Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Cookie Decorating Party!

readying the icings

naked cookies!

Charlotte adds some sugar

Molly puts on lots of M&M's

Hannah searches for the right toppings

Ryan and Danny did a great job

after the cookies were done, the girls enjoyed playing with Harry




 
Sophie and Hannah walked home from school to our house, and Ryan
joined us at the house. Molly and Charlotte arrived by bus. Then we were all ready to go. the girls mixed up the icing colours and Danny grabbed waters for the crew. The cookies came out awesome and another of my favourite Christmas activities is checked off the list.
Charlotte's cookie has a kitkat on it! She made it for Shawne!

come to the party on Friday and eat these!
 
 

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Twas the week before Christmas-with a puppy!

Twas the week before Christmas
and all through the house
Danny's small creature was stirring
with a vigor no walk could douse.
the dish towels were hung on the cabinet with care
til Harry yanked them down and carried them off to his lair.
Danny was nestled all snug in his bed
while visions of ? starwars,cakepops,vacation days? danced in his head.
And Jerry and I in the cozies we like best
had just settled our brains for a long TV fest
when out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter
we sprang from our seats to see what was the matter.
away to the doorway I dragged like a slug
splash! was that piddle on the edge of the rug?
the lights from the ceiling shown down with a glare
on the dog squeakies,balls,lovies and mats that were there.
and on a  small brown puppy so lively, quick and hairy
I knew in a moment it must be THAT HARRY!
More rapid than eagles he zoomed round the room
and all I could feel at that moment was doom.
"It's 11pm, it's time for you to sleep"
he looked and he smiled, but still he didn't keep
to the top of the sun porch, now back to the hall
now dash away,dash away,dash away with the ball!
and then in a twinkling I heard and I saw
the prancing and patting of each little paw
as I entered the kitchen and was turning around
out from the laundry room Harry came with a bound
He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot
and his back was all covered in leaves,lint and schmoot.
a mitten on his back and a shoe in his mouth
and he looked like a pro football wide-out
his eyes how they twinkled! his tail how it wagged,
his whiskers were bouncing,his puppy belly sagged
and his droll little mouth was drawn up round his prize
not slowing him down though it was twice his size!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly young elf,
and I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself.
he spoke not a word but went straight to his work
biting and gnawing til I gave his rope a jerk.
and dropping the shoe as I held out some kibble,
(it was none worse the wear as I wiped off pup dribble)
Harry sprang to his feet, and with a loud bark,
away he ran to the fireplace hearth.
he sprawled out and crashed,soon his dreams had him twitchen
while Jerry and I surveyed the trashed kitchen.
and, with a promise to be up several times before light,
Harry the pup FINALLY said Good Night!

Good Night Prince Harry!
 



Thursday, December 13, 2012

Good Golly Miss Molly


 
Who knew that BOWLING could be so dangerous?! This was a night from hell, kids. First up, our concert that we had been looking forward to for 3 weeks. Jerry pulls out the tickets at 5pm, after the kids have eaten and are changing for their big night. What do they say on them? NO ONE under 21. WHAT??? This is the Four Tops, Hits and Holiday Concert not Eminem for heaven sakes. Jerry called the Soundboard and they said No exceptions. Good Gracious! When we got these tickets at the silent auction at the Inspiring Greatness Special Olympics there was no indication that there were age restrictions. We have taken the kids to Springsteen, Great Big Sea,etc and never had anyone tell us they couldn't attend. AAARGH! We were so disappointed. So we scrambled around to try to find a fun activity to do and came up with bowling. Most lanes have leagues and were not open to the public, but Hartland was a go. Unfortunately they have a step right on the lane(how do the drunk singles and unstable seniors manage this on their bowling day?) Jerry warned Molly about it, but on her second time out she missed it and went down. Her bowling ball dropped on her hand! Jer tried to jolly her along, encouraging her to buck up, which usually does the trick with Molly. When he realized that it wasn't working and she was crying harder by the second he gave me a call and I picked her up and headed to the ER. X-rays, medication and lots of comfort later the results are: Broken finger tip bones in pinkie and ring man-splinted and coddled for a week or two. Molly can still run and she can move them as she feels up to it. And then smiley Molly, once home and helped into PJ's she was all smiles again.  So Thanks for nothing Four Tops! And get well soon Molly1

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Twelve on 12/12/12! How cool is that?

