Mother's Day 2026

Mother's Day has arrived again.  It has arrived at the end of another school musical week, and that brings absolute exhaustion.  The Friday after the musical is always such a hard day, and I went to bed at 8pm that night.  I was supposed to spend yesterday working at my mom's house, but between my exhaustion and my allergies it felt like more than I could handle.  Andrew and I spent yesterday doing a bit of shopping instead, and today we literally just hung around the house.  I've been spending some time trying to get things organized (or reorganized), as well as cleaning.  Honestly, it's been exactly the day that I would choose.

I feel a little badly that I didn't see my mom this weekend, but we are seeing lots of each other these days.  Of course, I still wished her a 'Happy Mother's Day' today.  Andrew called his mom, and we are going to take our moms out to dinner at some point.  Catherine, Thomas, and Lyndi all texted today.  It was so sweet of them.  It was odd not to see any of my kids at all though.  And of course, as a parent, there is always the realization that I have three children and no contact with one of them.  Mother's Day also brings up all the memories of those years that I wanted so desperately to be a mother, and I also can't help but think about all of the moms that are no longer with us.  It just seems like a challenging day for so many.

I'm incredibly blessed to have my amazing kiddos, and I'm grateful for so many things.  I'm also incredibly grateful that there are only eight more days of school remaining!

This weekend was a wonderful beginning to May

This weekend was a really nice beginning to the crazy month of May.  Andrew and I were exhausted at the end of the work week and went bed at 9:30 on a Friday night.  We are not in our 20's anymore! :)

Saturday morning I got up and went up to help at my mom's house.  She wasn't feeling great, and I ended up not being there very long.  It was such a gorgeous day, and I decided to make a quick trip to the cemetery.  I miss them all very much.  That evening we had dinner plans we are best friends, and it's always a fabulously fun evening with them.

Sunday was another absolutely gorgeous weather day.  Catherine had been at our house Friday evening to help with some weeding and other outdoor chores, and Andrew wanted to finish trimming.  I worked in the garages and was able to make a good deal of progress.  Honestly, I was delighted to soak up the gorgeous weekend weather.

Today is the exact opposite of that gorgeous weather, but I don't really mind.  It was a quiet day at school, except for the very wet carlines.  But, it is the only evening I'm home this week, and I'm so very happy to sit in my house and watch the rain fall outside.

Only eleven more days of school this year.  We can do this!

Draft weekend

Andrew and Thomas have been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time.  The draft is in Pittsburgh, and the guys have gone over to partake.  They left last night after Andrew finished parent conferences so they weren't at the first round.  But, they have spent the day in the city today doing draft things, they are at the draft tonight, and they'll be in the city again tomorrow before heading home on Sunday.

Honestly, I've been looking forward to this weekend as well.  Since it isn't fair to the dog to be alone for an entire day, I stay home with Janey.  This means I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to!  I can get the house picked up, and maybe even doing some photo digitizing.  I can also sleep as much as I want!  I'm very excited about a weekend with no obligations...other than making sure Janey gets four walks a day!

Right now we are receiving a soaking rain which makes it even more lovely to just get to hang out at home.  It's bringing a cool front through, and I'm happy that we won't be having more 80's right now.  Have I mentioned our house stinks?  I'm not going to get into it, but we need to be able to leave the house open to air out, so cooler weather is beneficial.  And tomorrow it is supposed to be very cold, and I'm so very excited about that!

We have 18 days of school remaining.  It's hard to fathom that I have to tolerate some of these parents for another 18 schools days.  It's also a little hard to believe that in four weeks it will be Memorial Day weekend.  I am 100% not sad about seeing this school year come to an end.

The beginning of spring break

I have been on spring break for about 29 hours.  And I've felt lousy for about 26 of them.  Ugh!  I could tell I had some drainage earlier in the week, but as soon as I got home yesterday I had a scratchy throat.  I am fairly certain it has developed into a sinus infection.  Not how I wanted to spend this gorgeous day on the first day of my break.

