JV Full Time

Meg told us last night that she was going to play four quarters of JV tonight and be available for one Varsity instead of the 3 quarters/2quarters that she had been playing.  At first she was disappointed, but after watching her tonight we all realized that it was the perfect fit for Meg and for her team.  Meg played almost the entire game and only sat out at the end when she asked for a break.  She handled the ball well and worked hard on defense.  She was able to showcase her skills and in turn gain experience and confidence on the court.  That was what she was lacking from missing basketball the past two years.  We told her several times over the past few days how proud of her we were for getting back on the court.  It has been a great avenue for her to make friends at Bethany and to build a relationship with the coaches/teachers.  Whether she played 40 minutes JV or 40 minutes Varsity we have never cared.  We were just so happy to see her find success and fill good about something that she used to love.

No More White/Gray Carpet

We went last weekend to look at new carpet for our bedroom.  When we first added on to the house I picked out white carpet as I loved the look of it, almost like there was new fallen snow on the ground.  I remember the owner of Brouwer's telling me that I wouldn't like it after awhile.  He was proved right.  No matter what we have done it just won't stay clean.  Thus, our lovely white carpet has now turned an ugly shade of gray as Brett pointed out to me over Thanksgiving break.

When we got to the Brouwer's I wasn't sure what I wanted.  Doug had suggested laminate like the living room, but I felt it would be too cold.  Therefore we checked through the carpet samples displayed and we both came to the conclusion that we wanted to forgo the light, plain colors such as beige and try something bold.  I don't believe that the salesman believed us when we said that we were looking at purple or orange, but he did once he brought a brown sample to us and I said that I really was serious about our color choice.  He then led us to a rainbow of samples and Doug and I finally settled on two different shades of purple.  We brought both home for everyone to look at and although Meg, HM and I all liked the lighter shade, we went with the darker purple.  Doug and I knew the color would last the longest.   We also decided to go with the platinum level.  It was a little more expensive, but it should wear the best.  Today the carpet layers came to measure.  The plan is to paint over New Year's Eve weekend and have the carpet installed that week.  Can't wait to see what it looks like!

Music Concert

Tonight was Cameron's annual Christmas music concert featuring both the Agape Bell Ringers and the middle school choirs.  Bells did such a wonderful job playing tonight.  The director chose traditional carols as well as some new ones.  My favorite was "We Three Kings" as the students played kazoos as well as their bells.  The choirs were nice, but the songs were a little slow for my Christmas musical taste.  Cam said that he preferred the Agape Bell Ringers as well.  

It was tough getting up three days a week at 5:40 a.m. to make it to rehearsal, but well worth Cam's time.  He has grown in his musical ability and enjoyed himself as well.  They meet tomorrow for an end of the season snack and then will take a break until late January.  Cam said he will miss it, but will enjoy his extra half hour of sleep each morning.

Back At It

Back to school and work today meant for some tired bodies at home this evening.  It was wonderful having a five day break and I missed being home all day at school.  Brett said that he was struggling to get back into the swing of school as well, but did make a dent on the work he needed to do.  Cal had time to set up his new television, so that made going back to Bloomington a little better.  Meg and Cam were tired tonight from a full day of classes and basketball.  Cam even had a game against West Noble.  Doug and I made it to that, but by the time we got home we were wiped out.  Hopefully, a good night's sleep will bring more energy to all of us for tomorrow's another busy day.  

Happy Birthday Grandma Jane

Today was Grandma Jane's 74th birthday.  Originally, we had planned to celebrate with everyone at lunch, but with the boys leaving early we had her come over last night for gifts and desserts.  The boys each picked out a nice present for her and they enjoyed giving it to her.  Meg couldn't be with us, however, because of basketball practice.  Thus, Meg took over her gift today and Grandma Jane loved it.  Meg made her a Minnie Mouse lap blanket.  It took Meg a little while to get back into the swing of sewing, but once she got going she finished the blanket easily and it looked very nice.  She's hoping that when she has more free time that she can sew more.  Either way, Meg enjoyed making the blanket for her Grandma and was glad that she liked it.  Happy Birthday Grandma Jane!  We appreciate all you do for the Heinisch family.

