Last Post of 2013

2013 has been pretty great to our family. Both Ellie and Nick are doing great in school. Ellie got involved in sports this year and loved volleyball and basketball. She had her poem chosen to advance to the next level of competition and hopefully will end up at the state level. I love hearing the music floating down the stairs from her room. She is learning to play the keyboard and is also creating new songs and music. Nick has blossomed with help from the speech therapist at school. So many people have mentioned that he has come out of his shell but I think it is just that you can hear him now that he has slowed his speech down. He has spent the past few days videotaping on his ipod. He has taped his train layouts, lego sets, holiday lights...he is very excited about it. Rob is thriving at work. He was humbled by comments made to him at holiday parties. I have had a couple great doctor visits this year, all ending with no evidence of disease and get busy living. It has been an awesome 4th quarter on ebay. I have coined the title Resale Concierge, it sounds better than telling people I flip on ebay. Very cool sale yesterday, I had a Lillehammer winter Olympics tie and it sold to one of the USA coaches...I will be watching for him to wear it. 

Friday we started off the morning baking again. Ellie was thrilled to use her cupcake maker again. She made carrot cake muffins with cream cheese frosting. We took some with us when we went to visit Eric and Pam. We had a wonderful visit with them. I wish we could see them more often than we do. We did a bit of thrifting on our way up to the Cuneo Light show. I found a huge lot of art supplies at the one store. Taking it apart - I think I should be able to recoup my cost just on the stamp pads alone. I have scrapbooking pens, calligraphy sets, rulers and other tools, pencil lead, paper. We had dinner at Portillos and then waited in a slow moving line for the light show. It was a bunch of fun, like it always is. The kids looked for the snowmen and counted them. They changed things up this year and it seemed even better. 

Saturday morning Mom and Dad took Ellie and Nick out shopping for the day. Rob and I took advantage and went out for lunch. We headed north and did a bit of thrifting...for ourselves. I found some great sheet sets for the cottage.We were able to get a couple things at Hobo, too. I couldn't resist running into Salvation on the way home and was soooo glad I did. I found a couple more of the scrapbook items and 2 Hermes neckties. Mom and Dad came in and stayed for dinner when they dropped off the kids. We had appetizers and salad and fruit. We worked on the puzzle but this puzzle was sort of ridiculous with the piece shapes. We still had about 100 pieces to go when they left. I finished it up around 12:15 this morning. After Rob went up last night, I went to refill my water and found my foot stepped into wetness. I thought it was just a spill from the sink but learned the entire cabinet under the sink was wet. I dragged out all the containers and bottles and wiped it dry. I tried to investigate where it was coming from but couldn't. 

Rob and I began our morning researching faucets. Ellie agreed to watch Nick so Rob and I could run out and try to find one we liked. We originally were going to replace the faucet and the sink itself because it has quite a few dents but we soon found out black sinks are what is stocked now and white is custom order. We ended up just getting a new faucet. We came home and the kids were making bouncy balls with a craft kit Nick got for Christmas. Rob put in the new faucet - looks great. We started a new puzzle - equally as challenging because it is shaped like a train, with all the bells and whistles. Rob stayed home to watch the Bears game when we went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made an enchilada casserole that was good. She also roasted baby potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes. We had cookies for dessert. Dad played trains with Nick while Mom and Ellie made some spa bath salts. 

Hoping to make 2014 even better than this year has been. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Day Late, I know

Hoping everyone day a fabulous Christmas with family and friends. We started a new puzzle yesterday and I was working on it last night and forgot to post.
On Monday morning Ellie and I baked a couple more batches of cookies. We ran out for some last minute stocking stuffers and food for Christmas day. The kids played very nicely together. In the early evening Dad picked us up for the CTA holiday train. It was bitterly cold, about zero out. The station was crowded and we soon found out there was only one train on the track. We decided to brave the elements since everyone was waiting inside. We had about a 5 minute wait outside but that was fine because we were the first ones to board and we were able to get 4 seats together. The train has never been so packed. Standing room only and Santa didn't even have room to walk around. We made it to Howard and years of experience has taught us how quickly we need to move to get up and over to re-board. We got 4 seats together for the return ride but it was equally as crowded. We got to see Santa from afar. We had a treat from Starbucks to warm up before going home.
On Christmas Eve we just kinds hung out. We really needed to go nowhere so we stayed in our pajamas. We delivered cookies to our neighbors. We went to church in the early evening, it was refreshing to have the new reverend do the service and change it up a bit. We picked the GGs up on the way to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve dinner. Mom had a lovely meal - kievs (vegan and non), broccoli, corn pudding, salad, fruit, sweet potatoes, salmon...probably forgetting something, it went on and on. Dessert was equally as spread - mini cannoli, eclairs, cookies, bundt cakes, chocolates, and ice cream. We left cookie and wine out for Santa and the kids got to bed.
Christmas morning was nice and laid back. We decided to get Ellie and Nick each one big gift this year. Ellie got a keyboard and Nick got an ipod touch. They each got an outfit to keep them warm. While they waited for Mom and Dad to come over they played with some gifts from others. Mom and Dad came for breakfast. We had eggs, tofu scramble, bagels, cinnamon rolls, and potato hash browns. Mom and I started a 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle and Dad and Nick started building some Lego set. Ellie was busy working on crafts. In the afternoon we went up to Dean and Lauren's house. We had a make shift dinner and the kids played together really well. It was great to be able to sit back and relax and watch the snow fall. We came home and I worked on the puzzle some more. Ellie played with her new speed stacker game and Nick and Rob worked on Legos.
This morning we were laid back and slow. Ellie joined me on a trip to Target to exchange Nick's ipod...the 16gb one doesn't come with a double camera and can only take 'selfie' pictures. We did a quick walk through the store and stocked up on tape and tissue paper.
Mom and Dad picked up Uncle Joe from the hospital on Christmas Eve, thanks for all your positive thoughts. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Merry Christmas

I will just title this with a Christmas greeting since I won't post again until Christmas night. The last couple days have mostly flown by. I did a bit of shopping each day, a bit of listing, too. It has been nice to have a couple things leaving in the mail each day.
Friday morning we all hurried and got dressed and ready early so we could go to the Holiday Sing at school. Ellie has always wanted to go but with Nick being a slow poke in the morning, it has never happened. We did it this year and it really put me into the holiday spirit. It was in the gym and the music teachers had a piano and guitar and we had a sing a long. I left and went grocery shopping for Nick's party. I came home and wrapped the kids presents for Christmas...last chance without them watching me. Nick's party went great. We made snowman sundaes and they decorated gingerbread houses to take home.
Yesterday was our baking day. Ellie and I worked in the kitchen and we knocked out 6 types of cookies, totaling about 22 dozen cookies. Ellie tried out her new cupcake maker and made cupcakes for our neighbors. I ran out with Nick to pick out his present for Ellie...talk about last minute. I ran out with Ellie later to pick up some stocking stuffers and Despicable Me 2 for movie night. We had appetizers for dinner and all cuddled up together to watch the movie.
Today was surprisingly productive. We totally cleaned and organized the basement. It started with Rob and me re-arranging how/where we store our holiday storage boxes but morphed into a whole basement clean up and organizing mission. It look great and we were done by noon. We just kinds hung out until we went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We picked up El Famous and had a lot of laughs.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Time Flies

Exciting night here at our house. Nick went up to take a shower because he was sweaty and cold from playing out in the snow. I hear the toilet flush, running, and then echoes of Mom, Mama, Mommy, Quick! I run up the stairs to find the toilet within centimeters of overflowing. I got a cup and started dumping water into the sink. Mom and Dad had just walked into the door for dinner. Dad tried to help but we just couldn't get the toilet to un-clog. We washed up and had dinner. While the kids and Mom were watching Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Dad and I tried to work on it again. I looked up 'unclog toilet' on Pinterest and it was suggested to put a cup of Dawn dish washing liquid into the toilet and let it sit and then follow with hot water...didn't do anything at the time. I got the kids to bed and decided to leave it until the morning. Rob came home about 15 minutes after and decided to give it a try. He decided to flush it and water flowed over the rim and was bubbling up from the floor. Many towels and rags later and a trip out to the garage to get the industrial auger...the toilet finally went down. I did another round of Dawn and hot water and it bubbled and went down further.
Monday morning I started the day at Avenues. They are closing for a month to remodel their store and everything in the store was marked down to a quarter. Mobs of people were there and it was almost impossible to move. I grabbed a few things and got out of there. I went to Whole Foods and picked up wine for Rob to take to work as gifts. I was already at Peterson so I ran to Unique. I found the rest of the cross stitch and needlepoint kids and a couple other things. I picked up lunch and went over to Mom and Dad's. Mom and I went grocery shopping afterwards.
Tuesday morning I volunteered at school. Had a fun time hearing the kids stories develop. I came home and did some listing. I got most of my kits up and listed. The kids came home from school and wanted to play outside in the snow. They started making an igloo. They are using a 5 gallon bucket as their brick mold. They have the first layer set.
Uncle Joe is doing better, keep up the positive energy. Also, keep your fingers crossed for a successful real estate closing tomorrow...Grandma Chocolate's house will be gone. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Great Weekend

