A Trip to the Windy City

Last Wednesday, the four of us got on a plane for the first time together and headed to Chicago, land of my favorite pizza and cheese fries (yum) to celebrate the Jewish New Year with my family and friends. While the ride there wasn't entirely smooth - both kids napped in the car to the airport, which meant no naps on the plane and Zach bounced up and down on me the whole time - overall, it went as well as I could have asked. The kids didn't even have a meltdown when we arrived at Grammy's house at 6:30 pm (7:30 pm NY time) and dinner wasn't on the table. And I calmly moved every single item that was within Zach's reach to higher ground, hoping that he wouldn't create a disaster there.

We settled in nicely (although we kicked Grammy out of her bed so we could use her room with Zach) and enjoyed time at Grammy's store picking out loads of stickers (Abby), grabbing the numerous amount of loose items someone managed to find (Zach) and running around town. Sure, we missed the tot service because of Zach's nap, but hey, at least we got dressed up and went to temple! We even managed to squeeze in some time with a few of my high school friends for a playdate. Holiday dinner on Thursday night was a bit chaotic with 7 kids under age 8 (including 2-yr old triplets) at my aunt and uncle's house, but everyone ate a lot and had fun.

Friday we did a fall photoshoot in a local park, went to the mall and had a playdate. We also made time to stop by our favorite eateries, including Walker Bros, Michael's and Dairy Queen (a low-cal trip it was not)! We did not head back to NY until our bellies were full (Chicago-style pizza is my fave) but when we did, it was actually not such a bad flight back since Zach slept the whole time and we had an extra seat.

After a much-needed trip to the grocery store and a lot of unpacking and laundry, our first family trip to Chicago was complete. Abby's favorite part was picking out tons of stickers at my mom's store and Zach's was seeing all the "eh-pane"s (airplanes) at the airport. Dairy Queen, Michael's and Pierro's ranked on the top of my list, along with seeing family and friends and spending time with my kids (of course!). Happy New Year to all!