So I managed to survive another week without Tom and an extremely busy schedule. Tom had to leave on Sunday for LA. Meanwhile, Allison and I were off to Girl SCout choir practice. The choir was asked to sing the National Anthem at Girl Scout headquarters for a ceremony honoring MD Senator Barbara Mikulski. She has been very influential in getting funding for several girl scout projects. The girl scout council also had Northrop Grumman to thank for providing funding for our headquarter remodel and installation of engineering programs for girl scouts, as well as the STEM program(science, technology, engineering and math programs) that all the schools are pushing right now. No one was available as a representative from Northrop, so I texted Tom and thanked him. I also sent him a photo of B Mikulski. He thought it was cool, but not as cool as running into one of the stars of the ICarley show in LA. in a pizzaria-Miranda Cosgrove. After we sang, Allison and I still had to stay for the delegate meeting. Barbara spoke for 30 minutes and then stayed with her aids for a photo opportunity, so we were running late. We also had a General come speak and thank the senator for her support in funding as well as for the generous girl scout cookie donations we have provided the servicemen and women over the years. He also thanked the scouts for visiting the returning soldiers at the airport and introduced a program for girl scouts offered through the Army. General Nick Justice. He was a very good speaker and as B Mikulski said-what a great name. All in all it was a fun evening, but long (and I finally met someone much shorter than I am!).

ON Tuesday I was running again to get Scott to his Boy SCout meeting.

WEds we had a break and got to stay home and study and do homework. Allison had finished up her regular season of Field Hockey games. A makeup game on Monday (which they lost to the top ranking team and that had been rained out on Friday), and their last game on Tuesday which honored the Senior players with a tailgate after the game. Scott and I arrived after the game was over, but stayed for a brief presentation to the seniors. Allison enjoyed that game since she played and they won. Now they are practicing for State Finals. I had the added dilemma of trying to get her to practice at 3pm at the local parks. The girls need to practice on turf since most of the finals are played on the artificial fields. Fortunately she got a ride to the fields and I just had to pick her up.

On Thursday I was back running early since I went to a class on cognition and dementia/Alzheimers. After class I had to pick up the kids and get them dinner so I could go to Scott's Parent Teacher Conferences. I wish Tom could have joined me for that, but I talked enough for the both of us. Afterwards, Allison had a piano lesson. It is fun to hear her working on the Christmas music, but I am not ready for that holiday!

Friday the kids were off school, so Tom and I had planned on traveling to Williamsburg to the Howl O Scream Haunt fest at Busch Gardens. INstead, I took the kids myself since Tom did not arrive home until late Friday night. At least Cookie did not have to go to the kennel. We took her for a nice long walk in the morning, and after I ran a few errands, we were on our way. Friday was a bit chilly, but very sunny and dry. WE had a wonderful time at the park. We met up with our neighbors and their kids who were also spending the weekend. I especially enjoyed the haunted houses, but the kids aren't interested. Scott even had an issue with crossing a bridge to one of his favorite roller coasters since it was haunted by zombie clowns(He couldn't handle it). Needless to say, I couldn't bribe or drag him across so I gave up and ended up returning the next morning(rather than outlet shopping boo hoo), so he could ride in the safety of daylight. (These cannot be my kids when it comes to scary stuff). I can't get enough. Anyhow, we spent the night and had a beautiful morning back at the park before returning to Baltimore after lunch.

Saturday night Allison had to work, so while we were waiting for her I decided it would be fun to invite the neighbors out to a local Octoberfest celebration. We have a local hall named after Max Blob(Blob's Park) which features polish dancing primarily, but in October they sponsor the Germans and lots of beer and brats(with polka dancing included). The place holds 850 people, and it was packed. With only 7 waitresses. Tom and our friend Eladio decided it couldn't actually be run by Germans since it was so disorganized and slow when it came to serving beer and food. We opted for the buffet, and got there early which helped. I had a great time dancing the chicken dance, the Hokey Pokey and a new German line dance that involved flying like an airplane and schwimming in the ocean(apparently all the rage in Europe) and sounded like something from the Brady Bunch singers. Good thing they had lots of beer. Tom even joined me for a few polkas, but I thought we were going to pass out from all the hopping and jumping. We also enjoyed watching the really old guys in lederhosen out on the dance floor doing traditional German dances. Surprisingly the kids were not on board with this entertainment factor. They were bored. How sad they did not grow up with our traditional weddings and family get togethers. They didn't understand how much fun they were missing(although I am not so sure about the old german guys in shorts). It was certainly an interesting evening. And to make things more crazy, they paired it with a Haunted House-Bennett's Curse. One of the scariest in the country, and it was jam packed with people. We got stuck behind a firetruck and ambulance when we tried to leave. At least we did not get stuck like our friends behind the truck that blew a tire when it hit a guard rail trying to get around the fire truck!