I have heard the echoing ca-ching all weekend...and I love it. Thursday I went to try to do some shopping. I went out to the Northbrook Goodwill. I ended up with some stuff that I thought I could use for stocking stuffers and a couple sweaters to flip. I stopped in at Savers but only found some Leappad games. I came home and did some research...I was delighted to see my $5.00 sweaters were selling for $100 or more. I was also thrilled that the lego set that I bought ended up being new. The box wasn't in great shape but I saw that the used sets were bringing in $50-$60. I listed it as used but said the packages were all sealed...sold for $90.00! Ellie had her last basketball game. They haven't had a game in over 3 weeks and I think it showed. Mom and Dad met Nick and me at the game. They ended up losing, pretty badly, 15-1. We quickly shuffled out of the game and raced back to East Prairie, it was Nick's concert. The gym was packed, standing room only. Nick did great, smiled a nice big smile and sang beautifully. Mom and Dad treated the kids to a book from the book fair.
Friday I did some more shopping, it is addicting. I walked into Unique and found a Charlie Brown singing gemmy and a Byers Choice caroler. I went through the store but didn't really come up with anything else. I decided to hit the Unique in the city and I am thrilled I did. I hit the mother load of art kits. I bought 15 kits for less than $1.00 a piece and have them listed between $10-$40 each. Rob had to work Friday night. Nick had his appointment with Dr. Gallai right after school. He was very brave and sat incredibly still while he had a pulpotomy and filling done. I was so happy we were able to get moved into the earlier appointment, Nick was crying in pain pretty regularly. We went to Mt. Prospect afterwards. We saw the light show at Randhurst and had dinner at Mariano's.
Saturday we stayed in our pajamas. The kids made chocolate cupcake from scratch and decorated them. I ran to Salvation in the afternoon. I picked up some more craft kits and a couple shirts. I found a bag with about 24 game cartridges and the game system. Nick gets to play with them until I get them up and listed. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner while Rob was at the game. The kids were excited to play with the train layout. Their cupcakes were delicious. We came home and got ready for Sue and Terri's Christmas party. We all had a great time. There were other kids for Ellie and Nick to play with, so we were able to socialize. They had games and had presents for the kids. We didn't leave until past 10.
Today we all slept in. I was busy packing up a bunch of eBay purchase...a very odd mix. 3 different Lego sets, 2 coats, 5 shirts, a snowsuit, a infomercial hair trimmer, and a set of rolodex cards.I was able to combine some of my boxes, which is awesome because that means things are moving out of here. Rob and Nick worked on building a Lego set. Ellie worked on elegantly packaging and wrapping her teacher gifts for this week. Ellie, Nick, and Rob did brave the cold for a little bit to play in the snow but it was so cold. We went to the church Tableaux service. It was a nice service. We got there early enough to snag front row seats so the kids could really see everything. We went to Cici's for dinner, the kids request.
Needing some positive thoughts and energy for Uncle Joe. He is in the ICU at the hospital. They aren't exactly sure what all is happening with him right now. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Freezing in Here

It isn't even Winter yet and it is pretty darn cold. I am sort of lacking motivation to list on ebay right now. I think it is because it is December and I have little faith in people buying used thing...and then paying for them. My used Cookie Monster set still has a couple days and is sitting at $108.50. Today was a great sale day considering I only have a couple auctions going. I sold 2 snowsuits, all my ink cartridges, a pair of jeans and 2 shirts. I received an email this afternoon that I have free auction listings through Christmas.
The bus was so, so late on Monday morning. I drove the kids to school and got home before the bus even started the route. I went grocery shopping on Monday. I went out to Meijer since I haven't been there in ages. I was able to get Ellie and Nick their favorite yogurts (each has their own favorite brand). I got all our beds changes out to clean, warm, flannel sheets. I put away about 10 loads of laundry and then created about 10 more.
I volunteered at school yesterday and got to hear some of the kids stories they are working on. I spent most of the day yesterday online on Costco's website trying to upload pictures and create our Christmas card. I think everyone else must have had the same idea because it was painstakingly slow. It took about an hour just to finalize and submit the order. I was so glad I wimped out and decided to take the car down to pick Nick up from the bus. The bus apparently broke down and they sent a second one but it didn't do the two routes and took all the kids on the late route. I sat in the car for about 45 minutes waiting for Nick.
I was going to go thrifting today but I woke up to snow and cold and decided it wasn't worth it. I did some listing this morning and was thrilled when I heard the ca ching a little while later and my blazer sold for $40. I ran to Costco to pick up my cards and do a bit of shopping. I ran by Mom's to drop off a salad. I worked on cards this afternoon. The kids and I had dinner and then watched the Middle. I told Mom and Dad to stay home since it is negative degrees with the windchill this evening.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

At Least the Snow is Pretty

Not too much to share. I did a bit more listing last week. I took Friday off to just go out and shop. I walked slowly through Goodwill and had about a dozen things in the cart but left with one. I have so much clothing inventory and couldn't spend anymore on clothes. I did pick up a $3.99 used play doh set. It was one I had seen as a BOLO, be on the look out, items. The lady who posted the BOLO had a brand new one that she sold for $125.00. I pretty much rushed home to list this set. I currently have about a dozen bids and it is at $78.00, still has 4 more days of bidding. This is what keeps me thrifting.
I did not go out on Saturday morning. It is so cold here and I am just now starting to feel better. Ellie and I had Mom's ladies lunch on Saturday. Rob and Nick went out for some one on one time. Mom's lunch was lovely, as always. Good food, great company, lots of laughs.
I took the kids for their holiday haircuts this afternoon. Ellie's haircut from a couple weeks ago wasn't great and I knew Yvonne could fix it. Turned out the left side was 2 inches longer than the right. The snow started to fall and it is slippery out. The kids loved shoveling the walkway.
I think I will try to get some more things listed this week and out of the house. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

I am Tired

I guess it is a cold I have and not just dust related stuffiness. I am pooped out. Not really too motivated to do too much. Finally this evening, my nose has stopped free flowing so maybe I am kicking this.
We ran to the bus on Monday morning...guess that is what happens when you have a week off. I have been taking advantage of free listings and have 90% of my toys listed. I have been listing ties for the last 2 days. My bag that I keep the ties in seems to be a Mary Poppins bag, though. I swear, I have listed about 50 ties and the bag is still full.
The kids helped me Monday night to get the garland and ornaments up on the tree. We also decorated their trees in the their bedrooms. I got the outdoor lights up yesterday but I still need to add the soldiers.
I volunteered at school yesterday. Nick and I went grocery shopping after school while Ellie was at practice.
Mom and Dad came over for dinner tonight. We had broccoli, pasta, chick'n, salad and watermelon. I made brownies and pumpkin pie bars for dessert. Mom and Dad brought some gelato.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

A Long Holiday Weekend

It has been nice having the kids home this past week but I am ready for them to be back in school tomorrow.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We began the day at church and then went to the GGs house for dinner. Uncle Bry came in from Wisconsin. We had a great meal together, so many delicious things to eat. The kids all had a great time playing together, too. We came home and put on pajamas and relaxed. I pulled out our Christmas puzzle - a mere 1,000 pieces. It proved to be a 3 day challenge. It is a Christmas scene with houses, stores, a pond, and snow...lots of snow.
Friday morning Ellie and I ran to do some Black Friday shopping. We did the unconventional Black Friday...thrift stores. We went to Unique and then Salvation. We got some nice items. We came home and my friend, Becki and her son, Eddie, stopped by for a visit. The kids had a fun time playing with him while we visited. I ran to Avenue and the other Salvation in the afternoon. I braved Target for Rob's headphones and another present. Mom and Dad took the kids overnight and Rob and I completed the evening with yer another Unique and dinner from Chipotle.
Saturday morning I was planning on listing but I found out Salvation was having $0.69 on a few colors and couldn't pass that up. I came home and listed instead. I went to pick the kids up but ended up staying and helping Mom clean out her closet. I was proud of Mom's purging. We came home and I worked on the puzzle and we had dinner.
I don't know if it was dust related or the start of a cold but I have had a pretty stead stream of snot and a bit of a sore throat. I slept in this morning and Rob took the kids to church. After the service they got to help decorate the church for Christmas. I was able to re-locate all my ebay boxes downstairs and start to clean the living room before they got home. Ellie and Rob ran to Menard's to try to get up some new tree lights and a wreath but they lights were far too difficult to find. Ellie and I ran to Target and had a great trip. I had a 20% off coupon from shopping on Friday. We got tree lights, storage boxes, vitamins, food, kitty supplies...if she wasn't with me it probably would have been more. We came home and I was able to decorate the mantle, the tops of the cabinets, rearrange the furniture, and dust/vacuum. We put the tree and the lights up before going to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made her Thanksgiving dinner - it was delicious. I finished the puzzle before we left. We came home and the kids showered and we read.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Thanksgiving

It has been a busy week so far. Monday was the only day of school this week for the kids. I got a bunch of items listed on Monday, all the shirts i had pressed on Sunday and then some. Monday evening we had Ellie's conferences at school. I dropped Nick off at Mom and Dad's so we could focus on Ellie. It was splendid. We had a meeting with all her core teachers at once. We got to hear how wonderful Ellie is, just confirms what we already know. Ellie is doing great and we addressed our concerns for reading comprehension and she will continue to get help. We took her out for a cupcake afterwards.
Tuesday we headed downtown to Macy's with Mom, Dad, Ole, Tony and Teo. We were able to get right in because we arrived early. We sat in the back but had a smaller tree right by us. It was a nice lunch together. We tried to see Santa but the line was longer than it has ever been. We walked over to the Christkindlmart to see Santa but he hadn't arrived there yet. We walked around and smelled the food. We walked and saw the windows at Macy's on the way back to the car. We stopped at the Panaderia, the Mexican bakery, on the way home to pick up some sweets.
Today the kids and I went over to the GGs to help set the table for tomorrow. Ellie and Nick both helped out and we were able to get the table beautifully set in just a few minutes. Dean, Abby and Jordy came over for lunch and to play this afternoon. We went to Mom and Dad's so Ellie could help out with a project and then we came home and just sort of relaxed.
Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Running Here, Running There

