June 2007-Summer As It Is Meant to Be!

The month of June has been wonderful. We have enjoyed family and been EATING and EATING. From the Pig Roast to the daily meals that Cat and Joe dream up, it has been an epicurian delight.

Catie had a Kool Aid stand with 2 of her friends and made $19.02 in 4 hours. Joey and Mike-O went on her field trip to Michigan Adventure and had a great time. The kids have had a ball on the trampoline and the pool is up and running. Sidewalk Chalk and Bubbles have provided afternoon entertainment.

The pool is up and running, FINALLY. It took what seemed like a million dollars in chemicals and hours of sucking the leaves out of the bottom, but the kids are enjoying it now.

We had the experience of having SEVEN puppies, which have all found homes (Thank God)except for Minnie, who is waiting here for Laura, Alexis and Daniel to pick up. Within 24 hours, by word of mouth, all the pups were GONE!

Deb and I are knitting and trips to the yarn shop are frequent. Depending on how my hand holds out, I may have an afghan to cuddle up with. Either way the yarn shop trips are fun.

We taught Tate how to eat corn on the cob. (Daniel was an expert and his eyes lit up at the sight of it.) Joe and Daniel cuddled up on the hammock with the 2 chihuahuas to sleep off last Sunday's dinner. So from Cat's cupcakes and cookies to Joe's pig roast and daily grill, June has been one delicious month.

The Paul Doll

I saw a TV news show that showed women making Daddy Dolls for children of deployed servicemen. They gave the toddlers the dolls after their fathers left and each of them were delighted. I decided to make one for Tate.

Well, not such a successful project. Tate first saw it and said "Da Da!" then he went back to watching TV, occasionally looking at the doll like he wasn't quite sure this was right. My boys decided it was downright "creepy" to have Paul in miniature, sitting on the chair in the dining room.

Cat cracks up laughing every time she looks at it. OK, that is one expensive project that was a bust. I think I will stick to Scrapbooking.

My Little JUNK FAIRY!

When we moved to Charlotte, we met Bernice. She was a very colorful part of the town and there was no one in Charlotte who didn't know her. Bernice was an elderly woman who wore a coat 365 days a year while combing the town for.....JUNK! She collected cans to return for cash and was often seen picking through the trash. If you stopped to talk to her (and Joey often did) she would tell you she had been "working hard lately" and sometimes said she had "worked overtime".

When Cat went to high school she began wearing some really interesting outfits. We began calling her "Bernice", but it didn't deter her. She was often seen wearing her Dad's old cashmere overcoat with a skirt made of blue gauze material from a re-sale shop with a colorful scarf tied in her hair. She became addicted to JUNK!

Karen always used to laugh and say, "My sister can go through a pile of junk, whip together an outfit and look like a million bucks every time."

Well, yesterday Cat found her own version of HEAVEN! We went to lunch and decided to tour the shops of Eaton Rapids. She was enjoying herself and then she found her store...THE JUNK FAIRY. We stepped inside and found a narrow path among the piles of objects that ranged from interesting antiques to downright JUNK!!!

Cat wound her way through the 3 rooms and 2 cubby holes and began to giggle. She looked at me and said "I feel my Inner Bernice coming out!"

She was piling up JUNK with a grin on her face. It was all priced under $1 and she was finding things like 30 year old Pyrex bowls, cake pans, a necklace and her treasure of the day....a metal star cookie cutter! Her grand total of expense was about $8 and she had 3 bags of treasures. I HAD TO DRAG HER OUT!

So if Cat is missing, she is probably in the land of perpetual Garage Sale!

Tate and Papa

Tate greeted Joe tonight with a very loud and excited, "PAPA!!!!" He was so truly happy to see him that it was impossible not to stop and just enjoy being a grandparent. Very quickly Tate ran to get his new car to show Papa. His Mommy had made a big purchase (50 cents) at a garage sale today and it needed a little minor repair. Tate and Joe worked on it together.

The Back Room

13 years ago when we bought the house, we were thrilled with the "almost finshed" back room. It began as a deck, then the guy who owned it hired a contractor to enclose it. His plan was a 3-Season room.

Roof on, walls up....we figured add the ceiling, floor and drywall and we would have a very large family room. We talked about it, dreamed about it, talked about it some more and some more. We had countless offers of help to finish it, but something always got in the way.

