I've been nominated for "Best Travel Blog" award on Divine Caroline. The contest ends soon, so I'd like to ask you to take a moment to Vote For DeliciousBaby and check out some of the other great travel blogs nominated for the award. I'm in this for the glory, so if I win, I will donate the $250 award to the World Food Program an organization that fights hunger around the world.
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Posted on September 28, 2008 |
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Now that my segment on KUOW's Sound Focus has aired, the Podcast of my interview has been posted here The interview went really well, and it has been fun to get phone calls and email from friends who heard me on the air!
Here's the segment if you missed it!
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Posted on September 26, 2008 |
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After last night's torrential rains it was difficult to trust the sunshine and blue skies on our first full day in Chicago. As usual, D rose before anyone else, so the two of us set out to explore the city and scare up some breakfast. I have never been a morning person, but over the past (almost) two years, I've come to enjoy my morning reconnaissance missions with little D. In the morning hours, even a bustling city like Chicago is relatively quiet and just waking up. A peaceful walk through the streets of a new city in search of breakfast and with only one kid to manage, is a nice way to ease into the day, and D is usually content to sit quietly in in the stroller and take it all in... a welcome reprieve from the constant juggling I will have to do once I have two small kids to manage.
We wandered down Michigan Avenue, past the American Girl Place, and towards the local Whole Foods Market. Lately, Whole Foods has become our version of Mc Donalds when we travel. I can always find healthy snacks that my kids will enjoy, and I get to try local cheeses, baked goods and produce too. There is always a dining area where we can sit down for a quick bite to eat, and a microwave where we can heat up hot dogs or other prepared foods. Whole Foods certainly isn't cheap, but compared to dining in a restaurant with a picky eater who might reject everything you order, it's a bargain. It's also fast. Today, we picked up snacks and breakfast items to get us through the next few days, and I scored a gourmet Zingerman's Candy Bar to secret away in my purse for a desperate moment.
With great caution, and with rain-gear in tow, we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather with a trip to Millennium Park. Like most kids, mine love to splash in fountains, so our first stop was the impressive Crown Fountain. The fountain is made up of two 50-foot glass block towers stationed at each end of a shallow reflecting pool with a vanishing edge. The video projection screens on the towers cycle through huge images of faces, and water spouts out of their mouths. The fact that the kids walked cautiously through the fountain, closely watching their feet, instead of running, giggling and chasing eachother is a monumental testament to my inability to reliably predict what they will like best. Who would have thought that driving rain and the Bloomingdale's raincoat department would have be more fun than an open fountain on a sunny day! This is also a great example of why it can be so difficult to make recommendations about traveling with children. An activity that might be a hit with one child, or even on a specific day, might fall flat with another. As a traveling parent, I find it's best to be open minded about a wide range of experiences, and not put too much emphasis on any one idea or activity.
We wandered through the Boeing Galleries, an outdoor sculpture garden. The kids were fascinated by the soaring metal sculptures by Mark di Suvero. D giggled as we seated her on a swinging structure because her slippery rain gear made her roll right off. Walking through the garden at our own pace was a great way to show the kids some urban sculpture without making a lecture out of it.
Eventually, we made our way to the Cloud Gate a huge mirrored sculpture, shaped like a bean, that reflects the Chicago skyline and the images of anyone lucky enough to walk next to or through it. D screeched and screamed as she ran around and through the sculpture watching her reflection as she went, while E was more cautious and reflective, cautiously considering all the angles.
As D tired herself out, we noticed the Opera music wafting over from the Frank Gehry designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion. I happen to love the drama, ornate sets, and over-the-top costumes of a good opera production, but for me, it's best experienced live and I haven't made much of an effort to introduce my kids to this artform. Today was the perfect day. Jay Pritzker Pavilion is an outdoor space, and despite what must be a challenging environment, the acoustics are wonderful. We all sat down on the chairs and watched as a full symphony orchestra and three Opera singers performed. I broke out some snacks, and the kids were quiet, stationary, and enthralled. Four songs later, when the performance finally ended they were actually disappointed. What a great eye opener for me. While I'd still be too nervous to bring them to an indoor Opera performance, I need to seek out more opportunities to watch live music (besides the odd street performer) at home.
