Tuesday-Wednesday

I didn't get a chance to sit down on Wednesday and post anything about Tuesday because I was SOOOOOOO tired I just couldn't form a decent chain of thoughts.  

We went to Madeira Beach on Tuesday. It's on the Gulf side, and we chose that beach because of the weather forecast.  Daytona, Smyrna, and Cocoa Beaches were all supposed to get rain.   That's the nice thing about being in the middle, in Orlando.  We can go to either side of the state to get to beaches, so we stand a better chance of finding good weather. 

Of course, it's US, and virtually noting we do is ever without incident. Somewhere along the way, it occurred to us that we resembled the crew from "Vacation", except we had a slight "cousin Eddie" spin to us.  Then, about half way to Madeira Beach, I realized I'd forgotten my towel, so...  we had to stop off at a Walgreen's to get me one.  But before that, we stopped at Starbuck's, entering the parking lot through the exit (of course), and then stopped at a Shell station to use the bathroom. 

By the time we got to the actual beach, it was a very welcome sight!

Charlie got our umbrella securely placed, and we got ourselves SPF-ed, and ready to "beach".

The beach was GORGEOUS, and we had lots of fun playing in the surf and the sand, and relaxing in the sun.

 

 

Best of all, we managed to get through the day without getting badly sunburned, and found a snack shack just off the beach where we got snow cones and ice cream and snapped a great family pic.  

After leaving the beach, we went to a great little shopping area not far from the beach at a place called John's Pass.  We checked out several shops, bought a few souvenirs, and saw dolphins in the water, and pelicans perched.  It was pretty cool.

Back home for the night, the kids just chilled at the resort, while Charlie and I went out for a bit. 

We drove along International Drive until we found a spot that looked appealing to us to stop for a drink or two, and we landed at a bar called "Howl at the Moon".  The entertainment was dueling pianos.  It was pretty good entertainment.  The musicians were competing for tips, and took requests from the audience.  They were great at getting the crowd involved, and people seemed to be having alot of fun.  We even got our picture taken there, and bought a print.  (yes, we DO have tourist stamped on our foreheads...)  We didn't stay out late, just long enough to spend a little time alone together.  It wasn't an early night, but it didn't seem like a terribly late night, either.  Until, of course, you look at it from my perspective on Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning, I woke up at 4:30-ish, and couldn't get back to sleep.  I was a total zombie, and really couldn't think straight.  So...  I was dragging.  A LOT.  But I got up and at 'em, and got caffeinated.  It wasn't really all that long before everyone else was up and dressed, as well, and we were on the road headed back to the beach.  This time, we headed a bit farther south, towards Venice.  Kathryn's new college roommate, Hana, lives in Venice, and we took advantage of the opportunity to meet up with her and her family.   She met us at Nokomis Beach, where we lounged away most of the day, under a beautiful blue sky.

The sand on the beach at Nokomis Beach was, very literally, shell.  I know sand IS bits of shell, etc.  but this sand was REALLY shell-y.  In fact, later last night, when we all got home, we realized we all had tiny little pieces of shell still stuck to us!

When we left the beach, we went into Venice, to the Daiquiri Deck restaurant, and met Hana's parents.  We sat and talked, and enjoyed a really good meal, and great conversation.  It was good to spend time with Hana and her family, and to get to know them a little.  Kathryn and Hana are, after all, about to become really close! 

The drive back to Orlando was a long one - unlike Tuesday, we all got sunburned at Nokomis Beach.  I think it was partly because the shell-y sand was very white, and so it was much more reflective.  Plus, it was very windy, so we may have all gotten a bit of wind burn, as well.   By the time we got back to the resort, we were all pretty much ready to crash, and we did just that.  (especially me!)

Thursday (today) was an "old folks" sight seeing day in St. Augustine, while the kids stayed back at the resort.  I still have to upload my pics from that trip, so....  I'll write about that in the morning.

Day 3, aka Monday

Since we were all a bit sunburned from Sunday's pool side lounging, yesterday was a daytime inside day.  Charlie and Jack stayed at the resort and played putt-putt and ping pong, and napped.  The girls and I went shopping.   There is a great outlet mall at the end of International Drive that's full of great deals.  Of course, we started the day's adventure with a stop at Starbuck's.  We had to rev up for serious shopping.

After our long day of bargain hunting, we hit Chicago UNO for dinner (yumalicious) and then went to the pool.   Sarah, in particular, was ready for some scuba action.

We made a couple of new friends at the pool -

 

Snails were out in force last night, and Jack was loving it.   I only saw one tree frog, though.  Last year at home, we had hundreds of the little critters, but I haven't seen one there yet this year.  So it was nice to see this fellow on the fence last night. 

 

Today's a beach day.  It's been raining every afternoon around 4 here, so we're hoping that pattern continues, and carries over to the coasts.   By that time of day, we're usually ready to leave the beach and get the sand out of our - well, everything.   I want to take a nice family picture on the beach, but in all reality, I'm not sure I'll be able to get that done today.  Nobody's too willing to wake up and get moving and ready to go yet.  I guess we'll see what happens - this might be a totally wacky family pic today, and a nice one tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow is another beach day, and we get to meet Kathryn's college roommate.  Yay!  She lives here in Florida, and we are going to meet up with her and her parents for dinner.  I'm very excited about that!  It will be good to know who she's going to be spending so much time with during the coming school year. 