Happy Birthday Danny! My little blizzard baby is twelve today and what a Golden Birthday it has been. I came up with the idea of doing the 12 days of birthday and have written out the song...

12/4 On the first day of birthday my family gave to me
         A puppy dog named Harry!

12/11 On the second day of birthday my father gave to me
           2 U of M basketball tickets (for my best pal Ryan and me) and
           A puppy dog named Harry

12/12  On the third day of birthday my sisters gave to me
           3 brightly wrapped presents
           2 U of M basketball tickets
          and  A puppy dog named Harry

stay tuned for more as the days roll on!
 Danny brought his birthday treats to school and they were a big hit. After our walk home with Harry we jumped in the car and headed to Leos for a birthday dinner. That place is so quick and good-Mol had her chicken finger salad, Danny a chicken finger pita and lemon rice soup and Charlotte a Turkey Burger and Fries(it's healthy Mom!). Then we dropped Danny at BHS for his Tuba lesson. He feels he is learning alot and he really likes it. Picked him up, changed to the taekwando uniform and off we went to class. Home to gifts,singing and making a wish and homemade chocolate mousse, pecan tarts bites and kolachki cookies. And phone calls from NJ and Fort Drum were the perfect ending to this very special day!
a super Uncle

a unique dresser

an excellent runner
an adventurous eater

a son who greets each day and each person with enthusiasm and joy
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Weekend Update!

Okay so I am no where near as funny as Seth Meyer, and I don't have Mrs.Claus or the Hostess DingDong here as guest speakers, but I will endeavor to entertain and inform as best I can!
We had a rainy, gloomy, fun, puppy-filled, churchgoing weekend!

Harry: peeing in the house has decreased in frequency...Whoot!  I still have my jumbo roll of Bounty and my pet stain and odor reducing spray bottle within arms length though! Harry has walked to and from Maltby a few times and around our neighborhood. He sometimes just sits and looks at us, as if to say "again with the walking?" but if he is in our family, he will be active :) Buddy the dog has laid down the law with some well placed snarling and snapping and the two have seemed to reach an understanding. Harry is still hoping that Buddy will play with him...so far it is not happening.
I only got up with him once last night and he hopped right back into his crate. He is laying next to me right now, doing that cute sleep twitching and running dogs do...I love that!

Weather: Rained all weekend. Flurried a bit on Saturday morning and we hoped it would change over to snow, but it quickly went back to rain. Saturday snowshoe practice canceled and we shall see about this Monday. The ground is saturated and the only bright spot is our Christmas lights, which randomly turned on all weekend because they are set for dusk and it was that gloomy!

Fun:
visiting with the star actress!

Friday evening we went to the Brighton High School production of  Dickens A Christmas Carol. Alex Wisbiski was a dancing towns person, a roll which she rocked! The scene where they danced at the accounting firms Christmas party was my favourite. The period music and dance moves provided a bright and cheery moment in a dark play. Cute moment; Leah, her 6 year old sister(my Goddaughter) was attending the show Saturday night. To prep her for it, her Mom Shawne borrowed our copy of Muppet Christmas Carol. Today when she was over at the house playing I asked her if she liked the play. She said "it was good, kinda like one I saw once with Kermit in it, but he wasn't in this one"! Love it!
Gorgeous fireplace at Calvin College
Saturday afternoon Jerry,Molly and Charlotte joined Ed,Laura and Hannah Bedner for a trip to Calvin College to visit Matt and attend his band concert. This was a professional level production with about 700 people in attendance. Wow! The band sections dressed up as different toys and the audience voted on which costumes were best. Charlotte spent the night with the Bedners,which was a thrill plus 10 for her. It was so nice of them. Danny and I shopped for his adopt a family girl, Promise, age 5, and loved picking out books,toys and clothes for her.
Danny powering up for the Darts game
Sunday afternoon Molly headed to BHS for another go at the play, this time with Karen and Eric. It was nice of them to invite her. And then after 5pm mass Molly joined the young adult ministry for a meal and chat session at Jamison's Irish Pub. Since Jerry needed to drive her, he graciously volunteered to stay at the pub, eating onion rings and Shepard's pie, and playing darts...oh the sacrifices we make for our kids! Danny tagged along, and even beat Jerry in a dart game, which was thrilling for him.
Church: Blessed are you who attend Saint Patrick Church, to be taught by such excellent spiritual leaders!The story of the Immaculate Conception was celebrated Saturday as a holy day of obligation. Danny and I went to 8, Jerry and the girls went to 10 and then Danny and I went back at 5 to fulfill our Sunday commitment. I especially appreciated Father Karl's homily in the morning. He said that GOD gave him a little prayer he says daily which is "let me not be noticed". What it means to him is if he is lifting the Lord up, and asking GOD to reveal what he needs from him that day, it will be about the Lord, not about us. I felt like it applied to my life with the girls. It is not about me, or what I am "going through". It is about helping them, whom the Lord has entrusted me with, to have happy lives. Quietly and unnoticed. Obviously this will take some work on my part :)

