The way the day started....

...well, it's no secret there is going to be another newborn around here soon!  Kathryn and Darius are having number five, (our #22 grandchild).  Baby girl will be only their second girl, so we decided a few months back to have a simple baby "sprinkle" for Kathryn.  It's planned for Saturday night, for all the girls in our family ( daughters, and daughter-in-laws).  

The monkey wrench in this plan is that baby seems to maybe want to come a bit earlier, so we'll see! 

This fine morning, I was all set to have those four children who are going to get a new baby sister, here at my house...but Emily happens to have the day off of work, so she's over there.  Later on, Mariel and I will go over so Em can get a break.  In the mean time, I am going to the small city with Miss Cam, she has class and I will run into Aldi for some things for the baby sprinkle...in case we still have it.  

There is one large bag to be dropped off at the thrift store today, which makes me happy.  I also have two new bags to toss in the garbage, which also makes me happy.  I found a bag with old pool noodles, no one wants those!  Old play dough, ditto. Random blocks and odd pieces, into the garbage.   I did find lots of vases and jars and pitchers, all donated.  Some candle holders new in the package....if I didn't find a use for them for all this time, maybe someone else will.  

I am paring down the toy supply.  I still have a nice Duplo train set, some bins of Barbies, which I plan to sort through one of these days, several bins of Fisher Price Loving Family dollhouse stuff and a few houses, lots of Calico Critter dollhouse stuff with several buildings and a big dollhouse,  a few trucks, and the toys here in the play area of the living room...three shopping carts, a doll stroller...not too much:)

Oscar is going to take the bin of Duplos for Kaia.  Emily took the Little Tikes Waffleblocks for her playroom.  She is also going to take the huge Waffleblocks.  

We are also going through our camping stuff, don't need it all anymore.  Little by little, clearing out the house.  The plan is to start replacing the flooring in all the rooms downstairs...

But for today, I am done.  I washed some dishes, cleaned the floors with the vac/mop, vacuumed the stairs and the downstairs hallway and bathroom, and did some sorting...now it's time to leave with Camille, and oops I sat here for too long.  

Abigail is going to be able to hold baby Nicole for the first time today, I hope I get some pictures!  

You all have a wonderful day...

 

the grandkids!

 Our local rec center pool has been closed for filtration maintenance.  You know how I love getting in that water, it's been really hard.  Yesterday, I finally went to a different community center for a swim, with my oldest grandchild, Anya.  It was fifteen bucks to get in, which would be a lot on a regular basis, but this was a one time deal:). We started in the lap pool, I did my exercises, while we joked and laughed, and just enjoyed being in the water.  There's a therapy pool there that's a lot warmer, so we spent some time in there too, ahh.  Then a quick shower, and out to lunch.  Today is her birthday, she's 13, so we were celebrating early!)

We went to Walmart, I wanted her to pick something out, but she's such a nice girl, she said, "I don't want to get something just to get something."  I did get her a few things though.  

She helped me in Aldi, then I drove her home.  I don't think there was a pause in the conversation, she is a wonderful girl.  

Sonja was here with Kaia when I got home, and the girls were in full meal planning mode.  I had brought home a big pizza from Aldi (hey, it had a $2 off sticker on it!), because Margaret and Adrian were going out to dinner and bringing Wulf, Tennyson, and Blythe here.  Well, we did make that pizza, but also peanut chicken with the works:  chopped green onion, fresh shredded cabbage, cilantro...with rice.

Kaia....

Tennyson on Sunny's bed...

Little cousins, Kaia and Blythe

They really like each other.  Kaia kept looking at Blythe and saying Hi!  

Well I am not finished writing, but alas I have to get out the door...Oscar is dropping Kaia off because he has class and Sonja is working.  Camille has a doctor's appointment, so we are bringing little Miss K with us.  

So I have had time to sit and drink my coffee, but now I have to hurry hurry!  Have a nice day!

visiting baby Nicole.....

