Trees Make Me Happy

When I'm feeling a little sad, as I was after I dropped Georgia off at school this morning, getting out in nature can go a long way toward improving my mood. 

I told June and Waylon that I needed to take a long walk, so we did. We discovered Lake Marmo, which we renamed Lake Marzo. It's ours now, but you're welcome to borrow it anytime, heron and all. (Or, "Bye bye, ostrich!" as Waylon put it. What is it with my kids and birds? June comically confuses seagulls and eagles all the time.)

After putting up with my walk, we headed over to a children's area and were pleasantly surprised to find that we had it all to ourselves today. I let the kids run off on their own and *mostly* avoided bothering them with photographs.

They started playing some version of Little House on the Prairie. Waylon sure makes a mean baby Carrie. I brought applesauce for a snack, but upon sitting down to eat it June informed me that, "Pa just killed a wolf. So we are having wolf saliva."  Followed by, "What's saliva, Mama?"

All in all, it was just the dose of trees I needed. 

[Programming note: I am trying out a mobile blogging app. I never can seem to get these things to work. So apologies if this looks all wonky.]

[NOTE:  Okay,  it probably looks normal to you.  It looks like crap to me.  Why do my pictures get cut off, turned into squares, and pixelated?  Ann Price, I am personally contacting you for technical support.  Don't fail me now!] ; ) 

[Just so you can see what I'm talking about, here are some of the same photos pasted in my "normal" way.]

We rode bikes! Maybe you want to, too?

Okay, I'm writing this post because the experience of renting bikes at the Morton Arboretum felt like a big family milestone for us, but also because I'm thinking some of you local Chicagoans might want to try it, too?   (Hear me out, because there are all sorts of different types of bikes available for varying degrees of ability.) 

Georgia's pretty adept on her bicycle, but she'd never ridden it off of our street before. (Though I often lament the lack of neighborhood feel here, when it comes to letting our kids play outside, we feel fortunate to live on a dead end block with almost no traffic. I think it has allowed Georgia more freedom to practice biking on her own than the average American six year old gets.) Even so, when we rented bikes in Florida on vacation this spring, Georgia still opted for the tag-along option attached to my bike (that turns it into something looking like a tandem), and June and Waylon were put into a trailer attached to Joe's.  It was "fun". No, really, it mostly was great fun, except that at their ages, putting June and Waylon in one trailer together is like transporting two cats in a box. There may have been some hissing and batting of limbs involved. 

So, this Sunday's ride at the Arboretum was Georgia's first chance to really bike on her own for more than half a block, and I was so excited for her to experience the feeling of not immediately stopping and turning around. She was pumped, too, but I never thought we'd make it as far as we did. We completed the entire 4.5 mile east loop! (This time, with June and Waylon each getting their own trailer, since June's still a little leery of the tag-along option.) It's a bit hilly, and my own legs were burning at points, so I'm kind of amazed that Georgia managed to power her 1970's era Schwinn through it all without massive whining. There were points when we had to get off and walk our bikes up the hill for her sake, but that's okay. This was not the Tour de France, after all. Although, I'm sure our snacks were much better than those Tour athletes get, anyway. With the trailer, I ought to have had a food truck license I'm sure, but by now I've learned that if you want to get through something even remotely physically taxing with these kids, (or for that matter, just "long" - not even taxing), you'd better take frequent breaks and keep them fed.


(The view from our bench.)



So, here's what we learned so you can take advantage of it: 

--All of the pricing is stated clearly on the Arboretum's website, but I didn't pay enough attention to the details.  This outing was more expensive than I counted on, so we'll be doing it again but not exactly weekly.  (To be fair, the pricing is reasonable in my opinion, it just adds up when you need multiple bicycles plus trailers.) 

--Prices are lower for members than non-members.  If you know me (or my sis) well enough to text, though, then you're welcome to swing by and borrow my family membership card.  And if you've got your own bicycles to bring along for free, well then bully for you!  

--Speaking of membership benefits:  the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Botanic Garden have reciprocity, but a lot of people don't know that.  

