysitter. I read her a couple of books and rocked her until she finally nodded off.

The next morning, as I loaded the dishwasher, I realized the reason for Pupa's late-night energy surge: when I emptied her bottle, I noticed that the babysitter had accidentally given her my super-caffeinated Jasmine tea instead of her usual, calming chamomile (my daughter likes a sip of herbal tea before bed. She's a lady, what can I say). That's the equivalent of me taking a double dose of No-Doze before bed. I'm surprised she wasn't awake until the wee hours of the morning!  Ai yi yi.

Chi-Town Parent - a new city-based parents blog

I'm happy to be a part of the latest endeavor at the award-winning ChicagoParent.com:  ChiTown Parent, a new community blog featuring 12 people living, working and raising kids in the city. Among us, you'll find an actor, an entreprenuer, and a fitness expert.

Check it out today! and be sure to subscibe: Here's the link.

#makesmesmilemondays

My son, thinking up a good wish before he blows out the candles on his 10th birthday cake.  

Five for Friday

Pupa loves listening to music, and so she was delighted to receive Ella Jenkins, a life of song, from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Ms. Jenkins is truly the grande dame of children's music, born in St. Louis on August 6, 1924 and raised on the south side of Chicago. Thirty songs remind kids to respect and learn from one another. Grab a free download of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" or purchase the cd here.

We're getting ready to fly off on some big trips, and I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to pack us all up. I can't help but to get a Trunki for Pupa - which will function as both a riding toy and a carry-on. I am torn between the tiger and the ladybug - but I'm leaning towards the tiger and already planning on putting eyeballs on him. I also brainstorming ideas for keeping Pupa occupied for the ten hour flight to Italy - how I wish longhaul flights had sound-proof kid play areas on board.  

Last weekend, our entire family went to see Bodyworlds 2 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Of course, the reality of looking at plasticized corpses was completely lost on Pupa. Fratellone, almost age 10, looked on the comical side of it all - he couldn't believe there was such an abundance of penises and testicles on display! Woo-hoo! My husband, who is a medical professor and researcher, was fascinated by the display showing the plasticized nerve wiring of a brain - it really is amazing. I must say, I myself found it all bit dismal because I couldn't get over the fact that these people once lived and love, and there they were, being ogled at at a museum (though it is of their choice). That said, I appreciated the numerous quotes reminding everyone that what's important is not the amount of years you live but the amount of love you give.

And because life is too short, today I am running over my lunch break to pick up cupcakes from my favorite Chicago cupcakerie, Swirlz, and surprising Fratellone and his classmates after their lunch. I can't believe he's turning the big 10 on Sunday! I'm surprising my husband with tickets to Bill Maher - not until July 25th, but tickets are on sale at the Chicago Theater today. I surprised myself yesterday by treating myself to a spa afternoon with a side of new-underthings shopping.

I'm reading The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure and Radio Shangri'La by Lisa Napoli. Reviews forthcoming!

Have a wonderful weekend!

My Baby Trixie

Remember Hi and Lois? My mother always tells me how, as a baby, I reminded her so much of Trixie. Looking at my own little girl, I can't help but to think I've got a baby Trixie on my hands, too.

This - now playing at Chicago's Theater Wit

Meet Jane, a thirty-something sifting her way through the first year following her husband's death, and her best friend, Merrill, a first-time mom contemplating her dry-spell of a marriage. A dinner party game meant to draw some laughs from beleaguered Jane winds up forcing everyone to face the messiness of life head-on. This, the latest production at the Theater Wit delves into the lives of four friends as they make their way through middle age, marriage and parenthood.

My husband and I caught This on the night of my 38th birthday, and I couldn't have imagined a more appropriate tie-in: the characters are all winding up the end of their 30's, wondering what the second stage of life will bring. I was moved especially by the emotional performance of Rebecca Spence as Jane, as she struggles to make her way despite the heavy weight of grief holding her down. Alan (Mitchell Fain) - Merrill and Jane's best friend - provided some much-needed comic relief, as did Jean-Pierre, the tall, dark and handsome Frenchman (who also provided the lighthearted European perspective on our American attitudes towards sex and fidelity).

