Thank You

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of my family and friends who came and stood in the thunderstorm for Peter's memorial. It started to downpour after the service so I didn't get a chance to thank all of you personally. It meant a lot to me to see all of my family, in-laws included, and MY friends there. I am very disappointed in Peter's friends, not one of them showed up. I personally called every single one that I had a phone number to, and they all said they would be there. I guess they were afraid they would melt! I think I'm even more disappointed that I haven't received any emails or phone calls apologizing for the "no show". I'm trying very hard to lay a foundation for their relationships with my kids. They are the missing links to Peter's past. My kids have their Aunts and Papou to share stories of Peter when they were kids. They have me to share my stories from age 25 until his death. What's missing are his High School years and soon after. Those are the years when you break away from siblings and do things with your friends. I know they have a ton of stories about Peter, I heard some, but can't remember enough to share them with my kids. I was hoping when my kids got older they would have a friendship already there with Peter's friends, so they could talk about Peter for hours if they wanted to. I guess I'm hoping for a perfect little world, and that's not going to happen. It makes me sad. I know if the tables were turned, Peter would have been standing out in the rain for his friend. I wish his friends felt the same...oh well, on we go.

We have been watching my furry niece Fiona, she really likes the pool. She wasn't here for 10 minutes and she was already taking a dip! My father-in-law was here one day when she got into the pool, he didn't like it. He asked me, "Are you going to let out the water so you can change it?" Oh my goodness...ka-ching! I told him, "No, that's what the chlorine is for!" Can you imagine if I changed the water every time!?!! Toby has enjoyed having his cousin here to play. They have pushed us over, stepped on us, and run into us while playing, but they keep going. I have enjoyed having someone to cuddle with at night, the only problem...body heat. I have been so hot during the night, I have thrown covers off of me, I never do that. We'll miss her when she goes home.

Rick and Anne Marie...Fiona is always welcome here, she has received a lot of love from the kids. She will probably need a bath, with the pool water and all of Toby's slobber on her!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Devices!?!!

I took the kids for their dental check ups the other day, yep, all six. One out of six had a cavity, those are pretty good odds! I was also told Katie and Grace both need devices put in their mouths to stop them from sucking their thumbs. Devices, what the heck!?!! How come when I was a kid we didn't need devices, you either stopped, or you didn't. Our COBRA expires on Monday, yes, it has already been three years since Peter passed away, Saturday to be exact. Having to deal with the cost of these devices has become a headache. After speaking with Ted's orthodontist, I have decided to hold off on these so called devices for now. I am going to take Katie in to see the orthodontist for an evaluation (Grace is too young), along with Robbie, it's free, why not! This way I can budget for braces down the road. I think Robbie will need them, his teeth are a bit crooked. I was told by the dentist Katie and Grace will definitely need them. My question is, why pay $1000.00 per child now for devices, when they are going to need braces anyway? I have noticed, with age, Katie does not suck her thumb as often as she used to. We have all told them both to stop when we see them doing it, but at night when they are sleeping is another story. I am now trying another trick, spraying their thumbs with perfume, the jury is still out on that one.

Yesterday was my birthday, we spent it at the cemetery and then for lunch at my sister-in-law's restaurant, The Liberty. They have such great food, I can honestly say I have never had a bad meal there. If you are ever in Libertyville, IL, their place is located on Milwaukee Ave., also known as Rt. 21. They put a candle in a piece of cheesecake and sang me Happy Birthday, the kids loved it. We went to the cemetery to clean up the flowers so they look nice for Saturday. I am having a memorial service for Peter. I don't think we have been there since I planted them in June, it has been a busy summer. To my pleasant surprise, my sister-in-law, Maria, had already been there and spruced them up for me. I decided to water them so I went to the faucet to turn on the hose. Noah followed me, and while he was waiting for the water to turn on, he was stung by a wasp. There was a nest inside some artificial flowers very near to the water, and he got too close. He has never been stung so I didn't know what to expect. We weren't planning on going to the restaurant, but with this happening, I felt we should go hang out there just in case he had a reaction. This way we were close to a hospital instead of on the highway. I am happy to say nothing happened, and he forgot all about it once we were inside and ordering all kinds of yummy food.

