Information to know

Where to find size sixteen Nike athletic shoes? Why shoe carnival of course !

OK no Clown shoes being found at the carnival jokes. Mike has heard them all from me already ! Anyway, there are now many area locations and though size fifteen and sixteen are still not plentiful, they do carry them . I suggest buying a couple pair if you can find a style you like as they will not have them on your return visit. By the way , shoe carnival offers many buy one get one half off sales throughout the year( one is going on now ) and they are the cheapest place for Nike shoes that I have found even without the sales. They also carry sizes for toddlers and up for those of us without mammoth feet.

Almost to Advent

Here I am only a few days from Advent. The Christmas shopping is ninety percent done but that is about as far as I got. I was hoping to have new homes for all the puppies by now but since I still have two, I have to find a place to put their box so that I can put up a tree. In addition to this I still have to bake. This in itself is proving to be a thorn in my side as my oven is old and acting up from time to time and my new one is in lay-a-way ready to be delivered but I found out that the gas line was not upgraded to code before we moved in so I have to have a plumber come and upgrade the flexible pipe to solid and add another shut off before I can have the new one delivered. Add to this the fact that I need to clean before the plumber comes and of course clean again for Christmas, wrap, and plan and prepare dinner. No doubt I will get through it but it could get ugly. I have decided to put it all in God's hands and let him sort it out and get back to me. Isn't it great that we all have that option ?

After eight months.....

Michael has left for school wearing two shoes ! He had an appointment yesterday where x rays were taken and his foot / ankle inspected. All looked good and he was told that he could try going without the air cast. The catch was that we were advised to get new shoes so that neither shoe was worn more than the other nor molded to a foot before surgery. This was no big deal other than we got out of the doctors office, had to leave immediately to take Robby to karate , then go to Shoe Carnival a half an hour before they closed. This annoyed the employees and then we had to first find what size was needed since the reconstruction has changes the foot physically . Luckily we found the size and then a pair of Nikes that were stylish and fit comfortably. We were out of the store with five minutes to spare. It was then that we realized that we did not eat dinner. The kids had grabbed some leftovers but Mike and I had not eaten . Thankfully Arby's was having a sale so it was roast beef for all.

Today's agenda looks almost as busy as yesterday's so I best get busy. Prayers for Michael's continued recovery are certainly appreciated.

Farewell Masomora

Masamora left today for his new home. That little runt of the litter had captured all of our hearts and left us in tears as he was carried away. I think he will be happy with his new Human Mommy , Daddy, and four year old human brother. He moved across town with his own fenced in yard and lots of love. May God Bless Masamora and his new family

Hot wheels event

Because Mike was offered overtime today and because we seem to always need money, the kids and I agreed to go to K Mart hot wheels day this morning for him. I was slightly discouraged in that there were forty people and only sixteen boxes of cars to go through . There was even a shortage of posters which are usually in great supply. Tickets were handed out and drawn .Out of our four tickets only one was drawn. Much to Mike's pleasure, our box contained a treasure hunt. The kids then picked out the exclusive event cars and we were on our way to the check out. As I passed the new store employee who was put in charge of the event this year ,I overheard him telling another; "That wasn't near as bad as I had anticipated." I thought to myself. No, it really wasn't. Enjoy your Treasure hunt Mike.... We love you !

It is always better when Mom pays for it !

Since my kids were little, Mike and I have always tried to teach them that Christmas giving can be as fun as receiving. In doing this we would take them shopping ( usually a dollar store or Santa's workshop when they were in elementary school) and have them pick out a gift for each member of our family. The rules were simple; one gift per family member( this has changed to a dollar amount per person now that they are older and not shopping at everything is a dollar) and nothing for themselves. The latter has honestly never been a problem as they know that their siblings would be getting for them.This afternoon , while Mike was at work, the kids and I started talking about the Christmas shopping that they will be doing.Since Cindy is working this year other than mowing my parents yard , she proudly stated that she would not be needing money from me for this. She then went on to talk about her friends that she intended to exchange gifts with this year. I reminded her that,after Christmas last year, I bought some things on sale for her friends this year . She was pleased at this and we ended up going through a box of things remembering what we had bought for whom. This particular box also contained things that were bought for no one in particular but were just a good deals. These things are usually used as donations for charities, anonymous gift exchanges or for the extended family auction which funds a yearly Christmas Party / reunion for my Mother's brothers and sisters and their families. After Cindy had gotten all of the gifts for her friends from the box she looked at me with a smile. So mom, she said, what would you like for Christmas. How about this..... Gee Cindy, I guess that since your shopping with your money this year , you are keeping costs down ! We both just laughed.

I wonder if all of those people in line knew?

After my last post, before crawling back into bed, I checked my E mail which contained an ad from Staples. I opened it to find the four gig thumb drive that I didn't get this morning was available online at the seventeen dollar price. Wait a minute here. It seems that all of the advertised values that people were waiting out in the snow, probably for hours for are available online. OMG I would be sooooo mad right now had I stood in line for this.I am mad that I even drove there and didn't realize this. Anyway I just went to the site and purchased the thumb drive. It will be sent to me by one day delivery (I will have it tomorrow) for free. Yes I didn't have to stand in line and don't even have to pay shipping. I wonder how many of those people in that line ( especially at the end of it) knew this? Amazing !

Black Friday

The past few years Mike and I have taken full advantage of Black Friday early morning shopping deals by leaving for the stores two or three hours before they actually open , getting there to a line already standing in the freezing temperatures. Luckily my little brother Curt and his group of friends would have already been there since midnight and at the front of the line. Mike and I would casually join them and be one of the first ten into the store when the doors opened. Because of this we always got whatever we were after at the best prices. We also had a good time as we waited and froze together. This year however Mike was offered overtime at triple time pay. We figure that it is better to make money than spend it so he decided to work. Since I am responsible for making sure he is up for work, cooking his breakfast, and making his lunch and extra large cup of full espresso cappuccino is ready , I was also limited on where I could be. I did however finish in time to drive to Staples fifteen minuets before they opened in the hopes of getting a four gig thumb drive for seventeen dollars.Unfortunately for me ( fortunately for Staples ) they had offered some good deals on computers and there was a line, at least ten yards long, waiting to get in when I got there. Though I did get out of my car and started to walk to the end of the line, I decided that I would probably not get one anyway and went back to my car.I then drove past K mart where there was a smaller line but I didn't stop. I drove to Wal Greens where there was hardly anyone. I went in and they had the advertised specials that I wanted but the sale price did not go into effect for forty five minutes. I put the things that I wanted in my cart and was going to wait until I decided that I wanted more than the limit. I called and told Cindy to get ready and I would pick her up in five minutes. Within five minutes I had her and was back . The place was packed at this point but I still got what I wanted and waited until the sale time to check out. While leaving the parking lot Cindy asked where else we were going. Nowhere was my reply. Maybe it is the fact that I need Mike with me in order to enjoy these types of things, maybe we are just not as poor as we used to be when we would do anything for these sale prices,maybe I am just getting too old. Whatever the reason I will just have to pay more later or do without whatever it is but I am going back to bed !

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone !

Today Mike, the kids , and I will be having Thanksgiving dinner with my Mom and Dad, brother and sister in law. After which Michael is looking forward to target practicing with the new gun that he was just given from Pop's collection. Robby is also excited as he has been promised that he can also go target practicing for the first time and shoot Michael's air pellet riffle. Usually I would take this time to help with dishes or relax while the men bond but this year I get to go too ! Dad recently gave me his 38 special so I get to now practice shooting it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL !

Which makes more sense?

Christmas preparations have brought back a memory, of a few years ago, that still brings a smile to my face.

Robby had a classmate who had stopped believing in Santa Clause and was on a mission to spread his opinion to everyone around him. In his quest he ran into Robby.

" Robby guess what" he asked " There is no Santa Clause ."

Robby replied " No Santa ? No way, where do you think all the presents come from?"

Having it all figured out, the boy replied" Your Mom and Dad buy them with their Christmas bonuses" he informed Rob. " What is a Christmas bonus?" Robby asked? " It is money that your parent's bosses give to them at Christmas time" " For what? Robby asked" Just because it's Christmas" the boy replied." Yea right" stated Robby, "Like any boss would give you money for nothing ! Get real.... There has to be a Santa Clause !"

Oh he of great faith in Santa and little in the American business owner !

society?

Last week while I was driving , I noticed that a local radio station had already began their annual all holiday music broadcasting. Though it seemed too early I enjoyed listening. Then when I stopped at the super market the Salvation Army red kettles were in full swing. Again, it just seemed too early. I guess that commercialism has caused us all to start Christmas way before the Thanksgiving turkey is even purchased. It just doesn't seem right. Those who know me well are probably surprised by my feelings on this as I start Christmas shopping for the next year as soon as the Current Christmas is over. I am a sucker for a sale and the Post Christmas ones are the best. Still , what happened to Santa coming to the mall the day after Thanksgiving? Are we as a society all messed up ?

I guess that when you honestly look at society as a whole, we are in fact all messed up. Last week at TRE ( Total Parish religious education ) there was a comment by an older woman which infuriated me. On the subject of today's children She asked where we as a society went wrong. I took offense to this as I am raising children with morals as are many that I know. Is it just that the media has a way of constantly showing the bad of society without any due time given to the good. Unfortunately time ran out before I got to respond to this comment but perhaps there is something to what this woman had to say. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that life is going too fast. We start Christmas preparations in October or we are made to feel behind. What messages are we sending our kids?

