What a Zoo!

Spent the day at the zoo. We hated every moment of it.

Can't you tell?



More to share but I HAD to post these two tonight.

Read more...

Sentences and an annoucement

Time still keeps flying by. It's hard to believe how much we've done this summer and it's only August.

We've made new friends that feel like old friends.

And we've spent good time with old friends that have been missed.

You just can't argue that magic.

It's hard to adjust to the fact that life has moved on.

Kate's had her first dance class session begin and end since he left us.

I know he watched every practice from heaven. I just wish I could have seen the look on his face.

I can picture it though. So proud, so loving, so hopeful.

Kate asked me today when she could have a baby in her belly. I told her she had to wait until she was 29. So at nap time today she asked Scott "Daddy, you think I can have a baby in my tummy sooner. You show mommy I can have it when I'm 6, maybe."
Little does she know Daddy was mad at me for not making it 33 before she could have a baby.

I struggle every day with doing what he would want for her. I want to make sure his legacy lives on, not just in my heart and Kate's but in the world. Scott's capacity to love and enjoy all that life has to offer was his gift. Those of us that were blessed enough to know him, know that Scott would want the music to carry on. For the lives of all of us to move forward, find love, be loved and enjoy the moment.

To honor him we're joining forces with Mark and Jay'me and sponsoring the Scott Witt memorial Jackson Fest.
You all may remember the bash the party the festivities, that Scott and I had last year at our house. Well, that idea was borrowed from Mark and Jay'me.
For years they have been the hosts to Jackson Fest. A backyard event with food, family, a bounce house and live music. All the things that Scott loved most.
So this year, we're helping out. We're happy to be part of the event. Doing what Scott would love for us to do.

So save the date. Mark the calenders.
Saturday August 13th.
Come honor Scott. Come love like Scott loved and join the family.
Specific times, address (northern Illinois) and band information to follow.

This years Jackson Fest is a charity event. We'll be collecting donations. All the proceeds from the day will be given to EDNF. A charity organization that supports Ehlers-Danlos research, families, cures, and treatment.

Get your butts in gear. Get the day off. Get a sitter for bedtime. It's only 12 days away.
We encourage everyone to attend (even you blog stalkers that think you go unnoticed ;) ). But please remember that this is some one's home, behave accordingly.

Who's in? Who's down? Who's joining the cool crowd?

Read more...

A perfect fall day at...

the beach?

What kind of wacky nut job takes her kid to the beach on a cloudy fall day?
That's me... well and Nicole who braved the cool temps to bring Brandon out so we could all play.


There's an old quarry not far from us that was used from the 1950's until early 1990's. Excavating all the sand left a beautiful lake behind. For the last 20 years this gorgeous lake went untouched. With no trespassing signs posted and no easy access the lake just sat and sat.

While Scott served as Vice President for the Crystal Lake Anglers club (yep, my husband is super cool) they raised money and started to stock the lake, preparing for the future fishing and the lake continued to sit. Until just recently.

We saw this beauty pulled from the water from some shore side fishermen.

This untapped lake has been transformed into a beautiful rec center. Gorgeous paths, beautiful beaches, small islands, boat rental (to tap into those unsuspecting fish), and even a Culvers.


This kids laughed, played and wrestled until it was time to come home.


Many laughs, some good fellow mom time, a few photos and a happier, calmer, slightly frozen Brandi has emerged.

Read more...

Full Moon

If it's not a full moon tonight, it's pretty close.
See

I took this around 9pm tonight out my bedroom window. I'm so glad my procrastination on putting the screen back in and taking the tri-pod down worked in my favor.
This was my first tentative steps into taking a picture of a full moon and really only my second attempt at a moon picture. All things considered I'm pretty happy with it.

I have a very, very strong feeling on full moons. Anyone in retail and or the medical community (specifically the ER) will tell you that the full moon brings out the crazies. In fact once, a long, long time ago, when I worked in the bridal industry I had a bridesmaid throw a shoe at me on a full moon. Seriously, a freaking shoe. Crazies, I tell you... it brings out the crazies.