Must be near Christmas because the running around has begun.
I honestly can't even really remember what I did on Thursday or Friday. I know I have been busy listing. I got almost 150 items listed the past couple days. I had about 30 items sell over the last couple days. It is fun when I do bulk listings, when items don't sell I can re-list them all at one time. All of those listings end at the same time, too. I got email after email yesterday when they sold.
I ran to Salvation yesterday morning, Ellie watched Nick. I was able to quickly grab about 30 items. I came home and got them into the laundry. The kids got dressed and we went to their bank to deposit their change jar - $30.00 each in change. We ran to the Morton Grove Salvation and I was able to get another couple items. Nick had a birthday party for a friend. They were seeing Free Bird at the theater and then lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. We dropped him off and then Ellie and I had a mom/daughter afternoon. We went and had a manicure together. Ellie loved it. The one technician offered to do some nail art for her. It was freezing outside but we went and walked around Old Orchard. We picked Nick up and came home. I did more laundry and we cuddled up and watched Turbo.
Today was spent inside the house, frigid outside. I organized my ebay bins and was able to purge a couple. I did about 6 loads of laundry and put away a couple bins of ours. I got busy listing but there was too much going on...the kids running through the house, food being eaten, tripping over bins...I decided to just press all my shirts and finish listing tomorrow. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We ordered El Famous and had a great time together.
I am calling all spare positive thoughts...our friend, Rosie, is still having a tough time. Her doctors are perplexed at a rash she has, they think it is a drug reaction but they aren't sure which one. Also, my friend's, Debbie and Dan could use some. Dan has decided to stop treatment. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Laid Back Days

This has been a laid back week. I have just been watching listings close and mailing things out. Of course I got an email from eBay tonight with free listings for the next 5 days, so I will be productive again. I was able to get grocery shopping done on Monday. I did a run to unique but didn't leave with much. Dean and the girls came to watch Ellie's game. I don't know what happened our team but they were on fire. Ellie scored twice and was the center for the tip off. She played an awesome game, EPS won 22-6.
Rob and I got to do some early morning Target shopping yesterday. Rob worked late Monday night so he didn't have to work until the afternoon. I volunteered at school. I checked out a new thrift store and was able to get a bag of ties.
I went thrifting today but ended up with things for us. I got Nick a pair of boots for the winter. I found this great pottery bowl that you bake bread in. Mom and Dad came for dinner. We had taco night. We watched the Middle and cuddled on the couch.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Why did we rake?

The wind, rain, hail, and more howling wind was quite incredible today. I spent a little bit of time raking on Friday and Rob spent a couple minutes this morning until the lightening started. It's mostly on our lawn again.
Not too much to share. Had my visit with Dr. Marsh on Thursday. My labs were the best they have been in months. My white blood count is finally not in the "!" Value. My glucose was on the low end and my absolute lymph has not rebounded but he isn't concerned. I will see him again in 6 months.
Friday afternoon Ellie had a basketball game. They were able to defeat the undefeated Lincoln Hall. It was a good game. The kids and I went to Cici's for a celebratory dinner.
Saturday morning. Ellie and I had Lauren's baby shower. Nick and Rob went up to help Dean with some home projects. The shower was nice and Ellie was a great helper. We went back to their house after the shower so the kids could play for a little while.
We were the parents for church Sunday school this morning. We were able to get in a couple minute visit after church with our friends Cindy, Keith, and Barb. We came home and did some major cleaning up. Once again,  eBay has kept me too busy to clean the house up during the week. We had dinner with Mom, Dad, Jo and the boys.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Wednesday Already?

Time is flying by. Not too much to share tonight. I have been busy listing and shipping. I finally brought my kids clothing upstairs and have started to tackle those. We went to the dentist last night. Ellie is cavity free for the 11th year in a row! Nick has another small cavity on one of his molars, not really his fault since he is a diligent brusher...it is the flovent inhaler.
Ellie had a basketball game tonight, unfortunately, they lost. Mom came to the game and then over for dinner. We ordered Chinese and brought it in since the game didn't end until 6:00.
I have my 6 month Dr Marsh visit tomorrow morning. Just blood work and an office visit. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Fall Trip

Sorry about the late post...we were on our annual family fall trip and I forgot it was Sunday last night. 

We left on Saturday and came back today. It was a great getaway, fun to see how they change year to year. Yesterday we started a puzzle in the afternoon, Mom and I finished it at 2AM. We went swimming once. The pool was in a clubhouse and we had to drive to get there and it was just too cold to do it again. We shopped at the outlet mall. The kids got Build a Bear's as their souvenir of the trip. 

Driving home was a bit tricky today. The snow was already coming down when we woke up this morning. We drove slow and took our time. We watched a couple near accidents as people hurried to switch lanes and then we actually had an accident happen about 50 yards in front of us on the highway...luckily we were driving slow enough to slow down and get through it. 

Ebay has been going great still. I have free auctions through the 16th so I will be busy listing this week to try to cut through some of these boxes. 

Rosie's transplant was on Friday and she is doing well. She will be there for the next 100 days recovering. 

Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Winner, Winner

Not too much to share tonight. I had a wonderful surprise yesterday afternoon when the UPS man delivered a box. He carried it to the door and told me it was too heavy for me. I had him put it inside and I looked at the label...it was for me! Long story made short...I won 67 pounds of handmade soap. I have been buying soap from The Soap Guy for about 8 years now. He is a local artisan and makes incredible soap. I have ordered for parties, gifts and our own use. He has contests all the time and I won his Facebook Friday contest...24 loaves of handmade soap. I was like a kid Christmas morning opening my boxes and smelling each scent. This was so timely, too, because I like to include a sample size soap with my ebay purchases. It keeps the clothing smelling nice and it is something that sets me apart from other sellers. Now, I have like a years supply of soap!

I did my thrift run on Monday. I started at Unique and found some nice new clothes to flip. I went to Avenues and lucked out with some Christmas items. I have been listing items each day and have a couple items being sold each day. 

We found a local Chinese restaurant we finally like. We have tried local ones and they always have something we don't like - flavor, price, texture. We tried Happy Chef and really liked it all. The selection, flavor, price - they are a winner. 

Ellie and Nick were able to see a magic show tonight while I attended some informational sessions at school. They really enjoyed it. Rob is working late a few night this week. 

I am asking for positive thoughts for our friend, Rosie. She has been at the hospital since Friday and has been getting extremely strong chemo and has full body radiation tomorrow. Her bone marrow transplant will be on Friday. 

Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday to Me

Thursday was a rainy Halloween. At times it did slow down but it was still wet. The party at school went well. The kids were happy with the snacks and crafts. Rob took Nick out for the first part of trick or treating. Ellie had basketball practice. I picked her up when Nick and Rob got back. Rob had to work so I took the kids out but we only went a couple blocks because the wind picked up and we were soaked.
Friday I got my bins organized. I was able to combine bins and re-cycle a couple to re-use. I was able to get a bit of listing done, too. I did my Salvation run to pull for Saturday. Ellie had her 1st basketball game at school. Nick and I headed over and Rob met us there. It was nice that it was a home game because Nick was able to visit with some of his friends and it kept him busy. Ellie made a basket and scored for her team. We left at halftime because we had tickets to the circus. We picked dinner up on the way. Although it was a fun night, I don't know that we will do it again next year.
Saturday morning I went to Salvation. Ellie watched Nick for me. I came home and picked up the kids and we went to the other Salvation. We also did a quick run into Michael's and Big Lots. We came home and Rob had finished working and was showered and ready for fun. We had an early dinner at El Jardin. Nick tried a tamale but didn't care for it. We had gelato from Mariano's for my birthday treat. We were able to pick up yogurt for lunches this week.
We had a laid back day today. I got to sleep in! Rob and Nick raked the leaves...quite a pile out at the curb. I got my listings packaged and ready to mail out. Ellie made cupcakes from scratch. I packed up Halloween and got a bunch of loads of laundry done. Ellie and I ran to Target to check out clearance and picked up a bunch of stuff. All the food was on sale, we stocked up on goldfish! We went to Mom and Dad's for family Sunday. We were celebrating my birthday and Teo's 2nd birthday. Mom made lasagna, broccoli, salad, fruit, broco-slaw, cranberry sauce, and vegetable soup. Monkey bread and cake for dessert. It was fun! The kids dressed in their costumes since we didn't see each other for Halloween.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Halloween

Short post tonight because not too much new here.
I have been busy listing, mailing and buying. I love it when I can get a dozen or 2 dozen items out the door each day.
Ellie is officially on the 6th grade basketball team. All her games are at home and she will be done by Christmas. She came home today thrilled that "her row" was finally filled in and she got the reward for Principal's 100. She gets to pick a friend and play wiffle ball with the principal.
I volunteered at school yesterday. I got to help refine some stories and work on story boards with a few friends. I stopped at Target afterwards to pick up a couple things I needed for the school party but I was also able to get some presents I needed.
Rob has been busy at work. He has to stream the volleyball game tomorrow night - North vs West.
Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We had a great time. We put together a puzzle - might have to look for more because it brought us all together. The kids put on a magic show.
Should be a busy rest of the week...Halloween, 1st basketball game, rummage sales/thrifting, my birthday, family Sunday.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Another Whirlwind