With D finally ready for her nap, I put her in the sling, and we walked over to Frontera Fresco, celebrity Chef Rick Bayless' family friendly outlet inside a Macy's food court. My food, a "Torta Cubana" filled with hunks of avocado, smoked pork loin and bacon and a bowl of Corn Chowder was excellent, but I couldn't help but be brought down the mall-like atmosphere on the 7th floor of Macys. I have a feeling that if I had been eating in a dirty hole-in-the-wall restaurant down a hard-to-find side street, I would have fawned excessively over the food instead of merely stuffing myself and licking my lips. Still, the location was convenient, and the fact that there were other choices for picky E (including a gourmet hamburger shop and a La Brea Bakery) made it a wonderful choice for families.
What's next? Our funniest toddler moment ever. If you are easily offended, you can skip this paragraph. Every parent of a toddler knows that the most banal things can turn into a major obsession. One of E's quirks is that he LOVES to push the elevator button. I frequently use this quirk to hurry him through a long corridor. When he's tired or out-of-sorts, arriving at an elevator door to find that the button has already been pushed can cause a complete and total melt down. That's what happened today. As we walked up, a stoic looking woman was standing by the elevator door, having already pressed the "Down Arrow." E just lost it. He cried, he yelled a little and he was generally unpleasant. Once I got him to recover and apologize, he moved on to other things... having visited the bathroom a few minutes before he decided that his penis wasn't adjusted properly in his pants. And then he decided that the best way to make friends with our already emotionally-scarred future elevator companion would be to show her his favorite part of his body. At three, E is just discovering his Penis, and we hadn't until this moment, been given an opportunity to tell him that it should stay inside his pants when he's not in changing clothes or in the bathroom. I was so surprised by the whole thing, that I was cracked up and then gently tried to get him to put everything back where it belonged. As soon as he'd safely pulled his pants back up, the elevator door opened, our new friend stepped inside, and pushed the button for the first floor. When E started to loose it again, I asked him "should we wait for the next elevator" and the woman, not at all amused chimed in "I think that would be best." I suppose we're lucky she didn't report E to the police!
Clearly it was time to do something E would truly enjoy. We've been completely remiss in our duty to introduce the kids to popcorn. I think E has tried it once or twice, and he's never had caramel corn. Garrett Popcorn, a small local chain, sells Cheese Corn, Caramel Corn, and a variety of popcorn/nut mixes. If that isn't enticing enough, Garrett's has been recommended by a slew of local celebrities and it has been featured as one of Oprah's favorite things twice. As we walked in the door and joined the Disneyland style winding lineup, E's eyes widened. He stood motionless looking at the huge rotating drum used to coat the corn with its topping. He watched quietly as a assembly line of employees scooped popcorn out of huge glass bins into bags, and then he ordered exactly what I told him to... a bag of half CaramelCrisp and half CheeseCorn. He simply couldn't believe his luck as the huge bag was filled and handed to him. We departed quickly to a nearby park to feast on the crunchy, sweet, and salty mix!
I hope everyone is still reading, because at our next stop, The Art Institute of Chicago came one of the high points in my parenting career so far. Seriously. Before we left for New Mexico, I blogged about how much I love art, and the terrible job I've done introducing my kids to it. I asked for your help in making art museums more fun for my kids and I got it. Then, while we were in New Mexico, E fell head-over-heels in love with Georgia O'Keefe, already a proud accomplishment for me. At the Art Institute, we high-tailed it to a large O'Keefe painting hung over the museum's back stairs. As we walked slowly up the stairs, the painting was unveiled, Sky above Clouds IV, the same painting pictured at the end of My Name is Georgia. E let out an audible breath, sat down on the stairs and said "Oooooh, I like this painting. This painting makes me feel happy." For me, that was the home run. I don't expect that he'll be dragging me through art museums any time soon, but he gets it. Art isn't meant to be boring, and isn't meant to be memorized. I'm not even sure it's meant to be understood all the time. For me, it's meant to make you feel something, or think something, and sometimes it's even meant to make you do something. For me, watching E relate to a painting as a source of emotion was a huge, wonderful milestone because I feel like I've begun to turn the corner with sharing one of the great joys of my life with him.
