Michelle and Mannie (GA)
Member Since 2009
MERRY CHRISTMAS LL! It is hard for me to believe that the day is rapidly approaching. That and Nicholas's birthday, who will be 4 on Christmas Day. I am so grateful for all that makes up my life. Nicholas's and William's Bears, BEAR and Bear II, thought they'd take a minute and wish all a very happy holiday season. MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH EVERYONE!
Good Morning LL!!
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!
LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies!
They have even used their signature nip cheese. 
Best order early! OOOOOOOOO! They have perfected their NY Style hot dog pies. MAJOR YUM!!!! Try one, you'll see! Just order the Mannie and Stu Special! so. well. anyways. Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fav! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... AND (!!!) Since it is the holiday season, we have EGGNOG! Mannie's secret recipe! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good!
I hope everyone had a great week. ;-) The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Will it ever? ;-) NOPE!!
What a BUSY week! It has been a bit of a "challenging" week though. Nicholas's and William's mom had the latest version of the "crud", some sort of intestinal stomach flu, complete with the projectile you know what, and it seems the boys got their fair share of it. Nicholas was sick Tuesday, William on Wednesday.... :sad: Nicholas was able to swim on Wednesday, William however had to for go his session on Thursday. Bummer! But better safe than sorry. Even with that "set-back" we still have been swimming, duh! Been busy indoors mostly, as the weather has been rather wet, with lots of heavy rainfall. We have seen some sun, had some gorgeous sunsets, but that sun shows so late in the day that we just haven't been able to take advantage of that, and have outdoor days. We made the aquarium when the boys felt better. YAY! The Christmas tree is finally up, and still standing despite Lola's efforts to have it in the horizontal position again. :lol: Every morning when I get up there are ornaments on the floor, and I know she has been busy. :lol: And, LOL (!!) This grammie continues with the indoor high in the sky tube water slide with Nicholas on Friday night swims. It was been one incredible week, very busy, but ever so FUN. I am elated that kids are as resilient as they are, and recover from such illnesses quickly. Life is good! OH! William has graduated to a upright car seat. Yahoo! I am elated as I can now see what he is up to while traveling, and I no longer have to haul around in that baby carrier. It was getting, with him it, unbearably heavy. :shock: :lol: The boys love being in the same position, and make the bet ever traveling buddies!
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Night were our swimming days this week. :shock: That's alot of pool time! William unfortunately cvould not swim this week, since he was sicks and missed monday to when the other grandparents messed up and forgot to bring him. :roll: :shock: , Nicholas went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nght. Nicholas continues to be our energizer fishie. That I think will never change. he just has so much fun with it all. He continues to LOVE the new pool we started going to a few months ago, in Snohomish. It really is a wonderful experience, and he can do alot of the things he likes there: like the slides, the lazy river, and deep water jumping and diving. The big high in the sky tube water slide is now his favorite thing to do, and it is our main focus when we go to this pool. OMG! :shock: :shock: :shock: . Now that is all he wants to do when he goes there. 
So.... since they have height restrictions, etc on that slide, He is not quite tall enough to go solo, someone has to go down with him. so.... there I am, doing this water slide. WOW, what an experience that was. I lost count on the number of times we went down that thing. :lol: :lol: :lol: I kept hearing "again. Again! AGAIN!!!!!!!!" :lol: :lol: :lol: There are a couple of videos in the photo album that kinda show what it was like to go down that slide. This pool has become our new Friday pool. It is a ways away so it does add to our commuting time, but we all agree that it is very much worth the effort and time spent. We are still trying to "convince" Nicholas that swim lessons would be great... oh sure! Once again, last night he tells me that he is "never taking that swim test!" Hmmmmm.... silly kid! I continue teach him what I can. He continues to make lots of new friends when he goes. it's fun to see him connect up with kids when he gets there. Nicholas made a new friend there last night. This girl was maybe 9/10 years old. She loves to play underwater, and really had Nicholas going. She asked if she could swim between my feet, as I stood in that deep part of the pool, what is it there? maybe 4'8"? anyways told her sure. well Nicholas thought that was awesome. so he wanted to try. That took a a little effort for him to get himself down that far, between the feet and up again. This was a first for him, but he made it. He comes up all smiles and says wow, that was hard, and so cool. I want to do that again. So he did, over and over again. missed a few, but no matter. The whole thing was a ton of fun for him.We all just love pool days, and are grateful that we have the pools and the time to be able to do this. GO NICK! GO WILLIAM! 
Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast
I know I write this each week, but that is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up, just like always. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: He still makes a point of making sure I have packed it all, and asked when I met him in the morning. GREAT TIME! The ride home continues to be alot of fun, for both of us. We sing silly songs, make up ridiculous adventures. We remember the for real good ones we have had. Sometimes too, like last night, we talk about Mannie. LOVE Friday nights. Last night, well every Friday night, Nicholas told me it was his favorite night of the week, that this day was the best day ever. Me too little man, me too!
and..... no hiking for me this week! Bummer! But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out alot, so I remain content. :razz: The weather has turned rainy at any rate, with lots of snow now in the mountains. At times the passes have been closed, so.... I guess the hiking season is more or less "over". Oh well, time to focus on lowland stuff. I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. Meadowdale just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with Christmas is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday was our joint swim day with the other Grandparents. :roll: Well it was supposed to be. DGma Pat forgot William was supposed to be there too, didn't bring any of the stuff, wasn't prepared to get in the pool, etc etc etc. :roll: . so he couldn't swim, Well, no comment. He will be back with the pool next week. It was a very good session this time for Nicholas. He had an awesome time. I was able, after our swim session to take a short adventure to Silver Lake, a new park/beach area, for me and the boys, near my house that I had read about. it is surprising sometimes how places can be so close, been there for years, and one has never been. So... off I went to see what it was like. WOW! NICE! It has a really great all sand beach area, and a playground set up that is large, and great for all skill levels. I really look forward to being able to try if out with the boys when we have the chance. I think they would really like this park.
Tuesday was my "OK.... let's get this Christmas thing going and bought and wrapped and organized" day. So I did. Phew ! That was exhausting, but all is set, wrapped and ready to go. I still have the dinner thing to plan, but all else is ready. WHAT A RELIEF! Of Course Lola had to help.... She loves boxes and paper. I hope folks don't notice the teeth marks on their present wrappings. :lol: :razz:
Wednesday and Thursday were our stay at home and recover from being sick days. That was difficult for all of us, as we are so used to being able to go go go go and then go some more. The boys handled it well. Nicholas did manage to swim on Wednesday morning, but he was one tired kid. William was just wiped out boys days. Wednesday We played alot of indoor games, watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, read alot, did some online games that Nicholas really enjoys. It is so fun to watch William try and help him. ;-) . Thursday William felt good enough that he wanted to send some time outdoors in my back yard, while Nicholas was in school. On one of the days William found the tin with all the legos in it. :lol: That was fun! He picked them up and dumped them ore often that I could count. William also discovered that the plastic balls for a learning school bus he has bounces REALLY WELL on my kitchen floor. That was endless entertained: giggles and laughs and toss after toss. Lola and Bug thought it was pretty cool too. :lol: :lol: All in all we did fairly well for being somewhat confined to quarters this week. I was ever do grateful that it was this week, and not Christmas week. :shock:
Nicholas was able to go to school on Thursday, YAY! What was nice about it all was that they had a birthday celebration for him then since he will not be in school for his for real birthday on Christmas. He was so excited, and couldn't stop talking about it all. Cupcakes with really "let's make your tongue Green" frosting. :lol:
Friday was our free day, and both boys were feeling much better, good enough for an out and about. Once again the weather was not our friend, what rains! and winds.... as an iffy weather day, rains on and off most of the day, with temps barely in the 40's, and way too cold for the boys to be on the river, especially after being sick. The rivers are also running very high too we elected to go to the Seattle Aquarium, ALWAYS a favorite of the boys. Nicholas asked to go the Seattle Aquarium, so off we we went., even though we had been here last week, and the week before.... Sometimes I think, well know, that we could go every week, like the Science Center, and never grow tired of it, and all that is offered there. They sure did have a great time. William is so much more mobile, so it was nice to be able to set him down and let him roam. The joy of discovery on his face was just so awesome! The section that was the biggest hit was the tide pools, where they have so many anemones, starfish, etc. They allow hands (well, your "science finger") in there, so he makes sure he gets to visit them. Loved that, as did he: all smiles. It is interesting that Nicholas also enjoys the interactive screens that they have it here. We continue to visit them all, with me reading what they say, him doing what needs to be done to get it all to work. Great leaning tool! William is a HUGE fan of the tropical fish tanks. :razz: :shock: He just LOVES them, and can't get enough of any of the tanks. He gets so excited as these fish swim by his face, with him following them with his fingers, all the while saying "FISHIE!!!!!"We also spent alot of time in the "Under the Dome" section of the aquarium, which basically allows viewing from all sides and the top. It is a very cool area. Nicholas perched himself on a railing and watched the fish do their thing. William was busy "chasing" them back and forth. It was great to see them both feeling better, and having a good time.
Normalcy in MusketeerVille! The kitties are all doing well. Not too much new with them... Lola continues to rule the Christmas tree, and it is still standing. I have yet to get another video, just ave not been home enough to catch her in the act. She seems t like taking over in the middle of the night. :lol: Every morning I find a few ornaments scattered at the base of the tree. :roll: :lol: GO LOLA! I am sure that once Christmas day comes we will not be able to keep her out of it She loves company and showing off when they are here. What better opportunist for that than her fave tree. :shock: :lol: Bug is doing well too. I had a call the otehr day from his cardiologist, wondering ho he was doing. Seems it is time for his annual re-eval. When I adopted him it was reported by PAWS that he had a level 4 heart murmur. We tested that a few months after his adoption, and the cardio vet reviewed it as a mild level 1, no concerns. But he did want to recheck in a year, as there can be many factors that influence a cardio workup, and in his opinion it is best to recheck annually in case something should chnage, So Bug will go in for that on January 6. Elsa is still holding her own, at 18.5 years. My cute feisty old senior gal. She has slowed some, but is still doing her ting. I have changed how I feed her, as she is a grazer, and I believe, well know that Lola and Bug are eating much of the food I leave out for her. So anytime I see her in the kitchen, or up and about I give her a teaspoon of food. She will eat that in one sitting, and I feel better knowing she is getting the food allotment she needs. She has lost weight over the past couple of years, so we hope to hold her steady going forward. Keep on truckin' Elsa! Normalcy in MusketeerVille! cat_pet_icon
Have a great Caturday everyone. Sorry this post it late today. Sorry too I missed everyone's condos yesterday too. Time this morning, and the days, have gotten away from me. At least the shopping is done, and the laundry. The boys are off to visit Santa today. I so hope that went well. Who knows with a 1.5 and a soon to be 4 year old. :lol:
KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
Good Morning LL!!
(Ahhhhhh.... elixir! Thanks Elsa), and Happy Catmint Caturday!LL! It's is I, Elsa, KBP, president and CEO of Coffee Cat! Life is GOOD! GUESS WHAT! Paw Prints Pizza is open and ready for business! They are running a Caturday Catnip special today, in honor of Catmint Caturday - lots of nip in those pies!
