Mimi's Blog

Just where I'm supposed to be

2011-09-21T14:21:00.001-07:00

I’m not usually a very mushy person. I can be emotional andhave been known to cry during certain movies ok and the occasional TVcommercial, as well…but still, not mushy. Really.

Today though, I have just been so overcome with gratitudethat I wanted to write it all down so that I never forget this feeling. I havecome to the realization that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be. In God’sinfinite wisdom, and with His hand guiding me along, the bumps and bruises thatI’ve encountered in my life have all had a bigger purpose leading me to where Iam today. And I am so grateful.

Four years ago (plus a month) I was at another very pivotaltime in my life, moving to Aurora from Ohio. I can clearly recall feeling asimilar sense of relief and comfort. I felt as if God had scooped down with hisgiant hands and lifted up me and my babies in Ohio and gently set us down herein Illinois. From the outpouring of help from our church friends there to myuncle and cousins coming out to drive the truck and getting the new house allset up before I even got here…to me landing a job at the elementary school downthe block and the kids seamless transition to their new school and new lives.Finding the Compass Church and reconnecting with old friends, being able to be emotionallysupported by my family…it all was just a great big blessing. It was lookingback on that from time to time that helped me stay faithful and even though Iwas a little angry at God and frustrated by circumstances, I knew He waswatching out for me.

These moments of clarity though, they come and go. So that’swhy I’m writing this all down today. Over the last 4 years, I have beenbattling demons at every turn. The never-ending divorce proceedings, the wavesof depression, stress of being a single parent, not to mention the normaleveryday stresses like finances and scheduling and transportation, oh, and thestupid exterminator…these things weighed me down. Maybe they still do. Buttoday, I just returned from my new house. I’m scheduled to close in a couple ofdays. I am buying a home for the first time at age 37. It’s another miracle.It’s another testimony to the goodness of God and how His timing is alwaysperfect.

If the divorce had not taken this long, I could not bebuying this house. Past credit issues had time to heal themselves, leaving mewith much better credit than I ever imagined was possible. The years ofstruggle and living in uncertainty without any real closure were all for apurpose. The ages of the children now (4 years later) have made it so mysettlement agreement has to be extended beyond the originally estimated terms.So the delay again, was definitely in my favor, though at the time I lamentedand couldn’t understand why I was being made to suffer for so long. My(somewhat forced) decision to not work full time 2 years ago was anotherblessing in disguise. It allowed me the time to not only finish some schooling,but also the time to delve into financial paperwork that allowed me to receivea better settlement through the divorce. It allowed me to be there for mychildren, I was able to devote all of my time and attention to them when theyneeded me. I doubted myself constantly, felt worthless and lazy, but inhindsight, I was just where I was supposed to be. When Jack was having meltdownsand dealing with his own demons, I was here and I was able to care for him andthe girls and we weathered that storm like we did many others. When opportunitiesarose for me to get a job at the bowling alley, I was able to do that and samewith the coaching job. That season, though hectic, was amazing for me toexperience the thrill of doing something that I loved. It gave me a glimpse ofwhat lies ahead for my own children as they enter the high school years, andit’s very exciting.

Since the divorce was finalized 2 months ago, I have beenhappier than I can remember being. As awful as that may sound, it’s like aweight was lifted from my shoulders. The closing of that door allowed so manyothers to open for me…and I am so grateful. Buying any house at all was goingto be a dream come true for me, but with the incredible foresight and help ofmy mother, well both my parents, it’s even better than I ever imagined. Beyondall belief, things are falling into place. The showering of blessings that I amreceiving at this moment is so great that I feel completely unworthy. But I amtrying to remember that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Thank you God,for knowing just what I need and when I need it and for always being faithfuland keeping me in the palm of your hand.

Jack needs a haircut

2011-09-19T08:08:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to enter one of Angie's contests. :) Took this picture with my phone, haha! :)

Jack's on Track

2010-04-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

OK I was trying to come up with a witty title for this seeing as Jack and track rhyme, but now I'm thinking of other things like "Jack's on Crack" or "Jack Running Track - that's so Whack!" (It's way past my bedtime, can you tell?)

ANYWAY...it's true, Jack has joined the track team at school, for about a month now he has been staying after school until 5pm every day to practice. He was incredibly sore at first, but seems to have adjusted well. It's funny though, I always thought of track as "that running sport" which held absolutely no interest to me...but lo and behold, my son loves it. Little did I know, he doesn't have to like running. His 3 events that he participated in for his first meet today were shotput, long jump, and discus.

We met up at the high school after school at 4pm for this meet and didn't get to leave until around 6:30pm. The 3 district middle schools were all there, and though it seemed a little unorganized and very different from any sporting event I had ever been to, it was fun just the same. I was able to follow Jack around to his events with my camera around my neck. I'm not sure if that made me look official enough, or if they really don't care that a parent was on the field! Regardless, I got some nice pictures of my boy doing his thing.

They didn't have any medal ceremonies after the meet like the olympics, so I really have no idea who won...or how they even decide who wins something like this. But Cowherd seemed to do well winning several of the races we watched, and they specifically had some superstars in the long jump and discus throwing competitions. As far as I know, Jack did a great job for his first time. Regardless, I am really proud of him!

Cougars game - take 2

2010-04-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well what a week! Not only did I get to see the Cougars with Jack on Monday...but I got to have a deja-vu day on Tuesday as I met Gina and several hundred of HER classmates at the game for another Ozzie Reading Program celebration! And Gina, not being a moody middle schooler, actually walked onto the field for the pre-game parade with Ozzie! She was a little embarrassed when her friends pointed out that I was yelling her name and waving wildly while trying to take her picture! (That's by far one of my FAVORITE parts of being a mom - embarrassing the kids!)

Gina's school had much better seats, right behind the Cougars dugout...but the more I think about it, they are probably smart to put those middle schoolers out by left field! I got to visit with my old co-workers and friends from Allen School, and then when they had to leave to get back, Gina got to stay with me at the game and we had some quality one-on-one time before we had to leave to get the other kids from their schools.

As you can see here, Gina had a runin with a blue slushie that might still be stained on her face. Eww!

As for the other girls, Carmella thinks that her school will also be going to a Cougars game...but we don't know when just yet. I will look forward to another day at the ballpark whenever that happens though! Nora asked her teachers and they apparently did not sign up for this particular program. They told her she could go with her home school, but OOPS, that was Monday, so I guess she missed her chance.

Cougars game - take 1

2010-04-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

I got a chance to see the Kane County Cougars game with Jack today...and several hundred of his middle school classmates. This is the annual "Ozzie" reading program that several of the district schools participate in. The kids have certain tasks to complete throughout the school year and their reward is a field trip to the game along with a t-shirt, hotdog and drink - all free! Yay!

The last 2 years I attended as a school employee, and that was certainly not as much fun as just showing up at the game as a mom with camera in hand. No responsibilities of counting heads or escorting students to bathrooms or concessino stands...just a nice relaxing day at the ballpark! And a huge bonus was the incredibly awesome weather - I even got my first sunburn of the year. Enough about me though, the true excitement of the day was Jack getting to play the national anthem with the band before the game. They did a wonderful job, and I was so glad to get to see my boy perform. It was well worth the red nose and farmer's tan/burn!

Easter Eggs!

2010-03-25T19:33:00.001-07:00

Well, with the kids trip to Mississippi impending, I thought we should get a head start on our Easter traditions. Even though they should be home in time to celebrate Easter with me, it will probably be late on Saturday before they get here. So....we dyed eggs today after school. I'll be living on egg salad and deviled eggs while they are gone, I suppose. For some reason, I boiled 33 eggs (eek!) And apparently, I also bought the worst possible egg-dying kit on the market, and it was even missing one of the color tablets. So 33 eggs with only 5 different colors to choose from. Grrr. Anyway...they are still beautiful, and we had fun. :)

Another band concert...

2010-03-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

With 3 kids now in their respective schools' bands, we have a band concert to go to ALL the time. OK that's a slight exaggeration. But it seems like it anyway. It was Jack's turn, the Cowherd spring concert is a combination of the choir and band performing, so it was extra excruciating, I mean exciting. Jack had a special honor though, since he is learning to play the bass guitar, he was asked to accompany the choir for one of their songs.

Jack has been blessed with a gift for music, he's an extremely talented musician at just 13, I can't wait to see what the future holds for him!

Falling Leaves

2010-03-15T12:24:00.000-07:00

I never imagined I would use pink and brown for a fall layout, but here it is! The non-Russell child is our neighbor Gabriella. Jack was there that day too, he's camoflaged in the focal picture behind the girls, he's wearing dark/olive green and other than his arms and orange wristband, I almost didn't see him myself! Here's a close-up for you:

Still catching up...

2010-03-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

...with photos from Fall 2007. Here are my 2 latest layouts. I'm in love with all the bling on the Halloween Magic pages. :)

Jungle Gym Jack

2010-03-11T04:05:00.000-08:00

For a couple years now, I've been *that* mom...you know the one, she brings her kids to activities and doesn't ever offer her own time to keep the program running. The non-volunteer, if you will. Especially at church. I have my reasons, and though I'm justified to them, I still have that good ol' Cathloic guilt built in to my psyche. So in an effort to better myself, I've decided that I should volunteer some of my time on Wednesday nights when the kids are at Awana. They were looking for a photographer to help capture pictures of the 400-500 children who attend this weekly activity. It really is the perfect way for me to contribute - my interest in photography and all. Of course for the past 3 weeks now, I have not been able to make it 2 of those 3 weeks for some emergency or another. (Hello there, my old friend Guilt!) Anyway, here are a couple of the photos that I was able to take last week of my Jack who is also a volunteer at Awana this year since the program ends at 6th grade. He works with the Cubbies, they are 3-5 years old.

He tells me that he feels like a jungle gym, the little kids love him to death. I saw it first hand and it made me really proud. For this one moment I got to see Jack as not my surly teenager, but as a role model for these little kids, and truth be told, I think he enjoys it as much as the little ones do!

