It's a Bumpy Ride with Kids!

This was posted on Facebook by my DIL describing their day yesterday!  I'm so glad I'm the grandma and not the mother.  I found out about all of this after the fact and once everything was calmed down and fine.  I would have been a basket case if I had to deal with this:


What a day! Things started wonderful. Got up and to the gym by 8:30. Ran 4 miles. Came home. Got the baby up so Austin could take her to the gym child watch.  Discovered that she had taken her diaper halfway off and was playing in her poop! Tubby time! Cleaning her with the shower on. She falls. Starts crying. I say "It's ok peanut. You just got scared"   Flip her over and start rinsing the soap off her. Feel the back of her head and there, lodged in her head is the metal hair strainer!  I thought maybe it was stuck in her hair. Nope, there's the blood!   ER here we come! I freaked out. Didn't know what to do, but knew enough not to pull it out myself!  She had to get a staple. She was such a big girl though. We had to put her on my lap to take her to the hospital and she laid on her belly smiling and waving to her daddy the whole time!   The nurses and docs at IRMC were absolutely amazing though! We were out of there in 20 min.   So, then, I think she figures "oh well, I already have a staple in my head... let's see about this walking thing" and she took her first steps! 

Leanna walking

Then she freaking falls... and her head starts bleeding again!!! I am so happy she is in bed sleeping for the night! I need a padded room for this one!!!  It was definitely scary, but I have to say that I have the most amazing family. Austin basically flew us to the hospital and the boys got out the door an d into the car quicker than I could have imagined. My goodness I love my family. I truly am so blessed   As for me, I am loading the dishwasher and hitting the hay! 


My comment later in the evening:
What a day! The upside?! You're not bored and you know your family can work well together in a small crisis! Hope you have a calm Sunday! Love you all!!


Oh My!

Fun in the Sun

It is hot!! But I'm not complaining!  I promised that in the midst of ice and snow and below freezing temperatures last winter, I would not complain when the heat came in the summer. Here we are and I am true to my word.
Little Miss Leanna is visiting for a few days while her Mommy is a week in Pittsburgh for her annual Air Force Reserve training.

She has a good time with Grampy Bobby doing things she wouldn't be allowed to do at home or with Mommy around!

She hates when Grammy Nina puts those darn cute clips in her unruly hair!

Ready to walk any day!

 She's finally taking a nap, so I'm going to try to catch up a little.  I know my blogging has really gotten behind this summer.  This summer seems especially full for us.  I barely have time to write anything and my enjoyable blog reading has really suffered.  A person can only do so much!

Last Saturday, July 2nd, we had our annual 4th of July party.  It was a beautiful day, as most of our summer has been, we had a great attendance of friends and family and plenty of good food.  

My brother in law, John, on the left, was designated grill cook.  He did a great job!  John and his wife, my sister in law Debbie, came from Cincinnati, as did my brother, Chuck, and his wife, Jill.  This is my cousin Fred on the right.  Two days after our party, Fred and my cousin Susie, his wife, became first time grandparents of twin boys!

cousins Frank and Betty

l-r: son Austin, cousin Fred, cousin Steve, DIL Melissa, cousin Betty

Cousin Mark with my brother's dog, Frankie

Look behind Mark in the above picture to the bank on the other side of the lake.  That is where the fireworks were set off that evening.  We have a beautiful front row seat to the fireworks show right in front of us!  

My good friend, Paula, along with her daughter, Marielle, and Marielle's newly adopted twin daughters from Africa.

It was also Leanna's first birthday on June 28, so we celebrated while we had the gathering of friends and family.  I got her a Tinkerbell cake because she sort of got nicknamed "tinks" when she was a very young baby due to the odor that such a cute little thing could put out!

She thoroughly enjoyed her first birthday cake!

And was very happy to share with Big GG (Great Grandpa, my dad)

This post for today is done and she's still sleeping!  It felt good to sit for a while and write in quiet!  Maybe I can even get another load of clothes folded if I hurry up!

Keeping Life Good and Less Difficult

This is the page of my Mary Englebreit calendar for next week.  When I turned the page today, this struck me that it is so true and I feel like most of the time this is how I try to live my life.  As a woman, mother, wife and grandmother, this is probably true for most.

