Sunday morning musings

It's the last day of January and we have had relatively mild weather. We had a few below zero days and a few days of snow, but nothing crazy yet. I know we still have February to deal with and you never know about March, but we have made it through this far. Thank goodness because winter in and of itself wears me out with the dark and cold.

early morning walks

Jack and I had a fun week. Sally, Ellie and Otto spent some time with us while Matt was in NYC for work. Ellie is 5 months old now and cuter than ever. Her smile and giggle brings such joy to us! This week Ellie figured out how to roll over from back to front. That is a pretty complex move! Jack and I are finding it so interesting to watch her develop new skills. It seems even more miraculous watching these milestones as grandparents. I am not sure why. Maybe it is because we don't see Ellie everyday and then when we do, there are always big changes. When you stop and think about how much a baby changes in the first year of life, it is such a miracle!!!Wow. Mind blowing.

Ellie always wakes up with a smile

chatting with Grandpa Jack

We also had a midweek visit from Lauren. Sushi, a glass of wine and a fun catch up sesh. It was a perfect way to spend a Tuesday night in winter.

We celebrated Nina's birthday (officially January 26th) last Saturday. Speaking of mind blowing, how about this little girl being 7 years old now? Nina and Abbie are getting so grown up. They have brought so much fun into our lives. Being a part of Abbie and Nina's lives satisfied that "grandparent itch". It is a special relationship that we share and now Jenny is sharing a similar one with Ellie. We often say how blessed our children and grandchildren are to have so many people who love them. 

selfie stick action!

Love My Job

I know I love my job, but sometimes it hits me like a ton of bricks just how much I love what I do. Yesterday was one of those days.
On Fridays I provide speech and language support for three self-contained classrooms for students with emotional behavioral issues. This year we have had a big influx of students in our program and there are more speech/language needs than can be met in one day of services. The decision was made to add a half day of services and that means another SLP will have to provide those services and that means that I am losing one of my classrooms. Another SLP will be covering the intermediate (3rd, 4th , 5th grade) classroom starting next week. Her name is Andrea and she will fit right in. We did some transition activities together yesterday and it went so well. What shocked me, though, was my reaction as I left that classroom. I felt so sad! I tried to fight back the tears, but I could not completely contain them. You work with kids and you become so invested that it is hard to walk away from them, especially in the middle of the school year. When you throw in the team of coworkers, it makes it even harder to leave.
Working in the trenches with great educators who truly care about their students is such a blessing. I left work yesterday knowing that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing in life

Feeling grateful

I am feeling grateful this morning. It's a lovely place to be. There are some days/moments when I feel God's peace and grace so completely. This morning I am thankful for:

• being able to take a short walk with Jean without much pain. 

• great experience with my colonoscopy yesterday- good results, easy procedure, a day of rest

• Jenny, who drove in the snowy weather at 5:30am to take me for my colonoscopy on her birthday! What a sister

• a visit from Sally and Ellie yesterday

• a FaceTime call from Wayne as I was going to bed

• Jack, on the road in Louisville, coming home tonight

• a job I love with students, families and staff that make me want to be a better SLP

• family and friends who make my life so full of love and fun 

Life is full of ups and downs, so I know to appreciate these moments of pure grace. 

Happy Thursday! 

A weekend with Ellie

Jack and I had the pleasure of babysitting for Ellie (and Otto, our granddog) last weekend while Matt and Sally went on a short 48 hour getaway to NYC. It was one of those situations that just fell into place, so we all figured that it was meant to be! Matt had about 10 days off work and it was a long weekend for me and we did not have anything going on, so they booked a quick trip to Sally's favorite city. It was a nice change of pace for all of us, especially me and Jack! 

We could not believe how good natured our sweet little granddaughter was the whole time she was here. For a baby not quite 5 months old, Ellie was easy to read. We could tell if she was hungry or tired or wanted to roll around on the floor unencumbered. She is a good communicator! Ellie is an excellent sleeper too! (so far. don't want to jinx it for Matt and Sal!) Ellie slept a solid 11 hours both nights. Unbelievable. The best part was when she woke up, we could hear her talking/cooing in her pack n play and when we went in to get her? All smiles as in whole body smiles! 