 ...bright and early Saturday morning, Emily and I started our road trip south to the fine state of Delaware.  We went straight to the children's hospital, and had lunch with Abigail and Derek.  They caught us up on the delicate state of baby's health, and I can say this:  they are at peace.  This whole experience is unknown territory, the doctors don't know how things will go because it's so rare that babies survive the birth with this diagnosis.  We are all thankful to live in this day and age, and they are especially thankful for the time spent with their precious little girl.

We joined Derek's parents and his little sister, and made dinner plans.  A nice restaurant, a good meal together, very cozy, and we all agreed it's nice to get to know each other better.  

We made plans to have brekky with Abigail and Derek on Sunday morning, then went off to our hotel, Emily and I.  It didn't look promising, and we should have taken pictures.  The one light illuminating the parking lot was askew on the post and blinking off and on erratically. 

We checked in, and the foyer was dusty and dated.  Out the door, up the stairs to our second floor room.  (I asked the nice man if there were any first floor rooms, he said, "No, this is last room in hotel."  Okay.  We opened the door, nothing scurried.  But.  There was an adjoining door, to connect the room to the one next to it.  The lock was broken, and the door was nothing more than a thin closet-like door.  Emily opened it, and there was a similar door behind it.  We looked at each other:  if they opened their door, they would be in our room.  She fidgeted with the lock a little to see if it would work, but it just spun around all brokenly.  Suddenly, CRASH!  It sounded like someone kicked the other door, so loudly we froze.  Then WHAT THE F are you doing!????, someone shouted.    (only they didn't say just the "f".).   We just stood there looking at each other, I whispered LET'S LEAVE.  She agreed.  They thought we were trying to get into their room, and I told Emily that I wouldn't sleep a wink if I knew they could just open that door.   (They seemed extremely defensive, and I wondered if we made any noise or dropped something, they would yell and open the door...it just wasn't worth it...the lack of peace of mind.) (I told Em that if they opened the door at any point, I would simply die of a heart attack...)

We went back to the car in the dimly lit parking lot, and an old car with one headlight came speeding around the corner, screeched to a stop, and handed a bag of fast food to a guy who came out of no where, then drove away.  Was it really fast food?  Em decided we should go to a different parking lot to figure out what to do.

(it didn't help that there was a mom in the waiting room of the hospital, accompanied by three cops, because her son had been shot....(poor mama, seriously!). The hospital is in a nice area, but the surrounding city can be rough)

There were no hotels in the area with open rooms.  So I said:  let's go home.  It's five plus hours, so off we went.  It was well after nine, but we decided to just head north, and if we got really tired, we could stop somewhere.  Around eleven, we stopped at a gas station and got crappy coffee from an air pump jug, but it wasn't too bad, and it kept us awake.  We got to Emily's house around 2:30, and ahh, I took a quick shower and slept in the guest bed in her library. :)

It was a busy afternoon here with Margaret here with Wulf, Tennyson, and Blythe, then Oscar came with Kaia, and Mariel came too.  Not too busy, just right.  Sonja came after work, and we solved the world's problems around the table.  Paul made some chili, I grilled hot dogs and burgers, and we had a nice little feast.  Cam baked some of those Halloween cookies with the shapes in them, the house smelled good and the kids liked them.  

This fine morning, I face-timed with baby Nicole:), with her mama actually.  I took a screen shot: 

She's not a morning person, Abigail said.  She is definitely more active in the evenings.  Ab was talking to her, and she was making faces and trying to open her eyes:). I think she knows how much she is loved.  

You all have a really nice day....:)

good morning!

I met Kathryn and kids BJ's yesterday after dropping Cam off at school.  Jamie, Rhys, Achilles really like Tally, the inventory robot.  :)

They like the toys!

It's just so pretty, the autumn coming in the window!

