Happy Thanksgiving All!

Sorry I've been M.I.A. around here, couple of home and work projects keeping me busy, but I promise I'll catch you up soon. Like real soon.

Just wanted to say happy thanksgiving to all and leave you with a ditty from my daughters preschool.

"Oh I'm glad I'm not a turkey, a turkey, a turkey, I'm glad I'm not a turkey on thanksgiving day"

And since I don't want to leave you without some sort of photo, here she is singing it to you all!

Pumpkin patch and petting zoo

A couple of weekends ago my girlfriend and I took our two kids and went to the local pumpkin patch. We had planned to go the week before but glad we postponed our adventure since the weather turned out to be fabulous that weekend. We also decided to skip the LARGE advertised pumpkin patch - if you live anywhere near Chicago you know which one I'm talking about. I'm so glad we ended up coming here instead, no entrance fee, no hay ride fee and the petting zoo, which was the only thing you need to pay a fee for, was great. It wasn't just animals that were in a pen that you got to look at but instead you can get in with the animals and pet the small ones and actually hold them, unlike the big pumpkin place.

Arianna loved petting the baby ducks and getting into the pen with the goats, piglets and a plethora of animals - all babies. The best part was holding the soft little bunnies. I wish I had a ton of pics but I stupidly forgot to charge my camera battery before I left so I literally got maybe 10 shots in before the camera died.  Urghhh. Oh well it made me focus more on the experience with the kids instead of being behind the lens the whole time.  Here are a few outtakes that I was able to catch before it died for the day.

I love this last shot of them looking eye-to-eye, she got a bit scared when the calf stuck her tongue out, trying to get a taste of her. All in all, it was an excellent time spent with friends.

Happy Milestone Birthday to my chipmunk

I know she's going to cringe when she reads this headline but ever since we were little she would always get stopped for her chipmunk cheeks. And she HATED it, but I tend to think that they make her look beautiful and only accentuate her lovely smile. My sister turned 30 yesterday and although she doesn't look a day over 25 and has always been young at heart - she thinks this is old. I disagree, as one of her friends put it the other day, its not years in your life but the life in your years that truly make the person.

So here's wishing health, wealth and happiness to a beautiful, intelligent, and obsessive compulsive best friend a sister could ever have! Na zdrowie and sto lat!!

Cymboly do szkoly

"Cymboly do szkoly" (tsim •bo • wy - doh -  szko • wy) thats what my dad used to say whenever we went back to school. No matter if it was grammar school or college, first day back. And now I say it to my daughter, which roughly translates from Polish to "dummies to school". Not so eloquent huh. But it makes me smile, my little poopsie started preschool and I have to pat myself on the back, she nor I cried.

How time flies but this chapter in our life is a great one. I need the 2.5 hrs of peace and quiet from all singing and dancing and screaming and talking and disney movies and "momma can I have a cookie" "Hot Mleczko"(in a baritone) and "Outside, please". I won't lie, it is very quiet, but I sort of like it.

Happy Dooms Day to my husband!!!!

Happy anniversary to the man I married and my best friend. I just want to say thanks and I love you, as you say, its dooms day. We got married on Sept. 11th 2004. And we were one of the first couples that took the plunge to get married on Sept 11th after THE Sept 11th. At least my husband can never, ever say that he forgot our anniversary and didn't see the day coming.  This year we have been together for 15 years and married for 6 of them. Yeah I know, it took awhile to get to the alter.

Procrastination at its finest

Like I said in my bio, I am a procrastinator. In this situation, I have procrastinated to the point that it was embarrassing.  People would ask how long I've been married I'd reply "5.5 years" and ask to see my pics from the wedding, I would stare at them with a blank stare. Not that I didn't know what they were talking about. We had pictures taken, I just never got around to getting them developed. I had seen them right after the wedding, but I figured, ehh the photog has the digitals, we'll get it done soon. Soon stretched out to years and finally this spring my photographer contacted me and said there was going to be another increase in the price of the album.

Well that got my ass in gear. And the fact that our kid has more pics of her than our whole album - total, was disgusting. And so folks I finally put my nose to the grind and ordered my beautiful leather bound photo book album. God I'm not that much older but I feel as though I was sooo young in those pictures.

Our wedding day was wonderful. We had very incorporated Polish and Filipino traditions to our wedding. We had a Polish style blessing in the home and Filipino traditions during the mass, which were the cord veil and coin ceremony. We also had traditional Polish Highlanders playing at the wedding, which is a nod specifically where we come from in Poland. We also made our own vodka (If you've ever been to an 'off the boat' Polish wedding, you know what I'm talking about) And of course as usual Polish weddings go we partied till 4 a.m. Plus the next day we had something called poprawiny which translates to re-do.

When we walked out of the church its Polish tradition to throw money at the newlyweds, and whomever picks up the most rules the money hand. I think all my bridesmaids helped pick up only the larger denominations, and someone stuck a paper bill in my hand too. 

