SURPRISE DELIVERY

Jennifer's brother James (our UPS guy) has been making several stops to our house lately, but today was a total surprise and we weren't expecting him. We were very surprised to receive a HUGE delivery from Omaha Steaks, courtesy of our friends, the Green's. Thanks a lot guys! We are going to grills some steaks and burgers on New Year's Day. I am looking forward to the delicious au gratin potatoes too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas everyone!! I have several draft posts that will be finished soon, I can't wait to share them with you! In the meantime, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

SEEING SANTA

Well today was the day the girls have been waiting for...their first time seeing Santa this year. We went to Reindeer Romp again this year and they were able to get right in and see him and then there were a lot of kids' activities that they did. Derek was hunting so thankfully my mom could come with us to help corral Lauren. We met Shannon and her girls there and everyone had a lot of fun.


Later, when Derek came home, we decided to go to my work Christmas party, where we saw Santa and Troubles the Clown a second time for the day! We also saw the Bubble Man again. This was Lauren's first experience in a bubble...she wasn't too sure about it!

AM I REALLY THIS OLD?

Tonight I judged a round of debate at Maize High School. They were hosting a debate tournament this weekend for the area.

This year's topic was whether the US Government should significantly increase incentives for alternative forms of energy. The kids I judged were awesome! I was so impressed with them, and it took me back to my days of high school debate tournaments and competition. It was nice to be on the other side with all the power!

It was a difficult decision, but in the end I voted for the Affirmative team, whose case was for algae biodiesel. It was a great experience for me and I plan to do it again in the future. My mom and brother both helped out as well and we all enjoyed it and were talking about it for a couple of hours afterward.

Ironically the names of the kids on each team were the same! Both girls were named Katie and both boys were named Alex. Strange, huh? It occurred to me afterward that I am now old enough to be these kids' mother...I was in debate before they were even born!

OUCH

Today I hurt bad. I joined a bootcamp with a friend and I can easily say that every part of me that is supposed to bend...isn't. Thank goodness for Advil.

EARLY CHRISTMAS SURPRISE!

Tonight Derek gave me an early Christmas present...a 12x24 Cricut!! He wanted to give it to me so I can spend some time getting it all figured out before the next crop. I am thinking we are going to love this!

READY FOR CHRISTMAS

I finished Christmas shopping for everyone but Derek last week, so today I took off the afternoon to finish getting his birthday and Christmas items...so now I can say I am DONE! It is always overwhelming for me to buy Christmas presents because it seems like it is easy to go overboard and find myself in debt for months afterward.

This year we cut back on gifts with everyone except the kids and single young adults in the family. That really helped to keep it simple this year and focus on the true meaning of Christmas. I also have been buying a little each week for the past couple of months, so I can say I didn't go into debt this year, and with the state of the economy and aviation industry, I am relieved.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC ALREADY??

I can't believe last weekend they started playing Christmas music on many of the radio stations 24/7. I am boycotting the stations right now because if I don't the music will drive me crazy. I don't understand why they can't wait until December...or at least until Thanksgiving is over!!

So, no Christmas music on this site yet...I might create a special playlist, but I promise not to put it on here until Decemeber!

LAZY SUNDAY

Well, I have updated my blog a little...I hope to get some photos up soon of our recent trip to Lawrence to see the Green's. Check back soon!

PUMPKIN PATCH MEMORIES

As promised here are some photos of our recent trip to the pumpkin patch. Well, Prairie Pines actually. I just love the colors of the old buildings out there with the orange pumpkins in the backdrop. It always makes for beautiful, colorful photographs. It was hard to narrow them down. I took some really good ones of Lauren, and she is always a challenge to photograph.

HALLOWEEN MEMORIES PART II

After the movie, Alex and I met up with Derek and Lauren, went to dinner, then we went trick-or-treating. Alex was a fire fighter again, and Lauren was a Halloween princess. She reminds me of Glenda the Good Witch in her photo below.

We went to Andover first, then to Derek's boss' house and neighborhood, then on our way home we stopped by the fire station!! It was very exciting, Alex was SO shy. The guys loved her. We were their only trick or treaters for the night, so they gave the girls a lot of candy.

One of the firefighters took a photo of us by the truck since Alex was too shy to pose with them...you can tell the guy doesn't take a lot of photos, he didn't wait for the camera to focus and the flash never went off, so the photo below is the best I have after a lot of editing.

After we left the fire station, we came home and stopped by a couple of the neighbor's houses, then called it a night. Another busy day for the Whitcrafts!

HALLOWEEN MEMORIES PART I

OK, this post is a little late...but I am still sick. And overworked.
Anyway...I took the afternoon off on Halloween Friday to spend with Alex. I took her to lunch, then we went shopping for Mary's birthday present, then we went to Kay Wiggins for a Webkinz event, and THEN we went to High School Musical 3!!! I had purchased tickets before work and we stopped at home for a restroom break before the movie (fear of flushing toilet thing), but we had to drive by the theatre on the way. It was packed! So I was all worried...we got there, waiting in line at the concession stand and then made our way to the Grand Auditorium (where everyone should see every movie).

