As the school year winds down

May is the new December, or so it seems, with every week marking another "last" and a constant stream of goodbyes and celebrations that are all coming to ahead this week.

Last weekend the girls performed in Tri-Star's annual gym show and Zoe had her last day of Hebrew School for the year. Today she is having a fiesta lunch with her extra curricular Spanish class and next week beckons with Olympics Day and a pizza picnic for the whole 2nd grade.

Ada finishes her 2nd of 3 years at Montessori school today. She'll be a kindergartener in the fall! After a full Memorial Day Weekend full of parties, playdates, a parade and the pool (!), June opens with its chaos of camps: Montessori camp, park district camp, swim camp and--for Zoe--2 nights in a platform tent at Girl Scout camp.

I know it's traditional to look back in December, not late May, but with children the ages of Zoe and Ada, it's hard not to feel a sense of finality with the wrapping of teacher gifts and mailing of graduation checks (my youngest cousin is a high school senior for a few more weeks). And this has been a wonderful year.

Zoe matured into the kind of kid who can disappear into her room (or the backyard) for hours on end, writing fantastic, dialogue-filled stories or creating lists of names (that she can use in future stories). I've also found her listening, rapt, to audiobooks as she does chin-ups underneath her loft bed. And speaking of exercise, this girl is all muscle. She spent the school year on Tri-Star Gymnastics' GIJO Level 3 Team, and mastered skills like the splits, round-offs and walk-overs. She solidified her best friendship with a fellow brainy classmate, but cultivated a wide range of friends from Hebrew School, girl scouts, the neighborhood and her class. My wish for her third grade year is an academically challenging teacher and for her to finally start broadening her palate.


And there's Ada. She's still got a ways to go in the maturity department, but we've evolved from multiple daily meltdowns to one or less per day. She's picking up on so many skills at school and can perform simple arithmetic and read simple books (We love Mo Willem's Elephant and Piggie series). She's an affectionate, fun-loving kid with a lot of friends (including two "best friends").  She's given up the stroller and willingly walks over a mile each way to school. And just this week I took the training wheels off her bike so she can start learning to balance on two wheels.

It's been a good year for me, too. My team is having a lot of successes at work, I got to redecorate our house and I picked up some tricky skills skating with Derby Lite (mohawks and backwards cross-overs for the win!). Finally, the sun is shining, it's 70 degrees and sunny and I'm on day one of a four-day weekend.

A Mother's Day gift of sibling harmony

Mother's Day came early for me. My kids chose this weekend to get along with each other.

Friday night Josh had a concert to review, so I took the girls to Hole in the Wall for frozen custard. It was Ada's first time biking anywhere (other than around the block), and Zoe was pretty gracious about waiting for us slow folks (her little sis on training wheels and me on foot) at every intersection. The shop accidentally upsized Zoe's cone from kiddie to full-sized, and rather than gloat about her enormous ice cream, Zoe reassured her jealous sister that she "definitely wouldn't finish all that ice cream." She also took it upon herself to continuously wipe Ada's disgustingly messy chocolate frozen custard face.

But the sibling harmony continued on Saturday! Zoe left Ada and me alone to bake Pinterest-inspired pretzels and oatmeal no-bake "energy balls." Then the three of us headed to the library, where Zoe read Ada a long fairy tale book until it was time to head across the street for Zoe's haircut. At the salon, Zoe let Ada sit next to her and play on the iPod Touch while Zoe had her hair reshaped into a stylish graduated bob.

Josh picked us up and the whole family went to the Depot American Diner for lunch. The food was a little off this time, but having the next hour all to myself to do a little shoe shopping more than made up that. And the cherry on my new TOMS shoes was coming home to find Zoe and Ada well intwined on the couch in front of Alice in Wonderland.

Mother's Day Sunday was pretty good too. Josh and the girls let me sleep in, and when I finally padded downstairs, they presented me with cards and fresh crepes. Ada and I played at the newly remodeled Taylor Park while Zoe was at Hebrew school, and Sunday afternoon the whole family headed to UIC Pavilion for some roller derby action. Interestingly enough, I bought Zoe a pack of derby trading cards and she immediately overcame her shyness, hounding all the skaters for autographs.

Zoe's new haircut

Thank you, President Obama

Today our President came out in support of gay marriage, and that made me proud to be an American.

I felt extra patriotic when, while assisting my 4 year old in the making of pizzas for dinner, I heard an NPR broadcast discussing the news. They mentioned the fact that--for the first time in history--more Americans support gay marriage than are against it.

I feel like we've come a long way in what seems like a fairly short time. I didn't know any (out) gay people in high school or among my parents' friends. My kids, by contrast, know my cousin is married to another man. They know that some kids have one parent, some have two, and sometimes those two are of the same gender. It's so not a big deal for them it barely registers as worth commenting. It's boring.  What's far more interesting, at least to my second grader, is that sometimes a kid's parents list two different addresses in the school directory. Divorce is more interesting (even scandalous) to a kid than a committed, loving gay marriage.

You can tell that to the defense of marriage nutjobs.

Omaha and more

As good as the Jellies exhibit at the Shedd

We spent last weekend in the city my parents were raised in and I grew up visiting during my summer vacations--Omaha, Nebraska. We were there because my cousin's daughter Lindsay was having her bat mitzvah. Since Ada and Zoe have only two first cousins (and those two live in Australia), I've tried to expose them to their second and third cousins as much as possible.

And I kind of like Omaha. For one thing, the Henry Doorly Zoo is fantastic. We (along with my mom and stepdad) headed there directly from the airport and took in the desert, swamp and aquarium exhibits.


