4/30/08

1. Out to Noodles & Company for lunch; with Mom here, I'm eating out WAY more...

2. T. got a perfect score on his math test--maybe his first! He always rushes and makes silly mistakes, but he's been working on slowing down and double checking. :)

3. Good tutoring sessions. I really do enjoy tutoring, but I'm also pretty happy when it's 9:00 Wednesday night and I'm done for the week! :)

4/29/08

1. I'd bought a ton of stuff at Kohl's on Sunday, and then received a coupon for 15% off in the mail yesterday. My dear IRL friend suggested that I call and see if they would honor the 15% off, and they did!!! (got $13 back, which I promptly spent on T for his birthday)

2. Since I was right there, I stopped and picked up mochas at Caribou Coffee. yum! Why can't I make mochas as good at home?

3. It seems odd to say that a trip to the dentist made me happy, but with G's uncle being our dentist, it makes our trips so much less painful! He covers what our insurance doesn't, and it's nice TRUSTING a dentist!

4. Knitting club was a big group again--and so much fun!

4/28/08

1. Chiropractic appointment--wow, it makes a wonderful difference!
2. Things seem, in general, to be back to routine (and that's a GOOD thing)
3. Two flower deliveries and a fruit basket delivery--all for Mom, but they're in my house, so... :)

4/27/08

1. T. did the sweetest thing... One of his friends had a birthday party today, and I've been so preoccupied with other stuff that T. decided to take matters into his own hands. He wanted to give a gift certificate for membership on Runescape, but they don't do gift certificates, so he made an origami box and filled it with enough money from his own bank to pay for two month's membership! (I, of course, told him to put his money back, but the fact that he didn't even ask, but took his own money choked me up)
2. Finally got things together enough to create an invitation for our block book club next month. I can't wait!
3. Out shopping for almost three hours; Hit Kohl's, Costco, Target and Pick N Save.
4. First grilled veggies of the year. I shared the "recipe" here--it's so simple and the best grilled veggies ever! Tonight we had vidalia and purple onions, red and green pepper, green and yellow squash, roma tomatoes, pea pods, fennel, portabello mushrooms and asparagus. Divine!

4/26/08

1. Mom's home!!!
2. Mother-Daughter Book Club was fun--it's such a nice group of girls (and moms) and yummy food--including MANGO pound cake with strawberries and asparagus and goat cheese tarts!
3. We got a new recliner. Supposedly it's so Mom can sleep semi-upright and more comfortably, but we get to keep it after that, so that's a bonus ;)

4/25/08

1. A friend who gets a share of the Growing Power produce co-op, but wasn't going to be in town today, asked if I'd like to get his share. Yum! Huge bag of produce that I wasn't expecting.
2. More good local friends helping out with M. One took her to the mall for lunch after school with a group of friends, and I was able to stop in briefly to see them and talk some regular, non-hospital talk.
3. A friend completely surprised me by dropping off a big bag of Mexican food from El Rey. Supper for tomorrow is all taken care of--tamales, salsas, chips, churros
4. Mom got all the rest of her tubes out and is back on a regular diet!

4/24/08

1. Mom had her NG tube taken out--which means she can have stuff by mouth--which made her SO happy!
2. Very funny story by one of the employees of the hospital whose married name is Kluck and maiden name was Boob (yes--seriously). Among the anecdotes were that she quit the army before she was promoted to Major Boob, and at her wedding (the Boob-Kluck wedding) they served chicken breasts. Mom and I laughed until mom had to say "stop" because her stomach hurt.
3. More good friends--mine and mom's--helping out, calling, supporting in general.

4/23/08

1. Mom made it through surgery and didn't even have to stay in the SICU!

2. G. has a flexible enough job that he could stay home to get the kids off to school.

3. All my wonderful friends, who helped look out for my kids so I could stay at the hospital all day.

4/22/08

1. Breakfast out with my mom at Solly's--it's a little dive of a place that's known for its butter burgers and my dad always wanted to try it. It was SO good! They make hash browns cooked with onions and topped with melted swiss cheese and "toast" that's French bread grilled in butter--omg!

2. Chiropractic appointment--wow! I feel so much better already. And I have several exercises to do for my shoulder and my hip.

3. Caribou coffee--picked up mochas (yum!) and got a pound of sustainably grown coffee that came with a free travel mug since it's earth day--YAY!

4. The cuteness that is M. with a Tamagotchi! The last time the older kids were into 'Gotchi's, M. was a bit too young, but now she totally "gets" the feeding, cleaning, etc. associated with it and she's very cute in her concern over her 'Gotchi while she's at school.
5. Super cool knitting club tonight! Three of us "regulars", plus my mom, plus three new people who learned about it on Ravelry!

4/21/08

1. Had time, between Mom's eye appt. and C's ortho appt., to finish "Animal Farm"--the book for this month's Mother-Daughter Book Club
2. Found out that our health insurance covers 100% of chiropractor visits! I have an appointment for tomorrow.
3. Have three wonderful local friends who will help with taking M. on Wednesday and Thursday so I can be with mom before, during, and after her surgery.

4/20/08

1. Beautiful weather again! I got some of the remaining yard work done (raking, pulling up dead stuff from fall).

2. Although my computer crashed and needed to completely restored to factory settings, it actually seems to be working better now and I ALMOST have everything back the way I like it. Best of all, I have FIREFOX back!!! No--best of all, G. was the one who sat on the phone with customer service this time.

3. Meeting to start a Book Club on our block! I already belong to a wonderful book club, but it's often a half-hours drive (or more) away to meet. I thought this would be a nice way to meet the neighbors as well as cut down on driving time when evenings are so busy already. We're all set for the first three months. (now I just have to pick a good, SHORT book for the first month)

4/19/08

1. C's soccer team won their first game of the season today! Better yet, it was the team made up of 8th grade girls from their middle school! Talk about braggin' rights!
2. We went out for supper for C's birthday with my in-laws (and my mom). I'm so lucky to not only have a great mom, but wonderful in-laws as well.
3. My mom's made it five days without a cigarette! I also found out (over supper) that my father-in-law has gone two weeks without smoking! As C. said, "only one of the the three left to go!"

4/18/08

1. Today is my baby brother's 35th birthday. Oooh... I feel old. Wait a minute--this is supposed to be things that make me HAPPY! ;)

2. Coffee out with my mom and two great IRL friends.

3. Seeing C. and friends getting ready for a Middle School dance--so cute!

4/17/08

1. Mom's pre-surgery tests went well and she was done even earlier than expected!

2. I was near a Qdoba when dropping off my mom, so I tried one of their breakfast burritos. OMG, I think it was one of the best things I've eaten in a LONG time! Potatoes, scrambled eggs, fresh chorizo sausage, queso sauce, pico de gallo and sour cream in a tortilla. Heavenly...

3. The weather was nice enough that I could bike to bike to get M. from school. She was VERY happy to see me there with my bike and tag-a-long.

4/16/08

1. Beautiful, beautiful weather! It hit 78 degrees...

2. M. tried out her scooter for the first time, and then was riding her bike with training wheels. We decided to take off the training wheels and she spent over half an hour really, really, really trying to ride--all by herself. She didn't make it, but her determination and perseverance were so fun to watch.

3. Mom's here! And I got to see my brother when we met in Green Bay for the "mom exchange".

4/15/08

1. Filled up the car with gas at $3.47/gallon--after driving past two gas stations selling it for $3.59! (it's the little things...)


2. Out for lunch with one of M's friends and her mom. It was so nice to have time to talk with another adult--especially when we're at similar places in our lives, unsure of what to do job-wise next year when the youngest kid is in school.


3. Beautiful weather!


4. Knitting Club--hadn't been in ages and had forgotten how much I enjoy it. And (best of all) the socks I've been working on for MamaFitz (and have frogged 3x) fit so far!

4/14/08

1. M. got to take the sharing bag home tonight. She chose to bring in Schwa's newly-shed skin. We were supposed to help her come up with three clues to get her classmates to guess what she brought. She wrote, all by herself:(1. It is brown. 2. It is fragile. 3. It used to be alive)

2. I had a particularly positive tutoring session tonight. We worked for two hours on Geometry. I've been trying to get this student to THINK instead of just plugging answers into formulas and he did a good job of thinking tonight.

3. I came home from tutoring to freshly-baked, yummy chocolate chip cookies. My husband is so sweet...