But I have to say with as large of a wedding as we had, 500 people, the thing that got me the most was the surprise that my parents got for us. We had booked a limo and a party bus for the bridal party but when we got out of the church... there was a traditional highlander horse and carriage waiting for us. 

I think I balled my eyes out when I saw that, not only was it a huge surprise but it was something that most girls coming from a highlander background hope to have in their wedding. I always dreamed of it but never voiced to anyone and to have that done on my special day, it still brings tears to my eyes. I can't even explain it.

And of course when we went to take our pictures in the park, we had to bring along a cooler with the homemade vodka and other booze to tide the bridal party over. Although this tradition was new to most of the Filipinos the Polish crew got them accustomed real quick. 

To say the reception was fun is an understatement. I think we were all pleasantly surprised how well opposite sides of the globe got along and partied so well. We had a band and a dj took over while the band took breaks plus the highlander group played while guests walked in. We danced and drank and ate till the early morning hours and the next day the party continued until late in the night. It was a great day, one I will remember and smile on, for the rest of my life. 

Phew what a summer!

If the rest of the year keeps going at the rate that it's been going I'm going to crap out. We have had one hell of a summer with the storms and the subsequent water and roof damage and then ensuing repairs. Also not mentioning the weather has made keeping a pool from turning green a living nightmare. These are the type of summers that I regret that we ever had a pool and not a pool man to keep it clean. And to think that we have actually used the pool a total of 2.5 times, and that being generous. Plus trying to get the remodel done in time for the kids' birthday party has also put a little pressure on.

So I'll post the before and afters of the remod some other time. I wanted to focus on the birthday party in this post. I just want to preface this as "I'm crazy". I have always wanted to make a cutesy little party for the poopsie, with banner flags and decorations that wasn't dependent on streamers bought from a store. So I started this year extra early that I would get everything I wanted to get done way before hand and not omit anything.

I wanted to do the paper tissue poof balls and I wanted to do cake balls and I also wanted to make her a keepsake cake topper. All while also cleaning after a remodel and cooking a majority of the food AND worry about bad weather that would make all my party planning caput.

This year we weren't going to throw her a huge party, it was only going to be the grandparents and our sibling with a few of my girlfriends with their kids, which isn't that huge considering we've had 60 plus birthday parties in the past.

Crazy is as crazy does - I actually accomplished the tasks I set before me. Although I have to admit a few people came to help to get it all done. Especially my friend Janice who I need to take out for dinner with everything that she helped me with.


But with no further ado..... as my poopsie says TADA!

I made waaaay more than in this pic but with everything going on I took this pic a day later after they were mostly gone. Boy were these good. Time consuming but good. My brothers' sweet girlfriend Iza made her  red velvet cake from scratch - no box mix here baby. I mixed it with cream cheese frosting and dipped them into dark cocoa. S'cuse me while I wipe the drool from my mouth, they were delicious. Everyone kept sneaking one, which I don't know why they needed to sneak they were out for everyone to eat, maybe cuz they tasted so decadent? 

And then there were the pom poms that I did the day before. They were supposed to hang outdoors but the rain was coming down pretty hard so we swapped that idea, instead to decorate inside.

I had the whole first floor covered, and the kids took some home at the end of the night.  

Last but definitely not least the craft that took me the longest to make was her cake topper. I figure we can reuse this every year maybe I'll change the dress out.  This topper took me about a week to make, it was the first time I made it so I was figuring out the way to get the head on the glue to use paint, dry paint again. Phew. I have to say it was worth it, I plan on making more for some friends and maybe with practice it will take less time to make, and look a bit more finished. 

Naples Florida

One of the days we decided to take a day trip to Naples Florida, its kinda like Naples Italy. In the architecture, that is. Naples is so different from Sanibel, it's fancier first of all. On Sanibel no one dresses up hardly anyone wears makeup, they are a shorts and flip-flops culture. Very laid back. Not saying that Naples isn't laid back. Naples is a little more upper crust, with the boutiques lining 5th ave and the mercedes filling the bulk of the restaurant valets. You get what I mean.

Don't get me wrong, its beautiful and picturesque, with a mix of residential and commercial blending in flawlessly among the flowering trees and palms dotting the avenue. Its more of a destination where people go to be seen instead of throwing on a pair of cutoffs and flip-flops and riding to the beach on your bike.

We walked around to a couple of galleries and boutiques but most everything that I liked was way more than I would ever spend on it.

The restaurants though had great deals on a early bird dinner/lunch, anytime before 6 you can get TWO meals AND a bottle of wine for $20.00 That's Cheap!

We didn't partake of that menu but we did have the best sushi lunch I have probably had EVER!