Culver's Night layout

2010-03-03T04:27:00.000-08:00

These pictures were on my desk for a while. I remember when I got them printed, I was still working at Allen School, so early 2008. I actually brought my pictures to school and was drawing sketches planning this page. Well...2 years later, here it is! :) It's not exactly how I had sketched it, but I guess that's the nature of a sketch anyway. I love seeing the kids with their old teachers, and they do too, though Gina said - who is that with me? (Sorry Catrina, even though you're the one teacher that I became good friends with and still keep in touch with, I think we need to get together more often!!!) Now I think I'm up to pumkpin patch pictures, then Thanksgiving, and of course a bunch of Christmas and then the second half of 2007 will be done. The first half was a little tumultuous with the freshness of my separation, so I don't think I have very many pictures from that time. I could be wrong, but I have plenty of pictures already printed to scrap before I start to go back and see what might be missing!

Scrapping mojo, is that you?

2010-03-01T18:32:00.001-08:00

I think I've just about found my missing mojo. After a busy week or so spent preparing for my stamp camp (which was a success - yay!) I am happy to report that I've gotten back into the swing of things with my scrapbooking. Here are a few more layouts, pictures are all from 2007.

Old friends are the best!

2010-02-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

I had a dinner date with some of my oldest and dearest friends. Not old people, you know what I mean! Sharonda, Katie, Kathy, and I were all in the same class in elementary school...was it 2nd or 3rd grade we were all first together at North View Elementary School? Sharonda and I were also neighbors. Middle school boundaries split us apart, and then Kathy and Sharonda actually moved away before high school, but Katie and I were best buds the longest I guess. She was the only one that I had stayed in touch with over the years...but with the aid of the internet, we all were able to reconnect and made plans to get together Friday night. We had a 7pm reservation in Elmhurst at Francesca's and closed the place down. They were smart to seat us in a corner because we were laughing and carrying on the whole time. It was really fun to sit and look around the table at familiar faces and remember old times and just learn all about each others families and our lives over the past 25 years since we were all playing Oregon Trail and being grossed out by our 5th grade teacher who cleaned her overhead projector with coffee. I'm making a mental note now to make plans more often. I am happy to report that the house was not burned to the ground and the children had not killed one another while I was gone! Thanks girls for a great night!

Worst Mom Ever

2010-02-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

I win the award today. Jack was not feeling himself this morning. He had asked me to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast, but then didn't eat them...so I had a feeling something wasn't quite right. But we went off to school anyway. I told him that if he got sick to go to the nurse, but that I would be at the gym in the morning, so try to plan it for later in the day. Haha. He tried calling at 9am but I was already at the gym with my phone in the locker room. When I was on my way home from the gym I happened to notice I had 2 voicemails from the nurse and a text message from Jack, that was 10:20am. Ugh! So I raced to the school and got there by 10:45 all sweaty and gross, they had sent Jack back to class even though he was still not feeling well. Supposedly his fever wasn't over 100, but he sure felt hot to me. Poor kid. Anyway, we came home and he promptly fell asleep on the couch after asking me to turn off Food Network because he thought he might hurl looking at the food! Hopefully he will be better tomorrow. Why do I doubt my instincts? I know these kids, and I can tell when they aren't quite right...ah well, maybe next time I'll get it right!

Starting over!

2010-02-17T21:56:00.001-08:00

Wow. I didn't really forget that I had a blog, I just kind of let it slide. For over a year, apparently! Yikes! Well, today, I was reminded why I ever started blogging in the first place. I was scrapbooking (that in itself is a miracle for me lately!) and I remembered that I had blogged about the spelling bee that happened to be the subject of the scrapbook page I was working on. So I logged in here and went back to read what I had written. It literally brought tears to my eyes...I was so swelled up with pride for my Jack when I posted this, and I included details about the spelling bee like the words that he spelled correctly, for example, that I never would have remembered otherwise. So...I'm recommitting to being a better blogger (and mom!) from now on. Hope you will share your comments with me, and keep me motivated! Thanks in advance.

Mimi

Time Flies...

2008-11-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

...whether or not you're having fun, it seems!

The summer was flying by, and we were busy little bees. And then school started up and I had to redefine the word Busy (and give it a capital B!) We had 2 September birthdays, but unfortunately, this picture of the girls (and a friend) taken at Nora's birthday dinner was the last one taken on my camera before it broke. ACK!

Luckily, I got the extended warranty at Best Buy, though I didn't figure that out for a month or so, and it took a couple weeks to send it off and get it back. But the camera works again...but not completely like new. I'd love to just go buy a new one, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon. So, since getting the camera back, some of my pictures are less than blog-worthy, but since that's all I've got, that's all you get to see.

I took the kids to the zoo finally. We've been back in IL for 14 months now, and they just got to see Brookfield Zoo. We enjoyed it, but weren't aware that it was the Boo at the Zoo weekend, so they could have worn costumes, etc, but I guess we're getting a little old for that anyway. The zoo has really grown since I was here last...which I don't remember when, but I assume at some time when the kids were young we would have gone to the zoo during a visit???? Maybe.

Jack had a band concert in October and did a wonderful job. He has really improved his trumpet playing since starting middle school. I assume having band class every day which forces him to practice daily is what's helping so much. He really is a good little musician though. Nora is starting 5th grade band and chose to play the saxophone...and Jack (never having played one himself) was able to look at her book and teach her how to play a few notes before she even had her first lesson! The two of them are quite a duo as they practice together...I've been told they can be heard from down the street by a neighbor - oops!

Halloween was an adventure, as usual. I took all 4 kids trick-or-treating, and of course, the whole neighborhood had to come along. I wound up with 17 trick-or-treaters and only one other adult walking with us. Just the kind of stress I need, I know. Anyway, we survived, didn't lose any little goblins, and have a giant bowl of candy to enjoy for a few days...as I'm sure these kids won't let it last much longer than that!

It's hard to believe it's November already. I'm certainly not ready for the holiday season. I am struggling with single-parenthood and depression, but the sun keeps coming up every morning and somehow we make it through another day. I havne't done any scrapbooking, and minimal card making. I've been reading for an escape, and remember how much I enjoy it. There still aren't enough hours in each day though!

7, 9, 10 & 11

2008-07-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's their ages. I kind of like this time of year, between Carmella's and Nora's birthdays...makes me feel REALLY crazy to think I have so many kids so close in age. I guess 7, 9, 11 & 12 doesn't sound all that much better, oh well! It made for a good scrapbook page title when they were 4, 3, 2, and NEW. Here are some pictures from the little girls' birthdays. We have yet to do a party for Carmella, it's so hard with a summer birthday getting in touch with school friends. She isn't quite as social as Nora trading phone numbers with everyone...well not yet anyway! These pictures may look like parties, but they are just us having cake with our neighbors. Have I mentioned how fun it is on this block and how many GIRLS there are??? Poor Jack!

Other than the birthday excitement, the kids have been keeping busy with their Drama Camp...6 weeks of FUN compliments of the City of Aurora! The play they are putting on is The Music Man. All 4 kids will be in the play, the younger two also have a smaller play (Really Rosie) which will be performed during the intermission of the Music Man. Nora sings a solo in a couple of songs, she has minor roles. Jack is one of the leads, Tommy Djiles(?) and he also plays one of the Quartet (Ewart). He can't play both roles at the same time because they share scenes, but the play is triple-cast in some instances because there were so many children in the camp (130+!) So, his BIG performance where he plays Tommy will be on Tuesday evening, July 22nd at West Aurora High School at 7pm! And Nora will be the farmer's wife that night as well. The littles are in the chorus of the big play, and truthfully, other than hearing them since some of the songs from Rosie, I have no idea what they are doing for that! All I know for sure is that all 4 of these kids LOVE drama camp & are already talking about doing it again next summer!

We have been swimming whenever we can, and LOVE that we are so close to Philips Park. It hasn't been too crowded the couple times we have been there, and the kids love the water slides! I love that they are all good swimmers and I can work on my tan. :)

We also went "camping" with my Aunt Diane up at the lake. We swam in the pool instead of the lake, but that was OK with the kids. And later on we had a campfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows - definitely no complaints there!

It feels like summer is slipping away much too quickly. We saw school supplies out already at the WalMart this week - eek! I haven't done near as much scrapbooking as I wanted to...seems my "free time" while the kids are at camp isn't being used to the best of my abilities. I'm still a week behind watching my soap, there's still a mountain of laundry, and I haven't even gone grocery shopping without the kids but maybe once! Iy iy iy.

Bad blogger!

2008-06-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's been a couple months since I posted...AGAIN! But summer is here, so theoretically, since I'm off work for a couple months, I *should* be able to blog more often. Of course, we've been busier than ever, and running around like crazy. Trying to cram as much fun as we can in every day! Here are some pictures of the kids from the park in our neighborhood that has a water thingie (for lack of better name!)

As you can see, it's more than just the Russells, we seem to attract the other neighborhood children. I babysit 2 girls down the street a couple days a week, and every day I have one extra (Adriana)...plus the 2 little girls across the street who are always over, AND we have new neighbors with 2 MORE little girls. It's just a madhouse, and poor Jack is STILL the only boy! But, he seems to be handling things OK, he's teaching all the girls to play Yu-Gi-Oh, and gets away to play with Keith and Brandon as often as he can!

The girls hair is getting so long, especially Carmella and Gina. We all love long hair, but WOW, we all shed like you wouldn't believe. My carpet just seems to collect hairballs, and we don't even have a cat! Yuck! I keep threatening short haircuts because the little girls don't really like to have their hair brushed or put up in braids...but I guess that's all talk, I'm not cutting mine either.

You can't tell in this picture, but Nora has been somewhat accident-prone this year. Luckily she hasn't broken ay more bones since her foot incident, but she sure is bruised up quite a bit! She has big scabs on both knees, both elbows, a wrist, and the palm of one of her hands! It's usually from those darn Heelies that she just HAD to have, but she has also fallen off a bicycle. Good thing she's not a picker!

Well, this summer should have more blogging opportunities...we just started Drama Camp and Jack is in a week-long golf program called the First Tee. I'm playing taxi driver, but it's all worth it for those couple of peaceful hours in the middle of the day! Today, I actually became an official Illinois driver...got my new license, and we just moved here 10 months ago - haha!

Look Out Hollywood!

2008-04-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Jack and Nora made their Allen School acting debut yesterday in the school's production of a play called The Granny Awards! They both did an awesome job...shows were at 9am, 1pm, and the grand finale was a 6:30pm performance. Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Anna, Karen & Declan Smith, and of course Mom & Carmella & Gina all were in the audience cheering them on. The show was loosly based on the Academy Awards but with fairy tale character and awards for their performances in their stories. Snow White won the best female character, Jack (from Jack & the Beanstalk, not MY Jack) won Best Male Character.