We did some other sightseeing too, visiting the Durham Museum (an old train station filled with exhibits on Omaha history and a bunch of really cool historic rail cars that had the girls lost in a complicated game of "let's pretend") and the Omaha Children's Museum.

Naturally there were plenty of bat mitzvah-related events too: services, a 13th birthday dinner, more services, an oneg, a bat mitzvah party at a diner and a farewell brunch. Lindsay chanted beautifully and led many of the prayers, but I was most impressed by her d'var Torah, the commentary she gave on her Torah portion, which was about leprosy. She talked about the importance of making everyone feel a part  of a community and related that to her service project, which was assisting the disabled with swimming lessons.

"When's the train going to come?"

This was also the first hotel stay in which we didn't play musical beds! Zoe and Ada shared a double bed, and so did Josh and I. (P.S. The Marriott Omaha has very comfortable beds.) The girls deserve an extra commendation for their ability to stay up late and haul their own luggage. We didn't land until 8:30pm Sunday night, and they gamely wheeled their suitcases through the terminal, onto the tram to remote parking and then onto the bus to extra cheap remote parking.

In other, completely unrelated news, Ada is a reader! I'm going to post a video of her reading a book soon, I promise. While Zoe was a teeny bit younger when she started reading, I just realized that both of them started 1-2 months before the end of their second year at Montessori preschool.

Also, we booked a Disney World vacation for the fall. It will be my second time to WDW and the first for Zoe and Ada. We haven't told them yet, so please help us keep this a secret.

High highs and low lows

This week felt like it lasted a month. I won a Silver Effie and wore fantastic sky high satin heels and a sequin mini skirt to the awards dinner. Which, thanks to mediocre food and the fact that I was neither allowed to accept the award on stage (it's a political thing) nor included in the group photo with the statuette on the step and repeat was about as un-fun as events can get.

I went to a poorly attended but interesting NARAL/Pro-Choice America event and killed myself at work, revising a video case study in one day and churning out idea deck after idea deck. Creatively I was on fire, but that didn't stop me from red-eyed bawling at my desk one afternoon over a misunderstanding.

photo by Paul Goyette

Thanks to the Effie Awards and a preschool event, I missed both Tuesday and Thursday's Derby Lite practices and since work was so crazy, I didn't get to work out at all. Which made me feel infinitely less deserving of the fantastic (and likely final) One Sister dinner we attended with 10 friends until very late last night.

And as it that wasn't enough of an emotional roller coaster ride, I spent my few precious moments of free time this week planning a surprise trip to Walt Disney World for the family this fall. So naturally the girls act like ungrateful brats this morning (Zoe was adamant we adopt one of the animal shelter dogs being promoted at Oak Park's Earth Fest and would not take no for an answer and Ada repeated smacked her sister because she was frustrated over losing the free wildflower seeds she's snagged at the fest.)

A Passover potluck

Sunday was pretty much perfect. I joined some Derby Lite ladies for a sunny 9am skate along the lakefront (the first 3.5 miles were a cakewalk, but skating back against the wind was much more challenging).

I got home, showered and had lunch with the girls, but shortly thereafter a neighborhood sitter came over and kept them happily occupied playing "family" and "school" while Josh and I picked up a few last minute items for that evening's party. Then, while Josh read and dosed (he'd been up until 2am at a show Saturday night) I got busy in the kitchen.

When the sitter left, I put Zoe and Ada to work, having them clean and set the tables for our party, a meat-free Passover potluck. We had four families over for dinner, which meant a total of 10 adults and 11 kids (the 7 little girls greatly outnumbered the boys). The company (all of whom are new friends this year) was delightful and the food was delicious. I made tsimmes, apple kugel, a fruit salad and toffee-chocolate matzo. Others brought lemon soup, a green salad, chocolate-almond matzo, homemade gefilte fish (a revelation) and homemade cheese. Naturally, the (older) kids turned their noses up at  the spread and ate peanut butter straight from the jar. As I was putting leftovers away, I realized I'd also made and neglected to serve egg salad. Guess who is going to be eating that all week?

Spring in Louisville

Red penguins at 21c Museum Hotel

We took a four day mini-vacation to Louisville at the tail end of the girls' Spring Break last week(end). Although it's an easy 5 hour drive away (and Indianapolis offers a nice midway lunch stop), our trip started off semi-disasterously.

Ada, you see, was in a foul mood (for no apparent reason). Add the usual hotel room round of musical beds, and Josh woke up the loser, beginning a day of sightseeing in a sleeping bag on the floor of the plush 21c Museum Hotel. 

Fortunately, things got better from there. Every single person in Louisville was pumped for the Final Four matchup between University of Louisville and University of Kentucky, and blue and red tee shirts and banners were everywhere. 

On Friday, we visited the Mohammed Ali Center (so great) Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory (worth it), the Louisville Science Center (eh, but the kids liked it) and Kentucky Show! (the exclamation point is for the "Wow! You must have a thoroughbred's balls to charge $7 for 30 minutes of slick tourist propaganda!").

World's Biggest Baseball Bat

All of the above are located within a 5 minute walk of the 21c, which is a very cool boutique hotel that is also home to 2 floors of contemporary art and Proof on Main, a well-known restaurant and bar. We stayed for just one night, as it is as expensive as it is memorable (just under $300, which included a $25 credit at Proof).

Friday night we began left the downtown area, eating dinner at Hillbilly Tea (a hipster hangout where everything on the limited menu is made with tea). We then checked in at a well-equipped Residence Inn on the far east side of Louisville. It wasn't even off the highway, but buried in a nest of gated communities and strip malls.

Saturday we spent driving around the countryside, visiting two bourbon distilleries and Abraham Lincoln's birthplace.

