Oh, Baby!

24 Hours Old

I thought about blogging…then decided against it…then well…here goes:

John and I are so blessed!  We have the most adorable, sweet, and feisty baby girl!  We will forever be indebted to a very strong, loving, and unselfish young woman who chose us as parents for her baby.  We know that she loved her baby so much and wanted the very best for her.  John and I will not let her down. I wish more moms could do what she did. She put her baby first.  She was an amazing young woman and I know that she has an amazing future ahead of her.  She is my hero.

We were fortunate enough to be at the hospital during delivery and she was brought to us shortly after her birth.  She weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz and was 19 inches long.  We named her Brentley May.  Brentley is named we liked and May is after John’s sweet grandma.  Everyone thinks Brentley is a boy’s name.  I get the Brent part…but Brentley sounds a little girly to me.  I also haven’t seen many boys dressed in pink, but that doesn’t stop anyone from calling her a he.

We actually got to stay with her in the hospital.  It is very strange staying in a hospital when you aren’t sick.  It’s like the exact opposite of a hotel.  I now know why everyone you visit in the hospital looks so grumpy…it’s the bed.  It’s the hardest thing ever and pillows are not really pillows.  The nurse also checked in on us about every two hours and gave us an informative lesson on how to force-feed a baby.  Yikes! I fed her…but obviously not enough.  Luckily she caught on to the eating thing and I didn’t have to use any of Nurse Ratchet’s tips. Anyway, back to the baby: She is so sweet!  I wish I could sit and hold her forever.   She is very strong and likes to lift her head up.  If you lay her down on her back, she immediately rolls to her side.  She was even giving the photographer in the hospital a run for her money.  She is a tiny little thing…but has the biggest burps ever!  (This is actually great…she fits right in with John’s side of the family!)  I’m teasing.  Maybe. #notreallykiddingatall

She even had her tiny little hands on her bottle at two weeks old.  I let go…and voila…she held it there.  I’m pretty sure:  a.) She is going to be a genius or b.) I was doing it wrong and she was correcting me.    It might have been both!  I was going to order the “My baby is way better than your baby” bumper sticker, but I thought it was a bit much. 

She had many visitors her first few weeks and slept through most of them!  Bless her heart!  Her very first outing was to Target….I know what you are thinking…I took a baby out?  We had to get out of the house AND we went early when practically no one is there.  We kept her in her seat and she slept the whole time.  She was perfect!  As we were leaving John said, “I can’t believe she didn’t even ask for anything!”  She has ventured out many more times.  She even hearts Costco, but she was a little upset that they didn’t have any samples available for her?!?  Bless her heart.

First Target Trip

I can’t believe how much she has changed in just a few weeks.  She is a chunk!  I can’t wait to see how much she weighs next week at her two-month check up!  I’m thinking 10-11 lbs, but my weight guesstimates are probably way off.  I was tempted to put her on the vegetable/fruit scale at the grocery store, but I bet that is frowned upon.  Thanks to Mrs. Joanna, we have the most fantabulous pediatrician.  I heart Dr. Ladd! He makes going to the Dr. not so bad!

mamaRoo, aka "The Baby Whisperer"

She is a great night sleeper!  The every three hours were tough at first.  I seriously thought someone needed to invent some kind of formula patch that you could put on infants at night. I also wanted to invent some kind of pacifier headgear that could keep that thing in her mouth.  After I got some sleep, I realized my “inventions” probably wouldn’t be really safe for a baby, but a girl can dream.  I watch 16 and Pregnant with new appreciation for those young single moms.  After a few nights of her partying from 12-3am…we initiated Operation Keep Baby Awake.  It worked like a charm!  She has recently decided that she likes to take really short naps during the day, but as long as she is sleeping at night…I can’t complain.   Plus…John thinks she sleeps better if you hold her.  Love him.  Her favorite thing is her Mamaroo.  It is this infant swing that moves like a car, kangaroo, ocean..etc.  Her Nana, Aunt Ape and Uncle B-Rad got it for her and I’m trying to decide how in the world we will fit in the Explorer when we go on vacation. We leave in a few weeks and I’m overwhelmed at all the stuff I think I’m going to “have” to take.  Less is more has never really been my thing.  Wish me luck!

