Pets are Family

I think we all feel your sadness and loss over Maggie. I still catch a shadow out of the corner of my eye and look expecting to see Tigger. They become members of our families, friends who wait for us at the door, a ready nudge of the damp nose on a hand- hoping for a walk, or a very friendly lick on the cheek just to express their unconditional love. They love us no matter what mood we are in, how busy our day has been, or if we are late getting home.

Pets are so theraputic.

Cheryl

RIP Sweet Maggie

I think I am more sad than I care to admit... Here is my last picture of our sweet Maggie from Thanksgiving 2009.
My favorite memories are:
1. Her meeting Bailey for the first time - sitting so patiently on the basement stair at Ridge Road while I held Bailey as a kitten. Bailey was hissing and trying to be so big and scary while Maggie sat patiently looking straight ahead and then looking with her eyes to the side to see this crazy little kitten I was holding. So patient and gentle, so sweet.
2. Maggie scaring a raccoon into the corner of the house & the backdoor at Ridge Road - barking barking barking - so ferocious!! The raccoon "peed his pants" down the side of the house, he was so scared! Good job Maggie.
3. Getting so much love when I came home that she would knock me over :)
I miss her.

Bare ground??

So, Heather--don't we usually need to have less than 12" of snow covering every sq inch of ground in order for the daffodils to peek through??? Even a highly motivated puppy has trouble finding a place to 'go' around here--let alone daffodils! You must be in better shape than we are.

Sarah--so the ISEA is being too rigid about teachers actually getting paid what they deserve? If so, remind Dan to not be too much of a good guy. (But maybe I didn't understand the politics.)

Dave and Bella are gone to puppy class tonight--and I'm flipping between ISU BB and Olympics; franky, I'm tired of both.
I need temps above 32---and melting snow!!

As some of you know, we had Maggie put to sleep last Fri. It was time. We had felt a little like we were living w/ a Hospice pt. for the past weeks.
Bella looked around for her for a couple of days; I still instinctively look a dark shadows on the bedroom floor thinking that it's Maggie. But that'll pass--it was definitely the right time.

Love, Becky

"Mouse-Proofed"

Finally, my apt has been "mouse-proofed"! Steel wool and caulk around the radiator pipes in the floor and the big gaps btwn the floor and baseboards. At least now when Bailey starts freaking out I don't have to be as worried about if a mouse is getting in the apt!
Yay!!

Daffodils?

Don't you have to see the ground to see daffodils? Needless to say, I'm sure, we're not even close to flowers popping up. Last week was the first week in several (I lost count) that we didn't have a late start/early out/no school day because of snow. I was afraid we might have another snow day or snow issues yesterday, but the storm hit east central and southern Iowa instead of NE Iowa :) I saw on the news that Keokuk got 8 in. of snow; I can imagine Andrew's excitement!!

Things are good for us. It's a busy time--I'm full swing in the Mock Trial Season, and Dan's busy at school too. We'd love prayer in the coming weeks as the Denver Education Association (teachers' union) negotiates their contract for next year. Dan has been on the negotiation team for 3 years, and this year he's the "chief negotiator" because he's the most senior member of the team. Anyhow, it's looking to be rough. His struggle is that the ISEA tells unions what they should ask for, but Dan, being reasonable and thoughtful, knows that the suggestion from the ISEA is unreasonable and an insult to the district. But the district isn't very reasonable. It puts him in a tough position--negotiating when he doesn't fully buy into what the DEA wants.

The kids are good. Lily went with me last night to the UNI library; that was interesting. I just needed to pick up some books, so we went in and got out as fast as we could without bothering too many people. Jack is eating, growing, pooping, eating, growing, etc. You get the point. He's a big fan of baby food. Mommy milk just isn't doing much for him these days. My goal is to give him some, at least, until March is over so hopefully we can help to keep him healthy. Last week we were doing nebulizer treatments for RSV, which wasn't fun, so hopefully we can stay away from sickness for a while!

Well, I better get back at it. Just needed a break; been doing some in depth research for a HS project---love you all :)

~Sarah

And in the south....

...the daffodils are coming up! Yep! I about jumped for joy when I walked out the back door today and saw little green shoots. It is chilly today, and supposed to be in the teens tonight (I know for some that's a warm up), but I think the 50 degree weather on Saturday jump started everything.