Lincoln's Birthplace

Although the weather had been glorious up to that point, on Sunday morning we awoke to a crazy thunderstorm. Josh and the girls were afraid the horseback riding lesson I'd booked for them would be canceled, but it was at an indoor arena. Suffice it to said I had two very happy campers for the ride back to Chicago.

Just-don't-call-them-Easter eggs

One of my fondest memories from childhood was dying Easter eggs and hoping my artistic creation would be chosen for the Passover seder plate.

It's a tradition I'm proud to share with my otherwise exclusively Jewish children, and I was even more excited to get coloring when I found this tutorial for dying eggs naturally.

Zoe, Ada and I hunted around the kitchen for color-rich items we could use for our eggs and tried to predict what the results would look like after the boiling and overnight soaking was done.

Because we have a limited number of unused glass jars (we use them for salad dressing, leftovers and simple syrup) and some eggs didn't survive Ada's enthusiastic drop into the pot, we didn't dye very many eggs. But those we did are so pretty it will be hard to decide which one to pick for the seder plate.

 In case you're interested, the blue eggs were made with blueberries; the reddish-brown came from black tea, coffee beans, a cinnamon stick and whole cloves. The light green eggs were the result of green tea and cilantro, and the bright yellow egg was tumeric and a carrot. We dried the eggs and polished them with mineral oil before putting them back in the fridge. Also, this photo doesn't really do them justice--the camera on my Samsung phone is such crap.

Brownie, cake baker

Last week Zoe made her first cake. Sure, she's been helping out in the kitchen since she was a toddler, but in order to enter a cake in the Girl Scouts 100th Birthday Cake Contest and Auction at her school, she had to do all the prep work and clean up on her own. (I slid the cake pans in and out of the oven and offered advice.)

Zoe made a boxed Devil's Food Cake and iced it with a white buttercream from a Trader Joe's mix. Since the mix didn't contain quite enough frosting, she "glued" Whole Foods faux Oreos around the sides with icing.

More challenging was decorating the thing. My little 7 year old had grand plans that included roses and complicated messaging along the top, but she lacked enough strength in her fingers to press out any green icing beyond "100," and that was a struggle that nearly brought her to tears.

Since we were heading to the retreat and had to miss the judging and auction, we dropped the cake off with one of the troop leaders. Apparently it sold for $10! You can see photos from the event here. Tell me if you think all these cakes were made without a parent's help. I have my doubts...

A retreat from the everyday

Sing in Hebrew and carry a big stick

The girls and I attended our synagogue's annual retreat this past weekend, and the glorious warm weather made it feel like we really were at summer camp.

The retreat is on the grounds of OSRUI, the regional Jewish sleepaway camp that I hope to send the girls to someday. (It costs an arm and a leg, but I always regretted not getting to go to an equivalent camp myself.)

It was a really relaxing weekend, which might seem surprising to those who have traveled alone with two small children. But I gave a ride to a fellow temple member who is also a parenting coach (I know!) and the girls and I spent most of our waking hours apart. I attended the adult-focused seminars and discussions (and took one glorious one hour nap) while they played games, made crafts and otherwise had an awesome time with the other K-3 kids (4 year olds had the option to "age up").

We ate our kosher-style meals together, except when the girls ran off to eat with one of their favorite babysitters, who was there with the 6th grade group. And after putting the girls to bed, I was able to leave our spartan, dorm-like accommodations and enjoy a little adult socializing (read: adult beverages and the best New York-style deli spread I've ever gorged myself on).

Oh, and while there were acoustic guitars everwhere I looked, there was none of the folk music sing-a-longs that scared Josh from coming.

So we'll be back next year. As a foursome.

Irish-ish

Josh and I have lived in Chicago since the mid-1990s, but he'd never attended a St. Patrick's Day Parade and I last time I saw one I was still attending the University of Chicago. (And it was only because I accidentally stumbled upon the downtown parade while trying to buy bras at Marshall Fields.)

Photo courtesy of Derby Lite's own Molly Hacker 

Anyway, it was bound to happen. Josh shook off his dislike for McDonald's and became a fan of the Shamrock Shake, our kids' friends are into Irish dancing and before you know it we're bringing soda bread and honey butter to a St. Patrick's Day party and I'm sending Josh to Target to buy me green argyle socks and short-shorts and I'm skating in the Forest Park St Patrick's Day parade.

Of course, next weekend marks the real St Patrick's Day, but something tells me we won't be marking the occasion at our synagogue retreat.*

*Yes, you read that right. I'm taking the girls to our temple's annual retreat in Wisconsin. Josh declined to attend on account of there may be folk singing.

What the InkJoy pen means to this writer

Most of the product samples offered to mom bloggers are decidedly kid-centric: toys, fruit snacks, parenting books. It's rare that I'm asked to take a look at an invention directly related to my profession. So when Paper Mate offered me a chance to sample their new InkJoy pens, I jumped at the opportunity--and it wasn't just because they promised to also send me a biometric safe for locking up "the world's most stolen pen."

I use pens all day long to write headlines, take notes, edit others' work and initial on work. And I'm picky about my pens, refusing to use cheap, non-retractable ballpoints, no matter the color. Typically I use a felt tip pen--I'm partial to orange and green--and I suffer the consequences in the form of marks on my hands and stains on the inside of my bags.

I'm also an admitted pen thief--although my colleagues' pens I steal inadvertently and  I like to think that the nicer logoed pens I liberate from businesses is really more "to remember them by."

