Friday Night Fun at Kate & Vince's Wedding!

I just wanted to share with all of my readers that Aubrey and I attended one of the most fun weddings ever this past Friday - Our friends Kate & Vince were married that evening, and the party came right afterward. We knew so many people at the reception that the conversations were full and plenty! It certainly didn't hurt that the wedding was also at a winery! (love wine). We have been blessed over the years to have been invited to (and attended) many very cool weddings (Erin & Dr. J, Frank & Danielle, Chris & Sara, and so many more), but this one was very comfortable for all who attended.

Please enjoy the photos, and if you have some to share, let me know and I will upload them to the site!

"Shop it like a Job!"

Snoop Dogg

Now, you may be wondering what the title of this post means - of course if you read further (and I bet you will), you will find out! Lanie is singing a new song around the house, not sure where she learned it, but she is singing "Shop it like a job, shop it like a job, shop it like a job"

So, there is a song by Snoop Dog - "Drop it Like It's Hot", and the actual lyrics are below - if you know us well, you will likely know that this isn't really our style of music, and therefore she didn't hear this around OUR house - not sure where she is getting her new line of music, but when I meet the DJ, we are gonna have a long talk ;-) !


"Drop It Like It's Hot"
(feat. Pharrell Williams)

[Intro]
Snooooooooooop..
Snooooooooooop..

[Chorus - Snoop Dogg]
When the pimp's in the crib ma
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
Drop it like it's hot
When the pigs try to get at yea
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
Park it like it's hot
And if a nigga get a attitude
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
Pop it like it's hot
I got the rolly on my arm and I'm pouring Chandon
And I roll the best weed cause I got it going on


I think I will delete the rest of the song, because it gets WORSE!!!

Oh Canada

Hempola Farms

A lunch time kiss by girls in glasses

The snow is nearly up to his knees - by the way, can you believe that it was 70 degrees F. out at the time that this photo was taken? I kid you not!!!

Hello there everyone!

After a stressful few weeks at home, we decided to go ahead and take a vacation (which was planned for some time, thanks to Phil and Linda!) up to Barrie, Ontario. We are in a beautiful chalet at a resort called Carriage Ridge http://www.shellhospitality.com/hotels/carriage_resort/index.html
where we have done little more than relax and take in the fresh air and quiet surroundings. It has been a much needed and much appreciated vacation, let me tell you!!!

I will make sure to put photos up on the blog when I get home since the internet here is not free - although we have wireless, it still comes with a charge for each 24 hours worth of use.

We have had the time to do some swimming, enjoy some of the kids activities at the resort, done all kinds of crafts, visited the coolest general store in the world (I have photos of it), and visited a place called Hempola Farms http://www.hempola.com/

That was not too exciting. The brochure was much more interesting than the actual place to be honest. I was hoping to see a larger shop, as I find the multiple uses for hemp (not necessarily the 'weed' portion of the thing) very cool - bio fuel, clothing, and most recently, hemp cord which I am using to learn how to macramé. Aubrey and I (and Lanie to some extent) have been creating bracelets and necklaces out of hemp cord which has been a lot of fun to do, and it is also very meditative as well. I have been taking my cord to the pool area since I am not a big fan of swimming, and have created 5 or 6 different necklaces and bracelets at this point. Goodness, if I get any good at making these things, maybe I will be able to sell some of the ones that I make! ;-)

I have to laugh, we have 4 beds total in our chalet, as we have a lock off unit and two sofa sleepers, so you would think that we would have plenty of sleeping room - somehow, Lanie has won the battle each night, and has slept in between us in our bed - good thing they have large beds up here !!!

Anyhow, I just wanted to check in and let you all know that things are going well up here. As I said before, I will post the photos to this blog when we get home in a few days.

Much love and good health to all...

Introducing the lovely and talented silly twins...

