Facebook

Okay, so my BFF, Lisa and my SIL, Beth, both suggested I should go on to face book and create an account so I can reconnect with all these people I went to HS and even grade school with. My first thought was it was crazy and to difficult to navigate. Well, I finally created a face book account yesterday and already have 18 friends from long ago and even some family on there (Dave and Jess, and Beth of course). It is surreal that in this day and age you can reach out and "find" all the people you grow up with. You can include people you wish to chat with and can "ignore" those you don't remember or choose not to "remember". I am now a member of Spring Bluff Elementary School Alumni and Lakehurst Mall Fun. CRAZY!!! I have chatted with people I never thought would "remember" me. I have a few more people I think I will invite to be my friend if they don't invite me first. Yes, I have ignored some people, also. At first I thought this was rude, but realized (with guidance) that if I don't remember them or we weren't friends/acquaintances in the first place, why should we be now over the Internet.

NO MORE SNOW PLEASE

Hey, guess what...it is snowing again! Unbelievable. I cannot even fathom the total amount of snow on the ground now. I did use the snow blower again this morning. That is two times this year for me... Hopefully it just continues to flurry now because I do not want to go out again before I go get Nick off the bus. And tomorrow we get to endure zero degree high temps. WOOHOO! Well it is almost lunch time for me and Karli. We eat lunch at 11am because we get up so stinking early -- even on my days off.

Winter Fun

As it continues to snow here with thought we'd make the best of it and the kids went out and played in it for awhile. John took the boys on the snowmobile and Karli went for a short ride, too. Then everyone came in for hot cocoa. Here are some pics of the kids enjoying the hot cocoa after spending an afternoon in the snow.

SNOW

Well, it is another snowy day here in the Midwest. I am very proud of myself today for using the snow blower we have. John talked me through starting it over the phone again, for it has been a year since I used it last. So much better than shoveling. Karli was in the yard while I was doing the driveway. She was trying to make snow angels and kept falling into the snow face first on purpose. We were both soaked when it was time to come in. How many more weeks until Spring?

New Year 2009

Happy New Year to all! We began this year with a delicious lunch at my mom and dad's house yesterday. Mom made beef tenderloin steaks, mashed potatoes and veggies while Karli and I made a recipe from the cook book Beth printed for everyone of Grammy O's recipes. It was a cherry cheese pie -- basically a cheese cake with sweetened condensed milk and cherry pie filling on top. We made it a little lighter by using the 1/3 less fat cream cheese and light cherry pie filling. Karli could actually eat this, so she had a ball helping me mix it and lick the beaters. I was very glad we could make something together and she could lick the beaters like I used to get to do (and still love to do)... Kudos to Aunt Beth for suggesting we get some of Grammy's recipes down on paper. Nick couldn't wait to test the final product out, either, he picked it as a favorite before we actually made it.

We also went to the doctor today to see if they could tell why Karli may be failing her hearing screenings, and they pulled a large chunk of wax out of her ear (while I had to hold her down screaming) and said she did have an ear infection in her right ear. So we are on Augmentin for two weeks and then we are getting another hearing screening in the doctor's office in four weeks (Jan. 30th to be exact). Hopefully they found the culprit and we will be done with this saga in her 3 1/2 year old life.

We also got our new Samsung 40" LCD HDTV delivered today from Best Buy to go in our room to replace the 32" one we think was damaged by too much Wii activity. We are putting the 32" in our living room, so we all can be in different rooms watching what we want on TV. AHHH -- togetherness!!!! We just got back from Walmart and then Target to find a suitable and "most cost effective" (I was told not to use the words less expensive by my new boss a few months back because it suggests a decrease in quality) TV stand to go in our living room. Walmart's selection did not suit our needs; therefore, we went to Target and found a lovely, most cost effective honey colored book case that will work well in the area we intend to use it and will hold the TV and Wii and $29.99 DVD player we bought to go with the ensemble. Yes, the Wii is staying with the TV corrupted by it and is going in the living room.

Well, I better go see what the princess is up to -- it is too quiet in our room.

