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The Banik Blog
(Yes, I
have cheapened myself by calling this page the "blog" page. It
will contain past "recent news" and will hopefully on day appear on Google
searches under keywords "Banik Blog.")
Memorial Day
Monday, May 25, 2008
Obviously its been awhile since the last post.
Grandma passed away on April 17th. I still struggle
with it. I know she was ready, we knew it was coming, but it
doesn't change the fact that I catch myself thinking "I haven't
called Grandma in a few weeks--I gotta remember to do that" or
"We'll have to stop in at Grandma's on the way back from the
museums...." Like Stacy said, she was the glue for the Banik
family.
But life goes on.
Theodore and Preston are playing
baseball. Theodore is in his first year of "kid pitch" and
Preston is in his first year of "coach pitch." I posted
pictures from Opening Day. Last day of school is Wednesday,
May 28.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
First, apologies to "Team
Stomkie." I should have posted this weeks ago...
Congratulations to Stacy and Tom who are the proud parents of
the baby formerly known as "Ellis": Owen Thomas Reaney born
March 29, 2008, 7lbs 8oz, 21 inches.
I knew it was inevitable. There was no way I
was going to make it all the way through the winter without getting
sick. Flu and head cold. Fever of 102.5 at its peak, and
"violent" sneezing and runny nose. I won't gross everyone out
with details, but there was a stretch on Thursday night where I hit
a sneezing fit of probably 30 in a row. Around number 25 my
nose started to bleed from both sides! That freaked me
out...and left a heck of a mess to have to clean up. As of
today, the fever has subsided but I still ache in the back.
Runny nose is turning into sinus and likely ear infection.
Joy.
Kids are wrapping up Spring Break today.
We did nothing fancy. Theodore did have baseball try-outs back
on "Owen Day" (March 29) so we should be hearing from the kids'
coaches soon about baseball practices. Of course, today is
hardly baseball weather with temps in the low 30s and snow currently
falling.
A quick follow-up on Grandma Banik for
those who read my 2/20/2008 post. Things have deteriorated
significantly. Steph and I visited her on March 29. We
had about a solid hour of "good time" with her. By the time we
left, however, she was asking for pain meds and was very tired.
She cannot get around anymore without assistance. Steve and
Katie saw her on April 6 and Steve said she was doing well for
about 30-45 minutes. From what I understand, Stacy and Tom
brought baby Owen Thomas Reaney to Hammond on Monday
(Sunday?) and Grandma held him and beamed with pride. My mom
said it was a heartwarming moment. Since then, Grandma's
"awake time" has reduced significantly.
Last thought, the basement... Started
working on the ceiling tiles. Would have been done today had I
not gotten sick, but Steph has moved her sewing stuff down there
anyway.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter. Bummed about Purdue,
not surprised by ND. Pleased for Wisconsin and Michigan
State...and man did Indiana look horrible. At least I was able
to watch the games in glorious HD on our new 40' 1080i Samsung LCD
tv. People say I go a little over the top for the opening
rounds of the NCAA tournament. I'll let you be the judge (see:
Random March Photos).
Pictures have been updated. That's all for
right now.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Happy 7th Birthday to Preston!
Unfortunately, once again he is spending it at home with hives.
Here's the scoop... As some of you may remember, exactly one
year ago today Steph, Theodore, Preston and I were dealing with
Preston's first
allergic
reaction to amoxicillin. In June 2007, allergy tests
confirmed he was NOT allergic to any antibiotics. Since then,
he has had strep a couple of times and been on amox each time.
This most recent time (approx 3 weeks ago) he took his 10 day dose
and the strep didn't completely go away. So the doctor phoned
in a followup prescription of amox about 5 days after we ran out.
Three or four days into the new prescription, the hive started
again.
Long story short, he has had them pretty bad for
the past 24 hours. He and I spent the better part of 4 hours
today at the South Bend Clinic (because of a congestion and 102
fever last night) where we were pleased to find out he no longer has
strep...but unfortunately he has influenza. We are mixing him
a cocktail of ibuprofen for his fever, Tamiflu, Zyrtec for the hives
and Delsym for the cough. Right now I feel as though we are
singlehandedly keeping the healthcare industry afloat.
To make matters worse, Steph has had the
flu now since Sunday of last week. Although she seems to have
finally turned the corner on the fever, it would appear she has
picked up my head cold of last week.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Belated Happy Birthday to Stacy. I
think we are hitting that age where I am not supposed to broadcast
how old she is this year.
Go Boilers! Although we played horribly on
offense last night and struggled from the charity stripe, I'm still
pleased we are in position to win out.
For those who don't know, Grandma Banik
isn't doing so well these days. The boys, Steph
and I went out there to see her this past Sunday. She was
doing surprisingly well, I thought, given the condition of her
health. She was laughing and the boys...and Donna.
