Band Concert

Maggie's 6th grade band concert was last night. They were awesome!! It certainly was not what I expected. They played like they have been playing together for a long time and not just 8 months. Mr. Soriano the band director is wonderful with the kids. He has been teaching band and lessons at the school for over 30 years. He is truly a teacher that loves his job. You can see that when you watch him standing in front of the students. Whenever I had a conference with him, he would, of course, tell me how Maggie was doing with her trumpet but he would also look at her other grades too. He feels that music is important in the overall education of a student but he makes sure that his students are doing their work in their other subjects. He spent time during achievement testing to help the kids prepare. I'm glad Maggie is going to continue in band. Just having Mr. Soriano for the next two years will be good for her.
Now, about the concert. Maggie plays trumpet so of course I have to say that the brass section sounded the best! But all of the sections sounded wonderful. They limit the size of the sections so that one doesn't over power the whole band. For example, the percussion section is limited to 10. Maggie's band has 7. The band is balanced.
The night started with the 6th grade chorus. The sounded great too. Last night was not their first concert however. They have been performing with the 7th and 8th grade choruses all year.
It was a wonderful evening!!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day we stop and remember those who gave their lives for our country. I have always enjoyed Memorial Day but it became more important for me after I joined the Army 20 plus years ago. I remember the Memorial Day parade of 1976. It was the year of America's Bicentennial. I was in the 8th grade. I was picked to recite Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. I believe my sister read General Logan's orders or the poem "In Flanders Fields." By participating in the ceremonies that day, I learned how important the day is and what it means. Now that I am a veteran and a member of the Color Guard for the American Legion, the meaning of Memorial Day is even more important. We lose 1000 WWII vets everyday. There are no WWI vets left. I think the last one died a few months ago. He was over 100 years old.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. Maybe you cooked out or worked out in the yard. Maybe you spent it with friends and family. I hope you spent some part of it remembering those who are no longer with us. After all,
it is the sacrifices they made that allows us to enjoy a holiday cookout with family and friends.

First Year Band

What a beautiful day today!! I know, I usually say "it's another dreary day..." Today, however, it is sunny and nice. It is only in the mid 50's but the sun feels good. It should be in the 80's by Monday.
No softball or soccer this weekend. I'm working but the taxi service is closed for the holiday. Don and I are meeting Tracy and Al tonight at Quigleys for wings and things. Frozen pizza and salad for the girls. They'll survive.
Maggie is practicing her trumpet with Tony. Their band concert is Tuesday night. Maggie says they sound awesome. I have been to many first year band concerts in my life and awesome isn't usually the first word that comes to mind but maybe this concert will be the exception!!

Update on Gas Prices

Gas at the Shell station is $3.99/gal. Unbelievable. It is still $3.89 at Giant Eagle but I'm sure it will be higher by the time I get off work tonight. I'm glad I'm not going anywhere this weekend but I'm sorry for anyone else that has plans. I guess we'll just cook out here at home on Monday after the parade. Don and the girls want ribs. Me too!! The weather is suppose to clear up. I hope so. I really needs to warm up too. It hasn't been higher than 55 for over a week now. That's the weather here in Northeast Ohio.

Two Wins for the Girls

Allie and Chrissy both won their games tonight. Allie's team has some big hitters. Allie needs a little more batting practice. The team needs more fielding practice. They were throwing it around and weren't keeping track of outs. It was only the first game sice the got rained out last week. Chrissy's team were a little more organized than last week. They don't keep score but you know the kids do! Chrissy needs a little more batting practice too. She scoops nearly everything hit to her in the field. She's thinking about playing football in the fall. I think thats awesome. We'll see.
Trying to get Maggie packed for her field trip tomorrow. They are taking coach buses to Put-in-Bay. They'll see the Perry Monument dedicated to Admiral Perry and his victory on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. They'll have fun. It is suppose to be dry but cool.
I have to get her to school by 6:30am. Good thing I'm working at 7am. At least I'll be up!!
They won't be back until 8pm. I hope I'm still up then.