This was the case for this weekend for me.  My son and his wife had volunteered to take the pictures of the church members for their church directory.  They are both photographers for the Air Force.  Hubby and I offered to pick the three kids up and keep them with us for the weekend since their mom and dad were going to be busy the whole weekend.  As always, it's great to be with the grandchildren, but you all know how hard it is to get anything else done.  It's worth it!

Leanna is crawling now so a bottle at least keeps her in one place for a little while.

Landen plays a lot with little character figurines.   Yesterday he talked (conned) his Grandpa Bobby into buying him some new Batman characters.

Logan finally, reluctantly, left his Wii game long enough to eat a few pancakes.  He was also doing some building with Kinex.  He's very good at building things.

This is what kept us very busy all weekend.  The week had also been very busy with work.  I was putting together mailings and presentation folders for Hubby.  We also started the remodel project on our main floor powder room.  This has been on my project list for about six years now.  I knew what I wanted to do wasn't going to be cheap, so I had to wait a while.   My next post tomorrow will show the progress so far.  I'm very excited about it.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post here about whether to go back to work doing something other than what I already do which is actually quite a bit for my Hubby's Financial Planning business.  I have since answered my own question.  NO WAY!  At least for now.  What was I thinking!?  I certainly have enough going on without piling something else on. I don't need to make things difficult for myself, as I'm trying and loving making life less difficult for others.  I'm happy just the way things are!

Not Your Regular Old Chicken Salad

I love to come across new recipes that are good, easy, and not too many ingredients.  While I was in Spokane my DIL made some very good dishes.  She's a good cook!  Warms my heart!

She made this delicious chicken salad for dinner one evening and I just couldn't quit eating it!  It has enough of a different taste to it that it's not your regular old chicken salad.

Curried Chicken Salad

2-3 cups cooked chicken (I used 3 cups.  I boiled boneless, skinless chicken breasts, then cut them up into 

                                          large bite size pieces)                                                                    

4 oz. can water chestnuts (drained and sliced)

1/2 lb. seedless grapes

1 cup celery

1 cup mayo. (I like "light" mayo and/or mayo with olive oil)

1 t. curry powder 

2 t. soy sauce (I also use "light" soy sauce)

That's it!  Now just mix the first 4 items in a large bowl.  In a small bowl mix together the final 3 ingredients into a dressing, pour over the chicken mixture and stir.  

I served with Rhodes whole wheat dinner rolls.  You could make sandwiches or just eat the salad by itself with the rolls on the side.  

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!! Fairly low fat, too.

Travelling -- Through Life

I'm home.  I'm back from Spokane and it feels good!  But---I hate to not be with these adorables.

It is always so hard to say "Good-bye", especially when you know you aren't going to see them again for several months.  We're hoping they can come back home in June.  That's a long time!

Dee, Riley and Heath took me to the Spokane airport at noon on Sunday.  Riley cried and cried when I told her "Good-Bye" at the airport passenger drop off.  I HATE THAT!  I tried as hard as I could to hold back my own tears.  I hated to leave Dee, too.  We get along very well.  Both of my DIL's are like daughters to me.

I tried to think of the positive about coming back home:  I was going back to my hubby, parents, pets, and my other son and his beautiful family; I was getting back to my home that I love; I was looking forward to getting the Valentine and any lingering Christmas decorations put away; and I would be back on my OCD schedule.

I had one stop in Minneapolis, then on to Pittsburgh.  I wouldn't arrive in Pittsburgh until 10:30 p.m. with my hubby picking me up.  We then would have a three hour drive home from there.  Oh how I hate that part of any trip we take!  Years ago travelling was fun, and plane rides were exciting.  Not so much any more.

I was flying on Delta because that is usually the only flight from Pittsburgh to Spokane and vice versa.

 There is no non-stop flight at all.  There is always at least one transfer.  Delta has got to be the most boring airline.  I have never been on a Delta flight with any type of media screen.  No TV or movies at all.  And of course the regular peanuts, pretzels and soft drinks.  You must have to travel around the world to get this accommodation advertised on their web site.

