Nice enough to go outside… and do some yard work

The weather has cleared up and the snow has finally all melted and the water gone away enough to go outside and enjoy the backyard. Only the backyard looks terrible with all of the leaves that we were unable to get up before winter kicked in as well as all the broken branches from the trees that were blown down by the wind or broken off by the weight of the snow that completely litter our entire yard. the worst part being the giant tree branch that fell from a dead tree in the empty lot next door.

This was just another reason for my industrious husband to go out and get a new toy. This time, a chainsaw, which I am told he showed restraint when shopping because he didn’t get the super long blade.

I can’t complain though, because he made short order of the massive branch, which looks more like and entire tree, and cut it down to a manageable size as well as get us a little fire wood.

The branch he actually left hanging partway into our yard to form a natural bridge for the kids to cross the small water ditch between our yard and the lot next to us. The kids love to explore the “forest” next door and no one seems to mind. Can you see both kids?

Andy wanted me to try out his new toy, but I have a healthy fear of cutting of necessary appendages so I only posed with it in the off position.

Jack wanted to be a part too, but even holding it was a challenge because of the weight.

In the end, Andy, with the kids help, were able to clear out quite a few of the branches and make our yard look a little more respectable. And what did they do with all of the branches that were too small to make decent firewood? Well, they built a fire of course! Andy has been dying to use our fire pit all winter long. The kids had fun throwing small branches in and watching them burn.

Showers for everyone at the end of the day because everyone smelled like burned wood and dirt by the time they finally decided to call it a day and come inside.

Tax Time

Oh how I despise this time of year, not only because it is Winter’s last desperate attempt to ruin my life (thus the snow outside falling as I type), but also because it is the dreaded tax season. I really should not dislike it as much as I do, because most of the time we always get money back (except for twice when we were living in California), but just the whole process of going through all the paperwork and the fear of doing something wrong on accident and bringing the wrath of the IRS down on us gives me a headache.

I did finally break down and get to it, with very pleasant results, but it ended up taking around two days and some mild irritation at not being able to find all the things that I needed when I needed them. (Thank you Wells Fargo for not sending out my 1098T because it wasn’t past $600, yet still was enough to make a dent in my return.)

Normally, I would wait until about April 10th to even begin looking at my taxes, but I was feeling motivated this year and didn’t want to be one THOSE people (I usually am) who are running to the Post Office on April 15th (or April 18th as the case may be) mailing the return at the last possible second. This will be our last year of having to file three different returns (Federal and two state) and should make next year much less despicable for me.

Our actual goal during the year is not to have e refund yet still not have to pay. Our money is worth more at the moment we have it, not a year later when the government gives it back to us. I would much rather have my money working for me throughout the year earning interest then for the government. This year we paid too much, but I am sure it has more to do with the decrease in pay we took as a whole when we moved to Wisconsin and Andy gave up his job. A small price to pay for the kind of life we enjoy here.

We definitely tried to make it all easier by having a folder that we immediately put all of our potential tax receipts or forms or anything tax related in through out the year, so that at the end of the year all I have to do is pull out the folder and have everything I need. It worked for the most part this year, except that we had put some of the receipts for upgrading our home in with all the other receipts as well as some places that never sent us the paperwork to begin with.

But now all we have to do is wait between 2 to 8 weeks for all the refunds to come back in the mail or be direct deposited, so that the time and effort will be worth it.

Spring must be coming soon

Spring must be on its way otherwise my children would not be so eager to get their bikes out of the shed and keep them in the garage so they are handier to get to.

Today was still just a bit chilly, but the kids were more than ready to get outside and ride around the driveway on their bikes. Alex seems to have taken a bigger interest in it this year than in previous years. Usually, he does what jack does and this time he was content to stay outside and ride his bike rather then come inside and play games on the computer when Jack grew tired of the outdoors.

They thought it was the coolest thing to ride without using their hands. Sans the training wheels, it would have been amazing, but we cheer and clap just the same because I’m excited that they are excited about doing more than staying in and watching TV. If they are outside for at least two hours then I am a happy camper.

Alex still wears his riding gear thank goodness, but I can’t get Jack to put his on anymore except the helmet. I guess I should be happy he at least has that on so we don’t get another broken head. They both fall and get back up and I haven’t heard them cry yet, so I think we are still okay.

Alex was really putting his helmet to the test. One of the times I went to check on him he was banging his head against a metal pole, I guess just checking to see that the helmet actually worked.

How to wear out two small boys

Last week Andy’s brother was in town for the weekend and he paid us a visit and ,of course, the boys are always super excited to see their Uncle Mark. So he came over and helped Andy trim some of our trees. The boys followed right along with them and ended up being outside for quite awhile. They also decided to go sledding before all the snow finally melted away. At the end of their day together after their Daddy and Uncle Mark had to go to work and go home, respectively, this is what I ended up with.

They were relaxing on the couch watching Hellboy and I was in my craft room working on some stuff when I realized that my house was too eerily quiet for having two small boys as occupants.

I got up to see what was going on, suspecting trouble of some sort, because that will usually make them quiet as they try to sneak around and fix what ever it is they have done wrong. Much to my surprise and delight I found them both fast asleep on the couch and Hellboy only halfway through.

Seizing the opportunity for some quiet time, I immediately turned off the TV and began to enjoy the peace that followed.

They slept for nearly two hours before finally realizing their movie was turned off and immediately bringing it to my attention that they were NOT done watching Hellboy.