Today was no different. Kate and I had a very interesting trip to the Bad Ass Park. Let's just say it involved a snobby nanny group, a grandpa that tried to pick Kate up (innocently) and a Mary Kay consultant. Very bizarre indeed.
Kate's nap time that was more like jungle time and by 3pm I was seriously thinking about a drink.

Fortunately, S12 and his posse, along with their neighbor Donna, her daughter Kayleigh (age 4), and Justin and Kara, all came over for dinner. Some other adults to talk to and more importantly some kids for Kate to play with really helped get things back on track.
The world was set right side up again when I tried the burgers S12 made for us all. Prosciutto, swiss cheese, grilled pineapple, bbq sauce and jalapenos. Ah-Ma-Zing!

The kids played in the front yard, where we set up the grill, in true redneck fashion.
Brandon pranced around with the umbrella using the driveway as his stage and the other kids as his stage hands.



Beautiful weather also meant that Scott could get in on the outdoor activities.
He even challenged Kate to a race.



Kate may have technically "won" but Scott is the real winner.

A beautiful way to end the day.

Read more...

Operation Do More

After day three of Kate and me being cranky and all kinds of "out of sorts" I decided it was time to "Do More".
I was planning on spending tomorrow in Iowa helping my cousin Scott and one of my bestest girlfriends that also happens to be his wife Saskija, move into their new home. Unfortunately the world had other plans. I didn't feel like Scott was well enough for me to be six hours away from home right now so I didn't go.
But I could tell that the Witt girls needed a little change in scenery. I said to hell with the nap and the "must-do" errands and packed yet another hasty, poorly planned bag and headed north.
Drove to the beautiful Milwaukee Zoo. Seriously, I grew up with Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo in Chicago and neither of them have anything on Milwaukee.
It's clean, it's shady, it's gorgeous. And from our house it's the same drive time without all the traffic.

Here's a little photo journey...
All around the park they have free peacocks. You'll catch them on pathways, in different exhibits, near the bathroom.

If you're really lucky like we were you'll even get to catch a Mama peacock with her new baby.

A harbor seal taking a cool bath on a hot day.

A smiling polar bear. One of Kate's favorites.

Some giraffes with their long necks.

A leopard that stalked back and forth. Boy, was I glad for that glass.

The tigers on the other hand were too busy playing Ring Around The Rosie to pay any attention to us.

Even the camel twins could have cared less about us.

This leopard didn't have a care in the world.

The vulture, on the other hand, wanted to eat us for lunch.

Brown bear, brown bear what do you see. "Shut up I'm sleeping."

"Well Kate what shall we do next?"

Ice Cream for everyone!




Nothing better on a warm sunny afternoon.
Except maybe a water mister....


Some beautiful scenery.


A few really hard decisions.

One disappointment(the carousel was broken)

A perfect day.



Tonight after K had taken her bath, we sat in the rocking chair in her room while I brushed her hair. Lights out, blinds pulled, fan blowing gently.
I asked K what her favorite part of the day was.
Her answer "Spending the day with you."

I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

The End.

Read more...

What's Goin' On?

Sit back and relax kids, I'm going to take you on another journey through the last few days in the WWW. I hope you enjoy the ride.

When last you left the WWW, Scott and Scott 12 were watching the Blackhawks game together. Well, I think we all know how that turned out.


Thursday brought more chaos. Kate and I spent the morning enjoying the beautiful weather at one of our many local parks.

Kate enjoyed the swing. She loves sitting in the baby swings so I can push her higher and faster. Be warned though, don't try to push Kate before she's ready. If it's not her idea to go high and fast you better be prepared for a meltdown of epic proportions. Girlie doesn't like it unless it's on her terms. I don't know where she gets this stuff.

She quickly bored of her high flying adventures and sought out other means of stimulation.

Over and....

over again....

More times than I can count. So pure and so raw were those giggles. She simply couldn't get enough.
Got home with barely enough time to get Scott ready for therapy. Scott went and put in his 2 grueling hours only to be rewarded with a trip to Dr. Livingston's office when he returned home.

