St. Nick Day 2021 and a health update

Happy Wednesday everyone! I am home today as my nephew doesn't have school so I am watching him so that my mom can work. It is fine as I have a super busy evening tonight and I haven't been feeling the greatest. In fact in an update on my health...my cardiologist ordered a stress test and insurance approved it on Monday. It is scheduled for tomorrow morning and I am really nervous. I hope to get some answers tomorrow as to why I have been having chest pain again or at least answers to rule out the heart. I cancelled work on Monday as I wasn't feeling good and really just needed a day at home. I organized all the Christmas gifts that I had ordered/bought and realized that I am done with all my shopping (I even have the stocking stuffers for Bill and the kids.) The last thing I was waiting for came in the mail on Monday so I am set to go. Now I just need to wrap...I might start that this weekend. Yesterday, I did work as I am the only substitute who is trained to work at a certain school. The woman who works it full time is out with COVID unfortunately. Another long time employee is working it on the days I can't. As long as the kids get fed that is what is most important. It took all my energy yesterday and last night I didn't feel good-- my chest and back were hurting. I am just sick and tired of feeling like crap. So as much as I am not looking forward to the stress test tomorrow morning, I am praying it will give me some answers. So that was the update on my health stuff right now....

Now onto more festive topics...🎄🎅🤶🎄. Monday was the feast day of St. Nicholas. We have a tradition in our house that shoes are left on the eve of the feast day (Dec 5) and overnight "St. Nick" fills them with a treat and an ornament for the year that says something about that person. We started doing this when Rebecca was little (and after I heard about it from a school kid at the school I was teaching) and I love it. 

This year's ornaments were: 

Rebecca received a silver choir girl ornament.  This is to represent her continued love of music!

Jacob received a choir ornament, as he joined his middle school choir AND a community choir this year. 

Benjamin received a personalized Ninjago ornament. During quarantines and shut downs, Ben fell in love with the show "Lego Ninjago" on Netflix and he has watched the series through several times. He loves it!

 

Bill received an ornament that represents this year...including the vaccine, Bernie Sanders, etc. 

I received a cafeteria lady ornament that I promptly dropped and broke. Ooops. I have a replacement coming in the mail (along with one for my mom who saw mine and wanted to know where hers was? LOL)

It is really fun looking at the different ornaments on the tree and to see what the kids used to be into and there is quite a collection. My nephew even remarked today that we had a lot of ornaments. LOL

Well, I need to end this here. I need to find Ben's nice clothes for his school Christmas concert tonight and I need to iron them. Rebecca and I are also going to a Christmas concert here in town tonight after Ben's concert so it will be busy, busy, busy. Does St. Nick come to see you? Do you have special ornaments? 

Christmas Tree and Candles and Carols

 Happy Tuesday everyone! I thought I would hop on here for a few minutes and update this here space while I had a free moment. I have to go to work here in about 20 minutes so let's see what I can come up with.... I know I have been kind of lax about being on here, but between work, my health, being tired, and all the craziness that is December I just haven't had time. I read others blogs usually in the morning while I am eating breakfast or while I am waiting in my van to pick up a child from school or an activity, but it is hard to comment on my phone. 

Anyhow... the craziness of December has crept in and we are trying to get into the spirit of Christmas around here. It has been kind of hard this year but we are trying. 

Bill and the kids put our Christmas tree up. I enjoy looking at the ornaments and the decorated tree, but I have always hated actually fluffing the tree out and the decorating part. So this year I decided to sit back and watch and take photos and be the supervisor! LOL I think they did a great job. All of the ornaments on the tree have meaning. One of Rebecca's teachers saw a picture of the tree and commented that we have no bulbs on the tree. Nope. All the ornaments are significant to something going on in our lives or the kids' lives throughout the year. 

I have also been trying to make an effort to incorporate more experiences into our Christmas season this year. Saturday night we attended an event called "Candles and Carols" at a local park. There were over 700 luminaries lit and hot chocolate and cookies provided. You were to stroll along the paths and listen to a couple different groups caroling. Rebecca's high school choirs were asked to sing and it was great. She sang with the women's chorus and it was beautiful. Cold, but beautiful! 

Well, I am going to end this here as I need to get ready to head to work. I am really not looking forward to it but it is what it is. What are you up to today? Have you done any Christmas-y experiences this year? 

Thanksgiving recap and a Christmas parade

 Happy Monday everyone! Did you all have a good weekend? Did you have a good Thanksgiving holiday? Did you do anything Christmas-y over the weekend? 

