December in review - 2013

A quick and dirty update of our December, as it's already 2 months gone, and I cannot fathom sitting down and remembering much more than I've already put in here!

It went quick. I always plan on being ahead of myself and ready for shop, make cookies, wrap gifts, etc., and the next thing you know, the month has passed and I wonder what I did the whole time?

Well, we were busy!

Here, Keifer decides to write a note to Santa, asking for an Easy Bake oven (and mentioning she is Santa's best friend!)

She got the oven, and it was used exactly 2 times thus far. 

The letter reads:

"Dear Santa, I want my own Ipod for Christmas, and an easy bake - you're the best -I had a bad day Dec. 21 - you're fan, love you, from your best friend Keifer C - I'm one of your elves"

(hey, at least she's honest!)

One day, the girls dressed alike, even if they are at different schools. It is fun for all involved! SO FAR, they let me do this! *cackle*

We had a fun day in the snow one Saturday afternoon. Mama tries to get out and play with the girls, as I don't want to be the boring, unmemorable mom down the road. I hope my girls enjoy the time I spend with them outside. I may not be the craziest, but I do enjoy sledding with them! Here is a neighbor friend with us, and K1 lying down in the snow. 

Here, K1 took it upon herself to also write a note about Baby Jesus (of course, I got a little choked up reading it)
It reads:

"That's right.  I know why Christmas is called Christmas. Because of Jesus Christ"

For Girl Scouts (Daisy!), we sang carols and walked around a retirement/assisted living home.  The girls and moms did GREAT singing, and Keifer really took her job seriously. You can see her in the above picture, on the front left, half hidden by the sheet music. She has her nose buried in the music, making sure she sang the correct words.

I had some tears. We met an older lady, who uses a walker, and she had the SAME perm my late Grandma had, and the same look to her, and being that Grandma just died last July, and the fact that I haven't been in an older folks' home since then, I got all choked up. I tried to hide it, but the tears fell. I tried to hide it from the other GS people, and K1.  Whew. Who knew!?

Of course, I posted a recap of our Christmas Eve experience already, so there you go for THAT.......

BB and our sing along adventure!

Once again, life continues (does it ever stop?) to be a continuous blur for our family. Of course, the time to take the pictures I've taken, upload them and blog about them is nil, so I'm quickly posting these.

Sunday, we had a fantastic day!

We found a zulily voucher for 1/2 off the Build-A-Bear experience, so both CJ and I purchased them for the girls' "Valentine's Gift"from mom and dad.

They were stoked, to say the least! LOTS of squeals and giggles and talk about "if you don't, you won't get to go to Build-a-Bear!"

So Sunday morning, we packed them up and hit the MOA.

We got to the shop and both girls wasted no time in picking out what they wanted to "stuff".

Then, they picked out a heart for the inside of their animal, and here they are, listening to the girl put them through the motions of "waking up" their hearts.

They had to rub them on their hearts, their eyes, their ears, jump up and down 3 times (to give them heart a heart beat, you know), etc. It was so fun to listen to them giggle.

They then stuffed their bears (and Keifer got a "cotton candy" smelly thing inside hers).

And we had 2 very happy girls, who haven't let go of their bear/rabbits YET!

Here, Kyla greets her stuffed bear, and names her Rosalina!

Keifer with Chelsey! She even picked out the spelling of her name!

 Afterwards, we met some friends of ours for the Frozen movie Sing A Long! OMG! Who was more excited, mom or the girls? Probably me. Yep. Here is S. and my girls, prior to the movie. Lots of debates at the theater about WHO was going to sit by who, with S.'s little brother not being happy he couldn't sit by Keifer! LOL. It was so much better for me the 2nd time around, and I sang along with all the songs, too! So magical and the true love between sisters? Well, I had tears when the entire theater (and the girls on either side of me) broke out in diva behavior with the singing, as it was so SWEET! And of course, tears at the end, when the sisters are embracing. HERE is a hilarious recap that I liken myself to!

Soccer Star

Our gorgeous girl's first year playing soccer! She LOVED IT!! After the first practice, she piped up from the backseat: "Mom? Can I sign up for soccer? I really DO LIKE IT A LOT!"

I had to let her know that yes, that was her practice, not a trial run,and she was signed up.

I have to say that her soccer games were the most fun I've had in quite some time! I really turned into a screeching banshee mom on the sidelines! LOL It was pure entertainment. But, I like to think I was very supportive (aka I wasn't screaming to "kill" the other girls, or "crush them"; in fact, I made sure to let both teams of girls know they were doing a great job of TRYING!).

