A New School Year!

Wow, time flies! The kids are growing up so fast! This is our second year at Pioneer Trail Elementary; Roan is in 1st grade and Libby is in 2nd. We had Open House last Wednesday night. Each teacher gives a short presentation, and the kids get to drop off their school supplies.
Libby is so cute. She had to get her desk arranged just right! She's so excited that school has started; she never complains about going to school or doing homework. She does very well with little effort.

Roan is so happy that his best friend, Ryan, is in his class again this year. Most of the summer, he complained about having to go back to school...then suddenly, he said "Mom, I must be growing up. I think maybe I'm excited about school now. When I think about going back, I get all tingly!" He spent several minutes getting his desk organized, too!

First day of school! Ready to conquer the world!! Have a great year, kiddos! XOXO

Welcome Back Breakfast

I'm a PTA mom... and now the Chairperson of the Hospitality and Staff Appreciation Committee. I'm also a helper on the Apparel Committee. One of the things the Hospitality Committee does every year is coordinate a Welcome Back meal for the teachers the week school starts. I put together a breakfast last Tuesday. Volunteers brought in breakfast casseroles, muffins, fruit and juice.

This is Libby, Roan and their friend, Jordan.

The kids hadn't started school, yet, so they helped me get everything set up. Roan says he's "a good arranger", so he kept busy putting out the plastic ware, cups, etc. Libby helped arrange the casseroles and juices. They thought it was cool.

Here's the spread. Yum! It was hard to leave without stealing a plate!

The Cat With No Name

Back in May, we got a new kitten. We had been cat-free since February, which made us all sad; except Shannon, that is. He's not really a pet-person. A friend at work had some kittens so she brought the cutest girl to us. There was a huge and ongoing discussion about her name. I liked Peggy -- because of the Capital One commercial: "Hello, Prime Credit, this is Peggy". I laugh every time. Then we thought of "Crystal Gayle" because we love 'Talladega Nights' so much: "I got mauled by a Cougar, my Crystal Gayle shirt got ruined, and I learned nothin' 'bout drivin'!". I laugh every time at that, too. Then, we finally settled on Isabella. It was a name the kids could agree on.

We took her to the vet to have her toenails out and spayed. I got a call from the doctor who told me "Isabella is a boy-a!". Yeah, we apparently had a transgendered cat. So... what to name this kitty now?

Given the 'Talladega Nights' reference, Shannon and Sean wanted to name him 'Ricky Bobby'; in fact, that's pretty much what he was called all summer. Libby wanted to name him 'Frank', which was cute. Roan didn't really care. Now that this poor kitty is half-grown, spoiled and pretty rambunctious, I think we've finally settled on a name.

We call him "Humphrey". It fits him. Right now, he's a teenager, and a little difficult. He likes to attack your leg as you walk by, bite you any and everywhere... but he's also a lover. So, welcome to the family, Humphrey McGowin!

Happy Birthday, Libby!

Monday, August 15 was Libby's 8th birthday. I just can't believe she's half way to her driver's license! She's really grown up a lot this past year; even her little face has changed since getting her adult teeth. It seems like she ought to still be a toddler with big bouncey curls. We had a party for her at Bonker's on Sunday. Her best friend, Clara was there, along with several family and friends.
This is her with her Hello Kitty cake. She was a little upset with me because she didn't want a cake cake, she wanted a cookie cake. I swear she never said cookie cake, she swears she did. There was drama, but we recovered.

On her actual birthday, I took the day off work and we celebrated. We met Libby's BFF, Clara and her mom (and my BFF), Amy at Chili's for lunch. Because it was her birthday, Clara's birthday 3 days later, and Roan's half-birthday, our sweet server brought them each a chocolate shake and had all the restaurant staff sing 'Happy Birthday'. They all thought that was awesome!

Roan LOVED his shake. He drank it so fast, it gave him a bellyache!

Clara wasn't too sure about whether she wanted her shake... she enjoyed at least a little bit of it!

Some things I don't want to forget about my little Libby:

• She loves Carrie Underwood, the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga. She's starting to hang out in her room and listen to CDs while she draws or reads.


• Right now, she loves to watch 'Shake It Up', 'iCarly', and she's recently started watching 'Pokemon', even though "it's more of a boy show"!


• She has an unbelievable vocabulary. If you didn't know better, you'd easily think you were speaking to an adult.


• Her favorite color is purple.


• She now likes to fix her own hair.


• She has become an excellent reader. She is able to read anything you give her now. She loves books in a series (like her mom!) like Junie B. Jones, and The Magic Tree House.


• She loves to annoy her brother. After years of him pestering her to death, Roan is finally getting his just desserts.


• She's been taking piano lessons since she was about 3 1/2. She has really improved in the last year with her instructor, Ms. Deborah. She can read music easily now; she just needs to develop a better sense of rhythm.