In a funny aside, D woke up from her nap a few minutes later, looked at the painting and heard us talking about Georgia O'Keefe. She was absolutely convinced that we'd left Chicago and gone to Santa Fe while she was sleeping. Poor kid. I know there are thousands of people who advocate letting kids nap in a sling (and I'm certainly a fan of the practice myself) but it must be a little disorienting when your mom is as unable to sit still as I am.
I could tell you more about our afternoon and evening. We certainly loved the Art Institue with its basement "kids museum" and fantastic hands on activities, and I had a great "grown-up dinner" with my mom while the babysitter put the kids to bed. But I think I'll stop here, because this moment is the one I want to linger in my mind when I think about this day, and I want it to linger in your mind too.
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Posted on September 26, 2008 |
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The Cloud Gate sculpture in Chicago's Millennium Park is a huge mirrored gateway that reflects the Chicago skyline and the images of anyone who passes by. I took this quick snapshot of D and I as we passed underneath the "gate." Good thing I was quick, she allowed me about 30 seconds to take the shot before demanding that she be allowed to run circles around the sculpture.
Thank goodness kids are allowed to yell, screech and run when they are outdoors... she had a wonderful time and wore herself out just in time for a nap.
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Posted on September 26, 2008 |
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On Friday afternoon at 2:20 PST, I'll be the guest on our KUOW, or local NPR station's show Sound Focus. I will be talking about traveling with young kids, why I think travel is important, and some ideas about capturing the spirit of travel even when you cannot leave home.
I'm really looking forward to this -- I've been listening to hosts Megan Sukys and Dave Beck for years, and I always enjoy the dialogue they create with their guests... and of course I'm looking forward to telling a new audience about a subject I'm incredibly passionate about.
If you are in the Seattle area, you can listen live, just tune your radio to 94.9 FM at 2pm. For everyone else, I will be posting a link to the show once it is available.
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Posted on September 25, 2008 |
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I often get requests to review DVDs and audio tapes focused on keeping kids entertained while they travel or teaching them something about the world. I usually politely decline, saying that I'm unlikely to give a fair review because we don't watch much TV or many DVDs.
When Angelina, the mom behind the The Little Travelers DVD Series
The DVDs sat next to the TV for weeks before I finally carved out time to
sit down with the kids and watch The Little Travelers - Japan
The video starts with the plane flight to Japan, and the home where the girls stayed. My kids were fascinated as the girls showed them where they slept, what the house was like, and details like how the washing machine worked (exactly the things my kids would focus on if they were in a Japanese house for the first time). Local customs, like removing shoes on tatami mats, were woven in with the other details about daily life, and that seemed like it would be helpful if we were actually planning a trip to Japan.
The video follows the girls as they travel around their town and around the country, to a local daycare, a friend's birthday party, a market and more. The girls also go to a Ninja house, and watch Ninja demonstrations, including some mild fighting. Though we generally try to avoid violent images in my home because the kids are so young, I felt that this was carefully filmed, didn't glorify the violence, and representative of an important part of Japan's history.
What I liked best about the video, though, was the beautiful way it captured the spirit of why a parent would travel with their children. I have been to Japan three times in my pre-child life, but through the girls eyes I saw it in a different way, and I wanted to go again with my own kids. That's what I try to do here at DeliciousBaby too... to show parents through my eyes what it can be like to travel with children, and to make travel with kids seem both possible and enjoyable.
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This review is based upon a review copy that was provided by the manufacturer. I received no payment of any kind for this review. The product is valued at $20. Editorial reviews are separate and distinct from advertising on DeliciousBaby.com, and we never accept "advertorial" or "pay-for-positive reviews."
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Posted on September 25, 2008 |
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We arrived in Chicago to the tune of almost torrential rain drumming on the plane. You might think that I'm used to rain (living in Seattle as I do) but what I live with is a light but constant sprinkle. This was a downpour driven by Chicago's famous wind.
Weather isn't usually a big deal for adults on vacation. When it starts to get wet or uncomfortable, you do your best to find a taxi, or you wait it out in a coffee shop. With kids, the options aren't so simple. Before leaving home, I had printed out detailed maps showing exactly how to get from the airport to our hotel on the "El" (Google Maps is wonderful for this). We planned to use public transit for the trip, so we did not bring carseats. A taxi just wasn't an option, and the rain wasn't letting up any time soon. No problem, I thought, as I pulled the kids rain-jackets and rain-pants out of the suitcase, there was a 1 1/2 block walk on each end of our trip, and other than that, we'd be inside a train or a bus.
