Long Wednesday

Just got the internet back a bit ago...it has been out all day. I am glad it was all day, at least I knew and didn't try to do anything that was dependent on the internet - like list. All my auctions for the week end tomorrow. This batch has been just alright. Had about 10 items that didn't sell and then slow payments and people complaining about shipping costs.
The kids have loved the snow we have been getting. They have been outside the last couple days after school playing in the snow and sledding down the hills they have created in our yard and the neighbors. It is great because it has made them tired at bedtime.
I did some baking/cooking while it snowed yesterday. Basically, I didn't want to turn the heat up and was cold. I made breakfast muffins and tried tomato soup from scratch - turned out well. I made chicken salad out of soy curls tonight. I am sure die hard chicken salad fans would know the difference but it truly was pretty tasty.
Mom and Dad didn't come over for dinner this evening because they have some cold germs. The kids talked on the phone with them for a bit. Rob had a basketball game last night (they won), and worked late tonight. Tomorrow is Nick's last sport class and it works out because the weather will be changing and he can be outside playing more often.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Fun filled Weekend

Mumble Jumble post tonight...had a busy end of the week listing on eBay. I found out that I could list more affordable by not selecting a picture preview option. Nick did great playing basketball at sports on Thursday night. He made some baskets and was doing great dribbling. Ellie lost another tooth on Friday. It came out as she was eating her fruit roll up at lunch. Ellie and I did a library run on Friday night.
I ran to Salvation on Saturday morning and then to Unique...had a coupon. Ended up with a couple bags of items, even some for us. I got laundry done and inventoried and then I took the kids to Mom and Dad's house to play in the snow. Jo, Tony, and Teo were over and the kids wanted to sled down the back porch stairs. The kids were nuts out in the snow. They each had their very own personality in the snow. Ellie diligently packed the stairs with snow. Tony threw his body into the snow to make angels like the snow was 2' deep. Matteo would walk a step and fall into the snow because the snow suit was a bit big. Nick raced up the stairs and onto a sled jiffy quick.
We came home and Ellie and I ran out to do some shopping. Rob and Nick played with trains and stuck around the house. Ellie and I ran to Morton Grove Salvation and were pretty successful in getting fancy dresses for $.69 for her fashion show birthday party. We found all we needed for her invitations at Michael's. We did some grocery shopping on the way home and picked up things for dinner. We came home and I started dinner - I made mac and cheese, potato pancakes, homemade applesauce and broccoli. We had some leftover honeydew and strawberries, too.
This morning, Rob gave me the opportunity to sleep in...and I took it. He took the kids to church. They took their snow pants and sleds with and after church he took them to a couple hills to sled. They came home and needed a change of clothes because they were so wet. Ellie and I worked to start illustrating her young author book. We were able to get the front cover and two pages complete. If we are able to get a page a day done we will be on top of the deadline.
We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, sausages, salad & fruit. It was good but Ellie says the real sausages are still her preference over vegan ones. The kids experimented with dessert - well mostly Nick. He was dipping his pepper slices into his ice cream, claimed they were delicious. We came home and watched a bit of the red carpet before heading up to finish up the book we have been reading.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

So Cold

Cannot believe how chilly it is...the back room feels drafty. On Monday we went up to Milwaukee to see the Domes. Rob and I got the car ride to ourselves because Ellie and Nick drove in Mom's car with Jo, Tony, Teo and Dad. We had lunch at La Estacion and then walked it off at the Domes. The theme this year was the Circus and it was okay. Ellie was delighted that the elephant doing tricks had her name. Jo bought the kids hatching turtles at the gift store. We all drove home together and by the end, the kids were so ready to be out of the car. We finished watching Marmaduke and got the kids to bed. We didn't have pottery class because Cathy is out of town for a couple weeks.
Tuesday, Ellie woke up not feeling great, again. I walked Nick to the bus and Ellie came running out saying she was going to give school a try. I went and volunteered in Nick's class. I came home and got to work photographing and listing on ebay. I listed until I got Nick off the bus. We worked on homework and then tried to warm up under the blankets. Ellie got home and we worked on putting together her young authors story. Rob picked up dinner from Dengeo's because time slipped away from us. I cut up fruit to go with dinner. We got the kids to bed early because Nick has picked up a cough and Ellie has been complaining she is tired in the mornings.
This morning I got the kids on to the bus...so cold waiting out there. I was able to get some more items listed. I was able to connect with my newest Imerman match. We had a great conversation and I am sure we will have many more. I got Nick off the bus and we did some homework but he wanted to do some with Grams tonight. We took showers early so their hair would be dry for bed. Rob had a basketball game tonight. Mom and Dad came over for dinner and Mom had made a cauliflower bake. I made pasta and Gardein patties, fruit salad and garlic bread. We had a nice dinner. Mom helped Nick with his homework and Dad listened to Ellie's book. We watched the Middle and then the kids went up for bed.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Long Weekend