A Wonderful Saturday

Today was such a wonderful day.  Everyone made time to do what was important to them.  Brett, Cam, Doug and I played games.  Cal spent the day with HM, and after practice Meg went with Jackie   and McKenzie to Hacienda and to see the movie "Wonder."  The only disagreeable part of the day was when Cal suggested that he and Brett leave in the evening for Bloomington.  He was right as the boys would miss traffic by driving at night, but I was sad to hear that we'd be saying goodbye a day early.

Before they left Brett and Cam were able to complete their plans for the day.  They had dinner at the root beer stand and then went to see the movie "Coco."  As Cal and HM had dinner plans as well Doug and I decided to go to Huntington's for a night out.  It was nice to reflect upon such a wonderful week with our family.  By the time we got back the boys were all here and the packing began.  Cal was impressed that Doug was able to get his new television into the Civic as well as all of their laundry and Brett's groceries.  The boys left before 10 p.m.  They hoped to be back around 1 a.m. I tried to stay awake and follow them on Find My Phone, but a little after midnight I had to call it a night.

Christmas Decorating

Today we got out all of the Christmas decorations.  Meg and Cam worked on the Christmas tree.  Brett decorated the basement and Cal stayed out of everyone's way.  Doug set up our Christmas village and worked on the outside lights.  It was 50 degrees which made it a lot easier this year.  I spent my time getting out all of the additional sets that we put out each year including the decorations and stockings on the mantle, the Santas and  the Christmas crafts that the Heinisch children have made over the years.  For the first time ever we finished it all in one day and before dinner.

Tonight we celebrated my birthday with the entire Heinisch family and HM.  Antonio's was the restaurant of choice and we each ordered a delicious Italian dish.  It was great to have everyone together.  We've seen a lot of each other this past week, but haven't sat down for a nice quiet dinner with all of us.  It was wonderful to hear all of conversation and laughter around the table.  I love that the Heinisch children enjoy hanging out with us.  HM has been a willing participant in our family dinners as well.  By the end of the evening I felt blessed beyond belief.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Today was Thanksgiving and we had a lot to be thankful for.  All of our children were home to celebrate the holidays together.  Meg had switched to Bethany and had found academic and athletic success there.  Cam had enjoyed a first quarter of good grades, victories in chess and a great friend group.  Cal had found his second year to be even easier than his first and with a job had paid for all of his extra expenses for the semester.  Brett had a fantastic spring and summer in D.C. and was in full swing of grad school.  Doug enjoyed his new found workload at Renegade and I could finally walk without pain or a limp.  The meal that Doug made was just icing on the cake of a fantastic fall.

My parents were able to join us for the afternoon and after we ate the guys all headed to the basement to play pool.  The only negative of the afternoon was that our sink dropped while my Mom and I were cleaning up.  Fortunately, Doug remembered how to fix it from a year ago when it last happened and before we left for Black Friday shopping it was up and running again.  Target was a little harried this year as their wifi did not work, they did not have maps and we couldn't reach each other by phone.   Even with the chaos we were able to find Cal a television and Brett a blu-ray player, both drastically reduced.  Cam and Meg each bought several gifts for family and friends and by the time we left we felt a little less stressed.  The mall was crowded, but not as much as our first stop.  Meg found some great deals at Hollister and Bath and Body Works.  I made my required stop at Yankee Candle.  The boys tried to get into GameStop, but it was wall to wall people.  Doug used his time to find a spot for a bit to eat.  The place of choice was Bar Louie's and we all met there after we finished our shopping.  It was a nice break and we all enjoyed a snack or two before heading home feeling blessed from a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Friends giving, Trivia Night and More

Doug had to work this morning, but was able to meet Brett, Cam, my parents and I at Linway Cinema to watch Murder on the Orient Express.  It was a remake of one our favorite Agatha Christie stories and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  Although it was mostly the same, the accents were easier to understand and the main character was fantastic.  We were all glad that we got the chance to see it on the big screen.

After the movie Doug and Cam headed home.  Cam had invited Samuel over for the afternoon and he arrived just after they got back.  The boys had a lot of fun playing basketball and board games.  Meg also had friends over this evening for her own version of "Friendsgiving."  She had a good turnout of both Wawasee and Bethany friends at her gathering.

While Friendsgiving was happening in our basement, Doug, Brett, Cal, HM, my parents and I met for dinner at Chubbie's.  Tonight was their weekly trivia night and we felt like we had a good chance of placing in the top three.  While we were eating and participating in trivia, Samuel and Cam were bowling and eating pizza.  In the end everyone had fun and we were the proud recipients of a $7.50 gift certificate for a second place finish.

We Made It

Today was the last day of school before Thanksgiving break for Cam, Meg and I.  I was so happy when I walked out the door this afternoon.  It had been a challenging couple of weeks and it was nice to know that a five day break was in store.  Cam and Meg felt the same way, although theirs didn't officially start until later in the evening.  Cam had a game at Goshen after school and Meg had practice.  Both enjoyed their evening.  After Cam's game he got to dress for the A game.  As the boys were in complete control of the game Cam got to play in almost a quarter of it.  He did well and enjoyed being a part of a win.  Meg also had fun this evening.  After practice everyone went to the Varsity boys' game.  The boys lost, but the student section enjoyed it anyway.  She went with the junior class to Culver's for an after game snack.

Cam hung out at my Mom's after the A game.  He played games with Grandma and Grandpa.  Doug and I took Brett to Huntington Street.  We had wanted to take him since he turned 21, but just hadn't had a chance.  He liked it and we enjoyed visiting with him.  It had been a stressful start to the first semester of graduate school and he was starting to feel better about it all.  Getting the rough draft of his 15 page budgeting paper was a relief.  It won't be too long until the semester will be over and he can enjoy a three week break.

Homework and Rest

Brett and Cal came home last Thursday ready for a week of catching up with family and friends.  In addition to their time socializing they had plans to finish homework and rest.  Cal hadn't been feeling too well especially with his allergies.  We debated today going to MedStat but decided instead just to try some over the counter remedies and rest.  I couldn't talk him into trying the Netty Pot, but he did feel better by the end of the evening at least enough to have Jayce and Kyle over to hang out.

Brett has been using his time to work on a 14 to 20 page paper for his budgeting class.  He was halfway through by the end of today.  It has not been his favorite activity, but he felt great about the progress he made.  It has a due date of December 7th, so he should have plenty of time to finish and edit it.  With all of the work for budgeting he even made time to apply for a few summer internships as well.

It is a blessing to have both Cal and Brett home for the week.  With them here our family feels complete.  They add to the non-stop activity that has become the norm in the Heinisch home.  The conversation never stops and the topics change continually.  Thanksgiving was always a wonderful holiday for us, but it has become even more special over the past few years.  Looking forward to Wednesday when we can all officially start Thanksgiving break.

Sunday - A Day of Rest?

Sunday wasn't quite a day of rest for the Heinisch family, but it was a little less jammed packed than Friday and Saturday.  Brett and Doug started their morning at 8 a.m. mass before taking Cam to religion.  Next Meg, Cam, Brett, Cal and HM all joined my parents at their church for a Thanksgiving  luncheon.  They enjoyed the food and then headed their separate ways.  Cal and HM went to Fort Wayne to shop at Costco.  Meg and Cam had to clean the guinea pigs and Brett needed to work on his budgeting paper.  Doug and I kept busy with laundry and yard work throughout most of the afternoon.

I did get out of the house to watch the Bethany play.  It was a good as Meg said that it would be.  Brett, Cam and I all enjoyed it.  Doug had dinner ready when we got home.  We really appreciated it as he tried something new - two different chicken dishes.  Both were delicious.  We ended the evening watching Shawshank Redemption with Brett while catching up on computer work.  It was a nice weekend with our family, but definitely a busy one.

It's Just Not My Thing

Cameron had a basketball tournament at Central Noble this morning that Doug and I both went to.  His team ended up finishing fourth out of the four teams.  He wasn't disappointed as their last game was extremely close.  The A team faired better finishing as tournament runner-ups.  Cam stayed to watch them play while we headed home.  We had a couple of hours to work on laundry and leaves before we left for Meg's game in South Bend.  Brett offered to spend the evening with Cam after he picked him up at Bethany.  They ate dinner at their favorite fish place in town and played games until we got back.  Cal was busy with his friends and HM's game.  Meg did very well tonight.  She had several opportunities to score and made some great passes.  It was a varsity only contest and she played well over ten minutes.

I was happy that Cam and Meg had the opportunity to participate in today's games.  They have enjoyed being a part of basketball this season and that has been fun to watch.  Overall, however, I realized today that being a sports mom just isn't my thing.  I felt guilty coming to that conclusion, but after Doug and I talked I felt a lot better.  From what we discussed it made sense that I wouldn't love sitting in the stands of a sporting event.  First of all, I loved playing sports as a child, but I don't live vicariously through my own as they play.  Second, I haven't been as social since I started working again.  I get a lot of interactions with students and teachers everyday, so I do not look for more social activities in the evening.  Most of all, however, the negativity that occurs at the games has been more than I can handle.  So for now Doug and I came up with a solution that should work for our family for the time being.

New Strategies

This trimester I have implemented some new teaching and behavior strategies in my classroom for my afternoon classes.  Today we put one of those into place and I felt it was a success.  I was exhausted, however, after school from standing for three hours.  We had plans this evening, so I wasn't able to rest at home after such a long day.  I was able to sit down, however, as Cam had a ball game at 4:30 at Bethany.  Brett rode along to keep me company.  Doug agreed to stay for the A game after Cam's.  He likes hanging out with his friends while watching.  Doug, Cam and Cal then went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Brett and I ate at home and then went to Wawasee High School to watch "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe."  Gabrielle had a main role and I wanted to see her in it.  She did a nice job and I knew several of the other students in the play as well.  

Meg did not go with us as she went with Jackie after practice to see Bethany's play.  It was an original  written about a Holocaust survivor.  The play write and the survivor both came to Bethany to meet the cast members and to speak to the student body last week.  Meg was impressed with the performance and had a lot of fun with Jackie.  They even went to dinner and did some shopping beforehand.  It was fun catching up with her when she got home.  

They're Home

Tonight Brett and Cal arrived home from Bloomington.  They were both glad to be home.  Cal missed his last class of the day to beat traffic.  He heard later from friends that many of them were stuck on 37 for well over an hour, so he was pleased with his choice.  Cam had a game at Wawasee Middle.  Once he and I got home from that we all ate dinner together including Hannah-Marie who stopped by after practice.  Everyone talked non-stop and it was wonderful to hear.  There were shared memories going around the table as well as some new stories.  I could have listened to them talk all night long.

Forty-Nine and Counting

Today was my forty-ninth birthday.  Turning a year old has never bothered me, so I enjoyed the students asking me how old I was and trying to figure out which teachers were older.  I wasn't at school long today to answer their questions, however.  I had to leave during team time for physical therapy.  It was there that I received my first birthday present of the day - I was released from therapy.  They gave me a lot of exercises to do at home and reviewed them with me.  It will be awhile before I can do walking lunges, but I will keep working at them.  It was amazing to think about how far I have come in just two months.  This summer I never thought that I would walk normally.  I was thrilled to be proved wrong.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at a high ability math meeting.  It went well and we accomplished a lot.  I came home to a quiet house.  Meg did not have practice tonight.  She decided to use the time to go to Milford school and visit Mr. Larson.  I called her at 4:45 to remind her to head home.  She had talked for one hour!!  Cam had practice.  Doug picked him up and the four of us left for Bella Vitale in Warsaw around 6 p.m.  The food was excellent and we enjoyed visiting together.  My parents met us back at our home afterward for dessert and gifts.  My Mom brought two of my favorites - chocolate cake and cookie dough ice cream.

I enjoyed my presents this year.  Meg gave me a print of "Jugglers at the Circus Fernando."  Cam's gift was a blu-ray copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Doug scored points with a sweater, pajamas and a butterfly necklace from Morocco in EPCOT.  My parents found some nice kitchen towels for me along with orange slices and my Dad's favorites - circus peanuts.  Cam opened them immediately.  Cal had told us earlier in the week that the flavor of circus peanuts was banana and Cam wanted to check to see if that was true.  He confirmed that Cal's information was correct.  Even with the rain and 40 degree weather I had a wonderful birthday and felt blessed beyond belief.

There's No Way to Make Bleachers Comfortable

Tonight I sat on the bleachers at Bethany for over four hours.  Cam had a game against Lakeland and Meg had two against Central Noble.  No matter what I tried there was just no way to make those seats comfortable.  The ones in the middle school gym were the worst.  They were made out of plastic and just don't sit well.  I have noticed that a lot of schools have switch to those from wood ones.  I definitely was not a fan.  Fortunately, the majority of the night was spent in the main gym with the old style bleacher seats.  Both Meg and Cam's team came up on the short end tonight in the win column.  Meg earned high point honors for the junior varsity this evening, however.  It definitely reminded me of her middle school days.

