The wacky world of the Klauer Klan!

Today I met with the movers and got all of the belongings stored in Zoe's Storage unit. That way everything is safe and sound till her estate is settled. As for me I am wiped. I was thinking it would only take 3 hours but it was closer to 5 after making 2 trips to and from the storage. Mary was kind enough to stay with my boys so I could help the movers as much as possible so that the storing would go quickly as possible. I honestly didn't realize how much it was going to hurt emotionally to put everything away. It still felt like Zoe's house since all her stuff was there now it is empty and cold. It hurt to look through stuff to find a hard copy but it hurt even more to store it all away.

Tomorrow the children are going to come over and hang out.. Their foster mom has a graduation and party so I offered them to come here. We are going to go to Old Navy and get them swim suits something that has been postponed for the week since there were bad thunderstorms on the days I was going to take them. I am hoping to go to brat fest with them. There is a nice ride area.. I have been told it is a little pricey but hopefully we can get a few rides in. Tomorrow Jonathan is going to come up and clean the town home for leaving and handing the keys back to the Landlord.

Another sad point is that tomorrow my husband and I were going to have a brunch date because Zoe offered to watch our 3 boys in the morning for us to go out. This is the last set date I had with her. These days are harder for me then others. Some days Zoe and her family would come over and other days we just chatted on the phone or FB. But then we would schedule things too like working on our garden and her wanting to hang out with Baby Adam and Isaac and Noah so she offered to watch them. I guess where I am going with this is it hurts knowing that I would see her it was a guarantee but not now. Sadly this is the last future event we had definitively planned so hopefully these days won't hurt so much but it is still sad. And I still miss her everyday.

I didn't realize how hard being the point person is especially when I feel like I am working hard to get everything done.. I find myself stressing and then depressing realizing that I have bottled EVERYTHING. I haven't really had a chance to just sit and morn my friend. Maybe now that things are calming down I can work through my feelings. This year has been rough first with my step dad and now one of my best friends. I hope this is a time that bad things roll in 2 because I don't know if I can handle any more for a long time.

I went and got a massage today I have found that I have been stressed to the point that I have tightened my back and rounded it with my shoulders near my ears. That is tight. The Massage therapist was able to work some of that out I have noticed though if I start thinking about things again that my shoulders draw up again close to my ears. I am fighting to keep them loose right now.

Other topic. I got my dress for my cousins wedding It is super cute and a nursing dress. Our Hotel rooms are set aside too. So all ready for the 8 hour trip though I have a few months. They are actually getting married the day after our 5 year wedding anniversary. So another year I will not see my husband on our anniversary to celebrate. He will be down at Drill it is family weekend that weekend but he still has to go even with out us. He is also gearing up for drill the first weekend of June (4-6) then he comes home for a day (7th) and then he has AT (Advanced Training) from the 8th through the 23. We are hoping since he will be at the Unit that he will be able to come home on weekends.. That would be nice.

Well that is pretty much the update so far.. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

I must have hit something I am allergic to or ate something.. Today I was scratching so bad I felt like I wanted to peel off my skin. So I called the Dermatologist to see about a Prednisone shot and no one was available so I had to go to Urgent care. 1.5 hours with 3 children at urgent care was awful. Plus anytime I held Adam he would scratch my pain. So finally I saw a dr and I am on Prednisone tablets strong dose to start then step down doses hopefully this will get things under control because this is so painful. So we will see how it goes.


Still getting things in order for my friend Zoe. Tomorrow I am meeting 2 Studs and a Truck to pack up everything and put it in the storage unit. Then Saturday I am arranging Volunteers to Clean up the Town home and hand it back over to the Landlord and hopefully this will lighten the stress on me. I can't explain how hard this is right now to deal with and this Saturday Zoe was gonna come over and babysit the 3 boys so Nick and I could go on a brunch Date. This was the last thing I had scheduled with her. These days are the hardest since I know it would of been a day I would have seen her for sure. So Saturday I am going to pick up her children and all of us are going to go to Brat fest.. There is a little Carnival thing so it will be fun for the children.. Hopefully the weather is as nice as it was today.

This weekend consisted of more cleaning out the TRASH in Zoe's townhouse in search of her Printed/Signed Will. And Visiting with her 2 children. On Sunday Shira and Caleb came to visit and played with the boys. Shira helped me in the garden so I was able to mark it off and plant the garden.. Very exciting. Not much going on this week I am going to a pampered chef party on Wed night proceeds going to the American Cancer foundation. I also found a 4k that won't cost almost $300 a mt. It is a Christian based preschool so the kids will get more introduction to the Bible and God Loves You!! Which is nice we are also looking into a Catholic school up here for the boys but it may not be feasible but they will go to the Religious Education. Father Bart from Bloomington is switching with Father John from Monona so we are planning on attending Church out in Monona now! I have been searching different Churches in Madison and I haven't found the right feel yet but we already know and love Father Bart so this will be helpful. I'm sad that he is leaving the area he is but great full that he will be close.

