HOLY FRAPPACHINO !

Wow ... I've been so busy and it feels so strange .. it has been a long time since I have been away from my computer for so long ... but hey I have been able to get so much done around here and met up with Windi too.

I have tons of pictures to share and lots to say - so stick around, read and have a good day !

Well lets start with where I think I left off....

 It was last Friday, the traffic was horrible, I was running late - I had got out the door later than I had wanted too and I had Gracie in tow as well. The hubby said he didn't want to watch her all day - so he said; it was take her or stay home - so I took her. We had a great day anyway - she was a very good girl.

 When I finally got to Gurnee - I was able to meet Windi, Matt and the boys.

After talking for a few and loading up the boys with some Lego's that Jordan no longer wanted - Windi and I headed down to Chicago for some much needed girl time. The traffic was still horrible - felt like we crawled the whole way down. I hate driving slow, especially through the city ... lol. Gracie started to get fussy - she is so used to always having someone to see, so Windi sat in the back of my van with her and quickly made good friends ! :O)

Once in Chicago we went to Millenium Park and looked at the "Bean"...

 ... as you can see it was pretty cool. I hadn't been back home in a while so yet had the chance to see the Bean. The day was pretty chilly and cloudy out, but we made the best of it. It was so much fun.

We ate lunch at Subway, then went "shopping" on Michigan Avenue.

Well, actually, it was more like browsing - as we really didn't buy alot, but it was fun. We went to Filenes Basement and tried on some hats (um, sorry Windi - has those pix) and shoes.

We joked about how our fellow Multipy friends came to mind with some of the things we saw. You know - like "THIS makes me think of ______ and such". LOL... most were good thoughts. :O) We browsed in Marshall Fields - or um, Macy's now - blahhhh .... and I basically laughed my ass off when a lady was telling Windi one shirt was ONLY 180 dollars !

180 ???? Is that it ????? Surely you are just kidding ........

You know even if I was rich like Oprah, I do not ever think I would spend that much on a shirt. Do you know what you can reeeeeeeely do with 180 dollars ! SHHHHESH ! (How about fill my gas tank... lol. )

So, after that we walked around alot and took alot of pictures ...

- okay so Windi took way more than me - but she is good at it, I am not so much so. lol.

Then we shopped for some Chicago stuff and the only thing I bought all day was some keychains for the kids. Shocking I know. I tried really hard to not buy anything I really didn't need and I hate to buy for myself, so even though I saw some super kewl things - I did good not buying them ! Yay for me - this one time anyway ! LOL !

Well, by this time it was growing dark out so we went back to Millenium Park and took more pix of the Bean at night ...

 ... and the fountain nearby.

It was super neat. It was really getting chilly and we decided to call it a night - after some searching we found the van and drove back to Gurnee. Traffic was much better and the conversation was really good. I wanted to kidnap Windi for my ride home. It was so nice having someone to talk to. We finally met up with Matt and said our good byes.... ooh it felt like I had known her for a really long time, and not as we had actually just met. Matt was so super nice - made me wish that A was like him  and I really wished we could live closer to hang out more - I had such a good time.

Who knows - more fun will have to be had over the summer I think. I know the kids would LUV to go back home to the city ... Brittany and I just LUV doing the whole girly shopping thing and Chicago is just the place too !!! I am soooooo hoping that Windi and her family will be able to meet up again sometime soon - it would be such a blast !

After that I called my Mom to tell her where I was and change Gracie into her jammies. My Ma informed me she would not be home all weekend, she had to work and could not afford to take senseless days off - so I just decided to go back home and finally got here about 3 am. I was sooooo poooped and just crashed on the sofa ! lol.

After that - the rest of my Memorial Day weekend was a blur, I finished a table I was working on and since A had ripped out the old bathroom,

and took out the old washer and dryer while I was gone and the new washer and dryer were delivered - the rest of our weekend was spent finishing our new laundry area......

 Finally one project done with no problems ... as of yet anyway. And now that I have done a quarter million pounds of laundry  ... I am happy once again !!!! Now, our new project is that we we ripped apart the old laundry area - and will or might hopefully put the door there that we wanted. I hate not staying busy ... can you tell ?

Well, we did manage to have some fun with the kids too ... I just LUV these pix of Cameron on the trampoline !

SOOOO- that is what I have been up to all week,

for the most part anyway. I don't think I have had so much time away from blog land in a long time, I reeely missed you guys. I hope all is well with you all and I will try to catch up as I can.

Stacey's Benefit is this weekend also. I still have a part of me that would like to go ... but I am seriously low on money, and there is one other issue why I chose not to go, so those of you that are going, please know that I am thinking of you all - I hope that you all have a fun time !

Well toodles for now, I have more laundry to go start on my newest toy ... LOL !

TAMMIE :o)