Chicago Trip 2014–Day 3

 

Our last morning in Chicago came way too early – Tate had slept terribly the night before.  Poor baby, I think maybe my milk was soured because I freaked out so much on the Ferris Wheel and that upset his tummy.  We went and grabbed our breakfast with all the other hotel guests, then went back to our room to pack up and get headed home.  Tate was pretty tired so we laid him down for a nap and hung out in the room for awhile trying to figure out what we were going to do that wouldn’t require us to have a stroller for Tate since ours had a flat tire.  We decided to go hit up Charming Charlie’s in the mall so I could get some perfume of theirs that I love, then go to IKEA to see what that mess is all about.

We left the hotel about 9:30, 30 minutes before the mall and IKEA opened.  What to do, what to do?  Well, how about drive around the mall a couple of times, then drive over to IKEA and drive around that building “just to see how big it is”.  We passed a cop sitting in the same place FIVE TIMES! Lol, that guy had to think we were up to something! 

Finally the mall opened so we all traipsed in to CC and I ended up finding more than just my perfume – go figure!  I came out of there with a new pair of sunglasses (the rims are a 50’s shade of pink, love them!) and a set of lace headbands, which I totally love.  Oh, and the perfume!

We then loaded back up and headed across the way to IKEA.  We had never been to one before so we weren’t sure what to expect.  Eh, it was ok but not rushing back to one anytime soon.  I was starting to think we were never going to get out of there – we kept following the gray path with the arrows and it just kept going and going and going.  You can only make so many left hand turns before you get back to the same place you started, right?  Not in IKEA. That place is freaky!  We never did find the escalator we came up on – ended up taking an elevator back down to the first floor.  Bizarre.  It didn’t help that Baby Boy was freaking out because he was hungry, tired and homesick and I just wanted to get him outside so I could feed him. 

We left IKEA and headed over to the Pancheros we had found the night before for lunch.  Amazing enough, it tasted the same as in Iowa, ha ha!  Andy was in heaven.  We got our bellies full then headed out of Chicago, westbound and down, headed for home.

We decided since we were going to go right by it we’d stop in LeClaire and see Antique Archeology, the store that the American Picker’s guys own.  It was pretty cool to see the store front that we’ve seen so many times on the show, and they had one of their AA vans out front so that was neat too.  But inside? Well, I was disappointed.  It was very commercialized. They had AA magnets, AA t-shirts, AA *postcards*!!!  Seriously!  It was fun, however, to see a few items they had picked that we’d watched them pick on their show. 

After Antique Archeology we finally went home.  It was so great to get back, I had missed my house!  And then the massive amounts of laundry called my name.  Chicago was a nice little trip, and even though I missed home we’ll definitely go back to see some of things we missed. 

Chicago Trip 2014–Day 2

 

Monday we woke up bright and early, ate our complimentary breakfast at the hotel and headed out for Shedd Aquarium.  This was the thing I was most excited to see while in Chicago.  It took us about an hour to get down there, the morning traffic was horrible!  We never came to a complete stand still but it was sure close a few times!  Who would want to drive in the junk every day? Not this girl!  I was starting to miss our ‘no traffic, no traffic lights’ town.

We got parked and made our way into Shedd’s.  We had some pre-purchased tickets that we were wanting to upgrade.  We went in the side entrance because of having the stroller – no lines there! The main entrance was already backing up with a line.  We went in and the poor gal at the counter couldn’t figure out how to upgrade our tickets on her computer.  She ended up giving us entrance to the string ray exhibit for free because of our wait – awesome!

We started off walking around looking at the wall aquariums.  It kind of reminded me of the DNR exhibit of river fish at the State Fair.  After a while we decided to make our way down to the Abbott Oceanarium where we were going to watch an aquatics show.  It was pretty awesome, there was a wall of huge windows that overlooked Lake Michigan.  It was beautiful to look at while waiting for the show to start. All of a sudden the windows were covered with curtains and the show started. 