It was a surreal atmosphere for me. Chuckie has moved
in up in the attic and has a his "bachelor pad" all set up.
There's cable tv and wifi at Grandma's now!!! Donna was over
with Ed and Mikey. Donna and Mike were outside
"pushing water"--yes, pushing water. (Heavy rains resulted in
flooding of the sidewalk.) Ed was cooking lunch. Lunch
was nearly ready and Ed has me yelling outside to Donna and Mikey to
quit screwing around and get inside to wash up. Chuck was up
in his room playing around on the internet. When it was time
to eat, Grandma is asking "Where's Chuckie?" (something that no
doubt has been uttered hundreds of times in that house). I was
yelling up to Chuck, "Grandma says its time to eat. Get down
here and wash up!" I felt like I finally had a sense of what
it was like growing up with Chuck and Donna! On top of that,
Miguel and Amanda came into town that afternoon to so
we were able to catch up on Amanda and Miguel's stories.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Walls are painted in the sewing room.
Subfloor (DriCore)
is installed. Pictures are updated.
Additionally, for those who deleted Stacy's
email prematurely, the official "Baby Ellis" website is:
http://reaneyfamily.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Its been a busy and rough week or two. Our
trip to Great Wolf Lodge (photos to come) was followed by the
sudden, unexpected death of the kid's principal at Tarkington
Traditional School:
Mr. Mark "T" Tulchinsky. Although that Tuesday night was
rough on the kids, they and the school are moving on.
Minimal work on the
basement (start with picture 20 to see where we are now) as of
late, but the drywall is finally finished. Steph has primed
it, soon it will be painted...undoubtedly some shade of purple.
More to come.
Go PURDUE!!!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
First congrats to Aunt Patti and her role
in the 682 miles off Broadway Elkhart Theater play,
Post Mortem.
Also Happy Birthday to all the January birthdays:
Grandma Karen, Grandma (Lois) Banik, Grandma Kelsey, Uncle Mick and
Aunt Patti (and Happy Anniversary too).
Basement is ready to be sanded. Can't work
on it this weekend though.
Other than that, its been a pretty boring January.
Lots of flooding a week back when the 2 feet of snow melted during
our 60 degree days. I guess we got about 5" of rain in the
storms that rumbled through. Now we get to prepare for the
bitter cold...
Sunday, December 30, 2007 (a little bit later than before)
Been working on Steph's sewing room in the
basement since Thursday. Cleared everything out,
"deconstructed" the shelving, rebuilding some of it in the other
half of the basement for temporary storage. As of right now, I
am waiting for Steph to get back from Lowe's with 2 more roles of
R13 Owens insulation to finish insulating the room...then I will
begin the dreaded drywall hang. Watch my progress
here.
Also, added more family Christmas picture to the
Christmas 2007 album.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year.
Where to begin? Christmas was 5 events in 4
days. It started with the Granger Banik family Christmas with
Will, Steve, Katie, my parents and my family on Christmas Eve Eve
Eve. We chased that dinner event with the Hobart Banik Family
Christmas on Christmas Eve Eve. Grandma was in good spirits,
the whole family was there. A fun time was had by all--no St.
Francis this year, however. Following the Hobart Holiday we
went to Steph's Mom's for Christmas Eve dinner and presents.
Lastly, we celebrated Christmas morning at our house with dinner at
Steph's brother's (Josh--and Jamie, and Cody and Karley) new house
with her dad and stepmom.
Looking ahead to New Year's Eve we have no plans.
I guess that comes with being 35 years old now.
I've enjoyed my time off from work but sadly I
have to go back January 2.
I've started on Steph's sewing room in the
basement. The walls are framed and electric is run. I
plan to put the insulation in place this afternoon, then maybe hang
the drywall. Drywall finishing won't start for at least
another week though.
I archived a bunch of photos so if you are looking
for the Purdue trip or "Fall Photos" look them up on the left side
of the screen.
Ben announces the "Design the 2008 BenisJ.com
Logo" contest!!! Win no prizes!!! I try to change the
look of the website twice a year but this year I am in a design rut.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Happy Birthday Eve Theodore! I only
have about 20 minutes before kids start showing up for the birthday
party, but we made it back safely from the Purdue v. ISU game last
night. The boys had a blast!!! Purdue won 71-56 and both
Theodore and Preston had fun at Purdue. Pictures are posted on
the right.
Also posted on the right are photos from
Theodore's birthday party with his friends at our house.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Happy Birthday Stephanie! One holiday
is nearly over. Thanksgiving Thursday was spent in
Whiting at Uncle Paul and Aunt Marsha's.
Everyone was in attendance except Ryan's family, Stacy's
family and Kelly. Grandma was in better spirits
than I thought she would be, but she was still pretty worn out.
I worry about her attitude this time around. She seems less
determined to beat the cancer now that it has come back.
Nonetheless, it was great to spend another Thanksgiving with her and
the family. Ed's battle continues on as well.
This was the first time I talked to him at length since he was
diagnosed. 5 more months of treatment for him. Right now
he is very anemic and tired--both physically and mentally--but he
seems upbeat.
Thanksgiving Friday was filled with
shopping for Steph. She and her mom were out at 4a. The
boys and I held off until about 8a. Our routine consists of
Starbucks followed by 3 pre-determined stores, one of which is
always either Best Buy or Circuit City. Of
course each year those stores are packed by 8a. This year we
picked Circuit City as our starting point. We pulled into the
lot around 8a and there were roughly 100 people waiting in line just
to get into a store that had been open since 5a. The boys
lucked out. We skipped Circuit City, headed to Wal-Mart,
bought Steph a birthday present then headed to Target.
After Target they were rewarded with Krispie Kreme--oh how I
hate those damn donuts. Our intentions were to follow up
donuts with a trip to Kohl's and Old Navy.
Kohl's was impossible to find parking for and Old Navy was just as
bad--so we drove on past, back to our neighborhood, and hit an empty
Portage Road Meijer. That Meijer (and the Wal-Mart
across the street) were as dead as they are on a Sunday night at
11p. Many of their doorbuster deals were still in stock even
at 11a.
Thanksgiving Saturday was turkey day at our
house. We celebrated (Grandpa) Tom's birthday (11/28), Steph's birthday (11/25) and Theodore's birthday (12/3) in
addition to Thanksgiving. I deep fried a bird and grilled some
center cut pork tenderloin. The rest of the meal was your
traditional Thanksgiving fare. Afterwards we hung out and
watched ND beat Stanford and KU lose to Mizzou.
Thanksgiving Sunday technically has not yet
happened as of this post, however, in about an hour and a half we
are headed to Steph's mom's for Italian beef sandwiches with Josh &
Carrie's families, then birthday celebrations.
Other random notes:
- Josh and Jamie *should* close on their
new house 12/10...just in time for us to have Christmas day at
their place.
- Andy is in line for a promotion at
Cardinal Fitness. Best of luck to him.
- The boys and I are headed to West
Lafayette on 12/1 to watch the Boilermakers take on
Indiana State. The boys are VERY excited. Go
Boilers!!!
- Steph has a plan for the basement, now
I must execute...(the plan.)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Halloween pictures posted on the left.
Congrats to Stacy and Tom who are expecting
their first child in Spring '08.
Real quick... I had a chance to see Red
White Black and Blue, a documentary about the Attu Islands
battle against the Japanese during WWII. Matt Radecki,
a former Adams classmate (c/o 1990), co-produced the documentary.
I will plug it as a very good, very informative documentary about a
portion of the war that very few Americans then (or now) ever knew
about. The documentary's national broadcast premiere on the
PBS series, Independent Lens, will be November 6 at 10p.
However, do the the nature of PBS's structure, local PBS stations
can choose to show it at their own discretion. Consult local
listings beginning 11/6 and make a point to watch the 1 hour
documentary. Its well worth the time...and congratulations to
Matt for a fine piece of cinematography.
No rambling today...got work to do.
Friday, September 21, 2007
First, Happy 31st Birthday to Steve.
Second, holy shit!!! For those who follow
the local news, the home explosion last night at 8:11p was about
.5-1.0 miles northwest of our house. Arbor Pointe is the next
subdivision north of Sandy Hill on Portage on the west side of the
street. The boys and I were watching Survivor (Steph was at
work) when the explosion happened. It was unreal. It
shook our entire house worse than any thunder. I honestly
thought (and checked afterwards) that our windows might have
shattered (they did not). Caught off guard, I had the sense of
mind to pause Survivor (that is how well Steph and the boys have
trained me), then I grabbed the kids and headed to the front door.
I paused for a minute as I realized I wasn't 100% sure if taking the
kids outside was the safe and smart thing to do...so I made them
stand in the doorway.
Anyway, all the neighbors were outdoors within
minutes. No one on our street knew what happened until Tina
(across the street) pointed out the mushroom cloud behind my house.
Initially we all assumed a plane had crashed, but there was no
"crash" noise before the explosion. Then we figured a propane
tank from a neighboring Michigan farm might have exploded.
After a half an hour at most news trickled into the neighborhood
that it was a home explosion in Arbor Pointe.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/9908152.html
Tuesday, September 18,
2007
To say Ben, Steph, Theodore and Preston are busy
is an understatement these days. So let's begin...
Ben Banik:
- When I am not pissed at Comcast for our
digital phone cutting out or our internet connection going down,
I tend to be a content person.
- Recently visited Will at Purdue with Steve.
