Hello, everybody! Wow--I can't believe that it is just a week before Thanksgiving. Amazing! Alannah and I started Boar's Head Festival rehearsals this past week--I guess the big kick off to Christmas marker around here. Whooo Hooo!
I am sitting here in a quiet living room, looking out where I can see glimpses of the lake now that all the leaves are down. The weatherman says we are going to be enjoying at least a few days of Indian Summer--sun and mild temperatures for the week! Of course, we already put all the porch furniture away, dumped out all the plants, dug up the garden and put out the black plastic for next year.... It would have been nice to sit out on the deck and drink my coffee this morning. Now there are little zinnias and cosmos coming out from what the frost, ice and snow killed a week ago! We probably could have kept the geraniums going a few more weeks. Typical New England weather, or so I am told, however, I am sure the snow and ice are not far away.
We had a great weekend with all the kids here. We didn't really DO anything--just hung out as a family. It was pouring rain, so we watched movies, played games and read stories. Saturday we braved the downpour and went down to the mall to get Kennedi (Scott's youngest daughter) a birthday present. She will be turning 7 this week. The kids helped Scott pick out a cute outfit at "Justice". (Very cute store, expensive, but once you get shopping there, they give you a lot of coupons and deals...you can usually end up with most things 40-50% off....) The big thing there were fun knitted fashion hats and scarfs, but they were $20+. Alannah and I stopped at Micheals and got some yarn and made a little hat and scarf to pack in with the outfit.
Later on, we got out a big roll of paper and everyone decorated it for a big card and wrapping paper. It came out really cute. Dan sat there for over an hour coloring all kinds of pictures--he has become quite the artist. Of course, all the girls drew kittens, rainbows, princesses, etc. Dan had a completely different artistic perspective: He drew a series of cannons aimed to blow up the princess castle, and some tanks, soldiers, monster trucks, etc...... I'm sure it wasn't intended as malicious--maybe, (hopefully?!) he was just fortifying the castle to PROTECT the princess! (yeah, right!)
It's nice to see these little signs that he is all boy despite all the odds against him!
There were over 40 kids at the children's sermon Sunday. They have asked for more Sunday school teachers because there is not enough coverage in the nursery class or the 2nd-3rd grader class. What a great problem to have in a church, eh? I don't know if there are enough adults left! Ha ha.... All the pregnant bellies are growing in the congregation -my friend Deb and I like to check and comment on the progress each week. I think I mentioned before we are up to three new babies due in the Spring. Lots and lots of joy going on here!
Next week the youth have to get to church at 8am to start cooking a big Thanksgiving dinner for the congregation. It is one of their first big fund raisers for their big mission trip in the Summer. I don't know why the girls are so excited about going there to help, but they are. They don't get that excited about cooking and cleaning here at home! Maybe they don't make the connection yet? The other big fund raiser coming up is the Christmas Bazaar and Auction that is the weekend after Christmas. The girls and I signed up to create a "bedtime stories" basket for the auction. I am thinking about putting some classics in there, maybe a warm throw and a book light. (Any other thoughts?)
Well...... The sermon scripture was Hebrews 10, which was a good thing--the whole idea about hanging in there and trusting God to take care of things because the biggest news here is that we have to replace my car. It finally bit the dust for good, the cost to fix it has well exceeded it's value. I'm not working today so I can go put the down payment on the Dodge Caravan we found last week, and hopefully will keep us going for at least one more year. Ssssiiiiigggghhhhhhh.
Getting a new car is always very stressful to me--Scott, thankfully, has a totally different outlook on the whole thing. To him it is just a car, get a new one and get over it. It was more important to him that the kids and I were safe than playing along with my female hangups about "letting go" of a "family" member. (ha ha) Scott and the mechanic/car dealer guy (who is another young guy with a wife and a bunch of kids) really gave it to me about ditching the Taurus because it just wasn't safe for us. Wow! That was cool--two men arguing for my best interest! :)
It's the whole fortify the castle, aim the cannons thingie but on a slightly different level. (tee hee!)
Other things to get done today are picking up prescriptions, signing up for parent teacher conferences and we are out of dog food again. I also have to pick up a weird list of candy for Aidan's plant cell project she is making. Gotta love edible science projects!
Have a great day!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Halloween, and November thus far.....
Halloween was very WET, as it most likely was at your house too--unless you are friends of ours that live out of the northeast. It was so wet, that Alannah, Aidan, Dan and I begged Susie to let me buy her her own bag of candy so we could go home! Yuck! But Halloween is Halloween, and it was still fun even though it was so rainy and cold.
I went into Owego early enough to catch Susie and Dan's school parties and parade. It was fun to see their classrooms and talk to their teachers. They seem to be doing very well. It was especially fun to see all of Dan's kindergarten work. His teacher is amazed at how awesome an artist he is! I am not surprised, but was surprised at how willing he is to draw at school. Usually at home there are more exciting things to do, like rough house with the dog, or jump on the neighbor's trampoline. He even had this very elaborate picture of the time we had a bat in our Church street house! It was hilarious. I hope it comes home eventually, because I would love to scan and post it up here.
I guess the way they are teaching basic art/illustration/drawing skills along with reading. Every time they work on letters and words they draw pictures to go with them. The teacher even helps instruct the kids on basic ways to draw things like houses, trees, animals, cars and people. I was pretty impressed.
Susie's class is working on doing research and writing biographies. She was Olivia Newton John's character Sandy from Grease for Halloween, so she wrote a very detailed biography on Olivia Newton John. It seemed very advanced and grown up for her!!! (my baby!) A boy in her class was Elvis, so it was cute how everyone was having them take their pictures together.
Other things going on: Alannah and Aidan received excellent report cards. All A's and B's for both of them. I have been working almost every day. Scott has been busy at work and at home. He has our yard almost leaf free, and the garden is all set for next year. Mom and Dad were up here this past weekend for Alannah and my concert. It was very nice. Next week we start rehearsals for the big post-Christmas concert.
The dog seems to have settled down a bit--of course, having to take a trip to the vet this weekend probably slowed him down. He broke one of his nails, and I'm sure that hurt enough to make him think twice about being too naughty. He's fine, just a little subdued. (as much as a 100 pound puppy can be, anyways!)
Next on the list of course is Thanksgiving. The plans are flying back and forth between all the households...... It looks like we will be in Albany this year! Cool!
Well, the Steelers are winning--more or less a shut out against the Broncos--coool! It must be because I am wearing my very awesome new super bowl champs jersey that Scott bought me! :)
Hugs and Kisses,
Allison
I went into Owego early enough to catch Susie and Dan's school parties and parade. It was fun to see their classrooms and talk to their teachers. They seem to be doing very well. It was especially fun to see all of Dan's kindergarten work. His teacher is amazed at how awesome an artist he is! I am not surprised, but was surprised at how willing he is to draw at school. Usually at home there are more exciting things to do, like rough house with the dog, or jump on the neighbor's trampoline. He even had this very elaborate picture of the time we had a bat in our Church street house! It was hilarious. I hope it comes home eventually, because I would love to scan and post it up here.
I guess the way they are teaching basic art/illustration/drawing skills along with reading. Every time they work on letters and words they draw pictures to go with them. The teacher even helps instruct the kids on basic ways to draw things like houses, trees, animals, cars and people. I was pretty impressed.
Susie's class is working on doing research and writing biographies. She was Olivia Newton John's character Sandy from Grease for Halloween, so she wrote a very detailed biography on Olivia Newton John. It seemed very advanced and grown up for her!!! (my baby!) A boy in her class was Elvis, so it was cute how everyone was having them take their pictures together.
Other things going on: Alannah and Aidan received excellent report cards. All A's and B's for both of them. I have been working almost every day. Scott has been busy at work and at home. He has our yard almost leaf free, and the garden is all set for next year. Mom and Dad were up here this past weekend for Alannah and my concert. It was very nice. Next week we start rehearsals for the big post-Christmas concert.
The dog seems to have settled down a bit--of course, having to take a trip to the vet this weekend probably slowed him down. He broke one of his nails, and I'm sure that hurt enough to make him think twice about being too naughty. He's fine, just a little subdued. (as much as a 100 pound puppy can be, anyways!)
Next on the list of course is Thanksgiving. The plans are flying back and forth between all the households...... It looks like we will be in Albany this year! Cool!
Well, the Steelers are winning--more or less a shut out against the Broncos--coool! It must be because I am wearing my very awesome new super bowl champs jersey that Scott bought me! :)
Hugs and Kisses,
Allison
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Ugh!
It has been a very long week. I have worked every day, and every day has been somewhat of a challenge. I try to remember that everyone I meet is put in my path for a reason......
I don't "GET IT"!!!!!!!!
I just know that in my heart I am supposed to be HERE, doing THIS.
I still don't "GET IT"!!!!!!!!
But that's faith, eh?
Anyways.....:
First quarter grades are out for the high school, and it looks like Alannah is making a good start. It is good to be working in such close proximity to her teachers and friends. She doesn't seem to notice or mind my presence. I would never want to go back and do high school over. ACK. Aidan is doing well as far as I know. Her grades don't come out for a few more weeks. From what I can tell from her homework and the school newsletter her teachers are fun and attentive. I am grateful that neither girl gets too caught up in too much of the drama, but we certainly get our share!
The school district is still reeling from the flu. So far we haven't had to close like so many other Ct. schools. I think it was worse a few weeks ago--less students appear to be out than before. I am still very busy covering for sick teachers, and probably will stay busy since many departments are entering conference season. That's fine.... more $$ for Christmas! But I get REALLY tired!!!! :(
The dog seems to be a little less crazy as long as we are diligent keeping things picked up and all the doors closed during the day. He just has sooo much energy. Hopefully with the kids all home this weekend he will get it all out of his system.
I haven't seen the new baby yet, but it sounds like she is settling in with everyone at home just fine. Stephanie seemed to really be ok with the new baby. She told me all about her on the phone--as much as a two year old can! It was so cute. Hopefully Sunday we can stop and see her on our way back to Owego. I remember those early days when weeks could go by and then you'd realize you are still in the same sweatpants......
Well, I am off to put the meatloaf in the oven, clean out my car and charge the ipod for the big trip tomorrow! :)
I don't "GET IT"!!!!!!!!
I just know that in my heart I am supposed to be HERE, doing THIS.
I still don't "GET IT"!!!!!!!!
But that's faith, eh?
Anyways.....:
First quarter grades are out for the high school, and it looks like Alannah is making a good start. It is good to be working in such close proximity to her teachers and friends. She doesn't seem to notice or mind my presence. I would never want to go back and do high school over. ACK. Aidan is doing well as far as I know. Her grades don't come out for a few more weeks. From what I can tell from her homework and the school newsletter her teachers are fun and attentive. I am grateful that neither girl gets too caught up in too much of the drama, but we certainly get our share!
The school district is still reeling from the flu. So far we haven't had to close like so many other Ct. schools. I think it was worse a few weeks ago--less students appear to be out than before. I am still very busy covering for sick teachers, and probably will stay busy since many departments are entering conference season. That's fine.... more $$ for Christmas! But I get REALLY tired!!!! :(
The dog seems to be a little less crazy as long as we are diligent keeping things picked up and all the doors closed during the day. He just has sooo much energy. Hopefully with the kids all home this weekend he will get it all out of his system.
I haven't seen the new baby yet, but it sounds like she is settling in with everyone at home just fine. Stephanie seemed to really be ok with the new baby. She told me all about her on the phone--as much as a two year old can! It was so cute. Hopefully Sunday we can stop and see her on our way back to Owego. I remember those early days when weeks could go by and then you'd realize you are still in the same sweatpants......
Well, I am off to put the meatloaf in the oven, clean out my car and charge the ipod for the big trip tomorrow! :)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Long over due pics!
Here are pic links for Alannah's Homecoming Dance, Coal's birthday and our Pittsburgh trip:
Lana and Coal:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=383341069406%3A1967599450
Trip:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=683341069406%3A992274267
Tomorrow I am travelling to NY to attend Susie and Dan's Halloween parties and parade. Hopefully I will remember the camera and all of the costume pieces, and hopefully it will not be past Christmas when I get the pics on here!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Welcome, baby Erica!
Baby Erica Celleste Piccolo was born this morning at 5:30am! She is 10 pounds, 22 inches long, with lots of dark hair. She is beautiful! Mom and baby (and daddy and sister) are doing great, and as long as things are going well they should be home Tuesday.
Yay! :)
Yay! :)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A little Flu, a little Sunshine and a Niece on the way!
Hello! Our trip to Pittsburgh was fantastic. We just sorted through all the pictures last night (finally!). I will try and get them up here today. It was great to get to spend time with Scott's family, and so much fun to meet new/old friends at his reunion. The game was awesome--there is just nothing in the world like watching pro-sports live. All the kids had fun with my family while we were away--even Susie and Dan got to come up and spend a day with Alannah and Aidan while they were in Owego with my parents.
Now that we are all back home again, we are back to work and battling the flu. Alannah and my high school got hit pretty bad--over 25% of the staff and students have been out for the past week or so. I don't usually get sick with the flu, so I have been busy working, covering for all the sick teachers! Every day I come home and sleep and WASH--I can just feel the germs lurking. So far I've managed to dodge it, except for a persistent ear infection. (yuck!) Unfortunately, the flu has been making its' rounds on the kids--Aidan, Susie and Dan both spent time home from school with fevers. Alannah got it the worst--she was home from school for 4 days, and was pretty sick. She is still coughing a bit, but is definitely on the mend.
After some weird weather--rain, rain, rain, ICE and SNOW--it is back to a few days of warm sunshine. The Fall colors were pretty disappointing this year, but we have a yard full of acorns. It is the weirdest thing! The garden is all done now. All that is left are brussel sprouts. (Why does everyone say yuck?) They should be ready to harvest this weekend. After we are done with them, we are all ready to get next year's garden ready. Of course it will be bigger and better!
In spite of all the working and keeping people well, Halloween costumes are coming along slowly but surely. We now have Dan's Thomas the Train costume borrowed from friends. It is so cute, it just didn't make sense to make a new one! He is very excited! Scott is coaching Aidan's dancing as the Six Flag's guy. (ha ha...that's a joke!) Since I know a lot of you don't live near a Six Flags Park, here is a link to the Utube video of the commercial.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=six+flags+guy+video&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=N_HdSufdC8rDlAf32uSnAw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQqwQwAA#
Alannah is in charge of her own costume--I think she is going to be a bag of jelly beans. Susie's costume is under construction. It turned out that the two second hand patterns I have for poodle skirts were both missing critical pattern pieces, so I had to go back and get a new pattern. Otherwise, as soon as I get a free day that costume should come right together. She asks about it every day, so I better get going on it.
Andrea is due to have her baby any day now. It is so exciting! Everything looks great, and she is feeling well and she and Christian are working at staying rested. Stephanie seems ready (as much as a two year old can be!). Every time the phone rings we all jump!
We've been having a little trouble keeping our doggie Coal out of trouble. I think with everyone being back at work and school makes him a little bored, so then he gets into stuff. He has eaten some pretty bizarre things, but mostly Alannah's shoes. We have all regrouped as a family to try and get him some more attention, as well as keep things picked up. We found out that the little grocery store downtown sells doggie bones, so that seems to keep him really busy.
Oh yeah: Alannah had a great time at the Homecoming Dance. She looked soooo pretty! There will be pics on here soon of her too. It was fun to sub the week after the dance and hear everyone talking about it. The football team won their game too, so that made it all the better.
This weekend Alannah and I have our first little concert for our singing group. http://www.firstchurchofwinsted.org/LCS.html
Our official concert isn't until November 7th, and will be like A Prairie Home Companion.
Aidan is going to a Halloween Party with the youth group at Lake Compounce.
http://www.hauntedgraveyard.com/
And between football and hockey, I hope to be giving my new niece a big squeeze!
:)
Now that we are all back home again, we are back to work and battling the flu. Alannah and my high school got hit pretty bad--over 25% of the staff and students have been out for the past week or so. I don't usually get sick with the flu, so I have been busy working, covering for all the sick teachers! Every day I come home and sleep and WASH--I can just feel the germs lurking. So far I've managed to dodge it, except for a persistent ear infection. (yuck!) Unfortunately, the flu has been making its' rounds on the kids--Aidan, Susie and Dan both spent time home from school with fevers. Alannah got it the worst--she was home from school for 4 days, and was pretty sick. She is still coughing a bit, but is definitely on the mend.
After some weird weather--rain, rain, rain, ICE and SNOW--it is back to a few days of warm sunshine. The Fall colors were pretty disappointing this year, but we have a yard full of acorns. It is the weirdest thing! The garden is all done now. All that is left are brussel sprouts. (Why does everyone say yuck?) They should be ready to harvest this weekend. After we are done with them, we are all ready to get next year's garden ready. Of course it will be bigger and better!
In spite of all the working and keeping people well, Halloween costumes are coming along slowly but surely. We now have Dan's Thomas the Train costume borrowed from friends. It is so cute, it just didn't make sense to make a new one! He is very excited! Scott is coaching Aidan's dancing as the Six Flag's guy. (ha ha...that's a joke!) Since I know a lot of you don't live near a Six Flags Park, here is a link to the Utube video of the commercial.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=six+flags+guy+video&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLL_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=N_HdSufdC8rDlAf32uSnAw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQqwQwAA#
Alannah is in charge of her own costume--I think she is going to be a bag of jelly beans. Susie's costume is under construction. It turned out that the two second hand patterns I have for poodle skirts were both missing critical pattern pieces, so I had to go back and get a new pattern. Otherwise, as soon as I get a free day that costume should come right together. She asks about it every day, so I better get going on it.
Andrea is due to have her baby any day now. It is so exciting! Everything looks great, and she is feeling well and she and Christian are working at staying rested. Stephanie seems ready (as much as a two year old can be!). Every time the phone rings we all jump!
We've been having a little trouble keeping our doggie Coal out of trouble. I think with everyone being back at work and school makes him a little bored, so then he gets into stuff. He has eaten some pretty bizarre things, but mostly Alannah's shoes. We have all regrouped as a family to try and get him some more attention, as well as keep things picked up. We found out that the little grocery store downtown sells doggie bones, so that seems to keep him really busy.
Oh yeah: Alannah had a great time at the Homecoming Dance. She looked soooo pretty! There will be pics on here soon of her too. It was fun to sub the week after the dance and hear everyone talking about it. The football team won their game too, so that made it all the better.
This weekend Alannah and I have our first little concert for our singing group. http://www.firstchurchofwinsted.org/LCS.html
Our official concert isn't until November 7th, and will be like A Prairie Home Companion.
Aidan is going to a Halloween Party with the youth group at Lake Compounce.
http://www.hauntedgraveyard.com/
And between football and hockey, I hope to be giving my new niece a big squeeze!
:)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Ooooo, it was dark when we woke up today!
It must be getting to be Fall! Aidan was balking about taking the dog out this morning because it was so dark out. I can't believe it will be October tomorrow.
Other signs of Fall: the leaves are changing, slowly, around the lake. It is hard to tell if it will be a "good" year or not. I never can remember how the weather affects the colors. It has been weird weather around here--kind of dreary, windy, cold, rainy but with odd bursts of sun. Even the weather guy commented that there seems to be an odd front that is stuck hovering over New England. ggrrreeeaaaattttttt :(
Things at home have been good, in spite of the weather. The garden is still puttering along. It hasn't gotten cold enough to kill everything. Last weekend I harvested what was basically left and ripe: carrots, cabbage, squash, cucumbers, radishes and tomatoes. There are still some beets out there, I think! Now that the cucumbers have died down the pinto beans are booming. Hopefully they will cure before it gets too cold. The Brussels sprouts are starting to really develop. The celery didn't really do anything. Actually, I am not really sure what it was supposed to do! I planted one more container of lettuce with the last of the seeds, so we shall see if they grow on the sun porch. It was so much fun to have the garden this year! The neighbor guy was so inspired by us that he went out and got a rotor tiller and has big plans to tear up the backyard next year. We bought enough plastic to lay down a garden twice as big--now just a long, long wait until the next season. My friend Stacy who lives in Tampa just started gardening! It is hard to believe! She said: It is finally cool enough to plant things!
Alannah just received her first quarter interim grade reports. No surprises, she is doing great. Her teachers really enjoy her in class. I have been working pretty steadily 2-3 days a week now. The sub coordinator says it has been unusually slow-she thinks everyone is saving sick days in case we get hit with a big flu epidemic. I'm sure now that open house is over and grades are in that teachers will start taking more time off. Especially as the holidays approach.
Of course we are getting into Halloween season. The kids have placed their orders for costumes, so I will have more sewing soon. I finished Alannah's dress for the homecoming dance--it looks really nice on her. Last week I made a cute furry pink cape and hat for Stephanie's birthday, and tried out a Martha Stewart pattern for felted slippers as a gift for Andrea. It is spirit week for Homecoming next week, so I helped Alannah turn a pair of jeans into bell bottoms for 70's day. She thinks she will use that for Halloween. Aidan wants to be the Six Flags guy. Susie finally settled on being Sandy from Grease. She wanted to be like her in the last scene--you know, the one where she is all trashed out in skin tight black leather? I (freaked out) and told her that might be a bit "old" for her, but that I would make her a Pink Ladies' jacket to wear with a poodle skirt. (She was ok with that, thank God!) Dan is the only one who hasn't really settled yet on what he wants to be. Tanya wants me to help her with Tia's costume too, so I have a lot to keep me busy!
This weekend Scott and I are taking a little getaway trip to Pittsburgh to attend his 25th high school reunion. We will fly in Friday and spend some time with his mom and Denny. The party is Saturday at a restaurant that is right at the bottom of the hill from his mom's. Sunday we will meet up with his Dad and Rose for breakfast, then head downtown for some fun! Later on Sunday we are meeting up with our friends Rodney and Danielle (who live right down the road from us here in Ct) for the Steelers game. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad! Mom and Dad are taking care of Alannah and Aidan, so they will get to be in Owego for a couple of days.
Today I have to run around and do a bunch of errands like going to the dump, blahblahblah. I am hoping my friend Danielle calls me to help her go shopping for her reunion outfit. She was so glad to hear that someone else was freaking out about the party--of course her husband doesn't care very much about those kinds of things! I think I am all set there--we have to be careful packing because we are flying in. Scott says we have to keep it to one suitcase...he really doesn't KNOW, does he? It must be nice to be so good looking that you only need three outfits for eight events in one weekend. (now I am really freaking out!)
Other than that, not too much else going on....yet! Both girls have signed up for Drama club so that will start sometime soon. Aidan's school is doing some funny little play about vampires. Alannah's school will be doing Grease. (Susie is excited!) Alannah and I are in the community chorus. Our Fall concert will be like A Prairie Home Companion. The music is really fun! Alannah is also having fun with art club and ultimate frisbee. Aidan's school doesn't have clubs this year because of the budget, but we are looking into sending her to a babysitting class. There is a family at church who would like her to take it so she can babysit for them. I should do that soon, because the kids LOVE her!
My bible study is getting off to a slow start. No one showed up, again, last night! Oh well. I got to sit and read the bible and pray for an hour. That has to be good for something! :)
Happy Fall!
Other signs of Fall: the leaves are changing, slowly, around the lake. It is hard to tell if it will be a "good" year or not. I never can remember how the weather affects the colors. It has been weird weather around here--kind of dreary, windy, cold, rainy but with odd bursts of sun. Even the weather guy commented that there seems to be an odd front that is stuck hovering over New England. ggrrreeeaaaattttttt :(
Things at home have been good, in spite of the weather. The garden is still puttering along. It hasn't gotten cold enough to kill everything. Last weekend I harvested what was basically left and ripe: carrots, cabbage, squash, cucumbers, radishes and tomatoes. There are still some beets out there, I think! Now that the cucumbers have died down the pinto beans are booming. Hopefully they will cure before it gets too cold. The Brussels sprouts are starting to really develop. The celery didn't really do anything. Actually, I am not really sure what it was supposed to do! I planted one more container of lettuce with the last of the seeds, so we shall see if they grow on the sun porch. It was so much fun to have the garden this year! The neighbor guy was so inspired by us that he went out and got a rotor tiller and has big plans to tear up the backyard next year. We bought enough plastic to lay down a garden twice as big--now just a long, long wait until the next season. My friend Stacy who lives in Tampa just started gardening! It is hard to believe! She said: It is finally cool enough to plant things!
Alannah just received her first quarter interim grade reports. No surprises, she is doing great. Her teachers really enjoy her in class. I have been working pretty steadily 2-3 days a week now. The sub coordinator says it has been unusually slow-she thinks everyone is saving sick days in case we get hit with a big flu epidemic. I'm sure now that open house is over and grades are in that teachers will start taking more time off. Especially as the holidays approach.
Of course we are getting into Halloween season. The kids have placed their orders for costumes, so I will have more sewing soon. I finished Alannah's dress for the homecoming dance--it looks really nice on her. Last week I made a cute furry pink cape and hat for Stephanie's birthday, and tried out a Martha Stewart pattern for felted slippers as a gift for Andrea. It is spirit week for Homecoming next week, so I helped Alannah turn a pair of jeans into bell bottoms for 70's day. She thinks she will use that for Halloween. Aidan wants to be the Six Flags guy. Susie finally settled on being Sandy from Grease. She wanted to be like her in the last scene--you know, the one where she is all trashed out in skin tight black leather? I (freaked out) and told her that might be a bit "old" for her, but that I would make her a Pink Ladies' jacket to wear with a poodle skirt. (She was ok with that, thank God!) Dan is the only one who hasn't really settled yet on what he wants to be. Tanya wants me to help her with Tia's costume too, so I have a lot to keep me busy!
This weekend Scott and I are taking a little getaway trip to Pittsburgh to attend his 25th high school reunion. We will fly in Friday and spend some time with his mom and Denny. The party is Saturday at a restaurant that is right at the bottom of the hill from his mom's. Sunday we will meet up with his Dad and Rose for breakfast, then head downtown for some fun! Later on Sunday we are meeting up with our friends Rodney and Danielle (who live right down the road from us here in Ct) for the Steelers game. Hopefully the weather won't be too bad! Mom and Dad are taking care of Alannah and Aidan, so they will get to be in Owego for a couple of days.
Today I have to run around and do a bunch of errands like going to the dump, blahblahblah. I am hoping my friend Danielle calls me to help her go shopping for her reunion outfit. She was so glad to hear that someone else was freaking out about the party--of course her husband doesn't care very much about those kinds of things! I think I am all set there--we have to be careful packing because we are flying in. Scott says we have to keep it to one suitcase...he really doesn't KNOW, does he? It must be nice to be so good looking that you only need three outfits for eight events in one weekend. (now I am really freaking out!)
Other than that, not too much else going on....yet! Both girls have signed up for Drama club so that will start sometime soon. Aidan's school is doing some funny little play about vampires. Alannah's school will be doing Grease. (Susie is excited!) Alannah and I are in the community chorus. Our Fall concert will be like A Prairie Home Companion. The music is really fun! Alannah is also having fun with art club and ultimate frisbee. Aidan's school doesn't have clubs this year because of the budget, but we are looking into sending her to a babysitting class. There is a family at church who would like her to take it so she can babysit for them. I should do that soon, because the kids LOVE her!
My bible study is getting off to a slow start. No one showed up, again, last night! Oh well. I got to sit and read the bible and pray for an hour. That has to be good for something! :)
Happy Fall!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Yay! Got it done!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ovazriq.5klzk1eu&x=0&y=-1lewho&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button
Finally here are the pics from Susie's birthday, and the first days of school. Enjoy!
Finally here are the pics from Susie's birthday, and the first days of school. Enjoy!
Monday, September 14, 2009
My bad!!!!
My mother pointed out to me yesterday that I hadn't written anything on my blog in AGES, which is true... and I don't have any excuse... well, I have about a zillion of them, but none of them very good! So I apologize!!!! All is basically well.
What has really had me procrastinating is that I have all these really cool photos to share. I keep thinking I will get them processed, and then I will write, but.... well.... that's just not going to happen right now!!!!
Today is so gorgeous, and according to the weather guys, it will not be nice, so I am trying to hurry this up so I can get out for awhile. I actually WORKED today, for the first time, so no fun in the sun today! It was good to get back. I had an easy day, everyone seemed happy to see me--I was just pleased that so many people remembered my name! Even Alannah owned up to knowing me, and popped into my room throughout the day to say "hi" and blow me kisses.
She is doing really well at the high school. She has a lot of really nice friends and she is keeping on top of her work. Btw, the girls have been in school over two weeks already--amazing! I know all the NY kids just went back this past week. Alannah went to Art Club after school today, she has joined choir and is looking forward to joining the drama club when it starts up. (I think they are doing Grease this Spring). It's a "secret", but she has a date to the Homecoming Dance with a VERY nice young man! ("JUST AS FRIENDS, MOM!" She likes to yell at me!) He is a really neat guy--a senior. He goes to our church, and he and Alannah are definitely soul mates/best friends. Scott likes to watch Alannah when he calls or comes around. She glows! :) But don't say anything to her!!! I will get in trouble!!!!! :)
Aidan is doing very, very well also. Her school has actually had open house already. I love going to her school. The teachers and staff are so attentive to her. There is only one team of 7th graders, so it is a very small, intimate group--I think there are less than 100 kids in her entire grade. Her special ed teacher came right over and introduced herself, and had all kinds of good things to say. She really seems to know Aidan. It was fun to meet a bunch of her friends. They all seem like very nice, sweet little girls.
From what I hear from OES Susie and Dan are doing great in Third Grade and Kindergarten. Dan is so excited! He has been waiting to go to school for forever! I remember he was about 7 months old when everyone went back to school his first year, and he cried and cried. Every year he has watched that bus arrive and has been all bummed out. Now he finally has his moment! Susie, of course, is too sophisticated to get all that excited about school anymore. She did tell me that she has a lot of her friends in her class. Not so much about school yet, but it's early!
Coal (our puppy) is sad that everyone is gone. He goes to Dan's bed and whines. He presses his nose against the kitchen window when we all leave in the morning. He just about breaks down the door when we come home in the afternoon! When I am home, he seems to know when it is time for the bus to come home.
Scott is still golfing every week for now. Of course it is football season now, so he is having fun organizing his fantasy football teams and his various football pools. I started the community chorus group again (Laurel City Singers) and this year Alannah is joining me. Our concert this Fall will be like Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. Judging from some of the music we are rehearsing it will be a fun show!!! There is a song about a cactus, and a song about pitching granny from the roof and cutting off her head! Needless to say, it was a rowdy rehearsal! Church life is back in full swing too. The girls are both in youth group and I am going to be leading an adult bible study starting next Tuesday.
