Fun Friday: Sesame Place

I love the long, hot summer days with endless opportunities for adventure! Each Friday, this summer, I will bring you some of my favorite fun spots for the weekend (and weekdays!).

My first fun spot is Sesame Place!

Our family adores Sesame Place for so many reasons--it is close by, the shows and parades are great, the water park is perfect on a hot day and the rides are perfect for young children. Sesame place opened when I was a kid. I remember going with my Nana and my cousins--it was a blast and it still is the best time!

We've taken Lily and Chloe to Sesame numerous times--enjoying it on super hot days, loving the The Very Furry Christmas in December and enjoying a cool Spring opening day. We've never been disappointed.

Our first stop is always the Sunny Day Carousel. It is our last stop as well! Lily is finally tall enough to ride on her own.

New this year is the "Let's Play Together" show, which teaches young children about friendship and features all their favorite characters. Both my girls danced and enjoyed the show. Don't miss the Neighborhood Street Party Parade, typically held twice a day. The parade is fantastic and interactive. My girls love it!

On a hot day, we spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the water park. Our favorite was the lazy river (I think we rode the river four times).  The girls had a blast running through the Count's Splash Castle--a water playground with no lines.

We spent the afternoon enjoying shows, meeting characters and riding the dry rides. Besides the Sunny Day Carousel, the girl's favorite attraction was Ernie's Bed Bounce (they refused to exit, LOL!). And as a family, we had a blast on Glover's World Twirl, a spinning teacup like ride. Lines were relatively short for the dry attractions; while we waited a little longer in the water park--but never too long for our then 5 and 2 year old.

The best part of Sesame Place is the memories--the laughing while we spun until we got dizzy, the joy at watching our daughter's faces light up in delight when they saw Abby Caddaby and warmth of spending time together.

Operating hours vary, so check the website.  There are loads of great eating options within the park, including refillable beverages and popcorn (great if you are there from open to close and plan a return visit). You can pack a picnic and eat outside the park at picnic tables. We typically snacked, ate one meal at the park and grabbed Chik-Fil-A, located close by for the ride home. Our drive from South Jersey was about 40 minutes.

And, new this year: the iPhone App. Ditch the paper map and use the iPhone App to plan your day, check out showtimes, check wait times, and learn fun facts about the park.

There are some great ticket deals including a two-day park pass and ending, today, 6/29, $20-off a single day admission to the park. Check out the deals here.

Banana Splits for Dinner

A little boy named Ryan Roberts is dying. He is 21 months old and has a heart defect. This week, his parents made the agonizing decision to sign a Do Not Resuscitate order--the doctors have exhausted treatment options. His mother, Diane, has a wish for her dying son:

For everyone to serve banana splits for dinner. 

Diane wants everyone to go create memories with their children--seriously, who would ever forget the nights spent having dessert for dinner? It is the most tender of tributes for a little boy who is dying, much too soon. You can read about Ryan's full story here.

I can't imagine my child dying; but I do know the fear of being on the edge of loss. Both my girls fought their way into the world. And when Lily was diagnosed with cancer; I saw the edge, just steps away. Lily got her own Make-A-Wish trip--we went on a whirlwind trip to Disney World. It was incredible. We were all treated like royalty from start to finish.

And the best part: an ice cream parlor at Give Kids the World Village (our fabulous accommodations) that opened at 8 a.m.

Lily had a banana split for breakfast nearly everyday, including the morning of her 4th birthday. Since that trip, our family tradition is banana splits for breakfast on our birthdays, complete with the cherry on top. It is a wonderful tradition--one created so we would always remember our amazing trip and also so we would never forget to create memories everyday, with every breath.

And today, we will have banana splits for dinner.

Celebrate 25 years of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker Monday, June 25

My grandmother took me to see the Nutcracker as a little girl. It was magical and one of my favorite memories. This year, we will take our two little dancers to see the pros dance to this magical, holiday classic.

This year is extra special: it is the 25th anniversary of George Balanchine's the Nutcracker at the Pennsylvania Ballet. The season kicks off on Monday, June 25 at noon at the Kimmel Center Box Office at Broad and Spruce Streets.


