Dog Days of Summer

Today was school round-up time. One check after another was written for books, bus, lunch, and other fees. After all was said and done about $700 in school expenses for two kids at a public school. Unbelievable! Thank goodness I only have two. Ha! Molly and Finn washed PopPop and Nani's cars today. Yes, both cars. I think PopPop gave them each a dollar. Ha! So if you would like some cheap child labor give us a call- they only need another $698 to pay their own way through school.

Summer Fun in July

Look! It's me and I am posting again!!! It was a beautiful July day today. It even smelled beautiful. I hope everyone reading this or even those who never read it- got out and enjoyed the day. I ran 5 miles this morning at the gym. We went to the library and got new books and then rode bikes to the park to play. We also went to the movies and saw G force. Not that good, but I love going to the movies with my kids. I didn't even mind that some kid started crying during the movie. For some reason, noise in the theater doesn't bother me when I am with the kids, but when I go as an "adult" to an "adult" movie, I get easily annoyed by every noise, i.e. popcorn eating. I guess I am just more relaxed when I am sitting in the dark with my kids. I posted some pics from the 4th of July parade. It rained that day but we made the best of it. Enjoy!!

Hello!

Hello! I realize that I have not updated this blog in a long long time. Sorry, that facebook thing keeps me busy. But for all our non-facebook friends (Jill, Jimmy, etc) I will make sure I update this blog more often. We just got back from Minnesota. Only took 7 hrs and 45 mins to get home- and that is including two stops for food/potty. However, it is still a long ride. The kids were great. Molly really missed her Dad, and even made a book of all the things she missed- Dad, cat, and bed. Finn- just missed the cat. I think if he could watch movies all day and eat snackies, he would do that forever. Ha!

Another ER visit

Well, we made our third trip to the ER at UofC last night. I'm not counting Mike's visits for kidney stones, appendectomy, etc. Finn hit his head at school and had a nice mushy dented spot on his upper forehead. So we all got in the car and met Dad in the ER. We were in and out in less than 3hrs. Normal CT. Yea!!! Finn ran around all day today- then saw some goose poop and threw up. Throwing up is one of the signs to look for with head trauma- however, it had been over 24 hrs since the injury- and Finn really doesn't like goose poop. Molly also started gagging when I pointed it out. The best part is that Finn did his vomiting about 2 feet away from a bride and groom that were on their way to take pictures at the park. I don't think they noticed- hopefully, his vomiting didn't put a curse on their marriage. Ha! Tomorrow we will just stay at home.

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

Happy St. Patrick's day a little late. We went to the parade downtown with my old college roommates, Jenny and Caroline, and their kids. It was fun. Molly took her coat off for most of the parade- she seems to never mind the cold weather. Of course, in the summer she will be wearing velvet. Ha! Finn and I both have strep throat! I feel lousy but Finn just complained once that his throat hurt. Thank goodness I have home strep test kits. Stay Healthy out there in Cyberspace.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2009!!!! Sorry, this blog has not been updated more recently. I have been busy with that crazy facebook stuff- but I promise to post here too. The kids had a great Christmas. We are all very tired from being out late last night (10pm!). Ha! If you have made any New Year's resolutions, like quit smoking, lose weight, or blog more- I wish you luck in the coming new year.

Happy Thanksgiving

The election is over- so now we can all relax and enjoy some turkey. Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family.

White guy with Oprah

Ok- I heard on the radio today that the white guy that Oprah was leaning on was- Steve Perry. Some Obama supporter from California who she didn't even know til that night. She is having him on her show tomorrow to thank him for allowing her to cry on his shoulder. I saw Stedman there- maybe he was too tall for her to cry on. Oh well. The mystery is now solved.

Change has Come to America!!

Mike called the election officially at 9:20pm for Obama. Yes, Mike beat everyone- CNN, MSNBC, etc. I watched Obama's acceptance speech- and Mike fell asleep on the couch. Did you see Jesse Jackson crying?? At first I thought it was all fake tears- and then I realized he was really crying!! Wow!! Then it just got all uncomfortable, because the cameras were still on him and the people around him seemed to be ignoring his crying. Weird. Enough about Jesse. Who was that White guy in front of Jesse and then later in front of Oprah- she even had her head on his shoulder. Must be someone rich- if anyone knows (Jill??) please let me know. Obama is now our next president-- Finn and I dropped off cookies for Obama at his "office", which really must have secured the win for him. His speech in Wicker park was historic- I will have to post video from it later. Thanks to everyone for voting- Mike stood over 2 hrs in line to early vote- Finn and I only had to wait 20 mins. As I type this, it looks like Obama may win Indiana by 14,000 votes- if so that is a feat that has not happened here in over 40 years. Must be the Cookies!! Or my yard sign!! OR my bumper stickers?? OR car magnet?? Or Obama buttons on my coat?? Or just that finally Indiana woke up and got a clue!! Ha! Goodnight from a New Blue state!!

I'm Voting for "THAT ONE"!!

I watched the debate this evening, and I would like to thank John McCain for helping me with my voting decision. I was going to vote for Barack Hussein Obama because I like people who pal around with domestic terrorists- but now I am just going to vote for "That One". Here are pictures of Finn and I at the Obama Northwest Indiana headquarters working the phones. Finn is pretty smart. He took these pictures (except the one with him in it) and when the debate started he got all excited seeing his friend Barack on TV. The other day he asked me, "Who's the other guy?" I said Joe Biden. He said- yeah, that's right. (Ok- I know you are thinking McCain is what he meant, but trust me that kid is bright and if I hadn't given him the right answer he would have told me if I was wrong.) Obama emails me everyday and calls me at least once a day- I don't know how he finds the time to prepare for debates. Indiana has been RED for a very very long time, we even voted for Dole! But I have a dream...

