Whirlwind Continues

It seems like a year has gone by since my last post. Time is certainly flying by.
Highlights from this week - Ellie's basketball team was in playoffs. They won one and lost one on Monday...and lost the final game on Wednesday by one point.
I have been busy with ebay. Between trying to get a couple more listings up, to shipping and packaging items up, to trying to organize to get our house in good shape for Christmas. Then all the thrift stores tempt me with Christmas being 50% off. I did some shopping this week, too.
I did kick butt and cleaned up the house. I have all but 3 boxes downstairs and massively cleaned the first floor.
I made a couple batches of applesauce for gifts and we started making cookies today. We are about halfway finished.
Merry Christmas to all, hope your week is filled with love and laughter.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Holiday Whirlwind

I am having difficulty remembering what I did this morning, much less this last week.
Ellie had her last couple basketball games. They won the Monday game but lost the Tuesday game by 2 points. It was an amazing game to watch...it was the 1st and 2nd place teams and it was intense. She has her tournament this week. 2 games played back to back on Monday and Wednesday.
Nick had his concert on Wednesday night. Mom and Dad joined us and it was a packed gym. Nick and the 2nd graders sung a couple Beatles songs and Walking in a Winter Wonderland. He looked handsome in his blazer.
Friday I coerced Mom and Teo to do some road warrior fun with me. We went out to the chocolate outlet and hit all the thrift stores near by. Found some great things that I already listed and they sold instantly.
December is keeping me busy...no complaints here because I would rather have 10 sales a day than nothing. I listed the remainder of my watches today and sold 3 within hours.
We had a social weekend, a party, visiting with friends, and church tableaux service.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

I Think We Need To Disinfect

This has been one mammoth week. It seems like months ago that I last blogged.
We have all had various forms of this virus/cold/really crappy sickness. Nick is finally better but is cranky and still not himself. I am no longer leaking gallons on snot from my nose but still have an occasional cough. Ellie is still in the zone. Poor girl has not been sick like this in years. She probably started last weekend but is still coughing, sneezing,  blowing and miserable. Rob is doing okay - I think he is gone so much that he avoided getting the full illness.
I really worked my tail off listing last week. I had free listings. Cyber Monday started out real slow...not one sale until 6PM but it has been strong since. I am more than double my daily sales goal. I have sold some funky stuff.
Ellie had 3 basketball games last week. They won 2 out of the 3. Whatever Ellie has, so does her team. It is okay because they are still in 1st place. They have 2 games this week and then the tournament.
Nick got to see his story acted out in "That's My Story" last week at school. His story was My Loose Tooth. We went to see it Friday night and it was so neat. The way the drama team put these kids stories to life was great.
Saturday afternoon, Ellie and I had Mom's annual Luncheon. We got there just a bit early to help out. The company was great, the food was excellent and a great time was had. I was supposed to drop Ellie off at the high school after and pick Nick up but Rob needs our help. The AV club was on for concessions and all of his volunteers had resigned. Ellie, Nick, and I helped out and ran the concession stand for the evening. It was the cross town classic and was busy. We ran out of most everything.
We were all tried and slept in today. I got a bunch of laundry done. Nick read some books, Ellie did some homework. This afternoon we went with Mom, Dad, Jo, Ole, and the boys to Skokie Theater to see Willy Wonka. It was an experience. Afterward we went for dinner at Great Bejing. It was also and experience.
I medicated Ellie up...I am a bit worried because she hasn't been this sick in a long time. I am giving her nebulizer treatments and busted out the steroids tonight. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

It Has Been Lovely

Lets see how much I can remember about this past week...
Monday evening we had conferences at school. Loved what we heard from the teachers about our children. Nick loves science and is doing well in math and spelling, too. He had a story he wrote selected for Niles North's Writers Workshop. The drama students will read and, I think, act out his story during a couple performances this week. He gets a T-shirt and certificate. They will get to see a sneak preview at school on Thursday. Ellie is doing much better this quarter.
Tuesday we went downtown to Macy's. We went to visit with santa before eating lunch in the walnut room. We had a table by the tree and the fairy came to grant wishes. The tree was very different this year and the kids loved the light show. We walked around the balcony upstairs to see it from different angles. We walked State Street to see the windows but they were pretty disappointing. We picked up some popcorn at Garrett's before doing a quick walk through Christkindlmarket and viewing the Christmas tree.
Wednesday we began the day at the ChooChoo in Des Plaines. Nick had never eaten there and thought it was pretty cool. We had a booth and the train delivered our food. Ellie and I shared our sandwiches and we all split a milkshake. We saw Madagascar at the big Pickwick theater in the afternoon. The kids were amazed at the size of the main theater. By Wednesday night...Nick had started to have an ugly cough.
Nick woke up Thursday and clearly was sick. Ellie and Rob went to church. Ellie had volunteered to be one of the Angels that received the food donations during the service. Nick spent the morning on a Merry go Round of coughing, vomiting, extreme fever, chills. We went to Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving dinner but Nick was really out of it. Tony was sick with almost the same crap. Uncle Bry drove down from Wisconsin for the day, the GGs didn't end up joining us, but it was a lovely time. Good company, food, and family. Lots of pajama time and cuddling in the evening.
Friday morning, I went out to do Black Friday thrift shopping. Ellie and I went to meet Becki and Eddie for lunch. Rob and Nick stayed at the house and relaxed and tried to get better. Nick's fever broke and he was feeling a bit better. Mom and Dad took Ellie for an overnight.
Saturday morning Nick and I stayed in our pajamas and played. Rob had to work for a couple hours. When he got home he helped bring up all the Christmas boxes. We got the tree up and decorated. Mom and Dad dropped Ellie off in the afternoon. We went and ordered a new refrigerator at Abt...ours has a bad seal and is in need of replacement. We also bit the bullet and bought new phones. Ellie now has one, too.
Today we really hung low. Ellie has succumbed to the illness. Rob has a little something and my cough has led to a runny nose now. This afternoon we ran a couple bags of coats to the library coat drive, a couple more to Savers, and did our grocery shopping for the week. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner - Mom made a great pasta, cauliflower and broccolini, salad, and corn pudding. We had some great laughs.
Grandpa GG could use some positive thoughts and energy right now...got some extra, please send them his way.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Thanksgiving

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week - time flies.
I have stayed pretty busy with ebay this week. I got a bunch of things listed and it is paying off. I could hardly keep up today, I would finish packaging up and another notification would come in that something else sold. Love it when it is busy.
The find of the week was a bolt of fabric. I bought it about a month ago at Goodwill. It laid in the car for a couple weeks. I took some pictures of it and posted for some suggestions on price. Well...I listed it at 150.00/yard and I have 16 yards. That would be our spring break vacation money!
Ellie had 2 basketball games this week, they lost one and won the other.
We have conferences for both Ellie and Nick tomorrow and then they are off the rest of the week for break.
We went to Mom and Dad's last night to watch the light parade and have dinner. We were there tonight for dinner, too.
Nick helped me get the outdoor Christmas lights up today. We added a couple strands to the mix this year. Nick climbed the tree to help me drape the lights. They look great.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Let It Snow

First real snowfall fell last night, it makes everything look clean. The kids really wanted more so they could play in it.
Monday I stayed in and took apart the first floor. I bought storage totes at Target and separated all my boxes into categories. I ended up finding many things that I had forgotten about. By the end of the couple hour organization kick, I had the trunk loaded with bags to donate. I unearthed all my Christmas items to list. I am on a self inflicted thrift moratorium until I get some of these totes listed and sold.
Ellie had 2 games this week and they won them both. Ellie made a shot and is really good at rebounding. She hurt her ankle during the previous weeks game so we are getting her a pair of basketball shoes. Their team is undefeated, the only team in the Little 9!
I took advantage of the cooler weather and baked a batch of sweet potatoes and roasted cauliflower. Nick helped me make applesauce.
I watched the girls on Wednesday. Kenzie is on the move now. She does a great army crawl. Sav is still pretty happy sitting and playing.
The kids and I had our dental cleanings on Friday night. Nick's gum is looking better. Ellie is still cavity free. I had X-rays taken and my teeth are great. We went out for Chinese after. We ate at the restaurant and had a great time.
Rob had to work all day Saturday. He was able to get Ellie a basketball hoop to practice her shooting at in the afternoon. Neha came with and practiced. I took them to the mall afterwards. Tweens in a mall make for a long visit.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Long Week

I guess I was so busy running around this week that has caused this week to seem very long.
I did some thrifting this week. It was 50% off for a few days and I can't not check that out. I found Dad some ski goggles for his brisk winter walks.
I had my 6 month visit with Dr. Marsh. My labs were all good and I will see him in 6 months. Took Nick back in to see Dr. Gallai, his molar kept on bothering him. He was put on a round of antibiotics.
I was able to get a bunch of listings up. I did a major purge of my old stock. I made a couple lots of craft kits and was able to sell them locally.
Ellie had her first basketball game. They have a really good team and won their game 30-3. Ellie is the tallest girl on her team and is great getting the rebounds off the rim.
Nick and I hung out on Saturday. Rob was working on the final touches to Dean's fireplace mantle and Ellie was at her Red Cross babysitting class. Nick was complaining all day of a stomach ache. I thought he might have developed some issues from the antibiotic. He called down to me around 9 pm that he thought he might need to throw up. I made it upstairs just in time to turn on the bathroom light for him. Poor boy. It took a while for him to get to sleep but I think it was the antibiotic.
We went up to Dean's this morning to drop off and install the mantle and visit. It looks great, Rob did a nice job. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made chili with all the fixings and monkey bread for dessert.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday to Me

This past week really flew by. Rob was in New Orleans until late Wednesday night. I had the Halloween party in Nick's classroom to get prepared for. 