Long weekend because of the holiday tomorrow...one day longer for Ellie. Thursday was Valentine's day and involved a bunch of running around. I got the kids off to school and then hit the post office and grocery store to pick up the remaining supplies for their parties. I came home and put together our dinner - cheese lasagna. Both parties went well but I felt like a chicken with its head cut off...non-stop action for 2 hours. Nick's class made sundaes and played a couple games. Ellie's class decorated cookies and played games. We went straight to sports/dance when school let out. Rob took Ellie to dance and Nick and I came home to start dinner and give him a bath. We had a great dinner together and celebrated.
Friday morning Ellie woke up with a stomach ache which quickly turned into the need for a bucket. Poor girl has this history...she collects donations for Jump Rope for Hearts and ends up sick the day of the event. I got Nick off to school and then Ellie and I hung out watching Netflix all day. It was probably just what we both needed. Rob had a game in the evening, so it was more movie watching for us.
Saturday morning I did my thrift run...not too much but the clothing I did find was decent. Rob took the kids to the bank to deposit their change and then they ran to Ace Hardware to pick up a couple things. We went up to Gurnee for the afternoon. We stopped at a couple thrift stores, Hobo and got dinner. We were able to find Nick's birthday party stuff at the one thrift store...6th birthday party will be Speed Racer. We came home and watched a movie together before getting to bed.
This morning we went to church. Rob ran to a friends house to look at some painting work. We did some things around here - vacuumed out the dryer vent, majorly cleaned the laundry area up, cleaned the HEPA filters. Put away massive amounts of laundry. I went out grocery shopping for the week while Rob watched the kids. I came home and made dinner. Rob got Nick into a bath. Just finished watching Downton Abbey...cannot handle the wait for the next season.
So, I must have had a moment earlier in the week when I hit my foot and thought - that is going to leave a mark - because the majority of my left foot is black and blue. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Valentine's day

It continues to be busy here. Monday I did some shopping and some research. I went to Target to pick up all my prescriptions for my colonoscopy next month. I was able to pick up some other things while I was there. I did a small shop at Aldi and GFS...picked up some of the things I needed for the parties at school this week. I went out to Big Lots and found some snacks on clearance. I had the first part of my auctions end Monday and almost everyone paid immediately - love it. I got a call from Imerman and I have been matched again. Rob had to tape the board meeting at school, so it was just the kids and I at pottery class. Ellie worked on some owls and birds, Nick on a tile and train and I was able to get a tiny dragonfly done.
Tuesday was a major post office morning. I volunteered at school. The remaining auctions ended in the afternoon - not too shabby. I only had about 6 items that didn't sell. I did homework with the kids when they got home. Rob was taping a show but was home a bit after dinner. We went to the library to get new books and to turn in the kids reading graphs. They got a lunch bag for finishing the program. Nick is very excited to read about Amelia Earhardt right now so we checked out a few books.
This morning I went to the post office to drop about 30 packages. I went to Unique for the valentine sale...all red or pink items were $1.00. I had a cart load of red and pink shirts and sweaters that would have cost me about $100 for $17. I went over to Mom's house to play with the boys and then to take Tony to school. The boys were a hoot this morning. Matteo was my buddy again. After dropping Tony at school I came home to start baking for tomorrow. I had the frozen cookies to bake for Ellie's party and then a bunch of treats for our neighbors. I ended up with 3 batches of muffins and 2 batches of cookies. Mom and Dad came over for dfinner. We had Butler's BBQ shreds, salad, fruit - Mom made beer bread and a mushroom saute  We had lots of dessert - cupcakes, cookies and candy. We all cuddles on the couch with our new electric blankets and watched the Middle.
Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Year of the Snake

