The Monahan Clan

Lots of pictures for one day, ay? This is what happens when we are up until 3am with jet lag. While we didn't get to see all of our family and friends, we tried to see those that we couldn't get to over Christmas first! It was so fun to reconnect with our friends who moved from Sicily last summer! The Monahan's are very special friends to us and it hasn't been the same since they left the island! Julie graciously took me under her wing and showed me around the island, such as how to get to the Catania market, as well as introducing me to my bible study group. They kept Valerie while I had my c-section with Ellie and were more help than they will ever realize. Valerie and Henry have always had a little love affair since they met almost two years ago in the church nursery! Unfortunately I just wasn't thinking and didn't pull out the camera too much :( I very sadly have no great pictures of baby Andrew!!! We will have to do a re-do of the zoo and parks next summer!! P.S. Sorry for bringing the flu bug with us :)

Fair Oaks Dairy Farm

Fair Oaks Dairy Farm was one of our first trips in Indiana. Located between Crown Point and West Laf/Purdue area, it's just off I65 and easy to find if you live nearby! I think it was about $10 for an adult which was a bit steep, in my opinion, but the kids were free so it probably balanced out. They have a large barn that includes a children's museum type area to learn about milking cows, a play area with a slide and ball pit, a 3D movie theatre, and a big traffic light which lets you know when a cow is about to give birth. Outside they seem to be building a new playground and some little attractions, such as a rock climbing wall that looks like a gigantic milk jug. You can walk down to the birthing barn where several babies are born each day. We witnessed one, although Valerie was pretty grossed out. I think her words were, "Ew, Mom. " Also included is a bus tour which takes you through several barns of cows and also to the milking facility where you get out and watch the cows being milked. Notice I have no pictures of actual cows, they aren't for touching at this farm as to protect them from germs and contamination. We tried some ice cream in the cafe afterwards and had a great day! Here is the site for anyone interested in something else to do in Indiana! : http://www.fofarms.com/

Grandma and Grandpa's Park

There is a park down the street from my parents' house that I used to go to growing up. Valerie calls it, "Grandma and Grandpa's Park." This is the first time we went, shots taken almost at sunset.

Just a reminder also, especially to grandparents, if there are any photos (from any blog post, past or future) you'd ever like a print of, let me know and I'll send you a cd with the full sized photos on them. These are reduced so much for the web that printed in full size would make them unclear and very low quality.

The Diva Duo

We're back! A quick recap.

*mac/space a/(free jump on a military cargo ship for those who don't know the "lingo") over to Norfolk on a big C5 plane. lots of help, Val made friends with some retirees

*made our way to Chicago to stay with my parents for most of the trip.. first run in with my new best friend, Mr. Starbucks

*loads of shopping, 3 zoos, the Dunes, a billion restaurants, and lots of silly time with grandma and grandpa

*speaking of a billion restaurants.. how is it possible that I lost 2 lbs when I ate out almost every day for a month????

*got to meet our friends', the Stilwell's, new baby girl who is just a doll and eat lunch with her big brother Parker at the Rain Forest cafe! somehow I have zero pictures of this :( UGGG

*stood in line at my favorite popcorn spot, Garrett's, on Michigan Avenue.. and boy was it worth it

*caught the enormous amount of tulips all over Millenium Park in Chicago and along Michigan Avenue.

*spent five days in St. Louis with two great sets of friends- the Lough's and the Monahan's! The girls got lots of friend time in and it was our first trip ever to St. Louis!! We were so excited to meet the Lough's and the newest member to the Monahan household! We went to a big park, where the kids all stripped down and ran in the fountains, the Botanical Gardens, the St. Louis Zoo, the Butterfly House, and about 3 trips to Target after poor Val had the flu and was throwing up. Thankfully, it only lasted about 12 hours but we did infect some of our friends. Sorry guys!!! My favorite part of the trip was eating frozen custard at a famous local spot that Julie knew about. mmm!!

