Off to NOLA!

We are off to New Orleans tomorrow with our friends, Heather & Lee. Very excited as we all need this getaway. Heather is also pregnant, 7 weeks ahead of me. We're very much looking forward to muffaletta and beignets! If you could spy on us, you'd see us in every restaurant at some point in the French Quarter. I haven't found a place yet which compares to such food greatness in the United States! Such a perk being preggers getting to eat it all without any guilt!



We're also looking forward to the culture and relaxation. It's a much needed break for us all. We'll be meeting our dear friends, Jen and Ryan, over the weekend as they are coming to spend it there with us. We're so very excited. We haven't seen Jen since this time last year.

NOLA, here we come!!

{ p.s. Grandma's Diary really truly seriously updated finally...over a week's worth. I'm slowing updating... I've missed Grandma's entries, hoping you have, too. }

Magnificent Memories (corny title, I know. . .)

What a weekend! (Did you miss me?! I hope so!)

Wednesday morning we were preparing for an open house on Sunday, but then Wednesday afternoon Neil calls me at home and asks "do you want to go to Chicago?" I was like "Huh? Why?" He said, "Well, I forgot that I have a presentation I have to do tomorrow in Milwaukee, so I thought I'd drop you and the kids off in Chicago for the day, then when I got back, we'd have the rest of the weekend". I said, "Ok, I have a wedding album that I must finish and then yeah, let's go, but I must finish the album."

So, I got my album done by 10 Wed night (yippee - huge stressor off my shoulders!), then spent a few more hours packing before we had to get the kids up by 7 a.m. Thurs so we could be on the road, drop the dog off, get Val her Starbucks and then be in Chicago by 12 at the latest so that Neil could then be in Milwaukee by 2 that afternoon.

What a tiring night and morning! But we did make it by noon and Neil dropped us off at the apartment (Neil's dad has an apartment right off of Michigan Avenue which we get to stay at every time we are up there if they are not using it - thanks to their amazing generosity!), then got on his way to Milwaukee to make his 20 minute presentation (seems like such a waste, doesn't it?!) and then was back by 5:00 that evening. The rest of the weekend we spent as a family packing our days full with great meals (here - always a must!, here, here, and here - also always a must), the Museum of Science of Industry, naps, meeting Sara, Seth, Jason & Jennifer for lunch, then off to Lincoln Park zoo with Sara, Seth, Blake & Emma, a walk along Lake Michigan (about 2 miles! but what a beautiful enjoyable walk it was), shopping (of course, um, hello?!, we're talking about Val here!), a walk to a neighborhood park for the kids to play, and much more.

It was just so enjoyable . . . we had the best time, but it went way too fast. We wanted so badly to make time to see Jas & Jo, Katie, David & Rachel, Matt & Anna . . . , but time just got away from us. If it weren't for the melt downs Maia had (meaning we had waited way too long as it was for her to take a nap) and for naps themselves, then we most likely would have had time. But it was hard, too, because we didn't even know we were coming till the day before and so no one else knew we were coming . . . and well, you just never know how an unplanned weekend will go, nevermind how a day will go with small young children. (Sigh . . .) But, our plans (hopes!) are to make a weekend of it again in May or June without our Mister and Missy just to take a much needed break as a couple with some of our dear friends. If only life could just stop for a little while, eh? (* personal note to Jo . . . did you guys know Randy & Amy are home?? Do you think you'll make a trip down yonder here? I hinted to Amy that Randy needs to have a "party" while they're here . . . hee hee . . . maybe we'll see ya? Call me if you're comin'!)

I will definitely post some pictures from Chi-town once I get to downloading them. It was such a magnificent weekend on the "Magnificent Mile" - perfect weather, all healthy, not too many worries . . . so I went crazy with my photography. Nahhhh . . . not Val.

The very best weekend

What a fabulous time we had in Chicago. We got away, for the first time since Maia was born - probably a year and a half! - alone, without kids, OVERNIGHT. It was bliss. I missed them, of course, but knew they were in great hands with my parents, so we enjoyed ourselves fully. No glitches at all in the weekend. It was just perfect.

