The Hanna Crew

2010-09-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

These last few days have been hard yet good. Thursday September 23, 2010, Alice Elvina Wuthrick McCracken passed away at the age of 93-Thanksgiving would have been her 94th birthday. She fell in her home in the early morning and faded away quickly. She was in the care of June, her caregiver. Marilyn came up as soon as June called but Grandma was already gone. Mom came by my house at 6:40ish in the morning. I was not yet in the shower. I was the first person she told, I think. Dad was still asleep. Ellyn was there and heard right away too, Jay was getting ready for school and overheard. After the kids went to school, I went over to Mom's to "help" her. She packed and got things ready while I sorted thru her pictures to find some of Grandma. Lee Bell was keeping Daddy company while Mom threw most of their clothes -not her socks, thought!-into the car. They have a wedding on the 9th of October in Ohio so they are going to stay through. They left about 11:00 on Thursday morning. Mike and I made the decision to go on Friday. We left Lake Villa about 10:30 Friday morning. We each had a car with kids in it. He had his blue Honda with the boys and I had the black Honda with the girls. I just have to say that I had been needing to go to the grocery store but had not been able to make it so we took almost nothing but we also left nothing behind to go bad. Mike had gotten paid on Thursday so we had money to travel with. We took tents with us just in case we had nowhere to stay. Ok, we left about 10:30. We spent 2 hours-miserable hours-in Chicago. The rest of the trip went well. We did not get turned around once! That is quite a feat b/c about 2 hours into the trip Mike decided that we should take 80 across instead of 30 like we had planned. I have not been on 80 in about 11 years! I did it all from memory and an atlas book of maps, oh yeah and a phone call to Mom! We got in about 7:30 Ohio time. It was dark and starting to rain some. We opted to sleep in the trailer with Mom and Dad. That was interesting. We had 9 people in a tiny, barely 2 bedroom trailer. Mom and Dad had the big bedroom. The 3 girls slept in the tiny room. One girl slept in Grma's hospital bed-a different one each night. Mikey and Jay slept on air mattresses in the dining room! Mike and I slept on the hideabed couch in the living room. It worked well though! We did actually put up the tent(another night)but it was about 40 degrees that night so we did not use it! Wendy Panzera and her 5 kids got in about 45 minutes after we did. That was fun. Wendy and I realized that the last time we had seen each other was in Ohio for our oldest children's baby shower 17 years earlier! That was Friday. Saturday was chilly but exciting. Our kids-Jay 16, Ellyn 12, Mady 11, Opal 8, Mikey 6 paired up with Wendy's kids-Dave 17, Jonathan 14, Becca 12, Phillip 9, and Emma 8. It was chaos! It was great! I got to talk with Wendy, the kids got to play, and we all had a good time. Mom had a 8:00 am hair appointment with Melissa. She stopped at the store and bought socks and pop and a few other things. We had been given so much food that it would not all fit in the fridge and Marilyn's was full too! Mike and I needed to go to the store so we hit the Dollar General and a flea sale-it looked like a garage sale but it turned out to be a single house flea market. Mike and I spent about an hour at that house! Mike bought some huge blue Ball jars and I got a blue/purple glass bowl. At the Dollar General, they still had Friday's paper so I bought 4 b/c Grma's obituary was in it. Back at the house, the kids played together all day. We had the Wuthrick reunion at 4:00 at Silver Park. Only about 2 people who were there were not direct descendants of Grma and Grpa McCracken. Arla Jean was there and so were Linda and Dennis Howell. The kids fed the ducks, walked around the pond, played at the playground, ate and had a lot of fun. The grownups did all that stuff too! Matt Parker and Mike and Chris Parker came in after the reunion. We had some silly times as kids that we talked about now. Mike was talking about a dog breed called a Dorkie-a Yorkie plus a Dachshund. Jay said we should get one of those and I patted him on the chest and said we already had one! He got "mad" and left! We all laughed a lot this weekend. Although it was a sad occasion, Grma would have wanted us to have fun together. Sunday was church. Mike did not go. Last time we came in, we liked church with Pastor Rod Doran so much that we actually talked about moving to Ohio so we could go to his church! After church was the boys football game. Opal joined too! It was fun to watch. It ended with a tackle that was on some gravel. Card games ensued. Do you know, I did not see or participate in a single Euchre game the entire time I was in Ohio! That is a first! Tommy and Missy came in after lunch. They rode a motorcycle from Arkansas. We spent some time talking with them. I helped Mom with the photo boards for the wake. It was interesting how almost everyone gave the same photos of Grandma with the family. The wake was at the same place that Grandpa's was held. It was slated to begin at 6 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. For those who don't know, Grandpa's had similar times and there were people still waiting to get inside at 10 p.m. Grandma had a few people waiting at 5:30 when we got there! The last one through the line was the woman who bought the family farm from Kenny and Becky. She went through about 8:35. The remaining family left the funeral home about 9:05. Becky had taken Grandma's scrapbooks and scanned them into her computer and typed whatever was written on the back. The video took 50 minutes to watch! It was neat! Oh yeah! At the wake, a man named Charlie gave me some pictures of Mom-who was his ex-fiance! They are all good pictures of Mom but she was so mortified! It is odd-she won't talk about it at all. Anyway, it was nice to meet some people and visit with the family that was there. Monday was a busy day because we had to be up and have the car all packed and be ready to leave for home before the funeral at 11:00. We managed to do pretty well. We were all ready and someone was at the trailer to watch it by 10. Jayson had a pallbearer meeting at 10:30. He was nervous that he would drop her or something. It turned out that they were escorting-kind of like an honor guard- the coffin on it's cart because the aisle at the church was too narrow for them. They did carry it from the back of the church to the hearse and from the hearse to its cart outside the mausoleum at the cemetery. I have a picture of it but he was on the far side and the huge flower arrangement covers most of him. The funeral was lovely. Pastor Doran talks about Grma's relationship with God, Grpa, and Pastor Doran himself. He even teared up a time or two. Matthew Parker read two passages and prayed. The second one he read began Praise the Lord Oh My soul! He read with a LOUD voice and a smile on his face. It was neat. We even sang a few hymns. It was done very well. Pastor Doran said that Elvina would have been mortified with all this praise and the talk about her. I agree. After the funeral, the procession went to the cemetery up the road that overlooks the farm where Grma and Grpa lived for so long. There was a brief service there. The family then went up and took flowers from the arrangement for keepsakes. Then most of us went back to the church for a luncheon. The four Parker siblings took some pictures together as it had been many years since they were all together. We left the church about 1:45 Ohio time. We wanted to get home before the Bears/Packers game let out from Soldier Field. We drove through some heavy rain in Ohio and into Indiana. We also made the trip back using 30 instead of 80. I was in front and managed to get turned off the main road a few times but managed to get back to it fairly quickly or find an alternate route. Just in case you were wondering, almost ALL of the roads we took home and some we took there were under construction! It got really old after, oh, about 10 minutes! Well, we got home about 9:45 or so. The 4 younger kids took their pillows and blankets and went straight to bed! Jay helped Mike and I empty Mike's car because Mike needed to drive it to work in the morning. My car stayed full until Tuesday late afternoon! Although we are all tired, it was a good trip. One we wish we could have made while Grandma was still alive to enjoy with us.