It is what it is though.  I'm watching basketball, although I don't really care about the games at this point.  Andrew attended a memorial service this afternoon for a colleague's mother, and was able to stop in at the service for my co-worker's mother who was also our neighbor.  This evening he has gone to. Dayton to have dinner with friends.  I'm sure this wasn't exactly the day he had planned either.

Fingers crossed I feel better tomorrow after a good night of sleep!

We made more awesome memories!

This was our "accidental trip" weekend, where I had thrown out a request to hang out in a group chat that included our friend in KC.  We were all checked into our motel in IL by mid-afternoon, and we headed out to begin our fun!  We hit two wineries, a Mexican restaurant, and a wine bar.  This morning we got up and had breakfast before we left.  We are so grateful that Catherine and her boyfriend (we'll call him Zeke) were willing to come and stay with Janey this weekend.  To say that we laughed is an understatement.  We also talked about our summer plans for our trip in July, and after about 15 suggestions and two hours of planning, we decided to stick to our original plan and stay with our friend.

I'm so glad that our friends enjoy these times as much as we do and are willing and able to share these weekends.  It was so wonderful to get away and not worry about being responsible for a bit.  And now, only one week until spring break!

Open toe shoe season, an evening of basketball, the best kind of weekend

That is a lot to put in a title!  I guess maybe I need to write more often!

It RAINED this week.  I mean it was crazy.  According to a graphic I saw yesterday, our town was the big "winner" with over 7.5" of rain in three days.  That is CRAZY.   Everything is wet and muddy, needless to say.  But yesterday, it was actually in the 70's, and I laughed as all three of us in admin wore open toe shoes.  The season has arrived!

My aunt and uncle gave us their tickets to the UD basketball game last evening.  We gave up our season tickets when we moved here.  We hadn't been back to the arena in 13 years!  I'll be honest, I don't love the changes that were made, but we enjoyed the game.  Unfortunately, it was a loss.  As we (Andrew) drove home, I watched my alma mater play their final regular season game.  They were playing our arch rival for an UNDEFEATED season.  We were able to watch the second half from home.  The game went into overtime, but the Redhawks are undefeated for the regular season.  Woohoo!!!!

Today was a day where I planned to get a lot done.  We rarely have a weekend ay where we have nowhere to be, and next weekend we will be out of town.  Tomorrow was supposed to be a day where I would spend a few hours up at my Mom's house helping to clean and go through things, just as I've been doing most weekends since August.  However, my sister let me know today that she was going to need to work tomorrow and since Mom had plans later in the day anyway, I don't have to make the trip up!  So I truly, truly, get some time off this weekend and get things done around here.  It's fabulous!  I feel like I'll never be caught up around here, but I'll do the best I can!

It's almost jelly bean season

As we are six weeks away from Easter, I have realized that it is almost time for jelly bean season.  Yum!  I love jelly beans.  Totally not healthy, but I love jelly beans!

Another sign that the end of winter is nearing is the fact that the Reds spring training game was on TV yesterday.  I didn't get to watch much, but it was on!  We have already purchased our season package so we'll have access to watch the games.  Yes, spring is just around the corner!

Today was a busy day with lots of family.  I spent most of the day at my mom's as we continue to try to get her house together.  I brought home a bunch of photos from my childhood and can't wait to get them digitized.  Most of them I don't recall seeing before.  It's been fun looking through them.  When I got home, Thomas and Lyndi had come by.  Thomas hadn't met our sweet Janey girl yet, and they were thrilled to meet each other.  Andrew had decided to make meatloaf for dinner and they decided to stay.  It was lovely having them here for a while.  I enjoy being an empty-nester, but I miss my kiddos.

Six days left in February!  It will be a busy week and an incredibly busy weekend next weekend, but then it's March!

