Four Weeks Old Today!

I spent the day in the city with Tresa and Graham. I get to go back again tomorrow when Irv and I go for a visit....and then on Monday I get to help Tresa take him for his hearing test. How lucky can one Mimi be?

Big yawn....

Happy after his bath...but then he's almost always happy....

Snuggling in his towel...

Getting sleepy...

Looking for That Happy Medium....

To blog or not to blog....that is the question. I enjoy my blog....but at times, I tend to like it too much and it consumes more time than I am willing or able to give it. I've been trying to post less, but then I tend to also read less. When I read less, I miss out on what is going on with all of you, and that sucks. Then when I do blog and you comment, I want reply to your comments and that is time consuming. When I read blogs, I want to comment...and that is time consuming.

I work a full time job and commute 40 or more minutes each way. I have things to make and things to sell and customers to communicate with.

Sometimes I think I should just say bye bye to blog land all together and the thought of doing that makes me really sad. I have so many wonderful friends on here.

I turned off my e-mail notifications the other day and today when I signed into my blog..there were all of your comments and I wanted to reply to each of them. I have to turn that thing back on.

I honestly don't know what to do. I thought about writing one day a week and reading one day a week.....I guess that might work, but I'm a bit more spontaneous than that.

Any suggestions?

Workshhop Update

Well I woke up this morning to find that the darling hobby horse I showed you yesterday was already sold! He will be on his way to New York this week! The first magazine rack has been primed and will be painted blue very soon. I couldn't find the shade Angela had suggested, but I got a neat looking blue. I also bought yellow for the other one. I think they are going to look awesome. We are also going to start painting some of our chalkboard frames in bright fun colors. We did a red one and got it listed today. We just have to find the right kind of vintage frames for the bright colored ones. I like this one a lot. We found 2 of these and did one red and the other silver.


I should be able to show you what we did with that old window soon too. We have been so busy trying to get things done and are finally making some progress.

Right now I need to finish up a couple of things and chill out for a while. I can't believe the weekend is gone and it's back to work tomorrow. Where did the weekend go? Have a great week and I'll chat with you soon.

Irv and I went treasure hunting today.....We found this awesome bent rebar star.....

This rusty tractor seat....

an old bocce ball set...

A very rusty old nursery scale....not sure what I am going to do with it yet....

another wonderful magazine rack that will get painted soon...

an awesome old wood box...

a fantastic handcrafted wood hobby horse....

and a pair of old wooden stilts....

The hobby horse is available in our etsy shop, Four Dog Vintage and the rest will be available soon. We are headed to the flea market tomorrow in search of more treasures. This is sooooo addicting! Hope all is well. chat with you soon!

Help Please

I found this fabulous magazine rack/plant stand/telephone stand at a sale today and I want to paint it. Angela from Pickles on Pizza loves bright fun colors for her accent pieces. I agree. Remember my little chest I painted bright yellow for my living room? I need some suggestions for what color to paint this. I'm thinking lime green, bright blue or even yellow....what do you think?

A Day With Graham

I took the day off today and went into the city to visit Tresa and Graham. We had a really nice day.

Tummy time....


a little nap.....
A trip to Target and Petsmart.....

Time for a clean outfit....

More snoozing.....

A big yawn....

Mommy and Graham....

Mimi and Graham....

Ever Been On space Mountain?

I hated Space Mountain at Disney World. I hate rides so that really is no surprise. I really think that is the most terrified I have ever been. I thought for sure it was going to fly off the rails and I was going to die. I knew I would never go on that ride again, so I figured I would never be that terrified again and I have never been....until Sunday.

Irv and I walked around a lot during the marathon..just trying to get from point A to Point B. A couple of times Point A and Point B were way too far apart so we took a cab. One of the rides took us through city streets lined with cars....with quite a few bicycle riders. I'm thinking that cabbies don't like bicycle riders because this guy could NOT have come any closer to the bikers without running them over! I just kept thinking, "Please do not kill a biker with me in the cab!" He would come up right behind them doing about 40 miles an hour and then swerve around them. It was horrible. I just kept closing my eyes.

