Are You Ready for some Football?

It is that time of year again. The time when yellow school buses create havoc on the once quiet morning commute. Children moan at the fact that they have to go back to school. Teachers wondering where their summer had gone. The warm, humid days are turning cooler and lovely. Yes, it is the beginning of fall. Yes, it is the beginning of football season.

If you ask Kelly, one of the many reasons that Bob married her was because she loves the game of football. "Besides my love of Guinness, I would have to say that my love for the game clinched the deal with Bob," states Kelly.

Kelly has been following the tabs of the local high school teams. "Chelsea has had a far better record in the last few years compared to when I was in High School," says Kelly, " It is very weird to read about the kids I used to babysit for. I changed their diapers. Boy, do I feel old." This year is no exception for the Bulldogs. They are supposed to have a solid team and start their season tonight at EMU with their first game against Novi. Kelly and Bob are hoping to take the girls to a game sometime this fall.

Kelly and Bob are looking forward to following their favorite college teams as well this season. Even though the Ostroski's live in Wolverine country, neither one of them have them as their #1 pick. "They would probably be my #3 to watch," states Kelly, "My #1? My boys, of course, FSU Seminoles." FSU starts out the year with a tough game against Miami on Labor Day evening. Kelly will be glued to the TV. Hopefully, she will not go into labor. Bob will be following his favorite team of scarlet and gray, the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Ohio State is ranked #1 in a lot of the polls and will have to beat some tough Big Ten teams as well as a tough Texas team.

For the past several years, Bob has been involved in a Fantasy Football league. He has won the league a couple of times. The last couple of years Kelly has taken an interest in how the league is set up, what the rules are, the picks, the trades, the matchups, etc. Kelly has been a diligent reader of the sports page trying to help Bob with this years draft. Kelly was getting into it so much that she decided she wanted to play along. So, Bob and Kelly had their own mini draft using the same guidelines as his other league. Each of them picked players for 3 different teams. Each week of the season, their teams will play each other. Bob was surprised and impressed with the various picks that Kelly chose. "She definitely threw me a couple of times,"stated Bob, "It will definitely be a fun football season to see how everything shakes out." Kelly is looking forward to seeing if her "homework" for their draft really will pay off. If she does fairly well, she might consider trying to create her own league and seeing if any friends would want to join along for some football fun. Of course, if she ends up stealing the league, you will definitely be hearing about it here folks.

Cecilia goes to the 2006 Chelsea Community Fair

On Tuesday, August 22, 2006, the Chelsea Community Fair began for its week long stint. The Chelsea Community Fair is the largest Community Fair in Michigan. The Fair is a host to the traditional midway games and rides as well as livestock, baker, canner, home grown agriculture, antiques, art, and homemaker competition. Anyone within the community can submit items to be judged and the winners are awarded ribbons and a small cash prize. There is a merchant building, fundraising games and food booths for local charities, as well as the main evening attractions of the Demolition Derby, truck & tractor pulls.

On Tuesday night, Kelly, Bob, and Cecilia decided to see what was happening at the opening night of the fair. In truth, Kelly was craving an elephant ear. And there is only one place to get a sugary goodness elephant ear, and that is from the local charitable elephant ear booth.

The Ostroski's started out by checking out the livestock barns. With Cecilia being a good animal imitator with her new found animal sounds, they decided to see if she could recognize the beasts in person. She was entertained by the sheep and goats. She enjoyed the pigs and wrinkled her nose at them (her way of making the snorting sound). Below is a picture of her inspecting one of the pigs in its pen.After the Ostroski's finished with the livestock stables, the went through the midway rides. Celie enjoyed watching the whirling machines with the screaming kids. She would point up to the rides and screech her own opinion to them.

Kelly decided that it would be best if she waited in the elephant ear line while Bob and Celie explored the horse and poultry barns. Kelly had to wait for about 30 minutes for her huge cake of sugar goodness. "It was well worth the wait," said Kelly. Kelly met up with Bob and Celie and they all shared in the sugary goodness. After touring all of the barns and such, Bob and Kelly decided that it was time to take Celie home to go to bed. They had wanted to stay for the demolition derby, but it had already started and was jam packed as usual with spectators.

Bob and Kelly think that Celie enjoyed her first experience to the Fair. So much so, that she threw a fit getting into the car. There will always be the fair next year.

