Dogs, beds and boys who love their moms...

First: DOGS. The people who know me know that I'm really more of a cat person. Dogs are barky, jumpy, licky and stinky. But, as a good friend told me, "A boy needs a dog!" (Thanks, Cynthia, you were right!). So, because I love this boy of mine, we now have a dog.

Second: BEDS. Roan was born in 2005. He was a terrific sleeper until the night of Libby's 2nd birthday. In one night, he went from sleeping 8-10 hours a night to never sleeping more than an hour at a time ... and this horror lasted for one year. Really, 'horror' is probably too mild a word. When I look back, I'm not sure how I survived it. He and I spent that year together in the recliner in his room. Once I FINALLY figured out what was wrong with him, he started sleeping again...and it was blissful. But, even though he slept, I still had to sleep with him. When I've tried to convince him that he would just LOVE having his entire bed to spread out in, he says "But mom, I love you!". Hence:

BOYS WHO LOVE THEIR MOMS: We started out sleeping in my bed, then quite a while ago, moved to his bed. I figured it was easier for me to escape his bed than for me to push him out of mine! So, for a very long time, I've slept in Roan's room, and my bed has been sadly unused. Until Silas...

Since we decided to make Silas a permanent O'Donnell, I have been sleeping in my OWN BED. Yes, after almost 5 years...my own bed with no children! And a really cool thing, it wasn't a dramatic transition. (If you know Roan, you know he can be quite dramatic!). Friday night, Roan and Silas just happened to fall asleep while I was in Libby's room. So, I just went to my room and went to bed. And it's been that way ever since. I've been displaced by a Terrier, and that's just fine with me! This boy still loves his mom, for sure...but, a boy needs a dog!

Pumpkin Carving!

This weekend, the kids, my mom and I headed to Gardner KS and their KC Pumpkin Patch. The kids had a ball! They jumped on the world's largest "Jumping Pillow", went through the "Haunted Barn" about 17 times, rode the Pumpkin Express and picked out pumpkins.

Our pumpkins... Roan with his two tiny ones, he named Tom and Jerry. Libby with her solid white and "perfect" pumpkin, and Nana holding my pumpkinesque gourd.

Libby hard at work cleaning out her pumpkin.

Roan nursing his wound...he scraped his finger while carving his tiny pumpkin.

Libby's finished project. As you can see, she's pretty proud of it. She did a great job!

Roan holding his little pumpkin; he carved a bat into his. Btw, yes, he's pouting.

Making a Difference on "Make a Difference Day"

As I've mentioned before, Libby is a member of American Heritage Girls. Saturday was the organization's "Make a Difference Day". Each girl was to come up with an individual service project to complete on that day. It could have been anything, from volunteering at a soup kitchen, to helping a neighbor with yard work.

Libby thought and thought about her options. Her top two choices were 1) to sew a blanket and donate to The Linus Project; and 2) donate food and time to H.E.L.P., the no-kill animal shelter in our town. In the end, cat love won out... she chose to volunteer at H.E.L.P.! We went by and got their list of most-needed items; from it, we chose to donate cat food, litter, a package of furry mouse toys and a roll of paper towels. After Roan's soccer game Saturday morning, the whole family (Nana and Papa, included) headed out to make a difference...

Libby with her donations, ready to share some kitty love. Note her sassy purse...
Libby in the kitten room. I think the they know she is a "cat person"! The kitties LOVED her sassy little purse. We finally had to hide it to keep them from chewing it up! There are about 150 cats at H.E.L.P., and I think we loved on each and every one!

Even Roan got in on the action. By the time we were done, we were covered head to toe in cat hair.

Libby has decided she'd like to go to H.E.L.P. at least once a month to volunteer. She's also collecting plastic shopping bags (like from Wal-Mart or the grocery store), Best Choice bar codes and aluminum can tabs to donate to them. If you'd like to help her by collecting these things, it would be terrific!

On the way home, Libby asked "Mom, do you think I made a difference today?" Man, I love that girl!

Dog love

We often dog-sit for our friend Vicki...she has a chubby Cairn Terrier named Silas. Roan is completely, totally, 100% in love with this dog. Vicki says when he comes back home after spending time at our house, he's completely depressed. He loves going on car rides with us, and playing with the kids. This morning, after I let Silas out to potty, he came straight in and got in bed with Roan, who was still sleeping. Below is a picture of Roan right after he woke up and realized that Silas was snuggled up with him in his bed.

There's nothing that compares to the love of a boy and his (part time) dog!

Avoiding the Six O'Clock Scramble...

I love inventories, and I love to plan ahead. My friend, Michelle, thinks this is hilarious, and has ribbed me about it since before Libby was born in 2003. She saw my baby clothes inventory and that was it. Life as a full time student and mom to two busy kids makes it necessary for me to plan nearly everything ahead of time. One of the things I do to survive and thrive is 'Freezer Cooking'. Some call it "OAMC - Once a Month Cooking". People ask me all the time how it works for me... Dinner last night came from the freezer, so I thought I'd share how I do it.

Dinner last night was Steak Soup, homemade. And it was yummy! Here's a picture of it:

The picture probably doesn't do it justice. Here's how it happened:

• First, I planned it. Each month, I inventory my pantry and freezer. I keep kind of a rotating list. As I use something, I mark it off; as I buy something, I add it.
• At the end of each month, I plan all meals for the coming month. I use the pantry/freezer inventory to plan what we're going to eat, in an effort to use what we have and buy less. I also base it on what is on sale in the grocery ads. I plan all dinners, Libby's lunches, kids' snacks, and breakfasts.
• I shop as little as possible. I make a shopping list based on the menu and the inventory. I shop for everything for the month in one shopping trip. I try only to return to the store for perishables, such as produce, cheese, milk, etc.
• I try to cook ahead as much as possible. Sometimes, I assemble entire casseroles and freeze them; sometimes I just brown ground beef or grill chicken and freeze it. It just depends on how much time I have.

For the Steak Soup, I precooked the stew meat in the crock pot. When it was done, I put it in a ziploc, labeled it and put it in the freezer. Yesterday morning, I took that bag out of the freezer to thaw. When I got home, I assembled the soup; because the meat was already done, dinner was on the table in 15 minutes. Better than McDonald's anyday! I'll post the recipe later... Hope this helps you avoid the six o'clock scramble!

Our New Old Drum Set

A requirement in our home is that each child must learn to play two instruments. Libby has been in piano lessons for about 1 1/2 years and is coming along great... as of last week, choice for her second instrument is violin. Roan REALLY wants to take piano lessons, too, but being who he is, he's not quite ready for that much concentration and commitment. When discussing his instrument choices, he immediately said "DRUMS"...this, of course, pleased me to no end. So, we agreed to start Roan on drum lessons, with his mom as his teacher. My mom still had the snare drum I used from 5th grade through high school, so we got that out, put on a new head and got him some kid-sized sticks. I also had a drum set in high school, which has been in storage since 1986. Yesterday, we brought the drum set home!

Roan trying out his new drum set.

Libby giving it a shot... she's decided she wants to have drum lessons, too.

I've always really hoped that one or both of my kids become a musician. Roan has always had a really good ear for pitch and rhythm. I would love for him to be another "Tadpole" (RPHS alums will understand), Alex VanHalen, or Neal Peart. I want him to have something he's awesomely talented at. I'd love for him to march in Drum & Bugle Corps, and be in a garage band in high school. Being a musician through high school and college gave me such terrific friendships and are some of my fondest memories. I want that for both of my kids.

A Little Community Service

Libby is a member of American Heritage Girls, a Christian girl scout group. Part of their oath includes community service activities. A couple of weeks ago, we participated in a clean-up of Longview Lake. We went to our designated section of the lake, and picked up trash. It was a pretty good time, and good lesson in community service for both kids.

Roan on his way to start the clean up...note the work gloves. More a fashion statement than a work accessory. I know that's hard to imagine.
Libby, a diva, even in the midst of manual labor!

A Boy and His Cat...

Ok, I LOVE this picture! Last week, Roan was watching a little TV early in the morning (which is also known as avoiding getting dressed). When I walked into his room to remind him to get going, this is what I found. He and Sadie were snugged up, watching a little Betty Boop. I hated breaking up the little love fest to leave for school!