Rascal Takes One For The Team ...

Dave has been doing some fix-up-the-house jobs trying to get ready for the next phase of our move -- having inspectors, appraisers, and Realtors in to give us the bottom line.

He's been staining the railings on the staircase and today we had a little mishap that could have been a catastrophe had Rascal not been in just the right place at just the right time.

As Dave moved the tea table that had the staining brush on it, the brush went flying and landed handle first (thankfully) on the carpet. It then fell over -- right onto Rascal's head! It fell from there onto the carpet but most of the stain had landed on poor Rascal. We were able to get the stain out of the carpet but weren't quite so lucky with Rascal's head.

Thank goodness he's going to see Jessie next week!

Minwax Gunstock -- a great look!

Sweet Look Rascal!

The Christmas Bug Strikes Again ...

Late Christmas night, poor Dave was hit by what we had now dubbed "The Christmas Bug". It lasted for a couple days and it was wicked.

Poor Bree was hit as well ... but not nearly as bad. She mostly had body aches and chills. Lucky -- if you can call it that.

Needless to say the plans to get together as a family with Mom on Saturday flew out the window. I felt like I'd been spared since I was still feeling half-way decent. Meanwhile the Country Place Paines were definitely under the weather.

I went to work on Monday but wasn't feeling great. Just a queasy stomach here and there. Still I thought I'd just gotten off with a touch of the bug. Ha!

Later that night I got to experience the gift that everyone else in the family has already enjoyed ... and yuck. It was NOT fun.

Monday night and Tuesday are kind of a blur but I'm feeling better today (Wednesday.) Still -- I didn't go to work and I sensed they weren't too thrilled about that but it hasn't been until this evening that I've actually started to feel somewhat normal. I'll be going in tomorrow and praying that Shannon hasn't come down with this yucky bug ... and there I'll be working on New Year's Eve all alone!

We are hoping to get together with the Twin Oak Paines tomorrow evening to finally give William his gifts and then with any luck we'll head out to see Mo on Friday afternoon.

Now -- the new year is upon us and there is SO much to do! Is it even possible that we'll be ready to have appraisers and inspectors in here any time soon?

Christmas Day 2009!

Since Josh and Jess were still recovering (as were the Hortons) we picked up Mom and paid a short visit to the Twin Oak Paine's house. What fun!

Santa brought William a train table and it was a major hit! He spent the entire day playing with his trains. He did take a few minutes out here and there to open a few more presents, to show us how he can pucker up and give kisses, and to read his favorite new book (Bear Stays Up For Christmas) with GG (Great Grandma Paine.)

Some pics and a video of the day:

William loves his puzzles!

I can't resist a pictures of Cheeks!

So serious!

The Scowl!

Playing with the train table ...

William loves his new book - Bear Stays Up For Christmas

Reading with GG ...

William has learned to pucker up!

The Christmas Bug Hits ...

Low and behold, on or about December 21st the Christmas Bug hit the Twin Oak Paine's house. Poor William! Josh heard him cough and checked on him only to discover he had thrown up all over his crib. A quick clean up and they brought him into bed with them.

Big mistake.

Three sheet changes later William finally had it out of his system ... but our little guy was still so sick! And just before Christmas.

Next up was Josh and then Jessica. I got a call on Wednesday after getting home from work asking if we could take William for the night. We ran up and got him and had a great evening with him. We could tell he still wasn't 100% but he was so much fun.

Unfortunately I had to work Christmas Eve day but Dave and Bree were home so William had lots of fun playing with everyone. Since I didn't get to grocery shop as planned on Wednesday night, Dave and Bree went and brought William with them. In fact, they even stopped by the bank and said hello! A nice treat for me.

Josh picked him up that afternoon and our Christmas Eve plans continued. We went out to see my mom for a bit then picked up Mom (Glennys) to come back to our house for dinner and "It's A Wonderful Life". Josh and Jess had planned to spend the evening with the Horton's but that was cancelled because the Christmas Bug visited their house too. We had a nice evening and ... yay! ... we all slept in!

Stay tuned for Christmas Day!

