Monthly Archives: October 2019

October 16-31, 2019

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October has been filled with a lot of fun and adventure. We picked up Brutus on the 16th and brought him home where Lily was excited to see him (after she sniffed and licked my pants for a bit?!). She hadn’t been eating very well the last 2 weeks of his absence but since he’s been home she is back to her spunky self, even laying on Brutus’ “place!”. Jeff, Brutus’ trainer, gave us a training maintenance plan which includes a 15-30 minute walk each day, two 15 minute training sessions a day, maintaining door manners, and so on.  I’ve made it my mission to take him on a walk daily before work (almost always, but I’ve had to go after work once or twice). I actually really enjoy getting out and working with him. He’s doing so well and is fun to give him commands and work with him to demonstrate those commands. He’s still a work in progress and is easily distracted by other dogs, people, and even blowing leaves on walks but it is so  great to be able to go out and take him on a walk and hardly need the leash! We did find an engorged tick on Brutus the morning after we brought him home. Kevin got it off successfully (and intact) and after a call to our vet I sent it away to get tested and thankfully all test results indicated it was free from many tick-borne diseases including Lyme. Whew. I was worried!

We celebrated Lily’s 11th birthday on the 28th. It was nearing dusk before I was able to get her outside and get some photos! Thanks to Haya’s thoughtfulness we had a birthday party for her the next afternoon, complete with treats that Haya picked up for both Lily and Brutus. I arrived home to her and Reid having Lily in the party hat and treats ready to go!

 

Reid is enjoying going to preschool at NPCA. Like most schools these days the teachers now use an app and post class news and photos in the app throughout the day. In typical Reid fashion, he has quite an array of facial expressions. He’s been crafting cute fall pumpkins and artwork, exploring the fire truck, and playing outside on the playground. His school photos are cute too! Gymnastics is a mixture of Reid following along and doing the activities his coach demonstrates and also running away like a wild man to another area he’s not supposed to be in! This kid. He’s still taking two naps a day and if he doesn’t get his second one he’s delirious by 5:15 gymnastics class, hence the running around giggling and going nonstop. I’m trying to determine how to best adjust his sleeping as he does so much better with two naps but it’s not always feasible!



For COTA day (no school for Griffin and it was a Friday so no school for Reid) we went to our neighbors, the Bolan’s, for a halloween party. So many kids in costumes! Lots of new friends I hadn’t met before and quite a spread of food and fun.

I’ve had some fun time together with Griffin lately. He was off school on a Monday, so we took Reid to preschool and then we both had eye doctor appointments. He checked out wonderfully and I didn’t have any changes either. After our visit we headed to the zoo for a quick adventure before we had to return to pickup Reid at school. We fed the giraffe’s and talked about how their tongues are like sandpaper!

We joined the Bethune’s for the Dublin Spooktakular on a nice Fall night. Reid is a cowboy and Griffin is LLoyd from Ninjago, but on this night they went in their jammies as skeletons. Worked for us! We even found some skeletons walking around during our visit. They loaded up on more candy than they will ever eat and got to play different games and pet some animals at a petting zoo. Griffin was even so brave he wanted a tarantula to crawl up his arm!

Crazy face games at Roosters on a fun Friday night.

Kevin and I went to the Ochmonek’s annual Halloween Party again this year. We made rice crispy pumpkins and a yummy spider web bean dip (no pic of that tho). Kevin pulled off yet another awesome compilation for our costumes as Mary Poppins and the Chimney Sweep. He pieced together so many parts and so many people gave us the most fun complements at the party. I love that he does this each year – I just tell him the date and he takes care of the rest! He even put the ashes on his face using my mascara ! 🙂

Quickly on the night of trick or treat Kevin brought in the pumpkins and we had an amazingly quickly pumpkin carving session. Like, record setting in about 15 minutes! We were gathering next door at our neighbors for pizza dinner before heading out with the neighborhood crew for trick or treat. We’re really enjoying that there are so many kids in the neighborhood that regularly want to play with each other. Each day after school Griffin either heads to a friends house or they show up here! Trick or Treat was COLD and WINDY  this year and there were snowflakes by the end of our adventure. We were happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Armstrong come visit and help hand out the candy to the kiddos.

We received news that Jim Trame, the father of John (Kevin’s best friend growing up) had passed away in early October. Fortunately, Kevin was able to attend the Visitation on Friday and Saturday we both went to the funeral which was in Dayton. Jim and Pat were a tremendous help as they watched the boys for us so we were able to go together. We planned to go to Dayton for the funeral and then head back, however, everyone was invited to Tom and Ana’s vineyard for a celebration after the service. It was indeed a celebration complete with music, fire, catered food and drinks. We ended up staying until 10 pm. It was an emotional day for sure. Kevin was a big part of their family growing up and has many lifelong memories with John, Tom, Karen, Steve, and Joe including 18 years of riding together in the DALMAC bike ride in Michigan. John was the best man in our wedding, Tom and Kevin ran a business together in the past, and over time they hadn’t kept in touch much. So it was a really nice day to see so many people that Kevin has told me about but I hadn’t met, and to see so many people young and old come up to Kevin and share stories going back 40 years. I think he knew a majority of the people who where there and there were tons.

