JinJer: Return of the "Crotch V" (Yes, PANTS!)

[MayMay1123]

11 hours ago, Feminist_Defrauder91 said:

I'm a pescetarian so I can't personally attest to it, but I've heard from multiple people that Jim's on South Street is good.

south street isn't what it used to be...its going back 'downhill' again, with trashy shops instead of cool ones. it'll turn again, as it often has. i'd rather do the italian market (9th street, where Rocky ran LOL) ...but jim's steaks are good.

[potato]

3 hours ago, HandHoldingHeathen said:

Where in Chicago will the wedding be held?  Downtown or out in the suburbs?  Lived in the burbs for 20 years so I am familiar with the food scene and can help you out...

@candygirl200413 I second these questions.  Also, would you know your transportation plans once you get to the city?  (Would you have a car, take Uber/Lyft, or take public transportation?)  

In the meantime, I personally LOVE deep dish and I highly recommend that everyone tries it at least once, if they haven't done so already.  There are tons of Giordano's and Lou Malnati's locations around both the city and suburbs and you can't go wrong with either of those!

[Feminist_Defrauder91]

26 minutes ago, MayMay1123 said:

south street isn't what it used to be...its going back 'downhill' again, with trashy shops instead of cool ones. it'll turn again, as it often has. i'd rather do the italian market (9th street, where Rocky ran LOL) ...but jim's steaks are good.

Aw that's unfortunate!   I'm originally from the Philly area but I haven't been to South Street in a long time.

[2manyKidzzz]

43 minutes ago, MayMay1123 said:

south street isn't what it used to be...its going back 'downhill' again, with trashy shops instead of cool ones. it'll turn again, as it often has. i'd rather do the italian market (9th street, where Rocky ran LOL) ...but jim's steaks are good.

And theoretically, with girlfriend Siri, you could just stand in Philly and ask for "cheesesteaks near me". 

Anybody done something like that and been successful?

We haven't lived here long, but I love Philly!! Old City with Indpendence Hall and it's accompanying buildings, Carpenter's Hall, Christ Church, Elfreth's Alley, cobbled alleyways....Betsy Ross House.......all in all lovely and quite moving from a US History viewpoint.

And Rittenhouse Square.....on and on I go.....

[purple_summer]

17 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Taking grand wolf to D.C. in June. Any suggestions for food that won't break the bank? He wants to go to Gettysburg.  Can we get there without taking a  bus tour? 

This isn't mid range, but one of my favorites is Founding Farmers on Pennsylvania ave. It's a farm-to-table style place and everything I've had there has been wonderful. They have other locations around D.C. as well. There are a ton of food options at union station too (walking distance to the mall) but nothing there is particularly special. 

Skip the metro and take Lyft/Uber. 

 

For Gettysburg I will always recommend the private tour if you can swing it. It used to be only a few dollars more than the bus tour for two people. I also recommend the guided bus tours over the ones with the headphones. You can buy the cd and save the $30. You can do self guided with no narration or anything but unless you're a super history nerd who knows the battlefield you'll miss out on a lot of fun extras. 

As a self-proclaimed Gettysburg expert (with a history degree lol) you can PM me if you have questions. Gettysburg is seriously one of my favorite places.

 

[melon]

20 hours ago, manda b said:

We just came back from a Disney cruise. The food was wonderful.

I have heard the food on cruises is always good.

There was a woman I worked with,very weight conscious,and she went on a cruise,and when she came  back complained about gaining weight.There was another woman,in that dept,and she said she always wanted to go on a cruise.The big boss heard this.He said:If Charlene goes on a cruise..they will need a boat behind the cruise ship,just to bring all of her food.She ate all the time,constantly,at work.The big boss said he had never seen a woman eat so much.She wasn't slim.She wasn't morbidly  obese.She carried her weight well,and she just enjoyed her food.

[candygirl200413]

Sorry! Should have specified, our hotel is in Lombard (which google maps just told me it's a surrounding suburb of chicago?). As of now we I believe we are renting a car when we get there. @potato @HandHoldingHeathen

 

[BlessaYourHeart]

7 hours ago, srosieb827 said:

It's definitely fake - if the due date was real she'd be about 5 weeks pregnant (known for probably about a week) and would definitely NOT know the babies gender for probably another 12 - 15 weeks. I don't get why people do stuff like this... it's so weird to me. 

Plus I doubt any Duggar would put a book by Jimmy Fallon on their list or the sheet amount of Disney stuff  

[apandaaries]

9 hours ago, SorenaJ said:

It is not recommended that newborns stay in their car seat for more than 30 minutes, so all of those travel systems are kinda baffling (and sad) to me. Don't do it. Also a baby doesn't seem very snug in a stroller. 

