Piano Recital

Libby has been taking piano lessons since just before age 4. When we moved back to Jeff City, we were lucky enough to find an amazing piano instructor who only lives a few doors down from us. She has really taken Libby to the next level as far as technique and sight reading. Roan started taking lessons in January, too! He's been wanting to for a while, but I felt he was a little itchy and unfocused... He finally showed me he was ready, so we let him start.

They had a recital a few weeks ago. I love their recitals! They are required to stand up in front of the audience, introduce themselves and announce what they'll be playing. So many kids are so scared, they whisper, or race through it. Not my two! They stand up, and speak loud and clear. Makes me proud!

Roan's very first recital! That's Ms. Deborah, his teacher, sitting with him. He announced to the whole audience that this was his first recital!

Libby's a pro at playing in public. She doesn't get nervous at all! Look at her hair! She looks like a model. And look at those pigeon-toes...just like her momma!!

Her hair was so magnificent, I had to take a close-up. If it looks this great when she's 8, what will it look like when she's 18?

Piano lessons are expensive and take a lot of time, but it's been so good for my kids. I'd recommend them for any kid who's interested... it's really made learning fractions quite easy for Libby. It's teaching Roan a lot of good things, too. I'm hoping this is a skill and talent that will stay with them all of their lives...

Pinterest Photo Challenge Day 2: Color

Today's Pinterest Photo A Day in April challenge is COLOR. This is a picture of all my serger thread colors. The rack is amazing... I told my hubby that I really needed some way to store this thread; the next day, he came in carrying this and asked "Is this what you had in mind?" It's magnificent. I have it hung up high so it's out of the way, but easy to get to when I need to change thread colors. It's long... the picture only captured maybe half of the rack. He even painted it the perfect color to match my sewing room. I love that man!! How lucky am I?

Photo A Day April: Day 1

In an attempt to redeem myself from being a blogging failure (as of late), I've decided to participate in "Photo A Day April" by @FATMUMSLIM. I figured it would be fun, and give me some inspiration to visit my blog every day again!

DAY 1: Your reflection:
I thought about being literal and just taking my picture in the bathroom mirror. But honestly, my hair's been kind of a mess all day, and I only put on enough make up to keep from scaring my mother-in-law when she stopped by today. So, I thought about what else could be my reflection. Naturally, I thought about these little people... Libby and Roan.

After all, they do look an awful lot like me. Because I am the one raising them, they can't help but be a reflection of me. In fact, sometimes, it's a little spooky. Libby is so much like me, it can be eerie sometimes. I see a lot of Daddy in Roan's expressions and personality, but he's a lot of his momma, too.

I'm happy they're mine. I'm awfully proud of them both! By the way, this picture was taken outside their school last Thursday night. Libby had her 2nd grade concert. Roan is just a ham for the camera.

I have failed to blog...

I've not been a faithful blogger in a few months. Shame on me! It seems like life flies by so fast! The last part of 2011 was eventful...

We had Pocahontas and the Grim Reaper as guests for Halloween! The kids had a big Halloween party in the back yard, complete with a bonfire. They loved it! They went Trick-or-Treating and got more candy than they could eat in a year!

During spirit week at school, they had Career Day. Libby dressed as an artist; Roan was a math professor!

Then we had Hippie Day. OMG they were so cute! (and mom did a pretty good sewing job, huh?!)

In November, Shannon and I took a trip to Eureka Springs AR. OMG, what an amazing place! We've decided that when we're rich, we're going to have a second home there! We had the best time; if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you visit!

We had a lovely Christmas. Sean was here from Colorado, and we hosted the McGowin family dinner. The kids got to spend some time in KC with their Nana and Papa, which made them very happy!

On New Year's Day, the City sewer backed up into our basement. This was bad. We lost pretty much everything that was down there. We had to tear everything down to the studs and build again. The good news is, we again have walls...and a laundry room...and today, we have carpet!! This weekend, we'll be able to move some things back in from storage. We almost have our home back!

We have a sweet new addition to our family! Shannon's daughter Mallory, and her husband Seth, welcomed baby Caroline on 12/15/11. She's a doll and Shannon is a proud Papa!

I hearby resolve to be a better blogger in 2012. Amen. Over and out.

Happy Birthday, Roan!!