We had a lovely Thanksgiving Day! We spent the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. I made a couple cheeseballs and a corn casserole to take to my mom's house for dinner. We had dinner at my mom and dad's house. There were my mom, dad, niece and nephew, my brother, his fiance, my sister, her girlfriend, her girlfriend's brother who was visiting from his college for the holiday, my brother, and then my crew of 5 so there were 15 of us and the 2 dogs! It was a nice meal full of yummy food and good conversation. 

After our meal, we celebrated my niece's 17th birthday! She requested an ice cream cake and it looked pretty but I am sure was full of sugar! Perfect for a teenaged girl though! She got lots of nice presents and felt special. I absolutely can't believe she is 17! 

Friday, we just hung around the house and didn't really do anything. The boys and I watched "The Wizard of Oz" in the afternoon. Rebecca and I went to the grocery store in the afternoon to get things for her party and then we watched "A Christmas Carol" in the evening.

 

Saturday, Bill and the boys watched the Ohio State versus Michigan football game which is a huge deal around here. During the 4th quarter, the kids and I left to go to our town's Christmas parade. It was cold, but it was also nice to see the kids' excitement at the parade. It was much smaller this year than it's been in the past, I think in part to they moved it to Saturday, during the OSU/Michigan game when it has always been on Sunday afternoon in the past. Oh, well, the kids had fun and we saw Santa! LOL Bill walked down to the parade when the game was over and he got there in time to see Santa.

 

Then it was home to get ready for Rebecca's birthday and such. 

Today, the kids are back to school. They have 3 weeks to go and then they are off for Christmas. We have a super busy week with club meetings and basketball practices start for the boys! I want to finish my Christmas shopping this week. (I am about 85% done.) I also need to work on decorating the house this week for the holidays and maybe get Christmas cards sent out. We shall see what I get done! 

What about you? Have you decorated for Christmas? Are you done with your Christmas shopping? Have a great week everyone! 

Rebecca is 15!

 Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you all are having a great day. It is the end of a 5 day weekend for the kids and I today. We have a had a good break. I will recap our Thanksgiving and some fun this coming week, but today is a very special day in our house! REBECCA IS 15 YEARS OLD today! How is that even possible? 

Seems like just yesterday, I was handed this beauty of a girl and was scared to death and didn't know how I was going to be able to be mom to her. Well, here we are 15 years later and what can I say? When I look at her, I see a beautiful, compassionate, loving, kind-hearted, young woman who is a joy to be around and is constantly amazing me with her life. She is a good friend to many, has a soft spot for those who are less fortunate and/or are ostracized in our community. She is very involved in our church youth group, Diversity club, and choir at school. She loves to play guitar and ukulele. She loves to crochet and almost always has yarn in her hands. She is artistic and full of life. 

We celebrated with family last night with a small get-together before my sister, her girlfriend, and my brother had to head back to college today. We had make your own sandwiches and minestrone soup for dinner and white cake for dessert. Rebecca received lovely gifts...including a Van Gogh design guitar strap, a cat design Ukulele strap, nail polish, 2 HUGE boxes full of yarn, etc. 

Today it has been low key for her. We went to church and then came home to relax. She has been getting texts from friends throughout the day wishing her Happy birthday and she is currently video chatting with her best friend--I can hear the giggles coming from her room. Later, we will be going out for Mexican for dinner which was her request. 

I will say it is a good day for her to be 15, even if I am in denial that she is that old!! 

Because I know that she reads this blog, I will say this:

HAPPY 15TH BIRTHDAY REBECCA! I AM TRULY BLESSED TO BE YOUR MOM AND I LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THIS NEXT YEAR BRINGS YOU! I LOVE YOU!  

Kicking off the holiday season

 Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone! Man it has been a crazy couple weeks. Crazy busy with work, doctors appointments, dealing with some health issues too. Also trying to find time to schedule some holiday fun as I feel like we were left out of so much holiday fun last year since we were sick with COVID. Also trying to not be online as much, as the news is just depressing and I don't need all the freaking negativity that is abounding. Trying to focus on the kids and go from there.

It has been cold around here and in fact we had our 1st snow of the year last weekend! It was really pretty! The first one of the year is always the prettiest. 

