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