New Year's Eve

Well, 15 minutes until 2009. The girls and I are watching ELF. Not all of the girls. Maggie is sleeping. Allie just tried to wake her up. This will be Allie's first New Years in a while. She is the one that is usually asleep and won't wake up. Then she complains in the morning that we didn't get her up!
Chrissy took a little nap this afternoon so she is ready. We will have mimosas made with sparkling juice and orange juice. We usually have fresh raspberries too but they were too expensive this year. The girls made our traditional New Year's dinner tonight consisting of meatballs, cocktail weenies wrapped in dough and barbeque chicken (pieces, not wings).

Magpie just got up! I guess we will all get to watch the ball drop! The Jonas brothers are performing on Dick Clark so I guess we will have a rocking New Years!!

Happy 2009 to everyone in blogdom!!

Donating Blood

I tried to donate blood today but I was not able to because my iron was low. I guess I haven't been eating right because my belly has been bothering me. My blood pressure was good and my pulse and temp. were good. Just my iron was low. Not too low but not high enough to donate. I feel bad because it was a special O drive. I am O+ so they like my blood. I did get a duffle bag for coming in which really makes me feel bad that I couldn't donate.
I have only been turned away a couple of time. Once during basic training I had a temp. of 101. They wouldn't let me donate but I had to help the other soldiers that could donate. I was really feeling sick and they were making me work. They tried to make me feel guilty because the others were donating and I wasn't. It wasn't like I was trying to get out of it!
Another time I was turned away because I had had a yellow fever shot and had been on anti-maleria pills. I didn't have maleria but I had just got back from Central America and they couldn't use blood that had those antibodies in it.
Oh well, next drive I will be ready.

Goodbye Romeo

The Browns fired Savage today which means Romeo is on his way out too. Goodbye Romeo. The Browns don't need a nice guy. They need a head coach. They need a proven head coach and not some one that might be ready like all of the ones we have had. Chris Palmer was a great assistant coach but he was in over his head as the first coach of an expansion team. Butch Davis I guess was a great college coach but he ruined the Browns while he was here. Romeo is a nice guy but as they say, nice guys finish last. This one finishes in the unemployment line.
Maybe next year. Gee, where have I heard that before?

Merry Christmas

It was a nice Christmas morning. It started a little later than usual-6:45! The girls loved their stuff. There were alot of clothes this year but clothes are always a big deal for my girls. They were wearing their robes this morning (I'm still in mine!) There's an assortment of jeans and leggings and hoodies under the tree. We all have a variety of tatoos on our bodies (I have a seahorse) from a tatoo kit that Santa left for Chrissy!
We just finished finished our Christmas breakfast of frenchtoast and ham. This afternoon's dinner will be our traditional Stouffer's lasagna (a long story). The girls have been munching on cookies, Ruldoph's red noses (Think cinimon imperials) and chocolate candy cubes wrapped like presents!
Right now Maggie and Allie are playing Mario Party on the Wii. Mary and Matt sent the girls the Mario game. They are having a ball. Chrissy was having a tea party with her Webkins friends and her new Tinker Bell teaset. The girls have already been to Webkins world to register their new friends and Chrissy registered her new beanie baby (a pink stripe zebra that some how became a cow online?!), and Chrissy also visited Littlest Pet Shop world to signup her Penguin.

I hope everyone had as much fun this morning as the Hanlon-Kurilec family!

Christmas Eve

The visiting and deliveries are done.(fudge, truffles and candies; Don's sister). The girls have opened their Christmas Eve present(bathrobes for the pictures in the morning). Dinner is almost done(prime rib that Don got an awesome price on!) The rest of the night will be quiet and uneventful. (We are under a wind advisory so hopefully we don't lose power.)
I'm sure the girls will be in bed fairly early because they were up very early this morning. We will tune in to the Christmas Story marathon(a tradition here), and Chrissy will sprinkle her reindeer bait-I mean food-outside before she goes to bed.
I wish everyone a safe and quiet Christmas Eve.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

The temperature today is 9. With the windchill it is 20 below. We are having LE snow and some serious wind. The first day of winter came in with a bang!!
I had to break out the parka and a pair of gloves so you know it is cold. I took Madison out but she didn't want to go potty. She just wanted to sniff! If you have to go, you have to go. Why can't she just do her business and come back in instead of sniffing the air as the wind gusts at 40 miles an hour.
The girls have to spend their first official day of vacation inside because of the weather. The only one I'll let out is Maggie and that will be to take the dog out. I am sure it will be crazy at work today because when the weather is bad, people feel the need to come grocery shopping. I am only out today because I have to work. Don called me at 6:15 from the restaurant. He has about 7 old guys that come in every morning at 5AM They don't open until 6 but these guys are there by 5. They were all there this morning despite the frigid temps and blowing snow!

Near Miss

We didn't get the snow that was predicted. I came down pretty good yesterday morning then it turned to rain. What was left on the ground was heavy slush. The first day of winter isn't until tomorrow so there is still plenty of time for snow.
The weather guys get all excited. If I have to work, I'll get up a little early in case I have to dig out my car but I don't worry about how much is coming. Whatever we get, we get. I don't know how they predict how much is coming. It seems like a racket to me.

It's A Wrap!

I did it. I have all of my presents wrapped. I am very proud of myself. I usually find myself wrapping on Christmas Eve in my bedroom on an unmade bed with cats and the dog trying to help. One year I spent a small fortune on gift bags because I didn't want to wrap. I reused the bags the following year but then they were lost in the flood so I had to go back to wrapping them.
Don't get me wrong, I really don't mind wrapping presents. I have been wrapping gifts since I was 4 or 5 years old. My Dad used to send me to my room with paper, tape and scissors to wrap my Mom's presents. I wrapped more appliances than you can imagine. (Appliances were outlawed the year he bought her an electric pressure cooker!) I felt important wrapping her gifts. God knows what they looked like. I'm sure I thought I wrapped like a pro. Evidently my father thought I was a better gift wrapper than he was or he wouldn't have given me such an important job! Right??
Anyways, mark Christmas 2008 as the year that the wrapping was done early.

Wrapping Day

As soon as Maggie leaves for school, I will start wrapping. I got some done last Friday but there's a bunch more to do. Besides, I have shopped 2 more time since last Friday. I bought more paper and I have my new coffee pot set up. (That was a very tragic event the other morning: I was making coffee at 4:30 AM when I discovered the pot was broken. I had to buy coffee at work!)
The weather is pretty crappy outside so I have no excuses not to finish. I am not driving anywhere today! The girls do not have any plans today. Tonight we are having a fudge making party but we have everything here.
Yesterday Don made chocolate truffles and peppermint bark. The girls made Christmas cookies. I tasted it all and everything was delicious! I don't like fudge but I'll assume that it will be delicious too.

Pictures

The lovely Allie and the 5th grade chorus.

The 3rd grade chorus. Chrissy is in the second row, center.

Willie Wonka and Oompa Loompa #12!

Allie's Concert

Tonight was the third and final concert of the Christmas season. Allie's 5th grade class sang and played their recorders. They sounded terrific. Allie, Nick and Cody played their bells for the first time in front of an audience. They did a great job too. The played together and accompanied the recorders for a few songs. Allie's music started to slip off her stand and one of the Dads came to the rescue and held it up for her so she could finish her song. A big thank you to Mr. Otterman!

Spring concert season will be just as hectic. Maggie's band has one, the fifth grade chorus has one and the 5th grade band will play their first concert as a band! In early June, Allie will have her first piano recital. It is amazing how musical our family has become since neither Don nor I ever played an instrument. He sang in the chorus in school and I did too (a little). I'm glad my girls enjoy participating in band and chorus. Don and I certainly enjoy listening to them!

Shopping

Don and I went Christmas shopping today. We did pretty good. I earned $90 Kohls cash so I get to go back again. Maggie needs sneakers for gym next quarter and Allie needs boots so we will go back next week and spend the Kohls cash.
We stopped at Dollar Tree and bought some wrapping paper so tomorrow I'll wrap while they are in school. It's better than housework which was my original plan for my day off. I still have to do housework so maybe I won't take all day to wrap. I didn't get that many things.

Concert 2

The 7th and 8th grade band concerts were tonight. They sounded terrific. Each grade played about 5 selections. I was really impressed with Maggie's 7th grade band. They have made big improvements since last spring and I thought they sounded good then!

Next Monday is Allie's show. She is singing with the 5th grade, the 5th grade chorus and playing the recorder and bells. Wow! Not all at once mind you. She will accompany the recorders on her bells for 2 songs I think and play her recorder with with the whole group.
Today she had piano lessons. Mrs. Reese is trying to teach her as many Christmas songs as she can over these past couple of weeks. Next week is the last lesson before Christmas break. her teacher says there will be a recital in the spring. I can't wait.

Concert 1

Chrissy's concert Monday night was wonderful. This is a rather large 3rd grade class so they really sounded great. Chrissy was very pretty in her green velvet dress and white bow in her hair. Although she was in the second row again, I could see her smiling face the entire show.

The Week Ahead

I just finished laundry for the night. 4 loads-enough for people to have clothes for school. Last night was the second and final night for Willy Wonka. It was wonderful. Maggie was wonderful and she didn't fall!
Tomorrow night is the 3rd grade Christmas concert. Miss Chrissy has a lovely green velvet dress to wear. We picked up some nice cable knit tights so she can wear them all winter. Tuesday night is my company Christmas party. I needed to pick up a top to wear so I went to Walmart and found something nice but comfortable.
Wednesday is Maggie's 7th grade band concert. She introduces the band to the audience. The 8th grade bands plays after. Two bands for the price of 1!!
Thursday Don and I will start our shopping. We are starting at Kohls then maybe Target. It will be a small Christmas this year so I need to get the biggest bang for my buck!
Friday I am off and I am probably going to clean house and wrap any gifts I may pick up. I'm already dreading the end of the week!!

