Trick or treat!

Here's some pics from the big night! We stormed into our new neighborhood in style this year! Michael rode in the wagon, and on the long stretches between houses, Sophie (and sometimes Rachael) jumped in too. After a long night of candy-collecting, we went back to our friends, the Hardy's house for chilli and sausages, and of course, for candy- sorting and counting! It's so nice to have some nice friends in the new neighborhood to hang out with! Thanks Hardys! Michael even got his hands on a lollipop and was MORE than pleased with it. Gramp has had a couple of days feeling a little weak, but I got him his wheelchair today, and now he's like a speedster through the house. He loved it! Now he rolls up to the bkfst counter and is ready for tea or dinner, or whatever I can give him. Thanks so much to my friend Michele who has taken on watching over Gramp for us on Fridays. No drama, remember Michele, no drama. I came home to a sparkling kitchen and all was well. HUGE feeling of relief!! You know Michele, you have been around me for many of my big life changes here in TN, so, I hope you plan to stick around! Who knows what's next!

Jen weilds a knife

We had a totally spectacular afternoon today. Thankfully we had finished school, and the girls and I went out to crank up the fire-pit and work on some pumpkin carving. My parents had come for one evening as they were speeding through the work of emptying out Gramp's apt. in CT, and then delivering some of the smaller more valuable items here. The rest of the loot (cases full of cash and collectible gold and silver items....) are on a truck headed this way. So, unfortunately they missed the pretty day and the smokey fire; sorry guys! You were missed too. Bret called during school and talked to all the girls, making everyone more anxious about his returning sometime in the next several days. (Maybe then the burgers on the grill will come out less..."blackened" looking). So, the pumpkins are carved, the burgers are burned, Gramp is eating well, and all is looking good as we wrap up October

The strategy of food

So Gramp just MIGHT be "getting it." Tiny specks of reality and acceptance are creeping in. (that he's here to stay, that is) I don't know what else to do to get to him, and help him make the transition....except....the old standby...food! I put on my "gram memories" and start making some of the foods I remember her cooking for him. Potatoe pancakes. Keilbasa. Oatmeal. Tea. Ham sandwich, don't forget the mustard. Corned beef hash. There's some stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers on the horizon. I need to get some dark bread too. The kids are less excited than Gramp is about it, to say the least. But Emily and the girls made pizza tonight and he was quite entertained to watch them work. And he even ate some! 3 meals in a day! The man might just get fat!! Bret went to hang out and shoot some hoops at a friend's house today. When he got home there was a story that involved several other kids in the neighborhood, a "stolen" golf cart, an airsoft gun, a kid hanging off the back of said golf cart, and pulling an Indiana Jones to make it to the front, and a locked house, but a garage door that could be "rolled under" to get in. I really didn't want to hear the rest did I???? Again, no police. All good. Now that everyone is asleep, I'm going to try to vacuum a little. Michael is practically crawling, and has that advanced dexterity that allows him to scoot from crumb to crumb, or dried leaf, or stringy thing and pick it up in his curious little fat fingers and eat it. So, prevention time! Oh yeah, tooth #2 is here!

Fat and happy

Gramp continues to do well, and is eating more and more! I guess eating, sleeping, and pooping are my normal indices of how the kids are doing, so why not impose the same things on Gramp? So far so good! In other news, Emily is camping with the girl scouts this wknd., and Bret slept over at a friend's place with about 4 or 5 other boys his age, and the police were NOT called, so it's all good. Rachael, Sophie and I, along with Michael were able to go to the neighborhood costume party last night. Emily designed everyone's costumes this year, and they came out so cute. Rachael was Mulan, and Sophie was a cowgirl (but she also has a robot costume ready if she wants to swap next week). To my husband Bret, who is, as he put it, "in purgatory," I want you to know how much we appreciate the discomfort/irritation/loss of recreation, etc. you are going through. We are all just hanging on until you get home. We love you and cannot wait for you to get back, because we all miss you.

Settling in...

