2007 Christmas Card!

Yes, I sent them... they may be a bit late. I'm also getting many "return to sender" cards; I think I addressed them while I was half asleep (commom problem I have).Here is my greeting to you:

Girls Gone Wild...

Oh Crap!

Seriously! 19*1 Bridge is a disaster! I accidentally flushed the top to my deodorant down the toilet... I don't think it made it into the poop tank. I think it is still in the pipes. Great, now I have to go all the way downstairs to pee...

The Anticipation...

I know you can't wait to see the pictures of the "Girls Weekend to Chicago" Sorry... I still am trying to find the time to update. A preview... more to come.



Yes Mother... I am drinking pink water that looks like wine, but it's not!

Real quick: Koch is heading home this week! The plan is to get him home by Friday... we are hoping for earlier! He is doing awesome; spirits are up!

Koch Update:

This is not even an update; this is the first I have shared. Here's the info: Mr. Koch teaches with me, he saves my butt a lot, I love working with him. He also is a big (probably the biggest) drinkin buddy of mine. We have had many chats at Uccellos. Fun times!

Koch was in a car accident last Thursday. He was supposed to meet us at Mr. Curtis' house, then we were heading to some teacher training fun thing. Well... we soon were on our way to the hospital. My first reaction when I saw him was that I was so happy he was alive.
As time has gone by, it hasn't become worse, but the realism of the accident has hit home. To make this short, Koch is at Mary Free Bed where they are kicking his butt... He was transferred on Tuesday. He now attends OT and PT every day... did I mention that they are kicking his butt.

Mr. Curtis and I went to Mary Free Bed this morning to visit. Wow! Has Koch come a long way, and has such a spirit of determination. It has been hard, but he is determined to be home for Christmas!

The accident did some damage to Koch's body, but he is alive. Something I praise God for. He has a broken nose, which is now back to it's normal size, a broken arm, and a broken leg. He had excessive surgury on his leg as his femur broke in 3 places and bits and pieces of everything were inside his leg... shattered bones and pieces of the car.

It will be a healing process that takes lots of work and prayer. I'm so happy to have my friend Koch alive, and soon he will be able to give rides on his wheelchair! I hope!

Our God is an awesome God! Thank God for watching over Koch on this Thursday morning. Thank you Lord!

Brilliant Idea!

My sister-in-law and I are taking the train to Chicago this weekend...

Something new...

Finally, I will show you something new. Not brand new, but new to me. This is my new ride! It's a beast of a car, or truck... whatever it is, it is huge. I'm liking it though.
I towed my trailer for the 1st time yesterday, could not even tell I was towing. This beast is made for towing... it gots power! V8 / 5.4 Power!




I think I can get away with this... I am Polish. I just wonder what people think when they see this beast with a Polish sticker on the back go flying by them. Those crazy P*&#$%! people.

Thanksgiving!

A time to celebrate and thank the Lord for all he has given us. Humbling really.
We had our usual family gathering at Mom's house. Great food, I swear my ma's the best cook. She even made several glutene free dishes that were yummy as well. (My Dad eats glutene free food...)
I didn't get a lot of pictures (only 3), but here are blessings I am thankful for... Notice the sneaky one, with the grin on his face, he is the one that likes to throw sheep at Krissy head... and laugh.

So much knowledge...

Last year as a 5th grade teacher, I learned so much. I could tell you almost anything about the Revolutionary War, or the 5 Regions, how about Economics?
Wow! I learned a lot last year.

This year, as a 6th grade teacher, I'm learning lots about Mexico! Did you know Mexico has 33 states? I did not either...
Of course I needed to bring some art into this unit, plus I just like to have fun... and eat candy! Just like my 6th graders!

"The hills are alive with the...

Sound of Music!


Cool show I went to yesterday at the Civic. Brought me back to my kid days; I loved that movie. It was my 2nd favorite, my 1st was Swiss Family Robinson. I wished I lived in a sweet treehouse!

The New Vitales!

"This is the busiest I've ever seen it. We're actually waiting for a table right now. It's packed," said customer Rick Zeck.

"I think it's awesome. I think it's going to be great for the community around here. Hopefully the same thing in Hudsonville, too. It's gonna be really good. I mean, look at the people here tonight. It's awesome," said customer Don Lipinski.

http://video.woodtv.com/vid.wvx.php?video_id=9230

"My Beautiful Singing Harp!"

Here she is; Jack & the Magic Beans!


More of the 8th grade cast:

The "Big Night!"

