S I C K

So Monday night Grace wakes up around 10 and vomits out about 2 cups of you-know-what. And let me tell you, that stuff wanted out! Then at around 2a.m. she was at it again. Then at 5:30, I woke up with it. And have been sick since. Praise God, I think Grace is done and it doesn't look like Emily is going to get it but man, right now posting this blog is the most energy I'v had in almost 48 hours. Please pray for our family.

Chicago

Well, for those of you waiting on the edge of your seat wondering "did she do it" "did she go"...sorry to disappoint but...she didn't. I simply am not at a place in my life where going to the top of the John Hancock building is feasible. We did however eat at the Cheesecake Factory at the very base of the building and to be honest with you, I could barely concentrate on my company, all I could think about was the fact that there was 95 stories of steel and cement sitting on top of us. It is painful to be me.

The train ride up was dreadful. Sorry to those of you who think the South Shore is the best way to travel but...hated it. Once we got to Chicago we hopped in a cab to our hotel, which was nice. The Millennium Knickerbocker. It was a 4 star on Hotwire. I felt rich.

Then we ventured out, down Michigan Ave. We stumbled upon one huge Disney Store. Emily had been wanting a plush of Bolt for months now and when we walked in it was on sale! Half price! So, she decided to spend some of her $$ on that. It's about the size of her sister. And Gracie got a couple of cute little puppies.

We then got lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Such a pretty building but...well, ya know...

Let's see, then we headed to the Hershey's store and got a HUGE dark chocolate bar, got on a horse drawn carriage and rode around nibbling on it and laughing about just about everything. Note to self: next time you get into a horse drawn carriage, make sure the top is down so you can SEE!

Okay, so then it was off to Millennium Park to check out the big jellybean. Loved It.

Then we planned on eating at the Rain Forest Cafe but when we walked in a HUGE (albeit plastic) snake dropped out of the ceiling too close to Emily and totally freaked her out so we left and went next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. And here is where knowing a bit about Chicago would have paid off lovely. Had we known a better place to go we certainly would have. The Hard Rock was...bad.

The next morning we had a lovely breakfast at Tempo and then sat and waited for 10 am so we could finally go to the store that brought us to Chicago in the first place. American Girl.

Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! What a place! Two stories of pink and red beauty! Everything about this place was over the top. Check out the bathrooms! That is heaven for me. So clean, so pretty.

The girls each got a doll and a couple of outfits. Then we got on the train and headed home. The ride home was so much quicker than the ride up. Grace slept the whole way and Emily brushed doll hair.

Sadly, we were barley a 1/2 mile from the airport when Grace began throwing up. She continued to do so into the night and is now, 2 days later feeling much better.

Thursday Night

Just wanted to share what a nice night our little family had tonight. When Mark got home from work tonight we all went downtown to "Big South Bend" as Emily calls it. We went to the big library so I could grab a book my friend Carrie said I would love. Now, Carrie is a children's librarian and a reading fanatic. I, am not. So whenever I need some good books I go straight to Carrie, and she has never let me down. This however is the first adult book she's told me I must read. Yikes! And, it's fiction. But she called it historical fiction and insisted I give it a try, so I will.

After the library we went to the South Bend Chocolate Company for ice cream by the fire. I had apple pie and Merkle had a muffin. But the girls had ice cream. Then we strolled over the astoturf of the College Football HOF and over to the Marriott to ride the elevators. I whispered to Mark that I wanted to try and prep for this weekends trip to Chicago where I will force myself to ride to the top of the John Hancock building. Which makes me want to throw up. Well, after shooting up 9 stories and swearing that I could feel the building sway, I remained calm and did it all over again. I hated it. Hated. It. What am I going to do on Monday when I'm faced with 95 stories!!! Seriously, you wouldn't believe the thoughts I've had going through my crazy, need to be medicated, head. Maybe someday I'll entertain you with those.

OK, then we came home, read 3 more chapters of "Because of Winn Dixie" and off to bed for the shorties.

Alice
Afterthought: does anyone else LOVE the new Geico song as much as I do? I always feel like, somebody's watching me...

Roller Madness

So Sunday night we decided to take the girls rollerskating. Now, we've been going once a month to a homeschool skate. It's during the day so there's usually only about 40 kids there. Because of the thin crowd the girls have both become very good on skates.