We’re storing the MG TD in our garage and Kevin decided he would work on the patina. Can you tell the difference in the pic below? It’s looking really nice, now to find a buyer!

Fall Fest at NPC was a big success this year – one of the best attended ones that I can remember, really. Kevin and I had a small part this year, heading up the decorations and chili judging portion of the day. We had a new layout this year, chilis separated by category and separate areas for desserts, salads/sides, and hot dogs. Reid was a trooper. We got to church at 10:30 and left at 7:30 pm. He didn’t get a nap, but did lay down and “rest” in the portable crib. He thought it was the bees knees and wanted in it the rest of the evening. Griffin was a great helper and then once the festivities began he had fun with his cousins and friends. It was a fun night!

 

October 6-15, 2019

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Griffin really enjoyed outdoor soccer this fall. His confidence grew a bit each week and he really ran hard out there zooming after the ball. He had some nice passes and even was able to score. I really enjoyed watching him play (when I wasn’t finding a YouTube or Netflix show for Reid, or chasing Reid, lol.

 

Kevin and I went out for a date night to dinner and a Mercy Me concert with Chris and Sarah Manning. Crowder opened (and Micah Tyler but we didn’t get there in time to see him!) and he was really enjoyable also.

On Sunday we were outside enjoying the day and decided we wanted to burn some energy. We sprung a surprise bike trip on the boys and didn’t tell them where we were going until we were about to leave. We took a nice little bike ride across Jewett and through Calumet Farms, then throughout Worthington Hills and we ended up at the Hills Market down at 315 and Worthington Hills where we had lunch at Subway and ice cream treats from Hills Market. We knew we would be cutting it close with the weather as rain was on the way. Just as we finished lunch and were getting ready to head out in hopes of beating the rain a downpour ensued! So, we hung out under the covered patio at the shopping center and let the rain pass.  We made it back up the b-i-g hill at the entrance to Worthington Hills and then eventually back home. It was fun! Just a whee bit nerve wracking going down the big hill toward 315, but Griffin stayed right beside me and did a fantastic job controlling his bike and speed.

Donuts with Dad was this week, however, there was a random fog delay the morning of, so it was postponed a day. Unfortunately, Kevin was headed to a conference in North Carolina so he wasn’t able to go with Griffin on Wednesday. Instead, he took Griffin to Tim Horton’s and picked up donuts to have a home. It was a win-win :). When Dad is away, we will play! Just kidding, we go out to eat once a week after swimming or gymnastics – this week we ended up at Culver’s.

Griffin is continuing to enjoy school. The bus ride may be his favorite part as he can trade Pokemon cards and various other things with his friends along the route to and from school. Next up: recess and math. This kid is doing awesome with his math skills. He is constantly crunching numbers in his head or outloud – addition, subtraction, multiplication. He is crazy about numbers. I was able to flex my time at work and volunteer to help with raffle tickets for the raffle baskets as a part of Fall Fest at lunch one day this week. We weren’t able to go to Fall Festival at Tyler Run this year as Kevin’s reunion was the same weekend. So instead of the money spent on a wrist band for rides, etc., we gave Griffin money to buy raffle tickets to drop in the raffle boxes during lunch. As it turns out – he won the ART basket! I had volunteered at lunch and then gotten home and a short bit later my phone rang “Tyler Run”. I was nervous for a quick second thinking it might be the school nurse again – but it was a friend of mine telling me Griffin had won a basket! I was able to go pick it up and have it at home by the time he got off the bus. Earlier in the day I had gone over to school to walk in the Fun Walk through the school neighborhood. It’s a fun day that I look forward to each year.

Friday afternoon we packed up and headed to Enon for Kevin’s Greenon High School 30 year Reunion. The weather turned rather yucky, but we forged ahead and took Griffin with us to part of the high school football game (in the rain!). He enjoyed watching them play and it was fun to get him the fun hot dog, skittles, and gatorade from the concession stand. Afterward, we took Griffin back to Grandma and Grandpa’s and Kevin and I headed to meet up with his classmates and Taylor’s Tavern. It was a fun evening meeting many of Kevin’s friends and listening to so many stories.

Saturday there was a gathering the The Bogey. There were a large number of people, yet a different group than Friday, who came. We spent several hours talking with Kevin’s old friends. There were also numerous yearbooks which were so fun to peruse and see pictures of Kevin back as far as 5th grade! Then on Sunday there was a tour of the High School (they will be razing it within a year as a new one is being built) so we took the boys on a walk through of Daddy’s old hallways and then they raced a lap on the track before we headed home.

Reid is such a silly boy sometimes. On this afternoon he put Haya’s hair band on his head. She sent me this picture and I just had a chuckle. He’s a little silly entertainer. He also makes pretty expressive faces, see the picture of him sniffing my coffee one morning. I’ve signed Reid up for gymnastics which he absolutely loves. Pure joy on his face as he runs to the bell to ring it at the start of the class. We got in the car after the second week and he said “mama, that fun!”