7 1/2 Weeks Old

The Best of Chicago, Day 7

This was our last full day in Chicago and we had so much to see.  We decided the best way to accomplish this was to buy a ticket for the double decker bus/trolley experience.  It’s a hop on and off tour where you can get off at a number of stops when you want, and then catch the next bus.  We had already visited a number of places, so we could just stay on the bus and get off when we found something exciting!  Therefore, we had many wonderful, interesting, and strange tour guides.

Our first tour guide, the stand-up comedian, had a lot of energy and jokes.  Not all funny. I can imagine that they have to attend “tour guide school” to get all these jokes and facts in order.  He picked us up right in front of our hotel.  I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but we stayed directly across from the NBC building.  The former home of Jerry Springer and Jenny Jones, now home to Judge Mathis.  Keeping it classy!! We didn’t have to hop off at Navy Pier, since we had already experienced this touristy area.  Instead, we were treated to the story of how they reversed the Chicago River to flow backwards to avoid polluting Lake Michigan, Chicago’s water source.  All that information just to tell us that they got back at Chicago for polluting their water source by bottling the polluted water and selling it as Budweiser.  It only took him 5 minutes to get to the punch line.  I think most people tuned out by then.  Did you know that Chicago is a play on an Indian term that means "stinking onion." Cause the water smelled. Nice, eh? We got off at the Sear’s Tower, which is no longer the Sear’s Tower.  It’s now the Willis Tower.  The only way I even remember that is because I heart some Different Strokes.  I think they should have called it the Whatcha talking about, Willis…Tower.  No one asked me.  Anyway, I hate when they change names of things.  Chicago has so many tall buildings. It is so hard to tell what is the tallest when you are on the street.  They all look tall.  Once you get up there, you see just how far up you really are.   One of the cool features of the tower is that they have these plexi-glass boxes that are suspended out of the building that you can walk out on.  It really is a long way down.  You also get to go up to the top in an elevator with 30 of your closest friends.  I think they should have a “hands up” policy in the elevator.  We were the last two on, or we were until they squeezed two more people on.  They literally had to hug each other to get on.  You stay extremely still and hope you don’t touch anyone inappropriately.  Who needs personal space?  After we purchased tickets to Sear’s Tower, we were told that the better place to go is the John Hancock Building because the view is better and you can walk outside.  It doesn’t sound as exciting to say you went to the 2^nd tallest building.  Might as well go to the top of our hotel and announced we went to the 19^th tallest building in Chicago.  It was amazing and they had an ice machine! 

Really sturdy plastic box

View from the top

View from the bottom

We hopped back on the tour bus with our 2^nd guide; we will call him the  “I can’t believe I’m a tour guide” guide.  I loved this guy because he would actually say things like…”That is really cheesy, I can’t believe I said that, but they make us.”  He also broke my heart when he showed us where all the discount stores were for all the big name shops on Michigan.  I was so sad that we didn’t know about this AND didn’t have time to look.  I could care less if the stuff was last season.  Lesson learned.  We did get off to get pizza from a place we could never find.  I will let you know, Google maps is not your friend.  We even asked someone, and they led us in the wrong direction.  We ended up at a restaurant called Sweet Water.  It was good, so no worries.  Who cares if we walked two miles out of our way, right?  This area is also where most of the theaters are located.  Currently, Beauty and the Beast was playing. I did see this on Broadway, so I’m sure it’s fantastic, but we didn’t have time. 

Our next tour was the craziest of all.  The guide, awkward trivia guy, was a strange, strange fellow.  This actually was on a trolley instead of a bus.  We went to the West neighborhood.  We visited Lincoln Park and the outside of the Lincoln Park Zoo.  This is the largest free zoo, but we didn’t go inside. Too expensive!  We actually didn’t have time.  Lincoln Park is massive and covers such a huge area of Chicago.  They had tons of camps playing outside, people riding bikes, and even roller blading.  I have to admit, I didn’t realize people still roller bladed.  I stand corrected.  Moving on.  One of the houses we went by was Hugh Hefner’s original Playboy Mansion.  This was awkward moment number one of the trip.  The guide, who has to be in his 50’s or 60’s, told us a story of when he was little.  When he got his haircut, he would sneak and look at the Playboy magazines at the barbershop.  He would also sneak and look at his Uncle’s magazines.  I’m all up for some personal stories, but let’s think this through. There are kids on the Trolley. Maybe we could tell a story about how you played in Grant Park on the swing set?   I took a picture, of course, because I loved those Girls’ Next Door…even if they didn’t live there.  Our next stop was Wrigley Field, Home of the Cubs!  I was super excited.  Not because I heart the Cubs, I’ve never even watched them play.  I do, however, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the old show Perfect Strangers.  The Wrigley sign was in the opening credits. I love when Larry and Bailki are running into the game and you can see the Wrigley sign.  I saw that sign!  I felt I had come full circle.  Now, if you really know me, you know I love trivia.  I heart some Jeopardy.  Our tour guide also loved trivia.  The most obscure trivia questions you have ever heard.  Ever.  Anyone know when they placed the first order for the lights for Wrigley Field?  No?  Do you know who placed the order? How about the date of when they opened the nature observatory?  No?  Do you know who lived in the top of this unnamed boarded up building? Still no? Surprising.  The tour guide also liked to point out of the former bars that Harry Carey liked to visit on the way home.  Now, this is not a question I thought I’d ever have to ask or answer, but any idea how fast a trolley can go?  Apparently, about 70 miles an hour!  Imagine the shock when we turned and got on the highway.  WITH A TROLLEY!  I got windburn.  I also got off the trolley looking like a hot mess. 

Our next tour was the Chicago Nations tour, or as I like to call it, Walgreens in several languages.  I forgot to mention that you couldn’t walk 15 feet in Chicago without running into a Walgreens.  I didn’t realize that Chicago was the birthplace of Walgreens.  I also didn’t know that Chicago also boasts as the Best of…well…almost everything.  It made me giggle.  They have the highest rent in the US for stores on Michigan, the most money traded on a street, biggest Catholic population, largest Hispanic population…and about a zillion other things.  Everywhere we went, they claimed to be the biggest and the best.  (Shhh…don’t tell Texas!)  Anyway, back to the nations.  Our tour guide, Mr. Easy Like Sunday Morning, was fantastic.  He made me giggle.  His mantra was: If I stay in my seat, I will be all right.  This was extremely important because we are riding in a double decker bus.  The train runs above the street and the clearance between your head and the tracks is way too close for comfort.  I mean…the whole bus ducks.  You can touch the rails when you are driving underneath, so naturally, you duck.  It is scary to say the least.  A couple of people also died in 2009 because they stood up and didn’t see the underpass.  The tour guide asked us nicely to remain seated because he didn’t like talking to the police and he would have to stay late to clean up. I still ducked every time we went under a bridge.  Anyway, back to the tour. In Chicago, they have a Chinatown, Little Italy, Oprah Town, and a Greek Town.  Yes, it was the tour of nations.  I’m not sure about Mexico??  They just had lots of ethnic food. ...and some Starbucks.  When I think Italy, I immediately think of Starbucks. The only thing that made me giggle was that each town’s Walgreens had the sign written in the native language.  I loved that they changed it up.  We also saw Oprah……..on a sign.  The studio seemed so much smaller than I imagined.  It is empty now and supposedly opening back up for Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show.  It was funny that everyone who gave a tour in Chicago had no idea if Oprah even lived there anymore.  It is also natural for the tour guide to say watch out for the trees…about 1,000 times per tour.  I’d recommend to the city of Chicago, trim your trees!

I had to sneak this in....

Harpo

Our last tour guide, Ms. Century 21, was a tour guide and realtor.  So, I can not only tell you which building is built by a woman and created using computer technology, but I can also tell you how much a 1 or 2 bedroom costs in that building.  I was debating on whether or not to put in an offer on Donald Trumps shell of a penthouse in Trump Tower.  Thirty million dollars seemed like such a steal!  We also visited Millennium Park and the shiny bean.  They have tons of kids playing in these fountains there.  We also went to see Soldier Field.  This is the weirdest looking field ever.  It looks like a spaceship landed on the Parthenon.  I don’t even know what they were thinking.  This was also where the planetarium, aquarium, and museums are located.  We didn’t have time to visit, but we hear they are great.   Every time I passed by something famous in Chicago, I related it back to something I’d seen on TV.  I swear, I every time I passed the Chicago Sun Times, all I could think of was…”I wonder if Josie Geller is in there writing her Never Been Kissed article.”   I need to watch less TV.  

Molly and I both were quite confident that we could apply to be tour guides after this.  We took so many tours, we heard some of the same things about 4 times so it began to stick.  All I can say is- Poor Ms. O’Leary and her cow!

We had a fantastic time in Chicago. Thanks for making it fantabulous, Molly!

P.S. For anyone visiting Chicago on the 4th.  The 6th of July fireworks @ Navy Pier are much more fantabulous than the 4th of July fireworks.  

You are kidding, right? Chicago, Day 6

Last day of meetings, hip hip hooray! We have had a great time so far, but we are definitely excited about doing touristy stuff tomorrow. We have a laundry list of things we want to do, so we are crossing our fingers for no rain. Since today was another day of long meetings, this would be a great time to share some observations and crazy/unusual things we have experienced in Chicago.

Here goes:

Many states have some...um..alternative ways of raising funds for teachers. Again, Texas is in the lead. (It really must be bigger and better in Texas.) They had a sign that said "Texas has your back! Back rubs $5 for 5 minutes." It also helped they had rather muscular peeps doing the massaging. They did these massages in their Texas flag shirts, of course. They had a line! The creepy guy award goes to the two men who showed up in their hotel bathrobes. They were charging a $1 to have your pic made with the  "bathrobe caucus". I took my picture from behind. It was free.

 Okay, I'm am in no way making fun, but every time I see this woman, it makes me giggle.(Just because I've never seen this before.) She has a cat that she pushes around in a stroller. This. Is. Not. A. Joke. It is a service animal. One of the girls looked it up and cats can be used as service animals for mainly two reasons: They can be trained to detect seizures OR they are used for people who suffer emotional distress. The cat has his own vest. I have so many questions. None are appropriate. I thought it was cray cray to see a cat in a window of a car at the Ashland City Wal-mart. That has been trumped. I wonder if she noticed in Sky Mall that you can buy a toilet training kit that teaches your cat to use a regular toilet. This could be very beneficial to this lady.

Did I mention that across from our hotel we have a Spa Stop? Well...let me tell you about this little gem! Our hotel room faces the river, so it has been nice to have this beautiful view. Just across the river sits the Spa Stop. It is a very spacious building that is just a smidge smaller than Java Jacks. If you don't know about Java Jacks, just imagine the building is just about the size of a single story gingerbread house, give or take a few centimeters. They have luxurious white plastic chairs and enough staff to hold down the white tent that covers the exterior portion of the spa whenever the wind picks up. We hope to visit before we leave because they seem quite busy. Yes, we are intrigued. Very high end in a Beverly Hillbillies kind of way. Maybe we can get one of these in AC.

 The other day I spoke a little too soon when I discussed all the states dressing alike. I say this as Molly and I sit in our blue polo shirts with an outline of our state with Tennessee written in large letters across the back....in a sea of other people wearing....The. Exact. Same.Thing.

We ate dinner at a nice restaurant in Millennium Park. It was funny because the inside was all formal, but we decide to eat outside. They had the weirdest choice of music. The atmosphere said quiet and calm, but the music was like a party in the club! It also made me giggle when I went to the restroom and noticed that the o in the sign, which was composed of black resin letters was missing...so they replaced it with a sheet of paper that they colored black and taped up with large pieces of scotch tape. I guess they were all out of duct tape. I should appreciate the effort. Dinner was delicious. One thing we have noticed is that people aren't shy about Public displays of affection here. It's hard to keep a conversation going when the table next to you are kissing. Obviously, they skipped the garlic. We have noticed this several times. Maybe they are filming the next episode of The Bachelor and we didn't see the camera crew.

One more day to go!

Baby, you're a firework! Chicago, Day 5

We started our day with a personal scavenger hunt of sorts. We wanted to find all the ways we could possibly find to wear the American flag. We knew that Texas had a firm hold on the flag wearin' award, so other states were really going to have to step up their game. Surprisingly enough, even on the 4th of July....Texas was still wearing their flag. I gotta give it up to them for their persistence. Granted, it still is red, white, and blue. We had to wait about 0.5 seconds to find our first (victim) participant. At first, we went about this ALL wrong. We were trying to "sneak" pictures. I'll go ahead and add spying/surveillance to things that I'm not good at. We have a picture, but it was a little blurry. I'll be honest, I'm uncertain if these "pants", that had one leg completely blue with white stars and the other with red/white stripes, were actually pants. I'm pretty sure that it was either a) pajamas or b) pants stolen from Hulk Hogan's closet circa 1987.    I'm super disappointed with myself that I didn't even look to see what kind of shirt he was wearing. I need to know what you would pair with that. I guess that is my answer: it doesnt matter, no one will notice your shirt.