I've never been on a flight like this with Delta.
And it's not like I was flying from Spokane to Seattle or Salt Lake.  I was going across the country.  Even from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh was a three hour flight.  This is the little puddle jumper that we were on for that distance:

Here is the fun part of the story.  I was waiting at my gate in Minneapolis and dreading this flight to Pittsburgh.  It's dark now, I'm getting tired, and I'm hungry because I didn't have enought time between flights to eat.  Then walking toward me is a lady that I think looks familiar.  As she gets closer I realized that it's a very long time friend of mine, Holli, that I had not seen in five years!  We have know each other for 47 years, since the first grade!  There were many years in between that we hadn't seen each other at all due to moving long distances away.  Now she lives in Pittsburgh and had been visiting her nephew at Purdue and was also travelling back home with a connection in Minneapolis.  We just couldn't believe it!  Here we were on the same flight back home.  After asking my seat mate if he would mind switching seats, Holli and I were able to sit together and talk non-stop for three hours.  I was almost wishing the flight was longer because we had so much more to talk about.  Now we're planning a visit in the next couple of weeks in Pittsburgh so that our mothers can visit.  They were also good friends all those years ago.

What could have been a miserable and long trip turned out to be so much fun.  I didn't even notice the cramped, dark and boring conditions!  The peanuts and juice now tasted good, and it was a bright and comfortable ride.  

A Little Exercise Does Wonders

We're all getting back on schedule now.  It could be that we were so tired on Monday because we really did work pretty hard over the weekend - cleaning, cooking and friends over for the Super Bowl.  Oh, and two babies to keep up with!  The thing that has made both of us feel so much better is exercise.  Dee has been going to the gym each morning for an hour with some of her friends.  I'm glad I'm able to give her that break. She said the exercise makes her feel so much better.  I hope she can find a sitter or a friend to watch the kids after I go back home this weekend.
While she's gone I put Heath down for a nap and then I work out to a fitness show on TV.  It's "Bodies in Motion by Gilad".  Back home it's on FIT TV, but here I found it on JLTV (Jewish Life TV).  It's half an hour and includes some stretching, cardio, abs and some light weights.    When done consistently it's a nice little workout. 
Yesterday morning I was trying to keep Riley occupied so I told her to exercise with me.  She tried to follow along and it was so cute.  Then I picked up the hand weights and she picked up two of the dogs' rubber bones and tried to do the same thing I was doing.  So adorable!  This morning I had my camera ready just in case, and she followed along again with me and Gilad.

Heath has also become a much easier baby.  The colic that he was so troubled with while at my house seems to have passed.  Now he is a happy, smiling baby!

He loves his jumpy chair and will sit in there and laugh and bounce for quite a while.

Brandon came home this morning from five days on a training mission out in the woods. He walked in the front door about 8:30, with all his gear, looking and smelling like a mountain man.

   We were all so glad to see him.  Layla (their Sharpei/Golden) could hardly control herself.

Unfortunately Brandon has to leave at 6:00 tomorrow morning for Georgia for three weeks of Jump School training.  I won't see him again until they possibly come back home in June.  Poor Dee is going to be home alone with the kids for 2-1/2 weeks since I'm leaving on Sunday.  She does a great job, though, and is a wonderful and patient mother.  Brandon wanted me to stay longer to help her, but I really need to get back home.  Dee is probably ready for a break from me anyway.  She's been with her mother-in-law (me!) since Christmas.  Being alone isn't always a bad thing! 

I figure by Saturday, the day before I go home, I'll be accustomed to the time change and Dee and I will have a good system working together!  Then it will take me another week and a half to get used to the Eastern time change!

No Rest for the Weary

We've been tired, busy, lazy, and cabin fever may be setting in a little bit. 

I say Dee and I are tired because two babies don't let you rest.  I know I'm also having a hard time still with adjusting to the three hour time difference.  I've been here almost a week and it normally only takes me a couple of days to catch up.  Maybe because it's winter and cold and dark longer, I just can't seem to be able to stay awake past 9:00 at night. 

Brandon had to leave on Saturday morning for the woods again to train a new class.  Dee and I got out a little bit and took the kids to the mall.  We didn't stay out long, but at least I got out of the house.  Then we picked up a few groceries since Dee was going to have a few people over for the Super Bowl.

Of course we were cheering for the Steelers but all the cheers weren't enough.  Regardless, the food was good, the company was delightful, and our babies looked very cute and in the spirit.

Today we just feel tired and lazy.  I feel like I'm not doing or moving enough.  I don't really know if that's completely true since these two little ones are very busy and don't sleep that well!  I guess I'm just used to a lot more housework, cooking, and work.  Dee tells me that I'm on vacation and to just relax.  When I relax, though, as I'm doing today, I feel lazy! 