I guess one can’t be too greedy for a calm household, so I will take what I can get. They are awfully cute when they are asleep though.

Worth repeating on this Irish Holiday

I posted this back in 2009, but thought it might have a little place today being how it is all about the Irish. So this is a repeat of a little family history on the McElwee side of the family.

So while we were staying on the Queen Mary we found a store called Scottish Heritage that was dedicated to all things Scottish. They had a giant book of surnames and if your surname was in that book, they could trace your history and find the very first Coat of Arms that was filed for your name. It is guaranteed by the Historical Research Center of Scotland who holds the filings for all the Coat of Arms ever registered. It cost us two dollars to view the McElwee Coat of Arms and would be another $48. For family history's sake Andy decided we should get it along with the history printed on an official certificate and signed with an official signature by someone from the Historical Research Center. So for those of you who are interested, this is the McElwee Coat of Arms.

It really was interesting the story that the guy who worked there told. He, by the way, was definitely Scottish. He had the thick eyebrows, the accent, and even dressed a little funny. He said how the idea of a coat of arms belonged to one man and then when he died his sons inherited his coat of arms, but because there was more than one son and the original coat of arms was registered to the father, each of the sons had to make a change, even if it was small, to be able to register it in their names. Over time thousands of changes have been made and created all the various different coat of arms we see today. The coat of arms kept on registration is the coat of arms that was first registered to the first person who carried that name.
So even though there may be many different coat of arms associated with the last name McElwee, this particular coat of arms is the first one registered under that name. Another interesting fact that you can see just by looking at this picture is that McElwee is an Irish name not Scottish. I was not aware of this, though my family members who do geneology might have been.
There is a history written underneath of the coat of arms that I will copy here. I don't understand some of it because it is written with a little of the old spelling in it.

The surname McElwee derives ultimately from the Gaelic Mac Giolla Bhuidhe, from "bhuidhe", meaning "yellow, fair", and "giolla", meaning "youth". This sept name has also been anglicized as MacGilloway or McEvoy since the shortened version in the spoken Irish is Mac a'bhuidhe. The sept's homeland was in the northern province of Ulster, Ireland in the counties of Donegal and Derry, and it is here that the majority of the bearers of the name are to be found. Records of the surname in Irelanddate back to the twelth century, when Con Mac Giolla Bhuidhe was abbot of Mungret. In some instances, McElwee can also be an anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic MacShealbhaigh, "Son of Selbach. Sealbach Mac Shealbhaich is the hero of the folktale of the Balievolan Glassrig, and records of this surname in Scotland date back to the thirteenth century.
References include the marriage of Charlotte McLewee and George Brown in the church of St. Mary, Newington, Surrey, on September 7th, 1815. The marriage of William McElwee and Anne Elliot took place in Inishkeel, Co. Donegal, on October 28th, 1845. Thomas McElwee married Mary Ann Smith in Tralee, Co. Kerry,on January 31st, 1846. Catherine McElwee married James McCready in Ardara, Co. Donegal, on the 17th of November 1856. Eunice Woodford McLewee, daughter of Thomas McLewee and Mary Ann Thompson, was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, on January 12th, 1858. Eliza McElwee, daughter of Thomas McElwee and Maryann Hassan, was born in Maghera, Co. Derry, on January27th, 1864.
BLAZON OF ARMS: Sable, a fesse between two chevrons argent.
TRANSLATION: Sable (black) denotes Constancy and Wisdom. Argent (white) symbolizes the moon and signifies Peace and Sincerity. The fesse recalls the ancient Military Belt and Girdle of Honour, and the chevrons signify Protection. They were granted as a reward for Notable Enterprise.
CREST: A parrot feeding on a cherry tree proper.
MOTTO: Perserverando.
TRANSLATION: By perservering.
ORIGIN: IRELAND
This is a full picture of the frame that we purchased with the Coat of Arms and history.

Volunteering at Elmwood

One of the reasons I was so glad to get Jack off to school was so that I could do some volunteer work and actually get to be a part of his school life. I have had several opportunities previously, some I have taken advantage of and others I had to pass on due to scheduling conflicts. Spur of the moment I got to do it again today.

The teacher always sends out emails to the parents letting us know what we need to do in order to prepare the child for any special activities and yesterday I got an email saying the kids were supposed to dress in green for St. Patrick's Day. I just happened to be off and sent a reply asking if they needed any help and was pleased to see that they did.

So at 9:30am I showed up in my green and helped set up a work station for the kids to paint their shamrocks. It was really very fun watching the creativity these tiny little people have and the excitement the get from such a simple activity. Jack was overjoyed and surprised to see me there, as I did not let him know I was coming, and he did very well.

The other kids were just as happy and I was known as several things:

• Jack’s Mom- As in “Jack’s Mom can you help me with this color?”
• Art lady- As in “Art lady what do I do next?”
• Mrs. Konlock- Mostly by the teachers.

The kids in Jack’s class are so cute and they were so polite to me. I was just a little sad when it came time to clean up so they could go to lunch at which point the student helper came in to assist and there was no need for me to stay anymore.

I always have a lot of fun just observing Jack in his school environment and seeing the way he interacts with his classmates. I also like meeting the different Mom’s as well as Jack’s friends. It makes me feel better that I will know his friends from the beginning and will make me more comfortable knowing who they are and who their families are as well.