Just about four years ago, I joined a social networking site called cre8buzz. It was a place where bloggers could connect, share pictures, videos, posts and ideas. It is where I met my very best bloggy friends.

One of those friends is Melisa. Not only did we connect online, but also in real life when she helped to coordinate and deliver my family a freezer-full of meat. She is all kinds of awesome.

A few months ago, Melisa’s second book was published. It’s called Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go: Nearly 200 Ways to Enjoy Chicagoland with Tweens and Teens. Guess what I have? Mmm hmm…it’s all Tween Central up in here.

After I received a copy, a plan was born. My 12 year old daughter, Ali, and I would make a trip to Chicago and explore some of the places in Melisa’s book and Melisa would be our guide. It helps to know people.

Ali and I settled in with Melisa’s book, and her recommendations, and decided just where we wanted to go.

But then we hit a snag. Airfare is outrageous and we don’t own a reliable car, so the second part of our plan was figuring out a way to get there. Luckily, we were able to hitch a ride to Chicago with our good friends who were going the same weekend. It helps to know people, times two.

Upon entrance to the Windy City, it turned out that our friends didn’t have a reliable car either. Just on the other side of the Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge, the rear axle fell off. But, really, you can’t ask for more excitement at the beginning of your trip than standing on the side of the road, on the south side of Chicago at 10:00pm. We like to start our vacations with a bang! Or a thunk. Same difference.

This did not deter Melisa though. Ali and I, and our luggage, jumped the median and Melisa and her son picked us up on the other side of the road. We arrived at her house, exhausted, and she sent us straight up to her bedroom for a good night’s rest.

It was a good thing we rested.

We awoke early, took the train into Chicago and we were off. Kind of like a rocket.

Our first stop was that which will never be called the Willis Tower, also known as the Sears Tower. Melisa is an Ambassador for Skydeck, which is the name of the CLEAR boxes they have installed on the sides of the building on the observation level. You can, literally, step out of the building, into a box and see the city streets below your feet. It’s about ten shades of insanity. Also, I LOVED it.

My daughter loved it more.

After that, we enjoyed the Riverwalk and a walk along Michigan Avenue, before ending up at the John Hancock Building for lunch. If you want unequaled views of the lake and the city skyline, this is the place to go. The food was delicious too.

From there, we got off of our feet for a while and took a cab to Navy Pier where we enjoyed a beautiful architectural tour on a boat that traveled down the river. It was fun and informative and it was a gorgeous day to be on the water.

Following that, we walked the entire way around Navy Pier before I was forced to climb into a ferris wheel car. I was not pleased.

Now keep in mind, this was all. In. One. Day. And, we were not done.

Another cab ride took us to Millennium Park were we saw the amazing “Bean” and Crown Fountain, before hopping onto the train home and stopping at Portillo’s for Chicago dogs and Italian beef sandwiches. Whew!

I suffer from insomnia, but you can bet that I slept that night.

The next day, we visited the Museum of Science and Industry, before going to Ed Debevics for lunch.

If you’ve never been to Ed’s, you should go, but you need to leave your ego at the door; especially if your ego doesn’t like insults. The wait staff is notoriously rude, but even though they throw the menus on the table, “spit” in your water and call you dirtball, it’s a fun place to eat. It’s amazing how much a 12 year old enjoys watching her mother squirm because she might get scolded by the waiter.

We were told to wear these hats. We obliged.

After a short rest, we took a leisurely stroll around Melisa’s town before enjoying a dinner with fellow bloggers and the world’s best dessert; raw cookie dough (without eggs so it’s safe to eat). I ate the whole bowl. Of cookie dough. Don’t judge me.

Quit looking at my butt, lady!

I haven’t even mentioned the Vietnam Memorial, the Stained Glass Museum, the Tiffany ceiling in that which shall never be called Macy’s (also known as Marshall Fields), Buckingham Fountain, the 9/11 Memorial, the Naperville Bell Tower, deep dish pizza, photo ops in front of the Art Institute, the double-decker trains at Union Station…and MORE.

Melisa’s family was kind, generous and funny, the weather was beautiful and everywhere we went we encountered nothing but the nicest people you could ever meet. My daughter, who lately has been known as “The Surly One” actually smiled and LAUGHED. A lot.

Chicago is a fun, exciting and beautiful city and if you are a tween, teen OR adult, Melisa’s book is an invaluable resource for finding things to do and knowing exactly what to expect. The woman loves her town.

And, you know what? So do we.

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You know how, in the past, I have taken to Twitter after ingesting my Ambien? Well, I haven’t done much of that lately.

Mostly, I’ve been sleep-eating. I think. I woke one morning, not long ago, to find a plate on my nightstand which had clearly held nachos.

But, the last two mornings it appears that I have been spending my evenings grooming myself. Yesterday, all of the toes on my left foot were purple and this morning, I woke to this…

Let’s hope I stay away from the eyebrow wax.

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Tomorrow is your birthday.  It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that you’ve been in my life for less than a decade, because it feels like you’ve been around forever.  Most people say that they can’t believe how time flies, but with you things tend to move at a slower pace.

We have been through a lot together, you and I.  I won’t lie; you’re the reason I have an intimate relationship with anti-anxiety meds and sleep aides.  You are the reason I throw my hands in the air on a daily basis, look up and say, “Lord, have mercy on me.”

I had a hard time learning to love you.  I was scared to love you.  I didn’t think you were going to stick around very long and I didn’t want to get hurt.  I’m glad I let my guard down.  It was the best thing I ever did and I learned that, when in doubt, you should follow your heart.

You bring adventure to my life because I never know what you’re going to say or what you’re going to do.  Even when we’re out running errands together, I feel like I’m living on the edge.  At least I never have to worry about life being dull.

But, I don’t just love you because you keep me on my toes.  I love you because you are strong, smart, funny and so stinkin’ cute.  I love that you aren’t perfect, because it reminds me that no one is.

Happy 9th birthday, Boo.  Mommy loves you.

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You know how you don’t get any sleep, and then your cold turns into a sinus infection/bronchitis mixture, and you spend your Saturday afternoon sitting in the cold watching an endless, sixth grade, softball game, which really wasn’t endless, but it WAS three hours, which is the same as endless, and the girls on the opposing team scream and chant the entire time, “We’re going to rally, rally, rally!  We’re going to rally, rally!” and you feel like you should go to confession because you wished they would lose their voices, then you take your obsessive and compulsive son to a monster truck show, and his latest tic is to sniff, sniff, sniff, SNIFF, SNIFF, and you take his noise-reducing earphones off to adjust them and he starts sniffing harder and completely freaking out that you are GOING TO MAKE HIM DEAF, and then he starts gagging, but you can’t go anywhere because you’re smack-dab in the middle of the row of seats and there is a wall behind you, so you do what any mother of an almost-nine-year-old would do, which is to put your hand under his chin and catch his vomit in your bare hand, but that’s okay because you have TISSUES and your friend has hand sanitizer, and then the young child in front of you stands up and yells, “Screw you!” to the announcer, and his parents LAUGH, and then you spend all day Sunday coughing up a lung because after you caught vomit in your hand, you sat in that closed arena and inhaled exhaust fumes all night and that goes really great with your asthma/bronchitis, sinus infection?

Yeah,  me too.

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