This weekend has been non-stop adventures. I did some thrifting on Thursday. I tried doing my Salvation pull on Thursday...my stuff wasn't together on Saturday, so I won't be doing it that early again. I went in for my meeting with the speech therapist at school. Nick will be getting one session a week of speech for about a dozen specific sounds. Ellie helped me make some double chocolate zucchini muffins. I just love that combo.
I listed on Friday, got a bunch of items up. Ellie had her first middle school rec night. It was a costume party since they don't get Halloween parties at that age. Ellie was Mary Poppins. We have been thrifting items for almost a year now. She had the daisy hat, a black blazer, a long black skirt, a white collared shirt, and the purse. She looked great and she won for one of the 3 best costumes! She won a 3 foot long tube of bubble gum. Nick and I had a date while she had rec night. We went to Panera to eat. I thought they would have their fireplace on but they didn't, we still sat next to it. We went to Mariano's and did some grocery shopping and got gelato for dessert. I had a great time with him.
Saturday morning I ran to Salvation and re-picked my items. I picked up the kids and we ran to a rummage sale in Evanston. Not too much there. We stopped by Mom's house for a few minutes on our way home. We went to Trunk or Treat at St. Paul's. The kids were amazed that one lady was giving out Nerd Ropes, apparently a favorite of theirs. We went to the Downtown Skokie Halloween event. A bit tricky since most of the sidewalks are torn up and are actively being worked on. It was nice that the sun was shining and didn't make the day so bad. The kids racked up candy and then got to decorate a pumpkin at the end.
We came home and Ellie got ready for Catherine's murder mystery birthday party. She was Amile, the maid. She was to come dressed up "formal." She wore one of the dresses we had from her fashion party. She accessorized with some costume jewelry of Aunt Linda's and Grandma Chocolate's fur shrug. She looked dynamite. Nick and Rob were going to have a date night and Jo and I were going out again. Jo picked me up and we went to El Jardin for dinner and then went and did some thrifting. I was able to pick up a couple things to flip. I came home to the news that Ellie's character was the murderer.
This morning we began the day at church. We were able to take home some pumpkins they had leftover from the harvest festival. We stopped at an estate sale on the way home. Ellie and I ran in and I was able to get a very cheap puzzle for the school party this week. Found a couple other things too. We came home and the boys went out to rake leaves and Ellie helps me clean the first floor. I feel accomplished. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made chili, noodles, asparagus, broccoli, and pumpkin bread. I brought a pineapple and apple pie and Jo made mummy dogs. It was a fun time and it is good to see Tony and Matteo feeling better.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

It is Already Wednesday?

A friend posted this link today and I found it so funny that I had to share... 19 signs you are addicted to thrift shopping... http://www.buzzfeed.com/summeranne/19-signs-youre-addicted-to-thrift-shopping
I can see myself in quite a few of these and I also could probably double the list with my own.
I have been listing like crazy this week and stepping outside my comfort zone. I picked up some Royal Dalton chine today and listed it and some HP printer ink. I joined this group that is all thrifters and people are always posting BOLOs (be on the look out) and printer ink, even expired, gets nice return on investment.
I volunteered at school yesterday. It was fun getting to know the kids a bit more. I was helping them write their Halloween stories. I did make sure to use the hand sanitizer on my way out of the classroom.
I made some yummy squash and apple side last night to heat up the house. I baked a bunch of potatoes and sweet potatoes for the week. I did a great 10 minute clean on the kitchen and got most of the counter tops cleaned off.
I had some thrift remorse and took a drive out to Northbrook to pick up an outfit I saw on Sunday. I had a very similar outfit that I hadn't listed yet and didn't know how it was going to sell. I listed it Tuesday afternoon and it sold overnight. I killed a couple birds with one stone...I stopped in Deerfield for my vision test at the DMV. It would have been great of them to tell me that I would be getting a new license too because I might have put some make up on and brushed my hair. I was able to pickup the outfit and a couple more things at Goodwill. I then checked out a new thrift store. I found their clothing prices too pricey for my taste but I did get the china, printer ink, and a couple toys.
I did a market research study with a healthy care company looking to develop some software/app for patients and survivors. Mom came over for dinner. I heated up the potatoes and squash and added some chick'n tenders and broccoli and cauliflower. Ellie helped me and we made 2 apple pies. Mom brought corn pudding and chocolate covered strawberries. We watched the Middle and got the kids to bed.
I got Nick's report back from the speech pathologist at school and had the biggest laugh because she was describing the test and the results and it was such a vivid description that I could totally see/hear Nick doing that exact thing.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Sweetest Day

Not too much new and different to share. I have been having a good ebay run. I have 3 items I bought at full price at Salvation sell within hours of listing. Not too shabby...$6.99 investment to $40.00-$45.00 sale price.
I got to see Lee a couple more time before she left this weekend. It was just like old times and I was spoiled by all the time we got to spend together this past week.
Rob went to his 25th high school reunion this weekend. I took him to the airport Friday morning and he got back this evening.
I did my thrift store run on Saturday and was able to grab and run. We went to the rummage sale at St. Francis. Not as good as years past but we still left with 2 bags of clothes. I was able to get most of the clothes washed and even a bunch of it listed.
Mom and Dad took the kids last night and Jo and I went out for Sweetest Day. We did some more thrift shopping and then got dinner. We tried Roccanto's in Rosemont. It was pretty good and nicely priced.
We had lunch with Lauren, Dean, Abby & Jordy today. We met them out in Wheeling. It was nice to visit and see them, it has been too long.
We had dinner at Mom and Dad's tonight. It was make your own taco night. Corn pudding and homemade apple sauce completed the meal. We missed Jo and the boys...T has walking pneumonia and Teo has an ear infection.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Just Like the Old Days

Gosh, it has been some time since I blogged back to back.
I neglected to remember that my girlfriend, Lee, is in town and I was able to see her a couple times last week.
I got my favorite email from ebay last night giving me free listings until the 26th, so I spent today getting my clothing in order and beginning to list. I went to volunteer in Nick's classroom. He did great while I was there and I was sitting close enough to hear him reading the 1st grade words. He got 120/200 correct and more than doubled his score from the last time he read them a few weeks ago.
It was Ellie's last volleyball game today. East Prairie won all their games...4/4! Ellie did some great serving and we were proud of her. Rob was able to come and watch the games and Mom and Dad came, too. We picked up dinner and ate here. We all watched Toy Story Halloween, pretty cute. I went grocery shopping with Lee after the kids went to sleep.
The positive thoughts are working, our friend, Rosie, got news today that she is officially in remission and with her bone marrow transplant she will be assured her leukemia will never return. Still could use some positive thoughts for some other family and friends. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree
PS - Funniest ebay listing ever (and make sure you read the description) just proves one persons trash is another persons treasure... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Half-Chewed-Cole-Haan-Wingtip-by-Emerging-Canine-Artist-Left-Shoe-Size-11-5D-/290991841025?nma=true&si=p9drua25QKY6KMN%252B2NDQVg33s1A%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

The Real Fall Getaway

Thanks for your patience in getting this post ready...it is a pain to post via the ipad because my fingers end up cramping up.
Last Thursday I went with Mom and Dad up to Grandma Chocolate's house to get some boxes ready for donation and do a last look over to see if there was anything else we wanted. We came back here for lunch - reheats from Wednesday night. Ellie had a game on Thursday night. They won 3/4 games they played. Ellie had another string of repeat points. Rob took the kids to Dengeo's for dinner afterwards and I went to school for Nick's conference. I knew some interesting things before I got there...Nick came off the bus with the news that Mrs. Berkowitz would be returning something of his to me...his pocket knife. Yup, it magically slipped into his pocket and he took it to school, he also handed it over to the supervisor at lunch. His conference went well and the pocket knife was less of an issue than I thought.
Friday was a long day. It was homecoming at Niles North. After the kids got home from school we quickly got ready for the parade and game. The parade was cute but suprememly shortened route (around the school and onto the track). The game sort of stunk...we lost. There were fireworks after the game which sort of lessened the blow. Rob was part of the unveiling of the new spirit stick and pulled something in his leg...he can't walk real well.
Saturday morning we were up and out early. We drove to Dearborn, Michigan for a weekend getaway. We stopped for lunch in Kalamazoo and were able to get to the hotel and checked in by 4PM. We had evening plans at Greenfield Village. They had a special Halloween event. We all dressed up and trick or treated around the village. It was magical, there were over 1,000 pumpkins that made a path around the park. Nick had another tooth that was hanging by a string and actively gushing blood. He didn't want to eat anything and it was annoying him but he was nervous about the tooth fairy finding us in Michigan.
Sunday morning after breakfast Nick pulled his tooth out. Although it did bleed a bit, he was at least able to eat again. We did some thrifting on our way to the Village. Found a great thrift chain up there and some real good bargains. We got to the village a bit before lunchtime. We split up, boys and girls. Ellie and I went and walked around the park while Nick and Rob took the train around the village and stayed at the roundhouse. Ellie got to be the apprentice at the print shop again. We went to Mexicantown after we left. I had read there were some good restaurants there. We went to the Panederia for some sweets and then across the street for a late lunch. It was delicious food and they were decorated for Dia de los Muertos. Ellie and I walked around the area and went into a couple of the shops after. We went back to the hotel and went swimming for a bit. We got the kids to sleep early since we had a few late nights.
Monday we traveled from Detroit to the cottage. We stopped in East Lansing to treat ourselves to some ince cream from the MSU Dairy. It was delicious. They had the Big Ten flavors...Ohio Buckeye was a favorite of most. It was very tasty and I would highly recommend it if you are near there. We took the scenic back roads to the cottage...took us double the time but it was beautiful fall foliage. We stopped off at Crane's and picked apples. There trees were still loaded and the apples were so sweet. It was pretty cool, we were able to drive our car right to the row we wanted to pick from. We got to the cottage in the late afternoon. We got the heaters on and then went into town to do our final recycling haul. We got back just in time to see the last sunset of the season. I think there were only about 6 families in the whole park. I made a mistake of not saving my wine for right before bed and when I finally went upstairs it took about 3 hours to fall asleep.
We all slept in this morning. Ellie and I were making pancakes when I went to wash my hands and realized the water was not flowing. I guess when they say the water is turned off on the 15th, it means the first thing in the morning. Rob was able to get a couple pails of water from the pump out front to finish dishes and flush the toilets. We cleaned up and got the car packed and headed out. We stopped off for an ice cream treat but needed to got to Bubble's because Oink's was closed. We got home in time for me to pack up my ebay items that sold over the weekend and for Sandra to pick them up. We set up our indoor Halloween and I made tacos for dinner. We have all showered and are clean and warm.
I have a handful of friends and family that need some positive thoughts right now. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Fall Getaway