Well, after a little anxiety and some disorientation last night, we are doing much better today. Gramp seems very relaxed, took some naps, read some papers, and is getting his bearings around the house. We are getting his services all in place. He had a couple bites to eat, but really doesn't have any desire to eat much...but then again I NEVER remember him eating too much of anything, so, it's pretty normal. I'm just giving him the reins to eat and do what he wants, when he wants, in the hopes that he acclimates and claims the place as home better if I'm not pushy. Thanks so much to Ellen and Steve who talked me down last night when the reality hit me. The kids are just following business as usual, except they now have the added issue of a blasting t.v. on btwn. Gramp's naps....:-).

Holy Hell!

So I found out today that my 98 yr. old grandfather is coming to live with us.... tomorrow. Yes tomorrow. I have less than 24 hours to get ready. I said he could come and live with us instead of the crappy nursing home he was destined for, and surprisingly enough he agreed! NO ONE in my family anticipated his EVER leaving his home in CT, but he is! We're all a little apprehensive, but excited to have the opportunity to spend a little time with him in his waning years. I'm sure it'll be an education for everyone involved. And I have to give a HUGE thanks to my husband for not freaking out, and agreeing to let him come here. Thank you Bret! I think you could tell how much this meant to me to help him out. Anyway, today I transformed the room that is supposed to be for Michael (someday) and was also a catch-all room since we moved in, into a little bdrm/apt for Gramp.

Pumpkin hunt

The girls and I did the big October deal today, minus Bret (who's at boyscout camp). This one pumpkin patch has a whole hayride/playground/photo op/etc. deal. It's really a family's backyard and land, so they're very enterprising. There were a ton of people there today because it was so pretty out. Enjoy!

Milky milk

Cari, this is just to make you drool: observe, from left to right, butter (freshly churned), cream, milk.

Keeping up with the culture...

This post is purely to get a chuckle out of my mom and her cluelessness about current use of computers. Listening to her reading something on line today, I hear her read, in the text, (insert a sing-song melody here) "lalala." And I'm going, mom, did you just read "l-o-l?" "Yeah." MOM!!! Do you not know what LOL is? "What, lalala?" I can imagine all the emails I've sent with an lol stuck in there, and my mom is thinking I just sit around singing lalalala while at the computer. Okay, well she's on the phone with me as I type this and is saying something about the fourth commandment.....okay, mom, say it with me now, LOL! NO SINGING or HUMMING allowed!!! Also, Michael really cut his first tooth yesterday!!! A bottom one! Yay! Bring on the steak!

MMMOOOO!

Today we went to Mr. Peter's farm! He is a sweet old man who came to live here from Germany many years ago and loves dairy farming. He says he has never had a bad day at work! The girls got the "talking tour" of how to milk a cow, and life on the dairy farm. I was ashamed to say that the first thing out of Mr. Peter's mouth when he met the girls was, "looks like they need to get out in the sun some!" They met the goats, the cows, the dogs, the kittens and the calves. We brought home 5 gallons of fresh milk, and next we'll make some butter from the milk fat. So fun. We're such city people, we've lost so much knowledge! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Not terrapin, but tortoise!

We found 2 "turtles" hanging out together in our side yard today. A little research later, we found they are identified as a box tortoise, due to the underside (the belly part) having a hinged flap that allows them to pull in all their limbs and close up the spaces completely. So fun to live in a zoo!

Zinc and night visitors

Bret built a couple of Zinc-y prototypes, but then landed on a brilliant idea and built it this morning out of an old building set of "k-nex" pieces and air soft pellets. Youthful creation meets teenage war games. Last night at 1:30 a.m. I was washing the mirror in the kids bathrm. (I'm not sleeping quite as much since I'm home alone) Suddenly there is a deliberate noise at the window like someone picking a lock. Frozen in adrenaline rush, I arm myself with a toilet paper dispenser and quickly pull back the curtain, hoping that the element of surprise will startle the intruder. There is a young smallish raccoon hanging by all 4 paws on the screen, eating moths. I didn't startle him at all. He was pretty focused. He and I sat nose to nose pondering each other, and then he went on eating moths. Who knew? When I opened the window, he jumped down and looked at me for a minute from the porch before he took off.

