The Kids

During the summer Helen is involved with the organization, Koos for Kids, playing baseball. During the winter they sponsor an afternoon out at the bowling alley. Helen had such a good time bowling and hanging out with her friends. She is an awesome bowler, and she was very patient waiting her turn. She can't wait to start playing baseball again, and hopefully her volunteer from last year will be there.

Basketball season is over, Robbie's team ended the season with a record of 7-1. Katie's team didn't do so well, I don't even know her record because she stopped keeping track. Next year she will be playing for her school, I can't wait for that. I love watching them play! Grace's Brownie troop performed at a cheer off. She is loving dancing and doing the whole cheer thing. All the kids have been so busy, it's been crazy!!

Tomorrow starts salads again in Helen's classroom. During the winter months, they make soup. I'm scheduled to help out in the classroom. I have been on jury duty this week, so hopefully I won't have to go in. I have been told they usually don't start trials on a Friday, so I'm guessing I will be able to help. I did get called in the other day, but I knew one of the attorneys on the case, and so, I was dismissed. I did find the process very interesting, too bad I didn't get to see it full circle.

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Helen Turns Twelve!!

Helen turns twelve!

Helen celebrated her twelfth birthday on Monday!! She was so excited about it, she couldn't focus at school last week. Kind of reminded me of my husband, who would celebrate his birthday for a week! She missed out on going shopping with her class for the ingredients to make soup. She loves to go shopping, she talks about it all week long. The teachers asked her to do things and she ignored them. When they told her she wouldn't be able to go shopping, it didn't phase her, she kept ignoring them. I received a phone call from her teacher after the rest of the class went shopping. Helen had given the teacher that stayed behind a hard time. She was naughty, getting into everything she wasn't supposed to. I had a long talk with Helen when she got home from school about her behavior. She knew she was naughty, but I could tell she was just very excited about her birthday coming up. I explained to her the things she enjoyed doing at school were going to get taken away from her because she wasn't listening. Her teachers were going to give her another chance on Friday. They were making soup that day, Helen loves to help. I received another phone call, Helen was not cooperating, she was sitting/laying on the floor and wouldn't get up. She would not help with the soup. They told her she would not be able to go swimming with her class if she didn't get off the floor. Helen LOVES to swim, in the summer, I can't get her out of the pool! I was surprised when she came home and her suit was dry. I read the note the teacher wrote to me, they had to take away swimming. She had a hard time focusing on school rules because of her birthday. This week, so far, has been a good one. I have had no phone calls from her teacher, and only good notes have come home. What a relief! Every year at the end of the school year, Helen starts to get bored. She is done, she is ready for the summer to begin. I was afraid she had reached that point already and had no idea what I would do about it. Now I don't have to worry....yet! She had a nice party with family, all her favorite people were here. It was a fun day.

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Helen Dances At Basketball Game!

Helen is behind the girl in the blue shirt on the right

Last week I wrote about Katie and Grace participating in a cheer/pom clinic. I asked the coordinator if Helen could participate in future clinics, she said yes. Part of the clinic was to perform the routine they learned, at half time at the basketball game. When we arrived at the High School, Lori, the coordinator had a t-shirt for Helen. They had a water bottle they made with Helen's name on it, and they made a megaphone with her picture on it, just like the other girls. When the girls went to the clinic they had a picture taken by a professional photographer for the megaphone. Since Helen didn't have her picture taken, one of the high school girls went on my facebook page and grabbed a picture of her from there. They put a lot of thought into making Helen feel like one of the girls! Then Lori told me Helen was invited to participate in the dance. She was able to sit with all the girls and watch the game. When it was time to perform, she joined the girls on the gym floor. Katie was a little upset because Helen didn't know the routine and she didn't want her to look silly. I reassured her Helen would be fine, and she was. She followed along and did her own little dance. My friends that were there told me how much that touched them to see her with the other girls. I got tears in my eyes from watching ALL three of my girls dancing. I can't wait until the next clinic when she will learn the dance and definitely be a part of the group!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Basketball Season

It's basketball season and we are very busy. Robbie was in tournament last week, his team made it to the championship game. They lost 35-24. His team played hard, but the team they played against had a star player that couldn't be stopped. Tonight is their first game of another tournament they're going to be in, this one goes into next week. They play tonight, and then again next Monday. How well they do will determine if they advance or not. I have a feeling some of the same teams will be playing in this tournament that played in the last one. There was one team that had a player who was a poor sport. He would put himself in a position that our boys would foul him, that way he would be able to shoot two. They beat us in the last seconds of the game by him doing that....it was awful! Katie's team isn't doing too well this season. They lost two of their key players to another team. They played against them this past week-end and lost....big! Katie made the first basket of the game, and it went down hill from there. I think her making that basket gave her a lot of confidence, she ended up fouling out in the last quarter.

Ted went camping in a cave with the Boy Scouts. They told him to bring clothes he could throw away if necessary because they get so dirty crawling around in these caves. I went to Goodwill and bought him $4.00 jeans so I wouldn't be upset if he ruined them. When he unpacked them yesterday, they didn't look too bad. I may be able to save them, which would be a good thing, then Ted has a couple more pair of pants. He said he had a great time but didn't have the nerve to go down one hole. They called that hole, the birth canal. It's a very tight hole that they climb into then slide down into the next level. He said he was okay until one of the guys made a comment at the end of the hole and it freaked him out. His Scoutmaster talked with him and he was going to give it another try, but ran out of time. I told him he can try again in a couple of years, when they go again. I asked him about bats in the cave and he told me they were hibernating. He was cool, calm, and collected when he talked about that. I told him I would have freaked out, he laughed at me!

