The Lists Are Posted....

Oh, the anticipation......  we have ALL been waiting anxiously to find out the fate for the upcoming year.  Today, it became known - who the teachers are, who is in the class... the secret is out. Flocks of parents and kids huddled at the school doors at 5:00 p.m. on the dot. 

We can all breathe a sign of relief now and gear up for what is in store next week.  I, for one, cannot WAIT until school is started!  I honestly didn't think I would say that after all the papers and homework, and complaints by May... but it has been a LONG summer.  It's time.

Days Like This

It has been forever since I have written.  Oh, how life changes in the blink of an eye.  My resolutions have all gone by the wayside, I'm back to work, and my beautiful sister is fighting the battle of her life after being diagnosed with breast cancer in May.  I never take life lightly, but things have certainly been put in perspective over the past few months.  Every trivial thing that starts to annoy me is quickly washed away at the thought of what Ang is going to have to endure over the next year.  Every time I yell at my kids for doing some stupid little annoying kid thing, I am immediately stricken with the guilt of wasting a moment with them over something I won't even remember tomorrow. 

But, at the same time... as hard as it is, life must go on.  We all question our existence at some point I think.  Or, maybe I'm just weird.  I don't question, or ponder... I dwell.  But, after years of dwelling, and questioning and regretting, I do know why I'm here, and I know where I'm going after it is all said and done.  Believe what YOU will, but I know what I believe, and that is a comfort I can relax and take some comfort in on "days like this..."

SchoolTube - LHTV Mar. 5, 2010

Okay, so I've failed miserably at pretty much all my resolutions, as evidenced by the two months that have passed since I last updated. But, here is my adorable Maiki in her TV debut at LHES. She was Student of the Day and was VERY excited.

SchoolTube - LHTV Mar. 5, 2010

Happy New Year... (a little late, I know)

Happy New Year!! 
Okay, so it took me a few days (okay a little longer than that) to get back on here, but at least I'm doing it!  It's only January 4 after all. 

Another decade has come and gone and wow, it is all such a blur.  Ten years ago, I was getting ready to take the Missouri bar exam, which I would eventually fail because my mind was a million miles away for reasons to follow.... I was looking for another job because I was working for a psychopath in Shawnee Mission....and most importantly, I was getting ready to go to Hawaii to get married to the "dude" I NEVER in a million years thought I would marry.  The years that followed brought our beautiful daughters, our son and several moves - some good, some bad.  And, it has all come full circle as I sit at home, working part-time, looking for a job, or at least trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. 

The past year has been a painful one for us.  Like many people before us, we faced foreclosure and eventual bankruptcy, not because of a bad mortgage...just a really bad house.  I also decided to quit my job in a market where tons of people are unemployed.  I was faced with a decision of losing myself, or losing a paycheck, so I chose me and my family.  But, that decision has not been an easy one for us to adjust to.  The girls have had to change schools for the third time in three years and we are renters again.  Another change was that our beloved Pastor at First Christian was forced to resign, leaving us with a tough decision to move on from the church we have attended for so long.  Finally, Mike has also had to face some demons this year, something that has taken a toll on everyone.

In addition to turmoil and change, we have lost people along the way.  My Grandfather, a good friend Rudy Arellano lost suddenly after an aneurysm, another friend Melanie Miller who died at 38 of a heart attack....very troubling and a reminder of how quickly life is flying by.

So, when faced with my new, and hopefully better year, I have resolved many things, some standard, some new.  1)  Like many others, I still need to lose some weight and get back in shape.  This was made even more apparent after the death of my friend Melanie.  2)  I resolve to try and find a job, or at least make enough on my own to try and take some of the burden off of Mike.  3)  I resolve to tell my little family that I love them every day, because you truly never know when it will be the last.  4)  I resolve to finish reading the Bible cover to cover by tax day.  5)  I resolve to get our finances in order so that we are never faced with the challenges of the past year again.  6)  I resolve to find a new church home.  7)  I resolve to get together with friends, other than my little family, at least once a month.  8)  I resolve to keep up with my BLOG and pictures so that I am not scrambling next year as always.  9)  I resolve to keep my house clean.  10)  Finally, I resolve to live each day to the fullest that I can, and I will TRY not to be so concered with the little things that drive me nuts because ultimately they really just don't matter. 

I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. 

The Sleepover

The girls finally got to have their very first "official" sleepover. They invited over their best friends who are also twins - Madison (R) and Morgan (L). Maddox thought this sleepover was great. He was obsessed with Morgan and followed her all night. He couldn't understand why she would not cooperate with him when he called her name, or why he couldn't be a part of all the big girl games! Here is a photo of the next morning...Maiki was in a "mood" after the evening of no sleep and getting up WAY too early, so she wouldn't stand for the photo.

The twins' little sister Olivia came over the next morning to play for a while. Maddox gave up his obsession with Morgan and turned his affections toward the smaller one. :) Above, he ponders what he can do to make her love him...

Here, he rubs her back and gives her a little smooch. Unfortunately in photos, you can't see how she reacted. She squirmed uncomfortably trying to get away from him. Oh, that boy is going to be trouble!!! Never thought I would have to have the inappropriate touching talk at age two!

Halloween Fun...


Well, after a little mishap or two with getting everyone together, Halloween ended up being a great time for all. We met elise, Ruthann, and my mom and dad for dinner at Buffalo Bob's in downtown Lawrence. Evidently, we missed the bulletin about the start time, however, because by the time we were done, everyone was out of candy and the Halloweeners were thinning out.

So, we said goodbye and hit a local neighborhood for some more loot before heading home. The girls and I watched Amityville Horror, which is not quite as scary these days, I have to admit. They both pooped out pretty early, but we all had a really good evening. I'm sure the next dental bills will show it!

PUMPKIN CARVING!!

Okay, so the first few were a little botched, but we soon figured out which parts to actually cut out, and which parts to leave. I love this time of year... pumpkin patch, the farm tour, pumpkins galore and chilly weather (good for big fat-hiding sweaters!!) The girls, as usual, have been having a lot of fun with picking costumes, going to parties, and carving pumpkins. Here are a few of our creations. Maddox wasn't too sure about the slimy gunk, but he did like the knives. Keeping him out of them was next to impossible.

Everyone is looking forward to the festivities tomorrow night!!

Mrs. Williams Class Party Fun!

Makena's class party was also exciting with mummy wrapping, ghouls, cupcakes and all! My beautiful bride of darkness was one of the cutest of them all I must say! Her best friends Madison and Morgan were chosen to be wrapped in the mummy contest.

Maiki's Class Party for Halloween

First party at the new school! Maiki's class with Ms. Ross set up centers for "graveyard making", skeleton making, mask making, etc. The kiddos had a blast and I'm sure there will be repercussions later from all of the sugar!

Brown Chicken Brown Cow....

Here is our little Mad Man, who enjoys singing, "Brown Chicken Brown Cow..." and dancing naked around the house. He will love this when he's old enough to understand. Ha!

Before I forget my sour patch kid can be sweet....

Mad Man was a little bored today...We went to Target and Goodwill.  Looked at monsters, skeletons, played outside, worked on colors.... but mommy wasn't good enough today.  He looked at me a little after lunch and said, "Girls home... I love them."  Of course, that was right before he was on to his next ghoulish little boy maneuver of hitting the dog, or something along those lines.  Just like the commercial...Sour, sweet, gone.  :)

On another note...Maiki found a little frog outside this afternoon and HAD to bring it in so she could take it to school tomorrow.  Before heading to bed, we all decided to check on the nasty little creature only to find, it was not in it's snug little cage.  So, the mad hunt was on...How the little guy got out, we will never know, but the antics of the three of us squealing when he was discovered hopping around in the living room was a sight I'm sure!   Needless to say, he was found, recovered and QUICKLY tossed outside.  School will have to wait another day for a Maiki show-and-tell!

Let the Madness Begin......

This is Maddox. He is also known as Mad Man, the Madness, Maddie (which Grandpa hates), Max and just Mad depending on the day. Today, he was Madness - full force. Don't let the sweet face below fool you.

Yes, this one is a glimpse of the REAL Mad Man. The one who started pooping in the big boy toilet today....

Yes, this sweet little face. Learning to poop should not be such a big task. But, for this little boy, it is just one more experiment in "What can I do to drive mommy and daddy crazy today?"

Yep. This is him - big boy Under Roos and all. Right after....

He pooped on the floor and drove his "dump" truck through the mess, much to his liking, and mommy's horror. Yep, don't mess with this one. He is my Sour Patch Kid. Love him or leave him. The Madness.

Tour de Farm 2009

It is fall indeed! Time for the Kaw Valley Farm Tour, 2009!! We had a great weekend touring all of the farms, or at least quite a few of them. Saturday we hit Pendletons and the Davenport Winery. LOVED some of the wine, but Mike didn't get to taste. (A great excuse for me to visit again on Sunday!)

Sunday, we hit an old favorite, Hammil's, another Winery we didn't like as much, Lawrence Landscape, the Chocolate place (can't remember the name) and the Davenport Vineyard again.

This is a GREAT and very cheap weekend if you ever get a chance to go. www.kawvalleyfarmtour.org. Happens every year in the Douglas County area. We had a blast and picked corn out of Mad Man's diaper the rest of the day!!

