Danny's Fall Band Concert

What a musical treat tonight! Jake,Molly,Charlotte and I had the pleasure of attending Danny's fall band concert at Scranton Middle School. The place was packed and the 7th and 8th grades bands put on a great show. The 7th graders played 2 songs to open up, then the 8th grade jazz band played 4 tunes, and then the 8th grade symphony band played 2 songs. Then the bands joined together to play and then retire a patriotic melody that was introduced at the fall concert in 2001 to honor the victims of 9/11. Mrs. Evans explained that since the kids in the band today were small babies when the tragedy occured, they don't have the same emotional connection to the music and she will retire it and start a new tradition. We all sang along to Battle Hymn of the Republic and America the Beautiful. They also introduced all the band officers and so Danny, as elected librarian, got to stand up and be recognized. Yeah, we are proud!!

TUBAS!!!

Sophie loves when i take her picture!

proud Mom

Tubas in action

Danny proudly standing-he is librarian, section leader and first chair!

Boy Scout Court of Honor

I will add some photos tomorrow so you can see handsome Dan get his rank advancement. He is now a Boy Scout second class! He also earned three merit badges, swimming, space exploration and rifle shooting. Danny's troop gives the moms a small black velvet fabric pin and a new gold pin each time their son advances in rank. Today when I was getting ready to go I pinned on two of dad's medals so he could be there with us as we celebrate scouting and Danny. I know dad is very proud of him as indeed the whole family is. We all enjoyed a tasty potluck dinner before the ceremony. go Danny!

The parents are asked to stand up in support of their scout-Danny is a scout-second class!

danny moving his name up to the next spot on the rank chart

the plaque holds all the names of the scouts in rank order

Don't you love Sundays?

Our Sundays are so great I almost hate to go away for the weekend. (invite me anyway, if it's somewhere like Hawaii or HongKong I'm there!) Sitting on the sun porch drinking coffee while an 8 point buck wanders around in the lower back yard and our hawk slowly circles looking for field mice. The girls and Jerry arriving back from our awesome Title Boxing Club sweaty and happy. Attending mass at Saint Patrick, sitting in our seats, listening to the kids sing (Danny sounds just like my Dad!),praying, feeling blessed, visiting with so many people after mass and watching the girls enjoy these encounters,feeling filled and inspired by Father Karl. Then heading to Leo's diner for a late lunch-having all the waitresses greet us as long lost friends, having the kids know what they want right away,(especially Charlotte-it's always the Polish omelette =no green peppers!), blowing straw papers at each other, having our toast,with our toast! walking the dog, raking leaves, talking to my Mom and my sister. Serving the weeks leftovers for dinner and chatting about the week ahead, making lunches and tidying the kitchen. Having a Wii bowling tourney suggested by Charlotte and laughing with the kids in the basement. This is a great Sunday in my book!
I hope you have a great week ahead :)

Poly Hockey POWER!

 

The girls had a Special Olympics Poly Hockey tournament in Romulus on Saturday. And boy did they play well. They ended up splitting the two games and earning a third place with their team, but the scoring---Molly 4 goals and Charlotte 2! Jerry had a great time watching them play. I worked at the library and Danny stayed home to mush. It was super windy out with rain in the late afternoon so there was hardly anyone in the library. Not my favourite type of shift, I prefer to be busy. I did get to read a bunch of new picture books and even bring a couple home to share with Cassie next weekend.

Halloween starts now!

Molly and Charlotte were invited to their friend Heather's Halloween party! What fun! They are not invited to many parties so it was quite an exciting invite. And because of huge time of year, the dress code was costumes. Molly decided to be Dorothy again this year, with her long brown braids she is a natural. Charlotte was inspired by the awesome $1.50 Professor McGonagall hat I found at Sally's and wanted to complete the costume and dress as her. I found the emerald cape at the Halloween store, but the skirt and top I procured at Sally's today. Charlottes eyes lit up when she got home from school and saw her costume.she really feels like she is the Prof. And she carries herself like Dame Maggie herself. The party looked great and everyone's costumes were super!

Jerry had a light load for FNB, just Leah and Danny. Even so, he took them to Leo's so they had a ball.