The next award was for Best Dramatic Scene, and the winners were Cinderella and her stepsisters. Nora played the part of one of Cinderella's (evil) Stepsisters, a role that she was born to play, according to Carmie and Gina! She had a solo in their song entitled "A Corn Upon My Toe" which was both hilarious and beautiful at the same time. Nora has a beautiful voice, and did not seem nervous at all up on stage! She wore a beautiful silver gown and HIGH HEELS...and like all the girls, insisted on having some make-up for the play. We didn't overdo it, though I can't say the same for the other stepsisters! I almost think Nora's voice was too sweet for her role, but she sure did a good job fighting over the shoe with the other girls!!

Jack's part in the play was that of the Big Bad Wolf, and throughout the play, he was sneaking across the stage behind the main action trying to steal one of the "Granny Awards" which looked an awful lot like basketball trophies and bottles of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup! It was the job of Sleepy (one of the 7 Dwarves) to guard the awards, and whenever he fell asleep, the audience had to scream "WAKE UP, SLEEPY!" and thwarted Jack's attempt at stealing an award. Then at the end of the play, Jack had a solo in Little Red Ridinghood's rap song called "Big Bad Wolf" in which he explains to everyone, "I know sometimes I lose control, but I'm merely acting out my role. I'm just an actor through and through, the director tells me what to do! HOWL!" And then he receives an award from Granny for the big happy ending!

In addition to the cute storyline, the play was filled with lots of singing and dancing, and the cast had an absolute BALL doing this play. Nora is so sad that there won't be any more drama club meetings or rehearsals. She even was wishing this morning that her directors would surprise them with another surprise performance this morning. No such luck, but the whole school was buzzing about the play from the day before. Nora said several kids asked her for her autograph, and Jack said the same had happened to him. Even I was approached by several other teachers in the building telling me how great the kids were, especially Jack. Everyone knows he's the smart kid who won the spelling bee and mathlete competition...but now they got to see him in another light, and were amazed at his on-stage presence and the personality and confidence he showed with his funny dancing. It was certainly another huge highlight in our first year here in Aurora.

Twins!

2008-04-12T18:30:00.000-07:00

My cousin Matt...one of the twins...is pregnant with twins! OK it's actually his wife who is the pregnant one, but you know what I mean. And she's SO stinkin' cute, it's just not fair. They both are so adorable with that soon-to-be-parent glow, and they are going to make wonderful parents. Here's the happy couple and yes, I made Dayna stand so I could get the profile of that beautiful belly! From the looks of things, at about 7 months pregnant with twins, she's probably as big as most full-term single pregnancies, so Dayna is surely uncomfortable at night and can't get comfortable. We talked about seeing little hands and feet sticking out occasionally and trying to determine if a particular lump might be an arm or leg! It was almost enough to make me wish for another....almost! Hang in there, Dayna (& Matt) and I'll be praying for a quick and painless labor and delivery and of course 2 healthy baby boys.

Here's a picture of the delicious cake they served at the baby shower today. I'm having some not-so-nice feelings about my camera though. Can someone out there tell me why the right half of the cake is in focus and the left side is all fuzzy? I'm about to go back to using my old 35mm SLR with *gasp* real film. Help!

Backtracking!

2008-03-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just fell behind, I have pictures posted on the other blog, but nothing here for a month. Oops! I'll be trying to backtrack in the next couple of days.

Visiting with Cousins

2008-03-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Whoops, another month went by and I haven't blogged here. Keeping up with 2 blogs is not working out so much. In case you haven't seen it yet, I'm working on posting a photo a day at my other blog, http://mimisphotos2008.blogspot.com/, but I'm not actually taking photos every day unfortunately. Seems during the week when we are in school, there just isn't much to photograph, or there's not enough time, or I'm just not that organized to remember to grab the camera...or a combination of all those things. Anyway...

Gigi & the kids came to town for a (long overdue) visit with the babies. Ella Rose is no longer a newborn, she's rolling over and drooling like crazy (Gigi doesn't believe me, but she's teething) and she is just as cute as a button. Cuter, actually. And the boys are AMAZING, I'm still not sure how Will got to be 2 years old already?! He's talking like crazy, very well I might add, and to see him and Ben play together is just so fun. Ben is a pure joy, when we first saw him, he won us all over by just repeating whatever anyone said. He loved getting piggy-back rides on his cousins' backs, and just had a ball whenever we got together.

I'm just posting one of the many, many pictures I took throughout the week they were here. You can see more at my other blog if you want. I'm having Ella Rose withdrawals already, so the kids and I are going to plan a road trip to go visit SC this summer. Only 47 more school days left - wahoo!

District Spelling Bee

2008-02-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

Well, thank goodness, the list we had been studying from for the past 2 months was the one they used at the District Spelling Bee. Jack was well-prepared, and hung in for 19 rounds! He was a spelling machine and even got the word hosta correct (which was one of the words he struggled with during our studies, always wanting to put an A instead of an O in it!) When it was down to just 3 contestants left, the girls were all giddy with excitement because they knew the top 3 places all got to go home with a trophy in addition to the plaque and medal that everyone got. The word he got stumped on was ERRAND, but unfortunately, Jack didn't hear it correctly, asked for it to be repeated, but still was uncertain. He did ask for a definition, which I'm afraid did NOT help at all. They opened up this dictionary that was as big as 2 or 3 Chicago phone books put together. The definition they read made absolutely no sense...I wanted to yell out, "What does your mom have to run at least a dozen times every week?" But I restrained myself. He thought the word was Erin, and spelled it like that, a girl's name, even though he knew it wasn't right. I'm so proud though, that he accepted his 3rd place finish with grace. I think he should have won the whole thing, as does his teacher, the assistant principal, and everyone else who was there to cheer him on!!! What an incredible achievement though, and he's just in 5th grade. We're looking forward to 3 more years of spelling bees for Jack!

Oh yeah, he's a MATHLETE too!

2008-02-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

If I haven't bragged enough about my boy Jack lately, let me just tell you one more accolade he has added to his growing resume! Tonight, Jack was in a Mathlete competition held at the middle school he will attend next year. He found out last week that he scored well enough to be one of the 5 fifth graders from Allen School to make it onto the competition team. Unfortunately, there was a lot of snow this afternoon, and only Jack and ONE other boy from our school showed up for the meet. Each of the other 11 schools had a full team of 5 students. They didn't let that stop them though, the two boys won the whole darn thing! Well the speed round competition thing they did in the gym in front of the audience anyway. The individual testing, I'm not so sure about, I only know Jack didn't get a trophy for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd overall scores. We aren't too worried about that though, because WAHOO, our school gets to have the plaque displayed for the next year, and it's all thanks to Jack and Cesar! These pictures are not wonderful, I am really not happy with my digital camera lately. I'm almost ready to go back to film. But anyway...hooray for Jack, the little smarty pants. He gets that from me. :)

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

2008-02-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

That means Happy New Year in Cantonese, or so my Carmella tells me. She is learning a lot about China in her 3rd grade class. And for a special treat, I got to chaperone her field trip to Chinatown today. I love getting to spend one-on-one time with my babies!

We had a great time, got to learn a lot about Chinese history in this country and in Chicago. As we walked around after lunch, I had a whole new appreciation for all the dragons, lions, and different colors that all have special meanings. We ate a wonderful lunch at one of the 60 restaurants in this little 4-5 block area! We also learned that there are also about 50 grocery stores in Chinatown, and that most Chinese people actually prefer to go grocery shopping twice a day to ensure their food for each meal is fresh!

The shops we stopped in were so fun, the food store was just full of the most unique things. I recognized the Knorr brand but not the Chinese characters on the label! The dried seahorses were our favorite, though the ginseng's price (behind the glass case) was the most astonishing for me.

The one building with the most "authentic" Chinese look in Chinatown was actually designed by some people from Denmark and based it on some pictures of China from a German book. It's certainly beautiful though, and the carvings on it are amazing. Though we didn't get too close, we also saw the Wall of Nine Dragons and it looks equally impressive.

I'm guessing that Carmella's favorite part (other than lunch) was probably the shopping in the little gift shops. There she got her own set of chopsticks, a fan, some earrings, and a change purse. We also brought some goodies home for her sisters. We didn't see anything we thought poor Jack would like though.

Though I loved it all, this particular sign tickled me. Check out the phone number for the Hong Kong Noodle Company!

More cards

2008-02-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

Carmella went to spend the day with her friend Morgan, and Gina was sick...so mostly sleeping in front of the TV. Nora was a little bored, so asked if we could make some cards. She picked out one of my newer (read never been used) stamp sets, and we printed out 9 pages of card ideas. Here's what we ended up making...

And then this one...

And finally, this one...

Castoff - the cast is off!

2008-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a 3 weeks it has been. Looking back, it doesn't seem like THAT long ago, but if you ask Nora, I bet the last 3 weeks have been like an eternity. She was prepared going into the orthopedist's office that she might have to get another cast on, or she might find out that she did need surgery...but we got the best news. No new cast, no surgery...just a fracture brace. It looks pretty nifty, but I didn't take any pictures of it today for some reason. I was more in awe of the whole cast-removal process. Let me show you what I mean...

Here's the big saw, about to cut into my daughter's leg! Just kidding, it was just loud, they put headphones on Nora, but the rest of us had to listen to the ROAR of the saw.
Nora said it tickled...and look at that smile, you can't tell she was happy to get the cast off, can ya? Clapping and everything, I think she might have danced a jig if it weren't for the broken foot.
As the nurse got to the last leg of the cut (pun intended) on the opposite side of Nora's leg, I saw Grandpa's cute little get well message "Grandpa says HEAL!" (pointing to her heel) and had to take a picture. He also added the THIS END UP, because he's oh-so-funny.

After the sawing was complete, the nurse pried open the cast and you could see this cottony stuff inside. In this picture she is cutting away the sock part (the smelly part) and that was basically it! Check out those nasty toes though...they are dirty and dry and gross because Nora refused to put a sock over her cast because "it looked dumb"...and now she knows just how smart her toes looked all this time. Haha!
The cast came off in 2 pieces that fit back together like a jigsaw puzzle, here's Nora holding the top half with all her friends' signatures. She's already planning to wear it to Awana on Ouch Night which we think is coming up in March! The other kids tried it on, of course, but Nora has the skinniest legs in the house, or so they tell me.