Another long weekend comes to an end

Monday evening and time to go back to work tomorrow.  I'm ready.  As longer days come around, it's easier not to feel as though my day is over as soon as I get home.  I might have also counted and realized that we have 60 school days remaining this year. 😁

Our weekend was fun overall.  On Friday, I slept in and spent the day picking up the house.  We had frozen pizza for dinner and watched Olympics.  Andrew had to work most of the day Saturday, and I spent the day working at my mom's house.  My sister and I were able to get some furniture cleaned and moved around.  I also made a visit over to my grandmother.  I'll be honest, it's a little heartbreaking to see her like she is.  She just lies in bed all day.  She doesn't really know what day, or even what month or what season it is.  When they brought dinner, she wasn't sure what meal it was.  Grandma was "with it" for about 92 years, and it's hard to see how much it has changed.  Andrew and I spent the evening with soup for dinner and watching a movie.  Not a very exciting Valentine's Day, but not our least exciting either!

Yesterday was our day to celebrate our love...a combined anniversary and Valentine's day.  I slept in much later than I even thought possible.  We left early afternoon as I wanted to do some antiquing before our incredible dinner.  It was kind of disappointing that only one of the shops we wanted to visit was open, and we had hoped to hit a wine store after, but it closed early.  Our dinner was delicious, but holy moly, the prices!  I'm accustomed to paying for fine dining, but this was a lot more than I expected to pay, and that was before we added the tip.  Yikes!  Andrew had wondered why we don't eat there more often because we love it so much, and I pointed out that would be why!

Today was a productive day of working in the garage and accomplishing a few other things.  Life with children around is certainly uneventful.  I read back over my years of posting and there was often something funny to write about or at least a lot happening, but now it's just about Andrew and I and the boring lives we lead.  That's okay though.  Boring is better than dramatic!

The beginning of our four day weekend

It is always a treat to be at the very beginning of a long weekend!  Woohoo!!

I have to be honest, this has been a heavy week.  I've been incredibly emotional.  I was watching figure skating the other day, and the American man who lost both parents in the big plane crash was skating.  After watching, my emotions were so out of whack and I felt inconsolable.  I recognize I have some grief I've been holding onto.  And the emotions about our world are even heavier.  I've become more involved in our community with serving meals, and Andrew has been at the homeless shelter a few times.  I don't really understand how this is all okay.

And James Van Der Beek passed away yesterday.  I was truly so sad to see that.  He had six young kids, and was so young himself.  Although I was in my 20's when Dawson's Creek was on TV, it was so impactful.  You can't grow up in a small town with the same set of people and not have drama.  That is the way it works.

Andrew is at a meeting this evening and I'm enjoying some quiet.  And I hope to relax and take in every second of this amazing long weekend!

Twenty years of parenting

Twenty years ago today, Andrew, the kids and I stepped off of a plane in the Dayton airport and began our lives together as a family.  The kids' caseworker and Thomas's foster mother joined us as well.  It was a very long day of flying across the country.  In fact, when we first got on the airport, Thomas was having some breathing issues, and they weren't sure he was going to be allowed to get on the plane.  At the last minute though, they got on, and we all arrived home to friends and family who were waiting at the airport for us.  I'll write about our first week over the next several days.  It's actually a bit of a doozy of a story!

Tomorrow, we are sharing a meal with the kids, my mom (possibly my sister), and our dear friends who shared so much with our since the very beginning and are the kids' godparents.  We've decided this will be the last really big celebration we do.  This date will ALWAYS be a blessing to our family, but my kiddos are living their own lives in their own homes now.

The rest of our lives are moving right along.  Our Thursday and Friday were normal, but Andrew had delays both of those days.  It's been absolutely frigid.  Today Andrew had to work at 8am, and won't be home until about 10.  Tomorrow is our rescheduled annual church meeting, and then our family dinner.  This is the time of year I prefer to just hunker down and hang out at home, but life doesn't work that way.  Regardless, I'm so grateful for this life, especially today!

