My Best Friends

I've been thinking a lot lately about friends - the ones you keep, the ones you let go, and the ones you hold close. I've realized this before, but am reminded that my family is where my best friends are. I'm especially blessed to be so close to each of my sisters. (My sis-in-laws are pretty great too). We're lucky to all live so close right now - so whenever I'm bored or looking for someone to do something with, I can always call on one of my sisters (or my mom also - I call her often too).

Just in this past week or so, I hung out with my sister Heidi at least twice; one time was a shopping trip to KC, where we totally scored (pics to come), another time was a scrapbook session (mostly for Heidi). Also in that week, my sister Kelly came over and totally saved the day by cheering up my somewhat whiny toddler. I also got to have a few good phone conversations with my oldest sister, Gina. To top it all off, we all got together tonight at Liz's house (Chris' sister - green shirt), to celebrate Gina and Liz's birthdays.

A few nice words about each of them:

My Sisters:
Gina (the oldest - red shirt):
Gina is the most generous person you'll ever meet, she's always thinking about other people and continually does nice things for them. If she finds a great deal on something, she'll immediately think of who could use it, (usually a niece or nephew) and picks it up. She's also great for giving advice when dealing with other people - people or relationship type advice. The thing that I'll always remember though - is how she scheduled her vacation around the birth of Elise so that she could come down almost every day to help me. She did laundry, she cooked, she cleaned and she even entertained Ava so that I could nap when Elise napped. I don't know what I would've done without her help those first weeks. So thank you, Gina! (Gina and I also have fun doing crafts together - she's very creative and can make things just from thinking about it in her head - like puppet theater for all of the nieces and nephews) Thanks for also forgiving me for stealing your clothes when we were younger. :p

Kelly (#5 of 7 kids, I'm #4 - the one with the kissing face):
Kelly is a kind, gentle and loving soul. Animals and children LOVE her - I mean L-O-V-E her! My dogs wish she'd take them with her and my girls, especially Ava, adore her. She's creative, smart, and understanding. I always feel comfortable telling her whatever is on my mind because I know she won't judge me. Kelly has helped me sooo much with my children. She's babysat at the last minute when I had to work and my sitter's kids were sick, she's brought me medicine when I've been sick - and has even dropped by just to visit when I, or my girls, just needed some company. Thanks Kelly for always being there for me! (she's also a very talented singer) Thanks also for forgiving me for bossing you around when we were younger. I meant well - look, I became a teacher so I had to make you do all of those worksheets when we played school - it was my training. :0)

Heidi (#6 of 7 kids - in the pink striped shirt):
What I notice the most about Heidi is how obedient to the gospel she is. She always shares her testimony and heartfelt feelings on her blog and sets a great spiritual example for the rest of us. Heidi and I also enjoy many of the same projects and really enjoy scrapbooking together when we get the chance (I got her hooked). She's also been willing to just come over and hang out or help out when I've needed it. I remember when she had a short break between EFY sessions one summer but filled in for me in a crunch and babysat Ava was she was a baby so I could go to the doctor. Thanks Heidi for being a good example and for being a good scrapbook buddy. (Heidi sings very well too) Thanks for also forgiving me for bossing you around and making up stories about aliens - or doing other things to trick you or get you to do what I wanted...like doing things for a hundredth of a dollar, etc. ;)

I don't want to leave my sister-in-laws out either so a quick word about them:

Liz: (Chris' younger sister- green shirt)
Liz is one of those people who always wants to do good. I've told her before that I didn't think she had a mean bone in her body - and (other than dealing with naughty dogs ;) I don't think she does. What's awesome about Liz is that family is very important to her and she would do anything for them. She's kind and long-suffering, and has been very patient with me as a sister-in-law. She's also always been willing to help us out whenever we've needed it. I remember being very pregnant with Ava and she came over to help clean my house. She vacuumed all of the edges of the carpet and in the hard to reach corners of the ceilings and even went out of her way to bring me Taco Bell because that was what I had been craving the past few days. Thanks for always being there to help out, Liz!

Vanessa: (my brother, Craig's wife - blue shirt)
Vanessa is one of those very thoughtful people who always tries to be understanding of people's feelings. She's the one who remembers to send a thank you note to express her gratitude for what you did. Vanessa also does a great job as a mother. She has a 2 year old boy and a little girl on the way. She takes care to make sure that she's doing everything she can to keep Ryan safe, happy & healthy. She's also a hard-worker. She's always one of the few in the kitchen preparing or cleaning up after a family meal. Vanessa is also creative and has a great sense of style. One of my favorite things about Vanessa is that I can almost always count on her to laugh at my jokes, as corny as they might be. So Thank you, Vanessa!