Steve had been working in Indy so we decided to meet up for a
night at Will's apartment in West Lafayette. Fun times had
by all.
- Just finished up
www.thewoodwardroom.com.
Actually, I finished it awhile back, but just recently published
it. The Woodward Room is a banquet hall in downtown South
Bend just above BW3 across from the downtown TCU.
- Started working for NBC Sports again. 7
home games this year. Looks like I will be on the
losers...I mean "Notre Dame"...sidelines this year. New
equipment that sucks just as bad as the old equipment, so if the
field noise sounds bad, its the equipment's fault.
- Busy helping Chuck with
Charlie's Signature
Catering and Café on
Tailgate Fridays in "DTSB".
Our friend Chuck is the exclusive food vendor for the event held
every Friday before a home game.
- I am angry that Corporate America is trying
to claim the rights to a new food creation known as "Hot Dogs
and Macaroni & Cheese...Mixed." I grew up on that!!!
(In our house, we always had to say it with the word "mixed" at
the end.) The Target Corporation recently ran an online ad on
Facebook indicating "Mac & Cheese with Hot Dogs [cut up] is
new college cuisine."
- Been on and off busy with work. Always
seem busy at home. Running out of summer FAST.
Steph Banik:
- Stephanie has been busy sewing for Teddy's
Custom Interiors who does "re-upholstery
consulting" or some bogus crap like that. Bottom line,
if you as me, this gig is more stress than it is worth.
Nonetheless, she should be proud of the work she's cranked out
given the less than ideal work situation that seems to follow
every project she is asked to do.
- Steph is also volunteering at
Tarkington once a week with the kids.
- When she is not volunteering at Tark or
sewing at home, she is busy working at Charlie's Café helping
Chuck and Kasey. She's been doing some waitressing for
them as well as some public relations work for them.
- Of course, she is still teaching the sewing
classes at Hancock Fabrics and making products for "Booth
24" at the Northend Flea Market in Elkhart, IN
Theodore Banik:
- He's currently in the middle of his first
ever ISTEP
experience.
- Is playing fall
MSA soccer and
really likes it. He still plays a lot of "defense like
Uncle Will" but he is also getting a bit more aggressive.
To the untrained eye, it "appears" that he is "sloughing" but in
reality, he is waiting until the right moment to strike.
Preston Banik:
- Preston is really starting to amaze me.
For the longest time I was worried about my little "Bobby Hill."
I am still concerned about his weight, but his academics are
improving tenfold every day. His reading vocabulary
(primarily memorized sight words) is growing each week and so
far he has all 100%s on his spelling tests which shocks the hell
out of me. I am very proud of his 1st grade progress to
date.
- Preston also suffers from "Will Banik-itis"
on the soccer field. Actually, I blame the belly for his
lack of movement...but the boy is definitely trying out there.
- Sadly, Preston's imagination is getting the
better of him at night lately. Lots of panicking that mom
and dad are gone, questions about death and heaven and hell and
tornados, fear of the dark, etc. I gotta hope its a phase
and figure its caused by stuff he is hearing from older kids at
school.
Tuesday, August 14,
2007
Unbelievably, the
kids started school today. It just seems way too early for me.
Theodore is a 3rd grader in Mrs. Borowski's class and Preston is a
1st grader in Mrs. Portolese's class.
Will headed down to
W. Lafayette on Monday. He moved into an apartment with 3
other South Bend natives. The only glitch in his trip was that
he did not have a wrench to put his desk together.
Friday, July 27, 2007
The Simpsons Movie
release day! I took the afternoon off and took the fam to the
movies. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. FYI, some full
frontal nudity
(Bart), middle-finger (Homer) and a G-damn (Marge). Fun times.
Speaking of The
Simpsons, www.simpsonizeme.com
turned my family into Simpson characters:
-
Preston T Simpson
-
Theodore J Simpson
-
Stephanie R Simpson
Sunday, July 15, 2007
So its been
awhile...
Looking backwards,
last night I attended the 1st Annual College Football Hall of Fame
Enshrinement Rib Cook Off with Chuck Shields. His ribs
were entered in the "commercial" contest (a contest were you could
prepare your ribs off-site rather than the "amateur" contest that
required you cook your ribs on a grill at the Hall of Fame) and won
first place...only because the other local restaurants backed out of
the competition--probably because they knew they would lose!
Nonetheless, Chuck's ribs were thrown in with the amateurs simply
for the sake of competing. His ribs blew away the competition
but he was not allowed to win the amateur prize. It was a nice
event, its just a shame so few participated.
Back up to Friday
at 9:30a and we sadly returned from a week at Lake Michigan.
Steve and Katie managed to make it out to the lake for a few
days. All the Banik's came for at least one visit.
Weather was nice. VERY HOT to start the week, cooler with
choppy waters to end the week.