I'm lucky our babysitter was with me, with no kids to interrupt, she routinely gets a full night of sleep, and has a good eye for important signs. Thanks to her, we spotted hidden elevator signs where we would otherwise be stuck on the stairs, and found our way to the bus with a minimum of wrong turns. Still, the rain worked its way through every possible opening or zipper, even blowing itself up through the wrists of my own lightweight windbreaker. You can just imagine the impression we made as we walked into our four-star hotel. Two women with water literally dripping off of them, a hodgepodge of sopping baggage, a toddler in a stroller & another one in a sling. Luckily the kids weren't screaming. Their rain-gear kept them dry, so while they were frustrated that we carried them instead of allowing them the freedom of a toddler-paced crawl through the streets of Chicago, they were not uncomfortable.
The kids were absolutely delighted when I finally did let them out of their respective carriers, and thrilled to see my mom, who had already checked into our shared room. As they explored the hotel, I dried off and made a quick dinner plan. With no sign that the rain would let up, we walked 1 1/2 blocks to one of the best sandwich shops in the city. L'Appetito was a great find for a family with young kids. Not only is the food terrific, but there was a small (if pricy) Italian market with milk, cheese, and gourmet items to bring back to the room. The kids feasted on olives and pizza while I had a sandwich and a rice ball. For dessert we chose adorable bumble bee cookies from the pastry case.
After a full day of traveling, the kids needed to blow off some steam before returning to the hotel room, but the pouring rain made a playground or even a walk on the city streets out of the question. Luckily, the kids had no preconceived ideas about what their first evening in Chicago should hold for them (I have a thing or two to learn from them). We settled on a small mall, two blocks away, anchored by a Bloomingdale's department store. It seemed like the only nearby indoor space with enough room to move around. Every bone and my body told me it would be a mistake to take two sopping wet kids into an upscale department store, but with few other choices I did it anyway.
The wind drove the rain so hard that I had to pull the (rain-cover-less) stroller backwards to keep poor D from crying. E, who normally hates wind or rain, thought it was incredibly funny to lean into the driving wind and push his legs hard to make progress (honestly, I'm glad my mom was holding his hand! A big gust could have knocked him down). He laughed hysterically the whole way, which made me feel better about dragging the kids out in this mess! By the time we arrived at the mall, my clothes were dripping, and my lightweight jacked had soaked through. What an inauspicious start to a trip that I had planned as more of a vacation than our usual travels. I unloaded the kids, and we all sat down to have some delicious and warming hot chocolate at a coffee shop located in the mall's entrance.
As we sat, the water rolled off of my kids raingear (they were still warm and dry inside) and they laughed and giggled. We wandered into Bloomingdale's (once again we were quite a sight) and I headed towards the raincoat department. Not surprisingly, the kids were a bit rambunctious ... I managed to keep them from handling everything, but excited to have escaped the outdoors and the tyranny of seated meals, they were laughing, and giggling, and tickling eachother. Luckily, the bad weather kept most sane customers away, so instead of giving us (deserved) stern looks, the employees fawned over the kids and egged them on. Delighted with the attention, D managed her very first real jump, and then another, and another. She was quite a sight, with full rain gear (including the hood which she refused to lower), sandals, and a striped dress peaking out under her jacket.
I might have walked home without a new raincoat that night, but safely tucked away in my own (waterproof) memory is a very precious image of my daughter's first jumps in front of a laughing lineup of Bloomingdales employees.
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Posted on September 24, 2008 |
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Your husband is leaving town for two weeks to go river-rafting down the Grand Canyon with the guys. Do you:
I realize that two weeks without their husband around isn't the toughest thing anyone has ever gone through. For moms with a husband in the Military, two weeks would seem like a snap-of-the finger. In other families one (or both) parents travel frequently for business, and of course countless single moms raise their children without another adult in the home to rely on.
