Importance of Friends

Bill and I know we are lucky in the friend department. 

I have friends that I have known since I was one year old and Bill's college fraternity brothers are among his besties. We have also been fortunate to meet some amazing people along the way through former jobs, the internet, or by moving to a new neighborhood. People that I call "framily", the friends we consider family.

Bill and I both come from small families, so our friends make up a majority of the people we spend each holiday, weekend, and life's special (and not-so-special) moments with.

I was once again moved to tears by the generosity of our framily this past weekend, a long holiday weekend no less.

Bill's mom called him at 3:30p on Friday and announced that she was moving. Over the weekend. She is frail and her roommate is not in much better health, so we all knew where this was going. Bill was going to be doing all the packing and moving. The kids and I were all sick, so we were not much help nor would I have wanted them in that situation.

We didn't ask for help. Bill posted this on facebook: "Great. Now, on top of everything else I need to do before surgery, I have to move my mom out of her sh!thole apartment. Just great."

Oh yeah, did I mention that Bill is having serious surgery on June 6? Well, he is. Moving heavy stuff up and down stairs is just what the doctor DID NOT order. But, that didn't matter. She was moving and that was all there was to it. (ETA: After writing this and posting, Bill has decided to postpone his surgery until fall.)

Within 5 minutes of that post, the first offer of help came from our next door neighbor, Mike. He is the chef-manager with the Gamekeepers group. Go eat at one of his restaurants. His food is awesome, just like he is. He works 6 days a week, long hours.

Mike in the kitchen, where he always seems to be.  John Kanuk, too.

An hour later there were two more offers of help. The John's. Ross & Kanuk. Only problem was one of them forgot he had an anniversary celebration to attend; his own!

John & Jan sharing the kids first view of the ocean. Which they were able to see because of John & Jan.

An hour after that comes an offer of a trailer and the help of the owner, Rick Stark who Bill has known since college. Back in the day, Rick probably attended a party or two at the apartment they'd be moving out of.

Rick giving a speech at Bill and Sam's 50th birthday party. Assist by Nolan.

At that point, I was in tears.

Bill worked his a$$ off Saturday to get things packed and began moving on his own.

Sunday rolled around and the posse assembled. Plus Jan Ross. She knows the mother/moving dynamic all too well and did a great job trying to keep things moving along smoothly so the guys could get the heavy stuff out without interference from Bill's mom.


To not know the situation intimately, you can't imagine what a difficult job this way. Bill's mom doesn't part with things easily so you can imagine what was in her house after 30+ years of living there.


It was a difficult day in so many ways. Without Rick, Mike, Jan, and John I'm not sure where we'd stand today. There was no way Bill could have done this on his own, and once again our friends came to our rescue.

FIVE

I can't believe my little sacks of sugar turn FIVE today. 

They are smart, funny, and loving. They are the light of my life and push me to be a better person. I didn't know love like this existed. 

Thank you, Reagan and Nolan. You make your Mom & Dad proud and we can't wait to see where the road of life will take you. You can do anything you put your mind to. 

Welcome To Ladybug Land

Last year it was butterflies, so I decided we'd try something new this spring (and Groupon ran a great deal on the habitat) so we are raising ladybugs this year. 

The larvae arrived today and all we had to do was dump them into Ladybug Land and  make sure their water pad was moist. 

 They guarantee we will get at least 5 ladybug, fingers crossed! 

10 To Try

In January, I started a 10 to try list of the restaurants I most wanted to try in 2012. It's the end of April and I'm 40% complete.

Pranzo was just OK. I prefer the Italian food across the street at Fanucce's and at a better price.

Deagan's Kitchen was really good. Lots of things on their menu I'd like to try. The hot nuts were, well, hot!

We were able to sneek in a visit to the newly opened, Hodge's as well. If you have a must-try list, add Hodge's. We loved it.

I really, really want to get back to SOHO soon. It has been my favorite new to me place so far.

