Fun, fun, fun

This is John waiting for the meal




And my brother Jimmy




And this would be Sarah, off in my sister's room, having some quiet time in her pajamas at the end of the day, watching a dvd




In this photo is my Jimmy, his girlfriend Samantha, and my nephew Brian




And here is my sister, Ali, after the meal, making coffee...and my brother in the background cleaning up-what a guy!




Hanging out is my Jimmy, cousin Brian, cousin Gavin and my John




And finally, a pretty picture of the table set before dinner. We had Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. She lives a few streets over from me. It was a good time. She has 3 sons, I have 2 sons and then there is my Sarah. The only girl grandchild. A rose among the thorns. It was so good to have everyone together.

Once upon a time my sister and I had 5 little boys. With high voices, skinned knees, sweaty tshirts and messy hair. And now they are almost all grown. With deep voices, loud laughter, and many opinions. One has an earring, two have girlfriends, one plays a mean saxaphone, one is a college dude, four are taller than their mothers and one is sporting an interesting style of facial hair. Quite a cast of characters. And luckily, all great kids/guys. Everyone gets along and looks forward to seeing each other. Right now they range in age from 11-23. And we are thankful to have every single one of them.

Ready...Set...

GO! The front yard is raked. I cut Sarah's hair. I made it to the food store. John's sheets are freshly washed and on his bed. I highlighted my hair. Got the new phone. And Sarah and I are all better with no time to spare! We are good to go. Tomorrow afternoon we head to the train station to pick up John. Jimmy will be rolling in shortly thereafter. Sarah will be beside herself. Very exciting for us girls! Get ready for lots of pictures.

So much to do...

...and pretty much unable to leave the house. We are still sick and slowly on the upswing, but 's-l-o-w-l-y' is the operative word here. We are not better yet. We are both on antibiotics. I can slink out to work and back again but that's about it. Sarah made it out once this week to the pediatrician and that was enough for her. It is very cold and windy on Cape Cod right now.

(I am watching Regis And Kelly at this moment and 'Il Divo' are on, singing opera along with bagpipes. Let me just say, there is nothing like the sound of bagpipes. so beautiful and dramatic. But, I digress...)

Back to the issue at hand. We are stuck inside and there's so much to do before the boys get here and Thanksgiving rolls in. These are the places I need to go: the mall for a new phone, the grocery store for the obvious food stuffs, the local garage for an oil change(way overdue-light blinking!), the front yard and the back yard to rake all the leaves that have fallen in the past 2 months.
Now, I am aware that some of these things could be put off until after the holiday. But the one ingredient that I have not mentioned is that I am very OCD, which basically means that until I can get these things done I am going to obsess over them. Over and over they will run through my brain like a tickertape. I cannot shut it off. I have tried. Not happening.

So here I sit. Doing nothing. Trying to feel good that Sarah is tucked into her warm comfy bed with her pajamas on and the vaporizor running for a morning nap, instead of bundled up and being dragged about town by her crazy mother. I am trying to feel good about this. Really.

Sarah's Angels

Hanging over Sarah's bed is a trio of "Angels". My sons have corrected me by saying they are doves but I see them as angels.
When I was expecting Sarah all those years ago, I was shopping in a little Christmas store and there in a clear bag, tossed in the 'clearance box', was a blue cloud. I picked it up, turned it over and saw the 3 angels attatched to the cloud. I loved it and wanted it to hang over my baby's crib.
So, the day the crib was assembled, the angels were placed overhead. There was no need for a typical baby mobile. And everytime Sarah was placed in the crib either myself or Jimmy or John would spin the angels for her to see. Sarah soon learned to anticipate their movement and would excitedly look up each time she was put in her crib.
When Sarah was moved to a bed, the angels were hung right over it. When we changed homes 2 years ago, the angels had to be found, unpacked and hung that first night as she could not settle until she saw them above her.
The interesting thing is that Sarah is legally blind. She is terribly nearsighted. She has no depth perception. She does not wear any corrective lenses in bed. She cannot see anything in her day to day routine without her glasses or contacts in. And yet, she 'sees' her angels with her plain naked eyes.

Let's get this over with

There's a little over a week left until the boys land. And Sarah and I are sick. The only bright spot I see is that we should be feeling better by the time they get here! Isn't that encouraging news?
For now we are miserable. Fevers, aches, colds, restless nights. And my hair has gone totally crazy from the humidity of the vaporizer. I've been sick about a week. Sarah's illness just started. She is a much better patient than I am. More pleasant and accepting of her plight. I am more of a whiner, a complainer. Of course I am the one doing all the work around here while Miss Sarah gets waited on. There is THAT teensy little detail :)

A good weekend

It was so good to have John home. We had no plans, just hung around and relaxed. He looks great and seemed to have been refreshed by the time spent at home. Sarah was thrilled to see and hear him, and of course, his cat, Mia, was beside herself with excitement :)

There IS hope!

Woohoo! John!

I just got a call from my college boy and he is coming home this weekend!!!! He is catching the train in NYC and heading up the coast on Friday! I will pick him up in Providence, RI at noon. I haven't seen him in over 2 months. He misses us :)
I am so excited. Now I get to go to the store and buy his favorite goodies. I get to spoil him. He wants to see the ocean. I totally get that. A boy after my own heart. He is so much me.

"Coach Jimmy"