What is French for Ramp City?

Noah is feeling much better. Aside from some chest congestion and a bit of a hacking cough, he seems the picture of health. His appetite and energy have come back in full effect, so once again I’m just trying to keep up with him.

Saturday Mark, Noah and myself went out to dinner with Patrice, Sean, and Trent as well as our friends Jen and Mark. At my suggestion we went to More Than Just Ice Cream. Aside from the ice cream they have a tasty menu of sandwiches, salads and sides – which can be followed up with bowls full of fudge… I mean ice cream. When I was pregnant Mark and I stopped at MTJIC after an OBGYN checkup. As we were eating we stared at a family nearby and talked about how we could some day bring our son there to eat. To me it sometimes seems difficult to find restaurants in the city that are not family phobic – and this is one of the few that are on our list. The eating, chatting and baby parade made it a lovely afternoon. The blustery wind and icy temperature however made it a bitch of a day to walk around though. Sheesh. I thought the boy was going to have frostbite because I forgot to put mittens on him. After dinner we watched the lovely Ms. Bella for a few hours while Patrice and Sean went to see a movie. It was lovely to hold a warm sleeping little Bella while Mark and I watched “The Sea Inside.”

On Sunday after we got our household chores out of the way my Mom came to babysit Noah so that we could have a belated Valentines meal at La Boheme. I wasn’t as overwhelming in love with the restaurant as I had been the last time we ate there (not sure if the chef changed), but the cooking was still impressive. Very French and very nuevo (tiny flavorful portions artfully laid out on large square plates). And though I consider myself an adventurous eater in that I enjoy trying different flavor combinations and ethnic cooking styles, when it comes to eating certain animals or animal parts I often give a firm NO. And that happens a lot with French food. I selected my appetizer and entrée by ruling out things I wouldn’t eat – no snails, mussels, or octopus for me and certainly no foie gras or calves brains. And I gave Mark my amuse-bouche because it was pickled pig tongue. So though I did ultimately enjoy my meal of an endive, apple, bleu cheese salad and flaky white Dorade fish with licorice sauce, pumpkin puree and spice cake – I also would have felt better about my experience if I had had more options. But I guess it’s my fault for not having a more French palette. And while we were out Frenching it up, Noah didn't even give a hoot that we had gone. He's quite taken with his Grandma.

Today Noah and I met the Milliceccobachs at the Please Touch Museum. The place was SLAMMIN! Not only was it just a busy holiday Monday, it was also Junior Jazz Fest and a band was playing in the atrium. The place felt like absolute madness at first (Dude!Toddlerpalooza), but either it got a bit tamer as time progressed or I got use to it. Noah was a lot more at home on his second visit and really seemed to enjoy himself this time. Though once again he was interested in the stairs and ramps more than anything else. He’d run up the ramp to get in the little play bus, power through the bus paying it absolutely no mind and then go down the steps and back around to start over. Bella too fell in love with one of the ramps. Sean and I decided we should either open an Escher-like museum of nothing but stairs or a place simply called Ramp City. Noah wore himself out so much that he fell asleep on the ten minute ride home. And with no crying. One second looking out the window, next second sound asleep. That is the third time that has ever occurred. Really remarkable.