Holly: Week in the Life Day 7 - Photos and Words

Ok, this may be my favorite starting 6x8 photo of the week. I took the time to "move" the fork over to the side since it was smack dab in the middle and bring it on top of Ali Edward's stamp.

Christy woke at 7AM and headed over to her new place to get a few things and shower there. I slept a little more and then lay in bed editing WITL photos on my phone.

09:00 AM. GOT UP. Showered. Heavenly.

Bought the frappuccino at CVS last night in anticipation of needing coffee in the morning with little or no choices in her barren, almost moved-out-of apartment. Check out the caveman/woman salt & pepper shakers...

This is my new favorite sister picture. I can't believe it's the only one we took. Glad it's a good one. Okay, there is one more later on. Wait for it...

Saw this cool mural on our walk to the cafe.

It wasn't hard to talk my sister into going out for breakfast. Hee. Hee. My reasoning was that we'd work through lunch and have a good dinner later, so better have a filling breakfast. Did I mention that I would be helping her purge stuff and pack stuff this weekend?

I soon figured out why my sister chose this place. I think the bartenders that work here are required to have beards and tattoos. And maybe half sporting some man-bunnage. So, I had to be asked twice if I was rum added to my creamy cappuccino indulgence. My immediate response was NOOOOO. Then, my sister quickly answered YESSS for her's, so I felt like a smuck. It was our only chance to booze it up. So, when the bartender looked back to me with a raise eyebrow, I said, "Ah hell, ok".  Well....I couldn't stomach it. I think it had 4 fingers of rum in it. I stirred the hell out of it, hoping I just needed to mix it better. After getting a few inches down, somehow, I asked a different bartender to please add some more coffee on the sly (I didn't want to the one who made it to feel bad). My sister did the same. LOL!!!

We not only order the same drink, but also the same meal. Which came with this, AND that huge pancake at the beginning of this day's photos. I didn't eat the pancake, but brought it home...it never got eaten. I had 2 eggs over easy and Sis had scrambled. Yum.

We walked across the street to Koppa's just to read the funny labels. "Tedious Pistachios" LOL! We liked that one the best. I was imagining this guy in the back, cracking himself up, creating labels. On our way out, we each, inconspicuously grabbed a stack of free newspapers for packing dishes...

First thing we did when we got back, was start unloading the storage locker unit. I was impressed that stuff didn't fall out on us when the door was opened. hee. hee.

1:00PM Mom and Dad arrive. We were sorting through clothes, trying to purge stuff. (I was adding a few new items to my own collection - cute tops, capri's, yay).

Dad ran over to Whole Foods right away and brought back sandwiches, chips & guac, and lemonade soda. Yum. Good Job, Daddio. He didn't understand all the photo-taking.

Wow, we got through ALL the clothes in this closet and that were in storage. Lots to take to Salvation Army, which was next on our list.

I went with Christy to drop off FIVE bags of donations! That felt good. And then we went to take a few items to the new place.

This is the new place. In a very residential part of Milwaukee. She has a roomie from work now. 

 

I loved noticing all the remnants of my Great Aunt & Uncle's home at Christy's place. That is a coaster with a picture of them on it.

And this is a painting of Benji, their "dog son" from their home. Benji was a puppy when I was a puppy and passed away when I was in college. He was loyal to his family (including us) but don't mess with the family car. Don't come near it. Definitely don't go in it when he was in it. He was loyal... and very protective of their cars.

Ok, this is the part where my Type A Big Sister Personality stepped in. Packing dishes. Poor mom. She tried to just get it done. But I had to re-do the few boxes she had started and had about 5 boxes going at once, trying to fit different size items in the open spots in each box, until they were nicely and solidly packed. Well, that way, nothing slides and around. Everything fits in the box. And it closes. And then the boxes can be stacked. 

Lots of boxes packed. Time for dinner. Mom looked up a Gluten-Free option. Not because she is picky, but because she is a Celiac. She found a sandwich shop (I was surprised) but we all walked over there glad that she found something she could have. Unfortunately, when we walked in the stench was overwhelming. And then my Dad labeled it. A Butcher Shop. Wow. That made it even more disgusting. This place is GF?? And then I saw a little line at the bottom of the menu, 

Gluten-Free Bread......$1.99

Um, no, probably not very safe for a Celiac. Since we couldn't stand the smell a minute longer, we stepped back outside to discuss out options. And then, Christy's nose started bleeding. Again! Mom was bummed.....

AND I WANTED A FAMILY PHOTO.  lol. Sis wasn't very happy with me, but when I sent her to her later that week she said she had NO IDEA our parents were being goofballs and loved it. I had permission to use it however I saw fit. So, here's our awesome family photo from the weekend. I think this is the only time we have all been together without my kids since said kids have been in existence.