*flew back to Norfolk on Tuesday and sat in the airport for 4 hours only to find that we weren't getting on the flight. bummer. went to the Holiday Inn, sat on the phone with Derrick and my mom trying to book last minute commercial tickets for under $5K. bah! We did get a deal on United for under half that thanks to my hubby being in the military and got back yesterday afternoon. The trip was super smooth, no lost luggage, the kids were angels and actually slept for most of the flights!! The only hiccup being that Valerie threw up on the flight over since we were in the middle of the entire plane, but that seemed to bother the poor, young, single guy next to her more than anyone else. ;)

Here are a couple photos I snapped the first day we were at my parents'. They found an old feather boa I had for a costume in high school and played with it for a long time! I will slowly post more photos over the coming days, after I get my house put back together. Ciao!!!

Quick update

Ciao!!!!

We are still in the states for another week or so, depending on the whole military flight situation. Now that I have to pay for an adult fare for Valerie it is no longer worth it to shell out the cash for a commercial fare so we will duke it out in Norfolk next week and pray to get a flight. Wish us luck!!

The girls are doing so well since being home. Valerie is laughing constantly and enjoying all of the constant attention and activity which is almost a direct opposite of life in Sicily! Ellie is *running* now and just since coming here at the beg. of May has probably said about 15-20 words. I was a bit worried, as some of you know, because at her 12 month appointment she had only said, "mama" and they told me to come back at 15 if she wasn't saying any thing else. However I think it was more that I couldn't hear her because she is overshadowed by her big sister. Ellie is starting to create her own interests and you can see a divide between the girls' choices in foods, toys, etc. Anyone who has seen them recently knows that they are truly complete opposites to the last degree!

We have been to Chicago a couple times, eaten more delicious food than I can describe, been to 2 zoos, and another one tmrw.. as well as just returning from almost a week in St. Louis to see friends! We are just loving it and will be very sad to leave next week. Luckily it will be a short time until Derrick returns and we can be a family again. Everyone keeps telling me how fast it's going but quite frankly, it is like watching paint dry to me. This has by far been the hardest deployment and I am sure it is because Valerie is now aware of it. She has been having a hard time, even here, but talking on the phone to Daddy really helps when possible!!

I am going to head off for now. I have taken a ridiculous amount of photos, including a pretty much failed shoot at the Dunes/lakeshore yesterday afternoon due to dropping temps and wind! eeek. Valerie had a great time playing in the sand though! :) Even if we were in sweatshirts and needing gloves. he he.

Take care!! Will post pics/update when I return!

Linds.

March of Dimes--

My very best friend is walking with the March of Dimes in Chicago this coming weekend. After having two premies herself, the cause is very near and dear to her. Derrick and I would really love to walk with them sometime and figure the least we can do is help spread the word. If you can help the cause, please go to her homepage and sponser her for this race!
http://www.marchforbabies.org/s_team_page.asp?si=&SeId=435783

Get ready to be grossed out..

Have you seen this email going around yet? I was actually really shocked. I knew the food was bad but I didn't realize HOW bad. No wonder I gained 15 lbs in college. I think I ate those Aussie cheese fries at Outback several times!!! ugggggg

Worst foods in America:
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20: Worst Fast-Food Chicken Meal - Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald's (5 pieces) with cream ranch sauce. 830 Calories, 55 grams fat (4.5 trans fat), 48 carbs. Add a large fries and regular soda and this seemingly innocuous chicken meal tops out at 1,710 calories.

19: Worst drink - Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power smoothie (30 fl oz). 900 calories, 10 g fat, 183 carbs, 166 g sugar. Jamba Juice calls it a smoothie, MSNBC calls it a milk shake. The beverage contains as much sugar as 8 pints of Ben & Jerry's butter pecan ice cream.

18: Worst supermarket meal - Pepperidge Farm Roasted Chicken Pot Pie (whole pie). 1,020 calories, 64 g fat, 86 g carbs. Label may say this pie serves two, but, who ever divided a small pot pie in half? Once you crack the crust, there will be no stopping.