Back up to July 5
and I was putting the deck boards on the deck. (As of today, I
am only about 40% finished on the deck boards. Once again, I
need to drive out to Lowe's for more screws. My cordless drill
needed a new battery so that slowed me down significantly last week.
I could get one 19' row of board done, then would have to wait 25
minutes for the drill to recharge. Its amazing how much more
productive I am now that I have a working drill.)
July 4 was spent in
lovely Whiting, Indiana again. Spent a little time on the
OTHER side of the street during the parade this year. Fewer
drunks meant happier times. We also celebrated Uncle Paul's
60th birthday and Paul and Marsha's 37th (?) wedding
anniversary. Stacy and Tom made the trip up from Indy
and brought along Tom's sister and her son. After the Whiting
shindig, we headed back home to South Bend for a fireworks show of
our own.
Speaking of
fireworks, back up a bit to Saturday, June 30. We had heard
stories of a "Sandy Hill 4th of July Neighborhood Party" pretty much
since Day 1 of our arrival in the neighborhood. We received
the flier in the mail about a week before the event. Your
typical "Neighborhood Party" type flier indicating a bicycle parade
through the neighborhood for the kids at 7p followed by neighborhood
fireworks "in the empty lot on Sandy Hill Drive" around 10p.
So on the morning of June 30, we took the kids to breakfast followed
by a trip to the Dollar Store for decorations for their bikes.
Returned around 11a only to find NOTHING seemed to be happening in
the neighborhood. Not a soul outside. No one setting up
grills or tents or chairs or anything. Saddened, I turned my
focus back to the deck, all the while wondering where everyone was
for the "big party." Around 2:30p I had to head back out to
Lowe's for something...probably more screws. Returned around
3:30p to see signs on the neighborhood streets for NO PARKING THIS
SIDE OF STREET, extra parking on 5 acres off Portage Road and
EVERYONE out in their yards setting up cornhole, grills, chairs,
canvas gazebos, etc. I made it through the neighborhood,
jumped in the shower, then started helping the kids decorate their
bikes. By 5p we decided to go wander the neighborhood to see
what was going on. A steady stream of traffic was flowing into
the subdivision. People were EVERYWHERE. Grills were
popping and sizzling with the sounds Johnsonville grease splattering
"No Flare" drip guards. The aroma of ribs, burgers and beer
pierced the senses. An occasional bottle-rocket whipped past
our heads (DAMMIT WILL, quit shooting those things at us!!!).
We returned to the house to wait for Will to arrive and to
get the kids on their bikes for the parade. At 7-ish, a
firetruck and county squadcar lead the kids through the
neighborhood. Along the way we met neighbors and friends,
including friends and acquaintances we did not realize we already
had in the neighborhood. The parade ended the the festive mood
matched that of "Taste of Chicago" (sans salmonella) on firework
night. We wandered from house to house partying and meeting
neighbors. Finally, 10p rolled around and it was time to head
to the fireworks show. We expected 2 neighbors with about
$1000 worth of fireworks from the stateline fireworks stand.
Instead, we had a $10,000+ show (with 3" and 4" mortars and a
nonstop barrage of 500 gram cakes) that lasted over a half an hour,
followed by a second show from a property just behind Sandy Hill.
We finally strolled home by 1a...exhausted.
But back to today.
Vacation is over, time to get back to work...
Other quick items:
Theodore and Preston are done with coach pitch
baseball and t-ball. Unfortunately Theodore's team lost the
first game of their playoffs. The boys are signed up for fall
soccer.
School starts
August 14th. Can you believe it?
All is well with
Steph.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Nothing much to say
other than I am looking forward to vacation (July 4-16). I'll
post "stuff" soon--like an update on the deck, new photos of the
kids, etc. etc. etc.
Tuesday, May 29,
2007
Friggin' History
Channel!!! Nothing like interrupting a Memorial Day weekend
with SEVEN telemarketing calls from the History Channel
(800-531-0251) to watch Star Wars Monday night at 9:00p EDT. I
have been on the Do Not Call list for several years and have never
had a problem like the one I had this weekend. I would assume
it is because we just moved and switched telephone service to
Comcrap, but regardless, I am fairly pissed at the History Channel
right now.
Monday, May...14, 2007
The site has been
down. My bad. After we moved it took some time to get
everything reconnected. But now its back up. Might be a
tad slow to load pictures as I have to work wirelessly now--but
**technically** that should not matter. Comcast limits my
uploads to 1Mbps just as they did before, but sometimes the wifi
connection will flake out for a split second, hosing a download.
Additional notes:
- Josh and
Jamie
Greenway had baby Karly conveniently a week before the move.
- Sadly, Steph's
uncle Art (Peanut's husband) passed away 2 weeks ago.