I just thought I would share this little video of Lanie and Alyssa on Alyssa's last evening at our house. They had a lot of fun playing in the living room together, dancing and singing as you will soon see. Emotions were really high last night though at bed time. Alyssa was very sad about having to go home, and I have never seen Lanie more heartbroken about having to say goodbye to someone. She was so very sad, and I am sure that it didn't help that she was also very tired, and had some japanese soda at dinner which was no doubt filled with sugar.

Enjoy the little video, and don't forget to drop a comment every now and again... it let's me know you are still reading this! ;-)

Life isn't always easy

Alyssa and Lanie brushing their teeth together - Lanie wanted to be a big girl and brush hers all on her own like her big cousin was doing!

Loren, Aubrey and Lanie at Fridays - I forgot to mention that Lanie asked the server to have the staff come over and sing happy birthday to her, even though it was not her birthday - they were very happy to oblige, and even brought her a birthday desert ice cream! It was so cute!

Hi readers,

It has been a while since I have posted to the blog, and I apologize for the long delay. Those of you who have been in touch with us know that life has been very different for us lately. In the beginning of March, my sister Loren came to stay with us with hopes of beginning a new life. She is 29, and has a history of codependancy, addiction to drugs, a history of lying, and a poor work record. There is much more to her than that, but you don't need to read an epic novel right now I suppose! Nonetheless... Aubrey and I are far from professional counselors or psychiatrists, and we lack the tools necessary to help Loren to the extent that she really requires to really give her the best chance for true survival and success in life.

In an eleventh-hour decision, Loren decided to bring her 5 year old daughter Alyssa up to stay with us for two weeks. This caused major uproar with Alyssa's father, who is also a drug addict, and an all around terrible example for his daughter. In fact, at one point, he told me on the phone that if I wanted to have Alyssa at our house, he would trade her for a carton of cigarettes. It took at least one visit from the police and finally a notarized letter to allow Alyssa to come here, and convince her father that she would be coming back when we said she would be returned. The story is so much deeper than what I am writing here.

Alyssa is here now, and she is showing signs that, in our unprofessional yet educated opinions, indicate that she is under some severe mental distress and may be in fact mentally abused. Knowing the father and the things I have heard him say in front of her, and knowing my sister and how messed up she has been for so long, it is completely within reason that our opinions could be fact. Alyssa hits herself in the head repeatedly, she punched the car window today. Last night she told us that she only has bad dreams, never good ones, and that she remembers the last dream she had as being one where she "shot her daddy backward...with a real gun in his face...and he turned all pink", all the while, smiling and bright eyed as she tells us this. She goes into fits of rage and screaming which closely resemble what I witness some of the (formally labeled) severely emotionally disturbed children doing at one of the schools I teach in. Something is not right with this poor little five year old girl, and we are going to do all that we can to find out what is happening with her, and how she can be helped. Just now she walked in the room with a ball under her shirt as kids often like to do, but said "See! I drink a lot of beer." and patted her belly. Is this something a 5 year old should be saying? Maybe I am, as my mom said (and I often agree with her on this) too much of an idealist.

In the meantime, Loren has no choice but to leave out house and pursue a healthy course of rehabilitation for herself. With the help of Shirley (Aubrey's mom), Wendy (my mom) and Frank (my dad), along with friends who have offered suggestions and more, Aubrey and I presented Loren with possible choices and direction in which she can pursue with our guidance if need be. Our hopes for her are to have her go into an inpatient rehabilitation program for up to 28 days (or whatever is recommended) and from there, be referred into someplace like Sojourner House ( http://www.sojournerhouse.org/index.html ) where she can continue to work on the skills she needs to live as normal a life as possible.

This is a lot for us, as it wold be a lot for anyone out there to handle. We have our hands full, but are hopeful that the long term outcome of all of this will be good. I will do my best to provide updates via the blog to those of you who are interested in knowing how things are going. I would also be interested in any comments, thoughts or suggestions that anyone out there reading this is willing to provide us.

