Baby-sitting An Entire Family

I've got a number of posts that are just sitting in drafts waiting to be finished and posted. It has been an eventful last seven days. But Easy requested I finally finish and post this one, so I'm skipping a few and getting right to this one. The other's can wait.


There's only one kid in my family that needs baby sitting. It's my younger cousin's baby son, whom I haven't actually met yet. So it's safe to say I'm not referring to him when I say I baby-sat an entire family. Of course, I'm talking about Easy's family. Last weekend, Easy was out of town, but most of the women in his family weren't. That mean someone had to take care of their children.


The oldest of Easy's nieces who live in the Chicago area is 19 years old. She's in college, but was home for that weekend. She agreed to watch the kids. That included an 11 year old, two 4 year olds, and a 1 year old. I had only met the 11 and 4 years olds, so I was glad to be around for a bit to spend some time with them. I expected to see them for a bit before Easy and I headed out, but that's not at all what happened.


I got there last Friday afternoon to spend some time with Easy before we headed up to Hyde Park (one of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago) to meet one of his friends and that friend's girlfriend for an early dinner. Then we were supposed to head to the bowling alley for my league bowling night. Then we were either gonna go out again or just hang out the two of us. I was gonna head back home and get up the next day to have a girls' day with my mom. None of it happened as expected.


Almost right after I got to Easy's parent's house, the oldest niece shows up with the smallest three. Then she had to go pick up the 11 year old which left the bottom three with us. But then Easy had to get in the shower, so it was just me. The two 4 year olds (who are twins) were fascinated with the baby and interested in playing with her with no concept of how not to be too rough on the baby. All of them are friendly and patient so it was fun, if nerve wracking. Easy gets out of the shower and starts to get dressed.


I was so glad to see him because I figured he could help me split up the kids so I didn't have to watch the 1 year old while trying to make sure the 4 years olds were being safe and not about to crush the 1 year old. He was setting up the gate on the steps and the four year old decided to watch television in the back room. They demanded that the 1 year old join them. She followed them back there but quickly got bored and left the room. One of the 4 year olds chased her to get her to come back, but quickly over took her. The 1 year old tripped and long story short, the 1 year old ended up sliding face first into the side of a china cabinet and bleeding out of her nose.


The doctor training in me came out and I checked  her over. No broken bones, no excessive bleeding, no mouth trauma, just a hurt face and feelings. We cleaned the area, hugged her, warned the 4 year olds about chasing the not-yet-toddler, and resumed our day. The 1 year old decided it was piano time. I sat her down on Easy's parents' piano and this baby was a GENIUS on the piano. One years old and able to do things that most people can't do at any point in their lives. She was playing individual notes and singing them back perfectly on pitch. When I noticed what she was doing, I started playing notes, and she would play the same note in a different octave and sing it. Easy began playing songs that he plays for his kids (he's an elementary school music teacher) and she was singing along. Not real words, she's too young to talk, but she can mumble along in the right key. And she can clap and play in a rhythm that matches what you just did.


I was amazed. I've only ever seen one small child do anything close to that and that kid was almost 3! Easy called his sister (the 1 year old's grandmother) and some other family members and had them listen on the phone to what she was doing. That baby is a virtuoso! So amazing.


We finally left when the two older nieces returned and were late to dinner. When we go to the restaurant, without my bowling ball, we were in the middle of an argument, and the friend wasn't there. We didn't have time to eat barely as it was and the friend was at a freaking car wash. We had to take a rain check and headed back south to get my bowling ball. The argument didn't get any better so we took a break from each other and I went bowling by myself.


While I was bowling, we working out the argument via text messaging. I love that he and I can't argue for long. We're both solutions people, so we spend more time working out a solution than we do arguing back and forth for the sake of arguing. But after bowling, I headed back to Easy's parents' house. The kids were all down and Easy and I talked and finished out our solution to whatever the argument was about.


But then the 1 year old woke up. She wasn't happy about spending the night in a strange house and Easy went and got her out of the bed. I was helping him get her to calm down. We walked, we rocked in the rocking chair, we spoke in soothing voices. And because he's practically a narcoleptic after 11 pm, I took over when he fell asleep. I ended up falling asleep cuddling her in Easy's bed while he slept in the rocking chair in the basement. When I awoke the next morning, she was sleeping peacefully. I do like a baby that can sleep a whole night as long as she's comfortable.