- Steve and
Katie have completed their move to Madison, WI
- Will has
returned from his freshman year at Purdue.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Closing Day!!!
Its over. We officially own the new house. We will move
May 5.
-
New House
Photos
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Its
been nearly a month since last posting. Nothing much to talk
about other than the house.
Closing on both
houses is April 30. Possession of new house is immediate.
We have until Sunday 5/6 at noon to vacate Hass Drive house.
Moving day will be Saturday, May 5.
New address will
be:
We had to replace 5
outlets at old house with GFI (3 in kitchen, 1 in garage, 1 outside
on back deck) and put a "dirt leg" on our water heater. What's
a 'dirt leg' you ask? Google it...or accept the fact that it
is a scam.
New house has a
mold in the attic issue we are being credited for. That simply
means the owner is giving us the money to get it fixed because they
cannot get it done before they leave. Mold is not harmful, but
worthy of getting rid of. It is above the bathrooms, caused by
poor ventilation in attic space. Also had a crack in the
foundation repaired.
That's it for now.
More to come as we move. Home phone will stay the same...so
will email (for now). Kids will stay at same school.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Wow what a chaotic
weekend. Lets start by putting the rumors to rest:
- Yes, Preston
has been sick again running a fever every other day for the last
5 days or so. Poor little guy got stabbed by a nurse
(blood drawn) AND got to pee in a cup the other day at the
doctor's office. Today he is fine, yesterday he stayed
home from school. Sunday he was fine, Saturday he missed
his sleepover at Grandma Kelsey's.
- Yes, the house
is sold. We received an offer at 6p Friday with an
expiration of 10p that night. Obviously we did NOT have a
home at that moment so our agent bought us some time (John
Brady - Century 21)--until 6p Monday night--to accept or
reject the offer. So on Sunday we hit the pavement heavy
and hard.
- Yes, we bought
a house. After a whirlwind tour of homes Sunday morning,
we put an offer (then countered) on a home in Sandy Hills.
More details on the house to come, but here are the basics:
new house (photos
- .pdf) (contains photos) and
new house (details - .pdf)
Thursday, March 22,
2007
Just a quick update
before we leave the house for another showing...and Parent/Teacher
conferences: Preston is all better now. Returned to school
back on Monday. Cingular dropped the charges the "stolen"
charges.
Wednesday, March 14,
2007
NO NCAA
POOL THIS YEAR (for those who didn't get the memo)
 Knock
on wood, but as of this evening, Preston seems to have turned
a corner. Still having some minor bouts with the hives, but
the red rash has left nearly all of his body--except for his feet,
hands/wrists, and a few other minor areas.
Stolen/Lost Cell
Phone Costs Us $85: Back on Saturday, February 17, Steph either
lost or had her cell phone stolen. In the 36 hours that
transpired from Saturday night when she realized it was missing
until Monday when we finally got the service shut off, over $75 in
data transfer charges were racked up. Whoever took/found her
phone did NOT place any telephone calls but downloaded a significant
amount of mp3 songs and video games in those 36 hours.
Hopefully anyone reading this can benefit from our misfortune.
Monday, March 12,
2007
Illness
continues to dominate the boys' lives. Preston came down with
what was thought to be the flu and a cold early in his birthday
week. We took him to the doctor on March 1 where he pleaded
with the nurse to get him better before his birthday. He was
diagnosed with an ear infection and was given Amoxicillin.
After 5 days of high fever (103-range) the fever finally subsided
Saturday night (3/3) and he was able to go to school the following
week (3/5).
Of course, on the
evening of 3/4 Theodore was running a fever of 104.2. This
began a string of 5 nights of high fever in the 103-104 range for
him. He was diagnosed with strep and given Amoxicillin by
midweek. By Friday night his fever was gone.
During that same
week, Wednesday (3/7) Preston had a welt on his leg that looked like
a spider bite--without any bitemark. By Friday night, the welt
had spread around his waist. By Saturday morning we knew something
was not right as the rash was shrinking around the midsection but
growing around his back and stomach/chest. Saturday night he
was 60% covered in a rash that would blister and itch, then flatten
itself and turn red, splotchy and "lacey." We took, him to the
clinic Sunday morning because he was so swollen he could barely see
and was covered head-to-toe in the rash. Literally 90% of his
body was rash.
Clinic doctor has
diagnosed an allergy to Amoxicillin (although he has had it many
times previously, as recently as January). He is taking
Prednisone to reduce the swelling, Benadryl and Zithromax now as he
tested positive for Theodore's strep.
As of today, he
continues to be covered head-to-toe with the rash that flares up
every 2-3 hours with blistery welts that itch, then reduces itself
to an bright red rash. He is still fairly swollen and is now
running a low-grade fever. He is very frustrated by the rash
but is otherwise "good." Some coughing and congestion, but
overall he is hanging in there.