We had some visitors on Saturday. Jenny, Charley, Beth, Abbie and Nina came in the afternoon. Abbie and Nina ended up staying with us while Beth ran errands. They were super helpful with Otto and also organizing things (that's a special talent they get from their mom!). Wayne stopped in around dinner time to see Ellie and then Beth came back with Arn to pick up the girls. We don't get nearly enough time to spend together, so any of these chances are appreciated. We have fun family members! Our visitors all left by 7pm and Jack and I were in bed by 7:45. We aren't as young as we used to be!

Matt and Sally had an awesome time in New York. They saw the musical Hamilton and ate at Ryan Bartlow's restaurant, but I know for sure who had more fun than they did....Grandpa Jack and Grandma Patty!

sweet Elliebel

Catch Up Sunday

It has been so quiet in our house today!!! Jack and I both got tons of work done. He is traveling most of the week (to Palm Beach FL, wouldn't you know? Lucky) and had lots to do for the next couple of weeks of work. I spent time billing for Medicaid services for work. It is pretty complicated and not the easiest thing to do, so I was fortunate to have a block of time to hammer away at this unpleasant task. This medicaid billing has been hanging over my head and always in the back of my mind, so it feels good to have gotten so much done. I also sent several emails for scheduling annual reviews for my students. Oh I also took several little naps. Work a little +  nap a little = productive Patty.

It's 5:15 pm and I just ventured outside for the first time today. The wind chill is -8 degrees and I went out to make sure the cars both started. Jack and I are going to 6pm mass tonight and we certainly couldn't walk there!! It's really our first sub-zero weather of the winter and we were supposed to get several inches of snow last night, but ended up with just a dusting. I think this time last year we had already had 2 snow/cold days.

Spring will be here before we know it.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve is one of those nights when I don't want to just sit home, but I don't want to be out and getting all crazy either.  Last year, of course, was an exception to that because it was Wayne and Julie's wedding. That was a spectacular NYE, the best one ever. This year, we knew that the kids all had plans. Wayne and Julie had a little party at their house to celebrate the new year and their first anniversary and Matt and Sally had a few couples over to their house. (side note: I love it that my kids have wonderful and close friends. I know how much our friends have enriched our lives.)

So...what to do on this NYE? Jack and I asked Bucky if he wanted to have dinner together. Originally we thought we would just cook dinner at Bucky's and have a quiet night at home, but the day before NYE, we had a brilliant idea...how about an early dinner at the Union League Club?? Bucky agreed and Jack called for reservations. The Wigwam dining room was booked, but they had a waiting list and said they would call back if something opened up. We were thrilled when Jack got the call and we were in for 6pm reservations. Yaaaay!! 

We had such a great night! The weather was perfect. We enjoyed the Chicago skyline on the way in, the lights of the city on the last night of the year, the hustle and bustle of people ending their workdays and getting ready to celebrate. Walking through the revolving doors at the Club, into that familiar vestibule...it was festive and uplifting and we knew we were where we were supposed to be. We had a fabulous dinner (amazing brussel sprouts!) and great conversation. The only picture I took was one with Jack, Bucky and me with the selfie stick (taken very discreetly!).  

Dinner at the Club with two handsome guys was the perfect way to ring in the new year. 

me and two of my favorites

Christmas Day

I am finally starting to get caught up with the holidays here on emptynestingpatty (I often wonder why the heck I chose that name for this blog and this blog address?! It must have been forefront in my mind back in September 2009!)



Christmas morning at Bucky and Grandma's has always been a special time for us. Everyone in their places, present opening (always way past generous), then cooking of the sausages and singing of Shortening Bread, followed by breakfast with great conversation. It never disappoints.  We were thrilled to be together to celebrate this breakfast tradition, but missed those who were not physically present this year.


This year we had a great conversation about the election of 2016. I love that we can discuss important things like this and can disagree but not be disagreeable. It is interesting that in so many holiday family gatherings, political discussions are forbidden and so controversial. Isn't it ok to have differing opinions?! Isn't that what makes our country great, that we can all have differing opinions but still have the appreciation of our democracy at the forefront? Jack's family is the best at political discussions and every person's opinion is respected and never ridiculed. I was impressed by the thought and consideration behind each person's opinions,

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas morning.

Lauren, Ellie and Bucky

time for beverages

Shortnen bread with Paul via facetime