I did a bit of thrifting during the week. I found some Dept 56 Halloween decorations for Dad. I got some costumes to put away for next year. I listed and sold my .50 needlepoint, it sold for 215.00. October exceeded my goals!

Mom and Dad came over for dinner on Wednesday. We had macaroni and cheese, turkey cutlets, broccoli, fruit, salad. We watched the Middle before heading to bed.

The kids were thrilled to see Rob after school on Thursday. We picked up Gusgus and had dinner here. It was great to catch up.

The weather really took a miserable turn toward the end of the week. Halloween was about 35*, snowing, raining, windy...gross. Nick's class party went well, very calm group of kids. We did a bit of trick or treating but it really was gross out and we called it a night pretty early. We had hot cocoa to warm up.

Saturday we took advantage of the sun and got out of here. We thrifted and I found some items that I can't wait to list. Should be a killer November, too. We hit Target for clearance but didn't really find too much. 

Loved the extra hour of sleep last night. The kids woke up at their normal time and didn't take advantage - like I did. Rob went to church and I started listing. I instantly sold the ink. Rob did the yard clean up when he got home, I studied with Ellie and Nick played with trains. We took our outdoor decorations down. We went to Mom and Dad's for family Sunday. Mom had a tableful of delicious treats- black bean flautas, pizza, fetucini Alfredo, broccoli, noodle kugel, kale. Ellie had baked brownies for me and Jo made a cake for Teo's birthday.  It was a lovely day.

Busy week ahead...Ellie's first basketball game, 6 month check up with Dr. Marsh, seminar at school. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Beautiful Fall - Oh I Love Days Like These

This weekend has been gorgeous. Sunshine and nice temperatures make for great times.

During the week I did some thrifting and some listing. I have maintained my goal for the month. I hit the last of the rummage sales for the year. Unfortunately, not too much to flip but I did find some things for us.
Ellie tried out for the basketball team and made it. She practices everyday after school. Apparently the coach is using kettle balls for some of the warm ups and Ellie is hurting (a good hurt) in different places.
Nick and I went to see Dr. Gallai about his teeth. He is getting his 6 year molars in and they are pretty swollen. Although he has really been complaining about the pain the last 48 hours and when I looked today he has a big abscess on his gum. He gargled with salt water and peroxide tonight so hopefully it helps.
Rob is in New Orleans for a conference. He left on Friday and comes home later this week. It is exciting for him because it is his first conference with work. We had a couple brunch dates early in the week - he went into work later a few days this last week.
Mom and I went out and played on Thursday. We had lunch together and did a bit of shopping.
Ellie had rec night at school on Friday. She dressed as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and won 1st place. Nick and I had a date night and ate ice cream for dinner,
Saturday the kids dressed as Mary Poppins and Bert again for trunk or treat and trick or treat in Skokie. Jo, Ole, Tony and Teo met us for the first part. It was beautiful out and a pleasure to walk around. We ate lunch at the New Mexican restaurant, not bad food. We came home and Nick and I raked the front yard - not that you could tell an hour later. Ellie and Neha carved their pumpkins.
Today we really cleaned upstairs. I went through my closet and drawers and majorly purged. I had a bunch of clothing I bought when I was in treatment and about 20 pounds lighter - it was time for them to go. I filled 4 garbage bags with the kids. We packed them right in the car and took them to the thrift store. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom had a great fall meal with squash, noodles, veggies, roasted potatoes, and chicken. The kids had a fun dance party before we came home.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Sweetest Day

This week seemed to be never ending. Ellie had a couple games, they won them all. They were 9-1 going into the tournament on Saturday, second place in conference. They started playing at 8:30am and had a game at 9:30 and 10:30. Rob took Ellie for the first game - they won both rounds. The second game was pretty intense, they lost the first round but won the next two. They played the first place team for the championship. The girls were tired, we could see it, but they played the best they could and had some good shots. They finished in second place in the tournament and received silver medals. Their coach treated them to Oberweis for ice cream.
I got some listing done early in the week. Did a bit of thrifting the later part of the week. I have close to 500 listings and I feel like eBay has taken over our house. That number is probably closer to 600 actual items because I have multiples of various items. I have been working to try to get all my listed items organized in a better way.
Rob and I worked on Saturday to finally put the floor back down in the laundry room. This gave me some space back and I was able to re-gain some space in that room. I have been sweeping all the tiny leaves that come into the house on everyone's shoes. 
Mom and Dad came over for dinner on Wednesday. We had a great fall meal with fake turkey, potato cakes, homemade applesauce and cranberry sauce, broccoli and cauliflower and brussel sprouts. Pumpkin pie and chocolates for dessert. 
Nick helped me harvest the last of our garden. I had about 6 cups of green tomatoes. We made green tomato bread with chocolate chips. It smelled great and was quite tasty.
Ellie was asked to help out with church this morning. She was in charge of lighting candles that surrounded our chairs - they were meant to represent the chariots of fire. We came home and really works on studying for her exam tomorrow. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. The kids had a ball with each other. Tony showed off his new smile, he had another tooth fall out. 
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Holiday Weekend II

I got a ton of listings up early last week. I started listing my watches and the first couple auctions ended today. Not too shabby for my $5.00 investment...sold four today for a total of 78.00.
Ellie had two games last week and they won them both. They are in second place with a 7-1 record. She has a couple games this coming week before her tournament on Saturday.
I watched the twins on Wednesday. They both took nice naps for me and had lunch. They were fun to be with.
My friend, Lee, was in town. We were able to go walking around Weber Center on Wednesday night after the kids were in bed. We spent Thursday together. I took her to her doctor appointment and did some thrifting while we were in a different neighborhood. I picked up a bunch of Mary Kay make-up and some craft kits. We came back here and I listed the Mary Kay. I had 16 boxes and I have already sold 12 of them.
Friday morning we left for Michigan. I woke up to about a dozen sales - which is always good but we were trying to get on the road. Ellie helped me and we got all the items packaged and ready. We were able to get to The Detroit area before rush hour. We did some shopping before heading to Greenfield Village for the. Halloween event. The weather was great and we weren't cold. Ellie was. Mary Poppins, Nick was Bert, Rob and I were Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street. I think we all looked fabulous. We were asked to stand in many people's pictures. We picked up dinner on our way to our hotel.
Saturday morning we did some thrifting on the way back to Greenfield Village and Henry Ford. We walked through the museum and then the village. It was another beautiful day. We ate in the village and walked until we were tired. We went back to the hotel and had dinner and swam. I mastered the skill of listing on the go. I had found a couple costumes and Halloween things that I wanted to get up and take advantage of weekend shoppers.
Sunday we had breakfast and got on the road. We stopped off in Lansing for ice cream from the Dairy Store. We stopped in Fennville and picked apples at Cranes. We got to the cottage around 3:00 in the afternoon. We turned the heaters on and accessed the food situation. We went into town to pick up food for night and morning and went back to the cottage. The trees all this past weekend were at their peak - awesome and beautiful. Pew wine t for a walk around the park and to the beach. The kids picked beach glass. When we got back home, Ellie said she felt she was getting a headache. We had dinner and got the kids ready for bed. It was early but Ellie didn't look good and Nick was tired. We got called up a couple times for noises. The acorns were dropping from the trees and hitting the roof and making a bunch of noise. Rob went up and told them a story and they were out.
Today we got the cottage ready for winter and luckily, Ellie woke up in better shape than she went to sleep in. We locked up and were on the road around lunch time. We took our time driving home and enjoying the fall colors. We got home just as the rain started. We all emptied the car and started putting our things away. I worked on packaging up all my items that sold this weekend. We had dinner and got the kids up for bed.
It was such a great weekend. I think we really needed to get away.visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Holiday Weekend

So I know it's posting night… But I will do it tomorrow night. We are closing up at the cottage and I don't have a great connection. Talk to you tomorrow,Theresa

Fall is Here

The weather certainly changed this past week. We gave in and turned the heat on in the house. Not too much to share about this last week. Ellie had a couple volleyball games and her team win them all. They sit in 2nd place now.
I met with the speech therapist as school and Nick has graduated out of speech for this year. He has met all his goals and will be evaluated at the beginning of next year.
I did some listing and lots of costume packing up and shipping. We had fun thrifting with a purpose yesterday. Ellie has to dress up like Ben Franklin tomorrow...we found a blazer, wig, and glasses that will pull her costume together.
We had family Sunday this afternoon. Mom made a Oktoberfest meal - noodles, potato cakes. Applesauce, sauerkraut, spinach, veggie soup, cucumber salad, and pork/turkey cutlets. Jo made a cookie pie for dessert and Mom had strudel.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal. Tree

Happy Birthday, Rob

It has been an awesome week. The weather couldn't be anymore perfect. Sales are wonderful.
I did some shopping this past week, trying to pick up more costumes, I can't keep them up...they are seriously flying off the shelves. I took advantage of free listings and tried to get as many items listed as possible. Hit a couple rummage sales and lucked out with craft kits. My labyrinth watch sold for $112.50 today.
Ellie had a volleyball game this past week but their undefeated record is no more...they lost both games to the other school. I watched the girls on Wednesday. They are getting bigger and really starting to move around.
We went into the pediatrician a office for flu shots and asthma check ups.
We all had Thursday off of school and we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed out to Hampshire to Goebberts Farm. It was such fun. There was a giant jumper, train ride, petting zoo, slides, and more. We thrifted on the way home.
Friday was Aron's birthday. We celebrated with celebratory dinner at L Woods. It was a change of pace and we all enjoyed it. We shared the gooey chocolate cake for dessert.
Saturday we had the fun fair at school. Ellie volunteered her time with student council and ran a game. Nick got to play some games and visit with friends. Ellie baked and decorated cupcakes to take with us to Dean and Lauren's house. We went up there to visit and have dinner. It was fun to visit and catch up.
Today we did homework and cleaned up. Ellie was a huge help in researching toys for me. I have had some real great finds but the research takes a bit of time. We decorated outside and put out Halloween today. Tonight both Ellie and Nick helped...we joked about my "sweat shop". Ellie would mock up a listing, I would take pictures and look at it and Nick would weigh it. They packaged up my soap packets, too. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made ribs, strognoff, broccoli, summer salad, cabbage and BBQ chick'n. Pumpkin pie and cupcakes for dessert.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday Joanna