Tomorrow I need to exercise or take a walk even if it is cold out!

Through Rain, Sleet and Snow

We made it to Spokane!  It was a long, hard trip.  I came to Spokane to help my DIL on the plane with the two kids and to stay for two weeks. 
Brandon has been back in Spokane since New Years to get back to work.  Diana stayed in Pennsylvania for a month.  Brandon was going to be out in the field most of the month and then last week he was in Alaska.  Now they are all very happy to be back in Spokane together.  But I must say, it wasn’t easy!
Dee and I were scheduled to leave Pittsburgh at 11:48 Tuesday morning, fly to Cincinnati, then to Milwaukee, then to Minneapolis, then finally to Spokane arriving at 6:50 Pacific time (9:50 our Eastern time).  Well, that wasn’t how it went.  The winter storm started to hit the East Coast and the Midwest on Monday night.  Diana was already in Pittsburgh at her parent’s house.  At 3:00 in the morning I was laying awake in bed listening to ice hitting my bedroom window and thinking that Bob needs to get me to Pittsburgh by 9:00 in the morning and the roads are going to be covered with ice and snow.  Needless to say, I didn’t sleep from that point on. 
We got up at 5:00 in order to leave by 6:00.  It would normally take us about 1-1/2 to 2 hours to get to Dee’s parent’s house but we knew we had to leave with more time to get there that morning.  We were right!  What a mess.  If it weren’t for having an all wheel drive vehicle we would have never made it.  By 9:00 exactly we were there.  The next hurtle was hoping that the flight out of Pittsburgh was leaving and on time.  Pittsburgh weather was much better than mid central PA, so it was looking promising. 
Bob headed back home for the 3 hour long treacherous drive and Dee’s parents drove us the remainder hour drive to the airport.  It was only raining at this point.  In the meantime I was getting messages on my cell phone that our first two flights had been cancelled and they were putting us on a different (and actually better) flight direct to Minneapolis and it was leaving at noon.  Some things were positive and going our way.  We checked in all our bags which normally would have cost us about $100 extra with 4 bags, but the Delta check in attendant didn’t charge us anything.  Maybe Dee’s military ID helped, and possibly feeling sorry for us on this awful travel day with two babies.  Whatever reason, that was nice.  The other good news is that the airport was empty.  So many flights had been cancelled.  This led to another good thing; the planes were not full, so we had extra seats to spread out in.
 
Dee and I were each going to have to hold a baby in our laps, which is really hard for a 15 month old to do.
We made it to Minneapolis with no problem.  We then had a four hour layover before our next flight to Spokane.  Thankfully Minneapolis airport is big with lots of restaurants and shops.  We had a nice lunch in Chili’s and Riley was able to walk and run a little energy off. 
The flight to Spokane was so empty that they were able to give us a whole row of six seats for ourselves.  That was nice!  Between diaper bags, filled to the brim large purses, and winter coats and hats, we took up a lot of room.  I don’t know how we could have done it squeezed into two small airplane seats as we normally would have had to do.   But by about half way through the 3 hour flight to Spokane the Chili’s food, which had tasted so good, started to hit me in a way that was not feeling good at all.  Acid reflux was setting in and that along with an active Riley and a little bit of turbulence – Ohhh! it was not good.  The last thing we needed now was for me to throw up on the plane! 
We finally landed in Spokane, a little early even.  Getting off that plane and being able to walk helped me out a little bit.  So we go down to baggage claim to meet Brandon and wait for our bags.  We waited, and waited, and looked and looked and no Brandon and no bags!  Brandon was held up at work and our flight was early. He eventually showed up.  It was a very excited and happy little family reunion.  Our luggage was a different story.  The conveyor belts were now empty and out bags were not there.  We go to the lost baggage desk and find a line of fellow travelers.  We had to fill out claim reports and from initial checking it looked as though our bags all went to Salt Lake.  Wouldn’t you know it!  And I never check luggage, but we had to have our hands as free as possible this time.  I would also normally have a carry on bag with toiletries at least, but I didn’t do that this trip.  Wouldn’t you know it!  You know what, at this point we really didn’t even care.  We were so tired and worn out. 
We got to Brandon and Dee’s house and it felt so good, except my acid reflux was not going away.  I finally fell asleep on the couch watching TV.  Being so exhausted helped the situation because I went back to bed and slept very well.  I woke up in the morning feeling just fine.
That was our Travel to Spokane adventure story.  It was one of those days that was not easy but will forever be a memory that we’ll always have and be able to look back on a smile about and say “Remember when ---".