 

And now I'm off to try again to wake these folks up so we can get to the beach! 

Day Two!

Day two was our lazy day.  In fact, the HH didn't even wake up until noon!  Even I slept in until 9:30 - 10:00 ish.  We hung around at the resort and relaxed, spending quite a bit of time at the pool.  Our building is on the back side of the property, across a lake from the main building, larger pool, and such.  They have a pontoon shuttle service, though, to get guests back and forth across the lake.  Charlie didn't seem to mind the ride.

The girls love, love, love laying by the pool, as do I.  So, much to Jack's dismay, we lounged alot.  He's all about being IN the water - not BY it.  You can see by the look he was giving us, that he did not approve of our decision to stay on our loungers most of the time.

The afternoon was virtually perfect. There were just enough clouds in the sky to cool things off once in a while, and enough clear, sunny sky to make it really feel like vacation. 

 

After our much loved pool lounging time, the girls made sandwiches, and we went to - of all places - Wal-Mart to get hats to wear to the beach, and a few other small things.   

 

 

 

One of the best things about our vacations is that we all help out so that we can all really be on vacation - nobody ends up getting stuck with all the work.  We're cool like that.  :)

 

Tomorrow - Outlet mall.  And pools.  And relaxing.  And....   who knows!



2013 Vacation... Day 1

Day one really kinda sorta spanned two days, since we packed up and headed out on Friday evening.  But...  I'm going to lump that all in to one day, since the time all ran together, anyway, during the marathon car ride.

 

Sarah took the first shift as vacation driver, with me riding shotgun as her "co-pilot".  She literally kicked off vacation, and got us well along the way.   Just before we left Illinois, we stopped for gas, and she and Kathryn switched.  The H.H. and I also switched "co-pilot" spots, and I moved to the back to try to nap for a while.   "Try" is the key word there.  I slept for about 15-20 minutes at a time.   I just couldn't get comfortable sleeping in a seated position!   Although, I did manage to sleep through our climb over and through the mountains.  Either that, or I intentionally tuned it out.  I hate, hate, hate that part of the drive to Florida!  Kathryn drove the entire way through the mountains, and I am SO proud of her.  I'm a grown woman who's driven the road several times, and it makes me nervous.  She's never driven it, and did great!

I took my shift as driver during the early morning.  I took us from somewhere south of Chattanooga, TN to a bit south of Macon, GA.  It was an easy drive, and I could have maybe continued, if I'd been able to have an espresso.  But every time I thought about stopping at Starbuck's, I also thought about how it would wake everyone, so I didn't stop.

In Tifton, GA, we got off the highway for breakfast, and hit up Cracker Barrel.  Jack was a little wary of the choice, after his last Cracker Barrel experience filled with way too much bland oatmeal, but....  we went, anyway.

 

I don't know if it was simply because I hadn't had any coffee in 24 hours, or because I was crazy-tired, but I truly believe the coffee served to me at Cracker Barrel was THE BEST restaurant coffee EVER.   Our waiter was pretty amazing, as well.   5 tired, hungry, and no-longer-looking-quite-so-fresh travelers got exactly what they wanted for breakfast, and left happy.

After breakfast, we made a stop at Starbuck's to feed my caffeine and espresso addictions, and we got stuck behind what I believe had to be a clown car in the drive through.  It was a small-ish car, but at the window, it seemed like they just kept handing them order and order, after order, after order.  It took FOREVER.  But, once we had our coffee, and made another quick stop for gas, we were good to go, and ready to head back to the highway.  Charlie was wide awake after his initial cup of Cracker Barrel coffee.  I think the girls, though, were just ready for a nap.

Most of the rest of the day was just filled with driving.  We were a little ahead of schedule, and so we detoured a bit, and drove along the Florida coast towards Daytona.  I was a little dissappointed that we couldn't see the water better, but I was also very impressed by the homes that were blocking our view.  The series of what must be multi-million dollar homes stretching from St. Augustine on towards Daytona is awesome! 

Getting from the coast to Orlando was uneventful.  There was expected traffic coming from the theme parks that made the trip take longer than we'd like, and it rained for a bit.  But that was the sum of the excitement.  We were pretty "done" with traveling, until we finally got to the resort.  After 18-ish hours in the car, we were sooooooo happy to see that Marriott sign!

The rest of the day and evening was spent getting settled in.  We got groceries, had dinner, everyone showered, and Jack and Charlie even wandered out for a little pool time before bed.  All-in-all, a really good vacation day 1.  

And now, on day 2, it's 10:30, and everyone but me is still asleep.  So, I'd say we've got a good start to a relaxing and good day 2!

What? When Did September Show Up?

Time is flying by.  I can't believe it's a full week into September already!