Last week as I was washing dinner dishes I saw Joe carrying drywall in the back door. What in the world????? Yep, he was going to do it! I could not believe it. I just stayed quiet. (I know no one believes that one)

The subfloor went in pretty quickly, then the drywall began going up. I was in shock. So were the boys when Joe made them come out and help him hang drywall. They knew this "Dad Tone of Voice". It means, "DO NOT ARGUE. JUST DO IT!" Not only were Mike, Andy and Justin out there, but Cat was helping tape, mud and sand. By Friday night, Cat and Joe were painting. WOW!

We plan to hire a friend to finish the ceiling, since even Uncle Dave said "dont do it, Joe" but we are sooooo close. We still have work to do, but it looks great!

Graduation Photos

Mike found a VERY old picture of me on the day of MY Open House. It was taken in front of My Mustang with diploma on the hood. It didn't take 2 seconds before he was posed the same in front of HIS Mustang, diploma on the hood. If you notice, he had fun posing EXACTLY the same.

Puppies!

Since Alexis has chosen her puppy, we have six remaining. Deb is choosing between the 2 pictured. She had better hurry so I can show which are REALLY available. Sue wants another (she has the sister from the last litter) and wants a little boy. Hurry while they last!

Got a New Camera!!!!

The delay on my camera was driving me nuts. As I was trying to capture that perfect photo, the camera stopped to adjust....then delayed some more, then CLICK. I missed the shot again! Since I try to catch babies in action and Andy in action on a daily basis it was getting frustrating. I was pretty good at snapping before the action was going to happen in hopes of getting that shot. Last night as Joe and I celebrated our 36th Anniversary, he handed me a bag and in it was THE camera...NO DELAY! Look out, HERE COME THE PICTURES!

Summer Fun!

Today should be named "Summer Fun". I had spent the morning on boring things like checkbook balancing and bills, so Cat and Tate were a welcome sight this afternoon. Cat left Tate with me for a few minutes while she did some laundry and I decided to get out the bubbles. He knew what they were and his smile went from ear to ear as he watched me blowing bubbles. Tate's blowing was more like a big SPIT! We laughed and laughed together, practicing bubble blowing until his Mom showed up to take over the lessons. When the bubbles were getting old we went to sidewalk chalk and he enjoyed enjoyed decorating my front walk while I relaxed on the porch. That is what summer is about...rocking on the porch, enjoying the afternoon while the children laugh and play. Life is good.

Puppies for Sale!

Alexis has hers all picked out and says her name is...."Josie too". Of course, Papa has to ask her is that "Josie 2?" She screams, "NO, Papa! It is Josie...too" and around they go.

It seems everyone that wants a puppy wants Josie 2 or Josie "too". She is definitely everyone's favorite, although I think the little brown pups are adorable.


Payton and Zoey both picked one out before they left with promises to "work on Mom" (I promised to help).






Daniel got in the act, but he liked ALL the puppies.

What a Great Day

We had food galore and a beautiful day with family and friends, but when the day began we were very worried.

We got up this morning and Dave, Joe and I stood around the pig roaster. We had been told to put the pig in the roaster, pour on the marinade and close it. Do not open till Pig-Time...3pm.

We could NOT smell pig roasting. There was no grease in the drainage pan. Could it mean that the fire went out in the night and we had RAW pig? What to do? Finally, after Joe and Dave wandered around touching the roaster and debating if it was "hot enough" I decided to call the people who rented us the pig roaster. They told us to go ahead and open it.



THE PIG WAS DONE TO PERFECTION!

We also had a chocolate fondue fountain with strawberries, beans, potato salad, coleslaw and rolls. Then add Cat's (Deb's receipe) Cheddar Cheese Potatoes, Pizza rolls, Oreo Bark and Cupcakes and we had a lot of food!

We badly missed Paul, but took pictures of everyone waving to him along with a shot of Cat's plate.




We ARE freezing a packet of pork for you Paul to eat upon your return!

The Pig is ON!

Joe & Dave got some help from the boys as they loaded the pig into the roaster tonight and it smells good already! Joe & Dave pulled in with the roaster on a trailer behind the van and the pig in the back packed in ice. It should be ready by about 2pm tomorrow.

