Road Trip

In my post last year titled "Losing Dad", I shared how we have cared for family members with Alzheimer's.  Our family has seen a lot of it over the past 25 years or so:  my grandpa,  a couple of his brothers, my aunt on my dad's side and my dad himself.  Unfortunately, it is also showing up on my mom's side of the family as her sister is now in an assisted living facility with the same diagnosis.  

In December 2012, my mom voiced a desire to go see her sister, in Indiana.  I made a mental note to see if we could get down there for a visit in January 2013.  Then, the rough year with my dad started.  There was no way they could both make the trip, and my dad did not want my mom out of sight.  This December, on Christmas Eve, we moved my dad to a memory care facility.  He is doing very well there, in his corner "office" with his name on the door,  and mom is adjusting to visiting and taking care of all the paperwork that in involved in these situations.

My dad and three of the grandchildren. 

My mom's world has opened up a little since he was admitted. She made a trip to California, in February, to see my brother and his family.  

Then, in April, we finally made our road trip to Indiana. We drove there and back in two days.  It was amazing!  The weather was perfect; the roads were fairly free of traffic and the company was great. 

I have short arms, thus the hacked off sign. :-)

When we arrived at the care facility, Pat wasn't sure who we were.  She looked at my mom and my mom told her it was Noreen.  Then she looked at me and her face lit up like a beacon!  I've been told, often lately, that I look like my mom,  and Pat's reaction confirmed that!  

This is mom and Pat after a 5 year absence from each other. This photo makes me tear up with happiness!!!  

Happy sisters!!

Pat and me. 

While in Indiana, we stayed with my cousin and her family.  I haven't seen them in a lot longer than 5 years, so it was wonderful to catch up.  No idea where life will take us next, but open to another adventure.

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Our New Kitchen

On June 2, 2013,  I posted photos of our cramped living space (family room) while we were getting the kitchen, dining room and living room floors redone.  Little did I know then, that it was going to take until late April 2014 for the project to be done.  Here are some more photos.

The view from the dining room (yes that cabinet now has doors ;-)  ).  The stove will be in the bare spot between the window an the doorway.  We are awaiting the arrival of the stools that will go under this side of the countertops.  It's already a favorite spot and seating will make it more inviting. 

The sink now has a faucet. That was an adventure in itself! 

These are the lower cabinets.  We ended up with a wine rack because we changed things around a bit and needed a slightly smaller cabinet in that space.  It holds two liter pops very well.  Yes! That really is an awesome pop-up shelf for my mixer.  There is an outlet right behind the open door, in the false front of the sink.  One thing that there is no shortage of, is outlets

Upper cabinets. As you can see, there is under-cabinet lighting (and also outlet strips: 7 on the right, 4 on the left.) Thanks Josh!

So, now we're fully functional, and the countertops will never be as empty again, as they appear above.  But, that's ok. It's nice to have them in and usable and used.

Thank you so much my dear one for your hours and hours of labor.  I appreciate each and every minute you have spent making it beautiful!!

The next project is windows!!  Watch for updates!









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Feeling Italian

Last weekend at the banquet/fundraiser for the Lennon Pregnancy Center, I had some terrific ravioli for supper.  I also had some the weekend before on our date night at Antonio's.   (It's Lent so meat was not an option!) 

While I shopping at Costco a few days later, I decided to check out what kind of ravioli they had available.  It was not inexpensive and the salt content was way high, so I decided to make some.

I was a little bit afraid to try after talking to an Italian grandma who makes her own pasta.  She said it was very time consuming and the kneading was awful.  She told what machines she uses and on and on. 

Well, I only have a mixer and a rolling pin, but I was determined. 

I got to use my new mixer stand which collapses back into the cupboard very nicely when not in use. (Notice no countertops yet.  They will be in tomorrow!!) 

The dough ball turned out really well and the kneading was actually pretty easy.  As you can see, I did not make a huge amount so that has to be taken into consideration.

The filling was ricotta cheese and wilted spinach.  Yum.

I was not sure how big to make them so I guesstimated. The first half of the dough made only 4 raviolis so I rerolled the excess that I cut off and I made the next 6 or 7 much closer together. 

The square ones are the first 4, the rounder and more oddly shapes ones were my second attempt. I got a lot more out of the second half of the dough but they weren't quite as uniform and the filling tended to squish out a bit where I trimmed a little too closely.  

I was told to poke a small hole in each to keep them from exploding.  It worked and after boiling them for a couple of minutes they became this nice tan color.  

Since my dear one and I were going to do this together on Sunday, before we had a power outage and ended up with dinner from Kroger, he was going to make a fabulous sauce to put over the ravioli.  I admit I just grabbed a jar of Prego. Hey, I'm not really Italian so I only do some Italian things well.  They were fantastic and the kids actually ate them and liked them.  

I have to admit, it was time consuming and I was tired when I was done. I considered grabbing a Guinness and going back to being Irish, but I settled for putting my feet up until it was time to pick up the kids. 

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Fun With Chocolate

Our tenacious one saw a post on the computer somewhere (maybe Pinterest), and decided she needed to do the same activity.