The days are getting harder as the week goes on, so many memories. Keep us in your prayers.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Three Weeks Left

A couple of weeks ago Toby had surgery (snip,snip), I had to take him and get his incision looked at yesterday. I found out from the vet that we have a scaredy cat for a dog, this explains why he barks at everyone when they come into the house. Toby was hiding under my chair when the vet came into the room. He took Toby's leash and gently pulled him out from under there, sat on the floor and let Toby sniff his hand before he touched him under his chin. According to the vet, if he would have stayed standing and moved his hand over Toby's head in order to pet him on top of it, we might have had a different outcome. Toby would have felt threatened and would have either started barking at him, or tried biting. I'm sad Toby feels this way, but it's good to know, now we can help.

Katie had her birthday party over the week-end, it's always so nice to have family around. She wanted money so she could save up for a Nintendo DS, she has wanted one for a long time. She was about $30.00 short, I was debating on whether to kick in the rest. Noah and I went to the store Tuesday morning, while I was there I decided to check out the price so I knew the exact amount she needed to buy it. To my surprise, it was on sale, "They are NEVER on sale," said the clerk this time last year. I bought it, I didn't tell Katie until we were at another store picking out a game for it. She was so excited, I couldn't drive fast enough home. I should have opened it and charged it while she was at Greek Bible camp, because she had to wait about 3 hours. That was the longest 3 hours!

Noah had a cardiologist appointment, the doctor still heard a heart murmur at his last check-up. He has had it since he was a baby, all of my kids have had a murmur at some point. We agreed to have it checked out if it was still there this visit. It is nothing to be concerned about, it is an innocent murmur. If it is still there next year, I am to bring him back to the cardiologist. I'm glad I went, I feel much better, my mind started to wander about that murmur.

Helen's last day of summer school was today, she's not going to be a happy camper come Monday and there is no bus coming to get her. I keep telling her she is done with summer school and all she says to me is, "Why?" I told her now she will have more time to swim in the pool. Next week will be the first week we can all sleep in since school let out the beginning of June. It was either Bible camp or summer school getting us up early, I guess now this is our "official" summer break. I think the kids have about 3 weeks left before school starts again, yeah! I definitely enjoy the routine, I think I get more sleep when they are in school...I'm exhausted!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Bean Boozled

GO FISH, Greek Orthodox Fun In Summer Heat, that's what we do every Friday. We meet up with other families, last week we met at a park, it was so chilly we decided to drive to the Jelly Belly factory, which was nearby. We went on the tour, taste tested jelly beans, and bought some belly flops. Everyone had a good time. Once in the car, the kids couldn't wait to open their free samples. The car started smelling so good, I decided to open the package of jelly beans I bought. I got them because they were only 50 cents, the package read, "Bean Boozled", I had no idea of the flavors. I'm driving along, the kids are pumped up from our little field trip. I pop a jelly bean in my mouth, in my mind I'm trying to figure out why this bag is named the way it is. I'm eating a jelly bean that tastes like...mint. I try another one to see what flavor it is, maybe shed some light on the name...YUCK!! What the heck did I just eat, let me try another one, I'm still trying to figure out how they came up with this name. This one is just as bad if not worse than the other one I just ate. I tell the kids, "I bet these are those Harry Potter jelly beans, and they named it differently for some reason." I must be a glutton for punishment because, yes, I try another one. In my defense...it was a black one , and there could not possibly be any other kind of flavor for a black jelly bean other than licorice, my favorite. OMG, OMG, OMG...it was sooooo nasty, for the life of me, I could not figure out what I just ate, and yes, I did swallow it! The kids were laughing so hard, I'm lucky I didn't crash the car. When we got home we went on the computer and looked on Jelly Belly's website. Guess what we found out...Bean Boozled is a game they have come up with. The bag contains jelly beans that are the real deal, and jelly beans that are not. You are supposed to pass them out and see if you have real or fake, hence the name, Bean Boozled. The ones I ate in the car were all fake! I ate, toothpaste, vomit, boogers, and...wait for it, wait for it...skunk spray!!! When I saw skunk spray, a light bulb went off in my head, yes, that is EXACTLY what it tasted like, and I swallowed it! I must have drank a gallon of ice tea that night, I think I can still taste it. I am very relieved this incident has not scarred me from eating black jelly beans, we have a ton of them in our bag of belly flops.

