then the epic trek across America....

 Pulling into Chicago. and stopping at the 30th gas station for diarrhea drainage (this happens when you give the kids food on the side of the road and you can't eat wheat, milk or corn) Given this fact I put a diaper on Tilda in case we didn't make it to a gas station, but even while screaming for an hour cause she had to go so bad it hurt she did let anything out for 3 days straight in the car. After this amazing test of indurance she won the diaper battle and has not worn any since arriving in Sweden.

Seeing friends in each city was a blessing this angel gave us her apartment for 2 nights so we could visit her and chicago and not spend a fortune with our huge crew.
But I dare say that traveling to big cities with small children is no way to see a big city, unless you really like to only find out about cheap, quick food around the corner (to avoid sugar crash and meltdowns) and where is the nearest toilet, and possibly how to distract from the intense energy of the city by finding a park that is overly populated to the point of having to follow your kid around cause you otherwise can't see or hear them. Only to finish that off with hours of riding subway trains and carrying stroller up and down several flights while encouraging the 5 year old that we are almost there for the millionth time.
Holy shit the only way to live in the city is with nannies and money. Or maybe other kids? Not so sensitive ones?
However I do have to say that in Chicago we did focus on the kids entirely and swam in the lake, went to the zoo and found a couple parks. I saw nothing of the city until we drove passed it on the way out (beautiful, hope I get to be there as an adult one day) and I walked by the L train. And it was much less painful than NYC.