HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN

Today my sweet Susan is 37 years old......I am certain she won't mind that I told you how old she is......on the other hand, I feel ancient saying it. Nonetheless, this is not about me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN MICHELE

Update *edited

Lunch for the workers at church on Saturday went well. Susan not only drove me there but stayed and helped me set up, serve and clean up afterwards. They all thanked us for a great meal so I guess I did OK. We decided on making one of the favorites from the pastors luncheons at CFC ; grilled chicken Caesar salad.

I stopped at the Thrift store on Fri. night when we went to Wegman's for the fixings for Saturday's lunch. I was very excited.....I found a Fisher Price Kitchen for Matt for less than $5 and a workbench. The kitchen has been a real hit.....he has played with it the entire morning, stopping only for breakfast.

This was so worth the time and elbow grease it took to scrub it down with Clorox spray. The workbench is out on the porch (yes with all the other toys, Susan) so we will go out after lunch and see how we like that.

I had been thinking about how many signs Matt knows now. 21 come to mind right away: Mommy, Daddy, baby, eat, drink, sleep, bath, ball, stop, go, water, milk, please, thank you, your welcome, all gone, more, friends, story, help and potty. He can count by signing but sometimes gets confused as it is different than counting on your fingers. I am so glad we worked on learning some of the signs because although he can say all the words now, it definitely saved us a lot of frustration when he couldn't. Even now, if I can not understand him I ask if he knows the sign. If he does, he shows me.

*I just thought of 2 more signs he knows.....yes and no!

Tomorrow will be my last shot of Euflexxa. While the pain is so much less than it was before I started them, my knee "went out" on me last night. That was one of the reasons they opted for surgery the first time. Please continue to pray that the shots will be all I need. Thanks.

more ramblings from this old fat Grandmother

First, my knee is beginning to feel better ....I was very surprised how the pain had returned following the second shot.
I was really enjoying the cooler weather and now it hazy, hot and humid once again. Nice for Matt to be able to use the pool but not so good for me. The air has been on for days now and I have not been able to do any laundry. I really enjoy doing laundry.....yeah, it is somewhat therapeutic and I like feeling like I have accomplished something.....I love smelling fresh clean clothes. Anyway, the air has been on and Wm. asked me not to run the dryer when the air is on. I really have no idea why other than it may blow a fuse, or trip a breaker or whatever it does. You can see I am really up on the mechanics of the house. This was not a problem with the washer/dryer when it was downstairs.....technically it still is. (the washer/dryer we put upstairs is one unit so it would fit in the old linen closet)
I mentioned before that the church was putting on an addition and that on Sat. the home groups were preparing meals for the workers. Well, yesterday someone called to tell us they were going to ask families to make the Sat. meal. Wm. volunteered us for tomorrow. I am glad to do it would just rather have had a little time to prepare. Wm. said I should do what I did for the pastor lunches I made for CFC when we worked there. That should work! I always enjoyed doing that but then again I always a month to think about what I would serve. Now the only problem I see is that we have one car and Wm. will already be at church working when I need to bring the food. OK, Susan to the rescue????? If she can't take me, she will surely let her father use one of the vehicles they have to drive to church so I can get lunch over there.
State Fair opened down here yesterday. Wm. wants to go.......I think we were just there when Josh was Matthew's age.......does it really change?

Two of three

I had shot #2 this morning. I did not have the surgeon and it was not quite a painless as the first. I am pleased to say that I have a lot less pain since I got the first one. They told me that for a small percentage of people the shot works right away, for most however, it takes up to a month after the 3rd and final injection. I went shopping with Susan on Saturday and walked all over the store. On Sunday I walked from the car to Wegman's and then around the store. Before this Wm. had been letting me out at the door and then I would do what I could but he went and got most of the groceries and brought them back to the cart.
Matt was thrilled he was going in the "big blue car with Papa" this morning. In fact, he was so excited, Papa had to take him to McDonald's for breakfast while I finished getting ready for the doctor appointment. Papa said that when they pulled in, Matt began singing "old McDonald had a farm". All the way to and from the doctor's, which is only short ride from the house, he kept telling us "red light......stop!" Green light......go! (he signed it too) He is getting so good with his signing.
I took Darlene's advice to Danica about getting a treasure box for Jamison and found a note card box with a hinged top and it works perfectly. So far, we have collected some rocks, tiny stones and 2 feathers. He loves finding things and then saying "Hurry, treasure box" I love it. Thanks Darlene, I would have never thought such a small thing could bring so much joy to one little boy.

Friends

I had a very good day yesterday. My friend from Canton came down to pick up her hubby at Hancock. She came in the afternoon and we went to the Christmas Tree Shop......don't you just LOVE a bargain????? I got 2 new Blue's Clues videos for you know who . I am very tired of the same old ones. I think he is busy playing with his toys and try to shut it off and he screams NO, blues clues on! Anyway, we had a good time....it is definitely not like when I go with Wm. who sits down on the first piece of furniture they have on display and then waits. (Hey, I am not complaining, at least I can go there) He kids how he is sure that every worker in China as laughing at all the stuff they make for the Christmas Tree Store and we all flock there to get a bargain.
When Wm. got back from working on the church, we went to Kirby's for the best ribs in town. I am not the only one who thinks so, they print it on the menu :-) .
We had a chance to catch up on some of the people and things at CFC and both our families. I talked a lot......probably too much. Hey, we have not talked like this since we all worked at CFC. It was so good to see her and talk to her. I had a great day. (my knee was not even bothering me too much).
She left to pick up her husband at the airport after 3 weeks in China. I am sure she is glad to have him home. Now I hope we don't have wait another 2 years for a visit from her!