I thought that was the worst it could possibly get until later that day when we had to take another cab. This time we had the "pleasure" of flying down Lake Shore Drive.....a very, very winding, busy, crazy road.....doing 70 miles an hour (in a 40 mph zone mind you. It was lovely outside so the cabbie had all of the windows open. I was in the back seat and had to hold down my hair because it was whipping me in the face as we cruised down LSD. I'm looking at Irv and he doesn't seem the least bit bothered. I honestly felt like I was back on Space Mountain. I thought for sure we were going to either go flying off the road into the lake or just roll and smash into oncoming traffic and be killed. It was beyond terrifying.

When we were sitting around later chatting....I brought up the cab ride. Everyone just laughed. They thought it was great! Are you freaking kidding me? Great?

If I ever have to choose between walking a very, very, very long way or ride in a Chicago cab.....where are my gym shoes? I'm walking!

Chicago Marathon 2010

All I can say is WHAT AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!!!! I'm going to have to break it down into parts. This will be part One.

Matt and Rebecca arrived from Colorado at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Michael picked them up at the airport and they stayed that night at Michael and Bern's house. I didn't get to see them until Saturday afternoon when we all got together at Tresa and Chris's condo in Chicago for a nice pasta dinner. We had to get Matti ready for his loooonnnngggg run the next day. It was so good to see them and to have our family together. We all took turns holding the baby and chatting, but we made it an early evening because Tresa is still a bit sleep deprived and Matt needed to get his rest. A friend of Matt's from Colorado that was also running the marathon came by to say hi. It was great to see him.

On Sundays the trains from where we live that go into the city don't run very often, so in order to get to the marathon by start time, we had to get up at 3:00 a.m. and catch the 4:53 a.m. train. Man was that early! We got to the city and immediately started texting with Matt and Rebecca to see if we would be able to find them before the race. We didn't. They actually were exactly across from us at the starting area, but this is what it looked like.


First of all you couldn't get around the fence and second of all, that sea of hats that you see, are all of the runners. So we were on this side of the runners and Matti and Rebecca were on the other side. Matt was in with the runners and Rebecca was outside the fence on that side. It was nuts and oh so exciting. It was so hard knowing that Matt was so close, but oh so far away. I wanted so badly to give him one more kiss and hug and one more good luck, but there was no way.

It was so emotional waiting for the race to start and then watching them all start walking...slowly....waiting for the runners up front to move far enough forward so the whole group could start moving. It took Matt 20 minutes to actually reach the starting line from where he was!

As soon as the runners were off and running we managed to locate Rebecca. Thank goodness for cell phones and texting! The three of us went to grab some coffee and breakfast to go and started walking to the half way point of the race in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Matt in the sea of runners.

Irv and I actually did a LOT of walking. It wasn't a simple task to get around the throngs of people and all of the closed roads. We walked and we took cabs, and eventually we got to the 13 mile mark and stood and waited with Rebecca. We watched runners go zooming by and other runners trotted by. There were lots of signs and cow bells and yelling and cheering. There were runners in tutus and super hero garb and runners in regular running clothes. It was a sight to see. We got dizzy watching the bobbing heads of thousands of runners while we watched for Matt. Then Rebecca saw him and he saw her and waved. Irv and I didn't see him and he quickly scoured the crowd once he saw Rebecca, but he didn't see us either. She said he looked strong and really good.

We made our way to the finish area. We met at our prearranged spot and it was just so cool. Matt had done a fantastic job.

Remember when I told you he had hurt his knee when he ran the Imogene Mountain Run...well both of his knees started bothering long before the marathon...but he ran anyway and did it in 4 hours 8 minutes and 25 seconds!