The Baritone

We have a new instrument to add to our music corner. Yesterday I picked Maggie up after school because it is a "pain" to bring the trumpet home on the bus. Not only did she have her trumpet but she also had a baritone. It belongs to MMS but it is Maggie's as long as she plays it in the MMS band. The case is as big as she is!!
Maggie told her teacher that she thought she might like to try the baritone. He said she could take it home over Christmas break and try it out. He gave it to her on Thursday. The highschool band director gave her a lesson on it. She will play it with the band next Friday after their Christmas concert.
Mag is really excited. She really enjoys playing it. Last year her teacher wanted her to play the baritone. He said her mouth was shaped perfectly for it. The highschool director said the same thing. Maggie wanted to play trumpet, not baritone. It costs me $27/month for her trumpet. It costs me $0 for the baritone since it belongs to the school!! That's OK. As long as she is happy I guess. Anything for my baby.

Willie Wonka

Last night was the opening of the Madison Middle School production of Willie Wonka. It was awesome!! The kids did a terrific job. Of course my favorite was Oompaa Loompaa #12 but they were all wonderful. In one of the scenes they use a bubble machine. Right after that the oompaas come out to dance. Maggie slipped on stage. She was ok and like a true professionial, she just jumped right up and kept going. She banged her elbow but of course she was now the main focus!! My kids can always steal the show.
Last night's show was a soldout performance. Tonight is the final performance. There will be a photo op. session at the end so I will certainly post some pictures.

The Game

The game was pretty bad yesterday. The only good thing was the Brown's defense. Anderson was terrible (and now he is out for the season!), Winslow was bad (he's probably out for the season), and even Peyton was crappy.
I had a great time. The seats were awesome. I think I did a little too much "tailgating" but a good night's sleep tonight will take care of that.
Even though they didn't play very well, it is a lot of fun to go to Brown's Stadium to watch the game. It is definately a blue collar, beer and bratwurst group of fans at the game. The Dawg Pound is a wild and crazy place.
Tailgating in the "Muni Lot" starts around 6AM. People have motor homes or campers parked there. They grill, smoke or fry almost anything. Bratwurst is probably the one food item that is being cooked at nearly every spot. Some people don't even go into the game. They have their satalite dish and watch the game on TV in the lot. There is usually some sort of touch football game going on and of course cornhole.
It is somthing to experience!!

The Browns

Tomorrow I am going to see the Cleveland Browns. They are playing the Colts. The Browns aren't expected to win but they did beat the Giants so maybe there is some hope. Unfortunately, Brady Quinn is out for the rest of the season. But, I will get to see Peyton Manning. When he goes into the Hall of Fame I can say that I saw him play!.
Last year I went to see the Browns play San Francisco. Quinn played about ten minutes. It was the last game so it was exciting to see him. The Browns won that game.
It will be cold as the stadium is along the lake but the seats are under the overhang so the wind will be blocked out (at least that is what Dee says). Dee has season tickets but her husband would rather watch the game from the AmVets Club. Dee sells the other ticket. She can always find someone from work to go. I was hoping to see the Patriots but they didn't come to Cleveland this year. I do like the Patriots but I guess I am a true Browns fan. They are fun to watch.

Christmas Decorations

The girls and I are going through the decorations to see what we have, what needs to be tossed and what we want to replace. Lat year we had a white tree(the girls choice, not mine). We are going to get a green one this year.
Now that the girls are older I am hoping that when a decoration is placed on a shelf or table it will stay there. They were always moving stuff or holding them and the decorations would end up lost or broken. There isn't anything of great value but I don't want anyone to hurt themselves.
Yesterday the girls were making paper snowflakes to hang in the front window. Even Don was cutting some. We will be doing more today-it's a big window!

Dinner

We just finished a wonderful dinner. Dessert will have to wait. Don and the girls made turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. We also had fresh greenbeans with bacon, yams cooked with fresh cranberries and pure maplesyrup.(a recipe from Goodhousekeeping Magazine). My contribution was the brown and serve rolls.(I bought them today and Allie put them in the oven!) Don made a bunch of pies yesterday. We have a pumpkin cream pie in the fridge but it will have to wait until later. We are all pretty stuffed!
The store was pretty dead. Once John and I put stuff out, we didn't have to refill. I have my order mostly written for tomorrow. John went home 2 hours early. I think they paid out more in wages than they took in.
All in all it was a nice Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving one and all. It looks like it is going to be a nice day. I have to work today but that's OK. It will be a quiet day at work. A few last minute shoppers but for the most part it will be quiet. I have to work tomorrow too but it will be even quieter. Everyone will be at the Mall and not thinking about groceries.
It has been a difficult year but I am thankful for a lot. I am of course thankful that we are all healthy. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table.
I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

15 Pounds

I have lost 15 pounds in the past two months!! I knew I had lost some because my new jeans were now baggy on me. When I weighed myself on the scale at work it only showed a 2 lb. loss. I just figured I was toning up and building a little muscle from riding my bike to work everyday. I just weighed myself on my home scale and it showed 15 pounds less!!! Woo Hoo!! My scale here at the house was covered up in the bathroom and to be honest, I just didn't want to step on it. When I weighed in at work the other day, I was disappointed but I knew something was happening. Anyways, I feel better and people have noticed.

Productive Saturday

Well, for a snowy and cold Saturday, today was my most productive day off in quite a while. I went to lunch with Tracy and it was really good. I should have had something different than what I did have(cheeseburger, fries and onionrings) but I did drink iced tea with splenda instead of coke. The large coffee from Dunkies was totally unneccessary but really good.
After I got home I started with the crap in the living room. I sorted clothes and threw away stuff that didn't fit anyone, no one ever wears or stained beyond ever being clean again. The livingroom has been vacuumed although I broke the belt (darn) and rearranged the music room. Actually the music room is a corner of the living room but it had to rearranged so the love seat could be moved away from the heating vent. It is a smaller area but still room enough for Allie to practice her piano and leave her bells set up. Maggie parks her trumpet there on the weekends as it usually stays in school throughout the week. The kids get marked down if they leave their instrument at school over the weekend. Then the band director knows for sure that they didn't practice!
The girls were actually pretty helpful. I put their music on and they usually get stuff done. Done isn't crazy about music in the background. He would rather have the TV on. However, when the TV was on, no one was moving. They were caught up in the show. I changed back to music! Don has a roast in the oven and he just finished puting together a shelving unit for the girls so I let him turn his shows on.
I am on a break right now but after dinner I'll be heading into the girls' room. When I'm in the mood I can get things done!

Snowy Saturday

I am off today and I actually have some plans. Tracy and I are going to Mary's Diner in Geneva for an early lunch. I've never been there but I have heard that they have good food.
Maggie is going to the highschool to help paint sets for their Willie Wonka production. Her friend Trent is part of the stage crew and asked her if she was going. She wasn't but now she is. That means Allie is my babysitter for Chrissy and her friend Aleigha. Aleigha spent the night. It's too cold for them to go out so they will pay with the Wii. Allie is a good babysitter. I'll have to pay her though.
Allie has a sleepover/birthday party tonight at Meredith's. They are going to Score's in Painesville to play Laser Tag. Allie is very excited. Meredith is her BFF. She has a sleepover every year and Allie is the first one she invites.
I'll probably be home around 1PM. My only plans are lunch. Then It will be the usual-laundry, housework, etc. Chrissy appears to have no clothes to wear to school at all so we will be sorting things today to see what fits and what doesn't. My girls have more clothes than any 10 people I know. I never know why they can't find things.

It is pretty cold and windy today. The LE snow warning has been lifted but it is snowing out there. It looks like we are in for a cold one this year.

Thanksgiving Shoppers

As most of you know I work for Giant Eagle, a supermarket. I have been there for over 9 years. Before that I worked for Shaw's Supermarkets for over 14 years. My brothers and now my nephews work at Shaws. Anyways, it is that time of year when the customers go crazy. They spend more money on one meal than they do for a week's worth of groceries. They also become very picky when they buy stuff. For example, we have a huge display of yams. They are .59/lb. The people pick through the pile like they are buying a car. They inspect each yam before they put it in the bag. They inspect each bag of cranberries before putting it in the cart. You wouldn't believe how many people think they can get fresh cranberries in the summer. They would probably pay an arm and a leg for a tiny bag in the summer. Now that cranberries are in season and on sale, they need a bag full of perfect berries.
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all of our customers. The regulars are terrific. It's the ones that come in just to cause trouble. They are the ones who tell me that Walmart has yams for .39/lb and that Marc's(another market in town) has celery for .99. Well, buy it there then! I don't decide what the prices will be. I just order it and put it out. I know what the prices are at our competition. I read the ads too!
So, when you shop this week, remember, the clerks and cashiers at your local market only work there. They probably do most of their shopping there and are also aware of the other prices. If you can find a deal elsewhere, we won't hold it against you. Chances are we will be going to that store later to get a deal too.

Lake Effect Snow

There are only like 5 places in the entire world that has Lake Effect Snow. I happen to live in one of those areas. Right now we are under a lake effect snow watch until 4PM tomorrow.
Lake effect snow happens when the cold air moves over the a body of water. If the water temp. is warmer than the air moving over it, it sucks up the warmth and then creates pacipitation and drops it a little bit south of the lake. We live on Lake Erie and the cold air comes across from Canada. The temp. of the lake right now is still in the 50's. Therefore, we will get snow. Now, there is a better explaination for lake effect but that's it in a nutshell.
Many times the snow drops about 5 miles south of us. However, the wind right now is coming off of Lake Huron so the clouds will really be saturated and that means we will probably get the snow.
Lake effect season runs from Nov. until Feb. By then Lake Erie will be frozen. We can get some sping storms when there a thawed parts of the lake and the right wind blows through. I just wait and see what it looks like when I get up in the morning. The weather people get all excited. My feeling is when it comes it comes. I don't like snow anymore but there's nothing you can do about it when you live an an area known as the snow belt.

Third Grade Reading Books

As my third and last child has completed the first term of third grade, a series of books has raised it's snotty head in my home again. Captain Underpants is back.
Maggie brought home Captain Underpants back in third grade. I always read the books that Maggie was reading. I wanted to see what they were like. Not this one. The name of the book was something like Captain Underpants vs. Professor Poopy Pants. Sorry, I don't read books with the word "poopy" in them. Some of the other characters are Super Diaper Baby, Wicked Wedgie Woman and my favorite, Bionic Booger Boy.
I really thought that they wouldn't go through that "nasty nine year old stage". You know what I mean. The stage where the mere mention of burp or fart brings on fits of laughter. I have girls. My theory was that nine year old boys are the nastiest creatures on Earth. My children have proven me wrong. Girls can be pretty gross themselves. Maybe because you don't expect it from them.
Now my #3 is entering that stage. Although I haven't heard or "smelled" anything, the presence of Captain Underpants on my coffee table is the first sign. Although she just turned 8, she is in the third grade. She also has the right audience (her sisters).
I survived the first two, I guess I'll get through this one too!

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day a couple of days late. I really wanted to blog about Veteran's day and it's significance however, I just haven't had time. I was off but I was part of two programs that day. The first was at the elementary school where the girls go. Every year they have a very nice program. It starts with a flag raising outside. The kids sing songs and the principal talks to the kids about veterans and why they are important. There are always members from the American Legion and the VFW there but parents and family members are also invited. They are encouraged to stand around the flagpole. The kids love it when Mom or Dad are up at the flagpole. The flag is a flag that flew at the Capitol in Washington. Rep. LaTourette presented it to the school a few years ago. (His daughters went to HNK and are now Seniors at MHS.) The flag is kept in its case all year and is only flown on Veteran's Day! The flagpole at the school is really big. Th school probably replaces it's flag once a year. That's why this flag is kept in a special case and flown once a year.
The 2nd program was at an assisted living complex here in Madison. We went there to honor the vets that lived there. The Hospice of the Western Reserve presented each of the veterans or widows of veterans with pins and a little card. It was very nice. There were a couple of women veterens there too from WWII. It was nice.
Later that afternoon I had parent-teacher conferences at the elementary school. Allie and Chrissy had all A's this first term so the meetings went well.
After dinner, Don and I went to Quigs. Since it was Veteran's Day, we didn't pay for any drinks. People kept buying them for us. I left with 3 chips in my pocket because I couldn't keep drinking. I had work in the morning.
So, Happy Veteran's Day. Remember, if you see a vet, thank them. We enjoy our freedoms because of them.

Boring Sunday

Today I enjoyed a rather peaceful and semi-productive Sunday. I was off today which doesn't happen very often. The kids were at a friend's house all night and Don had to be to work at 4:30AM. I woke up around 7:30 and went up for breakfast at the diner where Don cooks. I had my usual (coffee, 2 eggs over easy, homefries, bacon and rye toast.) I had some pleasant conversation with Steve (a regular) and Joyce (the owner). When I got home I watched some TV and did some housework. After the girls came home we got a bunch of laundry done. Right now the girls are getting their things together for school in the morning while we wait for dinner to be done. Don has ribs in the oven.Yummy!!
This may be a rather boring entry but I had a nice day. Too bad more of my days aren't this boring. Tomorrow, there's school, drama rehearsal and in the evening will be the assorted musical instument practice sessions. Don and I both have to be to work early which means the girls are on their own to get themselves up and out. Maggie has the most to do sice she is the last to leave. She is the on that has to "Madison proof" the house. Maddie has to be fed, walked and all of the doors need to be closed tight so she can't get into anything. The livingroom blinds need to be pulled up so the don't get destroyed. Maggie likes to look out the window and if the blind is down, she'll nose her way through the blind so she can see.
The ribs are done. I've got to go.

Middle School Conferences

The other night I had conferences at the Middle School. I wanted to talk to Maggie's algebra and language arts teachers. She got a B in both classes and I wanted to see what they had to say. I also talked to her other teachers as it wasn't very crowded. The earth shattering news that I received from three of her teachers: Maggie needs to be more organized. She also has terrible penmanship.
I have been working on Maggie's organizational skills since kindergarten. I have been told that Maggie's absentmindedness goes hand in hand with her "gifted abilities." I have handed Maggie her homework, told her to put it in her bookbag and then I have found it in the bathroom or on the floor. It can take Maggie two hours to look up 20 vocabulary words because the dictionary also contains other interesting facts besides definitions. When Maggie is missing homework assignments it is not because she didn't do it. She just can't remember what she did with it. Math homework can be found in her social studies folder or in her health folder. Her health homework is probably in her math folder.
As for her penmanship, Maggie will never be able to write anything that anyone else can read. She learned to read 3 years before she ever learned to correctly make her letters.
When Maggie was learning cursive, it would take her a long time to do a practice page. Now she just slaps stuff down on paper. She can read it so everyone else should be able to.
She types papers and stories on the computer.
I know that I am lucky that the only "bad" things that my daughter's teacher have to say is that her writing is sloppy and her organizational skills need improvement. She is a smart, happy and loveable young lady. She actively participates in class and is always very willing to help another student if they don't understand something. She always has a smile on her face and gets along with everyone. There were parents there who's kids were failing or are behavior problems.
I will take my sloppy and absentminded Magpie over anyone elses's kid everytime!!

Election Results Part 2

Well, Obama is President. As a matter of fact, after I finished blogging the other night, I got ready for bed and turned the news on and there was McCain giving his concession speech.
Let's hope that we see some changes in the next 4 years. The economy has to get better. The soldiers need to come home from the Middle East. Those are the major issues that I feel need to be addressed.

Election Results Part1

Well, it looks like Barak Obama will be our next President. As I write this he is leading in electoral votes by a pretty good margin. I am tired and coming down with a cold but I'm still watching the returns. I will now shut off the TV and go to sleep. There will be a new president when I get up at 4:30. The official power handoff doesn't actually take place until January. Unlike a number of countries in the world, our change in leaders will be smooth. They will be no military coup bringing in a new leader. The tanks will not be rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. Oh, I'm sure there are many people who aren't happy with Obama becoming President. They will watch and critique his every word and deed. If McCain were to be elected, a different group of people would be unhappy. This is the United States of America. Today's vote expressed the feelings and ideas of the miilions that make up this great country.

Election Day

After today it will be done. No more ads, phonecalls or mailings. I am so tired of the whole thing. Don't get me wrong. It is important to vote. It is your right as an American citizen to participate in the election process. More importantly, it is your responsibility as an American citizen to participate in the election process.
I have been a registered voter since I was 18. I first voted for Ronald Reagan. (yes, I'm old!) I have always voted in elections whether it was for President, Congress or some other local issue. All elections are important. I strongly believe that. So today, whether you are a Democrat or Republican. Liberal or conservative. Please, VOTE. It is your responsibility.

More Halloween Pictures

The girls and the Shrunken Head. Notice the bullet hole in Mag's head?

Here are the girls and George the Dead Guy. George is hanging from the neighbor's tree.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. We sure did!!

Halloween Pictures

My Chrissy elephant!

Allie the Mermaid!

Don and the girls carving pumpkins.

Halloween

It's Halloween and it is going to be 60 degrees today. That means it will be comfortable Trick or Treating tonight. It is also nice for the kids costume parade. On Halloween, the kids parade through the Village in their costumes. It is really fun. The morning kindergarten parade through the school before their party. They go to every classroom so the big kids can see them. The afternoon class gets to parade with the rest of the school before the other parties start. The little ones sit as the rest of the school parades by them and then they join the parade at the end. The teachers always have a theme. One year the principal wore a blazer and a captains hat and the teachers and staff were sailors. The male teachers were pirates. It was cool. I'm not sure what the theme is this year. I heard something about dalmations. We will see!
This year I am helping with Chrissy's class party. For some reason I have never helped her class or gone on any field trips with her. I'm not sure why I haven't. I only started on days last year and I'm sure I helped Allie's class. Chrissy is excited and so am I.
Tonight we will all trick or treat together at least that is the latest plan. Things may change. We will all end up at Starr and Larry's Halloween Open House. They live around the corner. Don made two pies-peanut butter and a pumpkin cream. It is always a good tim.

Let me send a word of thanks to my niece Mary and Matt for ordering magazines from Maggie. It is a fundraiser for the 7th grade and it helps defray the cost of their Ohio Tour. It actually will go towards the amount Maggie has to pay. So thank you Mary and Matt!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

On the 9th Day She Rested- (Not Really)

After 8 straight days of work, I finally have a day off. However, I have mountains of laundry, a messy house and a nasty bathroom. While I'm sure the produce department can get along without me, I guess my family can't. Oh well. Giant Eagle pays more!
I will start with my hair before I do anything else. I bought some hair color because I don't like the color that shows now. I want red highlights, not gray! I bought my usual strawberry blonde because at one time that was my natural hair color and I think that it looks best. I'll admit that I have never tried another color. (Hot pink hair spray for Halloween doesn't count.) I'm not very daring.
Don has a doctor's appointment in Cleveland and the girls are in school. It is just me and the animals. Bubba is back in the house now. It is getting too cold for him to stay out all night. He is 5 years old and the laziest cat I have ever seen. He makes Garfield look like a go-getter. He and little Hobo seem to get along and the dog doesn't mess with very often. Madison would like to chase Bubba but Bubba just stand there and meows at the dog. Then he settles back to sleep. I guess now I will feed the fish and color my hair. I lead such an interesting life!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

I tried very hard not to let Maggie become like me. I set rules and enforced them. She didn't like it but she went along. Then 5th grade came along and I saw it. My worst nightmare had come to life. Now that 7th grade is here, it is worse than ever. My beloved daughter is a procrastinator. She was up until at least 11pm writing a book report that is due Monday. Oh, she read the book in plenty of time. It was researching the author and then putting it together that is taking so long. She has had the assignment for two weeks. "I'm working on it in school", was her regular response when I would ask her about it. She comes home Friday all mad at her teacher because it is due Monday. "She wants it early!" Although the due date has been moved up, the original date was for TUESDAY!!! So instead of being up late Monday night, she was up late tonight!
I already told her that I was not going to write a note to the teacher and she wasn't going to stay home from school.
I know how she feels because I was the same way. I usually wrote good papers but they were always done the night before or I would stay home from school sick and turn it in late. My brother David took the blame many times by telling the teacher that I had done the paper but he forgot to bring it in because I was home sick.
I always make sure that I have supplies on hand for almost any project you can imagine. We have the internet now which saves last minute runs to the library or Hannah's house. This year was suppose to be better. She promised me she would not wait until the last minute. You would think she would get tired of listening to me ask her about certain projects. But then I remembered, I made those same promises to my mother. I was typing papers the night before even in college. Oh, I would go to the library and check out books and start the research on day 1 but that stuff would sit in my room or my car until the last day. I would turn in note cards or rough drafts when they were due but I would always do the final paper the night before.
The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

Halloween Party

As I get ready for work this morning I will be sporting a new hairstyle. I will have spiked hot pink hair. Today is the halloween party at the store for the kids of Madison. The Leadership group from the Y will be there with games and tatoos for the kids. A DJ will be there and all of the departments will be handing out treats to the kids.
Giant Eagle used to hold the party at Stanton Park (think Camp Kiwanee for my family that may see this) but when we became a corporate store, we scaled it down. Last year was the first year they had it at the store and it was a big hit. We have always had trick or trearing at the store but now we have music and dancing and tatooing.
I will be a punk rocker, I have an awesome shirt (according to Magpie) and the neon pink hairspray. The deli department is going as the Mickey Mouse Club-ears and all. One year Brenda the cashier wore her bathrobe and slippers and had her hair up in curlers as she rang people out. I have always dreamed of wearing my pj's to work or maybe that is one of my nightmares!! Anyways, it should be a fun time for all.

Halloween Costumes

It is that time of year again. At least this year we don't have any "dead____"! One year Maggie was a dead soccer player. They have also wanted to be dead cheerleaders. I miss the good old days when the girls dress up like Pooh Bear or an M&M. One year Chrissy was a Bumble Bee. This year Allie is going to be a mermaid and my Chrissy is an elephant. The elephant costume is soooo cute! I didn't think she would go for it because it is cute and she's a big girl now. But, Chrissy's favorite animal is the elephant and she has several stuffed ones including Ellie who will Trick or Treat with Chrissy as her baby. Allie's mermaid costume is cute too. I hope she won't be too cold in it. Maggie and her friend Bailey are going out as gangstas. Whatever. I'll have pictures soon.

The G Man

Today is Gavin's birthday. He is now 4. They call him G or the G Man. He is the cutest 4 year old and he absolutely adores Maggie. She babysits him every now and then. They watch Thomas movies together. Maggie liked to watch Thomas when she was 4. They are having a party for him tonight so I get to stop and pick up something on my way home from work. I love checking out the toy departments! I haven't shopped for a little boy for a while but it should be fun.

Happy Birthday G Man!!

Giant Eagle Workout

Who needs a gym. Come workout at the Giant Eagle produce department! Today I rode my bike to work as usual. I was half way there when I realized that I forgot to take my Aleve. I take 2 every morning before I leave for work. It helps my feet when I have to spend 8 hours on that concrete floor. Anyways, I didn't feel like turning back so I just kept riding to work. When I started, I looked at the schedual and saw that I had to break down the truck. Not alot of fun when you haven't taken your Aleve. Most of it isn't too bad but the bales of potatoes weigh 50# and are awkward to lift. I did it though but now I am paying for it. When I finish blogging I think I'll take a hot shower and take my aleve and go to bed!
The girls just got back from soccer. Allie's last practice. She took a ball in the mouth. Her lip is a little puffy. She'll live.
Off to the showers.

Biking in October

It was a beautiful day today. Very chilly though - only about 45. The sun was beautiful. It was a chilly ride on my bike this morning. The faster I rode to get to work, the colder the breeze. It was a no win situation. I warmed up with some coffee at the store. I had about a half hour before I started. Right after I punched in I had to inventory my cooler before I could write my order.
I never really warmed up until about noon!!
It was a nice ride home. It was still cool but the sun felt good. After I got home, I walked up to the school to get Allie. She had science club today. She is taking apart an old DVD player.
All of the kids take an appliance apart to see how it works. Then they make a presentation board and put their projects on display. They are judged by the principal and the secretaries. They are judged on how their presentation explains the project, and how neatly it is done. The 5th grade hallway is lined with all of these old appliances. It is fun to look at them.
The girls have gone up to soccer practice. The last practice of the season!!! Saturday is the last day. Unfortunately, I have to work so I will miss both games. The weather calls for sleet and snow for the weekend. I guess I don't feel so bad that I'm missing the games!!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

It is a cold and dreary day here in Northeast Ohio. I have stuff to do but absolutely no motivation. I did go to breakfast after the girls left for school. I think I'll take a hot shower and maybe that will give me a little energy. Obviously the 5 cups of coffee haven't perked me up.
Last night, Allie finally got Row, Row, Row Your Boat on the bells. She kept messing up in the same spot every time. She also learned that song at piano and messed up in the exact same spot. Last night she went back and forth between the bells and the keyboard. All of a sudden she got it-on both instruments. It was really something to see her work it out. She was so excited. Then she tried to play the bells and the keyboard at the same time. I stopped her because I thought she might hurt herself!!
Well-off to the shower and a little steam and solitude.

Update #3

My last update is about my Chrissy. She is now a big 3rd grader. She just turned 8 and has a semi-loose tooth. She has only lost two teeth so far and she is very disappointed that none of her other baby teeth want to come out. The semi-loose one appears to have tightened back up so I don't think it was really loose. She was very late getting her teeth.
She is playing soccer this year and she is really pretty good. She moved up to the 8/9 division and the field is a lot bigger. Those little legs of hers move pretty quick.
No musical instruments for her. Third grade has chorus and then they only do a Christmas show. She is reading the first Harry Potter book. It is a fifth grade book but she is making progress with it. Maggie is helping her. It is a 13 point AR book so she is really working hard to get through it.

Now you are up to date with the girls and their activities. Don is working at the local diner making breakfast for the Madison locals. I am still working at Giant Eagle and hoping to hit the Mega Millions so I can retire. It is a nice thought but I'll probably have to work until I'm 80!!

Update #2

Big Al is in 5th grade and is having a very musical year. She is in the 5thgrade chorus which requires her to give up one recess. She already has music twice a week and one of those classes is with the recorder. On Fridays she has her drum lessons for 5th grade band. She is learning to play the bells right now and will start with the snare drum in January. Again she has to give up a recess. She is also continuing with her piano lessons that she started this summer. Her piano teacher says she has great potential.

Allie also is a member of science club and is playing soccer. She is one busy young lady! Allie complains that she has too much to do but soccer ends next Saturday and piano is only a half hour a week. I said she still has plenty of time to play outside.

Update #1

Maggie started 7th grade this year. She is still playing trumpet and is 4th chair. She is also an Oompaa Loompaa in the middle school's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She is also taking algebra 1 for HS credit and an enriched language arts class.
Maggie chose to help coach Chrissy's soccer team this year instead of playing. The field for her age group is just too big!
Maggie is babysitting more now. She likes the pocket money. I think I owe her money but I gave birth to her so she still owes me!!

I'm Back

It has been a while but I am back online. When things get tight, some things have to be put on hold. We got our internet back yesterday so I can now continue to update the world on the comings and goings of The Ohio 5!!
Since my last blog we have had 2 birthdays (mine and Chrissy's); the start of the new school year (7th,5th and 3rd grades); and a new job (Don).
Because I have to get ready for work right now, I will fill all of you in over the next few blogs.

GO RED SOX!!

