little blog on the prairie

• Hopefully, the downtown Champaign clock will return from its own hiatus for repairs soon. It’s been missed.
• Check out the discussion going on over at Illinipundit concerning former Champaign mayor Dan McCollum’s “crusade” to merge Champaign, Urbana and Savoy. Even if you don’t care about the politics, it’s awfully entertaining.
• Who remembers when acting White House press secretary Dana Perino was on WCIA Channel 3? That’s a little before my time.
• Pammiecakes is back after a long hiatus. Good for her.
• Check out the first Allerton Everything Spring Expo this weekend.
• Have you bought your Champaign Park District pool pass yet? They are 15 percent off until April 3.

Peanut’s first birthday not only marked a significant moment in her life, but also in mine. I achieved my goal of exclusively breastfeeding my daughter for a year. I became a statistic, joining the 16 percent of nursing mothers who make it to the magic one-year milestone.

I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of my husband and my family, as well as my accepting and relaxed workplace environment. There was one other contributing factor — the Breastfeeding Clinic at Carle Foundation Hospital. This is a free, drop-in resource available to anyone in the community; you don’t have to be a Carle patient.

The lacation consultants who work there are wonderful at their jobs. They have a way of making new moms and dads comfortable in what can be a very nerve-wracking and incredibly intimate and personal situation. They provide an objective sounding board and an invaluable outsider opinion. Most of all, they helped me keep my sanity over those first several weeks when giving up was all I could think about.(Oh, and they give out free parking passes. Can’t beat that deal!)

As a bonus, the Clinic also is the one place I have found in Champaign-Urbana that sells decent nursing bras; it also sells other breastfeeding supplies.

So thanks CBC, I couldn’t have done it without you.

Food for 35 from Strawberry Fields: $174

Presents from Art Mart and Toys R US: $100

Snacks from Trader Joe’s (Chicago, people): $10

Paper goods and Balloons from Factory Card Outlet: $45

Flowers from Schnuck’s: $12

Rented tables and chairs from Herriott’s: $34

Goodies for goody bags from Target: $20

Watching your 1-year-old smash cake into her mouth: Priceless

Today is a big day in the lbotp household. It’s Peanut’s first birthday.

Yesterday we had the big first birthday she-bang. Friends and relatives from all over the Midwest flocked to our cul-de-sac. We had great weather and even greater fun.

And I only shed one little tear when we sang happy birthday to our beautiful, sweet, amazingly outgoing, happy, curious little munchkin.

To think, a year ago at this very moment I was in agony. How quickly it turned to ecstasy — the definition of ecstasy.

I feel like I won the lottery.

Well, sort of. Because I am such a safe driver, the Secretary of State gave me the option of renewing my driver’s license without ever having to walk into the local DMV office. And we know that can be a dangerous proposition. Last year, someone hit the gas pedal instead of the brake and drove right through the wall.

Anyway, all I had to do was send in a $10 check to the state and in return they gave me a sticker that validates my license for another four years. The only drawback is that I don’t get a new picture, but hey, I kind of like it.

• Do you want to be C-U’s first legitimate reality TV star? Don’t miss the March 31st casting call for America’s Next Top Model at Marketplace Mall. Start your primping now.
• Get your picture taken with a serious piece of hardware as the St. Louis Cardinals (BOO!!!) World Series Trophy makes an appearance at the U.S. Cellular store on Marketview Drive on Wednesday. Chaperoning that thing must be a pretty good gig.
• The Savoy16 is offering FREE spring matinees, Saturdays and Sundays at 10 and 11 a.m. (call the theater to make sure). These features are all family-oriented. Personally, I am marking Charlotte’s Web (April 28-29) down on my calendar.
• What does it say about Decatur that the recent opening of an Olive Garden restaurant was reason for coverage on the evening newscast … then again, what does the choice of stories say about the evening newcast?

