The brothers are at it again....

If one is unfamiliar with what is going on in our family, please refer to this post and this post. It will catch you up with today's latest update.

My brother Richard has been calling mom on a regular basis (as regular as you can get for Richard). He's playing the "good son" by calling... not that he is really listening to anything she has to say... until the last phone call.

Mom has been having panic attacks, and the doctor has prescribed medication for them... and we've been trying to get her to use an anti-depressant. She's been in constant pain from her shoulders hurting - she has no cartilege where the bone enters the shoulder socket - so it is just bone against bone and it is playing hell with the nerves in her arms. We should be able to take her to a surgeon and possibly schedule the surgery that she was originally supposed to have back in April, when they found out she had a heart problem. If she can get some relief from this, it will be a blessing!

When Richard heard that she was having panic attacks (mom actually got a word in edge-wise) he said she should have someone come live with her and take care of her. Now, that wouldn't be a bad idea - however, Richard suggested that she let Bill and his wife Erica move in with her.

Sorry - this is where gales of laughter come streaming out of EVERYONE'S mouths.

Now someone tell me that Richard is reaaaaaallllly mad at Bill and is reaaaaaallllly sorry that he hurt mom's feelings! It sounds to me that they are still neck deep in their little conspiracy. Richard isn't mad at Bill - they are just trying a new tact to get at mom.

Bill.... the one who wanted to charge her for every little thing he and his wife was doing to "help" her when she got out of rehab. The one who lied to her about me, and then with Richard's help schemed to cut me out of the will and wanted to have her make him Power of Attorney. Bill - whose house is being foreclosed upon, and has filed bankruptcy 3 times in his 42 years of existence.

And this coming from Richard - who called the Department of Children's Services on me with unsupported allegations against us. Richard, who thinks he's smarter than the average Hostess Ding-Dong... well, maybe just slightly smarter than the Ding-Dong.

My mother was great - she said NO WAY! She was NOT going to let them come and stay in her home... I am glad she has her wits about her and knows that Bill will only take advantage of her. And he hasn't called mom or made any effort to contact her after he had spoken to her the last time. That spoke volumes to her that the only thing he cared about was her money - not her as his mother.

I know this is so hard for mom... and I wish we lived closer together (I'm grateful it's only 25 miles away and not 250!) I am only asking for prayers that she be able to have the surgery and that it will help the pain she is going through every day right now. And perhaps that will help her to get relief from the panic attacks.

Navy Pier and Pics from both days

Today was Navy Pier day. Of the two places (Lincoln Park Zoo and Navy Pier) I like Navy Pier best. But it was scorching hot today... and there really wasn't much of a breeze off of Lake Michigan.


It's a good thing Kenzie is only 4 and doesn't need expensive entertainment to have a good time right now. Just being with her family is enough... and anything else is just that much extra fun.


Last year, Kenzie had a SpongeBob Ice Cream Bar and was wild about it. (I had tried a taste and thought it was gawd-awful!) But this year, she insisted that she have another one. Yuck!

Of course, there were other things to do at the zoo... but she mostly spent it either walking on the metal fencing or taking her own pics. Plus, I drove her nuts trying to take her picture... poor kid - she's going to end up with a phobia about cameras because of me.

At Navy Pier, they have a marvelous Children's Museum. Mondays, children get in free. Kenzie likes the area where you can pretend to make food items and sell it. Last year she especially liked the cash register... but this year, all she wanted to do was "make pizza".

The one thing I liked most about Navy Pier is the view. It's a really nice view of the city and Lake Michigan. I think next year we'd like to take one of the boat tours to see downtown Chicago's architecture. Kenzie was really wanting to go on a boat. When one of the tour boats blasted its horn before departure, she just had to watch it leave the dock close up.

I think the last picture says it all. Family is what is important. We come up to this area to visit Roy's mom, and Kenzie loves her Grandma Geri so much! We absolutely love coming to see her and spend time with her... and I think kids seem to know innately what we as grownups tend to forget: spending time with family is all that really matters when it comes to having a good time. Hopefully, the pictures and video I've taken with her and her Grandma Geri will help preserve that love and the memories we are building with Kenzie.

Hello from Chicago!

Yup... came to Chicago this weekend. Last night, we ate at a place in Des Plaines called The Omega. LOVE it - their prices are reasonable and the food is great - and you get so much one of these meals could feed my mother, Kenzie and me. Kenzie loves their matzo ball soup. A Chinese girl eating Jewish food. Who'd a thunk it!

We met Roy's brother's girlfriend, Jane, and Roy's cousin, Elaine. Elaine gave Kenzie an Etch-a-Sketch and a child's learning laptop (not an expensive item - just a toy) and a really beautiful dress. (When we got back to the hotel from the restaurant, all Kenzie wanted to do was play with the computer toy!)


And Kenzie really took to Jane. She must be really good with kids... Kenzie wanted Jane to come back to the hotel with us, and was really upset when she found out we wouldn't be seeing her until probably next year. She began to cry. Yeah, I think I can safely say Kenzie really thought the world of her.


I have pictures and a little video to post. Here are some pics that Kenzie took with her little camera over today and yesterday.