We had been warned about atrophy by a few people, so we wanted to make sure to get a picture. Of course I was expecting a shriveled up prune of a foot/leg, but it wasn't THAT bad. You can kind of see where her right calf is slightly smaller in this picture. Now I'm just wondering if we are going to be able to find all the missing right shoes that she hasn't been able to wear for all this time. :)

All in all, I think we did OK with our first broken bone. Nora is on the mend, and the doctor doesn't think surgery is necessary. Her x-rays may never look "perfect" but she shouldn't have any problems walking or running, etc. Though she's excellent on crutches, she is REALLY looking forward to getting rid of them in another week. We will visit the doctor again in another 3 weeks. No more running down the stairs. Ever.

We're famous!

2008-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

OK well not exactly, but the assistant principal asked me the other day if they could put this picture of me and Jack on the school's website, and of course I agreed. Personally, I would have cropped it a little like maybe above my hips..but anyway. No complaints, because Jack looks awesome, and I am still so proud of him! We're studying some killer words for the next spelling bee...I'm beginning to think I'm not smarter than my 5th grader!

http://www.d131.kane.k12.il.us/Allen/index.html

One more...

2008-01-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

OK got the last card finished this morning, thank you Dr. Martin Luther King for everything you did that enabled me to have one more day off this weekend! Now I'm off to pick up some envelopes and get these ready to mail.

Card #6 - To Someone With a Very Big Heart

cardstock - Gable Green, Whisper White, Real Red

patterned paper - Designer Series Paper Cerise & Prints Brilliant Blue

ink - Basic Black, Gable Green, Brilliant Blue, Basic Gray

Blender Pen, Exacto Knife

I just cut around part of the mouse with my Exacto knife so I could stick the heart that I cut out of the polka-dotted patterned paper underneath him. The heart itself I just kind of fudged, too bad there wasn't a punch that size, would have made this card very quick and easy!

Back to crafting...

2008-01-19T22:11:00.000-08:00

I wanted to be able to say I'm back to scrapbooking, but I'm not quite there yet. This is equally as exciting for me though, because I haven't been able to do much stamping since leaving Ohio (other than the Christmas cards, that is, but that already seems like eons ago even though the Christmas tree is still up!) I talked to Angie a week or so ago and we talked about the demonstrator meetings that I have missed and she mentioned that the next one would be a big stamping fest with new stamp sets. So I asked if I could join in from afar and mail in my cards for the swap. Only problem is that I didn't start creating quickly enough, because the meeting is Monday and unless I plan to drive out to Ohio tomorrow...they aren't going to make it in time since Monday is a postal holiday! Doh! I guess this will get me motivated to get to the post office anyway, so I can send the card samples to each of the girls in our group. (Sorry they are late, ladies!) But anyway...I just wanted to post these here because I'm so pleased with myself for doing something creative. Now most of these card ideas were just lifted right from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ but I did have to change a few things here or there to make them my own, of course.

The set I used is called Happy Heart Day and was in the preview brochure, and is now on page 66 of the new Spring/Summer 2008 catalog. It's adorable, and can be used for more than just Valentine's Day.

Card #1 - to an unforgettable friend

cardstock - Groovy Guava, Wild Wasabi, Purely Pomegranate, Whisper White

patterned paper - Designer Series Paper Darling Doodles

ribbon - purely pomegranate double-stitched grosgrain

ink - Basic Gray, Groovy Guava, Purely Pomegranate, Wild Wasabi

aqua painter

blender pen

Card #2 - Happy Valentine's Day

cardstock - Real Red, Regal Rose, Whisper White

ink - Basic Black (ink & marker), Regal Rose, Real Red (marker)

ribbon - Real Red grosgrain

punches - 1.25" circle, scalloped circle

stampin' dimensionals, sponge, blender pen

The tricky part on this card was stamping the Happy Valentine's Day without the tag shape around it. Instead of using an ink pad, I colored the rubber of the stamp with my black marker.

Card #3 - Happy Valentine's Day

cardstock - Pale Plum, Black, Whisper White

ink - Basic Black, Pale Plum (marker), Perfect Plum (marker)

ribbon - eggplant grosgrain

small purple square brad, glue dots (for bow), stampin dimensionals (for heart on tag)

The heart on the tag is just one of the butterfly wings that I stamped on some scraps of Pale Plum cardstock. I'm thinking I should have added some glitter to this one.

Card #4 - Happy Heart Day

cardstock - Regal Rose, Ruby Red, River Rock, Whisper White

patterned paper - Designer Series Paper Ginger Blossom

ink - Basic Gray, Regal Rose, Groovy Guava, Ruby Red (marker), Sahara Sand (mouse didn't look right in River Rock!)

ribbon - Groovy Guava double-stitched grosgrain

CM circle cutter (tsk tsk)

ticket corner punch

aqua painter

paper piercer

hole-punching template (for corners)

Card #5 - Thank you to an unforgettable friend

cardstock - Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise, Read Red, Pretty in Pink

patterned paper - Designer Series Paper Cerise

ink - Basic Gray, Tempting Turquoise (ink & marker), Real Red (marker), Certainly Celery (marker)

paisley background stamp, celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen (for elephant's toe nails!), circle punches, stampin' dimensionals

This card took the longest, but is probably my favorite. The elephant is actually stamped 3 times, once on the white, and then twice on pink...cutting him out once, and then his ear and arm to pop up with the dimensionals the second time. Took a while, but was worth it, he's so cute!

That's all so far. I am supposed to do one more card from this set...hopefully tomorrow I will still be in the crafting mood. Wish me luck!!

Holy Cow! H-O-L-Y-C-O-W! Holy cow!

2008-01-11T13:57:00.001-08:00

I am just bursting with pride today for my little man. Jack had won a little spelling bee in his classroom before Christmas break, and so advanced to the school-wide spelling contest for 4th and 5th graders. That was today. The 18 finalists from the classrooms were up in front of an assembly of students and teachers in the cafeteria/multi-purpose room (MPR). They had the chairs on the "stage area," a table for the judges, one 5th grade teacher reading the words, and a big scary microphone set up for the contestnats to talk into when they spelled their words. This all started at 1:30pm, it was after 2pm when I looked up at the clock in my classroom and realized I was missing it! So I grabbed my camera and took a quick walk down the halls. When I got to the MPR, there was Jack up at the microphone spelling a word that I had NO idea how to spell! And there were only 2 other boys sitting in the chairs behind him. When Jack got that word right (obstinate) one of the other boys had to sit down, because I guess he had missed his word. So it was down to just Jack and Aron (a boy in Nora's class.) The assistant principal was standing by the door and I told him I was so glad I hadn't missed the whole thing, and he let me know that Jack had already had a chance to win the whole thing, but mis-spelled a word and so let the rest of the kids back into the competition! And then with Jack & Aron, that happened again! Jack mis-spelled ubiquitous but luckily, Aron mis-spelled pumpernickel so they went on to ROUND 9! Then, Jack correctly spelled muumuu, and Aron missed his word which we can't remember right now, and then he correctly spelled geranium to win the spelling bee! The whole crowd errupted in cheers, they were all so proud of Jack, and I felt that lump well up in my throat when you just KNOW that this is one of those moments your child will always remember! The teachers and kids all wanted to shake Jack's hand. He was such a good sport and shook hands with Aron and told him what a great job he had done. They announced that Jack will move on to the district spelling bee in April, and he also will be invited to a county-wide spelling bee in February! Holy cow!!!

I am so glad that I am working right there at the kids' school. I'm so lucky that the teacher in my classroom lets me sneak out to do something like watch the tail end of a spelling bee or run out to my car to get one of my kids' jackets they left there. After school, Jack came over by "my door" where I have to be for 15 minutes after school gets out to make sure the kids are being safe, etc. At least a dozen kids came up to him while he was standing there by me to congratulate him, shake his hand, or say - hey you're the spelling bee champ! It made my day to see my little man shine today.

Signed, sealed, and extremely itchy!

2008-01-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Well, Russ requested a picture of Nora's cast with all it's signatures, so here she is! She is doing very well on the crutches, though she scares not only me, but also the nurse at school who saw how fast she was going down the hallway today and felt the need to come warn me in my classroom. The only "problem" for Nora is the itchies...they started yesterday, and we had been warned about how best to try and combat them with cool air as opposed to a wire hanger which sounded like heaven to Nora! So she has her fan propped up next to her bed and hopefully has her leg positioned right (like Jerry Clower) to have the air go in one side and out the other and dry up any moisture so she doens't itch so much. I almost hate to remind her it's only been 3 days, she still has 18 left to go - eek!

It's official...and it's pink!

2008-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

We got Nora in to see the orthopedic doctor on Monday afternoon. It was a bit of a scheduling nightmare and I might have given myself a few new gray hairs while trying to figure out how I would take Nora to the doctor at 1:40 and get back in time to get the other kids from school, not to mention the 2 neighbor girls who I was supposed to be babysitting...and did I mention that the first orthopedic doctor that I called from the ER referral didn't take my insurance? Ugh! Anyway, long story short, I got it all done and taken care of, had to take a half day off (no complaints there!) and the doctor appointment was quick and efficient and Nora is now sporting a very bright pink cast almost up to her knee!

The newness and funness of having crutches has started to wear off already, and she's got a little chaffing under her arms where the pads are rubbing her side. It rained ALL DAY long, so even just getting from the school to the van in the parking lot wasn't much fun...and extremely nerve-wracking for me. Part of me just wants to scoop her up and carry her around, but then I remember she's 10 and I probably can't lift her without giving myself a hernia. All in all though, she's been such a trooper. Her cast is halfway covered in signatures from all the kids in her class and she has certainly gotten a lot of attention. Pretty soon I'm guessing she will start making up a more exciting story than just "I fell down the stairs" but I'm trying not to put any ideas in her head just yet! Her friend Gabriella (in this picture) has been a huge help, carrying her backpack and helping her with her lunch. Every day at recess she can choose a different friend to stay inside with her. Three weeks in this cast so no gym or bowling or anything before then, and at that time they will remove this cast, do some more xrays and decide if she needs another cast or just a brace. We are praying for the latter, of course!

