Christmas

After coming back home late on Christmas Eve we did our gift opening. Miraculously, Santa delivered gifts to our home while we were with the whole family. I just love how he takes care of us on Christmas Eve.

My granddaughters were excited but a little tired. All that play with their cousins got a bit exhausting. My daughter was very excited to see her girls open the packages containing the gift on her daughters' wish lists.

It was a perfect day and I look forward to our Christmas Day dinner here today as well.

Christmas Eve at my Mom's

Christmas Eve at my mother's is a tradition that goes back to my very beginning. It will continue forever as far as I am concerned. So as usual, we head over for dinner followed by gift opening. When we walked in the door, the tree was in a new place and it was pretty. Avery's new bike was right in view and she sure was thrilled when she saw it which made the excitement in the air even greater.

We had a nice dinner with some good wine that BJ brought along. The kids want to get to present opening but the dishes have to be done first. And it's driving them all crazy which is a part of the process...teaching them all patience.

As the kids all lined up in front of the tree, Greg handed them each a package. They all looked the same...as it turned out, they were Kindle Fires. Every kid got one and it was great fun for all the adults to watch them open them up.

After that, it was a whirlwind of frenzy and gift-opening. We all enjoyed more wine and dessert once the excitement settled down and the kids were playing with their new stuff. The really cool thing about this Christmas is that my brother, his wife and his 4 kids were with us. They live in Menomonie which is too far to come without major planning by them. Other than that, pretty much Christmas Eve has gone down this way every year. And I love the consistency of it. It provides great comfort for me and I think it does for my family as well.

Breakfast with Santa

Today was Breakfast with Santa at the Legion Post. This is a wonderful event for Legion members' families. The kids all get special attention since there are usually less than fifty kids in attendance. The day starts with the Legion Band playing Christmas music followed by pancakes, a magician, and cookie decorating before the main event. Once Santa shows up, everything else is secondary. Each child gets a gift that is based on their likes, as if Santa really does listen (ha-ha)!

Chloe and the Dentist

A few months back we noticed a brown spot on my granddaughter Chloe's tooth. After searching for the right dentist, my daughter made an appointment for her. Unfortunately for my daughter, Chloe's school scheduled Chloe's speech evaluation result consultation an hour before the dentist visit. Not knowing how long the speech consult would take, I took Chloe to the dentist. Her mother came afterwards, just in time for the end of the dentist visit.

It turned out that Chloe did not have one cavity, she had four. And they were in each of her molars: top right, top left, bottom right and bottom left. This meant 4 visits, one for each quadrant. I think her mother was going to cry. On a good note, the hygienist was so good that she cleaned Chloe's teeth without Chloe even realizing it. She was amazing. Hopefully the dentist would be just as good.

Since Chloe had to have 4 appointments and her mother was adamant that she missed no school, I made the appointments for right after school. My daughter doesn't get off work until 4 but I just wanted my granddaughter to get them over with so I volunteered to take her. Besides, I think her mother would have freaked her out with all that crying.

Chloe was a trooper. She got through the first two appointments with ease. She had fillings in her top molars so now it was on to the bottoms. She was getting pretty used to these visits and she didn't seem to mind even though she did get a little uncomfortable towards the end of the appointments.

The dentist and his assistant was so patient with her. They let her watch You Tube videos on my phone when they were waiting for Novocaine to kick in and it didn't matter that she wanted to wear her hat and gloves or hang on tight to her My Little Pony toys while they drilled away. They were so good.

However, there was a reason they saved the bottom fillings for last. They were not as easy. The shots of Novocaine were tougher for her to take and the drilling was more uncomfortable. At the end of the third visit she asked me not to take her there any more. I told her I was sorry but there's one more visit.