On Monday, join your favorite Nutcracker characters (like the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mouse King!) at the Kimmel Center Box Office for activities, special ticket offers, and more! While you’re there, you can become part of Pennsylvania Ballet’s Nutcracker ad campaign. Just pose for our photographer at the event and tell us how you know it's Nutcracker Season.

The first 25 people to arrive can purchase Nutcracker tickets for only $25.

And mark your calendars for more special offers and surprises on the 25th of each month through December.

Can't make the event? Join the celebration and finish the sentence: "I know it's Nutcracker Season when..." and email it to info@paballet.org or tweet " @paballet using #pabnutcrackerseason.

Artists of Pennsylvania Ballet in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker^™, choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo: Alexander Iziliaev.

Tickets to all 23 performances of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ at the Academy of Music are on sale now. Tickets are available online at paballet.org, by phone at 215.893.1999, and in person at the Kimmel Center Box Office.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ performances at the Academy of Music:
Saturday, December 8 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 9 at noon and 5 p.m.
Friday, December 14 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, December 15 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 16 at noon and 5 p.m.
Thursday, December 20 at 7 p.m.
Friday, December 21 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, December 22 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 23 at noon and 5 p.m.
Monday, December 24 at noon
Wednesday, December 26 at noon and 5 p.m.
Thursday, December 27 at 2 p.m.
Friday, December 28 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, December 29 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, December 30 at noon and 5 p.m.

Groups of 10 or more receive great discounts and unique perks. Ask about backstage tours, special talks with staff and dancers, and dining options near the theater for your group. For tickets and more information, contact Group Sales Manager Arajua Backman at 215.587.6921

  For more information, visit paballet.org or call 215.551.7000.

Recital Week: Falling, fake hair, tulle, tiaras and the glory of the dance.

It is recital week. I never danced in recitals as a kid. My father tried to interest me in tap dancing; but all that tapping and noisy walking were a bit much for me. It was all so "Singing in the Rain" and I was more "Set Fire to the Rain," even back in the 80's and preferred to be writing a memoir about my dreams of a pet lion or drawing a mural dedicated to Nancy Drew; than tapping my feet in an organized fashion.


No one told me about the costumes or the chance to be on stage. Or the potential for adult-sanctioned make-up. Perhaps then I would have tapped my little heart out for the glory of glitter and curls.


I started Lily in Ballet and Tap about nine months after she started walking--at the ripe old age of 4. Lily was still finding her balance. She was, in many ways, still recovering from her brain tumor diagnosis--we all were. Her walk was hardly smooth. And her gait was irregular. It took all her brain power to walk in a straight line. And the tap portion of her class was akin to ice skating: tap shoes are slippery and Lily was lucky she could shuffle; let alone stomp her feet.


But, I saw a news story about a man with cerebral palsy who found his walking and gait and balance improve through the steady, smooth and strong moves in dance. I knew this could be therapy for Lily.

Chloe's first wiglet.

And so it was. I know it was hard. I know she was scared. I know the teacher may have thought I was in denial about Lily--that she should wait to try dance when she was stronger or maybe she should never try dance classes.


But, I wanted dance to make her stronger. And I will never tell Lily she cannot do something.


So she danced. And she fell. And she cried. And then outside of dance class, I noticed she could run. I noticed in yoga, she could balance on one foot. And I noticed at parties, that Lily shined. She partied like a preschool rock star. She had confidence.


And so here we are again. Our second year of dance--something that I know many think is frivolous or ridiculous; that maybe I should be spending more time at the library. Or putting dance tuition money towards their college educations. Or investing our time and energy into more traditional physical therapy for Lily.  Or maybe, Chloe, who started dancing at 2 1/2 because she begged me, should just be free playing, because she so young.


And I know so many think that it is all a little like Toddlers in Tiaras. (Last year Lily wore a hair piece--called The Wiglet--which weighed as much as she did and made tap dancing to "Good Ship Lollipop" while keeping her head upright a physics challenge.)


But, dancing is so much more than the recital. It is the journey--the work over a year of challenging yourself physically; building new pathways in your brain; thinking and remembering routines; listening to your teacher and disciplining yourself to show up each week. It is a year of falling and a year of getting back up. It is a year of standing with your chin up and a smile, even when your heart is beating out of your chest. It is training ground for dealing with failure and then pushing through what you believed to be your limitations.


