Preschool Fun Day

Hannah's preschool had a fun day at the rec center.  It was the perfect day to let the kids run and play for a couple of hours.  Perfect cure for cabin fever.

Hannah with her friend, Ashley.

The ball toss.

The stick horse race.

The scooter race.

The obstacle course.

It was a good day. 

Hannah was so excited when I showed up to watch over my lunch hour.

It made my day to see her face light up when I came into the gym.

A House Divided?

Todd & Matthew were lucky enought to get tickets to the KSU/KU game in Lawrence. It was a "boys day away". Just the two of them. They took in some museums, ate some delicious food, then headed to the game. Matthew loved it. He wore his K-State Purple proudly. That is.....until KU won. Matthew came home and said "Mom, I kinda like those Jayhawks." My reply was "Son, that's fine as long as they are NOT playing my Wildcats."

Random.

This is what Mallory brought home yesterday.  It's her spelling test. 

When Mallory takes a test, she typically types. 

For spelling, the school staff reads the word aloud and Mallory has to type the word. 

You could probably imagine my excitement when she brought this test home. 

What a wonderful accomplishment! 

Here's my proof!  Yes, proof.

My daughter has the ability to learn.  To thrive.  To score well.

Well done, Mallory! 

Hannah is quite the little artist.  She is always drawing. Everywhere.

She doesn't have a preference.  Pencil, Pen, Crayon.  If it writes, she will use it.

And if you needed a little more education on creatures of the deep.  Here's is one of Matthew's latest creations.

Winter Fun.

We finally got brave enough to let the girls try out the 4-wheeler.  They were very excited.  It amazed me how quickly they took to driving it.  We let them run a loop around the yard to get used to it.

Hannah went first.  She was way to confident on this machine.  No fear.

A little scary for me.

Mallory is still trying to figure out how to accelerate and steer at the same time.  She kept taking off in little bursts of speed then stopping to turn her wheel.  She did far better than I expected.  When it came time to get off, she kept asking me for "two more times".

Dot's World

Dot has settled in to be quite the family dog.

She likes routine.

She spends the weekends keeping up with us and all week recovering. 

She's really pretty lazy during the week while we are all gone.

She's really pretty mellow most of the time.  Since she's a Jack Russell, you know. 

But Lord help us when we have company.  She is not the best hostess.  Running like a crazy dog. 

No manners at all. 

Why I Work.

Hannah brought this book home yesterday.  At first glance, I felt guilty.  

I AM jealous of my friends that stay home with their children.

I do know that staying at home was just not in the cards for us.

I thought a lot about this.  I dwelled on it.  I was worried that maybe Hannah was upset that I worked and didn't stay home with her.

So, after all this thinking about staying at home versus working, I asked Hannah why she brought this specific book home. Her reply was "Because Mom, I thought you might be in it, because you work." All this concern over whether Hannah felt she was getting the short end of the stick because her mom works and........I was wrong. She is proud that her mom works. What a girl!

I realized that our family really is blessed, even though I work.

I am blessed with a GREAT job and a decent income.  I love my co-workers.

I am also blessed with a wonderful childcare provider. 

She has taken care of my children for over 8 years.  She IS family to us.

I am blessed with ability to NOT miss any of my kids events & activites.  That is if they want me there.  I cherish the time I do have with my kids. 

Even though I work, I have been blessed with GOOD kids.

Birthday Art.

I baked Mallory a birthday cake instead of buying one. 

Her only request was for yellow frosting.  So she got it. 

Matthew was pretty excited that his big sister, Mallory had a birthday. 

As I baked her cake, he told me he would decorate it. 

When the time came, Matthew grabbed the gel food coloring instead of the gel icing (the packaging is almost identical).  I was busy with other things in the kitchen so I didn't notice the mistake.

Well, the best part is that we took the cake to our last Christmas gathering of the season. 

All of our family ate the cake and had the pleasure of blue/green lips & teeth from the food coloring. 

Birthday Mail.

Mallory received several birthday cards in the mail.  Unfortunately the first two made their way to school and back home again.  She carried them in her little hand for what appears to have been all day.

