Share the Love: Chicago Botanic Garden {Grunsfeld Children's Garden}

On alternating days, my boys want to be any of the following, depending on their moods:

1. Jedis
2. Pirates
3. Farmers who fix the pigs mud baths and chase the chickens
4. Horticulturist chefs
5. Biologists who primarily inspect dirt and eat tomatoes

Any combination of three more on any given day is optimal, of course, which is why we've spent quite a few days at the Chicago Botanic Garden's Grunsfeld Children's Garden this summer practicing the art of wielding light sabers and shovels while simultaneously exploring the botany and fauna of the Chicago-area landscapes.

The Grunsfeld Children's Garden, a new addition to the garden as a whole this year, was designed to be an interactive, hands-on, kid-centric garden where children can learn about plant life and the corresponding insects that accompany it through the five senses.

Be it sinking their hands into some soil or sorting veggies into their rightful plant family baskets, watering the garden flowers via spray bottle or slicing and dicing wooden veggies, the Grunsfeld Children's Garden features many interactive activities in which little ones can indulge four of their five senses during activity times. {No, guys, we don't EAT the plants at this garden! Back away from the cherry tomatoes! Sorry.}



Through September 30, 2012, activity times at the children's garden run from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; best of all they are highly engaging and FREE! {Though, the Children's Garden is open for exploring normal garden hours.}

Our boys have immensely enjoyed all of our trips to the garden, and have often remarked about how it's even more fun than romping around and exploring our own sprawling veggie garden.

Even when I make them put away the light sabers while they water the plants {and each other}.

Also, it's gorgeous.



Bonus: Now is the perfect time to go explore the new children's garden because you can still catch the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit {and it's so much cooler out than during this summer's heat wave}. It's open through Labor Day weekend {2012}, and they are hundreds of beautiful, captivating butterflies inside. My boys were mesmerized, and I've never seen them be quite so careful and light footed.

Fine Print: I'm a grateful Chicago Botanic Garden Ambassador. I blog four times per year about garden happenings. My family was gifted a garden membership through 2013 so that we could explore the garden often and share our experiences. As gardeners and stewards of the land, the CBG is extremely close to our hearts, and we share out of a deep love for the work done there; as always, all opinions are mine. 

Virtual Coffee: Eleven

Were we meeting in person for coffee today, it would likely be at a coffee shop.

You'd thank me, really, for not inviting you over to my casa as we're having an ongoing skunk-smell saga and the whiffs hit at the most unexpected times.

Skunk smell? you might ask.

I'd nod my head as we ordered our drinks -- mine a hot tea to help soothe the allergen-induced mess that are my sinuses -- and share that E wandered in the back door Saturday reeking of disgustingness.

He was covered head to toe in dirt, so I first thought that perhaps he was digging through a portion of the garden where maybe something had long past expired. But upon looking, there was nothing.

We immediately doused the kid in water under the sink, and the smell would.not.budge.

After several scrubbings, I consulted Goodle. And I landed on skunk odor being the most likely culprit.

Did you know skunk spray stays on the ground for up to THREE YEARS?

No?

I kid you not.

After much facebooking discussion, we finally found a remedy that took the skunkiness smell away: coffee grounds.

Well, it took it away until yesterday.

When he pooped.

Dirt and skunk smell really makes you thankful for regular old dirty diapers.

So I thought we got away from all of this skunkiness and then I opened the windows late yesterday afternoon.

And holy overwhleming stench -- the skunk smell was back, drifting into our open living room windows.

Anyway, long story short, we're still trying to figure out where the smell is coming from now that it's {seemingly-oh-dear-God hopefully} exited E's body.

Either you'd be laughing by now at the ridiculousness or you'd be wondering why you decided to meet me for coffee today if we were going to discuss such messes as skunks and bodily functions gone wrong, so I'd quickly the change the subject ask how this week has treated you thus far.

We'd probably talk about the stellar summer-like weather that descended on Chicago's neck of the woods {suburbs?}.

We've been basking in mild temps and enjoying almost everything spring -- except the allergies.

Last night, I woke up around 2 a.m. convinced I'd somehow developed strep while sleeping. But upon waking this morning, I realized it was all allergy related because the symptoms totally subsided.

And while we're talking sleep, I have to whisper -- I say whisper so as to not totally doom tonight -- something: we decided to night wean E this week, and we started last night.

He's been super demanding of lately, and I finally started to feel like I'd fought the good fight for the past 19 months, waking 4-5 times per night to nurse him, and, well, I'm done.

I'm not a nice mommy the day after I've been up every hour nursing and wrestling a milk-crazed toddler, so I knew something needed to change.

And last night -- whispering still -- was so easy.

He woke only once for John, and John was able to snuggle him back to sleep so easily -- no crying or anything, which is totally unlike E.

So this morning, I looked at the Farmer's Almanac -- because the last time E. slept that well, my sister had randomly remarked that she read in the alamanac that it was the best day for weaning a child.

Yeah, I'm not kidding. The Farmer's Almanac really does list best days for weaning {and so much more}, and I really did look though I don't actually put any stock into it.

For the record, today is not one of the best days; of course, we're not following the good ol' almanac, so we'll be proceeding with the night weaning again tonight.

Pray for us. :)

What's new in your world? Allergies making you wish for winter to come back? Farmer's Alamanac got you giggling? Ha! Probably I'm the only who is totally amused by such strange things. ;)

Thanks for having coffee with me today and listening to my random babbling!