And The Winner Is ...

SHAWNA!!! That's right, Shawna had the correct answer. My lifelong dream was fulfilled this last week as my sister and I headed off for Chicago to go see The Oprah Winfrey Show. Seriously, I NEVER thought I would EVER get to go to her show. After she signed her last contract and told CBS she wouldn't be signing another one, I kinda gave up hope that it would ever happen. I had heard all sorts of stories of how women tried for five years or so before they ever got their tickets; and that was with them spending hours on the phone each week. Who has that kind of time? Anyway, I let it go and was totally over it. After all, it's not like someone I knew was going to get to go instead of me; right?

So a couple of weeks ago my sister and her family come over for dinner and during the evening she says to me, "Oh, I have something to tell you, but you're going to be mad at me." I'm like, "What?" And she says, "My friend got two tickets to go to Oprah in about two weeks, and she invited me to go with her." So then I'm like, "NOOOOOO!!! This cannot be! I was okay that I was never going to see her in person, but that was only because I knew NO ONE I knew was going to see her in person, either!" And she's all, "I swear, the first thing I asked her was, 'Are you sure there's not three tickets? My sister is going to be seriously mad at me!'" She was assured there were not three tickets, and that was it. They started making plans to go.

Apparently my sister's friend got the tickets through a patient at their office who got four tickets for a group of friends, and then at the last minute two of them weren't able to go. So her friend was like, "Won't your sister be happy for you that you get to go?" And my sister was like, "I seriously don't know. She REALLY likes Oprah." Truthfully, I was happy for her. It only pierced my heart a little.

Well, a week went by, and my sister was trying to get her plans in order for someone to watch the kids while her man would be at school. And then, on Sunday, she called me. Long story short, her friend's car was broken into, her purse and all their credit cards were stolen, and she was told it would take at least ten days to get everything replaced. Since she couldn't pay for her trip anymore, she told my sister she could bring me!!!! Sad for her, YEAH for me!!! My heart was pounding as I thought of ways to actually make this work. The Man works from 6am to 6pm, and the show was taping on a Tuesday. We were flying out on Saturday, so that meant I needed someone to watch the girls for two entire days. Luckily for me, I have the most fabulous friend ever, and she agreed to take them for me. She even offerred to have The Man bring them over Sunday night and Monday night to sleep over so he wouldn't have to wake them up at 5am and get them ready and still be to work on time. Sarah, I owe you FOREVER! Seriously, anything you want. I'm your new lifetime babysitter.

My sister was able to fly for free since her husband used to work for an airline, so she got in ealier than I did on Saturday. I was supposed to get there at about 3:00 in the afternoon, but my flight was delayed due to bad weather (we had an amazing lightning storm the night before with tons of thunder and rain), so I ended up getting in at about 7:00 instead. We picked up our car, checked into the hotel, and were off to get some dinner. The hotel was great, and the staff always had suggestions of wonderful local places to eat. We loved it! We slept in until 9:30 on Sunday, got up and went to the gym for a workout, got ready for the day, and then it was off to the famous Magnificent Mile for our first "girls' day out" for shopping. Our first stop, The Gap, of course, to purchase our RED t-shirts designed by Bono's Red Line that was promoted on Oprah the week before in their fight against AIDS. If you haven't heard about it, it's a wonderful cause, and all you have to do is buy something that you were probably going to buy anyway. Check it out here. Then you can go to The Gap link to check out their Red Line. Of all the things being sold by Bono's Red Line, the stuff at the Gap is probably all that I can afford (unless I was planning on buying The Man something from Armani - yeah, right - or a new cell phone or Ipod).

I can't tell you how nice it was not to have to worry about what time it was, having to go back to the hotel for naps for little ones, or about the baby's being too cold or crying for something, or any of the other million little things we worry about every single day when we're taking care of our children. It was just us, and we could do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I thought for sure I would be in tears by the second day at hearing their voices at night before bedtime, but they were just fine, and so was I. I knew they were in very capable hands. I knew they were happy and having a good time. What a relief that was. Sometimes as moms we think no one else could ever take care of them if we were gone. I have to give major props to The Man for handling the weekend with the girls so great. He even got them ready for 9am church on Sunday! What a guy!

On Monday we mapped out our route to Harpo Studios. We made our plan for me to drop my sister off early so we could be one of the first in line, and then I would drive down for hot chocolate and then find parking. Parking is crazy downtown! We did a little more shopping and went to a salon to get our nails done. We walked around looking at beautiful buildings and people's houses downtown. They were gorgeous! It's just so completely different from where we live.

Tuesday we were up at 3:45am. Plenty of time to get ourselves beautiful for Ms. Winfrey. There was no traffic at 5am, so we arrived even earlier than we planned. Perfect. We were the third group in line. The first was a brother and sister who had come from New York. They got in line at 2:30! They said in NY if you get to your line after that, there would already be over 100 people waiting there. Crazy! Two cousins were next, then us, and a group of four friends, who arrived just minutes after we did. We were all instantly best friends. Everyone was just as excited as we were to be there. Oh, it was so fun! I'll spare the details of the waiting outside, then waiting inside, fixing our hair and makeup, going to the bathroom three times, fixing our hair and makeup again, and then finally getting called to go take our seats inside the studio. We ended up in the second row over on the side of the stage, where Oprah would be facing. When she walked in, we all jumped up, screaming and clapping. It was so fun to just be carried away in all the excitment.



It was unreal. We were so close it was like we were across my own living room. And she looked fabulous! I was expecting her to be heavier (apparently it's true, the camera really does add ten pounds), and her outfit and shoes were so cute! Her hair looked great, although you won't be able to see the hairstyle she had. It was a really cute 'do' in the back, but on TV it will just look like it's pulled back in a ponytail.

The topic was "Moms Around the World." They talked to moms from other countries on how they are raising their children and what their traditions are. Not the most exciting show, but who cares, I was THERE!!! I did tear up when they showed a clip about a mother in Africa caring for her children with AIDS. It just reminded me of our incredibly blessed we to live where we live and to have all that we have. When the taping ended, the audience got to talk to Oprah for her show on XM Radio, and then we were dismissed. And that was it. The show taping was the tiniest fraction of our trip, but the whole thing was an experience I'll never forget. Thanks, K, for letting it be me. I'll love you forever!



And the best part of the whole trip? Coming home, of course. I couldn't help but jump into the arms of My Man when he came to get me at the airport. And seeing those gorgeous faces of my beautiful little girls after not seeing them for FOUR DAYS (although Miss Priss was asleep in her carseat) was priceless. I just never wanted to stop kissing my little Devil Child. How is it possible that they can grow up so much when you're gone for such a short time? I'll never figure that one out. All in all, my first time leaving my babies went very well. It's an experience I highly recommend to every mother out there who hasn't tried it yet. Having a little time for ourselves is important, when we usually spend ALL our time taking care of everyone else. But it's the best feeling in the world to come home and realize that after seeing my "dream" come true, my life as a wife and a mother kicks Oprah's butt, hands down.



And for anyone who may be interested, the show we were at will be on this Monday, October 23rd. It's at 9am here, but check your tv guide if you don't know what time it's on where you live. And shame on you if you don't know what time Oprah is on where you live. We'll be taping it just in case they show us on tv!!!