Teacher Day

Friday was the end of the trimester, so today was a teacher work day.  I started at a math meeting at Wawasee High School.  It was supposed to be a vertical planning session, but it didn't feel overly productive.  Our group tried to stay on task, but others decided to follow their own agenda.  It helped to ask our 7th and 8th grade teachers questions about their standards and rules in their classroom, but I was glad when the meeting was over.

I spent the afternoon working in my classroom. This year has been challenging because of the number of students in 6th grade.  We have over 80 right now and this has typically been the time of year when we get a lot of move-ins.  I have found it difficult to manage that many students and continue to hep them grow academically.  I appreciate that my own children do not have to be in classrooms of this size.  Cam's entire grade was only 29 students to start the year and they have two of sections for each subject.  Thus, he rarely has more than 15 in a class.  Meg's class sizes have pretty much been the same as well.  All educational studies have shown that the best way to improve education would be to reduce class size.  Most agree that twenty-two should be the maximum a teacher should have to run a classroom effectively.  I would love to see that implemented in our district.

Leaves and More Leaves

Today Doug spent the majority of the day working on the yard.  It looked as though most of the leaves were down and he made a huge dent in them today.  I wish I could have been more helpful, but I have never been great at the leaves.   Without soccer I thought he would have more time, but his workload at Renegade has picked up tremendously since August.  I did appreciate what he got done today as the yard looked a lot better.

I spent my day working on laundry, giving haircuts and cleaning the kitchen.  Lately, I have felt that I overwhelmed with our daily schedule.  Basketball has added quite a bit to our plate.  My classes at school are the largest that I have ever taught.  Those two items combined along have made it a lot more challenging for me to keep up with it all.

Can't Win Them All

Cam spent his morning and early afternoon at Bremen elementary playing in a chess tournament.  He started off slower than normal and ended up finishing in the middle of the pack.  He was disappointed with his first loss, but overall was glad to have the experience.  Evan and JJ were there and Cam enjoyed hanging out with them.  He even joined in the Brower family gin rummy game.

Meg had a tough day on the basketball court as well but didn't take that to heart either.  West Noble had beaten up on them since she was in 6th grade AAU.  She knew it would be a difficult game.  She did get to play a lot and did well when she was on the court.  She said that a lot of the girls were upset after the game, but she was just happy to be a part of a supportive team.

Another Day, Another Game

Today was the last day of trimester one at Milford.  It was a long week as my students had tests to finish and I had grades to put in the grade book.  I was able to finish it all by 4 p.m. today which I was very thankful for.  Today was also our Veteran's Day program at school.  It was one of our better ones as the speaker was one of Milford's former PE teachers.  I never make it through the white table ceremony without tearing up and today was no exception.

Tonight both Cam and Meg had games.  Cam's was at Elkhart Christian Academy while Meg's was at home against two different schools.  Since it started at 5:30 p.m. and Meg's was at 6, we decided to split up.  Doug went to Cam's game and I went to Meg's.  We thought that Cam's would be an easy win, but that was not to be.  ECA had a player who was taller than Doug.  Bethany lost by quite a bit and Cam was pretty frustrated.  He felt better by the time he got back to school especially after watching the A team win by double digits.

Meg played on both the JV and Varsity tonight.  The JV played Goshen's 9th grade.  Doug was able to make it to the second half of the game.  The girls started slow and at halftime found themselves down 15-1.  The break must have regenerated them and the girls put on an impressive comeback losing 21-19 in the end.  Meg played the majority of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarter.  She has definitely improved and looked a lot more comfortable on the court.  The Varsity played ECA and controlled the game from the beginning.  Meg also played in that game coming off the bench for seven to eight minutes in the second half.  We didn't get to talk to her much as she went to Jackie's after the game to spend the night.

Bethany vs. Milford

Tonight was Cam's game against his former classmates at Milford.  When I left school several of the Milford players asked me who I would be cheering for.  I told them Bethany.  They gave me the raspberries and I made sure to "boo" them as well.  I did enjoy watching the game as I know all of the boys playing.  Cam guarded Ryden most of the game and held his own.  Bethany did not win, but the game was close for the first three quarters and I was impressed with how much the Bruins had improved since last year.  It wasn't the overwhelming defeat that we suffered then.  Cam even scored the first basket of the day on a put back offensive rebound.  He also dressed for the A game tonight, but he never got in the game.  Cam was more than ok with that as the teams were big.  Milford won that one as well, but not as easily.  I was pleased with how well Bethany did against the 8th grade especially since they had to play a 6th grader at point guard and two seventh graders on the wing.