I had to go back to school

I mentioned to my co-workers today that this weekend felt as though it was our reward for surviving our first semester.  We knew Saturday afternoon that church was going to be canceled for Sunday morning, we knew by Noon on Sunday that we would be home all day Monday, and we knew early afternoon Monday that we would be home Tuesday.  It was an amazingly wonderful gift of time.  On Sunday, I completed my entire puzzle.  It was an easy one, and I loved, loved, loved it.  The entire day was spent watching the snow fall, watching football, and doing the puzzle.  It was a day that was much, much needed.

Monday and Tuesday were spent being much more productive.  Lots of laundry was done and I was able to do some cleaning and get other things done.  At the same time, there was time for reading magazines and catching up on other things.  It was really just such a wonderful few days.

Yesterday, Andrew and I drove out into the country to see how the roads were.  While some streets in town, were fine, most were okay, but the country roads were not.  I wasn't thrilled about having to spend 15 minutes out in morning carline at -9 windchill (even with a 2-hour delay), and with the drifting in the country I really thought closing was the way to go.  It wasn't my decision though, and we were in today while the public schools remained closed.

It's going to remain very, very cold here for at least a week, and we might even get some more snow.  I don't know how it will all play out, but I am so very grateful for the few extra days off, and for the gorgeous scenery it gave it and the ability to relax!

It's going to be a monster

We've been waiting for the weekend all week, and it's finally here.  Woohoo!  And what a weekend it is going to be.  We are forecasted to receive a monster of a storm.  Most of the weather stations are calling for 8-12", but an online guy I follow is saying 9-15", and he said he may have to bump up the totals after the model runs tonight.  The temps are already brutal and they are going to become more so.  The university in town has already cancelled classes for Monday.  Churches have started cancelling for Sunday.  It is something!  As a snow lover, I'm pretty excited!

Relaxing on Friday evening

Today was a working Friday.  That is certainly not at all notable, except that the last three Fridays were not working Fridays.  The Friday before that was a 2-hour delay, and six weeks ago was the day after Thanksgiving.  So, in the last six Fridays, I only had to work a full day on ONE of them.

It was a good week at work.  We are starting this semester with great optimism that things will settle.  I'm not at all sad about that!  It would be nice to not feel the stress and emotions that we felt in the first semester.

I'm enjoying this Friday evening of relaxation.  Andrew brought dinner in for us.  One cat is asleep next to me, one cat is asleep next to Andrew, and Janey, our sweet new pup, is also asleep with Andrew.  Janey had quite a day today!  Andrew arrived home to find that she had completely chewed apart the bed that is in her crate.  Oh my, it was quite a sight!  Overall, we are so absolutely thrilled that Janey has joined our lives.  She has a lot of similarities to our precious Abby, but she is her own girl.  She keeps us laughing and brings us a lot of joy!  I've started taking down our Christmas, but it's quite a process.  Tomorrow is lunch to celebrate Grandma's birthday, and then hopefully I'll get some more Christmas put away.  

I'm grateful for this relatively quiet weekend!

I've loved this weekend

I have absolutely loved this weekend...and it may not be over yet!  It's really been special.

On Friday, my school had a two-hour delay and the public schools were closed.  Two-hour delays always make the days go by faster, especially on a Friday.  It wasn't a lot of snow, but it was just at the right amount, especially for the public schools that start busing at 5:30, meaning even a delay has the buses out at 7:30.

After I got off work, Andrew and I headed north to BGSU where the oldest daughter of our best friend was graduating from college.  It was about a three hour drive, and it was a blast to share a later dinner with them.  Yesterday we were thrilled to share their celebration by being at the ceremony, but as soon as the ceremony ended, we were ready to hit the road.  We were expecting a fairly major winter storm, and were hoping we could get ahead of things.  We most certainly did not.