It’s been try-the-new-chain-restaurants week here in the lbotp family. Here are some thoughts from a first visit to McAlister’s Deli and a taste of Rosati’s pizza:

We ordered a deep dish pizza from Rosati’s, the Chicago pizza-and-more chain from Chicago. Oddly enough, even though I grew up in the vicinity of the Windy City, I had never tasted a Rosati’s pie. Rosati’s recently opened up for business on the Urbana side of campus, in the complex that also hosts several other restaurants including a branch of Basil Thai and Blues Barbeque. So when Mr. lbotp suggested that we try it out, I was game. Mr. lbotp really likes it, comparing it favorably with the granddaddy of all C-U pizza joints — Papa Del’s himself. Me, I wasn’t so sure — my pizza palate is a more finicky than his. I found it to be a little on the bland side, with a twist of greasy. My sensitive stomach was less than thrilled.

On another occasion, the three of us ventured out together to grab a bite at the new McAlister’s Deli located in the corridor between North Prospect and Marketplace Mall. This Southern import (originating in Misissippi) operates on the fast-casual concept, with a twist — you order at the counter and someone brings you your food.

The menu: a little bit overwhelming at first — they have salads, loaded potatoes, soups, and a million sandwiches — too many choices and too small lettering. I guess they were out of paper menus so we were left to strain our necks.

Decor: Somewhat Applebee’s-esque, as they try to mix local color within their typical motif. It looked as if they raided the Urbana Park District’s back closet.

Customer service: Impressive. Definitely a point of emphasis. They noticed that we had a little one while ordering and the cashier had another employee deliver a highchair to our table.

Food: Average. My chicken salad was nothing to really sing about, although the portion was certainly big enough. Mr. lbotp liked his turkey sandwich. I think I want to try one of the gigantic potatoes on my next McAlister’s visit.

Etc.: There is a reasonably priced children’s menu; there were a zillion kids in there already.

Mostly I complain in this space about things I find on my travels but can’t get in good ol’ C-U. Today I have a success story for you.

On a recent vacation my mom and I decided to try something called GuS: Grown-Up Soda. It is one of these fancy, over-priced carbonated beverages that are usually way too sweet. Only, GuS was just as promised — not too sweet.

Weeks went by and I forgot about my pal Gus. Then, the other day I was at the Strawberry Fields cafe and my eyes wandered into the beverage case. And there it was, GUS! They didn’t have the flavor I wanted, but the one I tried was worth the overinflated price. It was like reuniting with an old friend, one I thought I would never see again.

So, there are some happy endings in C-U afterall.

In my first treatise on how babysitter-challenged I am, I happened to mention a website by the name of Sittercity.com. This is sort of a match.com for parents and babysitters, but only the parents have to pay. It’s free for any potential babysitters to advertise their services.

Anyway, a nice guy named Jason who works for sittercity.com found lbotp and promptly e-mailed me (lbotp16(at)gmail(dot)com) to offer a FREE year of sittercity.com. That’s right, a FREE year. The power of the blog. Not only that, but the free code will work up to 10 times. That means that I can pass this along to you, my fair readers. Type in PRAIRIE in the box for a promotion code.

I posted an ad and received three responses; two from U of I students and one from a U of I employee. We’ll see.

So there was really cool Kermit t-shirt at Target that I wanted to buy, only they were out of my size. Too bad. I really could use it now that Champaign-Urbana has been named one of the top 10 “Best Green Places” by Country Home magazine.

In case you’re wondering how this is possible, CH looked at 24 “data metrics in five major categories — including air and watershed quality, mass transit usage, power usage, farmers markets, organic producers, and number of green-certified buildings — to determine which metro areas are the best places to live a green life.”

It’s no surprise that most of the top 10 are college towns, including Madison, Wis., Ithaca, N.Y., Charlottesville, Va., and Boulder, Colo.

I could make some snide and snarky comments now about C-U’s not-so-urban sprawl, but I won’t.