Snow day!!!

Friday morning we woke up to a Winter Wonderland... and NO SCHOOL!!!! So of course, we hung out in our jammies all morning, ate some lunch and then got all bundled up to go explore the backyard. We were out there for almost an hour. It was awesome! Tomorrow maybe we'll go and buy a sled?

More GNO Pics

Jennie and me.

Brian and Sarah.

Sarah and Julie.

Misti and Jen.

Julie and Erin.

Misti, Julie and John.

Me and Misti.

These are pictures that my sister took on Thursday night. Enjoy!

Name That Song...

Girls at Old Chicago.

Erin singing.

Gwen singing.

Sarah and Amy were talking to different people, but dancing together!

Now THAT'S talent!

Jen singing, and her BIGGEST FAN! :)

Thursday night was our January GNO. Me and 8 of my closest friends raided Old Chicago (downtown) for some chit, chat and chew. Then we continued the fun-fest at the bar called "Rain". They were having Karaoke that night. EVERYONE sang, either solo or in our big group. It was a blast! Once a month, everyone needs to unwind and appreciate friendship. Next month...TULSA!!!!

(The pictures in the previous blog entry, were compliments of my sister. Thanks Jen!)

Lost... but now FOUND!

This morning started like any other morning. I got dressed for my workout and decided to go run some errands before. I get Allie in the car and look for my wallet. WALLET!!??? I can't find it anywhere! Then it hits me... I left it at Braums last night! I run inside and call them to see if someone found it... they tell me no. I start to panic! I feel lost, helpless. I can't go anywhere. I stop and take a deep breath. I get Allie back inside and we take our coats off. I decide this is out of my control. I go and get on the treadmill. While I'm running, I make a list in my mind of what I am going to do as soon as I shower. Call the DMV, find my old driver's license, call my bank and pray. When I walk upstairs, I check the answering machine... there is one message. It is from Mike at Bank of America on Andover Road. Braums found my wallet and saw that I had a BOA card and called them to contact me to let them know they will keep it in their vault until I can come by and pick it up. I picked it up after picking Owen up from school. It had EVERYTHING still inside! We ate lunch at Braums. I am so thankful that someone "good" found it.

I think I can...

For at least 10 years, I have been "trying" to learn how to drive stick. Jake used to own this purple truck that he taught me on. But I never felt confident enough to really drive it. Over a year ago, Jake got a Mini Coop. He told me it was the easiest stick he ever drove. He even re-taught me how to drive a stick about a year ago on it. Since then I have been driving it maybe once a month, with him in the passenger seat and our destination was less than 5 miles away and it was always daylight and no bad weather. Well, tonight I was going to meet a friend for dinner at a restaurant less than 5 miles away. I talked myself into trying my first drive SOLO! I only stalled once and that was when I was pulling out of the garage. I was getting nervous towards the end of the meal, I realized it was dark outside. I took a deep breath and did it! I drove home in the dark, didn't stall ONCE!!! Maybe someday, I'll go farther than 5 miles away...

Here comes the Bride

Last week we had a bunch of visitors, one was our Papa George. He insisted on buying the kids each a toy on our trip to Walmart. My son did his usual routine. Find an item, talk a lot about it, change his mind and find another item. Take this process and repeat about twenty times until he finally settles on one item. My daughter on the other hand, when she decides on something... it's set in stone. Owen was looking at some legos and she looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I want to get married!" I thought she was thinking a bride Barbie. So I told her we would go and look at the girl section while Owen and Papa George cruised the boy toys. I found a bride Barbie, but that wasn't what she was looking for. "I want to get married! I need a beautiful white dress!" She turns around and find this bride outfit in a box. I had never seen one like it before, but it was exactly what she wanted. Owen continued his routine for about 15 more minutes and Allie kept looking at other things, but NEVER wavered from her prize. She ended up getting the dress-up outfit and tried it on as soon as we got home. (This picture is the thanks to Nennie who took it with her phone.) Someday she will make a BEAUTIFUL BRIDE!

Confessions of a S.A.H. (slept about 8 hours) Mommy

I've never been one of those people who need coffee in the morning to function. I haven't even tried one of those popular energy drinks before. But this morning, I'm feeling what it must be like to drink them. I got 8 HOURS of sleep last night!!! Both kids slept through the night without any problems. I went to bed around 9:30 and my daughter woke up around 5:30. I know to some, 5:30 would seem a little early. But she's like me and a morning person. I love thinking how much stuff I can get done before lunch time.

Today, however, I am running on 8 HOURS of sleep!!! I feel like I am accomplishing a ton of stuff. Here's a run down... so far.

Get kids and self dressed

Eat breakfast

Bake brownies (for play date this afternoon)

Do the dishes (cleaned and put away)

Pick up playroom

Take Owen to school

Go to the grocery store

Take Allie to school

Schedule an oil change

Clean up the backyard (my dog made it a land-mine)

Make all the beds

And now I am blogging... it's 10:45!!!!

What can I do next???

