Happenings

Sadie is learning to dress herself :)

with her OT, Tricha

Ben is working on a poster contest, "Bring Our Children Home".

I made a Valentine-y cake yesterday. It's half gone. Strawberry is a favorite in this house.

The boys are watching this right now. Ben has been waiting a sweet forever for this to come out. Promoting a Feb. movie in Dec. is a cruel marketing tactic. And ouch! 3-D tickets are expensive!

This will be my home away from home in about 5 months. If you hear me muttering the word "beach" over and over again as I struggle to get from point A to point B in negative temperatures, you'll know why :)

CANNOT. WAIT.

The Blizzard of 2014

It's not exactly a blizzard (says Greg), but it's a heck of a lot of hard, blowing snow in a very short amount of time.  It started around noon and hasn't really let up.

In the car after Sadie's afternoon therapy

                                                

The boys getting busy after dinner. Not great pictures, but the garage was as far as I was going. Unfortunately, that will be be me shoveling tomorrow :(

In other news, Ms. Sadie continues to impress us this week. We have started "hiding" her scooter. We all love the mobility it has afforded her, but also know she is capable of so much more. 

Here she is in a tall kneel position to reach her snack. She can now motor plan well enough to do this on her own. She will also tall kneel at the window sill and we are working on a transition from tall kneel to stand. Exciting times!

We are Valentine ready at our house. We purchased/printed Ben's Minecraft cards from Etsy.

I made Sadie's class some V-day cups with these goodies :)

 Scratch and Sniff Stickers

And the latest, greatest news of all!!! Greg and I will be going to see the oh-so-talented Bruno Mars this summer for our 12th anniversary. We were able to get seats on the floor in the first section!!!

Here is Sadie with Bruno on Super Bowl Sunday :)

Lighten Up!

That's just what I did yesterday! I haven't been to the salon in what feels like FOR-E-VER. She also took off an inch :)

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm super happy with the results and it was lovely to sit in a chair for two hours and have someone work on me while I read magazines!

Weekend Happiness

Taxes Done!

New Faucet!

It seems silly to be so happy about a new faucet, but this is a Delta (Arabella) and I feel like I never knew what a real faucet could do until now!

Haircut for Ben!

He's not smiling from the haircut. He's smiling because I'm finally letting him spend some of his Christmas money :)

This cutie!

She absolutely refused to be still for a picture, but I thought she looked so cute for church today!

Sky Blue Toes!

The Grammys and a Bachelor Wedding tonight!

 

Day Trip

Yesterday, we traveled to Lincoln to meet with a financial planner to begin a special needs trust for Sadie. There were lots and lots of details, but we are proud to say we finally have the ball rolling on both Ben and Sadie's future. Wills, and life insurance policies, and mutual funds, and...you get the picture.

Afterwards, we went to a tapas restaurant called Sebastian's Table. I love to take pictures of my food!

 Chickpea Salad, Meat and Cheese Board

Stuffed Poquillo Peppers, Risotto Espanola

I'm lucky that Greg always lets me choose where to dine. I know he would be just as happy with a SuperSonic double cheeseburger, but NOT ME :)

Today was pretty uneventful, but Ben did bring home some lovely grades! He knows the way to my heart :)  And then he promptly pulled out the next publication and named off his picks. That's my Ben.

Tonight, I'm grilling some chicken and admiring these pretty blooms that have almost all opened. I picked a good bouquet this week :)

Happy Weekend!

Busy, Busy

Today was one of those days where I felt like I was just going, going, going!

Some of the high points:

A good workout. I'm reintroducing my body to The Stairmaster. A little antiquated, but it has earned its keep at the gym. Oh, the burn!

A chocolate cake:

Ben is responsible for that large missing hunk ;) He LOVES to come home to a fresh-baked dessert!

The beginning of Spring Cleaning 2014:
First up? The linen closet. There is no "before" shot because, seriously, it was an utter catastrophe. I am very happy with the finished product.

In between, Sadie had double therapy and Ben had scouts and swim, so I was the "mom taxi".  Wouldn't trade it for the world :)

Unplanned Travels

Last Saturday, I was busy preparing for a trip to Texas for a Life Celebration for my stepfather, T.  T was terminally ill with head and neck cancer and was in the care of hospice. I had purchased plane tickets, booked my hotel, and was working on the kid's schedules.  A few hours later, (9:30 pm), I received a phone call from T's wife, Liz, saying that he had passed. Total shock. Expected, yet not expected so soon. He passed peacefully, without struggle or pain. More than we could have asked.

As usual, I went into survival mode, cancelling reservations, booking new travel plans, and waiting for final details.  A week later, I am still in disbelief that a man so full of life is now gone at the age of 55.  I have dreamed of him every night since. I go over memories in my head (good and bad) and hope he knows how much I cared for him. I asked to speak to him the day that he passed, but he was too sedated. He had been sleeping all day. He was dying that day. So sad.

I chose to drive to Texas, so I could spend extra time with my family. Lots of hotels and good food and company!

And I finally met my mom's husband, Mike! He is super sweet with my mom and has my full stamp of approval (I'm sure waiting for my approval has been keeping them up at night! Ha!).

Unfortunately, I was struck with a stomach bug the morning of my departure from the big state of Texas and I honestly do not know how I made it home. But I did. And I will try to forever block that memory. Enough said.

Despite the sadness, the trip was very relaxing for this mama! I was glad to see my family, though, and ready to get back to routine.  Here are some random pics.

 Ben practicing the recorder. So cute! (ask me in a few days if I feel the same...)

Bathroom humor, no doubt.

Hot wings from a neighboring town that were a little too painful. He needs to toughen up!

Sadie post-bath. Love :)

Have a great weekend!