Our pretty girl! Loving her pink uniform!

 At one of her first practices! Her pony tails are so goofy looking (on her big head! LOL)

One of her BFFs, and our neighbor!

Pics from our last game last weekend. It started getting chilly (we were lucky to have really nice weather this Fall; with the exception of ONE Saturday of drizzle & rain, it was so nice!)

Our girl is the one with the pink sweatshirt -her back is to us- with the little pony and short hair

 K1 is 3rd from left, next to the girl in the red shirt

 Ball out!

 Crooked! eek!

 And our girl is on the left - it's fun to watch these games. Keifer naturally seemed to gravitate towards a "defense" role, so here she was, ready and waiting to stop the ball! She slowly but surely improved over the 2 months of playing!

Kick it! Kick it!

 And a few of her friends from her team (and little sissy in the back); these are a few of the girls from her school. It was fun to mixed with other girls from other schools, as well!

Watching them grow....a guest post......

Years ago, I used to dance with Keifer at "Baby Ballroom". We got to meet new friends, whom we stayed in contact with, and we also met a cool, amazing, loving teacher names Meghan. We adored Meghan, and she adored(adores!) kids.

My Keifer loved her so, and Meghan was kind enough to come and do 3 of our girls' birthday parties for us (for a fee). They were awesome, and I love following Meghan's life on Facebook.

Facebook is a tool that I love to use for keeping up with all my friends- near or far.

A few weeks ago, Meghan posted something for her kids, and it brought tears to my eyes.

I asked her if I could post it on my blog, and she agreed.

So here it is.

I hope you can see how you might relate to her feelings on this.

Having dealt with the "will we or won't we" have kids someday emotions, I felt so connected to her words. I DO treasure every little thing my girls do and sometimes feel like I hoard things, because I don't want to forget ANYTHING from these times in our lives!

 

 Enjoy her writing:

 

 

 

Both of my children are too big now, have been for years, for me to pick up and carry. And when the time came, I am really glad that I was not aware that it was the last time. The days of transporting them from here to there had passed, so the last time was probably little check-in cuddle... the kind I felt pulled to do when I see my child standing alone. I'd hook my hands under their armpits, ...they'd give a little helpful jump, then wrap their thin legs around my waist, and lay their heads in the crook of my neck. All too soon, they'd unhook, slide down and run off.

I feel more comfortable when I am able to shower affection. Which is, I think, why I am so drawn to babies. Someone to love and care for them is kinda all they need. But those babies grow up, and need stupid things like "freedom" and "the ability to make a mistake" and, worst of all, "a life of their own".

I work hard at practicing the whole "if you love something, set it free" principle, and I try not to get over-emotionally attached to people and things. But it is difficult for me. When I have something that I love and feel is important, I hold on tight. And not just people... for me, there is a security (that feels necessary at the time) that I feel when I keep an object that may be meaningless to anyone else. Because of a memory it becomes a part of me. (Shell topping bottle, anyone?) Luckily for Adam, I also love to purge, so our house can not be featured on Hoarders. Plus, Adam is allergic to cats, so we can not have the prerequisite 17 cat corpses.

Holding onto my children though, is like trying to hold water in my cupped hands... no matter how hard I press my hands together, the water seeps through to the other side. With time, that so annoyingly marches on, comes changes with my two kids. After fruitless years of trying, I realized that I can not stop these transitions. But instead of feeling liberated by this discovery, I was filled with fear and sadness. It sounds weird, but I have painted many beautiful moments black by thinking "It is not going to be like this forever."

Luckily, I do not walk this journey alone. I have been blessed with many great teachers in my life: Adam and my kids, my parents, my sister, my friends and my Amy. With their help, I learned that I can not control the world, but I can control my reaction to it. I can choose to either ruin the moment by fearing it's end, or I can enjoy it for what it is. I can continue to mourn the past and fear the future... or I can open my eyes to the present. It is here right now, the gift of the moment. And I don't want to waste any more by worrying about them ending.

So, the last time those little legs unhooked and ran off, I am glad I was spared the emotions of knowing that was the last time. With a bit more maturity that only comes from passing time, now I can look back and be grateful. I happily take the couch cuddles and the sick snuggles. Full disclosure: I still occasionally think, "Someday, they are going to college and I won't be able to do this!"

But I think I'll do myself a favor and worry about tomorrow tomorrow, when it becomes my new today.