For Joy, Erin

I notice that Chicago got another few inches of that fluffy white stuff! Much to Erin's delight, I'm sure. We, however, missed out on the second week-end storm.

A quiet house & changes

Yes, it is a sunny and gorgeous day in STL, too! This week was a good week at our house, but next week is the real news for us. Mike's parents came down yesterday and this morning packed our little guy up in their van and headed for an IA adventure! This week will give me lots of undistracted writing time, which is much needed. And of course Andrew will love his adventures in Keokuk. I think they may head to Cedar Falls to see GG (great-Gram), too. Andrew was most excited to pack his sled, snow pants, etc. Although this winter has been relatively snowy for STL, it doesn't last long.

The other purpose of Marv & Phyllis' trip down was to deliver Andrew's new big-boy bed. I have resisted, mainly because I just wasn't ready to take the crib down yet. Silly, I know, but true. It is time, though. So, they brought Mike's old twin bed down and Andrew is sooooo excited that when he gets home he'll have a new bed to sleep in. Or at last mattress on the floor at first.

Finally, Mike received a call from his principal this a.m. (never good at 8:45 on a Saturday morning) and a 1st grader from his school, along with a 1st grader in a neighboring community, and the latter's mother, all drowned in a farm pond last night. No details yet, but it seems like the boys may have gone out on the ice. Mike is headed to Waterloo now; the elem. school has a winter carnival today, so he'll be there to field questions from parents on how to talk to their kids about all this. I'm sure Mike and all those involved in Waterloo would appreciate any prayers for comfort and wisdom. Needless to say, I hugged Andrew extra tight when he got in Gram and Gramp's van.

That's the update from St. Louis. Andrew's had some doozies of funny statements recently. In a day or two I'll try to post some. Have a great weekend-
HLN

good winter day

Today was a great rejuvinating day - somewhere in the high 30's/low 40's and SUNSHINE with a lovely blue sky!! Funny how a little sun and temps in the 30's/40's can make such a difference in your mood - especially to us Midwesterner's in mid-February :)

Ready for more snow this weekend!! Let's get rid of this dirty brown stuff!
I know... I'm the minority - but I love the snow!


BTW - the reason I am so wishy-washy on what the actual temperature was today - is because I live in Chicago and apparently they don't have the same weather reporting abilities as central Iowa. I can never get a good prediction on snowfall amounts, temps, etc... I need to send all 4 of the local stations the KCCI & WHO website links - maybe they can learn something from Iowans on how to predict and report on the current weather conditions!

Staying In...Looking out.

Hi all,

Well, it has been almost 2 weeks, 4 drs, 3 antibiotics, nebulizer treatments, and I think I am beginning to feel better. The last exciting visit to the dr was to ENT- Dr. RT- who found a left ear infection, and sinus infection. I had finished Zythromycin last Thurs. so now it is on to Levaquin!!
Chloe has been very patient with me...No walks outside, she has had to adjust to the backyard. Sometimes she doesn't like my option, but that's the way it is.
Steve is having a very busy week, the auditors are at the company doing their business. Hopefully they will finish this week and not have to come back next week.

So, Chloe and I are hanging out watching the Olympics. Thankful for the sun today- And it sounds like another sunny day tomorrow!

Cheryl

And it continues to snow in Wayne county, as well. It has added up although it hasn't snowed hard, just steady. Just enough breeze to drift in the driveway. Think we are "in" for the duration. Grandma

Shocking NewsFlash

It's been snowing in rural Runnells all morning!!!! Oh, the excitement of it all!

Date Night!

Yep, we're getting out tonight and are really looking forward to a dinner that doesn't involve a kids' menu! Not sure where we're going yet, nothing fancy, just a casual dinner before a piano duo recital that a friend of ours is playing in. There's a nice wood-fired pizza place that's really casual, yet nicely decorated and with yummy pizzas that I'm thinking about. Just someplace with adults and no french fries, please! :) And Mike's aunt gave me a really pretty shawl that I haven't ever worn. I think tonight will be the debut!

The best part is that we're bartering for babysitting. I teach piano to a family with 6 kids; had been teaching 4 of them, but parents have had some financial difficulties (exacerbated by a clear lack of communication). Now I'm just teaching the 2 older girls and for a reduced rate until they can get back on their feet. I suggested occasionally swapping babysitting for that week's piano lessons. The girls were willing and the mom was grateful!