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America - there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America - there's the United States of America. Yes. We. Can. Vote Nov. 4th.

Wow! The End of the World as We Know IT!!!

Wow! I have been watching/listening etc to all this crazy stock market business and tonight while I listened to President Bush talk, it occurred to me- that just like 9/11 this is one of those BIG time history moments. It is unbelievable how much greed there is in the world. I am so glad I had a Dad and Mom that taught me that there is more to life than money. I see busy working parents everyday that can't put down their cell phone or blackberry to spend one minute with their child, or have to rush home during a planned family vacation to attend to a client's needs. People need to stop feeding the need for big cars and big houses. As my kids sleep- all I can think is that they have no idea what is going on right now- Molly just wants 50 cents for ice cream tomorrow and Finn is thinking about what he is going to wear for purple day on Friday. So with the local flood (it smells like dead fish everywhere!) and the financial crisis looming, what do we do in Munster.... we dance!! Enjoy!

The Flood of 2008

Munster is now an island thanks to the flood. I think it has flooded around here about 5 times since we have moved in, but this is the worst. The water is about a block away from our house. School has been canceled for two days now. Molly is so happy- she already understands the joy of "no school" days. Just like the blizzard of 1979- Scott, Jill, and I played in the snow for days without a care in the world. I didn't run the race on Sunday- the water kept me home, but I did run 12 miles that afternoon. Nothing stops my marathon training, not even a silly flood. Mike said- "I'm glad to see that the storm of the century happens about once a month around here." Stay Dry!!

This is Why I am not a Political Pundit

After waiting and waiting for the call that it was my turn to run for public office, I gave up and took the kids downtown today. It was raining so the trip to the zoo was canceled and we settled for the Children's Museum. This was convenient because Mommy had to pick up her race packet for the Banco Half Marathon on Sunday. The kids were very good while Mom tried on a couple running skirts. Yes, running skirt. They are the in thing now and so I thought I would maybe give it a try, but it just didn't fit me as well as the models. Oh well. While cleaning the house this evening (yes, Mike is not the only one who cleans around here), I was thinking... that if I did get the call to run for office (VP, President, whatever) it would be so nice because I am sure they would use some of those campaign funds to get me a housekeeper and a nanny so I could be available for all those press interviews. These are the things I ponder at night. If I was Jimmy I would be thinking about cars, Dad cars, Danny sports, Jill the Cubs, Mike the Sox, you get the picture. I better get to real night time dreaming now, because I have a race in the morning. While you slugs are lying in bed I will be running 13 miles in the rain. - One more thing- the picture for this post, is the kids pretending to be Daddy reading the paper. Priceless.

Thomas for VP

Hello- As you can see, last weekend, we went to "Day Out with Thomas". Aunt Jill came for the fun too. It was a long drive but a lot of fun!! Today we went to the Indiana Dunes Beach with Aunt Jill. It was a beautiful sunny day. Thanks Aunt Jill for the Twinkies (Finn's new favorite food). I just want to share a few predictions for this coming week- #1- Molly will be "brave" for Dad going to Kdg but cry when Mommy takes her on Friday. #2- Finn starts school on Wednesday, and will have no problems. And this is the big one- just remember you heard it here first... #3- Sarah Palin will step down as McCain's VP pick. She just has too much baggage. I do kind of wish she would stay because I think it will make it easier for Obama to win if she is around. Oh well- it should end up being an interesting week. Enjoy!

Another Tornado

Since I am updating the Blog- I thought I would share this pic of the kids playing in the front yard while the electric truck from Pennsylvania fixed the power. The tornado was about three weeks ago, and hit about 2 miles from our house. We were out of power for three days. Thanks to Mike and our generator we were able to keep the frig running. When the power did finally come back on, I went crazy cleaning the house. It is amazing how much dirt you do not see when there are no lights on at night.

Starting School

Molly started Kindergarten last Friday. So far she has cried every morning. Today, Finn and I went to the school to have lunch with her. She introduced me to her friend, Emma- who she "loves". However, she is in the other class, so Molly only sees her at recess. I was relieved to see that she does have a friend, because every day Molly tells us that no one plays with her. She knows how to lay it on thick for Mom. Ha! Dad will be taking her to school for the next two days so maybe things will settle down. Finn starts school next week- He cried today because Molly told him that she doesn't like Wall-e! Yes, his love for Wall-e is that strong. Hopefully he will not be so emotional when it comes to school.

Running Away!

Wow! The summer is going by so fast. On Thursday I ran the Race Judicata with Jill. Ok- I ran and Jill walked. I finished in 28:02 and Jill finished in 1:00:02. Almost as close in times as Michael Phelps' gold medal finish last night in the 100m butterfly. Ha! Well, we are off to Galena for a little getaway with friends. The weather this weekend is suppose to be perfect for "anything" so enjoy it!!!!

Buzz, Buzz!!

So I was cutting flowers in my garden, very Martha Stewart, when a bug buzzed very close to my ear. Mike had just sprayed a wasp nest nearby so I was thinking it might be one of the wasps seeking revenge. So I screamed and waved my right arm up towards my ear. However, I forgot that I had a pair of scissors in my hand and nailed myself in the face/eye area. It really hurt and I have two puncture wounds right by my eye to show for my Three Stooges moment. Ugh! To make you forget about my near blinding injury I have posted some pics of the kids hanging out by the pool.

Another Video

This video was done around Finn's birthday- he thinks it is funny to sing the ABCs fast. Don't you agree??

Dancing Fools

Hello- this video always makes me laugh. Thank goodness they love to dance.