Botanimal Gardens

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Grammy, the kids and I headed to the "Botanimal Gardens" since it was a nice, warm, indoor activity---even the parking is inside--- on a very frigid day.

The kids spent a lot of time playing with the train table and the various craft things while Grammy watched them. It gave me a few minutes to take some pictures.

"The Twins"


"Lunch Time"

Here are more. I'm pretty happy with a bunch of these. Just wish I could figure out how to make money doing something I love so much. At least enough to afford this expensive hobby!

Kalahari Fun

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This was the twinadoes 3rd trip to Kalahari and probably their best one yet.

They were more willing to venture into the wave pool and it was a crowd pleaser. However, being battered around in those waves takes a lot out of a person, especially ones so low to the ground. I have never seen Reagan and Nolan more tired and ready to leave Kalahari as early as we did. They had a blast with Grammy and Aunt Deb and it was fun to have them see how much the kids enjoy this. It's safe to say the adults all had a good time as well.

The best quote of the trip was Reagan telling Aunt Deb that I was "at the swim-up salad bar!" Too bad I wasn't really at the swim bar, I was at our backpacks getting the kids a snack!

hanging in the "bubble tub", catching snowflakes on our tongues.

luggage cart ride. Reagan deserved it. She unloaded ALL our luggage on her own. She is very strong, you know?!

I promised Aunt Deb & Grammy there would be no bathing suit shots. This isn't *really* a bathing suit shot is it? It was too good not to post.

I've got the packing down to a science now, but one detail I neglected to address...I wore crocs (and not the warm fuzzy mammoth ones either). I figured going from my attached garage to the front door of Kalahari was no big deal. What was a big deal, was that it snowed the night we spent at Kalahari. No. Snow isn't the right word, it was a freakin' blizzard. I had to walk (a fair distance) to get the car to bring it around to load and then repark while we played in the water park after checking out of the hotel. You guessed it, after the waterpark, I had to walk back out and collect the car.

I'm not gonna lie. It sucked. BIG TIME.

My feet have never been so cold and I've never cursed my crocs so much. The whole time I was shivering and sliding walking over the wooden plank bridge to the parking lot, I kept repeating my kids names, just reminding me of why I was doing what I was doing.

They are my everything and I'd walk to the end of the earth.....in the snow.....in my crocs for them.

Who Doesn't Love This Face?

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I swear, his apple cheeks are the two best things I've ever kissed!

He is sweet, silly, sensitive and one of two of the best cuddlers I know.

I am so lucky to call him my son.

Homemaker

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com So, I hooked up with a survey website that pays you to speak your mind. Nice, right? Good to keep my mind active with things other than Yo Gabba Gabba. I've taken a few surveys and one of the first qualifying questions is always about "employment." Homemaker is the option I have to pick.

Tonight I really thought about the word "homemaker" and how dated it is. Have we not evolved as a society that there is no other term for what I do day in and day out? Every other job has some fancy title that some HR guru made up for them. I want one too! Also, every woman I know that works at a paying job outside the house is a homemaker too, so what box does she check? From now on, I'm going to check "other" and when the write-in box pops up, here is what I'm going to write:

mommy, cook, chauffeur, maid, laundress, window washer, nurse, butt wiper, gardner, personal shopper, wife, gift wrapper, card writer, party planner, photographer, canner, travel agent, coupon clipper, playdate coordinator, blogger.

Pet Peeves

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Dear Fellow Theatre-Go'ers:

1. If you don't know how to silence your cell phone, then you don't need to own one. You were smart enough to figure out how to put that obnoxious ringtone on, so you should be able to figure it out.

2. If, an hour after leaving the theatre, I can still smell your eau de Grandma perfume in my nostrils, you put too much on.

3. If you and your boyfriend are so tired that you can't hold your heads up through a 2 1/2 hour show and you must lean on each other, making it impossible for the person behind you to see around your ginormous conjoined head, maybe you should have stayed home and gone to bed early.

Other than that, Chicago was awesome. Dinner was even better. More on that tomorrow.