Had an awesome thrifting ebay week. I LOVE halloween costumes! It is crazy how quick they sell and how much they can sell for. That being said, I listed and listed more this past week. I thrifted a couple days because you gotta get while the getting is good. I had the most awesome find at a garage sale. An entire box (think Costco fruit flat box) filled with 1980s cartoon/celebrity character lcd watches. Some were new in package and a bag of un-packaged ones. I got the entire box for $5.00. I have listed one of the watches and already have my opening bid of $50.00.
Sad thrifting news...the new Savers opened. The closest one geographically to me...and it stinks. Overpriced and nothing stellar, I really hope that changes.
Ellie and her volleyball team have kept up with their undefeated record. She had 2 games last week and they won both sets. Ellie got the winning serves for the last game.
Rob had a huge week at work. It was homecoming and the 50th all class reunion of North. He was busy running around but it was worth it. We went to the game Friday night. North lost the game but the kids had fun and we got to see fireworks.
Nick had an impromptu play date with our neighbors. It was a beautiful afternoon and the boys had a ball climbing the tree and riding the bikes.
We celebrated Jo's birthday today at Mom and Dad's. Mom made veggie sushi, roasted veggies, summer salad, scallion pancakes, and chick'n. Ellie made cupcakes and decorated hep them beautifully and mom had pumpkin rice crispies.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Feels Like Fall

Monday I took Nick for his appointment at the orthopedist. After an exam and some x-rays it was ruled that he has… lax muscles. Basically there's nothing for us to do just to watch him and make sure nothing else happens.
I was able to get a couple things listed this week and thanks to free listings all my old stock relisted. EBay's had a couple glitches lately so that has dampened sales. I did score some great things this week either at thrift or garage sales. I have a huge lot of scrapbooking stamps, costumes, toys ...should be a fun week listing.
We had curriculum night at school on Wednesday where we got to meet all of the kids teachers and find out what will be studying this year. It was nice to put faces to names. And clear up some issues about Ellies 504. Ellie help to watch the younger kids as part of being a student council representative and Nick got to play with his friends while we were there.
Ellie had her first volleyball game and they won all three of their matches. There was definitely major improvement between last year and this year for their team. Looking forward to more games this coming week.
We celebrated the end of a long week by having breakfast for dinner at Walker brothers on Friday night. A little shopping trip to Target afterwards.
Saturday Rob had to work so the kids and I got on the road and hit some sales. We all found a little something which was nice.
We had a great exciting adventure today. We picked up Ellie's friend, Neha and Tony and went to the safety fair at St. Francis Hospital. The kids got all kinds of toys and candy, bike helmets, and got to ride a train and do some bouncy houses. We went to the how to fair after that where the kids learned how to make felted soap, decorate a cupcake, make fly fishing lore's, do sensory play, and make paper quilling. They also got their fair share of sitting in ambulances and police cars, I think they had a lot of fun. We all met up at mom and dads house for Sunday dinner. Mom had made tacos, rice, a garlic kickin summer salad. Pumpkin bread pudding for dessert.
Need some major positive thoughts for someone this week. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Grandparent's Day

I really worked to get our house in order this past week. I needed order for the kids, for us, and for eBay. The kids were able to do homework at the table, we were able to eat at the table, and I was able to find some 'lost' items.
Ellie tried out for the volleyball team and made it along with Neha. They had practice last week and after school each day. Their first game is this week.
I had a bunch of sales...great way to begin the month. I hit my favorite rummage sale trio in Highland Park on Friday. Unfortunately, it was almost 90 degrees with high humidity and no air conditioning. It was worth it.
We had a belated celebration for Mom and Dad's 40th on Saturday. Jo came over and helped me set up and brought a cake. We had a lovely evening under the stars and full moon. The kids had a great time playing together.

Goodbye Summer

Just as the weather seems to be finally thinking it is summer...it is time to pack up and move on. Let's see what I can remember about the week. I did a fair amount of listing and packing things up this week. Considering I had my store closed for about a week, it has been a really good month. 
School is still going well for the kids. Ellie is trying out for the volleyball team this week. I took nick into see his doctor and we were referred to a pediatric orthopedist. He is having sort of a neuropathy issue in both his thumbs. Looks like he has lax joints and muscles in his thumbs. 
Mom and I got some time alone to hit Costco. We went to the GGs to program their new cell phone. Had lunch at our house and just got to hang out.
Mom and Dad came for dinner on Wednesday night. We went to their house for dinner on Friday. 
Rob had a busy week at work with all the sports and taping. They were the featured school for ABCs fly over on Friday.
We came up to Michigan on Saturday morning. We have had a wonderful weekend...especially considering it was suppose to rain all weekend. We hung out at the beach for hours, we went apple picking, a bit of shopping in town. We finally have beach. We picked up so much beach glass today. 
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Back to school

Ellie and Nick's first week of school went great. They both like their teachers and classes. I know we were all ready to be back to a routine.
I was able to get a ton of items listed and some even sold this week. My favorites this week were a Cutco wood knife block I bought for 3.99 and sold 48 hours later for 57.50, cross stitch leaflets that I bought for a quarter a piece and sold for 24.00 a piece. I have a goal to list 20 new items each day this week to max out my listings for August.
We did some rummaging this weekend. We hit one of my favorite sales, I usually come away with bags if clothing...not so much this time but I did get a bag of clothes for Nick. Ellie and I went to a sale and we found some bargains...we went back today for the bag sale and we were really able to stuff our bags full.
We went to the back lot bash. We went on Saturday after the rain. Nick played a couple games and Ellie and I played bingo. Ellie won twice! We went back today but it was so hot and humid we only mad it for a couple minutes.
We went to Mom and Dads for dinner. We ordered El Famous and kept the house cool. The kids out on their swimsuits after dinner and went to cool off in the sprinkler. They did their own version of the bucket challenge. It was quite entertaining.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom and Dad

The last part of the week was really spent preparing for the garage sale. Pulling stuff from bedrooms and inventory and getting organized. Mom and Dad took the kids Friday night for an overnight. Rob and I picked up Dengeos and got everything ready to quickly pull.
Our garage sale was just okay...not too much traffic and certainly not as much sold as I would have liked. We went to the pool afterwards to cool off.
Sunday we went to church and the kids checked out the new playground. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner and to celebrate their 40th. We ordered in food. The kids plays outside.
School starts tomorrow, just a half day.  I think we are all looking forward to being back to a routine.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Perhaps My Brain Is Still On Vacation

I think I was thrown off because we went over to Mom and Dad's house for dinner instead of them coming over here.
Not too much to report. Done a bunch of inventory sourcing at thrift stores this week. I should be able to turn my one $32.00 receipt into about $400.00. Our house is a disaster until the garage sale this weekend. Everyone, please, collectively wish the rain off on Saturday.
Ellie is thrilled to have her friend, Neha, back in town. Nick got a back to school haircut today, he looks very handsome. Ellie really worked and rearranged her room and we got some of her pictures hung.
I think I am going to switch to a once a week post soon...our week in review. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Back to Reality

We had a great rest of the week in Michigan. Life is pretty tough there...sleeping in, eating, beach time...we will miss it.
The kids finished up clubhouse, they had Christmas in August, dance parties, and a goodbye bonfire. The lake water was warm - until Rob came up and then it turned cold.
We went into town for the blueberry parade. It was the longest and best one we have ever watched there. We cleaned up and got packed up after lunch. I was glad we had two cars because we took a bunch of toys home with us to all at our yard sale.
We had dinner at Mom and Dad's - the kids were so happy to see their cousins. Mom had a great farm meal with a little something for us all. The kids played for a bit after dinner before we came home.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

I Can't Believe It Is Wednesday

On Monday we went shopping with Mom. We picked her up and went to Target to get some back to school items and then out to lunch. We went to Alexander's and had breakfast for lunch. Ellie spent the afternoon and early evening with her friend, Neha. Rob picked up Wendy's for Nick and me. I decided I had enough of my tummy troubles and tried doing the white starchy foods for a day or two and it seemed to have worked.
Tuesday morning the kids delivered our garage sale advertisement to our neighbors. Hopefully some of them will want to participate and we will get some traffic to our sale. We packed up and started our journey to Michigan. Traffic was smooth and we made it to Michigan City in an hour. We did some shopping at the outlet mall before getting a scoop at Oinks and heading to the cottage. We got up in time for dinner and the kids to hit clubhouse. They were having a sand castle building contest - Ellie and Nick's group took 2nd place.
Today the kids had Christmas in August. They made and decorated stockings and played games in the morning. We spent the afternoon at the beach. The water has warmed up and the kids loved it. This evening they had white elephant exchange and were thrilled to come home with a water balloon filling station.
Rob has been great- I didn't put my store on vacation hold and he has been fulfilling my orders and shipping packages out. He will come up for the weekend.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal Tree

Back to Reality...Only for a Few Days

I was going to try to post another update last week but I ended up getting sick. I was the only one, thankfully. It started Monday with 24 hours of vomiting, fever, chills, sweats...funky stomach issues the rest of the time. I still am not 100% but much better. I loathe vomiting.
We spent a ton of time on our very small beach. It got even smaller over our trip. The park actually removed the boardwalk and re-installed it further back on the dunes. The kids loved clubhouse. Ellie participated in the beach volleyball tournament. She was a trooper, it was a 4 hour + tournament. She played 7 teams, 2 games each team. She had a great serve and it got her back in practice for the fall.
Did some thrifting/garage sales during the later part of the week. Picked up a few bags of stuff to list.
It was the end of the summer carnival on Friday night. The kids chose to work the face paint/tattoo table and then the bean bag buckets. They had a great time.
We came home today. Nick and I picked a basketful of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs from our garden. We went to Mom and Dad's house for dinner. Mom had a ton of veggies - beets, broccolini, asparagus, summer salad, mashed potatoes...all were great. It was great to catch up and the kids got to share their stories. The kids and I will be heading back up on Tuesday and Rob will come up for the weekend.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Vacation update

I guess it really is a vacation when you don't think about posting...
We have been having a great time. The kids have been doing clubhouse and having fun. They had Olympics last week and won some prizes. Ellie has been busy doing art project - magazine collages, painting rocks, asking to run to Michaels and Joann for supplies. Nick has been playing with the handful of Legos he brought with, the trains in the basement and watching movies. We tried to get the beach as much as possible...it has been pretty cool. We had a storm come through that wiped away most of our beach. It completely covered the biggest beach in water - the fire ring and volleyball area were underwater. At our beach they had to remove about 200-300 feet of boardwalk because the sand underneath shifted so much that they were at an unsafe angle.
We went to Dearborn on Friday. We did Greenfield Village and it was a lovely day. It was about 80 but has a beautiful breeze. We had very good pizza for dinner and then a swim in the pool. We thrifted our way back home - not really any great finds. We stopped at MSU for the best ice cream in the Midwest. We got back to the cottage and had dinner and a night swim but the water was freezing.
We spent a few hours at the beach yesterday. It was warmer out but there was a breeze and cloud coverage that made it nice. The water is still very cold. There have been great sunsets.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Great weekend

Rob had Thursday and Friday off of work...we took advantage and got out and did things. On Thursday we joined him and the GGs for lunch. It was nice to have a visit with them and we brought Nick's bike so he could show them how he could ride it now we dropped my car off in the morning and they ended up keeping it the entire day but the USB panel now charges.
Friday we packed in the morning and headed into the city in the afternoon. We spent the afternoon at Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a beautiful day. We went to the White Sox game in the evening...our first time as a family. The kids had a great time and they won the game. We stayed for the fireworks after the game, too.
Saturday morning we slept in and then packed up the car and headed to Michigan. It took a while to get through traffic and get up here but we are here. Ellie and I went into town to get movies and groceries. We had dinner and went down for the sunset.
Today, Rob planted some shrubs I picked up yesterday. We spent the afternoon on the beach. We had a nice dinner and went back to the beach for a sunset swim.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal Tree

WooHoo Wednesday

Monday morning was wet and rainy so we brought all my packages to the post office instead of leaving them for our mail lady. We were going to head north to thrift but changed plans. We went to Office max because Ellie is all about getting a bargain and they had Sharpie markers for a quarter. We had lunch of the way to pick Mom up. We went to Target and to the produce store. Rob took Nick to the pool and Ellie went to the mall with Neha. I got some time to myself.

Tuesday we did head north. We went to Gurnee and I found some good stuff. I found 5 youth sized Disney resort shirts, some vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a vintage train set, and a couple White Soc shirts or us to wear to the game Friday night. We hit a couple more stores on the way home and found some other good stuff...Christmas stockings, longaberger basket, quilt panels. The kids played outside while I got dinner ready.

This morning we were up and out to Buffalo Grove to watch the wee ones. They are getting more social each time we see them. We came home and Nick asked to try to ride his bike again...can't recall if I posted this or not but we took his training wheels off last week. Ellie went over to Neha's and it left Nick and me alone for a bit to work on his bike riding. Within about 5 minutes...he got it. By the time Ellie came back he was working on trying to start off by himself. He was so proud of himself- I was too. Mom and Dad came over for dinner, it was nice enough to eat outside again. We had chick'n, cauliflower, corn, fruit, veggie enchilada, and salad. I spread pesto on bread with some slices of tomatoes- so yummy. 

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

Come On Polar Vortex

I am really looking forward to the cooler temperatures this coming week. It is way too humid out. The kids are loving it… Water balloon fights, sprinkler, pool, squirt guns.
Thursday Ellie I took part in an asthma research project at Northwestern University. It about took the entire afternoon up… But it's worthwhile research. Mom and Nick can do Playdate well we were there. We all ran to target after we came home for a little retail therapy.
Friday Ellie woke up with a migraine that kept her close to a bucket most of the day. We did meet Jo, Ole, Tony, and Teo for a bit of afternoon minigolf. Teo was so funny… He decided it was far quicker to put his ball about an inch away from the hole and kick it in, putt it in - pretty much anything other than golfing. We went to 7-11 afterwards for our free Slurpee.
Saturday we woke up to rain. We stayed home in the morning and started to get the basement back together. Rob and I worked on getting the tiles back down in the furniture back where belongs. Not surprised that when we got to the edge we have to cut some of the tile off because they seem to grow each time. In the afternoon we were joined by mom and dad to attend a memorial service for my friend Julie's dad. It was nice to see Julie, Karlton and meet their 3 week old baby, Benjamin...wish it were for social reasons. We came home and the kids played outside with our neighbor. Huge water balloon fights/tosses.
This morning Rob was the only one awake in time to get to church. Ellie helped me package up all my ebay items. I had about 25 items sell at the end of my auctions. I got some laundry done and the closet organized. Ellie and I ran to the farmers market but most things were too much money. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made a pasta pot with some of her farm veggies, chick'n patties, dip and veggies, cabbage, and fruit. The kids rushed outside afterwards for a squirt gun battle. It was very fun to watch.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Where Are the Days Going?

Time is flying be good… Not really sure where it's going. We've been kind of monotonous this week, we've done seven eBay listing, swim at the pool, played in the yard, that's about it. Today we went up to watch the girls. They are full of personality, smiling and laughing. We did a bit of thrifting on the way home. We checked out ultra foods – surely a winner with Ellie. She loved their cupcakes. Mom and Dad came over for dinner...it was so nice out we ate outside. We have chick'n, broccoli, watermelon, salad, and sweet potatoes. Mom made banana muffins for dessert. Nick tried riding his bike without training wheels with good success. He is still wobbly but he had no wipeouts.
We hit the pool twice on Tuesday. I went with the kids from noon to 2 and then Rob took them from 5-7. They slept really well that night! I little girl at the pool told me I had a bug in my hair… I shook my hair and she said it went away. About eight hours later at home and feeling something and I realize the bug still in my hair. It was a hardshell yucky big ugly antenna bug. It  freaked me out so much I had to wash my hair in fear of the stupid dog laying eggs in my hair.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body, and the new normal, Tree

Happy 4th

Lots of the same stuff happening around here. Listing on eBay, shipping items out. Cleaning and organizing the basement. Gardening and playing outside. Ellie is helping me this summer list on ebay. We had our first learning experience on Thursday...she got about 6 items mocked up.
Friday was a very busy day. We started out at the church carnival...Ellie was firework fashionista and Nick was pedal power. Although they didn't win in an actual category, they both got to pick a prize for participating. We went to the Skokie parade, we met Mom, Dad, and UB there. It was a lovely day and the parade had some new entries. We went back to church for the races and to visit with friends. Nick won 1st place for his running race and Ellie won 2nd place. Rob and Ellie did the egg toss but didn't make it into the finals. We picked the GGs up on the way back to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We had a great spread of food and Kathryn and her boys joined us. The kids tried to catch butterflies and lit sparklers. We ended the day with the Skokie fireworks.
The basement is now 95% cleaned and organized. We went through and weeded out games and toys for our future garage sale. We moved some cabinets around to better organize my ebay boxes. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner tonight and got to see the caterpillars starting to form their chrysalis. We grilled and ate outside and the kids ran around and got sweaty.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

June Left Water

The kids went to clubhouse on Monday and won the sand sculpture contest! We had lunch and then got on the road to try to beat rush hour traffic. We got home and turned on the air conditioning - it was hot and gross in our house. The kids and I went to Mom's house for a visit. We got to see Jo's caterpillars. We left before the rain came. We stopped at Aldi to pick up some basics and got a pizza for dinner. The rain started as we arrived home and didn't stop until early morning. The basement was fine until about 10. I went down to pick up my labels and with every step I took, the floor tiles bled water. When I lifted the tiles by the drain...the drain was a geyser. I screamed to Rob to come help. We got out injection pump hooked up and draining into the sink. It quickly filled both basins and then Rob put it directly into the sump. We got to most of the tiles up and vacuumed as much as we could. The power dropped out a couple times. Around midnight we decided we had done all we could and we would just create a force field of positive energy. 

Tuesday morning we woke up and were on the road up to watch the babies. The kids loved having some one on one time with each of the girls. We did a bit of thrifting on our way home. The kids played outside for a couple hours before we had dinner and went to cool off at the pool.