To put it in perspective.....there were a total of 35,763 runners and Matt came in 9955th! Out of 19769 male runners, Matt came in 7173rd. Out of the 3001 male runners in his 25-29 age group, Matt came in 1153rd. The winner of the race was a 23 year old Kenyan who ran it in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 24 seconds! It just blows my mind.

We had just the best day. Michael and Bern came down and we met up with them after the race at a bar where we could all sit, have something to eat and watch the Bears game. We caught the 4:30 train and got home around 6:00. It was a long day, but a fantastic day. I am so proud of Matt and of all of the runners. They just amaze me with their strength and their dedication to a sport they love.


I will be back later this week with some after the marathon pictures, some Graham updates, a little bit about my terrifying Chicago Cab ride and about all the work we are doing on our vintage etsy shop. I hope all is well with you. I will chat with you real soon.

Catch Up Time

Well, let's see....Graham will be two weeks old on Friday. He is doing well. He hasn't quite figured out when to sleep and when to eat, but he will when he's ready. His mommy hopes that is soon.

Matt will be home Friday late night. His girlfriend, Rebecca will be with him. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since Christmas.

A friend of mine will be in southern Illinois tomorrow and asked me for a list of Vintage things I am looking for. She said if she sees anything, she will text me a picture to see if I want it. How sweet is that?

Irv is busy working on that old window so we can turn it into something really cool for our shop. I also found a place online that sells the chalkboard vinyl in a big roll. Now I don't have to buy it on e-bay. It came today. Yippee! Now I can make more chalkboards!

I put my SNOW letters in Four Dog Day already. I know it is only October, but they were done and it's cold and snowing somewhere, so why not? I like them.

I fell off the healthy eating and workout wagon for a little while, but I jumped right back on this week. I even walked at lunch today. Chee Hoo for moi!

I need new clothes really really bad. My fall/winter clothes were looking pretty crappy last year so when I pulled them out this year and took a look, I knew they had to GO! So, I logged into Ann Taylor Loft the other night and had some fun. Of course I ordered some cute little sweaters and today it was almost 80 outside....but I've lived here long enough to know that winter is just around the corner.

I went to the GAP on my way home from work the other day to get some khaki pants for this fall and they had 3 pairs of womens khakis. Are you kidding me? It's fall and it is the GAP! How could they NOT have KHAKI pants??? That's what they are known for!! The girl said they aren't sure what happened and that they had lots of black pants. Black pants? I want khaki!! So I bought the pair right off the mannequin!

I took Friday off. We have a really busy weekend planned. We are spending the day at Tresa and Chris's in the city on Saturday and then Sunday is the Chicago Marathon. We will be down there cheering on Matt. His knee is pretty bad right now, so he isn't sure what's going to happen, but he is going to give it one heck of a try. He has trained so hard for this. I hope he can run. I miss being a spectator. It will be fun yelling, "Run Matti run!" :)

I also got my hair cut yesterday....really short. I'm sure I'll have some pictures of it next time.

Well, I really have some work to get done so I have to close for now. I will be back after this wild and wonderful weekend with lots of pictures and stories to share. Have a great rest of the week. Chat with you soon.

Oh, I went for my mammogram today......I hope you are keeping up with yours.

Happy Weekend!

We had a great day today. We met Michael and Bern for breakfast and then headed over to the flea market. This isn't my favorite flea market...it's just too expensive. I prefer the one with all the "junk". We did have fun though...the only bad part was that the temp only got up to 55 today and with the wind it felt like winter! We froze our butts off even though we were dressed warmly.

I found 3 awesome things. The two frames will probably become chalkboards and the window......that will be a surprise.They will all be available in our etsy shop, Four Dog Vintage soon! Irv is already working on the window.



I hope you had a great day today. Tomorrow we are heading out early to go visit Tresa, Chris and little Graham. I will take lots of pictures.

Have a good one and I'll chat with you soon!

Let Me Introduce Myself.....