I'd be liberating a lot more pens if more companies switched to InkJoy. I've taken to carrying around my InkJoy 700 RT and showing it off to friends--it really is that nice. The colored InkJoy 300s are less special, but still a lot of fun to write with. They're now on equal footing with my green and orange felt tip pens, in constant rotation on my desk at work.

Happy house

Our new furniture arrived yesterday and Amanda Miller came over to help me "stage" everything just so. She had me pull out all my knick-knacks, bowls and art and arranged things in some unexpected ways. I may move a few things later, but for now I like her choices. Here's a peek.

This is our new sofa, a mid-century style from Rowe. The couch is bark colored with teal piping and buttons. The accent pillow is from West Elm, the bench/coffee table is a reclaimed wood piece I bought off Etsy and the rug was existing (it is from Pottery Barn).

The other side of the living room now has two chairs, one a custom chair (also kind of mid-century inspired) from Rowe and a red slipper chair from West Elm. The side table is also West Elm, purchased on clearance for $99, and the lamp was a $10 item I picked up at Target years ago. The throw was crocheted by my great-grandmother and the striped pillow was given to me a few years ago. We rearranged our art collection to showcase this Jon Langford painting of The Band and our stairway is still home to a dozen silkscreened concert posters. Brown and teal are the primary colors, but I'm using ivory and red as accents.

Viewing the room more from the front door, you can see our rearranged shelving unit, which my Mom bought for us from Room and Board back in 2000. The wall behind the unit is now teal and there is a pouf I knitted underneath, which we can pull out when we need extra (kid) seating.

The dining room now houses Josh's guitar collection. Other changes we made based on Amanda's recommendations include painting the shelf black to match the chairs and a corner shelf (not visible here), moving my Pakistani trunk over from the living room, and adding art above the hutch. What's interesting is that she paired a Chinese silk embroidered piece (inherited from my grandma) with a silk-screened concert poster and a wood carving. The contemporary IKEA table lamp makes the orange in the two framed pieces really pop. (I'll add a photo later to demonstrate.)

I'm so very happy with how our redecoration of our main living space turned out, as I think it is a real reflection of us and our personal style.

Goodbye furniture!

The Brown Elephant furniture truck arrived early Sunday afternoon to pick up our sofa, matching loveseat and ottomans, but they turned down the loveseat thanks to the cat scratches marring one arm. "We've gotten really picky," they said as they handed me a tax receipt and 25% off coupon.

Ten minutes later I had a listing up on Craig's List under Free. Five minutes after that I got my first response. The women arrived quickly and assured me that the scratched up loveseat was "nothing compared to what our 9 cats have done to our furniture." I helped them heave it onto the roof of their minivan and they "secured" it with bungie cords.

Now I'm not one to perpetuate stereotypes, but I did pause to notice that my second-hand furniture was snubbed by a gay men's charity only to be snapped up by a lesbian couple.

Anyway, last night we watched the Oscars On the Red Carpet broadcast from the rug in the middle of our otherwise empty living room. Ada oohed and ahhed over every dress, while Zoe remarked "They're showing too much of their breasts. It's embarrassing."

Our new furniture arrives on Wednesday!

Ada as photographer

We spent part of Presidents Day morning enjoying the warmth and plant life at the Oak Park Conservatory. In a moment of generosity, I gave four year old Ada my camera and let her wander away to the other rooms to snap pictures. This is her first time taking photographs, and I love to see how different her eye is from mine--and how much bigger the conservatory looks from her perspective. You can see all the photos--larger--here.

The sting of coming in last

"This is the worst day of my life and I'm the worst kid in the world," sobbed Zoe as I pulled the car off the highway. She'd just bitten her lip to the point of tears and spilled half a container of milk all over her lap and the floor mats from frustratedly tangling with a Happy Meal toy baggie. I grabbed a few handfuls of paper towels from a gas station and blotted up the soon-to-be-sour puddle as she hiccuped, coughed and howled her dismay at how the afternoon had ended.

Zoe had been looking forward to her first gymnastics meet ever since she made the GIJO Level 3 team in September. The arrival of her velvety team leotard, warm up suit and monogramed gym bag only heightened her excitement. She was so amped up when I sprung her from Hebrew school that she only ate half of her sandwich before singing along--loudly and slightly offkey--with the Taylor Swift songs I'd gamely let her play over the car stereo during our 1 hour drive to far north suburban Grayslake.

She performed well, staying focused, never falling and supporting her teammates. She beamed when her name was called out for fourth place and she stood just to the side of the awards podium and positively glowed as she placed her medal around her neck. But as the rest of the awards were handed out, my sharp little girl figured out that fourth place was just fancy adult language for last place in her age division. And, tragically for her, none of her fellow teammates got anything lower than third place. Seated across the room, I could see a change in her face as she did the math. She arranged her expression the best she could, but it was pale and her lips turn down and slightly wobbly as she walked toward me. All the excitement from wearing her uniform, from walking in a line with her teammates and competing before the judges, from digging through her goodie bag... gone. She stuffed her ribbons in her bag, scorned her "dark, ugly, non-special" medal and looked longingly for exit.

I tried my motherly best to explain that I was proud of her and that she did great for her first competition. Her coach chimed in that her score and those of her teammates were mere tenths of a percent apart and she had still qualified for State, but she was tormented. She vacillated between blaming herself for being bad and blaming the judges for being unfair and mixing up her scores with someone else's. Then she just raged against the unfairness of someone younger and less accomplished getting 1st place (which happened when the kids are divided up by age). Her rage led to the miserable lip biting, which was shortly followed by the violent efforts to open a Happy Meal toy... and that's pretty much how the milk got spilled.

So she cried over that, too.

