Tuesday, June 7, 2022

School's Out

School's Out! This is the annual switch of the daily grandchildren where my toddlers are generally home with their teacher moms while the elementary students need entertained while office manager moms are at work. 

This year we got smart and purchased season passes to a local amusement park last fall.  We gifted the passes at Christmas and it does work to exhaust the kids. Unfortunately it works to exhaust us, too.  We generally try to eat a big breakfast, get there about 30 minutes before opening, walk to the kid's section and do all their favorite things until 1:00 p.m. By then the park is more crowded, it is warmer, we are hungry and we got back to the car and eat our picnic lunch and head for home. 

This bunch found out it was Burger King's Birthday when mom had a school in-service day.

This little guy has had several sleepovers since our co-grampa has had some very serious health issues. Between both parents work schedules and since they live out of town, he has been a temporary boarder. 

We started the "garden". I buy these half grown tomatoes for next to nothing from the Amish and they keep us in tomatoes all summer. Usually. This year I did not look closely at the tags. Two are cherry tomatoes.  I took a trip yesterday to see if they had any left (it took us this long to notice) and thank goodness they did. We now have a tomato orchard of 5 plants. 


A little note on the driveway behind the orchard. This is where my neighbor Peggy lives.  She and Jack were here when we moved into our "starter" home 43 years ago. Jack passed away about 15 years ago and Peggy is in her late 80's. We removed the picket fence and landscaping between us so I can run back and forth with leftovers or in case she needs help. She loves keeping an eye on our tomatoes! I have told my husband we will have to buy her house if it is ever sold so we can pick a neighbor as wonderful as her. 


Grampa built this guy a sandbox to match Gramma's since he will be home this summer. 

I have had two, count them, two childfree days so far in June. Last week I reorganized the pantry. I do not think the before photos adequately shows the chaos of the shelves. The new and improved version has moved the snack items to the top where children can't reach them.  I rotated this unit and was able to get rid of another smaller unit when I reorganized. Amazing what I can do without my little helpers. 

Today's job - one small cabinet! 


I did not take a photo of the cupboard "before", but once I sorted out the 1,000 partial packages of cupcake wrappers and consolidated the 1,000 containers of sprinkles, this is what the cupboard looks like now. I will be baking cupcakes for every bake sale and/or cake walk going forward.  (cupcake wrappers in a storage box in the pantry.)


I am hoping, going forward, to go out to lunch with friends on my summer "days off".  I am also going on "vacation" at the end of the month. My youngest daughter and her special friend rented a vacation home out of state for the week. He has been suffering some health issues for a few months that are still being investigated and can no longer go. We are uncomfortable with a single mom with two toddlers traveling that far for that long, so Grampa will be doing childcare at home while I help with childcare on the road. 

I had a wonderful surprise package from my blog friend Betsy who just returned from England! She brought back souvenirs for my virtual cruise on the QM2!  Thank you so much for thinking of me, Betsy. The kids are just over the moon! And so am I! 

I do want to thank everyone for their prayers for my daughter who had Achilles surgery. It turned out a little more complicated than expected, but she was healing well. Then . . . she developed a blood clot in her ankle. On a Friday night. On a weekend. Instead of hospitalizing her, they sent her home with prescriptions she was unable to fill because of something about the drug and urgent care, finally getting an order from a different doctor for a 3 day prescription that they had to pay $300 out of pocket. The next weekend (Memorial Day) she began her cycle and was hemorrhaging. This was another challenge since I guess no women under the age of 50 ever took a blood thinner? Trust me, the weekend was an uproar and I had to go up to their house almost 2 hours away just to shop for supplies for her. Once people went back to work on Tuesday, she had some tests and they have found a mass in her uterus which was biopsied and we are awaiting the report. She is having another vascular ultrasound on her foot this week. She has been able to maintain her hemoglobin levels 2 points above transfusions. So any continue prayers in this ongoing mess are appreciated. 

The good news is that she completed her doctoral dissertation and has it submitted so she can graduate at the end of July. 