Because in dance, there are no limitations to the beauty and the glory that can shine on a stage. And this week, through all the hairspray, tulle, fake hair and bobby pins: we celebrate. We celebrate our two little dancing queens and know one day when they are mothers or inventors or artists or doctors or even dancers, they will be able to fail. And stand right back up with a smile (and a little sprinkle of glitter). 

Organize your life: AboutOne

Thoughts arrive in my head, like butterflies, and then, often, as Pearl Jam sings in Evenflow, I chase them away and forget about them, forever.

Or I write them in my giant, ratty "life" notebook, which I loose twelve times a week and contains all sorts of important, yet completely scattered ramblings.

Because I am disorganized and scatterbrained and brilliant, all at once.

I need help.

Well, correction, I needed help.

I recently discovered AboutOne, a fabulous, amazing and oh-so-simple online family organizer. You can use AboutOne for anything--from recording memories and keeping track of appointments to organizing household receipts and important health information, like vaccination records for your children.

I love that AboutOne is green. You can upload documents, include photos and attach links to websites within AboutOne--it is a great way to reduce paper consumption and stop loosing random bits of paper and your "life" notebook.

And in case you were wondering, AboutOne  has bank-level security, so your data is safe.

I use AboutOne for oodles of stuff--both for my professional life and my family life.

To organize my writing life, I use AboutOne to keep track of deadlines, setting up editorial calendars for my blogs, keeping track of my story and pitch ideas and setting writing goals for my book. I can also upload copies of published writing, include links to online articles and upload my paid or pending invoices to each project. It is a great tool for organization--but it will also help me review my writing year.

Since my children say the darnest, cutest and sassiest things this side of the Mississippi, I've started using AboutOne to record all their glorious statements (like when Chloe asked if we could leave in her car during the 3-D preview for Finding Nemo. Apparently that shark was a little too realistic!). Someday, I will use AboutOne to forge their baby books, as if I wrote in them along--saving their childhoods and keeping my perfect mother demeanor (almost) intact.

Charitable giving and volunteerism is important to our family, so I started to use AboutOne to organize our charitable donation receipts (cancelled checks are no longer good enough as proof of giving for the IRS, you need a receipt!) and also keep track of charity expenses, volunteer hours and miles driven (some of these are tax deductible!).

For the school year, I plan on scanning in Lily's latest IEP, plus physical and occupational therapy goals. When I have a question, I can grab the data where ever I am, without having to scramble for an answer. I also want to try to scan in and photograph both girls' school artwork and organize with notes and date in the organizer. Another great way to preserve the memory and pitch the paper!

There is not an iPhone app for AboutOne yet, although it works great on my Safari web browser. If you have a Windows-based smartphone, there is an app available! Signing up is easy, it takes a couple moments and you are ready to roll. Sign up here and enjoy your newly, organized life. (and ditch the notebook!)

Please note, I was compensated by AboutOne to review their online organizer. All opinions and text are my own.

Pass the Bon-Bons: Things you shouldn't say to a Stay at Home Mom

In the timeless Mommy Wars, so many of us stick our foots in our mouths with delightful little tidbits and absurdities. I am a stay-at-home-mom (and about four hundred other things, if you are wondering), but once I was a Work-Outside-the-home-mom, too. I've heard it all (I hope!). And I have friends who are working moms (scandalous!).

The bottom line: Motherhood is work. No matter how you do. No matter where you do. No matter who you pay to help you. No matter who you beg to help you. No matter if you feel help-less. No matter if you do have a stockpile of Bon-Bons. The whole deal is a lot of work--at home, in the office, on an airplane or in your bathroom (where I am sitting right now hiding and writing).

And the second bottom line: Most of us never think before we speak.

And most important: We are so lucky to be mothers. I cannot think of anything better than being called "Mom," by my girls.

One of my best working mom friends, Sarah, over at Finnegan and the Hughes, agrees with me: Motherhood is a job and we all just need to stick together. Together, Sarah and I compiled our favorite absurdities and classic opinions we've heard from our different sides of the fence.


1. "It must be so great to get out of the house"
      Why yes, because I never, ever leave. Often, I remain in my bedroom for days on end. And my children fear the sunlight.


2. "Do you work? You know, "Outside-of-the-home?"
     Seriously, just ask what I do. Or refer to the above, my children fear sunlight. We never leave these four walls.