I mentioned to the dentist that I did not understand how this could happen. My family has very strong teeth with a history of very few cavities. And my daughter makes sure she brushes her teeth lots. I blamed her father's side of the family (ha-ha!). The dentist said the reason the enamel on her teeth was so soft was that Chloe has eczema. I even affects the teeth. I had no idea. I still blame her dad's bad genes. I also asked why we can't just wait till they fall out but the baby molars are in there for a few more years so there's no way they can be just left alone. I tried to spare her more pain but this was for the best.

I hope we can get through that last visit without a lot of struggle. I did promise her a trip to "the red circle store". That's what she calls Target, her favorite place to get My Little Ponies. :)

Ikea Day Trip

Jeff has tons of vacation time to use up in the next two months. That happens when 5 months of the year is spent on disability from two rotator cuff surgeries. With this week being a short week, he thought he would take a few extra days of vacation. It's a shorter work week because GE employees get Veterans' Day as a paid holiday and since it falls on a Wednesday, he thought using vacation time on Monday and Tuesday made sense.

So we woke up on Tuesday morning debating whether we were going to see a $5 movie since the Marcus Theaters offer all movies for five bucks every Tuesday. And if so, what movie would we choose? Or what other options do we have for something to do? We love spontaneous day trips and he mentioned Ikea. Without even batting an eye, I said, "let's go!"

We took our time getting ready to go and planned out our day. I grabbed the Ikea catalog but I already had an idea of what I wanted to look at. So off we went. We love Ikea. It's not top quality when it comes to some of the furniture but it sure is a fun place to get ideas and look at the items available for organization and home decorating.

One of the best parts of the trip is our late lunch at Big Bowl. It is one of my very favorite restaurants. I absolutely love the Kung Pao Chicken. It is hot and spicy with its yummy tien-tsin peppers that rate a 60,000 on the Scoville unit scale. Nice. And. Hot. We always always go to Big Bowl after Ikea. I so look forward to it. This trip, I tried an apple sangria which was their special and it paired very well with my Kung Pao. It was slightly sweet and refreshing enough to counteract the peppers. It was a lovely way to spend this day...sure was better than the five-dollar movie.

Welcome Ruxin!

Now that Jeff's second rotator cuff surgery is complete, I find myself all alone. He is back to work and home is rather quiet and lonely. Since I struggle to do things I used to do, I don't really go out of the house much so there's not a lot to look forward to unless I am spending time with my granddaughters. I hate to admit it but I talk to myself a lot. Way too much. Jeff noticed my increased sadness and in an offhanded way, he wondered if I would ever be ready for another pet. I dismissed the comments though they were a nice gentle nudge toward filling my needs.

After a few weeks of increased loneliness at home I finally decided that it's time to get on with things...I want a new pet. Jeff's suggestion finally sunk in. I didn't think I could say that for a very long time. Between losing Toby and Nomad my heart has been so broken. But a new rescue kitty really feels right. So after making that decision, I started to look...and look. I've been drawn to the same kitty photo I found on a local no-kill pet shelter site. I finally got up the nerve to drive over to see said kitty only to find that she was gone. All the kitties were adopted at that location which was a good thing. But disappointing for me. So I got in the car and drove past a pet store that had a sign out in front stating they had new cats and kittens ready for adoption. So I took a chance and drove in.

I was glad to see the sign said cats and kittens. I really did not want a kitten. Everyone wants kittens. I wanted the unwanted. But not too unwanted. An adult cat was fine but I didn't want one over the age of 9 or 10 knowing my heart could be broken way too soon. I am just not strong enough for that as selfish as it may sound. And I wanted a kitty that picked me out, not the other way around. So I was looking for that one who was looking for me.

I walked into the pet store and the sign inside said that all the cats were from the Elmbrook Humane Society so if I get a pet there, I had to do the paperwork and pay for the cat through that shelter. I was glad to see that. I walked up to the glass window with all the kitty cubes and a few turned their heads to look at me then went back to doing what cats do best: sleep. Then there was this one guy who stared me down. The closer I got the more straight he sat up and even closer and he was trying to climb through the glass to get my attention. He definitely had my attention. So I asked if I could visit him. The store clerk put me through a series of questions before he would let me see the kitty. I was glad he was thorough.