Sunday morning we were off to church early as Scott had to altar serve. He had his friend Sammy spend the night so he joined us at church. Scott was a bit nervous since this was his first time without Allison serving by his side. But he held his own and did just what he needed to do. So in the afternoon I took him to get his hair cut since he has school photos in a week. We also picked up a few more fish for his tank and did some Halloween party shopping.

ON a sad note, Tom lost his Aunt Joan Conrad to Alzheimers last week. She had been living in a nursing home in Colorado for several years. Her husband also has Alzheimers, so it was Tom's cousin Scott from California that let us know.

And we wish Tom's Dad a speedy recovery from his fractured forearm after he stepped off a ladder too soon while hanging the Halloween decorations. (Hope you have fun with your OT Dad when that cast comes off!) I spend most of my time at work treating fractured wrists and forearms, but not usually from stepping off ladders in our community. Maybe a step stool.

Work actually slowed down a bit which was nice. Last month I had to put on an open house-I was in charge of food of course. This month I had to present to our Low Vision support group and spent a few days taking classes.

Enjoy our Halloween photo shots from Busch Gardens, The May POle dance at Octoberfest and Sen B Mikulski(in the green suit). Kathleen

It definitely feels like Fall now! Tom and I were out doing yard work last SAturday. Finally the sun came out after a day full of rain and t-storms on Friday. I had a little trouble picking up leaves on SAturday since it was so windy, but I finally finished edging, and trimmed a few more shrubs. Tom got the grass cut, but the weather has not been cooperating enough to get the winter fertilizer down. It was certainly a nice enough day for the high school Homecoming parade and football game. The kids and I caught the parade in the morning since it goes right through our neighborhood. Scott and a friend enjoyed collecting a big bag of candy thrown from the floats. I even picked up a Mt Hebron tshirt the cheerleaders were passing out. It was fun to see our neighbors so involved in the school activities. Our next door neighbors now have freshman at Mt Hebron and their daughter is involved in the band(and now so are the parents!). Our neighbor's pick up truck became a float, and they chaperoned the band members during the parade(which meant they got to walk in the parade too!). Allison and I did not stay for the whole parade since she had to get to work. Afterwards though she headed off to dinner with friends at a local Italian restaurant and then the Homecoming dance. She ended up sleeping over at one of the girl's house that lives just around the corner since the dance ended pretty early. We high school parents and the siblings decided to get together for drinks and munchies while the girls were out dancing. So everyone had a fun evening. And they had a fun time during the week at school too, dressing up each day for a different theme. The last day the Junior class all dressed as characters from the Clue game. Allison was the maid.

Surprisingly I did not realize that the kids once again had to take the PSAT that week. Allison did not take any classes this time in preparation(no time). I would have had her skip it as well since she really needs to concentrate now on the SAT and she took the PSAT last year. They offer it again in the Junior year in hopes of getting a scholarship. Allison will probably spend her winter semester preparing for the SAT. It's funny how the tv shows match what is happening in real life. We watch The Middle on Weds night-a comedy about a family living in INdiana with 3 kids-two in high school, one in elementary. This show is fun for our whole family-we especially enjoyed the dilemma concerning the oldest son's issues with the PSAT(their family did not realize the test was coming up either until the mom's started talking while working on the Homecoming floats). One mom mentioned a neighbor's son that had all A's in school, and volunteered his summer washing oil off seagulls in the gulf, but still did not get into college because his SAT scores were low and he ended up living in the basement of his parents house, cleaning up dead animals from the freeway! Boy if that isn't enough to scare you! But I swear that is how it is today! It's not enough that the kids study and get good grades either, they have to be overachievers in everything else to make it on their own. We know an awful lot more families whose 20 something aged kids graduated from college or finished their military rotation are now living with them, and some even have started families (babies) on top of it! We may be headed back to the days when the entire extended family lives in one house again, including Grandma and Grandpa! Just like the Waltons! (I think that would be rather nice, but we're going to need bigger houses!)

We didn't get to the Mt Hebron Homecoming football game(we really don't have a very good team), but I enjoyed watching MSU beat Uof M in football last SAturday afternoon. Tom couldn't bear to watch. Sadly we watched the Tigers lose miserably to the Texas Rangers instead so they are out of the baseball series. Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

On Friday Allison's Field Hockey game was cancelled due to a day of t-storms. Even though the sun finally came out in the late afternoon, the field was too wet and soggy to play. I was disappointed since that would have been a game Tom and I could have watched together. Tom was home on Friday, so we managed to have lunch together. But I spent the rest of the day at my yearly doctor appointment, taking Scott to gymnastics in the evening, and finally, a trip to the nursing home with Cookie for a Halloween Pet Parade in the afternoon. All of us rehab staff have dogs, so we dressed them up as Super Heroes for a Halloween Party at work. Cookie was dressed as BAtman(batgirl). She really seemed to love all the people-she tried to lick as many people as she could and let them pet her. The only problem I had was keeping on her Batman ears-every time she shook her head they fell off or her utility belt ended up around her tail! She also enjoyed seeing all the other dogs. It was total chaos in the rehab clinic.

Weds evening we enjoyed a presentation at the high school as Allison and 69 other students were inducted into the National Honor Society. She missed her first meeting since she had an Away Field Hockey game that night and had to catch the bus right after school. But she caught up with the info online and participated in the ceremony the next night. We are very proud of all her hard work, and I was especially happy to hear how many of the NHS girls were Girl SCouts-they seemed to outnumber the Boy Scouts in particpation. There were also 5 students total from the catholic school which was nice to see since there weren't that many kids to begin with attending the public school. Most of the catholic elementary kids go onto catholic high school. We also enjoyed some funny moments, like the group having some trouble reciting their pledge all together, not to mention dripping hot wax from their candles on each other. It was especially nice though listening to all of the kids achievements. Tom was especially impressed that one young man had a math scholarship developed in his name. (and he is not even dead!).

SCott was off school on Monday for Columbus Day so he stayed by himself and kept up with homework. Allison was off to a field hockey game. Tom was able to catch those two games and see her play. He then had to run Scott over to the Boy SCout meeting on Tuesday and the dentist on Weds(yeah no new cavities). Even with all that candy from the parade!

Tom is off for another week of travel in California on Sunday, so I will have another very busy week on my own with the kids! Allison and I will spend Sunday afternoon at GS choir practice. We have a big presentation scheduled for Monday, singing the National Anthem for our State Senator Barbara Mikulski at Girl Scout Headquarters.

Wish us luck!

Here are a few photos of Allison dressed up for Spirit week in her Clue outfit, dressed up for Homecoming with one of her friends and the NHS ceremony.

As if we weren't busy enough last weekend, Tom and I decided to have our neighbors DAn and Gloria over for dinner and a Ravens football game Sunday night. Since Tom had been on a chili cooking roll, we decided to serve(you guessed it) chili along with some tasty Koegel Vienna hot dogs that I brought back from Michigan. We thought they could use some neighborly support too since Dan was still upset over having his car broken into in his driveway the week before. We found many of his personal items strewn down the street, but of course they took the laptop.

They were also struggling with their teen age daughter's new found freedom at college(not so free though since she just lives in the dorms about 25 mins away and still wants to borrow the car and use their house on weekends for laundry and visiting with friends, not to mention boyfriend issues). Guess they told her if she wanted her freedom to do as she pleased, then she could just stay at the dorm and don't bother coming home. So they weren't having too great of a week. I think they appreciated some parental support, even if it was just from us!

The rest of the week flew by as usual. Tom still had to travel to Charlottesville, VA, but not until WEds morning. He then returned on Thursday night, but had to work on Friday. He did manage to get in his MOnday night football, and was able to take Scott to his scout meeting on Tuesday. He would have left Tuesday night, but he was still busy typing up reports. Allison had a few Field Hockey games that week and Tom was able to catch the Tuesday night game. We have a hard time getting to the games since they are at 3:30 in the afternoon. Tom has a pretty flexible schedule though, so he usually attends. I make the Friday afternoon games.

I stayed busy during the weeknights taking Allison to piano and with my Girl Scout Leader meeting on Weds night and an After Prom meeting Tuesday night at Allison's school. The High School is trying to raise money for the after prom party that they put on at the YMCA-an up all night, after the prom party for the kids complete with activities like swimming, rock wall climbing, games and food. I wanted to get an idea of the kind of volunteer help they were going to need, especially closer to the prom in the spring.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was busy volunteering my morning at Scott's school for Grandparents Day. We passed out coffee and donuts in the morning and then directed all the GParents to the classrooms and church. This year I dragged SCott to school early with me and he helped greet people at the door and poured orange juice. Then they were all headed to the church for a slide show from last year, a prayer service and songs from the choir(so I got to hear SCott sing) and I even peeked into his classroom while they were showing off their education skills. Plus I got to chat with some of the moms that I don't see very often.

After running some errands in the afternoon, I got a call from the school nurse saying that Scott wasn't feeling too well and could I pick him up right after school got out. I wasn't feeling too great myself. As a matter of fact, I was asleep on the couch by 930. I did manage to get Allison to work, but SCott skipped his gymnastics. Fortunately Tom was home and he was able to get Allison at 1030.(It will be nice when she can drive herself to work and home).

By Saturday we were all feeling much better, which was a good thing since Scott was invited to his friend's Sammy roller blade birthday party and sleepover. The party was at the same place Allison works. It was also a combined birthday party with another Resurrection boy, so Allison saw alot of people she knew.

I kept Allison hopping because after working all afternoon at the rollerblade rink, I volunteered her to cover a babysitting job for one of her friends. She certainly makes a whole lot more money babysitting! The extra income will come in handy for her for the Homecoming dance next weekend as well as the Prom. I just had a tough time staying awake to pick her up again. The family was supposed to return home at midnight but did not get back until 1am. I kept Allison company and me awake by texting her while I sat in the apartment parking lot waiting for the family to return. Tom would have stayed up, but he and SCott had an early morning planned.

Scott was supposed to serve mass on Sunday, but it turns out Tom volunteered him to sell popcorn at Lowes all day(what we do to our kids!). Scott and only one other scout showed up with another parent all day to sell popcorn, from 8am to 4pm. Scott was pretty worn out from his busy SAturday and limited sleep that night, but Tom says he did a great job selling. Allison and I spent the day at home doing homework and housework. I also took Allison out for a haircut and decided I might as well get a trim while I was there. It was a weekend of haircuts as I also dropped off Cookie on SAturday for her winter shearing. She is going to be in a Halloween Dog parade at the nursing home on Friday so I wanted her looking(and smelling her best)!

I also had to run Allison off to a Field Hockey pasta dinner party on Sunday night. Fortunately the girl's house was right around the corner, and Allison had to bring a salad. Which the girls completely inhaled. Then it was time to get our dinner!

We have also been trying to keep up with all the great Sports teams-we have been completely amazed at the Lions and the Tigers(Oh my). Our Ravens have been doing pretty well also. And Michigan State football has been interesting too. Then there is always the Packers. Lots to choose from just not enough time to watch it all(although Tom is trying). And Hockey season is just getting started!

And since our weather has finally been so nice, it was hard not to get out and do some yardwork and decorating for Halloween. Scott actually started a week ago, putting out the spiderwebs and hanging up our zombie(right after I trimmed all the bushes). I guess he started a bit too early as an anonymous neighbor put a letter in our mailbox asking us to remove the hanging zombie. They said it was too intense. Tom took it down just so we don't find it burning in our yard one night, and we will put him up again on Halloween night. Guess some people take things a bit too serious. I also took advantage of the nice weather to buy some fall flowers. Now if I can just find the time to actually plant them!

Kathleen and family

This week Tom was off to Charlottesville, VA. At least he did not have to leave until Monday night. He managed to squeeze in half a football game with his "Monday night Football night out with the neighborhood boys" before he drove down to VA. He was able to catch Allison's rescheduled Field Hockey game too on Monday(and she played). He was not home however to take Scott to his Boy Scout meeting on Tuesday.

I was hoping he would have had time to connect with the Boy Scout troop since he was assisting with a big campout this past weekend. The boys put on a day of activities for cub scouts to teach them important boy scout skills like lighting fires and tying knots. Mostly they are trying to recruit new scouts. The boys spend the night on Friday which gives them a chance to work on some advancement skills, and then they are up and ready early in the morning to run their stations. Tom didn't have all the details since he had been out of town for several weeks. I didn't even have a chance to attend Scott's meeting either since his school asked me to come in as a guest speaker at the same time. I was asked to speak to the 5th grade class concerning the week long Outdoor Education Camping Trip that SCott and I attended last year. I let them know that it was a whole lot of fun and that the kids learned quite a bit that week(and had fun doing it). So did the parents.

It was also very helpful to have Tom home(at least for one day during the week) since he also had to take Allison to a Girl SCout meeting for the National Convention after her field hockey game on Monday evening. Allison had to attend further training and info seminar for our trip to Houston with girl scouts. I was supposed to go but I did not get off work in time. I picked up Allison instead and just got a brief overview when I arrived. She still has another meeting in October and another webinar to listen in on.