Steelers, Baby Shower, and Spokane

A nice, cozy, lazy day at home.  It is freezing outside, so we're staying in.  I'm going to make a pot of homemade, well ---- semi-homemade, chicken noodle soup with some hard crust whole grain French bread.  One good thing that has at least temporarily come from our bad, ugly flu week is that we feel like we need to eat lighter and healthier.  If it feels too heavy or greasy it just is not appetizing right now.  As I said, this may be temporary, but I know my stomach feels much better eating like this.

It's also the football playoffs tonight.  I'm not much of a sport's fan at all, but since we live in Steeler country, you can't help but get caught up in the excitement around here when the Steelers get to the playoffs.  It will be crazy Steeler country if they win tonight.

(Sorry so blurry, but it was free clip art)

So I'll be watching the game tonight, even though I don't really understand football that well.  The commercials and half time are always good.  I understand they are expecting the temperature to be about 12-15 degrees in Pittsburgh tonight.  

Yesterday Mom and I went to the baby shower for my girl friend's daughter that is adopting 15 month old twin girls from Africa.  She leaves for Malawi, Africa, in about two weeks to pick them up.  She is a 29 year old single young woman that I have known since she was 6 years old.  She and my oldest son, Austin, were friends that met in Kindergarten.  Through their friendship, her mother and I became very good friends.  

The shower was very nice.  Here's the new Mommy (on the right) opening some gifts.

Look at these stuffed animals she got for the girls' new American bedroom to remind them of Africa.

I finished the twin baby hats for her, along with a gift card.  I forgot to get a picture of the hats when I had them both finished.  Here's one finished.

The other one was just like it except the flower and trim was purple using the purple yarn you see here.  They turned out cute.

I also finalized the ticket purchase for Spokane for DIL, Diana, and myself.  I'm going back with her to help with the two kids on the plane and then I'll stay about two weeks.  We'll leave on February 1 and I'll come back on the 13th.  Travelling is so difficult any more, and especially with a 20 month old and a 5 month old.  This would be almost impossible for Diana to handle on her own.  Besides, you have to have two laps for them to sit on or you would have to purchase another ticket anyway.  Of course, there is no direct flight from Pittsburgh.  It's not an easy trip, so I'm glad I can go to help.

No Time to be Sick

I know I've said it before and I'm sorry that I have to say it again, "I'm tired and I don't feel good!"  I'm mostly tired because I don't feel good.  The kids were back here for the week.  They just left yesterday to spend this next week with Diana's family.  I love it when the kids are here, that isn't my complaint.  I hate when I don't feel good and get so tired when they're here.  But just look at these two adorables.

Riley is 20 months and Heath is 4-1/2 months.  They are about 15 months apart, but they're not that far apart in size already.  Riley is just a little peanut.  And if you look closely you can see one of her many bruises on her forehead.  She never sits still and is a very busy little girl.  Heath is just a little cuddle bug, but he's slightly colicky.  He's actually improved in the last week or so.  They both love to be held and paid attention to.  So I guess in short, they can wear a grandma out!  Again, I'm not complaining about these two precious little things at all!  I'm complaining that I have a sore throat and a headache or head cold or flu of some sort.  I also hold the babies quite a bit.  Heath likes to be held and bounced when in a colicky state and Riley just likes to be held to be able to be close to me.  So I hold her on my left hip while I'm cooking, cleaning, whatever.  Well, my left hip and back is just killing me.  I can hardly move when I get out of bed (after not sleeping well due to the sore throat).  Just let me tell you --- you can't keep up with these two all day feeling like this!  So I just better get on the mend this week while they're gone so that next week I'm rejuvenated and healthy and strong and have my energy back.

I have to show some of Riley's fashion show.  Diana is such a good mother and dresses these cuties up every day.  The outfits that Riley has and the way she looks in them should put her on a magazine or in a catalog.

I got her this outifit for Christmas.  Notice her little matching purse.

This little white fur coat is from her Aunt Melissa and I made the hat.

This little outfit is from her other Grandma Lori.  Look at the little black patent leather boots!  Isn't this just the cutest thing you ever saw?!  Riley wasn't real thrilled about posing for this one.