I met the cat and felt an instant connection. So I went home to tell Jeff. He was thrilled. Little did I know that when I went to the Humane Society to do the paperwork, Jeff had to agree. So the shelter needed him to call to give me permission to get the cat. Talk about being careful with their charges!

So now we have our 4-year old little boy that Jeff named Ruxin. He was a stray when the shelter got him so he really didn't have a name that they knew of so we liked the idea of getting to give him one. When we got Toby he came with that name so we kept it. This time we got to choose, so since the kitty picked me, Jeff picked the name. That seemed fair.

Ruxin was a little skittish at first. He is afraid of loud noises and jumps at sudden movements. He was a bit shy but he is starting to warm up to us. It seems that he loves routine just like us. He is up with us early in the morning and if we stay up late, he is nudging us to go to bed. He knows when he gets fed and he knows when 'dad' gets home from work. He hangs out with me in my sewing room too.

I did warn him that he was going to have to like football so he is slowly getting used to us cheering when our Packers play. I think the fear of loud noises will wane. So we lovingly welcome Ruxin to our family. Our granddaughters love him too!

Birthday Party

One of my son's friends had a fancy birthday party for his son. It was held at a local park pavilion with a balloon-animal making clown, a pumpkin carving station, face painting, an art station and a bobbing for apples contest. It's so rare to have such beautiful weather in October but it was a treat on such a nice occasion.

My granddaughters had a wonderful time. Between the art, balloon animals and the face painting, they were in heaven. Besides all that, there was a large flat-panel television in the pavilion with the Packer game on. And the food was amazing - all homemade. By the time I took photos though, one of my granddaughters was napping so I did happen to get an action photo of Chloe.

Fall Festival Parade

Chloe's new school is incredible. After her days at Red Apple in Racine, I didn't know what to expect from this school but they have exceed all my hopes for her. She needs speech therapy and in Racine she got help one day a week. At Honey Creek they work with her every day. Yes, every day. She is advancing better than we ever expected but all that we hoped.

Her new school does a lot of things we didn't expect. In these days of political correctness, many have cut out Halloween activities. At Honey Creek, they have something called a Fall Festival. They do it in early October. It includes a costume parade around the neighborhood. My daughter mentioned the event to me half-heartedly so I could attend if I had nothing to do that day. So I thought I would go. I had anticipated the little kindergarteners marching around the outside of the school in their little costumes and that's about it. Boy, was I wrong.

When I pulled up to the school the Milwaukee Police were just closing down the roads to through traffic. I was happy I parked in the nick of time. As I walked toward the school the junior high band from next door was practicing and getting ready to line up at the start of this parade. Then I saw the motorcycle police ride up in front of the band to lead the parade. As I got closer to the main doors of the school, the principal came outside to meet the Alderman and a few other dignitaries that I was not that familiar with (this is not my neighborhood). This was a bigger deal than I expected.

As the kids started coming out of the school, I noticed the neighbors getting out their lawn chairs and sitting down to watch the parade. The K4 kids came out then the K5 kids and I saw Chloe. Parents and family were invited to walk along in the parade. Chloe was pleasantly surprised to see me and thrilled that I was going to be walking with her all along the way. What a great time!

All the grades participated in the parade and it was a really big deal. Many parents came to walk with their kids. The weather was absolutely perfect on this fall day and we all had a great time. Chloe's mom is going to be disappointed that she took this event for granted but I an so glad I was there.

Chloe's Tooth

My beautiful granddaughter lost her first tooth! I can't believe how quickly she is growing up. Just when I got used to her being in kindergarten, this had to happen. I'm certain the tooth fairy was good to her.

Grom Family Cousins

Today we had Jeff's cousins and his sister at the house all at the same time. It is a rare thing since his cousin, Toni lives in Phoenix and his sister, Linda lives in St. Paul, Arkansas. We do see Jeff's other cousin, Sherrill more often since she lives in West Bend. That's a mere 45 minutes away. Sherrill and Toni are sisters so Toni's been staying in West Bend while Linda is staying with us.