Wedding fun to end the summer!

Right before we had to end our summer and go back to school, a dear family friends' daughter got married (on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend).

CJ had to work, it was month end, so the girls and I packed up and spent Saturday night with Nana & Papa in Duluth. We enjoyed the viewing of Grease about 3  times (as the girls were obsessed with it, just having received it).  Sunday, we hung out and the prepped for the wedding. To say they were excited is an understatement!

 

Here is a video of Kyla during the reception- it was during dinner, and she was doing some sort of insane hip move that I didn't even know my 4 year old possessed! You can hear me laugh in the background.

 

Here are the girls, pre-wedding! Yes, they are posers! And yes, it was a windy day!

 

 

 The beautiful and glowing bride, Missy. I used to babysit her (gasp). She was so beautiful! Keifer was SO excited- she asked me to ask MISSY if she could hug her.  LOL.

During the wedding, the girls were breathless with anticipation of the ceremony. They wondered "when the Prince would show up?". *giggle*

 

 The following is a sequence of pictures taken during the reception. They had this cool new "Snap Yourself" option, and as you can see from the following, Keifer had QUITE a bit of fun "snapping herself"

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

The following 2 are my favorites! Me and my girls, getting silly!!

 

Vacation- July 2013- Colorado, Part 1

Hard to believe it's been over 2 weeks since we left on an airplane for our Family Reunion trip in Colorado. Whew. Time just goes too fast, repeat repeat repeat! LOL Seems like we've been planning this trip forever, and suddenly, it was upon us, and we were there, and then we were home, with 2/5 suitcases full of the dirty laundry to prove it!

We left on a Tuesday morning, at a decent time (no 3AM wake ups for this family!).

We hung out in the airport, and K1 decided to spend a $1 of her money on a chair massage. Her money, her lesson. She loved it.

We flew out, with the girls and I in the row right ahead of cousins Abby, Mason and Auntie Jill. CJ and his brother sat in front of me and the girls.

 

 Perfect - only an hour and twenty minute flight and we were there!

We hung out at the car rental place for a bit, HA HA, and picked up our car for the week.  Then, it was travel to the hotel, where CJ's parents were already checked in.   Kyla was So excited to see her Papa Jim!!

 

CJ, his brother and his parents went to a Colorado Rockies game, while me, Jill, and the kids stayed back at the hotel and swam for a bit. 

Flowers in their hair! Courtesy of the planters at the hotel and Kyla!

Wednesday AM: I worked out (the only day!) and we had our breakfast. Then, CJ and his family wanted to hit Boulder for some tourist stuff.  I have 3 friends from my online message board (the one I met my egg donor on?) who live in that area, so we were texting, Facebook messaging, and calling each other, trying to figure out how to meet on a Wednesday afternoon, and where! Easier said than done, right?

Kyla dressed and ready to go, said to me, after I requested that she let me clean out her ears, "No! You can't clean my ears unless you APPRECIATE me!"

Oh, K2, we do appreciate you!

One of my friends was able to meet in a park with her 2 children, and we were off. The crew dropped me and my girls off, and I got to meet and hug and chat endlessly for a few hours with Caroline (of the Ruby Loves fame, I've used her for gifts several times, and she is amazing with her work, FYI)

We met, and I loved her instantly!

 

   Our girls (K1 and Ruby) are only 3 months apart in age. Ruby insisted her animal be posed for the picture! Love it!

 

 My 2 beauties! Of course, I was gasping for Kyla's safety!

And the group of us.  Caleb, Ruby, Caroline, me, K2 and K1. 

 Caroline had a friend at the park (so sweet!) who had 3 children, the youngest being this gorgeous baby girl, whom Keifer absolutely swooned over. Yes, she made me sad we aren't having any more, the way she doted on that baby girl.

Afterwards, we hit up Old Chicago for a late afternoon pizza snack (mac and cheese for Kyla) and Keifer took control of my phone!

A picture of her new friend next to her.

Caleb, smart and sweet, and oh-so handsome!

And gorgeous C!

Of course, we had to get Ruby's animal!

And Kyla!

And I honestly have NO idea how K1 did this!!!

My personal RAIN MAN favorite!

And Keifer had a slew of selfies. I could do a huge post of her self pictures! LOL

 

Alas, it was too soon, and CJ and the family stopped by to pick us up, and it was back to the hotel to get prepared to go to dinner at his cousin Nikki's house (in Denver).  So much fun was had that night!

Coming up- We travel to Red Rocks and Keystone!