Thank you again to all of you who read my blog. I know that there are many of you out there who check back often, and that is so nice to know. Thank you for caring!!!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Top (Left to Right): Freddi, David, Stephen, Loren
Bottom (Left to Right): Chris, Barb, me, Aubrey and Lanie

Hello, and happy Easter to you all. The day started out by Lanie waking us up to tell us that it was daytime, and eventually, after coffee was made, and the easter bunny had time to do her thing, Lanie got to go and find all of her eggs and her basket. She ate quite a few of her candies, and got herself pretty wound up. After breakfast, we packed ourselves up and went on our way out to Wyoming County for the day.

This year was the second time in as many years that we have spent the holiday with our Aunt Barbara, Uncle Chris, David, Freddi, Stephen, and of course Murphy out in Arcade. It was a wonderful day today - though cold, the sun was out, and Aunt Barb had her flowers out in the front (though they were plastic, the wonderful thing is that they are so colorful - it is a sign of the spring colors to come!!!).

Murphy

Lanie went right in the house and without a second thought, started hunting for any easter-related items that the easter bunny may have hidden for her there - and low and behold, she found (and ate) many! I have to mention how nostalgic it is for me to see her do that - some of my fondest memories as a child were at Aunt Barbara's and Uncle Chris's house at Easter.

Lanie - after she hid in the back room and ate a bunch of chocolate - came out from the back room (look at her face) with a bunch of empty wrappers, and told us that she did not eat any chocolate... hmmm...

I won't write too much at the moment since we literally just got in the door from our drive home, and I am very tired and still getting over an UGLY cold (and starting to get a little loopy from the NyQuil that I just took), but I wanted to post a few of the photos from today, and type up a little blurb. Hoppy Easter Everyone!

I feel honored

I just wanted to share something with you all. Today I received a letter in the mail from my school district which read:

Dear Ms. King:

The senior class of Irondequoit High School is inviting you to participate in the 2008 Commencement Ceremony as a Class Marshall. You have been selected by the students as an individual who has had a positive influence on them. The selection by students of our class recognizes the hard work and joy for learning and life that West Irondequoit has promoted during the past twelve years. Because of your special contribution to our education and growth, we hope that you will join with the others selected as Marshals to lead our class to graduation on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at the Eastman Theatre for Irondequoit's 85th Commencement Ceremony.

The letter was sent from the Class of 2008 Senior Class Officers.


All I have to say is - I am touched. It is one thing to be recognized by other members of the faculty and staff. When the students remember you, when THEY are the ones that want you to be there - well, that is really something special. Of course I will be there. I am so pleased that I made a difference to someone. Isn't that why I started teaching to begin with?

The death of a cousin

I am sad to say that our cousin Monica passed away earlier this week. I never knew her, but I have met William and Denise, and know that they truly are the salt of the earth. I can't imagine how difficult this all has been for them, and my heart simply breaks for them. The email below is what William sent out earlier today to let us know about her passing:

To all, It is with deep sorrow that I am sending this email. On Sunday, 3/2/08 our daughter Monica passed away at her home between 3:30pm and 5:00pm. Her husband found her laying in bed, with foam at the mouth and a fluid at the nose.On the advise of a 911 operator, he laid her on the floor and administered CPR. Her jaw was locked tight and he could not get his finger into her throat to clear her air passage. He said she still had a pulse, but very weak at the neck. Shortly thereafter the Paramedics arrived and they were not able to revive her......She just turned 35 on 1/11/08....She had a complete physical two weeks prior to this and was in good health.....At this time the cause of death is undetermined, pending the autopsy results in Baltimore, Md......I apologize for the late notification. My whole world has been turned upside down and with trying to notify everyone I can, the arrangement's, the lack of sleep, food etc. I feel like a walking zombie! Some of you may not even read this email until all is over. But I can take comfort in knowing that when you do, your thought's and prayer's will be with us.......The arrangement's are as follows: Viewing and service will be held on Friday, 3/7/08 at the First Lutheran Church.....6300 Southern Maryland Blvd., Huntingtown, Md. 20639. (410) 257-3030......Family viewing 9:30am....Public viewing 10:00am.....Church service 11:00am....With cremation to follow. Since Monica will be cremated, flowers are welcomed, but we will divide them and bring them home. Once they wilt, we will use the vase's to plant green leafy plant's in hopes they will last for years to come in her memory. For those who wish to do so, you can make a donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital @ http://www.stjudetribute.org/. In memory of Monica Marie DeAgro Edwards. For those of you who do not have our address, It's 532 Bedford Drive Charles Town, WV. 25414 Home phone (304) 725-4149 My cell (304) 676-9257 Much love to all and God bless! William & Denise DeAgro

Magical Kingdom, Magical Bus!

Well, we did it - we gave in to the corporate conglomerate that is Walt Disney World. We took Lanie there. Now she will forever have little dreams about Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck (or as she calls him - "Old McDonald Duck") and Winnie the Pooh.

We parked at the Boardwalk where Frank, Danielle and the kids are owners, and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. Lanie and Daddy sang a newly made-up song "Magical Kingdom, Magical Bus"! I think that Lanie was more excited about seeing the monorail than the rest of the rides there - I can remember that feeling, actually!

She had a wonderful time. She met Pooh and Tigger and Darby (whoever THAT is!). She yelled at the pirates, saw a Small World, and braved the Haunted Mansion. If all goes well, I would love to take her back there again this summer! She conked out shortly after the fireworks - she played very hard! Enjoy the photos!

Todd from God

Lanie is up to it again. She is naming things. Today, she took one of her newer dolls (one that Chris and Sara gave her) and wanted to take it up to bed with her for her nap. On her way up to bed, I asked her what his name was. At first, she told me his name was Guug (which is the name of another one of her dolls). I told her that Guug was elsewhere, and that she should think of a different name for her doll. So, Lanie said "OK, his name is Todd". By the way, this is a little doll dressed in pink, and pretty obviously put together like a girl doll. So, I asked her where she got the name Todd from, thinking that it must have been from her watching "The Fox and the Hound", where the fox's name is Todd. I was wrong. She said "Um, from God. Todd from God."

Just as a side note, I was really quite sick for much of last week with what must have been an odd sort of stomach bug. After being sick a few times, feeling totally exhausted but not having a fever, Aubrey and I had to wonder if Lanie was going to have a little brother or sister at some point in the nearer-than-we-planned future. We asked Lanie what she would want to name a brother if she had one, and she told us that we should name him Ball. Ball King. Nice name. It has a certain ring to it...

And now, a Public Service Announcement from Lanie...

Head Forest and the Sleepy Shopper

I just wanted to share this with everyone. I have not uploaded videos to the blog before, but I could not resist this. Today when Lanie and I were at Wegman's, she was, well, beyond tired. We came from Nana's to go to the Dr., where we found out that she had a very solid ear infection. So, we went to fill her prescription and buy a few things for dinner, wandering the store to pass the time while we waited for her medicine. Just before the pharmacy buzzer went off, Lanie began to doze off in the international foods isle. I just happened to have my cell phone on me, and it takes short videos. Enjoy!



By the way, I just had to make a note of this. Lanie has been sick all week. Earlier in the week, she complained that her head hurt. Specifically, she told us that her head forest hurt - what is a head forest you ask? Well, a forehead, of course!

IT'S BENIGN!!!

Just wanted to let you all know that Unix's biopsy came back as a benign fatty tumor!!!!

Interesting though - the vet told me when we first went in that cats DON'T get fatty tumors - only dogs do... though I am happy with the results (VERY HAPPY - thank God!), I am pissed that the vets at this practice can't seem to figure out what animals get what diseases (see my previous posts about Obie and his cancer). We will be having a conversation tomorrow when we take Unix in to have his stitches removed...