Today I tried to troubleshoot the DSL connection issue with at&t. I found out our connection was all good with them - meaning our router/modem fizzled out with the power outages. Mom picked us up mid morning and we headed out to Schaumburg to meet Dad for lunch to celebrate his birthday. We introduced Mom to Savers. We ate at Jason's Deli...it was fun for the kids. They got to see where Gramps works. We did some shopping on the way back home. The kids played outside when we got home and then we went to the library for our check in. I was able to pick up a new router/modem and we can connect again.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

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

Almost Forgot it Was Sunday

Rob had a day he had to take or it would have rolled into a sick day...so he took tomorrow off and we get an extra day up at the cottage...but it threw my Sunday night off.
The kids finished camp and loved it. Nick won his bridge competition on the last day and got peanut butter cups as his prize. We got some playtime at the park with the cousins on Friday. We met mom, Jo, Tony, Matteo, John, Natalie, and Brady at Castle Park. It was a lovely morning and the kids got to play for an hour. We headed up to the cottage Friday afternoon and traffic wasn't bad. We got up in time for a scoop of ice cream at the soda bar and to watch the sunset. We've had a couple nice beach days, some shopping, some reading, and just a laid-back weekend.
Visualizing my healthy and continually feeling body in the new normal, Tree

Bye Bye June

Where oh where has the month of June gone? I cannot believe we are about to turn the page of the calendar to July. This week started the kids science camp. Nick is in a future innovators… Making catapults, bridges, tunnels. Ellie is in App Builder... Designing apps for mobile devices. Both of them seem to be having a great time.
It's been a lovely week and the kids of been able to stay up later to catch fireflies at night. Have quite the Discovery Zone happening in the yard. The basement is pretty much back to normal, however, the rubber tiles didn't align when we put them back in. We did our first check in at the library for the summer reading program the kids got to spin the wheel and win a prize.
I've been able to do a couple dozen listings since we've been home. We've reached the slow, slow,  slow summer sales time. Everyone is off on vacation and outside enjoying the weather… Not shopping on the Internet.
Mom and dad came for Wednesday night dinner. Mom brought lettuce and beets from her farm box. I made chicken scallopini, noodles, broccoli and cauliflower, and berries. Speaking of berries… Just learned this week that our service berry tree, in front, is edible. The berries that the birds love, taste similar to a blueberry. Needless to say, I have picked the entire tree. I made some jam and I was able to freeze a bag for muffins when the weather cools off.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Vacation Is Over

Well… Came home from Michigan today. Stopped in on the way to mom and dads to grab something and noticed the basement tiles were wet so we knew we had some cleanup ahead. Didn't know how much until we got home and realized we had to move most of the things on the floor to clean up the black sludge. We are able to pull all the tiles in the shop area and get those cleaned out and only about eight from the play area before we ran out of room. There's always tomorrow. Mom made a nice dinner of homemade falafel, quinoa salad, kale and mushrooms, brats for the boys, and tons of fruit. We were supposed to be celebrating Jo and Ole's eighth anniversary but they decided to go out on a date night instead.
The rest of vacation was pretty much the same, clubhouse for the kids, some beach time, games crafts. Everyone from Arizona left yesterday as well as Dean, Lauren and the girls. We got some beach time in the afternoon before huge thunderstorm came in the evening. Today we just Kinda slept anything cleaned up before we came home ourselves.
Honestly I'm pooped… Literally. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Weather has been crazy up at the cottage this week. When we looked at the 7 day outlook it looked like there wouldn't be any sunshine this week but we had beautiful days on Monday and Tuesday. Monday morning the kids headed off to the clubhouse, Ellie is volunteering as a helper this summer. She is absolutely thrilled. Nick finally conceded and went to clubhouse this year, he is having a good time, too. They have played many games and they have a couple sport/game tournaments this week. Ellie has been invited to teen night tomorrow where they will go have dinner and see a movie. The Arizona side of the family got up here Monday afternoon. Lauren and Dean came up today. Rob has had to deal with plumbing issues...no hot water, replacing every part in the water heater and increasing the amps in the electric panel.
We keep watching the news and the storms from Illinois all seem to part over the lake and miss up. We did get a huge storm that passed through this afternoon. The kids are having fun together.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal Tree

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the great dad's in my life...
Thursday we went over to Mom's for lunch. Tony and Teo were there and the kids loved eating together and some playtime outside before Teo's nap time. The kids played outside in the afternoon and we did some cleaning for uncle Edwin. Rob picked him up from the airport a bit before 3am.
Friday morning the kids were delighted to see uncle Edwin again. We had breakfast and played games and sports. Rob came home early to go to lunch with Edwin. The kids and I did some shopping at the mall. We had dinner together and had a lovely game of soccer in the yard.
Saturday we divided and conquered...the big boys went to spend some time together while the kids and I went rummaging. We hit 4 sales in the morning. I found some things to flip and some great things for the kids. We came home and got a salad together before cruising up to Dean's for a BBQ. We stopped at another sale on the way and found 2 bags of clothes for Ellie...all high end designer labels for $10.00. We got to see Nana, and Rob's brothers family from AZ. The cousins got to play and we had a Henderson family basketball game...too fun.
Today we had a slow morning. We read the paper and then got moving on packing up for the cottage. We had the baptism for Sav and Kenz this afternoon. It was a nice service and the girls mostly slept through it. We stopped home to change clothes and pack the car before heading to Mom and Dad's for dinner. Mom made some great salads, veggies, meat and non. Meat, fruit and pistachio cake and brownie s for dessert. It was a great time and I was happy we were able to squeeze all we could into the day. We drove to Michigan afterwards and we were able to make it most of the way without rain...we beat the storm. Pretty much we were able to unpack before the lightening/thunder and rain began. We are up for the week with Rob's family, looks like rain everyday.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

School is Out

Mom and I went to Kohl's on Monday. I was able to find a couple pairs of jeans and a pair sandals for Nick. Mom was able to get some shoes and some clothes too. The kids came home from school and played outside. Although it was a little bit chilly they kept busy running around. We ran to the store to pick up food for all of the parties on the last day of school.
Tuesday was last day! Pretty much spent all day at school. Nick's award ceremony was right before lunch followed by a picnic lunch inside and a little bit of outdoor time before the rain came. We went down to the gym to watch the sixth and seventh grade play the staff for a volleyball game. Followed by Ellie's award ceremony. Both Nick and Ellie were awarded citizenship awards. Nick got the citizenship award for his first grade class. Ellie got the citizenship award for the whole entire sixth-grade class. After school Ellie and her friend went to get their nails painted. We ended the night with dinner out to celebrate.
Today we woke up and got on the road to Lauren and Dean's to watch the twins. Something was bothering their tummies they were the happiest they've ever been. The kids loved playing, feeding and talking to the kids. We did a bit of thrift thing on the way home. Nick got some cool HO scale trains and Ellie found a dress to wear this weekend. Mom and dad came over to dinner. We found fake meat loaf at the store today and tried it and it was most excellent. Mom got her first organic produce box and shared broccoli and lettuce with us. We finished the night relaxing on the couch.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Fast Times

Time seems to be flying by in this first week of June but last few days of school. I did some shopping on Thursday. I loaded up in Glenview for the 75% off sale. Mom joined me on Friday to rummage and garage sale. We both had fun and wound up with a couple things. We tried out the new grocery store in Glenview...a bit pricey but clean. Friday night we went to Relay for Life. This year was superhero themed, so survivors got purple capes with a giant 'S'. We got to visit with some friends. We had dinner and cake, walked a couple laps, and the kids played in the field.
Saturday we divided, the boys were picked up by Dad and they went fishing. Ellie and I headed downtown to Northwestern. Ellie had her follow up fMRI and she wanted to do some looking around in the stores. I got a couple quiet hours to start the new book I checked out. We had lunch in the hospital before heading home. The kids played out in the yard. We did a later afternoon run to Kohl's. We left with shoes for everyone. Ellie found a couple pairs of gym shoes and a pair of sandals, Nick has sandals, Rob has new gym shoes, me too.we had dinner at the train Culvers but sadly, no train was running.
Today we slept in but made it to church. The kids played in the park for a little bit after. We came home and cleaned up. I was able to reorganize all my piles of stuff to list. Nick and Rob vacuumed and cleaned out our cars. Ellie worked in her room. We went for Family Sunday at Mom and dad's. Mom had made a bunch of summer salads and ordered chicken for the ones who still eat it. It was a bit too cool for the kids to play outside but they dressed up and had a musical parade for us.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Tired

Must've eaten something gross… Tummy is not feeling so great. This will be a shorter post because I think I'm going to sleep. Not too much to share, the kids are ready to be done with school. Mom and I got to go out and do some grocery shopping on our own on Monday. I watched the girls this morning, they're getting big and having more personality. Got some listing done yesterday. Nick got a haircut looks very handsome. Try to pick a tick out of Rob's back, he ended up at the doctors today. The doctor was able to get it all out and hoping on some antibiotics.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

June?

