Chicago
Thursday…long day! Went to my morning classes, came back and took a nap until it was time for dinner and class. Went to class only to discover yet again a teacher had lost his voice and hadn’t emailed us but instead made us come to class for 5 minutes. I spent 4 times as long just walking to and from class! But at least we had a bit of a break. Sat around the dorm, cleaned up everything and went off to pick up Leah at the airport!!!! I was pushin it to get there not only on time but on gas. But I made it there before she did. I was so psyched to watch her get off the plane! It was a nice ride home, we chatted with Denise. Leah decided she wanted donuts so we stopped at Walmart to get some. Well, when we were going to the checkout, a weird Mexican guy came in that was about 25 and stopped and stared at us and finally left when we walked around him he went on to do his shopping. But…lucky us, he ended up behind us in line because the lady in front of us took so long. We RAN out of Walmart to jump in my car and get out of there! So that was the beginning of our trip :) Got back to the dorm, ate our food, and hit the hay to get some sleep before getting up the next morning….of course, I had to stay up and im back and forth with Aaron another hour and a half to get in my Aaron time ;) So needless to say, I didn’t sleep long!
Friday, Leah and I got up early so that we could hit the road for Chicago. We left a little late but we were still in a good mood :) Went by Decatur to pick up my wallet that Aaron left behind (silly boy ;)) so that I could have my license to drive with! Went and got the wallet first…then it was on to the daycare (which is conveniently located right behind Amanda and John’s house) so that Leah could meet Miss Eden. Well when we got there, they thought I was there to pick Eden up and they were just going to send her with me!!! Then when I said I was just there to visit it became a totally different story. John hadn’t left the note so they were like we’ll have to call because of the laws. Which was fine with me. Well right as they were saying that, my cell rang. It was Amanda. So I handed my cell over for them to talk to her. Haha. It was actually kind of funny. Then when she got off the phone she was like “Do you guys have REGULAR visits?” Okay, maybe open adoption isn’t well known of but there was just too much of a disrespectful tone in her voice. I was not at all humored about it. YES we have regular visits. Eden will grow up knowing me as her birthmom. I couldn’t be more proud. So the lady warned us that Eden was a bit upset because one of the ladies had left the room and that upsets her. So, I sat down with her to calm her down. She did some. But there were some little girls that crowded around us and that definitely wasn’t helping her out. I knew by the way she was acting that she was tired and hungry. Well needless to say, as soon as she had lunch, she was feeling much better. GO FIGURE!!! Stupid large daycare schedules! I’m sure that the director was telling Amanda and John that I upset her and were visits really good for her. Ugh… I’m sure she has an awful perception of open adoptions now. But Eden does know who I am (to a familiar degree that is) and that is NOT a bad thing. Anyways…then Leah and I went off to visit Amanda at work :) I got to see Terri; Amanda told me she was pregnant again!!! This time I know it’ll be a little girl. I’m so glad Leah was able to meet them! Leah, you have to come back and I PROMISE Eden will be better next time! After that…it was OFF TO CHICAGO!!!
It was a good drive…including the part where MapQuest was once again wrong and then Karen gave us the wrong directions so we ended up heading towards East Chicago. When we called to find out what was wrong, and we told her where we were headed she goes “UH OH!”…not very comforting ;) I was locking the doors as Leah laughed at me saying no one was going to get us as we drove down the highway going 60 mph. But we got there! Actually, had we not decided we went the wrong way and turned around…we wouldn’t beat Karen and the group from the airport there…there’s a sign I drive fast considering we got stuck in bad traffic after getting lost (Leah thought that a semi was going to run over us when I shoved my way in front of him in the mass traffic…no way! Just gotta know how to drive in big city traffic! Hehe). So once we got to Karen’s everyone was psyched cuz we were meeting new people! Angie and her momma, Sarah and her sis, also drove so they got there later. Both times when the doorbell rang I lept up to go to the door and was hugging everyone! I was very excited :) It was an amazing thing to get to meet the girls that I’ve been talking to forever online. We went through pictures people had bought, got some beautiful gifts from Terri and Momma Joyce (Thanks Ladies! I loved them!!!), and just sat around chatting and enjoying each others company. BUUUUTTTTT, I had been waiting all week to have Cold Stone Creamery with the girls and I simply couldn’t wait another minute so Sarah, Katie (Sarah’s sis), Angie, Leah, and I piled into Katie’s car and off we went to get Cold Stone. We all got individual ice creams and then Sarah and I bought two cakes to take back to everyone. I have to say…I like the ice cream way better than the cake. Though the cake that had red velvet cake with cake flavored ice cream (my fave) was pretty good!!! We stayed up doing hot wax on our hands and painting our nails and chatting til late in the night.
