Ups and Downs

It was a big day for our boy! He had his awards ceremony for the Books and Beyond program at his school. He got a medal for taking part in it. Basically we needed to keep track of how many pages he read or had read to him over the course of four months. I knew it was going to be a quick and easy assembly so I decided to save my personal time at work for the end of the year show that he will be in. My husband was going with Chelsea so I figured he could fill me in.

Not only did he get his medal for taking part, he also won a trophy for reading the most pages in his class. I can't believe I missed it! He said he knew he was getting it but we had no idea! Hooray for him.



He was also having a friend come over to play after school. It was shaping up to be a very good day for Travis! Until there were only 10 minutes left in the play date and my son decided to lift a rock up over his head. The rock slipped and came down on his head and left a gash. Then it was off to the hospital to get it checked out. I am hoping they use dermabond and don't make him get stitches. Life with kids changes very quickly! This was a little too quick for my liking!

He ended up with two staples in his scalp! Gross! At least his lungs are getting exercise. For a little boy with asthma he sure can scream!

Burn, Baby, Burn!!

Another weekend flies by. John was off from work so we got to see a lot of him. This weekend was dedicated to cleaning up the debris from December's ice storm. The snow is gone and now you can really see how much damage there is! It is incredible! On both Saturday and Sunday he got to cut branches with a chainsaw and burning brush. This is John's idea of heaven! Fire and Chainsaws!

I didn't do anything like that this weekend. I just did the basic kid patrol stuff. I took Travis and Chelsea to their friend Caitie's birthday party at Papa Gino's. They were both a little under the weather. Then we went to Mimi's house to see how John, my mom, my aunt, and my uncle were doing in the clean-up. Travis stayed with his dad and I took Chelsea home for a nap. The boys came home smokey and tired but happy. We watched a Thomas the Tank Engine movie and the kids headed up to bed with John. I was still wide awake so I stayed up a while longer.

On Sunday, John went to Dooley's house to chop branches and burn brush and I made the executive decision to keep the kids laying low. They both have hacking coughs. Chelsea is on antibiotics for pneumonia and Travis sounds like he is heading there soon. We hung out and watched movies. Chelsea headed to bed for a nap and Travis and I had some quality time doing some little projects. I had this wooden box that I made in sixth grade in woodshop. It is really not a good size for anything and I have never done anything with it. I decided to tackle it with some paint to see if I could make use of it somewhere. Here is the finished product.
When it was dry I tried it out in several places and decided I liked it best on its side. I have no idea what to do with the cover, but I put it on top of a little cabinet I had found for $5.00 at a thrift store.


Travis decided to paint a little wooden train that we bought at Walmart a few weeks back. He was very intent on doing a good job. It came out really cute and we got to chat and work together.

Chelsea slept longer than I expected. Travis and I had time to back snickerdoodles (his and John's favorite). I can't do a lot of baking with Chelsea because she is allergic to raw eggs and her face will swell. So Travis and I took advantage of the time and made cookies in peace. It is going to be a good dinner...Chicken parm and snickerdoodles for dessert! Everyone is in a good mood, and the kids actually got a few minutes to play outside later in the day. Then it started to SNOW! Come on, spring! What is the hold-up???

Chelsea and I did have some girl time yesteday. I ran some errands and took her with me. I went to Building 19, which can be a gross experience. They have cheap stuff for teachers, though. I didn't find what I was looking for (foam letter blocks) but I did find these cute little pillows stitched with red words. They were only $1.99 so I was happy. Chelsea got skittles and she was thrilled, too.

Now it is back to the grind. Sunday nights can be down-right depressing when you think that you need to run around like crazy for the next five days! I guess for now I will just concentrate on having a good supper with my family! Happy Trails!

Sweet Seranade

My daughter is a ham. Here is her latest performance...a song for her cousin Caroline!

Slainte!

Today we went to the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. What a beautiful day for it! Several years ago my husband had a "boys' party" on the morning of the St. Pat's Parade. He called it Kegs 'N Eggs. When we moved into our first appartment we expanded the party to include all of our friends, male and female. There were definitely more trips to the kegs than to the griddle for eggs. It was a blast. We lived right off the parade route so people could have some breakfast, a few cocktails, and then head to the the parade. It was an all day affair. When we had our son, we gave up hosting Kegs 'N Eggs. Too much of a hassle with a newborn, and after that we moved away from the route. Our friend Deb took over the tradition...

It is a little different from the Kegs 'N Eggs of the past. Almost everyone has kids now. We tend to head to the parade for a few hours and head back for spaghetti and meatballs. The kids run up and down the hall and have a blast. Then it is home for nap time. There is no keg, but there are plenty of juice boxes on hand!

Today spring was in the air (finally). It was at least 55 degrees out and sunny. The perfect day for an outdoor event. The kids could get away with wearing sweaters instead of heavy coats. They had a blast.
Let the parade begin...

Of course half the fun of St. Patrick's Day is the goofy green accessories. My kids really get into it. Here they are in their finest!
Travis proudly shows his Irish spirit!
This is actually a picture he took of himself. He was very into being the photographer today.
Here is another one of Trav's shots...
My kids were very excited to see their favorite characters marching down the street. Here is Winnie the Pooh: and Shrek:
and Dora the Explorer:
The street was mobbed. Everyone seemed to want to get a good dose of sunshine. It almost makes up for the horrible winter...ALMOST...

Here is Travis being artsy... he took a picture of his shadow! The future Ansel Adams?
I tend to be a lot more comfy behind the camera than in front of it. So here is rare picture of me with my girl. Chelsea had a hard time focussing on the camera with all of the excitement going on around her.
Here is my handsome hubs with our friend Dools. He and his wife Aly and daughter Caitlyn were with us for the day.
Travis and dad show their Irish pride. If only we could convince them to wear their kilts... Maybe next year!
Dad likes to hit the stores right before parade day and load up on half-price green accessories. These glasses are a good example of his finds this year.
Wouldn't be a parade without cotton candy... Travis loves the stuff. At one point he looked like he was Santa with a green beard and moustache.
Not to be outdone by her brother, Chelsea was also decked out in green.
My favorite part of the parade is always the pipes and drums bands.
Here is Aly and Caity posing for a picture. Caity is one of Chelsea's favorite people!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

weekend warrior...

Weekend warrior... I think that is the term they use for individuals who tackle projects around their house on the weekend. I guess this weekend I was one of them! On Friday night John and I secured the loan to put an addition on our house...Yup, the kids will finally have their own rooms! And our family will be in major debt for the next 5 years. I don't know what it is about major financial decisions or purchases, but I always want to go on a shopping spree after they happen. This lacks logic in ALL ways! If ever there was a time to conserve cash, it would be NOW!

This morning I woke up and had to run some errands. A trip to Walmart was on the list. Instead of indulging my longing to make unnecessary purchases, I got just what was on my list, and bought a few tubes of craft paint. Instead of buying something new, I was going to give one of my oldies a new look. For 5 dollars of paint that I can also use on future projects, I thought this was a great substitution.

I had this box that I kept under the the end table in the living room. It holds my son's books that he makes in school. I have tried on one other occasion to make it look more aged. It was an inexpensive Christmas Tree Shop buy, so I wasn't too concerned about wrecking it. I decided to try again...

This is how I started...
Then I painted all the wood black...
Then I painted it over with several coats of "barn red". Once all of the coats of paint were dry, I distressed it a little with a wood file and sandpaper...
Here is the finished product where it belongs. I think I like it. I am still studying it. Unfortunately this did not cure my desire to shop... but for today, I am satisfied.
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The other fun exciting thing I did today was open up my porch. It has been too cold to use it since October. I let the sun warm it up and once it got toasty, I tried to read on the loveseat... My children, on the otherhand, had other ideas as to what I should be doing. They followed my out there and argued with each other and sang loudly and, well, were typical kids! I didn't get much reading done. But that is besides the point... I hung out on the porch... this can only mean one thing... SPRING IS ON ITS WAY.

A Tribute to Gram...The Lady in Red

"You know what they say about the lady in the red dress... she always has the most fun at the party!" ~ Dot Lowder

This little pearl of wisdom was given to me by my grandmother. She died in 1997 and I still miss her! I consider myself lucky that I had both grandmothers until I was almost 25 years old! Not many people can say that. Gee, my mother's mom, is still alive and well and living happily on her own. My dad's mother, Gram, has been gone for a long time. When I feel like I may be forgetting her voice, I can still close my eyes and if I concentrate, I can hear her say my name. "A-may" is the way she would say it. She was a phenomenal grandmother.
This is my gram in the pool with one of my brothers and me. The three of us were her only grandchildren and she doted on us. My youngest brother would always run to her when she visited and tell her "I smell LifeSavers!" Sure enough, out came three packs of LifeSavers (and we each got our favorite kinds!) When I was a teenager she would lecture me about the importance of wearing a nice tall pair of high heels...not something I was eager to do as I was already taller than all the boys. She is probably rolling her eyes each day she sees me leave the house in sensible shoes! She would bring us to Elm Park and chase us all around the little hills. This was not an easy thing to do in her mules! My grandmother was fun and attentive and loving. She would sing to us "A, you're Adorable. B, you're so Beautiful..." She had to start making up the words at the letter D.
This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandmother. This is her graduation picture from Commerce High School. I am amazed at how young she looked! I guess all kids and grandkids have a hard time realizing that their parents and grandparents had whole lives before they came along. I look at this picture to remind myself of that! She had ideas and a style that was all her own. She even died on her own terms... the doctors told us that there was no way she could last the day, but she waited until 12:30 the next morning to go. Part of me suspects that she wouldn't have wanted to die on her son's (my dad) birthday. The rest of me thinks she was trying to prove the doctor's wrong!

After she passed away, my dad gave me this cookbook. It was a gift my grandmother gave to her sister in 1956. I have had it for a while. I don't use it often (read: at all) because I am not a person who enjoys cooking most of the time. What I do use if for is to open it and see her writing. It is good to see it after all these years. She used to send cards that were addressed to "Amy Sweetie". The copyright date is 1955. The book includes topics such as "table setting" and "When is a Tea a Reception?" It is a hoot! She marked her favorite recipes on the inside cover...Lobster Newburg and Stuffed Peppers. The diagrams of table settings usually include an ashtray (obviously an older book). Kind of ironic since my gram suffered from emphysema due to years and years of smoking! Instead of hiding it away in a cabinet, I decided to display it to remind me of her and the happiness she brought into my life. I was fortunate to have two perfect grandmothers. I was the first grandchild on both sides. I will admit I was a LITTLE spoiled! Thankfully, Gee is still with us and is as healthy as ever.

I think the hardest part of missing my gram is when I think of everything that has happened in my life since she died. I carried a picture of her in my purse on my wedding day. She would have loved my husband. He is tall and handsome and looks great in a suit, tuxedo, or kilt! She would have adored her great-grandchildren. She would have loved the fact that I earned a Master's Degree. I think she sees this stuff from where she is and smiles. And she is probably wearing red!