Gaia: (my brother, Kevin's wife - one with the eyes closed)
Gaia is also a very talented girl. She is a great musician, with violin being her main instrument. I admire how Gaia can do as much as she does, being a mom, teaching violin lessons, serving in the church, and cooking her family a healthy meal every night. One thing I've noticed about Gaia is that she always tries to be helpful. With both of us having small children and living blocks from one another, we've been able to trade babysitting and also get together for playdates or to go to playgroups together, etc. Gaia has always been willing to sit in the back with the kids, especially when there are little ones - where she'll entertain them with songs, pass them snacks, and even help put in or take out car seats. So, props to you too, Gaia!

(My mom is also pictured above - gray shirt- but I think I will save writing about her for a special day like Mother's Day. )

I feel so fortunate to be able to say that my sisters are my best friends - and it's awesome that for now - we all live within 40 minutes of each other. One nice thing too is that for now, none of my immediate sisters have kids - so that means (no, I'm not going to say free babysitting - although that does come in handy sometimes) they really dote on their nieces and nephews and are more able to come over on a whim and hang out, even after my kids have gone to bed.

So I'll end this post with a special "Shout Out" to all my sisters. Yay for each of you.

Love, Lori

Something to look at

Ava had a blast sweeping the leaves on the patio. She especially enjoyed getting super dirty while picking up the leaves and covering the mud next to the patio.

I love blogger for sharing pics with family and friends. Since there has a been a picture draught lately, I thought I'd share some pics of the girls from our trip to Oklahoma this February. Unfortunately, for some of the pics, I was using my grandma's camera and must've had it on a weird setting because they are grainy or unfocused I guess. I really wish I knew what I was doing. I still like them because they capture the personality of my girls so well. (My grandma took the above pic and the close-up of Elise - not bad, eh?)

This is Ava's morning personality. She's actually quite "delightful", to borrow the word my grandma used to describe her. She really warmed up to her Great Grandma Patty this time, sitting on her lap, snuggling her, talking to her tons. On the first morning we were there (we drove in late the night before and visited for a short while before heading to bed), Ava saw Grandma Patty when she came out of her bedroom and said, with such a happy tone, "Grandma Patty, YOU'RE AWAKE! Did you have a nice nap?!"

Daddy and the Leeser - and the doggies - btw, they barely moved from their spots above the couch the entire time we were visiting.

Bathtime Elise

Post-bathtime Elise

We make at least a couple trips, usually 2 or 3, a year to visit my Grandma Patty, my Dad's mother, who lives in OKC. However, I talk to my grandma at least every other week or so it seems. She such a great person to talk to because she's non-judgemental, understanding of my shortfalls, always interested in my life, very knowlegeable and spiritual and SO POSITIVE. I've definitely learned a lot from our "talks" and refer to her as my therapist or spiritual guru sometimes. Have a problem? Call Grandma Patty. ;)

Elise close-up

Since Ava practically refuses to look at the camera for more than a split-second, I opted to take more candid photos - or at least take what I could get.

Here's Ava after a bath, I swear I saw her eyes close a few times. By the way, I LOVE the flannel quilt on this bed. I miss it every time I leave my grandma's now and HAVE to make a flannel quilt just for me....sooooo soft.

I'm anxiously awaiting a group of mega-posts. I do have a new computer but Chris is still "tweaking" it. My nagging him to finish it hasn't seemed to work - so I'm crossing my finger that he'll have time to do it very soon so I can really burn up some harddrive space.

Settle This

Is it every really possible, with 2 small children that is, to completely finish cleaning your house? It seems like no matter how much we try, we never get it ALL done.

By the way, does anyone want to adopt 2 chihuahuas? Chris is about ready to take the dogs to the pound after numerous accidents in the process of getting our tiling done (They're used to having piddle pads out and can't seem to accept that there is no longer one in the master bath - so they find another spot - even after letting them outside a gazillion times!!!...and Maya's puking incidents. Let's just say Chris is a pro at steam cleaning. (BTW-tiling still not done - patience, patience, patience.)

