We Have Our Ups and Our Downs

One of the benefits of living in Illinois, according to Clare, is that at 15, you are allowed to take the test for your driver's permit. And guess who passed? Although she DID get 3 wrong on the test. Please make sure and rub that in when you get a chance to talk/email to her.



I will admit she is doing an excellent job driving. Her turns are smooth, as well as her accelerations and stops. I haven't had to use my imaginary brake at all!



The fact that I not only have a teenage daughter, but that I have a teenage daughter who can DRIVE, means I am old. And getting older every day.

What are the Downs of this post you may ask?

Here:



This happened Monday evening. I kept convincing him it was just a sprain but finally, Tuesday afternoon my conscience got the better of me and we called the doctor. An x-ray and a visit later determined he had broken his arm in two places. They are called green stick fractures, because the bone has broken the same way a green stick would if you bent it - little slivers off the sides.

Not a huge deal but he is definitely milking the "Mom told me it was just a sprain and to shut up and quit whining" thing a lot.

I won't be winning any Mother of the Year awards this time around.

All the kids in the neighborhood and at school got to sign and admire it though, so he is cool. It doesn't hurt a whole bunch either... except when convenient. We go back to the doctor next Tuesday for another Xray and some word on how long the cast will be on. Or off. I am praying for off.

Public Speaking 101

One of Zeke's class assignments was to give a speech on something that interested him. After many discussions, he decided to do it on Being An Inventor. After the class gave their speeches, the kids were offered an opportunity to compete against other kids their age. Zeke and two other students in his class chose to do it. This is Zeke giving his speech at the Middle School:



Am I aware that it is sideways? Yes. DO I know how to fix it? Not a clue. SO if anyone has any tips on that, please email them to me. Or just cock your head to one side. You will be fine. I promise.

Zeke got a ribbon for his participation and an evaluation sheet. Surprisingly, it said he may need to slow down a little. Hahaha. All the kids did a terrific job and I give them all credit just for standing in front of a bunch of strangers and speaking at all!

Easter Randomness

Since Adam was working the outage for the holiday, the kids and I decided to pack up and drive 9 hours to Western New York to visit Grammy & Johanna. We brought Reggie, who did excellent in the car, especially for not being able to spread out like he is used to.

We visited my friend Shannon, whom I have known since Clare was itty-bitty. Shannon & I worked at Bob Evans Restaurant together, back in the days before children and married life. She and her husband and four children moved into a different house. It is HUGE! Almost 3000 square feet and a bunch of acreage! Lots of room for the kids to roam and play.

Jaime & Justin & Johanna met us for Easter Mass at St. Joseph's in Fredonia. They have a terrific music ministry and some really talented singers. There was even a Catholic saxophone! Whooda thunk it?

When we returned to Grammy's house, the Easter Basket search commenced while the cooking was in the final bend. Being as Jaime & Justin are both super-duper smart, we gave them decidely difficult clues. The first clue was a card with a picture of Nikola Tesla on it (sans name), his DOB and DOD. Now, before you feel any sympathy for them, know that they took one look at it and knew exactly who it was.

Geeks.

Everyone, including Grammy, found their baskets with relative ease. After stuffing our faces, we went on a walk to the lake so Zeke & Justin could skip rocks.

It was a nice, relaxing vacation. Here is the slideshow (keeping in mind that the last group of pictures were taken by a 9 year old boy fascinated with the self-portrait option):



We hope your holidays were just as nice.

Happy Easter

from the largest, drooliest Easter Bunny ever.

And his family.

Chicagoland Pet Expo

We had such a blast this past weekend! I took Friday off and spent the day with my friend Kendra, cooking for a Saturday night party. Her dog Basja came along and was pretty disappointed with the company: Reggie was too pooped from the groomer to put much effort into playing and Korina just wanted to rip her face off... so she spent most of her day in our bedroom.

Saturday we spent the day at Arlington Racetrack where the Chicagoland Pet Expo was going on. We helped represent AllSaints Rescue out of Milwaukee, WI. This is the rescue we got Reggie from and through whom we are fostering Korina. Reggie was in his glory. WHere else could he go and be loved on by HUNDREDS of people without having to do anything to earn it?

Saturday night our friend Debbie hosted a party at her house for all the members of an online forum for big dogs we belong to. It was so great to see all these people in person! People who you chat with almost daily, who know more about what is going on in your life than your next-door neighbors. I sang "The Gambler" with Lora and Adam dazzled us with a Rodney Carrington song.

We spent the night in the Chicago area and went to our friends Melissa & Dan's house in the morning. The plan was to let Reggie and their dogs acclimate, play a little, then put Reggie up in the spare room to sleep for the day (he was still worn out from all the petting on Saturday) while the humans went into Chicago for good food and some sightseeing.

All went according to plan until we got to The Field Museum and were preparing to go in. Melissa gets a call from her next door neighbor asking, "Are you missing a Saint Bernard?" Reggie managed to escape the spare room, the crate that was pushed up against the door, two baby gates AND a LOCKED front door to the HOUSE!

Luckily we have tremendous friends who, if they did mind having to cut the day short did not show it, brought us back to our pup, who was being watched by her wonderful neighbor. Dan IS a master of the guilt trip though and I suspect, plans to use this whole incident at every opportunity. I think he is hoping for a lot of free meals to come his way. ANd i think the kitchen remodel was mentioned as well...

Here is a slideshow of the pictures we took:

Wassa' Happenin' Hotstuff?

What a weekend! First, everything melted. WHich led to allllll kinds of water everywhere. And where did most of this water drain to? Our backyard. Which made for a big sloppy mess. However, that mess did not last long, because a day or two later, it all froze again. And what we were left with was a frozen pond in our backyard.






Saturday evening, we got a new member to our household. Her name is Korina. She came to us from a shelter in Merrill, WI. Her owner had turned her in because she was not getting along with the resident shitzu. After a few tenuous moments with Reggie, she seems to be settling right in. She needs a few good meals and some TLC, but we can certainly handle that. We will be fostering her until the right family comes around to adopt her.






And last but not least, Clare's INformal party. Her answer to all those people who had to get dressed up in pricey dresses and trudge out to the High School gym and sweat for 4 hours.

SOme of Clare's friends came over to spend the night, wearing some of the most anti-formal, outdated dresses we have seen in awhile. WOWIE! And they all did their hair and makeup to match. Here are the future beauty queens of America.

Winter, Round II

So a couple of weeks ago, we had a warm spell. It stayed above freezing for almost a week. It was wonderful! We ould go out and get the mail without 15 layers of clothes. The furnace did not run constantly. All the snow that has been gradually turning black for the last month or so finally melted.

And then it snowed. Again. The high today was 22 degrees and we have about 8 inches of snow on the ground. We are soooo ready for spring.

Today we met our friend Kendra and her beautiful Great Dane Basja for lunch. Afterward, we went for a hike in Rock Cut State Park. We let the dogs go offleash; Basja because she is well-trained and has excellent recall, Reggie because we were hoping he would just follow Basja around.

They played and cavorted. If you hold a snowball in your hand, Basja loves to jump up and grab it with her mouth. Reggie... he likes to watch.




By the time we decided to turn around and head back, Reggie was pooped. AT one point, he just stopped walking and laid down in the snow. Poor guy.

Kendra and Basja came over to the house for ahwile so we could visit. The dogs snoozed. And after they left, Reggie found his spot by the door and has been snoring ever since. And that is why he is the perfect dog for us.

Next weekend is the Winter Formal at Clare's high school. SHe has opted not to go. Instead, we are throwing an INformal party for a bunch of girls who are not going to the dance. They are all wearing the ugliest dresses they can find and we will give out an award to the one who looks the worst! Stay tuned for that!