Gymnastics and AWANA

Some of you are aware that Tuesday's in the Shea household are crazy busy.   But the good news is that we no longer are in basketball so it lightens my load a little bit.   Joshua was eager to go to his gymnastics class as it has been over a month since he was last in attendance.  Wow!  I did not realize how long it has been.  He was practicing last night getting ready for today!   

Abigail's evening is a late one because she attends AWANA.  She really enjoys going!   And tonight was especially fun as the kids who completed three verses got to throw a plate of cream into a Pastor's face.  Figures I forgot my camera.  Abigail did not get to throw a plate but she enjoyed herself nonetheless. 

School Day

School started back up again.  I like that my eldest works very independently.   When I need to be with him for correction and new instruction he starts to fuss!   I know it is because he just wants to tune me out so, if it is wrong he has to redo it until he gets it right.  He is none too happy about this!   The middle child needed to construct a poem.  She did a fantastic job.   And the youngest needed to be reminded to read the words in the chapter book not to rely on the pictures to tell him what is happening.  He was none too happy about that.  Going to have to make sure he reads aloud more.    

Here is Ab's poem:

There was a man and Joe is his name.

He set out upon a horse to tame.

It got quite frightened when he climbed

upon its back.

Joe went flying with a boom and smack.

He landed down with a broken back.

The requirements were, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhyming.   She did very well. 

 On a separate note, I was able to get in two walks today!!

Ordered

Bill had to wake early again today, before 7:00 am, as he was on the schedule for worship.  Poor guy this whole week he will be awake very very early.   Not so much fun for him as he is not a morning person.  The kids and I met with him at church for second service.  Abigail's class received recognition for hard work.  The curriculum has "homework" that you get each week and when they brought back 200 they were given a sundae party.  Very very cool.  Joshua's group is now eager and excited to hand in 200.  

After church we hung around as they were having a parents meeting for those of us who have children from ages 10-18.   There are some changes that will be occurring by the summer and they wanted to inform us of said changes and wanted us to be a big part of all they are excited about.  They have spent over a year praying and meeting together about how to handle those ages and what they wanted to accomplish for the youth at CCMC.  The overall vision is that of each child feel that this church is theirs as much as ours.  Often time children go to church and do so because Mum and Dad are bringing them.  Each leader wants the children to grow in their faith and knowledge of who Jesus is to them individually.   It is very exciting to see the enthusiasm and commitment of the leaders. 

After church and meeting, Bill and I dropped of kids and back out to sofa shop.   One more store for comparisons and then decision time.  It was easy.   We breezed through the last store.  I loved their bedroom sets, not their sofas and chairs.  So we drove North again to order the sofa and chair we saw last night after Friday's.   The best news was delivery will be this Thursday!  Second best news - deferred payment.  Yeah, baby!!!   

Back to reality

Being back here in NJ means being back to reality.   The reality that here is where we are and where we will be for who knows how long.   With that being said we decided to add some needed things to our apartment.  One thing being adding lighting to the children's dark bedrooms.  And since their bedrooms are also where they do a lot of their play time and such, I thought it was time to give them the much needed light they have been missing.   Last night we were able to pick up the lamps and today Abigail decided to put them together.  Way to go, girl!!!!

Another addition will be a sofa. We have been sitting on a futon for some months now and my back (and butt) can no longer handle it.  So today started our hunting for a sofa.   There are lots to choose from and we are trying to keep price down but also looking for comfort.  (Not asking too much?!)  We have one more store to go on Sunday and then hopefully make our decision.  There are lots of sales but we want to make the correct purchase.   We haven't bought furniture in over 5 years.

Bill woke up early today to go to the Men's breakfast.  When he came home we were able to take a nap together and then we decided to go over to the furniture store.  It was just the two of us going so we also stopped at the mall for some Starbuck's and walked through Pottery Barn to check out bookshelves.   

We headed back out around dinner time with the whole family.  I was extremely nervous about that so we ate first.  Stopped at Friday's for dinner.   Here is Stephen eating some mozzarella sticks.  He just couldn't figure out how to get cheese not to stretch.

Joshua's sad face is because I said no soda!

Then off to the next furniture store.  This is when bribery set in.   Behave or no ice cream and a punishment!!!  Mommy meant business!!  (Side note - they all did get ice cream!  Yay Shea's!)

The Dreaded Drive

Driving, driving, and more driving. Our drive home felt longer than usual thanks to all the rain. We drove the entire time in rain. All different types. Thankfully it wasn't the hard type for very much of the journey.  As usual kids watch movies.  Yes, they usually take turns but someone always says they are not going to watch and end up with headphones on laughing and enjoying themselves.   

This shot happened later in the drive.  I just couldn't resist this photo.  She was very cold and thought this was a good way to keep herself warm.  (Can someone say turn on the heat!)

This is what my view was entire way! Yucky!

  Departed  a little later than expected, 10:30 am - instead of 10 am.   Arrived at 7:30 pm.   There was much to do around the house as we need to leave it in such pristine shape.  I still have that nagging feeling that I forgot something?!  Oh well!  Can't sweat the small stuff.  More importantly - aint nothing I can do about it now! ;)   

One of the things I am not crazy about when we travel is the type of food available to us.  I like the stops to be very quick and painless, so that leaves fast food.  Fast food is not my thing.   We stopped at Wendy's and I ordered a cheeseburger.  I knew it would affect me and sure enough a little while later in the car Momma felt the repercussions.   Ordered way too much food.  Josh and Ab could've shared and I will make a mental note of that for the future.
 

Don't know if it had anything to due with the leaving part but the kids were a little bit off.  Perhaps it was the late night before.  Quite possibly a combination of all the above.  What all this boils down to is that Momma was not too thrilled with the little darlings for a stint.  

 

Bill, my sweetheart, called to check and see if he needed to have dinner for us or if we were going to stop.  I told him that I did not want to stop and that we would be coming home for dinner.  Off to the store he goes and upon our arrival he had not made it back yet.   Which is good as it did allow me to get the kids focused on unloading van.    When Stephen got into his bedroom he found a surprise!   Bongos!!!!   He has been asking for drums, so Bill and I decided that this would be a quick fix until we are no longer in apartment.   I think he was pleased! 

Where o where are the carpet people?

Last full day here in Ohio.   Was spent cleaning, straightening, and organizing.  Both the things that come with us and that which is left behind.   Needed to stay close to house today as we are changing the carpet in the family room.  They arrived right around 4 pm.  I thought it was to be earlier, well actually hoped it would be earlier.  Took them 2 hours to do it all.  Looks good but I do miss the color.    Now comes... more cleaning.   

The day was rather rainy and dreary so I felt cold most of the day.  While drinking my afternoon tea, I called my girlfriend, yep Carla, as she was preparing her house for break.   Wanted to say our last goodbye's (until the next time) and say have a great trip.  Stephen got to be with a friend late afternoon, he was happy about that.  And Joshua and Abigail got to spend most of the afternoon with Meghan.  But their family is off to a Taiko gala.  We will no doubt get to say adios tomorrow.  

The Ball's were able to stop by for a little bit too.  Which is good because I was able to give her the blueberry breakfast bars we were supposed to share.  (Oops forgot them the other day!)  Dee Dee graciously took the kids to pizza hut while I stayed here with Heather to get the rooms looking good.  I appreciate Heather's decorating sense so I phoned for some much needed help.  Thank you ladies for all you did, I was able to accomplish a lot!   

On the go

Today marked a day where we were on the go from the beginning. I started at 8:30 am with the painters arriving to begin their 5-6 hours of painting. They were efficient and good. Then off to breakfast with my buddy, Penny, meeting her at Panera. Then to Sherwin Williams because I needed to color swatch match. Back home for a few hours. Were I was able to take some time to read through a book that Bill and I are discussing. Next, lunch and then out the door to the Stampers. As they are without car they needed us to go over there. No problem. A few hours later it is stop at home for some waters to meet the Balls at a park near their home. A few hours later it is drive Ball girls to house - Dee Dee needed to complete her walk as she is training for a big event May 3rd. Upon leaving said park, Heather calls to invite us over for some burger and dogs on grill. (Ok dinner is taken care of!) Home for about hour to get ready for showing. Had to rearrange the rooms that had been painted today. Plus need to make sure cleaning occurs for the showing. Joshua walked home with me as he is not too keen on the dark and the rest of the kids were playing flashlight tag. We were home a good 1 1/2 hours before Stephen and Abigail returned. Looked at clock saw it was 10:00 pm and said, "Time for bed!" I too am getting sleepy as I sit here and type this. I am sure there will be many words that are wrong so please remember that I want to be in my nice comfy bed asleep. :)
I know I have said this before and definitely in the past few days, but these last days here do us in. You see when we get back we know all to well how much fun we have here and how difficult then it is for us there. But with the weather changing that should truly help us to be out more and not feel too cramped.

Since there was this obstacle course at the park, they decided to play along.

Dee Dee introduced my kids to pop rocks!

At the Stampers

They love playing rock band.

Some karaoke at the Blacks!  

The beginning of the end here

Today marked the beginning of the end of our time here in Ohio. We are finishing up some last minute details with the house and plan to leave on Thursday. As stated in an earlier post it is bittersweet. While I am thankful that we got to extend our time here, I am also longing to be with my hubby. The kids too miss him. There really are a lot of distractions (good ones) during the day, it hits us at night around dinner time and bed time because that is when he usually is around. The next few days here are painting days. Another thing to be thankful for is that it is not me. I don't like to paint therefore I don't do it well. I make loads of mistakes and a whole lot of mess on me. I often wear more paint than the wall does. Not kidding. I should have kept my old shirts that I ruined because I got so much paint on them. (Notice the them - it is because in my mind I think I can do this with noooo problem. Not so much.)
The lunch hour was a delight as I had the opportunity to be with two wonderful sisters in Christ. Who know me well and love me in spite of my craziness. Love you back, Natalie and Jaye. It was a blessing to see you both. Thanks again for meeting with me! We met at Panera where I had the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. My all-time favorite salad there. So happy to see they brought it back!!!
With schools being on break this week, Heather and Suzanne have decided we need to partake of some fun beverages during the afternoon these next few days. I did not say no to that. So today at around 5 pm I hosted some munchies and wine. (I really do miss it here - and it aint the wine it really is the fun and fellowship I get. I do hope I can absorb a lot so that I can wring it out back in NJ!)
Heather needed to go home to be with her family so Suzanne and I hung out for a bit and then she decided we should go out to eat and leave kids home. I made sure Stephen was okay with that scenario - he was - so off to dinner. We headed over to Baja Fresh as Suzanne has never eaten there. I happen to love their salads and tacos. She enjoyed the food and will be going back soon. Afterwards we went to Kohl's as Abigail is in need of new earrings. 1 1/2 years ago she got her ears pierced and has had problems on and off. She is currently have some crusty, bloody issues. They were having a sale buy one pair get second for only 1 dollar. It is not easy finding earrings for an 8 year old. Most are way to big and bulky. Definitely would not look good. After about 20 minutes finally decided on a pair, well two and off we went.
Once again Suzanne came to the rescue and helped me doctor her ear, as we have very little to no medical stuff left in house. I know crazy idea with children. (aside - I need to get first aid kit in car!) Also Abigail was invited to sleep over again. This is a good thing as there will be someone coming to paint her room early early early.

Sunday crazy Sunday

So... once again our day began early as we had yet another showing. While I am excited about the showings, these 10 am ones are for the birds. I do wake up early but being awake and functioning are entirely two different entities. Well off to Tim Hortons again. A mixture of bagels, donuts, breakfast sandwich, tea, and hot chocolate. Tim Hortons is running a promo on select size cups to be able to win some items. Today was that day for us!!! (Finally, I might add!) I have visited this store probably eight times in the last two weeks and I finally won! Ready... I won a coffee! Here's the punch-line - "I don't drink coffee!" So Stephen took said cup and asked if we could have a hot chocolate instead. Of course they said, "Yes."

So afterwards Stephen decided he needed a little bit of a haircut. We headed over to "Great Clips" a little bit after 10 am and right into a chair he went. Maybe 15 minutes later he was done. Yea! New Stephen. I really like short hair.

He only wanted a trim and that is all he got but he has a lot of hair so believe me there is a difference.  I know the photo may not truly reflect it.  But I the wildness in back is gone.

Most of the rest of the day was wash, wash, and more wash.  Since we did only have one showing it does make it easier to capitalize on those days and do what is difficult to accomplish when selling a home. 

With the weather being just glorious the kids played outside all day, I mean all day!   They even ate their lunch outside!    So when they wanted to ride their bicycles I sat outside and read a book.  Next thing I knew I had dozed off!  Let me set up my surroundings to explain the comfort I was truly feeling.  You we have a sectional and it was advised for us to break it down and keep it smaller in family room.  We did but we did not have a place for one of the pieces.  Enter the garage.  So today I was sitting in the garage with the bay open enjoying a very comfortable seat, temperature, sun, etc....  See why I dozed off!   

New Day

Saturday began like this......

I just couldn't resist taking the photos. It was just gorgeous! The pictures really do not reflect the lovely shade of purple that Joshua and a saw out our front window. Up early for showing to get cleaning and get out of house. Stephen had a sleep over so his room stayed nice and neat as well as basement. Just had to get younger ones moving. Not too bad when Mom says Tim Horton's for breakfast!!! Besides the house has been staying in good condition thanks to the photos being taken on Thursday and Friday was a field trip. Happy day for me when there is little to do. I also went around the house last night and did some cleaning while children were asleep. While we were at Tim Horton's eating our bagels and drinking some hot chocolate and chai tea, I noticed how much I really missed Stephen. Just then Abigail chimed in and agreed with me. May I say what a delight that was to my ears because they can be oil and water, baby! Joshua always misses the family being together. Last year for his golf lessons he was happiest when the whole family made it! Such a sweet sweet boy!

The afternoon was spent hanging with the Balls and going to Yutzy's market. Abigail stayed behind to play with Megan which Olivia did not take kind to. Sorry Miss Olivia. Since that happened all the kids decided to stay home with Rich.  Which is a treat for Stephen as he likes to play board games and Rich has quite a collection of fun and interesting games.  They were able to play one called "Poison."   So DeeDee and I were able to go out there by ourselves. Interesting little shop. Bought some very inexpensive cold cuts. Now we wait and see if family likes them.

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Zoo and GPS

Thanks to Dana - one of the homeschool Moms in Ohio - we had the opportunity to go to the zoo today and view it a little differently.  (Once again Carla made sure we could tag along on this field trip too!  She is so good to think of us!)  The time was spent as us being "detectives" walking around Asia Quest with a GPS and following clues to a mystery. Well not really a mystery but we had to help the zookeepers keep a criminal in jail, who had been caught the night before after hours in the zoo, with all the different clues we found. It was a fun idea. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE the zoo, however, it is always nice to do and experience it in different settings. That occurred today as we were more interested in following our little GPS's then even looking at the animals. (I did happen to take a few photos of some of the animals - but most are of our group during the adventure.)

Let me just start by saying if anyone knows me you know that I like to run a tight ship. With that being said, at one point I kinda went overboard and had to raise my voice (shocking I know (and this is why Carla will stop inviting me) - lol) to remind the group I was with to wait for everyone.  Now I need to back up and explain something. You will see from the pictures that we had about 30 children present but each "team" was about a group of 6-8 children. The group I was in had the 8. So after the first couple of points we went to, which was very chaotic, I lost it and made sure they understood that we ALL needed to work together and not going running ahead. You see for every 2 kids there was a GPS and each set had a different role and each point we went to spoke specifically to certain roles (I hope this is making sense.) Once they realized they could not get the information if they were not the correct "people" for that point, it went better. 

Carla was the secretary and took down the notes from the clues.  (Also notice the boys taunting the goose - that decided to take flight and not attack.  Crazy boys!)

Two of my favorite 6th grades girls. (not in my group) Reilly and Tana.
Doesn't it look chaotic?! There were still two other teams not in photo!  Note the children looking down at screen.
Reilly, Olivia, and my Abs! The happy face is that Kelly was running the show.  (A zoo worker that Abigail has known since she was 4.)
This table has the group I was with!  It consisted of Ryan, Stephen, Casey, Brendan, Patrick, Kyle, Thomas, and my Josh!  Yes, all boys!
Overall loads of fun!  And it is all about the kids - so as long as they had a good time so should I right?   You would think... so at 4:45p my friend invited me over for some appetizers and a glass of wine.  Do you think I said yes?!?!?!   Thank you, Suzanne!  ;}

Time with the Ball Family

On Thursday I was kind of house-bound as I was waiting for several different people to stop by and discuss the different things we need to "fix" with the house.  (Ahh, the joys of selling a home!)  With that we scheduled some time for our friends the Balls to stop by and hang out with us.  

Since things did not go as planned on their end we said why don't we just do dinner together.  DeeDee and I decided to just compile everything we had and cook it up instead of going out somewhere.  We ended up with chicken sausage, pork chops, and turkey tenderloin.  Our sides were broccoli, asparagus, smiles, and potato and string beens with rosemary dressing.  May I say it wasn't that bad.  However, the highlight of our food came when for dessert we went to Graeter's.  (This by far is my favorite ice cream place.)  I do like to try something different however... I still got the black raspberry chip.  (YUM!) 