Hearing test

So, today we took Karli in for a second hearing test with the Lake County Health Department. She received her first test at school about 2 weeks ago and I received a letter explaining she had failed the hearing test (it was for both hearing and vision) and we needed to set up another screening. Karli again failed with her right ear on two separate frequencies 500 and 1000 hertz in the 25-30 decibel range. Basically, she is right on the acceptable/unacceptable line, but with two frequencies missing she needed to be referred to her pediatrician for a follow up to see if there is any fluid in her ears, etc. I should have known when I felt the searing pain of her birth via c-section that she would not be an easy child. First, it was her peanut, tree nut, egg allergy diagnosis in the early part of last year and now it will be taking her in for ear screenings, etc. in the early part of this year. I guess no one said parenting was easy!

Tomorrow the boys will get their day with a movie with Casey and Cameron and a sleep over. Sometimes I feel they get left out due to Karli's needy nature and "special" issues.

Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone already. After weeks of preparation, it is all over in a flash. Almost like the 12+ inches of snow that has come and gone already. Amazing! The boys enjoyed Christmas as usual, but as they get older the gifts become smaller and less in number. Luckily they understand that Wii games, DS games and such are more expensive for Santa to take care of. Karli scored with a "pee pee potty doll" as she proclaimed when she opened it and lots of Hannah Montana gear from dolls to clothes to a bean bag chair. What fun! She even got a faux American Girl Doll from Ollie and Papa which she thinks is genuine. The funny thing was she woke up on Christmas Eve after her nap and announced she wasn't opening any presents because she didn't know what was inside them. She got over that very quickly.

Nutcracker

Karli and I went to see the Nutcracker at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan with the kids from her daycare. It was one of my days off and Jen invited us to go with. The kids had a great time. The girls dressed up in fancy Christmas dresses and we sat in the balcony. The same seats we had when the ladies went last year. The Dance Center North does a great show and the main characters came out to tell a little about themselves during intermission. This was the 9:15 am school performance. The Home Daycare Network that Jen belongs to set it up for the daycare kids to attend, also. I think we may make this a tradition...

Thanksgiving and the day after

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving Day with both families, Olzewski and Videlka. We stopped at my parents' house first and said "hello" to everyone before going to John's parents' house for the meal. It was my turn to say the Thanksgiving speech at the table and I could barely get it out. I was unusually overcome by emotion.

Today, I ventured out at 6am for the Black Friday sales at Walmart and Target. By the time I got to Walmart things were fairly calm and slow. Target was even less crowded and it was an enjoyable shopping experience. I am not sure if it was because I missed the rush at 5am or if this is a sign of the recession the country is dealing with. Whatever it was, it made for an easy shopping morning for me and I got quite a bit accomplished.

We are now officially in the swing of the Christmas Season. Time to break out the Josh Groban "Noel" cd.

What happened to the Gardner's house?

I had noticed a house for sale in the paper that I knew was the house of a girlhood friend of mine, Shelley Gardner. The house was in Winthrop Harbor and I remember loving that house when I was a kid. I can remember many good times at that house, birthday parties, sleepovers, and just hanging around. I think I watched my first Soap Operas "All My Children" and "General Hospital" while at that house. The house seemed so grand. It is a Cape Cod style home and I remember Shelley and her older sister Kris had rooms upstairs with cool hidden doors in closets that lead to the attic. In Shelley's room we used this as a secret hide out. Well, John and I drove by the house listed as "lovely" with updated kitchen and bathrooms. I was so depressed when I saw the house in the condition it is in now. No one had taken care of the outside of the home and I can only imagine what the inside looked like. I wanted to live in that house as a kid and thought for a brief moment that this could potentially be a home for my family. It is in a neat part of Winthrop Harbor, with trees galore! Oh well, I guess I have memories of times past in that house. I wonder what ever happened to Shelley? She moved to Gurnee after 8th grade.

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 36th birthday, WOW! When we asked Karli how old I was she said, "3". Try 12x that number. I got gift cards to Old Navy, Borders and a Whitman's Sampler. Oh, and a cake from Deerfield's Bakery ... my favorite bakery. Usually we do Oliver's which is my second favorite along with Lovin' Ovens. I am all about the frosting; the richer, the better is my motto. Thank you John and kids for all the great gifts.

Today is also one of my favorite young girl's birthday ... HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, KELLY! The boys will be celebrating with her today at the HSM3 movie. Karli insists she is old enough to sit through the 2 hr movie -- NOT. We will instead wait out the time at my parents' house.