2010-09-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can not believe that I have not blogged since April! Well, wherer to start? Let's do a backward recap.
September: Grandma McCracken passed away. We attended the funeral. Jayson carried her casket with my cousins Samuel Sweeley, Glenn Weisent, Tommy Parker, Jason Howell, and Steven McCracken. Although a sad trip, we had lots of fun with the many cousins, first cousins, cousins once removed and a few who should be removed! Septmember also brought the long awaited, much anticipated house workers to upgrade and make safe our home.
August: The kids started school on the 16th and 17th of this month! Jayson is a Junior-and he feels on top of the world. He has C++ Java programming at the Tech Campus this year and is thrilled. Ellyn is a 7th grader which puts her in the Junior High all by herself(well, at least away from siblings!). Madalynn is a 6th grader and it blows my mind! Opal is a 3rd grader and she got a great teacher-she had Mike her first year of teaching! Mikey is a big 1st grader and stays at school all day now! He loves school and enjoys other people to deal with. That means I get about 6 hours a day to call my own. For the first time, I get to make phone calls with minimal interruptions, work on the computer, make myself lunch and all those other chores I do, I get to do BY MYSELF!
July: We are mid process of the paperwork for getting a "loan" to get the house repaired. The windows have lead paint and are being replaced by a grant from the state of Illinois. We are also getting the siding covered-again the lead paint plus the, ahem, ...concrete board(aka asbestos siding), tile replaced in the kitchen, the "bathroom" downstairs is going to be an actual half bath with tile and paint and a sink! They are also redoing the fuse boxes and giving us a panel box, updating some of the outlets and wall switches, replacing a few light fixtures and adding a few! The clincher is this-the septic is being replaced! Ours has been barely functional for years and now we are finally going to have a properly working system! We are soooooo excited about that! It will be a wonderful thing!
June: We started the process to get all that stuff done in July-it is supposed to be started by the end of August and finished by the 21 of October! We are doing some Antique shopping withe the kids this year. We are going to hit flea markets and Volo. We also are going to go to garage sales to show the difference between junk and nice stuff.
May: Mikey and Ellyn's birthdays. I don't remember anymore right now.
Well, that is a brief synopsis of the summer and early fall here at the crazy Hanna House. I will do better at updating my blog for all 3 of you who read this!

2010-04-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

April is almost half over and I am just getting around to blogging!

Spring Break for the kids happened at the end of March/beginning of April. It was actually a lovely week. The weather was fabulous! It was between 60 and 85! It was sunny and great to be outside the entire week! The kids loved it. I even got sunburned! We did a lot of playing outside since winter had us trapped inside for a while.

Easter was the last day of Break so we opted to have our Easter get together on Saturday so we could relax on Sunday and get ready to go back to school. We had a wonderful meal with the Bells and the Smiths at the Smith's house. The kids hunted eggs. Mom says we polished off about 7 pounds of candy that day! Craziness!

It has actually been rather nice weather-wise since then. We did had a night where it did snow a tiny bit and a bit of frost but other than that it has been warmer. It is that time of year that we have to know the weather of the day so we know how to dress ourselves! Mike wants me to finalize our plans for the garden and get it planted. He put in a tomato and a pepper plant this weekend as well as a raspberry bush and a few of the most incredible pansies I have ever seen. Jayson is in charge of the front yards look this year so he has some snapdragons and a few other things planted. I hope they all grow the way that he wants them too.