That time again

This morning I awoke to snow. I wasn't surprised as it is well into November, but displeased. The snow didn't change our routine too much as the winter coats were already out and yesterday at Sam's Club I bought a case of hot chocolate and cappuccino. Cindy and Michael both take a cup with them on snowy mornings .

The problem is that I somehow lost all summer. I vaguely remember going to Cedar Point, Kings Island, and the last season at Geauga Lake but surely that was not all summer. Surely it could not have went that fast. I still have a pair of shorts that I have never worn, a container of sun block that I never opened.

Where has the time gone?

I should be used to the flying time . After all the babies that I just brought home from the hospital are now seventeen, fourteen, and eleven. Sure I remember having some birthday parties but not that many. Is it just me? Have I really lost all of this time? Or is it that the world is just going too fast? Twenty some years ago when I was in school time crawled. Why is it now flying? I guess that I will just never have all of the answers .

Am I a trooper or what?

After being unemployed since her last employer dropped out of the school's program, Cindy was hired as a medical assistant at her interview yesterday. Her strong computer skills landed her the interview so we just assumed that her duties would be limited to the computer part of a Medical Doctor's office. Though computer is a big part of this job, it is a full medical assistant position. The kind that calls patients back, takes medical histories, does weight , blood pressure, and any other test that is needed. I was surprised because though I know that Cindy was taught many things last year, the goal of the class was to get the students State tested for a nurses aid position. I asked her last night how long it had been since she had done a blood pressure to which she answered months. Because I felt that she probably needed practice I decided to invest in a cuff to go with the two hundred dollar stethoscope that I invested in last year. She was happy with the purchase but needed a guinea pig. That would be me. Oh well , I thought, I gotta do what I gotta do. The problem lies in that I was then told that she would probably have to do finger sticks and maybe even draw blood too. OK now I want her to succeed but ......... Oh well I guess what I am saying is that if I don't blog for a few days you will know that my fingers are healing. Why oh why did she pick medical occupations ?

Happy Birthday Linda

Congratulations Miss Vice President

Last week Cindy asked me to help her with a speech that she had to give. I agreed and asked what it was for to which I was informed that she was running for vice president for Mahoning county's Skills USA chapter. What is Skills USA? I asked. She informed me that it is a group which represents the students of Career and technical school labs.( Labs are the classes where they learn their trades. Cindy's lab is medical occupations. )Anyway , with all that goes on in our family, her request for help slipped my mind until I was informed a couple days later that her speech was finished.Evidently she did a good job because she won. Her duties will include going to Columbus for a week for the regional conference as well as other duties .She is pretty happy about the whole thing especially because her very close friend was also voted in as a representative, so they can room together in Columbus. I am happy for her achievement but honestly, I think that between school, work ( she has just been hired as a medical assistant for a near by doctor ), chores, and a very limited social life, she is over extended enough. I realize that she is only seventeen and that now is the time to grab life by the horns but I am tired just keeping up with where she is and what she is scheduled to do. This feeling may lighten up when she gets her licence ( she will have had her permit for the six month mandatory period at the end of February) but I fear that i will exchange my running for worrying then . I guess that it all comes down to being a part of my vocation as a mother and I wouldn't want it any other way !

Sometimes coming up short is a good thing

By the end of the last school year I was on my way to making senior preparations for Cindy. We had Senior pictures already taken, had kicked around post high school options, we were considering, planning, asking questions, reconsidering, and planning some more. I thought that I had it all under control and I did. One of the things that we had spent a lot of time on was starting to plan a Graduation party. Though we looked into the possibility, a home graduation party was just not feasible. I don't have the yard space nor the parking space. We decided to rent a hall. My little brother, Curt can get the hall of the union to which he belongs for a good price so we thought we would book it. I was warned to book early from the parents of a friend of Cindy's who ended up having their son's party on a Tuesday last year. It isn't that I didn't listen but first of all Mike wondered if we needed as much space as this hall provided. Then I asked Curt to check on it but we didn't solidify a date . Then came Michael's second surgery with it's complications followed by Mom's complicated surgery. Life happened and we never booked it. I remembered this last Friday when Cindy brought home the order form for announcements. Curt stopped over on Sunday and I asked him to, against the odds, check on availability. Monday he did and as I feared there was none. I immediately started calling halls. Booked booked and booked was what kept coming through my phone. Finally one hall was open. The catch was that you had to use their caterer. I got three or four of these. Though I pride myself on my cooking abilities and had planned on doing it all myself, I considered it and asked questions. Most were fifteen dollars per person. OK I decided to pass on that. Next there was a hall open where I could do my own food. For eight hundred dollars. Oh my I don't think so. I felt defeated. What to do ? I called Mike and Cindy into the room to help brainstorm.
We came up with a local restaurants breakfast buffet. It is less expensive than the catering estimates and if I didn't go too overboard on the guest list it wouldn't be much more than if I rented the hall and did the food myself. I called and yes they had an opening ! I started on the guest list and found that I didn't even have to cut it down much from where it would have been in a big hall. I put the deposit down and that is that ! Now all I have to do is show up and set out some pictures and everything else will be done for us. yes it is odd and different but so am I ! Thank God that I came came up short . He knew all along that I wouldn't need the huge hall and all of the work that would go with it . The only thing is that I am limited to one hundred and twenty guests, but realistically looking at the list, that should be just fine !