17: Worst 'healthy' burger - Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger. 1,145 calories, 71 g fat, 56 g carbs.

16: Worst Mexican entree - Chipotle Mexican Grill Chicken Burrito. 1,179 calories, 47 g fat, 125 g carbs, 2,656 mg sodium

15: Worst kids' meal - Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni 'n' Cheese. 1,210 calories, 62 g fat, 3,450 mg sodium. It's like feeding your kid 1 1/2 boxes of Kraft mac 'n' cheese.

14: Worst sandwich - Quiznos Classic Italian (large). 1,528 calories, 92 g fat, 4,604 mg sodium, 110 g carbs. A large homemade sandwich would more likely provided about 500 calories.

13: Worst salad - On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef. 1,450 calories, 102 g fat, 78 g carbs, 2,410 mg sodium. This isn't an anomaly: Five different On the Border salads on the menu contain more than 1, 100 calories each.

12: Worst burger - Carl's Jr. (Hardee's on East Coast) Double Six Dollar Burger. 1,520 calories! 111g fat. Carl's Jr. brags it's home to this enormous sandwich, but the restaurant chain also provides convenient nutrition info on its Web site -- so ignorance is no excuse for eating it.

11: Worst steak - Lonestar 20 oz T-bone. 1,540 calories, 124g fat. Add a baked potato and Lonestar's Signature Lettuce Wedge, and this is a 2,700 calorie blowout.

10: Worst breakfast - Bob Evans Caramel Banana Pecan Cream Stacked and Stuffed hotcakes. 1,540 calories, 77 g fat (9 g trans fat), 198 g carbs, 109 g sugar. Five Egg McMuffins yield the same caloric cost as this stack of sugar-stuffed flapjacks, which is truly a heavy breakfast, weighing in at a hefty pound and a half.

9: Worst dessert - Chili's Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. 1,600 calories, 78 g fat, 215 g carbs. Would you eat a Big Mac for dessert? How about three? That's the calorie equivalent of this decadent dish. Clearly, Chili's customers get their money's worth.

8: Worst chinese entree - P.F. Chang's Pork Lo Mein. 1,820 calories, 127 g fat,! 95 g carbs. The fat content in this dish alone provides more than 1,100 calories. And you'd have to eat almost five servings of pasta to match the number of carbs it contains. Now, do you really need five servings of pasta?

7: Worst chicken entree - Chili's Honey Chipotle Crispers with Chipotle Sauce. 2,040 calories, 99 g fat, 240 g carbs. "Crispers" refers to an extra thick layer of break crumbs that soak up oil and adds unnecessary calories and carbs to these glorified chicken strips.

6: Worst fish entree - On the Border Dos XX Fish Tacos with Rice and Beans. 2,100 calories, 130 g fat, 169 g carbs, 4,700 mg sodium. Perhaps the most misleadingly named dish in America : A dozen crunchy tacos from Taco Bell will saddle you with fewer calories.

5: Worst pizza - Uno Chicago Grill Chicago Classic Deep Dish Pizza. 2,310 calories, 162 g fat, 123 g carbs, 4,470 mg sodium. Downing this "personal" pizza is equivalent to eating 18 slices of Domino's Crunchy Thin Crust cheese pizza.



4: Worst pasta - Macaroni Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce. 2,430 calories, 128 g fat, 207 g carbs, 5,290 mg sodium. This meal satisfied your calorie requirements for an entire day.

3: Worst nachos - On the Border Stacked Border Nachos. 2,740 calories, 166 g fat, 191 g carbs, 5,280 sodium.

2: Worst starter - Chili's Awesome Blossom. 2,710 calories, 203 g fat, 194 g carbs, 6,360 mg sodium.

1: The worst food in America - Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. 2,900 calories, 182 g fat, 240 g carbs. Even if you split these "starters" with three friends, you'll have downed a dinner's worth of calories before you entree arrives!