Maiki sampling some of the grapes at Davenport Winery
Fun at Hammil's in the mums...

Buried in corn... hey - it's better than sand any day!

My sweet, sweet girl.

My girl, Maiki.... she is the sweetest thing on earth. I am convinced of that. I often refer to her as my "forgotten child". She used to drive me crazy when she was smaller. She was even worse than the Mad Man (although Mike will never admit this). She would disappear and I could guarantee she was doing something that I used to see as destructive - glueing, coloring on walls, cutting something - often hair.

Now, as she gets older, and I'm seeing the little baby fade away all too quickly, I am realizing that she isn't destructive, at least not on purpose. She is just extremely loveable, and caring, and creative. My little caterpillar is turning into a butterfly right before my eyes.

This note made me both happy, and sad. She wrote me this note the other day. Makena was invited to a sleepover at a friend's house. Maiki, as usual, had nowhere to go. So, we stayed home and had another Maiki night. We watched scary shows, did arts and crafts, ate lots of junk. She loved every minute of it. So did I. No one was competing for the attention I was giving her, and it was heaven for us both.

She was upset she didn't get to go to a friend's, but this note is the result of the time she had with us instead. It broke my heart. I forget sometimes how much those moments mean to each of them, but most of all to her. She is very appreciative - but never demanding - of any time she gets to herself. She is my sweet, sweet girl.

Marissa

Our girls have been learning all about Monarch butterflies in school. We have seen little booklets, and pictures, and tons of information about these beautiful creatures coming home. Last weekend, we went to the fall open house for KU's monarch building. The kids all had a lot of fun, and were each able to take home a monarch chrysalis. Makena's hatched at school and was released there. We were all convinced Maiki's was dead because it took so much longer to change, but it surprised us all on Sunday by turning black and hatching. From the shell came a HUGE and very pretty butterfly that Maiki named, "Marissa".

We housed Marissa for a day in her plastic container, and let her wings dry. We all got to watch her, and hold her. This morning, Marissa was released out into the world (only to quickly turn around and hang out on the side of our house!) Maiki was sad, but it had to be done.

This amazing process taught me a lesson in appreciating the smallest things. It was something that the girls have learned on their own, and shared with us. It was something we could all participate in as a family, absolutely free, and was far more valuable than any toy I could buy, or tv show they could watch. Nature ... something so pure and untouched by our hands. We were all fascinated.

If anyone is interested in events like this, go to www.monarchwatch.org. They have tons of information and events coming up.

Busker Festival

We enjoyed a beautiful, oddly cool night with the family at the Busker Festival downtown. We saw a contortionist, missed the fire eaters unfortunately, but got to see a great performance by the Strong Woman, "Momma Lou." Below, Momma is de-manning her arch nemesis, "Steve" the audience guy suckered into the orange unitard right before tearing a phone book in half.

R-O-T-T-E-N!!!
My sweet girls....

The three amigos enjoying their $5.00 heart attacks on a stick.

First Day of School

My babies are in the second grade. :( I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday that they were clinging to my leg and screaming not to go to daycare and now they could care less if I'm around. They hop on the bus like it's nothing.

They started a new school, yet again. Langston Hughes. Makena was so cute the week before school, she researched him and wrote a report all about him. Hmmm... I wonder who she will be most like? Maiki was more interested in getting a pretty teacher. :)

Needless to say, they are fitting right in. Even met up with an old friend, Haylee Kern. We are looking forward to a great year, and hopefully some peace in our lives!

More Fair...

Here are a couple more. Check out FB for the rest!

The very, very, very hot fair...

As usual, I am REALLY far behind, yet again. This summer has come and gone way too fast. As of August 1, we are back in Lawrence. We left the mold and brown recluse spiders behind. Unfortunately, that means we are looking at several years of bad credit again, but we didn't feel like we had a choice.

We are all much happier now. Our first weekend back was the end of the Douglas County Fair. We promised the girls all week that we would take them. Unfortunately, the only day that worked out was the hottest day of the year! It was SO hot, we were practically melting. But, we suffered through and they had a lot of fun.

The trip down the giant slide. Maddox was not so sure about this one.

Baby boy with his big sisters! This was his first "real" trip to the fair. He had a blast on all the rides, and the girls, as always, were very helpful and patient with him.


The two dudes.

Oceans of Fun at 70 degrees...

The day after the girls' birthday, they got to go to Oceans of Fun with the campers. Unfortunately, it was only about 70 degrees and raining! They were freezing, but it didn't stop them.

Once again, Mike braved the little people and stepped up to help. He toted around several frozen kid pops until one chipped a tooth. They called it a day at that point!