Ultimately, this will be a character-building experience for Zoe. She's academically gifted and used to being on top. She's academically gifted. She's a big sister. Hell, even though she never studies anymore, she's never scored less than 100% on her weekly Hebrew tests. Being at or near the bottom of the ability pool on her gymnastics team is new for her.

But she's not quitting. She's got my competitive streak and having had a taste of judge's scores, rankings and medal ceremonies, she's more determined than ever to succeed. March 5th can't come fast enough.

Here's a glimpse at her routines. 4 hours of waiting and watching condensed into 2 minutes for your viewing pleasure.

Our favorite iPad apps

Zoe demos iPad apps for her cousins, who also have an iPad

I've had my iPad for a little over a month, and it's very much become a welcome member of the family. I don't commute with it (fear of theft combined with lack of wifi) and it isn't a replacement for the iBook when it comes to blogging (it really isn't for content creation at all), but it has its many uses.

I much prefer browsing my favorite internet sites, blogs and news outlets via Flipboard and Zite, both free apps that make content consumption more like flipping through a magazine than the scrolling, clicking and scrolling we're used to do when reading online. I like playing Words with Friends on a larger screen and I got a free download of Scrabble from Starbucks that I use to play with Zoe, passing the iPad back and forth.

But it is the kid apps that have made the iPad such a hit in our household, and the girls gave the device a real workout during our trip to and from Mexico (and, to be honest, there was probably an hour or two of iPad time each day as well). The following are the apps that have stood the test of time and and travel and are still popular with my daughters, 7 and 4.

Grimm's Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel by PopIris are virtual pop-up books that read aloud slightly unfamiliar versions of classic children's fairy tales and alternate traditional print pages with elaborate, interactive pop-up pages that function as mini games. Both girls are big fans and return to these story-games again and again. Although they lack the pop-up games, MeeGenius! Kids Books offers a small shelf full of free book titles that children can read or have read to them by a narrator. Since Ada still can't read independently, she likes to have the iPad read to her when no one else will.

My PlayHome is a dollhouse in iPad clothing. The girls delight in moving the family members around the virtual home, washing them off in the shower, feeding them breakfast and jumping on the bed. Easter eggs hidden throughout the house and yard and clever sound effects gives what seems like a limited interaction long-term play appeal.

Among the educational apps we've sampled, Montessori Crosswords is a great word-building app inspired by the Movable Alphabet that my 4 year old can't get enough of. Both girls have spent some time with MathGirl (technically for iPod, not iPad), which rewards correct answers with items the player can use to build a garden, and Zoe has made progress moving through Grade 3 SplashMath, a math challenge program that rewards kids with aquatic life for their virtual aquarium.

When it comes to promoting creativity, we've had a lot of luck with free apps. Toontastic is a fantastic program that lets young children storyboard a cartoon, record the VO and play it back. Drawing Pad has provided Ada with hours of contented drawing time, and Zoe, having used it to create a podcast at school, likes recording made-up songs using GarageBand. Scribble Press is another great app for school children--it allows them to write and illustrate books that can then be ordered in the mail (for a fee).

One of the apps I was most excited to purchase and experience was Alice, a beautifully rendered version of Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, it lacks recorded narration and the moveable graphics, and, while lovely, doesn't take full advantage of the platform's capabilities. That and the kids couldn't be less interested in this $8.99 download. We've had much more fun with the iPad version of The Monster at the End of This Book.

Other apps I'd recommend to parents include the Wiggles Alphabet Adventure (which is more appropriate for 2-3 year olds), Toy Story, Paint with Time and MoodyMonstr (the last 3 are all free). Although they haven't grabbed my kids' imagination to the extent of the others, I've found them solidly build apps that are easy to navigate and take advantage of the iPad platform.

Akumal, take 4

We returned from our fourth trip to Akumal, Mexico on Saturday night, and I'm only now updating my blog, an hour after getting off a plane from Minneapolis. If I'm neglecting this space, it isn't just because Facebook is so much easier to update. It's also because work's reached a new level of busy/crazy.

Regardless, it was a fantastic trip. With cousins to play with, grandparents to babysit and naps no longer a threat to afternoon activities, we finally enjoyed a relaxing vacation with our children. Well, at least until the drive to the airport rental car return, during which Ada threw the kicking and screaming temper tantrum to end all temper tantrums.

Highlights included zip lining with Ada at Aktun Chen Eco Park, snorkeling with Zoe in Yal-Ku Lagoon and sipping freshly made margaritas and pina coladas courtesy of Josh the bartender.

The silly games of make-believe never stopped with these two

Like Aunt, like niece

We went swimming with the fishes

Snow White at the Emerald City Theatre

Saturday morning we headed out in the frozen slush and drove to Lincoln Park to take the girls to lunch and a play. Lunch was at the very affordable Salt and & Pepper Diner, which is virtually across the street from the Emerald City Theatre. Not surprisingly, nearly all of the families we saw eating at the diner also ended up in the opening day audience of Snow White.

The schtick behind this particular performance, which is officially titled Snow White as performed by Professor TJ Barker's Troupe of Theatricals, is that the actors was running late and missing many of their fellow actors as well as their entire orchestra. But because they are a dedicated group, they pitch in by playing multiple roles and all of the musical instruments. Seven year old Zoe was intrigued and kept asking me if their train really was late or if that was part of the show. And because her brain has been washed by Walt Disney, she couldn't help pointing out the inconsistencies between this stage production and the animated film. (We had a post-show discussion of "artistic license.")

Four year old Ada was unfazed by the breaking of the fourth wall and unfamiliar costumes and songs. She was so completely rapt Josh and I had a hard time keeping our eyes on the show--it was so much more fun to watch her reactions--wide-eyed wonder at the beautiful princesses, lip-biting glee at the wicked stepmother's evil plotting and smiles at the silly antics of the ragtag dwarves.