1. SOHO

2. L'Albatros

3. Spice Kitchen & Bar

4. Sun Luck Garden

5. Fat Casual BBQ

6. Bac

7. Crop Bistro

8. Deagan's Kitchen


9. Pura Vida
 

10. Pranzo

Two Monkey Boys

This little guy was very fascinated with my little guy. I didn't know exactly why until I took a few steps to the left. 

A stick. 

Two monkey boys bonding over a stick. 

Well, I shouldn't say a stick because to Nolan it is a "treasure." Maybe to this guy as well!

Grandpa Fred Retires and I Knock Another Reso Off My 2012 Try List

In January, I made a goal to try 10 new-to-me restaurants in 2012. We knew we'd get to SOHO sooner rather than later and we can't wait to go back.

Honestly, I forgot about the list while getting ready for our trip to San Francisco in February. We also fall into old habits easily and always end up at the faves nearby, Ballantine for example.

When we returned from San Francisco, Grandpa Fred's retirment from Cleveland television was set for February 22. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the studio and watch his last show and even get to be on the set with him for the last segment. It will be a memory I treasure forever. He kissed each twinado on the top of the head as he talked about how glad he was that they could share the day with him. Thank goodness all you could see of me on TV was one hand holding a champagne glass and the other holding my camera because the tears were flowing. They don't yet completely understand how lucky they are to have him in their life.

A true gentlemen and scholar with a kind word for anyone he meets.

We were on-air and I quickly snapped this. I (and I know Bill was too) was honored to stand behind Fred as he did a farewell speech. Even more pleasing is that he considers our kids his honorary Grandkids and had one of them on each knee for this momentous occasion.

After the show, we adjourned to the wine "room" at L'Albatros for a celebratory lunch.

L'Albatros is a beautiful space with lots of natural light during the day in the dining room, however the wine room is very dark. No windows, metal garage-type shelves for the wine that they sandwiched in a large banquette seating area, and hung a vineyard scene on one wall. Probably at night, it is a sexy, romantic setting, but in the daytime, with all that wonderful light streaming in it felt confining.

The food was good; the company better. I enjoy Zach's Chinato a little more. The cheese selections at L'Albatros were fabulous however. I'm glad I got to try it and would enjoy going back for lunch another time to enjoy the regular dining area.

I've got 8 more places to knock off my list first though.

1. SOHO

2. L'Albatros

3. Spice Kitchen & Bar

4. Sun Luck Garden

5. Fat Casual BBQ

6. Bac

7. Crop Bistro

8. Deagan's Kitchen

9. Pura Vida

10. Pranzo

One Down, Nine To Go

It went like this.....the kids called my mom to see if they could come over on Saturday evening to watch the "Wipeout"she recorded. She said sure and she would pick them up around 5p. A little after 5p, she arrives and I walk the kids to the car to kiss them and make sure they got buckled in and my mom turned to them and asked them if they wanted to sleep over. They were so suprised (as was I since they have only stayed at her house one other night) and excited. So I ran in the house to pack a bag and to tell Bill we didn't have to rush to get out to dinner and back in a couple of hours and to start thinking of where we wanted to go.....all the while I was thinking, SOHO, SOHO, SOHO!

A little backstory about Nolan Konkoski, the owner and chef of SOHO. When Momocho first opened in 2006, Bill and I started going there often. We enjoyed sitting at the two-seater chef's counter and got to know owner and chef, Eric Williams pretty quickly. If you've not been to Momocho (why the hell not?) the kitchen is the size of a postage stamp (no joke), so the chef is about a foot in front of you. The chefs stand basically shoulder to shoulder and turn out the best Mod Mex you will EVER taste. The other chef was a super quiet, very serious looking guy named Nolan Konkoski. Little by little we got to him and he even cracked a smile or two ;)


Our first meal dining out after finding out we were having a boy and girl was at Momocho. Nolan and Eric were some of the first people to know and they joked about names. Nolan and Erica (Nolan's choice) and Eric and Nolina (Eric's choice.) On the way home we started talking about the good time we had joking around with them and the names came up. We already knew the girl would be Reagan, it was a name Bill really wanted for either a boy or a girl, I only liked it for a girl so that was settled. There was the issue of the other little bean growing quickly who was going to need a name. We wanted something that complimented Reagan, looked similar, and had a similar origin (Welsh.) That was when it really hit us; Nolan really was the perfect boys name. So I guess Nolan K. really does have his own (well, not HIS own) namesake.


Back to the original story.... I called SOHO to make a ressie and we were able to get in. When we arrived we settled on drinks, a beer for Bill and a "Savannah" for me along with BBQ and Pimento Cheese Dip. One sip of that Savannah and I was hooked. I need to figure it out so that can be the house drink on our next OBX trip. It was tea-infused vodka, hibiscus syrup, lemonade and something else. SO GOOD.

We wanted to try everything on the menu, it all sounded delish. We settled on the Crawfish & Crab Fritters and a side of Deviled Eggs for another app course.I think Bill was surprised I ate one whole fritter. My intention was to just have a bite, but I couldn't stop at just one.

For dinner, Bill chose the Charred Ribeye Steak: Fried egg, fingerling-spinach hash, pickled Vidalias, Tabasco Hollandaise.I'm not a lover of med-rare meat, but I loved the fingerling-spinach hash served over the steak. Mixed with the egg yolk it was sinful. Bill loved the ribeye and said as much as he wants to try everything on the menu, he'd probably order this one agian and again. I had the Dixie Cheese Steak Po'Boy: Brisket, collards beer-cheese fondue, hot sauce. The texture of it was more pot roastish, but that was OK for me. The collards are what knocks this po'boy out of the house! We might have to steal this idea for our next BBQ (of course, Nolan, Molly and Sophie are invited!)

As if we weren't stuffed enough, we managed to finish off an order of Crispy Beignets Dark chocolate, blackberry jam. Holy, sweet hushpuppies of goodness!

A nice surprise of the evening was having a round of drinks bought for us. We didn't know who bought them until we were just leaving. Those J. Ross' sure are sneaky. They phoned in a round on them!

I'm so glad I got to cross SOHO off my "Must Try 2012" list, but I'm sure it is not going to be our only visit.

10 restaurants I want to try this year:

1. SOHO
2. L'Albatros
3. Spice Kitchen & Bar
4. Sun Luck Garden
5. Fat Casual BBQ
6. Bac
7. Crop Bistro
8. Deagan's Kitchen
9. Pura Vida
10. Pranzo

10 Things

I don't make resolutions. I don't like setting myself up for failure. This year I decided I would create some lists of things I'd like to accomplish. Things that I currently enjoy, but the things on the list will push me out of my comfort zone a bit. We eat out alot, but we tend to fall back on our favorites instead of venturing out to try new ones. I would go to Momocho for every meal if I could and Bill's fave is Lolita. There are SO many great places in Cleveland to try, so here goes....

10 restaurants I want to try this year:

1. SOHO
2. L'Albatros
3. Spice Kitchen & Bar
4. Sun Luck Garden
5. Fat Casual BBQ
6. Bac
7. Crop Bistro
8. Deagan's Kitchen
9. Pura Vida
10. Pranzo

First 5/Last 5

Happy New Year from The Pchaks!

 

I did this last year, so I thought I'd carry it on this year.

The first 5 pictures I took in 2011

 (Yes, Uncle John has Reagan's socks on his ears!)

And the last 5 pictures I took in 2011

 

 

I lost count of how many there were in between, but have enjoyed every single snap!

 

Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

Last year, A fellow MoM (mother of multiples) posted about taking her kids to Tower City to visit "Kris Kringles Inventionasium" and what a fun time it was for the whole family. I filed it away in my vault for this year and as soon as the season rolled around, I purchased tickets for the day before Christmas Eve.

When we arrived at Tower City, I was pleasantly surprised to see it hustling and bustling and not the ghost town it has been in past years. After walking around all the levels and checking out some real fancy suits and shoes, we headed downstairs to the area where all the activity was taking place.

Back in the 80's when Higbee's Department store was still around they had the Twigbee shop for little kids to go shopping without their parents. There was also the famous "Twigbee Bear", which I had a stuffed version of and LOVED. Higbee's is long gone, but they brought back the shop and the bear mascot so we decided to let the kids do some shopping for Bill and I on their own. I filled out the papers with the max they could spend ($20 total) and off they went. Bill and I settled down in front of a really cool show about the history of the Terminal Tower and in a flash they were done shopping. I'm really looking forward to the gifts, as they shopped in about 3 minutes the total came to $7 for both gifts. They wrap them for the kids and they are already placed under our tree.

On to the Iventionasium. I had no idea what to expect so it was total sensory overload when you first walk in. Think Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory overload. It was AWESOME! The colors, decorations, characters, it was all so cool. The kids were a little freaked out, but Nolan warmed right up after getting his lab coat on. Reagan took a bit longer, but in the end she came around just fine.

They stopped at several stations to do activities, drawing on chalkboard walls, create a crazy puppet, make snow, and build a toy to present to Kris Kringle.

After all that we were left in the waiting area for the private family visit with Kris Kringle. It was a bit of a wait and when I noticed a family that arrived after us get their turn, I approached the elf and told him I just wanted to make sure we didn't lost in the shuffle (no joke, because more papers than a deck of cards.)

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "You are with Nolan, right?"

Um. Yes. He is my son.

"OK, you are having a very special visit with Kris Kringle in his super secret private office through the pink door behind you." ( The door I hadn't seen anyone go in or out of during the whole time we were there.) "When I put my finger up to my nose and jingle my bell three times, then you know to go to the door."

Um. OK.

So we waited a few more minutes and in the meantime my imagination was working in overdrive, what if there was a great glass elevator behind door #2 or better yet some fizzy lifting drink. Hell yeah, I'm going to drink it!

Finally "Boysenberry the Elf'" lay a finger to his nose and jingled. He opened the private door for us and the kids gasped and smiled at the awesomeness of being in Kris Kringles private office.

So did I, because there sitting on an ottoman in front of me WAS SOMEONE I KNEW, BUT NEVER KNEW HE WAS SANTA.

Sure it was always joked that he SHOULD be Santa. He has the white beard and he is short and round. I'd met him several times through our friends Andrew and Catherine when they lived in Cleveland. I haven't seen him in more than 5 years and he has never met our kids. Maybe everyone else except Bill and I knew he was Santa, who knows and who cares because it would have ruined the surprise I felt.

It was a truly magic moment that brought tears to my eyes.

I don't know if it was luck of the draw that we got diverted to door #2 or if there is a roster that the Santa's look over everyday and request to see (or not see) certain families. What I do know is that it was the most magical moment of Christmas that I have experienced as an adult.

So, thank you Santa for creating that special moment for our family. It will never be forgotten.

After our visit, we were all starvin' marvins, so we headed down Euclid Ave. to Noodlecat. It was the first visit for all us and it was so fun. Nolan ate Ramen like a college kid on a bender and Bill and I ate more steamed buns than humanly possible.

 We needed to walk off all that dinner, so we took a stroll around Public Square to look at the lights. It produced one of my favorite pictures of the holiday season.

Pretty darn perfect day if you ask me.

From The Mouth Of Nolan

You know the feeling.... your kid says or does something that is borderline obnoxious and funny at the same time and you are stuck between using the moment to discipline your child or just bust out laughing. We had one of those moments the other night at Trader Jacks, our favorite local restaurant where our favorite waitress in the whole world, Alyssa, works.

The kids have known (and loved) Alyssa since they were being lugging into the place in their snap & go car seats. They literally tackle Alyssa with their hugs now. She has taught them how to run credit cards and they have their own TJ's name tags.

Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was pretty quiet at the restaurant, so Alyssa had some extra time to hang out and talk. She crouched down at the end of the table, next to Nolan to talk. Somehow the topic of how big the kids were when they where born came up. Nolan replied that they were about 5 pounds, which is close. He was 6lbs and Reagan was 5 lbs, 6ozs.

I told Nolan to tell his gal-pal what I used to call them when they were first born. He told her "little sacks of sugar."

And then "The Incident" happened.

He sheepishly smiled and said, "You know what? I like these sacks of sugar" as he reached up and patted her amble bossom.

OMG, you guys!!!!

She laughed. Bill was mortified. I was stuck in the middle.



Like Father....

This never ceases to make me smile :)

Move Over Walter Payton, There's A New Sweetness In Town

Conversation at story time today regarding the ending of a book showed the kids finding a treasure and becoming "rich."

Nolan: Momma, what does rich mean?

Me: It means having a lot of money to do anything you want. It also means having lots of love in your life to make your heart full.

Nolan: I'm rich.

Me: You are?

Nolan: I'm rich because you're my mom and I love you.

Me: < wiping tears>

A Hello In The Clouds

So, it has been a month since I posted in our little family blog. A month spent swimming, going to amusement parks, playing in the sandbox, taking lots of senior pictures, and preparing for our first BIG family vacation.

We took the kids to Washington D.C. for a couple of days and then on to the Outer Banks, NC. The moment our feet hit the sand in the OBX, we were in love and are already talking about next year.

On the way home from the OBX, we stopped in Uniontown, PA to visit my Grandparents grave. It was an emotional ride once we crossed over from Maryland. Lots of memories flooded my mind. As I told the kids stories about going to Laurel Caverns or taking Pappy on rides up the mountain to get fudge for my twin cousins, I got teary-eyed. The thought that my Granny Pike would have had such a great time with my kids made me sad. We went right through town and I saw what used to be the bowling alley, the Gallatin Bank, the Medicine Shoppe, and the Long John Silvers that has a huge treasure chest for kids to pick out of. Things and places I haven't thought about in a long time.

As we were driving in the mountains, I looked into the sky and saw the smallest sliver of a rainbow. It has not rained at all, so I'd like to think this was Granny Pike's way of saying "Whoopie! You are here!"

The Party Crasher

Nolan is the typical boy. Loves firetrucks, police cars, tractors, etc. BUT his favorite truck of all times is the airport crash truck.

When one pulled up at touch-a-truck this past weekend, he was thrilled.

It seemed that they were going to let the kids climb up the ladder to the roof of the crash truck. I thought this was a little dangerous, but my kids hoped into line behind about 6 other kids. Turns out those kids were that particular fireman's family and he was giving them a little extra special treat. I started to steer Reagan away by the shoulders and it was then that I see Nolan's little butt being helped up the stairs.

Somehow, they thought he was "with" the family. The little shit wormed his way onto the top of the crash truck!


See, I told you he loves the crash truck!

The Missing Martian

My Dad didn’t much care for crowds so I don’t think he would have done many adventures with the twinadoes and I. (I totally know the three of them would have been fishing buddies at Gilson Park though.) There has never been a time where we’ve been out and about and I got to thinking, “Gee, my Dad would have had fun with his Grandkids here.”


Until today.

The twinadoes and I were putting our Great Lakes Science Center membership to good use today and included were tickets to a special exhibit, “Facing Mars.” When you go into the exhibit you have to choose which gate to go through by answered the question, “Do you want to travel to Mars?”

Bingo.

Right up my Dad’s alley. He enjoyed nothing more than sitting in his backyard on a Saturday night, smoking a stogie and drinking a beer. All the while staring up into the night sky and pondered what and who was out there.

He was a trekkie. His favorite t-shirt said "Beam Me Up Scotty."

I can imagine, as a child, his life’s ambition was to be an astronaut. (Sad to say I don’t really know the answer to this question.)

He would have loved this exhibit.

I actually got choked up and tears welled in my eyes because I could just imagine the three of them going from station to station learning about life on Mars; laughing when they did the “Mars Hands” and the “Mars Dust Storm” and him comforting them when they got afraid in the dark during the “Can You Last Two Minutes On Mars” part.

Yep. That day they would have been three peas in an outer space pod.