Spring Break in Chicago

Spring Break is this week. 

We went to Chicago for a few days with my mom.

Katie and Erin in our hotel lobby- ready for the day!

This was Tuesday, March 19- but the Chicago River was still green from St. Patrick's Day!

Erin in the Swarovski Crystal store

 

 Our main mission for this trip was to go to the American Girl Place.  It is a doll store, a cafe, a beauty salon, a hospital, a book store, a history lesson...... everything a little girl (and her mom) could want.

 

 Erin and her two dolls having lunch

 

 Lanie and Katie

 

 

The restaurant is beautifully decorated in pink, and flowers 

 

 

 Lanie was really needing to get her hair done.

 

 

 And Kaya looks much better with "professional" braids

 

 

 

One more walk along the river 

 

We went into a former Chicago Public Library building- which is still open to the public as the Chicago Cultural Center.  It was an amazing building- I cannot imagine checking out books in a place so grand and fancy.

 

 

 

Then back out on the streets- we had to go to Millennium Park to see the "bean" that everybody photographs.

The girls got so many complements on their coats- which was wonderful considering how fashionable everyone is on Michigan Ave. 

 

 

Then back on the train.  What a great day!



Keith Harkin at the Vaudeville Mews

Remember that night when my cousin Linda and I

had the great idea

to go to a dodgy bar

in downtown Des Moines



yes, my 8-year-old has a stamp on her hand from a club



on a weeknight

with our kids

to see this guy.



Right up the street from the Bail Bondsman



So we braved the cold

and the snow,

and skipped gymnastics practice.

Yeah, that night was tonight.

And it was so much fun.





Good memories made.



Thifting in Omaha with Jamie

My friend Jamie and I went to Omaha to go shopping at secondhand stores.  It is so fun to have a thrifting buddy, especially one like Jamie.  She is always willing to start very early, and she researches the shops in advance and then plots them out on her GPS.  We shopped for about 8 hours- and both of us found some great stuff. 

I am usually looking for clothes for my two girls, and Jamie has a boy so we aren't fighting over the same things.  And we always have some good laughs over the strange stuff you encounter- especially at the Goodwill Outlet.  The clerk at the Outlet actually threatened to call the police if you got out of control.  Really, that happens?  Fighting over bins of (mostly) garbage?  You'll be happy to know we did not have to waste any of our money bailing each other out.

Here is a rundown of my purchases:




First stop was the Omaha Goodwill Outlet. This is where you look through raw donations, and pay by the pound. Neither of us had great luck here. I ended up buying:

a clothes basket

2 smaller plastic organizers

a Littlest Pet Shop house

 brand-new package of Baby Jesus cards (for my niece)

a book decorated with a snowman picture

2 books

3 cassette tapes of John Denver.  I'm hoping someone has a cassette player!

For all of this, I paid $8.51 including tax.

Next we went to a place called Thrift World.  We had great luck here- this was their location on 36th Street.  Items with purple or yellow tags were only $.98- and there was plenty of good-quality merchandise with those tags.

Land's End snow pants- size 8 (just what I needed!!!)- only $.98!!!

Gymboree jeans with a dandelion embroidered on the leg- $1.98

Children's Place Jeans- fleece lined (we love these)- $.98

All of these pants are in like-new condition, with no wear on the knees.  I was especially excited about the snowpants- both of the girl's snow pants are in sorry shape right now.

Gap girl's sweatshirt dress $.98

Gap purple dress $.98

Then it was on to New Life Thrift - I really scored here.

2 girls' gymnastics leotards, GK brand-  $2.95 for both

(these are around $40 new)

2 pairs of girls' denim capris- $2.62 for both

I thought the patches on the waistband were so cute.  These are both too big for Katie, hopefully in a few years she will still be agreeable to wearing them.

Women's jeans were on special for $.98, and denim shorts were $.85, so all the jeans and 2 shorts should have been less than $3.

However, the clerk told me that these jeans were not on sale because they were men's.  I told her they were not men's.  They are Seven For All Mankind jeans, most definitely not men's.  She insisted that because of the size (they are 29, 30, 31 as opposed to 8, 10, or 12) they were men's.  Grumpily I paid the full price.  Jamie reminded me that I was getting $100 jeans for $3, so it is still a great deal. 

B2B Last Chance was the next store we hit.

All girls' clothing sizes 7-10 were only $.25!!!!!  So I got a dance leotard, capri sweatpants, a swimsuit, a flowered Gymboree shirt, and a navy blue Gap shirt all for $1.25.  What a deal!

Then on to a different Thrift World.

 A dance leotard, $2.98

White skirt (for a later tie-dye project) $.98

Warren Kimble Brandon House plates, similar to my barns dishes- $2.98 for all 4

My final purchase of the day was at a little shop across the street- I think it was Saturn Thrift Store (do you remember Jamie?).  I couldn't pass up this cute tie-dye dress for $2.99.

I always wash everything right away when I get home, and then the next morning I had the girls try everything on.  They were so excited with their new clothes.

I can never remember to take pictures with Jamie.  I promise, next time I will include some action shots!

Remington's Obituary

Remington Barnes (2001-2013)

Remington Barnes was born in the early spring of 2001 to an unknown birth mother, and was given up for adoption at the age of two months.  He found his forever home with Jeff and DeAnn Barnes of Ames, IA.  He lived in the Ames/Boone area his entire life.  He died on February 20, 2013.

Remington worked as a hunter, a counselor, an entertainer, a wake-up service and a dog trainer.  His primary employment was as a companion through the Fur Shedders and Allied Trades Union.