If you notice, a few of Nora's toes stick out from the cast. If you take a REALLY close look, you will see the nastiest toenails known to mankind. This child is in desperate need of a pedicure. I'm afraid to touch them, of course, since there are broken bones attached to those toes, but hopefully we'll figure something out. I also am going to need to find one of Russ's old socks, because even though we had record high temperatures yesterday, it's still January in Chicago, and it's gonna be COLD!

First trip to the ER in IL!

2008-01-04T22:51:00.000-08:00

We survived 4 months at our new place without having to visit the hospital which just happens to be right down the street! And now, we have seen the inside of the emergency room. Nora took a tumble down the stairs this afternoon. Her foot hurt a lot, looked just a little bit swollen, but even after icing it for a couple hours, she still was in a lot of pain. So we headed over to Rush-Copley Medical Center and had a nice little wait. It really wasn't THAT bad, we were in and out in a couple hours. I was so sure that it was going to be nothing...but boy, was I wrong!

My Nora managed to break not one, but TWO bones in her foot! The doctor says he thinks the bad break will be able to heal on its own without surgery, but now that I've seen this xray...I don't know if I believe him. How cool is that though, they gave me a CD with the xray picture right on it. Of course I asked to see it so I could scrapbook it (one day) but the real reason they gave it to me was so that I can take it to the orthopedic doctor when we go follow-up. I am hoping they are in the office on Saturdays...if not, it will be Monday before we can do anything. They put Nora in a temporary cast, and gave her some crutches...she's a pro already at walking with them, though she would have preferred a wheel chair, she says!

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T23:26:00.000-08:00

Good-bye 2007, and hellooooooo 2008! I can't say that I'm sorry to see the last year go, it was a rough one. I'm hopeful for a better 2008. It started out really, really, and I do mean REALLY cold. The temperature was in the teens, but it may as well have been 80 below because the wind was atrocious, and I swear I got frostbite right through my cute little leopard-looking fuzzy gloves while trying to take some sledding pictures. As it turns out though, I shouldn't have bothered, the pics I like best are the close-ups that I took of the kids faces as they were walking back to the car. Now if I could just have those 15 minutes of my life back...I would stay in the nice toasty car and just stick the camera out the window when the time was right! The kids had a blast anyway, though Carmie and Gina both felt terrible about knocking people down when they were going 100 mph on the new sleds Grandma gave them for Christmas! Those little saucers don't really come with a steering wheel. I told the girls that I'm sure nobody was upset about it, but having been out in that cold myself for a few minutes not so sure if I would have been OK with being knocked down into the snow...well, anyway, all's well that ends well. Here are some pics of my frozen kiddos. :)

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Free family history

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T23:22:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T23:19:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T18:02:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Russell Look-alike Meter

2007-12-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Oh my elves!!!

2007-12-19T05:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my friend Nancy for making this adorable little dancing elf production. She left it in a comment on here, so I thought I better make a post with this link to make sure everyone sees it! SOOOOO cute!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1463334837

Thanks Nance!

Jack's First Band Concert

2007-12-19T05:23:00.000-08:00

Well last night was amazing. Jack had his first band concert with the 5th grade Beginner Band. It was at the middle school where Jack will attend next year, and we got to hear the middle school bands and choirs as well.

That's Jack all the way on the left, I don't know the band director at all, so it was pure luck that I had such a good chance at taking pictures with him on the end like that! I'm glad I took a couple of pictures before we left the house, because my camera lens doesn't zoom enough to get all the way across the multi-purpose room to get any good close-ups...are you listening Santa? :)

So here's a good close-up we took at home. I love the look of concentration on his face. The 5th grade band, was, well...beginners! They did great, and what was really encouraging was to hear how much they will improve in the next year when we heard the 6th grade band. And then, we heard the varsity band (7th and 8th graders) who were even better still!

Christmas Letter

2007-12-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well here is what my Christmas cards look like this year. I borrowed an idea from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ and then changed it around a little, of course. I am posting it here, because knowing me, even though I have 28 of these cards made, it will take a while for me to get them all written out, addressed, and mailed off! And there are more than 28 people on my Christmas card list. So...just in case you don't see one of these masterpieces in your mailbox...please know that I still love you, but as usual, my best intentions are not quite enough! Also, instead of writing up a big long letter for everyone and printing it out to put with the card, I decided to just put the URL for this blog inside the cards...well that's my plan anyway, again the insides of these cards are still blank.

2007 has been a year full of lots of changes. While not all of them were easy, we have been so very blessed along the way, that there is much to be thankful for. One of those changes was our change of address, if you need the new one, please leave a comment or email me and I'll happily give it to you! We left Ohio after 4 years and headed back home to Illinois, to be closer to my family.

The children are doing great! Jack is 11 now, and in the 5th grade. He (as always) is an excellent student and has adjusted very well to our new school. In the summer, he had a part in a Shakespeare play back in Ohio and did a fabulous job. Currently he is playing the cornet (a small trumpet) in the 5th grade band and will have his first band concert next week. As the basketball season is approaching, he has signed up not for the basketball team, but for the cheerleading squad - this boy is so full of self-confidence he can give his mother lessons any day! I think he would be upset if I forgot to mention his greatest accomplishment of late - his ever-improving bowling. Talk about chip off the old block, this boy is a Bowler (with a capital B) and bowled a 451 series last Saturday! His average is a 125 and rising fast. I don't think it will take him 32 years to bowl his first 300 game.

Nora is 10 and in the 4th grade. She also is excelling in school. While 4th graders don't have any sports teams at the school they can join, they are eligible to be a student leader in the SALT program (that stands for Student Advisory Leadership Team) and Nora applied and was accepted. Jack was too, coincidentally, and the two of them were writers for the school newspaper the first quarter and are now patrol guards. Nora has a special job to patrol for the kindergartners in the middle of the day which she enjoys. Like Jack, she is still bowling and steadily improving as well. Just last week, the entire 4th grade went on a special trip to Lorado Taft for an outdoor education program for 3 days. Nora came home with lots of stories and great memories from her first trip away from home all alone. I don't think she was homesick at all, but we all sure felt her absence here at home.

Carmella is 8 and in the 3rd grade this year. She just loves her teacher Miss Callahan, and wants to be just like her when she grows up. She has been doing some wonderful projects this year and has really learned a lot. The next project due in a week is all about Spain. Today at school, Carmella was chosen to read the morning announcements. She did a phenomenal job, and I had several other teachers at school let me know how wonderful she was! Carmella and Gina bowl together in the "bantam" league on Saturday mornings. They only bowl 2 games each week, so it seemed like a bit of a demotion to Carmella at first since she had been bowling 3 games for the past couple of years in Ohio, but she seems to have adjusted just fine. Carmella loves to read, this is the first one of my children that didn't have to be "forced" to do their 20 minutes of reading every night! Hooray!

Gina is 6 and in the 1st grade. Her teacher is marvelous and says Gina is a star student, but she was a little concerned when she saw Gina's "evil twin Tina" walking with me in the hallway one day after school! I guess this is how multiple personalities start, but I'm pleased to know that when she's at school she is on her best behavior because it must mean she is comfortable and secure enough at home to be her REAL self, as evil as that may be. In addition to bowling on Saturday with Carmella, Gina really enjoys her Awana group at church on Wednesday nights. She is a whiz at memorizing her verses and loves to recite them for me before bed. She misses her friends back in Ohio very much and plans to move back there when she is a grown-up, but she has made some good friends here in IL too.

As for me, I think I'm the one struggling with the many changes this year more so than the kids...they are very resilient. Russ and I separated early in 2007, but have not filed any paperwork with the courts as of yet. In May, he took a new job in Seattle, leaving us back in Ohio...which prompted our relocation here to IL. I have a wonderful family and supportive friends who rallied around me to help us get moved in August just before school started. We arrived on a Monday and school started that Wednesday. I met the principal of the kids' school outside the building after school one day and asked if she had any job openings. A week later, I was hired as a one-on-one teacher's assistant in the special ed classroom. The job is challenging at times, but also rewarding, and the hours couldn't be more perfect! I feel it was a gift from God to have this job fall into my lap the way it did at the perfect time. I know this has made our transition much smoother than it would have been otherwise. I am still getting used to my new role as working mom after being at home with the kids for so long, so I have not found the time to devote to my scrapbooking and stamping like I used to, but I hope with time, I will get back into the crafting groove. In moving back to IL, not only have I gotten to come "back home" to my family, but I have been able to reconnect with one of my dearest friends Karen, who in turn invited us to her church which we now call our own as well. In addition to the weekly service on Saturday nights (or Sunday mornings) and Awana on Wednesdays, I attend a Faith and Hope group on Tuesday nights where I have met some loving and encouraging friends. Oh, and I would be remiss to not mention my own bowling. While I was not able to join a weekly league because of babysitting issues, I did join an every-other-week league with the other teachers in our school district. When I bowled my 300 almost a year ago, I never would have thought that I wouldn't even be a sanctioned bowler now! I'm sure in time, I'll be able to get back to bowling more regularly too, for now, I can at least live vicariously through my little Russell Rollers!

OK I guess that's about all that I have for a year-in-review recap! I know Christmas letters can be annoying, and I appreciate that you've read this far! Some of you who may be reading this will know what's been going on, but others might be surprised to hear about all our changes. When I am depressed, I tend to withdraw from my family and friends. It's counter-intuitive and somewhat self-destructive and all that, but it's just how I work. So, please know that I care about you all and treasure your friendship, even if you don't hear from me very often. Please keep the kids and me in your prayers, and we will certainly be doing the same for you!

Animal Show

2007-12-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a good animal show? The last few years we have had the entertainment of Seymour the Magician at the xmas party, but this year for a change we had animals. My kids just loved it, and I think the adults had a little more fun with this one too! The man brought all his exotic animals in little rubbermaid cages, and brought them out one at a time, told us all about the animal, and then brought it around for everyone to pet or hold. First was the chinchilla, which my kids have been asking/begging me to get them for a while now. (Not gonna happen, especially since the Animal Guy showed us the ugly yellow teeth that like to chew on antique wood furniture!)

OK so next up was my personal favorite, the African Pygmy Hedgehog named Horace. He was ADORABLE, though not nearly as fun to pet as the chinchilla. He would make a nice pet, perhaps, and like me, when it's over 100 degrees out, he would rather dig a hole and sleep through the hottest part of the year. Check out how cute he looks when he's curled up in a ball!

Now at this point, Animal Guy asked for a brave audience member to help him. Of course, my kids all had their hands raised, and Carmella was chosen to come up to the front. She got a little nervous though when someone mentioned that it might be the snake and sat back down. I think we are lucky she did, because what DID come next was not any better than a snake...it was a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. EEK!

Next was a very pretty fox-type thing. Related to canines. Oh, and he lives in the desert and his large ears cool him off. I don't remember anything else...must have still been shivering from seeing the cockroach up close.

When Animal Guy called for another brave volunteer, the kids were not quite as eager to raise their hands! Jack thought he could be brave though, so he stood up...for just a moment. When he saw the tarantula come out of its cage, he was off like a shot, hiding behind ME as a matter of fact, which of course was not much help, as I was ready to go run and hide behind MY dad! :) There were several other brave people though, including my cousin Jeff.

Next came Gina's look-alike which made her day, and made me glad I spent the money on those adorable sweatsuits for the girls! This cat is called the Goeffroy cat named after the guy who discovered it. Animal Guy says he would be just like Sylvester if there was a Tweety Bird around, and the cat (named Jesse James) has at some point tried to attack all of the animals in this guy's house...which by the way, must smell lovely. So here's spotty Gina and the spotty cat.

Once more, Animal Guy needed a brave volunteer. Jack and Gina stood up there with him, but not for long...this time it WAS the snake - an albino python. Many people wanted to wear him around their necks, but none of my clan, thankfully! It really looked like the snake was constricting around people's necks, and his tail would dip down behind them and come up between their legs...eek! Here's brave Grandpa up there with the beast!

And last but not least was the 35-year-old monkey. Animal Guy said he was single, so I hopped right up there to make friends, haha. I really just wanted to get a good picture of the kids holding him, but then I ended up holding him myself. Carmella took this picture with her camera (thanks Carmie!)

Here's a few more pictures, I think this was everyone's favorite. He was quite a personable monkey even though he was balding and much older than any monkey should be. They only live to be about 10 in the wild, and 20 in captivity, so it's quite a big deal for him to be 35.

Turns out I didn't take many pictures at the party other than these and the obligatory Santa pictures. Ah well, we will just have to do it again next year! :)

Gogliotti Christmas Party

2007-12-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Despite the snow and ice, we made it to the annual Christmas party on Saturday night. There didn't seem to be as many people as usual, so I think the nasty weather scared some people away. Many of my cousins were there though, and plenty of people I didn't recognize or even know I was related to. I have lots of pictures to upload, but it's very late and I'll just start with a few. Santa visited, of course, to bring gifts to the children. My kids are just too old, they knew as soon as cousin Nicholas disappeared that he was dressing up as Santa in the back room. Carmella told me later, "Nice choice of wrapping paper, by the way." and then she winked at me...she's really good at winking, coincidentally, and she doesn't get that from me. But anyway, here are those Santa pics. Tomorrow I will try to post the dozens that I took when the entertainment of the evening was there - the animal show.

Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

The kids were very adamant that we had to put up the Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving. They must have forgotten last year's fiasco with the !@$# dog chewing off the cord of our pre-lit tree that was only a year old! I ended up getting rid of it before we moved, so I got up EXTRA early on Black Friday morning. Kohl's had been advertising that they were opening at 4am, and I saw they had a pre-lit tree on sale...so I got there about 3:30am. Not because I wanted to stand in line in the cold, just because I had gone to sleep SO early the night before, I couldn't fall back asleep when I woke up before 3. I wasn't the first one there though, there WERE some crazies standing outside in line...quite a few crazies, come to think of it. And I'm STILL not sure what the big draw was, but there was absolutely no pushing or shoving, and I got a Christmas tree very quickly and was back out the door by 4:05am. I'm pretty sure I could have gotten good deals on many other things, but the tree was all that I had on The List. And big crowds and long lines and I don't get along that well. So anyway, I was back home and sleeping in the recliner for a while before the kids even got up. When they saw the box, they got really excited though, so I was able to bribe them into helping me clean up the living room. When they went for a walk in the afternoon, I set up the tree, and the kids got it all decorated when they got back home. It's beautiful, and it has all white lights like I've always wanted. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-24T15:00:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Anna, & Great Grandma at the nursing home. The food was great, especially since no cooking or cleaning was necessary for any of us! The only drawback, of course, is the fact that we have no leftover turkey for turkey sandwiches. Boo hoo!

Thank goodness for my digital camera and the ability to crop pictures on the computer! The very nice employee who offered to take our picture didn't do a wonderful job, but oh well, at least we are all in the picture even if we are a little fuzzy!

School Pics...kinda

2007-11-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

Well, being a single mom has some really swell perks, like being broke all the time. Picture Day came in late October, and for the first time since the kids have been in school, I was not able to go overboard and buy the largest package of pics for each of the kids. You know - 2 8x10's, 4 5x7's, a million wallets, plus a class photo. In fact, I was not able to buy ANY packages of individual pictures, but I did make sure to at least order a class picture for each of the kids, so they can have a picture of their friends and teacher to remember. This should be no big deal, in fact I know in years past, I have been disappointed with the expensive school pictures. But it just seemed like "the thing to do" and so I always did. After a good bit of pouting and being angry (at Russ, God, and the world basically) I decided to have the kids pose in front of the fireplace and I took their portraits myself. I think they came out pretty nice. Probably better than the professional ones would have, but in a not-so-professional-taken-at-home sort of way. Not being able to afford school pictures certainly isn't the end of the world, and I know I am very blessed in so many ways...it is just another adjustment I am finding myself struggling with.

Jack - 5th Grade - 11 years old

Nora - 4th Grade - 10 years old

Carmella - 3rd Grade - 8 years old

Gina - 1st Grade - 6 years old

If any family or friends want one of these pictures printed out, please just let me know what size and I'll send them out to you. :) Oh, and I'm pretty sure I still have last year's pictures around here somewhere, too!

Glasses again

2007-11-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

Well whaddaya know, Nora needs glasses in 4th grade too, just like Jack, and just like me, and just like Grandma and Auntie Gigi. It's a tradition, I guess. Here she is trying out her frames at the Costco. She only needs to wear them for reading or doing work at her desk. I guess she's far-sighted, go figure. Let's just hope she takes a little better care of them than Jack does his. I think more days than not, he just forgets to wear his glasses. I've had to bend them back to the right shape more times than I care to count. Boys! I also got Carmella's eyes checked while we were there, and she has a slight far-sighted prescription as well, but because of her astigmatism (also a hereditary gift from Grandma and me) it is kind of cancelled out, so she doesn't need glasses just yet. Maybe next year when she's in 4th grade!

One lousy picture!

2007-11-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

How did this happen? On Halloween night, I brought along my camera trick-or-treating, and only took this ONE lousy picture of the kids! We were probably out for an hour, and it was after 6pm, so getting dark. Jack decided to stay home and pass out candy for us, believe it or not! No worries though, the 3 girls got plenty of candy to feed an army!

Crazy Hair Day

2007-10-30T05:25:00.001-07:00

It was Spirit Week at school last week. They had a theme for every day....crazy hat day, crazy sock day, pajama day, sports day, and of course our favorite - CRAZY HAIR DAY! Now for me, every day when I wake up, it's a crazy hair day, but that wouldn't be enough for these Russell kids! So we bought up as many colors of hair spray as we could find at Wal-Mart, and this is what we came up with. I'm fairly certain we are responsible for a rather large hole in the ozone, and I would not recommend coloring the hair of 4 children at once in the confines of a small bathroom even if the exhaust fan is on.

Carmella of course, wanted blue in her hair. She was the first one we did, and it was looking very blue...I was suprised how well it worked on her dark hair. The pictures really don't convey the blueness, you really just had to be there!

Nora loves the color orange. And with her hair being so much lighter than the other girls, I thought this would be a breeze. I was kind of concerned though, it actually looked like I was just highlighting her hair at first. She decided that orange alone wasn't going to cut it, so we added some green, which made me think of carrots with the tops on. Is that crazy enough for ya?

Gina wanted purple, but for some reason the purple spray did not show up as quickly or as brightly as the blue had on Carmella, so she decided to go half blue and half purple.

Jack's hair was my favorite. His hair is lighter like Nora, so it took the color spray really nicely. I put some gel in his hair to get it spikey first, then just sprayed some colors here and there...I think he ended up looking like an Easter Egg, and he LOVED it! It's a good thing these colors came out with one shampoo, because picture day was 2 days later. After getting all these kids colored up before school, I couldn't even think about doing anything crazy with my own hair...I blame the fumes. But it was really fun for the kids to get to do something fun like this at their new school. Seeing all the other kids and teachers with crazy hair was fun, too. I feel very lucky to be able to be with them at school every day!

Check it out!

2007-10-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

My sister and I gave birth to identical twins 10 years apart! :) Not really, but I wanted to post these pictures together to show how much baby Ella Rose reminds me of Nora when she was a newborn! It's the same pose and everything!!! Nora was a little smaller when she was born...but grew fast! I hope Ella gets those awesome chubby cheeks like Nora had. :)

I wish I had one of those Star Trek machines that could "beam me up" to SC so I could hold this little pumpkin! Post more pics, sis, I'm sure you're just sitting around eating bonbons and having massages (got your message, sorry forgot to call back!)

10/20/30 years ago

2007-10-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

My pal Tiffany tagged me with this little "meme" which I can only imagine might stand for memory??? (Am I close?) Anyway...thought it was fun, who doesn't like a little stroll down Memory Lane every now and then???

Where was I 10 years ago?

In 1997, I/we were living in Starkville, Mississippi. Nora was born in September of that year and we had a worrisome/stressful month or so after her birth. But by this time, things were settling down, and I was adjusting to being mom-of-two. Jack was walking. Nora was crying. We think she had a touch of colic, but it wasn't so bad. They were both healthy and we were a happy little family of 4. I hadn't yet started scrapbooking, but I took plenty of pictures. I enjoyed cross-stitching and spent a lot of time online while nursing the baby. OK the only picture of me scrapbooked for the year 1997 must be this one with Baby Jack...I was pregnant with Nora, and look how long my hair was - I haven't let it get that long since then!