The intimate theater space (get there early - seating is first-come, first-serve basis) made me feel as if I were eavesdropping on someone else's life. The well-written story (Melissa James Gibson ) was the center of my husband and I's conversation over dinner afterwards.

(from left) Rebecca Spence is Jane, and Lily Mojekwu is Merrill in Theater Wit’s Chicago premiere of Melissa James Gibson’s rueful comic drama This.  Performances run through April 3, 2011:  Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.   Single tickets are $18 to $35.  For tickets and information, visit TheaterWit.org or call the Theater Wit box office, 773.975.8150.

It's a must-see show - catch it before it goes away April 3! - perfect for your own 30-something date night.

Consider purchasing a Wit Theater Flex Pass: You'll receive tickets for ten performances for only $200. That's live, thought-provoking theater for a bit more than what you'd pay for a

Theater Wit

1229 W Belmont, Chicago IL 60657
773-975-8150

**Special thanks to the Theater Wit, for providing me with tickets to review this show.



#makesmesmilemondays

My kids + books + sunbeams.

Five for Friday

Superga shoes are on sale today at gilt.com! These classic tennis shoes always remind me of springtime in Italy. I scored a coral pink pair for $32 (everywhere else they retail for at least $50).

Have you ever been to the Emerald Coast? Fratellone and I took a mini-spring break there a couple of years ago, and we fell in love with the crystal-clear water, the delicious southern-style food, and the dolphins jumping in the harbour. Just this week, the Emerald Coast launched a search for America's Most Deserving Mom. Do you fit the bill? The winner will receive a 2011 Buick Enclave, a one-week stay for six in a luxurious Destin beach house courtesy of Southern Resorts, round-trip airfare and $1,000 spending money! Enter at www.facebook.com/floridasemeraldcoast

We visited a new Chicago bakery this week: Chimney Cake Island. A full review is forthcoming on chicagoparent.com, but if you find yourself in Edgewater, sail over to 1445 West Devon and try a chimney cake, essentially a rotisserie roasted, hollow, chimney shaped donut: crispy and coated with toppings (nuts, chocolate, coconut...) on the outside - soft and doughy on the inside. My kids loved them - and so did I!

This weekend, we're checking out the Museum of Science and Industry's latest exhibit Body Worlds and the Cycle of Life, which features 200 plastinates, real human specimens preserved through plastination, a.k.a. dead bodies. Here's to hoping it won't inspire nightmares.

Tomorrow I'm taking my Fratellone to Chicago Entertainment and Comic Festival - a pre-birthday treat (he turns double-digits next week!). Saturday night, I'm sneaking out for a date with my husband, to see This, described as "a rueful comedy about the complexities of backing into middle age" at the Theater Wit. It's my birthday on Saturday, so I suppose a comedy on the complexities of backing into middle age should fit the bill - let's hope it's upbeat!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Bring the World into Your Home

A few years ago, I detailed 10 Ways to Bring the World into Your Home, in an article for Chicago Parent.

One of my recommendations was: Host a foreign exchange student. Your children will learn firsthand about the language and customs of another culture and in turn, develop a lifelong friendship. If you can find a student that speaks the language your child studies at school (or hopes to study), all the better. If your child's school doesn't offer world languages (grrrr), hosting a student from overseas is a great way to learn a new language: you can trade English speaking time for some French, Italian, Chinese speaking time. As a bonus, you'll have another reason to take a family trip overseas - to visit your exchange student's family!

The mother of 3 (now 4!) former students of mine, Denise DiPauloWaltz, arranges homestays for students from Europe (primarily France and Spain) via Compass USA, and she's looking to connect families with students this upcoming summer and the next academic year. Here's a link to a great article describing how Denise brings the world into her home. Interested in hosting a student? Contact Denise at ddwaltz@sbcglobal.net or call Compass USA at (847) 652-7662.

FCC Disclosure: I was not compensated in any way for writing this post.

