Dance, Dance, Dance

Last Saturday was Reagan's 2nd dance recital - and do you think she was excited? The day before she asked me, 'Mom, are you ready for the big day?' and I was! Last year Nola was not even a year old so my mom came with me to dress rehearsal, but this year I thought I could handle it - not great thinking on my part. Reagan was ready to go and hung out with her friends. Nola and I sat in the front row and before long she was attempting to climb on to the stage. She also ran to the other side of the auditorium, but one of the girl's sister brought her back. Reagan's rehearsal went great and then we just had to wait...for the Big Day!
Due to the never-ending rain in Chicago, Reagan's soccer game was cancelled on Saturday morning so that gave her time to rest and be ready. I got her dressed when Pat and my dad headed to LT to get good seats.
Reagan was excited to see both of her grandmas and grandpas and so happy that it was finally time for her to dance on stage again.
I got her settled into the room with her class - and got some pictures. Before I left Aly, Cori & Cassidy stopped in so I was able to get pictures with them as well. Reagan was happy to be with her teachers and friends and we were happy to get in our 4th row seats (nice job Pat & dad).
The great thing about this show is that it is only 30 minutes long - nice and sweet. Nola loved watching the girls and had plenty of space to do her own twirls and movement.
When Reagan's class came on - Reagan leading the way - we all got to see their cute Rolie Polie costumes. Reagan and all of her friends did a great job and they had so much fun on stage.
At the end all of the dancers were on stage for their bows. Reagan was thrilled to do her amazing bow - a great end to a great year of dance.
Next year we start ballet and tap...watch out!!

Survivor Walk

Yesterday we woke the girls and headed downtown for Northwestern Hospital's Cancer Survivor Celebration and Walk. We parked at the hospital and took a trolley to the walk. The girls had fun playing with a dog while we waited for the trolley and thought the trolley ride was fantastic!
The walk had started when we got to the park, so we got our rain gear on and headed out for the walk. (After being so cold the previous day we were prepared for all weather!) Reagan thought she would walk for a while, but since it was a 4-mile path we knew the walking would be short lived, and it was.
Along the walk there were water stations set up and in addition to giving us water they were giving out fans, dolphin key chains, leys, and suckers. Such smart planning for a walk with a lot of kids. The girls loved their goodies and were fascinated by the boats in Lake Michigan. We stopped by the lake and got our picture taken and then continued on.
Also along the walk were banners with pictures of survivors, their names, disease and then a quote. We knew that Nikki had a banner so Reagan was searching for Nikki's banner all morning. We were almost to the turnaround on the walk when we found Nikki's banner. How cool was it to see her smiling face as we walked. We obviously stopped to take pictures and other walkers took our picture for us.
On the way back we saw one of the survivors standing next to his banner and his family and friends were taking pictures (and so did we).
When we got back to the park the girls went right into the jumpy house. It was a great way to end the walk - Pat and I had burned lots of energy walking but they had been sitting a lot. While they jumped I walked over to take a picture of the Survivors. They invite all of the survivors to come to the stage - what a sight to see all those purple shirts and know that they all had overcome their cancers - quite emotional.
The girls then took a couple turns on the bouncy slide - Nola held up the line for a while but couldn't understand the concept of waiting in line.
We then had a little picnic. All walkers received a Subway sandwich, pretzels, cookies, banana and water. We had a good break and then waited in line FOREVER to get a blue monkey made out of a balloon.
We did have to wait a while to get a trolley back to our van, but that's ok. The girls were excited to be downtown and Reagan loved being so close to the Searses (her words) Tower. Only drama was when the blue monkey balloon broke right before we got on the trolley.
Unfortunately Nikki was not able to walk with us because she was still in the hospital. I know she wanted to see her banner - but I did tell her she would have had to walk a long time to see it! Luckily I was able to go to the hospital yesterday to see her and show her the pictures. Not quite like being there, but at least she could see a glimpse of an amazing event.
Please keep Nikki in your prayers as she had an MRI today and will get results this week. It was quite a declaration of her faith to see the quote she had on her banner 'Trust in God, he will take care of you.' I pray we all can have her faith.

Picnic in the Rain

Every year we attend the Mulcrone-O'Donnell picnic the first Saturday of June. We have had years when it is so hot we are looking for air conditioning and then there was this year. We left our house and the temperature was about 65. The hope was that Nola would nap on the way to the picnic, but she had other plans. So I dropped Pat & Reagan off at the picnic and drove around to get Nola to nap. What a waste of gas! We were back in about 15 minutes and she was not giving in to my plan. When we got back it was really raining. Thankfully I found Reagan's umbrella in the van and Pat Sr. came to my rescue with a big umbrella.
Reagan & Nola thought the rain was great - fun to splash in and the perfect excuse to play with umbrellas.
Eventually the rain did stop but the temperature never rebounded. We were all in sandals and capris or shorts. After another hour I gave in and drove to Marshall's to buy socks for the 4 of us. Not making a great fashion statement I put on the socks with my flip flops and instantly felt warmer. Things got even better when Micky got back with a couple boxes of Dunkin Donuts coffee - yeah!
Reagan was having a great time playing with the other kids that were close to her age. They had bags of candy and bubbles (which Nola wouldn't put down). They ran around in the field, played with sidewalk chalk and Reagan even did the egg toss. Nola was busy climbing in and out of someone's stroller and putting on their hat.
Micky brought out his accordian and he quickly had a groupie - Nola! She thought that was pretty cool and was trying to figure out how it works. While he played she listened for a while and then tried pushing some of the buttons. What fun!
By about 7 we headed home - we all needed to warm up and the girls were in desparate need of a good bath. The picnic was a huge success - fun to watch the girls play with some distant cousins and completely enjoy themselves. We'll see if we have 90 degree weather for next year.