Riley found this strand of pink beads that I have as a decoration on one of my tea set stands and decided they would look  nice with this little number.  You'll notice that the binky is a fashion staple for her.

She then decided to add her pink hat.  It all works!  Don't you think?
Heath looks adorable every day, too.  Boys clothes just aren't as print worthy.  I'll feature him another day.

So now I have a week to catch up again and be good, strong and ready for next Monday. Being a grandma is not meant for the weak and weary!  I miss them already!

Heart of the Home at Christmas

The Heart of the Home is always the kitchen.  This is especially true at Christmas time.  I'm in this room it seems like all day.  I've purposely set it up that way.  I get a lot done because I have everything at my fingertips in one room.

 My kitchen is large, but it is very warm and cozy at the same time. The cherry cabinets and the wood floor helps to give it that feel.   I'm definitely not a minimalist when it comes to my home and decorating.  I love to have all my "stuff" around me. There's my little TV on the left side of the counter.  As Hubby says, I'm a TV person.  Most of the time it's just background noise while I'm working.  Sometimes I will turn it onto a Christmas music station. 

 Every once in a while I force myself to get rid of some things or at least put some in storage or I can get a cluttered look going on.

I like to have little lamps next to my work areas, rather than turning on the big overhead lights.  It just feels more homey that way. 

Notice my "Grandma" sign.  My DIL gave that to me after her grandmother passed away a few years ago.  This had hung in her house and my DIL always liked it and wanted me to have it now.  It reads:  "Grandma's Babysitting Service

Little people always welcome.  Service includes: meals, lessons, entertainment and lots of hugs.

Tender loving care for your most precious possessions."

It fits!

This is the other end of my kitchen.  It's an eating area/breakfast nook/my office.  

Little Fergie and Ellie Mae hang out with me here.

My antique desk houses my computer and all my office supplies.  I also have a small file cabinet that also is my printer stand. I'm my husband's assistant, blog writer, and Etsy shop manager right from this little corner. It can get rather messy, but I try to clean and straighten it all up by 5:00, shut down the computer and close the desk.  Then it's back to full time kitchen and time to prepare dinner.

I don't have a lot of Christmas decorations in the kitchen, but there are a few.  I have to always have the mistletoe in the doorway and my Christmas card rack.

So now when you read my blog, you can picture in your mind where I'm sitting and downloading pictures and typing, while Christmas music plays in the background and my dogs lay in their beds next to me.  

Thanks for stopping by!

I'm linking up to Cielo's party.

Show Off Your Cottage Monday

Baby Sitting Limits

The Sunday that Grandpa died I had my son here with his three kids and two dogs.  Keeping in mind that we still have my nephew Kyle here. (More later on the “Kyle Project”).  I  was tired, emotional and needed some time to myself.  As Austin put it, I kind of “lost it”.  In looking back, I think that was a good thing, because some changes needed to be made.  I had a talk with my son and told him I just could not have both of his dogs at my house for more than a few hours, along with the kids,  especially when they are not here with them.  I also made it clear that after the next three baby sitting commitments I already agreed to, it really had to slow down.  I love the grandchildren to death, and they are a huge part of my life, but I just need to have more time to take care of my own house, work and hobbies.  In writing this it’s even sounding selfish to me, but I just want to be Grandma, not a parent again.  There’s a reason why I only had two children and had them in my early 20’s! 
So at this point I have been to their house for almost two weeks in the past month.  Then we had a week of out of town family and funeral arrangements going on.  Two days after the funeral and the day after all the family left, I was back down to their house to  take care of the three grands and two dogs by myself for four days.  If this were an occurrence a few times a year, I would enjoy it.  Three times in a month is just too much for me. 
Now this weekend my son and DIL are off to a family wedding in Maryland.  They are taking the baby, so Bob and I are picking the boys up tomorrow and bringing them to our house until Sunday.  They told me they are making arrangements for the dogs, so I hope they did.
Things are slowing down a little bit, but it’s still something we’re all working on.  On Sunday, Bob is taking the boys back home, then he is continuing on to Cincinnati with Kyle to take him back home.  The Kyle Project didn’t work out as completely planned, but some progress was made. (Again, more on that in a later post).  Bob and I just know that we’ve done all we can and we’re done taking care of others so much.   My son and DIL also agree with us in slowing down their lives, which in turn will calm us all down.
Next Sunday is the start of some time for us.  It’s a Las Vegas trip that we’re really looking forward to.  Then one more prior babysitting commitment the day after we get back.  Four more days of me back to the kids while their parents go to a retirement party in Virginia. 
We’re all looking forward to the Holidays after that and son and DIL also agree that they need to stay home more, get rid of at least one dog, and slow down a little.  They have quite enough going on with three small children and their own jobs.  They need to stop taking on extra trips and activities.
Chaos and I just do not get along!  I HAVE to have order, plans and organization.  I’m not real sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but it works for me and makes me happy.
That’s the new plan.  We’ll see how it works! 
Nina