2010-03-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, March has marched right on in and tromped all over my routine! I am playing catch up today. I feel like Spring has sprung-the lovely purple crocus are up and so are some white crocus! Of course, they are close to my foundation so that means some heat loss there-right? Oh well. I love my crocus. I need to plant more.
I will try to post for each person like I seem to do each time.
Mike is still working. He had to "show off" today for a potential customer. He had to make sure his crew was busy and neat when the reps came through. I am sure that he is going to be kind of crabby when he comes home. The hoops they expect him to jump through keep getting smaller and the flames are hotter. Poor guy. Anyway, he still is working but he seems to feel that the company is not gonna be around forever. He and Matt put a new water heater in the house last Sunday. The weekend before he spent putting a new radiator in his Honda and a new alternator on the Suburban! He and Matt also conected our sump pump differently that weekend. (No wonder Mike doesn't particularly care for weekends!) We decided that everything heard that we got our tax refund money so they could all break now. Phooey!
I have volunteered in all 4 of the kids' classes at Pleviak. I go in on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 and help Mrs. Smart in Opal's class for 30 minutes. On alternating weeks I head over to Mrs. Morris' class and help Mikey's class with centers and other projects. Then I head up to Mrs. Monsen's class and supervise Ellyn's class with centers. On the other weeks, instead of Mrs. Morris' class, I go to Mrs. Haley's class and help Madalynn's teacher with whatever she needs. I leave the school at 11:30 with Mikey. We go home and I fall out on the couch! I love it but it is kind of hard to help all those classes in such a short time! I also "work" for Mom and Dad on Mondays and Wednesdays. We do projects and Skype and play pool and stuff. It is fun and sometimes relaxing. I gets me out of my little world inside my house and helps them too.
Jayson had his first official date this month and he would be mortified to know that I have posted that information! He and Stephanie went to see the new Alice in Wonderland. They have been dating a month as of the 12th. She seems like a nice girl. I don't think Jayson intends to ever bring her over here. She is an only child and we are ...um.. rather overwhelming. LOL!
Ellyn has made a Bucket List. It will be rather interesting to see if she keeps it for more than the week. She is reading a lot still. I need to get her to figure out that she can read otuside.
Madalynn has a birthday party this weekend for her best friend, Lesli. She is excited because her other best friend, Kelly, may be able to attend as well. Ellyn and Mady have a choir concert next week and talent show auditions too. They keep busy at school and at home.
Opal is doing well in school and wants to be in the talent show too but I won't let her due to the cost and initiative. She plays a lot with Mikey. It is kind of nice to know she is keeping an eye on him when they are outside.
Mikey is loving school and he is gonna have a hard time over Spring Break in 10 days. Grandma Smith gave her Legos to us and Mikey is really enjoying playing with all those Legos. I did not think people had more Legos than us until I saw a Myth Busters episode with Legos. They had about 150,000 Legos made into a ball. They had to borrow them from all over the country! It was crazy!
We have had a crazy warm streak here this week-it was in the 50s Monday and has warmed up to the mid 60s here today on Thursday. It should be in the 60s again tomorrow but in the 40s with rain and snow for the weekend. The kids are pushing for their summer clothes and for me to pack up the winter gear but I keep telling them this is not going to last quite yet. It was later than this last year when I went to New Mexico and it snow 8 inches while I was gone! The weather may not be quite ready for us to plant anything but boy are we ready to!

February 2010

2010-02-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to February update from the Hanna Crew. ( I wish it was clan but that name was already taken.) I am sorry that I have let the days slip away. I may be an "at home" mom but that does not necessarily mean that I actually stay home! I work for my parents, volunteer at the school and spend more than my share of time either at Wal-Mart or in the car!
January was a sort of tough month. Michael had kidney stones pass in January. Actually, it had been bothering him for quite a while-we are still debating as to how long he has actually had the stone. He started having severe pain after Christmas. He had more than a week off of work due to the pain-eveyone who knows Mike knows that he does not miss work for hardly anything. He ended up having surgery to remove the stone at the end of January. He is still having some pain and is not happy about it. We will be spending some time at the doctor's office next month to figure it out.
Kelly got to scrapbook at the end of January. I got about 68 sides done-I am not too happy with them but my goal was to finish working on our various New Mexico trips. I finished the pages from Jay and my trip in 2001, I did quite a few from Mike, Jay and Josh's trip in 2008 and I did all the pages I wanted from my 2009 trip there. I hoped to get some of 2006 done too but Mike and the kids needed me at home so I cut my event short. Mike suggested that I set up my table in the "playroom" and scrap after I put the kids to bed on the nights he and Jay watch a 9:00-10:00 tv show. Works for me!
Jayson is looking for work because he has a girlfriend to take out now! Hopefully, this girl will last longer than Valerie. He is not doing his best in school and for that we are disappointed but he is still staying out of trouble-at least at school-so that is a good thing, right? Jay is hoping to make it into the tech campus next year for computer gaming programming.
Ellyn is still wanting to pursue a career in fashion. She is picking up where I left off- I just hope that she makes it and doesn't give up on her dream! She has several new friends this school year-her BFF is in another class and she does not get to spend much time with her. We went to Junior High orientation this month. Mike and I are just flabergasted that our baby is about to go into 7th grade!
Madalynn loves school and has joined choir with Ellyn. She is still having some tooth trouble-she had a root canal today(2-17). I hope this will help her get rid of the tooth pain that she has been having. Mady still loves to cook but the other kids have decided that they like to be in the kitchen too so Mady does not get to cook as much as she would like.
Opal is changing so much. She got a new pair of patent leather high tops that are like Converse All-Stars. She also got a pair of skinny jeans for Christmas. When she put them both on the other day, she declared that she looked like Alec now! She really is her own person with her own style that works for her. She likes school alright but is not as passionate about it as Mady is. She was part of the book club that the school had last month. She was VERY upset when it was over. She also still loves to draw. She cried last night because she forgot to turn in her Yearbook Cover Art for the contest which ended yesterday. Look for her to do something in the art world.
Mikey is loving school. He tend to cry if he has an extra day off for the weekend. He says he misses his teacher. He has made several friends. He is just such a happy-go-lucky kids-much like his Daddy. He has given up his nap although he spend every Wednesday afternoon in his bed-he plays instead of napping. It still gives me some quiet time and him some down time.
So I guess the overall prognosis is good. We are all fairly healthy and we keep busy with what we want to so I guess that is good.
Thanks for reading!

