I'm BAAAAACK!

 My last post was in 2015. Eight years ago. Does that mean that nothing of interest has happened since then? Hardly! Maybe too much was going on. Anyhoo...I've been thinking that I needed to start writing things down again for a while now, but I'm just not generally motivated to do too much.

Big updates since 2015:

We spent 5 years in Michigan while the girls played hockey at HoneyBaked.

The girls graduated from 21st Century Cyber Charter School.

Bethany is a sophomore at Aurora University.

Julianna is a freshman (First Year. SMH.) at Sacred Heart University.

Curt and I sold the Canonsburg KoSports to Pure Hockey and are 'retired'. We still own the Delmont KoSports.

What to talk about today??? Hmmmmm.....How about my lack of motivation? Good start. 

I have some store work to do (always). Skip it.

We are going to Ireland at the end of May, coat-tailing on Julianna's intersession class at SHU Dingle. Our first non-hockey vacation since, now let me think for a minute... EVER! Julianna has been a tremendous help. She booked the tickets for all 4 of us. I have the lodging booked (although I keep changing it and having to amend the bookings). Bethany wants to go the Cliffs of Moher, and Julianna wants to go to Kilkenny Castle. Curt wants to go on a bike tour. The whole time. I try to explain that it won't be possible, due to our already having flights booked, etc. I think he would enjoy the Guinness storehouse experience. I also have a GGGGrandmother who is Irish - Sarah Hourigan. I've been trying to find out where exactly she was from, because I think it would be way cool to visit where she lived. So far, I've found a different Sarah Hourigan from Limerick (her birth and death dates are the same years as my Sarah, but she died in Limerick, not Clark County, WI). So I have some genealogy digging to work on. I'm also trying to put together possible places to visit, based on where we're staying. But I get overwhelmed and have to walk away.

Curt keeps telling me that I need to do SOMETHING to make money. Like keep the Delmont KoSports. But I REALLY don't want to do team sales. I hate it. Being at their beck and call. Deadlines. Nasty customers. Ick. I've been toying with the idea of selling the Hockey Mom sweatshirts and Born to Play onesies on Etsy. I set up a store the other night, but the pictures of the items are TERRIBLE. I ordered some lights off Amazon to hopefully help. So that project needs to wait a couple days until those come in. And I guess I have to get the rest of the apparel back from the store so I can take pics and post it. 

Which leaves crafting. To knit? Cross stitch? (Actually, that project is finally finished. YAY!) Crochet? There's a cat bed in progress, but the cats keep sleeping in it - as is - and I have a hard time kicking them out of it so I can finish it. Sew? Embroider? Cut some vinyl? Scrapbook? I am not terribly motivated to do any of it. 

Or yard work? Our yard has been under construction for several years now. There is no lawn on the left side of the driveway. Last year we had the contractor rip out all the forsythia bushes that were on the hillside. The plan is to put down ground fabric and put some boulders on it to create something that'll hold the dirt back and look pretty. There are lots of sticks and branches that need to picked up. The sun is shining. Maybe that would be a good project for today? And picking up the rest of the leaves that have gathered along the side of the house?

Or play the guitar/banjo/piano/bass/violin? Probably should do any and/or all of the above. All those instruments taking up space and I just don't feel like playing any of them.

It's 12:00. I think I'll start by getting dressed. 

Until next time,
-Me.

An oldie but a goodie

Jill's mom died a few months ago from breast cancer. She was such a neat lady. We didn't know each other well, but we did have a couple things in common, like books and knitting. Jill found a baby shawl that her mom had been working on, and asked me if I'd finish it up for her. What an honor! The hardest part was trying to figure out which row she stopped on. After a couple unsuccessful tries, I ended up taking out one side and redoing it.  The pattern is easy to follow, and goes quickly. I've been unable to find the same pattern published anywhere else, so I'm sharing it here so that the legacy will live on. It was originally in a pamphlet by Coats & Clark, titled "Woolies for Babies." Near the bottom of the pattern, where the hole punch is, the pattern should read, "Repeat 3rd to 35th rows inclusive once more." Enjoy!

 

 

Download the pattern here

 

Winter

The girls are finally off to school without a two-hour delay. Yippee! School was cancelled Monday, with delays both Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully we'll all be able to get back into a routine. I am not convinced that they will be in school all day, however. It's snowing/freezing rain right now, and there's nothing on the radar within a hundred miles of us. (?) There's a huge patch of snow moving through Ohio right now. That should make getting the kids home safely a challenge. It's so frustrating for me; in Fort there would not have even been a question of delay or closing. An inch of snow? Big deal. There ought to be a law that all PennDot employees have to train in WI or MN for a winter. That'll teach 'em.

(I do have to be grateful that I'm not in the Wheeling area. They haven't been back to school AT ALL. Apparently all the back-country windy cow-path roads are nasty, nasty, nasty and haven't been treated or plowed. Yikes.)

Time to go make a mocha cappucino and watch the snow fall for a bit. I ♥ winter.

