Bloggety Blog...

Chapter 1:
Donna - is better and home from the hospital.  She was gonna go Thelma and Louise on them if they didn't let her out when they did.  Yep, the Zuidermeister is a tough one - warrior!

I got her casual text last Friday that she was having a bad day and had clots in both lungs, thus admitted to the hospital. After a few exchanges, I really had a mini-freak-out of "what if something horrible had happened????"  See that smile above?  It's one that I can't live without and I'm thanking God that she is getting better.

Chapter 2:
Jodi - now she is in the hospital.  Gallbladder :(  Really, when we hit 40, does it all have to go to hell in a hand-basket?  Gallbladders, cancer, blood clots - we're 40 for God's sake, not 80!  Hopefully Jodi will be home very soon and feeling much better.  Another dimpled smile I can't do without ;.)

Chapter 3:
Dead Turtle / Sad Siley - Little Turtle man bit the dust.  Uncle Tim found the cute little turtle on the golf course this spring and brought him home to Si...unfortunately, he did not survive our household.  It's survival of the fittest around here - if you can't feed yourself at this point, be prepared to go 2-3 days without eating.  Toughen up.
Silas was very sad though.  It really bummed him out the last couple days. It probably didn't help that we kept the dead turtle in a baggie on the deck for 48+ hours in 96 degree temps.   You've seen CSI and what that can do to remains :(
He's been properly buried with a few kind words and he's with Grandpa J now.

Chapter 4:
Hudson Class Reunion - Last weekend was Justin's 20 year class reunion! Who knew I'd end up with such an older man!  We drove up to Hudson for an overnight stay and Justin reconnected with many friends that he hadn't seen in forever.  I had a great time mingling and seeing people that he's talked about for years!  We both had a fantastic time and Justin was so glad that he went and that they had such a great turnout.

I find it amazing how quickly, 20 years later and worlds apart, the connection can be re-established. I think a great alumni event would be to do a day back in high school.  Backpacks, books, teachers, a happy hour after...hmm...(but no homework!)

Chapter 5:
Chad's Visit - Another fantastic reunion this week was Justin's elementary and post-high school Europe traveler friend visit.  Justin and Chad are T-burg friends and honestly, I feel like I've known Chad as a friend myself all these years because of the stories that I've heard (we know how Justin tends to repeat stories!).  Chad and his girl, Meara AND their two large dogs (Meisha and Bear) stopped for a visit on their drive from the Finger Lakes (NY) to Tuscon (where they live).  I expected complete chaos with all the animals but they were fantastic and Zoe and Cleo were very hospitable hosts.  I wish they had been able to stay a few more days and we'd gotten to catch up more.
Justin and I stayed with Chad in NYC many moons ago (pre-kids).  Chad lived in a tiny apartment above a Greek diner and Justin and I slept on the couch.  Sometime during the middle of the night, I was woken up by mice (quite possibly RATS) rummaging  through the garbage in the tiny kitchen area.  Yeah, it makes me appreciate a rodent-free suburbia!
Chad and Meara are awesome folks - I hope it's not another 15+ years before we can visit again...

(a picture of Meara and Chad that i stole from Chad's Facebook page :)

Chapter 6:
Indian Lake - We had a fantastic time with the Hile's and Lang's a couple weekends ago at Indian Lake.  A weekend of total relaxation, swimming, boating, fire by the lake...greatly enjoyed it and got a terrible sunburn on my back!  The kids tubed and (Silas especially) - were thoroughly exhausted!!

JP all big and burly - he looks like Popeye :)

Coming soon!
BEACH!!!!! One of the things that I love about vacation is the time to take pictures and blog about our trip.  I really hope that I have the time (and internet connection!) to do that this year.

YOSP update - I've been bummed that we were slowing down in our progress but Justin started "officially" on the basement last week and that has been a huge boost in our progress on the house!  Pictures sometime soon :)

Happy Friday

I feel better today. The fact that it's Friday helps :)
We are going to Cleveland tomorrow for Justin's 20 year reunion. This could be a good payback for how he behaves (or rather misbehaves) at my reunions!
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Well hell. I started this post a few hours ago and now things get scary again. My BFF DZ is in the hospital with lung clots. She's tough and I know she'll be okay but it's so scary to think how things could have gone if she hadn't gone to the ER when she did.
Happy thoughts and prayers requested and appreciated.



- Posted on the go from my iPhone

Feeling Overwhelmed

I've been feeling so overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work that needs to be done - at work, around the house, with life in general. I can't seem to get caught up with anything.  I just want to bury my head in the sand and ignore it all!  I feel like for every step we've taken in the YOSP, we've taken 2 steps back.
Work changes have me stressed out, I am too tired to take pictures, edit pictures, update the blog, read, run - the things that I really enjoy doing. 
To head off a nervous breakdown, I've had to consciously make myself stop and enjoy, and put blinders on to the mess around me and just focus on the positives...

Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
The last few days...definitely not.

Ella's First Camp!

A couple weeks ago Ella went to her 1st overnight camp with Girl Scouts. It was at Camp Wakatomika which is a good hike from our neck of the woods!  Per the list we got, we packed enough stuff for her to be there for what looked like 3 weeks - I guess boy scouts aren't the only ones that are always prepared.

I worried only slightly that she would get home sick.  I should have known better.  She was engrossed in her first craft project and barely even looked up to tell my good-bye!

She was with one of her best friends, Abby.  They got to be cabin makes too.  They had cozy little camp cots made up with their sheets and sleeping bags.

I tried to convince them to take Silas too but no such luck...

The girls had a great time but were thoroughly exhausted 2 1/2 days later when they returned home.  7am wake up call - which for Ella is unheard of!!  She also had to "clean the latrines" which she was not to fond of.

It was a quiet couple days around the house without her singing, dancing and fighting with the boys!
This week she has been at day camp from 9 - 3:30 each day.  It's only 15 minutes from home and she gets to come home and she gets to fight with her brothers in the evenings - the best of both worlds for her.  She will be one exhausted girl by this weekend though!  Just in time for a "restful" weekend at Indian Lake with friends!

Such a Goofball!

I still have a lot of stuff (like my traveling, Ella's first girl scout camp and the 4th of July weekend) to update on but thought I'd share a couple pictures of my youngest goofball first.  Silas has been on a roll lately with his goofiness :)

For the 4th he decided to spike his mohawk and dye it blue 

 

The big mosquito bites on his head looks like the beginnings of either horns or nipples.  Poor kid has been getting eaten alive this summer!  I can't help but think that we might be damaging him now by allowing him to have a blue Mohawk and tattoos!

Yesterday the kids were playing with my phone and when I was scrolling through the pictures I found this one of Silas

His face just cracks me up.

Poor Ella has another black eye from jumping on the trampoline.  You can't see it too well here but it's a good one!