Crappy Day

Did you ever just have one of those days??? You know the kind......it just goes from bad to worse and not even with anything of great consequence - just one annoying, irritating, frustrating event after another! Well lately that is the way my Fridays have been going.

I used to really really like Fridays. You know, the last day of the work week, anticipation of going out, staying up late, sleeping in, etc... It was an easy work day - take the kids bowling in the morning and then after lunch , a movie or a dance. Lately it's been a different story, just review past Friday posts! Today was no exception.

It actually started out to be a pretty good day when a certain coworker didn't show up. I won't elaborate....suffice it to say that we were all pretty happy that this person wasn't there! Unfortunately for us, it was only a temporary absence:~( And that is my first irritating, annoying, frustrating gripe of the day - people who don't keep their word. Over and over again promises are made and broken - very frustrating!!! And there is another example of the same type of thing that also happened today.

Most of you know that Tom & I are looking to buy a house as an investment with the hopes that Julie & Steve will live there and one day be able to buy it from us. Hopefully a win-win situation. Well we took an offer to the table on Thursday afternoon with the promise from the realtor that we'd hear by Friday afternoon "at the latest". I don't need to tell you that we not only didn't hear back from the realtor but that phone calls were not returned either. Maybe since it's a foreclosed home, he is just not that into it. I don't know, but nevertheless...irritating! Especially since now we'll know nothing until at least Monday.

Okay I'm done complaining for now. Oh, one more thing.....when my kids were little they used to love to be read to and one of our favorite books was called "Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day". I think I'll dig it out and read it again, maybe I'll learn something!

Adventures in Babysitting

I don't think you can call it "babysitting" when you watch your own grandkids any more than you call it "babysitting" when one parent watches his/her own kids. Can you? Never mind. But on Saturday we babysat 4 of Julie & Steve's 5 kids for about 4 hours or so. This was the first time that we've had Selah that she hasn't screamed and cried the entire time. And - Linnea wasn't here! We're making progress.....it took Luke and Caleb a lot longer to get to the place where they could be left without major drama. Anyways, they were funny and cute and sassy (you know which one that was!) and best of all, they all fell asleep by 9 pm!!

Here are some of the pictures I took that night.

This is Selah sitting beside Uncle Nick, looking a little worried.

Here she is again eating lasagna off her hand, with Uncle Nick looking a little worried!

Here she is really getting brave and asking him to blow on her food to cool it off!

Here are the dancers - Caleb is taking his turn in the princess shoes. Stunning with the bones pjs!

The boys are all almost asleep here and Selah is walking from one end of the couch to the other trying her best to find one of them to stay awake with her.

It was only a minute later that Caleb & Luke gave in to sleep.

So she crawled on top of Alec and this is where they stayed until Julie & Steve came to get them!

Saturday

What a rip-off that "snowstorm" was! We maybe got 2 inches! I hope this winter doesn't fizzle out so soon like last winter did. Come on, don't hate me just because I like winter - you know it'll be weeks before the weather warms and the tulips start popping and stuff, so relax and enjoy the last of this beautiful winter weather! Top photo was about 11 am before it started snowing. Below was taken about 5 pm just after it stopped. See how much prettier it is with snow???Without the snow it would be brown and boring and ugly:~)



Speaking of ugly, I have really ugly wallpaper in my bathroom. Really really ugly. It has been there since we moved in about 12 years ago so obviously I've come to terms with its ugliness. But recently, while I've been in the bathroom, I've noticed that some of the edges and seams are coming away from the wall; practically begging me to rip them from the wall. So little by little I have been pulling away little strips and chunks of ugly wallpaper. I don't put these scraps in the garbage - oh no! I carry them out in my pockets - like a prisoner who digs himself out of his cell and stuffs the dirt in his shoes. It's not because I feel bad or guilty or anything. It's because once Tom notices it (and I do wonder how much longer he can NOT notice it!) he will want to finish the job and that means finish it right then, no matter what. I prefer to take my time, peeling away tiny strips, sometimes with tweezers and always right after a shower when the humidity does its magic. And that way maybe in another 12 years or so, I'll be ready to re-paper or paint!


And here is baby Maggie in her new hat that a friend from work made for her. Cute???

"BUGS"

Well I did it! I dodged a bullet today!! I guess it's one of the hazards of working in a school....head lice, that is. Every year or so there seems to be an outbreak and this was the "lucky" year! We all heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when our class room seemed unscathed but this morning it was our turn to be screened by the nurses. The kids were all checked before the bus came for bowling and one of our students was sure enough infested! Naturally it was a student whose new hat had been placed on each of our heads earlier this week - YIKES!!! There wasn't time for the nurse to check staff before bowling so I was worked up to a pretty good panic, complete with itchy head, by the time we returned to school. (Did someone say pineapple?)

I nearly ran to the nurses room when we returned to school. I guess the nurses drew straws to see who would get stuck with me - well, my hair actually! It took a nurse and an assistant about 15 minutes to search my hair for bugs......I was ready to throw up! Every time there was a pause I was convinced they'd found a nest! My palms were sweating and I was hyper ventilating. And I was trying to figure out who would actually have the task of raking through my hair for the hours long job if they did indeed find bugs (probably someone with a grudge!) and that maybe I should just buzz it all off and trying to decide what my other options were when the nurse proclaimed me bug free!