The Cavaliers and Field Trips

Today is the day the Cavs will win in Boston. It is a must win for both teams. We all want the Cavs to win it though. Which ever team wins, they will have a tough time against Detroit. Detroit has been resting now. The Celtics have played 2 tough 7-games series. They really struggled against Atlanta and the Cavs are giving them a run for their money. Cleveland needs to be more consistant. Everyone needs to come ready to play. Not just LeBron one night and Z the next.
Maggie is going to Put-in Bay on Tuesday. She's looking forward to it. I have to remember to get a camera for her. Allie and Chrissy both enjoyed their fieldtrips. They both complained about the bus ride. Allie liked the IMAX movie about Mars. Chrissy liked the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum. How come I never had good fieldtrips like those. I can't even count the number of times we went to the Battleship Massachusetts. As I recall, the best part of the fieldtrips was the can of rootbeer wrapped in foil (to stay cold). It was the only time we had soda (or pop) as they call it here in OH.) Memories!!

Saturday

I have a whole hour to myself before I have to work. Maggie just left for her soccer game. Don, Allie and Chrissy are selling poppies for the American Legion at Collins. Don sold them yesterday morning too. I have to work or else I would be there too. Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend. I have to work Sat. and Sun. but I'm off on Monday. The flag raising ceremonies start at 6:30AM at the Post and then we go to about 8 other cemetaries and war memorials and place wreaths and raise flags. We also have a ceremony at the lake and they place a wreath in the water. It's really nice.
My feet feel much better. 500mg. of naproxen does the trick. I'll probably take one before I leave for work. It helps get through the day. It is raining today so I'll be driving anyways. Tomorrow I'll get the bike fixed.

Lack of Pedal Power

Well, I'm dying. I rode my bike to work yesterday. The ride there was O.K. I made it in plenty of time. I was very proud of myself. When it came time to go home, I knew it would be a tougher. I was tired but I knew I would get home. Well, half way home the pedal came off!! That's right, the pedal came off. I tried to put it back on but it wouldn't stay on. I ended up walking home pushing the bike. I walked a mile!! I was really angry and frustrated. I called Don and he asked me if I wanted him to walk down to meet me. I yelled at him and said no. He sent Maggie to meet me and she pushed the bike home. Don tried to fix it today but the screw on the pedal is stripped so I have to bring it back this weekend. It is suppose to rain all weekend so I probably would be driving anyways but I'm just frustrated that my plans of riding are on the backburner for now.
My feet are just killing me. I can hardly walk. It made for a long day at work today. Tonight I'm taking motrin and putting my feet up. I don't have to be to work until noon tomorrow so hopefully my poor feet will stop screaming at me. I guess I'm not really dying. I guess I'll live to ride another day. I just wish my feet would stop yelling at me.
Mileage: rode 4 miles
walk 1 mile
total 5.5miles.

Thursday

Softball was called on account of rain. It was a very cold and wet day yesterday. The girls are used to playing soccer in all weather so they aren't use to having games called. No softball until Monday! Today will be the only nice day for a while. I will be biking it today. I rode to the Wonder Bread store yesterday.It wasn't far however, my butt hurts! I have to get a more comfortable seat. My friend Dori calls the fat lady seats. I don't care what they are called as long as they are padded!!
Still no sign of Suzy-Q's kittens. She still comes by the house to eat. Don leave food on the porch for her because Suzy and the dog do not get along at all. The other cats and Madison are certainly not best friends but Suzy and Madison are mean to each other.
Everyone is off to school. I guess I'll do a few chores before I have to go to work.

Mileage: 1/2 mi.

Cavaliers and King James

Chrissy asked me what I was going to write about today. I asked her what I should write about. She said tell everyone it is your day off and what you are going to do. I said I say that on all my days off and I usually do the same things: clean the house, do laundry and drive you guys wherever you need to go. She said "Oh".
Gas is $3.83 down the street. Don just took the bike to get a paper. We have to check the Mega Millions. I know no one won but maybe we have a couple of the numbers!! It's nice to dream about.
Two games tonight if it doesn't rain. I have to get snacks for Chrissy's team but I'll hold off until later. If I buy them now it will rain and the game will be called off. Then my girls will eat ALL of the snacks I get and I'll have to buy more. Well, Don just got back. No numbers. Wishful thinking. The jackpot goes to $190 million on Friday. I don't need all of. Just a couple of million will be fine. The kicker pays $100 thousand. I'll take that. I'm not greedy!!
Cavs play in Boston tonight. A must win for LeBron and company. I'm sure they'll pull it out. He's simply amazing. He makes the others play better too although if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have got this far. I used to be a huge Celtics fan but that was many years ago. The Cavs are only worth watching because of King James. Just ask anyone. Lebron was in the papers when he was in the 10th grade. They knew he was something special back then. I would really like the Cavs to bring home the championship this year. We were close last year