Ok, I promise to get pictures of Susie's birthday, the end of Summer and the first day of school for both sets of kids on here SOON!!!!! :) Bye for now!
What has really had me procrastinating is that I have all these really cool photos to share. I keep thinking I will get them processed, and then I will write, but.... well.... that's just not going to happen right now!!!!
Today is so gorgeous, and according to the weather guys, it will not be nice, so I am trying to hurry this up so I can get out for awhile. I actually WORKED today, for the first time, so no fun in the sun today! It was good to get back. I had an easy day, everyone seemed happy to see me--I was just pleased that so many people remembered my name! Even Alannah owned up to knowing me, and popped into my room throughout the day to say "hi" and blow me kisses.
She is doing really well at the high school. She has a lot of really nice friends and she is keeping on top of her work. Btw, the girls have been in school over two weeks already--amazing! I know all the NY kids just went back this past week. Alannah went to Art Club after school today, she has joined choir and is looking forward to joining the drama club when it starts up. (I think they are doing Grease this Spring). It's a "secret", but she has a date to the Homecoming Dance with a VERY nice young man! ("JUST AS FRIENDS, MOM!" She likes to yell at me!) He is a really neat guy--a senior. He goes to our church, and he and Alannah are definitely soul mates/best friends. Scott likes to watch Alannah when he calls or comes around. She glows! :) But don't say anything to her!!! I will get in trouble!!!!! :)
Aidan is doing very, very well also. Her school has actually had open house already. I love going to her school. The teachers and staff are so attentive to her. There is only one team of 7th graders, so it is a very small, intimate group--I think there are less than 100 kids in her entire grade. Her special ed teacher came right over and introduced herself, and had all kinds of good things to say. She really seems to know Aidan. It was fun to meet a bunch of her friends. They all seem like very nice, sweet little girls.
From what I hear from OES Susie and Dan are doing great in Third Grade and Kindergarten. Dan is so excited! He has been waiting to go to school for forever! I remember he was about 7 months old when everyone went back to school his first year, and he cried and cried. Every year he has watched that bus arrive and has been all bummed out. Now he finally has his moment! Susie, of course, is too sophisticated to get all that excited about school anymore. She did tell me that she has a lot of her friends in her class. Not so much about school yet, but it's early!
Coal (our puppy) is sad that everyone is gone. He goes to Dan's bed and whines. He presses his nose against the kitchen window when we all leave in the morning. He just about breaks down the door when we come home in the afternoon! When I am home, he seems to know when it is time for the bus to come home.
Scott is still golfing every week for now. Of course it is football season now, so he is having fun organizing his fantasy football teams and his various football pools. I started the community chorus group again (Laurel City Singers) and this year Alannah is joining me. Our concert this Fall will be like Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. Judging from some of the music we are rehearsing it will be a fun show!!! There is a song about a cactus, and a song about pitching granny from the roof and cutting off her head! Needless to say, it was a rowdy rehearsal! Church life is back in full swing too. The girls are both in youth group and I am going to be leading an adult bible study starting next Tuesday.
Ok, I promise to get pictures of Susie's birthday, the end of Summer and the first day of school for both sets of kids on here SOON!!!!! :) Bye for now!
Monday, August 24, 2009
It's almost over! :(
As usual, it has been quite the whirlwind of past few weeks here in Ct. Last weekend we travelled to Oneida to attend Eva's baptism/membership ceremony in her and Josh's church. It was a long, hot drive, but the kids did great. They even sat through over two hours of church without one fuss. It was fun to see Eva and Josh's new apartment and get together with Andrea, Christian, Stephanie, Mom and Dad for a quick BBQ lunch. Andrea is not very comfy in this heat and humidity with the baby's due date coming up. (I think she is approx. 30 weeks along) I remember being pregnant in the Summer all too well. Yuck!
I am remembering all too well this week as Susie's birthday is right around the corner. We will have her big party this coming Saturday. Everyone we invited is excited--it is a fashion show party! Now that the girls are home we will start really getting ready for that.
We didn't really get started yet because this past weekend Scott's dad Dave and his step-mom Rose came for a visit. It wasn't a very good weekend for showing off our town since it rained all weekend. But it was a great visit anyways. We were able to show them the basics. The kids and I haven't had a lot of chances to get to know Dave and Rose that well. We have gotten together with them over Christmas a couple times and for a weekend at their camp, so this turned out to be a really nice "bonding" weekend. We made the most of the rain and played cards, watched movies and, of course, ATE. :) I made my first peach pie which turned out very good.
We only have two days before school starts for Alannah and Aidan, if you can believe it! They are getting ready to go down to Julie's house to discuss first day of school outfits and to do some more planning for Susie's party. There are bags of school supplies in the dining room that need to be organized. I have a feeling that the hot weather will persist until October, so I haven't been overly motivated to go school shopping. I always liked how mom made Andrea and I wait a few weeks. That way we would have a better idea what the (often fleeting) fashion was going to be.
Mom and Dad will be coming Friday for Susie's party, and Andrea, Christian and Stephanie will be here Saturday. Hopefully the weather will be good, because that will be a lot of kids to keep happy inside!!!! Well, they will be happy inside, but maybe I won't be!!!! :)
Today I will be mostly relaxing. Hopefully I can get out and do some sewing. I promised Alannah that we would color her hair before school since her highlights are fading. Tomorrow will be supernice, so we will hopefully get to spend the last day on the BEACH. The whole day, no chores. (yay!)
Bye for now!
PS: Dan's stuffed frog Franklin has gone "missing", and Dan is pretty philosophical about it. We asked him what happened to Franklin, and he shrugged and speculated that Franklin got chopped up in the neighbor's tractor. "Are you okay?" I asked, because other instances of Franklin disappearing have created something akin to a national crisis. My own tears were welling up! "Of course I'm okay!" Dan replied and promptly fell asleep without his little green friend. He didn't even want a substitute from his generous sisters. "I'M FINE!" he insisted.
Scott is the one who has been campaigning for Dan to grow out of his thumb sucking/snuggly fixation, but even Scott got a little upset about Franklin missing. "Do you think we should go looking for him?" he asked Dan, and me later. Dan told him "Nahhhh. He's fine being gone." "Are you sure? Is he sure?" Scott asked me on the side. I had to assure Scott that it was really ok. I caught Scott taking a little stroll up and down the neighbor's hill seeing if he could find evidence of Dan's speculation. I have caught my own self looking around to see if Franklin is somewhere around. I keep waiting for Franklin to "show up". But it is looking more and more that maybe he won't!
I guess "our" little baby boy is growing up! :)
I am remembering all too well this week as Susie's birthday is right around the corner. We will have her big party this coming Saturday. Everyone we invited is excited--it is a fashion show party! Now that the girls are home we will start really getting ready for that.
We didn't really get started yet because this past weekend Scott's dad Dave and his step-mom Rose came for a visit. It wasn't a very good weekend for showing off our town since it rained all weekend. But it was a great visit anyways. We were able to show them the basics. The kids and I haven't had a lot of chances to get to know Dave and Rose that well. We have gotten together with them over Christmas a couple times and for a weekend at their camp, so this turned out to be a really nice "bonding" weekend. We made the most of the rain and played cards, watched movies and, of course, ATE. :) I made my first peach pie which turned out very good.
We only have two days before school starts for Alannah and Aidan, if you can believe it! They are getting ready to go down to Julie's house to discuss first day of school outfits and to do some more planning for Susie's party. There are bags of school supplies in the dining room that need to be organized. I have a feeling that the hot weather will persist until October, so I haven't been overly motivated to go school shopping. I always liked how mom made Andrea and I wait a few weeks. That way we would have a better idea what the (often fleeting) fashion was going to be.
Mom and Dad will be coming Friday for Susie's party, and Andrea, Christian and Stephanie will be here Saturday. Hopefully the weather will be good, because that will be a lot of kids to keep happy inside!!!! Well, they will be happy inside, but maybe I won't be!!!! :)
Today I will be mostly relaxing. Hopefully I can get out and do some sewing. I promised Alannah that we would color her hair before school since her highlights are fading. Tomorrow will be supernice, so we will hopefully get to spend the last day on the BEACH. The whole day, no chores. (yay!)
Bye for now!
PS: Dan's stuffed frog Franklin has gone "missing", and Dan is pretty philosophical about it. We asked him what happened to Franklin, and he shrugged and speculated that Franklin got chopped up in the neighbor's tractor. "Are you okay?" I asked, because other instances of Franklin disappearing have created something akin to a national crisis. My own tears were welling up! "Of course I'm okay!" Dan replied and promptly fell asleep without his little green friend. He didn't even want a substitute from his generous sisters. "I'M FINE!" he insisted.
Scott is the one who has been campaigning for Dan to grow out of his thumb sucking/snuggly fixation, but even Scott got a little upset about Franklin missing. "Do you think we should go looking for him?" he asked Dan, and me later. Dan told him "Nahhhh. He's fine being gone." "Are you sure? Is he sure?" Scott asked me on the side. I had to assure Scott that it was really ok. I caught Scott taking a little stroll up and down the neighbor's hill seeing if he could find evidence of Dan's speculation. I have caught my own self looking around to see if Franklin is somewhere around. I keep waiting for Franklin to "show up". But it is looking more and more that maybe he won't!
I guess "our" little baby boy is growing up! :)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Five Days and COUNTING
http://www.imaginenation.org/
We had a great time at the Imagine Nation children's museum yesterday! Scott was able to take the day off from work, too, so it ended up being a really awesome family day. It was a good week to do it, because Alannah and Aidan would have been bored--it was really meant for kids under ten. Although, I did tell Aidan that there were some cute boys volunteering and helping with the exhibits. She wanted to know HOW cute--on a scale of 1-10. I guess she claims to be some kind of an expert. Dad tells me that she has been giving him quite an education this week! I told her that next to Scott there is no comparison....but I digress..... (grin!)
Susie and Dan enjoyed all the exhibits. There was a big building/engineering area with bins and bins of blocks, K-nex, Legos, Tinker Toys and Linkin Logs. There was an art area with all kinds of stuff to do. Yesterday's theme was "Starfish", so most of the exhibits were set up with activities and information about the ocean. A pet store was there with a touch tank with a few different real live starfish for the kids to play with. They both spent a long time in the water room with the wave tank and bubble booth, but they couldn't tell me which exhibit was their favorite. Susie was stuck between the massive climber, ESPN news room and the computer room. Daniel loved the voting booth, green screen and the dark room: a room with black lights entirely made of black chalk boards that the kids could color on with glow chalk and bring pictures made with fluorescent markers into. Of course we ended the day downstairs in the ice cream parlor, but the kids were more interested in the cool player piano than the ice cream. (can you believe it?) Coal also got to have a day out, spending the day at Doggie Day Care. He was happy and exhausted when we picked him up. Even though the weather turned wet, we all slept really well last night, tuckered out from all the fun!
This weather has spawned a horrible case of fleas in our house, so we took the opportunity of a day out to bug-bomb the house and get Coal some good medicine. He seems much more comfortable now. Now the wet muggy weather has been joined by hot. It certainly makes for happy bugs and fungus! Blah AGAIN. We dragged the air conditioner up from the basement, so that at least makes sleeping bearable.
Susie and Dan really miss Aidan and Alannah, hence the title of this entry! It is worse than waiting for Christmas. Plus, there always seems to be a little let down after a little day of vacation. No one was very happy when Scott had to leave for work today--especially Scott!
Today won't be much fun with the rain, so I am not sure what we will end up doing. The Fireman's Fair starts tomorrow (I think) so maybe we will investigate..... I have a scrapbook recipe swap party to go to next week, so I need to spend a few hours in the craft room getting ready for that. As much as we tried to make the craft room fun for the kids, Susie and Dan are balking about going over there. My little TV junkies--no cable in the garage!!!!
We had a great time at the Imagine Nation children's museum yesterday! Scott was able to take the day off from work, too, so it ended up being a really awesome family day. It was a good week to do it, because Alannah and Aidan would have been bored--it was really meant for kids under ten. Although, I did tell Aidan that there were some cute boys volunteering and helping with the exhibits. She wanted to know HOW cute--on a scale of 1-10. I guess she claims to be some kind of an expert. Dad tells me that she has been giving him quite an education this week! I told her that next to Scott there is no comparison....but I digress..... (grin!)
Susie and Dan enjoyed all the exhibits. There was a big building/engineering area with bins and bins of blocks, K-nex, Legos, Tinker Toys and Linkin Logs. There was an art area with all kinds of stuff to do. Yesterday's theme was "Starfish", so most of the exhibits were set up with activities and information about the ocean. A pet store was there with a touch tank with a few different real live starfish for the kids to play with. They both spent a long time in the water room with the wave tank and bubble booth, but they couldn't tell me which exhibit was their favorite. Susie was stuck between the massive climber, ESPN news room and the computer room. Daniel loved the voting booth, green screen and the dark room: a room with black lights entirely made of black chalk boards that the kids could color on with glow chalk and bring pictures made with fluorescent markers into. Of course we ended the day downstairs in the ice cream parlor, but the kids were more interested in the cool player piano than the ice cream. (can you believe it?) Coal also got to have a day out, spending the day at Doggie Day Care. He was happy and exhausted when we picked him up. Even though the weather turned wet, we all slept really well last night, tuckered out from all the fun!
This weather has spawned a horrible case of fleas in our house, so we took the opportunity of a day out to bug-bomb the house and get Coal some good medicine. He seems much more comfortable now. Now the wet muggy weather has been joined by hot. It certainly makes for happy bugs and fungus! Blah AGAIN. We dragged the air conditioner up from the basement, so that at least makes sleeping bearable.
Susie and Dan really miss Aidan and Alannah, hence the title of this entry! It is worse than waiting for Christmas. Plus, there always seems to be a little let down after a little day of vacation. No one was very happy when Scott had to leave for work today--especially Scott!
Today won't be much fun with the rain, so I am not sure what we will end up doing. The Fireman's Fair starts tomorrow (I think) so maybe we will investigate..... I have a scrapbook recipe swap party to go to next week, so I need to spend a few hours in the craft room getting ready for that. As much as we tried to make the craft room fun for the kids, Susie and Dan are balking about going over there. My little TV junkies--no cable in the garage!!!!
Friday, August 7, 2009
Mourning in the Tomato Row :(
Well, in spite of all of our efforts, most of our tomatoes have been attacked by the dreaded late blight. I have been out there for weeks watching, spraying, PRAYING, but most of the tomatoes are covered with rotting brown spots. Blech!
We cut, ripped, tore out and I cried and pouted a lot to try and salvage SOMETHING. But no luck. It has just been too wet over the past few weeks. Maybe with some dry days like we've been having we will have some new growth that will come out of what is left.
Oh well!!!!!
The few tomatoes we have been able to spare have been oh-so-good. And we have lots of cucumbers, beans, peas and lettuce. Even our carrots are doing ok. (although they look really funny! ) The winter squash look good--Scott is not convinced that we will get much use out of them. (Guess he doesn't like squash!) The cabbages look really nice. (How do you know when cabbages are ready to pick?) The celery didn't do anything. They look the same as when I planted them in June. Although I must admit that I have never grown celery, so I have no idea what it supposed to "do" or look like. The radishes aren't doing anything, which is funny since they are supposed to be so easy to grow. The Brussels sprouts are gorgeous, but I don't see anything on the plants that look like Brussels sprouts! (I have never grown them either-what are they supposed to look like?) We are not even going to mention the PEPPERS, because all that is there of them are these pitiful little brown and green sticks! Don't worry, we are taking notes for next year. If the weather is going to be anything like this year, we are putting in a RICE PADDY.
