Happy Spring! Hope you all enjoyed St Patrick's Day. We celebrated with Irish Soda Bread. I attempted to locate some green bagels at our local grocery stores and bakeries, but no one seemed to put in the effort this year. Besides wearing green, our holiday was pretty low key. My family does not enjoy corned beef and cabbage. Although they did enjoy my sausage and kale soup. One of my patients made a big batch of kale at work and I did not want it to go to waste. I also enjoyed trying out a new recipe on the kids-stuffed french toast (complete with nutella and ricotta cheese). They asked for seconds.

 So Winter seems to be hanging on as we celebrated the first day of Spring with a snow storm.
Tom spent most of the week in bed, recovering from whatever bug he caught the weekend before. He had to drag himself into work for a few days though since he was busy teaching a class.

Allison was busy enjoying her Spring Break. We felt bad though since most of her friends had traveled to Florida. Allison would probably have enjoyed a visit with her Aunt and Uncle and Grandma and Grandpa in Venice, FL, but actually we were a bit selfish and wanted to keep her home to visit with us. She managed to make good use of her time off though. She had a dentist appt and got her hair cut. She also enjoyed some outings with her roommate. They spent the day at the Baltimore zoo. They also saw the HS musical, Hello Dolly. That was actually Allison's first time at a school musical. (Looks like she had to graduate first). Even SCott managed to enjoy a school musical, West Side Story,  with his friend's at their Catholic High school. And Tom and Allison enjoyed an evening out on the town, watching a movie and having dinner out while Scott and I were off on a Boy Scout overnight. Allison had hoped to take her roommate to DC to visit the Smithsonian and the National Zoo, but her roommate's mom did not feel it would be a safe outing for the two girls. Funny, I felt comfortable about Allison acting as a tour guide. I guess it is because we have been there so often and the kids know their way around the train stations and museums. I offered to take both girls on a field trip on my day off, but the weather was pretty nasty with sleet and snow and ice, so we opted to stay off the roads. It was actually worse down in DC. But schools stayed open in this area. Scott already has several snow days to make up at the end of the year.

So on Sunday, Allison headed back to school to finish up her Spring semester. So far she is happy with her classes and did well on her midterms before break. Although her accounting midterms were pushed back after break because of their snow days. So she has some work to catch up in that class. Meanwhile, the art teacher keeps trying to get her to change her major and become an art student full time!

Scott and I certainly had a busy Scout weekend. We have been looking forward to a trip to the Baltimore Harbor and an overnight on a WWII Liberty Ship-a floating museum. The SS John Brown was built in the Baltimore Harbor and celebrates 75 years afloat. The ship actually still runs and makes several runs down the Chesapeake Bay each year with a dinner and period shows, plus a fly over of WWII planes. Actors portraying The Andrew Sisters and Gen MacArthur entertain the guests during the day. The Liberty ships were built in the '40s to transport tanks, planes, weapons and Troops to Europe. So it is a big, floating warehouse. Scott and I arrived early Saturday morning and helped transport the food onto the ship as well as our own gear. The ship is docked in the harbor next to a empty warehouse which is used as a parking lot. As big as our ship was, the 2 new Naval ships docked on the other side of the pier dwarfed our vessel. We had 18 boys and 12 Adults on the trip. The scouts and the Dad's all slept on narrow bunk beds, 4 levels high. As the only girl in the bunch, I was able to get my very own "state room" complete with regular bunk beds and a bathroom. Saturday we spent the day on a tour of the ship. The boys also assisted with several service projects including using a crane to haul some trash off the ship and sweeping and mopping the decks. Plus they took a few classes in navigation and knot tying.  The ship is run by retired naval personnel and volunteers. It is a lot of upkeep.
. The tough part was climbing all the stairwells(narrow ladders) to all the decks and pushing open the heavy doors between compartments. We stopped for lunch of grilled cheese and soup which we all prepared in the ship's galley. The tough part was running up and down the stairwells for water as the ship was still winterized on the lower decks and no running water. And the ship was cold! I was a bit spoiled as my section of the ship was heated. We set up tables on the 'tween deck high above the lower hold. A little spooky knowing we were standing on wooden slats and metal beams high above trucks and tanks. Dinner and dessert were served on the same deck and included garlic bread, meatballs and pasta and salad along with mud pie and a snack during a late night movie-Battleship. Scott and I were pretty worn out and took time out for a nap. We had to get up for an hour during the night to complete a Night Watch which is typical on ships. Scott took the 3am to 4am watch and I did the 4-5am watch. Fortunately the ship was pretty comfortable and quiet and we got some decent sleep-even with the threat of ghosts! Sunday morning we were up early and helped with clean up and packing after breakfast of pancakes and sausage. We headed home early as Scott had a busy day planned working on a school presentation for English class.

He also continues with boy scout meetings, confirmation catechism classes and working out with the track team or meeting with his video club after school. Plus he is getting ready to participate in the upcoming Robotics tournament near DC over his Spring Break.

On Sunday afternoon, I had to get cleaned up from our overnight as I was participating in a Girl Scout choir benefit concert for The National Federation of the Blind. The concert was held at a local 7th Day Adventist Church and included youth choirs from all around Maryland, including The Boys Choir of MD. Naturally my OT skills were put to work as I helped blind guests into the bathroom. I can't go anywhere without getting caught up in my work role! But I certainly don't mind helping. I am wired that way. Anyway, the concert was very nice and the kids did an excellent job. We did not stay for the whole event. I was falling asleep in the pew waiting to sing!

And before my big weekend, I was out with a few of the neighbor girls on Friday night at another high school fund raiser. This time it was a 50th Anniversary Dinner-The Viking Fest-held at a local church. Complete with catering from Outback Steakhouse, a live band and separate piano player, open bar and martini stand(I stayed away from there!). They were serving Vikingtinis which they concocted on their own. Also a silent auction, door prize raffles, 20/20 raffles, photo booth and wine grab bags. Since most of our neighborhood kids attend Mt Hebron high school, it really felt like a block party. At the last minute, the husbands decided they wanted to come, but the event was already sold out.

So the week goes on! Back to school and Back to work.

Welcome Aboard! The SS John W Brown Liberty ship

 Eagle clutching a German sub and Japanese. airplane(kamikaze).

 Ship tour-Scott 3rd from the right

 Spare anchor

 Operating a crane(Scott up above)

 Scott manning the guns(we attacked Fort McHenry across the harbor).

 Tween Deck(dining hall and sleeping quarters)

 Dining on top of the cargo hold

 Sleeping quarters

 Scott gets comfy

 Ship scale model

 Ship chapel(lifeboat pulpit)

Two weeks ago:

Easy Come, Easy Go. Just as quickly as the snow came, it went. The week before  was  a bit warmer with rain which melted most of the snow. We still had some snow piles here and there, but mainly we had mud puddles. Made for walking Cookie a bit of a challenge.

And it did nothing to help those with allergies. Which includes Tom, Scott and Allison. Tom spent last weekend in bed with a fever. Scott had a sore throat and Allison came home on Spring Break with a runny nose. I was the only disease free one so far.

Before everyone got sick, they were very busy. Scott finally put in a full week of school and track practice. He also had a Court of Honor dinner on Weds night with Boy Scouts. We enjoyed a catered dinner and lots of awards and presentations. He was also  very busy with homework, projects and tests as the end of the semester rolls around. He had just 2 more weeks until the end of the semester  and Spring Break begins(for him). And at sometime the kids will have to make up 3 snow days.

Allison had also been very busy with classes and midterm exams. She wrapped up her last class on a Friday and headed home. She certainly needed  the rest. But she started off her Spring break by inviting some girl friends over to spend the night on Friday. The next morning I filled the girls up with Belgian waffles for breakfast and then they all went out for Korean food for lunch. Even Scott was invited along. Spring break means lots of errands so she tried to get her hair cut, but our hair stylist was too busy this weekend. No matter. Allison was much happier resting on the sofa. She can get her hair cut during the week.

We had a busy scout weekend a week ago. Scott and Tom spent Saturday morning picking up bags of donated food for the Boy Scout food drive. I spent Saturday afternoon singing with the Girl Scout choir at the Charlestown Retirment Village where I used to work. In honor of Girl Scout week,  a group of elderly men and woman at the retirement village known as The Forever Scouts invited us over to sing campfire songs. We had a fun time singing with the group and they even videotaped us to share with residents in the nursing home at a later date. It was also fun driving around campus too to see the new construction going on and checking out the changes already completed. I am still happy to be working at the current nursing home though as I have heard the old company keeps taking away staff benefits. Plus I have a lot of flexibility in my new job, as well as the benefits.

I think I will be even busier at work however since one of our physical therapists just resigned. She decided she would be happier working with developmentally challenged kids rather than the nursing home patient. So we will be down a therapist which means more work for the rest of us. Until we can find a replacement. I ended up driving back to work last Friday evening so we could take her out to dinner at a local pub. I also picked up some dessert to share with the staff and a shamrock for her to wish her good luck.

I had spent most of last Friday with my parents.We had a meeting early in the morning with their broker and a notary to sign some papers. Then we walked over to the grocery store. Tom was off work so he met us for lunch. We tried out an Italian restaurant near their apt.  with a brick oven. Mom and Dad inhaled their pizza. Afterwards, I spent the afternoon looking through some old family photos and putting up St Patty's Day decorations with my parents.

Tom on the other hand spent the morning at the car dealership getting my tire gauges recalibrated. Turns out I ended up with a flat tire. Tom took a morning off from work to get the tire fixed, but then had to take the van in for the gauges to be reset. What a pain. But I am back in business. Thanks Tom. I returned the favor by dropping off science fair trophies that Tom ordered at the kids old school.

Then Tom decided to spend some time test driving new cars. Seems his old Toyota Echo had a rough time this winter and we could use a replacement.

Here is the shelving system Tom assembled for my parent's apartment. It is pretty roomy for all their photos, trinkets and storage below for albums and books.

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In Like a Lion, Out Like A Lamb. Looks like our spring is definitely coming in like a lion. We had(hopefully)our last big snow falls of the year. All of us were snowed in on Thursday. I had taken the day off to attend a class. Tom worked from home and SCott had a snow day! Both Scott and Allison  were out of school for a few days. Scott also had a few late days last week as well. It made for a short week of school, but they are both paying for the snow days this week as teachers and professors alike are dumping huge assignments on both kids. Also cramming in tests. Even my parents missed out on their scheduled events because of the snow. Their aquatic program was cancelled and so was my water aerobics class at the Y. So I think we are done with snow. Springing ahead this weekend certainly got us into the mood for Spring.

And speaking of Spring, Allison is trying to catch up with her midterms before returning home for Spring Break.  Scott was trying out for Spring track(again). The kids did not get to practice much, but it looks like Scott has joined the throwing team. He is busy learning the Shot Put, but also wants to try Discus(maybe when the snow and ice melts off the field). So far all the high school kids are practicing in the gym or in the parking lot. His robotics team is also wrapping up their last weeks before the tournaments at the end of the month. And on top of that, he has officially turned in all his paperwork for his new job! We are just waiting for his training schedule to come out.  Wow is he busy!

Scott is also getting busy with boy scouts. He still has some work to do on his Personal Fitness badge. The counselor wants to complete bi weekly assessments to see if Scott is improving in his work out program. We actually finished all that with Scott on his own, but apparently this counselor wants to review his progress. So back to the drawing board! Scott was also helping out with the annual Scouting for Food program by delivering bags around the neighborhood on Saturday. Tom drove him around before dropping him off to help with the boy scout camping equipment inventory.

He manged to squeeze in a bit of fun by going to a movie with his friend on Friday night. The boys saw The Lazarus Effect(they were in the mood for spooky). The boys also scheduled an overnight with several other friends and enjoyed watching movies and playing video games. On Sunday, I did get Scott out for a hair cut this weekend. I also dropped my mom off to get her hair done as well.
Afterwards, Tom cooked all of us steak dinners. He managed to shovel a trail out to the grill on the back deck. We had an early dinner since we had to drop Scott off to church for catechism class that evening.

By the way, for anyone interested, Scott will be making his Confirmation this spring-May 9th, Saturday at 10 am. If anyone would like to join us, feel free. All our Welcome!

I was not around much this past weekend as I attended a continuing education course on dementia for 2 days. Tom and SCott met me for dinner after my class on Saturday night. We decided to meet at a local outlet mall across the street from the hotel I was at for my class. Unfortunately, the traffic is horrible at the mall complex as they have built on multiple restaurants/shopping/movie theater and a huge casino. It took forever to locate parking and then it took us about 45 mins. just to get out of the parking lot on the way home mainly because of the casino traffic. I think most of Maryland and Virginia had cabin fever this weekend and needed to get out for some entertainment!