For my entire life I have wanted to see an aquatics show with dolphins and whales at Sea World.  This show totally fit the bill.  I actually teared up from happiness of seeing this!  There were dolphins doing tricks, then beluga whales came out and did tricks. There was sea lion that came out of the water and walked down the walkway in front of the audience!  It was nuts!  This was BY FAR my most favorite part of our entire trip.  So so cool!

We walked around exploring some more, grabbed a bite to eat, then went outside to see the sting rays.  It was pretty neat, they had a bib pool set up outside with about 15 sting rays in it and we could put our hands in the water and feel/pet the rays as they swam by.  So amazing!  They were very slimy and the pool area smelled very fishy.  They had their stingers taken off so no worries about being Steve Irwined during the deal.  Andy and the boys really liked this part. 

We stuck around a short time after this then headed out – we were there for about 3 hours. 

Next we went farther up the shore to Navy Pier.  It was so dang windy, like 30 mph winds with 40 mph gusts, at least.  It was about 70 degrees but felt closer to 60 because of that wind off the lake.  We were not dressed appropriately so froze the whole time, which meant we didn’t get to enjoy ourselves much and didn’t stay long.  We did, however, go up in the giant Ferris Wheel that is famous at Navy Pier.  I had a slight panic attack while riding it.  I have become quite the weenie as I’ve gotten older and do not like heights, do not like being on a ride stuck in a slow moving car while the wind pushes it back and forth, do not like taking my squirmy baby up on that high thing with the constant fear he’ll slip out of my arms and fall to his poor little death.  Yea, I’m a bit overdramatic and I don’t apologize for it!  I totally freaked out.  Andy was so worried about me, said I looked pretty pale and kept telling me to breath. Poor Brennan was sitting next to Andy across from me and was watching the drama unfold – he looked a little worried about me.  I survived and enjoyed the second half of the ride as we were coming back down.  The view was amazing and I didn’t get to enjoy it much because of my freak out.  Luckily Andy was able to snap a few pictures for me. 

I look pretty cool and calm in that picture, don’t I? What you can’t see is my white-knuckling the bars across the windows, ha ha!

After the freak out ride we went inside to a few stores.  My 4 boys all got new Chicago Bears t-shirts and the little guys spent their money from Grandma and bought some souvenirs.  We left the store and headed back to the car.  It was super hard to push the stroller, I kept thinking it was from the wind and the packages we had bought and put in the basket below Tate.  Just as we got back to the car I realized it was from none of this – I had a completely flat tire on the stroller!  While in the sports store I ran over a tack that holds on those “don’t steal anything” censors. Great!  That put a stop to all walking fun we would/could have in town and pretty much shut down the rest of our vacation.  We loaded up, headed out into the rush hour traffic and went back to the hotel. 

Instead of finding something new and different and “Chicago” for supper we went to Outback Steakhouse.  It was good and we got our bellies full.  As we were leaving the parking lot we look over and spot a nice, new Panchero’s restaurant.  This is Andy’s MOST favorite place to eat, he was totally crushed we didn’t see it sooner and eat that for supper. LOL!

We went back to the hotel and let the boys swim for an hour before baths and bed.  Day 2 was another day full of memories.  I’ve never questioned living in rural Iowa, EVER, but driving in that terrible traffic and being down town in that big ol’ city made me miss my quiet home and know I will never ever live in a big city, ever.  I was getting pretty homesick by the end of this day.

Chicago Trip 2014–Day 1

 

Sunday we left home to visit Chicago for a couple of days.  We left home about 9:30 and arrived at our first stop in Chicago – Lego Land – about 2:30. 

The ride over went fairly smooth, considering we were travelling with a 5 month old.  We only had to stop once, which worked out perfectly because it was lunch time.  The boys each had a DVD player on their laps so they watched movies the whole way over.  It kept them quiet and entertained, even if it was a parenting fail.