Spring and Summer Travel Plans in the Works!

One of my goals as a parent has always been to show the kids as much of this beautiful world as I can. Here's what's in the works for April - May - June - July 2011:

 

• In April, our family of four is heading to the Bahamas! I've never been, and I can't wait to simply soak up the sun and build sandcastles on the white sand beaches. We'll be staying at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach, an all-inclusive resort. It's the only resort on Grand Bahama Island with a PADI 5-Star Dive Center - so it looks like I'll be dusting off my fins.
• In May, my husband and I will be spending a long weekend on North Carolina's Crystal Coast. This will be our first vacation without the kids - who will be having a blast camping out at Grandma and Grandpa's house while we're away.
• In June, Fratellone, our 9-year-old son, will be heading to Bermuda with Grandma, Grandpa and his favorite cousin (they are four days apart! and no, my sister and I didn't plan that but we couldn't have un-planned better - they love each other like brothers). I'm arming Fratellone with a flip videocamera and a notebook and counting on him to document his exciting trip.
• There could be worse places for your in-laws to live; Italy is not one of them. In July, I'm flying off to Italy with the two kids, for about three weeks. We'll be staying in Castelgandolfo with my in-laws, who are absolutely ecstatic to host us. Baby Pupa will most definitely be receiving the rolled out red carpet, Princess treatment, this being her first visit to Italy. I'm looking into taking a course on a subject that has always interested me thanks to fundforteachers.org - the Etruscans - in nearby Rome, while the children have fun with their grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins. We'll be eating lots and lots of gelati and spending some time at the beach. I'm also planning to take Fratellone on a train trip to Venice, hoping to catch La Serenissima before she sinks to the bottom of the sea. I hope the kids learn a thing or two about living la vita dolce. Before all that though, I have to endure a 10 hour flight with a very active little toddler - wish me luck.

I'll be working on a few articles (which I'll cross-post) on: suitcase packing for toddlers and kids, ideas for surviving long flights with a toddler (this will be a first-hand account - tried and tested!), ideas for easy, family friendly weekend trips from Chicago, and of course, travel tips and from all the places we're set to visit.

Five for Friday - 5 Things on My Radar This Week

On Monday, I had a meeting (re: a new community blog set to roll out at ChicagoParent.com - what a great group of writers! - I'll share more with you soon!) at Little Beans Cafe, located on the Elston Avenue corridor between Bucktown and Lincoln Park. A comfortable conference room was rented for us. If you are planning a meeting that needs to (should!) be family-friendly, Little Beans is the place for you. From the conference room, I could peep out at the kids playing in a fun space filled with slides, little houses, shops, a fire engine, balls galore, and more. There are also tables in the play area, where parents can catch up on some work with a coffee or chat with friends, potentially without distraction, while your kids play. There is a also a separate cafe area, where you can grab a hot drink, pastry, sandwich and more.

Have you been to crayola.com? Pupa, age 18 months, loves to color. They have some nice printable coloring pages for toddlers, First Pages for Young Colorers, and a whole bunch of pages for every holiday you can think of. There are also tens of craft ideas for all ages, with accompanying how-to videos.

We are trying to eat more veggie based dinners, so this week, I made a big batch of Mollie Katzen's mushroom lentil walnut burgers and a cauliflower gratin that even Fratellone loved.  On Monday, I celebrated La Festa della Donna - one of my favorite Italian holidays, partly because I love mimose, by gifting each of my girl students a yellow rose.

A reader alerted me to this website - lunchlovecommunity.com - which features videos on encouraging and embracing healthy eating. Learn how a group of parents overhauled their children's school lunches, watch how one district provides made-from-scratch lunches for their schoolchildren, and see what happens when a group of 6th grade students burn a Hot Cheeto.

