Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Nothing from Nothing


Just some random cuteness... nothing out of the ordinary happening, but she let me put a hat on her for at least long enough to take these pictures... so I had to post them!!!
She is just growing up so fast... I don't want to miss a moment!
Her latest routine is she has started telling me to "Go AWAY" when I want her to do something she doesn't want to do! oh REALLY??? We will be putting THAT one to rest VERY soon!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

My Kind of Town...

So I just realized that I never actually published this post. It's a little late but I've been sick, so I have a good excuse... right? Well, here is the post as it was originally written days ago!

What an amazing, incredible weekend we had! Just as we had planned since before we brought our little munchkin home, we spent Chinese New Year in Chinatown in Chicago! It was fantastic! First of all, we were staying with our dear friends, so no matter what, it was going to be a great weekend!
We left Florida on Friday, and from the moment we arrived, we were having fun. As usual, it became another eating holiday! That's the way it ALWAYS winds up when we go to Chicago!
As soon as we got into Tori's car, Rachel started her weekend-long chant of "SNOW" "SNOW" "SNOW"... it was SO funny! But she LOVED all the white stuff on the ground!
Friday night, we hit Giordano's for some fantastic stuffed pizza. Oh YUMMY!!! Saturday V and I went shopping to try to get snow pants for Rach... we had a winter fun day planned, and there was no way my little Florida girl was going to be able to take all that cold! We found exactly what we needed and headed back. Time to pack up the car and the kids! We took the kids sledding! We ALL had a great time going down the hill but I think only Rachel enjoyed going back up... her daddy pulled her on the sled, so she wouldnt have to try to walk up the hill!
Even I got to go down the hill with her once! I was nervous about it, with the neck and all, but one run down the hill was fine. Then I headed for the car for a little warm up. Rachel apparently is just like her daddy. She couldn't get enough of the snow and cold! When it was time to go home, she had the same reaction as she did for horse riding day. Complete & total meltdown!
Saturday night, we finally got to see our friend Joan & her daughter. They joined us for dinner at a fabulous place called "The Yard House" and boy was it good!
Sunday was our big day. Not only was it Valentines Day, but it was also Chinese New Year! We headed to Chinatown for the big parade and a fantabulous Dim Sum lunch at Phoenix Restaurant. We were TOTALLY surprised when in the middle of lunch, we started hearing drums & bells again... it was another Dragon Parade! Coming right into the restaurant! What a treat... for a little while. Then the dragon came up to Rachel... and this little girl who had been asking to see a dragon for weeks started to panic. She did NOT want that dragon to be in her face like that... lol... but as soon as the dragon walked away, she was her typical happy self, and started saying "Bye Bye Dragon". Needless to say, we all had a TERRIFIC time and we were stuffed beyond our imaginations! After pigging out in Chinatown, it was time to head back to the house. We knew we were NOT going to be eating dinner... not after all the yummy dim sum! But somehow, we got on the subject of food again, and White Castle was mentioned... oh great... but no way. We were going to go visit Mom & Dad Pichla. Naturally, Mr P had to put out a spread of snackies... so despite being full, we all had a little nosh! Shrimp Cocktail, cheese & crackers, Taquito's... ENOUGH!!! LOL... It was really great to spend some time with Victoria's folks. They are both SO adorable! They were supposed to come with us to Chinatown, but Mom P wasn't feeling up to it. Next year... for sure!
So we finished our visit and headed back to the house again. We put the kids to bed and it was time to relax after a VERY busy day. About 10:30, Paul suddenly says it's time for White Castle!! Tom thought he was kidding! He wasn't! He ran out in his PJ's, and picked up a sack! I was really glad for the first time this trip that Tommy was sleeping in the basement while I was sleeping on an air mattress next to the baby!
Monday we were all still really tired from the events on Sunday... so we relaxed for a while before it was time for us to go have a big reunion lunch with a dear old friend Scott (aka Furhead!)
We went to an incredible Irish Pub and had some yummy food yet again. After enjoying some reminiscing, it was time to head back for a final packing run and head to the airport. It had started to snow, and we were almost hoping we'd get enough to cancel our flight, but no such luck. We made it in more than enough time to sit at the airport waiting for our flight. I think this was the first time I sat in a plane as the sprayed de-icer all over it. Rach kept saying it was raining out! It was so cute.
We made it home safe and sound and thanks to Margie, had a nice easy ride home from the airport. Unfortunately, I woke up Tuesday morning with what seems to be bronchitis... we'll see how it goes. But no matter what, it won't take away from the fun we had in Chicago! Thanks Luz family for making it a FANTASTIC weekend! We LOVE you guys!

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We are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl. I have not stopped smiling since the moment they placed her in my arms. We adopted her Sept 2008 and it's been nothing but wonderful! She is the best reason to open my eyes every day! Currently living in SW Florida. I've also become a MAJOR Twilight junkie, so now I'm told I'm a TWI-MOM & I LOVE it!

Our Daughter Rachel MeiLi

Our Daughter Rachel MeiLi
Rachel MeiLi

Red Thread Legend

Red Thread Legend
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