And the Wind Blew!

A week ago Sunday, Hurricane Ike plowed through the Dayton area. I decided not to go for a run earlier that afternoon because it seemed pretty windy. Actually I was looking for an excuse not to run:) As the day progressed the wind really picked up. Part of the neighbors tree fell around 2:00. This particular tree was prone to losing branching during storms, so I didn't think much of it. I decided to explore my favorite hobby...shopping at Target. As I was driving I noticed lots of large limbs down. The power ended up going in in Target so I decided to make my way home. It turned out that the power everywhere was out. The drive home was a much worse scene. None of the street lights were working. It seemed like every third house had a tree down, some that were completely uprooted. I had a hard time driving. I saw a hood of a car completed folded over the windshield. My neighborhood looked like a war zone. While this was happening, my husband was being a helpful neighbor and was helping to cut another large limb down from his tree. While doing that another large limb fell, missing him by a few feet. Needless to say, he came inside and that's where we all stayed until the next morning. The next two days involved lots of clean up. We saw a large split up the middle of one of our trees in the back yard. It will need to come down. We tried to make having no power as much fun as possible. We lit candles all over the house each night. We made a tent with blankets and pillows in the living room and grilled hot dogs. We ran the portable DVD player with an extension cord attached to the car charger. The kids spent a lot of time playing outside. Duane went back to work and Molly back to school on Wednesday. Still there was no power. Madison and I went back to school on Thursday. Still there was no power. At this point, it wasn't fun anymore and it was really affecting my mood. The kids continued to handle it wonderfully. We hooked up to the neighbor's generator so that we could use a light and a hair dryer in the morning and run the fridge. Duane headed out of town for a mountain bike trip with his friends on Friday morning and I was left to tend to the girls alone. In his defense, even though at the time I really didn't want to defend him, the trip had been planed for months. Friday night we camped out with Joey and the girls. We enjoyed lights, television, catching up on laundry and a home cooked meal! On Sat. we headed to my Aunt Patty's for the night and received more of the same special treatment. The girls enjoyed spending all day Sunday with their cousin's Dominic and Aurora. Thank the Lord for good family and friends. Finally when we got home on Sunday evening, the power on our side of the street was on. I looked like a crazy person cheering and jumping around my yard. I work hard to try to see the positives in life and not get overwhelmed with the negatives. The negatives can be all consuming, if you let them. This was a week of challenges none the less. But we had great times too. We were able to teach our girls how to show acts of kindness by helping their neighbors, how to have patience and creativity when you're in a tough situation and how to make the best of it. We also really learned to appreciate all the comforts of home that we have and to have compassion for those who were in much worse shape than us. Most of all we spent so much quality family time together that we don't always take enough time for. I don't think any of us will forget this experience any time soon!

Labor Day Weekend

Madison went camping with the Oakes family for the weekend. She spent the weekend fishing, swimming, and riding four wheelers. In other words, she was in heaven. It was so strange not having her around. Molly cried when Madison left. Mallory asked, "Where's Madison" at least 40 times. She likes to keep track of where every one is at all times. We took advantage of being responsible for one less kid by giving the other two girls lots of special attention. We always go to the 5:00 Saturday mass at St. Charles. AlterFeast, an annual festival was going on. So there was really no getting out of it once the girls saw the rides. We had some great food and rode a few rides. Duane was happy to see the Clydesdale's. It really is ridiculous how much money you can drop at a small carnival like that! The next day we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was a wonderful day. It was warm and sunny. Mallory had never been to the zoo before and she loved every minute of it. She would look at the animals, giggle and say her favorite line,"He funny!!!". Molly's favorite part was the Cat House. There was no fighting or complaining the entire time. We did miss Madison though. That night Molly had a sleepover at our house for the first time with her friend Ryese. I guess we just can't get enough girls. They played dress up, made cupcakes and watched a movie with popcorn. On Labor Day we said goodbye to Pleasant Hill Swim Club until next summer. It was a sad, sad day, but we made the most of the beautiful weather. Madison made it home in time to spend some time at the pool too. We were all happy and pretty tired out at the end of the day.

First Day of School...Again!

I can't believe that we are back in full swing with school! The summer flew by! Madison went back to school on August 20. I was disappointed that she went back so early. But it ended up working out nicely. I didn't go back until the following week so we had some time to get her adjusted before I went back to work. It is such a headache balancing our schedules every year. I hate to ask for help. But every year there it always seems that I have to leave for work 5 or 10 minutes before the bus picks Madison up. I have to jump through hoops for 5 or 10 minutes. Lisa is watching Madison after school again on Thursdays and Fridays and Rosanna has the other two girls. She helps get Molly to school and back on the days I work. Thank God for good friends! Madison is one of the big kids now. We said goodbye to Primary Village North which was a k-1 school. Now she is down the street at John Hole Elementary which is grades 2-5. She has an assignment notebook now and the bus picks her up a few houses away instead of in front of our house. First grade was a tough transition year for both of us. I have taught second grade too and it is a different world. The kids really settle in to school. We love Madison's teacher so far. She has gotten Madison off to a great start. Molly went for an Open House to meet her teacher and new classmates last Friday. Again, we are just thrilled with her teacher. She seems to be a great match for Molly too. Both of the girls need a teacher who is loving but firm. Kind of like their mother:) It is amazing how different 3 and 4 year olds are. Last year at Molly's open house all the kids sat on the floor playing by themselves. This year within 5 minutes Molly was having a tea party with two other girls. I have a wonderful class. It has been such a smooth transition this year having our first year of job sharing under our belt. It will only get easier. The fact that Jodee and I are so compatible certainly doesn't hurt. All of the parents were optimistic and the kids have adjusted beautifully. My principal is much more comfortable with our arrangement. It is unbelievable how much less my stress level is getting out of the gate this year. Jodee came up with the idea to have a rain forest themed room. I absolutely love it! Check out our wed site to see some pictures. Jodee updates the site fairly often. http://www.freewebs.com/fantasticfirst/index.htm I have to give her all the credit for thinking out of the box and the creativity. She is so good for me! I am happy to be right next door to Joey sharing lots of laughs and bouncing ideas back and forth again. I am so blessed to work so closely with such wonderful friends. I wish our great friend and old teammate Samantha were still here:( That is the only thing keeping me from a perfect set up. Although I will miss the warm days of summer, the start of the school year is an exciting time. All around I am predicting a wonderful school year.