Night Out

I spent last night at the American Legion Post and a great time. I dropped the girls at Tyler and Tessa's for the sleepover. Cheryl said they were up until midnight-except for Maggie. She's always the first to crash.
Anyways, after I dropped off the girls, we went to the post. Don was the cook for the night. The Steak Fry is a pretty good deal. For $11, you get a delmonico steak, baked potato, salad and veggie. They also have chicken, ribs, burgers and salmon. I sat with some friends and at various times I headed out to the cookhouse where Don was working. The Post had a DJ for enterainment. He was great. He played all kinds of music and any requests.
After I ate I just sat and listened to music. We danced and sang along. Don came out after he was finished cooking. It was a good time.
I still woke up at 7AM. Boy, I wish I could sleep in.
Cheryl will drop the girls off later. I guess the kids still have things to do after breakfast. I have to get ready for work. That will be my last Friday night out for a while. Football starts next Friday night. I usually take the girls to the home games. This year I am part of the Blue Team. The Post provides a color guard for all of the home games. This year I am in it. I'm looking forward to it.

Child Free

Here I go again. Friday morning at 5:30 waiting for my coffee before I go to work. I was suppose to work 9-5 today but no one was sched. to work the green's rack. I was the lucky one. I like working 6-2. Getting off at 2PM is nice. It's the getting up around 5AM that is the killer. Last night I was watching the Olympics. I knew I had to get some sleep but I really wanted to see the swimming. Maggie had a friend over and they were downstairs playing the Wii. I hope they went to bed at a decent time. The girls are spending the night at Tyler and Tessa's house. They are the ones with the hot tub. That means I'll be child free!! It doesn't happen very often. Usually only one is gone. Most times I have an extra one here.
Don cooks tonight at the legion. I was planning to go with Tracy and Al but they are going to a bluegrass festival. Tracy forgot that Al had already made plans. That's OK. I'll enjoy my childfree evening by myself and share my childfree night with Don. That means the History Channel on the bedroom TV.

Happy Birthday Mary

Happy Birthday to my Mary. I remember I was in Alabama in the Army when you were born. Your Mom called and said she was on the way to the hospital. It was very early in the morning. I waited around all day for a call. Late that night I called Nannie. She said your Mom was home and no baby. The next night Grampy called and said you had arrived. Your name was Mary Elizabeth. I was excited but I thought your name was going to be Mary Eileen. I talked to Nannie later and she said your name was Mary Eileen and you were the prettiest baby in the world.
A couple of days later your Mom called and yelled at me. Evidently she had given birth to me or should I say you with my personality and good looks.
I talked to you all of the time while I was in Alabama.Your Mom would hold the phone for you while I talked. You were almost three weeks old before I got to see you. It was worth the wait.
When I had my Maggie, you and you Mom were the first to come visit. She looked like you. She still does.
Anyways, have a wonderful birthday.
(I didn't call you Mamie this time!!)

Orders

Today I had to write the produce order. It was a two day order as we do not get a truck on Wednesday. I wrote my first order last week and this was my 2nd one. Although I was offered the assistant produce manager job over a year ago, I didn't actually take over the position until just recently. The last step was to start ordering. I ordered once before my vacation. I was off a week then I came back for two days then wrote the first one. It isn't that difficult. The previous assistant was in the position for over 1and 1/2 years. He used to stress out about everything he ordered. Today I wrote two orders, called in credits and went to a meeting. A fairly productive day considering how slow business has been.

Fall

I know it is August but the weather person on Channel 3 said it was fall like weather today. She's right. It is in the mid 60's and isn't suppose to get much warmer. That's OK with me. As long as it doesn't rain any more.
Today I have to be to work at 6:30. I have an order to write. All of our grapes ar going on sale this week-.99/lb.
That will make customers happy. I am getting tired of listening to people complain about prices. I only put it out on the sales floor. I don't set prices. I love when they tell me that Walmart is cheaper. Go to Walmart then. These are usually people with a full shopping cart. Go figure. Oh well. I have to get ready for work.
On a side note, I love my new coffee pot. It has an automatic setting so I can make it the night before and it is ready when I get up. That's assuming I remember to make it the night before.

Calculators

Yesterday the girls and I finished school supply shopping. Maggie needed a new scientific calculator. She doesn't know what happened to the one she had last year. I am not happy about that. In the letter I got from the middle school, it was suggested I might buy her a graphing calculator for her Algebra 1 class. Are you kidding me?! Do you really think I am going to spend over $100 for a calculator for my 12 year old? We weren't allowed to use calculators in school. The $15 dollar calculator that I bought her says it is good for middle school math including algebra and geometry. That's what we will stick with. When she gets into algebra 2 and physics then I'll get her the graphing calculator but for now, she can use the middle school one. It kills me to pay $15 for a calculator when I can go to Dollar Tree and get on for a buck. Oh well, only the semi-best for my baby!!

A couple of friends of mine dropped off some clothes for the girls. I always say yes if asked if I want handme downs. With three girls, the clothes are bound to fit one of them. Allie hit the jackpot this time. She got some really nice shirts. Maggie did OK too. My girls like hand me downs. It doesn't bother them at all. I try to pass on stuff from my girls but usually by the time Chrissy is done with them, they aren't worth passing on. Allie is actually hardest on clothes. She plays harder than the other two, especially when she was little.
I'll have to get socks and underwear for everyone and probably some new shorts. When you start school on the 25th of August, you have to wear summer things. Chrissy is on the second floor and it is always hot up there. Shortsleeves all year for her but she'll keep a sweatshirt just in case. That's what the other two did.

Crazy Weather

August always brings crazy weather around here. We have had some pretty awesome thunderstorms the last couple of days. Wednesday the tornado sirens went off sround 3AM. Don and I didn't here them because we had our bedroom door closed and the a.c. on. Allie had a friend over so Don and I had Maddie in the room with us. When the a.c. is on I can't hear anything.
Yesterday afternoon it got dark and then the skies opened up. When it stopped a beautiful rainbow filled the sky! Thirty minutes later the rains came again along with thunder and lightning. Don was planning to sell his pies at the Farmer's Market but the weather put a stop on those plans. Maybe next week.

Wii Bowling

Chrissy and I bowled tonight on the Wii. I won all three games. I know you might think I'm beating up on my precious baby but when we first got the Wii, Chrissy beat everyone. She beat Don everytime they bowled. One night she beat him 4 games in a row! Chrissy isn't feeling well and tonight she came home from VBS after only an hour because she felt sick. Maggie and Allie are spending the night at a friend's house so Chrissy and I bowled. We also played golf and she beat me two games to one. She was feeling better then I guess.
Maddie keeps watching the front door. She is waiting for the girls to come home. I told her to go to bed and the girls will be back tomorrow. She just lies on the back of the couch watching the front door. Too bad she wasn't that vigilant the other night. Maybe my bike wouldn't have been stolen.

Pictures

I figured out how to 1. Get my pictures out of my camera and load them on the computer and
2. Put them on my blog.
I have more things to learn about the picture thing but it's a start. Please enjoy the pictures from Old Fashion Days of Don and the girls. We all had loads of fun this weekend.

Our Hero

Here is the OFD watermelon eating champ in the Adult division! We are so very proud. He won 5 years ago. He hasn't competed since because of the throat cancer and a lack of upper teeth. This year he was ready. He ate 6 slices in 30 seconds.

The Girls vs. The Greased Pole

Here are the three girls after trying to climb the greased pole. I tried to get a picture of Maggie on the pole but everytime I went to snap the picture, she would slide out of the frame!!

Allie's Turn

Here's Allie trying to go up the greased pole. She was the first on to actually climb the pole and not just jump up and grab the pole. She didn't win this year either but again she was close.

Chrissy and the Greased Pole

Here is my Chrissy on the greased pole. Notice the tongue out for concentration and balance. She didn't win but she was the cutest.

Kite Flying

OFD games are off to a good start. Maggie, Allie and Chrissy each took first place in their age groups in the kite flying competition. You have to be the first to let all of your string out or be the highest one at the end of a minute and a half. Chrissy and her only competitor were both on the ground when time was up. The had 30 seconds more and Chrissy was up and flying. Allie had her string all out in about 30 seconds! There was just the right amount a wind and with Allie's speed, her kite just took off. Maggie got all of her string out too but she wasn't going to compete. She was up all night with a belly ache. I was up all night with her. She finally threw up at 4AM and then fell a sleep. I fell asleep too! Maggie and Allie won last year too. They all have nice plaques to hang on the wall.
Right now they are upstairs giving the kittens flea baths. The pet parade is at 1pm. Yhey have baby doll clothes to dress the kittens. Later this afternoon is the greased pole and watermelon eating contests. Results will be posted later

August

The countdown begins. 24 more days until school begins. Maggie was sitting here beside me while I was checking my mail. When I logged on to blog, she was still sitting here. As soon as I started, she says "I can't watch this" and went back up stairs. It's not that I don't enjoy having my children home all day. During the school year the house schedule becomes more structured. Dinner time and bedtimes are created and are more enforceable. I have never been a real stickler for bed times. Usually the girls are in bed by 9PM. If I have trouble getting them up in the morning, I have them go to bed a little earlier. Soccer practice interferes with dinner. They always seem to have practice at 6PM. I don't want them to eat too much before practice and 7 or 7:30 is a little late.

Old Fashion Days started last night. Our front porch was full of people watching the parade. We did get the downstairs cleaned and sparkley before everyone got there. The girls sold a few bottles of water to my friends even though I had a cooler of cold drinks available. They also sold a couple of cups of Kool-Aid. It wasn't a very profitable night but maybe they will do better as the weekend goes on. Tonight on Main Street are the Bed Races. You need a team of 5 adults. 1 rides and the other 4 push. Last year was the first time they had them and it was a riot. Tonight I hope there will be a few more teams. They added the bed races for the adults because most of the games are geared to the kids. The adults also have horseshoes and of course, cornhole. The horseshoes are serious competition. They have classes of competitors. The have horseshoe pits at the county fairgrounds and teams play there all of the time. Cornhole is really big around here. To me it is just a version of beanbag toss. but some people take it very seriously. At the American Legion Post we have Cornhole tournements nearly every weekend during the winter.