Olympics start tomorrow!

I'm sure you all know this - but the Olympics start tomorrow!! I love the Olympics... Looking forward to this year's new super-stars!

What else is new in my world?
Bailey is still very pre-occupied with the radiators and baseboards throughout my apartment. They were supposed to come out today and plug up all of the spacing btwn the floors & baseboards with caulk and fill up the radiator floor holes with steel wool, but that didn't happen today. I would prefer to be here, because he may want to move furniture around and yes, I am bit of a control freak, so being here makes me feel better. :) Not sure when this is going to happen though - because I am going to work downtown tomorrow and I have 3 house visits for Wright+ on Saturday & 1 on Sunday.
Looking forward to the house visits this weekend. One of them is a Tallmadge & Watson (architects) house. The last 2 years I have been in a Tallmadge & Watson house and they are just beautiful! They remind me (and Mom & Dave) of their Ridge Road house - lots of woodwork and a very comfortable feel throughout the house.

I used my fabulous Snow Broom today. This time it helped push 12-14 inches of snow off my car. LOVE IT!

Grandma - I've used my new skillet as well. It's great! I haven't tried making an omelet in it yet, but will do that soon - I think it's going to work well.
I'm taking a Cooking "Boot Camp" class in a few weeks (2 days - 6 hours/day) and hope I am going to learn alot, so I can stop eating frozen dinners and start making some real dinners.

Hope all are doing well - looking forward to hearing how things are going in your world(s)!

Home again--
It took > twice as long as usual but Dave and I (and Bella) got home from Minn w/o damage to us or our pickup. As we were sitting on I-35 behind a jack-knifed semi, a state trooper walked by and said, "Did you bring a book?"
Dave picked up Maggie--who is no worse for the wear. Rover's Ranch was w/o electricity so Lin and Darcy were working on keeping the dogs they're boarding warm for the night in case they didn't get their power back soon.

Norah is bigger and more alert/less newborn--but still an 'easy' baby. I'm not sure her parents always think so however! Depends on who's been up during the night.

kitty? or doggie?

I think Butterscotch is part dog. Last night, Mike and I were just heading to bed when Andrew woke up crying. We heard him, just were waiting to see if he would settle down or needed parental help. Butterscotch went nuts! Crawling all over the bed, licking our faces (and ears--yuck!). He has done similar things before. One morning when I was in the shower and Mike had left for work, Andrew woke up and was calling out (I of course could not hear sans hearing aids and in the basement...) As I was drying off, Butterscotch wanders into the bathroom yowling and carrying on. Times like that I say: "What Lassie? Timmy's in trouble?!?!" Oh, and this morning he was drinking out of the toilet again ('Scotch, not Andrew...) even though he had water in his bowl.

Butterscotch makes me think if Skippy-Jon Jones, the main character in a series of childrens' books by Judy Schachter. Skippy-Jon is a siamese cat who thinks he is a chuihuaha (of course with a Spanish accent). The books are hilarious and filled with lots of Spanglish that keeps the adults laughing.

In other news, I submitted a draft of my final chapter on Monday. No word from my advisor yet. Lots of revisions left, but at least a complete draft is behind me.

Hi all--
This is just a FYI message.
Dave, Bella and I are going to Scott&Amy's (AND Norah's) this week-end. Our excuse is to take up their portion of the pork we bought thru the Food Coop. Seeing the 2 month-old might have something to do w/ it also.
Maggie's going to stay at Rover's Ranch-- as usual.
We're planning for the weather to NOT get in our way! We'll have the usual implements of communication--laptop and phones.
Love, Becky

Primary's are over - hooray!

So, Illinois has been in the Primary season and we have been inundated with political ads. Everything from the Governor's race (to fill Blagojevich's place permanently), to Senator's race (to fill Obama's place permanently), to the Cook County Board President (to replace Todd Stroger - who implemented the additional penny sales tax which makes Cook County have the highest sales tax in the US). So glad that the commercials will now be "normal" and not the annoying attack ads (at last until this fall).
Tuesday was Election Day and Yes - I voted! Can't complain about the candidates in November, if you didn't try to get your candidate in the race!

We enjoyed the Wright slideshow, Erin, thank you for posting it so we could enjoy it. What an interesting place to volunteer!
Watched the Hawkeyes lose tonight but was a good game.

Grandma