Dr. Livingston is our local ENT that Scott has been seeing since September of 2008 for maintenance on his trach. In general things look good. Dr. Livingston was concerned about the shifting that Scott's trach is doing. He was quite glad to hear that Scott is having an MRI on Tuesday. The MRI will rule out an aortic aneurysm which could be causing the trach shift.
Aside from that, Dr. L was very pleased and we are on a "only call me if you need me" basis. YIPPPEEEE! It feels almost like graduation day.

After the graduation we invited the Laudick's (Scott 12's) family over for a celebratory dinner. BigDan and Kathy gave us some super, ultra, nothing yummier smoked chicken and baked beans on Wednesday. So The Witt's and the Laudick's dined on a most scrumptious feast that I didn't have to prepare or procure. Pretty freaking BADASS!

Friday, more fun and games. Kate had school in the morning, I went flying and Scott had therapy again.
Kate and I went to another park after nap time. This is more of a discovery center than a park but I guarantee it is, by far, the most amazing "park" ever.
The entire area is soft, rubberized material to prevent, skinned knees and broken bones. It is also completely wheelchair accessible. Scott wasn't with us this time, but he'll be joining us in the future for sure.
We ended up running into Scott 12 with his boys and our friend/dentist Kevin with his oldest daughter.

So you're wanting to know what makes this the most badass park ever.
Let me show you.
I'll start with the railroad crossing. You press the button and the lights flash and the signals sound. It's so authentic it scares you.

There is also a giant sandbox. Hidden in that sand box are dinosaur bones for the "kids" (I use that term loosely) to find.




There are plenty of things for even the young ones like Brandon to get their hands on.


They have an entire area of musical instruments to try out.

The best part is within this area are these musical notes on the ground. When stepped on, they make noises. Sometimes, it's a little melody, other times a gong, and a few of them even make their correct note.

They even have what I refer to as the "LazyBoy" swings.

Seriously, what happened to swings being a work out for the kid and the parent.

They also had this thing. It's a voice recorder. You spin the handle 6 times and say something. It then distorts your voice and says it back to you in all these different accents.

A climbing wall to get you to the top of equipment.

A roller slide that according to Kate "makes my cheeks jiggle".




I could go on and on but I fear that I have 1)bored you all into stunned silence and 2)broken Blogger forever.

I wish I could share the photos of the police station, the fire truck, the sailboat that really rocks like a boat, the barber shop, the drive-in.....
Rest assured family, we'll be spending lots of time there.

Ok, so that brings us up to Friday evening. Alli and I had a girl night as you already know. I'm so lucky to have such amazing girlfriends that allow me to peek into their lives. I get so sick of looking at mine. It's nice to see how a more "traditional" family works.

Saturday, a monsoon, a trip to Target (in the monsoon, of course), a showing of Shrek 3 in 3D (great guessing), a dinner out at Pablo's (great little mexican joint) and some Uno to the Death after Kate's bedtime with my parents, Justin and Kara.
Kate loved the movie and was pretty well behaved. All the adults thought the movie was terrific. I haven't laughed that hard in ages.

Finally, we've arrived at today. Spent the day low key for the most part. And because I can't sit still for a second, I decided to take the plunge and finally get Kate in her "big girl bed".

Goodbye crib.

She went down like a champ and I haven't heard a peep out of her yet. Pray for me that she doesn't wake up at 4am.

You all are going to notice some big changes here soon (if you haven't already). Hang in with me while we work out the kinks and get things running smoothly.

Another busy week ahead.... summer is off to a real bang already.

EDIT - The park is called Deicke Park - it's in Huntley off Route 47 just south of downtown, near the water park. You'll turn into the park and stay to your left for the "discovery center".

BigDan if Kath, allows you to go, call us we'll meet you there anytime. You better start eating your vegetables young man.

Jill- would love to meet up with you and Justyn. We'll be there lots so I'm sure we can coordinate something. Email me.

Sere- I did take the boots photo. I took it during this photo set. I knew even back then, I wanted this header. That's how freaking long I've been working on this update. Thanks for the compliment.
You should absolutely start a blog. Your talent for words far exceeds mine and the entire process is really, really simple to get started. Go for it Girl!

Thanks for the other compliments sent via email and in the comments. The "new look" is still a work in progress. I owe a ton of thanks to Lena from Simply Fabulous Blogger. She's a genius.

And so ends the edit....

Read more...