Happy Holidays....While the merry bells keep ringing,

Again, the weather is pretty amazing here in Chicago. We really lucked out so far. We took the kids down Michigan Ave toward the theater since Greg had to go to work (2-show day). We came across the Holiday Light Festival here. We had been to this once before when Geoffrey was only 2y.o. The nice red tents were passing out hand warmers for everyone. Hmmmm.....I guess it'll be cold once the parade starts (@ 5:30pm). There was so much stuff going on walking down Michigan Ave. Freebies galore!! Well, it was being put on by Disney so it was all about their new shows and movies coming soon. This translated to posters, toys, etc for the kids. It was a lot of fun and a lot of people. But, I don't mind the people. The Chicagoans are the nicest people. People weren't pushing or shoving and the kids always went first. Kind of reminded me of Japan.

We get to the theater and it was great seeing all the old "Producers" people. Geoffrey knew these people since he was 18 mos. Sebastian was a "Producers" baby.....born while they were in L.A. A lot of fun. We had a fabulous lunch next to the theater named "Ruby of Siam". Their Tom Ka Kai was delicious!!! Very good. We had enough left overs for dinner.

Greg had to go back to work so we headed back down Michigan Ave. because the kids saw the Disney store and with our handy dandy coupon, the kids got to purchase a little toy and received free Disney Lightflashing paraphernalia. I have to hand it to Disney. The store was PACKED, but the line moved ever so quickly. They were extremely organized and that makes me so very happy!!!!

We head to the Water Tower Place (mall) for a bathroom break. Boys had to go! So, off we went and since I wanted some tea, we stopped at Teavana. I ended up with a lovely tea called Swiss Melange (herbal). I must say.........it's wonderful! I might have to get some more before I head home. The boys enjoyed the decorations.

Then it's to the Hancock Bldg since we are only a few blocks from there. They had the cutest train set with all the holiday decor. The boys stayed there for quite some time. I was fascinated by it as well. The details in the scenes were so full. One could have stayed there for over an hour soaking up all the lovely "towns".








Now, those of you who didn't get a chance to read up on Geoffrey............he LOVES cheesecake! Well, right in the Hancock Bldg is The Cheesecake Factory. We get in line and found that we accidentally cut in line, not intentionally. There were so many people there that we didn't realize we had walked into a line. The couple behind us were so sweet! They told us to just stay there and put in our order. We get Geoffrey's slice of cheesecake and head back to the hotel.

After resting our feet and eating dinner, we head back out for the parade. It's 5:15pm and dark. We walk to Michigan Ave and there are even more people. We keep walking looking for a little opening. We find none, so I decide to stop where there are little children and my boys can look over their heads. This mom was so nice.......she told the girls to scoot over and to let my boys in so they can watch the parade. I can't get over how nice everyone is here!!! We watch for a bit and then my California boys decide it's way too cold now. We had hats, gloves, and those handy dandy hand warmers, but no. They decide it's too cold. So, we walk to find a place where we can get hot chocolate and a cookie. By the time we got out of Frango's (Macy's taste bar), the parade was over. Wasn't a long parade which I am glad. They had a lot of other festivities closer to the river, but we had done enough walking for the day. We head back to the hotel.













Another great day in Chicago.

Razzle Dazzle

Here we are in Chicago. We are visiting my husband who is on the musical, "Young Frankenstein". It's my 5th time here? Here with Saigon, then with The Producers, Sweeney Todd, Pippin...

I love coming to Chi-town! The people are just so awesome. It has always felt very "homey" to me and yet it's a metropolitan city. Full of wonderful stores, culture, and the food is out of this world. The flight is only 4 hours long so not too bad when it comes to travelling with children.

Our day started yesterday from the Oakland airport. It's always pretty stressful for me when travelling with children. Even after doing it for so many years (my oldest started at 17 mos. and he's now 8y.o.; youngest started travelling @ 6 mos.), it's just filled with anxiety for me. I have to keep the kids occupied while waiting, slip on shoes ONLY due to security, backpacks filled with snacks (they are allergic to nuts).

We flew Southwest because it was direct to Midway. If I can, I avoid O'Hare airport at all costs. It is such a nightmare airport....busy, delays, FAR from Chicago, terminals are miles apart, etc. Southwest was great in that they allowed us to preboard due to my kids. As you know, they do not have reserved seats and my concern was being split up in a very full flight. Kudos to Southwest for that, but I was disappointed with the guys loading the plane. He kept saying, "preboarding for families with children under 4". Well, my youngest is 5 and very tall. Thought about just sneaking on, but the guilt ran over me and I tried to follow the rules. So, we sat there waiting for our "group" to be called. When they preboarded us, I heard the guy say, "she was just sitting there..." I wanted to turn around, but thought, nope....get our seats first and then complain later. I know where my priorities are when it comes to flying.

