Grocery Assistant

Typically Ethan is the one who is willing to go grocery shopping with me.  He seems always ready to go out and embrace the world as we wander the aisles throwing things into our cart for the weekly food supply.  Perhaps it is because he usually sees a friend or two and he enjoys this a lot.

Last weekend as we were shopping he asked if he could purchase a couple of lemons.  "Sure."  I replied.  He likes lemonade so I thought perhaps he wanted to try and squeeze some by hand.  Who knows?  But if you have ever been grocery shopping with me, by the second 15 minute quarter my eyes have started to glaze over and although my list is in may hand I can't wrap my brain around what we need or what's for dinner let alone field the requests for random things, in this case lemons.  He caught me at a weak moment when no explanation was required for the lemons place into our cart.

The next morning as Kevin is pouring his breakfast cereal, those two lemons come back to haunt me as they roll out of the cereal box.   Ethan, quick as a whip, chimes in, "Well, I guess you could say that life sometimes gives you lemons."

Moan.

Very punny son.

He's here all week folks.  And the week after that.  And the week after that. 

Signs of the Times

Ethan and I enjoyed a good laugh when we saw this fix-it job on our local Walmart store.

For heavy duty duct tape, see aisle 13.

Fundraisers Smundraisers

We have been in school a total of 108 days.

To date, with 3 children in the system, we have been responsible for selling 18 fundraisers.

To name a few, we have "sold" magazines, cookie dough, pepperoni rolls, butter braids, Christmas chocolate, chocolate bars (Did you get one in your christmas stocking?), miscellaneous plastic items in a catalog, school logo items, hoagies, popcorn and Easter chocolate.   OH MY!

Wouldn't it be fun to win the lottery and fund all of the extracurriculars?  Things like basketball, band, ski club etc that make our children well rounded, but aren't required?

Maybe I should start playing.   I will have to work it into my sales schedule.

My Current Project

I have high hopes of someday being the knitter my mother was.  Not there yet.  I can knit an awesome baby hat that looks like an apple and have completed several scarves, hats, fingerless clothes and of course, the dishcloth.

Yesterday I started a new project.  Check it out.

It has good karma.  The knitting needles are Kevin's sweet Grandma Rosemary Forestal's (lovely, lovely lady) and the yarn comes from my Mom (also lovely).  These two strong, sweet kind women are contributors to the hat I am attempting to knit for my dear college friend, Tami, who underwent her first dose of chemotherapy on Thursday after her lymphoma diagnosis.  It's my first chemotherapy hat.  

With each stitch I am praying for healing and calling on those heavenly angels, specifically Rosemary and Sarah to keep her safe and healthy in these next few months.    The yarn has a very striking resemblance to Tami's eye color, I might add.  She is one of the best people I know.  

100

Today is the 100th day of school.  Woo hoo!

Will wanted to wear something fun, so we heated up the glue gun and go to it.

I told him to stand close to people all day long and ask, "Do you hear something buzzing?"  

He's just the kind of kid to do it.

Happy 100th day!

For sale:  100 gently used plastic flies.  Cheap. 

Update

Star date January 10, 2017

You know you are living in the gray winter of Southwestern Pennsylvania when your solar operated Japanese beckoning cat can't even muster up one single wave.

My Mom loved, loved, loved her younger brother Donald.  They were 18 months apart and therefore played together and most often took care of one another.  Donald and his family have lived in North Carolina for many years.  When I was young they were the cousins you couldn't wait to see.  They would visit during the summer and at Christmas time as Donald's wife, my Aunt Barbara (Aunt B Ann) also grew up in Waynesburg and they would spent time with both sides of the family.

When an opportunity arises to see Uncle Donald, I grap at it like a dangling carrot.  This fall Dianne and I rode along with niece Abby as she was attending a Medical School interview in North Carolina.  We spent the night with Uncle Donald, visiting with cousins and having Donald tell us stories about his experiences during the war and also growing up with Mom.