Ciao

A Mother's Love

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Between a mother and child, a smile translates the same no matter who (or what) you are.



I was fortunate enough to catch this through glass at the Rainforest this weekend.

My Own Sonny & Cher

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The twinadoes have their own music when they roll with Grammy, among their favorites are "Help", "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" and "I Got You Babe."

Nolan got a little shy for the camera, he usually sings much louder, but his mouth still reminds me of the singing kids in the Charlie Brown cartoons.

This Weather Is For The Dogs

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Reagan and Nolan had a playdate of the 4-legged sort this morning. Their best pal, Ginger, came over to romp in the snow.

The three of them had a great time!

They romped, ate icicles, played on the swingset, and just plain ran around. Well, as much as the three of them could with snow up to knees and belly.

Hanging out with Aunt Deb. The kids call this part of the woods, "Kalahari." Think they obsess much about that place?!

"Higher Uncle Sam!" -Reagan

Nolan & Ginger checking out the view of the front yard.

Alleviated the need for the afternoon Popsicles!

There wasn't a corner of the yard that went unexplored.

I don't know about Ginger, but the twinadoes came in the house and took a nice warm bath, ate lunch, and Nolan was down for the count. Reagan has skipped her afternoon nap two days in a row now. She does stay in her crib and is (for the most part) quiet so at least her body is resting. And so is Mommy's brain!

Nolan's Pickup

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com The other night the Y gym & swim classes were cancelled due to the weather. The kids were so geared up to go that we decided to venture out in the snow and go swimming anyway. Whenever we have swim class, Reagan goes into the girls family locker room with me and Nolan with Bill to the boys room. For the past 3 classes she has been asking to go with Bill so we decided to do it this time figuring it wouldn't be too crowded (it was). As I'm getting Nolan's swim trunks on he smiles at the lady across the aisle from us. He says "Hi. I'm Nolan. I'm going swimming." They proceded to have a whole conversation. He was smiling and being charming. He asked her if she knew where Reagan was. He told her Reagan was his sister. She asked if Reagan was older and said "yep, one minute! We're twins." She asked me how old he was because she said he looked pretty small to have the vocabulary he does. When we were ready to go he bid her a good night with a big grin. She laughed and told him what a sweetheart he is. My boy. The lady killer.

It's Electric

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Million-Dollar Noodle

www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com Two years ago, I couldn't sleep. I knew in a few hours, I'd have to walk my then 8-month old son, into an operating room so a neurosurgeon and a cranial-facial plastic surgeon could cut his head open from ear to ear across the top of his scalp, remove the plates in his forehead, reshape them, create a soft spot for him, and piece him back together. It was the scariest moment of my life to just leave him alone in that stark operating room. I cried all day and felt like an elephant was standing on my chest. When the call came, almost 8 hours after I left him, the release of emotion was tremendous. There was laughter and tears and, finally, a deep breath. I have never experienced anything as intense. Nothing could have prepared us for what he'd look like in the days after the surgery. When his eyes swelled shut, he would still kick and reach when he heard a familiar voice. It was heartbreaking. I won't ever forget reading on this blog (back in the day when Bill had the password, he posted too :-0 ) that Nolan could open his eyes. I couldn't get to the hospital fast enough so he could SEE me. The smile he gave me, well it is just something I'll never forget. Looking back, it sucked, but we got through it. It was a very short-term medical issue and all went according to the best case senerio and he is just fine. I never want to do it again, but knowing that I was the best advocate for my son makes it easier. If I hadn't stood up and spoken my mind, who knows what would have happened thanks to the negligence of our (then) pediatrician. We often tell Reagan and Nolan the story about how Nolan had to have surgery on his head because he is so smart that his brain needed more room to grow. They also like to talk about the time, this past summer, that our peds office sent us to the E.R. for a case of roseola. In their little 2-year old minds, the two stories blend together and now the story is that Nolan had surgery on his "million dollar noodle" because he had roseola. I go back and read the posts from January 2008 every so often, but tonight it is most meaningful. *If you care to relive the inception of this blog, here is the month of January (read from bottom up) : http://nolanpchak.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html