We did our escaping with Heather & Lee, our very dear friends. Heather, oh my goodness, she is the best. Truly one of my bestest friends in the world. She loves me for me, laughs at my not-always-so-funny jokes, and is never discerning. She, herself, is fabulous.

Saturday when we arrived, our tummies were growling, so we headed over to The Cheesecake Factory - one of our favorite places in the world. So we walk in, only have a 10 minute wait which is unreal for that place (I have had to wait 1-1/2 before!) and then all the sudden hear someone yell "VALERIE!". I look up and across the room is CERELLA!! OMG, ARE YOU FOR REAL?! What a fantastic surprise! I run over and she just arrived too, with her friend and co-worker, Sarah (owner of Bellasera Boutique). Cerella says "I knew it was you because of your hair!" And I said, "I knew it was you because of your hair!". Anyway, what are the chances?! Neither of us knew the other was going up. Just crazy, I tell ya!



Back to the Cheesecake Factory - splendid, as always. We had some very yummy drinks. I got one of my favorites from there, a J.W.'s PINK LEMONADE™. And while all of our food was to-die-for, we loved Neil's choosing the best (The CRISPY SPICY BEEF) and we all picked off his plate! (Neil is so good.) When we left TCF, the boys went to watch the Illinois game on TV and Heather and I shopped shopped shopped. I love H&M for my kids, so I found some great bargains there. Then we headed to J.Crew, one of our faves. Again, great bargains. I walked away with two cute pair of cargos (originally $68 each) and two comfy tank tops for $50 total! Then to Banana Republic we went, where we found great bargains yet again. Stocking hats for $5, and I got a pair of jeans and a pair of knee-length jean shorts, a cute white comfy tissue tee, and a matching undies set for $70 total - not bad. Seriously, if you have an H&M, J.Crew or BR near you, check out their sales right now. Excellent deals.

Lee had never been to Watertower Place, so we walked around there like looney-tunes because Lee and Neil, of course, drank 3 beers while watching the last 10 minutes of the game. But it was really fun. It was the best feeling to, once again, have no real responsibilities for a whole weekend. So we milked it for all it was worth.

Later that evening we headed over to the United Center. Lee had got us 5th ROW tickets to see the Chicago Bulls play Utah Jazz. What is so exciting about this is, not only did we have amazing seats, but we got to see some of our infamous Illinois players play! Well, we only saw one actually play but we did see them - Dee Brown and Deron Williams. Dee never played, but he did dress. Deron, however, started and then played the whole game till he fouled out at the end. While we were in Chicago and we do live just 3 hours away from where the Bulls play, we still rooted for Utah. You would not believe, either, all the orange and blue that was there. Probably a 1/4 of the crowd was in orange and rooting for our former Illinois players. It was neat to see.

Here is Dee and Deron both during warm-ups!


#8, Deron, Heather's "man"

Keep in mind that these pictures are not the best because it's just my point-and-shoot with limited capabilities!

We had the BEST time at the game. It was my 2nd NBA game; my first one was in Indiana to see the Pacers and we sat way way way up at the top. The 7 foot tall players looked like ants. So this was much more fun. Plus we were with Heather and Lee and we indulged in stadium food, which if you know me, you know that I rarely ever do that. But you only live once and I don't regret it at all. It was scrumptious! You can't beat nachos with lots of peppers, sweet potato fries and $6.50 beer!




So Utah came away winning. (I'm secretly saying "Yayyyyy!!!!") We saw a few other famous souls like Carlos Zambrano, the starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. He sat in front of us! And then a lot of former NBA stars, a few announcers for the next-days big Bears game, and the current Illinois head coach, Bruce Weber, was also there (we had better seats than he did!). It was just a really awesome time!

This is Carlos - a HUGE guy, he is 6'5" and 255 lbs!

Thanks guys for such a FABULOUS time! We will never forget it. Here's to our next adventure (- we're talking maybe a trip to a spa/golfing destination where the boys can golf and we can pamper ourselves!).


So now . . .back to my stay-at-home glory day. Back to reality!

I do want to add . . . we are going on another adventure tonight. I can't talk about it yet because I am not jinxing myself like I feel like I have done a lot lately, so cross your fingers for us that this (whatever "this" is) will work out so I can shortly tell all about it!