Over Christmas, Kevin, the boys and I were spending time with K's family in Columbus, when I learned that Uncle Donald and his family would be in town for a brief visit to attend a memorial service and burial for Aunt B Ann's sister, Martha.  Dianne said, "You don't have to come back for it."  My reply, "Well, of course I am coming."

Traveling alone in a mini-van is a lot different than traveling with your family.  For 3 quiet and peaceful hours I listened to music of my chosing and to a podcast series called Serial.  Even though they were here for less than 24 hours, I so enjoyed visited with Uncle Donald and his family.  We visitied the cemetery where many of our relatives are buried, even though we nearly froze to death.  Also we went on a drive around the hills and he showed me a house where my Grandmother lived when she was growing up.  I had never been introduced to it before so I was happy to learn some new family history.

I understand why Mom loved him so much.  At 90 years young, he is a pretty lovable guy.  

It's My Most Favoritest Weekend of the Year...

The first weekend of December.   Chill in the air.   Small town America open house.  I love it.  Our little town gathers on the main street amidst fires burning from barrels and free carriage rides.  There are musicians on every corner.  This year I even claim one of them.  It's Ethan (and friends) who serenaded the wandering townsfolk to Christmas music.

 The elementary school decorated the Christmas tree this year with snowflakes each student designed and printed on a 3 D printer.  We looked for Ben and Will's, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.....or as Will would say "literally" a snowflake in a Christmas tree.

On Saturday morning we pick out the best Frasier Fir and bring it in the house.  We take a break mid decorating to attend the local Christmas parade.  This year Kevin and Ethan decorated his trumpet for the festivities.  It took a little bit of manuvering but the effect was worth it.   

After we warm up from the parade, we drink hot cocoa, listen to Christmas music (This year's favorite Pentatonix.) and decorate the tree. 

Lovely. 

You know it has been a long time since you have blogged when

1.  You can't remember your password.
2.  You can't remember how to get to the blog.

Oh well.  I did it anyhow.  Take that google.

Here's a little bit of news.  Ethan turned 13 this summer.  He is taller than his mama now.  She can still wrestle him to the ground if she needs to though.

 Will lost his front teeth.  I always think kids are so cute at this stage.

 Ben, our only child who didn't suck his thumb, got braces.  Can you say kharma?  He turned 11 this summer.

 

 Kevin and I worked our fingers to the bone to dig out and replant the landscaping in front of the house.  We had the plans done last year by a landscape architect of our nephews and were blown away by the quotes to have someone come in and do the work.  We are pretty happy with the outcome.   I look forward to seeing how things look as they mature.

I had the day off from teaching today.  I spent it cleaning house mostly.  My friend, Kim, would be most disappointed in my spending a day this way.  However, it was necessary.  I promise.  I had to make space for the Christmas tree!

After a summer of our family room flooding at every raindrop, we had french drains installed this November. It has been so lovely to have a dry basement!  We are still in the process of putting things back together.  It's amazing the dust produced when they jackhammer the floor.  We still need to slap on a fresh coat of paint and move the furniture back then we will be able to live downstairs again for the first time since JUNE!

I will try to post again sometime, assuming I can remember my new password!

Flashforward to present day....it's cold.  It snowed.  We played.  We shoveled.  Enough said.  

In the midst of all that, I had a birthday.  Below is the cake that Ethan decorated for me.  Gets the point across I guess!  What's the need of fancy flowers and other bells and whistles? Chocolate shavings....who needs 'em?

That's me opening one of my three pairs of boots this birthday.  Oh yeah.  Mama's toes are loving life this winter.  

Ethan has been expanding his talents in the kitchen after his semester in middle school Home Economics. We asked him to set the table and this is what we found.  Pretty impressive I must say!

Ketchup

Seems like a lot of time has passed.   Oops.

My life lately consists of school, home, basketball, getting ready for school, cleaning at home, going to basketball games, go to bed, get up and repeat.

Flashback Christmas 2-0-1-5

All three boys participated in the Christmas Eve program at church.  It was very sweet.  Will was so small that you couldn't see him at all only hear his little voice projected over the microphone.  Nice memories though.  If I were a scrapbooking woman, I would dedicate 2 pages to this moment in time.