2010-01-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

Time to start 2010! It has been snowy and cold here for the 8 days of this year. We had a nice New Year's party with just us at home. We did play Monopoly with the 3 oldest kids. It just wasn't the same without the Bean boys. We ate until we felt like exploding. We carried on Mike's family tradition of wearing Hawaiian flowerty shirts.

The snow picture is this morning. I love the blue quality that early morning light gives snow. It has snowed more than I thought here.

2009-12-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well, Kristy and Jodi blogged about snow in New Mexico-which is rare! I am going to blog about snow here in Lake Villa which is rather common. I still like the prettiness and stillness that snow brings. Here are my pictures from around 9:00 a.m. Tuesday. We should have lots more snow to show tomorrow!

This is our front step. I stepped here to show how much has already come down. I told Ellyn yesterday that we were expecting 6" Tuesday into Wednesday. She bet me $.25 that it would not happen. This morning before she left for school she found her $.25 and offered it to me. I told her to wait. She might yet win...but we both doubt it!

2009-11-30T07:43:00.000-08:00

Madalynn's first band concert November 17, 2009. She
plays my flute!

Our yummy, creative pizzas. We often forget which pizza belongs to which child!

Ellyn's pizza is the smaller one. Jayson eats a lot of pizza and he has decided that he likes mushrooms-as did Mady!

Our official holiday picture! Thanks Marsha for taking it! Thanksgiving day, 2009.

Kelly 38, Mike 39

Ellyn 11, Jayson almost 16, Opal almost 8

Mikey 5, Madalynn 10

Silly pose! I actually like this one better but I don't think it would be right in the Christmas cards!

Mom who graciously let us invade her home twice in 3 days for food related events!

Mrs. Marsha and Mr. Lee-some of our favorite people!

Kileean Bell with Dad. Kileean was the kids favorite thing over these 3 days!

Kileean slices his french silk pie that he made!

Kileean's apple pie. The Cool Whip was a back up for when Kileean and Marsha's fresh whipped cream ran out!

Baking Day!

Mike and Ellyn made several batches together. Jayson was being silly! He made the buckeyes himself!

Mom was working on probably her 5th different kind of treat by now! Mikey and Marsha were frosting the cut out cookies made earlier by Ellyn, Mady and Opal.

Madalynn helped stir the ingredients for Haystacks or as the recipe called them Hopscotchers. Yummmm!

Mike made several things then escaped to the basement to play pool with Dad, Jay and Kileean.

Look, I do exist! I took a break to take pictures.

The frosted cookies. Marsha, Kileean, Kelly, Ellyn, Mady, Opal and Mikey frosted these.

Dad helped by staying out of the way. On occasion someone would bring him an item to taste test. I don't think he brought anything back!

Mom and Dad wanted to celebrate Jayson's 16th birthday but are going to be in Ohio on that day so we had a tiny, impromtu party for him. He requested money to buy himself a new X box.

We figured we would have so many goodies to choose from the we skipped a cake. Jayson stuck a candle in a buckeye and we sang! There was also some sparkling grape juice (or champipi) left from Thanksgiving that we shared as well.

This is a great although crooked picture. It did not seem so dark when we took it. I will lighten it later but here is Jayson with his Grandma and Grandpa Smith.

