Birthday Party, Coffee & Old Cars

Last Saturday we celebrated Lucas' 7th birthday with a little celebration at home. Our tradition has always been for the birthday kid to help me make and decorate their cake and then to play in their room while the rest of the family decorates the dining room. This year Lucas helped me make all the icing and the cake but I had him take a nap while I decorated the cake and we got the room ready. He had been asking for a GI Joe party for the last month so that was our theme. He picked a design for the cake and it had 7 different colors of icing!! I have to admit that this was not my best designed cake...but it tasted yummy. We made army camo colors of brown, black and grayish green as well as red (hot pink, oops), white and blue for the star and he picked orange and white for the name. When I was about half way thru I realized that I should have just gone with the eagle logo...but oh well. He thought it was great...it said GI Joe and was a double layer vanilla cake with chocolate fudge icing in the middle...plus it didn't last very long so who really cares what it looked like right? Ok, I cared....so I will have to redeem myself with Noah's cake or I'll never forgive myself...

Eli was my cake helper and was in charge of placing, lighting the candles and delivering the cake while we sang our hearts out. I captured some great shots of Lucas before, during and after he blew out the sparkler candles. He was so excited to open his presents and kept laughing, giggling and making this crazy face/laugh...that of course made us laugh. (Can you tell the kids had a PJ party?) The only thing that would have made this day better is if grandma could have been with us like she usually is. Lucas told me that his birthday wish was for Grandma to get out of the hospital...awww...I agree whole heartedly.

After our little party we got ready to head to O-town for the annual car show and to help Uncle Billy at the coffeehouse. The car show brings an extra 10,000 people to town and it is always the busiest day of the year. I was excited to see my old customer/friends and to be back behind the counter...oh and to get my Iced Grasshopper Breve that I had been missing! Lucas even brought his very own Potter's Wheel apron so he could help me deliver drinks with the hope that he would make tips...and it worked! My great friend Nicole and her super cute daughter Katy gave Lucas a 2 dollar tip! The kids got to play out front, eat pizza, eat ice cream, watch the cars cruise down main street, meet Uncle Billy's new dog and just play their hearts out. They were 4 sweaty, stinky babies when it was time to leave...but we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Lucas!!

It's official...we no longer have a baby in the house....Lucas is 7 yrs old today! He has been counting down the days for 4 months and that day finally arrived. Scott and I had the privilege of taking Lucas to breakfast to celebrate before school. He was worried he wasn't going to have any birthday cake ON his actual birthday so even though we had his birthday party last Saturday, I baked some lemon cupcakes so he could have one ON his big day. We had him cover his eyes and that's when I pulled out the cupcake and the lighter from my purse. When I lit the candle he gasped and said, "Mommy! You brought a lighter to light my candle!?!" It was pretty funny, although he was a little worried it was illegal...Don't worry, he only had 2 bites of the cupcake before he ate all of his bacon and eggs and we had a great time together before we took him to school.

Lucas, Daddy and I are so proud of you! You have become quite the Little Man. You constantly amaze us with your inquisitive brain, wanting to know every little detail about everything you see. You are gracious, sweet and have a genuine heart for people and how they are feeling. You are loving and thoughtful and we love it when we see you helping others. I love how you can be lovey one minute and then all macho boy the next...play make believe games with your sister one minute and run around the house with your nerf gun the next. You make us laugh and you bring joy into our lives. You are an amazing son and we are so blessed to have you as our 'baby'. Happy Birthday Lukey Duke!

Red Friday : Go Chiefs!!

Go Chiefs!

Two weeks ago we got to go to a Royals baseball game so we thought it only fair if we also introduced the kids to some football...and when we talk about football is there really any other team besides the Chiefs?? Well, if you live in KC there isn't so we thought it was time to share that insanity with the kids. This past friday was the annual Red Friday pep rally at the Chiefs training facility so we joined thousands of other fans to hear from the new GM, coach and some of the players. They had music, games for the kids, food, cheerleaders and lots of pep-rally-ness. We parked by the coolest bus that had been painted red with a football field, goals and all, on the roof. It was just the coolest Chiefs bus ever! We met several cheerleaders and the kids had them sign their shirts. Noah told me he wanted to find as many cheerleaders as he could to sign his shirt because he wanted to make all of his friends jealous!!! That really made me laugh. There was an insane line that was over 100 yards long, with hundreds of people patiently waiting to meet the 8 or so Chief players that showed up...but that was too much standing for us so we just enjoyed the show. It was hard for the kids to see the stage so when they started to play their own games we decided it was time to go home. It was a great free activity and was kind of cool to see the indoor practice facility as well as some of the players. I was very thankful that Scott managed to last as long as he did because we went straight from treatment. (He has such a great attitude when I plan activities around treatment and I love him for that!) We hoped that the pep rally would bring good things for the Chiefs today...it didn't...but at least we had fun and looked cute in our coordinating shirts and painted faces!! Go Chiefs!

