A day away

Chemo brain - can't recall anything about last night. I know Ellie and Rob were up first this morning and then Nick. I slept in a little bit and then went down - excitement was a brewin' in the house. I had a muffin and a cup of tea and then went into packing for our getaway. Nick and Ellie wanted their own bags even though we were only going for a night. I packed everyone up and we got snacks and drinks and we were on the road.
Our first stop was the outlet mall in Pleasant Prairie - huge Presidents Day sales. I got bags full of clothes at Gymboree plus gymbucks to use later. We got some cookies and goldfish at Peppridge Farm and then I got another boat load of bargains at Old Navy - the trunk was already overloaded.
We cruised to Milwaukee and spent the early afternoon at the Brinn Children's Museum - the kids liked having new exhibits to go through - a couple had been at other museums we had been at. We left the museum (which is right on the lakefront) and my nose froze on the way to the car. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch, La Estacion. Had the best enchiladas.
Our plan was to see Gnomeo and Juliet after lunch but I was in need of some walking after lunch - my feet did not feel the same. We had about 2 hours before the movie time and thought we could easily burn through the time sitting on tractors at Farm and Fleet. As I have said before, this whole chemo thing is like being pregnant and I was met by the overwhelming smell of rubber as we walked through the door. I was able to manage through it for about 10 minutes before I found Rob and told him I would meet them in the car.
Ellie and I ran into Kohl's - I know, we have them in Illinois, but I don't have to pay Cook Co. tax up here - plus I had 30% off. I found Rob a replacement coat (his zipper broke last week) and a pair of jeans for me. We got lost - thank you GPS trying to find the movie theatre that was literally right behind the mall we were in. We got there and Rob ran ahead and got our tickets. It was the most bizarre theatre I have ever been in - people were bringing in whole pizzas and coffee drinks, ice cream - totally a full menu. Once again, the smell of the hot dog with all the fixings in the row ahead of us made my stomach turn. The movie was real cute and we all enjoyed in - I know a bunch of the humor went over the kids heads.
We raced to our hotel to check in because they have a managers reception nightly and the kids were looking forward to some snacks. They had some different stuff from the last time we were here - trail mix and marshmallow krispie treats. Rob was great and went to the bar (how ironic) to get me tea while I got him a vodka cranberry. We had our drinks and snacks and then the kids were jumping up and down to go to the pool. Thankfully, this time around the pool was warm - and crowded. Rob was a trooper and played with the kids - I watched for a bit until I felt a bit too tropical and needed to take some layers off.
I got the kids PJs ready for them when they got back up to the room and we sat in the living room area and watched Over the Hedge and waited for milk and cookie time. I walked down with the kids to get their evening milk and cookies - so fun. We watched about half the movie before we brushed teeth and tucked the kids in.
To say my feet hurt is an understatement - I am taken back to the 4th of July when I felt like I would like someone just to cut them off. Ultra touch sensitive - neuropathy issues and just plain gross. My fingerprints are still leaving, hands are peeling and my hands just don't look like my own. My gums are still bad - although, I brushed my teeth with regular toothpaste tonight and my mouth feels cleaner. Bits of nauseousness today - mostly smell or heat related. Apparently, we will be waking up to freezing rain and snow tomorrow - we will be driving home slowly. Nick grabbed the brochure for Jelly Belly outlet so we will most likely stop there on our ride home. Good to be away - visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal me - whomever that shall be, Tree