Looking ahead

The past few days I have been looking forward to the weekend, no not just so I can sleep in.....although I do like that part! My friend is coming to Syracuse to pick her husband up at the airport. So she is coming early and we are going to the Christmas Tree Shop....did I mention I love that store.....OK, maybe a time or two :-)
Because his plane does not get into Hancock until 10pm, Wm. and I are planning to take her to Kirby's for some dinner. I like Kirby's, nothing fancy but excellent food and service and it is only about 10 min. from our house. They have an excellent BBQ from now till Labor Day.
Could my sweet little Matthew already being showing signs of the terrible two's (after all he has only been 2 for 2 weeks)???? Yesterday I saw a side of him I have never seen. He was playing with the blocks when the tower he made kept falling over. He became very frustrated and instead of asking for help or signing help like he usually does; he stood up and threw the box of blocks, then he threw the box of Lego's and then the box with miscellaneous toys; but that was not enough, he went out on the porch and got his little chair and brought it back inside just to throw that also. That backfired though as it hit the floor and bounced back and hit him in the legs making a big scratch. This brought tears and after he was finished crying and we picked up the mess, he was his old self again.
I realized that I need to stop speaking in the third person to him. He takes everything I say literally and when I say "Let's go get our swimmers on and go into the pool; he brings me 2 two swimmers, one for himself and one for me". Yesterday when I was making his breakfast, he was opening and closing the silverware drawer. I told him there was nothing we needed in there and to stop opening the drawer. When I opened the drawer to get out a fork to scramble his egg, he slapped my hand and said "No, no".
update: my knee is doing so much better since the shot. I still have 2 more shots to go and the doctor said it should continue to improve for a couple of months. PTL


OK Gramma, you have taken too long and I am not waiting any longer. I'm outta here!

Aside from the pool, and cooking, this is my favorite place to be......unless Papa is home!

So far......so good

Well, I had the first shot of Euflexxa in my knee this morning. I did not have Matthew today because the doctor from the practice I saw last time had told me there could be a lot of pain and swelling with the shot. So far.....so good. I do not have a lot of pain or swelling. My neighbor Rose had told me that the shots were worse than the surgery for the meniscus repair, so I was expecting the worse. This morning with my devotions and prayer, I rebuked any bad side effects......I would appreciate it if you would stand with me in this.
This morning I had the surgeon give me the shot. He said he was very concerned with the amount of arthritis I had......it has gotten much worse since the surgery I had in Nov. He also said the PT was not showing any results other than the movement kept it from becoming too stiff. He also said I can do the same exercises at home. He wanted me to especially discontinue the therapy until I had all the shots and after that if I felt I wanted to go back I could. (I don't think so)
They are pouring the footers for the church addition this week so William is going there right after work and will be working until 9pm.
While I am enjoying getting caught up on a lot of things I have wanted to get finished this summer, I miss my little helper. I am no doubt getting more done than I ever could if he were here.....actually, I do not do anything other than care for him when he is here.
I am happy to say that I not only survived the nursery duty on Sunday but I actually enjoyed it. I was very surprised at how the nursery is run compared to CFC.......a difference in policy. Like we had a baby who cried the entire time he was in there. I asked how long we tried to quiet him before we got his parents......the answer was until service was over and they came to get him. The nursery worker changes the diapers, too!

blue plate special???? (edited)

Papa came home from work early today so Matt wanted to cook him some lunch. He wanted his chef hat and apron on but put the carrots from Papa's lunch pail right on his stove (cooling rack) and not in his shiny new pans. Thanks Steph, the pans and chef hat and apron have been a real hit.

Susan took him to get his hair cut last night. He really needed a haircut and he sat much stiller than he had for Betsy. He was content blowing on the whistle from his goody bag from his party and then sucking on the lollipop that the hairdresser gave him.

Finally finished my latest creation :-) It is a nursing blanket for Eleora. In case you can't see, it is pink and white checked on one side, white on the other.

Party time

It was a good day for the party.....no rain, lots of sunshine and a a little breeze. The kids had a great time. Susan set up 2 pools and they had them and the huge (10'x 10') sandbox which seemed to draw all the kids like a magnet. There was a cook out with all anyone could ever want to eat and drink. A Blue's Clues cake from the bakery and another one made especially for Alyssa with no eggs or milk, that was 4 cupcakes and a single layer cake which made the paw print (a clue). Susan had a Blue's Clues pinata that she filled with tons of Alyssa safe candy. Each child got a Blue's Clues notebook to write down the clues when the found them......yep, even a game of Blue's Clues. Hey, what would a Blue's Clues party be without a game of Blue's Clues.

I was hot......no stifling but a very happy old fat gramma. I got to see 4 of my 6 grandchildren and I got a chance to hold them and love on each of them. Yep, it was a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW

Happy Birthday Matt .........2 years old today