Plan B. Mom walked Christy back home to take care of her nose problem. Dad and I walked over to QDoba to get some naturally GF burrito bowls.... yum. All is good.

Ok, here's that other photo of my sister and I, as promised. It' odd. I don't quite understand what I'm looking at, except that it IS my sister and I with parts of our faces swapped. I have her nose and lips and eyes/eyebrows. But it's my teeth, glasses, forehead and hair. I was dying. She introduced me to SnapChat where you can faceswap...oh my. She didn't say I had permission to use this photo, but she didn't say I couldn't, either...

We all watched a movie while eating our QDoba from the limited collection. "Stolen." I shrieked when the motorcycle cop turned around it was my husband's BFF. lol. And we had to rewind and rewatch his whole sequence of lines before he was killed by the bad guy.

And this concludes and Photos and Words for Week in the Life 2016! My first WITL project and I'm really enjoying it so far. And now to get to the "making" of the album!!

Holly | www.paintedladiesjournal.com

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Holly: Week in the Life Day 6 - Photos and Words

 Yayday! Friday! Friday is here. So, we live like right next to an ice cream spot. It's always a part of our week....

 Still diapering the youngest. He's two. I love that I can change Drew's attitude about getting changed (um, he doesn't always want to sit still for this) by tickling him. I tickle him until he answers, "Yes, Mama!" He is laughing hard and saying it and then he cooperates. Some might consider it torture, but he really loves it.

Our corner to cross to go to school. K saw his best bud already on the other side and was impatiently waiting for the walk sign to get over there. Sometimes D walks, but many times I end up carrying him back, so I usually bring the stroller. A goes in the door on this side, but then we walk K over to his door on the other side.

Oh boy, we haven't seen you in about 16 hours! Always a happy reunion in the morning on the way to their preschool classroom.

I was eager to steal some morning time getting my little travelogue art journal finished for a guest blog post. If we aren't out running errands or visiting a playground in the morning, we come back here and D typically asks for "Ba and T", which means a sippy cup of milk and TV. This morning I was happy to oblige.

Have I mentioned D's current obsession? Dinosaurs (aka "Rawrs") are everywhere at our house. All shapes and sizes. And they are usually arranged with things in their mouths. Like toy cars.

D found some toys that had been hiding in our closet for awhile. It was like Christmas.

Everyday we walk this sidewalk and see big kids on the field. My daughter's first grade class is usually out at the other end of the field and on the playground right now, on our way to go pick up K from Pre-K.

Then, we walk around to the other playground that is empty and have some outdoor playtime with our other Pre-K friends. More friends are out now that the weather is finally getting nicer. K has started this dare devil trick where he climbs on top of the cage bridge. Eek!

These two have become inseparable this year. My heart is going to break for all of us when they move to another state in a few short months. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Besties.

We walk back home around the other side of school. It usually involves a race to see who can give me a heart attack. My kids are city saavy. They do know to wait for mom to cross any streets, alleys or curb cuts, but I still get nervous with them too far ahead.

D fell asleep at noon today! Packing. Tonight, I get on an Amtrak train to go to visit my sister in Milwaukee. Yay! Need to be packed before 3PM school pick-up.

K really likes these peanut butter balls, a new little treat we found.  After lunch, he's have a treat and getting some iPad mini time. His favorite is Stampee Minecraft videos on YouTube Kids. He searches for them with the microphone tool and I hear him say (just like Stampee), "Helloooooo and Welcome to another Minecraft video...." love this (but i don't love Stampee).  Also of note, in this picture, is the lovie he is hugging, which is a constant right now, "Foxie" whom happens to be the first gift I gave to his Dad on our first Valentine's Day NINETEEN YEARS AGO!!!

I pre-packed the car before having to run over and pick-up A from school at 3pm. I had promised a DQ ice cream treat today after school, so here we are!

      CURRENT DQ FAVES

• A - Twist Ice Cream Cone, double scoop (which is a small, and they aren't scoops) with sprinkles
• K - Kid Size Vanilla with sprinkles in a cup (and he like so finish whatever D doesn't eat, too) OR M&M mini-blizzard
• D - Kid Size chocolate with sprinkles in a cup (eats about 1/2)
• Me - Small Salted Caramel Truffle Blizzard
• Dave - vanilla cone

We got straight in the car from DQ to head downtown. We were picking up Daddy who would take me to Union Station to catch my 5:08 train to Milwaukee! I was nervous about Friday traffic and didn't want to chance missing my train because the next one wasn't until 8:00pm.  So, we got to Daddy's office and had to wait for him in the car a bit. We were parked under the "EL" tracks and this was D's look everytime a train went overhead.

Whew, I made it but I wasn't on the train yet. By the time I waited in line to use the restroom and waited on the very un-organized Corner Bakery to make a sandwich, I was running to my platform as they were calling "Last Call" for boarding! I had 2 hours of peaceful train ride to Milwaukee with my sandwich, water, chips and iPhone for working on my Week in the Life photos. But, I had a horrible headache, so I wasn't all that productive and just zoned out mainly.

