Moms Gone Wild??

As any mom knows, as much as we dearly love our kids (and our husbands!), sometimes we just need a chance to unwind with the girls.  Judging from the title, you might be expecting a post that goes something like this:


This past Saturday I headed downtown to meet six of my favorite moms for our first (of many, I hope) Girls Weekend! We shopped Circle Center, enjoyed a great dinner at a well-known steakhouse and ended our evening with drinks at my favorite martini bar. We stayed out late and slept in late....it was a crazy and fun weekend!

While all of the above is certainly true (well, expect for the sleeping in part), that's really not the whole story! Here's how my “wild” weekend really played out:
 
Saturday morning, when I left my house a little after 11am, all three kids were whining or crying for different reasons.  I gave the kids big hugs and lots of kisses, gave my husband a hug, a kiss and a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and headed out the door. It was finally here...a day and a half of  "me" time!
 
As I started downtown, I flipped through MY favorite radio stations.  I enjoyed the quiet the comes with being alone in the car.  I took in my surroundings as I navigated downtown, noticing restaurants and shops I had never seen before.  I located my favorite Mall parking garage and prepared myself for an event I have not had the pleasure of experiencing for at least 9 months (since Drew was born)...shopping (in a non-grocery store, no less) All By Myself!  Pretty wild so far, huh?!?   
 
I met my friend Sarah for lunch in the mall then we walked around the mall, exploring all the stores we wouldn't dare go into with small children!  I even got to visit the Colts Pro Shop and fell in love with a fabulous hooded sweatshirt that is officially on my Christmas list :)  Next up, check into our hotel conveniently located just a block off of Monument Circle.  We check in at the front desk then head to the 4th floor to check out our rooms.  The first one we open up isn't ready!  The beds are unmade, towels on the floor and trash still in the room.  We lug our bags back down to the front desk to explain.  "No problem," says Savannah, the friendly hotel clerk, "we want to make this right."  We get upgraded to nicer rooms on the 10th floor and complimentary breakfast buffet for all seven of us!  Bonus!  We met up with three more friends shortly after checking in.  We sat around in our sweats, ate chips & hummus, cheese & crackers and cookies we didn't have to share with anyone under 5!!  We even celebrated our Girls Weekend with a little wine before dinner. 

We got "all dressed up" (in our favorite jeans, though I was sporting cuter shoes than normal) in clothes that didn't smell like spit up and made our way to dinner.  I start to feel really old when I realize the 2 glasses of wine I had at the hotel (over 2.5 hours) has given me a headache :/  No worries, though!  Several glasses of water and one tasty dinner later, I'm feeling much better.  Next on the agenda: martini bar!  Though I stated this is my favorite martini bar (and favorite non-restaurant establishment in the city) I have only been there 3-4 times in the 7 years that I have lived in here...certainly not a place I frequent, I just really love the atmosphere.  We toast to our Girls Weekend and to each other and enjoy a drink or two before heading back to the hotel.  As we're leaving, we notice the line to get in the door is unbearably long and we decide we never would have waited outside that long just to get in...what time is it anyway?  Um, 11pm.  Whoa!  Who goes out that late??  Wait, we did...in college, which feels like a million years ago now!  




Megan, Brooke, Brandi, Sarah, Melissa, Bree and Jennifer


Back at the hotel, we put our sweats back on and get the snacks back out.  Since our breakfast plans changed, we break out the Panera bagels that would have been our breakfast.  Late night snacking at its best!  Now it's off to bed.  Check out is not until 12noon, so we're sleeping in as late as we want!  

It's 7:43am.  I'm awake and staring at the ceiling.  I get up to use the bathroom and realize the lights are on in the sitting room, separated from the bedroom by two french doors.  Meg's already up watching TV.  I lay back down and try to force my eyes closed again.  After about 45 minutes, I surrender.  There's a knock at the door.  Mel's up too and ready for her Starbucks run - any takers? 

We take our showers, make ourselves look presentable and by 9:30 we head downstairs to one of the most amazing breakfast/lunch/dessert buffets I have ever seen!  Omelets, pancakes and waffles made to order, biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, smoked salmon...and that was just on the breakfast side.  There was an entire lunch buffet I never even attempted to visit, but I could not pass up the dessert buffet.  Keep in mind it's about 10am now and I have already eaten a gigantic omelet, but I had to try the chocolate fondue fountain and tiramisu - Delicious!  Brooke had an amazing piece of apple pie cheesecake that I wish I could have taken home and enjoyed when I was not already so full!! 

I completed my girlfriend-fix Sunday afternoon with a little shopping (again, alone!!) at the Fashion Mall before heading to a nearby restaurant to celebrate my friend Jenny's baby girl on-the-way.  We swapped pregnancy and birthing stories (and am quite certain we scared the non-moms at the table into never having kids...I swear, it's worth it, though!) and showered Jenny with some new baby gear. 




Sarah Lynn, mama-to-be Jenny, Brandi, Elizabeth, Pam and Alison


The perfect way to end my Girls Weekend...and I got home in time to put my sweet babies to bed then watch Peyton's team beat up on Eli's team in Manning Bowl II!    

Many Thanks and Kudos to our Awesome Husbands for humoring us for the night and allowing us a little girl time!  We so appreciate it!  What a "wild" and wonderful weekend!