A Lego Land tip – sign up for the free Lego Magazine and cut out the coupon towards the back of every issue where a kid gets in free with a paid adult admission.  Saved us almost $40 by having one for each of the boys. 

Another Lego Land tip – go later in the day, after 2:00, because there usually aren’t any lines to get in and even though there are still quite a few kids running around in there it’s much quieter than first thing in the morning. 

When we walked in they had the city of Chicago built out of Legos on display, along with President Obama.  As we walked through there were rooms with other sets built out of Legos in different themes.  The Jungle Room had Indiana Jones along with a bunch of jungle animals, such as tigers and alligators. Then there was the Star Wars Room – “Luke, I am your faaather.”

After that the activities started.  The boys and Andy rode a short ride where you shot at ‘bad guys’.  (Promoting violence? Sure, why not.)  We watched a 4-D mini movie on ‘The Legend of Chima’, a Lego cartoon.  Halfway through, the ‘gang’ went through a waterfall and we all got misted, that was kind of neat.

The big boys and Andy went into a room that was a fake tour of a Lego Factory, they each got little Legos with ‘Lego Land’ printed on the side as souvenirs. 

There was, what I call, the restaurant play set that they ran around in and on for a bit – helped burned off some pent up energy from the car ride. 

The boys had fun but Andy and I both agreed it wasn’t as great as we were expecting and we wouldn’t be planning a trip specifically to see one anytime soon. Andy read after we left that it was rated one of the worst Lego Lands, so maybe the others are quite a bit better (and bigger), with more activities for the kids. 

After Lego Land we checked into our hotel, unloaded the car, then headed out for some Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza.  Andy had been to a Lou Malnati’s Pizza in downtown Chicago before and found there was another one in Schaumberg, where we were staying.  It was super easy to find and we got there about 5:00. The place was PACKED.  I dropped Andy at the door so he could get our name on the list.  He called me to tell it was going to be 30 minutes.  I parked and was getting the kids out of the car when he called again and said he’d just been seated.  Awesome!  He ordered some Bruschetta, our favorite appetizer, before I got in there.  5 minutes later it arrived and we devoured it.  20 minutes after that out came our pizza.  It was amazing!  Bren and I got beef on our half.  It wasn’t the typical ‘beef’ you’d expect on a pizza. It was deli shaved beef!  Wow was that amazing!

After supper we went back to the hotel to go swimming in the pool.  That was the boys’ favorite part of the whole day – yep, the hotel pool beat out Lego Land!  We swam until about 8:00 then went back to the room to shower off and get ready for bed.

Day 1 in Chicago was great, a lot of memories were made.

 

Missing Out

 

Do you ever think about the things you have missed out on in your life?  For instance, for me one major thing I missed out on was college.  I went to cosmetology school.  It’s like a job in a salon before you even have the license.  No school Monday’s (most salons are closed Monday’s in these parts), a long day on Tuesday and Thursday, regular 8-5 day on Wednesday and Friday, then back at it Saturday morning until 2.  There’s no dorm life and the girls you ‘work’ with those 5 days a week get very catty and you don’t want to see them outside of school if you don’t have to.  I missed out on the whole ‘college experience’.  No dorm life, where you meet some of your very best friends that you’ll have the rest of your life.  No dorm parties.  No skipping class because you just don’t have it in you to go that day.  All that adventure of college life I will never get, ever.  I regret my decision to not go to a 4 year college every day of my life. 

There’s no going back, that I know, but it doesn’t make me think about it or miss it any less.  And you can be sure I will encourage my boys very heavily that they attend a 4 year school and don’t make the mistake that I did.

Then there’s the 1 thing I’m missing out on that there is nothing I can do about, regardless of any decisions I have made.  That 1 thing is having a daughter, a baby girl I can call my own, who I can dress up in pretty dresses and put bows in her hair whenever I feel like it.