Jake and his friend mike are happily in the basement playing video games after finishing up the leftover stuffed cabbage and bowls of chilli. The weekend begins!

I manage to stay in for the night! Yippee!

On the schedule was the BHS choir concert, and you know what a huge fan I am. We love the choirs and it is a lovely evening of song. BUT....Monday=Poly hockey/Boy Scoutsbook club! Tuesday = band concert! Wednesday=quiz bowl/CCD/parent meeting for science Olympiad! Thursday=after school crosscountry final practice and party and awards. Danny had a great time, finishing the season with a PR in the final meet of 13:11 on the varsity team. Truth be told he is happy that it has wound up, I think he is ready for a change. Jake was waiting outside Scranton and spirited Danny away for a quick 9 holes of disc golf before the sun went down and I headed home. When I walked in the door molly asked if she could put on her pj's. What about choir I asked? But the girls wanted to stay home and relax and that was just fine with me...I think I almost trampled them in my rush to get upstairs and get MY pj's on! We all enjoyed the chilli I had in the crockpot and the comfort of having no where to go!

Quiz bowl 2013

In the spirit of his brother and Aunt Susan, Danny has joined the Scranton Middle School Quiz Bowl Team. He has attended several practices and an inter squad scrimmage and based on his number of correct answers he was chosen for the away team! He is very excited to represent his school and is skipping the last dual cross country meet to travel to the first competition today. The two teams played three games each, and Danny's team won 2 out of 3. Danny did okay, answered some questions, some right and some wrong. He seemed to enjoy it a lot. The kids each have a buzzer to buzz in when they want to answer a question. If they get it wrong the other team can try to answer it, with no penalty for a wrong answer. The first round has 20 questions, the second round is a two minute lightening round involving the whole team gathering around a list that they work on together for the whole time. For example Danny's team had a list of 10 initials, ex. Aids,FBI,EEC,and they had to identify as many as possible. Round three is buzz in, but if you get it right you get a bonus question and you can consult with the team.  So D's team took the first match by quite a bit, lost game two by a tiebreaker, then won the final match by 10 points. 

We booked out of hartland middle school! swung through Tim Hortens for a chicken wrap, then dumped off at CCD with 3 minutes to spare. I then zoomed into Panera for a splurge, a sugar free vanilla cappuccino, on my way to the parents meeting for Science Olympiad. Left the meeting a bit early to go get Danny, on my way out of the library my keys dropped out of my pocket. I got out to the car in the freezing dark only to find no keys....and when I tried to get back into the school the doors were locked! Oh no! Finally the door to the gym opened and I sprinted for it, got in,got the keys, and drove like a bat out of hell to church, and was the last parent to pick up--Danny and Sister Theresa waiting at the door together.Good gracious, not the way to end my day! 

Happy birthday Harry,

Harry is one year old! We first saw this little guy on line on the website Petfinder and were pulled in by the four cute pups available to adopt. Danny chose Harry from among the siblings and we had to wait until he was 8 weeks old and fixed til we could bring him home. Danny's 12th birthday was very special and our whole family has enjoyed this present! We all love Harry , even when he is eating socks or sneaking into the powder room to "empty the wastebasket". He can sit, roll over, shake hands and give a high five! We are working on don't jump up and stay but he'll get there. He loves to go to the woods and run around off the leash, he has flushed a couple of deer and taken off, but he always comes right back. One funny thing, whenever I get out the peeler to peel a potato,cucumber or anything. Harry comes running. Wherever he is in the household e here's the peeler scrape and Look Out! I always make sure to accidentally drop some peelings on the floor and he thinks he is getting such a treat!

His big birthday gift is a dog bed in his size--LARGE! As you can see from the pictures, when he was around 7 months he realized that beds were not for eating but rather for relaxing comfortably in. He tried to us little Buddy's bed after he went to sleep in Charlotte's room. It wasn't as cozy as Buddy made it seem. Next he tried sprawling out on the carpet, that was okay....but nothing special. And then, aaaahhhhhh! The costco bed arrived with a lively rendition of Happy Birthday and Harry discovered heaven on earth! 