Today, my sweet boy turns 7! How can this be? It seems like just yesterday he got here and turned our world upside down! He and Libby are 18 months apart. I'm not really sure why I thought that was a good idea... it's great now, but when they were little...wow.

This is the boy on his 5th birthday. It's one of my favorite pictures. He had such tiny Chicklet teeth. He's really changed a lot in two years. What a difference adult teeth make!

He will KILL me someday for posting this... but this is one of my all-time favorite pictures. When he was younger, he went through a very long dress-wearing phase. Dresses, high heels, tiaras. This pictures kills me.

Some things about Roan that I don't want to forget:

1. He's in first grade right now. He is apparently a math genius. It makes sense and it is very easy for him. Spelling is a different story, unfortunately. He really struggles with it but we work on it a lot at home.


2. He is desperate for a dog. So, he reads dog books and prints dog pictures and talks incessantly about our someday-dog.


3. He is completely obsessed with Monster High toys. He has all of the dolls except one or two of the very latest ones. He saves his money to buy them and plays with them all the time. It's funny though, because he worries what people will think about this. I don't think he'd ever want his best friend to know!


4. He's in Boy Scouts right now and loves it. Last week, he watched some Native American dancers, and now is interested in doing that when he gets farther in Scouting.


5. His best friends right now are Ryan and Drew.


6. He is incredibly compassionate. He has a soft heart and worries about other people. I love that about him.


7. He loves to watch iCarly, So Random, and most of the other tween shows.


8. When he grows up, he wants to be a Rock 'n Roll singer, an actor or a musician. He says he is "destined for the stage"!


9. He speaks his mind. He will tell you what he thinks and will let you know when he believes something is wrong or unfair.


10. He has a real heart for people with disabilities or other differences. He has a natural way about him that puts people at ease. He's a sweet boy!

Happy birthday, Roan! I'm glad I'm your mom. You make our family complete!

Baseball look-alike

I've never been much of a sports fan. I liked football, mostly because I was always in the marching band... well, Shannon is a sports fan. A BIG sports fan. So I have now watched games in the last six months than I had in my entire life. Now that we're watching the World Series, I've realized that Shannon has a twin in Texas.

This is my sweet husband...

...and this is Mike Maddux, the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. Except for the beard, I think they look a LOT alike. Nevermind that no one agrees with me. I asked Shannon's daughter, Mallory and she looked at me like I was insane. Shannon doesn't see it, either. Granted, Shannon's face is a little fuller, but there is a huge resemblance, don't you think? So I watch the ball game every night just to see Mike Maddux and laugh. I also think Dave McKay, the first base coach for the Cardinals is hot. He doesn't look so much like Shannon, and not as handsome...but still easy on the eyes. How is it that I know all these sports figures? I could probably name most of the players on both the Cardinals and Rangers. The things we do for love...

Roller skating!

I won't lie. I never learned to roller skate. Oh, my friends and I loved going to Skateland on Friday nights, I even had a birthday there once. I invited about 10 friends; my mom had a compact car. It was a huge pile of teenaged girls. Mom never forgave me. Anyway... I would go with my friends, and do my best, but I was never very good. I always came home with blisters on my feet... but hey, there were cute boys at the skating rink. I could ice skate better, but I still was not good.

Well, now the time has come for MY children to learn to skate. Here in Jeff, we have Sk8 Zone, and we can skate for 2 hours on Sundays. They've suckered me into taking them a couple of times now. I try to get Shannon to come along, but, no luck. I have visions of him in the 1970's, with his bell bottoms, big hair and funky gold medallions...on roller skates... sorry. I got distracted. Anyway, Libby and Roan are getting to be pretty good skaters!

Libby, lacing up her skates. This girl is determined to be a good skater. I have no doubt that by next summer, she'll be tearing up the rink.

And Roan... he definitely wants to learn to skate, too, but he's a little less tenacious than his sister. He's mostly interested in skating over to the snack bar.

Sweet Libby, skating on her own on the beginners rink. When we went this past Sunday, she got on the "real" rink and went around all by herself. When she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her!

Our trip to Sk8 Zone is never complete without a game of air hockey. This game, Roan beat Libby and he was SO proud. He walked around like a banty rooster. Last weekend, Libby kicked his tail and he nearly lost his mind. We had a little lesson in sportsmanship that day.

Kids can have their birthday parties here. I took this picture because there is apparently a child named "Thojuree". Seriously? Enough said.