On top of the world!

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is spending time with my nieces. Watching them learn new things, discover the world around them, and seeing the joy that only little children can experience. I can't wait to watch the girls grow up.

This week I took a couple days off to help my mom after her surgery and also to babysit Leah. The 3 of us piled into Grammy's (my mom) behemoth Town Car and went to Grammy's physical therapy appointment. My Dad happens to work in the same building, so we visited with him for a little while. After that we headed to the library. And finally to MacDonald's.

Leah loves to go to MacDonald's because they have the play space with the big climbing toy. She loves to play with all the kids. But, she has always been afraid to climb up with out someone helping her. But, that all changed yesterday.

Let me just tell you, those things weren't designed for comfort on adults knees. I've got huge bruises from climbing through the play space. But, back to the story. I being an old fogie needed a rest and Leah was tired of waiting for me. After a quick lesson on how to push up with her arms and swing her leg (knee) up to the next step, Leah was off. She was so proud of herself and her new skill that she kept climbing for hours and hours. Up the steps, down the slide, and repeat! I was so proud for her!

Here are a few pictures so you can see our little caterpillar become a butterfly:

A quick update....

Hey gang,

Long time no see. It's been a super busy last couple of weeks. First there was preparing for Christmas (my favorite holiday ever!) Followed by Christmas itself. (You should see the pumpkin my sister made me. Its AWESOME!!!) Then my mom had knee replacement surgery on the Tuesday before New Years. New years snuck past in a blur. And finally I've been helping my mom at her house because she cant drive or stuff like that.

Everything is going well with me personally. I once again started my diet and exercise thing. Can you believe that eating what you want....when you want... how much you want plus not exercising for 2 months causes you to gain weight?? I've been supper strict with myself, but that all paid off when I stepped on the scale and had lost 8 lbs. I've managed (knock on wood) not to get the flu bug that's going around! Yay me!

Work is ok. They're still doing the construction which has cause some interesting moments. I'm still dodging falling debris from the ceiling. And the weekend between Christmas and New Years, a pipe in the ceiling burst and caused a flood in the department. My co-worker walked in and discovered water pouring down the walls, collapsing the ceiling panels, and puddling on the floor. She called maintenance to report the great flood of the Apocalypse and was told to "Put a bucket under it." She responded with a "I don't think you understand, the ceiling is on the floor, a bucket isn't gonna cut it!" We now get a remodel and new carpet throughout the therapy department.

My family is also doing well. As mentioned above, my mom had knee surgery. She's in pain, but doing ok as a whole. She's up and walking around, and even trying to get out of using her walker. Pretty soon, she'll be running laps around us all.

My nieces are growing like weeds. I swear Leah's going to be taller than I am by the time she's 5. She hasn't been able to come visit like she usually does because of mom's surgery, and she desperately wanted to come up to "Grammy's" She even went as far as to draw my brother a map how to get there. Susie is talking up a storm. Bill's gonna have big phone bills from her when she gets older.


Well gang, I have to run. I'm still at mom and dad's house and I need to get on the road back to my apartment before the big snow storm that's for casted hits. Another 2-5 inches is expected. Someone please tell me again why I like living here in Michigan.