Celie's 1st Boo Boo

Kelly, Bob, and Celie were all outside enjoying the nice mild weather that Michigan was experiencing last weekend. Celie has learned how to climb down the 2 steps from the porch to the sidewalk. She decided that she needed to catch up with dad who was surveying the damage in the garage for projects. Instead of taking her sweet 'ol time, she decided that she would try her new found super warp speed. She caught her toe on one of her steps and landed on her hands and knees on the sidewalk. Dad was right there and helped her up. She was very brave and didn't even cry. "I think that she is going to have a scrap on her one knee," said Bob. Celie made her way back to the steps, a little more cautiously this time and climbed up to play on the porch awhile.

The next day, a nice scrap appeared on her knee giving Cecilia her first boo boo. Of course, Kelly had to take a picture of it for the Observer and for scrapbooking. After the picture taking, Kelly placed a well deserved Sesame Street Band Aid on the scrap. Celie wasn't quite sure about the band aid and complained until Kelly removed it. "I guess she wanted to show off her first war wounds," said Kelly. What a tough little girl!!

Below: Cecilia's first official boo boo

Celie Speaks

Bob and Kelly are really on the look out about what they are saying in front of Ms. Celie. She has learned to pick up on words that Bob and Kelly say and be able to mimick them in the correct circumstances. Celie has definitely increased her vocabulary and does some wonderful animal impressions.

Currently, she says ball, dog, no, oh no, wow, oh wow, hello, bbye, up, down, kk(cat), dada, mama.

If you ask her what the following animals say, she responds with the following:
dog= wuf wuf
cat= neow
chicken = bawk bawk
rooster = ooo ooo oodle ooo
pig = she crinkles her nose and tries to snort
duck = kak kak
bird = wee wee (tweet tweet)
monkey = ooo ooo
cow = mmmmmmmmmoooooo
elephant = she raises her arm (like a trunk) and will try to make the elephant sound

Bob and Kelly believe they are lucky because Cecilia knows a lot more language than she is able to vocalize. They can tell her it is time to eat and she goes directly to the table to sit at her seat. She knows when the family is going outside (she loves to go outside and play). She knows when she needs to sit to get her shoes on or when to go into her room to get her diaper changed. She also knows when it is nap time and bedtime and hasn't really wanted to conform to those two events, but she is slowly getting the hang of it.

Bob and Kelly are looking forward to hearing more and more words come out of Cecilia's mouth. Hopefully, Bob and Kelly can spare themselves the embarrassment of any swear words for quite some time.

Anna's Room

Kelly had several themes for the nursery way before her and Bob new what sex Littlest O was. Once they found out Littlest O was a girl, Kelly narrowed down her selection and found an artist, Cicely Mary Barker, that she absolutely loved.

Kelly set out to create a nursery full of color and flower fairies based on the writings and drawings of Ms. Barker.

Kelly ended up choosing fairies that were positioned in a manner that would best suit the room. She also chose them with color and the type of flower in mind. The end result is a calming display of larger than life fairies that adorn and watch over Anna's room.

"I am quite pleased how everything turned out," said Kelly,"I surprised myself with how well I could paint, it definitely has been a long time since I have practiced those artisitic skills." Kelly hopes that Anna will love the fairies watching over her. Kelly is looking forward to reading fairy stories to Anna and going on fairy hunts with both girls.

Below is the North wall of Anna's room. It is the first wall you see. Here is the Lily of the Valley and Lilac Fairies.
Below is the East wall. The fairy on the left is the Candy Tuft fairy (kind of looks like bib sis huh?) and the one on the right is the Red Clover Fairy.
This is the south wall. Kelly forgot the name of this fairy, but it is a boy fairy.

This is the west wall. A fairy poem with original art from the Ann Arbor Art fair. Eventually, a dresser will go underneath the poem on this wall.

Waiting

The Ostroski's are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ms. Anna. Kelly has finally had a little bit of time to work on Anna's room. "I will feel better once I have the room done and organized, "says Kelly," then she can come any time she wants. Hopefully, sooner rather later." This pregnancy has been the polar opposite of the one with Cecilia. Kelly has been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions and a lot of fetal movement. "Anna can definitely give a good wallop," says Kelly, "Sometimes I wonder if my organs are going to survive her twisiting, twirling, punching and kicking." Kelly is due October 4tgh but hopes that Anna will make her debut sooner.

A Celie Update

Bob and Kelly sit in amazement at how fast Cecilia is growing up. they love to hear her babble among her toys and discover the shared vocabulary of the"adult" world.


Kelly and Bob are pleased that even though her vocabulary is limited, she is able to respond very well to directions and understand what is going on around her.


Cecilia seems to have recovered well from surgery. Kelly and Bob have a difficult time keeping up with her running, climbing, and dancing about the house. But they would rather be tired of that then have her back in her cast.

Celie definitely takes after her father and loves just about any food they put in front of her. WIth 12 teeth currently in and all 4 of her bicuspids breaking through, she can chomp, chew, and gnaw just about anything. Her favorites? steak (yes, steak with seasoning), hamburger, chicken, turkey, sausage, cottage cheese, bread, scrambled eggs, corn, potatoes, broccoli, greenbeans, and ice cream to name a few items.

Bob and Kelly are grateful everyday for their little Celie Angel and know that she will be a wonderful big sister to Anna.Celie stunned by the camera after a nap. That Mom!!

The O's have Visitors

Bob, Kelly, and Cecilia were very happy to hear that Aunt Sue and Uncle Tom would be making their annual trip to Michigan to visit and to attend the Ann Arbor Art Fair. Bob was able to take off a couple of days to enjoy their visit.

Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom arrived on Wednesday afternoon with yummy goodies from Chicago, a very anxious Cocoa (their dog) and wonderful stories and pictures from their trip to Europe to meet and travel around with Mike and Tracy. (Background info - Mike Ostroski, Bob's brother is studying Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London England - Tracy Durica is Uncle Tom's niece and she is working as a chef in Cambridge, England. Prior to Mike's classes at RADA, Mike, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Tom met in Venice to site see and then head to Slovenia to meet up with friends of Mike. They all then went to London to check Mike in for classes. If you want to read about Mike's experience, his blog is http://goteam2006.blogspot.com )

On Wednesday night, the crew headed to Terry B's in Dexter for dinner. It was very tasty food and everyone enjoyed their meal, especially Cecilia.

On Thursday, Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom headed to the art fair to scout out the good stuff while Kelly, Bob and Cecilia had a relaxing day at home. Thursday night, they grilled burgers and italian sausages and then had dessert while looking at pictures of Venice, Slovenia, and England.

On Friday, Kelly joined Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom while Bob stayed home with Cecilia. The weather had definitely cooled down, but it was still too hot for Cecilia to be tied to a stroller for most of the day. Kelly enjoyed seeing all of the art and it inspired her to get cracking on some of her own stuff. The three art junkies went to Conor O'Neils for lunch and then headed back through the entire art fair on the way back to the car. Of course, they had to stop at Kilwin's for some ice cream to make sure they had enough stamina to make it back to the car. Friday night they ordered Chinese and finished with more pictures of Venice, Slovenia and England. The pictures were fantastic and Bob and Kelly are hoping that someday they will be able to go on an adventure similar to Aunt Sue and Uncle Tom's.

Saturday morning Kelly, Bob, and Cecilia were sad to see Aunt Sue, Uncle Tom, and Cocoa leave, but knew they needed to get back to Chicago. Uncle Tom had his sights on a late afternoon round of golf after watching a little bit of the British Open on the telly.

Bob, Kelly, and Cecilia thoroughly enjoyed their visitors and hope that they are able to come back again soon.

Nature All Around

Kelly and Bob continue to be amazed by the various forms of wildlife that surround their new home. Their home is perched upon a small hill among an array of pine, oak, and maple trees. Because some of the land that surrounds them is wetlands, there are cattails, red twig dogwoods and numerous ferns on the property as well.

In the 6 months that they have lived in their new home they have spotted deer (both bucks and does), wild turkeys (both hens, babies, and toms), rabbits, chipmunks, sand hill cranes, blue herrings, snapping turtles, garter snakes (Kelly witnessed up close in personal in the garage - she was NOT happy about it - she HATES snakes), and numerous birds including robins, blue jays, goldfinches, baltimore orioles, hummingbirds, cardinals, crows, hawks, woodpeckers, tufted titmouse, turtle doves, wrens, bluebirds, and tangers.

Bob was seen a couple of bats flying in the air. Kelly and Bob hope to put up their bat house soon. Since bats love mosquitos, Kelly welcomes them over the snakes anyday. Bob and Kelly also enjoy listening to the various frogs that have made their home in or near the pond. "You can hear tree frogs and bull frogs right around dusk. It is pretty cool," states Bob.

Kelly and Bob enjoy seeing and learning more about the habitat around them and have decided to keep a journal of their sitings. "I am hoping that we will be able to come up with some good pictures as well," states Kelly, "it would be nice to add those to the journal too."

Naming of the Homestead

While the Ostroski family continues to settle into their new home, Kelly and Bob have been making plans about landscaping and such for the homestead. No longer are the days of dirt and straw. Tall grass and weeds have definitely found their way through the sandy soil. Since Kelly and Bob plan on being in this house a VERY long time, Kelly thought it would be appropriate to name the homestead. "I have always thought it was kind of neat to pass a place and see a sign that denotes that property being something special. It reminds me of New England and is a tad Martha Stewartish," Kelly says. Kelly has been pondering what to call the house on the hill surrounded by tons of wildlife, trees, and nature. She finally came up with a name - O Knoll. "I am working on a logo for O Knoll. I first thought that an oak leaf behind the name would be nice, but after having 2 snapping turtles lay their eggs in our yard, I am thinking an outline of a turtle might be more appropriate," says Kelly. Once Kelly has developed her logo for O Knoll, she will post it for all to see. Kelly and Bob look forward to many visitors at O Knoll, so stop on by.

Kelly & Celie Gone Wild!

Kelly & Cecilia went on an adventure yesterday. They headed to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan with friends Tammy & Reagan. It was a real test because it was Cecilia's first trip to a zoo. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the crowds were relatively small.

Kelly pushed Cecilia around the park in her stroller which was easy on the paths throughout the park. After exploring the USA component of the park, the adventures headed to the African side of the park. This was Cecilia's first "train" like ride and she seemed to enjoy the trip. They all ate at the African cantina and then headed to the safari fields. There, they were able to view the giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and antelopes. Cecilia sometimes had difficulty finding the animals in their habitat but found joy once she was able to spot them.

The picture below is of Kelly and Reagan feeding a baby Giraffe.

Cecilia wasn't quite sure what to make of the curled, slimy tongue of the Giraffe. So, she seemed to stay clear of the feedings, but thought that the Giraffe biscuits were giant graham crackers that Kelly had to keep her from eating! Below is a picture of Cecilia wiping her hands after handling a biscuit.

Here is another picture of Cecilia - she is very reluctant to be setting on top of a dinosaur to get her picture taken. But she was a sport for her mama.

After their adventure in Africa, they headed back to the USA via the tram and then they headed home. Both of the girls fell asleep on the way home - very tired from their adventures abroad. Kelly was happy to be sitting again for a while as all of the walking made her pregnant body very tired.

Happy Almost 4th of July!

Feeling festive about the 4th of July, Celie decided to show off her spirit in this adorable dress that Aunt Sue & Uncle Tom got for her. She is delighted to have her picture taken, but now that she is extremely mobile, it makes it more difficult to get a good one of her. Whenever there is a camera around, she goes straight for it because she wants to see the picture on the back of it (thanks to digital cameras). She gets frustrated when someone is trying to take pictures with a 35mm camera because she doesn't get to see the picture on the back. Gone are the days that she can be propped up and you are able to take adorable pictures of her. She definitely has a mind of her own - I wonder where she gets that from?

A New Beginning for the Ostroski Observer

Hello everyone! It has been a long time coming that the Ostroski Observer went electronic, so here is a first attempt at it through this blog.

Hopefully, some or most of you will find this as interesting as the printed version. We will still send out the printed version, but only for a limited run and will definitely keep things more updated on this blog.

I thought it would be best to get started on this electronic craze before the next addition of the Ostroski Family arrives. We are counting down - 13 more weeks (or less) before Anna Grace arrives and joins the Ostroski Team - Go Girl Power.

This site will also give us the opportunity to share photos of the girls as well. And as always, if you have any questions, requests or suggestions, the editorial staff at the Ostroski Observer welcome every single one.

Hope to hear from you.
Ostroski Observer Editor
Kelly O