It started snowing 1/2  hour into the trip, and it ended up taking an extra hour.  Even on the interstate and state routes, we were going 15-20 mph below the speed limit.  Andrew is an incredibly safe driver, and I never felt concerned or unsafe.  It was an absolutely gorgeous trip.  Since Andrew was driving, I took a lot of pictures.  There are a lot of evergreens along the drive and it was really beautiful.  We got home about 4:00 and were able to get things situated for a cozy night at home.  We watched a cute Christmas movie.  I kept checking the snow totals, and we ended up with over 6" when all was said and done.  And then it got COLD.  We are talking negative overnight lows.  Our pastor decided yesterday to go ahead and cancel services this morning, so we got to sleep in.

Things are still incredibly frozen here and very white.  The public schools have closed for tomorrow, and most neighboring districts around here have done the same.  My school is on a two-hour delay, but I expect we will close as well.  That means I'll only have a three-day work week as we are done on Thursday this week.  By Thursday though, there may not be much snow left as it will be in the upper 50's.  Good grief.  There is even a possibility of severe thunderstorms.  Crazy!  But for right now, it is cozy, and lovely, and a beautiful weekend in December!

The first weekend of December

There is something so magical about this time of year.  It's hard to have a bad day when decorations are so festive.  Right now, I'm enjoying the coziness of our back room with the Christmas tree and our candle.  Back to work in ten hours, but only nine more school days until we are off for two+ weeks!

Last week continued to have challenges at work.  We received an deranged rant from a parent, specifically "calling out" certain people, including me.  It's really a whole new level of ridiculousness.

Our weekend started with a staff gathering for Andrew.  I always enjoy getting to see his co-workers who are my former co-workers as well!  The best part was being home by 8pm.  Yesterday was another day spent at my mom's.  We are making progress, but we are definitely starting to feel a bit of crunch time because she insists on hosting Christmas.  I was home in time to watch the Big Ten title game last night.  What a great game!  The Buckeyes lost to the Hoosiers, but I can live with it.  Leaving the Irish out of the playoffs?  Nope, not a bit okay with that.  Today, we had to be at church early as I was in charge of altar prep.  Then we hit the store and when we got home, I was home for the day.  the Steelers beat the Ravens, we had hot soup for dinner, and now we are ready to start another week.  But December weeks have just a little more magic than the rest of the year!

I'm not sure how, but we made it to Thanksgiving break

Without a doubt, the best thing our school ever did was decide to change our calendar and be off all of Thanksgiving week.  This is the third year for this calendar change, but it might be the most appreciated.  By the time I got to work on Friday, I was actually dreading checking my email.  I rarely remember a work day filled with dread while I've had this job, there it was Friday morning.  That is how crazy hard this school year has been. 

Friday was also a wet and dreary day, and it made it all the better to be home after school.  Andrew picked up dinner in town, and I forced myself to stay awake until 10.  Yesterday Andrew left to go get his mom for the week, and I began scrubbing the house.  I managed to stay up until only 9 yesterday, and then slept blissfully.

I'm so looking forward to this coming week, and hope to report about lots of fun times with family!

I didn't even realize how much we needed this weekend

This weekend has been nearly perfect.  Andrew was at the playoff football game Friday evening, where our local school lost to my hometown for the second year in a row.  They'll only ever meet in the playoffs.  My hometown has a much better team.

Then perfection began.  I was supposed to go to my mom's yesterday for another day of cleaning and organizing, but I needed a break.  My boss was out sick all week, and I was tired.  I knew I could tell my mom I needed a break and she would understand, but I knew my sister would not.  So yesterday morning, I explained that I was fighting a migraine, which actually was true, and that I would not be going up.  It meant that Andrew and I had the entire day with absolutely no plans.  The last time this happened was at least the beginning of August, and possibly earlier.  I got closets cleaned out and a few other things accomplished, while also taking some time to work on a festive fall puzzle I purchased with some birthday money.

I also received a phone call from a very dear friend I hadn't spoken to in a very long time.  It was a lovely conversation and it was so nice to hear from him.  I have three friends from high school who are still part of my life, and I'm so incredibly grateful.

Today was supposed to be church, but Andrew woke up not feeling well.  It's been just as delightful as yesterday.  Today is a blustery and wet day, and we might even get some snow accumulate overnight.  It is another perfect day to be home and just get things done around the house.  And of course, both days had football games to watch!  Yesterday our dinner consisted of meatballs and potatoes, and this evening we are about to chow down on some potato soup.  Two weeks from today we'll be on our Thanksgiving break.  I'm so, so full of gratitude we had this weekend as we did.

It reminded me of the second weekend in November in 2013 when we had just moved here.  We got so much done that weekend and had a really great family weekend.  It was right before my dad died, and I've always been so grateful that I had the weekend I did heading into that sadness.

I even get to be off tomorrow.  This is just spectacular!

This is one of my favorite days

 Today will be one of my favorite days.  First of all, we had that extra hour of sleep last night.  That is always spectacular.  Secondly, other than altar prep this morning at church and a meeting after, we had nothing on our calendar for today.  It was chilly and overcast, and that made for a fabulous day of being home and cozy.  Andrew made a huge crockpot of chili for dinner.  The house is fairly picked up and other than the fact that I have to work tomorrow, it was nearly an ideal day.

Yesterday was busy as I made my weekly trip to my mom's house and then we were invited to the state parking to visit with some people we knew who were camping there.  It was really a lovely evening.  The weather was nice, the food was delicious, and the company was very pleasant. 

Friday was a really lovely way to end the month of October.  Andrew attended the first home playoff football game in decades (possibly ever) and it was a victory!  He's really enjoyed the season.  I was all set to be home and pass out a few pieces of candy...very few.  However,  Thomas and Lyndi wanted to come down.  When I realized there wouldn't be much trick-or-treating happening, I asked if they still wanted to come.  They said they would come down and watch Hallmark Christmas movies with me.  I wasn't overly enthused, but it ended up being a wonderful evening.  In fact, they slept over because we just kept watching!  I'm so grateful they still want to hang out with us.  I'm definitely starting this month of gratitude with a lot of gratefulness!

The last weekend in October was full

It was a busy weekend, but I wouldn't trade it!  The weather was absolutely ideal.  It was the perfect temp, there was sunshine, and I was able to drive among the gorgeous scenery.  It even started an hour earlier than normal because we had conferences on Friday which meant no students, and I usually take advantage of some extra time off.

Yesterday I made my (pretty much weekly) trip north to work at my mom's house.  My sister and I have been working on things since August.  The goal is for Mom to be able to host a Christmas meal.  I'm beginning to wonder if this is possible, but I think if Catherine spends some days up there before Thanksgiving we can pull this off.  While it is a major time commitment, I'm appreciative of the beautiful leaves changing and how peaceful the drive is.

We then had dinner with our good friends.  It had literally been months since we had seem them.  We had a drink at a winery and then Mexican for dinner.    We were home by 9:30, which used to never happen.  It was the best we could do though!

Today was church and then all the kids were here for dinner.  I got the house cleaned up and it's so nice to be able to start the week feeling "ahead".  It's not a crazy week, and it sure is nice to be able to say that.  Last week was emotionally excruciating and completely exhausting.  I know it was the best thing both for our family and for that sweet dog.  And I am thankful that I no longer have to worry about being bit or what the snarling and growling might lead to.  And I can know that in long run, he is a good dog and I'm sure he'll find a right home where he is the only pet.  But none of that changes the fact that I absolute hate that it was for the best and it makes me sad.  So I'm looking forward to a quieter week, and with November just a few days away, I can get excited about the holidays.  Dinner with the kids was a lovely preview to that as well!

I really love this time of year

We've made it to another Friday.  Although last weekend was a three-day weekend, there is something about this weekend that feels even better.  After tomorrow, it is going to get much cooler.  Holiday activities are beginning to pop up.  The leaves should really start changing soon, and things seem to be getting cozy.  I'm so grateful for these days, and I'm especially grateful we are at the weekend!