I have also started a nice book called Gentle Healing for Baby and Child it is a great guide to child-friendly natural remedies. And some great tricks to cuts and scrapes and bleeding and splinters.. All round great book.. Definitely a must read.

Well here are some photos from this weekend.

Wed and Thursday was awfully cold but my neighbors and I were trying to get the new swing set/climber together so that on Friday when Shira and Caleb came to visit they would have a lot of fun.. My mom (and "Step dad") Got the swing set/climber for the boys and they just love it.. Isaac's BFF next door Aliyah comes over to play all the time.. The all time favorite is definitely the basketball hoop on the end they have 3 bouncy balls that fit in it and are having a great time shooting hoops..



Friday was also Adam's 7mth Birthday.. Happy Birthday baby..



Yesterday was Zoe's memorial.. It was a long day . when Nick got home from his guy's weekend he stayed with the boys while I went to Margo's for the memorial.. It was wonderful.. We did I believe a Jewish Tradition I have never been to a Jewish Memorial so I really don't have much to go on. It was nice to hear all the wonderful stories and add them to my memories of Zoe. Afterward her children came over for Dinner and then played with Isaac and Noah for a bit.. I had to get them home to their foster home by 6:30p. So I now know where they are staying. Their foster mom Joan and I are going to just set up visits between the 2 of us so I am hoping to go pick them up soon for an outing to the zoo or botanical gardens or to a friends farm.. We will see.


~~~~~~
"My dear friend, your memorial was yesterday and all I could do was look around and see all the lives you have touched and the many ways you have touched them. It was a beautiful memorial with lots of love and soft gentle words.. I could feel you in the breeze around us surrounding us with your loving embrace. Sweet Shira was able to hold our words in her heart and feel the gentle blanket of love reaching out from us and yourself. I know it was hard for her but she was glad that this moment was for you. I love you and always stay close to us and guide us in and invisible embrace till we meet again.."
~~~~~~


Things are settling down a bit and I am hoping that a sense of calm will wash over me soon.. Though we are still looking for the will I am finding I am spun to tight and I can't do everything for my boys and everyone else at the same time.. I am going to try to go work out this week and I am also hoping to get in a massage sometime soon.

Other news on the home front I am still using the poo free method and my hair and eczema on my neck feel pretty darn good.. I also have started the Oil Cleansing method because I wasn't really cleansing my face well because the water dries it out but this is perfect.. I have done it a couple days and what I do is just put the oil on my dry skin then use a super hot towel and lay it over my face like a mini facial then I wait about a min to a min half rinse the towel and then repeat again.. Then I wipe my face with the cooled off towel and then rinse it out with really hot water and that is it.. Face feels great and moisturized. I am using the 15% Castor oil to 85% EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil) right now but may change the EVOO to the Sunflower oil I have heard that it absorbs better. here are some links to what I am doing.

Poo Free Method

Oil Cleansing Method

Things have been nuts this weekend my friend Zoe passed away and I because she was a single mother and estranged from her family I have become the epicenter of getting things taken care of and hunter of the WILL! So it has been hard.. here is the memorial blog I have set up for her if anyone is interested in what I have been up to.

http://4zoe.blogspot.com/

Other than this I was sad most of mother's day but my children and husband cheered me up with making breakfast and dinner. Nick Learned out to make Pot Roast in the crockpot.. I got 2 cakes from my boys and a beautiful white gold Cross. I will post photos of that later.. they aren't uploaded from the camera.

lol so not sure why I am posting my spring cleaning but it is sorta fun.. so here are before and after of the bathroom..


A few other topics. I am trying the no poo method of washing my hair.. Mostly due to the fact that all the chemical in the shampoo and conditioner leave my scalp and back sore where my eczema are. Now on that not I have only started yesterday but so far back and head not itchy woo hoo.
So my shampoo I did 1:8 ratio of baking soda to filtered water from my Brita filter. Then I added a Tablespoon of ground Rosemary for my dry skin and 4 drops of Tea Tree oil for my Eczema. Mix and pour on head and rub like shampoo..
For Conditioner I used the 1:3 Ratio of Apple Cider Vinegar to Filtered water..
~Hair feels nice and clean and itchys are gone for now so. Gonna keep up with this and see how it goes.. Hair smells a little like the rosemary and tea tree so not stinky like the vinegar

Other Topic I have taken up Knitting I am dabbling here and there in different skills. So in true "ME" Fashion I am taking on a gianormous project to start. so here is the beginning of my Queen or King Sized Afgan.. Not sure yet which size I want.. I think a King Size would be nice on my Queen size bed and if we get a king later it will transfer nicely.

Cran-almond Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2c Brown Sugar
3c rolled oats
4 c flour
1T Baking soda
1t baking powder
1/4c canola oil
1/2 c prune puree
2 T water
5 egg whites
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
3/4 c unsweetened dried cranberries
1/2 c chopped almonds
1/3 c chopped apricots
1/3 cup apple sauce
1/2 c honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

In large bowl, stir together the oats, flower, baking soda, salt and brown sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the canola oil, prune puree, water, egg whites, vanilla, honey and applesauce. Mix until well blended. Add the cranberries, almonds and apricots. Scoop cookies using an ice cream scoop or roll into golf ball sized balls. Pkace cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets and flatten to 1/2 in tall with wet hands. These cookies do not flaten very much while backing

In preheated oven bake 14-16 min.