We weren't sure we were going to be able to connect. Linda got to Milwaukee and then drove up north for the week and Toni was in town during that time. Linda was getting on a flight back to Arkansas just a few hours before we all got together. It was the only opportunity left for everyone to be together. So we had a nice lunch while discussing the family tree.

Before everyone left, I snapped this nice photo of the four cousins.

Grom Family Siblings

Jeff's brother and sister are both in town at the same time - a very rare occurrence. The nice thing is that his sister, Linda is here for a wedding in Appleton and will be staying in Marinette for a while. Since Jeff's brother lives in Marinette, he will be driving her there from here. Funny how things work out. Linda will be back here in Milwaukee at the end of the week and we will spend more time with her then but for now, it is nice to have the three of them here together.

Member Monday at the Racine Zoo

We love the Racine Zoo. It is the most wonderful place. Compared to the Milwaukee County Zoo, it is very small but for us, that is part of the charm. The staff there is amazing and the grounds are easily walkable, even for people like me who struggle with a disability.

My daughter is a zoo member so there are special events for members only. We especially love those times. They provide special activities for the kids and offer food specials making the trip there affordable for all of us. Not to mention, the chicken tenders are very good there. The kids will get to ride the train around the grounds and we even ride with them.

Member Mondays also include a band and on a nice summer evening it is so very nice. The zoo usually has a theme for each member night and we get to meet one of the animals up close during the event. My granddaughters loved the armadillo and the snakes. Chloe even got to touch them which made her day. Avery is a little timid with animals so she tends to keep her distance. There is also a discount on everything in the gift shop and somehow we never leave without a new keepsake.

My granddaughters' favorite thing besides meeting the animals is the playground. They have a fantastic gym with so much to play on that the are never bored. We never leave the zoo without a stop there.

The New Meijer Store

My daughter got an IT job at our new Meijer store. When we found out the store was coming to the area, I wasn't that thrilled. Another big box store doesn't appeal to me for a few reasons. First of all it is next to Woodman's grocery which is my favorite local grocery store and another reason is that there is a Kohl's and Target a mile down the road. And I don't shop at either of those stores so I doubt that Meijer will appeal to me.

As an employer, the pay is crappy and the hours are horrible so it's not the greatest place to work but the employees are nice and the store is clean and fresh. It is a good place for our daughter to get some experience before getting a better job (we hope). We went to the family open house the day before the store opened to the public and they had quite a party. We all received samples of the foods, free marketing stuff like water bottles...blah, blah, blah. They even had a balloon making clown however, the line was so long it was shut down before they ever got to us. There was even a band playing in the produce department!

 Too bad they didn't give out free wine samples...the band was good enough that we would have headed to the lawn & garden area, got some lawn chairs and sat down to listen to the band.

Independence Day

My son is moving back here from Honolulu. We are thrilled to have him back however, we also hope it is really what he wants. For me it just seems like it is happening so quickly but then again, I am older and slower than he is. So we are happy for him and happy for us to have him back. With that said, he bought a house not far from us. It's 5 and a half miles away and that is really nice.

He had a little 4th of July get-together and we all enjoyed being there with him. He has a nice little yard just perfect for hanging out. It was a beautiful summer day and he all enjoyed a barbecue there.

Last Day of School

Today was Chloe's last day of K4. It was extra bittersweet because it is probably also her last day at Red Apple School. My daughter plans to find a job in the Milwaukee area and move back to Milwaukee during the summer months. The teachers and staff at the school are absolutely amazing. We could not ask for a better learning environment for her.

The little "graduation" ceremony was very cute and we enjoyed watching each of the kids walk up on the stage to get their certificate of completion. Chloe has become so much more self-confident over her years here it is wonderful to see how much she has grown.

