Family Night

They had family night at the assisted living facility.  So after work I picked up the littles and we went and had dinner with Grammy.  There was suppose to be entertainment, but something transpired and it didn't happen.  It was nice to see family members of the residents there.
The manager of the facility commented on the fact that there was a better turn out this month.  And I bet it is even bigger next month.
I see them making changes, but it is slow.  Nothing happens overnight.  It will be good for the residents though.
Mom is moving though and will not benefit much more from the changes.  Here is to hoping the new place is everything she thinks it is.  It is still a facility and there are still locked doors.

Last Day

It was the last day of summer break for the little woman.  Tomorrow she starts first grade.  She is excited and claims not to be nervous.  She will do fine.
We had a great summer.  We camped twice in the tent and once in a cabin, went to the midwest, attended the Clark County fair, took another set of swimming lessons and played.  We didn't hit as many parks as I would liked to have, but it's okay.  We had a pretty busy summer and enjoyed ourselves.
Now we need to get into the new routine for school.  Let's see how the bedtime goes.

Monday Monday

Mom was invited to take a little tour of one of the memory care facilities and have lunch.  The littles coming with was not part of the plan.  So I asked Uncle Pat if he would watch them so Mom and I could do that.  It is a holiday weekend afterall and I'm sure my babysitter would be busy.
Well he switched it up and asked if he could watch them at the island while he was fishing.  Of course.
So Mom and I went and did our thing while they did theirs.  Mom really liked the place.  She thought the people friendly and the food good.  So it looks like the search is over.  Now we move on to the next part of that.  Figuring out how the move will happen and when.
After I dropped Mom back at Creekside I went back to the island and spent the rest of the afternoon with Pat and company.  Watched the water and all the boats.  The kids had a blast.  They loved playing on the old Cat that got pulled out of the weeds.  They found caterpillars.  Almost made me want to bring one home to see if we could see it transform.  But alas, we did not have anything to do that with.  Relaxing to spend a couple of hours on the river.
Thanks Pat.  And we are still just taking life one day at a time.

Happy Birthday Dad

My dad would have been 75 today.  And it was funny how I kept finding his things in the garage as I was cleaning out there today.  Like I was meant to find them today.  Mom still had his wallet.
We've been without him for over 27 years and I can't even imagine what life would be like had he lived.  What he would think of how life worked out for all of us.  I know he would love my little woman and little man.  The little redhead would remind him of us other redheads in our youth.  He would love those great-grandchildren in Minnesota.  He would have a special place in his heart for the ones named after him.
I posted a blip on facebook about his birthday and got to hear a couple of stories I hadn't heard.  We all miss the man.
Happy birthday Dad.  Light and Love.

Taking It Easy

We did some work in the morning so as to not have a completely lazy day.  Then we lazed all afternoon.  Watched some Netflix.
Decided to try an Alfredo recipe for dinner.  The little man was a big help.  Then he tried the sauce and declared he did not like it.  It was a little too much.  Too much salt and too much seasoning.  We will try it again with less.  Although it was better when I put it on fettuccine.  Anyway the little man is really going to be quite a cook some day.  He always wants to help.
After dinner the little man fell asleep, so he got put in his own bed.  :)

Third One

So this morning I visited another memory care place.  I wish I could just take all the things I like from the various ones and put them all in one.  This one uses Teepa Snow training which is wonderful.  I just love her and find her to be so informative.
The thing that was different was this one invited me to bring Mom by on Monday for a mini tour and lunch.  So we are going to do that.  This place has a lot of activities.  There was singing going on when I was there.  I got to see their gardens.
This one for sure can be the final place unless Mom needs skilled care later on.  That is a plus.  The others may be that way also, but no one stated it.  And really I don't want to make any more moves unless we have to.  It is bad for dementia patients to have big changes in their lives.  And life throws enough big changes.

Meet and Greet

The little woman's school had their open house tonight.  We got to meet her teacher and see the room.  It is upstairs and that will be different.  I was amused when the teacher started talking about how there will be lines like there were in kindergarten.  We have no clue about that since we did not attend this school last year.  Neither did her new teacher.
Anyway the little woman is going to have a grand time.  They will be doing a lot of reading and writing.  There are many reading stations around the room to encourage the quiet time for reading.
Turns out our neighbor is in her class.  I thought he was ahead of her already, but I guess not.  So I told her to find him the first day and do what he does.  I'm sure it will be fine.
First grade.  Time is flying.