On a side note, I gave my "snow day" talk today and not long after I started, a little girl had run up to the stand, then ran around all of the seats up on the podium, then around the chapel. Someone helped hold the baby - so Chris could chase after her, and chase after her and then do it some more. I drifted between ignoring and not noticing it, to jokingly telling the congregation to ignore the little girl behind me, etc. What do you do in those situations?

new appreciation

Wow. I'm tired but thought I'd add a quick update. I have a totally new appreciation for tile floors. It's taking much longer than I had thought. For some reason, in my mind, I just imagined new tile floors to appear like magic. Not the case. We've run into a couple of snags, like my master bathroom not being level, a couple of chipped tiles to replace, and the guy doing the work's wife is having their 5th child tomorrow. It's also taking longer because we're having it put in on the diagonal as opposed to straight set. This means more cuts and more tricky layouts. I'm learning about patience. I seem to always be learning about patience. When it's all said and done, we'll have beautiful tile floors in our kitchen and 2 bathrooms. The kitchen is pratically done and so is the guest bath. It will all be finished soon...

In other news, Elise has been trying to walk. She's been taking a few steps here and there and is very excited to stand alone for a few seconds. Tonight, she took her first string of steps towards me. Yay, Elise! She also really likes to dance when she hears just about any music - so that is cute.

So, I think a yay list in order. I'll shoot for five things.

1. Yay for my kitchen and laundry appliances being put back and my kitchen being completely usable again.
2. Yay for Elise walking
3. Yay for Chris being willing to hand wash all of our dishes for a few days
4. Yay for Heidi & Luke letting us come over and hang out tonight so our tile could get worked on (Also, yay for my mom, dad, Kevin and Gaia for doing the same at one point or another during this process)
5. Yay for Ava loving to go to church. She was soooo disappointed when we ended up not going today because we had to get the house ready for more tile work and sealing so that the guy could get our kitchen back to us before he took a few days off for his new baby. We bribed her with a trip the park and were thankful that she was okay running around while it sprinkled.

At this very minute...

This is what my guest bath looks like right now.

Hee Hee

Church was cancelled today due to snow. I was assigned to give a talk in sacrament meeting...I feel like I did in grade school when I had a book report due and then we had a snow day. :-D

Don't mess with my weekend

I have big plans this weekend that I hope don't get messed up.

My plans:

COMPLETE OVERHAUL of our HOUSE!

There are too many toys to pick up over and over and over again, too many clothes to wash, too many papers to sort, too many crafty things piled up in my closet, too much clutter in our cabinets, closets and drawers, and too many project not done. (And I'm not even trying to think about the garage)

ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

I told Chris last night that I am ready to purge. So some sort of purging is going to be happening this weekend and I'm hoping it's the getting rid of stuff kind of purging.

Chris used to joke that it looked like a tornado ripped through our house on days when I left in a hurry (this was when we didn't even have kids), and now - it look as if we gave birth to at least one mini, but mega-energized tornado, Ava. I'm hoping that having fewer things to mess up will equate to fewer messes.???

Chris mentioned going to Costco this Saturday and to KC to do some shopping. I kind of snapped at him because I do not want anything to mess up my big plans for this weekend. Wish me luck!

It's Potty Time

It's Potty time, or at least close to it, at our house as Ava's been asking to sit on the potty, "like a big girl".

What's your best potty training advice?

Material Temptations

Every once in a while I get major cravings for material things! I'm not talking designer clothes or fancy jewelry, (although thank you Chris for the nice earrings at Christmas), etc.

I know I'll probably never own a yacht, or live in a castle (side note: Ava thinks almost every old building or church is a castle. I'm keeping her dream alive by just saying, "Oh yes, a castle!"), or have every latest crafting gizmo. It seems the things that are way out of reach for me are easy to not desire or long for.

It's those things that are just within reach or maybe just out of reach, that tempt me the most. My list of "things I want" is growing as I battle the wishes and wants. The other side, the practical, learning to be patient, and trying to figure out what it means to be frugal - side is barely winning at the moment. Winning enough to keep me from going out and spending big chunks of change - I'm surpressing that natural man (woman) for now.

So, what do I want? What material things am I wanting to get? That list is coming. First, more details. It's not that I can't buy the occasional bigger sticker item (keeping in mind that "bigger" depends on perspective), it's that I can't have them all - not all at once for sure. Boo Hoo. Really, it's just figuring out when and what and in what order. Also, with the scares of recession and worries of losing money in a stock market tumble, the mind to be frugal kicks in even more. Rainy days ahead?