• She is so mature for her age. I can trust her to make good choices and to behave. The one thing that is surprising, though, is that she is not good about keeping her room neat. Hopefully, that will come in time!

Happy Birthday, Libby Lu! We love you!

Our Day in Eldon. Chapter 1

On Saturday afternoon, the kids were with grandparents, so Shannon and I took a little trip to Eldon. It's about 30 minutes from Jeff City, on the way to the Lake. It's a cute little town, but its real appeal is a rockin' little drive-in called Cree-Mee. It's practically a local landmark. You have to walk up to order, then take it with you, or sit at one of the picnic tables they have.

Cree-Mee has absolutely incredible chili dogs. They are so delicious, you want to cry. Shannon always get a chili dog and a shake. Today, it was vanilla, with extra vanilla. Good call. I got chocolate, which was very good, but next time, I'll go with vanilla, extra vanilla.

The call of the chili dog is strong. We were forced to answer.

I also got one. This is mine. What I like about Cree-Mee, that is different from most other places... is that they tuck the chili deliciousness neatly into the bun. You can actually pick this up and eat it. And when you do, you're glad. Very glad.

Cree-Mee also has another glorious creation: Marshmallow Pepsi. Yep. I know it sounds weird and maybe a little gross, but trust me. It will give new meaning to your life. You'll want to have one every day. This was our LARGE marshmallow Pepsi. We were on a sugar high for hours. It made us happy.

This was my chili dog. This was when I was trying not to cry because we were nearing the end of our relationship. I was fighting the desire to order another one.

We made an afternoon of it in Eldon. Stay tuned for Chapter 2.

School supply shopping adventures!

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to Target for school supplies. There's a giant cement hole right outside the store that intrigues my children to no end. Everytime, they MUST jump through it, lay on it, jump across it... today was no different. A funny story about Libby's shoes in this picture: when she was around 2 years old, my mom and I took her for some new shoes. She saw these flip flops, which were WAY too big for her at the time, but she LOVED them. When I tried to put them back on the shelf, she lost her mind. They were on clearance, so her Nana said "Oh, let's just get them for her!". So, she toddled around in them for months; eventually I put them away for her to wear when she got bigger. Well, they FINALLY fit (6 years later!) and she still loves them!

What can I say? This is my boy. He has his list in hand, and is complaining about carrying his supplies in the shopping basket. "It's so much work!". So we put the basket in a cart... Target was teeming with people that day; it was difficult to shop because so many people were swarming the school supply aisles!

This is the boy modeling his new backpack. I was very surprised he picked green camo. Go figure. Last year (the backpack that bit the dust) was blue with skulls all over it. Big jump from skulls to camo.

Libby will start second grade, and Roan will start first. I just can't believe it!

Feats of Strength

Several months ago, Shannon bought me a deep fryer. We soon discovered that we make the most fabulous onion rings, french fries and chicken strips... we make these a lot now, so we're forced to buy oil in the "fry for an army" size. We brought the giant tub 'o oil into the kitchen, which incited feats of strength...

Roan thought it was light as a feather...

Shannon giving the boy "the look". What could he be thinking?

...and the showboating begins! It's a little heavier than he thinks!

In feats of strength, the MAN wins!

Welcome to the gun show! Yes, this is how we roll at our house! A typical Tuesday night!

A night of friends and Sushi

Tuesday night, we had a baby shower for my friend, Ashley. She's expecting a baby girl in October, so all of us from work gathered at Fuji to celebrate. There were probably 15 of us, including Libby and Roan. They weren't about to be left out of the fun! They love going to Gojo's in Kansas City, and Fuji is similar. They've been wanting to go for a while and this was the perfect opportunity.

I love sushi...I could eat it every day. (Thank you to my good friends, Sclie and Danny Murray for introducing me to the goodness!) I don't go crazy with the raw stuff... I like a little crab a little shrimp and maybe, if I'm feeling saucy, I'll have a little smoked salmon. I'm pretty tame -- avocado, cream cheese, cucumber makes me happy. Well, Roan was convinced he was going to try some. He had a piece of one of my rolls...but had a hard time getting past the stickiness of the rice. He wasn't crazy about it, but I was sure proud of him for trying! He can use chopsticks like a champ, but you can see the apprehension on his face!

Both kids love chopsticks and are actually quite good at using them. They got a little goofy while we were waiting on our food...

If you look in the background of the picture, you can see Ashley, momma to be. You can also see Dr. Tang, my friend a co-worker. He throws one heck of a party! We all had a great time eating, opening gifts and singing karaoke! Dr. Tang dubbed it the "First Annual Baby Coming Out Party". Wonder who will be the guest of honor at the Second Annual....?? lol

My funny kid...

Do all kids go through phases where they write all over themselves? I hope so... because Roan is always coming home with something new drawn or written on his skin. Of course, it's hard to get off, so his camp counselors probably think the child never bathes.