PRESTON RASH PICTURES
Friday, March 2, 2007
Happy 6th birthday
to PRESTON!!! Poor little guy has been looking forward
to his 6th birthday for months now....and wouldn't you know it, he
got sick. Ear infection and cold. Had to cancel all his
birthday activities. Steph took him to the doctor Thursday and
he asked the nurse if she could get him better for his birthday
party. She asked "When is your party?" He whimpered and
replied, "Tomorrow."
Actually, its been
a rough week all around. I had a server take a dive likely due
to the "incomplete" removal of a dormant virus on Tuesday.
Worked on restoring the server and data until 11:00p. Happy to
say no data loss, but as a result, Steph will tell you I have been a
bit crabby all week. Speaking of Steph, she's been doing a
side-gig this week too that has had her working well beyond her
traditional 8:00p on Weds/Thurs. Sick Preston, canceled parties,
working too late--you don't want to mess with either of us this
week.
Thursday, Feb 15, 2007
Nothing
to type, just pictures from the 2007 Chicago Auto Show to add:
-
Chicago Auto Show (2007)
Sunday, January 28,
2007
SNOWED IN!!!
Actually, its not that bad. About 5" max as of Sunday morning.
Regardless, its about time we finally got some snow around here.
Right now it is blowing around pretty good. The kids are dying to go
sledding. Once they get out their in the wind and 18 degree
temperatures I think they will change their minds.
A quick CONGRATULATIONS
to Brad and Jenn Lightcap who had their first child
January 18, 2007. Her name is Lillian Ivey Lightcap. She
was born at 11:28 am on the 18th and weighed 7lbs 12oz. [photo]
Beyond that, I got
nothing...except to report that Steph no longer works for
Erica's, but does still teach the sewing classes on Wednesday and
Thursday nights...and all day Saturdays. She's over at Hancock
Fabrics in the Towne & Country Shopping Plaza in Mishawaka now.
Its a long story...but we'll just leave it at "Erica's pulled out of
JoAnn's in part to a corporate decision by JoAnn Fabrics, Inc and Steph
decided that continuing to work for Erica's is not what she wanted to do
right now."
Oh, one last thing
before I hit "save"... The house situation. It is
heating up. About 6 showings or so to date. Two interested
buyers. One was from Indy but wanted to take possession 3 weeks
after offer. We told our realtor there was no way and to tell them
don't even bother with an offer. Another interested party is
supposedly deciding between Elkhart and South Bend at the moment--we
know nothing beyond that. Its just as well, though, as both of the
houses we were VERY interested in have sold so we really don't have a
replacement home in mind right now.
Saturday, January 6,
2007
I told you the
pictures were coming...
-
New Year's Eve Photos
-
Christmas Day on Hass (& Eve on Thrush)
-
Goshen Christmas
-
Hobart Christmas
-
Christmas w/ Steve & Katie
-
Theodore's 8th Birthday
Congratulations to
Josh and Jamie who found out just before Christmas that they are
having a girl. Her name will be Carly...unless they change
their mind. :-)
Friday,
January 5, 2007
As Theodore used to
say, "Jeezo crap!" What a month. Somehow the holidays came
and went...check that...the whole YEAR came and went way too fast.
For some odd reason it is always a HUGE reality check for me when I
realize that Preston's birthday is the next official event on my
family's calendar. (Sorry moms, Mick, Pati, and Stacy. Its
not that you are not important, but you don't remind me as often as
Preston does that you birthdays are next.) So thanks to Preston, I
now realize that we have put another year behind us that I can barely
remember.
On that note, this
posting will be very brief. I have December pics but have not
fixed them yet so they are not yet posted. However, I do have a
link to the photos taken at the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH where
we spent New Year's Eve with the boys:
Click here for the lodge,
click here for the party.
Somewhat new pictures:
-
Vegas Vacation
-
Thanksgiving
December 6, 2006
Congratulations to
Bubba-head who finally turned 8 on December 3. We love you
Theodore.
We are back from Vegas
(pictures below).
I finished 3rd in a no limit Texas Hold-em tournament at Aladdin.
Won $255. (There were about 40 people in the tournament.)
Overall we probably lost money gambling but its hard to say--everything
is so expensive in Vegas that its impossible to keep track of your cash...and
I tried paying cash whenever possible. The weather
sucked--very cold and windy.
More Vegas notes:
- We did the
Excalibur "Knights of the Roundtable" dinner and show.
- I thought I lost
my driver's license when we got there. Turns out I
inadvertently slipped it into a hidden compartment in my wallet.