Katie turned 7 on Tuesday, she played her last softball game that night. She was the last girl to bat for the season, thank goodness she made it to base.(there was a 7 run rule, Katie hit run #7 in) We went to the toy store after so she could pick out her present, and then out for ice cream. I had made cupcakes for the team, so we already had our cake. She told me she had the best day ever.

Helen came with me yesterday to run a couple of errands and then do grocery shopping, we had a nice time. She was such a big help, she didn't act like she usually does when we go out. She carried our purchases to the counter, put them down and said, "Hi" to the check out person. She wasn't all over the place trying to get at everything. When we went to the store, she helped put things in the cart, and even push. After awhile she did start acting up a bit, but she had lasted a long time. I really enjoyed that one on one time with her, and I think she felt the same. She really enjoyed the ride home, radio blasting(her request), and the wind blowing in her hair. She had the biggest smile on her face, it doesn't get any better than that.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Questions About Jeans for Moms of Girls

We are very excited about our first production batch of jeans and launching the It'll Fit'll web site. It's all right around the corner....the web site will go live no later than October and the jeans production will be as soon as all of the details come together (for instance, the 4 inch zippers are challenging to locate!) Production will likely be next month.

Speaking of jeans details - that's the point of this post. Can the mothers of girls give me some perspective on a couple of questions about jeans details, please?

1 - We're thinking of using pink thread as the contrast thread on the girls jeans. You know that gold/orange contrast thread on jeans? Well, I thought using pink on the girls jeans would be cute and fun. Now I wonder if that's too specific and limiting and un-jeans-like. Moms, please let me know what you'd prefer.

2 - The back pockets - should they be decorated or not? Is plain, no stitching except around the pocket border (to attach it to the pant leg) too plain? Is a couple of horizontal lines of contrast stitching classic, perfect? If fancy stitching is preferred, what kind of design/stitching (examples of brand names would be great) do you like? In the future, would you like a line of jeans with a variety of pocket choices - some very ornately embroidered pocket fabric through very simple?

Those are two questions that I can't stop thinking about right now and any thoughts and comments that you can share would be a HUGE help to us. Please, please feel free to share any additional insights that you have about jeans or any other clothing item that you'd like to have available.

We're nearing the point that all that our dream is becoming reality, and we want to give you exactly what you want. So, please let us know what that is.

Best,
Sherry.

Memories

Once you have lost someone dear to you, every time you hear of another passing, it brings back the memories. The recent losses in Hollywood have brought back many memories and feelings to me, even the kids. Michael Jackson especially, they have seen the many pictures of his kids, and the news coverage. Grace told me, "I really miss Michael Jackson." I said, "You didn't even know who he was", she said, "I know, but I still miss him for his kids." After Katie had seen his daughter at the memorial service, she told me she missed daddy a lot. The way I see them now is the way they were after Peter passed away. I tried to monitor what they saw on TV and on the computer, but it was everywhere. I have noticed the amount of coverage has slowed down quite a bit. I have also seen my kids perk up, and not mention their dad as often. Don't get me wrong, we talk about Peter, but in a happy way, not a sad way. I tell them funny stories about their dad, or if one of them does something that reminds me of him, I tell them, "You are just like your dad", it makes them smile. Kids bounce back so much quicker than adults.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Happy Fourth of July

Helen with her art project from school. She was very proud when we hung it up.

Happy Fourth of July, from the It'll Fit'll family, to yours!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue