MANY HAPPY BIRTHDAYS and some other musings from the middle of the night

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY DAWN!! I thought about you the entire day (well, when I wasn't thinking of Joey and HIS 10th birthday!) I hope you were able to celebrate exactly how you wanted to!!

And yes, Joey turned 10 yesterday! Double digits! How is this happening??!! I am so thankful I still have a little buddy to be able to take treats to for school on his birthday! Vince and he made individual dirt dessert cups on Sunday, complete with worms sticking out, 30 of them, to be exact! When I arrived in his classroom to pass them out before first recess, I barely recognized my own kid! In fourth grade, when you're celebrating your birthday, you can pick out of a box of all sorts of accessories to wear for the day. Joey was wearing some Mardi Gras beads, a pirates patch over one eye, a very tall Dr. Suess-like green and white striped hat with shamrocks all over it and a witches nose, complete with huge wart!! I KNOW I did not send him out the door that morning looking like that!!! (He did, however, leave the house that morning with one black sock and one white sock and said he didn't care. I see some major shades of JOSH coming out in this boy!)

Anyway, THAT was a fun part of my day, let me tell you. After school, he and I went bowling and the kids that were practicing for Special Olympics were all there and we enjoyed their enthusiasm for all their little victories! I recognized a lot of them from the high school (from when I sub in Special Ed) and one of the guys wished Joey a Happy Birthday even! Then it was off to the Latest Craze for some shopping, home for a little homework before Vince got home...then a bike ride with his dad, phone calls from his siblings and other fun relatives, and then we ordered his favorite (and Noah's!) sweet and sour chicken from Chiang Jiang. He also received a Brewers home jersey with Fielder on the back from his illustrious (and INdustrious!) parents and a hot fudge sundae before the day had to be over. He said he hated going to bed that night because that meant his birthday had to be over! (I can remember having birthdays with zeroes at the end...I couldn't WAIT to get into bed so it could be OVER!)

It's interesting how your age affects your perspective on things, isn't it?!

We also had another birthday in our family over the weekend...NICK TURNED 21 !!!!!
Sunday was Nick's birthday and it felt quite odd not to see him on his birthday. Luckily, Meaghan was able to secure a cupcake from the cafeteria at school and then she took it down to Nick while he worked in the convenience store later that day! Yes, he worked on his birthday, did some homework, watched the Packers lose AND he went out with another friend who turned 21 this week to Harry's, to see what the inside of a tavern really looks like! I trust he was responsible since he had classes on Monday AND he had to also work. I am in shock...total shock and denial...that my oldest is now 21! Why, I'm BARELY that myself some days!!

We went out to Mae and Doug's on Sunday to view their finished kitchen and it is ABSOLUTELY beautiful! I didn't recognize a lot of the people there (what?! they know other people besides us Reindl's!!???) but Mom and Dad were there, and Monica and Bill. We got to hear about Lexi's extremely jam-packed week AND the fact that the girl had to get ready for her Homecoming Dance in 15 minutes (AND LOOK BEAUTIFUL, might I add!) I will let Monica blog on here and let you know about that but it was fun to hear how much Lexi is growing up and enjoying high school life!

Back to the kitchen...very, very lovely and you can see that the hard work really paid off. I am sure there will be pictures posted and for those of you that have been there BEFORE the new kitchen, it is QUITE a change. They also celebrated Mary Beth's graduation from MATC and her degree in photography and she had quite a few photographs out of her work...
wow!!! they were all quite stunning and beautiful and it's just very cool to watch someones' talent come out in their art!! Way to go, Mary Beth!

An update on Koda, Joey's little brother...he is doing very well and loves to chew on anything around him!! yikes!! Luckily, we scored a bunch of puppy chew toys from a garage sale ("we'll take the whole box, thankyouverymuch!!!") and I put them in a basket on the floor in the living room. It is absolutely too cute to watch him go over to the basket, and then select one to chew on for awhile! He has been a breeze to, um, potty-train, so in that respect, I LOVE that dog!! I called the people we bought him from and let them know what a fabulously wonderful puppy he has been so far, and they asked us if we were interested in another one!! WHAT?!! No, we did NOT take another little brother for Joey...however, IF someone might be interested, they do have one more available. I'm not sure which one it is (I didn't ask because I don't want to be swayed) but I can assure you this puppy's temperament is very, very sweet.

As far as Joey's other siblings, here's a quick lowdown on each of them...

Meaghan - she actually stayed down in Milwaukee and seems to be enjoying classes (except for Math!) She is one of the only Caucasian people in her Freshman Seminar class, which happens to be a Hmong literature class...who knew!? So it's Meaghan, two other blondes and 26 Hmong people. The cool thing is she LOVES this class and it's her favorite! She actually doesn't mind the dorm life (she has some very cool roommates) and has ventured over to her brother's place to do her laundry, hang out and cook some Ramen noodles! I love hearing from her!

Josh - he is loving apartment life, managing his classes (I think he is only enjoying the finger-picking guitar class on Thursday nights!) AND he got a job at Mamma Mia's pizza place (not far from his house) as an assistant manager. He started there a few weeks ago, learning the cooking, etc. and then he has been working on the managerial stuff. He is the supervisor on the nights he works, which he hasn't quite gotten used to yet. The other night, he asked one of the people if it would be okay if he cooked himself something to eat. And the kid said to him, "How should I know? YOU'RE the boss!"

Nick - he is loving his place too (along with Josh and their two roommates), and is especially enjoying his film classes that he has. He hasn't asked me to be in any of his films yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he recognizes my star potential!! Oh, I am so kidding there! He actually doesn't film people, he is more into the city, nature, etc. scapes (if I understand it correctly.) He has also taken on another job, tutoring kids that come into this pediatric clinic not too far from campus. It's through the university and last year, he did volunteer work at this place for one of his classes. This year, they were offering actual paying jobs to kids with work study money on campus so he jumped at the chance to go back there again. He really enjoys teaching the kids to read and I enjoy the stories he has about them!

People ask us if our house is quiet now, with the three older ones off to college, and honestly, Vince and I will look at each other and say, "What?! Three kids aren't living here anymore??!!" Seriously, as much as I miss the drums and the band and the in-fighting about the bathroom shower, it has been replaced by a new puppy (brother), a fourth-grader taking piano and now clarinet lessons, he also bowls on a league twice a week, Vince and I have re-joined a bowling league we used to be on years ago (every other Friday night and it's smoke-free so it's easier for me to deal with now), and I still play volleyball on a league, plus Vince has been helping with building the Haunted House for the Jaycees (maybe the Rotary, I don't know, but he carpools with Mike Storch and HE got him involved) ... we also have to throw in some visits to Milwaukee, LaCrosse and lunching in Janesville with my mom and sister... oh yeah, not to mention our jobs, so honest to God, it is NOT quiet around here whatsoever.

...and I am so happy about that...

Well, I think I have told you all I know about us so far. (Well, at least what the older kids will share with me, anyway!) I hope you all know that we are thinking of you and always praying that things are going well (and if they aren't going well, that you are at least able to deal with it :) Here's a quote that I found awhile ago that I want to share, by Erma Bombeck ... It goes like this...

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and I could say, "I used everything that you gave me".

love and peace to you all,
~kelly :)