How the Garden Grows

After 3 years of trying to get the area ready the Mulcrone family finally has a vegetable garden. We cleared out the area next to our garage - taking out rocks, weeks and other fun things. Reagan was so excited to plant - she couldn't wait.
So the Sunday after Mother's Day our work was complete and we were able to plant. We planted a lot - don't think we allowed enough room in between plants, but we'll see.
We planted squash and tomato plants and then squash, beans, sugar snap peas, watermelon and sunflower seeds. And I am happy to report that we have lots of plants coming up! Reagan and Nola enjoy watering - although we haven't had to do too much watering with all the rain we have had.
We also planted some flower seeds in pots and they are growing as well.
Now we are ready for some hot weather to be outside and enjoy the progress. And we (well, mostly me) can't wait to have fresh vegetables ready to pick and eat!

Memorial Day Parade

Reagan had been looking forward to the Memorial Day Parade since last year - who would have known that a parade in South Holland would be so much fun!
The girls were lucky enough to spend the night at grandma & grandpa's the night before so they were ready for the excitement. We had to change them into their American Flag dresses (yes, Reagan is still obsessed with American flags!) but then it was time to enjoy the parade.
They had their chairs and their bags for candy and were ready to go. Nola didn't know what to think at first but once she saw the older kids getting a lot of candy - she was in!
Reagan was most excited about the candy and Nola loved the music on one of the VBS floats - she was literally dancing in the streets.
It was a much cooler year, which was nice but it did start to rain when the parade ended so we were in the house the rest of the day.
We are already on the countdown until next year...

Sophia Rae

In life we hope to have true friendships - and God has blessed me with many - but there is one friendship that I have had before I even knew how to be a friend. Shadia and I were hanging out at Willowbrook with our moms and older siblings when we were too young to even play together. We went to school together from kindergarten through high school and have remained close friends since then.
So it was an exciting day when I found out that her baby, Sophia Rae, had been born. Now that Shadia lives in Peoria we don't get to see each other that often, but I had to figure out a way to get to the hospital to see her and meet Sophia.
Luckily I have another great friend, Michelle, who offered to watch my girls so I could make the trip to Peoria. It was a quiet trip - I actually got to pick what I listened to the entire time!
All I can say is that Sophia is GORGEOUS! She looks just like Shadia and has more hair than most of my family's children had when they turned 2. She is a sweet baby and I couldn't put her down - I just wanted to hold her and kiss her sweet head.
Shadia was doing good and trying not to laugh - didn't want to hurt the incisions. Her motherlly instincts had set in and she is a great mom.
It was just so good to see her, Ray, Sophia and her mom. We had a great time just hanging out and I even got to be there for Sophia's bath.
The time flew by and soon it was time for me to get back on the road. I wish we lived closer together, but we are already planning another trip down there - this time Reagan and Nola can come - they can't wait to meet Sophia!

Mommy Time

To celebrate the end of our MOPS year our Steering Team had a night out at PikaPot and Paint in Elmhust. It was so fun to hang out and chat without interruptions and little people needing something.
We honored those who had served 2 years and the rest of us just enjoyed being with them. Now I am not the most creative person, but I did have fun painting my new coffee mug (and it actually turned out cute). Some others (Michelle & Amy) really took the creativity factor to a new level and made an amazing platter and plate - wish I had pictures of those to share.
MOPS has been such a big part of my life since I had Reagan. I have had a chance to serve on Steering Team for 4 years and look forward to at least one more. Its just so great to be with other moms who are going through the same things - diapers, temper tantrums, new words, long days - all together. These women are amazing and I am so blessed to be walking through life with them.

Day at the Gardens with Grandma

We enjoy many days at the zoo because we are members and live so close. But 2 weeks ago we had the opportunity to go with Grandma to Chicago Botanic Gardens and enjoy her membership! We picked Cassidy up in the morning and then picked up Grandma on our way. It was an absolutely perfect day to be outside and enjoy the beauty of God's creation.
I had never been there and was quite impressed with all the gardens had to offer. The flowers were unbelievable and even their vegetable gardens were pretty.
The girls liked the flowers - we had to remind Nola not to pick the flowers - but the highlight for them was the abundance of fountains! There were some I was afraid they might fall into, but Grandma knew where there were good ones that they could put their hands in and not risk falling in.
On the way out we stopped at the fountain they could put their feet in. Another huge hit!
The girls also were excited to see ducks swimming in one of the ponds. They were asking the ducks to swim closer, but for some reason they didn't listen. We sat to rest at one point and there was a duck sitting less than 10 feet from us, so that kept them occupied for quite a while.
We ate our lunch outside on the deck - underneath a weeping willow. There were many small birds landing around us - which kept the girls busy.
It was such a perfect day - wonderful weather, beautiful sights to see, fun times together. Looking forward to another visit soon - can't wait to see what they plant in the summer.