Time to slow down

Well I am officially ready for things to slow down a bit. Although I am not sure they ever will, I think my entire family is in desperate need for some relaxation. I am late in posting this week or early for the current week however, you want to say it for a few reasons. The Tuesday after Labor Day, September 7, Tim and I went back to work. We had had a nice long weekend, and we were ready to get back into the groove of work and normalcy. Tim got a call around lunchtime from his sister. His dad had passed in his sleep over night. To make a long story short, we were out of town in Ohio the rest of the week for arrangements and funeral services. Stephanie, Andrew and his girlfriend joined us on Friday for the services. We got back home late on Friday night and had a busy weekend, no rest for the weary. Back to work Monday. Tuesday I was sick so I had to miss another day of work. UGH. I am just ready to be back to normal and here I go getting sick! Today, I am back to work, thankfully. It has been a very rough month for The Johnson Five and I am hoping it slows down. Tim is coping with everything very well; I am heartbroken for him and the kids.
Good news time: Stephanie’s birthday is in 2 days! She’ll be the big *2*1*!! I am super excited for her! I hope that she enjoys this birthday and has a great time with her friends as she enjoys ordering her first alcoholic beverage! =) The family is going to dinner to celebrate her big day tomorrow night. Then she and her friends and others will be joining her at Dave & Buster’s for festivities Saturday night. Oh the joys of being young!
Andrew seems to be keeping up with all of the homework he’s been assigned so far at school – he’s been coming home on the weekends since he’s moved in and spending time with his girlfriend Sami. We hope that he will stay some weekends at IU soon so that he can get immersed in the culture that is college life on a big campus. I think he has been getting involved in a few sporting activities while at school, at least playing basketball with his friends, and that is great! Weekends at IU were always fun for me; I hope he enjoys them too!
Cooper – well that boy, he is such a delight! I just cannot get enough of him! In the last week, he has decided that he is no longer going to eat baby food from a jar. The boy is now only eating table food. We have discovered that he LOVES shepherds’ pie (recipe here: http://picky-palate.com/2010/09/07/homemade-shepherds-pie/) and chili. Not usually foods that we would necessarily think of feeding a baby, that is for sure, but he sure does love them. He has been saying more words lately, Nana, Mama, Dada, Doggy, Thank You, and his baby sitter said he said Mamaw too. Since he does not have any Mamaw’s, that will not come in handy, but he has been repeating what the other kiddos are saying.
Today Tim and I are heading to Noblesville to visit the Indy Kids Consignment Sale (http://www.ikcsale.com/). We have had great success with the past two sales for stocking up on all kinds of baby clothes for Cooper. The last two sales, I had been fortunate enough to obtain the pre-sale pass, but this time, I did not register quickly enough, so we are taking a long lunch and heading up there to shop during the daytime. I hope to get plenty of fall/winter clothes for Coop and new socks, perhaps even a winter coat. If we find a few toys that look good, we’ll grab those too.
Seems like there is always something going on for The Johnson Five, life sure does not slow down, so I guess we must not either! Have a great weekend everyone!