Where was I 20 years ago?

In 1987, I was 13 years old...in the 8th grade at Hubert H. Hunphrey Middle School, the school colors were an atrocious green and yellow. In 8th grade, I was a cheerleader and on the volleyball and softball teams. I might have still been on the Math Team too, yikes! I hung out with Megan O'Connor and Sue Burt (Sooz!) I was crazy about the Chicago Cubs and had my room decorated in red and blue, with a huge Cubs logo mural on the wall. There were posters (mostly of ball players) on the walls and ceiling. I was wearing braces and had my hair shaved on one side. Yikes again! What a shame I don't have any pictures from this era scanned or scrapped. Hahaha!

Where was I 30 years ago?

In 1977, I was 3 years old. I have no significant memories from this time, but loads of photos in magnetic albums, thanks to my mom! She was so good about putting all her pictures in albums, unfortunately, acid-free was not a term she was familiar with. (She still might not be, come to think of it, but she does scrapbook on occasion!) I haven't scrapped many old pictures of myself, but here's one of me and my sister from 1976 (close enough!) Gigi is on the left side, I am on the right in the individual pics.

And now I get to tag some other bloggers to see if they want to play along with this 10/20/30 Meme...whatever that might be! So, I tag:

Angie
Gigi
KatieJ (who I don't think is 30 yet...but I am sure will have something witty and fun to say about that!)

Pumpkin Time!

2007-10-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

We visited Johansen's Farm today with Karen and her kids. They have a petting zoo, and lots of fun stuff....that all costs too darn much money. So instead, we just visited the front area which ONLY cost about $40 once my kids picked out the biggest pumpkins they could find! They could not be convinced that the cute little $3.29 pumpkins were far superior quality. Oh well, it's just once a year...or once every few years for us. I think we skipped pumpkins all together last year. I enjoy carving pumpkins...well I enjoy carving A pumpkin...but having to do 4 of them just somehow loses the thrill. I did have one brave child who wanted to try carving and that was Jack. He did a good job, and I was glad that I spent the money on the little pumpkin carving kit because the little pumpkin saw that was in it was much less scary that seeing my son with a butcher knife in his hands!

The pumpkin carving kit came with several patterns for those fancy-schmancy jack-o-lanterns, and I was actually a little worried that I was going to be in big trouble with those. But Jack and Carmella decided they wanted to draw their own faces to carve and I steered Nora and Gina to the easier patterns...whew! I actually am quite fond of the bat on Gina's pumpkin, but she wasn't so sure about it. Nora (like her mom) preferred an oblong pumpkin, and this face from the pattern book was just right for the look she wanted.

I thought it was cute out of all the kids, the one who didn't want to put their hands in the pumpkin goop was JACK! The girls dug right in, for the most part! I did have to do a lot of scraping once they got most of the seeds out. Oh, speaking of seeds...that was the whole reason to prompt this visit today. Carmella has a seed project due on Friday. I wonder if her teacher would reimburse me the $40 we spent just to get some pumpkin seeds! Haha!

Here's Gina digging in, she was very proud of herself for getting all the pumpkin seeds out on her own. Unfortunately, none of the kids took me up on my great idea to count all the pumpkin seeds from all 4 pumpkins! I can't imagine why not!!!

So as I finished carving each of the pumpkins, I put in a candle to show the kids how they would light up. And even though it wasn't dark, they loved them. And I did too. We made a HUGE mess, and I am making a mental note to drop by Mom & Dad's to get some newspapers for easier clean-up next year!

The 2 extras in the middle of the picture there are our little neighbors from across the street. They came over just in time for all the carving fun. The girls made fast friends and are just loving having playmates so close. And here are the pumpkins as they sit outside our house. I hope we didn't carve them TOO early, it would be kind of gross to have moldy pumpkins on Halloween...but the pictures have been taken, so this year we will have Halloween pages in the scrapbook! Hooray!

Jack is ELEVEN - oh my heaven!

2007-10-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I got scolded by my sister tonight, I am a bad blogger. Never mind that it took her 5 years to get on the blogging bandwagon.... :) Anyway, here's a blog!

Jack is now 11. I am not near old enough to have an eleven-year-old son. It's just not possible. That means I am a mere two years away from having a TEEN in the house....inconceivable! But yet here I am, and I have plenty of gray hairs to prove it. Jack's birthday was on Friday, we had to rush out of the house a little early in order to hit the grocery store for some cupcakes. I don't remember bringing treats to school on my birthday, but if I did....thanks, Mom, what a chore! I could have been smart and frugal and baked them myself the night before, but I didn't. So instead, I spent $15.67 on 30 cupcakes that had too much frosting, and which Jack probably didn't even like. But, whatever, we bring the cupcakes to his classroom in the morning, his teacher thanks me....and later that day when I happen to see Jack in the lunchroom and embarrass him by singing "Happy Birthday" in front of the whole 5th grade, I see these same cupcakes under his lunch table. His teacher has instructed him to hand them out to the kids at lunchtime. I'm thinking perhaps we have exceeded the age where it's acceptable to bring treats to school. Who knew?

That evening, our tradition is a family birthday dinner at a restaurant of the birthday boy's choice. I just love it that my kids love the same restaurants that I do. I also love the fact that as The Mom, I get to make the rules and say fast food is not an option for The Birthday Dinner. So we headed out to Olive Garden to meet Grandma & Grandpa & Auntie Anna & also Jack's godmother Karen and her family. A party of 13 all together. At many Olive Gardens that I have been to (and there have been many), they have call-ahead seating, where you can call and put your name on the list before you leave home. I guess that's just not the case here, when I called to ask about it, they suggested that I send somebody from my party to put our name on the list a half-hour ahead of the rest. Hmmm. I guess that was going to be me. But running a little late as one does when she has 4 children, we showed up at just about the same time as Grandma & Grandpa. No worries though, it was a beautiful night, and we waited outside while the kids did fun things like climb on the light poles and give Grandpa another reason to want to start drinking. When we finally were seated, I think we were at the world's smallest table that was supposed to seat 13 people...but it all worked out nicely. Jack enjoyed his meal, and especially enjoyed all the gifts he got from Grandma & Karen. They staff of waiters sang "Happy Birthday" and he got to blow out a candle and eat some chocolate cake. At one point he came over to my chair, hugged my neck and told me that I was the BEST MOM EVER! I just had to make sure to document that, because as you can see by what comes next...that feeling is mighty short-lived. Before we left, poor Carmella had gone to the bathroom and ended up puking...we are thinking maybe a little TOO much fettuccine alfredo...if that weren't bad enough, while she was in the bathroom, we decided it was time to leave and we all got up from the table and were waiting outside...oops. Darn it, I had always been soooo good about counting 4 heads when we were out in public. How much ya wanna bet this is brought up in a therapy session in another 20 years??? Ah well.

So, there's your post, oh sister of mine! And look, I even found a picture to include, too! Though that whole Olive Garden meal was not captured on anything other than my camera phone....which doesn't seem to want to send OR receive picture messages since we moved to IL...I did snap a couple pictures of Jack opening up some gifts on Sunday afternoon. Call the Verizon people? Yes, yes, it's on The List.

Our Neighborhood

2007-09-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

After living in the middle of nowhere for 3 years, it's been SO much fun living in a real neighborhood! There are actually sidewalks!!! Not to mention parks all over the place, and gazebos and fountains too! The kids are loving riding their bicycles with an actual destination in mind not just in circles on the driveway. The best thing is that the kids have new friends from school that live nearby! There are 2 little girls who live right across the street, Nora's BFF from her class is just a few doors down, and Jack's best pal from his class lives a couple streets over but rides his bike over (usually as we are sitting down for dinner) and stays to play some video games.

The new job is wonderful, I am really enjoying my time with the special ed children, they are very sweet! My one-on-one child is a handful, but I have seen enough glimpses of the happy little boy he is behind his diagnosis that I am eager to work with him and try to help in any way that I can. The days go by fast, and I feel I am learning as much as the children are most days. As much as I have tried to fight it, the educator blood runs through my veins, I guess!

Nora's Golden Birthday

2007-09-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

My Nora turned 10 years old today - on the 10th, which makes this her golden birthday. Why golden? No idea. Did she get any gold? No way! But she did have a fun day...even though we got off to a rocky start.

Well let me backtrack...last night, I baked a cake for Nora to bring to school for her birthday treats. She helped me make it, but had to go to bed before it got frosted. It was one of those cakes with the colorful things inside it...and the only can of frosting I had was chocolate, and I didn't think it went quite right. So I said - don't worry Nora, I'll make some HOMEMADE frosting (how hard could it be?) And she agreed it was a good idea, and gave me her blessing to do it after she went to bed. Bet she won't make THAT mistake again! I love cream cheese icing, so I softened up a block of that, and threw it in the mixer...but then I couldn't find any powdered sugar, I am SURE that I had a whole bag of it in Ohio, but it must not have made the move. I checked every cupboard, and eventually found one of my Flour/Sugar Shakers that was less than half filled with powdered sugar, so threw that in, and mixed it all up with some milk. It wasn't sweet enough, tasted like the fruit dip I have been overdosing on the past week or so, and it was too thick... and then when I went to get the cake out of the bundt pan - a huge chunk came off the top (I let Nora butter the pan, honest!) So anyway, I tried my best, but looking at the cake, I couldn't possibly let Nora take it to school. So I told her in the morning we would have to get ready early and just go pick up some cupcakes from the grocery store for her to take to school. But we didn't get ready quickly enough. As it was, we had to take some bagel & cream cheese sandwiches wrapped in paper towels and eat them on the way to school for breakfast! Not sure if we didn't wake up early enough, or if maybe we just didn't move fast enough. Will try again tomorrow and see if we do any better. I won't have the first-day jitters, and it won't be a birthday. Oh, and to make up for the cake fiasco, we stopped at Costco tonight and picked up a cake there for her to take to school...and it looks MUCH better than the one I made! :) Mine tasted OK, just wasn't quite on the top-10 (or 100) list of cakes that I have ever made!