Or... big nights. Plural. The first Jack and the Magic Beans plays tonight at 7:30 pm. Wait till you hear Ali, she sings very well. Everyone asks me,"Where did she get that voice? Are you a singer?" Um... No.

So... where did she get it? I hope my siblings can relate, do you remember Mom's awesome voice. In church, she was the best! I think that's where she got it from. Seems she got all her goodness from my Mother... not much goodness from me. Once again, thank you for Moms!

I'll post some pictures of my singing harp... you won't believe how grown up she looks... Amazing! Well, she is going to high school next year.

One more thing... My daughter, full of goodness (and brains) from her Grandmother is a member of the GOLD Honor Roll! This is the second year she has set this goal, the first year she has achieved it. Way to go Ali!

"Hey Glenn!"

Killer Sheep!

Look at the boy... he is awefully cute. Way to cute for his own good!
Look at the way he is sneaking in this picture, thinking it's a picture of him, when it really was to be a picture of the cowboy in the background.

Well..
Saturday night as I am babysitting this cutie, I was attached by a Fisher Price sheep. I was in the kitchen (pouring milk for this joy of a kid) when suddenly I was nailed in the head by this sheep.
Lets not forget... that this is about a 15 foot throw.

Today it is not so bad, the golf ball size welt is shrinking...

As I look at at my 3 sweet nephews (with tears in my eyes) and ask, "What just hit me in the head? Who threw that?"

This middle child speaks up... "I threw Krissy... It's a sheep! Levi Funny! ha ha ha"

Halloween 2007

The last day of October has come and gone, with it, Halloween! As if Ali did not get anough trick or treatin time in at Hoffmaster's Harvest Feast, she did again on Halloween night. Same costume, just a few changes. She wore a Wonder Woman shirt this time, so as not to be confused as Super Woman.
Before we headed to the Butcher's to use their neighborhood as our trick or treatin place, we stopped at Kel-Kel's to see Ali's baby cousins. Cutey!
You may have a hard time telling them apart, just because they grow so fast... Tyler has the orange stripped outfit, while Josie baby is in all orange. Their first Halloween!
And, no I did not dress up, so don't ask who I am supposed to be... I just wore my Johne Deere hat. Why people thought that was dressing up????

6:45 A.M.

Yes... that is the time at this moment. I did a little experiement this week. A healthy experiement. As you know, my biggest weakness, (beside giving into my daughter) is Wine! Yes, Wine... it is marvelous!
My experiemnt is to not drink wine during the week... yes, pretty pathetic experiement. Although, look at the time... I'm ready to go, just sitting here waiting to wake Ali. Now, I doubt that is because I am anxious to get to work.

Another thought for the day: Ali did awesome on a written Lab Report. It was so detailed and descriptive. She followed the rubric, or list of items to include completely. Well, she received the report yesterday, with a grade of 90%. That is great, don't get me wrong. She's a good student.

Yet, as a teacher myself... looking through the rubric the teacher used to assess her report, she had points taken off for items that were not specifically stated in the original rubric that she followed COMPLETELY.
Hello?
You can't do that. If it is not listed, she should not lose points... right? I am debating if I need to have a "little coming to Jesus" with this teacher. I think I may bring myself to that school, and tell him what I'm thinking!
Good Idea?

My Best Friend: Hunter!

Just look at that handsome boy! He is the only "man" in the house... this is a bad thing. I'm starting to think just because he is the "man," he thinks he can do as he wishes.

Friday morning, while I am at work, dealing with 26 kids that all need something... Ali calls. "Mom! Hunter ate your medication. He is on the floor, and can't walk!"
Okay... ah. I calmly tell my daughter not to over-react. (You know how calm I am in times of crisis.)
After calling the vet and telling them what the "man" of our house ate, they told us to bring him in immediately, and asked what the medication was.
Since Ali found the bottle like this:

I had to call my Dr. to get the name of it... you know there is so many, who knows which it was.
Call the vet back, they call their pharmacist. The result: Get him in here now, he may not make it... this medication is toxic.
This just so happens to be the medication that I was only allowed to take as many as needed with me to Poland, as it has HIGH street value. Well, the dog ate at 2 months worth!

To make it quick, Hunter pulled through. I think he is now down to 3 lives as he has already used six. (9 lives)
WOW! That was a great day, an expensive day as well. I'm thinking I may need to get a new best friend...

Almost the end of October...

Can't believe it is almost Halloween, or I mean, Reformation Day. We did our annual Halloween Fest Camping Trip with the regular gang. Fun time it was. I'll post pictures, rather than explaining it all...

Saturday is Activity Day in "the field" Ali, Kennedy and Karl posing with a pumpkin.




