Last Sunday Chris had to work all day. He used to work every day of every weekend, so now his occasional day in the office really doesn’t bother me. Of course we miss him and of course we’d rather have him home on a Sunday, but we live in the middle of a huge city; there are plenty of things to keep me and the kids busy!

I decided to take the kids to the Chicago Children’s Museum. I often say a membership there is the best money I spend all year, especially when winter comes and we are stuck indoors. We arrived by 9 am for the Members-Only hours, only to realize that perk is offered on Saturdays – not Sundays! – leaving me with an hour to fill for four antsy kids. Grrrreeeeaaaattt.

We bought juice boxes in the food court, and I swiped a brown paper bag from a hot dog stand. With the pen in my purse, I started a doodle game with the kids. I drew a doodle, then they each had ten seconds to add to the doodle. We passed the bag ’round and ’round until the masterpiece was complete.  Even wee Ben got in to the fun!

I drew the initial doodle with a cloud in mind, but Evie quickly turned it into what I thought was an egg. Mack contributed a few stick figures. Evie then turned the egg into a lion. Everyone was laughing (especially once Mack added a butt to the stick figure)!

Our doodle session gobbled up a solid 20 minutes of our otherwise empty hour. After running around Navy Pier’s Crystal Garden, we came upon 10:00. Right on time for the Children’s Museum!