So happy second year Harry, you are a wonderful dog and we are so happy to have you in our family!

Book club 10/13 The Paris wife

Our club enjoyed this pick by Patty, a short book that blends fact and fictio into a compelling tale about Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley. The setting is Jazz age Paris in the 20's and it is peopled with expat artists and writers. Ernest was married to Hadley for only 6 years, until the drinking and womanizing brought it to an end. Hadly became a single mom and brought up there son jack alone. While there will always be another book to read, there may not always be a friend. So the true highlight of these meetings is the company. Tonight we chose the cozy family room with a fire glowing for our discussion. Later we adjourned to the kitchen for a tasty pumpkin roll and coffee. I was able to see the latest pictures of Karen's Oliver, and catch up with Patty's kids and there latest exploits. I found out the Pat is semi- retired, and she said he isn't driving her nuts yet!! I love book club night!

Molly's Marathon

My alarm was set for 4am but I woke up at least 6 times during the night. I was so nervous!  Finally it was wake up time and all the older kids got up and dressed and we loaded Cassie in at 4:30 when PJ and Kristin arrived. The drive into Motown took notime! then we jockeyed our way into a parking deck and PJ, Molly, Russ and some other running pals headed to the race course. The temperature was hovering around 41 with a nice bracing wind. The spectators headed to a spot just beyond the start line to await the runners. At precisely 7 am the first runners left the start. This group consisted of amputees on their adapted bikes each with an honor bike guard of volunteer riders, the rising sun barely illuminating their determined faces. I started crying,their strength was inspirational. Presumably molly and PJ ran by with their pace group of 4:40 runners but we never saw them! Our next viewing spot was at the top of the hill coming out of the tunnel from Canada. The sun was rising over the Detroit river as the waves of runners crested the hill. It was tricky to scan the crowds for Molly! I was desperate to see her and wish her well. And get photos-- no surprise there! And then, there they were!! I got some great pictures, even sprinting into the underpass so I could get more. They looked good and were feeling great. Attar his point Jerry and Danny headed east to the 15 mile area and we headed to mile 8. We got out our signs and cheered for everyone who ran by, But we never saw PJ and Molly.

At this point Cassie had woken up and we were all freezing so we went down to Fort street first Presbyterian Church which had opened its doors to all the runners. She was able to get out of the stroller and run around and Charlotte and Kristin had a hot cocoa. Then Kristin got the text from PJ saying that Molly was struggling. I was surprised to hear this and the worry began. I let Jerry know and he and Danny hooked up with them and encouraged molly. We tried to get PJ to run on so he could get a good time, but he refused. " one dream one team" is what he said, and yes, I cried some more! Special Olympics brought this wonderful man into our lives 14 years ago, little did we know the impact he would have. His joy for SO brought people in to the program and kept them in and our lives would not be the same without him. Poor molly, little did we know but what happened is that the half marathoners were running in with the 26.2 group until turning off to their finish. Molly thought everyone shouting" you are almost there, you got this, the finish is right up ahead" were talking to her. And when 80% of the runners turned off she thought she would be done too. From there it was hard to recover and she began walking and running, really having to fight through it. I couldn't stand at the finish any more and just started walking back ward down the route to try to meet them. I found them at about 24, and jogged with them for 2 miles, trying to encourage molly to run, and stop crabbing. At 26 I pulled off and tried to run up to the finish but they beat me! PJ even let molly cross first. Aaawww, he is such a great guy. So if Molly decides to run again, we will pick a marathon with a different route set up. 

As soon as she was done, all was well. She was stiff and happy to hit the massage tent with PJ, and hungry and ready for the meatball subs from the DagoJoe's food truck, but other than that she looked and acted great! unreal! There was a nice live Motown band at the after party, and then we were on our way home by 1:30. Molly couldn't wait to go to 5 pm mass, and deacon Pat asked everyone wearing a marathon medal to stand up and the congregation applauded. You can imagine how thrilled molly was with that! And the medal was worn on Monday to school as well.

All told an unbelievable day, with my daughter now a marathoner! God is Good!

  

Saturday sports report!