Said activity?  Chocolate bowls filled with candy or ice cream.

For two days she has been talking about making these bowls.   She showed me the post and together we watched the how-to video and then she made her shopping list:

• Balloons
• Melting chocolate (Milk chocolate and white chocolate so her sister who can't have chocolate could share in the fun.)
• Candy from the Bulk Food store: Skittles, Jelly Belly jelly beans, lemon drops, and licorice bites

First melt the chocolate and blow up the balloons.   Next dip the balloons into the chocolate to cover the bottom and part way up the sides.  If you tip the balloons to make 'petals' the bowls look really cool when they are done.

Put the chocolate covered balloons in the fridge to cool.  When cool, pop the balloons and carefully peel them away from the chocolate. Fill the bowl with candy or ice cream.

Viola!  Candy bowls.  And a happy girl!

 


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Working Out

I went to the gym today for the first time since October.  I'm surprised (though I shouldn't be) at how great it felt to get my heart pumping and my feet moving.

I spend 30 minutes doing circuit training which is cardio plus a full body workout.  Then I spent 15 minutes on the elliptical.

It's amazing how much mental preparation goes into getting myself to the gym.  I've been thinking about it for a couple of months now.  My gym bag has been packed and sitting by my bed for that long.    I've been telling myself I need to, want to, should go.

But the cold days are hard for me.  All the layers, the boots, gloves, etc necessary just to get the kids to school every day.  Plus, there have been all those days when they didn't go to school because of snow and cold.

Saturday I had lunch with a friend who told me she has been working out at home and being accountable to a group online that does the same workout routine she is using.  She told me how much it helps having someone to report to once her workout it done.  Then she offered to be my accountability partner.

I guess that was the boost I needed.  I texted her when I was done and got a great cyber pat on the back.

Now I'm sitting here with my (aching) legs up, relaxing and trying not to fall asleep while the kids do their homework.  It's going to take me a while to get back into my routine but I'm ready to start again.  My bags is repacked with my clean workout gear.  My mind is wrapped around the idea that Monday, Wednesday and Friday are gym days.

Oh, and there is that reminder that I will be mother-of-the-bride again in four short months.  I want to be able to dance the night away and not be too tired to enjoy myself!

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Just Normal Everyday

Well, I'm happy to report that the kitchen is moving forward.  We now have a new paint job, compliments of Josh.  Paint color was decided on by Josh and approved by several of his siblings while my dear one and I were out of town.  I love the color and love even more that I did not have to choose it.  I took a photo of it, but it just looks white in the picture.  It's really a light beige.  Perfect.  My favorite picture looks lovely on it.

We have new cupboards hanging (and full) with under cabinet lighting.

 New floor cabinet!


There is still a ways to go, but for right now cooking and other food prep is getting easier and the family room is getting bigger as we get rid of boxes and temporary shelving.  Ahhh!


Our tenacious one has been busy painting her closet-turned-bedroom. Her creativity is wonderful.

Also, while golden tickets are hard to come by this year (her spelling words are ridiculously challenging) she did manage to score the highest on her recent Social Studies test: 103%.    

We are also busy planning the next wedding shower.  We have invitations, thank you notes and stamps purchased and the date set.  Full speed ahead!

In the 'more fun news' category, we got a "new" van.  The kids cannot figure out why I keep buying big vans, but I've been driving them since 1994 and I like them.  This one seats 8; although not eight of our kids will fit because they are no longer quite so little.  But, the four I drive around the most often fit nicely and it has significantly fewer miles.  And, it's a pretty color blue.  

Josh will find out in a couple of weeks if he got his Air Force pilot slot.   Stay tuned.  Hoping the next photo of him shows him wearing his "pajamas",  aka flight suit!  

Our Bathroom Saga

We have 2.5 bathrooms in our home.  Through the years they have come to be called by different names depending on who is using them the most.

For example, the master bathroom is known as Grand Central Station.  It's big, well-lit, has a three-way mirror that is awesome when curling, cutting or dying hair. It also holds the store of Q-tips, soap and towels.  So, though it should be 'mom and dad's bathroom', it's really everyones'.

The small half-bath is Erin's because she cleans it (though everyone used it, too!)

The kids bathroom is called the "girls'" bathroom because we have more girls than boys and only the girls ever clean it.

Speaking of cleaning, apparently there has been a little less diligence on the part of some showerers which led to the main bathroom cleaner to leave the following notice taped to the wall:

I'm not sure if it had the desired impact right away, but it did inspire another note: 

Not a bad song title...

Which then inspired the original note writer to write a song, apparently sung to the tune of a popular song with which I am not familiar.

 To the tune of "Say Something"

Do something. I won't clean up after you

I'm an adult and you are one too.

All I want is some help from you.

Do something, I won't clean up after you.

Hang up your wet towel, 

Grab all your dirty clothes

And take them with you.

And I will be so pleased

You learned your lesson, 

The bathroom is clean.  

I guess it worked, because the door actually opens all the way now, as there have not been any dirty clothes left behind it since the song posted.  That makes it a number 1 hit in my book!

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