The Return of the Blogger

So it's been a while since I have been on the blogging circuit, It's been a very busy spring and summer, as we expected, but fall hasn't let up much. I still love my job, but I also really enjoy my time away, at home and traveling.

Brad has been plugging away at things he wanted to do to the house as soon as we got here and I have hardly done a thing. Of course, I have my to do list that I want to get done, most of which went on hold during the summer, as we planned. But now my list is getting longer and when it includes things like reading, yoga, spending time with friends and family, and running and I haven't been able to do them, I just get grouchy. This week I took an extra day off, just have an extended weekend and get some things done.

So what's been going on around Casa de Dellit? Well, the biggest news that's brewing right now, is that my youngest sister, Jessica is pregnant again! She and her boyfriend Curt are ecstatic and we couldn't be happier for them. She is due in July and I can't wait to meet the little one that Tiffany has affectionately named Bean. (Sorry to those who aren't up to speed, but Jessica and her husband broke up earlier this year. I'm just really behind on blogging).

Speaking of Bean, our good friends Ryan and Tana are also expecting so there will be two little Beans to meet next year!

My dad has caught the running bug and has been much more dedicated that I have been since the move. He is up early and on the track and just finished his 3rd 5k last weekend. We are running one this weekend - the Five Sullivan Brothers Memorial 5k. He said he is in the best shape of his life, which is so cool, I can't explain. Especially since two years ago he tore his quad muscles off his knee cap (yes, OUCH) and had surgery to reattach them.

I am logging more time on the trail now that I have been all summer, too bad the weather is getting colder! I need to revamp my training blog I had going so that I can get all my races and times up there. My times since we moved haven't been great, due to my lack of training, but they are keeping the running bug in my blood. I was thinking the other day about how I have been running only for a year and a half and all that I have accomplished. I also was thinking about all of the people who are running now which is fun. My bro in law Jarrod has recently also finished his first half marathon, so there are lots of people around to keep me motivated!

Brad is still on the job hunt and expanded his search to Cedar Rapids. He is hoping to still find something here, to avoid a 50-60 minute commute, especially in the winter. In the mean time, he takes the dogs to the dog park and takes care of pretty much everything he can around the house. He's got all the tech geek stuff wired the way he wants and got to do some things to this house that he didn't get to do in Virginia.

My grandpa is doing well and we are at a bit of a new crossroads with him. We know from a scan he had a couple of years ago that his has some dementia, but we don't know how bad and we don't know how much has been caused by medications. It was clear over Memorial Day that medications have contributed to his mental state and once they were stable, he was much more lucid. He had a relapse a while ago and is back in the Alzheimer's section of the nursing home. He is very lucid much of the time, it's just those few moments he's not that we would worry about him being at home. He wants to know why he is really there and what he could do to go home. I tell him that we have done what we need to do to protect him and keep him safe and even though he might not love it, we love having him around. If he wasn't safe at home, we might not have him. Recently we decided to take him to an Alzheimer's doctor to find out exactly where he is and how we should handle it. I think there is a lot of anxiety over whether or not we have/are doing the right things. I think if we get to a professional who can help us understand how this works and what we should do, everyone will feel better, including him. He knows that he has something (be it Alz or something else) he just wants an explanation...and who can blame him. Brad has some things sent from the Alz Association this week that explains how we should proceed and I told him today that I would bring it to go over this week and that we'll find a doctor and get the process going. I think part of him is just glad to now be involved in his care and knowing what's going on, which hasn't always been possible.

We have been able to have friends over for a few parties to enjoy catching up, birthdays, and football. It's been nice re-connecting with people we haven't seen in such a long time.

It's that time of year when sports is full throttle in our house. Football is full swing, NASCAR is winding down, basketball is just starting, and the World Series is on. With the Yankees in the series, there's still alot of baseball passion in this house!

Sammy and Sophie are great....Sophie turned 1 this week. Sammy will be 3 in a month. They continue to be bundles of unconditional love and Sammy wants to cuddle every second I'm home.

We started up our travels again with a trip to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. We went with our Virginia friends Mike, Lisa, Kristine, and Nolan. Also Scott and Diane, who live in Vegas now, and Mike and Lisa's friend, Shannon from Philly. It was a great vacation and great to see lifetime friends we haven't seen in a while. I loved Vegas and want to go back to spend a few days watching shows. We walked to spend as much time with friends as we could so we skipped the shows on this trip. I thought that Vegas would be a place I wanted to go once and would have no desire to go back to. Boy was I wrong! This is partially the same group we went to New Orleans with last year and we already started talking about where we are going to meet them all next year.

Well, the World Series has started, so time to change from my running clothes to my Jeter t-shirt. Go Yankees! No, I haven't converted to a Yankees fan, but when you're a Cubs fan, it's nice that your husband loves a winning team so you have some things to cheer about during baseball season!