We were the third and fourth person there. Yep. We had the whole left side of the theatre to ourselves. Even after another couple dozen people arrived.

It was a cute movie with cute kids in it. They never had kids this cute when I was young. Troy is her favorite. I can see why she likes him so much.

We even bought a singing t-shirt to commemorate the occasion. She is still singing those songs...and they're starting to get stuck in my head!

QUICK UPDATE

Looking at my last post it seems like so far away! Lauren has made a lot of potty training progress in the last week, going several times at daycare and home, so diapers are becoming a thing of the past as we begin to phase them out.

Right now her reward for using the potty (#1 and #2) is getting to wear a pull-up, and a sticker for her book. She is pretty excited about that. Once she graduates from pull-ups to big girl underwear, she will get to take a special trip to the store to pick some out. That was a big step for Alex, no more pull-ups demonstrated our confidence in her and in turn she became very confident in herself and her ability to pay attention to her body. It's really been a lot easier with Lauren than I thought it was going to be. She has it figured out, I just have to wait for her to get to the point that she doesn't like feeling wet. It just doesn't bother her at this point. But we are getting there and I am pretty proud of her. It also means we are one step closer to Honeytree Academy, the preschool that we have been on a waiting list for next year's enrollment for over a year. Lauren will have to be potty trained before we can enroll the girls there.

I am excited at the thought of not purchasing diapers and pull-ups anymore, but sad to see my baby growing up. Watch for photos of her during this phase...coming soon.

I have been working on some long posts to update everyone on the last couple of weeks.

Yes I am still sick, but I feel SO much better today. So good, in fact, that we made a family trip to the Dr. office this afternoon to get flu shots. The girls did great. It really didn't hurt longer than a millisecond this year. I am not sure if our nurses were that good or if the strain just didn't burn and sting as much this year.

I let the girls eat a piece of Halloween candy afterward and then we took them to McDonald's as a special treat. They were really wanting the Madagascar toys I think, because Daddy had to help them finish their dinners. When we got home and we ate, they wanted to eat off our plates. Oh well.

Let's hope we are all healthy this flu season. I don't intend to miss another immunization as long as it is available. I have never gotten sick from it, but I have seen what happens when I don't get it. I will never forget two years ago when the immunization was in short supply and we weren't able to get the shot since we weren't in the high risk category, and Lauren was too young to get it. The three of us tested positive (Lauren never got it) out of 5 total patients at our Dr. office that got it. It was miserable, it lingered for what seemed like forever (in actuality a week), and I was a total wreck worrying about Alex and her high fever and fearing that Lauren would catch it. And we all felt crappy at the same time.

Well, that's enough for now. An extended post or two will be coming this weekend...

SUPER POOPER!

Guess what? My little girl hit a big milestone today. Lauren pooped in the toilet at daycare! I am so proud of her. Gave her a special Mickey Mouse sticker for it. : )

ALEX - THE GIRL THAT IS GROWING UP TOO FAST...

I'm still sick. Still. Anyway, hate to be a whiner, just had to document what Alex said to me this morning.

Alex came up to me while I was getting ready for work and started this conversation.

Alex: "Mommy, I don't think my favorite firefighter works at the fire station we went to."

Me: "I think he works at the other fire station by our house."

Alex: "Can we go there next year?" [trick or treating]

Me: "Oh, I am sure we can."

Alex: "Good. I want to give him our phone number."

Me: "Why do you want to do that?"

Alex: "So he can call us and come to our house."

Me: "Why do you want him to come to our house?"

Alex: "So I can have a sleepover, Mom!"

Geez. Someday that will mean something different. I can't wait to tell her about this.

GOBAMA

Alex has been really into watching the election results with me tonight. I explained to her that this election is history in the making. She is excited watching the electoral count. She is hoping that the "brown guy wins" because he looks and talks nice. : )

This reminds me of when I was in kindergarten, a little older than Alex...we were all supposed to "vote" for President. I chose Independent John Anderson because he looked "nice." Tell me what you think...

LONG TIME NO POST

I have been sickly for quite awhile with the bronchial yucky stuff (we all have), so I haven't felt well enough to mess with posting lately, sorry! I do have a lot to write about though, so I will be posting soon. I have also been working a lot of overtime lately (end of our fiscal quarter), so looking at a computer screen after hours hasn't been high on my priority list.

Anyway, I wanted to write about something cute that Alex said today...she came up to me and said, "Mom I must be growing." I asked her why she thought that and she said that her brain hurt and her feet were bigger so she must be growing! Hmmm. Makes sense I guess!

More to come soon. We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and Derek and the girls carved the pumpkins tonight while I attempted to get caught up on work, photos forthcoming...

A SNEAK PEEK AT MY ROOM

Here's a pic of my new creative space. I've had the vision, but Derek made it come to life! It is very inspiring, however I haven't done much cropping there yet because everything was so nicely packed for the Pratt crop. But now that we are on a four month break from weekend long scrapbooking retreats, I am going to unpack and attempt to finish all those unfinished projects. Scrapbook night anyone? : )

CROP TILL YOU DROP!

Well we just returned from another productive crop weekend in Pratt. There were a lot of great prizes and some funny stories to tell for awhile... This is the last crop for awhile, so I am a little sad. We had a great time and invited a new friend, Darla, to join us. I had only met her once at bootcamp after seeing her email address and license plate -- CROPNGIRL, but she is my kind of lady! Sassy and talented! And she has a beautiful daughter, so she fits right in with our group!

Speaking of the Pratt crop, I lost miserably last year in the layout contest, and since Danielle didn't go, I actually had a chance, so I decided to enter! I ended up beating the lady that beat Danielle last year (and Danielle's layout was WAY better), so I feel like justice might be served now. : )

Here's the winning layout:

SHE'S GOT GAME

I never thought that Alex would do so well at soccer. I hope that she continues to enjoy it and will pursue it competively in the next couple of years. I think it has really helped her coordination. She once again had a great game on Saturday, scoring another 6 goals. These are some photos of her that I really like. I especially like how she shows the boys how to play the game!

LAUREN'S PLAYGROUP

Tuesday nights we go to preschool and playgroup at Vermillion Primary School. Lauren is really having a good time there. I thought I would post some photos of my baby showing her maternal side.

PRETTY PRETTY PRINCESS

Alex's Aunt Amy and Uncle Sam came over today to give her her birthday gifts. She loves the Colbie Caillat cd and Pretty Pretty Princess game that they gave her the most. The 3 of us played the game a couple of times and she was really starting to get the hang of it. Later, my brother Robert came over to highlight my hair and Alex begged him to play a round while I processed.

Turns out...Robert is pretty good at this game...who knew?

WOW!

Alex had her best game yet today and we were all impressed by her determination. Her Mia and Papa came to cheer her on, as well as Heather and her girls. She had quite the cheering section at the end of the game!

The final score was 6-2, and she scored all 6 goals!! The coach said her footwork looked great. We still have to work on sharing the ball with the rest of the teammates, but I did tell her beforehand that she could score a couple of goals for me today. : )

MY NEW PHONE!

I finally got my birthday present from Derek -- a new cell phone. I ended up going with the Palm Centro after hours of research online and at the store. Here's what it looks like:


I'm still trying to figure it out, but Derek has been helping with that! I'm just glad I can easily text my friends and family now!

A FEW OF THEIR FAVORITE THINGS

When Alex isn't riding her bicycle, she is chaffeuring her little sister Lauren around. They drive the cul-de-sac and around in the yards. I am very thankful we were able to move to a safer neighborhood where they can play like this. It's all worth it.

Lauren's new thing is driving her "car," which is the cozy coupe she inherited when she was born. By then, Alex already had the Jeep, and was done with the little kid toys, so Lauren is proud to call it her own. Since it never saw daylight, having only been driven in our basement, it was in immaculate, like new condition for her. Now it's parked in the garage by the Jeep, but sometimes found on the porch.

WE SURVIVED!

Well, we made it through another birthday season.

Tonight was Alex's spa party with 10 guests. It was crazy at times, but the girls had a lot of fun. My brother Robert came over and gave the girls pink and purple hair extensions, and my mom and my friend Heather painted nails. The girls ate pizza and cake and ice cream while watching Enchanted and waiting in line to be pampered.

Unfortunately my memory card in my camera filled up for the first time ever (I have to stop taking so many videos!), so Shannon became the official photographer of the event.

I will add photos as soon as I get them. In the meantime, enjoy a photo of the cake. It was delish!

LAUREN'S SMILE

She really makes me work for it...but when I can capture her smile, it's precious.

Here's a photo I will keep and embarrass her with one of these days...

LEARNING TO RIDE A BIKE

Although Alex saw her bicycle a couple of days before her birthday, she still acted surprised and was very excited to take a spin.

Here are some photos (yes photos!!) of Alex on her birthday.

PS She is getting a helmet and pads tomorrow!

ME AND MY GIRL

Today is Alex's 5th birthday.

I worked in the morning since it is the dreaded month-end, and Alex wanted to take treats to daycare today. So I picked her up just before lunchtime to spend the afternoon with her.

We went to the party store and then decided to go to lunch. Of all places she could pick -- she chose Spangles, and she ate a corndog and fries and drank a root beer.

Then we had to run to the grocery store for the rainbow sherbert and cake plates that we forgot at the party store.

We ran home and dropped off the goodies and we were going to assemble party favor bags...but I forgot them, so off we went, back to the grocery store for the bags.

Then we went to the bank to deposit some of her birthday money and to pick up her birthday present -- a princess shaped container filled with lip gloss, she loved it! And it's pretty appropriate since we are having a girl's spa night party tomorrow!

Then we had to run to the cake place (the first year I am not making her cake) to pick up the cake and finally headed home.

We filled the favor bags and then I asked her what she wanted to do: go shopping for some clothes, go to a movie, play mini-golf, go to the zoo, or to the park to feed the ducks. She wanted to see a movie, however after checking and finding that there weren't any new ones out that she wanted to see, she decided she wanted to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie at home.

So here we are...I am getting ready to do some cleaning and then we are going to meet Derek and Lauren for dinner. Alex has no idea that when we get home from dinner we are going to give her the bicycle for her birthday. She's going to love it!

UPDATE

OK, I added some more tunes for your listening pleasure...still no photos though, sorry. Aiming for this weekend. In the meantime, pump up the volume!

GREAT DAY

It's my birthday today, the first day of fall. Beautiful weather. And I don't feel any older than I did yesterday. ; )

Work went ok...as well as it could for being swamped.

Flowers were waiting for me when I arrived, as well as cards from friends, my husband and my girls.

Alex picked out a card for me with Belle on it that says, "You're a Princess of a girl..." It's my favorite card ever! Incidentally, she told me that she wants me to buy her the same birthday card later this week. : )

I didn't have cake...but I did have some great chocolate pudding pie, very yummy!

The soccer game tonight was not one of Alex's best games, but she did cheer on her team and share the ball, so we are getting there. I told her that Saturday she needs to "get her head in the game," which is one of the songs from High School Musical. I think she understood me.

I waited up through the news until my actual birthday...so now I can go to bed. Goodnight everyone, and thanks for the well wishes.

PS I promise, photos will be posted soon!

PPS We got our FIRST RSVP for Alex's party this weekend...and I think she is a former neighbor. Small world, huh?

PEEVED

Can I just share one of my pet peeves? It's people who do not RSVP to parties when the invitation explicitly states that food will be served and requests an RSVP. I think this is pretty inconsiderate.

I am throwing a birthday party for Alex next weekend and have invited 13 of her friends (and their moms), knowing that some of them will not be able to attend. However, I have not heard from any of her daycare friends, and that is half the girls invited. How am I supposed to order or prepare food when I don't know if they are coming? It sure would be nice to at least receive a phonecall or email that they are not coming. I also have to purchase favors based on a crystal ball estimate at this point. I guess I better keep my receipt!

OK, enough venting. I need to go to bed.

ONE ON ONE TIME

Well, Alex had another amazing soccer game yesterday. She is really getting into it. She is actually keeping track of her goals now. Four today, and four last Thursday, but we play in a league that doesn't keep score. Good thing, too. : )

After the game, my mom came over and sat with Lauren while Alex was treated to High School Musical on Ice. It was one of her birthday presents, some one on one time with Mom and Dad, enjoying two of her favorite things: singing and dancing. She did a little of both too, I have the proof on video... The show was really good, and worth the money, way better than the Ringling Brothers' circus, in my humble opinion.

Later, I got to hang out with my friend Shannon, and tried to redeem myself from the previous weekend crop. I finished 7 more pages, and more importantly, completed Alex's birthday party layouts from a year ago. Now I am caught up on her birthdays...until next weekend when we have her 5th birthday party scheduled.

Speaking of birthdays, today we celebrated my sister's 30th birthday party at her house. Her birthday is actually Tuesday, but all her friends got together today. She suddenly feels old at this milestone of a birthday, but I hope she finds that this will be her best decade yet. I sure am enjoying it!

DATE NIGHT

Derek surprised me with a date night tonight. He arranged for his aunt and uncle to babysit the girls tonight while we went out. We were going to go to Mosely Street, but I wasn't impressed by the play that's going, so I decided to take one for the team and go see "Lakeview Terrace" with him. This is *not* a chick flick, but the leading man is kinda cute, so I managed to sit through it. It was an ok flick, but I probably would have changed the story a bit, and maybe given it a catchy title. It just opened today, but I don't see it being a blockbuster.

Alex and Lauren had a great time tonight with Knucklehead and Candy. They played soccer in the yard, went to Baskin Robbins, and then went for a car ride to their house to play with their dogs before coming home. Both girls were pretty tuckered after a busy day. We appreciated the night out for sure!

SOCCER STAR IN THE MAKING!

Alex had a GREAT game tonight. She scored at least 3-4 goals for her own team, and stayed focused for most of the game. At the end, she sort of forgot which goal was her team's, and ended up scoring one for the other guys. I like to think she was helping them out, since the score would have been 9-1 (but who's keeping track?).

TOO POOPED TO PARTY

Well, it finally hit me -- Cropper's exhaustion set in. Lack of sleep caught up with me. I went to bed at 7:30 pm last night...and slept until 6 am, without a sleeping pill. Impressive, huh? And I still needed some coffee this morning!

IT'S LIKE CHRISTMAS!

I forgot to mention that I bought a clip-it-up at Cropaganza. This thing is great, it's like a little rack that you can hang your embellishments on and then shop from your own stock! What a great idea -- I am constant forgetting what I have, or misplacing it. I am hoping this gizmo will help. Of course if I lose it, I will be out of luck! I only spent a couple of hours organizing it tonight. I love this thing!

GIRLS' WEEKEND

Well, we did it. We survived another weekend crop! And had a great time...and made some new friends, as well as reuniting with some old friends. I didn't accomplish a lot this time, but for as unorganized as I was, I am satisfied with my output.

I was glad the drama was low-key. I really wish it would not have rained so much that first day. I think I was too wet and uncomfortable to get motivated. It wasn't until the last day that the creative juices started flowing. Just hope it lasts.

MUSIC

I love music. Maybe even more than photos. So much emotion can be expressed and felt just by a certain tune, or tone of voice.

As you may have noticed, I have discovered how to add music to my page. These are my favorites. As I think of more, I'll add them, but all of these songs mean something to me. Someday I will have an ipod and this is what will be playing and what it represents:

My journey to a new place ("In God's Country" - U2)
My favorite breakup song ("Adrienne" - The Calling)
My high school graduation song ("Life is a Highway" - Tom Cochrane)
My college song ("Graduate" - Third Eye Blind)
My best friend's song ("I'll Be There for You")
..and my favorite love song ("Never Tear Us Apart" - INXS).

Come to think of it, I don't think Derek and I have a song...oh wait...there's the first song we chose for our wedding cd. Etta James - "At Last."

You will notice the presence of a few country songs -- those are for my daughter Alex. : ) Personally I could live with never hearing a Tim McGraw song again, but for her, I will suffer through them.

Whatever the meaning behind any of the songs, whenever I listen to them, I smile. I hope you do too. Enjoy.

THE DREAM IS ALMOST A REALITY

My scrapbook room is almost complete! The room is a pretty Caribbean blue color ("sea wave" according to the paint chip)...the shelves have been painted white and bulletin board has been hung, the curtain completed, and the accessories (lighting, storage) purchased.

One small thing missing: furniture -- tables, in particular. I am hoping to acquire some in the near future, and then I can call it complete. Although I have a television, I noticed yesterday I was missing a radio. Anyone who crops regularly until the wee hours of the night will tell you that you must be able to listen to Delilah and all her wisdom every now and then.

Tonight I sold many of the books I used to have on my bookshelves (now storing scrapbook supplies there). I made quite a bit of cash, but took it all in trade so we can acquire MORE books! Alex and I spent a lot of time wide-eyed, trying to take it all in. We like to smell the old books, and see if we recognize any of them from our collection. She was very excited the entire time we were there. She helped carry in one of the boxes and insisted on taking the empty boxes home so that we could bring them more and trade for different books. I let her pick out books for herself and for Lauren. She chose 5 for herself and 3 for her sister.

Her favorite book tonight is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Apparently she reads it at daycare because she was telling me the whole story on the ride home. I'm glad she loves to read. I hope she continues to enjoy it.

PRETTY AS A PICTURE

Today my coworker Harold came over to photograph Alex in her soccer uniform.

Unimpressed with the Y photograpgher, I decided to give Harold a chance at it. He knows I am picky, and I think he might be too, so it could just work out. He photographs weddings on the side, so I thought I would have him come to our house and take some photos of her in her own environment. Plus our grass is nice and green, unlike the Y. :)

Harold is going to make up some trading cards for me too, I really hope they turn out well. She has a face that just lights up for the camera, so that helps.

SO BEHIND

It occurs to me today that I am behind on just about everything, except work. I am caught up at work, but many things at home are not. My blog is even behind! You may have noticed that I have attempted to add some "pretties" to the blog, still working on photos.

Speaking of photos, the reason why there aren't any posted here is because I haven't scrapbooked since I started this thing, didn't even take the photos off my camera until last week when I needed room on the card for soccer pics...next weekend is another Cropaganza - that I am not ready for, so I am hoping to get it all organized sometime before then. Nothing like procrastination!

My scrapbook room is coming along. Derek painted it a pretty Caribbean blue color, but then we had a small snafu when he tried to hang the floating shelves. He is in the process of repairing the damage to the walls, and completing his part of the project. I made the curtain last night while watching a strange movie ("Then She Found Me"), and so now I just need to wait on him in order to decorate. Most of the room is organized the way I want it, with the exception of some missing pieces of furniture that I am hoping to purchase soon.

So, you can see I have been a little busy with scrapbook related activities, and in the future it will make scrapbooking more enjoyable for myself and my good friends. I will post a photo soon. Right now I need to work on laundry.

SURPRISE

Derek surprised me and brought home roses today. It's been a while so it was nice. He used to buy them all the time, but about a year ago we agreed that the money would be better spent on bills, so we try to find other ways to show our affection, including making each other gifts.

We are going to hang shelves in my scrapbook/craft room tonight!

GROWING UP

Well today Lauren came in to the bathroom with me and decided she wanted to go potty! I don't believe in forcing the issue since it can cause regression, but we have been reading books about it, and apparently she chose today as the day to sit longer than 5 seconds, and then it happened. I made a big deal about it and Daddy said, "good!" Then Alex walked by the open doorway and said, "Yea! Lauren! You're a BIG girl!" Now that's the response I was looking for.

SOCCER BEGINS!

Alex had a great first game today. She kept up with the boys and remained focused throughout the game. I was proud of her. We have to work on the "one-girl team" though...she has a tendency to steal the ball from her teammates as well as the opponents!

We went to the land afterward and the girls were excited to spend some time with Grandma and Papa as we watched their building being built. We all went on tractor rides, and had a cookout.

BIG TRUCK NIGHT

We took the girls to Big Truck Night tonight at Vermillion Primary School in Maize. This is always an event that they look forward to and of course I look forward to the photo ops!

Both girls had a blast, as usual, and Lauren made a friend at the Schwan truck (he gave away free popsicles), but Alex was once again enamoured by the fire fighters. She kept gravitating to a certain firefighter, at one point giving him a high five and then later a hug. She told him how she was a fire fighter last Halloween, etc. Later on the car ride home she told me that when she is 18 she is going to marry him. The only thing I could think of to say is, "I think he is already married."

Geez. I'm not ready for this!

ONE ON ONE TIME

Derek and Alex went fishing on Saturday, so it was nice to spend
time with Lauren (and get to take a nap) on Saturday. She is
turning into such a diva. Wearing dresses and skirts and heels...
we went shopping and stopped by Heather's -- she gave her a purse
some black dress shoes and it made her day. She talked about
Heather the rest of the day.

Then later that night we went to my favorite restaurant and
managed to drag dinner out long enough that we could stay for the
belly dancers -- and I am glad we did. It is one of my favorite
family memories. Alex loves to people watch so she has always
liked it, but we haven't been able to go for a couple of years
can't keep them out that late) and she didn't remember, so she was
fascinated.

Lauren, on the other hand, got out on the floor and tried to dance
WITH the belly dancers. It was VERY entertaining for everyone at
the restaurant too. I actually had my camera, but Derek didn't
think I should take photos of a half dressed stranger without asking
first, so I didn't. But it was so cute to see Lauren get into it
and she had on these little brown clogs. They are probably too tight
but she likes them so much and they make a lot of noise so she was
dancing like crazy.

SHOPPING TRIP

We took the girls shopping last night to let Lauren spend some
birthday money and Alex had a gift card. Lauren ended up picking
out a lawn mower that blows bubbles. Alex struggled between a
high chair for her dolls, or a new pair of slip on Sketcher shoes.
In the end, she decided on the shoes, and I am glad because she
really needed a new pair. Since she isn't in school yet, we don't
really go clothes shopping at this time of year, but rather around
her birthday, which is still a month away. So her old shoes were
looking ragged and it's almost time for preschool to begin.

Speaking of her birthday, I am having a hard time deciding what
we are going to do. I'd like to have a party at one of the
theatres, but for some reason, this year all the plays are
beginning in November. I could do a movie matinee, but there
aren't any kids movies out right now. The zoo is expensive and
the last few years it has rained on her birthday. We did the
moonwalk thing last year. She isn't that into craft yet... she can't
skate, although that might be fun -- or dangerous -- for her friends.
She kind of wants to have a spa party with her girlfriends, but most
of her friends are boys... We'll see but I need to decide this soon
so I can get going on the invitations.

SOMETHING'S BITING!

I've been feeling pretty yucky the last few days, trying to get over a
sinus infection. Lauren must look the way I feel. She got a mosquito
bite on her temple on Saturday, by Monday her eye and cheek were all
swollen. I took to the Dr, who assured me that she just had an
allergic reaction to the bug bite. Not sure why, but both my girls
get welts around the bites and they seem to linger for about a week.

Bugs don't like me, but my girls sure must taste good!

GEARING UP FOR SOCCER

We met Alex's new soccer coach yesterday. He seems to know what
he is doing and is enthusiastic about being the coach. We'll
see how well he does. We found out that Alex is the only girl
on her team! I am kind of excited about that. I think it will
help her to keep her focused and not be so distracted.

PARTY TIME

Well, the cake turned out well...after 6 hours of decorating, most of that was washing the utensils between mixing the 10 different colors! But it looked ok considering the picture was backwards. And more importantly, it tasted good! I would steer clear of black and red buttercream icing though!

We survived Lauren's birthday party, and while she had a cranky beginning due to being tired and not having a nap, she got into the party mood in the middle of present opening. She loves all of her presents, especially anything Dora related, or any of the baby accessories.

SUCCESS

So far, so good. At least the cake is done. Now it has to cool for awhile and then I will begin icing it! Better go work on laundry.

WISH ME LUCK

Well, I am home today. I had planned to take tomorrow off to bake and decorate Lauren's birthday cake, clean, do laundry, etc. but I went to bed with an upset stomach and woke up with a migraine. So I decided I might as well stay home today to recup and try to get some of this birthday stuff accomplished.

I took some meds and went back to bed, slept until 9:30, so fortunately the migraine is gone now. But I still have a stomachache, so I am slowly eating a peanut butter & honey sandwich. At least I won't have any temptation to taste test the icing!

