Let's Getaway...

jeff and i were able to getaway to Chicago for a few nights this weekend while my parents are here watching the kids. We stayed at the Inter-Continental on Michigan Avenue, which i would highly recommend. We had stayed there once before (both times using priceline) so we new it was super classy and the breakfast is amazing. In the 3 days that we were there i think we experienced every season, but despite the wind, rain and snow we had so much fun.

Friday night we ate at a Tapas Bar (when i told this to my sister over the phone she thought i said top-less bar, you can imagine her shock....hahahah) anyways- it's a Spanish Restaurant where they serve Tapas and Sangria, so that night we celebrated Andres and Nuria (our foreign-exchange student brother and sister from Spain)

Saturday Highlights:

• Running on Lake Shore drive 

• Shopping, shopping and more shopping (of course)

• Museum of Science and Industry (such a cool place, definitely will take the kids there someday)

• Hailed a bus: yes, jeff and i got quite a comical self-tutorial on the chicago transit system, not to mention hailing a cab was one of my other goals in life (i know i really strive high) i figured a bus would be sufficient.

• Giordano's (despite the hour plus wait on any given night, this is a MUST-HAVE authentic chicago-style pizza

• The Dueling Piano's at Howl at the Moon

Sunday Highlights:

• Breakfast at the Hotel (we had the same waiter both days, talk about life experiences- he was originally from Bosnia, a business-owner until the war then fought in the war and eventually came to the U.S. - he had a bullet hole scar through his hand... makes you realize how incredibly blessed we are.

• Strolling in the snow for coffee at Borders to redeem a coupon i left back at the hotel...

more Shopping :)

• Broadway Play - The Jersey Boys.... featuring the music of Frankie Valli and the Four Season's, the seats were great and the show was incredible, i would definitely recommend it.

• Coming Home - that is until we got home and the kids had all evidently conspired to throw temper-tantrums about going to bed.... arghh.... :)

(Note: i did not take these pictures)

Mom to the Rescue....

My mom and pops are out for a week and a half....i love it when they come. Pops is helping out on my brother's house while mom is helping me with babysitting so i can edit my cousin's wedding. Very sweet. I feel very blessed. The kids love it when they come too....i believe we found the Play-dough recipe that my friend had used and had soft play dough a year later (you don't have to refrigerate)....fun stuff. 

(sadly i didn't take any pictures while they were here)....here's a shot of my dad from the wedding i am editting.

Marathon Mama's

....i'm not sure really where the idea came from, besides having a goal of someday running a marathon. well, evidently this is to be the year and i am so excited. There's a little group of us running now who all have kids so appropriately we call ourselves the "Marathon Mama's". Now we just need shirts :) I guess i should clarify that we aren't running a full marathon- just a half, but at 13.1 miles that sounds marathon enough for me. We have a 10 week training program that we've tentatively scheduled out which we start Sunday- July 5th and that will take us all the way up to the race on September 13th at the Glen Oak Park in Peoria. So up until then we are trying to get in some base mileage of at least 5 miles per week. We're all newbies so if you have any tips please let us know. - Let's Go Run!!!!

(Note: i didn't take this picture- it's from Running Central, but i do want to get some shoes from there. :)

who dun it?

We had a "Murder Mystery Dinner" tonight and it was hilarious...everyone came dressed accordingly in costume and was in character the whole night. Good times ........ Jeff ended up being the guilty one....but then again are you suprised? It's a type of game you can really only play once with the same set of people so if anybody is interested in swapping games for a bit, let me know. 

Baptist Bunco...

...so tonight i went to my neighbor Laurie's house for a Mops "Mom's Night Out" and played Bunco...baptist style- that's right...which basically means there is no money involved but definitely food, fun and prizes. It went over really well that i think it might be a monthly thing....if your interested it's going to be at my house next month (April 21st - the third tuesday of the month) - 7 pm....i'm in.

Book Club...

Our book club met again today and are going to start reading "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs. I'm really excited to start it.....maybe it will inspire me to knit something. :)

Review by Book-Club-Queen....

Georgia Walker became a successful business woman by mistake. When she found herself at 24 pregnant with no husband she thought her life might be over. The thought of returning home to her stern mother and quiet father was enough to drive her crazy. As she sits on a park bench in New York City, crying and knitting a baby blanket for the little life already growing inside her, she meets Mrs. Lowenstein and her whole life changes.

The story of Friday Night Knitting Club really begins 13 years later. Georgia has opened up a shop below her apartment, Walker and Daughter, a knitting boutique. Dakota, her daughter, is spunky, smart, beautiful, and half-black. Georgia's heart was stolen by James all those years ago and because his mother told him "never to bring a white woman home" he left Georgia and his baby without a word.

Anita, Mrs. Lowenstein, is Georgia's financier, mentor, friend, and stand-in mother. Anita has lost her husband Stan to a sudden heart attack and, with no actual need for money, she works at Walker and Daughter because she thinks of Georgia and Dakota as family.

Enter Cat, Georgia's estranged best friend from high school who has become a total socialite in an unhappy marriage. She "left Georgia at the alter" of friendship so to speak and is back trying to reconcile their past.

Finally, James. Dakota's father and love of Georgia’s life returns one day to "fall in love with his family." Georgia's reaction is cautious at first but can she really help it if she still loves the father of her child?

There is a large cast of secondary characters who have their own endearing stories and what results is a group of women who meet every Friday night at Walker and Daughter to knit and forge everlasting friendships. Hold close to your box of tissues because in the end this story is definitely a tearjerker.

Kevin Leman...

here's a quick blurb of Kevin Leman about his book "New Kid by Friday"