Physical Therapy

Today I was able to go back to physical therapy for my ankle.  I had to miss last week because of my wrist.  It was a little more challenging as I was afraid of falling.  He gave me a walking stick to hold.  That helped a lot.  I exercised on the bike, did lunges and worked on balance.  My ankle has not hurt in ten days.  I do not feel as though I need to go to therapy anymore for my ankle.  The PT wants me to go one more time next week just to make sure.  I never thought that my ankle would stop hurting.  I know that I will always have to do exercises to keep it painfree.  I don't mind, however, as I have gone from cringing with every step to hardly noticing any difference between my left and right foot.

First Varsity Point, First Varsity Win

Tonight Meg had a game at Jimtown.  My parents drove Cam and I to it.  He had had practice after school, so we had to hustle to make it on time.  Doug met us there.  Jimtown was young and showed it in the first quarter.  Bethany got up to a 13 point lead quickly and held on from there.  Meg got to play a lot in this game and it was fun watching her.  In the fourth quarter she had an awesome move to the basket that just rolled off the rim.  She was fouled on the way up and earned two shots at the charity stripe.  The first one also rolled around and fell out.  Meg took her time on the second attempt and was pleased to have finally scored her first Varsity point.  

Meg rode home with us after the game.  My parents picked up the truck at Bethany for her.  We stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner.  I enjoyed listening to Meg talk about the game.  She was proud of the point she scored and was happy with her decision to play basketball this year.  We were pleased that she has taken advantage of all that Bethany has to offer.  It has helped her make friends and to connect to her new school.

On to Northwood

Cam had a game at Northwood tonight.  I had never been to their middle school before.  It was in Wakarusa, so I decided to stay at school and drive from there.  Our 7th grade played their 7th grade B team.  It was a good game for the first half, but then size won out.  Cam didn't feel that he played his best.  He said that his back was hurting.  Even though he felt that way he still played the majority of the game and had a lot of great rebounds.  He enjoyed playing defense the most.  He said that was easier as he didn't have to think as much.  No matter the score I had fun watching him.  It was a long day at school and it was a nice break from that.

Sleeping In

Last night Jackie and Macensy spent the night with Meg.  They walked in around 10:30 p.m. laughing and carrying a pizza from Little Caesar's.  They had a lot of fun and were able to sleep in until 10 or so.  The girls then went with Meg to 11 a.m. mass.  Cam slept in as well.  He was exhausted from his trip to Bloomington yesterday and was glad that religion had been canceled this morning.  I also slept in but was still up by 7:45.  Today was daylight savings time and we had set the clocks back an hour last night.  It felt good to have that extra hour of sleep especially after such a busy Saturday.  Doug appreciated it as well even though he had to get up and got to work this morning.  He originally thought he'd have to work all day at Renegade, but by 1 p.m. he was able to finish up what he needed there and could come home to work.

I really appreciated having him here as we had had a very heavy rainfall.  We had standing water in our backyard and flowing water through the front ravine.  The neighbor's driveway was completely flooded and we had water come in through the toy room and one small part of the pool room.  Doug did a great job soaking it up and I kept the towels dry and ready to be used.  It stopped after a couple of hours and the rain ended.  The flooding did change Meg's plans for the afternoon.  She was supposed to meet a group of friends at Maria's in North Webster.  Doug followed her to South Shore golf course to evaluate that road.  Once they got there they realized that it state road 13 was impassable.  Thus, Aaron stayed in North Webster and had lunch with one of their friends there, and   Meg and Izzy went to Chubby's.  It wasn't quite what she planned, but she enjoyed it just the same.

Saturday is Here

Doug and Cam left this morning at 6 a.m. for Bloomington.  They made it to Brett's apartment at 9:30 this morning.  They talked to him for about an hour and then headed over to the game.  It was misting a little when they got there so Cam sported a Maid of the Mist poncho for awhile.  They had a great game to watch at least for three quarters.  IU even led for awhile.  During the last ten minutes the Badgers pulled ahead and never looked back.  They met Brett at Mother Bear's for dinner afterward.  It was a pretty good walk to the restaurant from the stadium and the place was packed, but the pizza was delicious and they enjoyed visiting with Brett again.

