I hope all of you are winding down from a good Thanksgiving weekend. We are going through post-Packer depression with the forecast of 3-5 inches of snow. I guess the good news is that we bought a new snow blower this afternoon, so that should help a little. And, it has an electric start, so I will never have to use it! Um, ah, well, maybe I won't have to start from scratch at 8 PM as often as I used to.
Paula, Lydia and Jessica have all been sick the last few days. Paula lost her voice, but she is doing better today. Her voice is back just in time for school, even if I have been ordered to pray for a snow day tomorrow :)
Yesterday I took Lydia to the Kids Museum downtown for a few hours. It was pretty cool, and in two hours I think we only saw about half of it. My favorite part was the fire truck. Lydia put on boots, a hat and a coat and drove for awhile. If I had only brought the camera......
Hannah has been putting her room downstairs back together, and getting a lot of rest. It was good for her to get a chance to see her friends this weekend. She is going to Taylor for a few days late in the coming week. In particular, she is going to the Silent Night basketball game. It is a tradition where the students are silent until the Taylor team reaches a certain score, and then they go nuts for the rest of the game. Hopefully she can fill us all in on the rest of the details in a week.
We put our Christmas tree up in 7 minutes. I love this new tree we bought last year. It has 4 sections plus the stand. Just stack them together and plug it in. Paula and I did some shopping at Target and Shopko on Friday night. No waiting in line at either store. Paula and Hannah did a little more shopping yesterday afternoon, too.
Daniel is still working. He was supposed to be off last week, but somebody else didn't show on Monday so he got called to work for the week. He will go back up by Eagle River to work for a few more weeks, and then they have 2 houses back here. He is pretty happy that they have work on the horizon. He was not nearly as optimistic a few weeks ago.
Love to all of you,
Gary
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Hello from Homen!
Well, Rob informed me it's my turn to send a lengthy blog so here's an update on us:
We had a nice Thanksgiving here w/ Rob's parents. We went to a nearby supper club for a great buffet!
Fri. Claire had her 15 mo. checkup. She weighs 17# 11oz., which puts her at just under the third percentile and she's at the 5th for heigth. As the nurse said, "she's a peanut!" Despite this, she is healthy and developing well. She asked is she was good natured....I said yes, although she is developing her own opinions at times. She asked if she was having "fits" and said about 2-3 good ones a day was typical; Claire might fuss if she can't have something she wants but it's very minor and doesn't last long. The nurse said most kids cry or carry on throughout the exam; Claire smiled at her the entire time and didn't fuss once. So, she is VERY GOOD NATURED indeed:) She wasn't concerned w/ her size/weight but did think she was slightly delayed in her speech. Again, she wasn't concerned but said she'd monitor that at the next visit (18 mo.)
School is going pretty well; no bomb threats:) Rob continues to work 36 hr. weeks.
I'm slowly adjusting to my sleep apnea machine. Some nights, if I get up to go to the bathroom, I go back to sleep without putting the face mask back on. It's kinda a pain, especially since I sleep on my side but this is the second mask I've tried and it's MUCH better to breath with than the first. I had one recheck and the dr. said it can take up to 6 months to fully get used to it and benefit fully from the machine. She could see, however, that with use of the second mask, I was sleeping better; less disturbed. All in all, I guess I feel somewhat better during the day and am confident it will continue to improve as I get used to wearing it and do so 100% of the time.
Sami had a bought w/ bad allergies and was in to the vet. As result, she is on prednisone and a cream for her ears which were pretty sore from scratching. She's on the mend and doing remarkablly well for pushing 13 (she has her 13th bday next Wed; no cards required:) She'll get lots of treats and a special supper of something in a can.
Well, hope all is well with everyone else. I'm sure you're all busy getting ready for the holidays as we are. The tree is up but not decorated yet. Claire hasn't given it much attention but I'm sure the lights and ornaments will dazzle her the first time she sees them.
Well, I think I hear her awake from her nap.
Take care....
Love,
Sue, Rob, Claire, and Sami!
We had a nice Thanksgiving here w/ Rob's parents. We went to a nearby supper club for a great buffet!
Fri. Claire had her 15 mo. checkup. She weighs 17# 11oz., which puts her at just under the third percentile and she's at the 5th for heigth. As the nurse said, "she's a peanut!" Despite this, she is healthy and developing well. She asked is she was good natured....I said yes, although she is developing her own opinions at times. She asked if she was having "fits" and said about 2-3 good ones a day was typical; Claire might fuss if she can't have something she wants but it's very minor and doesn't last long. The nurse said most kids cry or carry on throughout the exam; Claire smiled at her the entire time and didn't fuss once. So, she is VERY GOOD NATURED indeed:) She wasn't concerned w/ her size/weight but did think she was slightly delayed in her speech. Again, she wasn't concerned but said she'd monitor that at the next visit (18 mo.)
