Thank God for St. Anthony!

Is it strange to thank God for allowing me to be raised in and believe in a religion that endorses and encourages me to pray to saints? Because today, I just don't know what I would do without St. Anthony. Well, actually, I prayed to St. Jude (saint of lost causes), but I meant St. Anthony (saint of lost things). I guess maybe I was desperate enough that I turned into a lost cause so it worked! Anyway, Abby got her tooth pulled out this morning. She did great. Went back to the room by herself, got the numbing shots, they pulled the tooth and home we went with her tooth in her little tooth container. (That canine tooth has the biggest root ever!) All was fine and well and the little tooth container sat on our counter all day, no problem. Dave came home, Abby showed him her tooth, and put the container back on the counter. Dave made dinner, we went to soccer practice, played Wii Carnival (thanks, Gram!), read some books, went to get the container and, well, you know where this is going. The container wasn't there. Immediate panic on Abby's part. It didn't help that it was already 9:30 pm, she was overtired and THE TOOTH FAIRY MIGHT NOT LEAVE MONEY IF SHE DOESN'T FIND THE TOOTH! We searched the floor, the basement, the couch cushions, her bedroom, the office, and everywhere over again. I convinced her we would find it in the morning and that if we put both teeth (she gets another one pulled tomorrow) under her pillow tomorrow night, she might actually get more than if she just does one at a time. And that was ok, mostly, until (sob!) what if we don't find it? How will the tooth fairy know? What will the dentist say? (sob! sob!) But she was so tired that she went to bed. And I searched all the same places again and again. And then said "St. Jude, or Anthony (I did both because I just couldn't remember which one, and figured it couldn't hurt to call on both of them!), come around, something's lost and can't be found." Then I went in and talked to Dave and asked him if he knew what the container looked like. His response was "Container?" Yes, container. Nope, Abby just showed him the tooth, he never saw the container. Alrighty, so he didn't know what he was looking for. I told him it was orange and round, it looks kind of like a gatorade cap. He looked at me, got up from his desk, walked to the recycle bin and pulled it out along with a milk cap. Yup, they look the same (if by the same, I mean they're the same size but ONE HAS A PICTURE OF A TOOTH ON IT). So we went upstairs, woke Abby up, showed her the container with the tooth, and she was so very happy. Then decided to put it on her dresser and wait until tomorrow night to put it under her pillow because the tooth fairy might give her more money for two teeth at the same time.

In other news, the kids were downstairs playing yesterday and arguing about cameras. Nolan came up complaining that Abby wouldn't share. I told him to tell her to bring the camera up and she came upstairs complaining that it was hers and I was just smiling. Great news! It's the camera I've been looking for, with the pictures of Max's birthday and Fourth of July. Yeah! I was going to get the pics on my computer and blog about them tonight, but then I couldn't find the cable to get the pics from camera to computer. Since St. Anthony worked before, I tried again. And there it was behind the printer! And then the battery was dead. Darn, I don't know a saint for dead batteries, so I have to charge that overnight (luckily I could find the charger!) and then transfer pics a different day. So close!

Tomorrow is the dentist, Nolan's classroom, lunch, doctor, eye doctor, Abby's classroom and home. Should be crazy... Is there a saint to pray to for well-behaved children? Oh wait, I'll just call on St. Jude. Patron saint of lost causes is close enough!

This and That

When I started this blog 4 and a half months ago, I was anticipating the work stories would be replaced with the stories of how crazy the kids are driving me. Surprisingly, that hasn't happened. Oh, I won't say there aren't moments, days even, that are trying. Just the other day I screamed at Abby and slammed her door. I haven't done that in a long time, and I'm still not even sure if she deserved it or not. But even on the days when Dave is travelling, the mornings start, they turn into afternoons, and into evenings and into bedtimes so quickly. I can't bring myself to think of the winter, or the days when Max starts being harder to get down for naps. Those days will come and will take care of themselves, somehow, someway!


Anyway, Mom sent me this picture of a tree that fell down at their house. How very, very lucky that it didn't hit the house, didn't hit much of the shed, and didn't even hit their little canopy here. Wow. See that blue swing there, behind the canopy leg? Below is Max in that same swing. Thank God no kids were in it, and that no one was around in general.

Abby and I headed down to Nicole's house west of Chicago this weekend for a girls' weekend. Abby lost a tooth of Friday night, but unfortunately not one of the ones she's getting pulled this week. Between the dentist and the tooth fairy, I'm broke! Oh well. Then, while I got a massage on Saturday, Nicole graciously took Abby to the DuPage County Children's Museum. I think they both had a good time.






On Sunday, my friend Stacy brought her 11-month old twins to visit, and it's the first time I got to meet them. Meghan is crawling everywhere, and Jack likes to watch, but will crawl when his sister finds something interesting to look at. Abby was certainly interesting!

Jack was fascinated with Jeb the cat (especially his tail).

Here I am with Jack... Check out my multi-colored fingernail polish. Doing nails was part of the girls' weekend. You should see my toes!

How cute is she??

Jack and Meghan also have big sister Katherine watching over them from heaven. With Jack and Meghan's year birthday coming up, I'm sure Stacy and John are both happy to celebrate with the "babies" while also missing Katherine very much. I'll be thinking of them often.

And here's Abby with Jeb... she sat and petted and brushed him forever. Who would have thought? Except when she was eating Cheez-Its. Then Nicole had to lock Jeb in the kitchen. Which is still better treatment than Charlie and Annabelle, the Golden Retrievers, got. They were relegated to the backyard and basement. There's no way Abby would have been able to deal with them!

And, thanks to Nicole, Max looked like this tonight. She was so nice and bought Abby paint from the Children's Museum!