And like all of the Emerald City Theatre performances we seen, this one is designed for children 3 and up, but totally tolerable for adults (in fact, this one was quite enjoyable). The show is 1 hour long with no intermission and snacks and drinks are allowed in the theatre. Tickets are typically $16 for adults and $13 for children, but Valentine's Day weekend kids can take their grown-ups for free with the discount code SNOW.

Disclosure: I received media passes to this show.

MCA Family Day

When it comes to its art collection, the MCA lives in the long shadow of the Art Institute of Chicago. But when it comes to welcoming families, their monthly Family Day events are second to none.

Unless you take public transit there, it won't be a cheap day--we paid $32 to park in the MCA lot--but with free admission (typically $12/adult and $7/child) and coat check, hours of hands-on activities, free kids' meal with adult entree purchase at Puck's and free snacks in the Tot Room (kid-friendly fare like clementines, fruit snacks and Goldfish), it is a fantastic deal.


I was delighted by number and variety of art activities organized for the families (3-4 crafts, an artist-led tour and a scavenger hunt) and how many red-shirted volunteers were there to work with the kids. And while families streamed in pretty consistently between 11 and 2--when we were there--it never had the chaotic crowdedness of a children's museum on the weekend.

Cocktail time at the House of Klein

As a gift to our hardworking house husbands, my best friend Kate and I bought our men admission to a vintage cocktail making class at The Whistler (rated one of the 25 best cocktail bars in America by GQ Magazine) in late November.

Josh has never been much of a drinker, but the recent rise in craft cocktailing seemed to have piqued his interest--probably because he's a foodie and very plugged into the local online chatter about food, restaurants and bars.

Well, one afternoon class and he was hooked, reading the guide bartender Paul McGee sent home with his students, checking cocktail recipe books out of the library, researching liquor brands online and making daily trips to Binny's to pick up the often obscure ingredients he needed to prepare us colorfully named drinks like the Corpse Reviver 2, Jack Rose, Monkey Gland and Penicillin.

Indeed, gourmet cocktailing has stimulated all of the OCD tendencies my dear husband has previously applied toward coffee preparation (we buy awesome beans, grind them and brew by hand in a Chemex), movies (he was a Criterion Collection hoader for a few years) and guitars (he's been playing for 4 years and owns 5 instruments, all sourced from Craigslist). To be fair, like the coffee brewing, bread baking and general cookery passions, I'm a major beneficiary of this new hobby. For one thing, relaxing in the evening with a fancy drink that could have cost $10 at a trendy bar is a pretty awesome luxury. And I've discovered I'm a lover of gin drinks--who knew?

But also, I finally have some gift ideas for my infamously hard-to-shop for husband! I bought him some barware for Chanukah (we had exactly two rocks glasses, both emblazoned with logos) and there are plenty of interesting bottles I can pick up for him for special occasions.

And something tells me our Spring Break trip to Louisville may include a distillery tour.

Our 3rd Annual New Year's Day brunch

This is what our basement playroom looked like in the aftermath of our third annual New Year's Day brunch.

I guess that's what happens when 47 people--half of them under 8 and the other half sleep-deprived and/or hungover--cram into a 3 bedroom house between 10 and noon.

Believe it or not, we had the house back to rights in under 2 hours, and it was all worth it to kick off 2012 with so many friends.

I served pumpkin muffins, praline french toast, vegetarian sausage links, cinnamon coffee cake, two quiches (I riffed on Mark Bittman's instructions), a winter fruit salad and Bruegger's bagels with cream cheese and lox. And of course we were able to put the giant, 42-cup coffee percolator I bought at a yard sale years ago (for $5, best purchase ever) and serve juice, juice boxes and mimosas. Many of our guests contributed to the spread--adding more Champagne, pumpkin muffins (including a gluten-free variety), quiches, squash bread, brownies, a lemon tart and a noodle kugel.

The timing was right, too, as our modest living room rehab/redeco had reached a hospitable spot; in fact I finished knitting the floor pouf just the day before, stuffing it with an old toddler bed quilt and two $6 pillows from the dollar store. Needless to say, it was a hit with all the kids, especially the littlest ones, who took turns rolling across it.

Speaking of DIY projects, I followed up on two tricks I read about somewhere online that totally worked. First, I used a raw shelled walnut to fill in scratches on our hardwood floors. Amazing the difference it made--especially on the more superficial marks.

The second DIY project was fixing the ratty, tangled hair on the girls' American Girl Dolls. I mixed together 1 part liquid fabric softener (a horribly fragrant substance I had to buy special for this experiment) and 4 parts water in a spray bottle (another dollar store purchase). I spritzed the dolls' hair throughly and brushed with a metal doll brush (I've heard wig brushes work, too, but, um, I don't own a wig brush). The transformation was instantaneous and the girls were thrilled with their girls' silky locks. It's a little hard to see the results from this picture, but trust me--it is an easy fix and the dolls' hair looks great.

And any locals can feel free to come pick up a bottle of fabric softener from me--I'm sure I'll never use it for its intended purpose.

A sneak peek at our living room redo

I've been working with local interior designer (and friend of a friend) Amanda Miller to refresh our small, cluttered living room and dining room and I'm so excited to share a sneak peek at our progress!

We've ordered this couch in brown (with teal buttons and welt), added 6 can lights to the ceiling so the room isn't so dim all the time and picked out two chairs and an accent table to replace the loveseat (one is from Rowe and the other from West Elm). We're expecting a carpenter to get us a quote on a radiator cover for the dining room radiator so we can use that space as a bar when we're entertaining.