Next Up ... Jim Brickman

A couple months ago I saw that Jim Brickman was coming to Rochester with his holiday tour. I thought this might be a really special treat for Dave and I to enjoy. We seldom put enough time aside to just sit back and take in the sights and sounds of Christmas and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.


I am so glad I bought the tickets when I did. We had great seats. And the show was fantastic.

Jim played a lot of holiday songs but also included a lot of old favorites. There were several songs from his new "Beautiful World" CD as well.

The show featured several other artists -- Tracy Silverman who played the electric violin (absolutely beautiful but one display of his Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, and Metallica abilities was plenty) as well as vocalist Anne Cochran. Mark Masri (what an incredible tenor) was also part of the show.

While Silverman's violin was beautiful and the vocals were great -- I wish there had been more of just "Jim" playing piano ... without accompliment by others. The songs he played on stage by himself were the best part of the show as far as I'm concerned. There really wasn't a need to devote so much of the concert showcasing the talents of his guests (Silverman in particular.)


All in all it was a wonderful evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and will enjoy listening to his CDs all the more having seen him in person.

Life Has Been A Little Crazy ...

I'm trying to remember how long it's been since I've blogged about life in the Paine household. I guess it was probably around Thanksgiving. Well, a lot has happened since then!

With all that we have going on in trying to clean out the house and get ready to put it on the market, about the last thing we needed was a car accident or sickness.

We got both.

On December 12th, Dave had breakfast with the GOBS guys and then came home for a short reprieve before going to meet the guys from his fantasy golf group up at The Distillery. Fate had other plans.

He was at the Ridge Road West/390S exit ramp and was turning onto Ridge Road when a woman ran the stop light. She hit the car next to Dave broadside (the car in the inside lane) and then that car was pushed into Dave (who was in the center lane.)

While Dave made out the best of all (the others were injured and I'm guessing their cars were totaled) he still had over $3,000 in damages. Dealing with the insurance companies and collision shop took up the majority of his week and of course, we were without a car. No fun for anyone -- especially at Christmas time with so many things to do. As of this writing, the VUE is still in the shop, but maybe, just maybe it will be ready tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath.

Here's a couple pictures of our poor VUE:




She is currently at Brother's Collision Shop on Lake Ave. Did I mention they said possibly tomorrow? Yeah. Thought so.

So believe it or not, Dave drove the VUE home. I couldn't believe it. I was waiting for him to call me back (he called and said he'd been in an accident, was going to try to get out of the car, would call me back -- then didn't) and finally told Bree to stay by the phone while I drove up there to meet him.

Imagine my surprise to get a call from Bree saying he was home. Geez.

Anyway, we had originally planned to meet Josh and Jess at Toys R Us to pick up some gifts for William. Believe me, it's a blast to let him loose in a toy store and that's a "gift" to us! Since there was nothing we could do about the car (Dave called the insurance company and not much can happen on a weekend) we hopped in my car and kept the date. Afterwards we headed to Sticky Lips for BBQ. It was so much fun! The food was great and I think nothing could have salvaged Dave's rattled nerves quite as much as sitting across from William and watching him eat!

So ... that was December 12th. So much more has happened but I think I'll make it another post!

Mom's 85th Birthday!!

We had a nice breakfast this morning (well, this afternoon) with mom. She's 85 today!

We made Belgian waffles and topped them with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! And then had chocolate cake. Talk about having a little bit of sugar ... yikes!

But it was all good. We enjoyed watching William play and entertain us as he showed us that he can find the letter "O", pick out the "owl" from amongst the pictures on the page and that he can actually say "owl" now! He's so advanced for his age :)

Can't believe I didn't take a picture of Dave and Mom together. That was my intention. I just got busy. But here are a couple pictures from the day ...

Daisy trying to give Grandma a birthday present.

Mommy whispering to William to go and tickle Daisy.

It's like looking at the past and the future at the same time.

Irresistible.

Playing with the See and Say ... fun!

P.S. Thanks for doing the egg run Bree! Couldn't have done waffles without you :)

No Pictures ... BUT ...