Bikes

Well, I stopped at K-Mart and I bought my bike. It was only $69. I'm off tomorrow so I won't start my first bike commute until Thursday. It's 2.5 miles each way so 25 miles a week should do me some good. I've done it before but this time I'm working days so it will be light when I'm riding. There are sidewalks for most of the way so at least I won't be dealing with rude drivers. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Gas Prices

Gas is $3.75 here. It will probably go up even more before the end of the month. Today I am going to buy a bike and pedal my way to work. Instead of spending $70-$80 for one tank of gas, I can go to K-Mart and buy a bike and use it all summer long. I only work 2.5 miles away so why drive my gas guzzling van when I can just as easily ride. I have done it before, I can do it again. I need the exercise anyways. I'll save the gas for Mom's Taxi!!
I'm not sure why the type changed in the middle. I'll have to have Maggie figure it out.

Opening Day

Tonight was Opening Day for the Madison Softball Assoc. Skipper from the Lake County Captains was suppose to be there but he never showed up. I'm sure most of the little kids have no idea who Skipper is so it was no great loss. Allie's team didn't play tonight. Her first game will be on Wednesday. Chrissy's team played though. They were really cute. I'm not really sure of the coach pitch rules but I know they bat 7 batters or 3 outs, which ever comes first. There are no strikes or balls either. The kids got in three innings tonight. I guess that's good. Chrissy had 2 hits and made a play in the field. She started in left field and moved to second in the third inning. She looked good. She has a nice swing. A little more batting practice and she should be a good hitter. I guess it's in the genes!!

Mother's Day Part 2

Today is Mother's Day. It started at 5:30 am when the alarm went off. I had to work. The girls slept in the living room so Don could get them up early to make me breakfast in bed. Don made me coffee and woke the girls. Maggie and Chrissy got up and made me Toast Cups with Eggs and strawberries. Allie didn't even move. Allie is not a morning person except Christmas morning. Then she is the first one up!
My breakfast was wonderful. I went to work and it was the usual busy Sunday except for the lines at the Floral Department. When I came home I was met by a smiling and well rested Allie (she woke up @ 9). She helped Don bake me a cake-marble of course. We had chicken and mashed potatoes, corn and biscuits. It was wonderful. Of course, if you take the time to make me something, I'll always appreciate it. The girls decorated the top of the cake with icing pens. It looks like tie-dye when it's done. It's their favorite way to decorate a cake. If you stick the ends of the pens into the cake, the inside is tie-dyed too! Mother's Day 2008 was perfect.

Mother's Day

Saturday-the day before Mother's Day. Since I have to work tomorrow, I spent this morning in bed. I was visited at various times by the girls, Don and the dog. Don made muffins this morning so Maggie brought me one in bed and Don brought me some coffee. Chrissy went out into the woods to pick me some flowers. She was still in her pj's but that's OK when you are 7. Allie wants me to wake her up at 5 tomorrow so they can make me breakfast.
Now I have to get ready for work. On my way I'll drop Don and his two beautiful peanut butter pies at the Legion post. The Ladies Auxillary is having a bake sale to raise money for the Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Last year someone paid $100 for his pies!! He was very excited about that.

Beach Day

A rainy and dreary Friday. Allie and Chrissy have beach day at school. They both left here with flip flops and capris on. They covered them selves with their hoodies because it is only about 45 degrees out with an expected high of about 50. (The weather update is for my nephew Tim in case he looks at this blog!)
Last night was a late night. My friend Tracy is taking a promotion to manager of the Get Go station in Ashtabula. For those of you not familiar with Get Go it is the gas station that Giant Eagle has outside the stores. Some are as big as a regular convienence store, others are just pumps and a small store with cigs. and candy.
I'm happy for Tracy but I don't want her to go. Anyways, a few of us went to Quigleys last night to celebrate with wings and beer. Quigs is in walking distance- a plus these days. It was fun but today will probably be a long day. Good thing I'm off!!
We still have not found where Suzy has her kittens but she comes to the house to eat and then goes back out. Maybe she'll bring them to the house but she really hates the dog so I don't think she'll bring them around.