Mallory's Birthday

Mallory celebrated her 11th birthday last weekend.

11 years of milestones.

11 years of the joys of raising a child who looks at the world through rose colored glasses.

11 years of Mallory teaching me every day how to be a better parent. 

In the kitchen.

Hannah is ALWAYS in the kitchen.  If somebody is cooking, she is right in the middle of it.  She loves the preparation. Opening things, pouring, and stirring.

Longing for warmer weather.

All this bitter cold makes me long for the lazy days of summer.

82 messages

Recently I posted the following on Facebook for Mallory's birthday-


My girl, Mallory, turns 11 on Saturday. For those of you that know her, she's not a party girl, doesn't care for cake, but she would love for you to leave her a comment here. Wish her Happy Birthday and leave your favorite memory of her so that I can read them to her. I dare you to make her day!


The response was tremedous.  82 messages to my sweet girl wishing her the best of days.  I was truly humbled at the response.  All of the friends and family that took the time to respond.....YOU ROCK!


Some of my favorite were:


From Brenda :   Mallory, I hope you have a super-duper birthday! I remember the first time I met you. It was at a baseball game and it was really hot and I was really bored and you came and sat down next to me and we talked and laughed and I knew at that moment I met a very special person who would be a blessing in my life!


From Jana:    Happy Birthday Mallory!! I still remember the times I would babysit you. I remember the night I fed you spagetti and you had it all over you. From the top of your head to the tips of your toes. So funny!! Darrel and I had many laughs with you. And I you always had a smile on your little face!!! Miss you


From Aunt Deb:   Happy Birthday Mallory! My favorite memory.....hmmm, I can only pick one? I guess my favorite memory would have to be at Grandma Shirley's garage sale a couple years ago when you convinced that bald headed guy to buy a wig. That was really great salespersonship! You are a jewel and I love you very much. Have a wonderful day.




The words used to describe Mallory....amazing, beautiful, special, happy.  Very fitting, very true. 
 
So many people have come and gone through her 11 years of life, every one of them making an impact.  But I have a feeling that Mallory's impact on them was far greater.
 
The message that came the farthest was from Amber Book.  She was Mallory's bus driver.  She is now a missionary in Indonesia. 
 
One of my most favorite boys, Noah, has been Mallory's friend for years.  Noah and his family recorded the sweetest video singing "Happy Birthday".  This was the highlight of Mallory's day.

Small Spaces.

The addition on our house sits on a foundation.  The area always gets so cold in the winter.  Todd decided to find a way to get into the crawl space underneath and insulate.  Due to the small space, he commissioned Matthew for help.  Matthew was a trooper.  He got right in there and helped his dad with whatever he needed.  All there hard work has paid off.  The room is now much warmer.

Dot was a nervous wreck.  She wanted up in that crawl space so bad.  I would've let her in but Todd was utilizing spray foam.  That spelled disaster in my book.

Addictive.

We bought a Nintendo DS a while back and I really thought that it would be a hit with Matthew and Mallory.  Well, I was wrong.

Hannah, however, is on it all the time.  It is great for keeping her busy on car rides and such, but at home we have to hide it. 

Frigid.

This week, winter finally hit.  Frigid temperatures.  Inches upon inches of snow.

School has been closed for 2 days. 

Sub-zero windchills.

Brrrrrr....

The creative side.

Matthew will spend a whole afternoon working with clay.  He sculpts and molds some amazing pieces.  I think he has found his way of chilling out in this crazy, sometimes chaotic house.

Puzzles.

Hannah has discovered a love for puzzles.

She will meticulously put the pieces in place and doesn't stop till the puzzle is complete.

And it's complete!
Puzzles have become a perfect way to keep her busy.

Matthew's Christmas Present

Matthew got a 4-wheeler for Christmas.  He was pretty excited to get his new ride however it required a little work.

Todd & Matt spent a weekend in the garage working on it.

He got to finally take it for a ride this last weekend. 

It was worth the money spent and work involved after seeing the big smile on his face.