3. "Ladies, grab your husband's credit card!" (as said to me in one form or another at school, dance and other fundraising events aimed at the stay-at-home-mom set).
    I will grab it. Because as a woman and a non-working lady, I am not allowed to own property. It is 1775, right? 


4. "What do you do all day?"
    Nothing. On occasion I shower. But mostly nothing.


5. "Aren't you bored?"
     No! There is Facebook!!!

6. "It must be great to be able to keep your house super clean!"
    I don't even know where the vacuum is exactly.


7. "Did you just come from the gym?" (as said to me at school pick up when I am in sweats)
    Yes. Because I typically dress in a ball gown for potty training.


8. "Why are the kids so cranky? Didn't you give them enough attention, you are at home?!"
     Between Facebook, spot cleaning my ball gown and scheming to steal my husband's credit card, I completely ignored them!


9. "You are at home. Can you chair this committee? Babysit my kids? Plan this event?"
    Absolutely. Something magical happens and time bends and twirls when you are a stay at home mom. I have limitless time!!


10. "What do you do with all your free time?"
     I search for the perfect Bon-Bon!! 


11. "You stay at home?!! I could never do that!"
    If it wasn't for my fear of the sun, me neither!! 


12.  "You have it so easy. I wish I could stay at home!"
    I wish you could too. So I would not have to chair every freaking bake sale.


13. "You don't work."
    You are so right. I am more like a slave who cleans, runs car pools, does laundry, teaches my children, negotiates with terrorists (my children) and cleans up human feces!


14. "It must be great to sleep in."
    It is. Like on the weekends. 


15. "I don't know how you do it!"
     I don't know how any of us Mothers do it. It is miracle work. It is work for saints. It is work for Mothers. And we all do it, brilliantly!

Hurry up and get old

Someday, they will be 93 and 90; and toasting with pink lemonade. 

Every mother, grandmother and wise old sage-type person will tell you the same:

"It goes so fast, enjoy every moment."

or

"Slow down and smell the flowers."

or

"Before you know it, they will be all grown up and you will have an empty house."

or

"It is not a race."

And I say:

"Bring it on. Bring it all on. Bring it fast. Bring it amazing. If the flowers smell that great, I'll be able to smell them on the way without slowing down. And if your children battled life threatening illnesses, you would realize, it is a race."

Yes, I want my girls to hurry up and get old. Because their early childhoods have been marred with potholes; more like sink holes, really. Stops and scares that threatened to end their childhood immediately.  NICU stays and PICU stays. Oncologists and MRIs. Dark clouds and evil diseases threatening to stop them both from growing up.

The Adkins of Lindenwold rarely sit still. Our schedules are jam-packed and there is always room for more. In our house, we enjoy and sometimes, when everyone is tired, yell our way through every moment. Even our relaxation is fast and full. The school year flies by. The girls can do any activity they wish--because there might not be a chance tomorrow.

We may procrastinate laundry and kitchen cleaning; but we never procrastinate childhood.

Childhood is here and now. Right now. It is fast. It flies. You cannot stop its forward motion, so we accelerate with it, we cram it in and we pray for the day our girls are old and grown and enjoying the race of the childhoods of their children.

Because when my girls are grown up: it means we won; we beat cancer, we beat prematurity, we beat preeclampsia.

And we will win. I am sure of it.

Praying like Chloe

The very nature of life is strife.

And in my world--the world that intertwines normalcy and childhood cancer-strife varies from a job loss to potty training horror to a dying child.

I pray a lot.

I used to save up my prayers. I would create mental lists or write lists of  people who needed prayers. I would email  my church ladies or post a request on Facebook. But, my actual praying--the actual act of asking God for something--that would wait until I had a sufficient things to ask for or maybe it would wait until I felt it was the right time or maybe I would forget all together.

After all, most of my lists end up shoved in the bottom of my handbag; completely undone.

Then we started praying more regularly with our girls at bedtime. Before we say, the Lord's Prayer (Our Father), a tradition from my childhood bedtime routine, we always ask the girls what they have to pray for.