Maddie

It's 7:15AM and of course I am up. I've been up since 5. Well, not up since 5 but awake. I watched a little bit of Roseanne on Nick and then I watched some news. I read a little Harry Potter (that was the book in the bathroom!) and then I finally came downstairs. I should probably get dressed and start my chores but alas, no motivation. I'll finish this post and get moving, I promise. I think I'll take the dog on my walk this morning. She follows me all over the house. If I sleep in the living room, there she is. When I sleep upstairs she will be sleeping on the floor on my side of the bed. She used to sleep with Chrissy all of the time. I guess I am the lucky one now! Maddie is a good dog. She is 18 months old so she is still a baby. She weighs about 80 pounds though. She barks at anyone that goes by the house and she has a special bark when a boy is knocking on the door for the girls! She likes to play with the kittens but she doesn't understand why they don't want to play with her. Madison likes to lick the kitties but they end up soaking wet. Maddie's nickname is "The Licker". She licks everything and anyone that gets close to her tongue!! Maddie hates when the girls leave for school and she knows when they are due home because she will put her head on the back of the couch and stair at the front door. The tail starts wagging when she hears the school bus. Right now she is laying on the dining room floor and Chrissy is rubbing her belly. She likes her belly rubbed.

Vacation Blues

Well I am on vacation this week and I haven't accomplished anything. I'm not at work so that is a good thing. I have done some laundry but I haven't made a dent in the huge backlog that I have. Parts of the house are cleaned or were. Now it looks the same as before. I did get the lawn cut and the girls pulled some weeds. Yesterday I spent the day at the VA with Don. He had a dentist appointment. He lost a filling a couple of weeks ago. It was a filling they put in. He said they should just pull it but you know dentists. The want to save all of your teeth. Of course it is a wisdom tooth and they had to drill pretty deep in order to fill it. Yesterday they looked at it and took x-rays. The dentist (not the same one that filled it before) couldn't understand why it was filled. She said they should have just pulled it. Go figure. Anyways, they didn't pull it yesterday. That requires another appointment. He couldn't make it before we left yesterday. Today the dental clinic called to make the appointment!!

I need to motivate myself to get the downstairs cleaned. People will be coming over to watch the parade tomorrow so I will need to have the stuff downstairs done so I won't be embarrassed if they have to use the bathroom. It is the story of my life. Things usually get done when there is a time limit. I just wish they would stay done for longer than 5 seconds!!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The girls and I just watched the trailer for the next Harry Potter movie. We can't wait!! If it is pg-13 then only Maggie and I will go to the theater to see it. The last couple of movies were a little intense as were the books. It will be better for Allie and Chrissy to watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Father Smith and Captain Tom's Funeral

Today was Tom's funeral. The Post provided the military honors including the pall bearers, Color Guard and Rifle Squad. I was in the Color Guard holding the post colors(flag). After the casket was brought into the church, I went in for the Mass. Fr. Smith is a retired priest in residence at Immaculate Conception Church here in Madison. He is well into his 80's. He started off by calling Tom "Robert". At another point he called him "William." Eventually he called him Thomas and by the end of Mass he was Tom. I couldn't tell you what the sermon was about because he started talking about the military and then he was talking about cadillacs and taking his driver's test and then about driving to Wyoming. Needless to say it was the most interesting funeral that I have ever been to. The young funeral director was sitting at the end of the pew I was in. When Fr. Smith called Tom Robert, the funeral director just put his head in his hands. Trevor, the funeral director, has coordinated many of the military funerals that the post goes to. He always asks families if the deceased was a veteran and then explains to the family about the funeral team and the military honors we provide. At the funerals he explains what is going to take place and coordinates everything. I know that that is his job but he and Tom have been coordinating the funerals for a few years now. Anyways, I think poor Trevor thought Fr. Smith was going to continue to refer to Tom as Robert. I'm sure that Tom would have had a good laugh.

Captain Tom

In my last blog entry, I made a side note that the commander of our Legion post died on Thursday. I feel he deserves more than just a side note. I have stopped by the post a couple of times since Tom died and it is very strange not to see his car in the parking lot or him sitting in his spot at the far end of the bar. He hasn't really been there for the last couple of months. The last time I saw him in there was at our first meeting in June. You could tell he was in pain but at that point all we knew was that he was waiting for hip replacement surgery. The canteen manager even joked that the canteen staff wished the commander a speedy recovery as sales of Micholobe light were way down. Everyone laughed including Tom. After the meeting he came out to the bar area, had a coke and then went home. That was the last time I saw him. Two weeks later we had our induction of new officers for the up coming year. Although Tom couldn't come-his wife said he was in too much pain- he was inducted as the commander. After that the news got worse and Tom passed a month after that last meeting.
Today, the Legionaires, the Auxillary and the Sons will provide casket guards at his wake. We will then conduct a Poppy Service which is a very moving ceremony. Tomorrow he will receive a 21-gunsalute after his funeral mass. He is entitled to full military honors and the members of our post will do the best we can to provide those honors. Normally it is Tom that commands the firing squad and the color guard. I guess we will be on our own.

Walking to Music

It's almost 9AM. I woke up 20 minutes ago. That is sleeping in for me!! I am getting ready for my walk. I have been walking about 30 minutes a day. I just pop on my MP3 player and hit the pavement. I found a route that takes me 30 minutes. Today I have to increase my speed through ou the walk. The music in my head help keeps me going. I have my player loaded with a wide variety-VanHalen, Aerosmith, Billy Joel and even the Beach Boys. It is a wide assortment but I now all of the songs and I kinda sing along while I walk.
On a side note, the commander of our American Legion post passed away Thursday night. He was 74. He was diagnosed with bone cancer in June. It was a quick but very painful passing. His wife was at his side. I am going to miss Tom. When I joined the color guard he taught me what I needed to know. He was a very interesting person to talk to. The American Legion was very important to him. He was always at the post doing something. His wife Darleen is past president of the Auxillary. His funeral on Monday will probably be the biggest the post has ever seen.

Vacation

I am officially on vacation. I got off work at 1PM and I don't have to be back until 7AM on the 3rd of August!! Tonight Don and I are going out with Tracy and Al. Just to Quigs for wings and things. Maggie is babysitting for Gavin next door so I guess I have to pay Allie to watch Chrissy. Quigley's is right down the street and and Maggie is right next door. Gavin's dad is a Madison police officer so I have no worries.
Tomorrow I have a few errands to run but nothing important. I hope I can sleep late. Anything after 7AM is late for me!! My sister is running in a road race. She will be running 5 miles! She has been getting ready for this since spring. I know she will do great. It is her first race.

Hannah Montana

I ended up at Walmart tonight. Don needed some stuff for his pies that he is going to sell at the Farmer's Market tomorrow night. More on that later. I ended up with a few more school supplies and 4 pairs of Hannah Montana 3-D glasses so we can watch the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert on the Disney Channel Saturday night!! I had to get a pair for me so I can watch it with them. We like Hannah Montana. The show is a little corny like most of the shows on Disney. I think Nickolodeon has the worst shows. The acting is just terrible. Oh well, I guess when you're a kid the shows are "coolio"!!

School Shopping

School shopping has started. Walmart has had school supplies out for a couple of weeks. I have been picking up things a little at a time. Crayola crayons are only 22 cents a box. I bought 10 boxes. Notebooks are a nickle a piece. Allie needs 6 and Chrissy needs 3 so I bought 9. Maggie doesn't need spiral notebooks this year. She did need a black and white composition notebook so I paid 50 cents for one. I'll get the other stuff a little at a time over the next couple of weeks. I'm on vacation next week so we will do haircuts and sort through clothes. The girls start school on Aug. 25th. I know that we still have a month but I try to get this stuff now so we aren't dropping a couple hundred buck on Aug. 24th!! Since they start so early I can usually get clothes off the clearance rack. They need shorts and capris, etc. Allie and Chrissy already have sneakers to start school with-again off the clearance rack at Walmart. Chrissy's might not fit yet though. They are a size 1. If they don't fit now they will fit around Christmas time when she usually needs a new pair. I try not to pay full price for anything. Some may call me cheap. I say in this economic downturn, I am a careful consumer.

Fooling With the Computer

Well, here I go again with today's Blog. I some how erased what I already wrote. Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I changed the layout of my blog. I added the Ohio state flag and changed the layout. I thought it looked pretty good. Today I went on the computer using Maggie's screen. My blog looked different. Then I went to read my sister's blog and hers looked awesome! Maggie's blog looked really cool too! Mag said there must be something with my screen I don't know. What my kids know about computers and what I know about computers is a HUGE gap. I'm trying though.