My List: (I won't list my "things I want but are way out of reach" list)

• tile flooring for my kitchen & bathrooms (getting estimates)
• a basketball goal (for me)
• a digital SLR camera & Adobe Photoshop (probably going to wait a little while)
• lawn and landscaping work (obviously this will wait at least until spring)
• new curtains & pillows for living room & curtains for kitchen (already bought some fabric)
• fabric -lots of fabric - I'm really getting excited about some sewing projects (more details to come in future blog)
• new computer (this is actually already in the works. Chris is going to build me one and has most of the the parts already)
• breadmaker (anyone have any recommendations in this area?)

I'll leave the list at this, although, I could go on. It's really silly to be making such a big deal about material things, I know. I, as do many of you, have soooo many things to be thankful for and already have soooo many extra comforts (again perspective) and blessings in our lives. So what if I can't drain savings and have everything all at once? It's a good lesson in fiscal responsibility and patience. My dad gave some good advice once when he told me, "Don't want too much too soon."

Footnote: Okay, let's be honest now. Maybe the reason I'm not going out and getting everything all at once isn't as much that I've had some sort of epiphany about frugality but more that the "husband gods" aren't on board with all of my wants and wishes and don't always let me have my way. (Is is okay to curse the husband gods??)

Just In!

http://www.enjoylawrence.com/Kids_Calendar.html

Elise's cover photo is up on the Kids Calendar website! I'll have to go looking for the actual publication tomorrow.

A couple more projects

I made the above I-Spy quilt for a mom that recently had her fourth girl. We had a service auction at church where I offered to make an I-Spy quilt for my service. Another mom, April (yours is coming soon! It's done but I know you check my blog so I won't show it until after it has been delivered.), actually won the quilt but this other mom ending saving all of her points for this quilt and then ended up not winning anything that night. So, I told her I would do one for her too. I made those two quilts at the same time - definitely felt faster than doing them separately.
I love the train fabric on the back.
Another project that I recently finished is this flannel rag quilt in the shape of a puppy for Ava. I had originally planned on getting it done before Christmas but that did not happen. She's been talking about her puppy quilt for a long time. She can finally snuggle up to it. This is the first rag quilt I've tried. It was definitely a different process. It's like you quilt and back each piece and THEN sew them together. Chris wasn't so sure about the "raggy-ness" of it until it came out of the wash the 2nd time.
The quilt is nice and big as you can see.
I plan to make the kitty one for Elise one day and the bear for kid #3 if said kids ever happens. Kids #4-7 will just have to share. (kidding, Chris - don't panic).

My Last Birthday

Today's my last birthday (that means I'm 29 and holding). ;) We're already off to a great start ...NOT.

Elise has been sick and was so upset last night that after trying several things and then talking with our doctor - I took her to the ER. We were there from 2am to 7am this morning. Everything there seems to move like molasses. Anyway, Elise is ok but has RSV so we're doing nebulizer/breathing treatments several times a day and keeping an eye on her. I guess RSV is very common but can lead to pneumonia if not watched.

We came home and Elise and I slept for a few hours so I'm happy about that. The ER is definitely an interesting place to be in the middle of the night on the weekend. I think there were at least 3 people admitted for having too much to drink. Then, when it was almost our turn, a man walks in with his pinking finger perpendicular to his hand. ouch. The lady in the room next to us was really sick with pneumonia and other symptoms on both ends.

It was sad too when a girl, probably in her 20s, was trying to use the hospital phone to call a ride. She finally got a cab but at one point said, when asked if she needed to wait until morning so she could get somebody, "I don't have anybody." That was sad. She was irritable and upset, and I think drunk or with hangover. I kind of smiled at her a she was leaving and she came back and was really sweet and asked me if we were okay and if we were waiting on a ride or something. Then she said she hoped we had a better night. That was kind of interesting - it's like her mood completely changed. I guess you just never know. I'll admit I was hesistant to approach her because she seemed volatile.

Anyway, I think we'll be celebrating another day. That's okay with me. Birthdays have never been a huge deal. If my kids are healthy - that's the best present anyway.

Kids Calendar

The above picture of Elise will be used on the February cover of our local kids calendar - a small, free publication available at different merchants and public places like the library and nature center.
I had just read on their website that the lady who does it is always looking for cute photos of kids relevant to the season - so I thought, why not? I sent the above pic of Elise and the one below of Ava 2 weeks ago and she emailed today saying they'd be using Elise's pic next month. I know it's just a small thing - but it's still fun.

Ava is cute too and I'll keep sending her pic in. I'll post a copy of the publication when it comes out.

Burgers

This is gross, but not that gross.