I'm kicking myself (ouch!) that I didn't think to bring my camera with me yesterday morning when I met Marilyn, Fay, and Jill for breakfast at the Hilton Diner. Talk about going back to happy times with some good friends ...

Fay was in town for the holiday and her 30th class reunion so we snagged her and made her get up early and meet us. Even though the waitress couldn't seem to get her order right (well, that first omelet was most certainly right. Unfortunately someone else got it who probably DID want mushrooms and peppers. The second attempt wasn't too difficult to maneuver was it? Picking the mushrooms and peppers out?) And at least the pie could be put in a box ...

Anyway, we had fun chatting for a few hours. We were so glad that Jill could get herself ready and to the diner lickety split after both Marilyn and I forgot to call her with the details. Oops. Sorry about the mix-up Jill!!

So after hearing all about what's been happening in Fay's life (she is very happy these days!) Marilyn dropped me off and I proceeded to accomplish a whole lot of nothing before going to Marilyn and Bill's house last night for snacks, Taboo, and Scrabble. After lots of laughs, too many snacks, and not enough sleep --

I am now getting ready for birthday waffle time. Still don't know if Josh and Jess will be joining us but hopefully we'll be able to celebrate Mom's birthday with a few of us here. We'd love to see William today.

I am planning on a full afternoon of laundry, shopping, and filling up garbage cans. Hopefully some cleaning will also get done. We had the piano tuned the other day and it sounds wonderful. Now we just have to figure out the best place to list it.

Enough of this for now. Maybe there will be some birthday pictures to post later :)

Let's Watch Football and Eat Chili ...

It totally amazes me (and everyone else I suspect) how the Bills can shoot themselves in the foot (feet?) week after week. Today was no exception as they managed to let Jacksonville score with only about a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Despite a less than exciting football game, we had lots of fun watching William play with his blocks and trucks. He munched on animal crackers and teddy grahams and even had a bowl of chili!

It's been a busy weekend ... I had to work Saturday until 1:00 and then came home to help with the window washing. We worked on it some more this morning and have the whole downstairs done. Last night we went to Lowes and looked into countertops and options for tub replacement. We picked up stain samples in hopes of getting the railings in the foyer taken care of. It won't be long before we're painting. I made arrangements to have the piano tuned so we can sell that ... all these little (and BIG) things to do!

Here are a few sweet pictures of William from today:

Playing the piano ... banging on those keys is so much fun!

Cheeks reading "That's Not My Snowman" ...

It's fun to climb on the table and knock all the blocks down!

Playing with the wooden car Poppy made for Josh 28 years ago.

Aunt Bree shared her Teddy Grahams and William was SO happy!

We bought Will's sweatshirt the day Josh graduated from Bonaventure!
I am certainly going to miss hanging with the family on Sunday afternoons when we move to Massachusetts!

Sorta Silly Stuff ... (Or Not)

Found this little cartoon online and it gave me a chuckle ... and a reminder to stick to driving when I'm driving :)

I'm Looking Forward To Thanksgiving ...

... and getting out of work early on Thanksgiving Eve ... it really feels like a holiday when they close the bank early.

... and making stuffing using mom's recipe. I almost always end up eating half of it (raw) on Thanksgiving morning ... to me that's the best part of the meal!

... and spending some time with Mom -- maybe I'll get out there early enough to see the Macy's Day Parade!

... dessert. Bree is making Apple Crisp!

... and cuddling with William again. Rocking him til he fell asleep Sunday evening was a little taste of heaven and who doesn't want a little taste of heaven on Thanksgiving?

Sometimes when there is so much "now" stuff happening, it's nice to look ahead to all the sweetness that's just around the corner.

Life is good.

William In The Fall -- Playing In The Leaves ...

We had some fun with William this morning. This time it was my chance to babysit as Papa was out with his buddies doing the GOBS thing ... (Grandfathers Only Breakfast Series.)

We started out a little rough with tears as Daddy left (we don't take it personally ... we know it's just a phase Will is going through) and while he wasn't *happy* -- we did manage to get him calmed down by putting on his favorite TV program (Super Why) and popping a donut hole in his hand. He snuggled with Grandma for an hour and then started playing with his blocks.