Mom's To Do List

Julianna left me this list this morning. I had to make her add #7, which is what I REALLY need to do today. She makes me laugh.

In The Fall!

In The Fall!

A Poem by Julianna

The leaves chage color

and fall off the trees.

Pumkins start to grow.

You can rake up the leaves

and jump in.

Fall is, fun

Fall

Fall

A Poem by Bethany

Fall is here,

when Fall is here I take a rake

and pile leaves up,

and jump in them becaus it is fun

to see the leaves change colors

red, yellow, ogrge,

something is haping in Fall

the wather is geting cooler

and leaves fall down on the growd.

Fall is a fun seosn to play in,

becaus leaves do many things

Back again!

Our flock of turkeys was back again this morning; we counted 16. Julianna commented that they wouldn't be around long, since Thanksgiving was coming and they'd all be shot and eaten. Bethany got a very panicked look on her face and screeched, "WHAT????" She may now be a vegetarian.

Sleeping Beauties

I found two Sleeping Beauties when I got home from Symphony tonight. Here's Julianna, with Love-a-Lot Bear, Edmonton Bear, and Laa Laa.


And Bethany's cuddling with Cuddly Bear, Maria Sparkle, Red Octopus, Hello Kitty, and Pink Care Bear.

I love you both to where the numbers end and back. Sweet dreams!

Two Cuties

I have two favorite bookmarks. One has Julianna's picture on it; the other has Bethany's. Whenever Julianna finds my book with her bookmark in it, she 'fixes' the bookmark for me. This is the 'fixed' bookmark. She pulls it out so that I can see her whole picture. Sometimes she even leaves the bookmark marking the page I was really on!

And here's Bethany. Grandma sent this outfit a while ago. Bethany decided that she REALLY REALLY LIKES IT because it was Aunt Jeannine's. Awww.....

Yes, Virginia, there really IS a tabletop...

This evening has been rather productive. I started with a pile next to the monitor that was nearly 2 feet tall. It is now......(drum roll, please......) GONE! Sorry if that's anti-climactic for you. Next time I'll be sure to take pictures. I think I'll celebrate with another Fat Squirrel. And just in case anyone is coming from dat dere nort contry...I could use another case. (BTW, the spell checker DOES NOT LIKE dat dere nort contry. Obviously, it isn't from Wisconsin.)

Cheers!

Turkeys

Just about every day we have a flock of turkeys that ambles through our yard. There are two adults and about 14 young'uns. Last year, we only had 6 or 7. Does that mean that next year we'll have 30 turkeys in our yard????

Julianna Can Tie

Big news! Julianna has learned to tie her own shoes! Yippee! She's been doing it for a week already. (I'm slow.) She will even tie Bethany's shoes for her, and she doesn't spontaneously do nice things for B that often.

J was so excited, she had to make some phone calls!

Bethany has now decided that she doesn't need to learn to tie, since J will do it for her. Hmmm...

Child Labor

Julianna's new thing is to go to work with Curt. It starts out the same. She's all pumped up about it; she's going to stay ALL DAY and not whine and want me to come pick her up. Yeah, right. Both yesterday and today she lasted about 90 minutes. She wants to help so much! She's a very good barcode scanner, and is working on swiping credit cards. However, the cash register area at KoSports is very tiny and cramped. One person doesn't have much room to move around, much less two. (God bless Ellen for putting up with Julianna for a while both days!) What we really need is a 10,000 sq. ft. building, and then she could have her own cashwrap area (out of everyone else's way). I'll keep dreaming. At least Julianna's not asking for a raise!

Still kicking

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. Just under siege, with jerseys, wind suits, shells, bags, and other hockey paraphernalia. I was in a major panic last night and this morning about front logos and how I was going to get them onto the jerseys. I am very excited to say that I FIGURED IT OUT ALL BY MY LITTLE OLE SELF! Isn't it wonderful when something works the way it's supposed to? Check it out:
Ginormous thanks to Jen, Elyse, and LaVerne for keeping up with all the tackle twill lettering, and for Bill, Norma, and Ed for entertaining the girls while I worked. You guys are AWESOME!

Waiting...

Bethany and Julianna wanted SO BADLY to stay awake until Curt got home. They didn't make it.

Neither did Bucky.

We had such a busy day: Little Gym this morning, lunch and playdate with Emma, hockey camp, and 3 on 3. Whew! and Phew! They're going to need two sets of equipment pretty soon; their stuff is starting to make my eyes water. Anyway...we made it home, had a quick shower and a bite of ice cream, brushed teeth, turned on an old Penguins game, and they were out. They wanted me to leave them out here until Curt got home so he could wake them up and say goodnight. I doubt that they'll remember one way or the other.

In other news, Bethany has said goodbye to Purple Baby and stopped sucking her fingers. YIPPEE! I am so proud of her. She's such a sweetheart. Julianna's still working on it. Hopefully soon!