I've got a load of laundry ready to come out of the dryer, and I've mop/vacced the floors.  I'm on coffee #2, and ahh, in my comfy chair again.  Not for long though, I'm going apple picking with some grandchildren!  I need to pack an overnight bag too, as tomorrow morning I'm going with Emily, down to Delaware to visit Abigail and Derek.  I don't think I'll be able to see baby Nicole, as they are super strict with their visitor list, admitting only four people, and you can't rotate them out.  But that's okay.  I get to see her on her NICU cam.  She seems to be doing okay.  I'm praying for her, that she can be strong enough to be weaned off the heavy duty vent, and not be sedated, so we can see more of her personality shine through.  :). 

Here's your daily Nicole : 

This is a close up of her chubby little arm and cute hand...

This was last night...she is so sweet.  

And from today...:)

Such a beautiful day for the apple orchard, and I got to push the stroller.

Jamie, Rhys, Achilles

Ellis...:)

Shh, the donuts are better than the apples...although to be honest, I only had one little taste...I did have a few apples though!

Charlotte Claire made pumpkin muffins...I did not have one of these either, it's so hard. 

Anyway.  Cam made fajita soup in the crockpot, it was simmering away and I knew I didn't have to make dinner, which is wonderful.  Kathryn and the kids were here for a bit, I read some story books, then we took turns telling stories, which kept them occupied for a while.  They went home, then Oscar stopped by to return an air compressor, he and Kaia stayed for dinner.  

This is Jonathan and Rosi's little Emila...

And Evelyn and Nate's Bridget Suzanne

Sonja and Oscar's Kaia Jean

 

Sam and Grace's crew:  Grant, Ruth, Maeve, and baby Samantha Grace...

Today is done, today was fun, tomorrow is another one...(Dr. Seuss)

I'm leaving in less than 12 hours to go visit Abigail and Derek in Delaware, so goodnight!  Have a good one!  (I got my bag packed, some seltzers and two diet Pepsi chilling in the fridge to pack in the cooler in the morning, my overnight bag packed...I think I have everything?  

can we talk about Christmas?!

No?  Not yet?  Well.  This fine afternoon, I was in Target with Sonja and Kaia, and Miss Camille.  Would you believe they had Christmas ornaments out in the dollar section?!  Shh, yes, I did.  I bought four or five.  They are really cute!

To be fair, last Christmas was super challenging, as my mobility was...awful.  (I'm just so excited about it this year!!!)

Anyway.  This fine morning, I went out and about...filled the car with gas (ouch!), then met my friend Nancy for brekky at a really cute little place.  I had egg/bacon on a homemade biscuit, and a 20 ounce coffee, so good!  We caught up on things, and had a nice time.  

Home....I discovered a broken glass, it was shattered on the living room floor and it had been filled with water.  I suspect Kettler, she likes to tip over drinks.  I had to clean that up, do some laundry, then clean the floors since I picked up the glass and cleaned up the water with the vac mop.  (If I had to empty it anyway, may as well clean the whole floor!)

Cam and I had things to do and places to go.  First, she needed some bloodwork done.  Then we had to get a script for Sunny.  Then, meet Sonja and go to Target...very important, ha.  I got a new sweater for 40% off, some chicken stock, a $20 rug for $6, and a those ornaments.  We came home and made chicken pot pies.  Sonja chopped the celery and carrots, I peeled and chopped potatoes and made the pie crusts.  We put frozen chicken breast chunks in the Dutch Oven on the stove, they defrosted pretty fast.  Then some chicken stock with all the veggies, plus half a bag of frozen mixed veggies, lots of seasonings, then thickened it up with a cornstarch slurry, added some heavy cream, and into the pie crusts it went...salt, pepper and rosemary on the tops, and into the oven.  The aroma of those baking, ahhh.

Sonja and Oscar and Kaia are home now, and the girls are studying.  It's quiet in here again.  

Tomorrow is another day.  I am planning to do some sorting out, and some dropping off at the thrift store, as well as meeting Kathryn at the grocery store to help her get some shopping done.  With four small children and being 8+ months pregnant, I'd say she could use a little help.