 

I have been working everyday. My boss is thinking about adding a 5th person to the middle school crew so I have been working there everyday for 2.25 hours. It isn't a ton, but it is what it is. I have also been dealing with some medical issues. I have been getting shortness of breath again and back pain and shoulder pain in the left shoulder. I had a cardiologist appointment last week and he doubled one of my heart meds that is meant to stop heart pain. Well, that was not a good move as I reacted badly to the doubling...was super anxious, emotional, nauseous, felt like my chest was super tight, etc. I did the new dosage for 24 hours (it is a medicine that I take twice a day) and then went back to my original dosage. I called the doctor's office on Monday and they called back yesterday and wanted me to stop taking the medicine completely and he is ordering a stress test to see if anything else is going on. It is frustrating. 

I have also been trying to fit in some holiday fun. Last Saturday, my mom, Rebecca and I attended a holiday bazaar in a town about 20 minutes away from us. There were over 100 vendors. I got a couple Christmas gifts bought and we had fun. It had been years since either my mom or I had been to a Christmas craft bazaar. After, we googled nearby places to eat and we found a cute diner where we could get breakfast or lunch food. I had a yummy omelet and Rebecca had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and some super yummy fries. 

Then we headed to a nearby coffee house that was having an open house. Mom picked up a few more Christmas gifts and Rebecca found a candle for her friend. We also got some yummy drinks including a frozen hot chocolate for me!

 

Then we headed off to the Friends of the Library Book Warehouse, where they were having their last day event for members. It was $5 to join and then you could take as many books, dvds, or cds that you wanted. My mom and I both walked out with a huge cardboard box full of books each. I think I am set for winter. 

Yesterday, Bill and I surprised the kids and took them to a drive-thru light display about 30 minutes from us. There were over 2 million lights and it was all synchronized to a radio station that had Christmas music. It was really neat. My pictures don't do it justice at all. (On a side note, we realized half way through that it was a trigger for the boys' autism. It was a little over stimulating. Halfway through Ben said it was giving him a headache. Jacob was over excited after and didn't want to eat much dinner which is a sign he has been over stimulated.)

Today, we have had a really low key day at home, except for Bill who had to work. I have done a couple loads of laundry. I cleaned the kitchen and the kids deep cleaned the living room. I also spent this morning reading a book and was able to finish it at lunch. Up next is my stack of Christmas reads. Tomorrow, I have a corn casserole to make and 2 cheese balls. Then it is off for Thanksgiving with family. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and blessed Thanksgiving Day! 

Good week for Family Time

Happy Friday everyone! How is your week going? We've had a pretty good week this week. 

Saturday, Jacob was finally feeling better. Rebecca had a party to go to, so I took the boys to a local park to shoot basketballs. They had a blast and asked if we could do this again soon.

 

Sunday, I provided dinner for Rebecca's youth group. I made ham and cheese and turkey and cheese subs. Sent in lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard for topping. Also sent in chips, peach cups and chocolate chip cookies and bottled water. It was a perfect dinner as they were having a bonfire that evening and so were outside. 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I ended up working. Tuesday, after work Bill and I went on a date lunch and then took a nice walk on the Kokosing Gap Trail. 

Yesterday, the kids didn't have school due to Parent Teacher Conferences, which meant I was off work and Bill was off work so we decided to have a family fun day. We started our day by going to the Book Warehouse near us. This is their last weekend open before they close for winter, so I stocked up on some Christmas books to read. Everyone found some books to stock up on. 

After that we went to Malabar Farm State Park to check out the farm animals and to hike the butternut trail to the cave. It was nice out...temperatures close to 68, but VERY windy!  I did end up forgetting my inhaler that my doctor wants me to use if I end up hiking but I did okay until we were coming towards the end of our hike and then my chest started hurting. 

After we left Malabar, we drove up to the peak of Mt. Jeez overlook. The scenery up there is amazing! So pretty. 

We stopped at McDonald's for lunch with the kids around 1:45ish. When we came home we watched "The Masked Singer" which I had recorded the night before. We also watch the "CMA Awards" from the night before too. I love being able to watch shows with my kids. 

Today, Bill is working. The kids are off school again and so I don't work. I have been working on laundry. Rebecca's best friend is over for the day as their mom and dad has to work. Jacob finished up his school work from the days he missed. He has his 2nd COVID vaccine appointment this afternoon, so we are planning a pretty chill weekend. It's also supposed to be cold (highs of 40 this weekend with a chance of snow showers).  

What about you? How was your week? What's the weather like where you are? Any fun plans for the weekend?