--Rentals are for 3 hours.  There's no ability to save money by using the bikes for less time.  However, you can take a break and leave your bikes with the bike rental people while you go off to eat a picnic lunch or explore the children's garden or whatever floats your boat.  Now that I know this, next time we will get our money's worth by going earlier, biking, breaking, and maybe biking a bit more if our crew can handle it.  Or maybe we'll stop and hike one of the trails along the way next time, now that we know for sure that Georgia has the stamina for it.  June and Waylon really wanted to, but we were nervous about pushing our luck and then ending up with a non-cycling cyclist and a heavy unused bike on our hands. 

--Bikes are restricted to the paved roadway; this is not off-road mountain biking.  Keep in mind that cars are also allowed on the roadway, so you'll have to keep an eye out for vehicles needing to pass.  Perhaps taking children biking on a road with cars sounds scary, but remember, this is not a public thoroughfare; everyone there has paid to enter the Arboretum and is ostensibly trying to take in the scenery.  It's all one-way, and I've never seen a vehicle traveling more than 5-10 mph.  The drivers should be looking out for cyclists and runners, so you should be fine.

--If you go this time of year, bring your bug spray.  Sure, the mosquitoes can't get you when you're zooming along, but when you stop for breaks, you'll be easy prey.  It is a forest, after all. 

--(This is Illinois, so take all descriptions of "hills" with a grain of salt, but): One of the longest gradual inclines if you take the east loop is near the beginning of the route.  Therefore, our first break occurred about 5 minutes into the ride, and I didn't think we'd make it much farther.  Forge ahead if you can!  Soon we began to hit some fun downhill stretches and caught our stride.  

--Oh, speaking of downhills.  This happy trip came inches away from ending in the ER.  Georgia is still mastering control of her bike and nearly flew into the woods on the sharpest downhill turn.  The water bottle in her basket bounced out, her front wheel left the pavement, and by some miracle, she stayed upright and steered back onto the road.  I could only hear the commotion (and cringe), but Joe, who was pulling up the rear and saw it, swears that if Georgia did this 100 times she'd land in a bleeding heap the next 99.  I have no idea how this information helps you.  I guess just be careful?    

I guess that's it, but before I go, do you have any blogs that you like but almost can't read because they're too beautiful?  No?  Well, Dig This Chick by Nici Holt Cline does that to me.  I check it only occasionally lest I let her gorgeous Montana views, exquisite photography, cherubic children, home-based small business, and farm-like life mixed with the camaraderie of a more urban setting get me down, if you know what I mean.  (To wit, she is to blame for my desire to have backyard chickens.  One day.  One day, I tell you.)  Anyway, to top it off, I like her writing.  In five sentences about a recent strawberry-picking outing with her two young girls, she perfectly captured how I feel about our little bicycling outing, and most other things in my life lately, for that matter.

"I remembered last year in this field.  I held Ruby much of the time.  Margot tired of the experience after about an hour.  This year we walked the field for more than two hours and never once was I asked to leave.  I took note, appreciating this increasingly autonomous season of parenting.  And just a little bit missing the last."  

I am:  Living in the moment.  Enjoying it.  And feeling wistful, too. 

I remembered last year in this field. I held Ruby much of the time. Margot tired of the experience after about an hour. This year we walked the field for more than two hours and never once was I asked to leave. I took note, appreciating this increasingly autonomous season of parenting. And just a little bit missing the last. - See more at: http://www.digthischick.net/#sthash.6WKE0kQq.dpuf

I remembered last year in this field. I held Ruby much of the time. Margot tired of the experience after about an hour. This year we walked the field for more than two hours and never once was I asked to leave. I took note, appreciating this increasingly autonomous season of parenting. And just a little bit missing the last. - See more at: http://www.digthischick.net/#sthash.6WKE0kQq.dpu

Spring Break has Sprung

This weather won't last all week, so we made for the Arboretum today while the gettin' was good.
Progress report:  first four person hike without a stroller.  (Although, the fact that I can actually bring a stroller on these trails makes me question, does it still count as a "hike"?)  I did bring the Ergo, though, and Waylon was happy to ride on the way back, despite all photographic evidence to the contrary.  Of course, seeing one person get a ride makes others whine that their legs and feet hurt, though, so maybe I should've just brought the stroller.  Still - we had a great time.  Pretty much the only benefit of a harsh winter as I see it is that it makes you REALLY appreciate signs of warmth and the change of seasons.  Notice that despite temps eking into the low 60's, there was still significant snow lingering in the children's garden.  I guess it's going to take a while.

