Dixie's Destruction

I was only gone 45 minutes. I had my whole day planned out. Take my dogs to the kennel, run to Kohl's, Bath & Body Works and then maybe head over to the outlet mall. Come home and pack and tidy things up. I figured by then Tom would be just getting home from work and we'd be ready to leave for the weekend. But no...that's not quite the reality. What you see above is the reality. I had just left Murphy and Cadi off at the kennel and was on my way to the above mentioned places when Nicholas called to inform me that Dixie (Nathan's dog) had pooped on the floor. Okay, kinda gross but I could deal with that. But then Nicholas told me that she had eaten the living room sofa, Tom's crocs, a pair of Nathan's shoes, one of my Keens (that she actually took off the top of the dryer where I'd left them after I washed them yesterday!!!), one of Tom's sneakers...... So now I am sitting here at home dog sitting because evidently Dixie cannot be left home alone without my dogs being here. I am cranky! Not just because of the destruction - that I am leaving for Nathan to clean up (except the poop) but becasue I'm stuck here with a dog that is not mine and I can't leave my house!

And in case that is not enough - the lizard is loose AGAIN!!!!

Lizard Update

I am happy to report that the lost lizard was found at 4 pm today!!! I was looking for something in a bedroom upstairs and walked out of the room and there it was on the wall. I guess I screamed or something because Bill the builder came running in from outside and Nathan ran from the shower and between the two of them they were able to capture it from behind a stack of books and safely return it to its home!! Phew!! It was a true "pineapple" moment!!!

Lizard on the Loose!!!

There is a lizard - a gecko really - but whatever it is it is missing!!! At about 2:30 this morning we were awakened by one of the kids asking if we'd been in his room or seen his "pet"! Now how are we supposed to get back to sleep after that?? Dreaming that your toes are being bitten by this missing lizard?!?? Thinking that the dogs are maybe "playing " with it and that you'll find bits of it scattered all over???? One good thing is that I don't do barefoot - it's a sensory thing - but thank goodness it isn't likely to be biting at my toes!! It's a little bit creepy knowing that at any time I could open a cupboard, drawer, or door and find it staring at me. And it is really really fast too! Not that I would chase it or try to catch it anyways but even if I did see it by the time I grabbed something to smack it with it would be looong gone.

I think we'll find it tonight. While we have about 14 people over celebrating Alec's birthday ( I have been a grandma now for ten years!!). I'm hopeful, but not in a good way, that at some point during the festivities this lizard will make an appearance. I'm going to be ready.......

We lost a little lizard once before. It belonged to Julie and met it's demise under the wheels of the portable dishwasher. Maybe that's where I should look now?

The Night Julie & Steve Went Out.....

Alec


Tom & I had the 3 oldest grand kids the other night. Julie & Steve dropped them off at about 5:15. Linnea had to be in Brighton to get signed up for ballet between 5 and 8 and Alec had to be to football practice in Howell by 7. Somewhere in that time frame we needed to eat dinner. So we all piled in the car and took off. I took Linnea to sign up for ballet and get her her new leotard while Tom took the boys to the car wash. Then we all headed to McD's for some food. We had to eat in the car to be on time for football. (Three little kids eating fast food in my car while driving is a major stress to me.) Anyways we made it to football even though the kids all thought we were going the wrong way!! A bunch of little boys playing football is a pretty funny thing to watch!! A lot of them looked as if they'd be better suited to Linnie's ballet class! After that we stopped by the DQ before coming home. We got home around 9:30 and then they all wanted to play Wii with Nicholas and Nathan. Even though there is like a 15-20 year age difference between my boys and the grand kids they can and do fight like siblings. So when I'd had enough I headed up stairs. Luke came up to see me a short time later and wanted to watch a movie. It was now 11:15. There were no appropriate movies upstairs so I sent him down to look for a movie in the family room. He came back up with "Shrek the Third" and the other two kids who all piled on my bed and we popped in the movie. Here's the conversation I had with Luke -


Me: Is this movie okay with mommy?


Luke: No but it's not a spanking it's only a time out.



Right before I fell asleep I "laughed off my head"!

Where Did The Summer Go??

(This is a picture from last September when one day two students happened to be wearing the same color scheme as me. Notice my "smile".)

Today is my last day of summer vacation. Yep, I also get the weekend but that doesn't really count because I get the weekends off all the time. So today is it. This was the fastest 11 weeks ever. (Since last summer!) These same 11 weeks would take a lot longer during the school year.