This is some of the time spent at Graeter's.  It is less than a mile from my home.  Here we have Rich and Olivia with Stephen in background ready to go.

Abigail and her happy face.  
Rich and Dee Dee
Reilly and Abigail.
We all fit in the Ball's van.
As usual the time went by waaaay tooooo fast.  We do have another week here.  So........

Where did the days go?!

I realized it has been a few days since my last post and thought it was high time I updated. So here goes: Sunday was spent with us enjoying the weather and also "doing" things around the house. (The "doing" means just always trying to stay on top of clutter, mess, and dirt - just to name a few.) Monday was meeting with some realtors again to make the decision for the switcheroo. I also had to call the old one and release her - went better than expected. So by the afternoon I had called the new ones to let them know. For dinner we headed over to the Loeffler's. With it being a nice day we were able to take advantage of the outdoors and walked over to the horse barn that is two doors away and owned by Otterbein College. Boy those horses were huge. Very friendly too! (Both horses and workers!) Tuesday morning brought breakfast with some friends. Thanks again ladies for meeting with me. When I arrived home - close to lunch - I had to start making a lot of phone calls to do some more odds and ends inside the home that was suggested from new realtors. Very productive and happy that it is working out well. The only downside is that we do have to stay here a wee bit longer. (When I mean downside it refers to our being away from Bill.) We enjoy our time here immensely.

Day with Bill

As mentioned in the previous post my hubby came to Ohio to spend only 16 hours with us. Well really with me as the kids were with their friends. Not that they don't like to spend time with Daddy, it's just that they had no idea he was coming so it does make it hard for them to choose. Since he needed to leave for airport by 4:30p, the day went uberfast. (I guess getting to bed at 2:30a doesn't help that.) Why? was he in town? You ask! To make some decisions on the house. If I remember I wrote that yesterday. (Can someone say, "Mommy brain.")

We were able to squeeze some family time in together below are some photos!!  

While here we had to go to City BBQ.  A favorite of our family's.   Here the boys are with Daddy waiting on Abigail, I might add.  Just as an aside, we always wait on Abigail as she needs to use the bathroom whenever we are out, and speed is not her thing.
Bill relaxing on a "real" couch before we have to get going to airport.  Can you see how sleepy he looks?  Poor guy!
These next few photos are Bill and Abigail playing at the piano.

Abigail has really taken to piano and she blows me away by what she knows already.  She is talking a foreign language to me as I know nothing, wait let me say that again, nothing about piano or even reading music.   But she gets it!!!  

Zoo with the Stampers

We were able to take advantage of the homeschool program at the Columbus Zoo. We participated last year with the Stamper family so Carla asked if there was space for my kids and yes there was. So we headed over to the zoo for our 2:00p class. (The things you miss!)  My kids had a great time. For two reasons - 1. Love hanging with the Stampers - 2. Love being at the Columbus Zoo. While the zoo is a small zoo it packs a punch. In the 5 plus years that we have lived here the zoo has gone through many expansions and remodels but all worth it. They are currently undergoing a Polar bear/Arctic area! Can't wait! We love the Polar Bears! If you are ever in the Columbus area and have some free time, I can't stress enough that you need to visit this zoo. Sooooooo worth it!

Afterwards we were able to have some play time together at our home! Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

And more fun occurred for my kiddos as Suzanne (remember I said she was wonderful) invited all my kids to sleep over her house! The older two made it. The youngest, yea, not so much. He cried, so she did not feel comfortable keeping him. But before he went home he did have a big bowl of ice cream. (You ROCK, Mrs. Best)!

On another note, my wonderfully, fabulous, amazing husband of 13 years decided to come in for only 16 hours as we are dealing with house issues! Plus, he missed me! ;) He did not arrive in the airport until 12:15 am. Please continue to pray for us with the house as we are really trying to make the correct decisions to get this beast sold. 

Kids love to have their picture taken on the sculptures and I love taking pictures of the kids.  Here we have Stephen, Thomas, Joshua, Abigail, Kyle, Casey, and Tana!

Inside the reptile house as the zoo was about "Venomous and Poisonous Creatures."

Casey and Stephen!  It is great that they both enjoy each others company.  What a blessing!
Our kids sat down front so they got to go up and see the different animals.  There were scorpions, spiders, etc.
The entire row is our kids - The Stampers and The Sheas!!!