School is going pretty well; no bomb threats:) Rob continues to work 36 hr. weeks.
I'm slowly adjusting to my sleep apnea machine. Some nights, if I get up to go to the bathroom, I go back to sleep without putting the face mask back on. It's kinda a pain, especially since I sleep on my side but this is the second mask I've tried and it's MUCH better to breath with than the first. I had one recheck and the dr. said it can take up to 6 months to fully get used to it and benefit fully from the machine. She could see, however, that with use of the second mask, I was sleeping better; less disturbed. All in all, I guess I feel somewhat better during the day and am confident it will continue to improve as I get used to wearing it and do so 100% of the time.
Sami had a bought w/ bad allergies and was in to the vet. As result, she is on prednisone and a cream for her ears which were pretty sore from scratching. She's on the mend and doing remarkablly well for pushing 13 (she has her 13th bday next Wed; no cards required:) She'll get lots of treats and a special supper of something in a can.
Well, hope all is well with everyone else. I'm sure you're all busy getting ready for the holidays as we are. The tree is up but not decorated yet. Claire hasn't given it much attention but I'm sure the lights and ornaments will dazzle her the first time she sees them.
Well, I think I hear her awake from her nap.
Take care....
Love,
Sue, Rob, Claire, and Sami!
Monday, November 10, 2008
GREETINGS FROM ARIZONA
Well, what a joy to read the two new posts!!
Things are good here. Dad (and me) was happy that we were able to watch the Badger and Packer games this weekend. Yesterday we had high winds here so it was a good day to watch football. The bad thing about the winds is that it is dusty. You could just see the dust hanging in front of the mountains. Last night was the Tennis Club Pot Luck, the first of MANY pot lucks. Dad's team was in charge, so we went early to set up etc. Saturday night we went to see the movie Changeling. Boy, that was an eyeopener. It was based on a ture story that took place in the late 20's. About a single Mom whose 8 yr. old son disappeared, her struggle to find him, and the corrupt L.A. police department. It was a little disturbing, but a good movie.
Most of our friends are back here for the winter. Two more couples with arrive next week. We both play tennis almost every day. I had my first competitive match on Friday. We lost 7-5, 6-2. Just couldn't pull it out, but it was fun anyway.
Jessica, have a Happy Birthday. Send a picture of Lydia if you get a chance.
Donna, you REALLY did have a busy week. I know how the holidays are in retail!! I sure do miss not having a Kohl's store 1/2 mile away.
More later.....
Love to All,
Grandma
Things are good here. Dad (and me) was happy that we were able to watch the Badger and Packer games this weekend. Yesterday we had high winds here so it was a good day to watch football. The bad thing about the winds is that it is dusty. You could just see the dust hanging in front of the mountains. Last night was the Tennis Club Pot Luck, the first of MANY pot lucks. Dad's team was in charge, so we went early to set up etc. Saturday night we went to see the movie Changeling. Boy, that was an eyeopener. It was based on a ture story that took place in the late 20's. About a single Mom whose 8 yr. old son disappeared, her struggle to find him, and the corrupt L.A. police department. It was a little disturbing, but a good movie.
Most of our friends are back here for the winter. Two more couples with arrive next week. We both play tennis almost every day. I had my first competitive match on Friday. We lost 7-5, 6-2. Just couldn't pull it out, but it was fun anyway.
Jessica, have a Happy Birthday. Send a picture of Lydia if you get a chance.
Donna, you REALLY did have a busy week. I know how the holidays are in retail!! I sure do miss not having a Kohl's store 1/2 mile away.
More later.....
Love to All,
Grandma
From the Appleton Weber's
Hello all,
Ah yes Donna, it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. That is in part because my husband keeps telling me he is going to log on and blog!! Well, we will stop waiting for him and I will try to catch you up.
As you can imagine, this fall has been full of lots of changes. Preschool has been going well all in all. I have some very challenging children but I guess that's just part of it. It took me longer than I thought it would to get back in the routine. I do miss seeing my little Lydia all the time. There also was not a lot in place as far as curriculum and learning/activity centers. So I have been working hard to put many new things in place (usually at night). I am doing a lot of "first year" stuff so next year should go better as far as that is concerned. I had to drop my class for Nov. because I would have missed two out of four classes with mandatory school functions: conferences and the Christmas program that both fell on school nights. I am back to looking for something online only now I am going to wait until after the Holidays. All that being said, I do enjoy my job a lot and the people I work with are fun too! This week we have a huge Grandparent's Day Celebration at school. All the kids perform.......I keep telling my kids that no one wants to hear me sing so I am praying that they sing their little songs the way I know they can! Then a week later is the Christmas program and in between are conferences then I will breath a big sigh!