I know it is blog post night but I don't have the energy needed to post using the ipad. I will post on Tuesday.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Wacky Wednesday

Not truly wacky but I couldn't think of another title.
Monday morning I did my run to Unique. I found a basket full of clothes. I came home and got laundry going and did a bit of listing in the afternoon.
Tuesday morning I went to school to volunteer. It is fun getting to know the kids. I ran to Costco afterwards. I was able to score some clearance priced food and found they now carry Gardein veggie burgers. The weather has been awesome and the kids have been able to play outside after homework each day.
Today I was out and about trying to replenish inventory. I found Rob a baseball mitt at a garage sale. I went to scout out Salvation Army, found a couple good things. I decorated our front door to look like a friendly monster today...it's cute. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. It was truly a fridge clean out meal...veggie burgers, broccoli, asparagus, cranberry sauce, kale salad and Mom brought applesauce and cabbage. We watched our Wednesday night TV and had a great time. I got an email from Ellie's math teacher, she had given a pop quiz in class and she was impressed with Ellie's achievements.
Busy rest of the week. Ellie has a game tomorrow, I have a conference for Nick, parade and homecoming on Friday. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Finally Feels Like Fall

I love that the cold front has come through...I have cute fall clothes I have been waiting to wear. Plus...this having to shave my legs to wear shorts in October thing - stinks!
It has been a busy couple days. Thursday morning I ran to Unique and found a couple things that were excellent. A North Face jacket that will be my winter coat if it doesn't sell. I couple great shirts that I have already listed and they have bids.
Friday afternoon Ellie had a volleyball tournament. The team has vastly improved over the past weeks. They won 4/6 games that they played. Ellie had a 5 point serving roll. They only let you score 5 points before you need to rotate positions. Rob took a half day and was in Michigan by early afternoon. After the game we had dinner at Red Robin and then took advantage of the bank coupons and had ice cream.
Saturday morning Ellie watched Nick so I could do a quick grab at Salvation Army. We headed up to Gurnee for our thrifting adventure. Founds some good things. Found a new thrift store to hit on the way home. We tried our luck at a store I saw on TV called Bargain in a Box. It had started lightly drizzling when we went in but once inside it began pouring. The store is pretty cool, looks like they buy damaged packages and closeouts from Costco and CVS and other stores. We waited and waited for the rain to slow down to run to the car. I realized we were parked in a low section of the lot and the water was almost up to the door. Roads were flooded over...I was glad to come home and find we just had a tiny bit of water by the drain.
Today we had a laid back day. Ellie helped me organize my bins and alphabetize my inventory. I think this will be an easier way of trying to find which bin and item is in. We ran to the Mexican bakery and market to pick up some treats for Ellie to bring to school. The kids played outside for a bit this afternoon. We did our first sweep of tree branches in the yard...I don't think I will miss that tree when it is gone. Rob got back this afternoon, he had a very productive weekend. We went to Mom and Dad's for family Sunday. Jo, Ole and the boys didn't join us because they are sick. We celebrated our German heritage with Oktoberfest. Spaetzle, cabbage, sauerkraut, applesauce, potato pancakes, Pork, Faux Turkey. Apple strudel and cookies for dessert.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Slowing Down A Bit

I have slowed down a bit this week. I did my Unique run on Monday morning and ended up with a couple bags of shirts. I stopped by Mom and Dad's to see if Mom wanted to shop my treasures before I listed them...she took me up on one. I was able to come home and wash my shirts and get them listed by the afternoon. Already had a few sell.
Tuesday morning I awoke to Nick by my bed with his tooth in his had. Nick finally lost his first tooth. He was so pleased. I went and did some grocery shopping at Aldi. I was able to get in and out in under 20 minutes. I started volunteering in Nick's classroom. I got to work with a few students, nice group of students. I was busy in the afternoon shipping clothes out. I have had 2 bins a day for Sandra to take. After we picked Ellie up from volley ball, we went to Whole Foods to pick up the things I couldn't find at Aldi. We picked out things for dinner. I cooked while the kids played outside for a bit.
I did my run to my newest thrift store this morning and was able to leave with an arm load of clothes for $12.00. I went to Allstate Arena to purchase our tickets for the circus. We are going opening night ... not main floor seats but 3rd row balcony. I continued my thrift roll and found a few things at Goodwill. I did some listing and mailing this afternoon. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We had yummy pasta with chic'n strips, broccoli and cauliflower, fruit, and salad. Cookies for dessert. We watched the Middle together before they went home.
I think as the weeks go on I will find the right swing. This week I have taken at least an hour a day to get out of the house. Our friend, Rosie, needs some positive thoughts and energy this week. She will be headed to the Children's Hospital in Milwaukee soon for her transplant. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday, Rob!

Rob's birthday was on Thursday. We celebrated at dinner. It was Panther Days, the school's fundraising day, at Dengeo's, so we picked up dinner and ate at home. I had run out earlier in the day to pick up groceries and a cookie cake from Mariano's. I volunteered at school during lunchtime, I helped sell tickets for the fun fair. We had a lovely dinner with the kids.
Friday was more ebay fun. I did run out in the morning to a couple thrift stores and a rummage sale. Major thrift scores! I told Rob, the problem with being so busy with ebay is that I have no time for my usual "household" things. It was a very successful ebay week and I looked at Rob and said RR. We went and had dinner at Red Robin. It was perfect, we had a gift card and we were all hungry and there wasn't food in the house. We went and walked around the mall afterward. We went to Michael's and Half Price Books. The kids each picked out a new book and we found a couple DVDs for the car. Ellie picked up rubber bands for her rainbow loom.
Saturday was a running here, running there day. I did a quick run over to Salvation. I was able to pull about 20 things in 30 minutes. I came home a Rob left to go do a side job. The kids and I did a rummage run. We had great success in Northbrook and ok success at Niles North. We went to the Fun Fair at school. Ellie was volunteering with student government, Nick played games. I sat in the grass with my friend and soaked in the sunshine. It was a gorgeous day. We came home and the kids played. I did some more listing and packaging. I found a pile of coupons that were expiring from the library reading program. We decided to use the Cici's coupon and have a cheap dinner.
Today we began the day at church. Rob and I were the parents for Nick's Sunday school group. After church we went to Kohl's. I had a 30% off coupon and Rob needed some new shoes and I wanted to look for a new vacuum. Rob found a couple pairs of shoes he liked for work. Ellie found a pair of gym shoes on super clearance. I found a new vacuum on super clearance. We came home and did some cleaning up around here. We decorated the outside for Halloween. Rob cut out some new wood decorations for the yard. Ellie started to paint them but we need to buy some more colors. I got mega laundry done. I am getting quite good at removing random stains out of clothes! We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made beef stroganoff, fake meat for the rest of us, noodles, salad, broccoli, and strawberries. For dessert, chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and real key lime pie. Dad took the kids to the park to play for a bit. We came home and the kids took their showers and we did some reading before bed.
If you have some spare time, please keep my friends in your thoughts tomorrow. Dan is going in for a scan to determine if he is a candidate for surgery to remove his cancer. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

Ebay has been my full time job this past week. I have listed close to 300 items this past week. That is equivalent to about 13 large storage bins of clothing! I have had a number of people use the Buy It Now and make my profit wonderfully high. Today concludes my free listings, so I am taking a bit of a break tomorrow. Our mail lady, Sandra, informed me this afternoon that she can take all my packages to the post office for me, Score! This afternoon I had about 30 packages and boxes that she took for me.
Ellie had her first volleyball game yesterday. Our neighbor, Rustine, came with Nick and me to the game. Rob met us after work. East Prairie played 3 different schools. They won 1 game and lost 2. They will get better as the weeks go on. I like how they were very supportive of each other and they had great team spirit.
Nick has two teeth that are on the verge of falling out. I felt bad for him this morning because his gums were bleeding as he ate breakfast.
Mom and Dad came over for dinner tonight. It was a bizarre meal because I really need to go grocery shopping. We had pasta, potato cakes, corn pudding, salad, and biscuits. I took a loaf of banana bread out of the freezer. We were able to get back into the swing of things with our Wednesday night sitcoms.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday, Jo