So Sunday night was "family night" at USA. I thought, ah it's Sunday night, there won't be many people there. W R O N G !! It's funny because when we go with the homeschoolers I just let the girls hop right in and I can sit and read a book or talk with a friend. So Sunday when we got there the girls hopped right on and...vanished. I'm telling you there were at least 200 kids there.

Now, we also let each of the girls bring a friend. Well, neither of them had ever been skating before so Mark and I each had one and were going around with them (basically dangling from our arms). There were long stretches of time when I could not see my kids at all. Turns out that wasn't the scary part. When I did see them I thought I was going to cry. Not so much Emily, she stayed on the safer, outer edge of the crowd closer to the wall. But Grace! Oh no, her little self, which BTW was about a third of the size of everyone else, was right in the thick of it. And she was flying! And totally oblivious to the huge people blazing around her at 30 MPH. Of course they probably didn't seem to be going so fast to her because she was going at least 28 MPH. All I could picture was her falling and a huge pileup of bodies and skates on top of my precious child. Not so. In fact she did fall once and was back up in the blink of an eye.

How can we (Americans) get rollerskating to be considered an Olympic event? Because I've got a gold medalist living under my roof, and holding her blankie...

Tired Mama

So this blog thing is more work than I thought. I just can't seem to think of anything to write about, on a daily basis, that may be interesting enough to read. Okay, and also I love Wife Swap too much. There it is...that's the real problem here. Once the girls are in bed and I actually have time to sit and write, I'm already plopped down, mainly from pure exhaustion, in front of the TV to veg until bedtime. And this is NEVER how I plan it. In fact today I was feeling soooo good that around 4 I started fantasizing about what to do with that oh so precious time when it's sooooo quiet in the house. and peaceful. and quiet. I had visions of me scrapbboking the night away, or one of my other favorites...cleaning the house. I'm serious. But alas, they're in bed and all I want to do is zone out! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME????

Thank goodness I take a lot of pictures, I'll let them tell the story of our lives...

I found the greatest book for Bible stories and crafts. This really is one of the best craft books for kids I've ever seen. These are some pictures of the girls making their own hard cover book, complete with hand-sewn pages and contact paper!

Heidi

Well, there's a new puppy to love! And hallelujah, he's not ours! My mom and dad brought home this sweet little girl last week and now my sweet little girls can't get enough. In fact Emily cried her eyes out when we had to leave her on the first day. She said she was afraid that the next time she saw her she would be too big to hold. Sweet girl.

Bad Dog

It's 3 degrees outside and I just took my dog for a mile long walk. Seriously, I wonder if any passers-by called PETA about me. Oh, maybe they'll come take him away!! Did I mention that that same dog ate Mathew 1-6 from my favorite bible today? If you need the # of the local PETA group, please google it. Now.

Blah Day

So, today was just that. Blah. We had an awesome small group gathering last night. Seriously, these people...these friends, I don't know what I'd do without them. This is the group I feel most myself in. Most comfortable with. Happiest with. We meet every Sunday night. We've been together for more than 2 years now and they feel to me like family. So anyway, we didn't get home until around 10. This morning the girls were up at their usual 6:30... A.M. people! I don't understand. Sleep in for the love of all things.

Anywho, school starts at 9. By 11:30 we needed to head out to the grocery store because literally the only thing in the fridge were 2 decaying green peppers. And I was told more snow was coming so I figured I better head out. Well, by the time we returned home the girls were starving. I fed them...lunchables (Mommy was tired too)...and sat down myself with some of my Dads AWESOME split pea soup. After lunch the plan was to finish up our school work. We still had spelling, history (the Greeks get an alphabet), and penmanship to go. Yikes! Emily could barely keep her eyes open. So, I called it a day. I told her she could go play. I didn't want her to take a nap because it's so hard to put them to bed when they've had naps. And I NEED a 7pm bedtime.

Well, I'm sure you can picture the rest in your head already. Cranksters!!! Running amok in my home. All...day. Tears every 15 minutes. Complaining and bickering every 10. So, by the time Merkle got home at 6 I collapsed in a heap on the couch and laid there. Dear, sweet, loving Merkle took over. I love that man. And not because he saves me from the dragons who try to slay me. I know Mom and Dad "what? Those angels?" Yes! Them!

But it's all over now. And tomorrow is a new day. And I know it will be a better day. My dragon slayer will be home all day.