Seems like forever since I posted. Let's see how much of the last few days I can actually recall. On Thursday morning I did some more auction prep. I headed out to Glenview to hit the thrift store and see if it was worth going back on Friday for the 90% off day. I ended up picking up a couple things at 75% off...vintage Playskool McDonald's with accessories. I am actually just going to flip the accessories - one McDonald's went to Jo for her classroom and one will go to Michigan. We had an abbreviation Thursday night, just sports with Nick and then a quick dinner and off to Ellie's honor roll presentation. She was awarded gold for 1st and blue for second quarters.
Friday morning while we were waiting for the bus Nick had to run back to the house to use the washroom...he was super layered and the street was a sheet of ice so running wasn't really an option - he missed the bus. It ended up working out fine because the streets were still so crappy it got me out of the house early and to Glenview when they opened. I drove Nick to school and was off. I knew which racks I wanted to hit first and was able to get in/out in 15 minutes. $250.00 worth of clothes for $25.00 - not too shabby. I came home and did some baking for the weekend. I made a batch of chocolate zucchini muffins for Ellie's breakfasts and a batch of peanut butter cookies to take with to Jo's house. I was able to get all the laundry in the house done plus all the re-sale clothes washed...about 8 loads. The kids got home from school and Ellie was ghost white. She said her stomach was bothering her. I made her a quick bath and then the gagging began. We are off our schedule again...I feel badly for her but luckily it just was about 18 hours. We went over to Jo's for movie night and dinner. We watched Night at the Museum 2 and the kids got to play with each other. Rob had a basketball game.
Saturday morning I took off on my thrift tour. I had more luck at Morton Grove than Skokie this week. There were some rude customers at Skokie who didn't want to share the aisles. I came home and Rob had agreed to take the kids out sledding. While I did my inventory and started washing again, Rob took the kids to James Hill to sled. They went up and down a couple dozen times and came home. Rob was pooped out but the kids still had energy because they stayed outside and built a snowman and played for another couple hours. Rob had another basketball game and left in the late afternoon. We had movie night and watched Charlie Brown Valentine's movies and cuddled on the couch.
Today was a busy social day. We had Dean, Lauren and the girls over for brunch. Ellie was a help with breakfast prep. We made a blueberry baked oatmeal, mini German pancakes and scrambled eggs. The kids had a great time playing together and ended with making Valentines. It was nice to visit and catch up - we haven't seen them since Dean's birthday last month. We had our Chinese New Year celebration at Mom and Dad's house tonight. We had quite a spread - soups, lo mein, fried rice, sweet 'n sour, egg rolls & fruit. I made walnut cookies and Mom made almond cookies and a king cake. The kids exchanged valentines and played.
Getting ready for another crazy week with 2 parties at school. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Can't Believe How Quickly Time is Flying By

It doesn't seem possible that it is already Wednesday. It has been a very productive eBay week. I have taken over 800 pictures, I have been able to list 50 items and have written the descriptions for about 50 more...just waiting for my free days to let those go live. This leaves me with just 2 boxes of clothing...time to go shopping.
We had pottery on Monday evening. We all were working on different things. I was able to get a patchwork candle holder and a decorative flower together. Nick made a heart plate and then some sort of animal. Rob made a tile for the cottage and Ellie did a stamped tile. We got a couple more items back - they look great.
I volunteered at school yesterday. Did grocery shopping for the week with the kids after school. I am happy to say that I don't have to do that often because it made me a bit crazy. Too much input as to what we need to get and running around...ahhhh.
I finally called to schedule my colonoscopy. Dr. Bianchi wanted to see me back in a year, Dr. Marsh said 3 years so I sort of met in the middle. I have another month of freedom in eating before I have to eliminate berries, seeds, and nuts for a week.
Rob has been working weird hours...full day/evening yesterday, late day today...2 nights of basketball this weekend.
I spent today prepping for more listings - taking photos, inventory and writing descriptions. We picked up dinner and went over to Mom and Dad's house for Wednesday night dinner. Mom made zucchini bread fro dessert. The kids watched a bit of the Aristocats.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Great Start for February

Right after I blogged on Wednesday night, I went into the kitchen to re-fill my water and heard a noise. It was coming from downstairs. I went down and quickly realized the hose for the hot water feed for the laundry sink had a hole and was spewing hot water all over. Luckily, the shut off was there and I was able to turn it off and leave a not for Rob to look at it when he woke up.
Ellie cam home with the most awesome news on Thursday...she made honor roll for both 1st and 2nd quarter, she got a B+ on her math test and she was a recipient for the Principal 100 award. The award is a new incentive to motivate the students to be compassionate to their fellow students. After school we had sports and dance. When I was giving Nick a bath after class, I noticed his forearm was red. It was weird, it looked like a rash but also a bruise. He didn't recall hurting it. It circled his arm, didn't hurt him and just appeared.
Friday the kids had only a half day of school. I got quite a few packages to the post office. Stopped by Unique for their 1/2 off sale. It was great, it was so cold outside that the store was pretty empty. I ended up with a cart full of clothes. The kids and I ate a quick lunch before we headed to Northwestern for a study. Nick was doing some matching games and got rewarded with a book. We went over to Mom and Dad's house for the rest of the afternoon. We picked up videos and pizza on the way home. Rob had a basketball game.
Saturday we divided and conquered. I went to both Salvation's and really did well. Lots of new with tag items and really good labels. Rob took the kids with him to the church carnival. I met them there around lunchtime. The kids got to play games and were in awe of the magician there. We split up again, I took Nick to a classmates birthday and Rob took Ellie to the library. Rob fixed the sink in the basement. We had another movie night.
Today we started off at church. We came home and Rob took the kids outside to play in the snow. I baked some danish to take to Mom's house for family Sunday. We continued the sink work in the house and Rob cleaned the drains on the other sinks. We went to family Sunday. Mom had a great menu...minestrone, brussel sprouts and beans, chicken, Jo made a turkey, cranberry sauce, corn pudding...mmmm. The kids had time to play with each other. It was nice to see everyone and visit. We came home and watched the game.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree