Pretty in pink (and orange)

Why stop at one playdate?

As any parent knows, it's difficult to go anywhere when children are young. After gathering diapers, spare clothes, snacks, soy milk, etc., I usually make a day of it. Sometimes, we go to several stores and lunch, to Chicago for the day, or to multiple playdates.

PLAYDATE #1: Last Friday, we began our day with a playdate to a friend's house. The girls played with my friend's daughter and another friend's sons. Eena and Baba had a blast as they played with dolls and an Aquadoodle mat--and ate lunch. Aside from Eena bending her glasses, we had a fantastic time.

PLAYDATE #2: After driving around for an hour as the girls napped, we arrived what I thought was 10 minutes early for the next playdate with a new group of moms that I just joined. Later I would discover that I was 40 minutes early. As soon as I arrived, Mom #1 told me she recognized me from the adoption columns I wrote in the Chicago Tribune when I worked there. Her 2-year-old little boy was adopted from Kazakhstan. He was very sweet and great at sharing his toys (from trains to a little indoor slide) with the girls. Mom #2 showed him with her little boy who was sweet too. The girls kind of stuck together and the boys played with each other. The moms were super-nice. One is a former lawyer who just moved here, and another is a former real estate agent. The organized meet-up for moms is a great way to meet new people.

PLAYDATE #3: We went to my sister's house for dinner. The girls love going to Auntie's house and playing with their cousins. Cousin KW was at a sleepunder, but cousin LJ couldn't stop smiling when she saw her cousins coming up the stairs. We had salad, pasta and corn for dinner. Aside from playing with all their favorite toys, they watched a "Blue's Clues" video about Magenta getting glasses. At that point, Eena started wearing sunglasses until her regular glasses were fixed.


HOME: After eating a snack of Kix and soy milk, the girls got out their wiggles and went to bed.

A Sunday afternoon at the museum

Today, I took Eena and Baba on their first trip to The Art Institute of Chicago. They loved the Impressionist paintings, particularly "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat. Eena pointed out the dogs and monkey in the painting. Baba enjoyed people-watching the most.

Admission is free the month of February at the museum, and I plan to take the girls a few more times this month. It's in preparation for our trip to European museums.

Naked Barbies

Well, it's official, I never have to buy Barbie dolls for daughters. It has nothing to do with my Women Studies minor either. Eena and I went on an archaeological dig in our basement. We uncovered a box o' Barbies that haven't been played with in about 25 or 26 years. Those dolls were once my treasured collection. Honestly, I had no idea I had so many (there's at least 12 plus two Ken dolls, some babies and several Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Eena and I treated them to a few minutes at a "spa" (we bathed them in two bowls of soapy water). My little blue-loving Eena favored Blueberry Muffin from the Strawberry Shortcake collection. Blonde-haired Baba, ironically, loves the only brunette Barbie.

The best part is that there are enough of them that the girls haven't fought over any of them. Yet.