Easy was talking a lot about how nurturing I was with the baby on Friday afternoon, night and Saturday morning. I really enjoyed spending time with the kids and it was funny to me after that because kept touching my stomach. I would push his hand away and say, "stop plotting on my uterus!" It made him laugh and made me chuckle. I'm glad that we're on the same page when it comes to our future. We're sure we want to get married and start a family together. But we agree that kids are at least three to four years away. So no plotting on my uterus!


I would say more about the kids, like watching the 11 year old roller blade, and trying to help the 19 year old mature and get around the city without a GPS, but this post is getting too long. I will just end with this statement. I'm so glad the1 year old is Easy's god daughter. I am so looking forward to being a big part of her life and helping her hone her piano skills. I promise that girl is a natural! She's gonna be great.

Why Am I Doing It? I Do It For The Kiddies

I don't know about the people who read this blog, but I for one am happy to take a break from talking about my tumultuous love life.

So what will I be talking about today? My kids. I know what you're thinking. Where the hell did CeCe get some kids from? I got them from church silly. They have them on sale there for $49.99 each. Okay, I get it. I'm only funny to myself. Moving on...

I work with multiple groups at my church that work with the children and teenagers. I work with the Mission Circle for the teenage girls. I work with the Jr./Youth/Young Adult Ushers. I work with the Mission's Mentor Program. And I volunteer with the Children's Church.

These kids show up at my house all hours of the day. I feed them, take them shopping, take them to the movies, give them advice, help with their homework, offer spiritual guidance, and fuss at them when they've messed up. They are my kids.

And this work I do with the church is a pretty big part of my life. I love working with the kids and trying my best to help guide them in the direction of ending up successful adults. I had such fun at the church as a child and teenager that I just want to help ensure other kids love it as much as I did.

Right now, all the groups that serve the children/teenagers are coming together under one umbrella to reach out to all the church's youth. It's a really exciting prospect because when people work together, the events get bigger, the more diverse needs get met, and conflicts are reduced.

For the next year, each one of the eight groups has agreed to take over a month and plan an even that reaches out to all the youth. We're taking them on field trips, community service opportunities, spiritual journey, etc. We have homework nights, game nights, lock-ins, etc. By working together, we'll be accomplishing more than the total of what each group could do by themselves. This is a big step to getting all the kids together. And unlike when I was coming up in the church, no one group is being left out in all the shuffle.

For the new year, we'll have t-shirts, a page on the church website, and calendar so the kids can keep track of events, and a full membership roll so we can keep track of the kids. People, all I'm saying is if you are looking for fulfilling outreach work, starting close to home (at your church) is the key!

Want To Go Bowling? Of Course You Do

I love bowling. I always have, but most of my friends don't, so it hasn't been a big part of my life since I was with my high school sweetheart who was on the school bowling team (and who left behind a bowling ball, thanks sweetie).

When my parents joined the church bowling league, I wanted in, but I was away at school. Now that I'm back in Chicago, I have the time and availability to join the league. So I'm in. My father goes to practice with some people from our church and I've started going with him occasionally to step my game up. Where do we go? Dolton Bowl, in Dolton, IL. I like this place for a number of reasons.

They've got free parking (I'm looking at you entire north side of Chicago). They've got great prices (I'm looking at you entire downtown of Chicago). They also do a lot of Professional Bowling Association (PBA) stuff that I'm just now learning about. Things like oil patterns that help people train for tournaments and stuff like that.

But they know their crowd. They also turn the bowling alley into a club at 10:30 pm. I believe they do it everyday in the summer, I can't speak for the rest of the year. The place gets overrun with people who can't legally drink yet and the music is sooooo loud. But we still bowl with deeper concentration.

They have food, the simple stuff you can get in a rec place: nachos, pizza, ice cream. They have a small bit of alcohol. They have friendly employees. Because this is Dolton though, the crowd is, in a word, ghetto. If that doesn't bother you, this is the alley for you. They take really good care of their alley lanes, computers, balls, even their bathrooms. Grab some buddies who like to pretend they don't need the bumpers and work on your game.