P.S. I almost forgot to post this photo. Lucas and I snuck out to the bathroom so we got a sneak peek at the Chiefs players who were at the front of that crazy, crazy line. We were right next to them and Lucas was so excited. I promise I didn't tell him to point at them...I just caught his excitement with my phone and it's one of my favs from the day.

Thank you dear Aunts!

The last night I saw the Aunts at the hospital they surprised me with some more gifts for the kids. Since it was Monday night I wrapped them up and had them waiting on the table for breakfast before school on Tuesday. The kids were so excited to see presents at breakfast! The sweet Aunts got the boys hoodies, wallets, green stuff for the wallets, a purple wallet for Autumn, gift cards for Autumn, shoe gift cards for the boys, a fantastic movie and a great family game that we have played several times. Because the kids told the Aunts how much they love to cook and bake with me, Aunt P. got them a cookbook called "Autumn with Family and Friends" and Aunt C. surprised them at the Symphony with a Kids In The Holiday Kitchen cookbook along with a super cute Gingerbread man spatula. The kids were so excited about the cookbooks and spent a lot of time going thru the sections choosing which meals we would be making. The kids and I have so much fun in the kitchen and I LOVE teaching them how to cook and bake. When I have them cook with me, I make sure we have enough time for them to actually cook everything. I am big on blog honesty so if you see any photos on the blog of them cooking, rest assured they have actually cooked the meal and not just posed for a picture. Cooking is definitely an art so who better to teach those basics, tips and tricks than two artists? Besides, we are having a ball in the kitchen! Thank you dear Aunts for the great gifts! We love and miss you and were so glad we got to spend the week with you!

Tennis & Lady DO NOT GO TOGETHER!

Noah started Tennis lessons this week and I had the opportunity to go watch him while Scott was in treatment this evening. Lady had not been a good puppy ALL DAY today so I thought maybe she needed to go for a walk, get some exercise and see her boys....but I have since learned that Lady & flying tennis balls not meant for fetching...do not make for a relaxing event! The boys brought their other puppy and of course the two puppies talked on and off all evening while they tried to get closer to properly say hello. I ended up sitting on a low curb next to the courts so I could hold Lady away from the other puppy. Every time the kids would hit the ball (3 at a time) Lady would lunge in that direction. The poor girl wanted to play fetch with those kids!! She was a handful! I tried to take photos while holding Lady and helping Eli with his math homework...and it was not easy! Eli had a hard time doing his homework near so much excitement but we persevered and he finally got it finished. I double checked his work and he moved on to a spelling test.

Noah did a good job, put forth a great effort and had a great attitude. Every time he would hit it he would give me a little smirk. One time he hit it over the fence towards the road and another time he hit a car in the parking lot! I think maybe he should try baseball next! :) I did manage to get some action shots of Noah in between math and lady wrangling and he looks like a pro. At the end of the evening Eli took Lady to play in the grass, Lucas was given the other puppy and of course we all got tangled up in leashes and poor duke got a rope burn. It was a traumatic end to a nice evening....I did get to see a little show that was put on in my honor so that was embarrassing entertaining. I think I will leave Lady at home next week and just enjoy the show...

Mulch & Babies

Last Friday I got all of my online work done before the kids came home at 4pm and I had a surprise waiting for them when they got there...a little yard upkeep. We have been in this house for a year and other than mowing/raking leaves this was the first time I had an opportunity to work in the yard. I got 4 bags of brown mulch (at 1/2 price!) that the boys helped me distribute while Scott was in treatment. Some of the spots were bare and really needed some work so putting mulch down was the least I could do. Noah was a big help in emptying the bags, placing the mulch and trimming our berry bushes. I took before photos with my phone and Noah groaned...he told me that he didn't understand why adults take photos of mulch. -ha ha- I told him I wouldn't put pics of the mulch on the blog but he didn't believe me. :) I mostly wanted to compare to see if the work we were going to do really made a difference. In my defense, I didn't even take 'after' photos because the transformation was obvious...and I couldn't put them on the blog anyway... The walk way looks so much nicer with the brown mulch and the berry bushes have been tamed once again.