2009-09-09T06:53:00.001-07:00

WOW! I did not realize that I skipped the entire month of AUGUST! Sorry! We have been doing nothing but even so, life is busy with 7 in the house! Well, Jayson started school the 12the of August! He is a sophomore at Grayslake North High School-which is part of my Alma Matter-Mike and I graduated from Grayslake Community H.S. which is now Grayslake Central H.S. Did that make sense? Anyway, he is in 2 honors classes this semester-which he is none too happy about. He is also-Godhelpmewhendidhegetthisold-learning to drive-which he IS happy about. He has plans to go to the Homecoming Dance in October :)! Ellyn, Madalynn and Opal started school on August 25. Ellyn is in 6th grade and LOVES her teacher. This year they are focusing about 1/3 or more of the school day on reading which is Ellyn's favorite thing to do! She is quite the little fashionista! Madalynn has been anxiously waiting for school to resume. Her 5th grade teacher was Ellyn's first grade teacher! Madalynn and Ellyn like this. Madalynn has decided to play my flute in the school band-Ellyn did that last year. Opal is in 2nd grade this year. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Smart! Opal has decided that she likes Mrs. Smart. Opal was disappointed that she did not get Miss Rose-Miss Rose taught Mady and Ellyn in 2nd grade! Opal also has started paying more attention to what she looks like. Mikey started Kindergarten on August 26. Mike took the day off like he has for all of the kids first day of Kindergarten. Mikey has Mrs. Morris-who was Mrs. Blanchard two years ago when she had Opal! So Mikey is familiar with her and the classroom because I took him with me when I helped Opal's class! He really enjoys school. He is learning to write-he was practicing on a napkin yesterday! Mikey gets on the bus in the morning with his sisters-he rides in the very last seat with Mady. He comes home about 12:15 and we have lunch and hang out.
Mike is still working very hard. Finally someone has noticed. So far that is all they have done but it is ok. Usually more work is the reward for hard work! Just now he called me and said after 5:00 when his shift is over he has to go to the other building. I do not know what he has to do but my guess is to clean up the other guy's mess. He is VERY unhappy about that! Well, something will work out somehow someday-right? As for me, I am home enjoying a few hours of quiet every morning. I wish I could stay home until next school year but the mortgage company has the nerve to expect a payment every month! So, it is off to find a job I go! I have finally made a basic, boring copy of my pitiful resume-my entire job history fits on one sheet of paper! I will be making phone calls and appointments today! I still just wish I could win the lottery! (who doesn't?) Anyway, this is the update for the Hanna Crew! See you soon-unless I forget! Kelly

2009-07-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Mikey asked me to take a picture of him in the hidey-hole next to the sandbox. It turned out very well, if I do say so myself!

Opal has perfect form! She was watching a girl practice and the girl invited Opal to practice kicking with her! Soon all the kids had joined!

Madalynn displays her perfect swing jumping form. I told her that is great vault landing technique!

Ellyn wanted to show me how high she could climb at this park! We tried to take pictures of her jumping from the swing but that did not work very well as she will not jump but merely slide off at a low level. It is hard to photograph something that has less than a second of air-time!

Jayson is showing Uncle Dan that it is best done REALLY high in the air! If you look closely, you will see that he is entirely air-borne without benefit of the swing at this point! We tried and tried earlier this summer to take a picture like this and never got it. I am so glad that we got it this time!

This was supposed to be the picture of Mikey but I picked the wrong number! Oops!

The kids have decided they love the Centenial Park (a.k.a. the wooden park) in Antioch. There are several swings and lots of tunnels, bridges, paths and neat places to hide. The kids love to play hide and seek tag here because it has lots of places to hide and it is hard to get thru the paths and steps and turrets and stuff! We try to go here at least once a week. We ususally spend about an hour and the kids still complain when I say it is time to leave even when it is over 80 with Illinois humidity! I am glad I took the camera today!

Update Blog July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T18:00:00.001-07:00

Our Lily bed looks very lovely this year. We have yellow Stella D'Oros, Dark red, dark pink, peach and a pink and white blend. Lilies are my favorite flower and Mike has made an entire side of the house filled with them!

The kids clockwise from Top-Jayson (15), Ellyn (11), Opal (7), Mikey (5) and Madalynn (9) June 2009

Mikey figured out that he could ride his bicycle without the training wheels. He took my tool box outside and insisted that I take the training wheels off. He rides fairly well-steering can be an issue.

Hello! This is Kelly, your lazy blogger. It is July 1, 2009, 8:00 p.m. I am sitting in my living room listening to the girls pretend to talk to each other on direct connect style phones. Mikey and Jayson are already in bed. Mike is laying in bed watching TV. He came home early today to see "his"movie, Public Enemies. It was filmed so poorly that he had to leave for a bit to be ill! And yes, he was in it. He was an extra when they filmed in Chicago. No, we did not see him when we watched the film. He is also a John Dillinger fan. So anyway, Mike is in bed because he does not feel well.

Jayson likes to be lazy for the summer. He likes to sleep in except that means he is staying up much too late. He then cannot seem to follow our regular eating and sleeping patterns. We are working on getting back on a regular schedule. He is in charge of the lawn now. He is working on figuring out the particulars. He is also working on trying my patience-he is doing a fabulous job of that!

Ellyn also likes to be lazy. She loves to read and play on the computer-as does Jay. She is learning to clean one room by herself and keep it clean daily. She also likes to listen to music. Thankfully, we all have rather eclectic taste in music. Ellyn also likes to craft and plan things.

Madalynn likes to sleep but once awake she usually is rather helpful-except for when she is not! And believe me she can be very UN-helpful! She is also assigned to a room to keep clean. Mady likes to play. She also really likes TV and the computer. She claims to like to read but you just don't catch her reading very often.

Opal is generally up earlier than the others. She loves to draw (or drawl as she says it!). She tends to draw a picture and then write a story around it. She likes to explain the picture that way but it does make it hard to read! Opal is also signed up for the summer reading program but also does not like to read so she is conflicted there. She also seems to be cut from Jayson's cloth in that she likes to try the patience of the people around her.

Mikey. What to say about this wonderful kid-not that my other kids aren't wonderful!- but you know! He is a wonderful 5 year old boy who loves to play or help or whatever! He does seem to still need a nap occasionally but does not take one so that makes him a bit of trouble once in a while. He likes to get up early and get dressed before the other kids get up. He likes me to read to him. He also likes to play the computer-I have started writing down who asks first so they can play in order! He can also try the patience of those around him -when I am not looking he tends to hit those nearest him.

Mike is still working for the warehouse. The company name is arvato digital services (no, it is not supposed to be capitalized.). He has been with them for 10 years now. He is getting a "new" car this week-it is 12 years newer than the one he is driving now! He is upgrading from a 1984 Honda Accord to a 1996 Honda Accord! That seems so fancy to us! My parent's neighbors are selling it to us and we are very grateful. They seem to take good care of their cars. He would like to fish more but we don't always make time for that!

Kelly is still home with the kids. Mikey starts kindergarten this fall and so I may have to find work. My parents are close and may watch Mikey once he gets home from school. My mom and I walk at least 4 mornings a week. It is one mile from our driveway to hers so I walk there and she walks back to my house with me and then she walks home-that makes two miles for each of us! It also gives us a few minutes to catch up each day! I have also been sewing-see previous blog!-messenger bags. I read a lot too! We go to the library every Monday. We see a movie on Wednesdays-there is a$1 movie for the kids all summer long on Wednesdays. We go to the park on occasion. It has been crummy weather so far this summer! Hopefully, it will be better! We joined the YMCA today so I will at least be able to take the kids to the pool once in a while!

Thank you for reading and keep following our blog. I will not post everyday or even every week but I will try to keep it updated fairly often!

Messenger Bags

2009-07-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the blog about homemade messenger bags. I made one in an afternoon, and then another another afternoon and the third in the morning and afternoon. They are fairly easy. I have pattern pieces drawn on file folders. I am still in the process of writing the instructions out so they make sense to someone else. If you are interested in the pattern pieces and instructions, send your name and snail mail address to mkhanna96@yahoo.com. I have enjoyed making these bags and am glad there seems to be an interest in these. I want to make one for myself but am thinking of making some patchwork fabric out of remnants first! It just sounds like a lot of work! The bag measures about 12 inches wide, about 10 inches high and 2-4 inches deep-depending on which bag you measure! The strap length varies for a custom fit to the child! I have no idea how much yardage is needed because I used leftover fabric. The bag is also lined and has 3 pockets. The flap is double sided. There is the option of trim on the flap to help give some weight to it. I have used some light cotton for 2 of the bags and they are just not quite rigid enough but the girls love them anyway! I would recommend heavier fabric for a sturdier bag for a grown-up. Thank you! I hope that everyone sends for pattern pieces and instructions and then makes one! I want to see pictures on Facebook or on my email!! Thanks, Kelly "Crafty" Hanna

Hanna spring pictures 2009

2009-06-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

The kids are pretending to be Kung Fu Panda and his team.
June 4, 2009

This is the girls' last day of school. June 4, 2009.

Happy Easter to one and all.

April 2009

I did a good job on Opal and Mady's dresses and Ellyn's shirt, didn't I?

Mike caught me!

Ellyn with her friend's bunny ears at her birthday party in May, 2009. She is so lovely!

Opal is our local artist. She LOVES to draw. She claims to want to be an art teacher when she grows up! May 2009

My boys! Mike, Mikey and Jay.
May 2009

Opal, Mikey and Madalynn show off at Ellyn's birthday party. May 2009

Drawing night. Ellyn and Madalynn May 2009

Silly Daddy! It is a change to see a smile! May 2009

I am going to have to work harder at posting pictures more frequently so they are more cohesive. Thanks for looking!!

2009-06-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the whirlwind weekend with Ricky.

I had them in order but the machine did not put them the way I wanted. OK, Top left- Ricky with the Hanna kids. He bought shirts for all the kids and a hoodie for Jay. Top Right- Ricky and Kylie just after the graduation ceremony.

Middle left- Ricky played catch with Jay and Tony with the football. Middle right- Ricky after the graduation.

Bottom left- Kylie and Janine raced to hug Ricky and Kylie won. Bottom right- The awesomeness of it all!

All in all a great weekend with Ricky. He is in Florida now and will be until mid-August (unless he does something else crazy!). I will try to keep everyone informed as soon as I know anything else! Here are two more pictures-I hope they are here and not at the top! Opal and Dad and Uncle Richard.

It was busy and crazy but I think he got to see most of the people he wanted to. I hope he does well in Florida and stops being trouble! Love ya, Ricky!