Sushi Thai Too is on the corner of 5th Ave and if your ever in the area and like sushi, don't pass this place up. We ordered a sushi/sashimi boat with a couple of add-ons and the pieces of sashimi were super thick and duper fresh. I swear they had to be at least a .5" thick. It was the best lunch, everyone came away so satisfied and full that I we skipped dinner that night. 

Yeah go on, I'll wait while you wipe your drool. 

We left Naples pretty late to try and hit up Marco Island, but we weren't able to walk around like we did in Naples. Everything is private property so if your not staying on Marco Island, there really isn't any point in going. Granted the sand on Marco Island is probably the finest sand I have ever felt, it really felt like I was standing in a bag of flour. We were tired and glad to be going back to Sanibel. 

EXCEPT... we had to make a detour and find a Checkers. My sister made us drive around and try and find a Checkers burger joint, but to no avail, we did't find the one that google maps said was there. I get why she was craving it, they used to be all over Chicago but were slowly closed off, probably that they only had drive through or outside seating, and in Chicago we kinda need the indoor concept. You know we're not called the windy city for nothin'. We were all compensated with a Five Guys Burger. Not Checkers but they'll do.

Sanibel Island Vacation

Sorry I've been missing for a bit but we took a 10 day vacation to Florida's Sanibel Island. We had the most amazing time and it was Ari's first time on a plane.  Unfortunately my husband couldn't make it with us this time but the rest of the extended family and family friends were able to join us through-out our stay.

And I can't say we picked a better time to go, since it was cold (heat on) and rainy back in Chicago, and when we came back, we brought the sunshine with us.

Of course my daughter was ready to get to the beach.

But as soon as she got there she wanted to strip her clothes off, I was able to have her not take her shorts off, not that I care its just more crap for mommy to carry around.

This turtle was grazing on the grounds between the condo and the beach and I caught a pic of him coming out from under the walkway back to his hidey hole. May is the start of turtle hatching season, so who knows if there were more nearby just preparing to hatch.

I so love palm trees, I wish we were in zone 8 instead of 5  :(

Of course how can I not show you some of the lush succulents growing on the beach. These plants actually help the sand stay put, by growing a web of roots that help when a large storm comes.

This was a common action, I don't know why I even bothered to dress her most days. She also never got bit by the terrible no-see-ums, unlike her mother and most everyone else that got bitten alive. Maybe that Filipino blood is adept to tropical bugs?

...to paradise in the continental USA. 

I have to say that I have never been to Florida before but have been to the tropics plenty of times, I will definitely come back to Sanibel again. It was a beautiful, laid-back and wonderful vacation. The beach is littered, in some places up to 6" high, with seashells. And when they talk about the Sanibel stoop, you get it, after a few days we all experienced a sunburn on our back. You can't help it, newcomers come to the island and want to pick up practically every seashell, we did, but people who have been to Sanibel before only take away the special shells. 

We brought a couple of those shells back, at the time I had no clue what I would do with them, but I think I have a couple of ideas, you'll see!

We spent most of our time on Sanibel but took a few day trips to Ft. Myers beach, Naples and Marco Island. those are in the next post. 

Now that I'm back it's time to get serious about our front yard landscaping. 

Blooming Trees and bumblebees

I promised I would post something about the Botanic gardens and not just the antique show that happened  week ago, these are a few from the gardens. If you live in the area, it truly is a nice place to visit.

The japanese gardens are probably my favorite, they have little pagodas and mugo pines and a japanese style bridge along the paths.

These trees I named the crew cut trees but they are amazing, there is a path that is lined on both sides with theses trees and looking down the path it looks really cool. The photos you are able to take here are amazing the light is filtered and its full of color. Just fantastic.

There are also the inside gardens as I call them, but they are actually green houses with a different type of environment in each house. This one was gardenias and palms and venus flytraps, among others.

The palm trees in the green house.

This is the little bumblebee that came with us, matching his yellow shoes.

I hope you find my pics interesting enough to get you to go, if your ever in the Chicago area. It really is a great way to spend the day.

Oh No!!! I've become that mom.

You ever out and about and your toddler sneaks a candy bar with her out on errands and procceeds to eat it very quietly in the car while your driving and not paying attention. And then you get to the destination just to see that your kids face is covered with chocolate and so are her hands. AND you didnt bring anything to wipe with, since your child is not that messy anymore, I don't carry wipes on short trips. 

What do you do?

This is not what she looked like, this pic was from when she 

decided that blue marker will suffice as "makeup". 

URGGHHHH I can't believe that I DID THIS. I SWORE I would NEVER DO THIS. 

Sometimes the ends justify the means.

I did the spit and wipe. AAHHHHH. 

I HATED that whenever my mom did it to us and our faces needed a quick wipe.  I swore when I'm a mom I won't put my kids through that embarrassment and grossness. 

I guess that should teach me a lesson to never say never. A contradiction of its own. 

At least there was some semblance of cleanliness when we walked into the the pharmacy. (Disregard the chocolate on the coat please.)