The funniest part of the afternoon was when Lucas and Eli were raking leaves. Lucas yells- "Hey Mom?" Yes? "I don't think I want to play the saxophone this year." "Really? Why? (I'm thinking at this point that someone told him the sax is a girl instrument too but I haven't had a chance to look up yet...) He pauses... "Well, I want to play the RAKE instead!" At this point I look over and see that he has the rake upside down and is playing air-rake-guitar...and he is giggling...and as usual he makes me laugh...

Our little man is just a few days away from 7...it's official...no more baby. With 6 we can still get away with baby-ness but 7 is all grown up. Last year at this time Lucas regressed a little and started talking in baby talk. He wouldn't do it all the time but enough that we sat down with him to talk about it. He said that he wanted to stay our baby forever and maybe for his 6th birthday we could get him presents but if we didn't get him a cake then he wouldn't have to turn 6...and he could still be our baby. The thought was super sweet and probably came from our lamenting his upcoming birthday, and how we no longer had a baby in the family...but was too much of a burden for him to carry. He even told me that he always wanted me to hold him and if he turned 6, I might not be able to... Awwww...So, we all talked about how special 6 was and how we were so proud of him being a 'big' boy and that we loved the independence he was showing. The more we rewarded his 'big boy' behavior/speech and reassured him that we loved who he was, the less he talked like a baby...now fast forward one year. Lucas is definitely a big boy (and was at 6 too) but in the last few weeks he has been talking like a baby again. It starts while they are playing with their stuffed animals but then carries over into other conversations. We talked about it again last weekend and reassured him that we are ok with not having a baby, baby anymore and that even when he is 30 he will always be our baby...nothing like confusing your 6 yr. old, right? Besides....who says that there isn't another child in God's plan for us? You never know...

Here are some cute pics of Lucas...from 04, 05 and 06.

I can't believe he is turning 7 next week!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

On Labor Day Scott and I took the kids to their first major league baseball game at The K, to see the ROYALS. They were so excited and I was excited about the $5 tickets!! You can't really beat that price for a first time experience. Autumn has been to a few games before with her Mom so she had fun showing the boys the ropes. Sometimes I plan events and then Scott gets too sick to go (sometimes from treatment and sometimes LD symptoms) so we were all so happy that he had a few days off for the holiday weekend and that he felt well enough to join us. I won't post all the photos from our day but will show you some of my favorites. The kids got to experience peanuts and stadium hotdogs while the Royals beat the LA Angels. We did the wave, watched the ketchup/mustard/relish races, swayed to music, cheered for the home runs, steals, made a mess with our peanuts, got a nice red glow and just enjoyed every aspect of baseball in beautiful cool weather. It was a lot of fun. Every time the crowd cheered Lucas would yell, scream, jump up and down and then ask me if it was over. Poor boy. It was a long game and we actually left before it was over so we could beat the crowd but it was a great family treat.

Look how big they are getting!

We hitched a ride on the tram and got an impromptu tour of the new facilities. It's amazing.

I love that toothless grin...

Here they are dressed in blue...we didn't have Royals shirts...just hats...so pay no attention to the soccer shirt in front....hey...at least it's blue...

Home run...with fireworks...

There is nothing like experiencing salted peanuts at a baseball game. Look at those faces! And, because the Royals stole a base (2 actually), we took our tickets to Sonic for our free medium slush. It was a great ending to a great day!

Go Royals!!

Crackel Berries

Last Sunday we met the Aunts at one of our favorite restaurants...Cracker Barrel. We still call it Crackel Berries though because that is what baby Lucas use to say. We had a great breakfast and A. Patty surprised the kids with WebKinz as we were getting ready to leave. They were so excited! I am so glad we got to spend so much time with them while they were here. If it hadn't been Labor Day weekend they may not have seen them at all. Family is so important to me and I love introducing the kids to more of their family. Now they want to go meet all those cousins that belong to their Aunts. :)

After breakfast we all headed over to the hospital to spend some more time with Grandma. I managed to set up my camera for a group shot...and it worked pretty well but Grandma looks so small compared to the rest of us! Grandma felt pretty good that day and managed to handle all of us at once. It was a nice afternoon and I am so glad I got one photo of the whole group!