Poor Unix - he looks like an RCA dish... - Tune in Tokyo!

Farewell to our old friends, the sea monkeys, hello to our new friends, Fart Piet and Sinterklaas

For Christmas we got Lanie some Sea Monkeys. Seemed like a fun idea. The things hatched, lived, grew and then today, died! All we have now is a bunch of floating dead sea monkey bodies! Ugh. I think I fed them too much food. The stupid thing is that I actually thought these things were kind of cool. It was fun to watch them grow! Oh well.

So, on to Sinterklaas and "Fart" Piet. Our friends Robin and Ingrid over in Holland sent Lanie a package for the holidays that finally made it here today. In the package were a bunch of tasty treats, two little stuffed friends, a note from Zwarte Piet and Sinterklaas, and two little figurines of Sinterklaas and Zwart Piet as well. Well, when I told Lanie who they were, she said "Oh, Fart Piet?"


Sorry Holland - you are in for a stinky December 5 when Fart Piet comes back to town...

In the meantime, that explains what that smell was when I visited Spain all those years ago...

Ahh, the holidays

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
A new year, a new look for the BLOG

Well, the holidays have come and gone again this year. We had a wonderful time over the past few weeks celebrating with friends and family, though I think that the holidays should be extended over a three week period to be able to truly enjoy everything - it goes by way too fast!

We had family from Utica come up to celebrate Christmas this year (a few days before Christmas) for the first time. In years past, we have traveled to Utica instead, so this was a nice change. Christmas eve was spent with the gracious hosts Gary & Greg, where we were treated to a truly delicious traditional Polish holiday dinner. Ahh - and all meatless too! I can still taste it (my mouth is beginning to water!). Christmas day was very nice. We woke up and found that Santa had brought all kinds of gifts for Lanie (and a few for daddy and me too), and had a great time watching her open them all. Later in the afternoon, we traveled to Buffalo to spend the rest of the day and evening with Dad & Paula, Shawna, Garret and the kids. It gets a little wild and crazy at gift opening time there, but after that calmed down, all was well, and we had a wonderful (meatless!!!) lasagna. I was in meatless heaven this year! A few days after Christmas, we went to Shirley's to celebrate again, and watched Lanie open gifts that Santa had left for her there. Santa also left a mini-keg system for daddy, which made him very happy, and mommy was very happy that he left her a beautiful necklace and a super-fabulous Kate Spade handbag as well ;-)


Aunt Barb & Uncle Chris - if you read this - Lanie would like to thank you for her singing reindeer - I think it will take until next Christmas for me to get that song out of my head ;-) It is pretty cute though!

A few days later, Phil and Linda came for a visit as they have in past years. We really enjoyed having them here as we always do. The only bad part about them coming to visit is that they eventually (usually too soon) have to go home! Lanie is still asking if they are here when she gets up in the morning. She had the time of her life talking their ears off from the moment they arrived until the moment we brought them back to the airport. We were all sad to see them leave, but that just means that we get to start looking forward to seeing them again on our yearly pilgrimage to the Soo.

New Years Eve was a delight. It was so wonderful to have Dad & Paula come to Rochester again to spend much of the evening with us. I hope we can make a tradition out of it! We also had our friends Bill and Sarah come over, as well as our old pal Ricky, who I have not seen in some time since he now lives in Georgia. We all had a few drinks, great conversation, and very tasty crabcakes, eggplant parm, and some not-so-exciting fondue (I was a fondue first-timer, that may be my last time making it as well ;-) ). Lanie had fun convincing Poppa and Phil to get down on the floor and squish ants with her (we seem to have some of those little critters who wanted to come in from the cold...)


Just a New Year's aside - does anyone else out there think that Carson Daly looks just like a young Dick Clark? Hmmmmmmm......