Long Catch Up - Part 3

Still catching everyone up to date from my trip to Spokane, the birth of my newest grandchild and so much more.  Currently, things are settling slowly and some new rules and changes to our lives are being implemented by me.  I just can't live at this pace comfortably.  I want to get back to Bob and me enjoying our good life and actually becoming a little more selfish with our time.  I believe we all have the power to create the life we want and should not feel guilty about making it good.  Learning how to say "NO" more often will go a long way in accomplishing this.

(Continued from previous post):
Went downtown Spokane yesterday and walked around the beautiful Park. Bob proudly pushed the kids in the double stroller. The babies were very good. Ate dinner at P.F. Changs. Was so good.
September 14 at 7:51pm via Mobile Web

(Outside of P.F. Changs)

At the Spokane airport waiting to board to Phoenix and then to Pitt. Awfully hard leaving Dee and the babies. Have to say quick good-byes so as not to get emotional.
September 15 at 10:41am via Mobile Web

In Phoenix. Waiting to board for Pitt. Then the 2-1/2 hr.drive home. Miss my house and dogs. Nephew Kyle now living with us for a while. Hoping all is under control as well as can be expected with me being gone for 3 weeks.
September 15 at 2:46pm via Mobile Web

Got home late Wed. night. Logged onto computer on Thurs. night and a virus shut it down. Another week computerless. Kinda getting used to it. Don't think I like computers anymore.
September 19 at 10:17am via Mobile Web

(Sunday evening, September 19, I had a 23rd birthday dinner for Kyle.  I know he enjoyed and appreciated it.)

(From Sunday, September 26 through Friday, October 1, I went to my other kids' home an hour and a half away to help Austin with the kids while Melissa was away at her week of Reserve's training.  Of course, Austin was home in the evenings, but at work during the day.  Thank goodness he was able to drop off and pick up the boys from school and was able to help with bath and bed time at night)

Not so tired today. Leanna, my beautiful 3 mo. old granddaughter, and I are getting used to each other. With both boys in school all day {Pre-K and Kinder.} I can handle it pretty good. Also fixing up my little mother in law apt. here at Austin and Melissa's house. Making it cute and cozy.
September 29 at 12:44am via Mobile Web

On a sad note - my grandpa not doing well at all . He'll be 95 on 10/28. He's not going to make it. He's had a good life and because of him, so do I! He's tired now and misses Grandma. It's been 6 mos. since she passed on.
September 29 at 12:52am via Mobile Web

‎3 kids, 2 dogs, cooking, cleaning and laundry is a lot of work! How did I ever raise two boys and work a full time job? I know what you're all thinking: I was a lot younger then. Back home - Bob's "Kyle Project" as we have come to call it, still happening and Grandpa still barely with us. No relaxing in my near future.
September 29 at 11:10pm via Mobile Web

(From my niece in Cincinnati) Love you Aunt Nina.. thinking about you and your grandpa! Remember to take some time for yourself while you are helping everyone else! How is Kyle doing??
September 29 at 11:16pm via Facebook for Android

Gross!! I just ate an Entenmann's choc. chip multi grain cereal bar and bit into a chunk of black plastic. I feel sick to my stomach just because of the disgust factor.
September 29 at 11:18pm via Mobile Web

Melissa's home, kids are in bed. Austin making a hot dog run to Sheetz. I told him to get me one too. What the heck! I would never think of doing such a thing at home.
September 30 at 9:40pm via Mobile Web

(On Friday afternoon, Bob came to pick me up along with the two boys to go back home.  Melissa now has to be away for the weekend for Reserves.  Austin is coming to our house on Saturday along with the baby and the two dogs so he can attend the wedding of one of his best friends from high school.  They all left on Sunday.  I don't know how much more of this I can do!)