Time continues to fly...hard to believe it is June today, that the kids have 7 mores days of school, the summer is upon us. Rob picked me up mulch so I played in the garden and got a thick layer of mulch on the veggies. I got all my listings up for the month of May. I did some shopping on Friday. I picked up another bag of books at Salvation. I think I found some thrifting winners - we will see. I lucked out on stitch kits - found about a dozen. Friday night we went to the end of the year PTA picnic at school. We were able to grab dinner there. The fire truck came and hosed all the kids down. The book mobile was there and the kids got to check out some books. We headed up to Michigan afterwards. It wasn't bad, it gave traffic a bit of time to think out.
Saturday Ellie and I went shopping. It was 50% off at Goodwill and Ellie was able to find some clothes. I found a couple framed pictures for the cottage. We hit some garage sales and other stores. We had lunch in a cute little cafe. We walked downtown South Haven before heading back. The boys were busy while we were out. They cut out all of the dead evergreens and other shrubs that were damaged by the winter. We worked in the house for the rest of the evening. We were able to get the remaining floor painted upstairs. We hit the soda bar for ice cream and caught a great sunset.
Today we did our final clean up and got the air conditioners in. We were able to spend an hour or so on the beach before coming home. We went to Mom and Dad's for a visit. We came home and the kids played while Rob and I took a couple minutes to sit in our oasis and relax.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Oasis Open

Monday we finished cleaning up and working at the cottage. We took a break around lunchtime and went down to the beach. We brought a couple chairs and the kids took shovels and pails. It was a great break before packing up and heading home. Pretty convenient that there is construction at the Michigan/Indiana border...it means we can jump off 94 and stop into Oinks for ice cream. We got home and I got all my packages packed up to mail. The kids played outside for a bit. Rob ran over to pick me up some bags of compost for the garden. I was able to get some tomatoes and peppers planted. We ran to Mom and Dad's to visit and walked in on a water fight.
Tuesday I volunteered in the morning. I came home and started to list. I bought so much this past weekend and want to get it listed as soon as possible. I did a grocery run when Rob got home from work. We had summer dinner - veggie and cheese sandwiches, cut fruit and veggies.
Today I started out listing but got sidetracked. Rob is working the late shift for 2 days because he is taping the graduations. We went to look at gazebos since Menards is sold out. We ended up buying one at Big Lots. I actually think it was the exact same one as Menards had. We came home and began to build it. We were able to get all the frame built before Rob had to leave. I was able to get the mosquito netting and privacy curtains up...our backyard oasis is complete. Nick helped me move the wicker furniture in and it looks great. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We had falafel sandwiches, fruit, broccoli and cauliflower, noodles, quinoa bowl. Mom's homemade granola and ice cream for dessert. Nick and Dad played wii while Mom, Ellie, and I played Scategories.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal Tree

Happy Memorial Day

Can you believe May is almost over? Crazy...
Thursday Rob took off work to chaperone Nick's fishing field trip with me. We met the class at the Skokie Lagoons. The kids got to see all the fish that the forest preserve guy caught in the morning- including some pretty big fish. Then they got to fish for a couple hours. Nick caught a sunfish and his friend, Hai, caught one too. I think Nick was pretty happy to have us both there. I went to Salvation in the afternoon, they were having a book bag sale.
Friday was a half day for the kids and Rob. I got all my ebay stuff boxed up and ready for pick up before cruising to a couple sales. Ellie didn't win the student council treasurer position but she didn't seem too bothered. We left for Michigan after she helped decorate the gym for the 8th grade dance. It took us too many hours to get up here. Ellie and I did our grocery run while the boys worked around the cottage.
Saturday morning we all cruised off the Holland. I was able to do some thrifting. We spent the day there shopping. We really worked when we got home. We painted, we did plumbing work, we fixed the kitchen faucet, we figured out the hot water issues, we raked and did some yard clean up. Rob went to take a shower and found only cold water...only one shower is running hot. We went into town for ice cream and the sunset.
Today we did more of the same. We painted, cleaned, organized. Ellie and I went to Benton Harbor and shopped while the boys built some new shelves. We took a beach walk and visited with friends this afternoon. The kids and I went into Meijer to meet Fabio Viviani, he is a chef. We watched his cooking demonstration and then got to meet him, the kids got his autograph. Nick even tried his pesto. We had dinner and then went to see the sunset.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal,  Tree

Sun Kissed in May

It has certainly been a busy week. On Monday I had about a dozen packages to ship. I took advantage of the sunshine and got out afterwards. I went over to Mom's and Teo and I played in the yard for a while. I got the plants I bought Mom for her birthday planted. I stopped into Salvation and found some cool stuff. A $140.00 LEGO set for $25.00 - all sealed, just missing the box. I found a huge rolodex for a bartender filled with hundreds of drink recipes. I started to paint our wicker furniture we brought back from Michigan. We had bought 4 cans on Sunday but I ended up using 2.5 cans just on the first chair. I made a quick Menard's run to replenish my supply. I was able to get the entire set painted by the time Ellie got home from school. When I came inside from painting I listened to a message on the machine. It was from the school and Ellie was being recognized with an award for her entry into the PTA Reflections contest. We ended up trucking to school in the evening for a very nice award ceremony. Ellie got a framed certificate.
Tuesday morning Mom picked me up and we went to the volunteer breakfast at school. It was fun, we got a sneak preview of the concert. I volunteered afterwards in Nick's class. I walked home and then went grocery shopping. I did some listing in the afternoon before picking Nick up. We ran to Target to pick up Scotchguard for the outdoor cushions. We came home and I waterproofed the cushions and Nick played. We picked Ellie up from track. We had dinner, showers and bed.
Today the kids were off to school and I started listing. Rob was home during the day and we were able to get some cleaning done. We had lunch before heading to Niles West for Ellie's track meet. It was sunny, warm, and about 80 degrees this afternoon. Ellie was signed up for 4 events - the 400 yard dash, long jump, shot put, and discus. We won't know all her standings until the official results are mailed. Rob and I stayed for 3 hours but she was out there for more than 5...her face is pretty sunburned. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We had a lot of cool salads and food that didn't require cooking. We watched the season finale of the Middle.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Body Aches

I chaperoned Ellie's 6th grade field trip to the Adler Planetarium on Thursday. I don't know that I can do a middle school field trip again. I think it is the age for testing limits. It was a cold, rainy day. The bus trip down took forever. The museum shows in the theater were very cool. The one is updated on a weekly basis to show which stars and planets you can best see in the Chicago sky. By the end of the day, the sun had come out and we were able to take a quick walk along the beach before heading back. I picked Nick up from school and then Rob picked Ellie up from track.
Friday morning Mom, Teo, and I went to Costco. I found some snacks for lunches and a few other things. They dropped me at home and I unloaded. The kids only had a half day, they were home by noon. We had lunch and then headed over to Mom's. The kids were very excited to be able to pick Tony up from school. They got to play for a few minutes before we headed out. We went to a rummage sale Friday night - I was looking for stock but instead found things for us. We picked up a full size air hockey table for Michigan. I thought it would fit in the car but it stuck out about 2 feet. We drove home slowly. We all quickly packed our overnight bags for Saturday. Mom and Dad were watching the kids so Rob and I could head to Michigan to open up.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast and I dropped the kids off. Rob and I made good time on the road. We knew there was a pipe break somewhere upstairs but we didn't know where or how bad. It took us a bit to get the electric panel to turn on. Rob slowly turned the water on and it quickly started to rain on the 1st floor and the basement. With flashlights and crooked neck, Rob thought he tracked down where the water was coming from. He removed the vanity and cut the floor...found a hole in the shower pipe. Pain in the butt area to get to and have to work in. Long story short - every time Rob thought it was fixed and we turned the water back on, a new problem would be found inches away. It took all day Saturday to fix the plumbing. I worked on cleaning the upstairs and then I got into painting the floor. We went out for dinner and pick up supplies. Rob tried to take a hot shower only to find the shower didn't work on the 1st floor and there was no hot water.
We were both up entirely too early this morning but it worked to our benefit because we were able to get a bunch done. We got the car emptied and put away. We set up the hockey table and pinball machine. We painted a bit more of the floor. We attempted to clean up as much of the water crud as possible. We made lots of sketches with measurements and things we need to bring up next weekend. We closed up around lunchtime and started our trip home. We got home and showered and it felt good. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We celebrated Ole's birthday. Mom made ribs, corn, veggies, pasta, and more. The kids played outside together. Jo and Ole took the kids to a new favorite park this afternoon. We headed to Menards to pick up our gazebo after dinner but they are completely out of stock in Illinois. We came home and Ellie and I worked on her posters for her run for student council treasurer.
My body is letting me know exactly which muscles were worked out this weekend. I have to say, I have been doing a yoga video and I think it has really helped with some of the hip cramping/charlie horse issues I have had for a couple years now.
Here is my Relay for Life page, if you care to donate. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/theresahazard  
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Rain, Rain

The weather must be totally confused… The calendar says May not April showers can cease please. Been very busy listing this week, I have free listings and I'm taking advantage. On Monday I went for my casting call, and haven't heard back so I'm pretty sure I wasn't what they were looking for. Ellie went to the mall with some girlfriends after school. I guess the shopping at the mall has started. I volunteered Tuesday morning at school. Came home and worked on some more listings. I'm very proud of myself, my stores over 400 items strong now.
Today I got the kids off to school and headed up to watch the twins. They grew some more in the last week don't know what I'm going to do because I won't see them till June now. Mom and dad came over for dinner tonight. We had burgers and salad fruit salad. We watch the Middle after dinner.
I am doing some fund-raising for relay for life, if you feel like making the donation, let me know. I will include the link to my webpage in Sunday's blog. Relay will be the night of June 6th.
Visualizing my healthy continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! Had a great day start to finish today. While drinking my coffee this morning, I had my lap filled with wonderful goodies. Ellie made me a vase with flowers and a special pen. Nick made me a pottery tea cup in art class. Rob gave me beautiful flowers. I had cards galore. We went over to Mom and Dad's for brunch. I brought the fruit and the adult beverage. Mom had strata, vegan chilequillas, mini pancakes, potato latkes, bagels. Chocolate coffee cake and monkey bread for dessert. Ellie helped me chocolate dip the biggest strawberries ever. After brunch, all the kids went outside for a huge water fights. It started and pretty neutral with all of them having their own water guns however the hose came out and the battlefield was a little less even. They were all thoroughly soaked but it was all good fun. We came home in the afternoon and the kids put on their swimsuits and went outside. They mocked up their own wipeout course and we're doing tricks. We came in showered off we all got her pajamas on. Ellie and I did some reading, she has a new book for a book report we needed to make headway. We had a late supper and watched an episode of Gilmore girls before bedtime.
Saturday morning Ellie and I were up and out early. She was doing another research study at Northwestern and we needed to go for her initial testing. We went to a rummage sale on our way home and walked out with a couple bags full of stuff. Nick and Rob were busy while we were gone fixing stuff around the yard. Ellie's friend Neha came over and Nick played with the neighbors was a great afternoon to be outside. We ended the day with a trip to Minard's. We wanted to look at some of the outdoor furniture again. We had dinner at Culvers came home and got to bed.
Thursday and Friday I pretty much spent all day listing. I've gotten so away from clothing that I forgot how quick sometimes clothing can flip. Some of the stuff I've listed has already sold within hours of it being listed. I also got pretty organized, I took out all of my bins and organized biphenyl. I was finding it took me a while to find a specific kit once it's sold.
I got an email on Friday from the company that I did it casting call at for the GE commercial a couple years ago. University of Iowa is looking to cast a cancer survivor in a commercial they're doing. Long story short… I'm going on an audition tomorrow. It's a nonspeaking part, the person who will be cast will be posing as a teacher. Not sure how I feel about this because the audition is totally just on how you look and if you match what they are looking for. Not getting my hopes up.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Warm Up Wednesday

