2010: A Year in Review

January

The new year started off sadly as we said goodbye to our beloved cat, Maty.

On a whim, and feeling the need for another orange cat, we rescued Ernie from the Humane Society and life was good...for a while.

February

After 5 years in our current home, we decided to replace the flooring in the upstairs bathrooms. We also replaced the tile around the fireplace. That was enough messy home improvements to last us another 5 years, I hope.

March/April

We went on a Disney Cruise!

See the blog posts labeled DISNEY CRUISE for all the details!

May

This month brought two exciting events...a dance recital and HenFest 2010.

After taking a 30+ year hiatus from dancing, I got up the nerve to take an adult jazz dance class at the same studio where the kids take dance. It turned out to be one of the most fun experiences of my life!

This year's Memorial Day Weekend HenFest was held at LeAnn's in Atlanta.

As I write this, LeAnn is stuck in her house, stranded by a snow storm that has brought all of her city to a screeching halt...crazy!


These gals are very special to me and I am so proud to call them lifelong friends!

This picture was taken at Kim's wedding in September.

JUNE

We had two reasons to celebrate this month...

Allie's 8th birthday


and my 20th high school class reunion. Thankfully no pictures have surfaced of our reunion festivities but we had a great time (some more than others). It was held at our local skating rink, and we actually roller skated, or tried to!!



JULY

Gee, looking back on my 2 posts of the month, not much happened besides 4th of July and the ice cream truck coming. Guess we were saving up all our summer fun for...

AUGUST

I traveled 7 hours west to South Dakota to see my dear friend Shannon. We call this annual trip "Sue and Shannon's Sioux Falls, South Dakota Shopping Extravaganza" or S.A.S.S.F.S.D.S.E. for short. This year she will come here to visit me so, of course, the name will be changed to S.A.S.W.W.S.E.

Here's a professional portrait we had taken at Lake Okoboji's Barefoot Bar.



In August, we also took our yearly trip to Door County and stayed at Pioneer Cottage nestled on the tranquil Lily Bay of Lake Michigan (I can make anything sound fancy). See the posts labeled DOOR COUNTY for pictures from this year and years past!

SEPTEMBER

Back to School, that's all I need to say!!



OCTOBER

Other than HALLOWEEN, the only big thing that happened this month was that we said so long to Ernie. He just didn't work out like I'd hoped and he certainly didn't fill the big orange void left by Maty. Plus, he started pooping outside his litter box and that was not okay with me. I struggled with my decision but eventually I took him back to the Humane Society where we got him in January. By now, he'd been neutered and declawed so I'm hopeful that he found a loving, forever home. It was the right decision. Polly (the polydactyl) is our one and only cat now. And she's on her way to becoming an awesome pet!

NOVEMBER

Two words...RICK SPRINGFIELD!

Why is it that I find this guy so intriguing? Shortly before the Iowa concert, he published a tell-all memoir. He was on the talk show circuit and I had several friends alert me to when he was being interviewed about his book. Turns out he's had a pretty wild life (duh, he's a rock star), including battles with depression, suicide, infidelity, and other addictions. I decided not to read the book before the concert because I was sure it would tarnish the image of him that I'd created in my mind.

Well, just this week I finished reading his memoir and "WOW!", I couldn't put it down. In fact, I've decided to re-read it a second time. His image wasn't tarnished, the real person is now more understood. I now know why I'm so intrigued...because he's a really interesting guy who's lived an even more interesting life. Nothing came easy and when he was on his way up, some crazy thing would happen to knock him down. If you at all know of him or care to know more, I urge you to read "Late, Late at Night" by Rick Springfield. But beware...if this book was made into a movie it would be rated "R".


DECEMBER

Well, that wasn't all that long ago so I'm sure you remember the two special birthday's we celebrated, Uncle Don's (and my Dad's) and Meredith's. Oh...and mine and Jesus' too. Just goes to show, there are some pretty cool people born in the month of December.

And now, on to 2011, where I will resolve to blog a little more than I did in 2010!

Thanks for reading!!

Happy 6th Birthday Meredith!

Happy Birthday to my Uncle Don!

This is my Uncle Don, he's my Dad's twin brother and he is VERY special to me!

Today is his birthday (and would have been my Dad's too).

His 80th birthday!

EIGHTY!