So ANYWAYS, I am getting ready to make a pretty salad for the VBS picnic tonight that will feature our green/wax beans and herbs. I am also going to make a batch of pickles--both recipes from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook.
The kids have had a blast at VBS all week. They made lots of new friends. There were probably about 100 kids there all week. Tonight we will get to go see their little program and enjoy a community picnic. Dan and Susie have been marching around singing the songs, and there are bible crafts all over the house. I have them tell us the bible stories and verses they have learned and then I tease them: I tried to tell them that God drove a big monster truck up the mountain and rapped a message to Elijah in a big storm. But they insisted it was in a still, small, voice. Who knew? ;)
Next week we have reserved a museum pass from the library to travel to Bristol to the children's museum there. It looks pretty much like the Discovery Center in Binghamton. The library has a bunch of free family passes to various places in CT like the zoo, aquarium, etc. Although there is a brand new science center in Hartford, the cool thing at this children's museum is the authentic 1940's ice cream parlor! (wooooo!) So much for going for FREE, eh? :) But should be a fun little day trip. Also coming up next week is the big Fireman's Fair which everyone says is the big thing around here for Summer.
We cut, ripped, tore out and I cried and pouted a lot to try and salvage SOMETHING. But no luck. It has just been too wet over the past few weeks. Maybe with some dry days like we've been having we will have some new growth that will come out of what is left.
Oh well!!!!!
The few tomatoes we have been able to spare have been oh-so-good. And we have lots of cucumbers, beans, peas and lettuce. Even our carrots are doing ok. (although they look really funny! ) The winter squash look good--Scott is not convinced that we will get much use out of them. (Guess he doesn't like squash!) The cabbages look really nice. (How do you know when cabbages are ready to pick?) The celery didn't do anything. They look the same as when I planted them in June. Although I must admit that I have never grown celery, so I have no idea what it supposed to "do" or look like. The radishes aren't doing anything, which is funny since they are supposed to be so easy to grow. The Brussels sprouts are gorgeous, but I don't see anything on the plants that look like Brussels sprouts! (I have never grown them either-what are they supposed to look like?) We are not even going to mention the PEPPERS, because all that is there of them are these pitiful little brown and green sticks! Don't worry, we are taking notes for next year. If the weather is going to be anything like this year, we are putting in a RICE PADDY.
So ANYWAYS, I am getting ready to make a pretty salad for the VBS picnic tonight that will feature our green/wax beans and herbs. I am also going to make a batch of pickles--both recipes from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook.
The kids have had a blast at VBS all week. They made lots of new friends. There were probably about 100 kids there all week. Tonight we will get to go see their little program and enjoy a community picnic. Dan and Susie have been marching around singing the songs, and there are bible crafts all over the house. I have them tell us the bible stories and verses they have learned and then I tease them: I tried to tell them that God drove a big monster truck up the mountain and rapped a message to Elijah in a big storm. But they insisted it was in a still, small, voice. Who knew? ;)
Next week we have reserved a museum pass from the library to travel to Bristol to the children's museum there. It looks pretty much like the Discovery Center in Binghamton. The library has a bunch of free family passes to various places in CT like the zoo, aquarium, etc. Although there is a brand new science center in Hartford, the cool thing at this children's museum is the authentic 1940's ice cream parlor! (wooooo!) So much for going for FREE, eh? :) But should be a fun little day trip. Also coming up next week is the big Fireman's Fair which everyone says is the big thing around here for Summer.
Monday, August 3, 2009
What's new
Well, we deposited Alannah and Aidan off to mom at Andrea's house last Friday. They are off to Grandma and Grandpa Gray's house for a couple weeks while each girl attends camp. From what Aidan told Susie on the phone Saturday, it sounds like the spoiling is off to a great start! (hee hee hee!)
Aside from a last minute, frantic loss of important paperwork, Aidan got off to Art Camp Sunday afternoon. As I expected, Aidan's paperwork got stuck with Alannah's paperwork in next week's camp pile. (oops!) All's well that ends well... but a big thank you to mom and dad for fielding the angst of the camp staff and absorbing the panic. Alannah will get to enjoy catching up with some of her Owego friends this week, as well as get to be an "only child" for awhile! I'm sure that she will enjoy every minute.
I, on the other hand, am missing my "slaves"--Scott was very puzzled why we had used so many dishes yesterday. I had to confess to him that the dishes he was looking at were about 3 days worth.... Alannah and Aidan are very good at keeping up with washing and putting away. Me--notsomuch! I will also have to do all the laundry, floors, dusting and bathrooms alllllll by myself. Gotta hate it when you have to give the help a vacation! :)
Susie and Dan are a little lost without their sissies. Susie cried a lot on Saturday because she was missing Aidan. Aidan does such a great job entertaining them! So... Scott and I took Susie and Dan mini golfing Saturday night and then to Dairy Queen (between rain storms). That was fun! The river and the go-kart track runs along the mini-golf greens, so we got to watch the kids racing while we waited out turns. I was concerned that it would be too hard for Dan and that he would get bored, but he kept right up. Dan has been very impressed with Scott's golf clubs, so Scott set Dan up with his own little putter on a little putting green in the garage so he could practice. Dan was out there all morning setting up various shots.
Dan and Scott won, so Susie and I bought the ice cream. Dan has wanted a banana split forever, and I have never allowed the kids to get one. I decided to let him live it up for winning--I wish I had the camera to capture how big his eyes were when the kid handed it over to him! The sundae was bigger, though, and Scott and I were "forced" to take over. Poor us, eh? :)
The other thing we did this weekend was get Dan a real bike from the bike guy at the bottom of the hill. Dan was doing really well until he followed the big kids down the big hill in our back yard. He made it all the way down without falling, and was all excited--and then panicked at the bottom when it was time to stop. We watched, wincing, as he flew over the handlebars and skidded across the yard, right on his face. (ouch! Even Scott kind of moaned for that split second before we both raced down the hill to him) Luckily he had fallen off in the soggy part of the yard that hadn't been mowed in a week or two. His clothes were dirty and his mouth was full of grass, but he was completely unhurt. The other kids were great for cheering him up and getting him right back on the saddle. I could feel his little heart pounding and pounding away, though--poor little guy!
When it was getting dark we had the kids roast marshmallows before they went inside. Andrea found these massive marshmallows at price chopper. They are hilarious! Each marshmallow is about the size of 4 regular marshmallows. Again, wish I had the camera out to show you all the kids' eyes when they saw the marshmallows!
Today I took Susie and Dan to VBS. It looked like they would have a lot of fun. There were a lot of kids from the high school who were helping out, and many of them said hi to me and were excited that my kids would be there for VBS. (luckily, they were kids I was excited about leaving my kids with! That could have gone either way!) Dan was a little nervous, so he opted to stay with Susie, but by the time I left he had discovered his boy buddies from Sunday School and was ramming around with them.
Other than that, we got alot of other things done this weekend too. Scott finished the tables and shelves for my art space. I will get some pictures so you can all admire his work. I LOVE it! I worked for about six hours to try and salvage our garden. All the rain is rotting the tomatoes, so I got in there and trimmed and tied and nursed the soil back to some kind of dry. We just can't get a break!
In between getting things done, I am supposed to be using all this "free" time thinking about the adult bible study I will be doing this Fall. Hmmmm..... where to start?
Aside from a last minute, frantic loss of important paperwork, Aidan got off to Art Camp Sunday afternoon. As I expected, Aidan's paperwork got stuck with Alannah's paperwork in next week's camp pile. (oops!) All's well that ends well... but a big thank you to mom and dad for fielding the angst of the camp staff and absorbing the panic. Alannah will get to enjoy catching up with some of her Owego friends this week, as well as get to be an "only child" for awhile! I'm sure that she will enjoy every minute.
I, on the other hand, am missing my "slaves"--Scott was very puzzled why we had used so many dishes yesterday. I had to confess to him that the dishes he was looking at were about 3 days worth.... Alannah and Aidan are very good at keeping up with washing and putting away. Me--notsomuch! I will also have to do all the laundry, floors, dusting and bathrooms alllllll by myself. Gotta hate it when you have to give the help a vacation! :)
Susie and Dan are a little lost without their sissies. Susie cried a lot on Saturday because she was missing Aidan. Aidan does such a great job entertaining them! So... Scott and I took Susie and Dan mini golfing Saturday night and then to Dairy Queen (between rain storms). That was fun! The river and the go-kart track runs along the mini-golf greens, so we got to watch the kids racing while we waited out turns. I was concerned that it would be too hard for Dan and that he would get bored, but he kept right up. Dan has been very impressed with Scott's golf clubs, so Scott set Dan up with his own little putter on a little putting green in the garage so he could practice. Dan was out there all morning setting up various shots.
Dan and Scott won, so Susie and I bought the ice cream. Dan has wanted a banana split forever, and I have never allowed the kids to get one. I decided to let him live it up for winning--I wish I had the camera to capture how big his eyes were when the kid handed it over to him! The sundae was bigger, though, and Scott and I were "forced" to take over. Poor us, eh? :)
The other thing we did this weekend was get Dan a real bike from the bike guy at the bottom of the hill. Dan was doing really well until he followed the big kids down the big hill in our back yard. He made it all the way down without falling, and was all excited--and then panicked at the bottom when it was time to stop. We watched, wincing, as he flew over the handlebars and skidded across the yard, right on his face. (ouch! Even Scott kind of moaned for that split second before we both raced down the hill to him) Luckily he had fallen off in the soggy part of the yard that hadn't been mowed in a week or two. His clothes were dirty and his mouth was full of grass, but he was completely unhurt. The other kids were great for cheering him up and getting him right back on the saddle. I could feel his little heart pounding and pounding away, though--poor little guy!
When it was getting dark we had the kids roast marshmallows before they went inside. Andrea found these massive marshmallows at price chopper. They are hilarious! Each marshmallow is about the size of 4 regular marshmallows. Again, wish I had the camera out to show you all the kids' eyes when they saw the marshmallows!
Today I took Susie and Dan to VBS. It looked like they would have a lot of fun. There were a lot of kids from the high school who were helping out, and many of them said hi to me and were excited that my kids would be there for VBS. (luckily, they were kids I was excited about leaving my kids with! That could have gone either way!) Dan was a little nervous, so he opted to stay with Susie, but by the time I left he had discovered his boy buddies from Sunday School and was ramming around with them.
Other than that, we got alot of other things done this weekend too. Scott finished the tables and shelves for my art space. I will get some pictures so you can all admire his work. I LOVE it! I worked for about six hours to try and salvage our garden. All the rain is rotting the tomatoes, so I got in there and trimmed and tied and nursed the soil back to some kind of dry. We just can't get a break!
In between getting things done, I am supposed to be using all this "free" time thinking about the adult bible study I will be doing this Fall. Hmmmm..... where to start?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Camping!
We spent this past weekend camping at Crystal Grove campground in Oppenheim, NY. (I think the link is in a past post) As I think I mentioned before, we were celebrating my parents 40th wedding anniversary and the birthdays of my sister Eva, Aidan, and my BIL Christian. I think it was the first time my entire family was together in one place since Eva's wedding in May. We had a very good time, and everything seemed to work out--even the weather was rather cooperative! It only rained lightly and pleasantly while we were sleeping.
It took us about 3 hours to get there--We should have taken a picture of the car with all of our stuff and the kids and the dog crammed in there! I think if we are ever planning to be away like that for more than a couple days we might be forced to take two cars. That sort of seems to defeat the purpose of a family vacation of togetherness, but.... with this much family, I guess you don't have that much choice!
The kids had fun with some of the mining opportunities at the campground, where they had a diamond mine and sluice run. They came back with bags of cool rocks and gems-- a couple of the kids had arrowheads in their treasure. We didn't end up going to the rock mine, but the kids made friends with a family who gave them a bag of Herkimer diamonds they dug up and banged out of the rocks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herkimer_diamond I don't know how valuable the diamonds are, but they are pretty. Alannah figured out a way to create necklaces out of them and made them for all the kids in the neighborhood when we got back.
Other than that, we spent the rest of the weekend EATING (as if you can imagine with our family) and just hanging around. I mean, who else would you eat cheesecake for breakfast in the woods with? In addition to the cheesecake there was a chocolate cake, a yellow cake, chocolate chip cookies, a sausage smorgasbord, fresh corn and blueberries, and homemade pancakes. (burp!)
My one year old niece Stephanie was a major source of entertainment as was her dad who had never been camping before. We enjoyed watching his trepidation melt into joy at each new discovery of camp fun. He was a great sport trying all kinds of new things like sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows, and playing cards by kerosene lamp. He was very amazed at how big some of our tents were--he had really conjured up some scary ideas about camping! Josh was having fun terrorizing him with stories of REAL camping. You know, the kind where you take a blanket, hatchet and shovel with you into the wilderness? Shiver! We were pretty cushy where we were staying. Besides, Andrea was very merciful to Christian on his first time out and had rented one of the cabins.
Stephanie charmed us with her growing vocabulary. She would sit and point around the campfire and say everyone's name. When she did, everyone went "AWWWWW!!!!" Of course, most of us are either "grandma" or "eva" but who cares? The older kids were constantly running from the campsite, the playground, the field, the creek and the (of course) bathroom building. They made a funny parade: The kids, followed by more kids from around the campground, the dog, followed by Stephanie toddling after them and her mom and dad not far behind.
Us "grown up" parents just sat back and watched the show. (ha ha--wait til I put the pic of Scott up here!!!!)
It was over too soon.
Now we are home and finally suffering real Summer weather. It is hot and muggy--blech! But we are starting to get tomatoes to eat from our garden, so....happy Summer! How long do you think before I am sobbing about hating tomatoes? Heinz 57 got nothing on us.... yikes!
Our friend Julie is over today with a pile of bridal magazines she got for free at a thrift shop. Tonight is a pottery class at the library and tomorrow our friends Natalie and Sarah will visit! Yay! :)
It took us about 3 hours to get there--We should have taken a picture of the car with all of our stuff and the kids and the dog crammed in there! I think if we are ever planning to be away like that for more than a couple days we might be forced to take two cars. That sort of seems to defeat the purpose of a family vacation of togetherness, but.... with this much family, I guess you don't have that much choice!
The kids had fun with some of the mining opportunities at the campground, where they had a diamond mine and sluice run. They came back with bags of cool rocks and gems-- a couple of the kids had arrowheads in their treasure. We didn't end up going to the rock mine, but the kids made friends with a family who gave them a bag of Herkimer diamonds they dug up and banged out of the rocks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herkimer_diamond I don't know how valuable the diamonds are, but they are pretty. Alannah figured out a way to create necklaces out of them and made them for all the kids in the neighborhood when we got back.
Other than that, we spent the rest of the weekend EATING (as if you can imagine with our family) and just hanging around. I mean, who else would you eat cheesecake for breakfast in the woods with? In addition to the cheesecake there was a chocolate cake, a yellow cake, chocolate chip cookies, a sausage smorgasbord, fresh corn and blueberries, and homemade pancakes. (burp!)