I am certain that I have omitted, skipped, or forgotten many of the details of the whole holiday break, but all in all, it was wonderful to spend time with everyone. As Lanie would say, quoting the Wonder Pets, Christmas "isn't about getting gifts, its about being together and helping others". Well said, Lanie and the Wonder Pets!

Cheers!

Unix and his surgery

I am on hold with the vet right now, but it sounds like things went ok for him today. He had a growth removed and it is being sent off to pathology to be checked. He also had his tartar-laden little teeth cleaned, and an x-ray since he has had recurring UTI's for a few months now. Let's just hope that the lump was nothing more than some useless extra skin, and not cancer!!

The feeling from the vet though is not really great. He said that it is a hard lump, and that very often can mean cancer. I know that we have to wait for the pathology report, and that will take at least a week, possibly two. I don't have the same sad gut feeling that I did with Obie. I knew Obie had cancer, even though I of course hoped that he didn't. I truly don't have that gut feeling with Unix, but there is nothing more we can do for now but wait. Even if it is cancer, there is always the chance that it is something that is less bad than that terrible lymphoma that Obie had. Mom's cat Glory had Squamous Cell Sarcoma, a very deadly and fast moving cancer, and they found it early enough to get it all with surgery - and that was a number of years ago, so I will do all that I can to be positive.

Today is a big spending day in our house - on top of the vet bill which should be around $500, we had to replace the tires on the truck today since one apparently had a gaping hole in it!! Ahh life!

Who cares. As long as everyone is healthy, I will be happy.

Love to you all!

Think Nasty, think nasty

As Lanie has required us to endure countless hours of watching Frosty the Snowman videos, the image above makes me think of then the naughty magician who was the original owner of the magic hat. When thinking of how to get the "magic hat" back from Frosty and his entourage of kids, the magician says "think nasty! think nasty"

Well, apparently, the hooligan(s) who decided that our lawn deer needed to change position from where we had originally placed them must have also been thinking nasty...

I have to say though, Aubrey and I nearly peed our pants from the onslaught of laughter that we let out when we pulled in the driveway yesterday afternoon to see this site...

Ahhhhhh... the spirit of the holidays at its best... just a couple of deer, and a little afternoon delight...

Cheers!

Little girls love to party

We invited some of our friends over yesterday for dinner and brewing, and our kids had a wonderful time playing together. All of the kids are always so well behaved when they are together! I wanted to be sure to post some of the photos from the day for everyone to see. After most everyone left, Lanie and Ryan sat down to watch Monsters Inc. on tv. Jen and I were on the other couch chatting when I looked over and saw that Lanie was sitting straight up, completely passed out! It was an absolute riot! Anyhow, we had such a nice time seeing everyone again, and already can't wait until the next gathering!

Some more bad news on the kitty-front

Hi everyone -

It seems as though I am posting more bad news than good these days! Well, I just wanted to let you know that Unix will have to go in for surgery on December 27 to have a lump removed from his abdomen. After we lost Obie, I have been really careful to make myself aware of all the little lumps and bumps on each of our three remaining kitties, taking note of anything that did not seem right. This little thing is only about the size of a dime, so I really am not sure how I even found it, but I am glad that I did. This time, I took Unix to Dr. Balonek, the vet who owns/runs the clinic, since the last vet who treated Obie gave me some conflicting information about his cancer. Unix has also been fighting with a recurring UTI for a few months too, so while he is under, they will x-ray him as well. On top of all that, his teeth are apparently in real need of a cleaning, so he will have a very busy day that day. Dr. Balonek said it is most likely a harmless cyst, but also mentioned that with cats, it is always best to biopsy since they are much more likely than dogs to form malignant masses.

Though this is very stressful on us, especially since we just lost our friend Obie, we are trying to stay positive about this, and at least for the moment, we are going on faith that it is nothing more than some silly cyst or benign tumor.