I'm knitting a cream-colored pouf for extra seating and Josh is repainting the tall bookshelf in the dining room a dark kona brown to better coordinate with the rest of the furniture. We're also ordering some hooks to hang some of his guitars on the wall. Check out my Pinterest board to see what we've got in mind.

But one big change has already been made--Amanda helped us rearrange our modular shelving and suggested a teal accent wall to go behind the shelves (it's actually Benjamin Moore Polished Slate). We took most of the clutter off the shelves and added baskets to contain the rest. Oh, and got a bigger TV. Looks pretty nice, huh?

The airlines wouldn't dare lose my child on Christmas

On Christmas morning, when many of my friends and neighbors were lolling about in their pajamas, opening presents and eating cinnamon rolls, I drove Zoe to Midway airport for her first solo flight. The airport was surprisingly crowded--especially after an easy, traffic-free drive to the airport--but her flight took off on time and landed early. So early, in fact, that I initially missed the "I've got your daughter" call my mom placed to my cell phone immediately upon picking up Zoe in D.C.

And I'm only half joking when I say I booked her travel on December 25th knowing what a PR nightmare it would be for an airline to misplace a youngster on Christmas. It's only been a day or so, but it sounds like my 7 year old is having a grand old time with my mom and stepdad in Virginia--reading Ramona books, looking at old photographs, learning to pick out tunes on the piano, playing ping pong and visiting my extended family.

For the record, it isn't cheap to send your child unaccompanied. In addition to the regular airfare, United and American Airlines charge an additional $100 each way, while Southwest charges half that: $50 each way (and two bags of luggage fly free). Since Zoe is only going for 4 nights, we didn't end up checking any luggage. Instead, she rolled aboard with a small child's suitcase and a backpack packed with 2 Boxcar Children paperbacks, a couple of snacks, a pack of gum and an iPod Touch with headphones. I'd also tucked her birth certificate in there, but we were never asked to show it.

A guide to buying last minute gifts at Walgreens

This is my Walgreens

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.walgreens.com/beauty.

Walgreens might not be the first (or even the third) place you'd think to shop for holiday gifts, but they're convenient and they're open late on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas. If you need a last-minute gift, you could do a lot worse. Provided you stay out of the "seasonal" aisle.

Isn't it lovely?

I happen to live 2 blocks from one of the newly redesigned Walgreens stores, so going to Wags is actually a pleasure for me now. Gone are the cluttered aisles and singing fish--instead we have bins of fresh bananas, a clinic and a tidy beauty department where I stock up on Goody hair elastics. Pretty much weekly.

And thus I present to you: The Marketing Mommy Last-Minute Beauty Shopping Guide, gift suggestions heavily influenced by what I like.

Idea 1: Create a Curly Girl Method Gift Basket

Help the curly girl in your life embrace her ringlets with Curly Girl Method-approved products. Pick up a sulfate-free shampoo like L'Oreal EverSleek Sulfate-Free or a co-wash like Suave Milk and Honey Conditioner. Add in a more moisturizing conditioner like L'Oreal EverPure Conditioner, big bottle of L.A. Looks Gel (oh, yeah) and a microfiber towel.

Idea 2: Buy the Upscale Stuff

No one will know you did your holiday shopping at Walgreens (not that there's anything wrong with that) if you buy their more upscale, beautifully-packaged lines like Fekkai, Yes to Carrots, Burt's Bees and Essie nail polish. My account director is sporting Essie's Bobbing for Bobbles, a dark bluish-slate shade, today and it is quite the talk of the office. Throw a ribbon and a gift tag on a bottle of Essie and you've got a hip hostess/colleague gift for under $10.

Idea #3: Power Toothbrush

Buy someone (okay, a close relative) an Oral-B power toothbrush. My mom bought one for me and Josh 10 years ago and we only just replaced it (with this one, actually). Your loved ones deserve the gift of immaculately clean teeth. Seriously, we've been getting kudos from our dentist every six months. 

Idea #4: Pick up a gift pack

Full disclosure: as part of my job as a creative director, I was responsible for helping design and market P&G's beauty lovely multi-brand gift packs. They've been priced at just under $10 at Walgreens and that's a pretty tremendous value--especially if you consider the booklet of coupons inside. So whether you use a lot of P&G products (think Olay, Secret, Venus) and want to stock up for yourself, or whether you want to get a gift pack to have on hand for that "oh shoot I forgot to get something for the babysitter/coach/neighbor" moment, they're a deal and they don't even need to be wrapped.

Nice cream for a cause

Illinois state regulators have made it impossible to operate a small, artisanal food business and one company is fighting back. Nice Cream is a small batch ice cream company with just 3 employees--while they've stopped production--they are looking to raise money to lobby the governor's office to change their rules so that small-batch companies don't have to follow all the same regulations as large-scale manufacturers.

As a Chanukah present to me, Josh donated $100 to their Kickstarter fund. In exchange, we were offered a custom flavor of Nice Cream--anything we could dream up. Fresh from our trip to Wisconsin, where I fell in love with Left Hand Milk Stout, I asked for a Chocolate Milk Stout ice cream with toffee and shortbread.

Four pints were hand delivered (along with a personal note complimenting my creativity) and I tucked into a dish after roller derby last night.

It was--far and away--the best ice cream I've ever had. If you're looking for a truly unique holiday gift (particularly for the activist-minded Chicagoan), I don't think you can do better than this.

