Saturday, March 22, 2008

Why "Pump It Up" is Kind of a Nightmare and Other Things I Learned Yesterday

Yesterday morning in the midst of a lovely spring snow storm, I took my kids to Pump It Up for "open play."

We met up with a new friend and her sweet little guy -- who I think has a tiny crush on my daughter. :) Plus, I got to meet some of said new friend's other cute and nice friends. And we had a chance to talk about the latest mommy blog controversies, and whether or not to attend BlogHer this summer. Good times.

Oh, and it was fun to play with the kids. The kids, right, the kids.

Have you been to Pump It Up? I can't really say that I recommend going. It styles itself as "an inflatable fun zone" - which is true, I suppose. But it is also a "way-too-crowded zone." And a "so-loud-you-can-barely-hear-yourself-think-zone." And the lawyer in me (she still resides deep, deep within) found Pump It Up to be a "Good-God-why-did-I-sign-that-release-form-as-I-watch-my-child-bang-heads-with-several-other-kids-zone." Forty-five minutes was plenty of time at Pump It Up for me . . . for a lifetime.

We then headed over to the California Pizza Kitchen at North and Sheffield. For some reason, I haven't eaten here before -- which I think makes me the only Mom on the northside of Chicago who doesn't hang out here because the place was swarmed with kids and Moms -- in a good way. And the BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad (with avocado please) was so delicious (definitely only order the half size). The kids had fun and behaved beautifully. More good times.

Once home, the kiddos napped for about six hours (the biggest upside to the frenzied visit to Pump It Up). We made challah in the afternoon (so fun). Then Daddy came home and made us risotto. It was while eating this risotto that I realized that I think I loathe asparagus. Until a few days ago, I thought I liked asparagus just fine. And it being spring and all, I thought we should be eating asparagus. So we had it roasted on Thursday night. And in risotto last night. And on both occasions, I found myself pushing it to the side of my plate -- which is unlike me. So no more asparagus, I've decided. I sound like Eleanor.

Finally, the team I picked to win the NCAA Championship game got eliminated in the first round -- thereby eliminating any interest I have in any of the hundreds of games to be played in the next few weeks. Sorry, honey.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indoor playgrounds are kind of a mixed blessing - great for tiring the kids, but when I start to think of the disease laden shared toys that have been in my preschoolers mouth along with countless others, I balk.

CPK probably has one of the best kids meal programs I know.

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Caitlin Murray Giles said...

Another great thing about CPK (that I have foolishly not taken advantage of before) is curbside service where you can pull up and they bring the food to your car. Numerous times, one of my kids has fallen asleep in the car and I am just sort of driving around so they can rest. I am always looking for drive-thru activities when this happens. Picking up dinner would be a grea thing ot get done.

Anonymous said...

Read: never go to Pump it Up on a snow day on Good Friday. Under any circumstances.

Anonymous said...

I think Pump it Up is a wonderful place for my kids. You'll want to avoid the public times on school breaks and book a private play group for $12 a child instead of $10 public. It's clean the kids get well needed exercise.

Caitlin Murray Giles said...

Alright Pump It Up enthusiasts -- I guess it isn't THAT bad. I do agree that it is clean. And the kids do get some exercise. I just felt like the environment was totally chaotic. And we attended a private birthday party with like 50 kids where it was even more chaotic and kids were banging heads and crying all over the place. Just not my favorite place. I would rather go to the Children's Museum where they can run and play in a less frenzied environment.