I don't have any new pictures of Nicole, her cam hasn't been working today either.  Abigail said she's calmer today, but has had a rough few days.  

Ah well.  Bedtime for Bonzo, whatever that means.  You all have a good night!

go go go!

 This fine morning, I had visitors by the time I finished my coffee!  Mr. Jamison and Mr. Ellis came while Kathryn took Rhys and Achilles to the dentist. 

Ellis in the fox suit...

(That's Evelyn for a visit too!)

James and Ellis...

I made them some scrambled eggs, sausages, and toast.  They had some treats, and played with playdough, dollhouse, and did some coloring.   Kathryn came back with Rhys and Achilles, and Evelyn came over with baby Bridget.

When Kathryn left, we packed up to bring Miss Camille to her college class.  Ev, Bridget, and I went to the thrift store, but I hadn't packed up anything to donate today.  We didn't find a single thing, and left there empty handed.  We went to Marshall's, where I found the marshmallow coffee syrup Cam likes, one bag of bbq kettle chips on clearance, and one birthday gift for Cam, who is turning 19 next month.  Truly.  I can't believe it. 

We stopped for a BJ's pick up because the 90% ground beef is still $3.30 a pound, and I got another bag of Starbucks whole bean coffee for less than $14 for a two pound bag, some pepperoni, coffee cream, and some chocolates for Halloween.  

Home...ahh, home.  Ev and Bridget headed home, and Camille and I started in on dinner.  Chicken curry and rice.  I chopped chicken, she chopped the onion.  I peeled and sliced carrots and chopped red and yellow peppers.  She measured the ginger, garlic, curry paste, coconut milk,ect., and put it all together, and made the rice.   Paul was out hunting, so just Char, Cam, and I had dinner.

Tomorrow I'm going out to brekky with a friend, then bringing Camille for some bloodwork, then picking up a script for Miss Sunny.  Maybe then I'll get to work sorting and organizing again.

Emily and I are going down to Delaware on Saturday morning to see Abigail and Derek.  We probably won't be able to see baby Nicole, but that's okay.  Derek keeps us all updated on a chat, and I get to tune into the baby NICU cam.  I was watching her a little while ago, she had her eyes open and was opening and closing her mouth, and I wanted to magically appear next to her little bed and talk to her and put my hand on her and comfort her.  Of course her mama and daddy are there with her every day, and there are nurses (angels!) and doctors there all the time.  

We just want to go down and see them and maybe make them dinner or take them to dinner, and visit with them.  

Here's your baby Nicole fix for the day.  She is so cute.  

You all have a really nice night!

could not be much cozier!

 This fine rainy morning, I am sitting in my chair listening to the rain fall onto the metal roof.  It's dark but the trees are starting to blaze with color.  I had my coffee, then got moving...switched the laundry, vacuumed some rugs, then used my new floor cleaner to mop/vac.  It's very satisfying.  I decided my comfy chair was a good place to return to, and here I am.  I have to get moving soon though, because I have to go watch Kaia while her daddy is in class.  She was supposed to come here, but a flat tire happened.  :)

Update on baby Nicole:  she wasn't doing well yesterday, carbon dioxide build up in the lungs, blood transfusion, ect., but doing better today.  

She likes her daddy's hand...it makes her little heart rate go down a bit:).   I love her so much.  

Camille and I just got home from watching Kaia while her daddy was in class.  She woke up from her nap and snuggled with Aunt Cam for a long time.  

She had some lunch, but shh, she knows how to jettison pieces of food onto the floor then shrug and say, "uh oh!", ever so cutely!

We said good bye to her and it was sad because she didn't really understand we were leaving, she likes waving bye-bye.  

Home...ahh, home.  It's very chilly this afternoon, so sweatpants, a sweater, and slippers.  Afternoon coffee, my comfy chair, thinking about what's for dinner...

You all have a nice afternoon!