So...we celebrated with a hot bowl of chili for lunch, a cupcake for dessert, and the Champagne of Beers.


I had to conspire with my cousin Coni to get him to come for a visit. And I knew it was going to be a hard sell.

You see, Uncle Don doesn't like to travel too far from home, even though it's a mere 45 minute drive from his front door to mine.

Besides lunch, my plan was to take him to the kids' Winter Concert at school. Lunch...maybe. Beer...definitely. But a elementary school Christmas concert? I was pushing it to the limit.

So when I called him up to invite him over, his first response was "ohhhhh nooooo honey". And then he made a valid point. He claims he never even attended his own kid's Christmas concerts (which I later found out was untrue) so why would he a) drive all the way to Wausau and 2) go to my kid's Christmas program?

I told him he'd better just make this trip, cuz it'd be easier than the 'guilt trip' I'd send him on if he didn't come.

Plus...I think Coni had to play the 'do it in memory of your twin brother' card.

Well, he survived the car ride, the lunch, and the concert. In fact, I think he even enjoyed himself! The smile on his face as he watched my daughters sing Christmas carols was proof. And for me, the hardest day of the year (because on this day is when I miss my Dad the most) wasn't so hard after all.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE DON!

Before...

...and after.

Marvelous Meredith

Daughter

Sister

Grandchild

Niece

Friend

Cat Lover

Cousin

Kindergartner

Reader

Dancer

All About Allie

Daughter

Sister

Cousin

Niece

Grandchild

Third Grader

Student Council Member

Dancer

Book Bowl Participant

Mentor

The BEST Birthday Present Ever!

I have the BEST best friend in the whole world.


Way back at the beginning of summer, on my half birthday (June 30th), I got a package in the mail. It was a Rick Springfield Greatest Hits CD and a letter inviting me to see my teen idol in concert, in Iowa, in November!

It was a long wait but last Friday we headed south for the big weekend. Altmanville is a fun place to visit. Besides my BFF, Colleen, and her hubby, Tom...


...the Altman boys - Kale, Nash, and Dade - live there too. It's a crazy houseful of boys. The girls had fun playing the Wii, riding the 4-wheeler, and getting reacquainted with the kids they've known since they were all infants.

The bigger boys had their own fun too. It was football Saturday in Hawkeye country. It was exciting to see Jason watching the game with Tom, someone who loves the Hawkeyes as much as he does.

After the Hawkeyes won and we were permitted to walk away from the big screen TV, we drove to the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort in the tiny town of Riverside, Iowa (claim to fame...the future birthplace of Capt. James T. Kirk). The kids enjoyed a bit of swimming before we hit the buffet.


Enough about the kids and the husbands...now, back to the matter at hand...this was MY weekend and I was going to see RICK SPRINGFIELD!

It's amazing how some people have no clue who he is. He was my teen idol. I had his poster on my bedroom wall and watched him as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. I listened to his cassette tapes, and my favorite song was (and still is) "Jessie's Girl". And FYI...he is NOT the one they call "The Boss".

He is now 61 years old!

SIXTY-ONE!

And while he doesn't look like this anymore...

...nor do I look like this (thank God). Although our hairstyles are oddly similar...creepy.

However, he does look pretty darn good for being a senior citizen.

But not as good as us!!!

Thank you, Colleen, for the best birthday present ever!

Scenes from Halloween

We had another fun Halloween this year and we owe it all to our wonderful neighborhood.

Allie wore her dance costume this year and Meredith planned on being a pirate princess. But at the last minute, she changed her mind and decided to wear her dance costume also.

Our neighbors planned a little pre-trick or treat luncheon in the hopes of filling the kids up with some wholesome food. And I think it worked. The girls didn't seem to eat quite as much candy throughout the evening.

Here is Allie with Mr. Stealth Commando...

and Meredith with Miss Butterfly at our neighbor's luncheon.

Once the rest of the gang arrived, we were ready to trick or treat.

Here is Mikayla (Liv's BFF) as a corpse bride, Olivia as a witch, Meredith, Allie, and Amelia as a cavegirl riding a dinosaur!


The kids barely had to leave the front yard to get their first treat.

This is our scary neighbor lady with her not so scary dog, Tucker, who is dressed as an elf!

Another perk to trick or treating in our neighborhood...people hand out treats for the parents as well. One house was even handing out little cupfulls of BBQ cocktail weenies with toothpicks.

No wonder Jason loves Halloween just as much as the kids!

Where's Polly?

Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Playtpus

We are fans of the kid's show Phineas and Ferb. So it's only fitting that our costume ideas came from the show. And yes, they are 100% homemade!

Carving Pumpkins

As some of you have so kindly pointed out, it's been a month since my last blog post. It's been a boring month. I haven't really gone anywhere or done anything, unless you count the endless hours I've sat at my computer playing Bejeweled Twist. See, told you...boring.

But we have an exciting Halloween weekend ahead of us, beginning with an evening of pumpkin carving.

This activity is turning out to be Jason and Allie's "thing". It's too messy for Meredith and if there's one less thing I need to be involved in...that's okay with me.

Here is Allie hard at work pulling out the guts!

Jason's working on a special creation, betcha can't guess what it is!

Of course, Polly has to check out what's going on.

Ta Da!

It's a Hawkeye, big surprise!

And here is Meredith's spider.

You'll definitely want to check back tomorrow. We are invited to a family Halloween party where costumes are required...for everyone.

Fire Hazard

This is one seriously huge lint ball!

Jason hates it when I don't clean the lint trap on a regular basis!

Kimmy Sue Got Married!

Meredith's First Morning News: Part 2

Good job Kelli!

Either John is an exceptional artist like Meredith or Sean's gotten pulled over once or twice.

Now here is the same drawing with the comments from her teacher! (You can click on the picture to enlarge it.)


Daddy, you are busted! But for the record, he only got a warning!

Meredith's First Morning News: Part 1

You may remember Allie's Morning News from three years ago when she was in Kindergarten. The kids start out each school day by drawing a picture of something interesting that happened the day before. Gradually, they begin to add words to describe their pictures. When Allie was in Kindergarten, and I'd just started my blog, it was fun to post her drawings and cryptic sentences and see who could guess what she was drawing and writing about each day.

Well, now it's Meredith's turn and here is her first Morning News of the year!

Can you figure out what is going on in her drawing? Her teacher had no problem figuring it out!

Meredith's Quote of the Day

"Mom, being a Kindergartner is hard."

Scenes from the First Day of School

Moms all over Wausau are doing one of two things today...either jumping for joy (and possibly celebrating with a mid-morning cocktail) or sitting at home bored and lonely. I thought I'd be one of those joyful Moms, but instead I find myself a little sad.

Today is back-to-school day and I had a feeling that one of the girls would have a hard time leaving behind those lazy summer days and the cozy comforts of home. Meredith kept telling me she was nervous. And Allie repeatedly said she could hardly wait to get back. I thought sure I'd be pulling Meredith's tired body out of bed (she's not a morning person) and forcing her through her morning routine. Allie, on the other hand, went to bed last night with her alarm set, so as not to miss a minute of the exciting day to come.

What actually happened was quite different than I expected. While Allie cuddled in bed with me this morning, I could hear Meredith in the bathroom getting ready. At 6:45 am, she came to my side of the bed and announced that she was ready for school. Allie snuggled closer and began to cry. She didn't want to leave me, saying "7 hours was too long to be away from home".

So that's how my morning went...Allie dragging her feet with, every 10 minutes or so, Meredith asking if it was time to go yet.

We finally headed out the door at 7:45 am to take some pictures.

With over a half hour to go before the school bell rang, the neighborhood was quiet, except for another excited Kindergartner, Noah, and his little sis, Ava.

Our little group began the walk to school, waving to other neighbors and friends as we went. It wasn't long before we found some other friends at the playground...

Meredith's friend, Linnea and Allie's friend, Annie.

But the biggest problem with having a 3rd grader and a Kindergartner is one of logistics. The kids line up at different doors, doors that are separated by the playground, making it impossible to be two places at the same time.

It was obvious to me that I had to stay with Allie, to keep her nerves in check. But that meant I missed watching Deef, my baby, walk into school for the first time. Jason was with her but he told me she started to cry as she went inside, saying she didn't get to say goodbye to me.

And that is why, instead of drinking cocktails and munching on bonbons, I'm sitting here in my pajamas at 11:17 am, counting the minutes till 3:30 pm.