They have even used their signature nip cheese. Best order early! OOOOOOOOO! They have perfected their NY Style hot dog pies. MAJOR YUM!!!! Try one, you'll see! Just order the Mannie and Stu Special! so. well. anyways. Coffee time! For today, I proudly offer Elsa's special 10 hour energy coffee, and Double shot espressos, with beans from deep within the mountain slopes of Africa, AND.... for all my Mocha fans: a venti quad peppermint white chocolate mocha, with peppermint infused whip, garnished with peppermint candy chips and white chocolate shavings... It is my bean's fav! SWEET! OH! No worries, a dollop of peppermint and vanilla and chocolate and caramel swirl ice cream, on top of a dollop of fudge, sprinkled with peppermint chips and a chocolate caramel drizzle.... AND (!!!) Since it is the holiday season, we have EGGNOG! Mannie's secret recipe! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh....... mega good! I hope everyone had a great week. ;-) The days with the boys have been good ones! We have been very busy, that part of life has not changed. Will it ever? ;-) NOPE!!
What a BUSY week! It has been a bit of a "challenging" week though. Nicholas's and William's mom had the latest version of the "crud", some sort of intestinal stomach flu, complete with the projectile you know what, and it seems the boys got their fair share of it. Nicholas was sick Tuesday, William on Wednesday.... :sad: Nicholas was able to swim on Wednesday, William however had to for go his session on Thursday. Bummer! But better safe than sorry. Even with that "set-back" we still have been swimming, duh! Been busy indoors mostly, as the weather has been rather wet, with lots of heavy rainfall. We have seen some sun, had some gorgeous sunsets, but that sun shows so late in the day that we just haven't been able to take advantage of that, and have outdoor days. We made the aquarium when the boys felt better. YAY! The Christmas tree is finally up, and still standing despite Lola's efforts to have it in the horizontal position again. :lol: Every morning when I get up there are ornaments on the floor, and I know she has been busy. :lol: And, LOL (!!) This grammie continues with the indoor high in the sky tube water slide with Nicholas on Friday night swims. It was been one incredible week, very busy, but ever so FUN. I am elated that kids are as resilient as they are, and recover from such illnesses quickly. Life is good! OH! William has graduated to a upright car seat. Yahoo! I am elated as I can now see what he is up to while traveling, and I no longer have to haul around in that baby carrier. It was getting, with him it, unbearably heavy. :shock: :lol: The boys love being in the same position, and make the bet ever traveling buddies!Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Night were our swimming days this week. :shock: That's alot of pool time! William unfortunately cvould not swim this week, since he was sicks and missed monday to when the other grandparents messed up and forgot to bring him. :roll: :shock: , Nicholas went Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nght. Nicholas continues to be our energizer fishie. That I think will never change. he just has so much fun with it all. He continues to LOVE the new pool we started going to a few months ago, in Snohomish. It really is a wonderful experience, and he can do alot of the things he likes there: like the slides, the lazy river, and deep water jumping and diving. The big high in the sky tube water slide is now his favorite thing to do, and it is our main focus when we go to this pool. OMG! :shock: :shock: :shock:
. Now that is all he wants to do when he goes there. So.... since they have height restrictions, etc on that slide, He is not quite tall enough to go solo, someone has to go down with him. so.... there I am, doing this water slide. WOW, what an experience that was. I lost count on the number of times we went down that thing. :lol: :lol: :lol: I kept hearing "again. Again! AGAIN!!!!!!!!" :lol: :lol: :lol: There are a couple of videos in the photo album that kinda show what it was like to go down that slide. This pool has become our new Friday pool. It is a ways away so it does add to our commuting time, but we all agree that it is very much worth the effort and time spent. We are still trying to "convince" Nicholas that swim lessons would be great... oh sure! Once again, last night he tells me that he is "never taking that swim test!" Hmmmmm.... silly kid! I continue teach him what I can. He continues to make lots of new friends when he goes. it's fun to see him connect up with kids when he gets there. Nicholas made a new friend there last night. This girl was maybe 9/10 years old. She loves to play underwater, and really had Nicholas going. She asked if she could swim between my feet, as I stood in that deep part of the pool, what is it there? maybe 4'8"? anyways told her sure. well Nicholas thought that was awesome. so he wanted to try. That took a a little effort for him to get himself down that far, between the feet and up again. This was a first for him, but he made it. He comes up all smiles and says wow, that was hard, and so cool. I want to do that again. So he did, over and over again. missed a few, but no matter. The whole thing was a ton of fun for him.We all just love pool days, and are grateful that we have the pools and the time to be able to do this. GO NICK! GO WILLIAM! Nicholas still looks forward to our after swim Friday Night Burger Feast
I know I write this each week, but that is just so fun: burgers and fries, just him and me, with lots of fun stories. He was so happy to see that burger and fries combo show up, just like always. Somehow I think that is part of the magic of Friday night swims: that he gets burgers etc after his swim. :razz: He still makes a point of making sure I have packed it all, and asked when I met him in the morning. GREAT TIME! The ride home continues to be alot of fun, for both of us. We sing silly songs, make up ridiculous adventures. We remember the for real good ones we have had. Sometimes too, like last night, we talk about Mannie. LOVE Friday nights. Last night, well every Friday night, Nicholas told me it was his favorite night of the week, that this day was the best day ever. Me too little man, me too! and..... no hiking for me this week! Bummer! But the time with the boys was a great offset, and we did make it out alot, so I remain content. :razz: The weather has turned rainy at any rate, with lots of snow now in the mountains. At times the passes have been closed, so.... I guess the hiking season is more or less "over". Oh well, time to focus on lowland stuff. I can during post hike season do the local trails here several times over, and make a decent distance hike out of it all. Meadowdale just never disappoints. Life continues to be good. I hope once the busy-ness that comes with Christmas is complete that more time will open up for more hiking on my off days.
Monday was our joint swim day with the other Grandparents. :roll: Well it was supposed to be. DGma Pat forgot William was supposed to be there too, didn't bring any of the stuff, wasn't prepared to get in the pool, etc etc etc. :roll: . so he couldn't swim, Well, no comment. He will be back with the pool next week.
It was a very good session this time for Nicholas. He had an awesome time. I was able, after our swim session to take a short adventure to Silver Lake, a new park/beach area, for me and the boys, near my house that I had read about. it is surprising sometimes how places can be so close, been there for years, and one has never been. So... off I went to see what it was like. WOW! NICE! It has a really great all sand beach area, and a playground set up that is large, and great for all skill levels. I really look forward to being able to try if out with the boys when we have the chance. I think they would really like this park. Tuesday was my "OK.... let's get this Christmas thing going and bought and wrapped and organized" day. So I did. Phew ! That was exhausting, but all is set, wrapped and ready to go. I still have the dinner thing to plan, but all else is ready. WHAT A RELIEF!
Of Course Lola had to help.... She loves boxes and paper. I hope folks don't notice the teeth marks on their present wrappings. :lol: :razz:Wednesday and Thursday were our stay at home and recover from being sick days. That was difficult for all of us, as we are so used to being able to go go go go and then go some more. The boys handled it well. Nicholas did manage to swim on Wednesday morning, but he was one tired kid. William was just wiped out boys days. Wednesday We played alot of indoor games, watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, read alot, did some online games that Nicholas really enjoys. It is so fun to watch William try and help him. ;-) . Thursday William felt good enough that he wanted to send some time outdoors in my back yard, while Nicholas was in school. On one of the days William found the tin with all the legos in it. :lol: That was fun! He picked them up and dumped them ore often that I could count. William also discovered that the plastic balls for a learning school bus he has bounces REALLY WELL on my kitchen floor. That was endless entertained: giggles and laughs and toss after toss. Lola and Bug thought it was pretty cool too. :lol: :lol: All in all we did fairly well for being somewhat confined to quarters this week. I was ever do grateful that it was this week, and not Christmas week. :shock:
Nicholas was able to go to school on Thursday, YAY! What was nice about it all was that they had a birthday celebration for him then since he will not be in school for his for real birthday on Christmas. He was so excited, and couldn't stop talking about it all. Cupcakes with really "let's make your tongue Green" frosting. :lol:
Friday was our free day, and both boys were feeling much better, good enough for an out and about.
Once again the weather was not our friend, what rains! and winds.... as an iffy weather day, rains on and off most of the day, with temps barely in the 40's, and way too cold for the boys to be on the river, especially after being sick. The rivers are also running very high too we elected to go to the Seattle Aquarium, ALWAYS a favorite of the boys. Nicholas asked to go the Seattle Aquarium, so off we we went., even though we had been here last week, and the week before.... Sometimes I think, well know, that we could go every week, like the Science Center, and never grow tired of it, and all that is offered there. They sure did have a great time. William is so much more mobile, so it was nice to be able to set him down and let him roam. The joy of discovery on his face was just so awesome! The section that was the biggest hit was the tide pools, where they have so many anemones, starfish, etc. They allow hands (well, your "science finger") in there, so he makes sure he gets to visit them. Loved that, as did he: all smiles. It is interesting that Nicholas also enjoys the interactive screens that they have it here. We continue to visit them all, with me reading what they say, him doing what needs to be done to get it all to work. Great leaning tool! William is a HUGE fan of the tropical fish tanks. :razz: :shock: He just LOVES them, and can't get enough of any of the tanks. He gets so excited as these fish swim by his face, with him following them with his fingers, all the while saying "FISHIE!!!!!"We also spent alot of time in the "Under the Dome" section of the aquarium, which basically allows viewing from all sides and the top. It is a very cool area. Nicholas perched himself on a railing and watched the fish do their thing. William was busy "chasing" them back and forth. It was great to see them both feeling better, and having a good time. Normalcy in MusketeerVille!
The kitties are all doing well. Not too much new with them... Lola continues to rule the Christmas tree, and it is still standing. I have yet to get another video, just ave not been home enough to catch her in the act. She seems t like taking over in the middle of the night. :lol: Every morning I find a few ornaments scattered at the base of the tree. :roll: :lol: GO LOLA! I am sure that once Christmas day comes we will not be able to keep her out of it She loves company and showing off when they are here. What better opportunist for that than her fave tree. :shock: :lol: Bug is doing well too. I had a call the otehr day from his cardiologist, wondering ho he was doing. Seems it is time for his annual re-eval. When I adopted him it was reported by PAWS that he had a level 4 heart murmur. We tested that a few months after his adoption, and the cardio vet reviewed it as a mild level 1, no concerns. But he did want to recheck in a year, as there can be many factors that influence a cardio workup, and in his opinion it is best to recheck annually in case something should chnage, So Bug will go in for that on January 6. Elsa is still holding her own, at 18.5 years. My cute feisty old senior gal. She has slowed some, but is still doing her ting. I have changed how I feed her, as she is a grazer, and I believe, well know that Lola and Bug are eating much of the food I leave out for her. So anytime I see her in the kitchen, or up and about I give her a teaspoon of food. She will eat that in one sitting, and I feel better knowing she is getting the food allotment she needs. She has lost weight over the past couple of years, so we hope to hold her steady going forward. Keep on truckin' Elsa! Normalcy in MusketeerVille! cat_pet_icon Have a great Caturday everyone. Sorry this post it late today. Sorry too I missed everyone's condos yesterday too. Time this morning, and the days, have gotten away from me. At least the shopping is done, and the laundry.
The boys are off to visit Santa today. I so hope that went well. Who knows with a 1.5 and a soon to be 4 year old. :lol: KITTIES! Remember: think BLUE, think GREEN cat_pet_icon
I also loved hearing about Lola and the horizontal tree, well, she is a Christmas cat isn't she?? :lol: :lol: Love to Bug as well, especially with her vet visit coming up! Thank you for your posts, they add much-needed cheer to what can be a very down time! Have a great Sunday! :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