(Maybe he didn't like Georgia taking our picture?  I swear he was happy as a clam up there.) 




 

Rev to Conk 2013!

Rev, rev, rev, everybody!  I love the rev.  Time is running out.  I am eating jalapeno chips and drinking Coke while I write this.  Okay, not really, but I was earlier today.  

I also kind of love New Year's Resolutions.  I can see why some people don't, but they really fill me with optimism.  It's fun to think of how PERFECT you're going to be and your life is going to be with just a few changes in the new year.  I'm kidding about the perfection, of course, but really, I have a "better to shoot for the stars and miss than to shoot for a pile of manure and hit" attitude about these things.  The problem with resolutions comes when people feel guilty or beat themselves up for failing, but you don't have to do that.  The resolution police are not coming to get you or shame you! 

Another thing I've noticed is a trend of people saying they hate "resolutions" but like setting new year's "goals".  Um, okay, whatever.  Language can be important in some cases, but this isn't one of them for me.  If it makes you feel better to call it a goal, go for it. 

I'm still formulating my resolutions, otherwise I'd share them here for accountability's sake.  In my book, nothing really starts until Monday the 6th anyway.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few New Years-ish things in case anyone else is in the spirit but, like me, feels the need to sign up for crap or even spend money just to get anything done.  : )  (I kid, but seriously, I have learned this about myself: sometimes having a little skin in the game helps.)   

Apartment Therapy's January Cure:  sign up for free daily emails throughout the month of January that will guide you to get your place in order "one manageable step at a time".  

Zen Habits' Simple Fitness Habit:  for a $15/month subscription, you'll learn "a method for changing your eating and exercise habits, and making them stick."  Zen Habits has other plans not geared toward diet or exercise available, too.  Or you can just read the Zen Habits website from time to time for free and pick up some useful advice!

Dr. Christine Carter's Cracking the Habit Code: 21 Days to Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions:  a free, online class with 21 days of emails and short training videos in which you'll learn how to "avoid common booby-traps" and make your resolutions stick.  (You may recall that Dr. Carter is the woman behind the "Raising Happiness" online course that Joe and I are making our way through.  See, I told you I've got a bit of an addiction to signing up for this stuff.)

Interestingly, Joe is not at all like this.  He's more of a self-motivator than a joiner. Case in point:

Um, you can come in from the cold now, Rocky. 

I'm not sure which of these I'll do yet; my biggest risk in the New Year is probably taking on too many changes at once.  How about you?  Any plans?

This will be my last blog post of 2013, but not my last blog post about things that happened in 2013, because I'm so far behind.  I'll leave you with a few pictures from our snowy evening at the Morton Arboretum's Illumination display and our New Year's Snacky Dinner at home.

  

{The diagonal lines are falling snowflakes, not part of the lights.}


{15 degrees and snowing.  Okay, fine, it looks like our troop was suffering here, but we all agreed that the snow really made the whole thing.  So picturesque!  I didn't even attempt to photograph the lights on the trees.  That's beyond my skill level, plus it was better to keep my fingers warm(ish?) and just enjoy.}


Gran and Georgia hugging a tree to make it light up.


Waylon was a trooper in the stroller bundled up under blankets for about 75% of our mile-long trek.  But then he let us know (as two year olds do) he was actually frozen and just DONE with it.  Poor guy was uncontrollably shivering all over when we went inside!

I guess that's nothing that a little hot chocolate and train heaven can't fix. 



Joe and I chatted on the way home about how our definition of "fun" has changed.  I thought this was a great outing, even though two out of three children were crying for differing reasons as we got in the van to leave and one was inexplicably complaining that her vagina hurt.  (Hey, I'm not naming names, it's all good.)  I think we all had a good time, just maybe not all at the same time.  That's okay, though - we might never go anywhere if that were our measuring stick.  
 

{Big time stuff to eat Snacky Dinner in pj's off a train table while watching cartoons.}



From our family to yours, may your 2014 be full of chocolate chip cookies, figurative or literal.

Bastards tagged our car!  ; )  XO