Landon Norris Hooley

OK, since I'm here at the hospital again with Ryan (click on his link to the right to follow his story), I decided there is no excuse for not updating my blog and introducing our newest grandchild.

Landon Norris Hooley was born on October 29, 2008. He shares a birthday (and a middle name!) with his Grandpa De Groot. I was thrilled to be able to fly down the night before Landon's birth to help out with Bailey and Hunter, and to teach preschool for Erin. It was a wonderful two weeks, and I was sorry to see it come to an end. Then again, I was excited to return home to the rest of the family. Have I mentioned that I REALLY don't like not having all of my children/grandchildren close by?!?

Hunter welcoming his baby brother

Bailey is one VERY PROUD big sister!Group shot - How cute are they??? :0)Landon at 2 weeks old

HALLOWEEN 2008

Brandon and I took the children Trick-or-Treating while Erin stayed home with Landon to pass out candy. OK, truth be told...Erin reports that after answering the door only a handful of times, she put the bowl of candy on the porch and went inside to lay down. Smart girl! After all, Landon was only 2 days old!!

Hunter the Giraffe and Bailey the Monkey LOVED Trick-or-Treating!!

Bailey ran from house to house exclaiming,"Grandma, This is SO MUCH FUN!!!" :0Once back home, Hunter wasted no time consuming his "loot"!

MEANWHILE, BACK IN UTAH...

Lia was the CUTEST Pumpkin ever!! And Nina made the most ADORABLE Parrot!! "The Girls" showing off their Halloween attire...

I'm sitting at the hospital with Ryan, who is recuperating from his 4th cranial surgery in the past 16 months. To follow his journey, click on "Ryan's Medical Site" link on the right ->->->.
Start by reading the "My Story" section, then move on to read all of the journal entries. Finally, feel free to leave a message to Ryan in the "Guest Book" section. You can add your email to recieve notifications whenever a journal update is made.

Couch Dusting

When my children were younger, daily chores were given "clearly defining" names. "Bath UP" meant the 2nd floor bathroom, "Bath DOWN" referred to the basement. "Vacuum MAIN" meant just that - vacuum the main floor. "SPOVAC" was the acronym for "Sweep/Polish/Vacuum". "Squirter/Wiper" was my way of saying "spray Endust on the table and wipe it clean." I have to assume that in my quest to be cleverly simplistic, I did my children a great disservice. Here is today's phone conversation between myself and Janelle (age 16), who was helping her friend with a housecleaning job:

J: Hi, Mom. This is Janelle.
Me: Hi Jay!
J: You know how I'm helping Holly clean a house?
Me: Yes.
J: Well, I have a question. What does "dust" mean?
Me: What does dust mean?
J: The list that the lady wrote says to "dust the furniture". How do you do that?
Me: (Laughing) How do you dust the furniture? (I was sure she was kidding!)
J: Yeah. I don't know what she means.
Me: Well, you first spray endust, or whatever cleaner she uses, onto the table and then you wipe all of the dust off until it is clean. OR, you simply wipe the table with a dust rag and no cleaner, depending on what the woman wants.
J: OH! I get it! Thanks, Mom!
Me: You're welcome. Good luck!

I hung up the phone, laughing loudly enough that Ryan came to see what was so funny. After I shared the story of my phone conversation, he had an idea to call Janelle himself. Here is HIS conversation with her:

Ryan: Hi, Janelle!
J: Hi.
Ryan: Mom just made a new job chart.
J: She did?
Ryan: Yeah. On my list of things to do today, it says I have to dust. Do you know what that means?
J: (Chuckling) VERY FUNNY, RYAN! I was confused because I thought that "furniture" meant the couch and I didn't know how to dust it!

HMMmmm....OK...that makes perfect sense now. As soon as Janelle gets home, we're all going shopping for dust rags intended for upholstery.....

Pegasus Lives On!!!

We have a 1993 Honda Civic that my children have lovingly (or not so much) named Pegasus. Now, Pegasus is a staple at our home. She has logged over 210, 000 miles and still purrs like a kitten, thanks to the amazing mechanical proficiency of my husband, Bill! Try as they might to send Pegasus to her final resting place in car heaven, our children have found their efforts to be in vain...time and time again! Worn brakes, leaking radiator, broken window handle, half-shafts, etc. are quickly repaired and/or replaced, much to our children's dismay.

The most recent attempt on Pegaus' life was by Ryan, our 17 year old. With his driver's license barely a month old, he skillfully propelled Pegasus underneath the bumper of a truck, causing the hood to buckle and the front frame to be pushed towards the engine. Once it was determined that no one was hurt, Ryan (with a twinkle in his eye) announced that Pegasus would have to be replaced.

WHAT?!? Did he have a momentary lapse in memory? Apparently he forgot who his father was! Bill the body mechanic to the rescue!

After disconnecting it from the car, Bill banged and bent the hood back into shape (OK, so it's not in the best of shape, but it works!) He then attached a come-a-long to the front car frame AND to a pole in our garage. Sha-Bam! It worked! The frame is now (mostly!) back where it belongs. The hood was reattached, and Pegasus is free to wander the streets again (though still in need of some new headlights).


My favorite part of this story was the look on Ryan's face when he realized that Pegasus does now, and will forever, live on!!

BEFORE and AFTER pictures:

GRANDCHILDREN

Lia Bryn

Born only 20 days after Nina, Lia is our fourth grandchild to easily wrap herself around Bill's and my heart. Although I feel for Keri, who is dreading going back to work at the end of the month, this grandma is excited to spend each Friday with Lia. :0) (Keri will work from home M-Th.)

Nina Mae

With school starting up a couple of weeks ago, and Whitney teaching one class at the High School, I have been able to enjoy some "Grandma Bonding Time" with sweet Nina Mae. We had our first shopping excursion last week....one of many to come! Nina loves to be in the car and is a magnet for other shoppers with her ready smile.

Hunter is a "walker"

Hunter has been walking for over a month now, his newly acquired skill manifesting itself a week before his 1st birthday. I've yet to see him running around in person, so the pictures Erin has sent will have to suffice until I get to visit in November. GOSH, I MISS MY GRANDKIDS!!! :0(

Bailey on the phone

I have to say that being a Grandma is the GREATEST!!! Just this morning, I called Erin. I was pleasantly greeted with "Hi, Grandma!" coming through my cell phone ear piece. Bailey proceeded to tell me what she was eating for breakfast ("pancakes") before instructing me to say hello to Hunter (who was noisily babbling in the background.) Then, she took me on a mini fieldtrip to her bedroom so I could "see" her toy horse (the one I sent in the mail) sleeping on her pillow. Aren't children adorable? After all, Bailey was convinced that if I could talk to her, surely I could see her and her surroundings as well.

On Turning 50

I turned 50 years old on July 6th. There, I've said it! Crazy as it may seem (to me, at least!), I am now 50 years old. As a teenager, 50 sounded so old. I suppose it still does....SOUND old, that is...I surely don't FEEL old.

Well, maybe there are times that I feel old. Like when I get out of bed in the morning and have to stretch my legs and lower back so they will loosen up and (hopefully!) work as they should. Or, when I turn on the car and quickly flip off the "blaring noise" coming from the radio station one of my teenagers was listening to. Or, when I pointed out "Nadia Comaneci" and "Marylou Retton" while watching the Olympics last night and was met with a chorus of "who are they?"

Do the youth of today really not recognize those names? How about "Jim Croce", "Linda Rondstat" and "Carole King"? "The Allman Brothers", "Bay City Rollers" "England Dan and John Ford Coley"? "Captain and Tenille" and "Neil Sedaka"? Am I really dating myself here???

I suppose I am getting older and that's OK! With age comes freedom. Freedom from peer pressure. Freedom to think and act for myself. Freedom to love most and tolerate a few. Freedom not to tolerate at all. Freedom to be truly happy and content. Freedom to be who I really am...a child of the 70's who sat mezmerized by the performances of Nadia Comaneci and Marylou Retton and remembers with great fondness the music of so many talented performers.

Bailey loved helping Grandma blow out her candles!!