This week has sped by… I guess it's a good thing. Ironically, both Ellie and Nick had not been sick with asthma related illness all winter but the trip for their annual physical brings out the best. Poor Nick has been awake most nights coughing throughout the night hope it gets better soon.
Monday I did some listing and made it my goal to get 10 to 15 items listed per day. It was Cinco de Mayo so I had salvation army in the evening to get there five items for five dollars after 5 PM. I had run in earlier and sorted things that I wanted to come back for and hopes that they would still be there… And most of them were. I ended up grabbing a cart because the weight in my arms was way too much. I ended up with 25 items for $25 such a great deal.
Tuesday morning I did some running around. It's teacher appreciation week at school and I need to pick up a gift card and flowers for Mrs. Berkowitz. I went into volunteer and worked with the kids on story sequencing. I came home and did my listings. I took advantage of the sunshine and went out for a walk in the afternoon before Nick got home from school. Rob had to work in the evening so he saw Nick's school concert during the dress rehearsal during the day. Ellie and I want to see it in the evening. It was a cute concert they sang show hits.
This morning I got the kids on the bus and then headed up to Lauren's to watch the twins. Was another day of them sleeping, eating,  playing and sleeping some more. I did my grocery shopping on the way back home. When Nick and Ellie got home they played outside for a little bit. Mom and dad came over for dinner we had potato pancakes, chicken patties, broccoli and Cauliflower, fruit salad, and mom made a delicious summer salad. We all piled on the couch to watch the Middle. We got the kids to bed pretty soon after hoping tonight is a better night for coughing.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy May

I had my Dr. Marsh visit on Thursday morning. It began with my blood draw and then my visit. I got the all clean and clear, see you in 6 months, visit. My labs look good. My white blood count has never really rebounded, I guess my normal is not in the 'average range' but slightly under. My CO2 was a bit elevated but when I did research on what that all means, the first thing mentioned is how long the rubber band was placed on when the blood was drawn. I am not an easy draw, it takes time to find a viable vein, so I am no longer perplexed about that value being elevated. I took Nick for his doctor appointment after school on Thursday. He is now 4 feet tall… Gosh these kids are growing like weeds. Next appointment concluded are very busy doctor appointment week.
Friday morning I started my day at a rummage sale. Got a couple Christmas mugs and craft kits nothing huge. I spent the rest of the day updating my listings, getting things ready to ship out, and doing paperwork. I got a call from Ellie in the afternoon that the bus should be pulling in shortly so I headed off to school to pick her up. She had a great time, I knew she would. She got in the car with rapidly running nose and a cough and sore throat. We got Nick from school and headed off  for a milkshake to celebrate Ellie being home. We stopped in to mom's house so Ellie could share her exciting trip memories. Rob had to work Friday night so the kids and I headed off to have dinner together and do a little bit of shopping.
Saturday morning everyone slept in. Joanna came over and we did some rummaging in the morning. Rob and Nick hung out together while the girls shop. I did score some good stuff Saturday. I got a bag of ties that the one sale, some Lilly Pulitzer dresses, and some craft kits. We rendezvoused back at the house in the early afternoon. After some unloading of the car, we decided to get on the road and enjoy the rest of the sunshiny afternoon. I did some thrift shopping and scored some more good finds. And we just enjoyed each other's company.
This morning we started our day at church, we were the Sunday school parents. We stopped off at Home Depot on the way home to pick up some planting material. Rob and Nick diligently worked to facilitate my garden plan. Ellie and I stayed inside and worked on her historical fiction project. I was able to get a little bit of listing done in the afternoon. We had it off to mom's house for family Sunday. We were celebrating grandpa GG's birthday, Ole's birthday, early Mother's Day, and Cinco de Mayo. We had chicken, salad, broccoli, potatoes, pasta, and a vegan chiliqueles . Brownies and flan for dessert. The kids had a partial dance party before we all went home. Ellie and I worked on organizing her closet, weeding out all of the clothing that is way too small for her. Rob andNick played Wii resort downstairs.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Growing Up

So annoyed with the internet tonight...it is completely wonky and I just had my entire post written and it cleared it.
This will be terribly simple because the wonky internet.
Ellie is off to White Pines until Friday. For weeks she has been looking forward to it but she was a bit unsure when we got to school this morning. She had tears and worried about missing us. Nick ended his night much the same...missing his sister.
Ellie had her physical yesterday, she is 5'4". The doctor told us she is similar in size to the average 17 year old.
Have my 6 month visit tomorrow. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday, Mom

Spent Thursday with my friend, Lee. She was in town for a workshop. We did some thrifting and I found some good stuff. We did some grocery shopping, too. We went out for dinner in the evening.

Friday I hit some rummage sales. Another good find day...Bitty Baby, Laser Tag set, Scentsy burner, vintage small electronics. Rob had to work on Friday night. It was beautiful out and the kids played outside until almost 7pm. 

Saturday morning, Ellie and I did some garage sale shopping. No major scores. We came home and baked a cake for Mom's birthday. We went out browsing patio furniture. Rob and I want to create a nice outdoor oasis in the back yard. Rob wants a gazebo and I want comfy furniture. We went to Costco, Lowes and Menards. We found a gazebo we really like but no furniture yet. 

Rob went to church this morning. Nick pulled his top tooth out. It has been dangling and it hurts when he eats. Did laundry this morning. Ellie and I went to Mariano's to grocery shop for the week. Ellie and I frosted the cakes when we got home. We went to Emily Oaks for Earth Day celebration. We got to see the resident deer in the forest. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We celebrated Mom's birthday a day early we had Mexican - Mom cooked her own dinner. The kids had a dance party - it was pretty entertaining. We came home and had family game night and played wii sports. 

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

Happy Earth Day

Been a busy week and it's only half over. On Monday, I went shopping with Jo and Teo. We did a bit of thrifting. I did a bit of grocery shopping. It was Tony's sixth birthday. I spent the afternoon listing to eBay. It was good I did, because I had instant sales. After school the kids played outside for a long time.
Tuesday morning I went to school to volunteer. I was able to work with a few children. In the afternoon I did massive tie listing. I got over 30 ties listed. And one sold in the evening. Ellie stayed late to practice for track and field. Nick and I went to the park and waited for her practice to be done. The kids played outside until Ellie accidentally kicked the ball into Nick's  face. Came in for warm showers and dinner.
This morning I got the kids on the bus and headed out to Laurens. I got to spend the morning with Savvi and Kenzie. They were wiped out and slept majority of the time. I got to feed them both at once today because they both woke up at the same time. It was at least first track meet today. It was so chilly outside, only about 50°. The poor kids were practicing and trying to warm up in shorts and T-shirts. Ellie's events today were the 50 yard dash and the long jump. Unfortunately, Ellie fell at school yesterday and did some damage to her knee. I think she was afraid to go full force today. She has another meet next month I hope that one goes better. We came home and we all took warm showers to heat up. Mom and dad came over for dinner, we had sandwiches, fruit salad, salad, cauliflower mash, and broccoli. We watched an episode of the Middle before they went home.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Easter

Short post because I am tired. Hoping everyone had a wonderful Easter. We had everyone over and had a potluck late lunch. It was a beautiful day, I had windows open, and the kids got to play outside.
Friday we met Mom, Dad, Tony, and Teo at the theater to see Rio 2 and have lunch. Yesterday, Ellie and Nick went to Tony's for a birthday party...everyone is growing up.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Quick Week

This week has flown by...the kids are off on Friday, so tomorrow is the end of the week.
I ran to the Unique in the city on Monday. I bought a couple bags of sewing patterns. I stopped by Mom's house on the way home. It was Dad's first day at his new job and Mom and Teo's first day without him. I came home and did some listing.
Tuesday morning I volunteered at school. I did a quick run to Salvation after. I picked up a winter coat for Nick and some vintage hair rollers. I came home and listed. Ellie had track, so Nick and i were able to have some snuggle time on the couch before Rob and Ellie got home. I made soup because it was chilly out.
Today I went out by Lauren and the girls. They have really grown in the past couple weeks. Savvi was awake more and played with some of her toys, well she pulled at them. Kenzie was a sleepy head. Rob had jury duty today but was home by the time I for home. It was nice enough for the kids to play outside with the neighbors until dinner was ready. Mom and Dad came over for dinner, we had taco night, Mom made a salad, I made purple cauliflower and broccoli and fruit salad. We watched Gilmore.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

What a Wacky Weather Weekend

It seems like it has been a really long time since my last post. I did some rummaging and thrifting on Thursday. Didn't really find too much. I got about a dozen vintage sewing patterns and some crafting items.
Friday I did some listing and was able to get quite a few things up. Rob had to work in the evening. It was a beautiful day and I did some more leaf raking in the yard. The kids and I went to Target and then picked up dinner at Culvers.
Saturday morning, Ellie and I had a taste test market research. I ate my annual allotment of gummy bears. We did some browsing on the way home at a couple stores. I dropped Ellie off at Mom's and came home. Rob and I finished up the leaf raking and took apart my one raised bed garden to do some re-designing. Nick played with our neighbor. Rob went to work in the afternoon and we joined him in the evening. It was International night, the clubs present dancing and food and games. Nick brought Tony with. It was a fun evening.
Today we went to Palm Sunday service at church. It was 70* when we left for church and 51* when we got out of church. The kids and I went grocery shopping afterwards. Ellie is growing up far too quickly...last night at school she was asked what year she was and at the grocery store today the sample lady questioned if she was 16! We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. The kids had a hilarious dance party. We came home and watched a Gilmore episode before bed.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Feeling better