Yesterday, I nominated one of my fellow Wyndam Women on Their Way, Tracey Friley (who blogs at onebrowngirl.com) for the Self Magazine Women Doing Good campaign. Tracey runs life-changing adventure camps - OBG Adventure Camps - and takes girls out of their element and into the world at large as part of a multicultural camping experience that emphasizes cultural appreciation and cultural engagement. Not moments after I hit the send button on my nomination form for Tracey, did my inbox glow with good news! I've won a Fund for Teachers grant, that will eventually take me to Italy (some time this upcoming summer) to complete study in an area that's always interested me - archeology. I've had a lifelong interest in the Etruscans - and they will be my area of focus. I'm so thrilled and thankful!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Reluctant Landlord

***This post originally appeared on The Chicago Moms

This housing crisis has left us landlords by default.

My husband and I never intended to be mini real estate moguls, nor are we very successful at it. And of course, it could be worse. We purchased a home of our own last summer, and at the same time decided to (read: were pretty much forced to) hold on to the two condos we’d bought in our previous lives.

Heres the backstory: In 2005, I was a single mom with a little boy. My husband was a single guy very much focused on his job. I bought a condo in Bucktown, across from the perfect park. My thoughts at the time were: I am sick to death of dealing with landlords. I want a place to call my own. Besides, I’ll never get married again. Nope. No. Never. At about the same time, my now-husband bought a condo too, a short drive away from the university where he devoted most of his time pre-family.

But you know how it goes: If you want to make God fall into fits of laughter, make plans. Not being in touch with one another – for years – neither of us could have ever imagined that we’d meet up once again, after years and years, fall in love, marry, welcome our beautiful daughter, set off on the family path together. So we bought our condos, each of us closing on them, unknowingly, within the span of a same year.

And then of course, we re-met and the rest is history. And yes, we are still stuck with those same condos.

Because property values dropped so tremendously, it would have been silly to sell. It was decided that we’d rent them out and wait out this housing crisis. So far and with much luck, we have found great tenants: We haven’t yet had any middle-of-the night phone calls regarding broken water heaters, nor have we had tenants defaulting on rent. Finance-wise, we break a little over even. So we could call these two condos investment properties that we really wish we had never invested in. Nevertheless, every time the leases come up for renewel, we fall into a sort of panic mode, hoping our tenants will resign.

Last week, I received a real estate listing: someone in my old building is selling a unit similar to mine. The listing price is close to what I paid for mine way back when. You’d better believe I’m watching that listing like a hawk, hoping it gives me some hope.

Someday, we’re hoping that these two condos will pay off. If anything, the kids will one day have access to some pretty cool bachelor and bachelorette pads.

Five for Friday

1. 826CHI has announced their free spring writing programs for kids. My 10-year-old enjoys not only the programming but also the spy-themed front of this Wicker Park writing and tutoring center. Register HERE. 

2. We watched one of the most compelling documentaries I've seen all year this week, the Oscar-nominated The Last Train Home, the story of a family making its way in fast-changing China. Now available in instant play on netflix.com.

3. We checked out Al Primo Canto. Similar to the all-you-can-eat Brazilian steak houses, this was all-you-can-eat family-style with an emphasis on delicious, marinated, roasted chicken. As usual, I couldn't get enough of the pao de queijo  - puffed cheese bread made with cassava flour (a.k.a. gourmet cheetos). Best of all, it was family friendly: on a Sunday night, there were three other babies including our own, and many families with older kids. The all-you-can-eat option worked well for our family, and the food appeals to not just adults but also kids.

4. I booked our spring break trip...We're going to the Bahamas! This weekend, I'm going to attempt to apply for a new passport for Pupa as well as a renewal on Fratellone's almost-expired passport. The Dept. of State just issued new passport applications forms as of March 1 - if you are flying overseas over spring break or this summer, now is the time to apply for your passport. Fingers crossed that I will keep my cool while dealing with the USPS (I can see I'm not the only one who gets a headache upon entering my local USPS).

5. I want to make this cake, this weekend. Tonight, my husband and I are taking our son to see the revamped Blue Man Group. Tomorrow morning, I'm taking my daughter and her pal to see the butterflies at the Notebaert Museum -  just thinking about how happy they'll be to see the butterflies flying around brings a huge smile to my face as I write!)