I'm sure there'll be a next time - maybe not for lice - but for today, I dodged this bullet!!!

"Sisters"

I never really thought I was missing anything by not having a sister. Sure there were times that I thought it might be a good idea but then something would always change my mind. Example - I never had hand me downs, usually got to bring a friend on vacations, never had to wait my turn for the bathroom or the phone, never had to share a room; well with only a brother I never had to share anything! There were plenty of benefits to being the only daughter, for sure! Besides, it's not like I can do anything about it now anyways! With my mom nearing her 80th birthday it is unlikely...no, more like impossible, that I'd ever have a biological sister. So each year I take a little trip with my pretend sisters, Judy & Cindy! We just came back from our annual trip yesterday. We stayed in this little cabin in Davison. We ate, crocheted, took a walk, ate, stayed up late, watched girly movies and .....um..... the rest falls under the category of "what happens in Davison stays in Davison"!

Like me, Judy doesn't have any sisters. Cindy, on the other hand, has about 15 sisters! They all look alike which is to say that they look like their mom. I'm always jealous of all those sisters...they seem to have so much fun and stuff. Even though none of them lives nearby they are always getting together or facebooking each other, they even meet for group haircuts!

Anyways, for a couple days each year I like to pretend that I have two sisters! So here we are before taking a walk - Judy made us take a walk with her!

Here is the cabin we stayed in...isn't it so cozy?? We'll probably go back there next February and I can get my "sister fix" again!
I was just remembering that quite often when Julie (my daughter - 20 years younger than me) & I are out somewhere people frequently ask if we are sisters. Seriously! A good question from my viewpoint......not so good for Julie! I always smile and answer "yes"! Sorry Julie...maybe if I had a real sister.....

Happy Valentines Day!!

Okay - it's Valentines Day so enough about Walmart and hospitals and Kawasaki disease - today's entry is about the "little girls" Olivia (almost 3), Selah (almost 2) and Maggie (4 months). Total fluff! Enjoy!

This is Olivia having her nails polished by her mommy the other day. A lovely shade of lilac, yes?

Here she is blowing on her nails to "cool them off"!!!

Here is Lukie - recovering from Kawasaki disease - feeding little Maggie. So serious!

This next sequence is kinda cute.

All I'm trying to do here is get Selah to smile with her eyes open.

OOPS....Maggie is spitting up ("spilling" in Selah-speak) but Selah dosen't notice yet......

UH-OH! Looks like Maggie "spilled"!

Don't worry - Selah knows just what to do with a baby wipe!



Checking..... There! That's much better!

Oh yeah, Grandma was trying to get me to smile with my eyes open!! Maybe next time!!

Happy Valentine's Day everybuddy!!!

Triskaidekaphobia

Triskaidekaphobia - is defined as the fear of the number thirteen especially Friday the thirteenth. I am not triskaidekaphobic......well not before today anyways.

My day (off) started with a phone call at 6:30 am. Unless it's a snow day/no school call, a call at that hour is usually not good news. Today's early call was no different - my dad was calling to let me know that my mom had suffered a seizure. And so I spent the morning helping him with her.

I left them about noon and went to Walmart (I can't stand Walmart! see earlier posts) to pick up a prescription for my mom. I was pleasantly surprised to find that unlike the other day, there was no line at the pharmacy! Unfortunately, they did not have the drug we needed but the pharmacist offered to call around for it (!) and was able to find it at a nearby CVS. Unbelievable! Stacy, the pharmacist, promised to order it immediately "within 10 minutes". So I left Walmart and headed out on some errands, happy that I was in and out of Walmart so quickly. Silly me.

Tonight we left home to take dinner over to my mom & dad and stopped by CVS to pick up the prescription. You know this doesn't end well already, don't you?? Of course Walmart never called this prescription over to CVS (why would they do something right?) and here we are about 6 hours later trying to straighten things out while our dinner is getting colder and colder. Not only that but you know that every person in the CVS pharmacy was coughing, sneezing and sick! Gross! I didn't even want to breathe in there. It took 45 minutes to get the Rx!!! I couldn't get to the Purell fast enough!

So as far as I can tell, I'm still not triskaidekaphobic . But I definitely have a fear of Walmart!
I wonder what you call that??

Walmart

I have never been to a Walmart that I liked and so I avoid going there if at all possible. Today I had to go there to pick up a prescription for my mom. A prescription that was called in at noon. I waited in line 20 minutes to be informed that it wasn't ready yet. Are you serious?? Are they so inadequately staffed that it takes more than 4 hours to put 30 little pills in a bottle??? (Sorry Kathy - I'm sure you would've had the job done in a flash!) Anyways I had to wait 20 more minutes - at Walmart. Why don't all these people go to CVS or Meijer where you don't even have to get out of your car?? and the prescriptions are ready when promised???