Right now I have Lauren's Dora cake baking in the oven. I really hope it turns out better than last year when I had my first cake disastor the day before her first birthday. I managed to have not one, but two cake baking failures. I decided it was the pan and gave up, then went to plan B. I made cupcakes and aranged them in the shape of a tiara. A couple of months ago Jennifer borrowed my butterfly pan and had no problem at all with it. So maybe it was my oven. ; )

6 minutes to go...I'll let you know how it turns out!

TIME TO GET BACK ON TRACK

So today Derek and I went out to lunch. We ran into one of his old
girlfriends. Apparently she used to be quite sleazy and was actually
cheating on her husband when dating Derek. Shortly after he stopped
talking to her, she divorced and cheated on the next guy she was
dating and so on...

Anyway, today she was at lunch with a couple of people and was there
with her infant daughter. I only saw her sitting in her short shorts,
but I began to feel a little pudgy when doing a mental comparison...
then I realized that while I still weigh less than I did when I came back
from maternity leave, I have been slacking the past few months and
really need to get back in the habit. I have been going to the Y, and I
feel so much better afterward, but I probably need to step it up and
start getting on my stationary bike in the mornings and evenings. I do
have a goal of eventually getting up early enough to workout before
my shower. That might take baby steps though.

If I could just become allergic to chocolate and ice cream that would
really help. Or at least get violently ill when I consume them.

Starting tomorrow (going to the Y tonight) I am riding my bike!
I think I will make it a contest for myself and see how many
miles I can go. Nothing like a late summer resolution!

PARTY PLANNING

Well, it is just 3 days until my baby Lauren turns 2. I think God meant
for her to not have so much hair so soon, so that I could keep her my
baby for as long as possible. She's been growing for sure, especially
starting to trim down and growing taller. Not having a lot of hair has
made the transition slow and easy for me, which is probably what I
needed as I embrace that she WILL be my last child. But it is hard not
to admit now, as she is speaking 6-8 word sentences and will hardly
sit long enough for me to cuddle with her.

I know the inevitable is happening soon. She WILL grow up. She IS
growing up. She is becoming more independent (and defiant)
everyday. She likes to wear dress up heels all the time and pretends
to put make-up on in the morning when I am getting ready.

I can already tell she is part diva. I'm not sure where she gets that.

GO WORLD

Is anyone else as freaking excited as I am about the Olympics? I don't
watch much sports these days, but how can you resist watching
the best athletes in the world compete? And it's nice to know we
can put aside our differences for just a while and unite long enough
to cheer on our favorite athletes, no matter where they are from.

I have been watching Michael Phelps as he continues to break world
records (many of them his own) and surpass Mark Spitz as the
greatest Olympian of all time. Beating the French by hundredths of
a second after the French said they were going to "smash the
Americans," was very fulfilling to watch. Last night he became the
greatest swimmer of all time. So much for such a young guy. I can't
believe he is only 23 years old. Hope he doesn't let it affect his ego
too much. I really like watching the swimming competitions since
they are so quick, and most end within a couple of minutes. I can
hold my breath most of that time in anticipation!

We've also been watching the gymnastics competitions. Alex refers
to her favorite sport as "straddling," which I think she means the
pommel horse. Hopefully the young men's team will continue to
improve in the next four years as they mature. The women's team
made some costly mistakes, but should be proud of winning the
silver medal. They are on the heels of China and are still young
enough to beat them out next time.

We have also watched some volleyball....Derek more than the rest
of us. Wonder if the skimpy suits have anything to do with it? : )
One guy I work with admitted he likes to watch volleyball the
most...then he told me, "I'm old, I'm not DEAD." OK then...

One other good thing about the Olympics is that it draws people's
attention away from my favorite online store: eBay. As a result,
right after the men's swimming relay win, I was able to win an
auction as well -- I finally won a home cervical traction unit!!
I am so excited! Now I will be able to do physical therapy at home
and maybe the chronic headaches and migraines I have had off and
on for the last year and a half will be a thing of the past.

PLAYGROUND FUN

Well, we decided to take the girls to Sedgwick County Park tonight to feed the ducks...we've been saving bread for some time now and had about 4 loaves saved up. When we got there, someone else had already provided them with dinner because they were not hungry at all -- talk about spoiled!

We took the opportunity to go over to the new playscape area that my company helped provide. The girls had a blast! Alex loved everything, especially the water play area, where she made some new friends. Her opening line to other kids was "How old are you? I am four -- almost five." It was cute.

Lauren wanted to swing, swing, swing. If she isn't jumping, she is swinging. My little monkey.

OPEN HOUSE

We went to Eaglets open house at Vermillion Primary School in Maize tonight. Michelle is the new Tuesday night preschool teacher, so it was nice for Alex to see a familiar face after Miss Marjie's departure to another school. Alex also ran into some friends from last year, so she is really looking forward to it. I took the opportunity to walk around the school and scope out some of the kindergarten classrooms. There were so many excited children meeting their teachers, I can't wait for Alex to experience that next year!