He loved his new book "That's Not My Snowman!" and had fun playing the piano. But a few too many passes through the foyer and seeing his coat and hat got him going again. He stood at the front door and was pulling on it while saying "Open!" (well, it started with O ... we think he was trying to say "open".)

So on went the coat and hat and William and I went outside for a walk. He loved being outside and we managed to take in quite a bit of the neighborhood. He met Mario but Bernie (the dog in the yard next door to Mario's) barked and scared Will. So we headed home just in time to find Papa. We decided to go back outside since we knew Daddy was coming soon and Will wouldn't let us take his hat off :)




Once Daddy arrived Will cheered up considerably and we had some fun playing in the leaves ...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no ... no

Sweet William.

He now says "No." Well, he said "No" before but now he says it repeatedly ... as in "No, no, no, no, no." And he means it.

It was not the best of mornings for our little guy. Mommy had stuff going on and Daddy wanted to play basketball with the guys so they thought it would be fun to have William come over and have breakfast with Papa, Auntie Bree, and GG-Paine. (Grandma Mema unfortunately had to work and was very sad that she could not join in the fun ...)

William, however, didn't think it was such a great idea. Even chocolate donut holes didn't help, although they were tasty and the crumbs stuck to his sweet little lips and cheeks long after the donut hole itself was gone.

According to his daddy, William was grumpy before he ever arrived at our house. He just wasn't happy and he wanted his mommy. So when daddy left he cried. He went and stood by the door. He put his bus by the door. He wanted his hat on ... (everyone knows that when it's time to leave you put your hat on.) And he pouted.


There were not a lot of smiles this morning. Papa captured a couple pictures of Will with his hat on, but they didn't include his cheerful grin.



Hopefully Josh will bring William with him tomorrow when he comes to help put up the shutters. And Mema will get to see him and love him up and maybe there will be a few smiles. We still have some donut holes after all.

Things That Go Bump In The Night ...

Or at least Little Bats that like to fly around saying "Boo!"

This morning Dave and I, Aunt Barbara, Lesley and Andrew, Jessica and Will, Glennys, and brother Dan got together at Lakeside to visit mom and have some Halloween treats. Little did we know the "trick" was on us!

When Dave, Glennys, and I arrived upstairs to see mom and grab a room we were informed that the hospital had mandated that no children under age 18 could be allowed on the floors due to the H1N1 virus. Of course, we knew that Andrew and William were already on their way.

Thankfully, the nurse at the desk called down and got permission for us to meet in the cafeteria. Actually, I think that worked out better as we were able to all gather around a table and had a place to set out the cider and donuts!

Here are a few pictures to remember the day. William loved his new books and his box of animal crackers. He especially liked the donut holes!

Mmmm ... donuts

First we have some donuts ...

Cousin Andrew is missing some teeth!

Chatting around the table ...

Did someone just eat a sugar donut?

Tickling Cousin Andrew!

William gets a new book and it's DEAR time -- Drop Everything And Read!

Reading "Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin" ..

Aunt Barbara knows how to make Will giggle -- just say "Boo!"

Even Little Bats know how to giggle!

Tonight William is going to go to Trunk or Treat at The Father's House church in Chili. Then I suspect the Little Bat costume will be retired for another time. But the bat ears may stick around -- Jessica says Will loves to wear it around the house!

Daniel's New Library Decoration ...

It's amazing the things you'll find on the shelves in the library ...



Silly dog!

Halloween Sneak Peek ...

William (a.k.a. Little Bat) went to "Trunk or Treat" at church last Sunday. Auntie Bree joined in the fun and snapped a whole bunch of adorable pictures. So -- here's a sneak peek of our sweetie pie:

In the bounce house ...

Another bounce house pic ...

Our favorite Little Bat ...

Flap your wings Little Bat!

So you hold your pumpkin out ...

mmm ... donuts

Such a fun day ...

Stay tuned for more pictures of Little Bat visiting the great-grandmas on Halloween!