Just a few more days

There are 3 1/2 days left of school, counting today. The girls are super-excited for vacation, but at the same time super-sad to be leaving Kindergarten and Mrs. Inghram. They have learned so much! They are counting money, telling time, reading words with blends at the beginning and end, doing double-digit addition, simple subtraction, and a bit of multiplication (thanks to Tessa). I remember when I was in Kindergarten it was a big deal to write all the numbers to 100 and spell your name correctly. No more. They'll be ready for advanced calculus by the time they're freshmen.

Bethany announced yesterday, "I know what we can do this summer! We can go to Miss Lisa's house about 12 or 1 o'clock and play for a few hours...or maybe more...we could stay for supper or something." I asked how often she was planning on doing this and she emphatically informed me that it would be EVERY DAY and that we would not be hosting the Ellis kids over here at all. WRONG-O! They are, however, planning several sleepovers...Dorothy and Spencer, Emma, and the Ellis kids. Oooh boy!

The most anticipated event planned thus far is our trip to WI. (YEAH!) The girls can't wait to see Grandma and Grandpa. As a matter of fact, neither can I.

Top 10 Bedtime Stories

Tell us a bedtime story from your head, Mommy...

10. When Aunt Jeannine was born
9. Building "Kitty Castles" at the farm
8. How Mommy and Daddy met while playing volleyball
7. When Mommy and Aunt Jeannine had a babysitter on Saturday nights and played Beauty Parlor
6. How Misty came to be Mommy's cat (aka "How to play your parents and grandparents against each other with Great Success")
5. When Steve St. and Tony used to pull Mommy's pigtails in kindergarten
4. How Mommy was born (Grandma has to tell that one)
3. How Mommy lost a tooth while eating a Tootsie Roll
2. Daddy's emergency trip to ShopKo while visiting Grandma because he forgot something REALLY important
1. Mommy and Daddy's wedding day and why Daddy's pants were too short and his shoes too small

Ahhh....memories

What a weekend

Itinerary 5/2/09 & 5/3/09

Saturday

10:30 am - Soccer

Fields muddy, Mommy cold, girls scored lots of goals

1:30 pm - Icers

Worked on shooting from outside the circles. Both girls working on a harder wrist shot. Accuracy GREATLY improving.

4:30 - Dinner

The girls went out for dinner with Nanny and Pap Pap while Mommy went to Symphony rehearsal

8:00 pm - Symphony Concert

We performed "Won't You Be My Neighbor" from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and Mr. McFeely sang. The girls were SO excited. He brought along Daniel Striped Tiger and King Friday. Too cool. We got to meet him afterwards. Another favorite was "Kennywood's Open". We've been listening to that one a lot in the truck these past few weeks, so the girls knew it as well as I did. They can name the rides that each section of the piece is about.

Favorite quote: Bethany: This part is the Tilt-a-Whirl

Julianna: Which ride is the Tilt-a-Whirl again?

Bethany: It's the one that goes around and around and then you throw up. (Because doesn't everyone throw up when they're on the Tilt-a-Whirl?)

10:30 pm - After Party

Nanny prepared some wonderful snacks for us to enjoy. The girls may have enjoyed them more than the actual concert.

Sunday

9:43 - Church and Children in Worship

My girls and Lisa's kids were the only ones at Children in Worship. Amy was the leader, so it may have been a "Church Playdate". That's okay.

11:30 - Lunch

We went out for brunch with the Ellises (minus the adult males). It was all good until the food came. Then the meltdowns began. I think Lisa had a loooonnnnnggggg afternoon.

1:30 - Movie

We watched "Cinderella". Always a favorite.

6:00 - Trinity Skate

Trinity Hockey sponsored a free skate for all residents of the district. The girls were so excited that they made personalized invitations for all the kids in their class. Two of them showed up! Thanks, Evan and Skyler. You made my girls' day!

7:00 - Supper

We went up to Jay's with the Romaneks to watch Dave's draft league game. I couldn't tell you the final score, but the kids have formed the Dave Fan Club.

8:30 - Hockey & Bed

We watched Boston and Carolina battle. When we finally got Julianna to stay in bed, she wanted us to turn up the tv so she could listen to the game while she laid there. No dice, Sweetheart.

I'm so glad it's Monday and the girls are at school. Life is controllable again, at least for a few hours. :)

Now don't get the wrong idea...

It's 8:38 am. And I am NOT a morning person. However...

1. The dishwasher is running.
2. A load of laundry is washing. And all the rest of the laundry is sorted.
3. The living room has been vacuumed.
4. The girls had breakfast, got dressed, and are off to school.
5. Curt's at the Men's Breakfast (thanks, Jefferson, for calling TWICE before 7 am, btw)
6. I'm halfway through a mug of yummy coffee.
7. I'm getting on the treadmill now while watching "West Wing" reruns.

I'm sure I'll need a nap before the girls get home from school, but I must make hay while the sun shines.

Later.

Miscellany

J's library book. (She took pictures of all 4, but you get the idea.)

J's socks are finished. Yippee!

The girls went skating after a recent Nailer game.

Bucky enjoys his bee.

B plays Charades