Long time gone

Well! If it hasn't been forever! Just a few months right? :o) Things have crazy at home and at work and with life in general! Most of you know that Aaron was laid off from DHL at the end of February. Unfortunatley we figured it was coming but silently were thankful for it! The job has caused Aaron so much stress and really put a strain on his health. Talk about having a GREAT hubby for a couple weeks afterwards! Unfortunatley being home without a job can take a toll on you after a while and he's fallen into the "bummin it" slump. The good news is that he was accepted into grad school!!!! He will be participating in the LEEP program for GSLIS at the U of I! (In plain english he's taking an online masters program for library and information sciences through the U of I) Things seemed to be rolling right along for all of us. Then the dreaded end of the fiscal year fell upon Illinois and it passed right on without a budget. There was tons of concern for social service programs (including my own!) and other programs that were funded by the state. We were given the doom and gloom budget of only getting half of last year's budget. There were rallies and meetings and we made phone calls and sent letters, etc... it was craziness. In and amongst this our little red head participated in the Pekin Park District tot soccer. It was a blast to watch her chase the ball and rarely kick it.... :o) But she had fun and that's what counts! So the college gave us separation letters and has continued to extend our employment about 2 times b/c a budget finally came through. We have no idea what our funding looks like but I'm happy to still have a job! The girls are now taking swimming lessons- that's been interesting! Gabby is swimming on her own with her little group. Marabeth and I have partnered up for her classes- big feat for the lady who hates water!!! She's doing pretty good but really just wants to go down the big dragon slide. Oh well!! Aaron attended his 10 day "Boot Camp" for the GSLIS program and came home this past Saturday. It was nice having him back home. It made me realize how much I miss him when he's not around.... that and he's the only one who changes the kitty litter :o) The girls really missed him too and we had a special dinner for the the night he came home. For now it's back to business for me- Aaron is still looking for a job and hoping for it to be in a library- we'll keep our fingers crossed! Well I suppose I should get back to doing what I'm paid for- break time is over!

Another day of craziness

Well, it's been back to the grind for me this week. ICC is closed during Christmas to New Year's so it's nice to have a (paid!!) break, but it really sucks coming back to the backlog of mail and phone calls. I've also managed to put off till the last minute registering for classes and I didn't get near enough the right classes I wanted to take. I guess that's what I get though. Gabby is still running around singing Christmas songs and Marabeth is still crying every time I try to throw away one of the boxes from a new toy. I know- I know... you buy the toys and they want the boxes... Aaron is sitting back and waiting until the end of April to see if he's accepted to grad school at the U of I. It's a nervous wait but hopefully it'll be worth it. The cats are figuring out how to damage every shred of carpet we have in the house, but Gabby has been fun running after them yelling "NO!!!!" Both of the kids have been fighting back colds for the past few weeks and I think it's actually starting to leave our house! I still have a sore throat but I'm not coughing as much either. I reorginized my desk before leaving work last night and I'm a little sore now but the cleaning lady told me she likes the configuration much better this way! LOL! Crazy... just crazy...

Holiday Fun

Christmas excitement is upon us and it tends to make me think. Last night Aaron and I were frantically running around the house picking up and putting things away while the kids slept. As we finally drug ourselves to bed Aaron asked me "When did the holidays boil down to just being able to get through them?" It's interesting... I remeber the days of when I was younger and the excitement was about Santa and really being able to get together with family. Playing with my cousins and seeing the grandparents. Sure the Santa excitement is coming back now that Gabby is grasping the concept of what it means to get coal in her stocking! :o) But it's so much about super cleaning the house, how much to spend, is this enough for this niece, this present is bigger but the smaller one cost more, will we have enough food, will the weather be okay for travel, etc. It's crazy. I know that once people show up and the food has been eaten and the dishes packed away then it will be okay again because then it's family just sitting around. I kind of miss being that little sparkle eyed child looking at the tree all lit with lights and ornaments and seeing all the presents under the tree, climbing into the car with someone else driving me off to see loved ones and to play with my cousins until the dreaded moment when someone says "Okay kids, it's time to head out!" While I ponder these thoughts today I know I will continue to hope that the ice storm keeps us home tomorrow so I can finish thawing the turkey and wrap the rest of the presents... Merry Christmas to my family and friends. It might not be the same as when we were kids and things were simpler- but there's still the electricity in the air that lets me know it's the good time of the year.

The Beginning

All right! We'll see how well this works. My goal is to update this periodically for family and friends. I know we're all space out and around but you all mean so much to me!