Good bye Isabella ( Maggy)

As promised our for sale ad for the puppies appeared in the paper. There has not been an ad for Cocker spaniels in this paper for months but as soon as I put one in so did three other people. One was for a ten month old who someone decided that they could not keep . One was for all black and another was unspecified. Of course the ten month old was cheap but the other puppies were all equal for the males but we were $50 dollars higher on the females. My heart sank when I read this but all we could do was wait and see. Within minutes of reading this we got the first call. A sweet young couple got directions and were here within a half hour . They fell in love with Ignatius but were looking for his father who wanted a female. Isabella was chosen for her calmness. They were thrilled and so were we. Another call came in a couple hours later but they wanted to bargain the price down for Nelly. We declined and though they told us they would be here in an hour to see her. We never heard from them again. That is OK as I hear that buff females are in short supply and I am sure that she will be sold soon. No doubt that the males will also find a great home. Now if only I can keep the house clean enough to let people in to see them. Now that is the problem.

Follow up

After my rambling about Halloween treats, I have received a couple E mails and comments on good treats vs bad treats. The all time worst seem to be two that my kids got this year that hit the trash so fast that I forgot about them and didn't even grace them with mention. First off was an Avon Book. yes we have an Avon Lady in the neighborhood that is this desperate for a sale. Though I find handing these out without even a piece of candy taped to it, extremely rude and would never buy from her if all other Avon ladies quit and I was out of deodorant.I did look at one a couple Halloweens back to find that it was three months old. Yes not only did this lady try to use Halloween for peddling Avon, she was too cheap to get current books. I also got an E mail stating that Tupperware books have found their way into candy bags too. How sad ! The other top rude Halloween treat was election fliers. My boys got refrigerator magnets so that is not quite as bad but still even if I was going to vote for this person who is running for school board, I surely wouldn't now. Besides, how many trick or treaters are over eighteen anyway? Talk about targeting the wrong group ! Amazing what is becoming of people's sense of common sense. Are we as a society that desperate? Just something to think about !

Candy or Play do ?

While going through the boy's candy bags last night I was sort of surprised at some of the contents. In addition to Reese's cups, Milky Way, Snickers and the usual cheap off brand candies that seem to always find their way into the trash can after all the rest of the candy is gone and for some strange reason the kids have had their fill of candy. Of course there were the couple pamphlets from near by church groups trying to convert our young children to their religion, but there were also things such as small containers of play do, Halloween pencils, small plastic puzzles , stickers , and the such. As I went through these things my mind wandered off. Were these things better than candy or a waste of money? Of course because we are happy with our religion, the religious recruiting pamphlets were thrown out, the pencils could be used by school age kids but what about preschoolers? The ironic part is that so many complain that the kids who are trick or treating are too old and that Trick or Treating is for the preschooler age group. This age group would surely like the Play Do but parents of this age group usually are not really fond of that messy stuff. How about the small toys? Around here they also hit the trash can . Preschoolers could choke on these things ,though I guess that some families may appreciate them. How do you find the perfect treat? Too much candy is really bad for kids so is that a good treat? Are Potato chips better? How about peanut butter crackers or raisins? As a mother I can affirm that Chips are OK for my kids but crackers or raisins will surely put you in the skip that house next year list. What is a person to do? I have tried to buy different things but that can cost quite a bit and asking every kid what they want can take awhile then you have mind changing, it just becomes a mess. I guess that is just the nature of Trick or Treat. People have different ideas of what constitutes treats and sometimes you get your idea of good stuff and sometimes you get stuff that you wish that the person hadn't wasted their money on. What to do? It would be awfully rude to refuse a treat offered to you but isn't wasting a bad thing too? Maybe you could pass the rejected treats on to another. Maybe families should host a trade party. Johnie trades his chips for tootsie pops. Julie gets Play do for her Snickers bar. Of course the off brand stuff would still be unclaimed but I guess that is just how it goes.

Halloween evening

Michael and Robby dress up.Robby is riding a dinosaur and Michael is a basketball pole and hoop. the hoop is on his head with a ball going in. Our carved pumpkins
Guess whose is whose

This one is Michael's

Michael's Robby's & Cindy's