My one year old niece Stephanie was a major source of entertainment as was her dad who had never been camping before. We enjoyed watching his trepidation melt into joy at each new discovery of camp fun. He was a great sport trying all kinds of new things like sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows, and playing cards by kerosene lamp. He was very amazed at how big some of our tents were--he had really conjured up some scary ideas about camping! Josh was having fun terrorizing him with stories of REAL camping. You know, the kind where you take a blanket, hatchet and shovel with you into the wilderness? Shiver! We were pretty cushy where we were staying. Besides, Andrea was very merciful to Christian on his first time out and had rented one of the cabins.
Stephanie charmed us with her growing vocabulary. She would sit and point around the campfire and say everyone's name. When she did, everyone went "AWWWWW!!!!" Of course, most of us are either "grandma" or "eva" but who cares? The older kids were constantly running from the campsite, the playground, the field, the creek and the (of course) bathroom building. They made a funny parade: The kids, followed by more kids from around the campground, the dog, followed by Stephanie toddling after them and her mom and dad not far behind.
Us "grown up" parents just sat back and watched the show. (ha ha--wait til I put the pic of Scott up here!!!!)
It was over too soon.
Now we are home and finally suffering real Summer weather. It is hot and muggy--blech! But we are starting to get tomatoes to eat from our garden, so....happy Summer! How long do you think before I am sobbing about hating tomatoes? Heinz 57 got nothing on us.... yikes!
Our friend Julie is over today with a pile of bridal magazines she got for free at a thrift shop. Tonight is a pottery class at the library and tomorrow our friends Natalie and Sarah will visit! Yay! :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Garden Update
Just wanted to let everyone know that we are eating the first fruits (er, veggies) from our garden this week! We have peas, although 6 pea plants don't provide very many. I have picked them every other day for two weeks, but only have about 3/4 of a cup. LOL. The Jolly Green Giant totally blasts us off this planet for pea yield. I also have had a few wax and green beans-put them in the most awesome vegetable beef soup for dinner. (Thanks for the recipe, Elaine and Denny!) The best thing right now are the cucumbers. They are very sweet and perfect. Scott is very good keeping me patient and not letting me pick them too soon. There is one tomato that is starting to turn red.... yay! Should be ready very soon.
Today will be one of the last really nice days for awhile, according to the weathermen. (although they are fairly lousy, so who really knows?) I guess it supposed to rain like the dickens tomorrow and then be really hot and muggy the rest of the week. (blech!) We spent about three hours at the beach this morning. The kids swam and played in the sand...I snoozed in my beach chair. I took some funny pictures of them at the beach, but I have to figure out how to get pics off my phone onto here.
I have already killed all my library books for the month--can you believe it? (Ok, anyone that knows me will say YES.) I wasn't planning to go back to the library until the end of the week, but we may have to make a book run before that. I finally got around to reading The Poisonwood Bible, and I found a new book, Julia's Chocolates that was VERY good, a bit intense, but EXCELLENT.
There are so many kid programs at the library this Summer. I was kind of waiting to go to the library later on as we will probably end up being there 2 or 3 days this week as it is. There is a teen painting class this week. Every week they have a movie day, and there are story hours twice a week. Unfortunately we missed the Fancy Nancy Tea Party. That would have been very cool!
http://www.beardsleyandmemorial.org/
After the beach we did a major house tidy, half the laundry and I made the soup. It smelled sooo good all afternoon! The kids were all very good and quiet hanging out on the big trampoline with all the neighborhood kids. I was listening to them while I folded laundry. Coal and Kitty snoozed all afternoon--guess it is getting too hot for furry creatures.
Tomorrow (assuming it will rain as reported) we will make a BJ's run in preparation for our big camping weekend. (Oh do I miss Sam's Club! Just not the same) We will be meeting my sisters and parents in Herkimer to celebrate all the July birthdays and my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! Hopefully the weather will hold out, and wouldn't it be cool if we found a huge diamond in the mine there at the campground?
http://www.crystalgrove.com/
Today will be one of the last really nice days for awhile, according to the weathermen. (although they are fairly lousy, so who really knows?) I guess it supposed to rain like the dickens tomorrow and then be really hot and muggy the rest of the week. (blech!) We spent about three hours at the beach this morning. The kids swam and played in the sand...I snoozed in my beach chair. I took some funny pictures of them at the beach, but I have to figure out how to get pics off my phone onto here.
I have already killed all my library books for the month--can you believe it? (Ok, anyone that knows me will say YES.) I wasn't planning to go back to the library until the end of the week, but we may have to make a book run before that. I finally got around to reading The Poisonwood Bible, and I found a new book, Julia's Chocolates that was VERY good, a bit intense, but EXCELLENT.
There are so many kid programs at the library this Summer. I was kind of waiting to go to the library later on as we will probably end up being there 2 or 3 days this week as it is. There is a teen painting class this week. Every week they have a movie day, and there are story hours twice a week. Unfortunately we missed the Fancy Nancy Tea Party. That would have been very cool!
http://www.beardsleyandmemorial.org/
After the beach we did a major house tidy, half the laundry and I made the soup. It smelled sooo good all afternoon! The kids were all very good and quiet hanging out on the big trampoline with all the neighborhood kids. I was listening to them while I folded laundry. Coal and Kitty snoozed all afternoon--guess it is getting too hot for furry creatures.
Tomorrow (assuming it will rain as reported) we will make a BJ's run in preparation for our big camping weekend. (Oh do I miss Sam's Club! Just not the same) We will be meeting my sisters and parents in Herkimer to celebrate all the July birthdays and my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! Hopefully the weather will hold out, and wouldn't it be cool if we found a huge diamond in the mine there at the campground?
http://www.crystalgrove.com/
Friday, July 17, 2009
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ovazriq.cqwfewri&x=0&y=-ykgtnf&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button
Here is the link to all the birthday photos. Just ignore the comments I made about the photos not being flipped.... I figured out how to fix them! Enjoy! :)
Here is the link to all the birthday photos. Just ignore the comments I made about the photos not being flipped.... I figured out how to fix them! Enjoy! :)
Happy Birthday Aidan!
Today is Aidan's 12th birthday! It was quite a day. Her big wish was to have her room redecorated, so that's what we did. Monday Grandma Gray came and we went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to find new bedding. They found very cute bed sets that included pretty much everything from the comforter and bedskirt to shams, decorative pillows, wall decorations and even a canopy. We have been collecting new curtains and other stuff all week.
Today we went and got the paint, and me and all four kids painted Aidan and Susie's room turquoise and candy pink. (yes, I am a candidate for INSANITY!!!) I am very glad that I mustered up the patience to let all the kids help paint. We were all crammed in there with rollers, edgers and brushes. At supper Dan was just busting his buttons. He said: "Scott, I bet you are glad Mommy borned me because that painting wouldn't be so good without my help!" It really wasn't that bad. They were all very good at keeping things tidy, and helping to clean up afterwords. By late afternoon we had two coats on, and it was dry.
After dinner--steak, baked potatoes, fresh corn--we had Aidan's cake. I have been relinquishing control of the birthday cakes to the older girls. I used to decorate them myself, but the older girls seem to like planning and doing their own. Aidan made hers into a house in honor of her design interests. It turned out cute, but she kind of messed up the frosting--just threw all the ingredients in the bowl, melted the butter.... YES, creaming the butter and sugar makes a difference!!!! ACK. But... no worries, and the kids didn't seem to mind one bit.
At dinner the kids had me tell all their birth stories. It is amazing how that never gets old for them!
Now they are out watching a Disney Channel special. Scott is sleeping-his shoulder and back are still bothering him and often leave him very tired at the end of the day. It is over at 9:30 so I am trying to rush this on here so you all can enjoy the birthday pics and the new room.
Tomorrow we are going to try and do some fun family things and take it easy. It will be our first weekend together as a family in a lonnnnggg time.
God Bless! :)
Today we went and got the paint, and me and all four kids painted Aidan and Susie's room turquoise and candy pink. (yes, I am a candidate for INSANITY!!!) I am very glad that I mustered up the patience to let all the kids help paint. We were all crammed in there with rollers, edgers and brushes. At supper Dan was just busting his buttons. He said: "Scott, I bet you are glad Mommy borned me because that painting wouldn't be so good without my help!" It really wasn't that bad. They were all very good at keeping things tidy, and helping to clean up afterwords. By late afternoon we had two coats on, and it was dry.
After dinner--steak, baked potatoes, fresh corn--we had Aidan's cake. I have been relinquishing control of the birthday cakes to the older girls. I used to decorate them myself, but the older girls seem to like planning and doing their own. Aidan made hers into a house in honor of her design interests. It turned out cute, but she kind of messed up the frosting--just threw all the ingredients in the bowl, melted the butter.... YES, creaming the butter and sugar makes a difference!!!! ACK. But... no worries, and the kids didn't seem to mind one bit.
At dinner the kids had me tell all their birth stories. It is amazing how that never gets old for them!
Now they are out watching a Disney Channel special. Scott is sleeping-his shoulder and back are still bothering him and often leave him very tired at the end of the day. It is over at 9:30 so I am trying to rush this on here so you all can enjoy the birthday pics and the new room.
Tomorrow we are going to try and do some fun family things and take it easy. It will be our first weekend together as a family in a lonnnnggg time.
God Bless! :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Summer is off on the right foot.....er.....hand
We are all here--our first morning with all the kids and no more extra "support" from the wonderful company we've been enjoying! The weather is gorgeous--a little cool for July, but lots of sunshine. The kids have been out from morning til night--only coming in to eat. Well, ok....that means the door is slamming constantly as they go in and out, in and out, in and out.... Next year I will have to plan to start stocking the freezer in December rather than May!
We had a great time with Elaine and Denny--Scott's mom and step-dad. We enjoyed watching the new Star Trek movie at the little dinner theatre, explored several antique shops, took the girls kayaking, and Scott and Denny went fishing. We enjoyed the sun on the deck, the campfire and our signature BBQ. It was over way too fast! My mom and dad came Sunday with Susie and Dan ready for their long Summer visit. We were able to all enjoy lunch together before we had to drag Elaine and Denny off to the airport.
Mom and Dad were planning to stay until Monday lunch, but ended up staying later because Aidan had a little accident while washing the lunch dishes. Hence the blog title, she sliced her right hand on a glass. Scott decided it was deep enough for a trip to the ER. Susie was appointed medical assistant by the (most excellent) ER doc and Aidan is back home good as new. It was a heck of a way to get out of dish duty for a few days, but.... I guess we can find a bunch of dry jobs for her to do instead! She is fine--in another day and age she would have come home with a few stitches. Now they have this fancy glue they fill the cut up with. It doesn't seem to hurt her very much, which is nice. The neighborhood kids were in AWE of her elaborate looking bandage. Good grief! :)
(by the way.... our parting ER instructions included the Dr's insistance that we get Aidan ONTO A STAGE. He was dying laughing the whole time at her! Ha ha ha ha ha ha--don't we all know it!!!!!)
In other health related news, Scott is healing, but slowly. His back is still bothering him, but it probably will for a long while. The orthopedic surgeon seemed to think he would heal up without needing any surgery on his shoulder, so that is good news. Hopefully the rest of our Summer can stay accident free!!!!!
Mom sent me a great picture of Susie and Dan--I will try and put it up here before I have to take Aidan to the orthadontist. (shiver!!!!) :)
We had a great time with Elaine and Denny--Scott's mom and step-dad. We enjoyed watching the new Star Trek movie at the little dinner theatre, explored several antique shops, took the girls kayaking, and Scott and Denny went fishing. We enjoyed the sun on the deck, the campfire and our signature BBQ. It was over way too fast! My mom and dad came Sunday with Susie and Dan ready for their long Summer visit. We were able to all enjoy lunch together before we had to drag Elaine and Denny off to the airport.
Mom and Dad were planning to stay until Monday lunch, but ended up staying later because Aidan had a little accident while washing the lunch dishes. Hence the blog title, she sliced her right hand on a glass. Scott decided it was deep enough for a trip to the ER. Susie was appointed medical assistant by the (most excellent) ER doc and Aidan is back home good as new. It was a heck of a way to get out of dish duty for a few days, but.... I guess we can find a bunch of dry jobs for her to do instead! She is fine--in another day and age she would have come home with a few stitches. Now they have this fancy glue they fill the cut up with. It doesn't seem to hurt her very much, which is nice. The neighborhood kids were in AWE of her elaborate looking bandage. Good grief! :)
(by the way.... our parting ER instructions included the Dr's insistance that we get Aidan ONTO A STAGE. He was dying laughing the whole time at her! Ha ha ha ha ha ha--don't we all know it!!!!!)
In other health related news, Scott is healing, but slowly. His back is still bothering him, but it probably will for a long while. The orthopedic surgeon seemed to think he would heal up without needing any surgery on his shoulder, so that is good news. Hopefully the rest of our Summer can stay accident free!!!!!
Mom sent me a great picture of Susie and Dan--I will try and put it up here before I have to take Aidan to the orthadontist. (shiver!!!!) :)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Mother is always right: Don't go begging for trouble!
Well...I guess I should never have stuck my tongue in my cheek and made that silly little "we're not dead yet" comment. Har har har. Yesterday Scott took a nice fall out off of a ladder while cutting a big dead branch out of one of our giant oak trees. Luckily he is O.K. Banged up, but will be fine in a few days as things knit back together. ......Sigh! You just never know, and you can't be too careful, although things still have to get done.
Anyways, will take advantage of the extra couch time Scott is taking to update all of the recent photos! There should be graduation photos, garden photos, mini-vacation photos....etc.etc.etc!
Let's see.... Where we left off from last time:
School, of course, is over. Alannah and Aidan ended the year both on honor roll and recieving several awards for acedemic excellence. I got so much praise at the high school I was embarassed! It was a very nice send off. Of course, no sooner had Summer vacation started than the Summer reading lists arrived! Got to love New England education. Lucky to have a great library nearby, and girls who enjoy reading.
The garden is in full gear. The weather has been insane. It rained 28 days in June--and the temperature never got above 75. The peas, cabbage, lettuce, carrots and tomatoes are very happy--the peppers not so much. I was encouraged to see new leaves and buds forming after we've had a few warmer days lately, and they have decent root systems. There might be hope yet.
This past week Alannah and Aidan went to stay with their dad. Susie and Dan are on vacation with their dad and grandparents. That is giving us a very rare ten whole days without any kids! With the exception of Scott's fall, we have enjoyed getting a lot of things accomplished. We also enjoyed a little mini-trip to Newport, Rhode Island.
First, we drove down to New Haven with the intent of eating at Lou's Lunch--a vintage establishment with the claim of creating the first hamburger. http://www.louislunch.com/ We arrived, and were informed by the parking lot attendent that the resturant was closed for the holiday. He very generously pointed out a different resturant--Richter's--which was very good. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS294US294&ei=-YxSSrn_HYqwMJPN-L8B&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=richters+restaurant+new+haven&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&latlng=1992162589510241789He admitted that while Lou's certainly boasts a culinary pedigree, it is totally no frills--you get a BURGER. That's IT. :) We took pictures, and will try and get back for the "real deal". We stopped in Mystic for a short driving break and enjoyed some of the sights. It was a gorgeous day for a nice little drive along the coast.