I'm in the US and my midwives warned me about not keeping my kid in a car seat.  One really disliked the portable ones, since babies wound up spending so much time in that particular position, which isn't great for them.  In the end, I got a more traditional carseat that didn't detach and just hoped she wouldn't wake up any time I had to move her when she was sleeping. I also had some kind of stroller that adjusted, so she could lie flat when little, and sit up when older.  It was a bulky thing, but it worked.  Bumbos weren't around when I had mine (or at least I don't remember them), but that was 13 years ago.  Interesting to read about the cultural differences for taking care of babies.

[keen23]

19 minutes ago, candygirl200413 said:

Sorry! Should have specified, our hotel is in Lombard (which google maps just told me it's a surrounding suburb of chicago?). As of now we I believe we are renting a car when we get there. @potato @HandHoldingHeathen

 

It really depends on how much you want to spend. We ate at Alinea last summer, and dinner for two, with wine, was roughly a mortgage payment- but that was a bucket list, once in a lifetime meal. We also did Girl & the Goat and Little Goat- both were excellent. The summer of 2015 we went to Topolobampo and Purple Pig.

[Coconut Flan]

I'm baffled by a pram that fits a two to three year old.  There must be some use for it that we don't have.  Grandson quit the stroller permanently before 18 months.  He would not ride lying flat unless he was asleep.  They did have the lie flat option and used it a few times when he was a newborn.  He never slept well in the stroller so they quit.  He had to SEEEEEEEE and try to touch things.  Granddaughter was a bit more of a stroller fan.  She lasted to perhaps 20 months on a limited basis.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

22 minutes ago, keen23 said:

It really depends on how much you want to spend. We ate at Alinea last summer, and dinner for two, with wine, was roughly a mortgage payment- but that was a bucket list, once in a lifetime meal. We also did Girl & the Goat and Little Goat- both were excellent. The summer of 2015 we went to Topolobampo and Purple Pig.

I looked at this restaurant online  and all I can think of is my  BFF's grandfather ranting about little food. "You spent HOW MUCH on that little food" What the hell is this shit? I want real food"  We had gone to a Taps place for his birthday, not sure why ANYONE thought it was a good idea,  I even said it was silly, but they all wanted to take him to a fancy dinner just once in his life. Anyway we wound up having to take him to Perkins afterward because he wanted REAL FOOD!  He was 91 so we amused him. LOL! 

If I wasn't such a cheapskate, I would LOVE to eat in a place like this, just once, because it looks amazing. 

[HereticHick]

19 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Taking grand wolf to D.C. in June. Any suggestions for food that won't break the bank? He wants to go to Gettysburg.  Can we get there without taking a  bus tour? 

https://www.washingtonian.com/2016/05/05/best-cheap-restaurants-in-washington-dc/

When in Penn Quarter/Chinatown (just off the Mall), you can't go wrong with Grand Trunk (Indian) or Chinatown Express (Chinese).

Be sure to go wave at Josh Duggar's old office at the Family Research Council in Penn Quarter!

[HarleyQuinn]

34 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I'm baffled by a pram that fits a two to three year old.  There must be some use for it that we don't have.  Grandson quit the stroller permanently before 18 months.  He would not ride lying flat unless he was asleep.  They did have the lie flat option and used it a few times when he was a newborn.  He never slept well in the stroller so they quit.  He had to SEEEEEEEE and try to touch things.  Granddaughter was a bit more of a stroller fan.  She lasted to perhaps 20 months on a limited basis.

Visit NYC, I've see kids that look school age in prams. It seems like an easier way to control your kids when you're walking long distances on busy streets with a bunch of people. 

I guess I kept mine in a stroller until they were close to 3 (and got heavy) for situations where we had to do a lot of walking.

[patsymae]

On April 27, 2017 at 10:34 AM, PreciousPantsofDoom said:

Philly? We are trying to plan a vacation there this summer.   In the spirit of always trying what is local, I think we need to try some Philly cheese steak. I've never had one.  From what I've seen, they look like something that could be super horrifically gross if you go to a bad place, or super terrifically good if you know where to go. Anybody know where we can find the good ones? 

Pat's King of Steakds. John's Roast pork. Geno's. Tony lukesTony Luke's

[Lurker]

We had a cheap stroller/carriage that was able to go flat for our kids for the first few months.   Then we upgraded to a foldable McLaren and used it for years, the kids were definitely well over 3 when they didn't want to ride around.  We replaced the wheels on them more than once and they were tuned up regularly in a local kids store.

In most parts of NYC,  cars are not practical.  A stroller allows mobility for parents plus it is useful as a small scale shopping cart.  We walked eveywhere with our kids,  grocery shopping, pediatrician, library, museum etc.  

If we used our car on the weekends, we had a stationary car seat, kids were lifted in or out, sleeping or not. 

[Coconut Flan]

In NY you can get three years old to ride lying flat?  Wow.

I can see the uses of a stroller in NY for sure.  I used mine for holding purchases long after the kids were tired of sitting in it.  I can't see kids willingly riding in a pram/carriage beyond six months if they even make it that long.

Grandson did Legoland at 18 months no stroller without a hint of slowing down.  We were there from opening to closing and he was still running.  We did take five adults for him and his two month old sister.  We had two adults on him at all times.  In NY or somewhere like that we would have used a leash.  He was taught to hold onto a bar on the stroller if we insisted in heavy crowds.

[Jana814]

My mother has a cousin who raised her kids in NYC till they were 7 and 9. She kept them in a stroller till they were 4 mostly because they both were nightmares to control. I can write pages on how horrible they were and unfortually still are. 

[Lurker]

Sorry I wasnt clear, we had a different stroller for the first few months so they could ride flat then we switched to one where they would sit up when they were old enough to sit and hold their head straight.

[HarleyQuinn]

11 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

In NY you can get three years old to ride lying flat?  Wow.

I can see the uses of a stroller in NY for sure.  I used mine for holding purchases long after the kids were tired of sitting in it.  I can't see kids willingly riding in a pram/carriage beyond six months if they even make it that long.

Grandson did Legoland at 18 months no stroller without a hint of slowing down.  We were there from opening to closing and he was still running.  We did take five adults for him and his two month old sister.  We had two adults on him at all times.  In NY or somewhere like that we would have used a leash.  He was taught to hold onto a bar on the stroller if we insisted in heavy crowds.

I must have misunderstood you, I wasn't talking about strollers where kids lie flat. Just normal strollers.

The one I used came with the car seat insert, but I think I stopped using that around 4 months when they mostly sat up with help and showed more curiosity of wanting to stare at things that weren't lights. 

 

As for leashes, I made fun of them way too much before I was a parent so I couldn't quite eat my words and use one when I became one.  

[Coconut Flan]

35 minutes ago, HarleyQuinn said:

Visit NYC, I've see kids that look school age in prams. It seems like an easier way to control your kids when you're walking long distances on busy streets with a bunch of people. 

I think there was miscommunication.  A pram is not a US stroller.  It's what we used to call a baby carriage.

This is a pram.

 

 

[MayMay1123]

25 minutes ago, patsymae said:

Pat's King of Steakds. John's Roast pork. Geno's. Tony lukesTony Luke's

my opinion only...pat's and geno's are for when you're very very drunk and there's no other places open john's and tony's luke's (only the original, not any of the franchises) are okay. we just go with neighborhood places...but for  a special time, joe's (formerly chink's) is my old fav.

[mydoggoskeeper]

21 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

Taking grand wolf to D.C. in June. Any suggestions for food that won't break the bank? He wants to go to Gettysburg.  Can we get there without taking a  bus tour? 

What is your definition of breaking the bank?  Any favorite cuisine?  

IMHO Founding Farmers has gone really down hill in the last few years.  It was great when it opened but since they opened up several other locations its become a tourist mecca and the food/service quality has slid.  One of the top DC food critics recently gave them an updated scathing review.

If super cheap is what you are after, my favorite budget eats are Sundevich for great sammys, named after cities around the world. (http://sundevich.com/ ), Seoul Spice on H street for a rice bowl, and of course, the old classic for that late night craving --  Amsterdam Falafel. 

When my parents are in town, I tend to take them to places like Red Hen or Mintwood for updated but accessible American fare.  

I've lived in DC (the district, not the burbs) for the past decade and the food scene has improved considerably!

[PennySycamore]

@keen23,  I am totally jealous of you for eating at Topolobampo and Girl and the Goat! Stephanie Izard is one of my favorite all-time Top Chef contestants and I've been a Rick Bayless fan for years.

[Four is Enough]

I absolutely LOVED having my kids in a stroller. We had the kind where the young child could lie down, and then, after he could sit up, it was more of a seat. We also had a double stroller and a sit and stand stroller. (Took the Sit and Stand to Disney. Hauled three kids and a cooler around on it.) My kids LOVED riding, and I swear if they made an adult stroller, the oldest two would STILL have me push them! 

The older two were only 2.5 years apart in age, and we travelled a lot. They were used to riding through museums, craft fairs, etc. We kept snacks and beverages and even a stroller cover. I remember one particularly frigid trip to Colonial Williamsburg where the bundled up adults were FREEZING walking around, and in the double stroller were my two, sitting serenely under the clear plastic cover, out of the wind, snacking through our lunch, while in the single stroller, their cousin, a bit older, was doing the same drinking hot chocolate. 

I loved the stroller because it made travelling so much easier. I didn't need to carry or chase or constantly hunt for a kid at that phase.