- Steph played the
slots and 2 poker tournaments, I was most blackjack and the one
tournament, with an occasion penny slot machine when the fundage ran
low. :-)
- Headed downtown
twice. The second time (Wednesday) we "got lucky" and were
there for the 20th Annual Downtown Hoedown that precedes the
National Rodeo Championships. I've never seen so much chawin'
tobaccy in my life. The were selling Skoal off the back of
semis. Deanna Carter and Trick Pony (don't worry, those words
mean nothing to me either) held free concerts on Fremont Street
Wednesday night. Steph was thrilled!
- We met Canadian
cowboys...and heroine addicts on the bus.
- Won a little, lost
a little...enjoyed the vacation a lot.
November 17, 2006
I can be just as
annoying as the sports jocks, so I might as well weigh in on "The
Game." First, I think it is unfair UofM and OSU are not going
to get the opportunity to play for the National Championship.
They have been the best two teams for 80% of the season and one of
them is gonna getting screwed out of the championship game
spotlight. Actually, the exposure is big enough, I suppose,
that everyone UNDERSTANDS that this is the nation championship
game...so I guess what I am really upset about is the fact that an
UNDESERVING (USC, Florida or long-shot ND)one-loss team is going to
get the opportunity to play for the title in January. I'm even
beginning to think Rutgers, if undefeated, "deserves" a shot at the
title over USC, Florida or ND.
But what do I care?
After all, I am a Boilermaker fan...and at least we get to go to the
Alamo Bowl--again!
On that note, for
those living in a cave or who just don't care about sports in
general, Purdue landed the 4th or 5th best recruiting class for next
year. One of the kids (JaJuan Johnson) hails from Franklin
Central in Indianapolis--the same school system where my friend and
former co-worker Scott Bradley works for. He said JaJuan is a
class act all the way and has some serious skills. Lets hope
this class can stick together for four years.
November 12, 2006
Fire breaks out at
Steve and Katie's apartment complex. News at 11. (Click
here fore the article.)
-
Theodore School Picture 2006-07
-
Preston School Picture 2006-07
Also,
congratulations to Rick and Denise Scott who had a
baby girl this morning.
NEW!!!
Request remote desktop assistance from Ben.
CLICK HERE!
Quick little rearrange on the news...
For those of you
who watched the ND/UNC game, yes that was me on the last play of the
1st half that was nearly pasted on the sidelines.
Halloween has come and gone. The boys were Mario (Preston) and
Luigi (Theodore) from the Nintendo Mario Bros. video games. Steph made the costumes, of course. The kids looked great.
-
Halloween Pictures
Congratulations
to Tom and Stacy REANEY!!! If you have digital pictures
you care to share, please email them to me (in large format).
Many of mine turned out fuzzy thanks to a low battery.
-
Steve's Stacy & Tom Wedding Photos
-
Jerry's Stacy & Tom Wedding Photos
-
Stacy & Tom Reaney Wedding Photos
Stacy has shared
the following website that has a few of the professional photos from
her wedding:
http://bybobbi.blogspot.com
CALLING ALL
BANIKS!!! I need digital photos from your family for the
2007 Grandma Calendar. If you have not yet entered the digital
age, please bring prints to Thanksgiving. For those of you
with kids, its not too late to get them to do something silly in
front of the camera for the calendar. For those of you in "the
golden years of life," see if you can find some old photos for
"memory lane." Please email them to me A.S.A.P.
October 10, 2006
For those who
eagerly anticipate the return of the website, I have some good news:
I am making some headway and am no longer as grumpy today as I was
this past weekend.
On the family
front, my Saturdays have been busy with ND football again.
Doing the parab on the sidelines for NBC again. The one
weekend we had off (ND/MSU) I went down to Purdue to see Will.
The boys are
enjoying school and are doing well. Preston can be a handful
to get ready in the morning and for some odd reason isn't a big fan
of gym, but nonetheless he is doing pretty well in kindergarten so
far. Theodore is excelling in second grade, but unfortunately
he does complain that it gets boring at times.
Cousin Stacy gets
married in a couple weeks down in Indy. Congrats to her and
Tom.
Kevin & Andria
Burkus had a baby boy, Corben. Congrats to them as well.
Lastly, if you live
in the South Bend area and need a caterer, check out
CharlieCaters.com (designed by me for my friend, Chuck Shields,
and his catering business).
October 8, 2006...
| :-( |
|
I am not happy
about my data loss... |
The website looks a little different, doesn't it? You could
say I am going for a "neo-minimalism" look. But truthfully, the website
was lost in the great computer re-format of 2006.
Why didn't I backup all my data? I did.
Backed it up to an external Maxtor 200 GB hard drive. Unfortunately, the
f*cking thing says it needs to be reformatted when I plug it into a computer
now.
So, sit tight...I have a lot of work ahead of me.
I am going to work backwards from today's date and repost all the
pictures I have. Unfortunately, some images are likely lost
forever (e.g. Steve on tour, the eBay Strawberry Shortcake photos,
etc.).
|