Last night about an hour after we put the kid to bed, we hear, "Daddy....Daddy", coming from Ava's room. I go in, Chris following me, to see what Ava needs.

Ava: Hi Mommy.
Mommy: Hi Ava. What do you need?
Ava: Hi Daddy. Here. I found this. (Ava hands Chris something)
Daddy: (as he's taking it) What is it?
Ava: (after she gave it to Daddy) It's a burger for you.
Daddy: (now he know it's not a burger but a booger). Oh, thanks.
Mommy, Daddy, then Ava: lots of laughing.
Daddy, Mommy: Goodnight Ava.

Ava, who calls boogers - burgers, isn't like some little kids who might do other things with their boogers. Ava likes to give them to Mommy and Daddy to take care of. It doesn't matter where we are - driving in the car, at Walmart or church or just at home. We just have to be careful when we here Ava say, "Here, Mommy or Here, Daddy". She just might be handing us a burger.

Projects

It seems like a I always have a list of projects that I either need to do (or think I need to do) or would like to do. The above quilt I had intended on making before Elise is born. That's okay. At least I finally did it. I had bought this as a kit off ebay. It was great and all but stunk like smoke when I got it. So I threw all of the pieces into the washer. What mess. Some pieces shrunk or unraveled more than others so the quilt isn't perfect. That's okay too. I'm kind of into imperfect these days. ;-)
I'm loving flannel for blankets and quilts now. I also enjoyed doing the tied quilt instead of machine quilting this time. I'm thinking of making a larger sized flannel quilt for myself. I'm still into squares and simplicity and therefore will likely never be part of a quilting guild - I'm such a rule breaker.
Sorry for the sideways picture (I'll explain below). Ava got all of these bottles of paint from her Aunt Liz or Christmas, along with some paper. She had a blast painting using her new paints and her easel. It looks like she's loving art the way I always have.

This is sad but I don't even have enough space on my computer to edit (for example, rotate) and save a pic. Chris is researching parts and things so he can build me a new one with more space, etc --hopefully this will happen very soon!!!

Oh What Fun

I've been having a great time just relaxing after the holidays. The two days after Christmas were spent meeting top priorities only. We didn't go anywhere, we stayed in our pjs, and I got to watch some tv of my choosing! I watched marathons of Project Runway, the first season and The Biggest Loser, the second season - neither of which had I seen before. It's funny how you're in such a better mood and get along so much better with your kids and spouse (at least me anyway), when you aren't trying to get things done or go here or there. If only...

I'm trying to figure out in my mind how to simply the holidays but also keep them special....hmmm. Anyway, we had a great Christmas - but the days being super lazy were my favorite! I hope you all got to do some relaxing as well. More info and pics to come.

We did go out today to Ava's ear appt. She got tubes at 9 months old. They were still sitting in her ears, so the doctor took them out today. He also noticed fluid behind her ears so they did some hearing tests. She's borderline normal but we're trying antibiotics and will retest her in a few weeks to see if the fluid has cleared up. I asked the doctor if this is why sometimes it seems like she talks SOOOO loud. He actually said it could very well be. I'm not sure her loud talking isn't just genetic. ;)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! GR, from church, took our pics.

Here's my favorite of Ava and Elise.

Naughty, Naughty Dogs!

Caution: Gross details below...also - because it was so dramatic to me, I'm making what could be a short story - long.

It took almost all I had today not to lose it today when I saw what my dogs had done. I come home after a morning of playgroup (Toddler Open Gym), and errands, anxious to get my girls a quick lunch and down for naps.

I enter the kitchen...on the floor, pieces of chewed plastic grocery bag. A few feet down - a brown pile of vomit. I look into the living room, a box 3/4 eaten of chocolate covered orange sticks. (I thought I had picked up all of the bags from the floor but in my rush to get out of the door - had missed one). I look at my couch. My heart sinks. My dogs like to sit at the top of the couch to sleep. There is not only vomit on the carpet right next to the couch, but vomit spilling down the front of the back cushions.

I hate vomit. I can deal with the pees and the poops but vomits are much worse for me. Ughhh.

There's more. After I had seen the initial mess, I put the dogs in my bathroom so they wouldn't puke anywhere else. I had to put Elise to bed (sleeps in my room), so I let the dogs out of my bathroom. I come out of the bedroom - TWO NEW VOMIT STAINS! I put the dogs outside. I don't care how cold it was. While getting Ava her lunch, she, of course, steps in the big pile of it on the kitchen floor, tracking it as she goes.

