Eleks, Tiffany Glass, and a Mohawk

Mom and Dad Elek and Tim, Marisa and Bailey all came by last weekend. It was really nice to have everyone over, and I was excited to show them all around Hyde Park. We went downtown and ate at Stanley's. I'm pretty sure it's the best food I've ever eaten. It took a while for the food to get to us but man, once it got there, it was superb. I just finished reading "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair, and read a little bit about this company called Agriprocessor that seems to be running the same way as the old Union Stockyards. As a result, I've been having trouble eating meat lately. I'm not saying that I'm a vegetarian, I just can't seem to eat a hamburger without thinking about the way the industry is run. We'll see where that goes. All that to say, I ate a vegetarian lasagna at Stanleys and man was it freaking good.

Anyway, here are some of the pictures from their visit:





I loved having some of my family over. Hopefully we'll be able to host the rest of the fam at some point before we move from here. I love living in this city, and especially Hyde Park. If you're able to come, we'll make your stay as free and as comfortable as possible. Just let us know.

In other news:

Rachel started work Monday, so I've been playing Mr. Mom. I thought it was going to be either really easy, or really frustrating, but on the whole it's pretty much awesome. I get up at 5:45 with Rach and try to see her out the door, and then I sit down at the kitchen table and drink coffee and read blogs until Norah gets up. (Usually around 7:00.) On Monday, I played with Norah and tried to teach myself some Hebrew while she napped or played in the playpen. (I now know how to say Father, Mother, and Son. I also learned a lot of the letters, so I might be able to read a sign in Hebrew, but I wouldn't have any idea what it meant.) On Tuesday, Norah and I took a trip downtown to contest the towing of my car. Turns out, we lost. To celebrate our defeat, I decided to go on a long walk through the city. Rather than riding the El back to Millenium Station, I decided we would walk. I'm glad I did.

While we were on our walk, I wandered into the Chicago Cultural Center. (We also walked down to the public library, but Norah was ready to hit it by then, and I didn't get any pictures.) I had read that they restored one of two Tiffany Glass Domes in the Chicago Cultural Center, and I wanted to see it. Apparently, they are the largest Tiffany Glass Domes in the world. (Though it sounds like a pretty small niche to hold a record in.) I was exicted to see the domes, but no where near prepared for the beauty of the building as a whole. The building is simply astounding. I'd never been in there before, and was simply stunned when I walked inside to see the entire structure bedecked with jeweled glass mosaics. Litterally every inch of the entrance is covered in the most gorgeous mosaics I've ever seen. I could honestly walk into this building and wander around just looking at the tile work for a whole day. It is simply astounding. I uploaded a few pictures of the dome and one of the mosaic work for you to see. I'll load the full size images so that you can zoom in on them if you want.



After the Cultural Center, we walked to the public library, but Norah was singing some songs so we didn't stay long. I want to come back so I can take some pictures of the roof. It has these intricate copper statues of twisting bent metal on the corners that piqued my curiosity.

After the Library, I decided we would go to Buckingham Fountain because it looked like we would get there just in time for the 12:30 water show. (I thought.) Turns out, the Taste of Chicago festival was still going on, and I accidentally found myself among a Cedar Point-esque crowd full of people with sticky fingers and sugary sauces dribbling down their chins. It was almost enough to give me heart palpitations. If you don't mind crowds, and lots of people in dirty tee shirts, and acres of barbecue smoke searing your eyes, and some pretty good deals on food, then you should probably check it out. If you aren't interested in those things, steer clear. Because Taste of Chicago is basically a few good food shops crowded by dozens of meat-on-a-stick vendors and hordes of reincarnated Mongols from Ghenghis Khan's Army burping on each other's shirts.

After wandering around the mind numbing crowds for a while, we walked back to Millenium station and took the train home. I put Norah to sleep and crashed on the bed until Rach came home.

Then, yesterday I learned that Facebook has a Texas Holdem Feature. So, that ate up my day. In between cleaning house, feeding the babe, and loosing imaginary money online, I also took this amazing photo of Norah, and then spiked her hair into a mohawk. The mohawk remained through most of the day and was still standing strong whem Mom came home. I can't wait to see what else I can do with Norah's hair once it gets longer. I'm going to find out if it's okay to die baby's hair. (No. Not really. Well... now that I think about it... Nahhh...?) All in all, I'm enjoying my new role as Mr. Mom. Ryan Battles, if you're reading this blog, I'm jealous of you. I only get to do this for a summer.

Before I show you the last two pictures, let me just say that being home with Norah all day long has made me pretty much fall in love with her all that much more. I woke up this morning and watched her playing on the floor and it's almost enough to burst your chest open. I just love that little girl.

Here's the mohawk. I know, it's not original, but man it was funny to me.

I love this picture. Her eyes are closed, but she just looks so happy. Man, I like that kid.