Newport is a lovely town with a lot to see and do. http://www.gonewport.com/ We took the scenic ocean drive, the downtown mansion drive and then walked the cliff and seaport walks. We attempted to win some money at the Newport Grand Slots emporium, but....no dice. (ha ha, that was a little gambling joke!) We won $2.00, but then promptly lost it. Oh well! We took the hotel's suggestion to eat at Anthony's for a good seafood dinner--wow--the freshest seafood we have ever had! It was a fun place--very laid back and family style, reasonably priced. http://www.anthonysseafood.net/There was a coffee place down the road that had a very tempting sign--Hot Malasadas's every Sunday. They looked like some kind of fried dough/doughnut thing. Too bad we left Saturday afternoon. Our last stop was Foxwoods casino in Norwich. http://www.foxwoods.com/?gclid=CKPZvOicwpsCFYZM5QodYns-BQ If you like that sort of thing, it is a beautiful resort. Beautiful hotels, gardens, pools, shopping and resturants. We aren't that into gambling, but it was fun to watch some of the table games and walk around to see everything. Scott had a nice run going at craps....but....well....I guess you know how that ended: that's right--crappy. (har har har!!!!)
Maybe the best thing was coming home! The kids next door came to greet us, and informed us that they and the guy accross the street had fireworks to set off. We were treated to a very cool show. We could also see all of the other fireworks going off around the lake. The town doesn't have any official fireworks, but people in the town take them very seriously! It was better than any show I've seen anywhere else, and we didn't have to leave our house for any of it! Scott is all signed up to be a major neighborhood investor come next year. The guys in the neighborhood had been worried that we wouldn't be good fireworks people--are we ever! :)
More good stuff! Scott's mom and step-dad are coming to visit this weekend, and we are so excited! Alannah and Aidan are coming home, and mom and dad will be coming Sunday with Dan and Susie in tow. Let the Summer begin! (again, and again, and again!)
Enjoy the pictures!
:)
Anyways, will take advantage of the extra couch time Scott is taking to update all of the recent photos! There should be graduation photos, garden photos, mini-vacation photos....etc.etc.etc!
Let's see.... Where we left off from last time:
School, of course, is over. Alannah and Aidan ended the year both on honor roll and recieving several awards for acedemic excellence. I got so much praise at the high school I was embarassed! It was a very nice send off. Of course, no sooner had Summer vacation started than the Summer reading lists arrived! Got to love New England education. Lucky to have a great library nearby, and girls who enjoy reading.
The garden is in full gear. The weather has been insane. It rained 28 days in June--and the temperature never got above 75. The peas, cabbage, lettuce, carrots and tomatoes are very happy--the peppers not so much. I was encouraged to see new leaves and buds forming after we've had a few warmer days lately, and they have decent root systems. There might be hope yet.
This past week Alannah and Aidan went to stay with their dad. Susie and Dan are on vacation with their dad and grandparents. That is giving us a very rare ten whole days without any kids! With the exception of Scott's fall, we have enjoyed getting a lot of things accomplished. We also enjoyed a little mini-trip to Newport, Rhode Island.
First, we drove down to New Haven with the intent of eating at Lou's Lunch--a vintage establishment with the claim of creating the first hamburger. http://www.louislunch.com/ We arrived, and were informed by the parking lot attendent that the resturant was closed for the holiday. He very generously pointed out a different resturant--Richter's--which was very good. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS294US294&ei=-YxSSrn_HYqwMJPN-L8B&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=richters+restaurant+new+haven&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&view=text&latlng=1992162589510241789He admitted that while Lou's certainly boasts a culinary pedigree, it is totally no frills--you get a BURGER. That's IT. :) We took pictures, and will try and get back for the "real deal". We stopped in Mystic for a short driving break and enjoyed some of the sights. It was a gorgeous day for a nice little drive along the coast.
Newport is a lovely town with a lot to see and do. http://www.gonewport.com/ We took the scenic ocean drive, the downtown mansion drive and then walked the cliff and seaport walks. We attempted to win some money at the Newport Grand Slots emporium, but....no dice. (ha ha, that was a little gambling joke!) We won $2.00, but then promptly lost it. Oh well! We took the hotel's suggestion to eat at Anthony's for a good seafood dinner--wow--the freshest seafood we have ever had! It was a fun place--very laid back and family style, reasonably priced. http://www.anthonysseafood.net/There was a coffee place down the road that had a very tempting sign--Hot Malasadas's every Sunday. They looked like some kind of fried dough/doughnut thing. Too bad we left Saturday afternoon. Our last stop was Foxwoods casino in Norwich. http://www.foxwoods.com/?gclid=CKPZvOicwpsCFYZM5QodYns-BQ If you like that sort of thing, it is a beautiful resort. Beautiful hotels, gardens, pools, shopping and resturants. We aren't that into gambling, but it was fun to watch some of the table games and walk around to see everything. Scott had a nice run going at craps....but....well....I guess you know how that ended: that's right--crappy. (har har har!!!!)
Maybe the best thing was coming home! The kids next door came to greet us, and informed us that they and the guy accross the street had fireworks to set off. We were treated to a very cool show. We could also see all of the other fireworks going off around the lake. The town doesn't have any official fireworks, but people in the town take them very seriously! It was better than any show I've seen anywhere else, and we didn't have to leave our house for any of it! Scott is all signed up to be a major neighborhood investor come next year. The guys in the neighborhood had been worried that we wouldn't be good fireworks people--are we ever! :)
More good stuff! Scott's mom and step-dad are coming to visit this weekend, and we are so excited! Alannah and Aidan are coming home, and mom and dad will be coming Sunday with Dan and Susie in tow. Let the Summer begin! (again, and again, and again!)
Enjoy the pictures!
:)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
We're not dead, yet!
Hi! I know, I know! We've been having just way too much fun outside to be sitting in here by the computer blogging. But I have sooo much to tell, and many, many, many new photos to share. I promise I will get on here in the next couple days and give you a very good update of our lives. Looking forward to getting back in touch! :)
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The Garden is growing, the girls are groaning....
Gee. You'd think that no one under the age of 20 has ever been asked to do anything that requires more energy than clicking a mouse or remote button....
Getting ready for Summer vacation, and putting the girls through "housekeeping boot camp." They are usually very good at taking care of the pets. They have also been routinely washing the dishes and putting them away. We are told we are one of the last families on Earth that do not own a dishwasher! (Scott always replies--but we own 4! Ha ha!) Newer chores include doing laundry and washing the bathrooms. So far we haven't had too many pairs of pink underwear (not a bad thing when we have mostly girls) and a dryer vent clogged with school notes, candy wrappers and boon-doggle cord.
The girls are also watering the plants and garden--which judging by the quality of the "cleaned" bathrooms, we are monitoring--they seem to be experimenting new cleaning methods that do not include the use of water or soap. A watered garden without water hasn't grown very well last time I checked! Oh well.... Better to learn now, and not later. In line with my own upbringing, we will add cooking one meal a week to each girls' list of chores. Although I LIKE that job!
The plants seem to be doing fairly well. We thinned the carrots this week, and transplanted them into new pots. There are a few hundred out there--hopefully they will do ok. I have never had much luck with them for whatever reason. We gave the thinned out carrot seedlings to the neighbors--there were hundreds more of them! If ours don't work, then maybe someone's will. I planted another round of lettuce and a row of pinto beans. The green and wax beans are popping up out of the ground. The peas are getting blossoms, and I noticed that there is one tomato plant with one flower on it! Wooo!
Scott took the coolest picture of one of the neighborhood foxes at our compost pile. I will try and put it on here. There are a number of dens up and down the forest hedge that is up across the street. The kids have seen several families of kits--or is it cubs? I have seen one VERY large adult trotting up and down the road in the middle of the day. That seemed strange but that is the time of day that the road is the quietest. In the early morning and later evening everyone is leaving for work or coming home. Mid-day is very quiet and still around here.
The weather is so beautiful today, rain tomorrow. Hopefully a grand weekend! This is good as mom, dad, Andrea, Christian and Stephanie will be coming here to celebrate Dad's birthday and attend my choral concert. On the menu: An encore from Easter, Summer style: Leg of lamb on the Rotisserie, mashed potatoes and green beans. Dad "ordered" a German chocolate cake and lemon meringue pie for dessert. YUM.
In about a half hour I am leaving to deliver Coal to his first day of doggie day care. I think he will like it--it is kind of funny--I am nervous! What if my doggie doesn't get along with anyone else? What if my doggie is bad?
Ha ha ha. :)
Getting ready for Summer vacation, and putting the girls through "housekeeping boot camp." They are usually very good at taking care of the pets. They have also been routinely washing the dishes and putting them away. We are told we are one of the last families on Earth that do not own a dishwasher! (Scott always replies--but we own 4! Ha ha!) Newer chores include doing laundry and washing the bathrooms. So far we haven't had too many pairs of pink underwear (not a bad thing when we have mostly girls) and a dryer vent clogged with school notes, candy wrappers and boon-doggle cord.
The girls are also watering the plants and garden--which judging by the quality of the "cleaned" bathrooms, we are monitoring--they seem to be experimenting new cleaning methods that do not include the use of water or soap. A watered garden without water hasn't grown very well last time I checked! Oh well.... Better to learn now, and not later. In line with my own upbringing, we will add cooking one meal a week to each girls' list of chores. Although I LIKE that job!
The plants seem to be doing fairly well. We thinned the carrots this week, and transplanted them into new pots. There are a few hundred out there--hopefully they will do ok. I have never had much luck with them for whatever reason. We gave the thinned out carrot seedlings to the neighbors--there were hundreds more of them! If ours don't work, then maybe someone's will. I planted another round of lettuce and a row of pinto beans. The green and wax beans are popping up out of the ground. The peas are getting blossoms, and I noticed that there is one tomato plant with one flower on it! Wooo!
Scott took the coolest picture of one of the neighborhood foxes at our compost pile. I will try and put it on here. There are a number of dens up and down the forest hedge that is up across the street. The kids have seen several families of kits--or is it cubs? I have seen one VERY large adult trotting up and down the road in the middle of the day. That seemed strange but that is the time of day that the road is the quietest. In the early morning and later evening everyone is leaving for work or coming home. Mid-day is very quiet and still around here.
The weather is so beautiful today, rain tomorrow. Hopefully a grand weekend! This is good as mom, dad, Andrea, Christian and Stephanie will be coming here to celebrate Dad's birthday and attend my choral concert. On the menu: An encore from Easter, Summer style: Leg of lamb on the Rotisserie, mashed potatoes and green beans. Dad "ordered" a German chocolate cake and lemon meringue pie for dessert. YUM.
In about a half hour I am leaving to deliver Coal to his first day of doggie day care. I think he will like it--it is kind of funny--I am nervous! What if my doggie doesn't get along with anyone else? What if my doggie is bad?
Ha ha ha. :)
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Farmer Graboskis' are ready for Summer, armed with tomatoes
Wow--not sure what to make of two whole days in a row without going to work! I have been working pretty much straight the last three weeks. Looking at my house, you can tell. Fortunately, due to all the lake sand, no one is permanently stuck to the floor.
The garden is planted--27 tomato plants, 12 sweet peppers (red and green), 7 cucumbers, 3 winter squash, acorn squash, Brussels sprouts, peas, green beans, wax beans, beets, cabbages, lettuce, carrots and pumpkins! Barring any disasters (of the pest and weather variety) we have embraced gardenhood. (Gentlemen: GET YOUR CANNING JARS READY!!!!!!!!)
Today I am going to go pick up a couple peonies I put on order--I love them so much, and have planted them at every house I have owned, only to move away before they became established. I was really missing them this Spring, and was very sad that the plant place was out of them. Good thing I was moaning out loud about it, because the lady overheard me and said it was very easy to get them for me! Plants are my new crack.... and now I have a dealer.... (hee hee hee) After I came back from that plant run I discovered a peony about to burst in our hedgerow! I had not noticed it before--ever since we cleared that out of all the overgrowth all kinds of things are popping up. Much of the cleared space we slathered in wildflower seeds--if they actually bloom it will look really....well....wild! Once the weather clears up (it has been raining for four days straight) I will have Alannah take some more pictures of the yard to keep you all up to date on our "farm".
Scott mulched the flower beds around the edges of the house. We discovered that the beds are very shallow, and mostly full of sand, gravel and concrete from the foundation which must be from an addition put onto the house at some point. There were a few plants in there, like a run on Hasta--we tidied it up and moved some of it around so it looked more polished. (I say we...it was really Scott and Aidan that did all the work!) We have one more place around the walkway up to the house that needs a make over, and then our house will really start to look like a home rather than the rental property it was for so long. Some other anticipated projects are powerwashing the house, painting the deck and exterior doors, and putting up gutters. (uggh!) I keep looking at the windows and thinking there would be some kind of shutter treatment that would add some interest.... thoughts, anyone? (Scott is rolling his eyes.....) Oh yeah--we, er, Scott, has had to mow the lawn three times already!
Other than gardening, we have managed to squeeze in a lot of socializing: Last weekend we entertained a couple who just moved in down the road from us. He works with Scott at Fuel Cell. They are both my age. They are very fun people, and we really enjoyed their company. Sunday we attended at BBQ at our neighbor's up the street. The kids enjoyed their new pool, and we received an open invitation to imbibe all Summer. (yay!) I attended another craft class at the home of Scott's friends from high school. My community choir concert is coming up in two weeks, and Scott is having fun with the golf league he organized. I am SO EXCITED that Scott's family is going to be coming to visit this Summer too--we are looking into all kinds of stuff to do, although loafing around the lake is ever so nice too! :) My family will be coming here quite a bit too, with many things to attend to like Alannah's 8th grade graduation, Father's Day and all our Summer birthdays: Dad--6/11, Alannah--6/27, Aidan--7/17 and Eva--7/26...oh yeah--Mom and Dad's 40th wedding an. is 7/12! I am probably forgetting about ten more celebrations...so...bear with!
The girls are still doing very well in school. Alannah received her high school schedule, and I am REALLY happy about what teachers she will have. (ha ha ha--they are all the TOUGH ones) She is taking Latin and a Design Intro course along with all the usual required stuff. I wish now that we had squeezed an Acting course in because the English teacher I worked for the past two weeks is teaching it--I really hope that Alannah gets her for a teacher at some point. Aidan got accepted into a special day camp program this Summer that will give her the opportunity to explore the health care field. She will get to "play" nurse and dentist for a week. Susie and Dan are looking forward to the end of school. Susie is really doing well with piano and gymnastics. Dan is VERY ready for kindergarten--I hope he isn't bored when he gets there! His new thing is entertaining a bunch of loose teeth. All the girls are registered for sleep away church camp on Seneca Lake in NY this Summer. This is Susie's first year going. The dog (I guess he belongs in the kid paragraph?!) is still growing--he still has tons of loose skin to grow into! He is all "fixed" now, and seems to be fully recovered even though Scott commiserates with him about it. (giggle) He weighed in at over 75 pounds--he is only 7 months old--yikes!
This weekend feels very empty already since it will be the first weekend in a long time we haven't had Susie and Dan around. :( I am waiting to hear from the "boss" as to what we will be doing...... :)
Hope you are all well, and staying fairly dry! Happy, happy, happy June!
OH YEAH, last, but not least--GO PENS!!!!!!!!!! They begin their final Stanley Cup Playoffs Series this weekend, a repeat against Detroit from last year......... wooooooo!!!!!!
The garden is planted--27 tomato plants, 12 sweet peppers (red and green), 7 cucumbers, 3 winter squash, acorn squash, Brussels sprouts, peas, green beans, wax beans, beets, cabbages, lettuce, carrots and pumpkins! Barring any disasters (of the pest and weather variety) we have embraced gardenhood. (Gentlemen: GET YOUR CANNING JARS READY!!!!!!!!)
