Wow. This has been a really hard update to get out the door. I'll tell you all about it in sequence but know that I started writing it in early June and it has taken until now for things to calm down enough to feel like I could send it.

One of the biggest things going on is that my dad has been in and out of the hospital/ICU since early June. He was admitted with pancreatitis and had to stay for quite a while (through several ups and downs) to get him stable. He was released and put on a fairly strict diet just in time to celebrate his birthday on the beach in Crystal Lake. July 4th he started feeling bad again and was once again admitted to the hospital. He crashed not long afterwards and was sent to the ICU. He's had several surgeries to try and surgically mend the damage to his innards. News today is that he is mostly stable, eating real food again and is hoping to only be hospitalized until another week or two. It has been a huge, scary rollercoaster. I don't know that I'd say that my dad and I were close in the conventional sense of the word. But I do love him fiercely and was sent reeling the couple of days we didn't know if he was going to pull through. It's made me very aware of that "spot" that my dad fills for me. He's who I talk fixing stuff too. And he's the first person I think to call when I'm in trouble at three in the morning. He's the one who will come and help with no complaints. He's my competition for throwing pancakes over the back fence when there are leftovers at Sunday brunch. He's my reality check when I have a financial question. He one of my favorite game competitors and the reason I love woodworking. He's my wonderful dad and I can't tell you how grateful I am to report that he's still here, still kicking, and hopefully coming home within a very short time of the FOG arriving in your inbox.



The second huge thing to report is that Alli and Dave had their baby! Larissa Irene was born on July 7th at 11:18 in the morning. She was 21 ½ inches long and weighed 7 lbs 3 oz. Mommy and baby both came through it like champs. It's been a bumpy month for them - turns out that baby Larissa was feeding for long periods of time but not getting anything. So she was up crying and no one could figure out why because she certainly spent enough time nursing. When they finally figured it out, Larissa started sucking that milk down like no body's business and is finally gaining weight. I think it's been exhausting (as it is apt to be) but it's fun to see Alli coo over her new arrival. It's also fun to be an aunt. It's strange and wonderful to get to see her every couple of weeks but not have all the sleepless nights and not be responsible at every moment. I've changed a couple of diapers (and realized that it's just like riding a bike!), snuggled for a couple of hours, sung a couple of lullabies and that's about it. Then I get to go home and sleep through the night. I can't wait to see what kind of parents Alli & Dave are, see what choices we make that are the same and how we choose differently. I'm basically looking forward to seeing them all grow up together!

Ethan has graduated kindergarten and is most of the way through his first summer off. He's been attending day camp which he LOVES (although, like with school, he has complete amnesia when I ask him about anything he did). He spent two weeks with his father at the beginning of the summer. It was great to have a break but I'll admit that I was ready to have him back early into the second week. Thank goodness we didn't try it for a month! He played baseball for the second year through the Fox River Grove recreation counsel. It was a fairly short season but he improved tremendously. He learned to "get out" since there were no outs last year, learned more about what to look for when in the field and holy cow that kid can hit! (if this link doesn't work for you, right click and choose Save Target As. After downloading, find on your computer and double click) He was really sad at the end of the season and is looking forward to playing again next year. Ethan reports that the best thing about his summer is that Ian, an 8 year old, has moved next door to his grandma. They are having the BEST time together. They disappear for hours to play war or chase or whatever else their brains can imagine. When here, Ethan plays with Liam (5) next door. It's just fantastic to have boys within spitting distance at both locations that Ethan not only gets along with but truly enjoys.

And, as always, Ethan has been making me laugh. I think it's his favorite thing to do. Whether he's talking about "handcluffs" or his "emeny", "Dark Vader" who fights with a "light saver". Or maybe it's the day he was talking up a really cute little girl in Karate. When I asked him about it, I was informed that he was "too focused to be thinking about marriage". Or the day we were playing hide and seek and I was counting to 20 by Mississippis. Ethan, running short on time, screamed from the other room "Mom! I need more sippis!" Or the day he told me that I'd look awesome bald. He keeps me laughing through it all and has really helped me from taking myself too seriously.

I finally came to the conclusion this spring that I needed to get creative when going about finding men to date. Because believe me, I've tried just about everthing I could think of. I went to Parents Without Partners for a while, I took a woodshop class, I've taken seminars, I've done internet dating, I looked within my church community. And I've just found nothing out there! Or if I've been on a date, I haven't wanted to go on a second one. So I enlisted some of my closest friends and family to play the dating game with me. It went something like this: sign your name on the dotted line that you will do your very best to get me a date by August 15th. I had a bunch of willing date-finders hit the streets on my behalf. It's been great fun to involve so many people in my project. Some of the conversations that it has sparked have been very heartfelt and some have been a laugh riot. And, while I haven't had an actual date with a "friend of a friend", I've had any number of near misses, helpful suggestions and words of wisdom. I think my friend Tim probably gets the "nearest miss" award for an e-mail introduction to a man who lives in Effingham. Nice guy, just four hours away. The real bonus out of that adventure is my new nickname for him: Timharmony. So, even though I haven't been on a date as a direct result of the effort of my friends, I did get on OKCupid (as a suggestion of my dear friend Joan) and am scheduled to be on my fourth date with a guy named Pete. We've been e-mailing and talking on the phone and it's been fun to get to start to know someone new. So regardless of how it all turns out, it's been a total blast to add some play to an area which had seemed very significant and serious until just recently. Of course, I'll keep you posted :)

Until next time... (and let's hope the next F-O-G is way less eventful, shall we?)