Gary and I went to see the Soweto Gospel Choir at the PAC a week or two ago. It was fabulous! I was very glad and surprised that Gary took me. The tap dancer you were talking about Donna was at the PAC last year and Hannah wanted to go so bad but for some reason we couldn't, can't remember why but if he comes again, I'll make Gary take me!
It is birthday time around our house so last week we had bday dinner for Daniel, tomorrow Jessica and her family will come for something simple and then when Hannah comes home I said I would make potato dumplings for them all ~ that is a West family favorite, it takes most of the day for that meal but I haven't done that for a while.
Gary leaves on Sunday for England and Hannah comes home on Tuesday. Pretty soon I will have my whole family in the same country! We are ALL getting excited for Hannah to come home.
This past weekend I went with Peggy and Amy to the Mall of America. We had a great time getting away together. We probably won't go there again for a while. It was very nice, just not the place for power shopping!! It was hard to see the snow all weekend! I was not mentally prepared for that shift in weather after 72 degrees a couple of days prior.
Some of you know that my dad had to do a round of chemo for the luekemia that he has had for years. So far it looks like the results are good and he responded well to the treatment. He only had to go for four rounds out of a possible eight. Tomorrow he has a blood test and they will determine if he has to do four rounds again or just go on maintainence which would be once every other month for the rest of his life. It was a little hard for all of us cuz we just don't want to think about the parents getting old. We have been so blessed with health in our families (West and Weber) and I am really grateful for that. Count your blessings!!
Congratulations to Claire on her new mobility, Rachel and Nicole, sounds like you are both working hard on all your activities!
Donna, don't work so hard!!
We'll see many of you before we know it!!
Love and Hugs,
Paula
Ah yes Donna, it has been a LONG time since I have blogged. That is in part because my husband keeps telling me he is going to log on and blog!! Well, we will stop waiting for him and I will try to catch you up.
As you can imagine, this fall has been full of lots of changes. Preschool has been going well all in all. I have some very challenging children but I guess that's just part of it. It took me longer than I thought it would to get back in the routine. I do miss seeing my little Lydia all the time. There also was not a lot in place as far as curriculum and learning/activity centers. So I have been working hard to put many new things in place (usually at night). I am doing a lot of "first year" stuff so next year should go better as far as that is concerned. I had to drop my class for Nov. because I would have missed two out of four classes with mandatory school functions: conferences and the Christmas program that both fell on school nights. I am back to looking for something online only now I am going to wait until after the Holidays. All that being said, I do enjoy my job a lot and the people I work with are fun too! This week we have a huge Grandparent's Day Celebration at school. All the kids perform.......I keep telling my kids that no one wants to hear me sing so I am praying that they sing their little songs the way I know they can! Then a week later is the Christmas program and in between are conferences then I will breath a big sigh!
Gary and I went to see the Soweto Gospel Choir at the PAC a week or two ago. It was fabulous! I was very glad and surprised that Gary took me. The tap dancer you were talking about Donna was at the PAC last year and Hannah wanted to go so bad but for some reason we couldn't, can't remember why but if he comes again, I'll make Gary take me!
It is birthday time around our house so last week we had bday dinner for Daniel, tomorrow Jessica and her family will come for something simple and then when Hannah comes home I said I would make potato dumplings for them all ~ that is a West family favorite, it takes most of the day for that meal but I haven't done that for a while.
Gary leaves on Sunday for England and Hannah comes home on Tuesday. Pretty soon I will have my whole family in the same country! We are ALL getting excited for Hannah to come home.
This past weekend I went with Peggy and Amy to the Mall of America. We had a great time getting away together. We probably won't go there again for a while. It was very nice, just not the place for power shopping!! It was hard to see the snow all weekend! I was not mentally prepared for that shift in weather after 72 degrees a couple of days prior.
Some of you know that my dad had to do a round of chemo for the luekemia that he has had for years. So far it looks like the results are good and he responded well to the treatment. He only had to go for four rounds out of a possible eight. Tomorrow he has a blood test and they will determine if he has to do four rounds again or just go on maintainence which would be once every other month for the rest of his life. It was a little hard for all of us cuz we just don't want to think about the parents getting old. We have been so blessed with health in our families (West and Weber) and I am really grateful for that. Count your blessings!!
Congratulations to Claire on her new mobility, Rachel and Nicole, sounds like you are both working hard on all your activities!
Donna, don't work so hard!!
We'll see many of you before we know it!!
Love and Hugs,
Paula
Hi from Michigan
Greetings from the chilly Midwest. We have been so spoiled by the wonderful fall weather that now it feels REALLY cold, but it is November after all and should be cold.
Friday night we attended a phenomenal dance performance by Savion Glover (an incredibly gifted tap dancer who was mentored by Gregory Hines. If you've never seen his work you should check him out on u-tube. He also did all the dancing for the animated movie "Happy Feet"). The whole 90 minute performance was performed acappella by Glover and 2 other gentlemen with only their tapping creating the music...and did they ever create music, it was unbelievable the ease and stamina they posessed and with which they executed such unbelievably complex routines and rhythms. (Dave wondered how they could move both feet at the same time like that and still remain upright). The girls LOVED it, Rachel especially given her aptitude for tap.
Sat. Dave and I divided and conquered, with me taking Rachel to the Holiday Parade where she participated with her dance troop. I got to walk the route with them and hand out fliers for the studio, kept us warm. All the girls seemed to be having fun.
Dave took Nicole to her travel basketball game, it was their first defeat (which was probably a good wakeup call for the girls since they have dominated all their games so far this season and should inspire them to work harder). Nicole was the top scorer of her team with 6 points, so individually she did well.
I worked a crazy number of hours last week between subbing and Kohls (60 hours) hey!..I thought this was suppose to be part-time employment. Actually it was my own fault, I have a hard time saying no...need to work on that.
Dave's gone til Tues. night checking out things for a new line of work they will be adding. So I made sure I wasn't working until Wed.
Bet everyone is anxious to see Hannah upon her return. Too bad things didn't coordinate better for Gary and her to be able to connect overseas. We are looking forward to seeing you all over Christmas and of course to see all the changes to Clare and Lydia.
Hey Paula, haven't seen any posts from you in a LONG time, how's teaching going! How was the girls' shopping outing to MN? Bet you had a ball!!
Lots of Love,
Donna
Friday night we attended a phenomenal dance performance by Savion Glover (an incredibly gifted tap dancer who was mentored by Gregory Hines. If you've never seen his work you should check him out on u-tube. He also did all the dancing for the animated movie "Happy Feet"). The whole 90 minute performance was performed acappella by Glover and 2 other gentlemen with only their tapping creating the music...and did they ever create music, it was unbelievable the ease and stamina they posessed and with which they executed such unbelievably complex routines and rhythms. (Dave wondered how they could move both feet at the same time like that and still remain upright). The girls LOVED it, Rachel especially given her aptitude for tap.
Sat. Dave and I divided and conquered, with me taking Rachel to the Holiday Parade where she participated with her dance troop. I got to walk the route with them and hand out fliers for the studio, kept us warm. All the girls seemed to be having fun.
Dave took Nicole to her travel basketball game, it was their first defeat (which was probably a good wakeup call for the girls since they have dominated all their games so far this season and should inspire them to work harder). Nicole was the top scorer of her team with 6 points, so individually she did well.
I worked a crazy number of hours last week between subbing and Kohls (60 hours) hey!..I thought this was suppose to be part-time employment. Actually it was my own fault, I have a hard time saying no...need to work on that.
Dave's gone til Tues. night checking out things for a new line of work they will be adding. So I made sure I wasn't working until Wed.
Bet everyone is anxious to see Hannah upon her return. Too bad things didn't coordinate better for Gary and her to be able to connect overseas. We are looking forward to seeing you all over Christmas and of course to see all the changes to Clare and Lydia.
Hey Paula, haven't seen any posts from you in a LONG time, how's teaching going! How was the girls' shopping outing to MN? Bet you had a ball!!
Lots of Love,
Donna
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Claire is walking!
o.k. I just lost what I wrote....I think so I'll try again:
Claire is walking! She's been standing and taking steps for several weeks but is beginning to walk and actaully get somewhere! She has been healthy for the first time in a long time so she's happy and so are we:) She cut her first molar and handled it quite nicely.
Hope all is well in Az., Mi., Ireland and the Fox Valley:)
GO PACKERS!!!!!!!
Love,
Sue, Rob, and Claire
Claire is walking! She's been standing and taking steps for several weeks but is beginning to walk and actaully get somewhere! She has been healthy for the first time in a long time so she's happy and so are we:) She cut her first molar and handled it quite nicely.
Hope all is well in Az., Mi., Ireland and the Fox Valley:)
GO PACKERS!!!!!!!
Love,
Sue, Rob, and Claire
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