The next morning, Evelyn awoke me at 6:30!!!! I hardly know what 6:30 looks like anymore and had no desire to see it. I put my head under the covers and went back to sleep for about 30 minutes…course it was pretty loud so it wasn’t a really peaceful sleep. Got up, and had delicious crepes that Karen had made...omg they were good! I’m going to have to go back if even just for crepes! After everyone had a shower, we piled into the cars and took off for CHICAGO!!!! We lost Angie and her momma Michelle along the way because Michelle missed the exit. But we recovered them and on we went! Our first stop was The Women’s Center. We talked with the Director and another counselor for a few hours. It was amazing being able to share our stories with them and see the impact we were having on them simply by speaking. It was amazing all they’re doing. I can only hope to make it to that level one day! OH!!!! And in Chicago, Eden has her own piece of town because tons of buildings are named Eden ____. I took a picture of an Eden building right next to the Women’s Center. Hehe. After that, we went to downtown Chicago. We drove through the ghetto to get there. It’s amazing the conditions that people live in. It’s sad because they are tearing down the slums to put up million dollar condos. Where are those people going to live?!?! They can’t afford much! To think of all they’ve seen and been through at even the age of a young teen is amazing! We arrived at Giordanos for good ole Chicago style pizza. It was definitely the best pizza ever!!!! Mmmmm. After that, we headed to the Hancock Building. On the way there, Angie was holding on to me to keep warm since the silly girl hadn’t brought a coat. Suddenly, I realized I had my Vera Bradley bag that is huge and only has a button to keep it shut. I told her that probably wasn’t the best purse to have because it could easily be cut! So we both grabbed ahold of our purses (Angie was clutching hers to her chest it was quite funny!) and right about that time, there was a mugging right in front of us! The mugger ran into Leah and then kept running across the street. Funny part was…the guy he’d mugged ran after him!!! The mugger got knocked down by the muggee right in front of a car!!! He got up and kept running…I never saw the end. But it was so weird for Ang and I since we’d just been talking about it and then it happened right in front of us! So, we arrived at the Hancock Building with all bags in tact and went up the 96 floors to the top. We only went into the bathroom to see os that we didn’t have to pay. There was a huge window to look out and see everything. Haha…we’re cheapskates! After that, we went to the American Girl shop and some did shoppin…Ang and I just lounged together watching all the people. Michelle Williams from Beyonce was there!!! She had her own personal shopper with her. Sarah (who saw her) was very cool about it though and just let her keep herself under wraps (she was obviously trying to keep a low profile). YEA SARAH!!!! After that, we headed to the mall to get pics done for the BirthMothersLove group managers :) First, we had to make animals though to have for our picture (my idea!!!! Hey, I was creative for once!) We all made our fave animal :) I made the monkey of course!!! Though I was tempted to pretend that my fave animal was the frog since I’ve been wanting it so bad! But I’m glad I got the monkey now! Poor thing is confused though cuz I named it Buddie (which to me definitely seems like a boy name) but then I gave it pink flowers for each its ears. Then we got a picture of all of us that went!!!! Then, we shopped. Bad idea!!! I spent way too much at Aero (though I have tons of cute new monkey things plus a cute button down!). I also bought a monkey charm for the bracelet Denise got me (thanks for the find Leah!) Then, we went to Hooters to pick up wings and I switched cars to go to the grocery to pick up medicine with Karen (my cough was getting worse). We went back and ate and chatted and enjoyed each others company even more!