Here are the boys in their Christmas Eve pajamas.  Ben has decided to no longer wear a shirt to bed.  What evs.  

We had the traditional shrimp and fondue Christmas Eve party with my family.  Then we were so excited to have some of Kevin's family with us on Christmas day!  The boys even waited until almost three o'clock to open their presents.  So proud of them.  

 

Finn enjoyed himself immensely! If you can put a dog to sleep does that mean you are talented or really boring??  I never did know for sure.  

Winter Gala

As Kevin has assumed some new responsibilities on campus, along with that came the necessity for us to go to the Winter Gala celebrating 50 years of Penn State Fayette Campus.  Woo woo!  So for the second time in the last few months, my man and I dusted off our fancy duds, hired a babysitter and headed East.  We enjoyed cocktail hour and then were entertained by an "Emotion Artist" who painted to music as we watched and tried to figure out what in the heck he was making.  The first picture, I had decided early on, was going to be Yoda.  Then mid project, he flipped it upside down to display a rendering of John Lennon.  It was pretty fun to watch. 

Here I am with my date whom I dubbed, "Fun Kevin".  My typically reserved husband was dragging me out on the dance floor!

Halloween has come and gone

We had a beautiful night for trick or treating this year.  Thankfully the costumes were not bulky enough to bring on a full sweat (I am reminded of Ben in a Chewbacca outfit during on a 70 degree night!)  This year the costumes were not allowed to have anything to do with Star Wars.  They argued and pleaded, but I stuck to my guns (or light sabers) that we needed to BRANCH OUT and do something different.  

Introducing the MAD SCIENTIST.....aka Benjamin, complete with Mad Eye Moody eye from Harry Potter thrown on at the last minute just for good measure.  I do think it adds dimension!

 Ethan wanted to be an "English gentleman".  He is able to do a pretty good accent at 12, "Would you care for a spot of tea?"

 William wanted to be bacon or a volcano.  I opted for the latter.  His wig had battery operated orange lights and he carried a small tape recorder with erupting sounds so that he could erupt at any given moment.  It turned out to be one those costumes he is either going to embrace in 10 years or demand to know what we were thinking when we MADE him wear it.

We passed out candy and went to the local parade because Ethan was marching with the Middle School Band.  The English gentleman also plays the trumpet!

Long Overdue

The last weekend in August, yes, a wee bit back, Kevin and I went away alone together for the first time in twelve years.  Our lovely parents, Dick and Rosemary, stepped up to the task of tending to the little men (ahem, sort of little....Ethan is taller than me now).

My Mom's younger brother, Donald has always been a father to us.  The Varner cousins love spending time together.  So when a wedding invitation arrived for my cousin Martha's daughter, we really wanted to go. The timing wasn't the best...first weekend after school started, but somehow the planets lined up and we did it!

Kevin and I left right after school and drove until we got there around 2:00 am.  We sneaked into the beach house my sister and cousin had rented for the week and crawled into our futon mattress bunk beds.  Beggars cannot be choosers.

The wedding took place on the outer banks of North Carolina.  We had  checked into flying, but calculated that it would have taken the same amount of travel time to get there because the closest airport was almost 2 hours away.

Adult car trips are fun!  We listened to whatever we wanted, stopped when we wanted, chatted when we wanted, napped when we wanted.  Pretty fun stuff.   We were sad to miss the rehearsal dinner at the NC aquarium, but were lucky to be invited to breakfast the next morning.  Shrimp and grits in Manteo.  Super cool.

I have decided those southerners have it all figured out.  Seriously!  Life along the shore seems so lovely.

We then spent the day sitting on the beach, chatting with cousins galore and once even draggin ourselves away from our beach chairs to hike to the pier.

The wedding and reception were out of this world.  So beautiful and in such an incredible setting.

Uncle Donald and Kathryn riding their rickshaw to the reception

We chose to walk to Roanoke Island.

View of the bay from the reception

Under the big top

Meredith, Grant and Uncle Donald 

A sprinkling of Varner cousins

Uncle Donald and me

Some other random wedding guests :)

AND to top it off it was the night of the supermoon.  I mean, could they have planned it better?  

We arose at 5:30 am and started the trip home.  I worked on lesson plans while Kevin drove most of the way.  We were fortunate enough to find a little town in West Virginia having a farmer's market right around lunch time, so we stopped for a veggie wrap and quinoa salad.  Delish.

Goof balls, giddy on the town

 Second shout out to Dick and Rosie.  

I KNOW there will be an extra couple of jewels on your crowns in heaven.

Well well well

Look who is sitting down to post.  Moi!

Sorry to the two people out there who read this.  Ha ha.

Here is a whirlwind tour of the last month or so of summer.
Ben ventured off (alone!) to a 5 day overnight church camp.  Below is a picture of the brave soul playing gaga ball.  He had a wonderful time and I am so impressed with the fact that he wanted to go and went by himself.  Such confidence for a 10 year old boy!  

Will and I had a date at Ohiopyle one day when the big brothers were elsewhere.  My hiking boy was hard to keep up with.  The mountain laurel blooms were so pretty they looked like silk flowers from Joann's had been spread all over the forest floor.

The boys joined forces to save and earn enough money to buy a Wii U.  They went to the bank and had their change counted.  It was a nerve racking moment when we discovered that they still needed 21 dollars.  We went home and they earned it by cleaning out the van.  It was nice to have such eager workers in the house for a while.  

A picture from the annual Rain Day Run.  Kevin and I (again) barely could keep up with them for the mile long run.  I am sure that we are leaning against a tree or something to take this picture.

 We headed to Blackwater Falls, West Virginia for fun.  We stopped in Thomas, WV at a great little restaurant with awesome food and live music.  We enjoyed it so much we went back for local ice cream later.

Check out this view!  Wow!  Needless to say, I spent most of the time holding onto the boys' shirts for fear of them toppling over the edge. 

I have been consumed with Kindergarten.  I am in a classroom at least until January for a woman on maternity leave.  It has been fun, but a bit overwhelming at times.  Of course, I want to be a seasoned veteran teacher of Kindergarten the first few weeks that I am there.  Ridiculous.  I am always judging myself and thinking that I am not quite up to snuff.  Still working on that one!  I try to remember not to take it quite so seriously and to enjoy the time with the little buggers.

One of my favorite stories so far is a little boy who came in late and said, "Sorry I'm late Mrs. Maxwell.  My Mom saw someone in the parking lot she doesn't like and we had to wait in the car for 20 minutes!"  There are no secrets with 5-6 year olds! 

Most of the day so far is spent tying shoes (who invented nylon laces that don't stay double knotted!!) and trying to get them to face forward when walking in a line down the hall.  Small steps.  Small steps.

and wait for it....part two!

We traveled to the "Thickly Settled" regions of Massachusetts to visit my brother Jay.  Between rotaries and the road signs that say "Thickly Settled" you realize you are not in Kansas anymore.  We ventured out to see the local haunts and ended up at a butterfly sanctuary.  The boys were really freaked out by all the butterflies flipping and flying around.  

 Apparently I was the lucky one as one wildly flapping fella landed on my arm.

Here is a picture of me and Jay.  We snapped it at the last second before we left to prove that we were indeed there!

 Next stop, Concord, Massachusetts to see where the British were coming.  Below are the boys on the Old North Bridge.

We headed east until we couldn't go anymore and landed on Cape Cod.  Even though it was a bit chilly and we were the only ones on the beach, we dipped our toes in the sand for a bit.

 Ethan has always wanted to try sushi so we found a reputable Japanese restaurant and muddled our way through the menu.  Ben and Will absolutely love Mi so soup.

 Ethan absolutely loved the sushi!

 On the way home we stopped in Newport, Rhode Island to walk along the mansions on the cliff walk.

 For some reason this sign made me laugh.  "Stay on the path.  Steep cliffs.  High Risk of Injury"  I am especially fond of the illustration.  Ahhhhhhhhhh!

There is a total count for states visited and miles logged.  I will ask my statistically oriented spouse and fill you in later.