Check out our official First Grader’s school photo! He’s growing up fast!

September 22 – October 4, 2019

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I love these kids and I am so thankful I get to be their Momma. Most days I feel like life is blur with so many things going on between work, kids activities, meals, errands, appointments, and so on. Stress has been rampant lately and I’m on overload but I’m trying to do a better job and having more patience (that’s a hard one for me, as if you didn’t know) and caring less about order and tidiness (that one is equally as hard for this control freak).

We’ve been enjoying the outdoors, despite unseasonably warm temperatures. These kids love to be with each other even though it often escalates into fighting and crying and tattle-tales after a short bit. They are loving to be all matchy matchy with their clothes whether during the day or at night with their jammies. From OSU, to Crew, to Aqua-tots, to glow-in-the-dark skeleton pajamas, fishy pj’s, etc. I think it’s adorbs and will encourage it as long as I can. I’ve even purchased matching sherpa-lined jean jackets for fall 🙂 Also, despite having a ridiculous number of shirts – Reid will choose a “go buckeyes” shirt every.single.day from his closet! I swear, these pictures are taken on different days…..

Lily isn’t feeling her best the last week or so. I’m not entirely sure what the trouble is. Maybe she’s sad that Brutus isn’t here or she’s just not feeling well. She’s not eating regularly, including not wanting her pills even when they are in peanut butter pill pockets or bread. She will, however, eat her food if there is human food mixed in (brisket, pizza, bread, etc). She’s eating about a meal a day. She’s also struggling with her walking and is doing the bunny hop with her hind legs more and more. It’s really sad to watch her decline. This girl has been through the thick and thin of life with me and it’s rough to see her like this. She’s not very confident coming down the stairs anymore and her back legs often collapse  on a stair or two on her trips down. While Brutus has been away she’s getting more time out in the front yard with us and I think she’s really enjoying that. She often just lays down in the grass and sniffs the air. She makes it all the way down the drive to the mailbox, checks out the neighborhood dog activity, and then lays down to rest.

Reid seems to be loving school. His Guppy class teachers use an app where they post pictures and I find that Reid is often displaying his unique personality whether through his cute expressions or being the one-off kid doing something no one else is, lol. He’s brought home several cute crafts and Haya says he’s always happy when she picks him up. Both boys are loving Pokemon and Daddy has gotten them each their own book. It’s cute to seem them play and talk and make trades together.

Can you find Reid in the picture below?  Hint: look in the mirror, lol 🙂

We went to Fall Fest at NPCA and both Reid and Finn enjoyed playing all the little games and getting prizes. Reid was so excited when he got the ring around the cone in his Guppy class! And Griffin got three balloons in a row with the slinging game.

We had parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Hale this week for Griffin and he is doing really well. Math is clearly his strength though he is also doing well and as expected in reading. She shared that he is great to have in class – he’s pleasant, kind, helpful, a good listener, he follows instructions well, and so on. He got his second “Pawsome” note this week for showing good “effort” during stations. Essentially, while Mrs. Hale is working with a small group of students, the other students in class work at stations with their small groups. Griffin was able to get two magic words worksheets done (and done well!) when the expectation was one worksheet. He was so proud, this was his second Pawsome note! I love that his teacher is very encouraging and the TRES Pawsitive Promise (Teamwork, Respect, Effort, Spreading Kindness) is fashioned after TRES (Tyler Run Elementary School).  Griffin has gone to the school nurse twice (two Thursday mornings in a row) complaining of his heart stinging or his ribs/chest stinging. I took him to the pediatrician on the first Thursday and he checked out fine. Scares this Momma though! I visited him at lunch that first Thursday and then picked him up to take him to the doctor, so he didn’t ride the bus home. He was bummed about that – he loves riding the bus and being with his friends. For now we’re just keeping an eye on him.

Check out this handsome boy all ready for picture day at school! He chose this nice button down shirt 🙂

Griffin went to his friend Vinny’s birthday party at a Tae Kwon Do facility and he broke this board! He really had fun – might be our next class enrollment, lol.

We ventured up to Apple Hill Orchard for our annual apple picking with Grandma and Grandpa Beilstein (and apple donuts, lol). It was a busy day as we had soccer and a birthday party in the morning and afternoon before we could leave). We picked a bag full of apples and then the kids chased chickens (literally) and played a bit on the train. We had a tasty brisket dinner and lots of tackling grandpa.

 

Brutus is away at camp and while I don’t hear from his trainer, Jeff, really frequently when I do hear from him the feedback is great! I’m so excited and encouraged to see where he was at 4 days and then again at 2 weeks in the videos below. I’m still uncertain how this will translate to once he’s home and how he’ll listen to us, not Jeff or his other trainers, but I’m hopeful that he will carry his training through to any environment. I asked Jeff about training him regarding people coming to the door/ringing the doorbell as he talked about this during our evaluation at our house. The text he responded with was great!