My sister was waiting for me at the station. It was raining and I still had a headache and she had an open wound on her hand from falling on the steps outside of her work. She was also suffering from a reoccuring nosebleed. We were kind of a wreck, but happy to see each other. We stopped at CVS to get us both medical supplies and snacks. Almost to her place by the lakefront. She's pointing at the lake in front of us, telling me about how sparkly it looked the other day.

After taking care of ourselves, we put on a movie from her limited selection (she is moving and no more cable and most of her DVD collection among most everything else is at the new place). We chose to watch "Source Code" with Jake Gyllenhaal and indulge in our snacks. 

My bed for the night. The fold-out couch air mattress. All. To. Myself. No kids will be sleeping on top of my head, tonight! I slept like a tired mom (not like a baby, they don't sleep so well).

-Holly www.paintedladiesjournal.com

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Holly: Week in the Life Day 5 - Photos and Words

Drew. 5am? Feet pounding down the hall to our bedroom. Must cuddle. Must take up the most room. 

The coffee I made last night and bag I packed. Drew had an important morning today. We hurried off after school drop off to Garfield Park where the CPS building was located for his evaluation. His speech is the main concern.

We arrived 15 minutes early to my relief. With Morning Chicago rush hour traffic, I wasn't sure how long it would take. We got started right away. It was super stressful, but I'll spare you the suspense, he qualified for speech services. This is huge. At the beginning of our meeting, the speech pathologist was basically telling me he did not qualify since the report his EI speech therapist provided stated that he was only 23% delayed. I was shocked. He needs this. And CPS didn't get the preK app process started yet. Most other non-CPS options are filled up for the fall. Preference in CPS preK is given to 4-yr-olds. Our particular neighborhood school gets 600+ preK applicants. The stress was building as she told me why he probably wouldn't qualify. Meanwhile, Drew was upset and crying so hard I could barely carry on a conversation or think straight, wanting to tell them everything I could. I asked for a break. I tried everything. Finally, the idea of eating Oat Squares calmed him and sat in my lap quietly eating. When, she was finally able to do an evaluation for him due to his willingness to participate, she agreed with the 23% language delay but felt he was far less intelligible (the average person can't understand him) than indicated. Less than 50%, and this qualified for services. 

We had 45 minutes to eat a snack, change a diaper and relax with the iPad mini, while they wrote up their evaluation and created his IEP.

I was super thankful that this was the conclusion and that we were done. Drew was very happy to be walking out the doors. As we walked to the car, I held him in my arms and he planted a big kiss on my cheek.

Poor guy fell asleep holding his Dinos ("Rawrs") and Mac Truck. Throwing a full blown tantrum is exhausting (for everyone).

But we needed to make a stop at Target on our way home.

"Eat nana" His language is at the low end of normal, according to that evaluation. He wanted these at Target and ate two when we got home!

I finished up my sample of the Daisy Troop craft for today.

And got a little food prep done for tonight's meal.

Amy came at 3pm (she has Kendall on Thursdays) and once a month also comes over here to stay with the boys during Audrey and my Daisy Troop Meeting.

Our last meeting of the year! All that is left is our Build-a-Bear Party and Bridging Ceremony. They become Brownies!

Pink elephant! I love it!

(I chose to not post the photo for privacy for this next bit of words)

I was checking in with Facebook and discovered that my Dad's best friend passed away. I'm friends with his daughter and just couldn't believe it. I haven't talked to Dad yet. So sad to hear this. Ed was always around when I was growing up. They worked together and most days rode in together, so Ed was usually at our house at some point in the late afternoon/evening, picking up his truck. He was always so funny and liked to tease my sister and I. Our family dog hated him for that reason. R.I.P. Eddie.

Taco Night!

Daddy was home early enough to sit down and eat as a family tonight. I love when this happens.

Audrey gets a homework packet on Monday and it is due on Friday. We usually work on a few pages every day after we get back from school with a snack. But tonight, we had that Daisy Meeting. Working on fractions! First Grade.

Quick PJ change. Daddy took them to the playground at 7pm! What a treat. But now we have to rush through bedtime.

This whole week A and K have been going to bed without pull-ups!! Only a few accidents.

We make sure to use the potty again right before bed.

Audrey up to the top bunk.

I was looking at emails this evening and discovered that I got a request for a guest post! I applied to do a guest post for her on a travelogue and I'm in!  I started looking at what I need to do to finish that up!

Drew just goes until he can't some days. Just laid right down on the floor and went to sleep.

Watching Sideways with a glass of Pinot Noir and my sweetie. "If anyone starts drinking merlot, I'm leaving. I won't drink merlot!!!!"