Sunday, everyone went to leave and it was time to say our goodbyes :( Leah and I were the last ones to leave. We then headed to Indy (lucky we got there since I fell asleep at the wheel…good thing there are rumble strips!!! Sorry about that Leah!!!) to enjoy some shopping (no, we just browsed; we were good and didn’t buy anything) and Cold Stone Creamery (3rd day in a row ;)). It was sad having to tell her goodbye :( I miss all the girls!!!!! And even though Denise wasn’t there that weekend, she was definitely with us! We took her picture everywhere. At the pizza place, we sat her on the table and even fed her a chip. The waiter even brought her own plate (without us asking, he must just have known!!!)
Friday, Leah and I got up early so that we could hit the road for Chicago. We left a little late but we were still in a good mood :) Went by Decatur to pick up my wallet that Aaron left behind (silly boy ;)) so that I could have my license to drive with! Went and got the wallet first…then it was on to the daycare (which is conveniently located right behind Amanda and John’s house) so that Leah could meet Miss Eden. Well when we got there, they thought I was there to pick Eden up and they were just going to send her with me!!! Then when I said I was just there to visit it became a totally different story. John hadn’t left the note so they were like we’ll have to call because of the laws. Which was fine with me. Well right as they were saying that, my cell rang. It was Amanda. So I handed my cell over for them to talk to her. Haha. It was actually kind of funny. Then when she got off the phone she was like “Do you guys have REGULAR visits?” Okay, maybe open adoption isn’t well known of but there was just too much of a disrespectful tone in her voice. I was not at all humored about it. YES we have regular visits. Eden will grow up knowing me as her birthmom. I couldn’t be more proud. So the lady warned us that Eden was a bit upset because one of the ladies had left the room and that upsets her. So, I sat down with her to calm her down. She did some. But there were some little girls that crowded around us and that definitely wasn’t helping her out. I knew by the way she was acting that she was tired and hungry. Well needless to say, as soon as she had lunch, she was feeling much better. GO FIGURE!!! Stupid large daycare schedules! I’m sure that the director was telling Amanda and John that I upset her and were visits really good for her. Ugh… I’m sure she has an awful perception of open adoptions now. But Eden does know who I am (to a familiar degree that is) and that is NOT a bad thing. Anyways…then Leah and I went off to visit Amanda at work :) I got to see Terri; Amanda told me she was pregnant again!!! This time I know it’ll be a little girl. I’m so glad Leah was able to meet them! Leah, you have to come back and I PROMISE Eden will be better next time! After that…it was OFF TO CHICAGO!!!
It was a good drive…including the part where MapQuest was once again wrong and then Karen gave us the wrong directions so we ended up heading towards East Chicago. When we called to find out what was wrong, and we told her where we were headed she goes “UH OH!”…not very comforting ;) I was locking the doors as Leah laughed at me saying no one was going to get us as we drove down the highway going 60 mph. But we got there! Actually, had we not decided we went the wrong way and turned around…we wouldn’t beat Karen and the group from the airport there…there’s a sign I drive fast considering we got stuck in bad traffic after getting lost (Leah thought that a semi was going to run over us when I shoved my way in front of him in the mass traffic…no way! Just gotta know how to drive in big city traffic! Hehe). So once we got to Karen’s everyone was psyched cuz we were meeting new people! Angie and her momma, Sarah and her sis, also drove so they got there later. Both times when the doorbell rang I lept up to go to the door and was hugging everyone! I was very excited :) It was an amazing thing to get to meet the girls that I’ve been talking to forever online. We went through pictures people had bought, got some beautiful gifts from Terri and Momma Joyce (Thanks Ladies! I loved them!!!), and just sat around chatting and enjoying each others company. BUUUUTTTTT, I had been waiting all week to have Cold Stone Creamery with the girls and I simply couldn’t wait another minute so Sarah, Katie (Sarah’s sis), Angie, Leah, and I piled into Katie’s car and off we went to get Cold Stone. We all got individual ice creams and then Sarah and I bought two cakes to take back to everyone. I have to say…I like the ice cream way better than the cake. Though the cake that had red velvet cake with cake flavored ice cream (my fave) was pretty good!!! We stayed up doing hot wax on our hands and painting our nails and chatting til late in the night.