Ok So I forgot the before photo again but the living room was covered in toys and sippys and snack bowls.. I am trying a new tactic at the house that all sippys and drink cups stay on the clean kitchen counter.. you go in and have a drink and set it back down. I am trying to minimize the missing sippy incidents.. And the icky found missing sippy incidents.. I am over getting the spoiled milk and smell out of the lost sippys. ICK So here is the clean living room which is now littered with Adam Toys as he plays.


The boys are so sweet with Adam they love playing with their little brother.




Yesterday I also helped Tara order paper for her wedding invitations.. I got all the wording done and sent back to her for approval. Along with Choice of Font. Now I am just waiting for the paper to arrive.

Lilac paper (350 sheets) for $37.97
Black Card stock (250 sheets) for $29.47
250 invites
250 RsVP card
Labor Free with love from me..
Total $67.44 that is $0.27 an Invite..

Definitely can't beat that. Maybe I should start a business even charging a $100 fee for labor people would still get a great deal. hmm.. Well like I said just waiting for the stuff to arrive then it is going to be a few long hours to make them. But in the end I hope she love and cherishes them.. I helped make my friend Kristin's and I did my own! Here are those.

Also instead of making a cake for Nick we got him a Dairy Queen ice cream cake.. (thanks to Erin for picking it up)..


Well Today I think i am going to take the bathroom it needs a good cleaning and organizing.. Maybe I will get before photos but then you would see how much o a disaster it really is.

First things first.. On Friday Nick had an appointment message sent to his blackberry that he had a congratulatory Meeting with him and his higher ups.. So we speculated all weekend that he was going to be praised about something and we were hoping it was his long over due promotion. He switched groups a while back and this group didn't have Nick's job title there so he was working at Analyst level but not getting the recognition or monetary equal to the work he was doing.. So Today he went to his meeting and BOOM he got a promotion and the raise that goes with it.. So proud of him he has been working extra hard and taking on a lot of the different projects and programs. So here is the WHOO HOO you did it for my awesome partner in life and best friend. So I think some time today the boys and I are going to make a cake..

As for this weekend it was another Drill weekend but amazingly it flew by. Mostly due for the fact that we where busy busy busy. The boys and I headed down to Grandma and Grandpa Klauers' for Grandpa Klauer's Birthday! Everyone was there but Nick. Kris put together an awesome picnic table for Grandpa Klauer's Birthday! Looks amazing.. It will definitely get a lot of use. Especially with the growing amount of Grandkids. They have 5 going on 6 this year! So we headed down close to 9:40 and after the 2 hour drive and 2 movies and 1 bathroom break we got down to help celebrate. Around 6pm we headed home mostly due to the fact I was uber tired and didn't want to drive by myself in the dark. All 3 boys were out like a light most of the time home.. Which made bedtimes even later. I think everyone was finally in bed about 10:15pm.
While I was gone my Awesome Neighbor Andrew went and picked up 2 compost bin one for us and them so I am going to start composting soon to add to my garden. My raised garden is mostly filled we need to put in the Peat and Vermiculite then we are gonna mark off our squared and start planting.. whoo hoo can't wait to have fresh yummy goodies. on that note my herb garden is doing beautifully I transplanted the little starters into a bigger window sill container and added 5 more seed types to it.. right now 5 out of the 8 are peaking through the soil..
We will have fresh Lemon Basil, spearmint, oregano, rosemary, Basil, parsley, thyme, and cilantro. Yummy Fresh herbs for my home cooking goodies all year round.

Sunday we got up, ate breakfast and headed out to Sam's club. Stocked up on our goodies and got home in enough time to see my mom when she dropped off Kody from their camping trip this weekend. Kody helped watch the boys while I mowed the lawn with help from Kim (our next door neighbor) 2 Ladies with 2 Lawn mowers makes the lawn mowing go a lot quicker. After the lawn we got out the shovels to pull up that crazy little tree in our front yard.. Turns out that little thing is a Rhizome seedling which means it is a tree growing up from a large root from the neighboring tree. This doesn't usually happen.. So instead of digging up a small tree we had to take the sawzaw to the 3in and 5in diameter roots.. Because as strange as one Rhizome is there were 2. So we dug that up and sawed it out of the ground to make way for the kids new play/swing set. Meanwhile my neighbor Andrew was putting a screen/storm door on his back door that is like our front screen/storm door so he was asking for out experience which turned out helping him put his door on which took about 3 hours. Mostly due to his frames irregular shape and having to use pieces of extra wood I have had from some of my projects to shim the door correctly! I love my neighbors on both sides they are wonderful and I love how helpful we are all with each other. So long busy filled weekend.. My house is a disaster zone so this week is going to be taking a room at a time to clean up and sift through the not needed items. BUSY BUSY no rest.
Have a good week!
<3 MammaKat Klauer