The Crazy Trip that was Chicago.

Remember that the littles and I were headed to Chicago Friday night?

Well we made it.

Barely.

And E's first flight and H's 10th (yes, I misspoke before, his 10th) went off pretty well.

This is the best I could do for an on flight picture of the two of them. From my cell phone.

H was excited and a perfect passenger and E fell asleep as soon as we boarded the plane and started nursing.

He even got Sprite!

We landed and as we taxied to the gate I looked over at H to see him sound asleep.

Wasn't quite in my plan for him to fall asleep. I sat thinking how I was possibly going to de-board the plane with two sleeping children. I figured E would be sleeping but my plan had been for H to walk. So I waited while all the other passengers deboarded thinking that the flight attendants would be helpful in getting my sleeping children off the plane with me.

No offense, American Airlines, but the flight attendants on my flight were anything BUT helpful on that note. (And another thing, where's the wings?)

H stayed sleeping from the plane to the stroller, the stroller to the car seat and the car seat to bed Friday night.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

E on the other hand did wake up as I tried to fenangle her into the Baby Bjorn to carry her off board.

Saturday morning both woke up with runny noses and E had a cough.

Last Wednesday I had seriously contemplated NOT going to Chicago with fears that one or both of them would come down with something after having T sick 2 weeks ago, then M sick. I just figured that someone would get sick. After thinking about it and talking to friends and family I decided that I couldn't live life thinking someone would get sick but now wish I would have trusted my gut on it.

(With that said I am still glad I went and got to see some good friends!)

Saturday we got to spend time with my friend Anne and see her new house and her baby's room. Went to her shower and I also got to spend time with two other good friends having coffee and treats. Sadly I have very less than a handful of pictures from the days events.

E at the shower. She looks pretty good then doesn't she?

Mid-way through the shower E started getting cranky and just not seeming like her self. Thinking she was over tired from missing her nap I just tried to go with it. She was just plain miserable later on as I tried to get her changed and fed dinner before heading back to my friends Zach and Sarah's, where we were staying.

Once all the kids were sleeping I did get to spend some time with Sarah. One of my dear best friends. But honestly, E was in the back of my head all night long.

Sunday morning E woke up smiling but the look of her face and the sound of her breathing and just her demeanor told me something more was going on.

So we traipsed to an urgent care and had her checked out. Her O2 levels were checked, her lungs listened to, her ears checked (and doubly infected, with one bulging ear drum) and they did an H1N1 test.

I knew that home was where we needed to be.

Because God is faithful and always has all the little details worked out ahead of time, I realized on the way to urgent care that some friends of mine from Minnesota were also in Illinois. They had driven in for a wedding on Friday and were driving home Sunday.

I quickly texted them wondering when they were leaving.

While at the doctor we texted back and forth and figured out details and it worked perfectly for them to pick up my littles and I to drive (eight hours) home. They were in a suburb about 20 miles away from us.

I knew that with her ears the way they were trying to get an earlier flight or even trying to make it and hope the antibiotics kicked in enough for our flight Monday would have been miserable. Considering tonight she's running a fever, I know it would have been bad.

While I did feel bad that myself and my two children were crashing their kid free, alone drive home, they both were gracious and understanding and actually Mike commented that it was better that we were along for the company since he figured his wife Holly would have slept the drive home.

H and E, my good little traveling babes, did great. H ate and slept and colored and sang songs and stayed mostly entertained and E had some fussy times, but honestly wouldn't you if both of your ears were bugging you?

Poor E! (Another cell phone picture.)

The entire experience was a learning experience and also a blessing.

I learned that I really do need to trust my gut and that's something my mom told me over and over and over.

And I also learned how blessed I am. How blessed I am to have people in my life who love us enough to let us stay with them and not worry about my kids getting colds and being fussy around their kids. How blessed I am to have friends that are understanding when E started fussing at the shower and beyond. And how blessed that God had worked out all the details for us. What are the odds that people we knew would be close enough and on their way home just when we needed to go?

It was wonderful, though short to see friends. To see my glowing friend during her pregnancy and hear about all the excitement surrounding the baby's upcoming birth. To see other kindred friends who I love connecting with and feel such deep connection even when our visits are few and far between. To spend time, albeit short, with our hosts, who we love and who love us and know that they understand.

But just in case you're wondering, I think that this was my last trip with two kids alone for a long while.