Christmas Eve, Eve

Christmas Eve is tomorrow, it feels like it was just yesterday we were celebrating Christmas 2009! This will be our fifth year celebrating without Peter, so far it's the hardest one. I am no longer just going through the motions of raising a family on my own. I am a part of life and I'm feeling once again. Everyone is different when it comes to mourning, but we are all the same when it comes to the difficulty of going through the process. I am enjoying life and all it has to offer once again. I am also open to the idea of finding someone special to share it all with. My kids have said on several occasions they wish to have a step dad. I wish it were that easy! Dating is also a process, and I for one need to proceed with caution...my heart is still fragile.

We are ready for the holiday to begin, the only thing we have left to do is clean the house so Santa doesn't trip on anything while putting presents under the tree. Thank you Santa, my kids have never been so eager to help clean the house before. It only took me saying, "You wouldn't want Santa to hurt himself while at our house, then he couldn't deliver gifts to other boys and girls. We would be all over the news as the family that stole Christmas!" We baked yesterday, actually, we made more things on top of the stove, than in it. My goodies are "kid" friendly...scotcharoos, rice krispie balls, fudge, and some cookies. I remember when I was younger I would make a ton of holiday cookies. That was before I had kids and instead, had my mom's influence as to what her favorites were!

Sherry, myself, and our families, would like to wish all of you a very joyous holiday season!!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Where Does The Time Go?

Where does the time go? Seriously, I can't believe it's been a few weeks since my last post, I apologize. When the kids were younger, parents with older kids would say, "Just wait until your kids get older, you're going to be all over the place!" I didn't believe them. I am all over the place, and then some! If I'm not all over the place, I'm at home, exhausted! We have been getting ready for the holidays. The house is decorated on the inside, not on the outside. I decided not to worry about the outside this year. I think my bubble is still popped from last year's incident with my Santa getting knifed. Plus I didn't get a chance to sew him up, so he's not ready to make an appearance. Shopping is all done, now it's time to bake!!

I got a call from Helen's teacher today, her Christmas program was cancelled due to the music teacher not getting it organized in time. I felt bad for Helen, she was really looking forward to it. She was talking with her teacher about it, that's why she called me. It's actually a good thing, we're in the middle of a snowstorm. I don't like driving in this weather. Tomorrow is the Christmas concert for the other kids, they are very excited. I'm looking forward to it, I really enjoy the kid's programs. When I told the other kids Helen's program was cancelled, they all said, "Oh, poor Helen, she was really excited about it!" Now she can't wait until Christmas Eve so she can wear her new dress. She wanted to wear it to school and got mad at me when I told her no.

This time of year is always difficult, one day at a time...

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Time Flies

The days seem to be passing by so quickly, the holidays are upon us! Last week the kids and I went to Helen's school for her Thanksgiving Feast. She and her classmates were busy the day before our visit making pies. They made delicious pumpkin and apple!! It was wonderful to see how excited and happy Helen and her friends got when their families arrived. I gave my camera to Helen and told her to take pictures of her teachers and friends. They thought she was joking around, until they saw the flash! I told them how much she loves to take pictures, she even sets up the shot! She is now the "official" photographer for their classroom. They had the feast last week because this week they are making their famous salads. They will also be making soups this winter. I'm not sure how it all works, but I'm sure I'll get a crash course! Helen loves her new school, teachers, and friends, I'm glad it all worked out.

We have some sort of stomach bug racing through our house, thank goodness it only lasts for a few hours. I can handle a lot of things, but throw up is not one of them. Peter used to clean up the kids and I would clean up the mess that was made. I now have to do all of it, and you would think since the kids are older, it wouldn't be so bad...it is. Night time, bunk beds, it doesn't work so well when your eight years old. Katie is home from school, resting on the couch. Hopefully she will feel better when she wakes up. The other kids got sick, slept, and woke up feeling fine, hers seems to be more than that. At least its not Thanksgiving week!!

The rest of this week and into next, I will be getting my house in order for company. I also need to pull out the winter clothes for the kids. We have had such a mild Fall, I haven't gotten around to doing it. Sooooo much to do!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Salads

I had such a nice time helping Helen's class prepare salads. I am very impressed at how smoothly everything went. They went shopping on Thursday to buy all the ingredients. I was told that Helen kept everyone entertained in the van by singing with the radio. One of her favorite songs came on, "Tonight's gonna be a good night" by the Black Eyed Peas, and she sang very loudly! When I arrived at her school on Friday, everyone was already in hair nets and gloves. I put on an apron, put my hair net on, and grabbed some gloves. Helen and I were put in charge of pouring the salad dressings into individual cups. They had bought a pump for the jar and we were the first ones to use it. According to her teacher, this made the job much easier. I held the cup underneath the pump and Helen pushed down. When we first started she wasn't paying attention and would keep pushing down after I moved the cup, what a mess! Once we got into the groove of things, we moved rather quickly. We filled 146 cups...yay us!! When we were done filling the cups, Helen left to go swimming. It was her inclusion class' day to have free time in the pool. I was now flying solo and was put right to work filling the container's with the lettuce. Two big handfuls per container...WOW, that's a lot of salad! While Helen and I were doing our job of filling the cups, the other kids were busy chopping and slicing all of the toppings, of course with supervision. At every table, behind every bowl, sat one of Helen's classmates with a scooper in hand, waiting patiently to add their assigned topping to the mound of lettuce. The assembling began...grab a container, then an order slip, read what toppings were ordered and stop at the stations to get them put on the salad. Some of the kids put it right in the center, others were close, but most of the toppings landed on the sides. I learned to rotate the container so all sides were hit. Ask for the topping..."please", "thank-you", add the salad dressing, close the lid, put the order form on the top, and on to the next. We filled 97 orders that day, I was told that was a record. Each salad costs $5.00, one week they were able to buy a bouncy house with their sales! Helen came back from swimming when we were almost done filling the orders. I made her a salad and sat with her while she ate. She told me all about swimming and how much fun she had. Mr. Spencer, the aide that went with, told me she got in trouble for not getting out of the pool when it was time. In her defense, they didn't give her any warning. I think if they had told her she had 5 minutes, she might not have ignored them (notice I said "might"!). When it was time for Helen to go to her inclusion class, she didn't want to go. I went with them thinking it might help, she didn't want me to leave. I finally pulled myself away from her strong grip, and told her I'd see her at home. I went back to her other classroom, fixed my salad, said my good-bye's and headed home. After a quick stop at the grocery store, I found myself at home eating my salad. It was the best salad I've ever eaten! I think it was because of the people who made it for me...that's just my opinion.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

