How Life Has Changed...

These pictures were taken on Mother's Day 2008, I think. Wow, how life has changed!

I love this picture...for several reasons. Can you tell this boy loves his mom? I also like this because it reminds me of how much life has changed...and how much I have changed. I was smiling, but I was VERY sad and overwhelmed. I was separated from Ted and going through a lot of drama due to his illness. I was figuring out how to be a single mom. I was a full-time student in a very challenging program, I was missing my friends in mid-MO...on and on. Life was feeling very hard and unhappy at that time. Now? Wow, could life get any better? Since then, I've worked on raising these two terrific kids, I've become an intern, I'm practically done with school, my heart has healed, I've discovered that I'm much stronger than I ever fathomed... I'm so glad I didn't throw in the towel! Believe me, I was tempted!

I love this picture! The kids had spent the afternoon jumping on the trampoline...or as Roan calls it, the "bounce-oline". Note their very dirty feet. They had a blast!

This was Roan's favorite dress..."The Belle Dress". OMG, he wore it until it fell apart. He no longer cares about the Belle Dress. He's five, and he's a boy. Dresses are off limits! Thank You, God!

Look how much they've changed! Yes, their hair was a mess...but they were having fun!

I can't wait for the next phase of our lives to start! In just a few weeks, life will change again. Moving to Jefferson City, starting work as a doctor, spending every day with Shannon... wow, am I blessed!

The Growing Grocery Bill

It's amazing how much kids eat! Especially when we FINALLY all eat the same things. Now, my friend Suzie has 7 people in her family; when she shops, it looks like she's buying enough food for an army. Our family of 5 pales in comparison, but it's a culture and budget shock for me!

A couple Sundays ago, we had biscuits and gravy with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Roan has always loved B&G. This is a new love for Libby. She eats gravy like a champ! As it turns out, Sean is a B&G fan too.

Libby loved it so much, she scraped the bowl, then licked the spatula! Note the very clean plate! This breakfast consisted of: 8 eggs, 12 biscuits, about 3 gallons of gravy. There was 1/2 of a biscuit left. What? I was afraid Shannon would fuss at me for cooking TOO MUCH!! There's such a sweet satisfaction in seeing your family around the table, laughing and scraping their plates!

Fun Day: Part 3... The Impossible Ladder

Another favorite activity at Fun Day is the rope ladder. It's difficult to see in the pictures, but this ladder spins around. The challenge is to balance your weight, make it to the top of the ladder and ring the bell. It looks easy...until you get on it!

Poor Roan tried so hard! He made it up about 2 rungs and it flipped him right off.

Sean had better luck. It's good to be older! He was pretty confident that he would make it to the top in a snap...No such luck!

Libby did pretty well, too! She made it about half-way, then lost it!

The kids can't wait for Fun Day 2011!!

Ignore the flame lounge pants...

I learned something new about my man this weekend. Just when you think you know everything!...

He can stand on his head!

I find this amazing, since I could never even do a cartwheel! The kids were pretty impressed, too! And yes, those are PJ pants covered in flames. It's a Sunday morning fashion statement!

Fun Day Part 2: The Dress Up Station

One of the new features at Fun Day this year was a dress up station. I admit, I cringed a little, thinking maybe Roan would regress and insist on a princess dress or mermaid outfit. I held my breath...and thankfully, he chose a pirate costume. I was SO happy!

Roan is a charmer... he had the parent helper totally smitten. She helped him put his outfit on, choose his accessories...all the while, he's telling her some long story about how pirates' girlfriends are called "wenches", etc.

Libby chose a very fancy princess dress...all the while telling Roan to cool it with the long stories...

Aargh... the cutest pirate on the Seven Seas!

The pirate and his wench...this is serious business! Of course, Sean was definitely NOT interested in dressing up! Roan was sorely disappointed that he couldn't keep the costume and take it home. Thank God he couldn't! He would have worn it day and night for weeks!

Fun Day: The Saga Begins.

Every year, the kids and I go to Columbia for "Fun Day". It's a fundraiser for Ridgeway Elementary School, where my best friends' kids attend school. They transform the school into an indoor carnival...and the kids LOVE IT. Each classroom is set up with games and activities like Plinko, Ring Toss, Golf, Wheel of Fortune and Face Painting. The even use giant boxes to set up a maze for the kids to crawl through, using flashlights to find their way. It's VERY crowded, but lots of fun. This year, Sean (Shannon's son) came with us. Keeping track of three munchkins in a super-crowded place was a bit of a challenge, but we had a great time!

One of the new activities this year was hair painting. Of course, our three were all about getting their hair done!
After careful deliberation, Libby decided on pink and purple polka dots.

Roan decided on rainbow stripes. I wish you could have seen his face! He's puckered up like someone is torturing him! ...but he sacrificed his body for fashion.

Originally, Sean wanted his hair painted black. They had no black, so he settled on blue...and boy, was it bright! The whole rest of the day, he said "I wonder what dad's gonna say about my hair?!?"

A picture of the finished products... it's a little hard to get the full effect, but they were thrilled! Later, Libby got her face painted like a cat. Of course, the boys were too cool for face painting! (It thrills me to death to say that about Roan!) After we left, we stopped at the grocery store...they got lots of comments! Luckily, the hair paint is washable, because the head rests in my van are now multi-colored!

We also love going to Fun Day because we get to see our favorite people... Aunt 'Chelle, Aunt LaLa, Aunt Lisa, Lindsey, Jared, Jarel... it was great! We were pooped when we got home!! Can't wait for next year!!

Our Three Stooges

On Friday night, the kids got a little squirrely...

It was time to put on PJs. Amazingly, Roan was the first to do what he was supposed to. In the middle of getting ready for bed, Libby, Sean and Roan put their heads together, and this is what happened...

Of course, the dog is in the middle of the antics... Shannon and I both grabbed cameras right away. Once the kids knew we were taking pictures, things really got crazy...

It was nearly a 'See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil' moment! We're really lucky...they have a great time together!

Football Fun!

Roan has declared that now that he's 5, he won't be playing with "girl toys" anymore. Wow! How long have we been waiting for this? I guess he doesn't view his American Girl Bitty Twin dolls as "girl toys"...but that's ok! Shannon did his part to support Roan's new "boy toy" rule...he got Roan a football for his birthday. On Sunday afternoon, he took Roan out to show him how to kick.

His first kick...he did pretty well, and he was very excited!

Watch out! This boy can kick! I love the intense look of concentration on his face. He was working hard!

The men bonding over football. You know Roan is really paying attention by seeing that hand on his hip!

It was really sweet watching Shannon and Roan spending time doing "boy things"... it's a little thing, but it really means a lot!

Roan's Birthday Party

We celebrated Roan's 5th birthday with a party at Pappi's Pizza on Saturday. The kids LOVE going to Pappi's (it's in Lee's Summit MO)... it's almost as good as Chuck E. Cheese's! They have fun games, and great pizza. I remember my mom taking me to Pappi's when I was a little kid; I thought it was awesome, too!

Libby in the Flintstone's car. I never did convince her that she was a little too TALL to ride!

Roan chose SpongeBob as his theme (again!). Here's his cake and gift table... we had cupcakes and ice cream...and he got a car load of gifts!

Roan's sweetheart came to his party. They had a great time togther! Roan told me that day that when a boy and a girl go to each other's birthday parties, that means they will get married! They go to preschool together. They kiss in the hallway. Yes, this freaks me out!

Nana got Roan "exactly what [he] wanted!", so she got LOTS of hugs!

We had a great time with family and friends, celebrating Roan's birthday. Thanks to everyone who came!

Yes, we love Gojo's!

This past Friday, some friends met Libby, Roan and I at Gojo's to celebrate my birthday (and Roan's), a little late. Any excuse for the yellow sauce! We had a terrific time!

From left to right, this is: Amanda, Cynthia, Leslie and Linda. All friends I've made via Cleveland Chiropractic College.

Please remember that this is my child, Libby, who until recently, ate nothing but pasta, fruit and Little Smokies. She'e eating rice!...and vegetables (gasp!!) ... and CHICKEN! What? And she LOVED the soup! She loved it so much, she saved most of it to take home and eat later. Oh yeah, and she rocks the chopsticks! She ate every bite of her meal with them!

Roan LOVED the rice, too. He used the chopsticks rigged with a rubber band for kids and did really well. I have to admit (again) that I lie to my children on a regular basis. When I asked him if he wanted chicken or beef, he asked "Is it fried chicken?". You see, he's obsessed with fried chicken. He's never really eaten it, but Sam on iCarly loves it...so therefore, Roan loves it. So, I replied "Yes, it's fried chicken." ...and, he ate it!

So, it was another great dinner at Gojo's, spent with dear friends! Only a couple of people were missing... Suzie and Shannon! That would have made it complete!

Lost in the '50's

Libby's school had spirit week this week. Wednesday was '50's day. Although Libby doesn't really understand very well what the 50's were, she was really excited to make her fashion statement! Although we only had about 48 hours notice (ggrrr!), we managed to make a poodle skirt, and an "L" for her sweater; we even found saddle oxfords in her size!

Does she have the pose down, or what? She was so incredibly cute in this outfit! For her second Halloween when she was just 15 months, she wore a poodle skirt. It's still hanging in her closet. It's amazing how much she has grown!

Best Friends...

I am so lucky to have the friends I have. Michelle, Suzie, Sharla, Sonya, Sarah...all more like sisters to me than friends.

This is my friend, Michelle. We met in 1986 on the first day of Marching Mizzou Drumline auditions. I was 18 and she was 19...just babies, really. We were wearing the exact same shirt; we knew the minute we saw each other that we would be friends. How can that have been 24 years (and maybe 10 pounds- lol) ago? People have always thought we were sisters, despite the fact that I'm about 2 feet taller than her! We were inseparable through college. We were on drumline together, worked at Woodhaven together, were roommates and later worked at Judevine Center together. She went with me to every OB appointment with me when I was pregnant with Libby, and was with me when both kids were born. She is Roan's Godmother and is the kids' beloved "Aunt 'Chelle". She's always been my biggest cheerleader, has picked me up when I was down and believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

I got to see her this weekend and it made me VERY happy! Love you MDB!!

Fried Chicken Happiness

I am in love. Know how I can tell? Fried chicken.

I have several food rules. I have so many, in fact, you would think I'd be skinny! One of my rules is that I do not to eat meat off the bone. Especially chicken. I'm not crazy about handling raw chicken, either. Well, Shannon LOVES fried chicken. I've been promising him for weeks that I would make some for him. This is not something I do on a regular basis. I know how to do it, in fact I'm pretty good at it, but given the rules mentioned above, I just don't tend to make fried chicken.

We had a night to ourselves this weekend, so I suggested a little fried chicken for dinner...so I packed up a bird, my electric skillet and headed to Jeff City.

Here are the breasts, waiting to be fried. You see, the breading has to reach a certain "doughy-ness" before I put it in the grease. They weren't quite ready...

Look at all that golden goodness... If you look at the top left corner, you'll see one of the boneless, skinless breasts I slipped in there for myself!

Shannon's plate, ready to go. Notice the mashed potatoes; Shannon is a master potato maker. He took care of that. And those are the magical green beans. If I told you what makes them magical, I'd have to kill you.

A nearly empty plate... is this a happy man, or what?

I think I've learned to relax a bit. In fact, I may retire the "I don't like to touch raw chicken" food rule. I didn't mind making this meal at all; in fact, I think it will be a regular on our monthly menu. If it makes the man happy, it makes me happy! Now, that's love!