Today I am going to go pick up a couple peonies I put on order--I love them so much, and have planted them at every house I have owned, only to move away before they became established. I was really missing them this Spring, and was very sad that the plant place was out of them. Good thing I was moaning out loud about it, because the lady overheard me and said it was very easy to get them for me! Plants are my new crack.... and now I have a dealer.... (hee hee hee) After I came back from that plant run I discovered a peony about to burst in our hedgerow! I had not noticed it before--ever since we cleared that out of all the overgrowth all kinds of things are popping up. Much of the cleared space we slathered in wildflower seeds--if they actually bloom it will look really....well....wild! Once the weather clears up (it has been raining for four days straight) I will have Alannah take some more pictures of the yard to keep you all up to date on our "farm".
Scott mulched the flower beds around the edges of the house. We discovered that the beds are very shallow, and mostly full of sand, gravel and concrete from the foundation which must be from an addition put onto the house at some point. There were a few plants in there, like a run on Hasta--we tidied it up and moved some of it around so it looked more polished. (I say we...it was really Scott and Aidan that did all the work!) We have one more place around the walkway up to the house that needs a make over, and then our house will really start to look like a home rather than the rental property it was for so long. Some other anticipated projects are powerwashing the house, painting the deck and exterior doors, and putting up gutters. (uggh!) I keep looking at the windows and thinking there would be some kind of shutter treatment that would add some interest.... thoughts, anyone? (Scott is rolling his eyes.....) Oh yeah--we, er, Scott, has had to mow the lawn three times already!
Other than gardening, we have managed to squeeze in a lot of socializing: Last weekend we entertained a couple who just moved in down the road from us. He works with Scott at Fuel Cell. They are both my age. They are very fun people, and we really enjoyed their company. Sunday we attended at BBQ at our neighbor's up the street. The kids enjoyed their new pool, and we received an open invitation to imbibe all Summer. (yay!) I attended another craft class at the home of Scott's friends from high school. My community choir concert is coming up in two weeks, and Scott is having fun with the golf league he organized. I am SO EXCITED that Scott's family is going to be coming to visit this Summer too--we are looking into all kinds of stuff to do, although loafing around the lake is ever so nice too! :) My family will be coming here quite a bit too, with many things to attend to like Alannah's 8th grade graduation, Father's Day and all our Summer birthdays: Dad--6/11, Alannah--6/27, Aidan--7/17 and Eva--7/26...oh yeah--Mom and Dad's 40th wedding an. is 7/12! I am probably forgetting about ten more celebrations...so...bear with!
The girls are still doing very well in school. Alannah received her high school schedule, and I am REALLY happy about what teachers she will have. (ha ha ha--they are all the TOUGH ones) She is taking Latin and a Design Intro course along with all the usual required stuff. I wish now that we had squeezed an Acting course in because the English teacher I worked for the past two weeks is teaching it--I really hope that Alannah gets her for a teacher at some point. Aidan got accepted into a special day camp program this Summer that will give her the opportunity to explore the health care field. She will get to "play" nurse and dentist for a week. Susie and Dan are looking forward to the end of school. Susie is really doing well with piano and gymnastics. Dan is VERY ready for kindergarten--I hope he isn't bored when he gets there! His new thing is entertaining a bunch of loose teeth. All the girls are registered for sleep away church camp on Seneca Lake in NY this Summer. This is Susie's first year going. The dog (I guess he belongs in the kid paragraph?!) is still growing--he still has tons of loose skin to grow into! He is all "fixed" now, and seems to be fully recovered even though Scott commiserates with him about it. (giggle) He weighed in at over 75 pounds--he is only 7 months old--yikes!
This weekend feels very empty already since it will be the first weekend in a long time we haven't had Susie and Dan around. :( I am waiting to hear from the "boss" as to what we will be doing...... :)
Hope you are all well, and staying fairly dry! Happy, happy, happy June!
OH YEAH, last, but not least--GO PENS!!!!!!!!!! They begin their final Stanley Cup Playoffs Series this weekend, a repeat against Detroit from last year......... wooooooo!!!!!!
Wedded bliss
I am pleased to report that the wedding went incredibly well. I can't think of one thing that went wrong the entire weekend. Eva was a radiant, calm and happy bride, nobody got sick, nobody got in a fight and there were no cold feet. *ha ha!*
We left from Ct Friday am and arrived in time for the bridesmaid luncheon. It was the first time I met Josh's stepmother--what a lovely woman. We ate at Chat-A-Whyle, which is a charming little lunch room in Vestal, NY. It's big claim to fame are it's bread bowl soups--going strong LONG before Panera breads made it's appearance in Upstate NY. My aunt (Dad's sister) was there also--I always enjoy catching up with her.
After lunch we picked up Susie and Dan and got to have a couple of hours relaxing before the rehearsal. Even Dan hung in there through the church rehearsal and dinner--luckily there were some other kids there to keep him distracted from throwing a temper tantrum. (My son? Tantrum?) The dinner was so good--it was at the hotel where the reception was going to be, so we got to sneak up and peek into the ballroom while they were decorating. That was fun!
On Saturday all us girls had to get up really early and go get our hair done. I guess if there was any stressful moment it was that the last girl to "get done" (Susie) didn't get done until EXACTLY 9:59am, and the wedding started AT 10:00am!!!! Amazingly, the ceremony started pretty much on time. (as much as any wedding does)
The hair place shares the same municipal parking lot as the church. While the hair was getting done, I was running interference between the church, the various bags of assorted toiletries in the girls' cars and the hair place. During one trip I ran into Josh arriving at the church so I took the opportunity to tease my new brother-in-law: "Hey!" I stage whispered, "It's not too late for you and I to run away together!" He laughed. He's a good guy.
Everyone looked so nice! I do have pics, and will be putting an album together hopefully today. Every time I see the pictures of Alannah and Aidan I get teary--they look so grown up. Maybe it is better that in real life they are still a bit rough around the edges... Not sure the middle school could handle such lovely girls--no one would get anything done. Susie was adorable, and soooo into her flower girl role. Dan was adorable too, but it was more of a sacrifice. The amazing thing about him was that when he went for his tux fitting (about six weeks after he was measured for it) his pants were three inches too short! His shoes, which were a little big a month ago FIT perfectly the day of the wedding. I guess that is how boys grow. Luckily swapping out a new pair of pants was no big deal. He sort of stalked down the aisle--I told the church ladies not to push the act for him too much. Susie was the one who took the show blushing her way sweetly down the aisle.
The reception was very nice, and the girls had a lot of fun dancing. It is always fun to observe the blend of personalities when you get 4+ families and assorted friends together in one place. I was able to catch up with some people that I don't see often, including my foster brother and sister that lived with my family during the time Eva came to my parents as a baby until she was adopted at age five. They are neat kids, and so neat that they continue to consider us family. My favorite part of the weekend was hanging out with my sister Andrea and my brother in law. Not only have they provided me with a niece to spoil, they are just really cool people. Scott and I shared many laughs with them.
Including.... Saturday night after everything was "done" and cleaned up, Scott and I went out after the kids were tucked in to sneak in a rare little "date". While we were downtown I got a text message from Andrea that Christian was craving chicken wings, so we picked up a party pack and came back to mom and dad's with 2 dozen wings, a sheet pizza and a huge soda! (Not like we hadn't been eating all weekend....) We hung out until about 2am, laughing and talking. The next day our mother made the comment that "we were loud" (???!!!who, us?) I think she is sooo ready for this empty nest thing! (HAHAHAHAHAHA!)
Eva and Josh went off on a ten day honeymoon to Colorado where they enjoyed all kinds of hiking, site-seeing, etc.etc. Too bad they had to come back home to all this RAIN.
Hopefully no one is suffering too much from the whole post-wedding blues. Now the pics are pouring in, so I am sure that helps to bring back all the good memories of such a wonderful day.
We left from Ct Friday am and arrived in time for the bridesmaid luncheon. It was the first time I met Josh's stepmother--what a lovely woman. We ate at Chat-A-Whyle, which is a charming little lunch room in Vestal, NY. It's big claim to fame are it's bread bowl soups--going strong LONG before Panera breads made it's appearance in Upstate NY. My aunt (Dad's sister) was there also--I always enjoy catching up with her.
After lunch we picked up Susie and Dan and got to have a couple of hours relaxing before the rehearsal. Even Dan hung in there through the church rehearsal and dinner--luckily there were some other kids there to keep him distracted from throwing a temper tantrum. (My son? Tantrum?) The dinner was so good--it was at the hotel where the reception was going to be, so we got to sneak up and peek into the ballroom while they were decorating. That was fun!
On Saturday all us girls had to get up really early and go get our hair done. I guess if there was any stressful moment it was that the last girl to "get done" (Susie) didn't get done until EXACTLY 9:59am, and the wedding started AT 10:00am!!!! Amazingly, the ceremony started pretty much on time. (as much as any wedding does)
The hair place shares the same municipal parking lot as the church. While the hair was getting done, I was running interference between the church, the various bags of assorted toiletries in the girls' cars and the hair place. During one trip I ran into Josh arriving at the church so I took the opportunity to tease my new brother-in-law: "Hey!" I stage whispered, "It's not too late for you and I to run away together!" He laughed. He's a good guy.
Everyone looked so nice! I do have pics, and will be putting an album together hopefully today. Every time I see the pictures of Alannah and Aidan I get teary--they look so grown up. Maybe it is better that in real life they are still a bit rough around the edges... Not sure the middle school could handle such lovely girls--no one would get anything done. Susie was adorable, and soooo into her flower girl role. Dan was adorable too, but it was more of a sacrifice. The amazing thing about him was that when he went for his tux fitting (about six weeks after he was measured for it) his pants were three inches too short! His shoes, which were a little big a month ago FIT perfectly the day of the wedding. I guess that is how boys grow. Luckily swapping out a new pair of pants was no big deal. He sort of stalked down the aisle--I told the church ladies not to push the act for him too much. Susie was the one who took the show blushing her way sweetly down the aisle.
The reception was very nice, and the girls had a lot of fun dancing. It is always fun to observe the blend of personalities when you get 4+ families and assorted friends together in one place. I was able to catch up with some people that I don't see often, including my foster brother and sister that lived with my family during the time Eva came to my parents as a baby until she was adopted at age five. They are neat kids, and so neat that they continue to consider us family. My favorite part of the weekend was hanging out with my sister Andrea and my brother in law. Not only have they provided me with a niece to spoil, they are just really cool people. Scott and I shared many laughs with them.
Including.... Saturday night after everything was "done" and cleaned up, Scott and I went out after the kids were tucked in to sneak in a rare little "date". While we were downtown I got a text message from Andrea that Christian was craving chicken wings, so we picked up a party pack and came back to mom and dad's with 2 dozen wings, a sheet pizza and a huge soda! (Not like we hadn't been eating all weekend....) We hung out until about 2am, laughing and talking. The next day our mother made the comment that "we were loud" (???!!!who, us?) I think she is sooo ready for this empty nest thing! (HAHAHAHAHAHA!)
Eva and Josh went off on a ten day honeymoon to Colorado where they enjoyed all kinds of hiking, site-seeing, etc.etc. Too bad they had to come back home to all this RAIN.
Hopefully no one is suffering too much from the whole post-wedding blues. Now the pics are pouring in, so I am sure that helps to bring back all the good memories of such a wonderful day.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Work, work, work!
Hello! And here it is, weeks and weeks later that I get a new post up here.
I have been working almost every day at the high school, so bear with me. I only have so much energy.
I do love my "job", though. Tomorrow I start a two week "long term" for another English teacher who is going out for surgery. This time the kids are older--sophomores and juniors. I am teaching Aldoph Huxley's "A Brave New World" and finishing up "A Red Badge of Courage" with another group. The AP class is done, so they are doing a unit on Transcendental Poetry being taught by the English Department chair. I just get to "go along for the ride"... or THE RIDE--hahahaahha. That should be fun. My Brave New World kids are the General Ed kids who are Reading Phobic. I am trying to do a lot of extension projects like aromatherapy, art and technology to try and entice them into reading. I think it will be fun. It is quite a book, not very GOOD, per se, but a "classic", I guess, in it's own way. They are studying that time period in History, so I guess that is the connection.
The kids are all doing great. The half-way grade reports just came out for the 4th (and last!) term and both Alannah and Aidan will most likely be on honor roll again. This is so exciting for Aidan! They didn't get connected to any Spring extra-curric. stuff, but the weather is so nice we are going to the beach, fishing and playing with the puppy outside. Ahhhh Spring!
Scott built a fire-pit in our back yard, so when Susie and Dan were here this weekend we had a big bonfire with Smores that we managed to squeeze in before it started pouring. In order to burn anything in NY you had to have a barrel and a permit--In CT you can't burn anything in a barrel, but if you have a pit you can burn anything you want without permission. So Scott dug a big hole and dropped the barrel in--voila!
I am itching to get out and garden. The beds are all ready. I have planted peas and rhubarb, and a bunch of herbs. The weather has been so nice, and the weatherman swears there won't be any more frost... but... waiting another week or two is probably more prudent. I am so impatient! I really am aching for a big BLT. That little gift shop run by the lady we met this Winter making wreaths at the library sells bedding flowers and vegetables. She has the most gorgeous and unique plants. I was there drooling last week, and SHE warned me to wait until the end of the month. SIGH! :)
This week is THE WEDDING--everyone seems very happy and calm, which is great. It is hard to believe that it is HERE. The girls look so pretty in their dresses! Andrea found a little dress for Stephanie that matches perfectly. This is going to be FUN! :)
Hopefully I will be able to get the pics on here that I took this past weekend of our porch, firepit, flowers and Scott and Dan mowing the lawn. Otherwise, be looking for wedding reports and pics in the next week or two!
I have been working almost every day at the high school, so bear with me. I only have so much energy.
I do love my "job", though. Tomorrow I start a two week "long term" for another English teacher who is going out for surgery. This time the kids are older--sophomores and juniors. I am teaching Aldoph Huxley's "A Brave New World" and finishing up "A Red Badge of Courage" with another group. The AP class is done, so they are doing a unit on Transcendental Poetry being taught by the English Department chair. I just get to "go along for the ride"... or THE RIDE--hahahaahha. That should be fun. My Brave New World kids are the General Ed kids who are Reading Phobic. I am trying to do a lot of extension projects like aromatherapy, art and technology to try and entice them into reading. I think it will be fun. It is quite a book, not very GOOD, per se, but a "classic", I guess, in it's own way. They are studying that time period in History, so I guess that is the connection.
The kids are all doing great. The half-way grade reports just came out for the 4th (and last!) term and both Alannah and Aidan will most likely be on honor roll again. This is so exciting for Aidan! They didn't get connected to any Spring extra-curric. stuff, but the weather is so nice we are going to the beach, fishing and playing with the puppy outside. Ahhhh Spring!
Scott built a fire-pit in our back yard, so when Susie and Dan were here this weekend we had a big bonfire with Smores that we managed to squeeze in before it started pouring. In order to burn anything in NY you had to have a barrel and a permit--In CT you can't burn anything in a barrel, but if you have a pit you can burn anything you want without permission. So Scott dug a big hole and dropped the barrel in--voila!