Occasionally Lily has one or two things to add. But Chloe, she has a list. Tonight, her list included:

• Thanking God for helping her find her pillow pet
• Asking if she could have a playdate tomorrow
• Thanking God for her pink pillow
• Asking if she could read a book in a few minutes
• Thanking God for being able to sleep next to her sister
• Thanking God for the Minnie Mouse pull-up she put on moments earlier.

It is the same every night. Chloe prays for those things that are around her at the very second we are praying.  She prays for the things when they pop into her head. She prays when the prayer is needed. Chloe does not wait. She does not hold it in. Yeah, Chloe is only three--but she gets it. Life is about the present moment. The future is not real; not yet. Prayers are for now. Not for then or next or when.

Just right now.

So now, I try to pray like Chloe. I pray when the prayer is needed. I pray for things as they come. I pray for the relief of suffering at the moment the suffering is happening or the moment I become aware. I pray with a thankful heart when it dawns on me just how darn blessed I am. I pray, not when the time has been designated and not when it is convenient, but when it is time to pray. I pray when my heart moves me to--no excuses, no shame, no procrastination.

Because, there is no time like the present to pray.

Twelve things that distract me when I have a deadline in 12 minutes

If I was a cat, I would spend my days chasing light beams and flies. Forget a nap. Or stalking a bird or a mouse.

Give me shiny, moving, flying things.

So, while I have a deadline to meet in like 12 minutes (or so, deadlines are fluid, right?), I've decided to document the 12 things that I find so delightfully distracting.

1. Malaysia. A friend posted about Malaysia. Have spent 10 minutes googling and deciding that I'd rather go to Paris.

2. Paris. Yum, cheese and striped shirts and berets and little dogs.

3. Little dogs. I have a big dog. He is enormous. Yet appears to eat nothing. Eating disorder?

4. Disorder. My desk is in complete disorder. It is chaos. There is debris everywhere. And stacked to the ceiling: canisters of lemonade.

5. Lemonade. In case you have blocked me from your Facebook feed. Lily's Lemonade Stand is Saturday! Link is in my sidebar. Click on it.

6. It. Remember Cousin It on the Addam's Family? I have to get my kids to watch that show and the Munsters and the Flintstones and Gilligan's Island.

7. Island. Pineapples grow on islands. Grilled pineapple with pork loin and a chipotle honey BBQ sauce would be fabulous for dinner.

8. Dinner. I love to cook. But I am so sick of cooking dinner. No idea why. Maybe it is the clean-up or the sheer brain power it takes to cook 12 different meals for the picky eaters in my house.

9. House. I have to clean it. It is a pit.

10. Pit. I have a peach pitter and it is a piece of junk.

11. Junk. in the trunk.

12. Trunk. maybe that is wear my iPhone charger is. . .hmmm. . .better go out to the car.

Giving.

My first exposure to charitable giving came in the form of a little pink envelope that I would fill with change (typically scooped out of my Dad's top dresser drawer or emptied from my piggy bank) each Sunday morning. I would wait anxiously for my chance to drop that envelope into the brass offering plate at church and feel so grown-up.

All the church ladies in their flowered dresses and high heels were doing the same thing. It was very lady like to give.  And while the grown ups tossed checks and bills into the plate; I only gave spare change. It was what I had to give.

Those days stuck with me. Giving has very little to do with how much money you give--but it has everything to do with the very act of doing it.

I think giving money can sometimes be seen as an activity for the rich--and yes, the rich might technically and logically have more cash to give and may even feel they need to give for business or morals. Giving can be uncomfortable--parting with money we think we need for something (and maybe we do). Giving can seem like welfare--we think the government should be helping the poor. But, giving is essential. Giving is what we do to help each other. Giving unites us with those who are in need. Giving helps us when we are in need. Giving is an activity for everyone.

Alex's Lemonade Stand has taught me that--each year, at least a dozen children come to Lily's stand and fill our donation jar with change--their own money. Another few children show up with money they earned from their own lemonade stands.

It is these small gifts that are gigantic: These children will be life long givers. And I know they are giving, because they saw their parents or other adults giving.  I know it. Because, their mother is standing right behind them with another donation.

These children remind me to keep giving what I can and to not let the amount in my bank account stop me. These children remind me that every donation is a big donation. Every donation deserves a thank you. Every donation makes a wave, makes a change in someone's life.  Generosity is not a number; it is an act of giving what you have to someone who needs it.

It changes the world, one penny at time.