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.