It has been such a whirlwind last part of the week...in a good way.
I have been up to my eyeballs with ebay. I opened a storefront, basically a cyber store front on ebay. It allows me to re-list easier, have a bigger profile, a smaller final fee, and less fees in general. I have been able to list about 5 boxes so far, about 160 items. I have already sold about 2 dozen items with people taking advantage of buy it now pricing. I have really gotten back into the swing of things and I really like listing on the iPad now.
Friday I took a break from listing to do a bit of rummaging. I hit the local sale in Skokie and was able to find a snowsuit and a couple hats. I am now sure if I am going to list them or keep them. I had a huge score at a garage sale. They had about 2 dozen ziploc bags with legos. They weren't sorted and had no directions but I could see partially built cars, trucks, planes...so I knew they were sets once upon a time. I asked how much they were and she said $5 a bag, which is a great price but I saw the helicopter pieces in 2 different bags. I asked the price for all her bags and she let me have them for $35.00...11 pounds of Legos! Mom and Dad came over in the afternoon to pick Nick up from the bus, a deal they made earlier. They took Nick home with them and I waited for Ellie. We made a quick stop at Unique for the 50% off sale - great score there. Ellie found this super cute limited edition purse for $1.49. I found about a dozen shirts to list. I found a Stitch costume for Matteo. Mom and Dad took the kids for a movie and dinner night. Rob and I picked up Dengeo's and then went to Menards - we are lame!
Saturday was a thrift fest. We were nutty and headed Northwest again. I hit a great garage sale that was liquidating a artsy store. I found such great gift items there. We went to both Salvation Army stores and got a bunch of great stuff. We went to a garage sale of retired Lego builders. This couple would make the large 3D Lego designs and they have retired and were selling off all their stock. We came home and the kids played outside.
This morning, in the wee hours, Ellie woke up hacking. I forgot to include her ibuprofen with her vitamins and she woke up to a migraine. Poor girl woke up about every half hour. Rob and Nick went to church and Ellie and I stayed home. Ellie said this migraine felt different, the location of the pain had changed. Ellie did her homework and I worked on listing on ebay. Ellie helped when she finished up. The boys came home around lunchtime. The kids played with the Legos and art stuff all afternoon. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We celebrated Jo's birthday. We had make your own tacos, corn pudding, rice, and fruit. Lime pudding pie and strawberry shortcake for dessert. The kids went to the park with Dad and Ole. We came home and the kids went right outside to play. Rob trash picked this plastic 3 drawer dresser thing and it turned out to be the perfect new Lego storage. I was able to dump all our bins of Legos into the unit and store them together.
Visualising my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Auto Pilot

The days seem to be running into each other this week. I really haven't left the house other than to go grocery shopping. I have been listing, listing, and listing on ebay. I got all my costumes listed because right now is the time to cash in on those. I started listing my boxed clothing today. I decided against re-washing all of them and I have just been tumbling them in the dryer with a wet towel to refresh them. I am taking a slightly different approach and I just want my current stuff out of the house and I have been listing them with a Buy It Now option and I already had 2 shirts I listed today sell. I still have mountains of clothes to list. I don't imagine I will get them all up and listed before the 25th, that is when my free listings conclude.
Ellie started her volleyball practices this week. She is enjoying it and I am glad she is involved in something she likes. Nick and Ellie had Catherine and Susannah over on Monday afternoon. It was just like old times and they all played nicely with each other.
Mom and Dad came over for dinner tonight. We had faux turkey burgers, salad, broccoli and cauliflower, watermelon, and pasta. Mom brought muffins for dessert. We played games and the boys played with trains. We are all looking forward to the new season on the Middle starting next week.
I have caught a cold, lots of sneezing and a bit of congestion. Hoping it goes away soon. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Ahhh, Fall Weather

The temperature has plunged and there is a bit of rain but I much prefer this to the 90-100 degree days.
Not too much to share tonight. Rob went up to Michigan for the weekend to get some projects done. The kids and I went to the North football game on Thursday night. It had cooled down and we agreed we would leave at halftime. The band was walking off the field when the rain began. We tried to run to the car but it was already pouring by then. We came home and took hot showers and went to bed.
Friday the kids had the day off of school and we went to Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day. Lots of babies have been born. We stopped in the Lily Pond - I don't think I have ever been in there, it was so neat. We stopped at Annette's Italian Ice for a refreshing treat. It is a wonderful thing that it is so far away from our house because it would be so dangerous if it was closer. We did a bit of thrifting on our way home. We had dinner at Mom and Dad's house and ordered in Chinese.
Saturday was a huge shopping adventure. We began the day at the bank for their appreciation day. The kids got to pick out an ice cream treat for the ride. We started off in Gurnee. I found out that the Lake Co. Salvation Army stores are now $.55 Saturday tags! We went to Jelly Belly for a tour and a treat. We hit Gurnee Mills. I think we hit most Salvation Army stores on the way home. We got home and had a bite to eat before getting the kids to sleep.
Today was baking weather. Ellie helped me and we made 2 different types of bread - zucchini, carrot, apple, and banana Biscoff chip. I made an apple crisp to take to Mom's for dinner. I made a giant pot of tortilla soup - I was going to bring some to Jo's (because they are sick) but she didn't want any. I froze a bunch and packaged some for our friends. The kids helped me change out their bed sheets. I did about a dozen loads of laundry today. Rob got home around lunchtime. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom had made meatballs, roasted potatoes, summer salad, and cantaloupe. I made asparagus and the apple crisp. We had a nice dinner together and then the girls played Clue and Dad and Nick played with trains.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Time is Flying...Again

Seems like this week is just speeding by. I don't think it is the extreme heat but it could be because I haven't really left the house. Monday morning I got the kids off on the bus and then went grocery shopping. I just did a quick run into Aldi and was happy with what I was able to get there. A bit on the nutty side...I did some baking. I had some peaches that really needed to be used and there were too many to just eat. I found a recipe for vegan peach cobbler cookies and I was able to double it and use all the peaches. They smelled incredible and tasted the same. It was a good thing fridge space was tight and I had to freeze a bunch of them. In the afternoon, I spent some time going through Lego's and separating them out into types and categories. I was able to color sort all the bricks and then group sets together to sell on ebay. It was way too hot for the kids to play outside even though they really wanted to. I got dinner together - I really didn't want to heat the house up but made a quick pesto ravioli and then we had leftovers and fruit.
Tuesday I got the kids on the bus and spent the day in the basement putting sets of Lego's together. It was picture day at school. Ellie wanted curly hair for her picture. We tried the night before to do some twist and pin them for the night. Nick asked if it was crazy hair picture day. The twist curls didn't come out and Ellie wet her hair and we put it into a bun. I was able to find instruction and part lists online and print them out to sort out the various sets. I can ask far more money if a set is complete. I had far more than I knew I had, complete set wise. I was able to sort and bag about a dozen sets. The kids came home and we did homework. They wanted to play outside but it was so hot again. We had dinner and we did our reading early so we could watch AGT but that ended up coming on late because of the Presidential speech.
Today was another hot day spent in the basement. I tried my hand at listing on the iPad. It seemed to take longer but at the same time I didn't have to take pictures and downloading them to then have to upload them - if that makes any sense. I also listed as Buy it Now instead of auctions - we shall see. When I got Nick from the bus we went to see how the garden was holding up and discovered a hole in the cucumber box. I thought it was possibly from the sprinkler but when Nick went to cover it up - a mouse looked out the hole. I am disgusted - there is a mouse living in my garden - yuck. I put a bunch of bait blocks out and hopefully they will die. Mom came over early because it was curriculum night at school. Rob and Dad both ditched us tonight. Mom made a chick'n salad and I steamed some cauliflower and broccoli and cut up a delicious watermelon. We were able to play a couple rounds of Scategories before Ellie and I had to leave. Ellie had volunteered to watch younger children while parents went to classrooms. I got to sit in Nick's desk and hear about 1st grade. I then got to climb up and down stairs to meet all of Ellie's teachers. We came home and I walked Mom out. It is still hot and gross out - hopefully some relief comes tomorrow.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Grandparent's Day

Rob and the kids had the day off on Thursday and we decided on a road adventure. We headed out for some thrifting and shopping but we weren't all too successful. We did have a lovely lunch together.
Friday morning Rob was up super early. Niles North was picked for a local news station to film a fly over in the morning. Here is a link if you want to check it out...http://abc7.ws/1dYTeE9 , I got the kids on the bus and went up to Highland Park for rummage-bonanza, 4 churches were holding sales. I don't know if people are keeping things longer or passing them along to friends, but the sales were lackluster. I walked out of one with nothing and only got about 10 things total. I did end up with costumes for Rob and me, and possibly Nick. Rob worked late, too. I dropped the kids at Mom and Dad's for a sleepover. They were having an outdoor movie night, Dad had set a projector up in the yard. Rob and I decided to pick up Chipotle and stay in. We took a long walk after dinner.
Saturday morning I tried to get back in the swing of Salvation but didn't have too much luck. I picked the kids up - they had an awesome time. We came home and got ready for the afternoon. We were heading to North for the football game. It was hot on Saturday and we decided we would only stay until halftime. By the time that arrived, the lightening sensors were going off and it was time to head home. Rob had to stay to finish taping the game and live streaming it onto the website. Rob and I thought we had dinner plans with friends but it turned out we had the day wrong and we messed up. This entailed a bunch of running around until we found out our error. Mom and Dad picked up the kids for the night, I brought Rob clothes at work to change, we hurried to the restaurant - only to realize we were the only ones there and there was no reservation. A quick email check, and we would discover the 8th is Sunday - not Saturday. I called Mom and let her know they could drop the kids back at home on their way home from grocery shopping. I put together a quick dinner and we all ate together.
Today we began the morning at church. We came home and Rob mowed the lawn. Nick and I worked on organizing his toy bins. I am very impressed, we had 2 garbage bags filled with donations, and 1 with garbage. All his bins in the back room are organized and we have a ton of space under the tv now. His room is super clean, and I went through all his clothing while he made some toy decisions. Ellie was busy working on her newest craft obsession - duct tape art. We have wallets, bookmarks, pen toppers - you name it. We headed over to Mom and Dad's for Family Sunday. We were celebrating Grandma GG's, Jo's, and Rob's birthdays, and Grandparent's Day. Mom had veggie burgers and hot dogs, brats, asparagus, pasta, pierogi, corn pudding, and salad. Cannoli cake and cupcakes for dessert. It was a lovely afternoon to spend outside. When we came home we took a family walk before showers and bed.
Well, today marks 3 years of being free of cancer. It is bizarre to think that it was 3 years ago that I had that major surgery that really changed my life. At times it seems like just yesterday and other times it seems like a lifetime ago. I have mentored 6 ladies through Imerman. I have participated in every research study that I have come across that deals with cancer. I have become friends with so many lovely people because of the common bond of cancer. I have lost a few friends, too. I am hopeful that my experience and the knowledge I gained from it continue to help people in their own journey. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Wow! 26,000 Views

