Pampered Pooch

The Aftermath

So, the official statistics have us getting 6.5 inches yesterday.


Let's look for a bright side... shall we:  Appleton got 9 inches....Green Bay got 10 inches.... so it could have been worse, right?


Who am I kidding... I cannot find a bright spot in this.


And to top it all off my son wakes me at 7:15 this morning because he missed the bus...so I get up...get dressed... put contacts in....brush teeth... and head downstairs... only to find out........ his school had a two hour delay and he did not miss his bus after all!


Oh well... it can only go up from here...right?

April 19th..... No Really It Is

 These pictures are not from December, or January, or February, or even March.


Nope... these pictures are from today... April 19th.


Anyone who knows me well  knows how I feel about this.


I simply have no words!!!!!!!

 And I believe this is only the beginning of the snowfall we shall be expecting today.

April.....Really????

..WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON 
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... 

A WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON 
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. 

* A BAND OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHERN WISCONSIN 
TUESDAY MORNING...AND THEN SLOWLY PUSH NORTH OVER CENTRAL AND 
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN MIDDAY ONWARD. THE SNOW COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES 
LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY NIGHT...BEFORE DIMINISHING 
WEDNESDAY MORNING. 

* THE STORM IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A BAND OF 6 TO 10 INCHES OF WET 
PACKING-TYPE SNOW. ALTHOUGH STILL SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN...THE MOST 
LIKELY SCENARIO IS FOR THE HEAVY SNOW BAND TO SET UP JUST TO THE 
NORTH AND WEST OF GREEN BAY AND THE FOX CITIES. LOCATIONS NEAR 
LAKE MICHIGAN WILL SEE THE LOWEST AMOUNTS...DUE TO THE WARM 
LAKE AIR KEEPING TEMPERATURES JUST ABOVE FREEZING. 

* SINCE THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL...A 
WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR THE ENTIRE AREA. BE 
SURE TO MONITOR LATER FORECASTS WHICH WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE 
MORE DETAILED SNOWFALL ESTIMATES. 

* HEAVY SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL TO BECOME EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AS 
ROADS BECOME SNOW OR ICED COVERED. HEAVY SNOW COULD ALSO REDUCE 
VISIBILITIES TO A QUARTER OF A MILE OR LESS AT TIMES. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... 

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT 
SNOW OR SLEET ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO 
MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS. 

More Basketball

Time for the father/son basketball game again.


Remember last year?


This year... they moved it to April to coincide with their annual Open House.


Also, this year Jerry was able to go.

The first game was actually the fourth graders but Jerry still played since there were not enough fathers present for that game.


Then it was time for Zack's game.

Zack did the opening jump ball....

...and scored the first two points of the game.

And who won?   The little boys... not even close!   Okay, they did have a little help from the refs... and even from the father's once in awhile... but they had FUN!  




After his game was over, we stayed to watch the girls play, the 7th and 8th grade boys play, and the high school boys play.  A very fun evening.

Three and Three

Before there were these three:

There were these three:

Who now look more like this:

These three boys took up much of my time while I was younger... and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  The one on the left is the oldest (this photo was taken at his wedding) and I began watching him when he was just 8 months old.  Only from time to time at first...  but as the years progressed and the other two came along, I helped rear them four nights a week....including feeding them dinner and putting them to bed... and all day on Saturdays, while their parents were starting up a business.  I did this for 8 years until I was married and had my own children.
These three (and their parents) became like family!  I hauled these boys all over the city of Oshkosh while babysitting and grew to love them as much as you can love kids who aren't your own.


Now that I have my own kids, I sometimes feel overwhelmed at the depth of trust that their parents had in me while I was still just a teenager.... sometimes traveling for days at a time entrusting them in my care.  I didn't really understand that depth at the time.  For me it was just fun... a bit like playing house...but now!!!  Wow!!! 


I'm not sure where I am really going with this except that today I attended a baby shower for the oldest one's baby.  And again, I felt overwhelmed and so,so gracious and  grateful that I was able to be a part of their lives.  

The Upside To Eating Alone

I get to make all the foods that my picky family won't touch.


First, two filets of tilapia - dipped in egg and coated in crushed pecans.

Then, asparagus, brushed with olive oil and sprinkled  with sea salt and pepper.

Bake at 400* for about 15 minutes and................ viola!

Oh my goodness.... yummy!  And I have enough leftovers to bring for my lunch tomorrow : )


And just because he has been my only constant companion for the past 6 days:

Don't ya love how his under bite makes it look like he is smiling?