Hi, I'm Kathy...nice to meet you. :)

I am still here. I am still reading blogs, but just not getting to comment on as many as I did before. Irv and I are working very hard to get more of the chalkboards done, and I am working on more letters for Four Dog Day and I am searching for treasures for Four Dog Vintage. In fact we are headed to a flea market tomorrow with Michael and Bernadette.

So get this...tonight I was scrolling down the blogs I read over on the sidebar of my blog when lo and behold, there was a picture of one of my aprons. Well it seems that Green Girl in Wisconsin is having a giveaway and it is for something from Four Dog Day! Isn't that cool? She decided to feature an etsy shop each month this year and I am it right now. I am so flattered and so excited.

If you have never read Green Girl's blog....you are missing out. She is a fantastic writer that tells the greatest stories. Check out her blog here. There is info about the giveaway here.

So, if you want to read a great blog and win something from my shop....stop on over and visit the Green Girl in Wisconsin. Thanks Green Girl!

Sunday we will be visiting Tresa, Chris and baby Graham! I can't wait to see him again. Then on Friday night, Matt and Rebecca will be flying in from Colorado and on that Sunday 10/10/10....Matt will be running in his first marathon. We will be there to cheer him on....so yep, I am busy, busy, busy....but life is oh so good.

Have a splendid weekend and I'll chat with you soon.

My Newest Project

Can you believe it? No new Graham pictures! That's because I won't see him until the weekend. They are doing well and adjusting to all that is new.

I finally got one of my new chalkboards listed in my etsy shop, Four Dog Vintage. This is a vintage picture frame turned into a chalkboard. I just love this. The hardest part of making these will be finding really unique and awesome frames to use. I have a few more done that I will be listing over the next few days, and then I will be searching high and low for frames. Irv is helping with these and we are hoping they do well. We shall see.

We are counting down the days until Matt gets here to run the Chicago Marathon. He is a bit concerned because he took a bad fall during his Imogene Pass Run and hurt his knee. It is still giving him a hard time when he runs and there isn't much "healing" time left before the marathon. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him. It would be a shame to go through all of that training and not be able to compete.

Depending on the weather, we might go to a big flea market this weekend with Michael and Bernadette. I am hoping we can go and hoping I find lots of awesome stuff!

Well, I have things I need to finish before bed. I hope things are going well for you. I hope to get around to visit all of your wonderful blogs this week. I have so much to catch up on. Have a great evening!

Our Little Man Came Home

Graham and Tresa came home yesterday.

They are both doing well and the period of adjustment for everyone is going nicely. We went yesterday to help them get settled in and then left so they could enjoy their first time in their home as a "family". I am so happy for them all. Such an exciting time for them....and for us.

Today Graham had a blood test to check his bilirubin level. It's fine...so no more concern about that. He has a hematoma on his little head, but it will go away in a few months. It was a tough delivery for mommy and him.

He seems to be a very calm and happy little guy. He got to meet Harley and Casey. The cats were curious. It was cute.


He got a little check up today and everything was good. He's already gaining weight.

We won't see him now until next weekend......that seems so far away.

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

Just a quick hello....it is actually about 5:30 a.m. I went to bed at about 7:00 last night again and I guess I've had enough sleep. The dog woke me up at 3:00 a.m. to go out and I've been up since.

We went to the hospital to visit Graham and Tresa Saturday. Today we will be meeting them at their condo to help Tresa get up three flights of stairs and to get settled in with the baby. They are all doing well and adjusting.


I was still so tired yesterday from missing a night of sleep, but I'm thinking today will be better. We have shopping and laundry and cleaning to catch up on so it will be a busy day.

Well, I am thinking I should make a list for the grocery store. We aren't sure what time Tresa and Graham will be discharged, but we will need to be ready to go when she calls. Have a great day today and slowly but surely I will getting back to my normal schedule and I will be able to catch up with everyone. Chat with you soon.