New Routine

Monday Toby and I started a new routine, we have started walking a mile and a half. Once Helen leaves on the bus, we head out. Toby gets so excited I have a hard time putting his leash on. He starts running back and forth from me to the door. He is all full of energy when we first start out, but then starts to slow down when we hit our half mile mark. I guess I should come clean and admit that I'm the same...well, all but the running back and forth part!

A few weeks ago I was able to join three of the kids on their field trips. Katie and Robbie went to a local farm run by nuns, that was a great trip. We learned about how they collect honey from the bee hives, how they provide electricity to the farm (small turbine), and how they provide food to the animals and to themselves. Grace's field trip was to the pumpkin farm. We saw a puppet show, went on a hayride, went through the corn maze, and then picked our pumpkins. We were lucky to have had great weather for both trips! Tomorrow I'm going to Helen's school to help make the salads. I even got to order one for myself! I had no idea how many choices you had. They offer a lot of toppings, onions, green peppers, mushrooms, ham, eggs homemade croutons, bacon bits, just to mention a few. I'm looking forward to seeing how Helen does with me there. Will she be naughty, or behave!?!!

Tonight is Robbie's Cub Scout Halloween party, I'm hoping to hand over the Treasurer's file to the new person. I have been treasurer for the past four years, it's someone else's turn. For some reason this year, my plate is overflowing. I need to lessen the load wherever possible. Thank goodness I know my limits, and I have definitely reached them!

Our goal for launching the website is Spring, other than that, there's really nothing new to report.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue

Soup and Salad

Helen must be feeling comfortable at school, she is starting to act up. The other day she was making noises, yelling the teacher's name, and throwing toys. I guess the up side to all of this is the fact that it didn't take her very long to get used to her new school! Her new teacher has a salad/soup program in her class. They go grocery shopping with the kids to buy all the ingredients, and then the next day they make the salads or soups for the staff at the school. Helen loved doing the shopping, but when it came time to prepare the food, she couldn't keep her fingers out of her mouth and nose. She was unable to participate because of that. I'm hoping she will behave this week and be able to help in the entire process. She loves to help, I was surprised to hear of her behavior. They have started with salads, and as the weather gets colder, they will include soups. I have signed up to help, I can't wait to see how it all works...wonder if I get to taste test!!

Ted had his first cross country meet yesterday, he ran a mile and a half in about 16 minutes. He did a great job, he improved from last year. He said he ran the whole time, last year he walked quite a bit. He came in 26th place, last year he was second to last. He has another meet on Tuesday, he's looking forward to it.

The hot lunch crew is going to try and dress up for Halloween. We are going out tomorrow looking for lunch lady costumes. We're thinking of getting house coats, hair nets, maybe wigs, support hose, and anything else that would make us look like the typical looking hot lunch ladies! It should be a fun time!!

Until next time-

Take Care,

Sue

Field Trips

I just got back from a school field trip with Robbie and Katie, we went to the landfill. What an easy trip for my first one with the bigger kids, we stayed on the bus for the entire time. We drove on the landfill and learned all about what was underneath us, it was very interesting. The kids were so happy to have me there, especially Katie. I haven't been able to go on any field trips with the older kids until now. I did go on preschool field trips but they said that didn't count. Now that all the kids are in school all day, I'm able to go, as long as it doesn't get in the way of working on the clothing line. Thursday we're going on a walking field trip to the newspaper to see how they recycle. Next Friday I have back to back trips. Robbie and Katie are going to the Eco Justice Center in the morning, and Grace's class is going to the pumpkin farm in the afternoon. I am going to be exhausted...but in a GOOD way!!

Yesterday I worked in the yard, the front one to be exact. I pulled all the flowers, turned over the dirt, pulled the weeds, trimmed the bushes, and washed all the windows. I could barely move last night, I thought for sure I'd be the same today. I'm feeling fine, I'm ready to do the same thing with the backyard! My neighbor told me he would help me with the weeds in the backyard, they are much worse than in the front. I didn't plant a garden this year, so now it's overgrown with weeds. I have the BEST neighbors!! We have nice weather here this week so I'm trying to get all the outside chores done before the cold weather comes....BRRRRR!

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue