Day 300, Wednesday, October 27

We had our Halloween parade at school today. We don't have school on thursday and friday this week for Parent/Teacher conferences. So we have our Halloween party and parade early. Cindy and I dressed up as Milk and Cookies. We used foam board to construct the costumes (I couldn't sit down). Everyone kept saying to me "Got Milk?". It was a fun day as it was my birthday, too!

Day 299, Tuesday, October 26

I made the football players for the AR Board using Everyday Paper Dolls. The footballs are cut from Sports Mania using paper that looks and feels like a football. One student from each 2nd grade class, who made their AR goal will be chosen to have their picture placed on the board. They will be rewarded with a special lunch with Mr. Goss, our principal.

Day 298, Monday, October 25

Tonight was the Christmas Card Crank at my friend Nikki's. Cindy, Elaine and I made 2 of each of these 7 cards using Stampin' Up products. I really like the way they turned out. Nikki does such a great job at making cards that are so easy, but elegant. Thanks Nikki for another great card workshop.

Day 297, Sunday, October 24

Today is my mom's birthday. She is 72. (yes, my parents are both the same age...just a few days apart). I hope she had a great day. We are going to go to Logan's for dinner on tuesday.

Day 296, Saturday, October 23

Today I took Giz to the puppy spa and while he is getting groomed, I go shopping. I stopped at Scrapadoodle (as I usually do!) and when I got to the counter to check out...my friend Lauri Young was standing there! I was so surprised to see her. She sold Longaberger and is the demonstrator who always took us to Dresden. It was great to visit with an old friend! I hope to see her again real soon!

Day 295, Friday, October 22

We recently replaced the landscaping in the front yard. We had landscape timbers where the white fence is now. I bought the scarecrows at Michael's to put out front. I have seasonal flags to put on each pole. I need to find a new U.S. flag to display.

Day 294, Thursday, October 21

Happy Birthday, Pop! Today is my dad's birthday. He is 72 years old. We went to look at a house today...but it wasn't the right one. We went to eat at Kouri's after.

Day 293, Wednesday, October 20

This is the last of the pumpkin people for this week.

Day 292, Tuesday, October 19

I have been walking by this "Witch" pumpkin everyday when I go to Parkside to exercise. Her dress is purple...one of my most favorite colors!

Day 291, Monday, October 18

These scarecrows are in a flower bed overlooking the lagoon which is across the street from the hospital. I think that is why one of these guys is dressed as a "Doctor" pumpkin. The other guy is just a traditional "Scarecrow" pumpkin.

Day 290, Sunday, October 17

Halloween would not be complete without a "Clown" pumpkin.

Day 289, Saturday, October 16

I liked this "Ladybug" pumpkin!

Day 288, Friday, October 15

Say hello to the "Bride" pumpkin.

Day 287, Thursday, October 14

The park district has the pumpkin scarecrows around the grounds again this year. So, I am going to be taking pictures of them this week. Today, is the "Peace" pumpkin...because it is dressed with fabric printed with peace signs.

Day 286, Wednesday, October 13

I love how the sun was just peeking through the trees. And of course, how the trees are beginning to change color.

Day 285, Tuesday, October 12

This is my card for the October MCPT challenge from the Cricut Message Board. I used a scalloped nestie to cut the circle frame. I machine stitched around the edge (not real happy about how my machine "behaves"! Added some bling and a raindot bat. The card is a "tent" style. I found the directions at www.splitcoaststampers.com

Day 284, Monday, October 11

Today was Columbus Day, so Jim took today off with me and we went to eat lunch at Famous Dave's. I love their roasted chicken...aaawwww, I can taste it even now!

Day 283, Sunday, October 10

Aunt Mary lives in Wisconsin and comes to visit over the Columbus Day weekend every year. She always brings cheese curds to Jim....he loves them! Thanks, Aunt Mary for making our day!

Day 282, Saturday, October 9

Tonight, Cindy, Eric, Jim and I went to see the play "Annie!". Our friend, Sally Baker...aka "Miss Handigan", was in the Caterpillar Employees Chorus fall production of "Annie!" She is the parent of one of our former students. She did an awesome job! She is wearing a redheaded wig so she doesn't even look like herself. She sang, danced and performed her lines like a pro! Congrats, to our friend for such a great job!

Day 281, Friday, October 8

Wade Kelly came to school today for his first visit! He is the son of Jessica and Will. Jessica attended our school and now she is our favorite waitress at Logan's. Jessica and Will got married today! Congratulations!

Day 280, Thursday, October 7

Happy Birthday, Stan! Today, was Stanley's birthday...he is 54, older than me...always will be! He is a Rivermen Hockey fan...so he got a new shirt to wear in support of his favorite hockey team. Cindy got him a gift card to Sears, too!

Day 279, Wednesday, October 6

We bought these mums and pumpkin over the weekend to decorate the front of our house. (Don't tell Stacie....sorry, dad got them at Lowe's!)

Day 278, Tuesday, October 5

Our second grade students had a visitor (or a couple of visitors!) today. The children were studying how animals can be "service" animals and help us. This officer and his dog are part of the K-9 unit that serve Tazewell County. There was an officer and his dog from the Pekin Police department as well. The dogs are trained in Belgium and transported to the US. They are trained to follow commands in Dutch and German. They live with the officers in their homes, but are kept away from other dogs as they are the alpha male and won't get along with other animals. I learned alot, today and I think the students did, too!

Day 277, Monday, October 4

Most mornings, I drive by Twin Lakes on my way to work. I stopped this morning and took this picture of the lake. It was cold this morning and the mist was forming over the lake. Wish I would have had my Rebel to take a few more pics!

Day 276, Sunday, October 3

I really want to create a frame like this. About a year ago, I read about taking pictures of "letters" to create a photo word. Michael's had this advertised in their flyer today. When I went to the store..."Smith" was the example in the frame department. I am going to do this soon!

Day 275, Saturday, October 2

Today was John and Stacie's 4th annual McCormack Invitational! You are looking at the 2010 winners of the bags tournament. Corey and Nate won 1st place. Here they are making a toast, drinking out of the Champions cup! lol Congrats to the boys! (John wasn't too happy about not winning the tournament for the 3rd year in a row!)

Day 274, Friday, October 1

God...if you are listening...and I know you are...please help us now...mother is home and pop has to take care of her...at least for a while.

Day 273, Thursday, September 30

At the entrance of the walkway to the hospital is this glass sculpture. It is so pretty when the sun is shining through the window. Today, it was overcast...so there wasn't any sun shining. It is still pretty!

Day 272, Wednesday, September 29

This is another sculpture outside of the hospital. This one is located on the circle drive in front of the Children's Hospital entrance.

Day 271, Tuesday, September 28

Tonight, while we were at the hospital...there were 2 dogs who came to visit. There is a program to help cheer up the patients. The dogs are trained to allow the patients to pet and love them. Both of these dogs were so friendly and really enjoyed being petted. I was sure relaxed after visiting with these dogs!

Day 270, Monday, September 27

I have driven by this statue everyday for a week. This is St Jude receiving doves. OSF has completed a new building and St Jude Midwest has moved from Methodist Hospital to the new building. Below is the base of the statue and the next picture is of the marker for the dedication of the statue for the St Jude to Peoria Run. My mom is still in the rehab unit and really doing well physically. Her confusion has not improved greatly. We just keep praying that she will return to her pre-surgery mind.

Day 269, Sunday, September 26

This is the view from the patio area on the second floor of the hospital. I have been walking out here for some fresh air, since my mother had surgery. Today, I took her for a wheelchair ride and let her get some fresh air, too. I thought it might help clear some of her "confusion". It was starting to get cold...so we didn't stay outside for very long.

Day 268, Saturday, September 25

We went to the Art Show for a little while this afternoon. (I went to the hospital and Jim picked me up and took me back after a couple of hours.) It had started to rain (you can see the wet spots on my jacket!) so I hurried to finish my "tile". Each year, there is a large picture cut up and everyone is invited to paint a 4x4 tile. You can see my sample on the left and I am trying to copy the colors on my tile. It is made of a "plastic"...kind of like a foam core board. It would have been alot more fun...if I wasn't getting wet!

Day 267, Friday, September 24

Today, the doctor moved my mom to the rehab unit. She is doing well physically, but can't remember to use safe motions when getting up and down, walking and sitting. We hope she can get better and get out of the hospital in 7 to 10 days.

Day 266, Thursday, September 23

This is the "view" outside my mom's hospital room. I have been staring at this building since I arrived at 5:45 a.m., this morning. I got a call from my mom at 5 a.m. She wanted me to come pick her up from the hospital. I told her I couldn't, that she had to stay there. She said okay and I asked her to hand the phone to whoever was talking in the room with her. It was the aide and he told me that she was found on the floor, sitting on her bottom at about 4 a.m. They called the doctor and did a stat xray to see if she had hurt anything. I told them I would be right there. I got to her room and she was sitting on the side of the bed and had pulled out her IV. I went to the nurses station and told them to get someone into her room. She was really upset and needless to say...so was I. At 7 a.m., they placed a "sitter" in her room...someone to watch her so she didn't fall again.

Day 265, Wednesday, September 22

I was impatient today...so I took the stairs instead of the elevator at the hospital. My dad called and said my mom was "confused" this morning. I buzzed over to the hospital from work....to check on her. She seemed a little more at ease, when she saw us. I only stayed for about an hour and went back to work. This mural was painted on the wall in the stair well between the first and second floor.

Day 264, Tuesday, September 21

We were at the hospital at 8:30 a.m. The surgery for my mom was supposed to begin at 11 a.m. It didn't start until 12:20, but went really well, so she was done about 3:30 p.m. She had 2 discs removed and "cages" put in to replace them. She also had 6 screws and 2 rods put in her back. She has been having back pain for many years. This card was given to us to lead us to her in the pre-op waiting area.

Day 263, Monday, September 20

Tonight we went to Jennifer's house for our September card swap. Our challenge for this month was to make a card with a four legged animal. As you can see, we had lots of different animals on our cards. This was a great challenge! Each individual card is pictured below.