Cat went home to bake another 100 cupcakes, the baked beans are in the roaster, potato salad cooling in the fridge and we have about 200 buns on the counter waiting for that pig. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Simple Pleasures

Tonight Andy came in and asked me if I would like to join him, Mike and Justin by their bonfire. I can't imagine anything better than your teenager wanting you to join them at midnight around a fire. I grabbed my coffee and headed out.

We had worked all week and worked really hard. It has been a constant source of conversation for 13 years to talk about "when we finish the back room". They actually have it almost done! Today we shopped for 8 hours, filling the van nearly to the top with pop, food, charcoal for the pig and the various extras for the party. We ended the evening with yardwork and Joe working on getting the pool open. It was definitely time to relax!

As I sat there enjoying the warmth of the fire and the conversation of my boys I was thinking this is as good as it gets. The fire was crackling, we were all staring at it and just plain mellow. Conversation and laughter flowed easily, which is all too often something rare between parents and teens. Out came the marshmellows and it was really getting good.

Right then, Mike asked "What is it about fire and humans? We are all just staring at that fire." I don't know what it is, but it doesn't get any better.

Busy, Busy Family

The Nuthouse is extra busy right now and even though I am tired, I wouldn't change a thing! As we work together to get ready for Mike's Open House, it has been a house filled with laughter (oh, yeah there is some yelling), lots of food, lots of kids and we are enjoying being a family.

Cat and Tate are here while Paul suns himself in Afghanistan. We enjoy his daily pictures and emails, but miss him very much. We ARE enjoying Tate and he is becoming just another one of the bunch. Everyone enjoys playing with him, as you can see from the photo above, as he and Andy jump on the trampoline.

Laura and Alexis joined us last week for a rare evening of porch sitting. We all gathered at Cat's place and relaxed on her deck for a bit while the kids played. We need a few more evenings like that one. I am happy, but very, very tired!

Although the kids are usually HERE, I have to enforce curfew occasionally. I get them home by allowing them to bring whomever they choose and they DO choose to bring friends. I have to take a headcount at night to be sure what I am responsible for since usually we have Justin, Erin, Kyle and various others sleeping around here somewhere. Often, they are at computers, working with Joe or just hanging out with me, which is the best thing I could ask for. I love being with these kids, even when they do drive me nuts.

Catie and her SEVEN puppies keep life exciting, as if Paco, Josie, Frankie, Rocky and Spike weren't enough. Someone knocks at the door and you would think we have 1000 dogs waiting to eat them. Someone is ALWAYS knocking at the door!

Andrew has his driver's permit and I have turned completely grey, but we are out every single day and night, driving around, doing errands and inventing things to do. Tonight it was a visit to the car wash, the laundramat (we did Cat's laundry while she drywalled) and out for ice cream.

This has to be what summer is supposed to be about.

Open House on Saturday!

Mike took "the walk" last Sunday afternoon as we listened to Pomp and Circumstance for the first time in a few years, picked up his diploma and made Mom and Dad very happy. Cat and Tate joined us for dinner afterwards at Bennigans (Mike's choice) and we called it a night, as our REAL celebration is next Saturday.

Pictures to be seen on the side of the page include some of the work crew this week as we spiff up the house and yard. Seems like we let a lot go recently, but it is all in shape now. Joey helped with the painting last month, which got us started. The back porch is now officially drywalled, the new subfloor is in and we are in the home stretch of finally finishing that nice big room. With our growing family, it will be so nice to have an extra 400 sq ft of space.

Even Tate was swinging the hammer, Cat was taping and mudding, Mike, Andy and Justin were general labor on this crew with Joe definitely the Supervisor. Morning has brought achine muscles for the older set, the kids just lay in bed and moan "NOT AGAIN TODAY!"

Joe is roasting a pig for the crowd, the boys have built a bonfire pit for the evening and we plan to PARTY all day and night to celebrate Mike's graduation! So if you are reading this.......you are invited! Join us for a day of food, family, friends and fun!

Days and Nights Mixed Up!

For those of you who may try to call today, I have my days and nights mixed up. After having an anesthetic to have pain treatments done yesterday, I came home and slept the rest of the day. So, if you add up the sleep hours, I had 9 hours and then it was evening! Not easy to go to bed.

So it is 7:52am and I haven't been to bed since yesterday at 5pm when I woke up from my "pain relief adventure". Cat and I are going to the St. Peter Community Garage Sale and then I will probably head to bed for a while. Maybe by tonight I can be ready for a more normal Saturday night.