When your imagination is the limit...

You can do or build anything. My son is proof of that. Many of our friends have recently gotten these new snap blocks called "Trios". Owen actually got his first set as a fluke. It was a free-be trial that came with some other toys from Fisher Price he had gotten for Christmas. Since that starter set, he has acquired several others. Each set came with an instruction book on how to make various things. Owen tested them all out, but has since stopped looking at them and has begun making his own creations. Some are really amazing! Here are just a few pictures of some he was building today. (He spent about 2 hours playing with them.)

What every diva needs...

I found her sitting in her big suitcase.

The medium suitcase is for accessories.

"Look Out World", here she comes!

A killer luggage set! Allison's dress-up collection has started becoming a daily activity. At least once a day, she strips what ever outfit I had put on her and proceeds to on some sort-of princess get-up. Due to this ever growing problem, I decided to start looking for a new alternative to storing these precious items. In my mind, I wanted an old, sturdy suitcase that we would eventually take with us to Boston. My AWESOME friend, Julie, found the perfect thing. A 3 piece Samsonite luggage set! She found it at the local flea market for $35!!! Let's just say, everything has a home with room to grow! Allie (and mommy) loves it! Thanks a bunch, Julie!

Exploring our hidden talents

Owen is in the black shirt.

Allie is second from the end.

I've posted several times that my kids are exploring hobbies. Owen is conquering the Rock wall and Allie is dancing to her hearts content. We had to switch dance classes (her other one didn't have enough students) and she loves having other girls in her class. She likes to say, "They are on my team!" Because they are all wearing similar outfits. Here are some new pics of both kids in their respective activities.

Adventure Walk

The weather hasn't been ideal for walking the dog, so usually Jake and I "Rock, Paper, Scissors" it to see who is stuck bundling up for the tundra expedition. However, this past week it has been a balmy 30-40 degrees outside! So we all bundled up and went on several Family Adventure Walks. If you look at the picture, you can see the stick Owen has acquired. And both kids have prize rocks in their hands. Little souvenirs from our journey in the neighborhood.

Taking Pride in Education

Last Friday, while Allie was at KDO, Owen and I went for our weekly lunch date. I looked in his book bag and found his report card for the second 9 weeks. I suggested we eat at Braum's and look it over. If we liked what we saw, we could celebrate with some ice cream after. My son still impresses me. He's making improvement on the areas we talked about last time and still has some things he would like to improve on. I love seeing him take an interest in his education. He feels a sense of pride in his hard work and confident that he can meet his new goals. I'm so proud of him. He had Cookies and Cream!

Confessions of a S.A.H. (sexy and hot... NOT) Mommy

I am a FIRM believer in laughter is the best medicine and that if you can't laugh at yourself, than you can't laugh at anyone else. So let's give everyone a good story to laugh at!

Last Thursday, I had an appointment to visit my waxer, Olga, at the spa I go to. She is a wonderful woman, in fact most of my friends visit her as well! When you go for a bikini wax, they give you these little tissue paper-like bottoms that resemble a pair of underwear. These are required so as not to mess up the ones you wore there. After having a relaxing visit, I proceeded to get dressed. I normally throw the fake undies in the trash right away, but I was trying to get all of the many layers of clothes back on in order to leave. So I got distracted and didn't think much about them. I left and went to my dear friend, Julie's house to retrieve my kids. I briefly thought about running to the store, but changed my mind. (This was a blessing!) I get out of my car once inside my garage and turned around to get Allie out of the car. That's when I noticed it! Just below my left pant leg on the outside of my shoe, was something white. At first I thought it was some paper or trash stuck to the bottom of my shoe. But as I was bending down to remove it, I notice it was around my ankle. Yes, fellow waxers! I hadn't taken the paper diaper all the way off when I got dressed. Therefore, I was proudly/ignorantly parading around for everyone to see them. I quickly pulled it over my shoe and threw it away. I promptly called Julie to see if she noticed... which she hadn't.

MORAL: Multi-taskers can't do everything at once, but it sure makes for a few good stories when they try!

Prima Ballerina

Waiting for her class to start. Doesn't she look ready?

She's been waiting a LONG time for this.

Follow the leader.

Monkey see...

Monkey do!

What next, coach?

Mommy, I LOVE THIS!

As most of you know, our Allison has always wanted to take Ballerina class. We've even incorporated it into potty training. Well, today was our FIRST class at the YMCA. As luck would have it, she was the only student there. We are hoping there is more next week, or they cancel our class. :(

Since she had the teacher, Ms. Shelly's full attention she was on cloud 9! I have to admit, Allie did an amazing job. I am so proud of her. If this passion continues... I see dance recitals in our future.

Christmas-Take 3 (Southern New Years)

On January 1st, my family got together at our house for the traditional Southern New Year's Day dinner. We also had our final Christmas celebration! This has been a great holiday season. Owen got some amazing knight toys and Allie got fabulous Sleeping Beauty dress. Now we get to take down the Christmas decorations!!!