Mr. Remington was passionate about chasing Tricky Worms, sleeping on damp bath mats, and drinking the leftover milk in Jeff's cereal bowl.  He was an avid birdwatcher, and his favorite season was when the baby robins leave their nests.

Remington is survived by his parents, his human siblings Katie and Erin, and his canine sister Penny.  He was preceded in death by his canine sister Abby Anne Barnes.

A special thanks goes out to the Boone Veterinary Hospital for providing hospice care during his last days. The tenderness and compassion they showed made his journey home much more comfortable. 

In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be sent to the Ames Animal Shelter or a local animal rescue of your choice.

The Cat Door to Heaven

Today is Friday, February 15th, and this whole journey with Remington started last Saturday night- the 9th.  Thursday morning we decided to stop all tests and treatments as it is evident that he is not going to recover.  I am actually in disbelief that he is still alive- I have left the vet's office so many times being sure that he will not live more than a few hours.  We are glad to know that he is safe, warm, and most of all he is comfortable.

I have a very vivid picture in my mind of what he is doing:  He is sitting at the gate to Heaven, meowing for someone to let him in.  Yet every time someone opens the gate, he sniffs the air, and sits back down.  He is such a cat, that Remington.



Thank you so much to everyone who has left a comment for us.  We read them all, and they are very comforting.  It is wonderful to feel support from so many people during this difficult time.

How Remington Is Today

Jeff and I just got back from the vet.  To catch you up, Remington has been there since Monday 2/11/13, after being outside in the cold for 36 hours. 

We have learned that Remington was suffering complications of his blood sugar being too high.  He most likely ran away because of that animal instinct to isolate themselves when they are dying.  We feel a lot of guilt that we did not know he was so sick before.

For the past two days, Remington has mostly been sleeping.  Sometimes I when I visit him, there is no response.  

Once Jeff brought a camera with him to take a picture.  He was hoping to find Rem sitting up and better.  That has not happened, and the way he looks is not a way that we want to remember him.

He seems to be comfortable.  Today he moved his head a little, and even shifted his body to get nearer to us.  I feel more at peace- I am prepared for him to go.  But I do have a little hope that he might pull through.  A very small hope. 


Here are a couple of funny photos of him. He has been such a source of laughter in our lives.  Please send positive thoughts his way.




An early family photo





The cat was not a big fan of toddlers, so finding him and Katie taking a nap together was a bit of a surprise.





Remington photobombing a pic of Katie



Remington

Years ago, Jeff and I decided we needed a cat.  Well, anyway, I decided we needed a cat.  We used to visit the Ames animal shelter on a regular basis.  In no time at all we found an adorable orange kitten who needed a home.  Jeff agreed.  He was THAT adorable.

We named him Remington, because he is a classic tabby with the bulls-eye pattern on his sides.  We had an old advertisment that said "Remington High-Speed 22" and when he would race around our house, that's what we called him.

He immediately claimed a place in our home.

Like all good cats, the mighty hunter brought his first kill to show me

Remington has such a great personality- not too shy, and not too needy.  He adapted well to the changes in our family, like moving to different houses.  And babies being born.

Remington helping me pack coats when we were moving

A new puppy was a huge adjustment. 

Remington liked to sleep in the baby's car seat. 

He apparently felt the need to continue claiming his place in our house!  Yes Remington, you are still our baby!

Erin pretending that her stuffed cat is nursing on Remington

Christmas 2009

When Remington was six years old he developed some issues.  Most noticiably, he was urinating a lot more than usual.  He also had some sores on his chin called feline acne.  We took him to the vet and were shocked to get the diagnosis of feline diabetes.  We were faced with a choice- either put the cat on a strict diet and give him insulin injections twice a day, or not.  If we chose not, Remington would get sicker and sicker and eventually die.  Giving a cat- all that fur!- injections was really hard to get used to, but we did, and he thrived.  He has had some ups and down with his health, but most of the time he is a happy, healthy, regular cat.  And we have been giving him insulin shots twice a day for six years now!

Cats like to sleep in bags

and coats, and baskets of clean laundry.....

We recently switched veterinarians, and Remington's blood sugars had gotten out of whack.  Last Saturday evening Remington seemed to be doing OK.  He decided he wanted out, and was begging at the door incessantly.  I gave in and opened the door.  I figured he would want back in as soon as he felt the cold.  Instead, we watched him hop off the deck and into the dark.  We went after him a few minutes later but he was already gone.  Jeff and I spent two hours walking around in the dark, and then the dark and the freezing rain searching for him.

We waited up all night.  We kept all the outside lights on.  We kept calling for him.  He was gone.

The next day it was 32 degrees and rained on and on.  We kept looking, and we hung up a sign for our neighbors to see.  Remington has never been outside longer than a few hours at a time.  And he always came back.  Something was really wrong. 



Monday morning (today, 2/11/13) a neighbor called, and Remington was on her deck.  He was very, very cold and very, very dehydrated.  Jeff took him immediately to the vet.

Earlier this year- Rem taking it easy

Remington is at the vet getting tests done, and being kept warm and rehydrated.  We have been told that he may die tonight, or he may get better and able to come home tomorrow.  We are praying for the best.

When we learned that he had diabetes I couldn't imagine taking care of him for six more years.  Now that he has been with us so long, we can't imagine not having him.  I know in my head that we have been blessed to have him twelve years.  But my heart, my greedy heart wants more.

I will keep you updated.