the 'burbs for a day

When you have a wide open weekend in the middle of the summer, and your husband is on another continent for three weeks, and you know you need to keep yourself and your girls busy, and you have Rett friends who live in a suburb of Chicago and are willing to let you hang out with them for a day, you go. You just do. 

First, you stop at IKEA to grab some supplies for a few home improvement projects. And you eat meatballs for dinner. 

Then, you blow up a mattress and sleep in their playroom with your girls. And you wake up to a house full of squealing and giggling and even more girls. (Poor John.)

Then you head to their village's summer block party that has live entertainment and darling tiny carnival rides. You let your 2 year old ride all the rides (while you die, figuratively, of cuteness). 

You let your 7 year old run wild on the grass, and then rest in the stroller (the stroller that is waaaaaay too small for her, but you're trying to figure out how to afford the $1,500 one she needs). 

And you let a few things slide because, well, 2 year olds can't read. 

You feel so incredibly welcome and normal, even, in their company. Because even though you have amazing friends from all walks of life, sometimes it's just plain nice to be with another family who deals with what you deal with on a daily basis. 

After a day filled with fun (and sun and humidity), you pile back in the car and wave goodbye. Not because you want to. But because you have to hit up Trader Joe's on the way back home. 

And while you're at Trader Joe's you realize your 7 year old is also riding in a cart that is waaaaaay to small for her and you wonder when, exactly, she grew. 

But you're still glad you went because you get to munch on delicious food on the way home AND the kind employees give your two year old stickers that will entertain her for an hour until she falls asleep. 

And then, when you get home, you immediately check your calendar to see when you can do it all again.