If we are counting, co-grampa currently in ICU, daughter who is dealing with lots of issues and boyfriend visiting several specialists due to ongoing health issues are on our family prayer chain. Whew. 



7 comments:

  1. I'll be keeping co-grampa, your daughter and boyfriend in my prayers.

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  2. How do you do it all? You are amazing! The park passes were a brilliant idea and I'm glad you get to wear the kids out that way. I used to do the exact same thing when our kids were little and I had a home daycare, with the zoo. I would be there before opening, we would go to a different section of the zoo each time and leave about noon, just as the crowds were getting big. I had lunch waiting in the car so I someone dozed off on the way home I could just carry them in and put them to bed for naptime. I worked out great and the kids and parents alike loved it.
    I'm so sorry for all of the things your daughter is currently dealing with, but congrats on her doctoral. I've never understood how hospitals basically just "close down" on weekends. People have emergency's seven days a week.
    Your organizing also looks great. That is a huge change and does make it much easier when we want to find something. As you know, I did the same with my pantry earlier in the year.
    I'm glad you liked your little package. It wasn't much, but you put so much effort into your cruise, I thought you might enjoy a little something from London itself. The kids are taking the train through the chunnel tomorrow between France and England. They'll be in London tomorrow night with Alex and family. Piper will get to meet her baby cousin J. I'm so happy about that. She's the same age that Mandy was when Alex was born. Perfect age for a little girl to be around a baby.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Betsy

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  3. Oh wow, so much going on in your life and family!

    The idea to get a season ticket to entertain the grands is an awesome idea. Thank goodness you guys are so awesome with the grands.

    Blood thinners and cycles. Of course the doctors have prescribed thinners to prevent clots in younger folks, interesting that they didn't forewarn about the cycle part.

    I'm beginning to think that you live in a whirlwind of activity like a nonstop cyclone. So a trip with your youngest daughter sounds like a good break.

    I'll be sorting things and purging again soon. I love it when I enter a mess and clean it up. But then I always make a mess again. :-O

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  4. Whew...where to begin. So sorry to hear about all the health issues you and your family are dealing with and hope things improve for all concerned each and everyday. Your shelves look wonderful and very organized. Cute pictures of kids even looking tired after the big day at the park. Smart plan on your part to get there before the heat and crowd. How sweet of your blog friend Betsy. YOu have much on your plate, just take one day at a time. My best to you and yours. Don't know if I mentioned it before or not, but see we both have the same background and color for our blogs, great minds!!
    Sandy's Space

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  5. Oh my! I had no idea about your daughter...how did I miss that? I will definitely put her and your whole family on my prayer list! I love your before and after pictures! I was going to clean a few cupboards today but I'm still cleaning "cat messes" and finally got some spray that hopefully will prevent her from going back to the same places. I'm about ready to put a diaper on her!
    Your tomato plants look great!

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  6. So sorry to hear about your daughters blood clots, nothing to mess around with. Hope they get it under control. Cost of meds and gasoline are just awful. You have been busy with your pantry and cupboards! Your grands are so cute! Hope you are enjoying them as they all grow up so fast!

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  7. OMG!! What a whirlwind of activity going on in your neck of the woods...Sending prayers for all who are dealing with health issues especially your daughter...I find that most health issues always seem to occur on a weekend or Holiday and then mass disaster ensues!! At least in my own case...Great idea buying a pass to the park for the Summer... And i sure can understand how you feel about your next door neighbor...We felt that way about the original owners of the house next door and look what happened when they let their daughter and grand daughter live there...Thanks so much for visiting ..You asked if I had a moment if I wanted to move into something brand new...Not really as I do admire how the house next door was remodeled but it is not my style and would not be what i want...It is perfect for a young couple with modern taste which is not what I am for sure....I am glad the nightmare of what was living next to me is over and the tenants next door are very nice...Keep us posted on your daughter's health issues and again, prayers...
    Hugs,
    Deb

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Miss Merry