This is Roan's latest body drawing. He calls it "The Human". He moves his thumb to make The Human talk. He thinks it's hilarious. I'm kind of over it... But this morning, when I went in his room to tell him 'Good Morning', I saw a new drawing on his face.

I asked him when, and WHY he drew a picture on his face. He had no idea what I was talking about. We figured out that during the night, he slept with his hand under his face, and The Human transferred to his face. Now that's funny. We scrubbed and scrubbed it... it mostly came off... but I just had to take a picture. Life with my boy is always unexpected and fun!

A Test of My Patience...

School registration is tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm trying to make sure I have all my ducks in a row. I actually know where the kids' birth certificates are...so I probably won't need them. Anyway, ever year, it's a big deal to bring your childrens' vaccination record. Well, of course, we don't vaccinate, so we have no records to bring. Instead, I fill out a 'Religious Immunization Exemption", documenting that my kids will be vaccinated over my dead body. Literally. When we lived in KC, the preschool and the local school district accepted the form if you printed it from an online resource. Easy. Cool. I liked it. When we moved to Jeff City this time last year, I was informed that the public school system here requires a parent to go to the Health Department to get the *same form*, but printed on card stock. Nothing else will do. So last year, I traipsed down there, waited forever... only to be taken to a room with a nurse who tried to lecture me about the dangers of childhood diseases...and to actually tell me that I would be responsible for their deaths should they contract Chicken Pox or Measles. I listened politely, explained that I had researched it for many years, that I was confident that this was the right choice for our family, blah blah blah. She kept after me until, through clenched teeth, I said "I'm a doctor. I don't need to hear your lecture." After which she promptly gave me my exemption cards and let me leave.

So this year, I wondered about our exemption... surely, the exemption forms in their files would stand for this year, right? Right? Any reasonable person would think so. Just to be sure, I called the school, and was informed that I must produce a NEW exemption form every school year. And yes, we are still required to obtain said form from the Health Department.

I'll bet you can guess what I did on my lunch hour. To get these little cards...Off to the Health Department. Did you know that no one there ever gets in a hurry, even if there's a waiting room full of people? And that you have to fill out this long form with all of your previous names, all allergies, social security number, etc. Then I had to give them my driver license. Really? Just for a simple form? I was prepared to go toe-to-toe with the nurse again, but it actually turned out better than I thought. She was more interested in why I hadn't had a Tetanus shot since 1989. "A sweet old man in Southwest Missouri died of Tetanus, you know!" Yeah, yeah. Whatever. So she gave me the speech about how, if there was an outbreak of a communicable disease, my kids would have to stay home..."for their protection". I smiled and nodded. I even chuckled a time or two. I also thought to myself "Eventually, they'll probably start charging us for these forms." Then she said, "I'm supposed to give you a long lecture about the dangers of not vaccinating...but I don't think you need it". I explained to her that no one comes to this decision lightly; I have been researching the topic for over 10 years and have a deep and thorough understanding of all the issues. Finally, I told her that the choice to vaccinate is a basic human right; it is my choice. Then she agreed with me. I was in and out in a flash; I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe because of our meeting today, she'll do a little research of her own, and find out that my decision is based on facts and evidence...and that I'm not some wacked out, lunatic fringe, crunchy granola weirdo. Each one teach one, right?

My Mini-Me

My sweet Libby is going to be 8 years old in 2 weeks. I just can't believe it. When I picture her in my mind, I still see her like this:


Tiny, with big curls. *sob* She's always looked like me, which I love. Not that I'm terrific to look at, but because I never really looked like anyone in my family. My mom was 5'2"; I'm 5'10". I could go on and on. I found out later that I look like the Mansfield side of the family, who I never knew that well. Anyway, Libby is my Mini-Me. In more ways than one.

I like to think of myself as an organized person. I love planners, calendars, lists... I plan our menu out for the month and make detailed grocery lists. The kids' summer schedule was mapped out in spreadsheet form. As fate would have it, these little quirks of mine turn the Man on. Sorry, TMI. Anyway, Libby likes lists, too!

When I got up yesterday morning, Libby was hard at work making her birthday list. She's obsessed with Moshi Monsters, right now, so she was on that website looking for all her favorite things. She made two lists: one for Mom and one for Nana.
This is my list. Each item was written carefully, with the price next to it. If the item is circled, that means she'd like it for Christmas, rather than her birthday. Isn't it just a hoot?

This is Nana's list. Libby's going to be overrun with Moshi paraphernalia. I'm not sure I'm ready; all these little characters are like a foreign language to me... Oh boy, I'm sounding like my mom! I love that my girl is organized...at least where school work and things like that are concerned. Now if I could just get that to bleed over into her bedroom... it's a mess most of the time!