My City Kid

On Friday, Austen had a field trip that I chaperoned at the bowling alley.  Afterwards I took him home so we could resume our special day together...just us.

I gave him a choice of what we should do since we had to be back to school by 4:30 p.m. for swim lessons so it was lunch and the library; lunch and the Lego store; lunch and play soccer; or lunch and a movie.

He picked the Lego store downtown.  So off we went.  We took the bus downtown and our first stop was lunch.  Austen (my breakfast lover) decided he wanted chocolate chip pancakes for lunch.  After lunch, we headed down to the Lego store at Watertower Place on Michigan Ave.  That was after we made our way through the TV cameras by my office right in the middle of Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile.  Apparently a shooting happened there the evening before.  Gotta love the city.  

At the Lego store, Austen put together three Lego guys to take home and then begged me to buy him a Lego Ninjago set which I did. But not wanting Peyton to feel left out, I told Austen we should go next door to the American Girl store and buy an outfit for Peyton's Bitty Baby.  Austen looked at me horrified. I can't go in there he said, everyone will think I am buying a doll! After I assured him that they would not and we would make it clear we were buying something for his sister he relented enough for us to find Peyton's doll a ballerina outfit.

On our way home...we had some entertainment thanks to four separate homeless men.  Austen seemed intrigued by these guys.

First homeless guy.

Mommy, what did that guy's sign say he asked me?
"I don't know," I said because I see so many of them downtown I don't read them.

Second homeless guy.

"Mommy, did you see that guy? He had no legs.  What happened to them?"
"I don't know," I said.
"I know, " he said.  "He was playing basketball. He fell down and broke his legs and he had to go to the hospital where they fell off and he had to get a shot!"

Third homeless guy.

"Mommy, what's wrong with that guy?" he asked as they are wheeling him on a stretcher to the waiting ambulance.
"I don't know....maybe he's hot," I said as we walked past and Austen craned his neck to see more.

Fourth homeless guy...muttering to himself rather loudly as people passed by.
Austen didn't ask anything he just stared and stared until we were a safe distance away and then he started imitating the guy muttering.

"That's not nice," I said. "We don't imitate people."

And, that was enough of a city education for one day!