2009-06-04T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks! Here it is, June 4, 2009! Today is the girls' last day of school. They wanted to stay home as one felt that it was unnecessary for her to go to school for yearbook signing. She did not get a yearbook! Jayson has been home for a week now. He has been unhappy that the weather has not been up to his standards (80* and sunny!). Ellyn's class threw a surprise bridal shower for their teacher-it managed to still be a surprise after the 5th graders knowing for at least a month-some most of the school year! Opal's first grade class hosted a surprise baby shower for their teacher who is having a baby boy in August. Most of the kids did not know about that party but even those who did know kept the secret! I attended both showers. They were a lot of fun. Ellyn even "won" at the bridal shower with the toilet paper dress that her teacher liked best! Madalynn and Ellyn each now have glasses. Ellyn needs hers for far away-tv watching, the blackboard, and generally everything but reading or close work. Mady, however, needs her glasses for reading and close work only. She is kind of disappointed to not wear hers a lot, I think. I will have to take and post pictures of that for you all. Let's see, what else? Mikey's hair is growing back after we had to shave it to get rid of the lice. (BTW, Olive Oil is kind of frustrating but it works to get rid of the lice and is not bad for the hair or scalp.) Jayson wants to get a job this summer but I am not sure how that will pan out. He is very excited that Patrick will be here soon to play with. Mom is watching the kids for the next couple of days so Mike and I can have a break and figure out what we are going to do this summer and with the house and all of that fun stuff. Saturday, Bob Church is taking Mike out on his 17 ft. boat. Mike has invited a friend from work and hopefully, the friend will show up! I am getting to scrap for several hours on Saturday! Yeah! I am having a Creative Memories book party on June 26 with Candy Ruoss and Elizabeth Study. The others I have invited are, so far, busy. I am just looking forward to hanging out with Lizzie and Candy! I have not hardly seen either of them since Kristy left! Lizzie works too much as does Candy so finding time with them is hard. They spent 2 weeks trying to find a day in May or June to meet with me and we ended up with the last Friday in June! They are busy people! Mom and I have started walking in the morning together. I walk to her house(1 mile) then she walks back to my house with me (1 mile) then she walks home alone. So we each end up walking 2 miles. It is a good thing for both of us. Since Daddy tends to shuffle or just walk slower than needed to get a good cardio workout, Mom has not walked regularly. Marsha comes over and they walk together but that is not regular. I decided I needed to do SOMETHING so this is what popped into my head. We walk about 6:35-7:10-give or take. It depends on how early I leave and if she meets me a block or 2 from her house. Other news- Ricky graduates June 19th! Yeah! It only took him 4 1/2 months to do what everbody else does in 6 measly weeks! Just kidding-Ricky, We know that you were sick, had dental issues and a broken leg! We are just glad he came out alive!! Alright, I hope that is enough updating for now! Maybe I can have the kids post blogs as part of their summer school programing! Mady can't wait to start taking tests and writing papers! (She's a little touched in the head!) I am going to sign off now but hopefully soon I will remember to post pictures and more stories! Love Kelly

2009-05-19T04:53:00.001-07:00

Hello all those who read my blog! I think that we have killed off the lice! I do not ever want to hear the word lice in conjunction with my family ever again! (Or any word that could mean lice, like louse, nit, white things, eggs, eww! or anything like that!)
On a different note, Jayson will be out of school next Tuesday! The girls get out June 4. They are very excited about school being over. I am happy that school is almost over too. I hope that we can do some fun things together as a family this summer.
Ellyn's turned 11 yesterday and she had a GREAT day! She got most of the things on her wish list. My mom told me that she was going to give me her wish list next year and I said why? She replied that I bought almost everything that Ellyn wanted! She wants it all too! Silly Mommy! Ellyn is having a friend party on Saturday. One of her friends has a little sister in Opal's class so Ellyn invited the little sister for Opal to play with-wasn't that nice of her? I sure thought so! It should be a fun time! Mike is starting to look into purchasing a gun and refreshing his tae kwon do skills! Ellyn has grown up so pretty and she had a great personality. Mike and I are not ready for our babies to grow up!! Sniff!
Well, that is what is going on in our neck of the woods. BTW, my mother has joined Facebook!! I never thought she would! Progress!
Kelly

2009-04-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay, Okay. It has been a while since I posted. I was waiting for something "important" to blog about. Easter was nice. My mother and I made dresses for Mady and Opal and I made a top for Ellyn. It was a beautiful day but chilly. Anyway, this post is about Lice. Opal managed to bring lice home in March. I had her rid of it I thought before I went to New Mexico. Well, two weeks ago, on Mady's field trip, I found lice on her! Grr! Then I washed and combed her and sent her back the next day. She was clear. Whew! Well, this last Saturday, I found more lice on Mady- I had forgotten to rewash her with the Rid stuff. I also found them on Ellyn! I washed Mady on Saturday-the combing out takes FOREVER!!! I washed Ellyn and Opal on Sunday and combed them out-Princess Diaries 1 and 2 for our viewing pleasure. Monday all three got sent home with eggs. I combed them all out again. Tuesday, all three got sent home again! AUGH!!! That's it! We went to Wal-Mart and bought olive oil, plastic shower caps, sweat bands and Sally's Beauty Supply for a metal Nit comb and a plastic applicator bottle. We came home and got to oiling the kids heads! Now it is time to comb the oily hair and then wash it out then pick nits! (Now, I understand the phrase "nit pick"!) Maybe they will all be clean for bed time-gosh-what is for dinner?!?! I am thinking pancakes because the girls all have their hair up and it won't get syrupy!! Maybe I will save that until next week! The girls need to get the oil out soon! Anyway, I will blog in about 3 weeks about this again. I will let you know if the oil worked! Hopefully, it will help tame Ellyn's wild and crazy mane! Kelly

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-03-30T18:35:00.000-07:00

For Today... Monday, March 30, 2009
Outside my window... It is getting dark and cooling down.
I am thinking... 4 o'clock is going to be early to get up to go to the airport.
I am thankful for... this last few days here in New Mexico with my sisters.
From the kitchen... Kristy made some wonderful wheat bread.
I am wearing... jean capris, sandals, a light blue tank and a yellow over-blouse
I am hoping... that my family missed me!
I am creating... my 2008 family scrapbook, and soon 3 Easter dresses
I am hearing... Titus crying, the boys playing a car video game, Jodi packing and Kristy unloading the dishwasher.
Around the house... Kristy and Jodi are packing!
One of my favorite things... clothes on the clothesline!
A few plans for the rest of the week... going back to Lake Villa, painting the girls' bedroom, activities with the kids for Spring Break.

