Plastic Weaponry for Children

J wants weapons. Plastic weapons that shoot high-pressure fluids. Can be refilled at the faucet. Needs at least two.

He needs the Supersoaker. Not sure which one to get-- anyone have a good idea/opinion? Back in my day, I had an Uzi style watergun and a battery powered squirter. Not a great idea, eh? Batteries and water? Urf.

I Knew a Girl Named Nikki.....

But not the one you might be thinking of. (too bad). Last weekend my folks were visiting and we decided to have a kid activity at the Garfield Park Conservatory. It was a terribly cold day sandwiched in between two wonderful days, but "Niki in the Garden" was a hit with the kiddies. The exhibit is made up of enormous, beautiful, touchable sculptures spread out over the entire grounds, inside and out. Some of the outside sculptures can be sat upon, some can be crawled into and under. J did the scavenger hunt, which matched up stickers with a sheet of clues (words and pictures). We rushed through the last part of the hunt (outside) because it was cold but overall it was very enjoyable. E ran like a madwoman through the outside part of the exhibit, it was a great place for running.

The Conservatory is really easy to get to and the Green Line El has a stop right 1/2 block away. There is free parking as well. There is a "suggested" donation of $5 per person at the main entrance but it feels like an official entrance fee. Pay it anyways! this is a great exhibit.

Garfield Park Conservatory
300 North Central Park Ave.
Chicago, IL 60624
Info desk phone: (312) 746-5195

Hours are 9am-5pm Daily except Thursday, which is 9am-8pm.

And here is a bit more about the artist, Niki de Saint Phalle.

OPAAA! Mother's Day at the Greek Islands!

Even though I cautioned you all against going out for the Chicagoland Mother's Day Brunch in my latest 80108.com thumbcast we still went out. I had the old-person reservations (11:15am) at the Greek Islands in Greektown (a block north of Jackson on Halstead). The kids were psyched and M was ready. Hardly any traffic to downtown and free valet parking. We got right in and J ordered the Saganaki and E had the Egg Lemon Soup. Deee-licious. I am very grateful that the kid's palates are expanding past PB&J and white cheese macaroni.
The waiters were extra nice to the Mommies and M walked out with a deluxe white mug with the Greek Islands and Turano's bakery emblazoned upon it. Service was good and we desserted with the yogurt and honey (yogurt made on-site). This is wonderful yogurt, but DON'T EXPECT DANNON or YOPLAIT. It is sour and a bit grainy and wonderful. The honey pairs with it beautifully and the provided chopped walnuts give it a bit more texture (though I wasn't as fond of the nuts).
End of the bruch: the kids liked it, M was happy, a good time was had.

Greek Islands
200 S. Halstead St.
Chicago, IL
312-782-9855

Gardening with Kids in Chicago

I hope I don't get busted for Illinois Child Labor laws. J helped me last weekend install the new garden in the back yard. We added three wheelbarrow loads of free soil from a guy in Berwyn, about 20 bags of topsoil from Ace Teletron Hardware store at Cermak and East Ave. (This is my favorite hardware store nearby. The people are totally friendly and helpful and the prices aren't awful for a mom-and-pop level hardware store.) Also added about 5 bags of cow manure. Only some of them weren't quite composted all the way which led to alot of laughing and squealing when the manure "woofed" out of the bag. How much does a cow poop a day, anyway?

Worked all that into the garden and M bought a nice flat of salvia with which we filled about 1/2 the new garden. Also some tomato plants and herbs and seeds were planted. Gonna be a nice back yard this year. J loves to dig and plant and he is getting big enough to be a real help in the garden. E, on the other hand, doesn't like any bugs at all. I am dreading the coming Cicada invasion.

4 Stripes!

J did his thing on Sunday - Heian Shodan, "Peaceful Mind" and Karate basics and received 4 stripes! One he reaches 6 stripes he will receive the orange belt. I want also to keep raving about the Illinois Shotokan Karate clubs (we take through the Oak Park Park District) and especially rave about J's Sensei, Brian Mertel, with a special mention to Mr. Gomez (first name unknown). This is a great program where the teachers achieve a careful balance of support and discipline (no small feat to manage for a pack of 7 year olds). I really like the part that they take no lip or messing around in the class. The teachers are not afraid to discipline the misbehaving youth, usually by making them sit down for the rest of the class, but not limited to threatening to send them to the little kid's class (and they follow through too).

My only complaint - the class is too big. It is quite crowded, and even though they usually have 3 teachers per class it is hard to get to every kid to give them the extra help they might need. I'm guessing the upper-level classes would have much fewer kids but we have a couple of years before we get there!