Six Days

I am down to the final coat of paint on the long wall in the family room. I like the effect we created--although it was a learning process since we did it for the first time. I know a few things, now! Tom has been painting, as well. He did the ceiling beams and the stair edges as well as the new facing on the bar. He really lives that old Army advert--he gets more done before 9:00am than most people get done all day. He replaced the cabinets and the bar last night, and added a new facing to the bar. There is more room to move down there, which helps. Now we're off to the store for supplies.

Preparing for "Wedding Reception Part II"

Tom has been working HARD for over a month, renovating our basement family room. He did it partly because he needed to keep busy and partly to have a nicer space for T.J. and Jodi's party. The party is being held for all those members of the family that really wanted to go to the wedding in South Carolina, but simply could not.

So, the walls are up and some have paint on them. Tom is working on returning the Summer Kitchen cabinets to their original location. We still have to finish painting, replace the ceiling, and CLEAN. Eight days and counting.

Happy Birthday, Cathy!

Happy Birthday, John!

My Sister and her oldest child share today as the celebration of the anniversary of their birth. How cool is that? John's oldest child has a February birthday, too, but they missed the 'three generations/one birthday' thing by about nine days. Too bad!

I hope today is a wonderful day for both of you. Love you.

What's goin' on...

Not much. Tom is very busy getting the house ready for the 'wedding reception/welcome to the family' party we are having so those members of the family that could not come to the wedding can offer their good wishes. He has been refurbishing the basement Family Room with insulation, drywall and a new ceiling. Not to mention all the new wiring he has been doing, too. I'm guessing I'd better get myself busy with the rest of the house....

I took a lasagne dinner to Mom and Dad this week. Mom hasn't been feeling too well and Dad makes very basic meals, so I brought dinner with me when I went to spend an evening. I really just brought the lasagne. Mom and Dad took care of the salad and bread. Tom didn't come with because he wanted to get some work done at home. See above. The evening with Mom and Dad turned out nicely, though.

I have a few details to follow up on today. I still am waiting for a referral for an oncologist. It is getting ridiculous. I did get one referral from the base--they sent me to an oncologist that specializes in hematology--that is, blood cancers. His office (naturally) refused to schedule me because he can't really help me. So, after the wedding and Christmas, I called the insurance company. The woman I spoke to was appalled at the error, but explained that I need to call my Primary Care Manager to request a proper referral. I did. She put in a request and told me I could pick up the paperwork in three days. I went in to the base to get it and was told it was being mailed to me. That was three weeks ago. I hate this, I really do.

LOL

So I mentioned to my hubby this morning that our daughter-in-law had posted a link to the company she recently started working for--Jodi just accepted a marketing position with an art studio. He said he had not seen it. Moments later, Hubby casually looked over my shoulder and said "Please tell me that's not what she's selling." I had moved on to another friend's blog. This is what he saw. ::giggle::

Lily's Visit

Today was our regular day with Lily. We did the usual things--she played on my puh-nYOU-ter (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Imagination Movers, Winnie-the-Pooh and the Super Sleuths, Super Why), she built a Cinderella puzzle with both Grandma and Grandpa, together and separately. We made cookies. And as she climbed up onto her stepstool so she can reach the counter, we shared the following:

Grandma: Who's the best girl?

Lily: Me. Who's the best Grandma in the whole world?

Grandma: Is it me?

Lily: (grins) Uh huh.

I love Tuesdays.

Valentine's Day--a week early

Tom wanted to take me to see Daniel Radcliffe in "Equus" on Broadway on NYC for Valentine's Day. He knows how much I have enjoyed him in the Harry Potter movies and thought I would enjoy seeing him in person. He checked it out and learned the play ended the weekend before Valentine's Day....sooooo, he did the research, bought the tickets online, asked for guidance from friends and family and planned a day trip to New York and the Broadhurst Theatre. He planned some extra time into our travel schedule just to be sure, and it was a good thing he did. We missed turn off the highway and getting back on track cost us a few minutes. My brother-in-law, who works in NYC, had given Tom some very specific directions with instructions to park at a certain building, go beneath the building to the PATH train station there, take it to the World Trade Center Station, catch the E train to 42nd and 8th Sts and walk two blocks to the theatre. Sounds easy, yes? It should have been. But the parking facility is closed on weekends, as were most parking lots in the area--so we lost another few minutes. We had arrived in the area of the station at about 12:30. When we finally got down to the PATH Train Station, the signs indicated the next train the the WTC would be at 1:22. Let's see--short ride under the Hudson River, wait for the E train and fifteen minutes to 42nd Street, then the walk to the theatre. We might be cutting this close....