So much is going on, and I have to be the first to admit that I suck at keeping up with the blogging when there's lots going on.  But, once again, for the bazillionth time, I'm recommitting myself to it. ;)

We're three weeks into school already.  Well, two-and-a-half, really, since the first week was short.  So far, so good...  sort of.   The HH had his first "grade lecture" of the school year, since everyone has gotten their first "C" in something.  That was less than pleasant.  And Jack's seen his first bit of trouble for the year, including a chat with the principal.  That was just disheartening.  But I have high hopes, as always, that it will be a great school year, when all's said and done.   Maybe we're just getting the rough patch over with early.  I mean, really, how could these three have anything BUT a great year?

Well, we made it back from vacation safe and sound... two weeks ago.  And, of course, as is always the case with us, we've been busy ever since. 

Only one plant died while we were gone.  Not bad.  And both bunnies and both cats were none the worse for their time without us.   Naturally, one of the cats had "accidents" while we were gone, which are really "intentionals" because she gets mad at us.  But...  carpets got cleaned, and we've moved on. 

Probably my least favorite part of vacation is the day after - it's filled with laundry and grocery shopping, and putting stuff away, and getting back into the schedules of reality.  Bleh.   This time, some of that was broken up by a visit to the doctor with Jack.  Just a follow-up to the orthopedic specialist, who officially released him from wearing his boot.  The leg's healed and looking good.  AND, even better, she doesn't see any underlying problems.  Ya-hoooooo!

Jack's birthday went off without a hitch.  He gave us his birthday wish list a whopping three days before the big event, and I almost prefered that.  There wasn't time for lots of additions and changes, and revisions - those get confusing sometimes.  We can't go shopping too far in advance, anyway, since that just means hiding gifts, and more time for him to search and potentially find his surprises. ;) 

The Last Day

Friday.  The last day of vacation. While I'm anxious to get home to my own shower (the one here is not one I'd choose...), that's about it for now.  I've been really happy to be away all week.  The resort has been nice, the beaches have been lovely.  It's been a good week, overall.

But enough blah blah blah about the last day...

The HH took the kids to Universal Studios parks on Tuesday, while I did some shopping.  I rarely get to go shopping lately, and I was LOVING it.  I only got a couple of things, but buying wasn't my objective.  Shopping has little to do with buying for me.  It's more about being alone with my thoughts, walking around through stores and shops, and relaxing while I just look at everything.  I miss doing that.  So Tuesday was a great day for me.  And in the late evening, after the fam was finished with their day at Universal, the HH and I went to Landry's restaurant for a late dinner, and then to BB Kings to listen to music.  It was GREAT!
 

Wednesday was another beach day for us.  Once we were all up and moving about, we piled into the van and headed to Daytona Beach.

There's some weather stuff going on out in the ocean, and so the water was REALLY choppy, and it was crazy-windy.  There were riptide warnings, too, and the lifeguards made people stay very close to shore.  On a couple of occasions, they had to actually blow their whistles, and get the attention of people who were swimming too far out.  Kinda scary, but it didn't bother us.  We were able to have plenty of fun in the waves that were coming in.  Because it was so choppy, there were some decent waves to jump in right along the shore.

After "beaching" for a few hours, we walked along the Daytona boardwalk, looked at a few shops, and got some ice cream before heading back to the highway.  And, of course, before leaving Daytona, we made a stop at the raceway.  That place is HUGE.  I knew it was big, but until I saw it - live and in person - I just really couldn't fully imagine it.  I don't think I've never seen so much spectator seating in one place.  Wow!  I can't imagine being there for a race, when it's packed with people. 

The HH was particularly happy to have seen the raceway, since he is such a huge NASCAR fan.  and even I am glad we stopped - it was cool to see it. 

By the time we got back to Orlando, it was (of course) rush hour, so it took us practically twice as long as it should have to get back to the resort.  We made a quick stop at the grocery store, and then spent the evening relaxing, doing lots of nothing.  (what vacation's all about!)

I got up on Thursday, and hit the fitness center again.  I've made it there a few times this week, and I'm glad I did.  My days are always better if I make time for my cardio, especially.  The fitness center here is the largest I've seen at a resort so far.  And it's always busy.  I guess that means that there are some smart folks staying here this week.  ;)

Nobody wanted to go back to the beach on Thursday, so I took the girls to the outlet mall for a little Victoria's Secret bargain hunting, and then we just hung out most of the day at the resort.  The HH had to sign in to work for a few hours, and Jack developed a little bit of a migraine.  So Thursday was pretty uneventful.  The kids got pizza for dinner, and Charlie and I went to The Pub for a while.  It was a really cool bar.  Loud, but cool.  They had more imported beer on tap than I've ever seen.  And the menu featured two pages full of single-malt scotch options.  The servers were all dressed in kilts or short kilties, and the atmosphere was very old brittishy looking.  It was cool!  No gluten-free beer, though, so I had to stick with a cider.

And now here it is, Friday.  Our last full day here.  I'm getting ready to go to the fitness center for some time on the elliptical, and then I have no idea what we are going to do with our day.  It's a bit overcast, so not quite as hot today.  The girls talked about renting a boat to go out onto the lake here at the resort.  I'd still like to take some more pictures around the resort, and around Orlando. And Sarah is seemingly DYING to find a go-kart track.  But I have no idea yet where we'll end up today.  I just know we'll certainly have a good day!

Eh...  I'm in danger of falling behind.  Again.  Dang it. 

The girls survived their marathon bus trip, and were none the worse for it.  They even managed to arrive in Orlando a little ahead of schedule, which is always a good thing.   Especially on a bus trip!

We managed to get on the road a little earlier than expected, and survived our 18 hour drive, as well.  I'm really not a fan of the "drive straight through" approach, but it is a means to an end.  And you really can't complain about the middle of the night traffic... 

We're staying at the Marriott Grande Vista, and it's beautiful.  It is just as expected - everything about the place is inviting and lovely.  I don't know that I've ever seen properties better manicured than they are at the Marriott locations I've been to.  And every room has a view of palm trees and a pool.

Who doesn't love to see a palm tree every time they look out the window? 

The girls' choir performed on Sunday at Downtown Disney.  It was a cool experience that I am so glad they were able to have!  The kids sounded fantastic!  And they looked fantastic, too.

It was so obvious that they were having a good time! 

After their performance, the HH, Jack, and I had lunch at Planet Hollywood.  We spent as much time walking around the restaurant gawking at the cool memorabilia as we did eating our meal.  There was lots and lots of really fun collectibles in the Orlando location.   Jack particularly liked a couple of things from his favorite scary movies.

After our outing to Downtown Disney, we just hung out at the resort, and lounged by the pool during the late afternoon and into the evening.  (I love saying "lounge by the pool"!) 

Monday was a beach day.  BUT... the van lost a radiator hose, so our trip to the beach was a tiny bit delayed.  We spent about two hours at a Dodge dealership while it was replaced.  Not exactly the way we'd wanted to start the day, but...  I'm at least thankful that there wasn't any damage to the van, and that it happened just a few miles from a dealership where it could be repaired.  Sooooo...  two hours, and a bunch of money later, we did get on the road, and ended up spending several fun and relaxing hours at Cocoa Beach, playing in the waves.

Just another day in paradise!

Busy, busy, busy...

It's been more than just a little busy lately.  I'll start with today, and work my way backwards.  (yes, I know - today...  NOT a day behind!) 

Today, the girls left for Florida with their high school choir.  They're traveling by bus, and they'll end up at Disney World in about 18 (-ish) hours. 

They've been on bus trips before, so they know the pitfalls, and they were dreading them - the cramped feeling, the smelly bathroom, the random laugh, snore, or giggle in the middle of the night, the slight hint of b.o. that lingers by the end of the trip...  But they also know there can be some highlights, too - laughing, talking, sharing with friends, learning about each other, and making memories.   Hopefully, the good will outweigh the bad, and they'll have a good trip, and arrive unscathed. 

The girls both got their hair done today, and both looked great.  Kathryn got a little burgundy-ish color on hers, and Sarah just got hers sort of freshened up with the same color as her natural highlights.  After a few days and a few washings, the color will be more subtle, but still look great.  I love that they are growing up, and enjoying some "girly-girl" stuff like that.  Nothing wild or crazy, just a little conservative fun with their hair.  It's good that they can express themselves like that - it's part of growing up as a girl. 

(Jack had to hop in the pic and show Sarah a little love!)

On Monday, Sarah's softball team was invited to come out to our house for an informal team-building cookout.  We grilled hot dogs, and the girls each brought a little something to share.  It wasn't a late night, but they did stay for a few hours, and seemed to have a good time hanging out together.  It's nice to see girls from different schools come together and have fun doing something they really enjoy.  This softball team is definitely a good thing (albeit, a very time-consuming one!)

Saturday's and Sunday's free time was pretty softball-filled, as well.  At least it was for Sarah.  She went to watch a softball tournament on Saturday, and her summer team played in tournament all day Sunday, and then her high school softball team had it's awards banquet on Sunday evening.  The awards banquet was really nice - they had a great catered meal, and the coaches made some fun presentations to the girls.  I'm really glad Sarah was on the team this past year.  She has made some great friends, and learned ALOT about being part of a team. 

While all this softball was going on over the weekend, the HH was in Chicago to help my brother work on my niece, Amber's house, and Kathryn went with him.  She had pipe band practice on Friday night, so they drove up together, and Kathryn was able to just hang out while the guys worked.  It's a rough job, you  know - playing with a cute 2-year old, and taking walks along Lake Michigan's shore - but I suppose someone's got to do it.  And if it can't be me, at least it's someone I love. 

Sarah and I did the paper route on Saturday and on Sunday. 

I didn't sleep at all on Friday night because I was afraid I'd oversleep on Saturday and mess up the route schedule.  And Saturday night wasn't much better.  I don't know how the HH does it every morning.  It sucks to get up at 4:30, and have to actually be functional!  Sarah did all the work.  I just drove her around, basically.  I know the paper route is a good, easy, one-hour-of-work-a-day way for the girls to have spending money, but I couldn't do it every day.  I must be wimpier than I realized!

Sarah, bless her heart, made my day on Saturday.  I came downstairs, and she took my picture and sent it to the HH.  She told him I looked sexy.  :)  I'm not thinkin' I was looking all that fabulous, but hearing her tell me sure made me feel good!  This is me in all my not-so-fabulousness....

Last week, Sarah's summer team (yup - softball again!) played two games on Wednesday night, and played pretty well!  It was fun watching them. 

BUT...  and this is a huge BUT....  I'm not going to be able to watch them play often.  Whatever is in the dirt on the fields at UIS had a HORRIBLE effect on me.  Even being fully dosed on my allergy meds, my eyes were itchy, red, and swollen.  I ended the night at home with an ice cold washcloth covering my eyes, praying that the swelling would go down and that the itching would stop.  By Thursday, my eyes hurt so much that I jokingly posted on fb that "I'd give my eye doctor a zillion dollars if he'd see me right now" (something along those lines).  And wouldn't you know it...  Bill N. saw it, and called my eye doctor to tell him! (He's a friend in common.) We had a good laugh about that when I did go to see him this Monday!  I have my ridiculously expensive allergy eye drops now, and I'm doing much better, but I really don't know that I'll risk too much time at those softball fields.  They kill me!

OK, well, that's probably about it for the past week or so.  That's alot of rambling.  Vacation is coming up - hopefully that will mean more time to post.  Although, I've got the three "Shades of Grey" books loaded to my kindle app, so I might be doing more reading than posting. We'll just have to see...

Random Words of Wisdom and Wonder

If your toenails are longer than your fingernails, and you think it looks good, you need to re-evaluate your personal grooming philosophies.

If you aren't going to bother doing and/or even looking at the back of your hair, why bother doing the front?

And, finally...

Just because you can button and zip those jeans, it doesn't mean they fit.

Have a glorious day.

A Day Behind?

I guess it's normal to always be blogging about yesterday...  After all, I can't really talk about today until today's happened.  And by the time I have time to sit down and talk (type) about anything, I dont' want to forget whatever happened yesterday, so that's what I end up blogging about.  So I guess I'm going to have to be OK with being a day behind most of the time.

Yesterday afternoon, the softball team climbed up onto one of the fire engines and rode through town - first through Sherman on a Sherman truck (until the department got a call, and the truck had to be on stand by while the other truck went on that call!), then through Williamsville on a Williamsville truck.  The Williamsville truck took them to the high school, where a decent little crowd of parents and friends were waiting to greet them for a trophy presentation, and a rally.  It was really cool to see so many people there to support the girls.  That's one of the best parts of living in a small town - we all know each other, and we all stand together at times like that.

After the rally, I went to a meeting at church about our upcoming Vacation Bible School.  I told them I'd help with crafts.  It will be fun - we're doing a really cool "backstage" theme this year that the younger kids will really be able to have fun with.  And, it's also a theme that the big kids who will be helping (and even the adults) can have fun with, too.   I can't wait for July!

And now I'm sitting here decidedly NOT drinking my glass of water because I left the room for a few minutes, and I think maybe the cat is looking guilty...  like she hopped up here on my desk and had a drink while I was gone...  Maybe it's time to take the glass to the kitchen, and call it a night.

Until tomorrow...  when I'll talk about today, which will then be yesterday.  Or something like that. :)

A Beautiful Sunday

Softball, softball, softball...
 

The final game of the girls softball state championship was amazing!  I was a nervous wreck for half the game, and Sarah wasn't even playing...  It was a rough game, and the girls worked their butts off, and in the end came home with 2nd place in the State!  It was a great way to end their season.  Sarah's really enjoyed being a part of the team - I'm so glad she decided to play this year.  To celebrate their success, the team is going to be escorted through town this afternoon riding on one of the firetrucks, and then there will be a rally at the high school.  Pretty cool way for the girls to spend the afternoon, if you ask me.  ;)

Jack survived day 2 with the boot...  It's annoyingly uncomfortable for him, but we want his leg to really have a chance to heal and get strong, so he's wearing it pretty much all the time.  It does slow him down, which was the idea, but not much...  he's just always on the go!

The HH is seeming a little unnerved lately, with so very much going on.  I'm hoping he can get into a groove soon with all of his stuff - softball, especially.  I'm thinkin' the competitive league he's coaching is going to take up pretty much every second of "spare" time this summer. I know he likes to be busy, but this summer, busy is an understatement.  He's double-booked!  Today, I think he could be in about three places doing three different things this afternoon, if it were possible.   It's going to be a little rough to keep up with everything this summer, but I suppose we'll figure it out. 

For now, I'm just going to concentrate on enjoying a beautiful Sunday. 

Sarah's softball team played in the state finals last night, and won!  Now, they are going to play for the state championship this afternoon!  Yesterday's game was super-exciting.  And it was really great to see a literal ocean of purple there to support the girls!   I can't wait for today's game!  I know there will be a HUGE crowd of local folks there to support the girls, so I think we will definitley have to go early to get a seat in the bleachers.  I can't imagine how excited and nervous the players must be...  It's definitley a weekend to remember for all of them!

It's probably a weekend to remember for Jack, too...  though in a much different way.  At Jack's orhopedic specialist appointment yesterday, we did find out a couple of things...  Most surprising was the fact that what we initially thought had been a stress fracture, was really a true, through-and-through break!   Here's a picture of the x-ray.  Jack made sure we got a print of it.  ;)

They think it probably happened about six weeks ago, and is mostly healed now.  He must have a ridiculously high tolerance for pain, because he never really complained.  He never complained of an injury, a bad fall, anything.  He only complained that his leg hurt "a little" or sometimes was "a little achy" -  usually after track practice, or a baseball game.  We figured it was just because he'd been growing so rapidly (several inches in the past couple of months) - especially since the pediatrician's office told us about Osgood-Schlatter, and how that achy hurt feeling happens when active kids with it are actively growing.    

The ortho specialist did agree with the pediatrician's office that Jack has Osgood-Schlatter, so that "growing pain" achy part of stuff will continue for a while, until he's done growing.  Poor kid!  Now he has a soft cast / boot to wear for the next 4 weeks.  Even though his break is already mostly healed, the boot will help slow him down so it can really get fully healed and get stronger.   Plus, we told him, he'll get lots of sympathy from girls while he's wearing it!  Ha!

Of course, as is the norm for our family, there's more than one thing going on this weekend....  Kathryn is in Milwaukee with the Midlothian pipe band for a competition.  I think I always sound too harsh when I talk about her going to things by herself.  I used to drive myself to just about every corner of the state beginning the summer before my senior year, and so for me it seems normal that she do the same.   But I'm really sort of nervous about it.  I know she is old enough, very mature, and very capable.  But it still makes me nervous - Mostly just because I think she was a little nervous.  :)  But, she's with great people from the pipe band world this weekend, and I know she's having a great time, and she's fine.  So, what I really need to be nervous about for her is the competition!  I hope she places in her dancing, and I hope the band brings home good scores!

Today is also our church's work day, but I don't think I'm going to be able to get there to do much helping...  With everything else going on, I'm getting way behind on the things I need to take care of.  So I'm about to kick myself into high gear, and get a few things accomplished this morning before we have to head out for the softball game.  While I'd truly prefer to sit here and watch Dale, our resident chipmunk, run back and forth across the porch, and laugh at Bella the Cat, as she tries to "talk" to the cardinal that is seemingly taunting her by hopping along the porch railing, I really need to get moving, so....

Talk at you later!

Let's try this again (for the zillionth time). 

Happy Friday!   It's a little early, but there's always so much to do!  This morning, I'm finishing up some Reese's brownie cupcakes for Sarah to take to the girls' softball team this morning as they head to the State tournament.  (Ya-Hooooo!)  I also tried a new cupcake this time - Oreo cookie cupcakes.  The fam liked them, so hopefully, the other girls will, too.   I'm feeling very cupcake-y today, and might try some of those "soda" cupcakes I've seen on pinterest, and I might make some with marshmallowy cream filling.   Of course, it would be nice to taste some of these cupcakes I make for everyone, but I suppose it's good that I'm gluten-free - it makes it easy to resist!

Aaaaand, speaking of gluten-free, I did make a batch of g-free yellow cake cupcakes.  I used the Betty Crocker mix, and didn't really have very high hopes of them being very tasty.  They're usually not - at least not compared to "regular" cake.  But this time, I used almond extract instead of vanilla, and I slightly UNDER cooked them, and they're not too bad.  I'm very excited.  I'm thinking that with a little cream filling and some frosting, they'll make for an excellent treat on diet cheat day!

Once all this early morning cupcake making is done, and I get Sarah sent off on the bus to East Peoria, it'll be time to get ready to head to Jack's first specialist appointment.  Today, we'll see the othopedics specialist.  I honestly don't hold out much hope for this visit - I could be wrong.  But my instincts tell me that we'll need to see the endocrinologist before we start to figure out what's going on with Jack.  Something is causing his body to not absorb vitamins and minerals, and make his bones weaker than they should be, and that's who I think will be able to figure it out.  Although, I suppose the orthopedics doc should be able to give us a little insight into things, as well.  Anyway...  we start our adventure with this all today.

I'm Baaa-aaack. Again.

Ah...  Back just in time to change my background for a day or so for Easter!

I can't believe it's been SO long since I posted.  Yikes!   Tomorrow is Easter.  I'm here waiting on 20 eggs to boil so we can be-dazzle them, and I'm a-thinkin' about finishing up the Easter basket plans.

I've felt icky all day today - first just grumpy, then downright sickly until just a short bit ago.  So once the H.H. is home, I should be ready to power shop through the last bit of it.   Until then, I suppose a little laundry and a shower are in order...  :)

So Much Going On

There's so much going on, and so much I should ramble on about...  I really have to get my rear in gear and get blogging...

Sarah and I went to an exercise class at HIPE yesterday, and I LOVED it.  I think it was exactly what I needed to kick my ass into gear.  Yesterday morning (I think), Tosca Reno tweeted something about a plateau that lasts several months isn't a plateau - it's a "stall".  And it's true.  That "plateau" word is just an excuse so much of the time.  So I'm looking at things differently, and kicking myself into high gear.  And that HIPE class was definitely in a higher gear for me.  I've been fooling myself thinking that I'm working lately.  THAT was working.  I was feeling some serious burn.  And I'm oh-so-very happy to say that I'm not miserably sore today.  I can feel it, but I'm not dying.  ;)  A year ago, I couldn't have made it through even half of that class.  I'm gettin' there!

And today, well, I have high hopes for today.  I'm feeling great, and it's a gorgeous sunny day for a change.  I am making today clean!  And I'm making today productive.  Breakfast was an egg white scramble overflowing with spinach, steel-cut oats with cinnamon and flaxseed meal, and an apple (my current "usual").  I'll be headed to church in a bit, then back to fix pork steaks with broccoli and cauliflower for lunch.  And then later this afternoon, the H.H. and I are going to seminars about our respective committees at church.   Jack is kickin' a little bit of butt at his wrestling meet (I'm so proud of him!), and the girls are both still sleeping in and re-charging their batteries so they can be ready for the week ahead.  All-in-all, it's shaping up to be a great day! 

Project Life Update

That's right - an update to my Project Life project.  I have all but 3 of my pictures in the album.  Yes...  In.  The.  Album.  There is hope that I can complete my 2011 album!  I have LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of journaling to do, but there is hope! 

I'm not sure I'm going to be getting much of that journaling done tonight, though.  I walked into Kathryn's bathroom to help her fix her hair tonight, and I did so just after she'd sprayed hairspray.  It set off an asthma attack that I'm still fighting to recover from, and I am exhausted from it.  I coughed so much I was dizzy!  I haven't needed my inhaler in months, but I dug it out tonight.  Whew! 

Asthma sucks.

Not Giving Up

I've taken a picture nearly every day for at least the past couple of years.  Last year, I bought the Project Life kit, and really got going on it at the beginning of the year.  But then I realized a couple of things....  One, sometimes life gets busy, and I miss a day's picture.  It shouldn't stress me out.  Also, with five of us in the house, some days there are 5 things going on that all deserve a mention in the POTD club.  So, I changed my thinking a bit.  I take a picture of MOST days.  And some days I take lots. 

For 2012, I'm changing it up a little more...  I think I'll blog the PO(most of)TD, and then at the end of the year create a blog book.  At least, that's my plan for now.  I may change my mind - I've been known to do that.  Especially if the kids want the actual prints to pick up and pass around and look at as the year goes by. 

Of course, whichever method of documenting I go with, I'm documenting memories, and that is what matters.

And I am NOT giving up on 2011...  I have all the pictures, and I've journaled MOST of the days... and I WILL finish, and I WILL get them all posted to the POTD blog.  I will. 

Just not tonight.  ;)

A Look Back

A couple of days ago, I stumbled upon a list of reflection questions at simplemom.net.  I'm not usually big on this sort of thing, but I've been thinking about it alot, and have decided to give it a go.  Maybe looking back at the past year will help me understand where I am, and where I'm headed...   Granted, it helps ALOT that someone else came up with these refection questions...  And I'm just going to be honest here..  There are 20 questions on the list on simplemom.net.  I'm not going to be able to answer all of them.  I'm just not.  At least, not without really stressing about it.  And I'm not going to stress about it.  The past is the past.  While I'm cool reflecting on it, and trying to learn from it, I'm not going to stress about it. 

Here goes...

1.  What was the single best thing that happened this past year?  Wow.  This is a tough one.  
The single best.  Single.  That's ONE.  Just one.  Egad.  I can't do it.  No way.  There wasn't a single best thing.  My trip to South Dakota comes to mind as one OF the best things.  But then our trip to Branson and my riding go-karts for the first time was great, too.  (albeit for very different reasons!)  Learning to eat clean tops the list, as well, because that taught me that eating the right combo of foods can make me feel great.    So...  bottom line, I can't do it.  I can't pick just one.  Trying to do so would be one of those stress causing deals I'm trying to avoid.  ;)

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened? I'm going to have to go with the first thing that jumped into my mind for this one... Jack went to Jr. High.  It's been tough.  All I can say beyond that is that 6th grade math sucks.  

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?   There was lots of joy in 2011.  I hate to single out just one....  I'll go with the first thing that comes to mind...  go-karts.  I had a great time riding go-karts in Branson, and I certainly hadn't expected to.

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?  Anything and everything to do with peri-menopause. And I do mean EVERYthing to do with it.  It's no fun.

5. Pick three words to describe 2011.  Gone in a flash. Yes, I can count.  Yes, I do know that's four words.  I could have said some three words like "it flew by", but that didn't seem to do it for me.

6. What were the best books you read this year?  The Hunger Games series.  Hands down.  I finished each one in about a day and a half.  I would've finished each even faster, but I was reading them during vacation, and there WAS a pool that I just HAD to get into quite often. 

7. With whom were your most valuable relationships?  Without going into the ridiculous amount of detail that would be required to explain these, I'll just list them (in no particular order)...  My Handsome Husband, my BFFs Conrad and Jennifer, my niece Rachel, and God. 

8. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?   Diet.  Food.  How I look at and think about food.  I lost almost 30 pounds during 2011.  And that's because I started to see food differently, and I started to learn more about how nutrition creates so much of our physical make up. 

9. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?  I'm getting much better at being patient with others, and more accepting.  At least, I think I am. ;)

10. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?  It's a toss-up between Words with Friends and Pinteresting

11. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?  To quit taking things so personally.  Especially when it comes to kids.  'Nuf said.

And there you have it.  A little reflection.  It took me an entire day to write about it, but there it is. 

Happy New Year!

I have issues...

Ah… the days immediately following Christmas. The darkest of days for me when that dreaded question “what did you get for Christmas?” comes up over and over, and over, again. I’ve always hated that question. Always. As a kid, I never got the “big haul” of super-cool presents. I come from a big family, and so there usually wasn’t a lot of extra money. We always had a big family Christmas, but we didn’t do big presents. And for all I know, everyone else in the family may have hated it – but I loved it. All six of us kids, along with spouses, and the grand kids, all came together for dinner and to exchange relatively small gifts on Christmas. We all sat at one HUGE table for dinner. And then we’d all sit around the living room together, in chairs and on the floor and on each others’ laps, and open gifts. We laughed, and talked, and played together all afternoon and into the evening. Those were good afternoons full of love.

But then the 26th came every year. Bleh. When I was a kid, that meant the phone calls from friends, anxious to tell me about the Atari console they got, and the cassette tape player, the new bike, the clothes, the candy, and all of the other stuff. And every year, with every one of those calls, I cringed. Because I knew it meant the question was coming. “what did YOU get?”

I hated it. I grew up on the edge of a cultural change in America. I was stuck right in the middle of a time when families were transitioning from being very minimal and very focused on family to being very gluttonous and focused on things. My parents were a little older, and lived most of their lives with a June & Ward Cleaver sort of thing going on, with just 3 television stations to watch, one car for the family, and a stay-at-home mom. My friends had parents who were a little younger, who were growing up very differently, with two working parents, and less kids, and bigger houses, and with more disposable income to spend on things like cable television and electronic “gadgets”. Their families all gave each other tons and tons of “stuff” every year. My family didn’t do that. We didn’t go crazy about “stuff”. I always got a few things that I really wanted and a few things that I really needed. I never got a big pile of “stuff”. It wasn’t about that.

As a kid, especially a kid in a changing society focused more and more on excess, it was easy to get caught up into thinking that getting more “stuff” meant you were somehow better than those who got less “stuff”. So a part of me never felt like I measured up to those other kids who got those big piles of “stuff”. I never felt like I was one of the cool kids.

“What did you get for Christmas?” I learned to effectively evade the question, not wanting to sound less cool than everyone else. I learned how to focus on maybe just one or two things about my Christmas, and then turn the conversation back to them. It was usually pretty easy to do – most people, especially kids, don’t have trouble talking about themselves. Thankfully, the school break provided a slight buffer. By the time we all went back to class in January, the excitement over all that “stuff” was usually waning, and evading got easier.

As an adult, you’d think it wouldn’t even be an issue. After all, as adults we’re all more in control of our emotions, right? We’re all more mature, and less materialistic, and able to focus on the real reason for the season, right?

Not.

In the dark days immediately following Christmas, we’re still all like a bunch of kids – excited about getting gifts, and anxious to share that excitement. It hasn’t changed. I still hate the question. “What did you get for Christmas?” I still don’t ever feel like I measure up. I still have friends who’s families go overboard. And even when I receive gifts that I LOVE, and that are very thoughtfully given, and that are REALLY cool, and sometimes even really expensive, it seems there’s always someone who gets a more “perfect” gift, and it just gets to me when they tell me about it. And while I am now a grownup who can rationally understand that the number of presents you get does not represent the measure of someone’s love for you, and I am now a grownup parent who truly wants to impart that wisdom to her kids, a part of me still wishes that I could be the one who has all the coolest stuff in a really huge pile of presents.

This all makes me sounds just awful, I know. Trust me, if I could get back just one of those family Christmases with all 25 or 30-ish of us crammed into my parents house, passing bowls of mashed potatoes around that huge table, I’d be the happiest girl on earth. I wish like crazy that I could somehow take Charlie and the kids to just one of those Matthews family Christmases so they could understand how great it was. And I dearly love the Christmases I have now! It’s wonderful to be able to give my family a fun Christmas full of love, albeit a different kind of Christmas than I had a kid. And I’m the first one to mean it when I say that all I really want for Christmas every year is to be with the people I love. I’m just sayin’… no matter how grown up I get, I still can’t get beyond that selfish, childish, silliness – part of me still wants a mountain of toys.

But I’m working on it.

I’m working on getting better. Bear with me.

(and, yes, I DO know that this is not what you’d expect from me after my long blogging absence this fall… I’m working on getting better at this, too!)