This is the second Saturday in a row where we have driven around and around the city. Eleanor fell asleep on our way home from Kohls. We know she won't transfer up to her crib and, being the queen of the cat nap, that she won't fall asleep later either if she's allowed a 10 minute power snooze.
And so we drive. Around and around.
They have been taking us down to the new hospital in small groups for orientation and I thought I would share some of my pictures with you. It is a very impressive building!
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, opening May/June 2012
On a cold and windy Chicago evening in December, 2009, Jim and I met each other after work outside of the Lincoln Park Zoo. We were going to enjoy Zoolights, that annual Christmas light spectacle that seems to get even better year after year, the zoo emblazoned in millions and millions of Christmas lights, with ice carvers, hot cocoa, and Santa.
Instead, on that night we found ourselves standing at the black iron gates which were shuttered with a metal slap of finality. Everything was pitch black. And cold. Did I mention it was cold? "Damn..." we exhaled, our breaths melting into our heavy scarves. "It's closed." With a disappointed shrug, we turned and slunked to a restaurant. "Why didn't we check the website?" we asked ourselves while slurping up noodles, "it must only be opened on weekends this early in the season."
I had completely forgotten about that evening. But I remembered tonight, as we met at the Lincoln Park Zoo and stared at the black iron bars closed upon the even darker zoo behind them.
"Crap...." we muttered, looking guiltily at the baby, bundled up in her stroller and wearing her ladybug zoo hat.
At least we were not the only ones. One poor Mom, pushing a small child in a stroller and holding the hand of a very impatient-appearing preschooler, slowed to a stop next to where we were standing.
"It's closed?!" she looked at me in desperation. "I had to run for the bus, get them all bundled up...oh my gosh how can it be closed?" I then witnessed her trying to tell her son that the animals had all gone to sleep early tonight. "I BET YOU TOLD THEM TO GO TO SLEEP!" the son started to wail.
I am thankful at these moments that we have a child who is of the age when explaining is not necessary. Expectations do not have to be honored, at any point if Jim or I change our minds, we simply turn the stroller around with no argument. Last weekend we took the train down to Macys on State Street, where, after glancing at their very, very disappointing window displays (which are usually so magical- what the hell, Macys?) we ventured inside to try to find Santa. Ellie has not been to see Santa yet, and we were hopeful that this might have been her time to meet the big guy. After roaming the first, seventh, and fifth floors, we finally found the line- nothing was signed, no Buddy the Elf was there to add any cheer, and after watching the parents who came out after seeing Santa (most rolling their eyes, most saying that it really wasn't worth the wait), we decided to call it a day and went home.
So, in anticipation of the day when we will have a child who pitches a fit when we decide NOT to wait in Santa's line, this year, we will try again. We will find Santa, somewhere....somewhere small and quaint and perhaps not in a department store. And we will probably attempt Zoolights again, (checking that they're open before leaving the house), even though by the time the next weekend opportunity rolls around it may be freezing cold with a fierce wind coming off the lake and no available parking.
But we will try, damnit.
And if we fail...well, at least this year, we won't have to hear about it the whole way home.
I arrived here in the pouring rain, and now it is bright and sunny with blue skies! Typical beautiful fall day. My husband met me for a coffee, and now it is just me, my head phones and Spotify, and an empty powerpoint presentation that I need to fill up in less than two weeks. The dreaded blinking cursor syndrome....
But, with good coffee and a tummy full of an oatmeal raisin cookie, I think I will get through it.
What I originally thought was a very, very bad thing is turning into a somewhat good thing. Or a mixture of good and bad, oscillating with my mood, which is dependent on how easily I find parking around work or if I've made it through our morning pre-work race without getting spit up on.
Up until recently, Jim was able to work from home with the baby on Thursday mornings, which is when I go into work for a half day. He found out a few weeks ago that he could no longer do this, and so we have had to add another day at the daycare for the baby.
The killer is that this extra day of daycare will essentially slice my already meager take-home pay in half. Ugh!
So when I was grumpy about this (after dragging out the calculator and thinking over our budget), I started dragging out the questions that invariably surface anytime I brood about these things. Why work? Why go through these crazy mornings of pumping, getting the kid ready, us ready, lunch ready, bottles ready, solid baby food ready, diapers ready, changing after getting spit up on, dragging ourselves back to the elevator after I realize I've left my cell phone upstairs, feeling frazzled all the time, etc etc? Why why why?
After asking this question, I always feel two pangs in my gut.
Pang #1: I can't imagine giving up my work- my coworkers, clinic, and working with our families.
Pang #2: Even if I stopped working, I wouldn't want to take the baby out of her daycare.
Sometimes you have to trust your gut, and on this topic, I do.
We LOVE our daycare (a Bright Horizons center downtown), and we love what the daycare has to offer the baby. I really believe that it does her some good to have time outside of her home and away from us, and to learn to trust other caregivers. I think it is helping Eleanor become a very social baby too- she smiles and laughs at her teachers and at the other babies in her room (sometimes when they are crying...this is a social skill that we will have to work on if it persists. hehe). She truly seems to enjoy it there, and I couldn't imagine taking that away from her.
So I work to work, but there are many benefits. With this attitude adjustment, I began thinking more about this situation. This means I will have Thursday afternoons...free? Open? All to myself? It is a strange new revelation. And for the past three Thursdays, Jim and I have met for lunch (Pequods, Emerald Loop, and The Pasta Bowl). Three dates, three weeks in a row. I can't complain about that.
I am faced with the decision of what to do during those remaining few hours before picking up the baby from daycare. Today, armed with a notebook and my ipod, I ventured into Noble Tree, an independently owned coffee shop on Clark (wedged between The Galway Arms and Mickeys). I climbed the stairs to the second floor after getting some tea and could not believe my eyes. There were robust circular tables throughout the room, several occupied with people typing on laptops or reading. And it was quiet. Trickles of conversation made their way up from downstairs, and music played through the speakers, but no one was gabbing on a phone or engaged in lively conversation. It was almost like it was a set aside quiet work space, though no signs advertised it as such. I was in heaven- this was truly what I have been hoping for to get me into a writing zone. I sat down, put on my headphones, and I wrote for two straight hours. It was more than I have done in over a year, not since I was taking classes at Story Studio.
I loved taking those classes at Story Studio, and would love to take more, but that would likely be fiscally irresponsible at this moment in time (please refer to the third paragraph of this post). Besides though- similar to how paying for gym membership makes you work out, even though you have the natural and free availability to go out for a jog anytime and anywhere, taking writing classes is what has gotten me to write. I am not very happy with the fact that this was the only way I became dedicated to the process of writing, and it is time that I become a big kid and do this on my own. I got a great start today, and I hope to get into a comfortable groove and really take advantage of this time.
The baby saw and smiled at me through the window to her classroom when I arrived at 5 to take her home. Her teachers told me that they think she may have her first tooth coming in. I looked at her in surprise and said, "Oh my goodness is this true?" She gave me a big gummy smile and let out this funny guffaw laugh that she has now. It sounds like she is yelling, "Eh-huuuuuuuhhhh!" while she leans forward and bats her arms.
These new Thursdays are a good thing and a bad thing. But I am thinking this is all mostly good.
Along the lines of motherhood and free time, I found this article a few weeks ago which spoke to me:
Thursday marked our 5th year anniversary of moving to the great city of Chicago! It is hard to believe that it was 5 years ago since our line of cars and a Uhaul ventured across I-94 to set up shop here. In honor of this milestone, Jim is stopping at Pequods on his way home from the barbershop to bring us the one object that symbolizes most to us how much we enjoy living here. We are also hoping to go to Leo's Coney Island on Southport at some point as our way of paying homage to our Detroit-area roots. We love the new Leo's and it really is practically down the street from us. It is about time Chicago has a Coney Island! The last time we went into this Leo's restaurant I was pregnant and became nauseous halfway through the meal. I apologetically made Jim construct an accordion block using menus so I couldn't look at his coney dogs. That poor guy had to put up with so much of my crap last year!!!
We wanted to go on our important Chicago anniversary dinner on Thursday, but, we have a baby now and it becomes almost a game when we try to venture out to a restaurant:
Has the baby taken a good nap this afternoon?
No. Little stinker wouldn't nap.
Will we sit outside or in?
Oh, is there the option to sit outside? Is it in the sun? We'll need her sunscreen. And a hat. Will her stroller fit in that area?
I don't know.
Well, we don't need to bring the stroller. We could always put her in the Ergo carrier for our walk there- don't you think? Or should we just bring the stroller and lock it somewhere? Should we bring your bike lock? And then what will we do with her once we get there? Is she old enough for a restaurant high chair now?
She could probably handle it.
Oh, but wait. We have a high chair cover. We should probably bring that. I saw on the news the other day that restaurant high chairs can be dirtier than public toilets. We've never used it before. Let's take it out of its box. Do you know how it fits onto the high chair?
Nope.
Let's just say we didn't make it to Leo's, especially since our window of opportunity lay between Jim's return from work at 6 and the baby's bedtime routine at 7. Each time we bring up when we might be able to go, we cycle through the same list of questions!
How come this conversation is never featured on Johnson & Johnson's "Having a baby changes everything" commercials????? We now have a whole new appreciation for take out. :-)
Thank you, Chicago, for the past 5 years!
We went and saw Dot & Ziggy this morning (click here to see pictures on their site), a play by the Chicago Children's Theater that is currently being performed at the Biograph Theater just down the street from us on Lincoln Avenue. We got tickets through a Plum District special- $9 instead of the regular price of $18, plus I had a $20 credit through the site, so in the end our outing cost us a lovely $7! The play is for the target audience of 0-4 years old, and we had no idea how little Ellie would react. Well in the end she loved it and the three of us had a great time! The "play" takes place in a large room and families sit on pieces of carpeting while the characters move all around the carpeted pieces. Basically, the story is about a skunk and a ladybug who become friends, but first encounter a few conflicts. For example, they find a dandelion and both want it at the same time. Such a problem! Well, along comes a SPIDER who calmly reminds them that they need to SHARE! It was really, really cute and well done. The baby really watched a lot of it too. When Dot the ladybug skipped by the baby held her arms out and tried to touch her pretty tutu skirt. She bounced on Jim's lap and squealed at the toddlers who were dancing nearby. Occasionally when the action was occurring on the other side of the room Eleanor preferred to chew her teether rather than follow the storyline, but then again she's only SIX MONTHS OLD. I think Jim and I have so been wanting to do these types of things as a family of three (remember, we're the couple who honeymooned in Disney World and sat through a Wiggles concert even before having kids of our own), that we were freakishly looking forward to seeing Dot & Ziggy. :-)
My parents called us using Apple's Facetime this afternoon to watch the baby. She was just not in her happiest place (no thanks to me, who tried showing my parents how the baby could momentarily sit up, and in the act of doing so the baby dove headfirst into the laptop. Another "Mother of the Year" trophy to add to my collection....). I kept trying to get her to laugh for them but it was just not going to happen. An hour later Eleanor did finally break a smile, as you can see for yourself!
Eleanor laughing 5/14/11 from Lindsay Rhodes on Vimeo.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Dear Eleanor,
Happy 5 months, Sweetheart!
This was a really nice month for you. We spent a great afternoon at Aunt Beth's and Uncle Avery's at the beginning of your 5th month. Grandma Rhodes was there, and Grandpa Rhodes and Aunt Kathy came in to town to meet your new cousin Lila. They were very surprised to see what a big girl you are now. It is amazing to see how much you have grown in comparison to Baby Lila, who is still so little.
This was a month of many firsts for you. You took your first trip to the airport to drop off Grandma and Grandpa Walker. They are in England now with your great-grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins. You had your first trip to Costco a couple weekends ago. I put you in your baby carrier and we walked around while Daddy pushed the shopping cart. Last weekend you went to your first kids' birthday party, and this past weekend Daddy, you, and I went downtown for the night. You got to see Millennium Park and Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. You also rolled over for the very first time this month! You rolled from your tummy to your back and have done it several times since. You are very close to rolling over from front to back too.
You are becoming more and more interactive with the world around you and it is so enjoyable to watch. At Brayden's birthday party you loved watching the other little kids. There was a woman playing guitar and singing and you really were enraptured with it all. You got to take home a red balloon and were very pleased with that! Aunt Piper and Aunt Stacie came over later that day and we posed you for pictures with the balloon.
Last week you began to blow raspberries and it is now one of your favorite forms of communication. When we played with you this past weekend, you and Daddy got into a very silly raspberry spitting competition. You blew a raspberry at Daddy, and then he blew a raspberry at you, which then made you spit back. This went on and on for some time!
You were holding a teething toy the other day, and every time you dropped it you became very fed up and frustrated! In the past you would have moved on, so it was very amusing to see you become that attached to that one toy and to become mad when you lost it!
Daddy and I found a cool sign language app for the ipod that is teaching us many signs to use with you. It will be some time before you'll be able to use these signs yourself, but it is fun to think that you are moving into that stage.
You and Major continue to be great pals. He lies down next to you and you enjoy petting his soft fur.
The weather is improving and yesterday it was so warm that all you wore while we pushed you in your stroller was a onesie! We look forward to being able to spend more time outside with you.
Well darling, we are off to Oak Park to see Cameron and Lila, and your cousin-in-law Nora. It is my birthday this week, and I must say that you are the greatest gift I have ever had.
All my love Sweetie,
Mom
xo
Monday's are often a bummer, but aren't they so much nicer when you've had a fantastic weekend?
To beat the "We now have a baby and it's been cold out and we never go anywhere" trap, we ventured downtown on Saturday and spent the night at the Hotel Monaco. Jim and I stayed at the Hotel Monaco a few years ago for our own staycation (it was my treat after my first on-call period at work) and we really like this hotel. The absolute best part about the rooms are the huge cushioned window seats that overlook Upper Wacker Drive and the Chicago River. At our last visit, we ended up checking out early to get breakfast, and in the end actually regretted that decision. The breakfast out was still good, but we kept wishing we were still sitting at the window, and together agreed that next time we would splurge on room service and stay put. Which is what we did! In addition to having our breakfast delivered Sunday morning, on Saturday night we picked up some fancy sandwiches from Pastoral, cupcakes from Sugar Bliss, and wine from the Seven Eleven across the street. We stopped to watch a Tina Turner impersonator, two men dressed in banana costumes, and a wedding party singing and dancing together on State Street (which, when will we ever see that again?) and then we headed back to our quiet window seat to enjoy the evening.
It was wonderful to leave the house and experience a day downtown as our new family. The baby blew raspberries and squealed at the cars going by on Wabash. At home, it is too easy to miss those purest moments of play when dinner needs to be figured out or bottles prepped for daycare. But in that little hotel room it was just us and nothing else :-)
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