I let the dogs in once Ava was in bed too. I'm cleaning up and I hear Maya drinking out of our Christmas tree water. Of course, their bowl was empty Chocolate must make them thirsty because they tried to tank up. I confiscated the bowl, knowing what drinking too much too soon does. I thought they were done, but later - TWO MORE NEW VOMIT STAINS!

A lady rings the doorbell, dogs bark, Ava wakes up from her nap 20 minutes in.

I'm not happy. Dogs go in the guest bathroom rest of afternoon. Mom, Ava, and Elise hide in Mom's bedroom the rest of the afternoon, watching Dora and Diego, awaiting Daddy's arrival and not wanting to confront the spotted living room.

Enter husband - he steam cleans all of the vomit and saves the day! I'm SOOOO thankful for him doing this. He didn't complain, except to say that the orange part of the chocolate confection may leave a permanent reminder on our carpet....and also to say that we should take the dogs to the pound (idle threat used when dogs are bad). He wasn't surprised by the vomit. He was in training all day but I had been communicating with him via his blackberry...I love being able to get ahold of him whenever I need to....so he knew what awaited him.

Another sweet thing was when I told Ava how upset and sad I was. She hugged and kissed me and said, "It's okay." I said I was really upset because I had to clean up all of the throw-up. She then said, "It's okay, Mommy. Daddy can clean it up." I guess she really does know how things work around here. :)

Thank you, Chris, for saving the day.

Space Issues

Chris and I have talked about and we've decided that we need more space...

on my computer.

Every day when I got online I have a warning message:
Warning: you're running out of room on Drive C
Warning: disk space low
Warning: disk space very low
Warning: aren't you listening? disk space low, woman! Delete some stuff
after deleting and rearranging things still:
Warning: computer will self-destruct if you do not free up some space!

So, needless to say - I can't really upload all of my great pics and stuff to blog about what we've been up to. This leaves me less excited about updating my blog.

If any of you are still checking to see if I've updated - I'm sorry. A new computer is in the works, however so I should be back up and blogging soon and receiving fewer (hopefully) threatening warnings. I'll also be adding some posts soon of some of the things I'm behind on but do have pics for....if anyone still cares. (I must just be playing to my ego that people are waiting on pins and needles to see what silly new expressions Elise has said or what "darndest" thing Ava said the other day or to hear me say "how fun" or "great" something was. ) ;) Good things I rationalize time spent blogging as keeping a record and family history for myself and posterity. I'm in a silly mood - better stop for tonight! :)

10 Years Later: Where are they now?

My friend Nora has inspired me to finally write about my HS reunion. So here's my tribute.

My ten year reunion came and went. I didn't go. I don't regret it. I saw the pictures and it looked pretty lame...I thought a lot about whether or not I really wanted to go. Other than a few people, there just wasn't anyone I felt like I needed or wanted to see. I wasn't all that involved in high school really...always thought I was too cool for school and wanted to steer clear of all that HS drama, especially Senior year. So, if I was always too cool for high school when I was in high school, then why would I go to the reunion, right?

Anyway, I have 3 really great girlfriends from high school that I've kept in touch with over the years. I think we made good friends because we were all smart, funny and cute. Did I mention cool, creative, hilarious, genius, ...Sorry, I know that isn't being very modest. :)


Above is a picture of us at graduation. There's Kelly, Nora, me, Asna. (also pictured: Michelle & LeeAnn) I should've named this picture, "BIG CHEESE".

Below: A picture of all of us with our dates, ready for prom. We took a limo to the Ritz Carlton on the Plaza, headed back to town for our Prom, then over to Nora's for a supervised after party/slumber party.

We caught up with each other a few years ago and have tried to keep in contact ever since. Above is a picture of us while I was pregnant with Ava. We met and had lunch downtown.

A couple of weeks ago, we had our own 10-year reunion - a dinner party at my house. It was great to see each other and reminisce about our days in high school. Each of these girls is amazing and very special to me. I hope we can continue to keep in touch and have our own frequent mini-reunions.

So, where are they now?

Kelly lives nearby, was a manager for McDonalds for a long time but is going back to school and working for an architectural firm doing drafting. She's been married to Wes, (her prom date) for 7 years.

Asna lives in CO and works as a business consultant. She has a great guy, Mike, who we got to meet recently, who has a beautiful daughter. Wedding bells?

Nora lives in Kansas City and works part time as a dentist. The other part of the time she's raising a cute little boy, Levi, and enjoying her marriage to another great guy, David.