last but not least, we had an 8 point buck casually strolling around the yard eating pumpkins from our bowling match. Jerry texted a picture to his brother Art who replied "get a crossbow!"

So that's the update and I'm outta here!!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

And you thought I posted alot of photos of the baby....

Well get ready....For Danny's 12th birthday we asked him if he might want his own dog, and as every red blooded American boy would he answered "YES!" I had been browsing the rescue sites and thought I found the right group. We went out to Pet Supplies Plus in Howell to visit the Always Hope Rescue Group as they showed their dogs. Glad I got there early because these guys were getting alot of action! Danny was able to pick up the pups and visit with each one, but it was on his second pull that he fell in love! Jerry and I were actually tearing up watching him bond with the little fella. Cassie enjoyed him too, but was more interested in removing aquarium buildings and cat toys from the shelves! The pup will be fixed and micro chipped on Monday and come home to Princeton Court on Tuesday. So watch this blog for stories and photos of our newest family member....and wish us luck with the puppy training! Never a dull moment :)

Danny is excited about having a dog that actually plays with toys!(no offense Buddy!)

Danny's pup, second from left, with his siblings. 3 boys, 1 girl (the smallest)


Happy Birthday to my baby, shown here with his new baby!

Leah turns SEVEN!

Our Goddaughter Leah turned seven on Thursday! Smart and practical Shawne arranged to deliver her in November so that she could choose which year to send her to school!Leah is in first grade and doing fabulously. Boy can she read! And the books that she writes,illustrates,scotch tapes or staples together and gives away are gripping! We are so happy to be a part of her life, and a part of her birthday dinner-tacos and watermelon were her choices!! All the gifts that she asks for her special occasions are "as seen on TV"! We were able to provide the cake pop maker and we hope that that will earn us a tasty treat soon!
Big sister Alex is ready to take photos as Mom lights the candles

How cute is she?!



Don't you love the seven year old cheesy smile?!

Leah and her Dad

Happy times!

This past week we had a visit with Jake and Cassandra. Jake was in Michigan for two weeks and he was able to spend two days at our house with the baby. It was fun to see hime interact with her, she clearly is over any fright and totally into Dada. We took a run with the jogging stroller, Jake and Jerry had lunch with Danny at school and we had lots of catch up time. Jake approved of the new bedroom space, what a treat to host him! We hope to visit again over the Christmas holiday.




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Lake House

Now those of you who have been to Lake,MI and seen our little chalet may not recognize the cottage in the photos. After 12 years of blissful cottage ownership we decided to do some updates. Small details like Roof, Siding and windows were really needed. We also felt that since the house is on the lake the deck should be facing the lake, rather than on the side where it was built! So Jerry hired the local Posen brothers who did work on Hank's house Unfortunately Home Depot (despot!) screwed up our order several times and even delivered damaged windows. "More raving, More screwing, that's the frustration of the Home depot" This caused us to lose our contractors to a job down south, and left us with Tyvex where our front windows should be. UGH! And for a while it put a real damper on our thrill about being able to shape things up...But Jerry and Charlotte took a ride up today to check things out and Jerry was pleasantly surprised. He said he is re-enthused about the project and looking forward to the installation of the windows and the end the project or what I like to call the end of Phase One...hey, a girl can dream, can't she?! Check out the pictures and tell me what you think! And plan a visit for next spring or summer to comment in person :)
our sweet chalet-the heart trim,the side deck, the swiss mountain feel....
and now...


this is what we will be looking at as we sit on the new deck and drink coffee...join me?

the door, and old deck footprint

new wider stairs, and No Bees, PJ!

front view, tyvex areas will have windows and completed siding

I love the railings! They never have to be stained.

and we can get to the lake from the front

BRING ON THE SUMMER OF 2013!