You can't get rid of me that easily!

You thought you got rid of me for good, didn't you? Well, too bad! I'm baaaaccck. Our computer went kaput right before we left for my Grandma's funeral. This has been a very expensive couple of weeks. Getting ready for school, fixing up the flower beds, traveling to Wisconsin for the funeral and kenneling the dogs for 5 days, and fixing the computer to name a few things. Good thing we got Vince's overtime check from Sturgis week. It's gone and then some!

First things first. My Grandma died on August 26th. My cyber-granny is gone. I called her that because she got a computer within the last 10 years and really embraced the technology. She e-mailed, bought and sold stuff on E-Bay, and surfed for interesting items. She got a kick out of my nickname for her. Her funeral was the following Monday, so we headed out of town on Saturday morning. The service was nice and afterward we had a big family dinner and then some of us headed out to Grandma's apartment to sort through some stuff. It was weird being in her home without her there. We found some really neat stuff that she had made or was in the process of making. Like this Christening gown. I know my kids will never wear it, but it was too beautiful to send to the Goodwill. Maybe if one of the other cousins has a girl, I can send it to them.

It was a whirlwind trip, very tiring, but a good one because we got to see all the cousins and aunts and uncles. We even spent one evening with some cousins that we rarely see or hear from and had a great time getting to know each other as adults and swapping insults. That's the norm in our family. If we like you, we immediately begin to bring you down to our level and make fun of ya. Took a while for Vince to get used to it and he still tells me to cool it occasionally. We got home late Tuesday night.

We got our computer back on Thursday, but it wasn't fully functional until Friday evening. I have been trying to catch up. Life without a computer stinks! How the heck am I supposed to know what all my Facebook friends have been doing and eating and thinking for the past week?!

Audrey started school on Friday. They had a week where the teacher had small groups of 5 or 6 kids every day instead of the whole class so that they could get to know each other and she could introduce them to the classroom and show them how things would go. This Tuesday, they start with the entire class. Audrey had a blast on Friday. She picked out her outfit and was ready to leave by 7:15. It takes us about 5 minutes to get to the school because it's just a couple of blocks away and she doesn't have to be there until 8 of course. It was cute. And I am happy to report that I DID NOT CRY!! I know, I can't believe it either. I'm guessing that pre-school last year did me some good. Audrey said school was lots of fun and she even got a mouse stamp for being quiet. I think the teacher got mixed up! This is a kid who never shuts up! She's gonna put me in an early grave with, "Mom, watch this. Mom, are you watching? Mom, can I... Mom, play with me. Mom, let's do crafts. Mom, mom, mom!!!"

Of course, the first thing she gravitated to was the farm and the horses. Didn't take her long. I love her little outfit. She picked it out at the store. It's corduroy with poodles on the bottom. It was 80 degrees on Friday. She insists she wasn't hot. Whatever. At least she was cute! She and Katie are starting dance classes next week. I think I might be crazy. They are both totally pumped. I asked Katie a million times if she was sure and told her that she was going to be in trouble if she quits in class. She has assured me that she's going to do it. Then she added, "But what happens if I get really tired and don't want to dance anymore?" Uh, oh. I did tell the lady that she might get shy all of a sudden, but they told me that was fine and that she could drop out with the proper paperwork. Wish us luck. Audrey is taking a ballet/tap class. I think she's really going to like it. She thoroughly enjoyed the dance camp she took this summer and this class will be with the same studio. Katie is taking Creative Movement. I really hope she does okay.

Sam is doing well with the walking. The night that we got home from Wisconsin, he hadn't walked since that morning, so when I put him down in the house, he was funny. He couldn't walk. He just kept falling like he had forgotten how to use his legs. He is talking some too. He says thank you ("ah ooh"), bless you (sounds just like thank you, only he says it when you sneeze), hush up (to the dogs) which sounds like "up", Dada-of course, and Nana. And he likes to give kisses. Big, open-mouth, wet kisses. He is officially the cutest kid who ever lived. No bias whatsoever! He's not feeling well today. He started with a high fever last night. It was 102.4 under the arm, so it's probably more like 103.4. He's been off his food for a couple days and just kinda cranky/tired. Don't know what's up, but I'm sure it will pass in the next couple of days.

Well, it's time for me to get off my duff and mow the lawn. It needs it bad. I will be back again. Soon.