So there is absolutely nothing to do at Walmart for 20 minutes except people watch and it is a great place for that! I think every rude person in the county passes through the doors of Walmart on a regular basis - both as customer and employee! I must've missed the sign that said "chuck your manners - if you have any - at the door". I wonder if rudeness is also a requirement for employment?? Because evidently education is not required! Embarrassing! Plus, the store was hot - always a bad thing for me - and it smelled bad. As if that isn't enough every single self serve check out was broken. Come on! I briefly considered shoplifting my half empty bottle of water since paying for it wasn't going to be a quick and easy transaction. Why did I expect more?? Yikes!

I couldn't get out of there and into my car and Purell my hands fast enough!!!

It's Almost Always Not Good News.......

These are the hospitals that we've recently visited with Luke and/or my mom. Top picture is University Hospital in Ann Arbor. Jan.23, 2009
St. Joseph Mercy Livingston. February 8, 2009.

St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. January 18 and February 8-9, 2009. Plus a couple of more visits for Luke, the dates I don't remember.

Children's Hospital Detroit. January 24-27 & February 7-8, 2009.

It's almost always not good news when the phone rings in the middle of the night. But my phone didn't ring in the middle of the night.....it rang about 5 PM Saturday afternoon, just as Tom & I were getting ready to run some errands and get some dinner. It was Julie calling to say that they were on the way back to Children's Hospital with Luke because he was having severe abdominal pain. What?? They had just left here about 4:30! So we headed down to Northville to pick up some of the kids. They were excited at the thought of a sleepover at Grandma's. (Woohoo! Yipee!) I was having a flashback to a very similar situation two short weeks ago. But everything was fine......they played Wii and watched TV and stayed up way too late:~) Really really late.

Sunday morning I heard them on the stairs bright and early. Tom got up with them and made us coffee. (That I later, much later, learned had been decaf!! Augh...no wonder I was in a fog all day!!) It was then that the phone rang again - Julie reporting on Luke who'd been admitted to Children's. Again. During that call my call waiting beeped in with a call from my mom & dad's number. My dad was calling to let me know that my mom had fallen, was unconscious and he was waiting for EMS to arrive. Yikes! I was supposed to shave off Alec's mohawk before church!! (See Julie's blog for that story!) I hurried over to St. Joe's in Howell where she'd been taken. Anyways, long story short....she bumped her head pretty good, ended up being taken to Ann Arbor where she was evaluated by the neurosurgery team, spent the night in observation and was released today.

Tonight when I go to bed I am taking the phone off the hook!

Florida 2006

In 57 days we leave for Florida!!! This year we will be taking our 6 year old grandson, Luke. In 2004 we took Alec who was 5 at the time. Unfortunately we did not have a digital camera when we took Alec so the photos from that trip are somewhere???? In 2006 we took Linnea who was 6 at the time. We had so much fun on both of those trips and are looking forward to taking Luke this year!

Here is Linnea as we arrived in Florida. She was a wonderful traveler who loved the smell (?) of Atlanta - we were in rush hour traffic and there was a game at the ball field and it was hot and smelled like fumes and exhaust and she proclaimed that "this was the best day of my life!"

She LOVED the beach and unlike Alec was not in the least bothered by the taste of sea water! That is her in the photo above.

There were stingrays all over that year and not even the rays could stop Linnea!

She loves to roll in the sand just like her mom used to do!

But she didn't like the feel of sand in her suit when she was done at the beach

And what trip to Florida is complete without a trip to Disney World???She was excited by the ride from the parking lot into the park on the tram! We could've told her that was it and she would've been happy!Of course we chose the hottest day of the week to go! And after she and I had stood on a line for more than an hour and once she'd had a better look at this particular ride she informed me that she'd changed her mind about going on the ride. Oh no - we ARE going on this ride Linnea. Here she is as we are getting ready to exit the ride, completely soaked - and so proud of herself for doing it!!

Here she is before we even left the parking lot! We stayed at Disney from the time the gates opened until the last firework had been launched....we went to the afternoon parade (don't remember what they call it), the Spectral Magic parade at about 10 PM, we saw the fireworks, rode just about every ride in the park, stood in various lines for about half the day, had pictures taken with dozens of characters, and walked about 52 miles around the park! We had so much fun!

I can't wait to go back with another grandbaby!

The Week in Pictures

We took a quick run up to Ludington yesterday and came back tonight. Tom had heard that there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground and so he wanted to go up and check our place and shovel the roof. I am always looking for an excuse to get away, so up north we went!

This is Lake Michigan at the place where we always go for a swim. It was frozen quite a way out....some years it hardly freezes at all.

This is the road leading in to our place at Hamlin Lake. You can't really tell just how deep the snow actually was but it was like the road had bumpers the snow was piled so high.

These are some of our mailboxes. Here you can see how deep it really is!

This picture was taken at the boat launch inside the Ludington harbor with the light house in the background.

This was taken last night at sunset on the road that goes to our place.

And this is Maggie, who is now 4 months old, wearing her new hat! She doesn't look too excited does she??