And a glass of red wine

I was congratulating myself on a productive evening. Josh left to go see Wilco as soon as dinner was over. I loaded the dishwasher, put the leftovers in the fridge, read stories, supervised baths and put two "not tired" kids to bed. Then I sorted through old toys and puzzles, posted "free" and "for sale" notices, wrapped gifts for two out of three weekend birthday parties and straightened the living room rug. I addressed holiday cards for the overly ambitious folks who had already sent us theirs and put away the laundry.

Then I cut myself a wedge of brie, poured a glass of wine and grabbed the TVand Roku remotes. Of course, because I'm me, my glass of vino hadn't been set down for more than 30 seconds before I knocked it off its perch and into the wall, shattering it and splashing aromatic red liquid and tiny shards all over the wall, cabinet and floor.

On Daddy...

As a follow-up to asking Ada about me, Josh interviewed both girls with the same questions about himself.


1. What is something Daddy always says to you?

Ada: “I love you.”

Zoe: “Go to your room.” 

2. What makes Daddy happy?

Ada: “Smiling and me being happy.” 

Zoe: “When we’re good.” 

3. What makes Daddy sad?

Ada: “Being bad.”

Zoe: “When we’re crying.”

4. How does Daddy make you laugh?

Ada: “Tickling me!”

Zoe: “Sitting on me.” 

5. What was Daddy like as a child?

Ada: “Being good for his momma.”

Zoe: “Had curly hair.” 

6. How old is Daddy?

Ada: “25”

Zoe: “36” 

7. How tall is Daddy?

Ada: “100!”

Zoe: “Hmm, maybe four foot seven or eight? Is that right?”

8. What is Daddy’s favorite thing to do?

Ada: “Work at home when I’m at school.” 

Zoe: “Write on the computer.” 

9. What does Daddy do when you’re not around?

Ada: “Work on the computer” 

Zoe: “Eat.”

10. If Daddy becomes famous, what will it be for?

Ada: “Being a scientist.” 

Zoe: “His articles being in the newspaper a lot.” 

11. What is Daddy really good at?

Ada: “Being on the computer.” 

Zoe: “Guitar.” 

12. What is Daddy not very good at?

Ada: “Ice skating.” 

Zoe: “Rollerskating.” 

13. What does Daddy do for his job?

Ada: “Help Zoe do her homework.” 

Zoe: “Daddy goes to concerts and then writes about them.” 

14. What is Daddy’s favorite food?

Ada: “Chicken.” 

Zoe: “Tied between chicken and fish. I mean, salad and fish!”

15. What makes you proud of Daddy?

Ada: “To cuddle with you.” 

Zoe: “He’s the funniest daddy in the whole wide world.”

16. If Daddy were a cartoon character, who would he be?

Ada: “A mermaid.” 

Zoe: “Charlie Brown. Or Scooby-Doo.” 

17. What do you and Daddy do together?

Ada: “Eat yummy lunch.” 

Zoe: “Go to museums with Hank.”

21 Questions with Ada

Although I've interviewed the girls before (and posted their answers--though I'm too lazy now to comb my blog for the links), I was inspired by this post on DailyBuzz Moms and asked Josh to question four-year-old Ada about me over lunch the other day.

I was at work and laughed out loud when the answers came back.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?

I love you.

2. What makes Mommy happy?

When I'm happy.

3. What makes Mommy sad?

When I yell and scream.

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?

She tickles me.

5. What was Mommy like as a child?

Hmm, being nice?

6. How old is Mommy?

Uh, 14.

7. How tall is Mommy?

65.

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?

Go to work.

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?

Eat lunch.

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

Washing the dishes? [Someone alert the media if I wash the dishes--it is a very rare occurrence.]

11. What is Mommy really good at?

Making me Valentines.

12. What is Mommy not very good at?

Cutting out feet. [This is probably in reference to the poor job I do cutting out the feet of paper dolls.]

13. What does Mommy do for a job?

She does work.

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?

Salad.

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?

When I hug her.

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?

A princess.

17. What do you and Mommy do together?

Go to the supermarket where there's doughnuts. [No idea what she's talking about here.]

18. How are you an Mommy the same?

We both have brown hair.

19. How are you and Mommy different?

We both have different clothes.

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?

She kisses me.

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?

Rollerskating. [This took four tries, at my prodding, after "work," "Super Tony's" and "a concert." --Josh]

Stay tuned. Josh asked both girls the same questions about himself and I'll be posting that gem of an interview soon.

Downtown Oak Park Cookie Walk: It's like treat or treating for grown-ups

Downtown Oak Park has hosted a Winterfest cookie walk for a few years, but this was the first year we participated. It's actually kind of a genius idea--the merchants association sells shoppers a large, branded tin and then you get to stop into all the participating shops and get a single cookie from each one.

Many of the stores are places we regularly frequent (The Book Table, Sugar Fixe, Pumpkin Moon and Penzey's Spices), but there were a few new restaurants and some retail outlets I've never been to before, so experiencing them in a casual and friendly way let me get a glimpse around without feeling guilty about leaving fairly quickly. It seems like a good marketing strategy too--get a lot of shoppers milling around downtown Oak Park and popping into every shop on Lake Street and Marion. What surprised me was how few merchants included a shop sticker, coupon or flier with their cookie. Most handed out cookies from Bleeding Heart Bakery, Prairie Bread Kitchen and Cheryl's--all lovely local treats, but why not staple a 20% off store coupon to that baggie?

Even before they got their faces painted with Stars of David and dreidels at Potbelly's it was a lot of fun for the girls--particularly after they figured out a method of receiving treats that maximized both of their participation. The highlight of the day, aside from running into friends, was watching a sleight of hand magician use Zoe as his assistant.

Also, it was about 50 degrees out there. Where's winter? It's December!