I think, knock on wood, that whatever I have had has made its way to the exit. Ellie began track and field this week. She practices 3 days a week after school and will have a couple meets.
Monday I hung out and helped Jo. We went out to Schaumburg. We made a pit stop at Savers before going to Ikea. Jo was taking advantage of Tony's spring break and re-doing the boys room. Jo picked out the bunk bed she wanted and we went to pick it up...but they were out of stock. We had already moved the crib I to my garage and Tony's bed was taken apart...we needed to get a bed. Bolingbrook had them in stock, so off we went. We picked up the bed, got a mattress and went back to Jo's to begin putting it together. Monday after school, Ellie and I went grocery shopping at Mariano's.
Tuesday morning Rob didn't have to go in to work until mid morning. He took the kids to school. We went to Target. I volunteered at school. There is a new student from Vietnam and we worked together off vocabulary. I went over to Jo's afterwards to help her for a couple more hours. It has been a nice week weather wise. The kids happily played outside in the afternoon. Rob and Ellie went out for daddy daughter dinner. Nick and I went to get his haircut and then out for dinner.
Today I did some ebay stuff in the morning. I needed to print out and cut a new batch of thank you notes and cut and bag soap. It was almost too nice to be inside so I went and did some thrifting. Our mail lady is finally back on our route. When. Nick came home from school we went out and played frisbee. Mom and Dad came over for dinner. We watched an episode of Gilmore together.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Day Late, I Know

So, I have had this sinus/cold/allergy thing going on for about a week now. Last night I made myself a hot toddy and it pretty much knocked me out and I wasn't going to blog when I woke up at 3:00 AM.
I can't much recall Thursday last week...makes me think that nothing much happened. I know Mom and Dad came over after school to visit with us.
Friday I got out of the house and did a bit of thrifting. I found a couple shirts for Rob, a robe for Nick, a pack of dvds for Mom's house, new summer pjs for Nick. I had lunch at Mom and Dad's. I got quite a few items out of the house in the afternoon mail. Nick and I had a date night because Rob was at a volleyball game and Ellie was at middle school rec night.
Saturday was busy. Ellie had her dance clinic at the high school in the morning. Rob took her to that and Nick and I went to the inaugural rummage sale of the year. We found lots of things for us - nothing to flip. We met Rob and Ellie at school for her performance. Ellie got to work with the team captain on a duet. We had a wedding on Saturday night. It was the first time ever that we had a non-family member watch the kids. It worked out fine and they were more than thrilled to have a gymnast in the house to help them with their gymnastics. The wedding was in the city and it was nice to be out with the family and without the wee ones.
Sunday morning, Rob and Ellie went to church. Nick and I stuck around here and snuggled. The tree guys came and stumped the base of the tree. We worked all afternoon in the yard. We got many bags of leaves cleaned up and started laying the wood chips around the house. We went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. The kids got to play outside and have fun.
Visualizing my healthier and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

April Showers

Monday was such a lovely taste of Spring...Tuesday and today, not so much. I did some thrifting on Monday. No real luck in the city but did find some things at Avenues. I spent the afternoon ironing shirts to list. The kids came home from school and played outside. The wind really picked up but they were able to enjoy the warmth.
I volunteered at school on Tuesday. I helped with end of the quarter testing. I was able to get quite a few things up and listed. Slow trickle of sales but at least something everyday. The kids came home from school and did homework and cleaned up some toy messes. We had an early dinner and watched an episode of Gilmore.
Today I got the kids on the bus and went up to Lauren's. I watched the girls while she went into work. They are getting bigger. I got some cuddle time with each of them. I came home and got Nick off the bus. We met Ellie at the library for Battle of the Books. Ellie answered one of the questions correct - leading to the only points EPS scored - terrible loss. We came home and had an early dinner. I went to school for the presentation on White Pines. Ellie will be going to White Pines next month for a couple days. They get to do about 8 activities during their time there. Fossil searching, horse back ridding, cemetery history dating, geology hunts, compass skills. She is very excited.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday, Nick

Well, March Madness has come to an end. Nick officially turned 7 yesterday.
We had a wonderful spring break road trip. We got to spend an evening with Julie, Karlton, and Amelia in Louisville. We had dinner together and then Julie and I got to talk and catch up while Rob took the kids swimming. Our drive was broken up to about 6 hour drives. We continued on to our cabin in Sevierville, TN. It was about 15 minutes from town and was up on the top of a mountain that had tons of twists and turns to get to. We were in the mountains and didn't have wifi and it was great. We explored most of the Northeast Smoky Mountains. We started at Big Creek and decided to try the mountain hugging road instead of getting back on the interstate. We had awesome views and saw waterfalls and nature up close and personal...however, we also probably prematurely aged ourselves about 10 years. The car said we were 100 miles til empty and it was 16 miles to the next inlet. We didn't take into consideration the gravel/dirt road, the twists and turns and the climbing the mountain. Also, it turned out the next inlet in 16 miles was just a hiking trail and not a gas station. I was so happy when we could see the interstate in the distance and was even happier that we could coast down most of the last 4 miles...literally, coasting into the gas station on the last fraction of a gallon of gas.
It was chilly there, even snowed on and off. We went to the aquarium one day and it had the coolest moving walkway shark lagoon. The fish, shark, stingrays, and turtles were swimming all around you and you were just able to take it all in. We walked around downtown and looked in a couple of the arts and crafts studios. Ellie really wanted to go to this mini golf course but the time we had left was all freezing and snowing.
We spent the last couple days in Cincinnati. On our first night there, the kids had been asleep for a few hours, Rob went to bed and then the fire alarm went off. I called the front desk and the clerk didn't really know what to tell me. It was midnight but we woke the kids up and went down to the lobby. Turned out that it was some stupid person pulling the switch. Luckily, Nick didn't even remember it in the morning and Ellie shrugged it off. We went to the museum in Union Station. It was 3 museums in one - history, science, and children's. We spent hours there. They had a train exhibit with Cincinnati history that Nick loved. They had this huge bat cavern that you could walk through to see a bats perspective. We had dinner at our favorite Ohio Mexican restaurant. We drove home on Friday. It was a great week and we are already talking about possibly going West next year.
Nick didn't really want to do anything but hang out and play for his birthday. Ellie made cake pops and video taped it. She really wants to place it youtube. Ellie and Rob started to edit it on Saturday night. Nick didn't want to go out for dinner so we brought food in. We went to Target after dinner so Nick could use a gift card that he received for his birthday. We built his new lego truck when we got home.
Today I finished up all our laundry. Did a grocery run for the week. Rob and I worked to dig up all the bulbs and tubers that were around the base of the tree so they don't get damaged when they stump it. The kids played outside all afternoon with our neighbors. We went to dinner at Mom and Dad's. It was great that the kids got to play outside there, too. Ellie's cake pops turned out great.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Spring Break

Our internet connection is shaky, not sure how long this post will be. It it the beginning of Spring Break, so I will be taking a week off from posting.
Monday was St. Patrick's Day. I tried to do some thrifting in the morning but it was like the stores were giving things away - way too crowded and messy. I picked up soda bread for Nick to bring to school. Ellie walked home for school with a couple friends...a first for the newly 12 year old. Our tree is now completely down in the yard. We have some huge craters where the trunk fell to the ground. They will stump it in a few weeks.
I volunteered on Tuesday morning.  The kids were painting their backdrops for the frog and toad plays. After school, Nick and I put together his LEGO train.
Today it did some thrifting in the morning. I got the oil changed in the car. I went to seethe frog and toad play at school and Ellie's battle of the books...they lost. We went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner.
Hope everyone had a nice week. Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree

Happy Birthday, Ellie

My baby girl turned 12 this weekend, can't believe it.
Thursday was Nick's field trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Dad and I chaperoned...Dad was Nick's 1st request! They only had one bus reserved, so we drove down. I haven't been to the Shedd since the early 1990s. We got to walk around and see the various fish, frogs, eels, sharks and such. We got to see the Fantasea show with the dolphins and whales. We also saw the Ice Age 4D show - the kids loved it. It was a fun time.
Friday was so bright and sunshine filled. I got in the car early. I had to find the remainder of the kids birthday presents. I was able to find everything I needed and things seemed to fall into place. Friday night, Ellie and I went to Mariano's to complete the shopping for her girlfriend party on Saturday.
Saturday morning we straightened up around the house. Ellie had a couple friends over and they feasted on some of Ellie's favorites - ravioli, strawberries, veggies, bbq chips, and punch. They painted some rocks and made bath salts and sugar scrubs. In the evening, we went out to Sweet Tomatoes to celebrate as a family. It was perfect because we all could find something to eat.
This morning Rob went to church and the kids and I did out cooking prep work. We ran to Costco to pick up their cake. Nick is starting to learn about telling time at school and not a moment too early. It  was so hard for him to wait until people arrived. Rob went to pick up the GGs and I got the food into the oven. We had mac and cheese, baked shells, chicken strips, mini corn dogs, salad, and fruit. The kids loved playing with each other and there weren't any ugly scenes. Ellie and Nick received some great gifts that will keep them happy and busy for a long time. It was a wonderful day and a great to see everyone.
Visualizing my healthy and continually healing body and the new normal, Tree