It was a weird summer. I spent considerably more time at home this summer. I kinda liked it. Especially since 5 of those weeks were spent in an empty nest!!! It was awesome. Whenever I left and came back everything was exactly where I left it, our grocery bill was minimal, we could park on the driveway and the house was actually quiet and dark at night - I could go on and on and on but you get the idea!

We also had the house sided. That, after the new landscaping a couple years ago, and the new roof last year, completes the major outside remodel. Now the real remodel begins!! As soon as the township grants approval we begin "the addition" - where we add about 8 feet across the back of the house to expand the kitchen and dining room. At the same time we are expecting an addition to the family. Nicholas and Chelsea's baby girl is set to be born the middle of September and will all live here with us for a while. More on these additions in another post.

Now it's time for another school year - this is actually the first time since 1980!! that I haven't sent a kid off to school!!! This year I am the only one going back. And I am SO ready!!! Besides, there are only 291 days until the last day of school next year!! LOL

Brother & Sister circa 1961

Well summer is winding down - for me anyways! Next Monday at this time I should be sitting in a stuffy auditorium listening to our top administrators expound on the wonderfulness of our agency and inform us of all the fabulous plans they have for this school year. Yippee. We've heard the same things each and every year and you know what??? Not much really ever changes. Most of them will never actually set foot in a classroom - which is okay with me anyways!

So what does any of that have to do with this post?? Not much. I found these cute photos on the way to looking for something else and rather than just stuff them away again I thought I would use them in a blog. So here we are....me and my little brother, Greg. That summer of 1961 I would have been 6 and he would have been 4. That summer my mom would have been making plans for me to start first grade - gone all day!!! I remember my first lunch box - it was red plastic and plaid. It had a matching thermos and no matter how cool that little lunch toting combo was the milk always tasted crappy and the box itself always smelled like something that made you not want to eat what was in it! The funny thing is that I thought staying for lunch meant that once lunch was over we got to go home. I was seriously surprised - not in a good way either - when that didn't happen!!! One day that lunch box met its demise when someone, probably my mom, turned on the burner on the stove right where that little red plaid plastic box was sitting. I'll never forget the smell of that bag melting to oblivion or the way the stench lingered in the house!!

Greg probably didn't get a new lunch box that year but he would be staying home and enjoying one more year before he started kindergarten.

Crazy Stuff!

Tom & I went up north this past weekend. On the way up there Thursday night we spotted this rainbow out the truck window. It was brilliant! And then on the beach the next day this airplane flew right over us. It was sooo close it was frightening! The kids would have loved it! And the other picture is of Tom sitting at the beach. I think that's his t-shirt tied around his head. For a minute I thought I was sitting with a stranger!

Brothers and Sisters

Whew!! It has been a busy couple of weeks! Tom & I got home from our vacation on a Sunday and I took 2 grandsons back up north a day and a half later. We were there about 5 days and came back home where I stayed a day or two and then headed back up with two more grandkids for another 5 days. We had a lot of fun.....many trips to the pool, a lot of golf cart rides (Luke & Linnie are BIG fans of driving through the woods although we didn't see much wildlife.....I think we were a little too loud!), we spent a few afternoons (and one night - it's still light up there at 9:30!) on the beach where Lake Michigan was actually warm(ish), we logged several trips to the DQ and House of Flavors, we spent time at the playground, we went blueberry picking, went to Friday Night Live - both weeks, lost Caleb there briefly...sorry Julie! and I can't remember everything we did!

It's funny how the kids all beg to go blueberry picking and then when we get there, after about 5 minutes they are asking if we are done yet. But I'll tell you this - Alec and Luke are picking machines! They were awesome! Caleb was always looking for the "mother lode" and keeping us entertained with his chatter. Linnie was trying to set the record for most blueberries eaten in a day!! I think she ate a pail full!!

One thing I noticed these past two weeks is that either I am getting used to the "Schultz dialect" or they are not using it as much!?! There were only a couple of instances - "wackaroni" "I laughed off my head" and a few others that I don't recall. There were some funny conversations as well.

Me: (In the car driving) "Luke, settle down!"

Luke: "You slow down. You're the one driving!"

At the DQ...where Caleb ordered a cone dipped in cherry with sprinkles...

Caleb: "Grandma is this a baby?"

Me: "No."

Caleb: (smiling broadly) "I'm in heaven!"

Or this one....in the car.... going around a corner....

Alec: "Caleb! You forgot to put the lid on the popcorn!"
You just know what the backseat now looks like, don't you?

My favorite...

Me: "Alec do you need help tying your shoe?"

Alec: "No, mom says I have to do it myself because you can't bend down anymore."

Seriously!??! I laughed off my head!!!