2009-03-18T04:42:00.000-07:00

I get to go to New Mexico in a week! YEAH! Jodi has bought me a plane ticket-JUST ME!-to come down and visit her and the boys! I will be there from Wednesday late to very early Tuesday morning! I can't wait to visit with my sisters and get some nice weather! I guess I will be packing some of the time too. The rest of my family is rather jealous and wants to come along. This time it is just me!
On to toher stuff~
Mikey is all registered for kindergarten-shots and all. We are very excited for him. He likes school!
Opal has finally returned to school after missing 7 school days with the flu and a bad cough. The teacher really missed her!
Madalynn is working hard on her Fredrick Douglass oral report that she will be giving very soon. She will do a great job!
Ellyn is working with her friends to do the best they can for the talent show. They will be singing Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. It should be great!
Jayson and Valerie have broken up again but are still friends. They went fishing last night down on Paradise Lane. Jay's grades are improving except in English but he is working on that.
Mike has finally gotten the team lead position that they have been hold above his head for so many months. That does help but he is still rather stressed about work. He is still having bad headaches.
Kelly is trying to keep up with everybody and everything and this week is seeming to fail miserably at it! It has been nice so we have been playing outside. The girls and I went and bought patterns and fabric for Easter dresses on Monday. Opal really needs to catch up on her homework! Well, I need to get Mike and the kids up! Have a good day!

March is here!

2009-03-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

Hello, all! March has arrived rather cold here. Ellyn had a band concert last night! Ellyn plays flute in the beginner band at school. Jay is keeping busy with his girlfriend. She got a car this weekend and Jay worked on it with her and her father! Madalynn is continuing to do her best at her school work and house work! Madalynn has decided to go trendy with her hair. She had me cut the back short-like a wedge. The front is pulled back to be evenly cut with the back and the result is a angled hairstyle. It works really well on her. Opal is starting to feel a little sick. Last week Opal and I went with all the other first graders to Legoland. They had a lot of fun! I had a headache cuz it was REALLY loud! Mikey did get that front tooth pulled on Friday. It looks kind of odd but we will get used to it soon. He practiced saying "TH" words so he would say them right! He is careful about what he eats and where. He ate his "popcorm" in his back teeth. He will tell you and point to the side of his face where the back teeth are! He is such a smart little kid! I have him registered for Kindergarten almost! Ellyn may take the papers back today! Mike is staying busy at work. There have been some long days already this week but that may or may not taper off today and tomorrow. I worked with Mom at her house yesterday sorting thru all the stuff we pulled out of the crawlspace. That was kind of fun! Now I have to work at my house! Have a good day! I will try to post again next week! Kelly

2009-02-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Here I am again! Opal lost her first tooth today! That is good because Mikey is going to have his front tooth pulled in about 10 days! He bumped it sometime in his four wild years and now it has an infection. Everyone else is doing fine! Jay enjoyed his dance immensely and can't wait til the next one. I have been cleaning out the attic and working on my donation pile. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and warmer weather. Currently, it is snowing! UGH! Well, it is bedtime! Goodnight! Kelly

2009-02-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day (Eve), everyone. We are going to have steak and shrimp and rice here at home. I am hoping to frost cookies and add lots of sprinkles, decorate lunch bags for exchanging Valentines between ourselves and watch a sappy movie. Tomorrow for Valentine's Day, Jayson has his very first dance with his very first girlfriend! He is excited about the event. He bought new clothes and a dapper hat, borrowed his dad's shoes and is all set to go! He even made (!!) a wrist corsage for his girl with some help from me! I am so proud of him! I hope he has a ball.
It is a three day weekend for the kids. I am hoping for a little help around the house. Then we can all play games and watch movies together! That would be really nice-but there I go dreaming again!! Anyway, Have a great weekend! Kelly

OK, OK, I did it too!

2009-02-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am finally part of the technology revolution, too! I hope that I can keep up with blogging. I am only going to say that I may blog once a week-maybe less, maybe more. Well, since I am new, let me introduce myself and my family. I am Kelly Hanna. I am married to Michael (Mike) Hanna. We have been married 12 years now. We have 5 children: Jayson is 15, Ellyn is 10, Madalynn is 9, Opal is 7 and Michael (Mikey) is 4. We also have a dog- Sampson who is part Black German Shepard Dog and part Chow. We live in Lake Villa, Illinois. My parents live close to us and Mike's family all lives closer than 30 minutes away.
This last weekend, I was able to go to Lake Geneva so I could scrapbook. I am very proud of myself. I wanted to finish our 2008 album. I did through August. 78 sides were made by these 2 hands this weekend-which is a personal best. I thank my family for letting me go and relax and work on these pictures.
Well, I need to stop playing on the computer and get some housework done!! Kelly