My Pity Party

I've never considered myself lucky. When I say that I'm talking about the big things. Like my father dying at 53 and my brother dying at 26 and my grandson' s death at 2 months and 11 days. Those are the big things. I get that there are others that have suffered through more tragedy than I have seen but when I throw in my inability to find a job for the last year and a half which definitely leaves us in a perpetual state of financial insecurity, I really feel unlucky.

It doesn't help that I've been diagnosed with congenital degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis. Even if I had a job, I don't think I could handle it. I can't sit for more than an hour without my tailbone going numb. Using my arms to do computer work is very limiting. I can usually get in an hour of computer time before my chest, arms and shoulders hurt. I can't even drive for more than 20 minutes without my arms aching. The pain meds help my situation but it also takes away my ability to concentrate and my attention to detail. So the idea of full-time work seems utterly impossible so maybe in that regard, it's for the best that I can't find a job.

But then there's the money thing. I have medical bills. So many medical bills with no income. I started to sell things that I don't use anymore on eBay. That sure helps buy a few groceries but does nothing to put a dent in the medical bills. There is also the student loans I can't repay. It's to the point that I've stopped losing sleep over any of them; it's just not worth it. I totally understand what hopelessness feels like.

To help ease my disease, I've had lumbar fusion and cervical fusion. These surgeries have certainly helped to alleviate my symptoms but they did not fix everything. I used to have no feeling in my feet and now that I've had lumbar fusion, my feet go numb/throb if I over-exert myself. I can also feel my arms after the cervical fusion but I still have a clutching pain around my rib cage.  I've spent a year in physical therapy only to end up with so many restrictions that I wonder if any of it was worth it. I can't run anymore, getting on a motorcycle is definitely out of the question, even picking up my grandchildren is absolutely out of the question. I can't bend, lift anything more than 10 pounds, or turn my head as far as I should. Every day is hard. My brain wants to be productive but my body makes that limited.

I am terrified to drive. In fact, I've bumped a bumper and a tree from not navigating the gas/brake pedals properly. Since I cannot turn my head, I can't see what's in the lanes next to me. I have somewhat adjusted to using mirrors more but they are not totally reliable.

My pain level registers at a consistent 7 but I try to keep from taking many pain meds. They are taxing. I would rather spend an hour doing something followed by an hour lying down which gets the gravity off my body. It's a more natural way of dealing with pain although it is tough to get anything accomplished.

I do volunteer web design work which is how I know I can't work for more than an hour. I have tried but just can't do it. I can't even keep up this blog like I used to. Other things I miss are gardening, biking, cooking, painting, sewing, writing, walking, reading, travel and golf.

I need a miracle. Or maybe just a little luck once in a while.

Family Day

My brother visited this week from Menominee and he stayed at the local hotel. He has 4 kids and it is difficult to find a place for his entire family to sleep so this works out well. Since they had access to a pool at the hotel, it turned out to be a great place to hang out. Especially since March weather makes a pool especially desirable. It is always a great time for my granddaughters to bond with my nieces and nephews. There's always time for family!

Chloe's Birthday

We had Chloe's birthday party at my sister's house. Since my mom hasn't been out of the hospital for very long, it seemed like that would be the best thing for everybody. I baked a chocolate cake that was fantastic. I found the recipe on Pinterest so I was a little worried but it had chocolate frosting on it and as long as that was good, the birthday girl could care less.

The cake was better than good: it was fantastic. It was so good I had to share the recipe with everyone. The recipe I used can be found here. I am certain this recipe will be used more than this one time.

The birthday party was a nice, quiet one. Usually a 5-year old party includes many other 5-year olds but Chloe didn't seem all that interested so her mother let the day go by with the intimacy of close family. I think we all like that best. Even Chloe's little sister got some new bling today.

Rotator Cuff Surgery

Jeff had rotator cuff surgery at the beginning of December and our friend, Dick had the same surgery at the end of the month. We couldn't resist taking this photo of the both of them right after church today.