birthdays and terrapins

Rachael had a successful "spa" birthday party this weekend. Several little girls came over and obliterated a pinata, ate ice cream sandwiches and various other junk food items, and watched "The Parent Trap" while they had their nails painted. Then they slept under a tent that big sister Emily engineered. The girls did their Clare of Assisi skit at history group; all went well. We spent the afternoon at Octoberfest, and now Sophie has a stomach ache (hmmm...too much junk food maybe???) I got a little more painting done on two rooms that are "in process," and Bret said it like it truly feels, "I don't think we're ever going to finish painting!" Tonight I had a nice laugh with several parents at our annual parent's dinner with the homeschooling grp. Michael was my date, and he definately had fun attempting to get lots of attention, although his little buddy Simon was a little competition in that department. Thanks to Adam for giving him a man-fix. Now I'm going to try and get some sleep before someone else wakes up in an abdominal crisis after all the candy/soda/fried dough. Yes. I did give them all of that. I'm blaming myself!!!! :-)) Oh yeah, and the girls found a terrapin! I thought it was a 'turtle' but Bret corrected me and told me that it's a TERRAPIN, so, there ya go! They only kept it for a little while and then let it go. Faith wanted to know how to tell if it was a girl or a boy. Hey, I thought it was a turtle, how should I know?

Wild about blogger

So, I'm hoping that new bloggers are typically overzealous bloggers. I am! But really I'm adding pictures because I'm overly proud of my kids! Okay, enjoy our obsession with little Michael, here sporting his New England-ish cableknit sweater. He's only 6 mos., but very fashion savvy.

Household scraps

So, Bret has to create a model of Zinc out of things that he can find in the house. I can see him eyeing my jewelery, cutlery, etc.. I have to keep him centered on stuff that we don't NEED. And then there's the hot glue gun left on late at night, the boxes of consumable craft stuff slung all over the place...it better be a fabulous atom when it's through! Emily is writing a report on St. Clare, and the girls and I made some habits for a skit they'll be doing about her (extending one loaf of bread to feed almost a hundred) people tomorrow. Rachael said everything felt scratchy (that would be the burlap, honey) and she hoped they could get it done fast. :-) Today is the perfect day. Not quite crisp in the air, but just a hint of it with blinding sun. All the windows are open and the wind is slighly billowing the curtains. Makes you want to take deep breaths.

CatholicVote.com - Resources

So, here is a video link that many of you that I know (current AND from long ago) should take a minute to watch. I know you're hit with so many of these during election time, but hey, it's ELECTION time! It's time for us all to talk and share. It's maybe one minute. Sit down, click watch. Please, share yours too if you feel strongly about them! www.CatholicVote.com

Just to keep it light

I promised some fun. I couldn't resist this picture of the kids...yes, they ARE spoon hanging.

Rachael's birthday and a plug for water pik

Today was day 3 of our keeping a friend's 2 yr. old while she is out of t0wn. (just one more day). I say "friend" but mean Bret's co-worker's son. i.e. we don't know either very well. So put a 2 yr. old who has no sibs into my mix for 2 days. He is perplexed at sharing, prayers, dinnertime banter, etc.. And he's 2, so, "there ya' go" as Mrs. Palin says! Overall he's been okay, and has bonded with little Bret and Rachael pretty well. He was psyched to be at Rachael's birthday party; and yes, she is now 7!!! I'm always so happy to celebrate with each of them, but especially HER. Bret is still out of town, and we're plugging along without him. Poor guy is going to sleep for a week when he gets home. (he's working nights under deadline pressure). Random thought-shift. Now that I have old teeth, I found a fab. new product. This handheld little water pik. $30 at Walgreens. Totally fabulous for getting REALLY clean gums. (amazing what you do with your time when your husband is out of town) We also went to a pro-life event this weekend. We were in a procession with a local parish, to a busy artery here in town where we stood and prayed, and were just a visible awareness for passers-by. You won't see us in the picture because we were at the END of the procession. First we screeched in just after they left, and second it's hard to catch -up when the girls are busy picking up all the pretty rose petals that had been thrown on the ground. :-)))) It was a national thing. The paper came by to take pictures, but of course, stories like that NEVER get published! And that is the news here. I'm going to try and post some pics of Rachael's birthday, but if I'm unsuccessful, I'll consult my friend Cari and see if she'll give me a blogspot tutorial.

HI!!!! Welcome to my NEW and improved BLOG! I'll think of lots of witty and creative things to post on here to keep your attention and brighten your day a little! Okay, well, the journey begins! Stay tuned! Jen