Well, off to enjoy the rest of the day.

What are brothers good for?

Well, first of all, they are good for helping you download tunes to iPods. Then they tell you to process updates to your computer so you can get on the iTunes website and become extremely frustrated at the process of dowloading tunes again. Thanks for your help, Dave!

Brothers are also good for supplying you with nieces, only, in my case. I am reminded of what joy nieces can be every morning and afternoon when I see Sarah at the daycare our kids attend. Sarah always greets us with smiles and pointing to show us she recognizes us. She tries to say Karli and it comes out "genghi". Lately she thinks I have to pick her up, so I can then bend over and pretend Karli is holding her, as she wraps her arms around Karli's neck while I hold her bottom end. Silly Sarah!

Catalina, on the other hand, is a skeptical one, like her father. I am sure I will need her help on the computer some day, too, so I better succeed at getting her to like me in the future. Maybe money will help?! Hopefully she will like her Christmas gifts so well that she'll stop giving me the look of disapproval.

Dumb computer

Dumb computer! Yes, I am talking about my computer. John got an iPod for his birthday and we cannot download iTunes because my version of Windows XP is not the most current. I guess that has to do with the fact that it is about 5 years old. I don't really use it other than to check e-mails and go on-line to shop occassionally, so I cannot justify a new one at this point. The kids are starting to use it more for homework, but it works just fine for what they need it for. So, off to my mom's house tomorrow so he can get some tunes in his iPod. She has Windows Vista. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to John!

The Day After Election Day

I woke up yesterday anxious about the election. I couldn't wait to vote. I had planned out what time I wanted to get to the polls as Karli had preschool at 9am and the boys were off school for the day (teacher's inservice). So, the boys and I got to Beach Park Village Hall at about 9:15 am to vote. I didn't have to wait in any long lines, although there were only about 3 parking spots available when we arrived. When we left the parking lot was full and several others were walking in to cast their votes. We went shopping after I voted and on the way to Kohl's I explained the electoral process to the boys, as much as I remember of it. I hope to instill in the boys a sense of obligation, responsibility and pride about voting. I'll admit that I felt differently about the process when I was in my early 20's and didn't register to vote until I was 27 years old, but I am so excited to vote now. We also realized in the car on the way to Kohl's that Kyle will not be able to vote in 2012, but he will be of age in 2016 -- which is only 8 years away.

Pre-school volunteering

I forgot to post about my morning with Karli's pre-school class last Thursday for their Halloween party (yes, in Catholic pre-school they can still call it a "Halloween party") and sing-along. First of all, kudos to all of you who have chosen to teach for a living. I was in class for 2 1/2 hours and was exhausted. Those kids can run you ragged! I had one little girl, Julia, come up and hug my leg for no reason at all. Then I noticed she was hugging all of the volunteer moms' legs, so I wasn't anything special. Karli was her usual "home" self at school which surprised the teacher and teacher's aide. The normally "agreeable" pre-school Karli brought her disagreeable home personality for all to see. Needless to say I made it through to morning and couldn't wait to come home to take a nap.

Here we go!

Well, I've been reading other blogs for quite some time and although we don't have the most interesting life, or live in an exotic place, there are a few moments I think we can share with everyone. First I have to try to figure out how to add pics to my blog and maybe I can post the Halloween pics for those of you who did not see our kids in their costumes this year. Karli was Cheer Bear from the Care Bears, Nick was Captain Rex the Clone Trooper from the Star Wars Saga, and Kyle was a pretty good homemade vampire that he concocted himself. We had Trick-or-Treat on Friday, October 31st this year, as opposed to the Sunday before Halloween as in years past. The boys were thrilled to be out in the dark this year. Karli bugged out early and helped me pass out candy for the most part. She can't eat most of the candy, so it wasn't a big deal to her. Unfortunately, as soon as Trick-or-Treat hours began there was a huge accident at the corner of 29th Street and Green Bay Road, so all traffic was detoured through our neighborhood. We did get to see the Flight For Life helicopters looking for a place to land. The Zion Benton Township building suffered some damage as a vehicle crashed into one of the brick pillars on the front porch.