Katie and Grace went to a cheer/pom clinic yesterday at the Catholic High School. They are going to perform during half time at the basketball game tomorrow night. They are both so excited. I talked with the woman who runs this clinic twice a year. She went to school for special education. She told me next time, Helen can join too. I'm so excited, Helen loves this kind of stuff, but doesn't have anything available for her around here....now she does!! Last year when I was working with the girls on their variety show routine, Helen was right there watching. She knew all the moves! I could put her in any position, and she knew exactly what to do, it was awesome.

We had a very busy week-end, those are the kind I like, especially when it's full of the kid's activities!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

New Year Resolution

Happy New Year!! Everyone makes resolutions for the new year ahead, and I am no different. Getting back to writing this blog is one of my resolutions for this new year. It's already Friday of the first week of the new year, and I almost didn't do it! Isn't that typical though, so many people make those resolutions every year, only to break them within the first week.

You're probably wondering why I stopped writing, is it because we are no longer working on the clothing line? NO. I felt like I was repeating myself. The kids and I don't really lead an exciting life, it's always the same thing. Sherry and I are still trying to work on the issue of the pants. We have not been working on it full-time, we do it when we can. Once we get past this issue, I know we will come out swinging. It's getting to that point that has been difficult. We have so many great ideas for this clothing line, I hope you haven't lost faith.

The kids have gotten bigger, I put the most recent picture of them on my profile. Helen is going through a phase of not smiling for pictures. There are moments when I catch her smiling, but for the most part, she will frown instead. When she sees the picture, she'll comment on her look. "Mom, look, no smiles." I ask her, "Why didn't you smile?", she answers, "I don't know." Hopefully this will end soon, she has such a pretty smile. Since my last post, Katie, Ted, and Grace celebrated birthdays. Ted is now a teenager, and has the attitude to go with it. He is an awesome kid and is very helpful to me, but there are times when that attitude sneaks out. I have to remind myself, this too shall pass! All the kids are helpful around the house, some more than others. I look at them sometimes and can't believe how big they've all gotten. The other day I came across pictures of them soon after Peter died. At the time it didn't occur to me how little they were, but they were REALLY little! We have all come so far!

For the new year I am hoping this company will manufacture the new improved jeans, along with a few other things. Health and happiness for all our supporters, and all who read this blog. Thanks for your continued support, I will do my best at keeping this blog current!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Summer 2011

By the Zoo overlooking Lake Michigan

At the Zoo

By the river looking at Main St. bridge

In front of the giant flower pot downtown

The kids and I have been busy this summer, it's the first since Peter passed away. For some reason, I am motivated to do activities with them. It also helps that they are older now, and listen much better! We walked around our downtown one day, looking at the yearly art projects. This year planters were painted by local artists and sponsored by local businesses. Our favorite one was sponsored by the bakery we love to go to, it was titled "Flour Power". We hit the ice cream parlor and then the library after walking in the hot sun. The ice cream and air conditioning hit the spot! On another day, we hit the beach with friends, we all got fried, even with sunscreen on! On the Fourth of July week-end we sat through our cities three hour parade, I was the only one who got burnt. Sherry hosted a cook-out, and then we hit the fireworks. I love the way the fireworks reflect off of Lake Michigan. We were exhausted after the long week-end. Yesterday we went to our zoo, it only costs a dollar for residents on Mondays. It sits right on the lake, it's a small zoo, but worth visiting at least once a year. We still have a few things left to do, especially our trip to Six Flags. All the kids received a ticket for reading six hours, so we only have to pay for drinks, and food. When you look into things, there are a lot of things to do in our area for cheap, or better yet, FREE!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer....

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Greek Fest 2011

Last week-end I spent most of my time working at Greek Fest. The weather was awesome so that helped bring out the crowds. I was working on the food line, my job was to dish out the rice that went with the meals, lamb and chicken. We also had pastistio, moussaka, spanakopita, triopita, dolmathes, Greek salad, and feta cheese with Greek olives. That was just inside the building. Outside were gyros, souvlaki, saganaki, loukamathes, and a few other things. They also have a carnival going on, so there was also carnival food. On Sunday, Father's Day, the kids and I went to the cemetery and planted flowers. We then went to my sister-in-law's restaurant for lunch, of course it was delicious! All of her family was there, we haven't seen two of her kids in such a long time. It was a very nice visit. On the way home from there, we stopped by the fest, the kids hadn't been there yet. They had such a good time riding the rides, especially Helen. She loved the Tilt-O-Whirl, she rode it twice. Although I think if I would have let her, she would have went on it all day! Robbie played some of the games, he doesn't like going on the rides. On our way out we bought Noah a hat, he was the only one without a Greek baseball cap. He wears it ALL the time, even to bed! We stopped by the honey puff(loukamathes) booth and picked up two large orders. Our last stop was by the dance floor to watch some Greek dancing, I could watch it all day. The girls pulled up a chair, the boys on the other hand were bugging me to go. I thought it was appropriate we spent part of the day at the fest, it was where Peter spent his last Father's Day. We had a good day.

The kids started Vacation Bible School on Monday, they love going there every summer. Ted is one of the counselors this year, his first year doing it. He is helping with the Kindergartners, he enjoys it very much. He can't believe these little kids want to spend so much time with him, they follow him everywhere. The other day he went to put all the name tags at the table and drop off his cap and folder. He turned around and saw his whole group of kids. I heard him say to them, "You know you can go with your parents now, right?" It was so cute to see him interact with them. That evening they were all in the backyard playing freeze tag, Ted hasn't joined them in such a long time, it was very nice to see and hear. Helen started summer school, she loves going to school. She is constantly correcting me when I just say school, she says, "No Mom, summer school." She's too funny!

Helen has been wearing the new jeans all day, there are a few tweaks we need to do, but nothing that can't be fixed. Helen LOVES them...we will keep you posted on our progress!!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue