What'cha Up To?

Holy Toledo!  Has it really been almost 3 weeks since I last wrote a blog entry?  Wow.  Where has the time gone?  I know I've had lapses before, but this was one big hiatus.  Sorry about that.  We've been busy, and I've apparently been uninspired.  I'll try to fix that.

So what's been going on?

Well, my mom had a birthday party for my grandfather, who turned 84 in September.

Looking good for an old man, no?

No cake is complete without beer candles! 

The Andrew grand kids...and we threw in Justin for good measure! 

The boys

Brynn, looking sweetly devilish

We took a hike up Chimney Rocks one day, which was nice.  It's too bad we probably won't have a chance to do it again in October, when the leaves are in full grandeur.  It really is the best view of Hollidaysburg.

You can see my parents' house from here, which even after 25 years, I still enjoy doing every time we go up!  

Jacob had his tonsils and adenoids out on the 4th.  He did amazingly well.  I was a little worried when the nurse sprayed him with the topical anesthetic and he screamed like a banshee.  We almost had to restrain him to get the I.V. in, but luckily that was the worst part of the day.  He made it through surgery and has started off his recovery like a real trooper!  The FDA just changed their guidelines (on the 3rd) so that they no longer recommend prescribing narcotics for children who undergo surgery.  Bad timing for Jacob, to say the least.  They would only give him Tylenol and Motrin for pain, which I thought was incredibly barbaric, but he managed through just fine.  He has some pain, but he's been drinking like there's no tomorrow, which is fantastic, because we were told that keeping the throat moist was the key to an easy recovery.  Thankfully, Jacob is good about following doctor's orders.  I'm very proud of him.  He's been a great patient so far.  He even felt well enough to go to the movies today, and he ate Milk Duds for his movie snack - yikes!

Greg made a shit-pile of sauerkraut today with his brother and his buddy, Cheese.  Last year they made 200 pounds.  This year, they made 600!  That's a heck of a lot of cabbage! But we'll be happy for all his hard work when we have homemade kraut throughout the winter!

Look at all them heads!

Andrew tried a new look.  Thankfully, it was a short-lived obsession:

We went to see Hotel Translyvania, which was really cute.  Andrew took his 3-D glasses very seriously:

The Williams family Steeler parties are also well under way.  Greg's parents had one a few weeks ago. My sister-in-law, Dalann is having one tomorrow, and there are several more scheduled in the near future.   We've had several other parties too, one here, and a few at friends' places.  In fact, we are heading over to my neighbors' house tonight for a little get together (just as soon as Andrew gets his mood straightened out!)  

While I was in the hospital with Jake, I finished addressing my Christmas cards.  I also finished my Christmas shopping, at least for the kids.  I still have to buy for the adults in my life, but the kids are really the biggest hurdle to get over for the holidays.  Before you jump and say something like, "how can you do things so far in advance?" let me tell you this: Yes, I do this in part because of my type-A personality, but also because I hate the holiday season.  I hate the crowds in the stores.  I hate the rush of the season, and most of all, I hate Christmas music.  I always find myself terribly depressed during span of time between the beginning of November and New Year's day.  The holidays are great in a lot of ways.  I enjoy spending time with family.  I love seeing the excitement in my kids' (and Greg's!) eyes, but it also just really gets me down.  Maybe it's partly my job, which brings those who are less fortunate to the forefront over the holidays.  I think about people who don't have a thing, and that makes me feel guilty about what I have and sad for their deficits.  I also think a lot about my grandmother.  I have so many fond Thanksgiving and Christmas memories from my childhood, but thinking about them doesn't always make me happy.  It often makes me very sad.  I have found that if I get my shopping and Christmas prep done before the thick of the holiday season, it minimizes that emptiness.  So, for whatever reason, I plan to be done with as much as possible by the end of October.  There's always a few last minute things, but I'll keep them small.

What else? 

Jake is still enjoying Karate twice a week, and has been doing well in school.  Greg and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary next weekend with a dinner and ghost tour at the U.S. Hotel.  The weekend after that, we are going to Riley's pumpkin patch, in the North Hills of Pittsburgh with my family.  And the last weekend of October, I am going to see the Long Island Medium at Heinz Hall with my mom and aunt.  There will be some trick-or-treating in there for the kids at the end of the month too!   

And that's about it in a nutshell, I think.  It's life as usual.  Lots going on, but all (or most) of it is good.  When I can find the time to stop and breathe, I am always amazed at how much there is to be grateful for...even those googly eyes!  (And I'm super grateful that the sauerkraut adventure was at someone else's house, not mine!  Hey, my clean freak prevails, no matter what!)