HHH

I remember when I was a kid watching the weather on the six o'clock news. This was before doppler radar and computers. This was in the good old days of weathermen using markers and actually writing on the maps. Anyways, one of the things they wrote on the board in big capital letters was HHH-Hazy, Hot and Humid. Well, that's the only way to decribe things around here. The sun comes out a little but it is really humid and then the thunderstorms roll in. After it stops raining it heats up again and then the whole thing starts again. I guess that's what you call summer weather here on the North Coast.
I start my vacation on Saturday. This is going to be a long week at work. Friday I get to learn how to write the produce order then I go on vacation. That wasn't timed very well.
I'm not sure what I am doing on my vacation. Old Fashion Days start on the Thursday of my vacation. Fried dough and sausage sandwiches! Well, one piece of fried dough. They have live bands there all day and every night. They also have bed races, horseshoes, cornhole and of course watermelon eating. The girls will miss the watermelon contest because Allie's end of season softball party is on Sat. the 2nd. Allie usually wins or comes in 2nd for that. She also does very well in the greased pole climbing contest. Last year she just missed reaching the top. The prize is $20. We'll have to see what time all of this stuff starts. I know Allie wants to win that money

Heat Wave

It's going to be a hot one today. It will be in the 80's and tomorrow it is suppose to hit 90! I invited myself to Dori's house to use her pool. I probably won't swim but the girls will. Now I am washing clothes and trying to sort out what the girls have and what they will need for school. I bought them notebooks today at Walmart for 5 cents each. They have crayons for 22 cents. I'll probably get that stuff tomorrow-payday.
Maggie is going to babysit Gavin today. She picked up a couple of foam craft kits to do with him. She found some things from the movie Cars. That's his favorite. He just adores Maggie. Last week they were laying in the shade of a tree eating grapes. He's a cutie!
Poor Madison. She's in heat and she isn't very happy. She's a little stinky too. Right now she is belly up on the floor and Don is rubbing her belly with his foot. I guess that makes her feel better.

The Letter

Dori called last night. I guess the president of the softball league read my letter at their meeting the other night. They are suppose to send letters of apology to the parents that were there that night. Evidently the bat was a legal according to the rules. I hope the apology is for the actions of that other coach. I don't care about that bat. It was that coach's outlandish behavior that really ticked me off. The accusations he made about our team and our coach were uncalled for and completely out of line.
I'm glad my letter made an impact.

Champions

Well, Allie's team is the Junior Division Champs. They won the 1st game 10-6 and the second game 12-6. They looked good in both games. Allie played very well. She had a couple of hits. We did have a situation in the first game. Turns out that one of the bats that our team had was actually a baseball bat. The grandmother of one of our players bought her the bat for Christmas. Some of our younger and smaller kids used the bat during the season because it was the right size for them. Allie used it too. The coach of the other team raised a huge ruckus. He said we had to forfeit because we were cheating. He then accused our coach and our team of cheating. He said this in the middle of the field for ALL to hear not just the umpire and our coach. He then shouted that our coach had illegal bats in the equipment bag and that he cheated last season too. The league president said to take the bat out of the game and keep the game going. The umpire had already pulled the bat and was trying to have the game continue. This coach went on and on. Eventually the game continued on. It was the last inning anyways.
At the trophy presentation, it turns out that this out of control coach is the Commissioner of the Junior Division!
He had some very nice words for our team as the 1st place trophies were handed out. Never the less, I sent a very long e-mail off to the league voicing my displeasure with this coach.
I said that the girls really enjoyed playing and want to come back next year. I was upset by the actions of this coach who turned out to be the commissioner. Tom, Allie's coach wasn't even there for the game. He was working about three hours away. He was on his way back. The assistant coach who is only 22 and Tom's Dad were the coaches on the field last night.
I really like Allie's coach. He taught the kids a lot about the game. He was tough with them but not mean. He expected them to give 100% every practice and game. The kids had fun. He had kids like Allie who never played softball and kids who have played for several years. He made them a team. Everyone encouraged each other.
In the end, Allie learned to play a new sport. She showed improvement every game and had fun. She made some new friends and wants to play again next year. That shows me that she had a coach who enjoys coaching and teaching kids to have fun. She'll be back next year and I'll request Coach Tom. He has already said he wants Allie back on his team.

Softball Finale

We are one win from the championship. Last night Allie's team beat the last place team 22-2 and the team that is or was hot on our tail 14-0. I had to work so the only part of the game I saw was our team getting the final 2 outs with the D'Abates team (2nd place). The Dairy Queen team has only won 1 game all year.
Tonight we play Kilty (4th place) and we finish against Dairy Queen. Since D'Abates plays only 1 game tonight we really only have to win 1 game. But, our team is on a roll and I'm sure we will take them both. Allie has played very well this season. She has made major improvements in all areas. She wants to play again next year. Coach Tom is looking forward to having most of this team back again next year. I want Allie to play with Tom again, not because he is a winning coach but because he really teaches these kids about the game and how to play as a team. Everyone contributes to the game. Everyone sits an inning if we have an extra player and not the same kids every game.
I am glad my girls are into softball. Even Maggie wants to try it next year. She says it looks like fun!!

Don's Surgery

Don called me this morning at 7AM. He was released from the VA hospital after his knee surgery yesterday. He was just waiting for the pharmacy to open to get his prescription and his crutches. He certainly sounded better this morning than he did yesterday. Last evening when I was talking to him he was really looped on the pain meds they put him on. He had arthroscopic surgery on the front of his knee. He watched the entire procedure on the little monitor. He said it was cool. He also watched my entire c-section when I had Chrissy. He was holding one of my hands and standing by the doctor as he explained what he was doing.
Anyways, he'll be on crutches for about two weeks. He can put weight on his leg for as long as he can take it. He goes back on Monday to have the stitches removed. He also has a benign tumor on the back of that same knee. The doctor hopes it will start to drain on its own now that they have made some adjustments in the front. If it doesn't start to drain by Monday, they will insert a needle and help it along.

Rain Again

Well it is raining again. Allie's games were cancelled again. We are playing doubleheaders Wednesday and Thursday. I don't think this season will ever end. We are still in 1st place by 1/2 game. We can wrap it up tomorrow night if we play well.
Allie has one more piano lesson next week. Her scholarship was for 6 lessons. Today her teacher said she was going to continue Allie's lessons for the rest of the summer for FREE. I am really excited. Allie, not so much but she is willing to continue. In the fall her teacher and I will discuss future lessons. She is really impressed with how well Allie understands the music theory portion of her lessons. The actual playing is coming along too. Right now she is practicing Ode to Joy.
She will probably play flute in elementary school band. I have a free flute lined up. The school librarian told me she had one at home that was her daughter's. I could have it if I wanted it. I called Allie and asked her if she wanted to play flute. She said sure. I told her that she can always change instruments in a few years if she wanted to try something different.

Hobo the Kitty is Home

The girls found Hobo the Kitty the other day. Remember Suzy-Q had her kittens outside and we couldn't find them? Well, she took Hobo out to her kittens. The girls followed Suzy and found Hobo and his cousins(?) under the neighbor's porch. It looks like Suzy had 5 babies. We left those kitties outside but brought Hobo back with his sisters and Mom-Oreo. As soon as I uninstall and reinstall my printer, we will have pictures.

Weight Contest

My boss told me the other day that the store was going to have a weight loss contest. People would get a number and weigh in under that number. Who ever is the biggest loser wins fabulous prizes(?). I don't know what the prize is going to be. Probably a GE gift card. Sounds good to me. It won't be the most pounds but the largest percent of weight lost. That's good. We have a good number of hefty people at my store-me included. I just want to lose weight. If there's a prize well that's OK too!

Fourth of July

Happy 4th everyone. Hope you get to spend the holiday with friends and family. I of course have to work. I remember the good old days when a holiday was actually a day off. People will actually come into the grocery store today to buy their cookout stuff. Evidently the 4th kinda snuck up on them. They always say "It's too bad you have to work on the holiday." My response is always the same: "If you didn't come in here on a holiday, I wouldn't have to be here." That usually stops them in their tracks. They just move along.
Oh well, have a happy and safe 4th of July. Enjoy your cookout. We are having ribs and corn on the cob. Maybe we'll light off a smokebomb or two!!

Big Win

Allie's team was awesome tonight. They play excellent in the field and their bats were hot. They won the first game due to a forfeit. The other coach told his team the wrong time to be there. The first game was at 6PM. He told them to be there at 6:30 for the 7:15 game. We won the 2nd game against the 1st place team 10-1. The team that forfeited the first game play the second game against a different team. Anyways, Thursday night we play the last place team and the same team we beat tonight. If or I should say, when we win both games, we should be in 1st place by 2 games(I think). There have been so many rainouts and is hard to keep track. I guess we will make up this past Mondays rain outs next Monday. It's confusing. Chrissy's season is done. They finished tonight.
Both girls want to play again next year. I'm glad. I really like softball.
Soccer signups for the fall are next week. Allie and Chrissy are both playing. Maggie is taking the fall off.

Another Rainout

Softball was called off again tonight due to rain. The fields are a mess. They don't drain very well. This is the last week. Allie actually had 6 games to play. The two tonight were the last two of the season. Wed. and Thursday's doubleheaders are actually makeups from previous rainouts. Allie's team is one game out of first place. The other divisions got their trophies yesterday at the picnic. The race in the junior division is so tight that they are holding off until after the last game Thursday night. I have to work Thursday night but I will get there in time for the awarding of the trophies(hopefully).

Thunderstorms and Volleyball

Yesterday was James' graduation party. Boy did it rain! When we got there there were a bunch of boys playing volleyball in the pouring rain. Most of the adults were sitting under canopies trying to stay dry. There were a few in the house. We got our food and went out to the tables and found some fairly dry seats. We watched the boys slip and slide in the yard until the thunder and lightning came. They came a running then! It poured and poured. After about 15 minutes it stopped raining so the game started again. My girls decided they should play too. The rain started ed up again but everyone kept playing until the thunder and some really awesome lightning came back. The game ended for good this time. The adults continued to sit under the canopies discussing the storm. A little while later, the girls came out in oversized t-shirts. My friend Michelle put their clothes in the dryer so the were running around in a couple of her shirts.
It was a good time inspite of the weather. The last graduation party I went to last year was held in an ungodly rain storm too. No lightning but a lot of rain. Again, we just sat under the dining canopies and talked about the storm!