Having a daughter is one thing I’ve always dreamed about.  I’ve dreamed of going shopping with her.  Of taking her for her first manicure and pedicure.  Helping her find her prom dress and wedding gown.  Sharing my love for Anne Of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder with her.  Painting her nails.  Braiding her hair.  Teaching her how to cook and bake and can vegetables, how to pot pretty flowers and grow vegetables her in garden for her family.  Watching girly movies with her – first Beauty and The Beast, then Sixteen Candles, then The Bridges of Madison County.

My dreams of my daughter and me together are endless.  I have had to grieve for my daughter, the one I never had and never will have, because she is so real to me.  Some days my heart breaks when I see other moms with their daughters, doing what I only dream, can only dream, of doing with mine.  Even though I feel excitement for other’s who are pregnant with their daughters it is always followed quickly by that sharp pang of grief.

In a million bajillion gazillion years I would NEVER trade in one of my boys for a daughter, NEVER.  But that doesn’t mean I don’t still ache for her and dream of her. 

What have you missed out on in your life?

---

A heads up – I am going to be cohosting a Fall Swag Swap!  I love these swaps, it’s such a great way to meet new bloggers and exchange fun gifts.  More details will be coming in August so keep an eye out for those!

All Checked Out

 

Yesterday the boys and I had our semi-annual dental appointments.  Tater went with us, of course, and was overall a good little boy.  About mid-way through my cleaning he decided he was done with sitting in the car seat and I finished out my appointment with him sitting on my belly staring at my open mouth. 

The boys and I all got a clean bill of health – no cavities!  33 years old and not one cavity in my whole life!  A miracle since I used to drink Mt Dew daily.

After, it was Brennan’s Kindergarten Well Child Check up.  He weights 41.6lbs, which is the 50th percentile.  I missed how tall they said he was and forgot to ask later but do know that was the 50th percentile, too. 

He had to do the eye chart, where he covered one eye and went line by line telling what pictures he saw.  He passed that test with flying colors.

Then the doctor came in. She listened to his lungs, to his heart, looked in his eyes and ears, up his nose and into his throat.  She had him squat down, jump on one foot, walk on his tip toes and then on his heels.  He bent over at the waist and she checked his spine.  She asked him what his favorite fruit was (apple), favorite vegetable (carrot), what he wears when he rides his bike (his Spiderman helmet), then pointed to the pictures on the walls and asked what colors things were (nailed them all, but he nailed them when he went in before his preschool check up too).

After all this, the doctor gave Brennan a clean bill of health, then the nurse came in.  Bren had to get his finger pricked and a ton of blood squeezed out of it into a vial to test his hemoglobin level and for lead.  He did just fine with that.

The nurse left briefly to get a helper, then came back in to give Brennan 2 shots. I had warned him before this that there was a chance he’d need some shots, which of course totally freaked him out.  I told him how it wouldn’t hurt for very long and that he’d get 2 cool band aids over where the shots went in.  Yea right, like that’s going to make him alright with it!  We laid him back, I held his hand and the nurses pulled his shorts up to get to his thighs.  Then, 1-2-3-go, the countdown and then they stuck him.  He was crying before they even started because, as he told me, he was scared.  Then it was all over, it barely hurt and he got a Garfield and Wonder Woman band aid.  Yes, Wonder Woman.  Whatever, she’s an action figure/super hero, right?  Brennan told me it didn’t really hurt after all, which I told him I was going to remind him about when we go back for our flu shots in a couple of months.

Then we were done, free to go.  Brennan (and Aiden) got to pick out a prize from the treasure chest and a fruit snack package.  I’m so glad it was (mostly) painless! 

And now!  Brennan’s all ready to go to Kindergarten!  Less than 4 weeks till the first day of school for the boys, better get our school supplies bought!

Do you warn your kids about shots before the appointment, at the appointment or not at all?