After the first encounter, it was difficult to keep up. My faves had to be the husband/wife dress alike combo. I'd like to think that his wife made him, but I've seen just as many men dressed up. Another favorite is the sequin flag hat. It comes in many different styles: ball cap, top hat, and ironically a beret. I'm pretty sure these hats might have been purchased at an Elton John concert with a matching fanny pack.

After sneaking around snapping pictures, we had a revelation. If people are crazy enough to dress up, we might as well go up and ask to take their picture. If they decline, we'll just sneak to take it. We're geniuses!

There was also no shortage of wigs. My favorite was the flag Mohawk: red and white stripes down the middle, stars on the side. We also had an Abraham Lincoln and several Statue of Liberties.  The flag sunglasses have also made a huge comeback. You know, cause it's super sunny indoors.

After our meeting, we decided to go to Navy Pier to watch the fireworks.  About million of our closest friends decided to go with us. I've never seen so many people in one area. There were cops and crossing guards everywhere. Good thing that Molly and I have perfected the dodge and weave method. The fireworks were pretty, but they could ask Disney for a few tips. They had a blimp in the sky right in the middle of the fireworks, so I was a little preoccupied. I didn't want it to become a firework. They said that because there were so many people in Chicago, they had three different locations that were setting off fireworks. I think they didn't tell anyone that and everyone just came to the pier.

As we were leaving, we had a small altercation with the mounted police. Well, not the police, just the horse. There were three policemen on their horses. One horse was not happy with his current situation. He refused to go like the other horses. He backed up...turned..and turned...and came straight toward us with his behind.  We pushed and ran for our lives. While in Chicago, we've  been a little fearful of our lives when getting inside a cab and every time we cross the street, but a horse attack never crossed our minds. We didn't want to be a part of the Chicago Horse Trampling of 2011.  I know, a little dramatic, but it was a scary 30 seconds. I think the police should use this episode to take a look at the effectiveness of mounted patrol. I'm sure it was a fantabulous idea in the Old West, but maybe not in a crowded area of people who just want to touch the pretty horse. They can still be used for public relations like parades! I know they are higher up, so they can see what's going on, but when they spot something, what do they do? Hopping off a horse is time consuming and never graceful. They might wanna take a point from the mall cops and opt for a Segway. You may look a little dorky, but the Segway doesn't have a mind of it's own. Just saying!

One more day of meetings, then a whirlwind day of visiting the best Chicago has to offer! So excited.

Sorry about all the mixed-up/crazy paragraphs yesterday. It kept rearranging paragraphs and I have no idea why.

Sitting, waiting, wishing... Chicago: Day 4.

We are really enjoying Chicago! Yesterday was a day filled with hurry up and wait. That is always fun! Vice President Biden was our guest speaker. Regardless of how people feel about the current administration, I think it's an awesome opportunity to hear someone in office speak. (So...let's keep it nice!) Our morning meetings were cancelled so that we could all go through secret service check points.  I knew we were going to wait. I just don't think I realized how long a line of 10,000 actually is. We walked from one end of the conference...to the other end. I even saw a sign pointing to Lake Michigan and was a little worried that they were going to pass out life jackets because the end of the line ended in the middle of the lake. Instead, we ended in a large room where we zigzagged in lines. Only teachers could do this with no ropes, no yelling, No breaking line, and keeping hands to his/herself. Everyone was trying to entertain each other as we waited. Someone even started with a classic 1,000 bottles of beer, but was told they needed to start with a higher number. The lady behind us was from Minnesota. She decided to pass the time by talking every single second to two of her male colleagues. It was the funniest thing ever. When she went to the restroom, they were both saying,"oh my goodness, will she ever shut up? I've hung out with her before, but it wasn't this bad." I offered one of them my headphones. I said you can stick the cord in your pocket and pretend. He just laughed. When she returned she continued to talk....telling them that the shoes she had on were her favorite and most comfortable, but they discontinued them so if they ever saw them, please buy all they had in stock in a size 7. I'm sure they will get right on that. People towards the front were giving people tips on how to get through quicker. We were told that no umbrellas would be allowed in. Molly was like, really? I'm going to hit the VP with an umbrella? Obviously she had forgotten the part in Batman Returns were the Penguin used his umbrella with its built in machine gun to take out a few people. The secret service are on top of it. When I think of the secret service, I always think of stoic men in suits with ear pieces and dark glasses. Maybe I'm mixing them up with Men in Black. The guys at the check point were in white shirts with secret service badges on the sleeves, black pants, black leather gloves, but still hot. I'm not sure if wearing a badge on your arm that says secret service makes it a secret anymore. Maybe there are different levels of secret service: not so secret, kinda secret, and super secret.

The "Not So Secret" Service

Anyway, they were very nice and even chuckled when a group of ladies dropped to their knees and sang hallelujah once they were through. They use metal detectors to walk through, but check everything by hand. No x-ray machines for them. Since I already had one encounter with them this week, I stayed on my best behavior. I think several ladies requested a pat down and that's why it took so long! Just teasing. It was exciting to see the VP in person. I took several pictures and one of the workers told me where to go to get a better picture without getting in trouble, but she mentioned that I never heard that from her. I love a rule breaker. I was able to get pretty close. Downside was I had to move on my knees to get there. I didn't miss my calling as a cat burglar. I was also relieved that the secret service near the stage were at least wearing suits.

The leaning tower of Biden

After the meetings, we decided we would walk around to find a place to eat. We ended up at a little sushi restaurant called Sushi Taiyo. Molly loves sushi and I'll never ever try it, but they had other things. The restaurant looked so cute. Many of the restaurants we have visited are very small with additional sidewalk seating. The waiter came over to take our drink order so I asked what they had. He replied we have RC Cola, Diet RC, or ginger ale. I just laughed and said seriously? I explained that we were from TN, home of the RC Cola  and Moon Pie Festival. He then thought we were kidding. Tn should jump on this and have a RC cola and sushi festival. It's win/win. I ordered chicken and brown rice and I was super excited when it arrived..on fire. I love a little theatrics with my meal. Molly ordered salmonella on a plate different kinds of sushi and she loved it. One was eel. When I think of deliciousness, raw (or cooked)fish never comes to mind. (I like my meals to be less like an episode of Fear Factor.) Did I mention that I heart you, Molly??
We stopped for frozen yogurt yumminess on the way back.

Before we crashed, we were treated to some unprofessional fireworks, thanks to the rambunctious kids across the river.

Chicago, Day 3: Fashion Edition

A day late. Oops. We had a full day of meetings yesterday, so this blog will not be filled with fantabulous Chicago sites. Instead, we can talk about the people we encountered. All in fun, of course. We are here at the convention with about 9,000 other teachers. I will tell you, What Not To Wear could cast their next 10 seasons in this building alone. I've learned that you can pair a sequin skirt with white tube socks and sandals. People also dress alike. A lot. I've never seen a state more proud of their flag than Texas. I know this because they have worn it in some form or fashion everyday. They have button down shirts, vests, and even bandanas that you can purchase to take a lil Texas home with you. It's interesting to see 200+ people wearing a flag.

The teachers from Wyoming all wear brown Safari type vests that have Wyoming and a horse embroidered across the back. They have lots of pockets. Maybe they are going fishing after this. We were unlucky enough to encounter a very spunky Wyomian, whatever people from Wyoming are called, that paired her tan vest with leggings that I think her cat scratched giant holes all down the front and sides. She accented them with lovely madras shorts and a black lace tank. All I can say is Bless Her Heart. Yes, we took a picture.

We couldn't get the vest : (

The delegates from Hawaii are so cute with their matching Hawaiian shirts. That I get. However, the bright, palm fronds and toucan shirts that Oklahoma are sporting...well...I haven't figured that out yet. Molly said when she thought of Oklahoma she immediately thought of the jungle.  Kansas has cute little sunflowers they wear. I heart a good accessory!

Alabama peeps have color coded button down shirts for each day. Today is tan day. Yesterday was aqua. Tomorrow I'm hoping for pink or purple! I think Alaska has some sort of hooded shirt that has bling around it. I'm pretty sure someone there hearts a glue gun.

The rest of the states have some matching T-shirts, but nothing too crazy. I guess the Tennessee people are just lazy! Just kidding! Molly and I were just saying we were very grateful to not sit here in a Daniel Boone coonskin hat and a bright orange shirt.  

Some teachers take it upon themselves to make their own unique outfit. I've seen giant corn hats in Nebraska, birds' nests perched on heads, and even a flying pig hat...with working wings. I'm not sure if they are teachers or if they got lost on the way to a Lady Gaga concert.

We went to a fantastic mexican cantina last night. We ate on the sidewalk and it didn't even smell bad! The weather is amazing. It's warm, but usually has a nice breeze. There are tons of people outside at night. We also survived two cab rides. The first guy was very nice. He told us the trick to driving in Chicago was to be aggressive, but think at the same time. Oh, and blow your horn a lot. We found that if the car in front of you is stopped for pedestrians, you should honk repeatedly to encourage them to run them over. I'm pretty sure people don't honk their horns here just to get your attention to wave hi. It means walk faster. Much faster. Basically, run or be run over. I like options!

It's still windy in Chicago. Day 2

Our day started off super early. We had our first meeting at 7 am. Yuck. After the meeting, we decided to register for the conference at the McCormick Place convention center. It's not within walking distance, so we had to take a shuttle. Luckily, this was a nice big bus. It was also reassuring that the driver was dressed in a pilot's suit. Yes, a pilot. Like a plane pilot. Anyway, he looked official and I was confident that our bus was large enough to take out several cars and/or vans, if needed. We actually had to park "under" the convention center. Molly said we were either going to the convention center or the Bat Cave. Once we registered, we decided to visit the EXPO center. That place is crazy. As we know, many teachers would stand in line to get free cardboard toliet tissue rolls. Give them a bag, cup, or pen? It's a free for all! Molly and I had a system. She'd wait in the line, I'd go to the front and see what it was they were giving away. Then, we would decide if it was worth the wait. Coffee cup? Not so much. Target bag of goodies, of course! Target rocks. They gave everyone a bag full of mini post-its, index cards, clips, shampoo, kleenex, pens, germ-x....okay...when I type all that out it doesn't seem as exciting...but it was all in a cute little red Target bag. You know how I love some cute packaging! They handed out some new products to try. I love that. They had a cool high tech classroom. Everything was controlled with an ipad. We didn't look too closely. We are pretty sure that isn't in the school's budget. Maybe we can bring back the Speak n' Spell!

The vendor area had a company there called Creative Hands. It's the company that makes those large tubs of foam cut outs. I wasn't going to take any, because I was thinking to myself, what will I do with a few sparkly flowers???.....Then she told us they were for us to BLING out our name tag. I love a good craft. Plus, they had the perfect colors to match my shoes. I didn't think ahead to coordinate shoe changes. It is what it is, I'll make it work.

The coolest thing at the convention had to be the large Jeep test track they had set up. They had about 6 different types of Jeep vehicles that you could ride though these off road courses. They had these large rocks, very steep hills, and wood bridge type things. It was wild. I now realize that those handles on the side of the door are not for holding clothes. They are to hang onto....really tightly. I honestly thought we were going to flip over at one point. I think it was my fear that made me ask the most stupid question ever: "Okay...be honest...have you ever flipped one of these on this course?" The Jeep guy answered very nicely, "If we flipped one, do you think they'd still let us do this?" Common sense sometimes skips me over.

Our trusty driver, Brian from MI

A very blurry picture going down a very steep hill.

After collecting our swag, we were going to hit the Taste of Chicago Festival. However, the weather had other plans. It finally cleared some, so we went to shop instead. A hardship, I know! We walked down to Michigan Avenue to check out all the cool stores. We even got to experience the Silver Man. If this teaching thing doesn't work out, all I need is a can of silver spray paint, a radio, pedestal, and a bucket to collect my money. I can stand very still. I'm sure of it. He did move occassionally. He had a huge crowd...and did as little as possible. Maybe he was waiting to hit a certain profit before exerting any energy. I'm sure being painted silver does have some setbacks.

I think he might move...eventually.

 Anyway, several people had said something about Filene's Basement. Ironically, Filene's Basement is located on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I did buy some sunglasses, because I left mine at home, but Filene's Basement is nothing but a TJ Maxx...with an escalator. Did I mention almost every store has one of those awkward circle doors? It's such pressure! Especially for someone who can trip over their own feet. Just saying'.

After shopping, we went to dinner at Weber Grill. Yes, like the backyard grill. I never knew there were so many uses for a grill and its parts. So, if you have a grill you aren't using, don't throw it out. It's a flower pot or door decoration just waiting to happen. You can even hear grill lids slamming in the restaurant. Molly missed a great photo op to have her picture made with the large bronze statue of Mr. Weber? (Okay...whoever the inventor of the Weber grill is) that they had grilling up some steaks. She really missed out.

We better jet, long day of meetings tomorrow.

P.S. Thanks for overlooking all the mistakes in the blog. I found many this morning, but yikes...this thing can be tricky. Correcting things on the ipad is not easy. I need a scroll down button!!