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Tag Archives: life
one amazing Get Dwell table
Kyle wrote a note to our friend, Darryl Rose, who happens to be president and founder of Get Dwell. He wanted “big wood” so he could build a table. I was thinking Darryl would drop off some scrap wood from his home remodeling & repair business, like he’s done in the past, and Kyle would get to work with a hammer & nails and bang something together.
What happened instead? Darryl & Paul Koenig, furniture conservator and creator, drew plans for a mortise & tenon table using handmade pegs instead of screws. Then they invited Kyle to the Winnetka Get Dwell shop to build it himself!
Kyle’s favorite part- applying the messy, messy wax
The big wood turned out to be this beautiful table top, made from reclaimed wood.
finished table!
Thanks, Get Dwell, Paul & Darryl, for this amazing experience.
If you’d like to contact Paul for furniture conservation and restoration, gold leaf repair or custom furniture, you can reach him at 847-772-2720.
Get Dwell & Darryl Rose can be found here.
What do you think Kyle’s going to be for Halloween this year? I’ll give you a hint… it has to do with a tool belt & a Get Dwell t-shirt.
best tv commercial ever…
This is my new favorite commercial. Hope you like it, too.
Yay, Derrick Coleman!
ROAR! Children’s Hospital of Dartmouth
How can an inpatient hospital visit be fun?
Stop on by a pediatric unit and you will find the most charming, funny, hopeful, beautiful, smart, resourceful, kind people you’ll ever be lucky to know. That would be the kids in treatment and the people taking care of them.
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago-
We love you! Kyle spent 2 weeks there this summer after hamstring release surgery & although there were hours every day of hard, intensive therapy he also had a lot of fun making friends, trying new contraptions, playing with the amazing nurses, doctors and therapists.
A special shout out to Frankie and his family for being the best roommates imaginable, keeping us laughing and in Ding Dongs the whole time.
First time…
…standing.
Georgia- the Wonder Dog!
Sky High Fun!
What? A workout on a trampoline that really counts as a workout? Sky High Sports provides just that. I tried the Niles Sky High Sports AIRobics class today and it was a blast.
Can’t tell you how much fun a cardio workout is on a trampoline. Unlike a regular class, where you’re packed in like sardines & given dirty looks by the regulars, there’s plenty of room to spread out at a Sky High workout. Everyone looks silly, is grinning with abandon & sweating like mad- there’s no way even a newbie will stand out.
Of course, in addition to the AIRobics classes, Sky High offers birthday parties, dodgeball, special times for the under 6 crowd, and lots of free jumping times.
Bonus: The First Tuesday of every month has special times for special needs kids and their siblings, at a reduced cost. Yup- some joy the whole family can participate in.
Check out this VIDEO from the NBC Bay Area news team to find out more about the special needs aspect of Sky High Sports.
Happy bouncing!
Child’s Play
Special Gifts Theatre, is a very special place, indeed. Located in the north suburbs of Chicago, SGT provides a unique experience for children who may otherwise not have the opportunity to participate in a drama experience. For months the special ed teachers, therapists and theatre arts instructors, with the help of peer mentors, guide the two casts of children with special needs to perform in two spectacular shows. This year’s show, Beauty and the Beast, has an especially amazing actor playing the part of Chip!
See some behind the scenes of the 2009 production below:
To learn more about the history of SGT, click here.
Thanks to all the people at Special Gifts Theatre for making this such an amazing experience for the children who participate and their parents, too.
Grease, Jr.- Special Gifts Theatre 2012
Doggy DNA
We are asked every day… what kind of dog IS that?
We were wondering the exact same thing and elicited ideas from vets, dog trainers, dog walkers, neighbors, & strangers and WOW! there are a lot of opinions- lab, terrier, shepherd, boxer, great dane, pit bull, grey hound, plott hound and tennessee treeing brindle. She’s 10 months old now & has changed a lot, but might keep on changing still. What do you think she is?
So we decided to try the Wisdom Panel Mixed Breed Dog DNA test. This test has 185 breeds in it’s library, including Plott Hound, which is what we kind of thought she was and so did Chicagoland Dog Rescue, where we got her. Here’s a picture of a Plott Hound:
It’s just a cheek swab- easy as can be. After you swab your dog’s cheeks two times, you mail it off to the lab in the envelope they’ve provided. The hard part was waiting the two weeks for the results.
Are you ready? Do you have doubts? Hmmmm….
In the end, it doesn’t really matter what that mutt is, we just love her.
P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom- xoxo
willing & able: the new volunteers
F.I.I.V.E., Fostering Intergenerational Inclusive Volunteer Engagement, is a new program matching seniors and special needs people up for volunteer opportunities. Here’s a video clip that highlights the program:
Interested in learning more? Check out this article from the Chicago Tribune.
You can also contact Center for Independent Futures, an amazing organization dedicated to helping adults with disabilities and their families plan, support and sustain new ways of living in their community.
welcome, Zoe
We’ve been busy over here this fall- see the lack of posts?
Let me introduce you to our newest little trouble-maker:
We first saw Zoe on Petfinder.com, a website that helps you find rescue pets in your area, based on your specifications. Lucky for us, the Schaumberg PetCo was hosting adoptees from Chicagoland Dog Rescue, and Zoe was one of them. We headed on over & there she was.
After lots of paperwork, Zoe came for a home visit. WE wanted to make a good impression, especially with Zoe’s foster mom & director of her case. There was another family also interested in her, so Zoe got to choose- which family would she like best? She picked us!
Originally a stray, Zoe came to us with intestinal parasites, a urinary tract infection and soon developed pneumonia, which she battled for 2 weeks.
Now she is healthy, 40 pounds, somewhere around 6 months and we think she’s at least part plott hound.
What’s your guess?
Here’s her success story posted on the CDR website.
and now for a little comedy relief…
Okay, I have a secret. I admit, I have been watching Toddlers & Tiaras, late-night, with the blinds drawn & giggling all by myself. That show is so wrong and yet here I am, awed by the antics of Makenzie and Eden and soooo happy I have never actually been to a little toddler beauty pageant.
Here’s one dad’s take on the itty bitty beauty pageant world…
In case you don’t know Mackenzie, here’s a quick clip of that big personality in a teeny body:
And here’s a look at FUTURE Mackenzie.
Go ahead & laugh. I won’t tell.
Vintage-Twisted 
