is a single mama in the city, super-savvy editor, writer, video host and shameless shoe whore.
Staycation redux, day three: Kohl's Children's Museum
Monday, September 8, 2008 
I may very well be the last mother in the Chicagoland area to go to Kohl's Children's Museum. Lil E's been there several times with my parents and it seemed like just the right destination for the last day of our staycation.
It was rainy. Lil E made these convincing pleas to return to the beach and I'd happily agreed (this time with swimsuits, I swore to him), packing more soy butter and jam sandwiches and sunscreen and still-sandy toys into my mama tote bag. And then rain started pelting the porch and windows and street below our little apartment. The plan changed and we packed that tote into the car and headed out to the suburbs.
Have you been to Kohl's? Of course you have. Even if you're not a Chicagoan or a mama, you've probably been there. So I don't need to tell you how amazing it is, with experiential rooms where kids play at real life. We hung out in the veterinary office while Lil E nursed a kitten and got soaking wet (again) in the water room while we cranked up fountains, shot balls through tubes with water cannons and watched how wind changes the course of tiny, plastic boats on a lazy river through the middle of the room. We dig for real worms at an earth exhibit and Lil E spent a half-hour collecting shingles and bean bags at a construction site.
He arranged magnetic wallpaper in a house remodeling room while I swooned in identification with the 8-year old girl who followed behind the smaller kids straightening their wallpaper squares to perfection. In the Potbelly sandwich-making store, I saw Lil E's after-high school job potential as he happily fed rubber French bread, cheese, mustard, pickles and milkshakes through the cranked conveyer belt toaster.
Oh yes, and the boy painted his own face, carefully creating his "secret agent" persona. We carefully preserved that look through nap time and a trip to the park and dinner, so that his tears at washing it
away during a bath that night could only last so long.
Look how that kid's mastered the kohl artistry (not to mention the Kohl's artistry)! I swelled up with pride and laughter to watch him color his face. And neck. And arms. And hands.
We didn't want to leave and it was only the promise of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and need for naps that got us out the door. We'll go back, though. And next time, I doubt it will be the default plan.
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