Suzy-Q

A dreary Thursday morning. I'm still drying out from last night's softball practices. Chrissy's coach called her practice off but we were already there for Allie's team. There was another coach pitch team there so Chrissy practiced with them. She told me she didn't need to practice because she was already a good player. That's a lot of confidence for someone who has only had one practice under her belt! Allie is starting to come along. She made some good contact with the ball during batting practice. She also made some good plays at second.
Tonight Allie has her school skating party. It is only for 4th & 5th graders so she is really excited. She got her class t-shirt yesterday ( red for Mrs. DeLong's class). She'll wear it tonight skating.
Suzy-Q the cat had kittens yesterday. We haven't seen them yet because she had them outside somewhere. This is her third litter but none of her other babies survived. We hadn't seen her for at least a month and when she showed up at the back door, she was very pregnant. The girls have tried to follow her to find the kittens but no luck(?) yet. Suzy is named for my sister because she was born when the girls were at her house after the flood.
Although I certainly do not need any more animals here, I hope Suzy's kittens are OK.

2 Cup Morning

Here it is:6:15 am. on my day off and I'm up!! Don has an appointment with the ENT today so he has already been picked up and is on his way. It's nice that Laketran picks him up for his appointments at the VA hospital in Cleveland. Saves us from driving in and trying to park, etc. He'll be home around noon. All of his visits have been good. Hopefully he'll only have to go every 6 months after this one instead of every 4.
My Chrissy just came down from the bedroom. She's all cute and cuddly in her sleeper pjs. She still kicks her covers off so the sleepers keep her warm. She's my only one that will still wear them. She'll probably switch to oversized t-shirts like her sisters. They don't stay little for long.
I should be a good Mom and make breakfast for the girls. I wonder what kind of cereal is in the cabinet?!
My coffee is ready. Cup# 2!!

Another Busy Monday

It's a beautiful spring day here in Ohio. A little cool but very sunny. Allie and Chrissy both have practice tonight. This will be Chrissy's first practice. I got a call from her coach yesterday. It was a new coach. I don't know what happened to the first one. I can't wait to see how she does tonight. Allie has more confidence now. She says it's boring but that's because she's use to the action of soccer and basketball. I told her that once the games start that it will be more exciting. Soccer will be back in the fall.
Maggie will be taking a test this week for 7th grade enriched language arts. She tested well on the algebra test last month so it looks like she'll have algebra next year. They give the kids highschool credit for algebra and for geometry in 8th grade. I told her that having some of her highschool math requirements out of the way, it will free up her schedule for some fun classes.
Twenty one days of school left. That includes the extra day that Allie and Chrissy have to make up and the three days Maggie needs to make up. This is the first year that the used up more than 5 snow days since Maggie started school. the two extra days that Maggie has is due to power failures at the middle school and at one of the elementary schools. Maggie thought it was funny when the other teo had school and she could stay home. Now, Allie and Chrissy are laughing at their big sister!!

Softball

I have to work 9-5 today but as soon as I get off work I have to pick up Al from softball practice. She's doing OK. A few more practices and she'll have a little more confidence in herself. I'll be able to help her as I was a pretty fair softball player in my day. Chrissy's doesn't have her first practice until next week. I was pitching to her last night and she has a pretty good swing.

I am really excited that they are playing softball. All three girls are excellent soccer players. They certainly learned alot from 6 years of soccer(spring and fall seasons which makes 12 teams each except Chrissy!!) Maggie is coaching soccer again this season. She is helping with an 8-9 year old team. Next season she wants to work with the 4-5 year olds as some of the kids on her team now are bigger than she is!!
Well, off to work.

Day Off

Today is my day off. What to do?? Oh yeah: clean the bathrooms, do the laundry, grocery shop etc,etc,etc.

Makes me wonder why it's called a day off. The taxi cab starts after the girls come home: softball practice for

Allie, soccer practice for Maggie and Chrissy will go with one of them. There's a carnival at Memorial for the

latchkey program. At least Don will take care of dinner.

I have to grocery shop early because Don's sister is coming to visit. She is in the middle of chemo treatments for

cancer in her lungs. They think it is early enough so her treatments will be very effective. Anyways, if she is

stopping by, the housework needs to be done. I don't want her to see the slob I truly am!!