Unfortunately, our cell phones did not work in the subway stations because we were underground, so we had no idea of the exact time. The transport system here is not as easy to use as the ones in Europe (especially the Tube in London) as there were no maps anywhere in the station. But we asked for help and got it, arrived at the WTC and followed the signs to the E train--which was not running this weekend to allow for needed construction. Soooo, we asked again and learned we needed to take the A train to 42nd St. When we exited the station where the signs indicated "42nd and 8th Sts." we could see the theatre a short distance away. I checked the time. It was 2:01! The show was scheduled to start at 2:00. So we speedwalked, collected our tickets, skipped the trip to the restroom and sat down. The play started almost immediately.

The gist of the story is that we are learning of the difficulties a child psychiatrist (Richard Griffiths) faces in dealing with the problems of his young and very disturbed patients. The story focuses on one of them, a seventeen-year-old named Alan Strang (Daniel Radcliffe), who has blinded six horses in one violent episode one evening. It was done very well, in a sort of 'black box' style--where several large boxes on the stage and the audiences' imagination provided almost all of the scenery. There were seven men who played the horses, and they were just fabulous. Their 'costumes' consisted of form-fitting shorts and long pants, a metal frame of a horse's head and footwear the resembled horseshoes and gave height to the actors. The really fabulous part was the movement of these men as horses. You really got the feeling of a horse! They were very well-rehearsed. The whole show was good--not exactly an 'upper' if you know what I mean, but well done nonetheless. I enjoyed it very much.

Isn't my husband the sweetest? ;)

Ryan and Lily's First Overnight Stay With Grandma and Grandpa

31 January was a big day for us--it was the very first time Ryan and Lily spent the night away from their parents, and they spent it with us. Jen and Jay wanted to spend an evening with friends and our having the kids over here made things a lot simpler. We arranged that I would go over there at about 5:00 pm, leave my car there and bring the kids back here in Jen's car. Much easier than switching car seats all around. I was on my way over at about 3 minutes after 5:00 and my phone rang. It was the kids, telling me they wanted to come spend the night at my house! I told them I would come right over and get them. I'm not sure they were surprised when I arrived about thirty seconds later....

Anyway, we came back to our house and things went pretty well. I fed them a dinner of pizza and/chicken nuggets. Actually, on the way back to our house I gave them a choice. Lily chose pizza. Ryan chose chicken nuggets. ::sigh:: I should have remembered that is how it goes when you give two different children choices. No matter, I made both items, and they ate well. After dinner, I asked if they get a bath on Friday nights. Now that I think about it, they never really answered that question, but they loved the idea of a bath, so I gave them one. All I can say is both children are working on perfecting their flutter kicks--and Michael Phelps would be proud!

Once they were all clean, with freshly washed hair and their monkey pajamas on it was story time. Somehow it was decided that Grandpa needed to read stories, and he did. As soon as he finished a story, he was handed another book to read. Good thing my supply of books is limited to about five just now! (I have others, they were just not easily accessible.) After stories came songs. Then prayers. Lily obviously wanted more attention, so I tried settling her down by lowering the lights and speaking softly. This only goes so far towards quieting a child when her brother in the same double bed is still using his playground voice. Both kids finally got settled down, but Lily kept wanting to go get Grandpa, who was working in the basement. Then Ryan asked me to make up a story, so I thought I would tell a story about their Mommy when she was a little girl. It must have been a boring story because I barely started when Lily piped up with "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!" So I told a different story with Minnie Mouse as our heroine. Eventually I realized I needed to just leave the room and let them go to sleep. Lily said she wanted Grandpa to come sing songs--"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Workin' on the Railroad, cuz that's my favorite." I told her I would go see if Grandpa wanted to come sing. I didn't tell her I intended to wait about a half hour before I did.