The Super Heros! Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin.

Pole Barn Update:

I was told I needed to add some text about the Pole Barn party. Obviously from the slide show you could see what a good time it was... but, I have to say something about it.
The Pole Barn party was a great time had by all. My favorite memory is riding on the wheel base, next to the driver, while everyone was behind us in the make-shift hay-ride wagon. I say "make-shift" as it was constructed of stainless steel.
Pole Barn turned Modern! Odd!

Some random pictures: from Ali!
Crickett


Hunter


Kitty (Bo)


Finally, tomorrow is Friday! The week went fast... does that mean I may be enjoying my job? Mmmm... No, can't be!

Polaski Days begin tomorrow... Since I am a pro when it comes to Polish tradition, I must attend the celebration and drink some...

Then maybe some wine on Saturday! I have a feeling this weekend will go way to fast!!!

Hangin' in there...

Yes, we are still here. Just busy... it is so true that there are not enough hours in the day. Tonight is the 2nd night I was left in a dark backyard trying to finish my never-ending yardwork. At least this time I wasn't trying to mow the lawn... it's hard to cut straight, then diagonal in the dark.
If only my John Deere had headlights!

Of course... Jr's does! His also has a plow, but we won't get into that.
In fact, there are tractor races this weekend. Jr has been telling me I gotta go... AND race! Well, since MY John Deere rocks (even though it is missing headlights) I will not be attending the races. I feel it would be a low blow for the others when my STX 38 flies by them... driven by a chic!

I'm hoping to spend some girl time with my bestest friends. Once school starts, I become a hermit. (I think that's the right term - hermit?) Anyways, I'm sure it's not, but my point is... I'm going away, maybe Petosky, or Pentwater, I don't remember which one, but it starts with a P.
I hope it works out, I spend all summer with Culio and Kathy Jo, then become a hermit?? when school begins.
I'm also 31 now... time for relaxation and wine drinking with the best of company.

Rock On!




Yea... pretty random I am tonight. Maybe 1 more glass of wine!

Pole Barn Party Style!

Ali 4 Secretary!

After Ali gave her well-written speach on Friday, her peers elected her as 8th grade secretary. It only took about $30 worth of candy to bride the others into thinking Ali was the best candidate. Politics... the same anywhere.

While Ali was voted in as secretary, I turned 31! It was way easier then last year, the BIG 3-0... still another one bites the dust.
After school I had some drinks with co-workers, then Nick came, then my brother-in-law, then my bestest friends, Kathy and Julie. Later Nick and I met my sisters downtown and ate at XO Cuisine. I'm not sure about the others, but I had a load of fun! The bottles (not glasses) of wine may have added to my enjoyment.
And... do you wanna know what i got for my birthday? It's exciting... and NO, it is not a ring. I'll post some pictures.


Before I turned 31!




After I turned 31!




My mom absolutely loves it, she's thinking she may get some Barb-Wire around her arm! Wouldn't that be cool!

Schools In!

We have officially began the 2007 / 2008 school year. Besides me teaching Sixth Grade now, Ali is completing her last year at WSCS. Next year it's HIGH SCHOOL! The fourth generation has completed her time at WCSC. Wow, that's my baby! I still can clearly remember my mom laughing at me as I mumbled, "What have I gotten myself into" as a contraction was killing me. Can't forget to add the drive to the hospital, where my mother hit ever bump possibly...
What would I do without my mother?

Besides all that, Ali is completely involved with school already. Play try-outs were the 2nd day of school. Ali is the "Singing Harp" in WSCS's 8th grade play, "Jack and the Beanstalk."
I tried to find a picture of the singing harp, this is what I found.



Now, let's cover 8th grade elections. Ali has been in Student Council for the last 2 years as her Class Representative. Now as an 8th grader, there are 3 positions to fill; President, Treasurer and Secretary. Hers is one of Ali's millions of voting propaganda. Also, since when do students have to be bribed with candy?


That's all for now, hoping to have another successful week at school. Both Ali and I.

The Whitecaps!

Friday night I went to my first Whitecaps game. The entire family was there. Jr. came a bit late, but we won't talk about that as his temper was exploding a bit earlier. All was good though by the time he got to the game!
Lucky Richard got to throw the first pitch, the first pitch of the last Whitecaps game. I so wanted to be out there, it would have been sweet with my pink glove...

After the first inning, we had a tour of the stadium... backstage. We saw where the media does their thing, the "clubhouse," or rather locker room and ended up in the tunnel leading to the dug-out. Close up of the Whitecaps... very nice looking.
Got some pics!