Today we had Scranton cross country and Special Olympics soccer state tournament AND a driving cold rain. Not what you would wish for,that's for sure. We made marathon moly stay home to chillax while Jerry and I divided and conquered. Jerry headed east to warren to cheer on Charlotte and the other fine athletes on our 5 teams. Coach Michelle did a great job, Charlotte played forward for both games and had lots of good assists and set up plays. The team took home the bronze medal--not to shabby and boy is Charlotte proud. Normally we are big sticklers for staying with the team, but with 500 people crowded into a small pavilion to eat lunch, shop and do a health and fitness test, jer opted for a cozy warm diner and a cheeseburger for Charlotte.  Cassie and I headed south to Hudson mills metro park to cheer on Scranton in a mega meet with 35 schools represented. Danny ran with the varsity squad and gave it his all like he always does. He finished about 106 in the field and seemed happy with that. This was his last meet, he is skipping the Wednesday dual meet to go to his quiz bowl competition, he made the away team! We stayed to cheer on Sophie in the girls JV but then as the rain beat down harder we gave up and headed for home. We couldn't leave molly inside all day, so we scooped her up and went to costco for lunch,picked up some necessities (?) and then got Cassie and Danny new sneakers at kohls( yay 30%) !

Everyone is in bed now, ready for our 4:30 departure for Detroit City....I am happy the big day is finally here but I will admit here that I am nervous. I wish so hard for her to be successful in this. Keep her in your prayers!

13 minutes left...

Thirteen minutes until my birthday is over. What a great day! It actually began last night when we suddenly realized that we were all home at the same time for 5 minutes and decided to break out my cards and gifts. I was serenaded with a beautiful birthday song and got great homemade cards from Molly and Charlotte. Danny and jake got me some dunkin donuts coffee to brew at home! Charlotte yoga pants to wear to boxing and molly a nice book. My mom sent a beautiful coffee table book called The Life of Jesus which looks amazing, and susan sent me a cute outfit. I feel quite loved. This morning, after a cup of delicious coffe I took Danny to Sophie's house so they could ride to school( this years routine, as the 7th and 8th building is too far to walk) then went to morning mass. I have been attending an average of 3 mornings a week and have become quite addicted to the peace and joy I get from starting the day by focusing on Jesus. My usual prayer is "guard my mouth and guide my steps" as I ask him to place me where he needs me, and help me to say the right things when I get there! After mass Shawne joined me for a walk with Harry and we caught up on each other's lives. Blessed am I to have a friend like her! Then the troops were loaded and we headed out. First stop, Dearborn to pick up Cassie, now that's a birthday gift! Then we went to Cobo hall to the marathon expo. It officially opened at 2, but since we got there at 12:30, well, no harm in trying the door, hey we're in! No one said anything to us, and we were able to stroll through the expo and shop and get our freebies with no crowds. I mean none, we were the only people in there who weren't vendors! At 1:55 we were at the rear, ready to pick up Molly's packet at 2. They waved molly in at 1:59 and she was the first person to pick up her number. 7199! I told her she already came in first! We hooked up with PJ, Molly's friend and training partner and finalized plans for Sunday. We will be pulling out of Brighton at 4:30 am! Charlotte and PJ headed north to warren to meet up with the rest of the SO soccer teams and prepare to go to the dance and play in the state finals. We headed westward to get Danny from band tag days and get everyone fed and headed out the door to Friday night basketball. I was able to blissfully vacuum up dog hair and watch house hunters and property brothers! a great ending to my birthday!

Happy birthday to me!

I started this blog on October 18 of 2010 and faithfully wrote an entry every day! I was so proud! Then  in 2011 I blogged more sporadically but still did a pretty good job of recording our families year and the significant happenings in my life. And then came 2012.....I am sad to look back and see what a terrible job I did...and with no real reason. Sure life gets busy, sure wifi isn't always available, but seriously, no hands were broken,no computers crashed, nothing, so was it laziness? Was I bored with my own life? So now comes the hypothesis I will be testing for my 52nd year--ready?

Is life more exciting because you are writing about it?

Simple, I know, but I plan to test it by recommitting to my blog, and posting daily, and seeing how this year turns out. Maybe on my birthday next year we can see.....