Cosmo (Or The Boy Without a Name)

Giving another human being a name is serious business. For months now, David and I have been working on choosing a name for our new boy . . . without any success whatsoever. We have been through the baby name books. We go round and round with the same group of names and never seem to find the right one. I sit in yoga class holding my belly, trying to feel what his name is. I practice calling my children in for dinner, "Ellie, Brendan, whatsyourname, time to come inside and wash up." Nothing.

Naming our little ones hasn't always been this hard. When we found out that we were having a girl back in 2004, Eleanor seemed like the natural choice. I have always loved the name (my Mom claims that I requested that people start calling me Eleanor in preschool because I was infatuated with another little girl by that name) and David's beloved grandmother was also named Eleanor. We never seriously discussed other options. Easy.

Brendan's naming was a bit more complicated. We went back and forth between Brendan and William, possibly Brendan William, or maybe William Brendan. I thought we had settled on Brendan William, and David disagrees (to this day). To his credit, he did point out at the time that maybe we shouldn't use both Brendan and William in case we had another boy. . . .

Which brings us to our current dilemma. If Brendan's middle name wasn't William, I think that we could easily agree on that. But what's done is done. We have been unable to agree on any other suitable names -- except for Cosmo.

When my sister-in-law was pregnant with her son in late 2007, Eleanor declared that she wanted to name their baby Cosmo. I explained that you don't get to pick the names of babies in other families. Upon learning that we were going to have a new brother or sister, Eleanor quickly surmised, "Perfect, now we can name our baby Cosmo."

So Cosmo it is. I must admit that the name is really catching on amongst our family -- who all refer to the baby as Cosmo. Brendan rubs my belly and says, "How Cosmo doin?" Eleanor informs strangers that we are going to have a new brother born in December named Cosmo (people give me a puzzled look because they aren't quite sure if it is a joke or not).

David and I can't even agree on how to spell Cosmo. I say Cosmo (so obviously the correct way) and he thinks it is Kozmo (which is crazy).

For now, that seems to be the best we can do. I imagine myself saying, "Have you met my son Cosmo? He is a clown." (which I think is all that you can be when your idiot parents name you Cosmo).

The Question I Have Been Waiting For

Eleanor: "Mama, how is the baby going to get out of your tummy? Is your tummy going to explode open and let him out and then go back together?"

Me (feeling totally unprepared despite having anticipated this very question): "Ummm, sort of."

So hard to know how detailed to get on this one . . . .

Hey Chicago Mamas, I Have A Favor To Ask of You

Do you live in the Chicago area? Are you the parent of a preschool-aged child? Okay good, I am talking to you (the rest of you please feel free to move on).

As some of you might know, I write for Being Savvy: Chicago about local educational and enrichment opportunities for little ones. Being Savvy: Chicago is part of a national site called Savvy Source that is dedicated to offering parents of preschoolers information about local preschools, plus tons of other information about age-appropriate activities and child development (it is great -- you should check it out). One of my favorite features of the site is the preschool reviews from real parents (wouldn't you have loved to have had an insider's view before you applied to your child's preschool?).

This is where you come in. Please take a minute to check out the Chicago-area preschool page and find you child's school. See what other parents had to say and then click "Review" to share your thoughts. The information you share is anonymous. The whole process will take you about six minutes (I timed myself). Thanks so much for being a pal. I owe you one.

Kids and Kites

Over the weekend, David and I were delighted to discover that we are the parents of two very adept kite flyers.

We went to Mayor Daley's Kids and Kites Festival at Montrose Harbor on Saturday. I can't say enough good things about this (free! free!) event. The kids got to assemble and decorate their own kites before they took off running down a hill like crazed monkeys trying to get their contraptions to take to the sky. When the thrill of kite flying wore off, we headed over to the craft tent where the kiddos painted little kite magnets to take home. We stopped by the Whole Foods tent for a free apple and picked up another free kite to take home. I couldn't have asked for a better family activity on a beautiful fall day.

This event takes place in the fall and again in the spring. We are totally going to go again in the spring (and you should too).

Musings on My Messy House

If you ever feel like your house is a constant mess despite the fact that you devote much of your time to cleaning, straightening up, organizing, etc, head over to the Chicago Moms Blog to hear me whine about my dirty house in my latest post.

Oh, Hello There October

Fall is decidedly HERE (brrrr).

We are starting to get into an autumn mood around here and we have lots of "fallish" activities on the agenda for next week:

(1) Soup -- tons and tons of soup (potato leek last night, lentil and vegetable next Monday)

(2) Planting daffodil bulbs for the spring

(3) Picking up some funky gourds from the farmer's market to go with the pumpkin collection on the front porch

(4) Fall baking with my little helpers (pumpkin cookies and an apple crostada)

(5) Knitting, knitting, knitting because I know two heads that are going to be in need of hats very soon

(6) Drinking warm apple cider at every opportunity

Method Goodie Bag Giveaway!

The folks at Method were kind enough to give me an extra goodie bag after the fab cocktail party yesterday. In addition to the reusable tote (which I have already gotten compliments on at the farmer's market), you get a hand soap, toilet bowl cleaner, dish soap, and all-purpose cleaner, plus coupons for $1 off future Method purchases. Forgive the lame picture above, but it helps you get the idea.

Want this goodie bag to be yours? Leave a comment (be sure that your Blogger profile includes your email address or leave your email in your comment so I can contact you if you win!). All entries must be received by Sunday, October 5th at midnight CST. I will contact the winner on Monday, October 6th. Good luck!