Big statistic day, my blog has just hit 26,000 views. This is also post number 650. I have a bunch of viewers from Russia, Malaysia, and Germany. It makes me happy.
Monday we cleaned up a bit at the cottage. Rob and Dean pulled the beach box. We all went to the orchard and went peach and apple picking. The peaches were really in there last days. They were only picking Molly red's this past weekend. The apple trees are loaded, hoping we can get back there sometime this fall. We headed home after we picked. The highway was packed with police so we went the back roads home. We stopped at Oink's for our last ice cream of the season. We made great time home and arrived as Mom and Dad were dropping off mail. Ellie went with them shopping. Nick stayed home and played with trains. Rob and I went to work outside. We trimmed the shrubs on both sides of our yard. Hopefully, that will create some more ground growth. The kids and I had dinner with Mom and Dad, Rob stayed home and edited some videos. Nick has tried pizza twice in the past couple days and it has received a thumbs-up both times.
Tuesday morning I headed out to have lunch with Nana and Dean. We went to Winberie's and sat outside for lunch. It was nice, they didn't rush us and it was a lovely day to be outside. We walked back to Dean's and I said goodbye to Nana, she left today to go back to Florida. I did some grocery shopping on the way back home. I did some baking in the afternoon. The house was nice and cool from the windows begin open and I took advantage. I made a few loaves of double chocolate zucchini, and a few loaves of peach, banana, oat bread. I sent a couple loaves with Rob for our friends and froze the others for breakfasts. Rob took the kids to the park when he got home and I worked on dinner. We had a nice dinner - Nick tried new things again and liked them. I am liking the food experimentation.
Today I did some thrifting. Found about a dozen things to flip. I caught up on laundry this afternoon. I washed the gross kitchen floor. The kids came home from school and did their homework. Ellie is very excited that there will be a 6th grade volleyball team that she can be apart of. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We had Mexican - Mom made a summer salad (even included some of our garden veggies). We played Scategories again - it was funny because we were rolling the same letters as last week. The kids don't have school tomorrow, so they got to stay up to watch America's Got Talent.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Labor Day

It is our "closing" weekend at the cottage but we are coming up a couple more times this fall. It makes it easier because we don't need to do the huge clean up tomorrow.
We came up Saturday morning. Dean, Lauren, and the girls were only about 30 mi uses behind us. We have been able to get some time at the beach and the kids have had a good time playing together. It has been a laid back weekend. To or row we are planning on picking some apples and peaches at the orchard on our way home.
Not too much else to share and our connection keeps dropping out. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

I Have No Title

My brain is lacking the creativity for a proper title tonight. Not too much to share either. It is still hot and muggy outside. We have been to the pool in the evenings after homework. I took Kitty to the vet on Monday and she got a booster antibiotic shot. The vet thinks she looks about 70% better. Ellie and Nick are still liking school. I went in to meet with the speech pathologist about Nick. He hasn't outgrown some of his issues and he will be evaluated this week. Ellie's application was accepted and she is on student council for the year.
We had Wednesday night dinner with Mom and Dad tonight. Another good summer meal - I made fake chicken salad again, sauteed veggies, broccoli, watermelon, and pineapple. Mom made a cucumber & zucchini salad. I made a peach pie - tweaking the recipe a bit this time. We played Scategories after dinner - it was very laughable.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Why is it so Hot?

Thursday morning I got the kids up and out to the bus to school and I was off on an adventure. I dropped books off at the library and then took Rob's car to Ford. On his way home from Michigan he heard some noise and noticed the muffler was hanging. Luckily, it was a crappy, rainy day and I had nothing else to do but hang out as it was fixed. I went to Target and Costco...alone! I can't explain how awesome that was. While I love shopping with my children, I really love shopping without them. I hit Target and found great clearance. I was able to stock up on juice, milk, and lunch snacks at Costco. I came home and had to carry in all my bags in the rain but it felt good.
Friday morning the kids were off to school and I had plans with Mom and Dad. We went out to Steinmart but I think that was probably our last time intentionally going there...nothing good. We went to a different Target hoping to find some more great clearance. Didn't run into the things we were thinking but still found good things. We had lunch at El Famous - delicious food. We finished the day at Aldi. The kids got home from school and we took advantage of Rob working late to go check out craft stuff at Michael's. We stopped in to Half Price Books but didn't find any good movies.
Saturday morning Ellie and I were off to a rummage sale. Didn't score like we did last year but I did find some nice clothes for Nick for the fall and a skirt for Ellie for her Halloween costume. We ran into Salvation on the way home, haven't been there for a Saturday in months. Ended up with snow pants for the kids, a coat for Ellie and a couple other items - all for under $9.00. Rob went to do a side job and we cruised over to another rummage sale. No clothing finds but we did find a super cute shelving unit and mirror for Ellie's room and a set of shamrock green fiestaware. We came home and got our swimsuits on. We took advantage of the heat and went to the pool. We went to the Backlot Bash in the afternoon. Nick rode a couple rides, Ellie and I played Bingo, Ellie got henna work done on her hand. We came home and the kids played in the sprinkler while Rob and I relaxed in our chairs.
Today we started off the morning at church. They had just harvested a bunch of veggies from the community garden and we were able to take home a couple tomatoes, carrots and zucchini. We came home and I made a peach pie while Ellie did her homework. Nick and Rob played together. We all went to Lowe's for the workshop, the kids made another plane from Planes. This one went together easier than the previous one bit the decals were tricky. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made a bunch of veggies in hope of replicating a sandwich they had while they were on vacation. It was good.
The garden is loving the heat, us people, not so much. I take Kitty for a follow up visit tomorrow, she is still not herself. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

School Time

On Monday we had breakfast and I gave the kids a choice - stay for some beach time in Michigan or come home and have pool time...the pool won. We cleaned up and we did an art project together before rounding up all our stuff. We ate lunch and got on the road. We made wonderful time and didn't really hit any traffic. We stopped at Mariano's on the way home to pick up groceries for the week. We got home and unpacked and put groceries away and hit the pool. It was so crowded, I think maybe more than all summer long. We stayed a couple hours and came home. We had dinner together before I had to go to school for a quick meeting. Mom and Dad stopped by on their way home from their anniversary trip to wish the kids a great first day of school. I dropped off Nick's supplies and met with his teacher. I stopped at Target to pick up Ellie's calculator and came home to find lunches packed and ready. Nick went to bed very nervous about 1st grade.
Tuesday morning went very well. Everyone was up and ready. Ellie met me at the stairs with some bad news...we all forgot to pull Kitty's food and water for her vet visit. We ate breakfast and Nick and I talked about how it is normal to feel nervous about something we don't know about. I guess that helped because he didn't cry or complain again. We waited at the bus stop with Rustine and Tina. Tiselle is now in high school, so we are down to 3 at the bus stop. The kids were off and I came home. I had a cup of coffee and called the vet to reschedule our visit. I called AT&T to discuss what they could do to keep us as customers, they discounted our plan. I did some laundry and cleaned up around the house. Nick came home and he really enjoyed school. Ellie came home and was excited, too. We went to the pool since neither of them had homework. We came home and I got dinner going. We ate together and then got the kids to bed.
Today went well. I got the kids up and out to the bus. I dropped Kitty at the vet. The doctor wanted to sedate her to take a better look at the gland. I went to Mom's to pick up Tony - we were having a T&T day. We went to the pool for an hour. I wish we had better weather days this summer because I think he really had a good time at the pool. We went in the kids pool and he did the slides, we did the splash pad, and we played in the pool. We came home and changed and were off to Culver's for lunch. It was a nice afternoon. The kids came home still liking school. Ellie started working on homework while I called to check on Kitty. She was ready to be picked up. We cruised over and got her, she will go back next week for a booster antibiotic shot. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. It was so hot that I didn't really want to cook tonight. I made a fake chicken salad with Butler's. It was delicious. Mom made a couscous salad. Ellie ran intothe store and picked out a great watermelon. We watched the re-cap of AGT and then Mom and Dad left.
Although I am a bit sad not to have my daytime company anymore, I am real glad they like school. I will get ebay back up and going after Labor day. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Great Way to Go Back to School

School begins this week, Tuesday will be both Ellie and Nick's first day back. Seems like years since they were last in school, the summer has been so long. Ellie is very excited, Nick is pretty nervous.
Thursday we spent the day with Mom and Dad. They picked us up early and we went out to Crate and Barrel Outlet and Goodwill. We had lunch at Tom and Eddie's. Mom and I had both seen reviews of their edamame burger and it was delicious. We had Oberweis ice cream for a treat on the way home. The kids played outside and I did a bit of gardening and then laundry. I washed Kitty's couch cover because it was all hairy.
We woke up early on Friday morning. When I walked downstairs I noticed Kitty's cover had fresh blood stains on it. I started to inspect and saw one of her eyes seemed to have some crusty gunk in it. I was petting her and noticed my hand was wet with blood. It was obvious that we needed to take her to the vet. I waited until 8:30 to wake Nick up, he ate breakfast, got dressed and was quite quick so we could get to the vet when they opened at 9:00. I put a couple towels in a laundry basket and put Kitty inside - we covered her with a towel and were on our way. The vet got us right in and said Kitty had some sort of infection. Luckily, they have a long acting antibiotic because we were headed to Michigan for the weekend. We made a follow up appointment for Tuesday and were able to bring Kitty home. Ellie helped me cover the couches with blankets for some extra padding.
We stopped at a rummage sale on our way to Michigan. The kids were able to each find a game and we picked up a couple beach chairs for Michigan. We did our grocery shopping on the way up. We finished unpacking just as our friends, Julie, Karlton, and Amelia arrived from Kentucky. Rob came up after work in the evening. We walked down to the beach and played for a bit before dinner. It was great to see Julie, it has been way too long. It was our first time meeting Amelia and the kids really loved playing with her. Rob arrived in time for dinner. We walked down to see the sunset.
Saturday morning, Julie, Ellie, Nick, and I went into town to look around. I stocked up on paper goods for the school parties this year. We came home, had lunch, and went to the beach. It was a great afternoon to spend at the beach...not too hot and not too windy. The water was super cold but that didn't stop the kids from getting wet. We stayed a bit longer than Julie, Karlton, and Amelia, so that she could take her nap and we wouldn't be too loud. We saw a beaver in our driveway - very exciting for Nick. He immediately got his flashlight to go track it down.  We had a great dinner together and an after dinner walk. We painted some rocks in the evening before bed.
This morning Julie and co went back to Kentucky. We got some nice morning visiting in and Amelia almost let me hold her. We had a nose beeping thing down at the end. We had a lazy morning after they left. Rob and Nick did recycling and some work around the house, I did laundry. Ellie and Nick played outside for a bit. We went down to beach for a few hours after lunch. Rob left to go back home when we came back. After dinner this evening, Nana, Ellie, Nick, and I went into town to see Planes. It was a cute movie but not as many laughs as Cars. We got ice cream at Nemo's but we missed the sunset. We called Rob to say goodnight and he said Kitty seems much better...more herself, meowing, and not oozing. I am sitting here typing this surrounded by crickets and cicadas buzzing...and the occasional acorn dropping on the roof. Very quiet up here tonight.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Oops...Forgot it was Wednesday