The next morning, Evelyn awoke me at 6:30!!!! I hardly know what 6:30 looks like anymore and had no desire to see it. I put my head under the covers and went back to sleep for about 30 minutes…course it was pretty loud so it wasn’t a really peaceful sleep. Got up, and had delicious crepes that Karen had made...omg they were good! I’m going to have to go back if even just for crepes! After everyone had a shower, we piled into the cars and took off for CHICAGO!!!! We lost Angie and her momma Michelle along the way because Michelle missed the exit. But we recovered them and on we went! Our first stop was The Women’s Center. We talked with the Director and another counselor for a few hours. It was amazing being able to share our stories with them and see the impact we were having on them simply by speaking. It was amazing all they’re doing. I can only hope to make it to that level one day! OH!!!! And in Chicago, Eden has her own piece of town because tons of buildings are named Eden ____. I took a picture of an Eden building right next to the Women’s Center. Hehe. After that, we went to downtown Chicago. We drove through the ghetto to get there. It’s amazing the conditions that people live in. It’s sad because they are tearing down the slums to put up million dollar condos. Where are those people going to live?!?! They can’t afford much! To think of all they’ve seen and been through at even the age of a young teen is amazing! We arrived at Giordanos for good ole Chicago style pizza. It was definitely the best pizza ever!!!! Mmmmm. After that, we headed to the Hancock Building. On the way there, Angie was holding on to me to keep warm since the silly girl hadn’t brought a coat. Suddenly, I realized I had my Vera Bradley bag that is huge and only has a button to keep it shut. I told her that probably wasn’t the best purse to have because it could easily be cut! So we both grabbed ahold of our purses (Angie was clutching hers to her chest it was quite funny!) and right about that time, there was a mugging right in front of us! The mugger ran into Leah and then kept running across the street. Funny part was…the guy he’d mugged ran after him!!! The mugger got knocked down by the muggee right in front of a car!!! He got up and kept running…I never saw the end. But it was so weird for Ang and I since we’d just been talking about it and then it happened right in front of us! So, we arrived at the Hancock Building with all bags in tact and went up the 96 floors to the top. We only went into the bathroom to see os that we didn’t have to pay. There was a huge window to look out and see everything. Haha…we’re cheapskates! After that, we went to the American Girl shop and some did shoppin…Ang and I just lounged together watching all the people. Michelle Williams from Beyonce was there!!! She had her own personal shopper with her. Sarah (who saw her) was very cool about it though and just let her keep herself under wraps (she was obviously trying to keep a low profile). YEA SARAH!!!! After that, we headed to the mall to get pics done for the BirthMothersLove group managers :) First, we had to make animals though to have for our picture (my idea!!!! Hey, I was creative for once!) We all made our fave animal :) I made the monkey of course!!! Though I was tempted to pretend that my fave animal was the frog since I’ve been wanting it so bad! But I’m glad I got the monkey now! Poor thing is confused though cuz I named it Buddie (which to me definitely seems like a boy name) but then I gave it pink flowers for each its ears. Then we got a picture of all of us that went!!!! Then, we shopped. Bad idea!!! I spent way too much at Aero (though I have tons of cute new monkey things plus a cute button down!). I also bought a monkey charm for the bracelet Denise got me (thanks for the find Leah!) Then, we went to Hooters to pick up wings and I switched cars to go to the grocery to pick up medicine with Karen (my cough was getting worse). We went back and ate and chatted and enjoyed each others company even more!
Sunday, everyone went to leave and it was time to say our goodbyes :( Leah and I were the last ones to leave. We then headed to Indy (lucky we got there since I fell asleep at the wheel…good thing there are rumble strips!!! Sorry about that Leah!!!) to enjoy some shopping (no, we just browsed; we were good and didn’t buy anything) and Cold Stone Creamery (3rd day in a row ;)). It was sad having to tell her goodbye :( I miss all the girls!!!!! And even though Denise wasn’t there that weekend, she was definitely with us! We took her picture everywhere. At the pizza place, we sat her on the table and even fed her a chip. The waiter even brought her own plate (without us asking, he must just have known!!!)