YEP!!!!!

Happy Birthday Graham Patrick Stone. I will fill you in on the details over the weekend, but he is here. Tresa had one very rough night, but she is doing well and so is our future linebacker. He had a bit of a problem arriving due to his size....9 pounds 2 ounces and 20 3/4 inches long. He is a gorgeous little guy...of course. I'll have more pictures over the weekend. Here are some quick ones we took today.

Nope Part 2

My lack of posting isn't because baby boy arrived...it's because I am busy making and listing things for my etsy shops FourDogDay and FourDogVintage. I remembered a little while ago my goal and my vision for the future, and it means I have to work on my shops.

Baby boy is taking his time, although the very wise and educated doctors have been saying "soon" for quite some time. Baby boy has a different definition of soon! :)

Tresa is doing well...as well as a very, very expectant mom can be doing. She is still working, but yesterday decided to work from home. Depending on how last night went and whether she got any sleep, she may be doing the same today.

So we are still anxiously awaiting the little man's arrival....looking forward to introducing ourselves, touching those soft little cheeks and smelling that beautiful baby smell.

Announcement will be coming soon. Hope all is well with you!

Nope

If you are looking for a baby announcement...nope...he isn't here yet. This is sooooo difficult for me. I can't imagine how difficult it is for Tresa. We are trying to wait patiently, but each day it gets a little tougher. Right now she is just walking as much as she can and trying to stay busy with other things. I am working and working and working....at my full time job and in my workshop. We are making some new things for the shop in Chicago and I'm working on letters for Four Dog Day. there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to be doing right now. I decided that I really need to make a list and prioritize it. yesterday i ran around all day busy working on so many things.....and at the end of the day I realized I didn't complete a single project. It was not a good feeling.

Right now I am off to a resale shop in search of treasures. I will be back one of these days with baby news.

:)

Waiting....

I am so not good at this "waiting for the baby to get here" thing we are doing right now. Not only that....I am a planner. I always have a plan. I like to plan things. When we go on vacation I plan for months. I plan my days. I plan my weekends. I plan how I am going to plan things.

Baby boy's arrival is something I can't plan and it's making me crazy! I need to know. I need to know what day and what time. Will he decide to arrive while I am at work or when I am at home? Will I be on may way to work or on my way home from work? Will it be during the night when I am sleeping or in the morning when I just wake up?

Will it be a weekday or a weekend? Will we have enough time to get to the hospital? Will I remember to bring the things I planned to bring?

Oh my word.....I can hardly stand it. :)

Tresa did go to the doctor today and she said that she is about as ready as she can get. She doesn't expect her to make it until the 23rd, but what do they really know? I saw my doctor in the afternoon one time. She told me nothing was happening and she would see me next week and I had the baby that night. Fooled her!

So many people have asked Tresa how big the doctor thinks the baby is. Well, none of the doctors have mentioned that, so today she asked. The doctor felt around on her belly and said it isn't scientific, but she would guess that he is about 8 pounds. 8 POUNDS??? Tresa told me she is mortified. She never expected baby boy to be that big. Must be all those Blizzards from DQ! HAHA! The doctor said that's a wonderful size.

So, we are waiting and I am trying to be patient. I told Tresa that baby boy paid rent through the 23rd so she can't evict him just yet....besides he's been a wonderful tenant.

Counting Down

We are counting the days until baby boy's arrival. Not too long to go. His due date is the23rd. His mommy if very ready. She's tired. Sorry the pictures are blurry, but I was trying to take them while she was watching the Bears game and I didn't do the best job....but you get the idea. She is very ready to go.

The baby told us that he needed some ice cream, so we ran right out and got some for him. :)


She looks just darling and shame on the two people that said "Whoa" when they saw her yesterday! What were they thinking? You don't say "Whoa" to a pregnant woman!


Enjoy your week. Hopefully we will have baby pictures very soon!