Southwest is truly a no thrills airline. I packed the DVD player and DVD's for the kids to watch (this is a staple, even if they have screens on the back of each seat (sometimes they don't work)). Their backpacks had lunch and their snacks and DS games. Due to security, I am forced to buy drinks at the airport at $4 for a bottle of water. I hate that, but what do I do. Go with the flow here.

We arrive and I had already had car service arranged since it wasn't any less or more than a taxi ride. With 2 children, 3 huge pcs. of luggage, and carry-ons.....no way was I going to wait in a taxi line. NO WAY! Chicago Limo Service was great and they got us to our corporate apt in good time. Very nice driver, but then again, I have always had nice encounters with Chicagoans. Great suggestions for food from him.

The boys were so excited to see Greg. It was all fun and I wanted to keep them awake since I try to keep them on pacific standard time. We go back and they go straight back to school the next day so it's easier to stay with our time.

We awoke to a lovely day a few blocks off Michigan Ave. We take a nice stroll to the Navy Pier because our boys absolutely love the Chicago Children's Museum
We always get our membership there because our boys go there more than three times a week to play with all of their fun exhibits. With the membership, we get free or 50% discount off all other museums in the U.S. Definitely worth it for us since we travel a lot when Greg is on the road.
There are so many things for the boys there. Because Geoffrey attends a Science Magnet, he gets his academic fill here at the museum. This year, Geoffrey really wanted to play Chess with Greg on their room size, floor board, chess room. The pieces are about as tall as Sebastian. Unfortunately, they replaced the large chess floor board with an ice-skating rink and a lot of snow play. It was fine because Geoffrey enjoyed what was there.


We'll be here for another 12 days or so. Many more museums and people to see.

It's a Small World

So, we have been officially deemed parents of a child in elementary school. Why? Well......just think spring break at Disneyland with half the other part of the world. It was crazy!!!! Just a sea of people with children having meltdowns by midday. It was nuts!

We hit Disney Monday and Tues. Geoffrey's best friend from school was meeting us down there with his family. Well, being it was their first time (our second) and both of them Civil Engineers everything was down to a science. They had subscribed to a program called Ridemax. This program will figure out for you where you need to go at what time and who should be getting the fast passes. All to maximize "ride time" during a busy time of year....like now. We weren't sure if it worked or not, but worth the try. So, Monday morning, Greg drops us off at the Guest Drop off and he goes to park the car (7a.m. right now) We find gate 13 or 20 like the program tells us to do. We meet up with Geoffrey's friend, M. We do the whole Disney count down thing and gates open at 8a.m. We get through, M's mom goes to rent a stroller, Greg runs to get fast passes at....don't remember, but somewhere while the kids and I literally are jogging to the Finding Nemo attraction. So far so good because our wait time was maybe 10 minutes and it moved quickly. Then off to other places. By the end of the day (11pm), we got in about 10 rides if not more. Pretty good is what I'm thinking considering the amount of people there. Ridemax did work for us. It can quite a coordinating feat, but when there are that many people and you don't want to wait in line for longer than 20 min. maximum, check out Ridemax. It will even coordinate breaks for you including lunch.





Day 2 is a little more relaxed after Space Mountain and we had a blast! We completed almost all the rides in Day 1. So, it was fun to repeat some rides that the kids wanted to go on again. Greg and I were thoroughly exhausted. We needed all day Wednesday to just chill out. My college roommate let us stay at her house while she was on spring break with her kids so it was so nice to have a kitchen, backyard, and tons of toys for the kids rather than a hotel. This is a great idea for those of you who decide to exchange homes during vacations. It's well worth the research and comfort for a family. There are several sites who offer this and one of them is called HomeExchange. I think if you do your research and ask all the appropriate questions, you can have a very fun vacation without the expenses of a hotel.



Caught up with a dear friend of mine from my dance years in L.A. It was great!!! Francine and I go way back when we used to dance and just hang out. We had our dogs and it was just such a special time. It was great to catch up with her and her 10 year son, A. All of our boys had a wonderful time.

Then to UCLA (go Bruins) and the La Brea Tar Pits (Page Museum) on Friday. Why not brainwash my kids to my alma mater! We start them young even though we know we would support them in whatever and wherever they want to do or go. Go Bruins (had to put that in).



For the last 2 days of our stay, were at the Kyoto Grand in Downtown L.A. as Greg has to continue working the show. The hotel was nice and close to work for my husband. It was a good walk to Chinatown (bring a stroller). If the kids are too big for strollers and can't walk that far yet, I suggest driving. We went for Dim Sum with some friends. It was delicious! The Empress Pavilion had some wonderful Dim Sum. Then back home.

Wow, spring break does go by quickly and then back to the grind, eh? Well, it was great to see everyone and to have had such success at Disneyland made the trip well worth it!