I'm sure Jen and Jay expected their babies home sometime the next morning, but we were having fun. We played with the puzzles Tom and I picked up the day before, and we played on the computer. And of course we made cookies! Well, I made cookies while the kiddies were totally distracted by Grandpa. Seems he likes to make funny sentences with the refrigerator magnets. Like"Ryan is a girl." Naturally this annoyed Ryan, so he would change the letters to say something about Grandpa. So silly, but they were having a great time. Sometime after noon, Jay showed up at the door. He did call first, but my phone was still on my nightstand and I didn't hear it. Anyway, he drove my car over. He said Jen wasn't feeling too well so he made sure she had everything she needed and then left her alone--which is her preference when she doesn't feel well. Besides, it gave him the chance to come over and help Tom with the renovation. He even got to use the 'shot' that he had to forego last time because he was needed at home. The kids played with me upstairs, checking on the men downstairs every now and again.

Surprise of surprise, around 3:00, Jen showed up! She was feeling a bit better so she came over to see what we were all doing. We talked about their evening the night before. She said they had a good time, so I was glad.

Eventually I realized dinnertime was headed our way. The guys were getting a lot done and Jay really seemed to be enjoying it, so I just threw together several easy dishes for dinner and they all stayed. We had a DiGiorno four cheese pizza, jambalaya, InnovASIAN General Tso chicken over rice, green beans, baked sweet potato slices, and chicken nuggets. Everybody got something they liked. After dinner, Jen got all the kids' things together while I cleaned up and they headed home. I loved having the kids overnight. I hope we get to do it again.

Lucy *updated* **again

Today we are worried about Lucy. Lucy is T.J. and Jodi's dog, that they adopted after they tried for a long time to find her owner when they found her running loose on the highway. She had caused at least one accident and was on her way to causing more. She was cold, wet and scared when T.J. called her into the car. She jumped right in and has lived with him ever since. T.J. called her "Lucy" because she was loose. See? Jodi was accepted into the household (just kidding, Jodi) after she married T.J. and they have been living happily since. Until last night.

Jodi called me today to tell me about it, and this is what I got from that conversation: When Lucy went outside for her pre-bedtime constitutional, she took off like a shot (I imagine) toward the dark area of the yard. T.J. heard a noise that was loud enough that he went out to investigate. As he neared Lucy, a large bird flew away and T.J. found Lucy with a 'possum in her mouth. He called her off and pulled her away from the 'possum and into the house where they discovered her mouth was bloodied and I think they noticed a tooth was dangling. They took her to the emergency vet who removed the loosened tooth and also noticed the matching tooth on the other side was gone, too! The vet gave her some pain medicine and recommended she see a vet specializing in dentistry the next day.

Luckily, their regular vet, whom they really like, does doggie dentistry. They dropped her off today for whatever needs to be done and hopefully she will come home tonight--without two canine teeth! I was worried about how that would affect her ability to eat properly, but T.J. told me when I called him that domesticated dogs don't really need those ripping, tearing teeth, so she will be fine once the pain of the removal and healing is over. Poor girl. It must hurt. Jodi said she whimpered a lot last night. T.J. laid down next to her bed (at the bottom of their bed) to comfort her--and fell asleep there!

So, our sweet grand-dogger will have an altered smile after today. But we will love her anyway.

***UPDATE

Lucy will be spending the night at the vet's. The procedure was more complicated than expected, therefore took longer than expected. She came out of the anesthesia well enough, but the vet wants to keep an eye on her overnight. She should be home on Tuesday. We'll keep a good thought.

***UPDATED AGAIN

Jodi tells me that Lucy is home now. She is whimpering a bit, but Jodi is unsure if that is because she is in pain or because she likes the attention she gets when she whimpers. They have painmedication for her, and have ben administering it as prescribed. She has a follow-up appointment on Friday.