Labor (Day) of Love

Ok, so my title is a little cheesy but I think it works. We had such a great extended weekend where the kids were home Friday after school till Tuesday morning when I took them back to school. We love it when we have weekends like that and can't wait till we get more of them. Scott keeps asking for more time since we only live 10 minutes away but he is continually told no. So, while the 'adults' work out their differences I will continue to heap LOVE, LOVE, LOVE on these precious kids. Every decision should be about them and that means sharing time with them....and figuring out what is truly best for them. I'm sure it's hard to make that decision without your judgement being clouding by anger, resentment and fear. I can't imagine how hard it is to have to 'share' your children with someone you no longer trust or with a new person you don't know, but I am trying to be more understanding of certain responses that I see. I'm sure it's tough so I am hoping that the focus can truly be on the kids...ok...I got derailed from our Labor Day festivities...

FRIDAY: On Friday night I took 3 of the kids to the hospital to meet 3 of their Great Aunts who were visiting Grandma. My mom has 4 sisters and 3 of them were able to visit her for a week. They were waiting for her to return home but since it has been 5 months(!!) they decided it was time. Daddy stayed home with poor Eli who came home with a fever. The kids were so excited to go meet them and could hardly eat their dinner. I must say that I have the most beautiful Aunts...inside and out! They are all so loving, sweet and generous and the kids loved them right away. The Aunts felt like they already knew the kids because of all the photos they have seen and from following our blog. It was a good family fit.

Autumn, A. Linda, Grandma, Lucas, A. Claudine, Noah, A. Patty

This was their first meeting. The boys have dinosaurs that Aunt Linda gave them 2 or 3 years ago and they are always talking about her but had never met her. Sissy still uses the pink Hello Kitty purse that she got because she says "You're never too old for Hello Kitty".

SATURDAY: This was such a busy day for us. I took Noah to his clarinet clinic from 9-10 where we both learned everything he needed to know for his first day of class. How to assemble, how to clean, how to carry, how to take care of, how to play and so on. It was very informative and I prob. learned more in that class than I did my entire year of band! It is just so hard to get one on one attention when there are more than 50 kids in a 30 min. class. After the clinic, we cleaned the house, mowed the yards and then went to the Anita B Gorman Discovery center to make our nature leaf T-shirts. Our big event of the day was when the Aunts were coming over at 4:30 to take us to dinner! The kids were so excited...not only because the Aunts were coming but because they were taking us to Sweet Tomatoes! We had a delicious dinner with some glass tipping, table wobbling, plate grabbing excitement too. Good catch A. Claudine!

After dinner, we headed to Shawnee Mission Park to attend the free Pops In The Park concert by The KC Symphony. The place was so packed but the music was beautiful! We stayed till the very end so we could hear Star Wars and Super Man. It was so refreshing and we had a great time just hanging out under the stars.

The kids took A. Patty down to the very front so they could get a good look at the cello's. Scott took me to see the KC Symphony a few years ago as a surprise Christmas present. I loved it!

Lucas decided that A. Linda was his special buddy. He sat by her at dinner, was her buffet buddy, held her hand and wanted to be near her all night. It was very sweet.

Lounging around listening to world class music.

Sweet and funny aunts...

I love seeing those real smiles!

Sorry A. Claudine...but Lucas caught you in the moment... :)

That boy always has his tongue hanging out!

My budding little photographer...he gets that from me! :)

Up close and personal with world famous photography Duke Dawson...He'll need a stage name, right?

My new favorite photo...The Aunts said I was timeless...I look the same as I did 10 years ago. Thanks Ladies!

Great personality shot captured by Lucas... We loved our Symphony date with the Aunts!

1st Grade Lessons

Lucas is loving 1st grade and we are loving the opportunity to watch him learn. He comes home telling us about patterns, math, spelling and anything that Mrs. A tells him. Just like in K, he believes whatever his teacher tells him. Last year his teacher told him not to take drugs and while trying to give him Motrin, he explained to me that he couldn't take that drug because his teacher said so. It was a great conversation! :) I can't wait to volunteer in his class room!

Action shot...

The annual Teddy Bear Picnic...All day school is so much fun...

The New Math, Kid Quotes & Print Leaf T-Shirts

The New Math

I know that some of you are old school and you haven't had a chance to learn the new math yet but I can say that this concept is alive and well near my home. I had a frustrating conversation last week about a very simple concept...that 1+0=1. It makes complete sense to me but I could not get this adult to comprehend this concept. If you only have one item, and you don't add or take away from it...then you still only have ONE ITEM! I kindly pointed out the truth but was refuted with multiple excuses...and then it dawns on me...this is NOT about new math at all...it is about being in control and therefore it doesn't matter what is truth...In this parallel universe you can create your own mathematical equations and still be right...I finally get it...you're still wrong but now I get it...

Kid quotes of the week to share with you...

You are under arrest for IMPERSONIZING him. -Eli

Halt! I'm with the SQUAT team. -Lucas

Print Leaf T-Shirts

Last Saturday we went back to the Anita B Gorman Discovery Center to participate in the Tall Grass Tshirt activity. The center provided Tshirts (for free) and we learned about the native plants/trees while we painted leaves and decorated our shirts. It was a very busy place and once we got started we stayed for almost two hours! The kids had a great time choosing their leaves and designing their own shirts while Scott and I got to join in and make one too. We used several colors of paint and I added glitter to their final projects. It was a lot of (educational) fun!

Around the world in 60 minutes...

Our entire family got to go enjoy the Ethnic festival 2 weeks ago in between IV treatments. Thankfully, Scott was having a good morning and was able to join us.

Let me take you on our adventure...

Republic of Korea - Kimch'i

Salted, pickled, fermented cabbage. Very spicy but not too bad. The kids decided they liked it better when I served it with rice that night.

Scottland - Scottish Beef Hotdog

6 people + one dog = not enough time for a photo op. / delicious!

Hawaii - Traditional Shaved Ice

We got to watch them shave our ice off an ice block. It was super cool and then we drooled as they covered our cones in tons of sugary sweetness. Big hit all around.

Turkey- Turkish Baklava

Super yummy phyllo pastry with walnuts, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and a honey-lemon syrup. Another hit!

Kenya - Nyama Chama

Nyama Chama sounds more exotic than beef on a stick...but that's what it was and it was yummy!

India - Curry Chicken

I love curry and the Indian version is pretty spicy...kids got distracted by the dancing...

Brazil - Guarana'

This soft drink was made with berries from the Amazon jungle. It wasn't too sweet and we all agreed it was pretty good. Not what I would think of as a soft drink, seemed healthier.

Philippines - Turon

Imagine a photo of a banana fritter...it was soo good I didn't have time to get a pic...

American Indian - Fry bread

This stuff is so yummy. We always get some when we go to NM so we were pretty excited to find it here too. The kids loved it too. Who wouldn't love it?

I have some photos of the kids tasting the food but I think that may be taking this a little far...so I will spare you the action shots. Some of the booths were fancy like this one.

We went in the morning right after treatment and the weather was beautiful. By the time we left there was a huge line waiting to get in. There were 66 different countries in attendance and the kids got passports to take along on our adventure. They got stamps from 48 diff. countries.

The festival did just what we hoped it would, it inspired everyone to try new foods and to not be afraid of something different. Sometimes, I think the kids have a better attitude about trying new things and they in turn help me be more adventurous. Later that night Noah helped me make dinner and dessert. Dinner is usually a family affair where every member has a job. Usually Lucas helps me cook but since school has started and the boys don't get to cook during the week, they are going to help me every weekend. That night Noah made a marinade/relish (using the food processor) for the fish and made rice to go along with it. It was fantastic!

He looks like such a serious chef...He is getting pretty good at multitask cooking too and can monitor 2 or 3 things at a time.

Eli plated this up for the photo. Yummy fish with homemade relish on a bed of rice. Notice the leafy greens. They all ate with chop sticks until they got down to the rice. Psst...pay no attention to the hamburger/ketchup/mustard tablecloth...pretend it was fine dining...shhh

And last but not least was dessert. We decided to celebrate Back 2 School with a Dark Chocolate Cherry Poke cake with a brown sugar, cherry bottom. YUMMY! Noah made the cake by himself too...

Thanks for reading about our food adventure. It was great fun and the kids have decided they need to save money so they can buy food from every booth next year...We really enjoyed ourselves and loved trying the new food. I think it will become another family tradition.

P.S. The boys tried Goat meat at lunch on Sat. and decided they liked that too. What fun!