And here's my driveway. Any bets on how much Dave will FREAK OUT when he realizes it's not really coming off? At least, I couldn't get it off. It wouldn't be so bad if this were the first incident of the week, but considering I closed the garage door on his car (again) on Sunday, I'm not anticipating a good homecoming this week. (And to my credit... the garage door has a sensor, but still comes down on the car. Seriously! Plus, Dave hung balls from the ceiling so I know how far to pull up. But apparently the kids played with it and now it's too low. Then it shouldn't be there! It's totally not my fault.)

And, I don't know what that shadow is in the bottom corner of the picture above, but I promise it's not my wine bottle, no matter how much it may look like it!

But the kids did have fun.

And created some nice masterpieces.

Then they went in, took showers, and while I was trying to clean the driveway, they dressed Max up as Buzz Lightyear.

Never a dull moment around here!!

More Summer, Please!

I just don't believe that summer can be coming to an end. I quit my job at the beginning of summer. Wasn't that just a few weeks ago? Abby just finished kindergarten. Nolan just turned four. And yet, everywhere I look, there are signs of summer coming to a close. Even the most watered grass and flowers are turning brown and looking tired. You can't get within ten feet of the back to school supplies at WalMart. Leinenkeugel's Summer Shandy is getting harder and harder to find on tap. Our house is no different--we have signs of summer everywhere too. We cook out on the grill as often as possible (and Abby ate half a cheeseburger, on a bun!). I've attended way too many informational meetings and registrations for school. And, we're trying to fit so much in to the few precious days we have left. This weekend Abby and I are heading to my friend Nicole's house for a girl's weekend, and then next week gets really crazy. Work on Monday, preschool meeting on Tuesday, Abby gets a tooth pulled Wednesday, then Thursday Abby gets another tooth pulled, we visit Nolan's preschool room, I go to a doctor appointment, then we all have eye doctor appointments, then Abby sees her classroom. Geez!! Friday is relaxing (I think!) and then Saturday is Abby's birthday party. After that, Tuesday starts school and it's fall. Crazy!

But, what have we been doing with all our free time up until now? We spent most of last week up at my mom and dad's house (well, the kids and I did... Dave was busy with his client forum in Milwaukee. A tough week because he's so close to home, but still is gone most of the week!). My parents are getting the house ready to sell so they can move closer to my sister and me (Yeah!) so they threw a get-together for friends and relatives to celebrate that and my dad's (almost) retirement. With both my sister and her three kids and me and my three kids there, sleeping quarters get a little tight, but we get by. And we make up fun all our own!




Getting the pics in this blog to be in the order I want them in is kind of a pain, so I'll just give you the highlights in random order. Here's a pic from the party. My dad is in the beige shirt, back facing the camera, and their neighber Les is in the striped shirt across from him. Dad and Les took up their positions at the picnic table, Bud Light in front of them, at 9:30 in the morning. Hey, it was 5 o'clock somewhere! (And I clearly come by it honestly!) And they kept Abby busy, who was very busy opening beers for everyone. That girl has a future!



What else do we do at mom and dad's house? We go to the park, and make the kids pose on rocks!



The kids as Bud Light robots. It worked well until Cole fell over, couldn't put his arms out, and then conked his head on the floor. Hmmm... maybe not such a good idea?



And of course, the kids' favorite friend! And, if it keeps them busy and makes them nap, mom's favorite friend too! Although, this trip to the playland I had to rescue someone else's kid from the very, very top. It was not easy! And, I just don't think the mom (who was about 8 months pregnant) and the grandma (who was very overweight) were nearly appreciative enough. :)

Mom played more games of Peanut Butter and Jelly with the kids then she probably would have liked... thanks mom!

The ever favorite slipper socks! The kids loved slipping around the hardwood floors in these! And, as an added bonus, Max ended up taking them home. He started hanging onto them at night and rubbing them on his face. Hey, if it works...!

Is that Max or Grover?

Bubbles!

We visited Nana while we were there, too. Abby and Nolan have been wondering where she "lives" now.

Thursday was a little rainy, so we did what we could to keep the kids busy... here they are with all their hair gelled!

And what better thing to do on a rainy summer day than splash around with umbrellas?!?

Riding the horse.

Here's the kids at Irvine Park, a park we go to often when we go visit. It's cute... lots of play areas, a water area, animals (moose, bears, cougar, petting zoo). The kids really like it! Plus, it's right across from the Leinenkeugal's brewery and Leinie Lodge. Can't beat that, especially since it's Nolan's favorite beer!

Sending the kids into the cave!


Gee, Abby, are you in charge? Coudn't be!


All the grandkids...

It's not a trip to Gram and Grumpy's if the kids don't swing, swing, swing and swing some more! (And fight over the swing!)

And some time on the tractor!



Here's the kids at the Dells on our way back home. It was a rough, rough ride. We all got a bug of some sort, and it was everything I could do to not stop every 20 minutes to go to the bathroom! (Too much information?) But the kids were great on the ride home. So quiet, I almost fell asleep driving!




It took me awhile to get back into the swing of things when I got home since I didn't feel so good. We got home Sunday early afternoon, I slept for three hours and tried to join the real world. Monday was work, Tuesday was Y class for the kids, and Wednesday was the park. We met Nina, who I used to work with (she quit last week) and her daughter Gabriella, and had a great time. Here's the girls... what do you think they're looking for?




The boys, of course! They played hide and seek for a long time. They probably got itchy from all those trees, but there were sure great places to hide.




And if the boys got tired looking for the girls, they just rolled down the hill.




But don't wait too long to feed them... they get mean!




When it gets too hot, just head for the water to cool off.






Or take a quick swing.







And that's it! You're caught up with our life. I think things will start to slow down now. My hope is to start more regular posts and fewer marathon posts. But, marathon weeks deserve marathon posts! If you've hung in there until now... good night!