Upside Down World

Why is my computer monitor sitting on the computer desk upside down? Did the cat knock it over? Did one of the girls knock it over? No and no. The moitor is upside down so I can read what is on the screen. I seem to have contracted a virus that makes me have to flip the monitor over in order to read it. That is what my brother in law Roger told me. I called him this morning and said he had never heard of a problem like mine but he would get back to me. He called me a little later and said it was a joke virus that was popular a while ago. He said to scan for the virus and then dump it. If that didn't work then he didn't know what to tell me. I scanned and found no viruses. Roger said it is not suppose to harm anything on the computer. My friend Tracy's son said he would come and look at it. So in the meantime, my monitor will sit on the desk upside down. If anyone else has any suggestions, please let me know.

Pools

It is another steamy day here in Northeast Ohio. Threats of severe storms, etc. I have to work at noon today but I am off tomorrow. I took a personal day. My friend Michelle's son graduated from highschool this year. His party is tomorrow. I picked him up a gas card for a gift. He'll be working all summer so I figure it will come in handy. I figure it's better than just money.
Michelle and Dave have two boys-James and Joe. My girls just adore the boys. They have 4-wheelers and have taken the girls for rides. At a slow speed. Dave adores the girls probably because he only has boys. He makes sure James and Joe give the girls slow rides on the 4-wheelers.
Don set up the pool for the girls. It has a filter system but it is only about 3' deep. Not real big but enough to cool them off. It was only $39 at K-Mart. If it gets hot enough, I might sit in it!

BLAH!

Boy, do I feel like crap. I fell asleep after midnight and I was uo at 6AM. It was a life changing experience but more about that in the future. Maggie is up now too. We are going on a bike ride. Maybe it will shake the cobwebs out of our heads.

Ice Coffee

As you can see by the time of this post, it is late and I am wide awake. Maggie and Allie are awake also. We had vanilla ice coffees from McDonalds around 8pm while we were watching the Starsky and Hutch movie on FX. Don and Chrissy were watching TV with us and they had ice coffee too but since they are both asleep upstairs, they didn't drink as much as Mags, Allie and me. Now don't misunderstand me. I certainly don't feed my kids a steady diet of ice coffee. Allie certainly doesn't need any extra stimulants to keep her moving. Maggie has developed a taste for coffee and she has some occasionally. I think coffee is better than Mountain Dew or coke. I don't usually have a problem sleeping after drinking coffee. Tonight is just one of those nights. Maggie and I are watching the Jon & Kate plus 8 marathon. We've seen most of them before but there isn't anything else on. It looks like Allie has finally crashed. She'll sleep in this morning. She's my only late sleeper.
I guess I'll try and settle down now. I have to work but not until noon.

Guest Writer

hi my name is Chrissy. Im stuck home with my mom and dad. my sisters are at the beach with their friends. I played with Gavin. He is 3. I was too little to go to the beach with the girls. Maybe next time.

George Carlin

George Carlin died yesterday in LA. I really enjoyed his comedy. He was observant and irreverant but everyone was fair game. I remember the first time I heard his routine"The Seven Words You Can Never Say on T.V. My brother had it on a cassette tape and we were listening to it in my room with the door closed. We didn't want Mom to hear it. We were laughing so loud we didn't hear her come in. Then she started to laugh with us. It was a side of my mother I had never seen before. I didn't know she knew any of those words.
Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed George Carlin's comedy

Special Prize for Mom

Like most mothers, I tend to put my family's needs and concerns before my own. Oh, if I need some new underwear or some motrin, I'll get some. Sometimes I splurge and I'll buy a vanilla iced coffee from McDonald's. Today I bought myself a rocking chair. A beautiful pine rocking chair. To top it off, I only paid $20 for it! If there was one lesson I learned from my mother, it was NEVER pay full price for anything. We had the chairs for sale at Giant Eagle for $69. I asked the manager when he was going to mark them down. He said he didn't know but if I gave him a fair price, he would sell it to me. Today, Don and I were grocery shopping. We said hello to Joe-the store manager- and we continued shopping through the store. About 15 minutes later, Joe paged "Marge from produce, if you are still in the store, meet me in front of deli." Of course all kinds of thoughts ran through my head but I went over to deli. There was Joe with the chair. He was marking it down 1/2 price but because it was the display chair, he gave it to me for $20!!! It has a couple of little dings in it but it is still beautiful.
Of coarse we bought some prizes for the girls and Don got his Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies. But I got my rocking chair!!

Hobo the Kitty is Missing

Hobo, one of the new kittens, is missing. We think he is in the basement some place. The other two kittens-Kimi and Monkey are upstairs in the hall closet with their Mom Oreo. We think Oreo brought him down there. She goes down there and probably feeds him but we can't find him.The kittens eyes are open and they walk around but not very far and not very well. We aren't sure why Oreo would move the other baby away from the group. Maybe she didn't. We have had many cats and kittens in this house over the years but I still don't know much about them An animal person I am not. Some how I gave birth to animal people. They must get that from their Dad.
In other news, Maggie is taking Algebra 1 for highschool credit next year in 7th grade. She has also been selected for enriched language arts. There will be more emphasis on writing than there was this year. She will also have exploratory Spanish. I think they offer Spanish 1 in the eighth grade, again for high school credit. I think she is looking forward to 7th grade but not neccessarily for school to start!

Geneva-on-the-Lake

Today on my day off we went to Geneva-on-the-Lake. It is a "resort" area on the shores of Lake Erie. It is the next town over to Madison. It is about a mile and a half of arcades, shops and food joints. There's miniature golf, a water slide and a couple of wineries. It isn't the classiest place but it's a fun place to take the kids now that they are a little older. It is really packed on the weekends during the summer. We try to hit it during the week when it isn't so busy. Chrissy's friend Catherine had her birthday party at Adventure Zone. They have bumper boats, batting cages and arcade games there among other things. We dropped Chrissy off for her party, dropped Don at the marina to fish and Maggie, Allie and I went to the arcades on the strip. The girls and I also went down to the beach to look for cool rocks and sea glass. After we picked up Don, we went to the arcades again to wait for Chrissy's party to end. It was a nice day. It was about 80 and sunny.
Now we are waiting for Don's grill to get hot. Steak, corn on the cob and baked sweet potatoes is on the menu tonight. The girls might even toast marshmallows. No s'mores though. They finished the hershey bars the other day!

Softball Disaster

Cold and chilly here today. It is only in the 50's right now and it isn't really going to get warmer. It was cool last night on the softball fields. Chrissy had a doubleheader. She looked good out there. I guess they won both games. She said they did. Allie's team looked terrible. They beat themselves. They lost track of outs when they were in the field. They were throwing the ball around. They also like to try and tag runners out instead of throwing to the bases for force outs. Several time they tagged the runner only to then drop the ball!! I remember the one rule all of my coaches taught me about playing in the field: Everytime a batter steps in always ask yourself "If the ball is hit to me, where am I going to throw it?" I've told Allie that and some of the players on the team too. Their coach has told them too. Oh well. We dropped from tied for 1st to 3rd. The highlight of the game was Julie's homerun. It was a tremendous shot to deep center. The centerfielder had backed up but not far enough.

Doubleheaders

Chrissy and Allie both had doubleheaders tonight. Allie's was scheduled. Chrissy's was a make up game that was rained out a couple of weeks ago. Why we had to make up a game that they don't even keep score for I'll never know. The kids are only seven. Evidently, there are a few parents who feel that because they are paying for the kids to play, they MUST play all of the games. Anyways, Chrissy had three hits in each game and made several plays in the field. She also had a girl on the other team throw the bat back after she hit the ball and Chrissy was catching and the bat hit her in the arm.(I know, a run on sentence.) She was O.K. Chrissy's team won her games I guess. The kids keep score even if the coaches don't.
Allie's team split. They lost the first game 7-4 to the 1st place team(we're in 2nd). Allie had a walk and 1 hit. They beat the last place team in the 2nd game 10-1. Allie had three hits and one RBI. She was awesome. She isn't a strong hitter but what she lacks in strength, she makes up in speed. The coach of the losing team really ticked me off. She walked our best hitter in the 2nd inning when she was the lead off batter. Julie hit a 2 run homerun in the 1st inning. When she came up again, they walked her. I could see if there were 1 or 2 runners on but she was the 1st batter! The bases were empty! No wonder that team is 0-7!!
Anyways, it was a good night of softball for the Kurilec girls.

Sleepless In Madison

I hate when I can't sleep. I was tired when I went upstairs to bed. Don was watching something on the Discovery Channel. I watched for a little bit then went to sleep. That was about 9:30. I woke up and it was 1:10AM and I've been up ever since. I wouldn't mind except I have to be in to work at 6AM!! Allie has piano this afternoon and then she and Chrissy have doubleheaders at softball tonight. I will be lucky if I get to bed by 10. I have to work at 7AM tomorrow. So I sit here on the computer waiting for my coffee to brew. Roseanne is on Nick at Night. The girls are sleeping downstairs here in the living room because it is too hot upstairs Maybe I should have done something more constructive than surf the net. Oh well.I smell the coffee so I guess I should get it then start getting ready for work. Have a wonderful Monday every one!!