Lori - if you're a faithful blog patron, then you know what I'm up to. But just for the record, I graduated from KU with a degree in Elementary Ed, taught for a few years and am now raising my sweet little girls, Ava & Elise. I've also been happily married for over 8 years to Chris.

Happy 10 years!

Cake

Heidi & Luke

I'm behind with writing about my Sister Heidi's wedding reception October 20th. It was a very busy time for my family! We all did our part to help out - the benefit of a big family. I did all of Heidi's flowers and helped her in any other way that I could. Overall, I think things turned out elegant and classy. Above is the picture of the cake that my mom made...yep, she made it - and the dress too. I added the flowers to the cake for the final touches. It tasted as good as it looks!


Guest table. I think this arrangement was my favorite. I got to take it home afterwards to keep. I wish there was a close-up because I found this great red tinted greenery which made it fun. I also used cranberries to fill in the vases. It was amazing how much color that added.

The happy couple. Heidi and Luke actually went to High School together but didn't date until He served his mission over a year ago in Taiwan.

The family. It was fun to have my Aunt Ann, and cousin Karen with her family out for the reception. It was nice to visit with them - they were also a huge help with the reception.

Finishing touches before the reception. I wish I would've take some close ups of the flowers from the front. This is more of the side/back view. Heidi did a chocolate fountain too, which was kind of fun...messy, but fun.

Heidi and her bouquet.

The highlight of the whole reception had to have been all of the kids dancing, especially my five year old nephew, William. He was hilarious! He started doing semi-robotic, semi-hip hop dance moves. At one point we got the crowd clapping for him. He LOVED it. A few minutes later, there's William again, but on the stage bustin' a groove! I'm having trouble loading more pics but might add one of him later, as if it would do the whole thing justice though! Gotta love uninhibited kids!

Blogging Plug

Blogging is such the craze now. I personally like to blog for a few reasons: to post pics and updates for free to share with family and friends not close by, and also to keep a family history/record/journal of sorts. I also enjoying keeping up with people that I might not be great about corresponding with otherwise, by reading their blogs. I hope to copy Michelle and make a yearly book using blurb or mypublisher websites.

Anyway, blogging has been great for me. I've been thinking for a while about people I wish would blog or at least blog more. Funny thing is, recently a few of those people are doing just that....Cheryl, Nora, & Heidi. I aslo recently stumbled across a friend from HS, Amelia's blog.

People who I think might enjoy blogging or at least I'd enjoy it if they were blogging:
My friends from HS: Cheryl, Nora, Asna, Kelly, my sis Heidi, my SIL Vanessa, my cousins Karen, Laura, Gma Patty, my friends Melissa R., Rebecca S., etc.

There are lots more but this is just a start. Start a blog today!

Can I just say...

I LOVE BABY ELISE! I'm not the biggest fan of newborns. Yes, they are very sweet and provide many tender moments of awe and amazement...However, they cry a lot, are hard to read and don't fill your day with tons of smiles and giggles. Some of you might remember the days back in April or so when, as my friend Nora so affectionately puts it, I sounded "like I was going to kill [my]self". :) Those tough days are behind me and I can finally see myself possibly- in the distant, distant future, having more children.

Elise is 7 months old now. I think this is my absolute favorite baby stage. She's happy, learning, enjoying life, and can't get into everything yet!

What I love about Elise right now:

1. I love her chubby cheeked, dimpled filled smiles!
2. I love that she almost always wakes up happy, even if we have to wake her up early for some reason.
3. I love that she just laughs and laughs at her big sister.
4. I love that she laughs every time I pretend to nibble on her cheek or neck. It's a ritual for me now to nibble her chin or neck before I lay her down to sleep. With her eyes closed and binky in her mouth, I see, hear, and feel her giggling.
5. I love that she loves her momma. She looks for me and is happiest when with me. (Now, of course while this makes me feel special - it has it drawbacks too.)
6. I love how excited she is to learn new tricks. Recent tricks include: clapping hands, waving, scooting herself on her bottom on the slick kitchen floor, saying "momma", "dadda", "babba", pretend singing, putting her binky in her mouth turned the right way all by herself.
7. I love how I can wrap her up (still swaddling), lay her down and she'll go to sleep all by herself! I remember rocking and rocking Ava to sleep every day. Sometimes Elise needs more singing or for me to lie next to her, but for the most part she's out. She also sleeps more than Ava did - love that.
8. I love how good and happy she is at stores and other places usually, as long as she can watch and see what is going on.
9. I love that I can sit her down for a few minutes with a few toys, which she's enjoying banging together - cause & effect, and she's happy for long enough for me to get something done.
10. I'm loving that she's learning to feed herself - holding her bottle, stuffing cheerios and puffs into her mouth, trying to drink from a cup...
11. I love how chubby and full she feels. It's so fun to cuddle a baby that feels so healthy and robust.
12. I love how much she likes to watch our doggies. She'll reach out & pet them or laugh or smile when she sees one of them.
13. I love how her feet kick really fast when she's excited.
14. I love how even when her nose is running and you know she's sick, she's still fairly happy and in good spirits.
15. I LOVE that I get to be her mommy.