And in honor of National Engineering Week, Tom entered Scott in a contest at Northrop for engineering ideas. Tom turned in examples of Scott's projects from his Engineering class and Scott won 1st Place out of 25 applicants! He brought home a huge trophy! His engineering teacher was very impressed and had Scott bring in the trophy to show off to the school board. Way to go Scott!

1st Place Engineering

 Snow Days in Baltimore

More crazy weather. Guess Spring is on hold for now. We finished off February with a bit more snow and now freezing rain. (Oh surprise, school is opening 2 hrs late on Monday due to our freezing rain). Scott has had a few late days and even an extra day off because of the weather this week. I think it is playing havoc with the teachers' schedules as they load the kids up with extra homework. It is taking its toll on SCott in a few classes as well. Plus the teachers decided to try new testing methods in a few of his classes which have thrown him for a loop. He needs to push a bit more to inch his way up in a  spanish and history. Most everything is going well so far. He just has 4 more weeks until Spring Break and the end of the semester!

Scott also decided to give the track team one more try. They held their first Spring try outs on Saturday morning. I was not sure how they were going to try out in the snow! The track was not cleared, so they ran around the parking lot and then headed into the gym. The track coach recommended Scott try for some of the throwing events(maybe that will give him a spot on the team). Again, there are so many kids trying out for track and just not enough spots for everyone, especially the runners. Guess we'll see if it works out. He is still going to the Y on Friday nights to exercise with his friend. I am just happy that he is staying physically active!

And speaking of staying active, Congrats to Scott who was officially hired as a Skate Guard for the Supreme Sports Club complex in Columbia, MD. Allison had the same job, but there is a whole new management in place. So Scott may be doing a bit more than Allison did when she worked there, like working in the cafe. Anyhow, we stopped by the sports club on Friday evening to fill out a huge stack of papers. Now we just have to wait for a schedule and for SCott to start orientation.

I also had to take him in for his yearly medical check up on Friday evening. He needed his boy scout medical forms filled out for summer camps. Yes, he is already signed up for all the summer camps. Then on Saturday morning I had to take him to the bank to open a checking account to go along with his savings account, He needed a check book and ATM card for his new job! So his busy schedule just got busier!
He has had a bit of a slow down with his Robotics team. Their robot is done and had to be locked up/bagged until competition time at the end of March and beginning of April.
He is still going strong with boy scouts. Tom stopped in to do a presentation at his scout meeting on Weds night on the American Heritage badge. Scott is still trying to finalize his Personal Fitness badge with his counselor. And he has a lot of scout activities coming up in the next few months.

Tom also stopped into the kids old school Weds afternoon to assist with the upcoming Science Fair. He presented the guidelines to the kids. Tom also acts as a counselor for the kids when they choose their projects, and then helps with the judging. Not to mention ordering the trophies.

Allison keeps busy with her Spring semester. She will be home soon on Spring break. She was in our neck of the woods this weekend as she traveled to Uof Maryland to participate in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament. They did well and won all  of their games. Allison even scored! She ended up staying at a nearby friend's house rather than driving up to our place. And this morning she and the girls headed back to Salisbury since the weather turned. Even she had a snow day last week!

Before the weather got too much worse today, I ran out and got a hair cut. Then Tom and I headed over to my parent's apt. We had stopped in on Friday with a new bookshelf that needed to be assembled. We had picked it up at Target. Unfortunately, the piece was damaged, so we had to return it and pick up another cabinet. So today Tom was able to assemble the shelves and hang a few more pictures. I also dropped off a few more knick knacks for mom to fill up the shelves. And we set up a pair of electric toothbrushes that the dentist recommended. Overall, a very busy day. Tom would have stopped in with me on Saturday, but he was anxious to try to get to another Hershey hockey game before the April tournaments. So he and his friend John drove up to Hershey together to look for tickets on Saturday night. They had a great time at the game.  I stayed home and played with my online photo album.

Which leads me to my calendar corrections. I missed sending out a big Happy Birthday to Caroline and Clayton Bozyk. Along with Birthday Wishes to sister in law, Susan. And I forgot to wish everyone Happy Paczki Day(Polish donut day on Fat Tuesday!). Hope everyone is surviving Lent. I'd like to give up work. It is definitely keeping me busy. And we just failed an OT student. He did not get it. It happens.

More later. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.