I am itching to get out and garden. The beds are all ready. I have planted peas and rhubarb, and a bunch of herbs. The weather has been so nice, and the weatherman swears there won't be any more frost... but... waiting another week or two is probably more prudent. I am so impatient! I really am aching for a big BLT. That little gift shop run by the lady we met this Winter making wreaths at the library sells bedding flowers and vegetables. She has the most gorgeous and unique plants. I was there drooling last week, and SHE warned me to wait until the end of the month. SIGH! :)
This week is THE WEDDING--everyone seems very happy and calm, which is great. It is hard to believe that it is HERE. The girls look so pretty in their dresses! Andrea found a little dress for Stephanie that matches perfectly. This is going to be FUN! :)
Hopefully I will be able to get the pics on here that I took this past weekend of our porch, firepit, flowers and Scott and Dan mowing the lawn. Otherwise, be looking for wedding reports and pics in the next week or two!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
My Press and Sun article in response to the shooting in Binghamton
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090408/VIEWPOINTS02/904080309/1120
I'm not sure what more to add to that, as far as my life with ESL.
I think it is going to take a long time for anyone to get through this. The response from the Binghamton community and beyond was touching. However, I think it is naive to expect that a week or two of kind and thoughtful gestures will wrap this event up in a neat and dealt-with package. There are many phases of grief to enter and re-enter, and not the least of them is anger.
I challenge us all to accept the long and winding path that grief takes us down. Anger is a healthy and normal feeling that should be allowed to manifest itself. It needs to be allowed, to be given permission to "be". Facing and naming whatever image/form anger takes is a necessary process of healing. And sometimes anger doesn't go away, and sometimes it isn't pretty--and that isn't always a bad thing.
The goal of healing is not necessarily to eradicate anger, but to learn to live and move on with all the feelings a particular person or event inspires. The opposite of anger is not happiness. Just like the opposite of love is not hate. To feel anger and hate is TO FEEL. Feelings can co-exist, and can vary in intensity. Anger does not trump or negate other feelings--you can feel anger and still feel happy, sad, silly, etc.etc.etc.
The opposite of anger and hatred is NOT FEELING AT ALL--and that, unfortunately, is what many people mis-understand. Not allowing any feelings might temporarily be helpful when the initial shock of a horrible event occurs. However, ongoing suppression and denial of feeling can be extremely damaging. Addictions, to drugs and alcohol (or anything) are often a behavior some people choose that "helps" create un-feeling when they are struggling to deal with difficult feelings and beliefs. Suicide is a very damaging and (obviously) permanent "solution" to creating un-feeling.
Learning a healthy process for grieving isn't something most of us have been brought up with. Many of us were taught that anger was "bad", or should only be allowed a finite presence in our lives. Many boys/men are raised into unfeeling based on our cultural value for men to be emotionally "strong". Women are culturally "allowed" more flexibility with our emotions, but other bad habits from our culture and upbringing have affected our response to grief. Women have been "expected" to be compliant, calm, reasonable, gracious, forgiving.... and not all women have worked through the balancing dynamics that could be more healthy! (isn't that an understatement?!)
It also isn't fair to suggest that there is one healthy way to grieve. I stumbled around with a therapist once who tried to convince me I was doing it all wrong. When I finally was able to say to her I had to do things my way, I realized that grief processes are as numerous as people are unique. My favorite book about grieving is called Swallowed by a Snake, the gift of the masculine side of healing by Thomas R. Golden. Some of it was a little "out there", but if you give yourself permission, there are some really claimable parts. I HIGHLY recommend reading it!!!!
http://www.webhealing.com/index.html this is the author's website... and ladies, don't be put aside by the "masculine" claim--this is simply an active way to face grief--some people like to sit and talktalktalk through things, this is a different option--very action/ritual/step/plan oriented.
I think that is enough for now....
Love you all,
Allison
I'm not sure what more to add to that, as far as my life with ESL.
I think it is going to take a long time for anyone to get through this. The response from the Binghamton community and beyond was touching. However, I think it is naive to expect that a week or two of kind and thoughtful gestures will wrap this event up in a neat and dealt-with package. There are many phases of grief to enter and re-enter, and not the least of them is anger.
I challenge us all to accept the long and winding path that grief takes us down. Anger is a healthy and normal feeling that should be allowed to manifest itself. It needs to be allowed, to be given permission to "be". Facing and naming whatever image/form anger takes is a necessary process of healing. And sometimes anger doesn't go away, and sometimes it isn't pretty--and that isn't always a bad thing.
The goal of healing is not necessarily to eradicate anger, but to learn to live and move on with all the feelings a particular person or event inspires. The opposite of anger is not happiness. Just like the opposite of love is not hate. To feel anger and hate is TO FEEL. Feelings can co-exist, and can vary in intensity. Anger does not trump or negate other feelings--you can feel anger and still feel happy, sad, silly, etc.etc.etc.
The opposite of anger and hatred is NOT FEELING AT ALL--and that, unfortunately, is what many people mis-understand. Not allowing any feelings might temporarily be helpful when the initial shock of a horrible event occurs. However, ongoing suppression and denial of feeling can be extremely damaging. Addictions, to drugs and alcohol (or anything) are often a behavior some people choose that "helps" create un-feeling when they are struggling to deal with difficult feelings and beliefs. Suicide is a very damaging and (obviously) permanent "solution" to creating un-feeling.
Learning a healthy process for grieving isn't something most of us have been brought up with. Many of us were taught that anger was "bad", or should only be allowed a finite presence in our lives. Many boys/men are raised into unfeeling based on our cultural value for men to be emotionally "strong". Women are culturally "allowed" more flexibility with our emotions, but other bad habits from our culture and upbringing have affected our response to grief. Women have been "expected" to be compliant, calm, reasonable, gracious, forgiving.... and not all women have worked through the balancing dynamics that could be more healthy! (isn't that an understatement?!)
It also isn't fair to suggest that there is one healthy way to grieve. I stumbled around with a therapist once who tried to convince me I was doing it all wrong. When I finally was able to say to her I had to do things my way, I realized that grief processes are as numerous as people are unique. My favorite book about grieving is called Swallowed by a Snake, the gift of the masculine side of healing by Thomas R. Golden. Some of it was a little "out there", but if you give yourself permission, there are some really claimable parts. I HIGHLY recommend reading it!!!!
http://www.webhealing.com/index.html this is the author's website... and ladies, don't be put aside by the "masculine" claim--this is simply an active way to face grief--some people like to sit and talktalktalk through things, this is a different option--very action/ritual/step/plan oriented.
I think that is enough for now....
Love you all,
Allison
Link to slideshow
This link should connect you to Alannah's play pics slideshow on Kodak Easy Share....
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ovazriq.6p9tdnhy&x=0&y=gq5gc8&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ovazriq.6p9tdnhy&x=0&y=gq5gc8&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button
It's been awhile, again!
Hello, again, everybody. It's been a couple weeks, but what a couple weeks it has been.
I was working ALOT--it almost felt like too much. But sub calls are so much like siren ones--it is very difficult to say "no". Especially with Summer approaching, and knowing that the paychecks will end very abruptly soon after!
Spring is yawning it's way into upper Connecticut. Our weather is fairly similar to Owego--we aren't on that much of a different latitude than you all--almost a straight shot due East. However, it isn't unusual for it to be gorgeous and sunny here, and pouring cold rain in Owego.... or vice versa..... Today it is very sunny and the frigid morning holds the promise of a warmer afternoon--high 50's today, and (YAY) 70's tomorrow. We are making a long list of warm weather activities to cram into one day as it looks like cold nasty weather is on it's way from the West. (blah)
Everyone is here this week due to Spring break. I am having a rare hour to write--a guilty pleasure paid for by shameless use of a long DVD.... (bad mommy!) We always have so much fun! So far this week:
Wednesday--I travelled to Owego to attend some of the memorial events surrounding the Binghamton shooting--more about that later, since I was so intimately attached to that group.
I picked up Dan and Susie and we got to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa.
Thursday--played a couple hours with the Dove kids and then drove to meet Andrea and Stephanie for lunch in Albany. That was fun, until Stephanie (and Mommy and baby) were ready for a nap.... we know all about THAT, so we quickly helped clean up and got out so everyone could rest! (ah, I remember those days!)
Friday--spent a wild and chaotic day readjusting to having everyone in the house again! Susie and Dan were reunited with their neighborhood buddies--I've mentioned before that there are about 18-20 elementary kids that wait for the bus outside our yard--the kids that live up and down our side street. Five of them live close enough that they don't need permission to come over and play. So for most of the week we've had at least 13 kids aged 3-15 running amok in the three-four yards around us. I love it--I just gave up getting anything done and sat out on my new wicker chair cushions and watched the show. There are enough of them that they don't fight too much, but I kept the band-aid box close by since there were a fair number of bike bumps and skids.
Saturday--Scott started working on the cars--our money saving solution was to have him do all the Spring maintenance on the cars instead of taking them to a mechanic. So far so good, but a few times he got "stuck". He now has many new tools (happy, happy man!) and has made many trips to various shops, Internet sites and our new favorite store: Auto Zone. Hey, if you ever have a car question, they are AWESOME--they have a lot of specialty tools you can borrow for "free", and they are very knowledgeable. They even have a computer that you can come and hook up to check electrical/technical problems--again, free. For us Auto Zone is a little bit of a drive, but worth the trouble.
I was even able to come out and help a couple times--I helped configure the new belt for my car--that was fun!
Sunday--we enjoyed Easter Sunday service at our "new" church. It was a nice service, always with tons of kids. I think the pastor said that more often than not the percentage of children in the congregation well exceeds 60%. As there wasn't any Sunday School, it was a lively service with all of them wiggling in their Easter best... but all cheerful! The Lenten "sacrifice" of giving up chocolate was lifted, so the kids were all smeary after the children's sermon--they were so cute. After church the Sunday School sponsored an Easter Egg hunt in the playground which was really sweet. They also hunted for the stations of the cross as part of it--it didn't take very long, and was nice and simple--it might be a fun idea for one of your community outreach projects in Owego.
Mom and Dad came later on and we had a great dinner of Lamb, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. The lemonade pound cake and cream puffs for dessert weren't any trouble either....bytheway.... (hahahahaha)
Monday: We had fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, went to Chuck E. Cheese down in Waterbury, got lost coming home, ha ha ha. Mom and Dad were awesome and took the kids out for dinner and a movie so Scott and I could grab a rare night "out". We went down to Torrington and had dinner at Bogey's--a little pub that a couple we met recommended. It was pretty good.
Tuesday: We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and took Alannah to Hartford to meet her new neurologist. Let me tell you, driving to Hartford was a heck of a lot nicer than driving to Syracuse! The Children's Hospital there is very nice, and I liked the Dr. It is about 1/3 of the drive it was to get to Alannah's old neurologist, which is awesome. Everything seems fine--they will just continue to monitor her once or twice a year.
Wednesday, and plans for the rest of the week: We kept working on the cars, and playing and playing and playing out in the fresh air. All the bikes are getting tons of mileage. Hopefully we will get a chance to take the kids to the new Japanese restaurant. They have Hibachi pits! Friday is supposed to be the nicest day, so hopefully we will go visit a park or two.
It is going to be very hard to say goodbye to Susie and Dan on Sunday. :(
I will be putting a lot of new pictures up--I have lots of pictures of Alannah's play, growing Coal and many others!
Enjoy!
I was working ALOT--it almost felt like too much. But sub calls are so much like siren ones--it is very difficult to say "no". Especially with Summer approaching, and knowing that the paychecks will end very abruptly soon after!
Spring is yawning it's way into upper Connecticut. Our weather is fairly similar to Owego--we aren't on that much of a different latitude than you all--almost a straight shot due East. However, it isn't unusual for it to be gorgeous and sunny here, and pouring cold rain in Owego.... or vice versa..... Today it is very sunny and the frigid morning holds the promise of a warmer afternoon--high 50's today, and (YAY) 70's tomorrow. We are making a long list of warm weather activities to cram into one day as it looks like cold nasty weather is on it's way from the West. (blah)
Everyone is here this week due to Spring break. I am having a rare hour to write--a guilty pleasure paid for by shameless use of a long DVD.... (bad mommy!) We always have so much fun! So far this week:
Wednesday--I travelled to Owego to attend some of the memorial events surrounding the Binghamton shooting--more about that later, since I was so intimately attached to that group.
I picked up Dan and Susie and we got to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa.
Thursday--played a couple hours with the Dove kids and then drove to meet Andrea and Stephanie for lunch in Albany. That was fun, until Stephanie (and Mommy and baby) were ready for a nap.... we know all about THAT, so we quickly helped clean up and got out so everyone could rest! (ah, I remember those days!)
Friday--spent a wild and chaotic day readjusting to having everyone in the house again! Susie and Dan were reunited with their neighborhood buddies--I've mentioned before that there are about 18-20 elementary kids that wait for the bus outside our yard--the kids that live up and down our side street. Five of them live close enough that they don't need permission to come over and play. So for most of the week we've had at least 13 kids aged 3-15 running amok in the three-four yards around us. I love it--I just gave up getting anything done and sat out on my new wicker chair cushions and watched the show. There are enough of them that they don't fight too much, but I kept the band-aid box close by since there were a fair number of bike bumps and skids.
Saturday--Scott started working on the cars--our money saving solution was to have him do all the Spring maintenance on the cars instead of taking them to a mechanic. So far so good, but a few times he got "stuck". He now has many new tools (happy, happy man!) and has made many trips to various shops, Internet sites and our new favorite store: Auto Zone. Hey, if you ever have a car question, they are AWESOME--they have a lot of specialty tools you can borrow for "free", and they are very knowledgeable. They even have a computer that you can come and hook up to check electrical/technical problems--again, free. For us Auto Zone is a little bit of a drive, but worth the trouble.
I was even able to come out and help a couple times--I helped configure the new belt for my car--that was fun!
Sunday--we enjoyed Easter Sunday service at our "new" church. It was a nice service, always with tons of kids. I think the pastor said that more often than not the percentage of children in the congregation well exceeds 60%. As there wasn't any Sunday School, it was a lively service with all of them wiggling in their Easter best... but all cheerful! The Lenten "sacrifice" of giving up chocolate was lifted, so the kids were all smeary after the children's sermon--they were so cute. After church the Sunday School sponsored an Easter Egg hunt in the playground which was really sweet. They also hunted for the stations of the cross as part of it--it didn't take very long, and was nice and simple--it might be a fun idea for one of your community outreach projects in Owego.
Mom and Dad came later on and we had a great dinner of Lamb, garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. The lemonade pound cake and cream puffs for dessert weren't any trouble either....bytheway.... (hahahahaha)
Monday: We had fun hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, went to Chuck E. Cheese down in Waterbury, got lost coming home, ha ha ha. Mom and Dad were awesome and took the kids out for dinner and a movie so Scott and I could grab a rare night "out". We went down to Torrington and had dinner at Bogey's--a little pub that a couple we met recommended. It was pretty good.
Tuesday: We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and took Alannah to Hartford to meet her new neurologist. Let me tell you, driving to Hartford was a heck of a lot nicer than driving to Syracuse! The Children's Hospital there is very nice, and I liked the Dr. It is about 1/3 of the drive it was to get to Alannah's old neurologist, which is awesome. Everything seems fine--they will just continue to monitor her once or twice a year.
Wednesday, and plans for the rest of the week: We kept working on the cars, and playing and playing and playing out in the fresh air. All the bikes are getting tons of mileage. Hopefully we will get a chance to take the kids to the new Japanese restaurant. They have Hibachi pits! Friday is supposed to be the nicest day, so hopefully we will go visit a park or two.
It is going to be very hard to say goodbye to Susie and Dan on Sunday. :(
I will be putting a lot of new pictures up--I have lots of pictures of Alannah's play, growing Coal and many others!
Enjoy!
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