The Kassel Family Project Life 365

Laura’s special good morning picture for Daddy…

The awesome….  John is watching his first Star Wars movie!  He LOVES it.  I mean LOVES it.  He is freaking out over the ships, the guns, and Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber.  I think I’m in heaven.  (BTW, Dad, this is my first picture with the Rebel and, oddly enough, I meant for John’s head to be fuzzy while the background is clear!  I’m in LOVE with this camera!)

The not….  After daycare, I needed to stop at Moser’s (a local grocery store) for milk, bread, and pepperoni.  John started to complain that his tummy hurt.  He’s potty training and I figured he had to go the bathroom.  So, I ask, “John, do you have to go potty?”  He says, “Yes, Mommy.”  I take one step and he proceeds to vomit FOUR times.  He finishes vomiting and is crying because he’s covered in it.  Not to mention, it’s all over my hands and the cart.  Despite that, he says, “My tummy feels better now Mommy.”  So.  NOT.  Awesome.

Andy’s Grandfather, Grandpa Blume, passed away early Christmas morning.  He lived a good, long life.  I never knew him well, but I loved Grandpa Blume.  All you had to do was see him with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to know the type of man he was.  They all adored him.  His Memorial Service was today at Geils Funeral Home in Bensenville, IL.  Unfortunately, the kids and I could not attend with Andy.  Kristena did take a few pictures, including one of the altar.  Andy said the service was very nice.  I’m really sorry that I missed it.  I’m grateful that Andy could go and have the opportunity to say goodbye to Grandpa Blume.

While sitting at work today, a memory from the Summer of 2004 popped into my head.  We had gone to the Chicago area to visit Dave, Kristena, and Avry.  We stopped in to see Grandpa Blume for an afternoon.  He was so excited to see us and spent the large part of the afternoon answering tons of questions that Andy had about their family tree.  It was amazing watching Andy in such awe listening to Grandpa Blume.  It was one of those moments that you don’t want to end.  The afternoon flew by and we were all disappointed when it came time for us to leave.  Andy admitted later that he could have sat there for hours longer just listening and taking it all in.  I suspect that Grandpa Blume could have sat for hours longer just talking about it all.  His excitement that someone wanted to know the answers was infectious.  Kristena took this picture on that day.  (No, that isn’t Laura in the picture.  That is Avry as Laura wasn’t even a thought in our minds at that point, though I was surprised to see how much Laura looks like Avry did back then.)

I’m so thankful that I have memories of Grandpa Blume like the one from that sunny summer day in 2004.  Goodbye Grandpa Blume.  We love you and we will miss you.

…oh, how I love you!  Thanks to friends who told us all about Amazon Prime and Amazon Mom, I am enjoying another 4 months of free two-day shipping on anything that is eligible for it from Amazon.com.  That wonderful feature coupled with Amazon’s Subscribe and Save are just brilliant.  We are saving almost $6 per case on John’s Pampers Easy-ups alone.  In this wonderful box, there are another two cases, totalling 144 Easy-ups, and I only spent $38.38.  You can’t buy that particular case size of diaper in the big box stores.  I can only buy cases of 60 Easy-ups and they are roughly $25 per case.  Plus, I don’t have to worry when I get close to running out.  I just log in to Amazon, change my delivery date, get free shipping, and another two cases arrive on my doorstep two days later!  Oh, Amazon Prime, did I mention I love you?????

On another note, please keep Andy in your thoughts and prayers.  He leaves for Chicago later today for the memorial service for Grandpa Blume.  I wish I could go too, but it’s not possible with Laura in school.  He will get to see his brothers (Jim is flying in from South Carolina) and the rest of his family so he’ll have good support.

Thanks to some consulting work that Andy does and to Jenna and Brent for watching the kids, the two of us got a night out sans kids!  The former Dean of the College of Business likes to barter basketball tickets for Andy’s time.  Tonight, we used those tickets and his fantastic parking pass to see the No. 7 ranked Missouri Tigers take on the Oklahoma Sooners in basketball.

The game was fun and the Tigers played well.  They stomped Oklahoma with a final score of 87-49.  We left with about seven minutes to go in the second half because Mizzou was up by 32 at that point.  Andy and I figured that since we had about 90 minutes before we needed to be home that maybe we could actually eat at a restaurant without having to entertain kids!  We headed to Applebee’s for a late dinner.  It was a relaxing time with good conversation.  Sometimes, I think Andy and I forget how important it is to spend time just the two of us.  It was a great night and I’m glad we got the chance to go to the game and have dinner.

…in a galaxy far, far away….

 

While flipping channels yesterday, I came across “The Empire Strikes Back.”  I stopped on the channel because I LOVE the original Star Wars movies (flashbacks to when I was a kid!).  After a few minutes, Laura wandered into the room.  She was immediately curious and began asking questions.  So, yesterday afternoon, she and Andy watched the original Star Wars (that would be Episode IV: A New Hope).  Laura loved it!  Today, they began to watch “The Empire Strikes Back,” but she asked so many questions that we stopped the movie about halfway through.  She was asking questions about the movie, which showed she was paying attention, but you couldn’t actually watch the movie.  I think to finish up the movies, we will just have to turn them on and run screaming from the room!  It’s probably the only way she will shut up!  LOL

Last night was a great night with friends!  The Lowerys, Jenna and the boys, and Jeremy came over to ring in the New Year.  We laughed until our sides hurt and “Giggly Andy” made an appearance.  We ate some great food and we drank some great beer (ahem, B, Schlitz! OK, so maybe it wasn’t all great beer), various malt beverages, and, of course, champagne.  When Andy popped the cork on the champagne bottle, it flew from the kitchen to the back living room wall and then landed about halfway in between.  I’m surprised there isn’t a dent in the wall!  We took some fun pictures (Rachel managed to catch Andy’s and my first kiss of 2012 on camera) and some, um…, interesting pictures that shall never be posted anywhere!  LOL  All in all, we just had a great time laughing and talking.  What a fun way to ring in the New Year!

After wrapping up the festivities a little after 1 am, it was much needed sleep.  I’m happy to report that despite me getting up with the kids at 6 am, we have no hangovers in the household and happy kids.  Happy New Year All!  May 2012 be as great for you as it was ringing it in!