The kids had Thursday off for a jewish holiday but it just gave them more time to do homework. I always think it is funny that a catholic school gives the kids a day off for a jewish holiday. I know they are just trying to follow the public school schedule though since they use the same bus system.

On Friday Tom had returned from VA and he was busy packing for the boy scout camping trip. I was busy dropping off kid's stuff to our local consignment store, and then I had to do some grocery shopping for a dinner I was donating to a family that night. I signed up to bring dinner to a Resurrection family whose son had brain surgery due to a sinus infection. The boy is a twin and his brother is really missing him. Luke, the one who had surgery has been in the hospital since August. He is now going through rehab and had to learn to walk again and use his hand since the left side of his body was paralyzed after the surgery. I decided to pick up a few roasted chickens from Sams Club since they are not expensive and they are huge and taste great. But when I went to pick them up, they had burned a whole oven's worth of chicken and were still trying to sell them. After several of us complained to the supervisor, they pulled them off the shelf, only to have another employee come by and restock the shelf with the same burnt chickens! It took a while, but we all finally got some decent chicken and I was on my way. Not until I threw out my back though lifting two huge pumpkins into my cart and a case of iced tea. I think I also did myself in when I was carrying boxes out to the car to take to the consignment shop. Thank goodness for Thermacare hot packs and heavy duty Motrin. I survived the rest of the weekend on drugs.

I am also trying to recuperate from trying to start the lawn mower a week ago when it froze up on me. I really pulled my shoulder then. Tom had to add more oil to the mower and give the blades a turn to get it going again. This mower has been almost dead for the past several years, so it now needs frequent oil refills(now Tom tells me). But it keeps going(just like me!) I don't think edging the lawn without power tools helps the matter either. We have quite a lot of curb and sidewalk around our lot.

I was just not too pleased that Allison and I had planned a trip to New York on Saturday! We have been wanting to see the Broadway play Wicked for a long time, but Allison only wanted to see it in New York at the Gershwin theater. Our YMCA set up a bus trip so I bought two tickets. At least I just had to sit for 3.5 hours there and back and for 3 hours during the play, so not too much walking. I did manage to tour Allison around Times Square(we spotted the New Year's Ball!), bought some New York souvenirs. I got my New York Starbucks cup and Allison got some tshirts from Aeropostale. We had italian food for lunch and mexican food for dinner, free chocolotes and took a brief walk through the edge of Central Park. New York is huge. We have only been there one other time to see the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City. That was a lot of fun too. I want to go back to do a bus trip around the city and hit some of the museums as well as Ellis Island. I will put it on our bucket list. Anyway, the play was phenomenal but Tom told me my credit card number was stolen when I bought Allison a Wicked tshirt at the theater. Oh bother. Now I need to replace my card.

Before our trip on Saturday, I was still planning on dropping off dinner to our school family. First I had some prep work to do. Tom was busy in the kitchen making chili for dinner on Friday for the boy scout camping trip. Good thing he did since a whole lot more boys showed up than expected and they would not have had enough food if Tom hadn't brought chili. Before we could do all of our planned weekend activities though, Allison had another Field Hockey game Friday afternoon.

Her team played a very tough team-number one in the county and held them until the last 15 minutes or so when the other team scored. It was a rough game, lots of tripping and balls flying, and then a ball hit one of our girls in the back of the head and down she went. She had a busted head and concussion. They picked her up in the ambulance and took her off for stitches and a head CAT scan. These poor girls play this rough game with barely any protection. At least this girl took a hit in the back of her head, I would have hated to see what she looked like if she had been hit directly in the face! So there was a delay in the game, which meant Allison was a bit late getting done, which meant she was a bit late getting dinner and changed so I could take her to work! She managed to get there before her shift, but the manager was worried. So after I dropped her off I had to go drop off the dinner and then head back and pick up Allison after work.

Tom and Scott's camping trip turned out well. They had a big crowd and the boys did a wonderful job demonstrating their scout skills. Scott spent his time demonstrating fire building. And he got some of his camping requirements done working towards his next scout level.

Sunday was a busy homework day. Allison had to work during the day, so we missed Girl Scout choir practice. In between homework and rollerblade work, she had some last minute sales to complete for Girl SCout cookies, Prom ticket and Field Hockey fundraisers.

A very long week and weekend! Enjoy our photos of New York-Central Park, Wicked at the Gershwin, Times Square and Broadway. See the New Year BAll! That is about as close as I will get to the New Year's BAll. Tom hates crowds! Allison and I also enjoyed seeing ourselves on a large screen monitor billboard in Times Square(so did a lot of other people that were standing around us!).