Still, for me, two weeks without my husband's support is a long time. It is the longest he's ever been away from the kids and it is made tougher by the fact that he will be without cell-phone coverage for almost the entire trip. We have been together for so long that I'm not sure I know how to do everything around the house anymore. How does that thermostat work? Who is going to kick the router for me when our network goes down?
Without a doubt the kids are going to miss their dad too. Between the two of us, he's more playful and rambunctious, and the kids count on him to liven things up when I'm tired at the end of the day. E is especially close to his dad, so I know that it will be tough for him not to have him here. Dad is the person he runs to when he gets an "owie" or needs some extra comfort & daddy is the person he counts on to come up with the best projects.
To make matters worse, as a solo-parent I tend to get more practical and less affectionate. Getting through the bedtime routine for example, becomes a gauntlet to be run instead of a time to cuddle and talk about the day. The morning rush becomes more focused than ever.
I fully supported my husband's desire to go on this rafting trip. It's something he has wanted to do for a long time, and it will be years before the children are old enough to join in safely. When his friend proposed the trip as a 40th birthday party celebration, I knew we would figure out a way to make it work.
My challenge for this time was to figure out how to make this time with the kids special instead of a long, tiring ordeal, and I decided that getting out of town for a few days might break-up the my husband's long absence. The time in a new space should give the kids lots to focus on (besides how much they miss daddy) and help me focus on enjoying my time with them instead of our routine. Hopefully returning home will feel special too, and I'll be able to avoid the pizza-video rut or at least stave it off longer than usual.
I rallied the support of our babystitter (Fall quarter hasn't started yet) and my mom for this trip. The kids will love having so many people around, and I will appreciate all the extra support. In some ways, this will be the easiest trip I have taken in a while. I plan to spend the days with the kids (with the exception of an architecture tour that I want to be able to focus on). The babysitter will help me with the plane ride and watch the kids at night while I go out to dinner with my mom. My mom, of course, wants to spend as much time as possible with her grandchildren, so we'll plan some fun activities during the day.
I chose Chicago mostly because I have wanted to visit the city for years, and have never managed to find time to go during one of the "good weather months." I also chose it because my husband isn't particularly interested in going. His absence made it one-step easier to schedule the trip, and gave me an "upside" to having him out of town. There are tons of activities for both kids and adults in Chicago, so my challenge will be to try to select the outings we will most enjoy instead of trying to scare up enough creative ideas to keep the kids happy.
I'll be writing more about this trip over the next few days. Please check back to read about our experiences.
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Posted on September 22, 2008 |
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I got such a positive response to last week's article sharing my real travel budget that I thought it would be a good idea to share my favorite past articles on budgeting for a family vacation.
These aren't your typical budget tips, and some of them are novel enough to have been featured on Lifehacker, Travel Muse and even Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Blog.
Money Saving Tips the Travel Industry Doesn't Want You to KnowDo you have some great budget travel tips I missed? Let me know in comments!
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Posted on September 21, 2008 |
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Heathrow's New VIP Lounge for Kids has gotten a lot of press this week. The lounges, built into the business class lounges offer toys and entertainment for kids, plus access to the usual spread of finger sandwiches, snacks and drinks. I'm not as enthusiastic as most of the journalists have been though... perhaps because I have used the kids lounges in the old BA terminal (they were a nice break, but nothing to write home about), or perhaps because I'm disappointed that the public play areas that were in Terminal 1 have been removed and no playspaces seem to have been included in the Terminal 5 design. It's well known that the best way to help kids behave on flights is to give them some space and time to run between flights, so why remove free playgrounds only to add kids services at a hefty fee (an annual fee of $99 plus a $27 fee per traveler)?
I enjoyed this short story (and great pictures) about a family cruise from Vancouver to Alaska. If you like this one, click over to the blog's main page and read more about their journey to Vancouver and Alaska.
Blog Buddy Minnimom is asking for feedback over at BlogCoach head over and tell her what you love & what you wish she would change.
This soon-to-open hotel just out side Stockholm-Arlanda built on a decommissioned airplane seems like E's dream come true.
DealsDisney has introduced a new perk! Free admission at Disneyland on your birthday.
MSNBC says that now is the time to book tickets for the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler If you are thinking about going, check out our guides to Whistler With Kids and Vancouver With Kids both cities have tons of fun activities for kids.
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Posted on September 20, 2008 |
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