Places Mentioned In This Post: Dolton Bowl
Neighborhood in Chicago Area: Dolton, IL
Recommendations: 1. if you don't like all the noise, go before the teens show up at 10:30 pm.   2. Eat before you go, the food isn't that good.   3. Ask about the oil pattern on the lane. If you want something special or something normal, you'll want a specific lane.   4. Don't be afraid to switch balls if the one you have isn't working.
Who To Do This With: Friends or on a date

Jazz Music In The Summer, All Over Chicago

Monday, July 12th, I went to a concert at Prairie State University. It was held by the Department of Music under the direction of Eugene Vinyard and Roosevelt Griffin. It was actually two mini concerts: Jazz Pioneers Combo and Extreme Big Band.

I heard about this concert from a friend I've been hanging out with recently. He plays in the Extreme Big Band (and several others as well). But this concert was amazing. The first group was a 13 piece jazz band. They played Chitlins Con Carne by Kenny Burrell to start and Footprints by Wayne Shorter to finish. The songs in between were just as good. My love for jazz music extends mostly to the reaches of what I hear live. So I was in heaven enjoying them playing.

They were followed by a big band. I've always loved big band music. I just love the feel of it. It makes me wanna dance, be romantic, be nostalgic, and just relax. It does all this at once. This was a 23 person band and it was amazing! The music really made me want to get up and dance, but I'm pretty sure it would've disrupted the concert for some patrons. Maybe next time I'll sit in the back. They started with Blues in The Closet by Oscar Pettiford arranged by Mark Taylor and ended with Spain by Chick Corea arranged by Paul Jennings. In between, they took me on a tour of Christmastime, New Orleans, and Frank Sinatra. Their vocalist was superb. I may be biased because it was my friend playing, but I particularly enjoyed the saxophone solos.

This concert was part of a concert series for the summer 2010. They'll be at Velvet Lounge in Chicago on July 18th, Sergeant Means Barn in Olympia Fields on July 23rd, and at Caribou Coffee in Homewood on August 6th. If you're looking for live music with jazz or big band, definitely check these out. And you'll be supporting the music department for Prairie State while you do it.

Places Mentioned In This Post: Prairie State College
Things To Do In This Post: Hear live music
Neighborhood in Chicago: Chicago Heights

Chicago, My Kinda Town

I already write a few blogs, but I felt like I needed one more. Why, you ask? Well, it's quite simple. I have more to say. Whether or not you want to read even more of that is yet to be discovered.

This blog will be dedicated to my city, Chicago, Illinois. I love living here and I try as much as possible to get out around the Chicago area and try new things and repeat old favorites. I never really use my other blogs as a journal of what I do with my days, so this will be party for that too. The bigger focus will be on the wonderful things to do, see, and experience in the Chicago area (this includes the suburbs, even though they are not Chicagoans).

To start, I'll talk about my date with my city on June 26, 2010. A teenager from my church and her best friend wanted to go downtown to go to the Taste of Chicago. I volunteered to take the since I wanted to go to the Taste. We were five minutes away when they suddenly didn't want to go anymore. Instead of immediately abandoning my crazy idea of spending an afternoon with two 14 year olds, I stayed agreeable and offered to just park the car and we would hang out on Michigan Avenue.

We headed to Water Tower Place. I knew right then that I wasn't about to follow two teenagers around a mall. That shit wasn't even fun when I was a teenager. So I told them I was going down to the food court and I'd see them later. The food court in Water Tower is amazing. It's on the Mezzanine Level. It's called FoodLife. It has everything one could possibly want to eat. I'm. Not. Kidding.

I got a California roll, a glass of Chardonnay, and a loaded baked potato. I know those things don't match, don't judge me. It's what I had a taste for. I enjoyed my lunch at watched the Ghana playing in the World Cup on the television at the bar. After I ate, I headed to the park across the street which is literally one of my favorite spots in the city. I don't know the name of this park, but it's at the corner of east Pearson Street and north Mies Van Der Rohe Way. I sat there for a couple hours under the shade of the trees and read my Kindle. I listened to the muffled sounds of the city floating by and the laughs of children playing on the nearby swing sets and jungle gyms. I thought about heading over to the Museum of Contemporary Art, but decided against it since sitting was more appealing than walking at that moment.

After the kids had tired themselves out, we headed back to the car and headed home. It was the loveliest afternoon I've had in a while. Just me and my city. And those two teenagers.

Places Mentioned In This Post: un-named park, Water Tower Place, FoodLife, Museum of Contemporary Art

Neighborhood in Chicago: North Michigan Avenue aka The Magnificent Mile