But after school things got better in a hurry. We survived my first day, I ran into Nora at lunchtime and recess. Didn't see Gina until the end of the day, even though her classroom is right next to mine. Got a little worried about Jack and Carmie who couldn't remember which door to wait outside for me, but we eventually found each other and made a better plan for tomorrow. When we got home, we did homework and then the kids went to the park for a while. We called Grandma to see about meeting us for a birthday dinner...and headed to Red Robin (YUMMM!) Nora got to open all her presents after we ordered and were waiting for our food...she got spoiled rotten by Grandma, of course, and loved the gifts that Jack, Carmie, and Gina had picked out for her. Dinner was yummy and then they brought out the old ice cream sundae (which Nora shared so nicely with her sisters) and sang the birthday song. She was in a hurry to get home at that point, so she could play with all her loot, so we headed back home, after a quick stop at the Costco for the cake I mentioned before!

OK so anyway, it was a good day, all in all. Nora got lots of things she had wanted on her wishlist for a long time. She is still looking forward to more stuff...Russ emailed her a gift certificate to use at Build-a-Bear, and I am letting her pick out some Stampin' Up stuff from the catalog, too. Not too shabby for a golden birthday if you ask me! I'm just glad I got to see all my babies smiling.

You'll never guess what happened...

2007-09-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

I GOT THE JOB! I applied for a teacher's assistant position at the school where my kids are going, and I will be starting tomorrow as a one-on-one special education teacher's assistant. My classroom just happens to be right next door to Gina's class (not sure yet if that's good or bad!) Fridays are casual day, so my wardrobe of 3 pairs of slacks and a half dozen blue jeans will be OK until I get paid and can buy myself some new clothes. Wahoo!

Moved, settled, now life can resume

2007-09-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

We're unpacked, some pictures are hung, I would like to buy a bookcase for the living room to hold all the scrapbooks...other than that...we're pretty settled in the new house. Kids are loving their new school and making friends, getting involved. I'm going to be working at their school as a teacher's aide. God has really had His hand in my life, and I am reassured constantly that I am making good decisions and on the right path. I haven't taken any pictures at all, but my little mini-me's Nora & Carmella have, so the pictures in this post are all thanks to them!

We were invited to my friend Karen's church, the Evangelical Free Church of Naperville, and so far, it's been fun. The church is huge, the sanctuary is like a giant auditorium...movie theater seating (comfy seats) and even a balcony with more seating. On stage when you enter, it's almost like you're at a rock concert - full band up on stage, drum set, several guitars, keyboards, percussionists, not to mention a very handsome lead singer with several back-up singers. There's not one, but TWO giant screens on either side of the stage with the lyrics to all the songs and an occasional video or church announcements. The music is so fun, and loud so I can sing along and not worry about hurting anyone's ears nearby. Last week there was a grand piano up on the stage, too! The week before there was a bed. A bed, you ask? Yes, it was part of a little drama skit they did to introduce this series of sermons, "How to Raise Wise Kids in a Foolish World" - couldn't get more timely for me! And I am enjoying it and have decided we will keep visiting here for at least these 4 weeks so I can hear the rest of it. The children love it. As soon as they heard that they have an Awana program, they were sold, but it's so much more than that, too. When we get to church I have to sign them in, and the bigger kids all go to their respective grades. They do a craft, sing songs, and have their own little worship service in the church's OLD sanctuary where they hear a Bible story. The last 2 weeks Gina had to go down to the nursery (which was not a baby nursery, but a class of all 6-year-olds where they played games and did crafts, too), because they hadn't "graduated" the kindergarteners up to 1st grade yet...but next Sunday, she will be up there with the big kids, too. And after the service this Sunday, they have invited me to a monthly luncheon they have for guests. I'm hoping to find out more about the women's ministries (I know they are planning a retreat for October) and see if they have any small groups or a Bible study group that I can join. I do still want to visit the Baptist church that's near our house, but they don't have a Wednesday evening service so I will wait until the parenting sermons are done at the EFCN. I am thrilled to say that the kids have been great about going, haven't had to drag anyone out of bed or anything!

Karen (used to be Kohl, that's what I'll always think of...I'm sure I'm still a Gogliotti to her, too!) has been so wonderful. It's amazing to me sometimes, how a good friendship can last through the years. We have not kept in the best touch, just those Christmas cards or an occasional letter (or birth announcement!) But even still, coming "home" to the area, has been like coming home to our friendship from high school like we haven't been apart for the last 15 years! She has 3 wonderful kids, all younger than mine, but they all seem to get along so well. Cassidy, who is 3, has really taken a liking to my Nora. And Declan, who is 1, just adores Carmella! Liam is a year younger than Gina, but gives Jack a run for his money! When they are together it is really sweet. It's sad in a way, that we have missed out on so much, but so nice to be able to reconnect like this. I have been blessed with such wonderful friends.

And a wonderful family, too! Things were a little hectic (that's an understatement) when we were packing up and moving, so I didn't get any pictures, but I had a TON of people come out to help us. First of all, the pastor from our church offered to help me pick up the rental truck. (There's a whole other blog entry in the story about how the U-Haul suddenly turned into a Penske truck the day before our move...but I'll save that for another day!) So thanks to Pastor Jeff, the truck was sitting in my driveway on Friday evening after we got home from Jack's play (another blog entry for another day!) So first thing Saturday morning, Bill & Pat show up and get the truck all backed up into the yard and start loading it up just the 2 of them! In an hour or so, my Uncle Frank and the boys pull up and it's an all out moving fest...things are flying out the door faster than I can say - "Hey wait, I need that toothbrush!" Or suitcase, whatever. I had a load of laundry still running...oops! We were getting down to just a few big things that had to fit in the truck, and I honestly didn't think it would all fit. My cousins had the kitchen door off its hinges, the refrigerator handles came off, the water line in the back. I really just tried to close my eyes through this whole process, but it was like a train wreck - just couldn't turn away. Nobody knows how the refrigerator got into the house 3 years ago...but it made it out! The truck was loaded up and they were ready to hit the road by about 11:30am...a mere 2 hours after arriving! Cousin Frank drew the short straw and had to drive in the truck with Uncle Frank, while Michael & Danny got to drive the SUV! Gail had sent some delicious banana bread and brownies with Frankie (we all enjoyed it!) All this time, and my dad still hadn't shown up! But those Gog boys didn't want to wait, they headed back to IL, but did meet up with Dad to have lunch about an hour from my house. He gave them the key and garage door opener and by the time he showed up at the house, we had found the kids bicycles that didn't make it on the truck, and loaded up the back of his Explorer with the bikes, vacuum cleaner, and cleaning supplies!

The kids were spending the day with Russ. So Dad & Anna went to check into their hotel and rest a little before Jack's play while I stayed and cleaned up some more in the house. I felt bad that Dad did so much driving and hardly got to see the kids, but he watched Jack's play (and loved it!) and then took me and Anna to dinner at Damon's. Afterwards, they needed to head back to get some sleep so they could leave first thing in the morning, as Uncle Frank said he wasn't unloading the truck until Dad got there (haha!) I went over to Angie's house to do some stamping. Then I headed back to the house for my last night there...it sure was EMPTY! It rained and rained on Sunday, and Mom & Dad called and suggested that I stay one more night and not try to drive until Monday. That was great for Russ, he got an extra night with the kids in the hotel, and I stayed with Angie and got to do even more stamping. Sweet Weslea let me sleep in her bedroom, which was much more comfortable than a sleeping bag in an empty house! So we went to church Sunday, said a lot of good-byes and thank-yous...we sure are going to miss everyone. And because of all the rain, Jack's matinee on Sunday was moved to their rain location, which was a smallish indoor theater just off the square. Not as big a crowd, but another wonderful performance!

So Monday morning we took off. Russ brought the kids out to the house and I walked through one more time. He was supposedly going to be getting his stuff out of the basement and milking parlor later in the day before his flight out. Unfortunately, the landlord came by before he came back, and locked up the house. So all the stuff that he should have gotten out of the basement was now locked in there. He did take care of the milking parlor though, and loaded his truck with what he wanted to keep. The truck is parked at his friend's house, I guess, as far as I know, Russ still hasn't decided what he will do with it.

We got to Bolingbrook and had lunch with Mom & Dad (for just the first drop-by meal of many, haha!) Then headed on to Aurora to see how the guys had done unloading everything! It was wonderful! The furniture was where I asked them to put it, the boxes were all stacked up in the garage or in the appropriate room (if they had been labeled, of course!) And it was just wonderful. Aunt Mary & Aunt Diane were here, and Sean & Nick joined the Gog boys and from what I hear, they were a well-oiled machine getting things off the truck and into the house! I had a lot of work to do in front of me, but the heavy-lifting was done, and I am SOOO grateful! My not-to-scale sketch of the house ended up being a little off, so I did move my computer desk to a different location, and I had my friends Glenna & Karen come over the following Saturday and put their husbands to work re-arranging the refrigerators and taking the elliptical machine up to my bedroom! I only had to pay them with pizza for dinner - what a bargain! And I haven't had a chance to properly thank my cousins...but I'll think of something!

So anyway...I keep thinking I should take some pictures, but it's not quite ready yet! I need to hang more pictures (and I'm too short!) and I need that bookcase. But one of these days, I will happily post pictures of our new place. It's so nice, and it's so mine. I know I have no excuse to have not thought of all our other houses as my own, but somehow this is different. Everything is different, I guess. But different isn't always bad. And so far, things are really good.

Much better!!!

2007-09-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Your Stress Level is: 45%

You are somewhat prone to stress, especially when life gets hard.
When things are good, you resist stressing over little problems.
But when things are difficult, you tend to freak out and find it hard to calm down.

How Stressed Are You?

2007-08-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Your Stress Level is: 67%

You are prone to stress, and you're probably even pretty stressed right now.
Life's problems seem to pile up on you, and this often makes you feel depressed and burned out.
Learn to take time to relax and enjoy life, even if things are stressful. It's the only wa you'll get through the bad times.

How Stressed Are You?

I got a lunchpail...

2007-07-27T20:59:00.001-07:00

This was part of a secret sister swap on my page-a-week group. The lovely and talented Gayla drew my name and this is the masterpiece she created for me. And if that wasn't gift enough, she also filled it with gobs and gobs of scrapping goodness...and some Swedish Fish, because you just can't scrap without them! Thanks Gayla!!!

2005-06-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

My girls on their baptism day - April 2005

2005-06-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Mimi & Russ - January 2005