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Well, it's been a while since I posted, and I don't want to let my two
occasional readers down, so get ready for a bunch of posts!

Last night I enjoyed a Girls Night out with Danielle and Jennifer. We
drank those wonderful margaritas at On the Border, ate appetizers
and got caught up. It's been a while since we have had a scrapbook
night, and we've all been on vacation and busy with the summer
activities. It was great to hang out with them. We decided to go
see Mama Mia after we ate and I am glad we did! It was just as
entertaining as the Broadway show in my opinion. I had no idea that
Meryl Streep could sing! And so well!! I particularly enjoyed her
singing "Winner Takes it All," and of course the show at the end of
the movie is hilarious! One thing I could have done without: Pierce
Brosnan singing. Such a pretty man. Such an awkward singing voice
(please make him stop). I think lip synching should be allowed in
certain situations. I can't wait to rent it and make my husband sit
through it. Repayment for all those James Bond flicks...

Anyway, the ladies and I all enjoyed the movie. We are all excited to
get together again in about a month for Cropaganza. Can't wait to
see what drama happens this time. I might just bring my camera.

The Dark Knight - Opening Night

I almost forgot to mention that I was able to see Batman: The Dark Knight on opening day last Friday. Earlier in the week my brother offered up some free babysitting and it just happened to coordinate with the film opening. Derek has really been wanting to see the movie and has been keeping up with the hype and pre-movie release interviews, as well as watching the original movie several times in the last couple of weeks. He's watching a History channel show about the bat suit and bat bike right now... [I've just been informed that it's titled "The Mind of a Superhero"]

So before work on Friday, I drove to the Warren and bought advance tickets for 7:05 pm showing. Then there was a brief panic when we didn't know which auditorium I purchased tickets for, but it turned out ok. We saw it in the main auditorium, we arrived an hour early to no line, left and went shopping, then returned a half hour before and the line was wrapped around outside the building! It was a very good, however dark and graphic movie. Heath Ledger's performance was stunning, so sad that his potential will not be realized. I do hope they award him an Oscar posthumously. I am becoming a Christian Bale fan too now. I am impressed with how easily he can totally lose his Welsh accent the way he can.

I will say this about the movie: young children should not be admitted, even with an adult. Too many people took their toddlers, and grade school age kids to this movie. It was too scary for the kids and several had to leave early.

Lauren's Big Girl Bed

OK, so I have to figure out how to upload pictures and make this blog into something interesting since my friend Danielle sent me a link to her new blog: http://dayswithmyboys.blogspot.com/ ...yeah so mine sucks compared to that! Great job Danielle, as usual...gifted with the digital tools...one of these days when I can get off of eBay I will look into designing this page, it's probably a lot cheaper.

Speaking of eBay, got into a bidding war last week with someone over the cutest Pottery Barn little girl bedding. I am very picky when I have something in mind while shopping, and once I saw this pattern, I HAD to have it for my little girl. So I won, and felt slightly guilty about going over budget, but then the seller (now my favorite eBay seller: trixiestreasures4u) totally proved to me that there are some nice people left in the world (besides my already awesome friends). She charged me less than the actual shipping weight and threw in a bunch of cute matching accessories, including finals for the curtain rod, a sisters picture frame and some placemats, and a pillow. I just love her! I have no idea yet what else she is selling, but I plan to keep my eye on her listings (once I earn some spending money again) just in case something cute pops up.

Here's a picture of the cutest bedding:



Whew...ok, so that was some background info for you... anyway, Derek repainted Lauren's room pink, and then un-repainted one of the walls when I began to second guess covering up the green (God love him!). Then we put the picket fence bed in her room and the antique dresser we stole from our neighbors (we didn't really steal it, just acquired it for the low low price of $5!) and made the bed with the new bedding. Voila! Bedroom has been transformed. We (and I mean he) still needs to hang a pink shelf on the green wall and I need to find the perfect lamp, and move some furniture to the basement and vice versa. Then it will be complete. I am so proud of my big girl Lauren. Put her to bed 51 minutes ago and she has already managed to climb down the antique dresser 5 times to quietly get a few books to read! She totally disregards the bed rail, and the fact that the bed is 3 feet tall. She just might be part monkey yet. : )

PUMP IT UP

Well, I got a great workout today...chasing Lauren around at my niece Allie's birthday party at Pump it Up! We were both worn out by the time it was over, but had some great mommy-daughter bonding time. She talked about jumping and running the whole ride home.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Crop*A*Ganza Memories

So we had a great this past weekend at Summer CAG. Spent some quality time with great friends and my sister and her friends. Saw some old friends and made some new ones. Accomplished a lot and had tons of fun. I even got up and made myself look like a fool (I mean danced..). Didn't drink any alcohol this time, which allowed me to stay up until 4 a.m. one night. The adrenaline was really going when a couple of guys threatened to rain on our parade, but our fearless leader took good care of us and stood up like a strong woman! Great job Steffanie. I can't wait for the next one! And to that poor police officer that became the body guard to 200 women...remember, what happens at Cropaganza, STAYS at Cropaganza.