Recent Snapshots

Chris got Ava this cool cutting set from Melissa & Doug. Ava loves cutting so much we had to take it away so she'd go to sleep.

Here's Ava doing laps around the Jayhawk.

Mommy & Ava during our OKC visit.

Bunch of Pumpkins

Happiest Bear on the Block!

Twins?

I.CRY.EVERY.TIME.

http://abc.go.com/primetime/xtremehome/index

Halloween Festivities

PLAYGROUP HALLOWEEN PARTY:
October was such a busy month! It was fun to enjoy some Halloween festivities. The first was our Playgroup's Halloween Party. As you can see above, Ava was not going to pose for a picture and Elise didn't have much choice.
The party was fun. They did a craft, coloring page, got to play with special orange dough and decorated cookies. I think Ava decorated about five cookies and ate probably 2 1/2. I brought our new parachute (got it at Costco for $14.99!) for the kids to play with.

CHURCH TRUNK-OR-TREAT:
On Tuesday, we went to the annual Trunk-or-Treat at church. I think the crowd was a bit lighter than previous years when it was held on Halloween night, but all the same, the kids had a good time.

So, our official costumes this year....we decided, actually it was Chris' idea, to go as Goldilocks & the Three Bears! We were thinking of having Ava go as a princess like Cinderella for a while. We knew Elise would be going as a bear since we had the costume when Ava was a baby.

I made Ava's costume (with LOTS of help from my friend Rebecca -thank you). It turned out really cute. I think I may be sewing more dresses in the future. On a side note, I bought some after Halloween sale costumes for dress-up and the quality is so poor compared to a handmade costume. I may have started a tradition of making costumes. Tune in next year to see if that sticks. I also made the ears, bow tie and bows so that we all coordinated. The saddest thing was when at least 4 different people at first thought we were mice. ;)

We had to hurry and teach Ava the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I actually found a cute British cartoon of the simplified story here: http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-goldilocks.htm We watched it several times and then checked out books from the library. Now she definitely knows who was sleeping in Baby Bear's bed.

Elise is so photogenic! She loves to smile for the camera.
Here's Ava with her little friend Payton the Giraffe. So cute!
Here are 4 of the 5 cousins: William the Ninja, Ava as Goldilocks, Elise the Bear, and Kate the Ladybug. Ava's other cousin, Ryan, went as Steve from Blue's Clues. We met up with him on Halloween night.

HALLOWEEN EVENING:
Since the Trunk-or-Treat was the night before Halloween, this left us time on Halloween to try something new...Trick-or-Treating Downtown. We had never been so didn't know what to expect. It got really busy towards the end and I don't know how many suckers and tootsie rolls she got - tons. It makes sense that they'd be giving out cheapy candy because of all of the trick-or-treaters. Sadly, most of this candy will end up going to charity (like Chris' workplace) or into the circular file.

Here's our little family. Ava really got the hang of trick-or-treating this year. She learned quickly to say, "Trick or Treat", and also usually remembered to say "Thank You!"
I like this picture, taken by my sis, Heidi, of Ava and Elise. We like to "beep" noses at our house. Ava must have thought Elise needed her nose "beeped".

After trick-or-treating downtown, we met up with family at my parents' house. Then, Ava and her cousin Ryan, went trick-or-treating for real, up and down my parents' street. They were so funny! First of all, Ava was trotting along in William's shoes (at least 2 sizes too big) because her other shoes hurt her feet. That didn't stop her. She and Ryan loved knocking on the door or ringing the doorbell. The only thing was that Ava would knock, knock, knock, knock, until someone answered the door...the same thing with holding the doorbell button down. She also wanted to grab the candy out of the bowl. After several houses, Halloween etiquette learned.

Overall, a fun week of Halloween.