While Doug and Cam were gone I caught up on school work.  Cal kept me company while I was working in my room.  He even watching Dirty Dancing with me.  He had never seen it before.  HM came over at lunch time.  She had taken the SAT this morning.  Meg and I went shopping in Goshen once they left.  We ate a late lunch at Hacienda and then bought Meg a new coat at Kohl's and some better boots for me.  We had time to stop at Target before I had to drop her off at Bethany.  I then came home to finish a few items on my to do list before leaving for Argos.

Cal had stopped by to say goodbye to my parents before he left for Purdue.  He planned on spending the night at Cameron's before going back to Bloomington.  Monteith had replaced the starter in the Civic so he had no problems driving it.  Mom, Dad and I drove to Argos for Meg's first official basketball game.  Meg dressed for both JV and Varsity.  She played well for her first game.  The JV struggle against the Argos defense, but the Varsity did very well.  In fact they almost came back to win losing 33-35 in the last few seconds.  By the time we got home Doug and Cam were already there.  It was a busy day for all, but a lot of fun.

Not Much Better

I was able to work the last two days with the splint on, but my wrist and thumb still hurt tremendously.  I didn't realize how much that I used my left thumb until I injured it.  The hand is still swollen and now is black and blue.  It was hard to type at school, but I made it work.  I kept using ice and it did help  I was glad for the weekend so that I could rest it.  

I went to AK Hare after school for a much needed haircut.  It had been awhile, so I had her trim it more than usual.  It was short, but Doug thought it looked nice.  Earlier in the day Doug had said that he and Cam were going to leave for Bloomington tonight.  IU was to play Wisconsin tomorrow and they wanted to see the game.  Since they were busy, I invited Cal, Meg and HM to go to dinner with me.  They all agreed and by the time we got ready to go Doug and Cam had changed their minds.  They decided to go out to dinner with all of us tonight and then travel to Bloomington in the morning.  We appreciated their change in plans, but let them know several times that they weren't on the original invitation list.  

Mad Anthony's was the eatery of choice and we were surprised to get seated as quickly as we did as it was First Friday's in downtown Warsaw.  The food was great and there were a lot of laughs around the table.  Cal probably got picked on the most.  He had decided to order jambalia shrimp pasta.  The waitress had told him that it would be hot, but he was sure he could handle it.  It was just as promised and about half way through he had to ask for a to go box.  We did not let him forget it the rest of the evening.  

Cam's Season Opener

Tonight was the season opener for the Bethany boys middle school basketball.  Cam is playing on the B team this year.  He started in tonight's game and played the majority of it.  We were impressed with his improvement in defense and rebounding.  The boys struggled against the size and speed of Concord, but they did hang in there for the first half.  Cam stayed to watch the A game while Mom and I went shopping at Aldi's and Target.  We picked him up at Bethany afterward.  He was happy with how he did.

The best part of the game was sitting by Cal.  He had come home last night and thought it'd be fun to tag along with Dad to the game.  It had been awhile since he had seen a middle school game and his commentary was hilarious.  Every time Cam had the ball he'd yell, "Get a haircut!"  Another time one of Concord's less skilled players traveled down the lane.  Cal helped the refs by shouting out, "He's walking."  He and my Dad left after the B game.  They wanted to catch Hannah-Marie's season opener as well.  Dad said he was just as funny there.

A Nasty Fall

Yesterday at school I took a nasty fall.  I was walking from Betsy's room to mine and the carpet by the front doors tripped me up.   The corner of it was upturned and caught my left foot completely knocking me to the ground.  In catching my fall I injured both of my wrists and thumbs.  They both hurt immensely but the left one would not stop throbbing especially the thumb.  I talked to the nurse at school and showed her where it hurt.  She thought that it could be broken.  I kept ice on it for four hours while I finished out the day at school.  Once I got home and showed it to my Mom and Doug my hand had become extremely swollen.

This morning I tried to get into Dr. Allen's office to have someone look at my thumb, but they didn't have any appointments before ten a.m.  They also did not have a way to x-ray it.  As it was a workman's comp claim, the school had to be involved in deciding who I could or could not see.   They did finally agree that I could go to MedStat instead.  They were able to get me in at 8 a.m. and had an x-ray tech on staff.  By 9:30 I was on my way out the door with a splint for my wrist and directions to follow.  It was not broken, but severely sprained.  I will not be able to use it at all for the next five days and it will take up to 5 weeks to fully heal.  I spent the majority of the day resting.  It didn't feel much better, but at least I had a plan of action.