I haven't forgot to blog in a long time but it clearly escaped my mind yesterday. It doesn't surprise me too much because yesterday my mission was to sit on my butt. Oh well, it happens.
Haven't been up to anything too exciting. Monday morning I cruised over to Mom and Dad's to pick up the kids. I got there and they were all still asleep. We stayed the day and painted rocks and played in the yard. Monday evening Ellie and I went back to school shoe shopping. Ellie now wears a 8.5 - she has officially outgrown my size. We found her shoes, which I am pretty sure she chose exclusively on their color. I picked up shoes fro Nick but they ended up not fitting him.
Tuesday was a pinball game day. We started at Whole Foods in Evanston because Miss Lori and the PBS Kids van was there. Nick then had an appointment at Northwestern for the research. He was honest with the girl and told her he didn't want to continue in the study. We then went to see Dean. He was in the hospital with an infected knee and the kids were asking about him. We had lunch on the Glen at Via Gelato. We walked down to see in Von Maur had any clearance shoes - no luck. We went to Kohl's to try to exchange Nick's shoes but they didn't have any in his size. Ellie found a pair of back to school sandals that she is very excited about. We checked out Salvation Army on the way home but found nothing there. Mom and Dad stopped by with a loaf of apple scrapple bread from Great Harvest. It was the kids first time trying it and they are in love. When Rob got home from work, Ellie and I ran to the library and then to do a bit of grocery shopping. We had summer sandwiches for dinner. The kids played outside for hours with the neighbors.
Wednesday we stayed here all day. We really worked to clean up and put things away around the house. I did laundry and sheets. The kids played outside with the neighbors. Ellie and I were baker bees. We made 36 strudel muffins, a pudding cake, and a crisp. All were peach blueberry combination, the crisp even added basil. Mom and Dad brought dinner over, Chinese. We are trying to establish our old patterns this week, Wednesday dinner being part of it.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree
PS - Just a warning, Sunday's post might happen on Monday this coming week.

Vacation Part Two, Chapter Four

 A picture of most of the rocks and stones we painted this summer.

 A close view of the minions. monsters, people, and animals.

A close view of the houses, cottages, cars, flowers, and bugs.

Vacation has come to a close. We were home bodies this vacation and that was a fine thing. We were able to get in a couple hours at the beach every day. Ellie was able to finish clubhouse. She won first place in the scavenger hunt. She made a cute memory book and then they had the goodbye bonfire and made s'mores.
We went peach picking at Jollay. We went early in the day and it wasn't too hot out. It was a good plan because the tractor wasn't out and we had to walk to the orchard. We picked way more than I thought we were going to pick.
Saturday Rob took the kids to Lowe's for the build and grow workshop. They built one of the planes, Dusty, from the new movie Planes. We had a picnic on the beach. Cleaned up the cottage and got on the road. We ended vacation the same way we began vacation...with a stop at Oink's. We got to have dinner with Edwin before dropping him at the airport. We came home and opened windows and went through the mail. Nick found a letter from school, Mrs. Berkowitz will be his 1st grade teacher.
We all slept super well last night. So nice to be back in our own beds. This morning Rob and Ellie went to church. Nick and I had a slow morning. We put some of the stuff away from vacation. I read the newspaper. When Rob and Ellie returned from church, I got ready to go to Bob's memorial lunch. I was glad I went, I got to see Dan, Larry and Dana, Sam - all old friends from work. We had family Sunday at Mom and Dad's house. We were celebrating anniversaries - Mom and Dad's and the GG's. Mom made lasagna, veggies, sausages, and fruit. We had cake and brownies for dessert. Mom and Dad offered an overnight to the kids and they gladly accepted. We will have to work on getting them into a sleep schedule this coming week.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Vacation Part Two, Chapter Three

It feels like it has been forever since I last blogged, guess that is what vacation is all about. The days and nights blend together since we have been here so long.
We had a couple big storms blow through. The one this morning was intense. The rain was coming down hard and fast and the wind was making a whistle though the windows. We had a tree limb fall on the garage. I took Ellie to clubhouse in the car because it was still raining and we had to watch the road. The water running down the hills had washed away sections of the road. It all cleared by the afternoon. Our friends, Jodi and Kirk, and their daughter came to visit and play. We painted rocks for a while and then went to the beach for a few hours. We came back and started dinner. The girls went to clubhouse for the scavenger hunt and we had a great meal. We all walked down for the sunset and ice cream at the soda bar.
Ellie has been busy at clubhouse...beach in a bottle, bunco, potluck dinner, science creations. Ellie made cupcakes for the potluck. She even used gummy worms to decorate the tops and spelled out clubhouse 2013. Nick has been playing and helping around the house with projects. He loves taking the recycling out for pickup.
We have had some great beach days. The water is cold but very calm. The kids have had fun in their inter-tubes and boogie boards. We had some success finding beach glass the past couple days.
I had a phone call from my old boss, Dan. My co-worker, Bob, passed away. I was glad I was able to visit him earlier this summer. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Vacation Part Two, Chapter Two

This will be a quick post because I honestly cannot place what has happened on what day for the past few days...guess that means my head is on vacation, too.
We haven't had much beach time because the weather hasn't cooperated. At most it was 75 degrees. We did get a couple hours on the beach yesterday. The air temperature was cooler than the water. The kids made a moat and castle. Ellie has still been our non-stop clubhouse girl. She had a bunch of prep work for the carnival on Friday night. She helped make posters and sign kids up for various games and shifts. Nick did finally participate at the carnival. Ellie ran the sucker tree and Nick ran the clown face toss. It was a wonderful night, no rain and not too cold temperature wise.
Dean and Edwin arrived Friday afternoon. Dean will be heading back tomorrow morning. We have still been busy painting rocks. Amazingly we haven't lost interest yet. We have spent quite a bit of time playing board games and hide and seek.
Rob, Ellie, Nick and I went to St. Joe this afternoon to walk around. It also was the antique fest, sidewalk chalk the block, and sidewalk sale weekend. We walked around and the kids thought some of the things were interesting but the prices were prohibitive. They got to sit in all the transportation art again.
We have been able to see a couple great sunsets. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Vacation Part Two, Chapter One

It seems like weeks have past since my post on Sunday...not sure if that is a good or bad thing. Monday morning we went and got the oil changed in the van. We dropped it off and walked to the kids' bank to make a deposit of all their change. We continued on to Village Hall to get our new vehicle stickers. We went to return books at the library and check a couple new ones out. We walked back to the dealership and picked up the car. We had a quick lunch before heading for some playtime at Mom and Dad's house. We took it easy and watched George of the Jungle before heading outside to play. The kids were having a great time. Ellie was inspired by all the clubhouse Harry Potter theme and researched science experiments to try out. Tony gladly assisted. We came home and Rob was mowing the lawn. The kids p,aged outside wit Rustine and enjoyed a great summer night.
Tuesday morning we made our list of all the things we needed to accomplish and went to work striking them off. We cleaned up the house. We ran to Costco for some snacks. We ran to the bank to pay the property taxes. Packed for the trip. Rob called to say he wasn't feeling good and thought he would be home around lunchtime, we hoped he didn't pick up Nick's illness. Rob came home and we packed up the car and hoped we could make it without Rob getting sick. Traffic was great and we cruised through. We stopped off at Oink's for a scoop of ice cream, what better way to begin vacation? We got up here in time for dinner and for Ellie to make it to clubhouse for the pie eating contest. Ellie came in 2nd place. Rob went to bed as soon as Ellie was off to clubhouse.
Today was cool and rainy. Ellie went to clubhouse this morning. Nick, Nana, and I went shopping for some food. When we got back, Ellie was home, too. We had lunch and got a plan together. We went down to the beach with a couple buckets to pick up some new rocks to paint. The kids wanted to get some videos for the week and I needed to run into town to pick up a couple things. We were able to rent Nicky Deuce, the movie based on the book Nick and I have been reading. We spent the rest of the afternoon painting rocks. We had sandwiches for dinner and then Ellie was off to clubhouse. Nick and I drove her in the golf cart because it was foggy and misting out.
Sending positive, healing thoughts to the Hakeem Family. Azim and Farheen were classmates of mine and Azim was found dead yesterday at his families store. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree