The Reentry

Today, I sure feel like the space shuttle at reentry and I'm missing a few heat shielding tiles. Did my first day back really need to be a 15 hour one? Did we need to have a tornado right in the middle of it? Probably not, but we did! I was very sad that Edwards received a lot of damage...this is what's left of their house and the barn where we eat yummy donuts and apple pie every fall. Hopefully a rebuild effort will be underway soon. The kids and I have so many happy memories of crisp fall days spent at Edwards. There were a few injuries, some are critical, but no deaths, gratefully. It was a scary day. Getting back to the reentry...My friend Carlene and I both commented on how in a crazy way we are so glad to be back to our hectic schedules. Yes, I admit-- it felt so much more comfortable to be at work yesterday than to have a 'nothing scheduled' day. I missed the kids and my staff and my job and it was great to be back. Makes me wonder what it'll be like when I leave here. Odd I'm sure. Actually, it makes my stomach a little sick to think about it...but it'll all be ok...just another step along the journey.

My friend Sandi Johnson got her test results back yesterday...nothing too definitive yet, but nothing devastating either. I am so glad for her--- as glad as you can be for someone who is having the cancer struggle from hell. I checked her blog last night at 11:00 and she had nothing posted for yesterday. That was really scary. I prayed for her last night and put her in God's hands, hoping that she was home celebrating, not home dealing with devastating news. This morning her post was there. So grateful was I to hear that things had not gotten worse. Hopefully in her next stage of treatment she will be feeling so much better. After reading her post I went to bed and caught the 9:00 news at 12:00 (due to late sports coverage) -- that was great since I have yet to read the Sunday Paper :( Mayor Morrissey was at the city council meeting last night and was on the news. He has a long post this morning on the status of his baby and it saddened me a bit to see him back at work, knowing how heavy his heart is about his son. I continue to pray for Sandi and Larry as they continue to struggle through. There are links to both of their caring bridge sites to the right on my blog under faves and friends.

On my 2nd day back I feel a bit overwhelmed. Hmmmm, I guess I should say I feel a bit normal. (Note to self...work on the overwhelmed feeling as being normal!) Got a 14 hour day on the agenda today, but ends on a high note with my adoption preservation support group. I always look forward to the knowledge and strength shared by these families. I am working on 2 big grants for work...something that requires an organized thought process {ugh} and getting caught up from vacation. Once work and internship are back on track...school will kick in this weekend. Geez, what I really need is time for laundry! {Grammie where are you?} The good news is...it'll all get done in time, and what doesn't get done today will undoubtedly be there tomorrow. To top off my morning-- a precious 4 year old just walked by and said, "I love you Jacque!" Ahhhhhh, so glad to be back at work!

I work well under pressure :)

The family room is done! AND, it looks pretty good if I don't say so myself! Pics will be posted next weekend however, since my entertainment unit has been delayed for a week...bummer! Shana came over and helped me paint. {So grateful for her!} It was so nice, mostly that we got to spend time chatting while we painted...I enjoyed that the most :) Baby girl was really patient while she had to share her mommy with me! My girls were a great help keeping her busy while we painted, Brennan worked hard on his homework tonight-with Kristina's help, and Kevin did dinner...thanks so much honey! We wouldn't have been done without you! This beautiful 50 degree weather was the best, since I could paint with the windows open and got to air out the house-- love that January thaw! I must say, my to do list is no where near done, but I anticipate most of the items will be accomplished this week, now that I'm back to working 70 hours a week. People always tell me, I work well under pressure :) Until next time...

Girl Scout Cookie Kick Off

Just a quick note, that you may purchase as many boxes of girl scout cookies as your little heart desires, right here on this old blog! Just let me know, both of the girls are selling them, I think they're still $3.50 and yes they're still yummy :) They even have 100 calorie packs this year for all my friends on Weight Watchers (Present company included ) --

Where in the heck is my right arm!!?!?!?!?

What a nightmare, what a gigantic crisis, what an irritation, how on Earth could it be? Well, yes, I'm speaking of our NON WORKING INTERNET!!! Just as I bragged to Shana that it had always worked with nary a problem, guess what? NO INTERNET! So really, you would think the members of our family lost their right arm...for instance...the kids wanted to go bowling but couldn't look up the phone number because no internet. Kevin suggested we look in the phone book. Ummmmm, phone book? Do we own one of those? Evidently not, cuz we sure couldn't find one! Movie schedules? Nope, can't locate them either...then to top it off, Shana sent me a text that her blog had been updated....AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! I screamed out loud! Ok, so Shana, evidently the DSL does go down once every two years (I stand corrected) -- and we evidently cannot survive without it!

Ok, enough about that...to update y'all on mom...she is doing well, had a double stint installed, and is waiting to be released from the surgeon to go home! I am sure that both Mom and Larry will be happy to be home. {Good News for Mom}

The to do list is still quite full, however, I did get the cheer pups outfit done and no I did not take a picture (@$%!&*) Kristina had cheer pics this morning, then we went to Grandma's to watch Robert and Ryan for a bit while she ran to the Dr. After that, a quick nap (one of my last for a while :( ), and then to Kristina's game. Their team lost by 3 points, but hey, the cheerleaders looked good :)- After that we finally got to the pet shop for crickets, fish, lizard lite, cat litter, scratching post, hamster habitat and dog treats. We did leave a few things in the store for other shoppers. Our Black Angel fish died 2 days before his guarantee was up, so we replaced him for free :) Then we were off to Walmart-- I finally bought the paint, a furnace filters, light bulb, and these ... OMG! The best slippers ever! They are so comfy AND my feet don't get hot! {Ummmm, yes I know, a pedicure is definitely in order and it is very brave of me to show my unpedicured feet on the web! ;) }

! AND, Shana offered to help me paint tomorrow! Yippee! So, perhaps new pretty pics of the family room will be posted soon.

Lastly, I came in with grocery bags and the family said..."Hey, What's for dinner?" "Well, tacos" said I "Minus the lettuce, because I forgot it" Brennan replied that he was sorry, he could not eat the tacos because without the lettuce they were not healthy. Sooooooo....anyone that knows my son knows that mostly he only eats cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, pasta, cheesesticks, and well, I think that's about it. Oh, yes, and on occasion he eats tacos. I replied that I was aware of what a health food nut he was, but thought that he could eat tacos just this once, without lettuce. And so it goes...until next time

Ahhhhh, my last day of vacation...

Last night I was nearly having a panic because all of these things kept running through my mind that were all important, that all had to be done, and I was so worried I'd forget any...so...I made a list :) Pick up paycheck, get $ from Ela & Becky, Mail $ to Toni, Pack Xmas gifts for Mom & Cassie, Mail internship appraisal to Weeden, Mail Xmas cards, Mail braces estimate, Aubrey 11:00, take dead fish back, buy new fish, buy crickets, find missing Carl Cole card, chasi notes and to do list, pick out paint colors for family room, buy the paint, check stock of paint supplies, call about entertainment unit, pu United Way packet, go to bank, pick up truck, go to Sopora, Steph to babysitting, finish cheer dog, there that ought to about do it! So...that's the Friday list. I will feel SOOOOO much better when all of that is off my plate! So far today, I have picked out the paint colors and it's 11:00! Wow so much accomplished! JK...I am definitely a 2nd shift person. After I got the kids off to school this morning...I surely passed out for a nap. Now, I feel ready to take on the list! So, here are the new paint colors...

I will paint one wall of the stairway, the entryway, and the upper part of the family room the khaki color...the fireplace all and the bottom half of the family room will be the brown...hopefully completed pics will be on line by Sunday night! But for now...baby girl just arrived, and must have my undivided attention :) :) :) Until next time...

TRANSITION!!!

Do you hear it? Listen closely...the winds of change are blowing :) As I sit her at the computer tonight I am a little bit glad that my kids went to bed at 10:20 instead of 11, 12, 1 or whenever because I got to say, "You better get in bed, you have school tomorrow!" Ahhhhh, the last two days of my vacation sans children. Hmmmmm, what to do....how about work?!? Ok, I'll put in 8 hours at Chasi tomorrow, but only after I pick the new paint color for the family room, and Friday...well, how bout invite some kids over !?! Sounds insane, um, I mean fun doesn't it :) My husband doesn't really understand the attraction I have to children, but I can't really get enough of them! (Although I still enjoy bedtime after being home with mine for 10 days:) So, tomorrow, I have to start cramming in all of the things I didn't get done that are on my to do list...Like today for instance I did 6 loads of laundry and counting Hooray! Tomorrow, I have to be at work at 12 til 7 or so, but REALLY would like to paint the family room ceiling first. (And wouldn't ya know it, I just scheduled a client for 6 and an hour later the cheer leading coach calls and says there will be practice at 6) Wow, and so my life resumes! Friday, I have Aubrey :):):) Brennan has the shrink, and after that I am taking Zoe, Jason, and Ethan to Sapora....FUN!!!! Enough about the to do list...the real purpose of this post is two fold.

First, to talk about transitions in life. The other day when my little one's ortho told me she would be getting her braces because alas, (wait...my daughter said never to say alas, it makes me sound old) so, the other day when my little one's ortho told me she would be getting her braces because, {can't think of a word other than alas} all of her baby teeth had fallen out, I immediately thought: WHAT? No more tooth fairy is needed at the Ruch house? Why, it can't be. I came home from the ortho and had my son open his mouth wide. Nope, there was not one baby tooth to be found. WHO SAID THAT WAS OK? WHERE WAS MY WARNING? I mean, really, when you're youngest child's last baby tooth falls out, shouldn't someone say...uh hem, take note here, this will be the last tooth placed under a pillow in your home. No one said that to me...so I didn't take pictures, there will be no terrific scrapbook page to follow and the tooth fairy is officially retired. Unless, does the fairy come when you get your wisdom teeth pulled? (When I got my wisdom teeth pulled, my mom brought me a kitten...I'm not sure if that counts) Really...she brought me a kitten. Although I didn't live at home then, so putting them under my pillow would have produced nothing. Darn it. Wait one moment please daughter
is yelling to be tucked in...Ok, she has been dutifully tucked in and kissed goodnight. Anyway...back to the song lyrics, "Don't blink, it goes faster than you think..." Enough said.

The second purpose of this post is for a "Mom" update. Wish I had her password, and I'da (that's slang for I would have...probably should patent that word) updated her blog. My Mom had her angio something or other today and they found a blockage. So, that is really good! I mean, not the blockage but that they found it BEFORE the heart attack, and so now they will fix it: First thing (or 10:00) tomorrow morning. So, I was very relieved to talk to her this afternoon and know that all was well. Her husband is fighting a cold and I felt badly for him as he sounded very stressed. I was waiting for the call today while sitting in the dentist chair and man did that ever make my dentist visit so long! (As if it's not long enough :D) My teeth are all shiny now,(although I still need a root canal, as soon as the budget allows--I'm pretty sure that will be some time after my daughter's 12th birthday, because really we MUST have our priorities in order!) my kids go back to school tomorrow, my mom is well, and wait! I have a new quote of the day. Instead of the old adage, one day at a time...I prefer..."Just take it one gigantic, earth shaking, crisis at a time! Love that one... or, here's one I saw the other day that I thought might be good for my new office..."I'm not really good at advice, would a sarcastic comment do?" I crack myself up. OK, so evidently I'm a bit tired, or giddy, or have been on vacation for too long, or perhaps have done too many loads of laundry in one day. Time for bed you ask? Well no, because after 6 loads, my darling daughters asked, "Could you wash this for me for school tomorrow?" Hmmmmm, [insert sarcastic comment here] Until next time...

It's official!!

I can now officially say that I graduate NEXT year!!! How exciting is that?! When I'm actually into the last 12 months I anticipate being just a bit giddy! It seems most of the world goes back to work tomorrow and I do too for a little bit. I have some catching up to do at CHASI and my weekly staff meeting there...So, it'll be nice to get out of the house. I wanted to maybe check on a new coat at Kohl's (since I'm tired of wearing Kevin's) tomorrow too. Kristina and I were there the other day looking for me a coat, but we ended up finding a super cute one for her (of course) -- it's just the one she has wanted and of course her birthday will be upon us in 10 short days, so perhaps for her birthday? We'll see. We have started to plan her party and I think it will be on the 2nd of February. It just seems so hard to have it 2 weeks after Christmas. Most people are still in the 'reentry' phase of the new year then and it seems so hectic. February allows for better planning and a better financial outlook after the drain of Christmas. :)

Now, for New Year's Eve. Every year my kids make me feel so old by having to wake me up at midnight to wish me happy new year! So this year, I vow to stay awake for the big event :) The biggest event of the night was by far this...

Robert Tuesday!!!! The dysfunctional side finally decided it was ok to expose him to me, so he got to stay overnight last night :) Oh, how I loved it. When we pulled into the driveway Robert said, "Baf? Baf? Baf?" I said, of course you can take a bath! To which he replied, "Cars? Cars? Cars?" Yes, my love you can have a bath with your cars. So...he played for a bit and we made fudge frosted brownies, Yumm!!! And finally it was bath time. He was so sweet playing with his cars---and lining them up. Kevin and I watched "The pursuit of happyness" (spelled wrong intentionally according to the movie title) -- we had chips and dip, and enjoyed Robert's company. Brennan was at the World of Warcraft New Year's fireworks (on the computer of course) and Stephanie & Nina were both at their bff's house. So...it was a peaceful night, but we enjoyed it AND we stated awake to see the ball drop! Woohooo...perhaps I'm only 25 after all?!? This morning Robert got up and emptied my cabinets before I woke up...I heard the crash of silver ware out of my china cabinet and thought it best that I get up...at 7:00 UGH! The good thing about early rising 2 year olds is that they are early nappers and I sure enjoyed the 12:00 nap! The girls all returned home and are getting ready to go back to school on Thursday...organizing new Christmas clothes to wear, catching up homework, etc. etc. I am grateful for a few days to myself before work on Monday. (Paid work anyway!)

As I look forward to the New Year, I am not a person of resolutions per se--I tend to change things as they need changed or as I become aware of them. Overall, however there are a few things I aspire to do in the new year. Perhaps lose 10 more lbs. (I lost 17 last year, but gained 7 back--so perhaps a goal of 10 a year wouldn't seem so overwhelming!) Continue the various professional pursuits I have going on (and live through it!) Ease my youngest into Junior High, Ease my oldest into getting her driver's license, Accept the fact that I'll be missing a lot of softball games this summer, but will be sure to attend every one next year! SCRAPBOOK MORE!! I'm not sure how that will happen, but I'd sure like it to! Learn to say no when necessary :) Learn to say yes when necessary :) Appreciate the great life I have and enjoy my terrific husband and kids...Perhaps get a new job? Effective June 1st when I start my new internship at UIC, this will become my number 1 priority...landing a new UIC job. Having these past two weeks off, sure gives me a taste of doing what I want when I want to, and man am I ready for that! Also, I mean really, if I can't find anything else to do, I'd like to finish my application for Deal or No Deal! So...lofty goals? Time will tell...until then Happy New Year and Keep on Blogging!

PS, OK, the cat music had to go...even I had to hit the mute button when I opened my blog!