Katie Performs at the Oldham County Arts Center in "Annie"

Katie performed this weekend with the North Oldham 6th grade chorus. Her group sang "It's a Hard Knocked Life" from the "Annie" Broadway Production (happens to be my fave off that soundtrack). She did great! When you look at the video she is in the 2nd row on the left hand side. You can see her better in the middle & end of the song. We are so proud of her! I know it sounds biased but I thought they were the best. Their group was so animated and very clear.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO

Her group also ended the show with a 70's song. For this performance she had to wear 70's attire. A special shopping trip was in order to find a groovy shirt so Katie was ecstatic. Since the fashion trend now is more groovy attire it was not that difficult...I was thrilled it only took 30 minutes..yeah!

This picture was taken right before we left our home. She was really excited and I thought she looked the part with her hair all long and she wore earthy toned bangles to match her shirt. She looked so cute.

The next picture was taken at the performance and her look is priceless. I quickly remembered feeling the same way when my parents started snapping pictures of me around my friends during concerts. Needless to say, I stopped.

And Lily's Choice Is.....Car Care?!

I love Springdale Automotive (especially when I'm not having to pay them for car service)!! And I want to tell you why. When you reach the Junior Level of Girl Scouts each girl is responsible for one meeting in which they plan and choose the topic of discussion/learning to earn a badge. Lily was in charge of her first Junior meeting. After she reviewed a very thick book of topics she announced she was focusing on Car Care. I was first a bit shocked BUT her great grandfather was a mechanic and I was told by a guidance counselor in high school that all my personality tests came back as being in a profession of 'mechanics.' What?! I always read manuals when I buy products (before turning the device on) but I don't think this qualifies.

Anyhow to earn the "Car Care" badge you have do several items to that cover this subject.

She first interviewed my mother because my mom was in charge of a fleet of cars when she worked for Roche Biomedical. My mother told her about maintenance schedules and the like which she really enjoyed.

So she taught her troop about schedules and emergency bags for the winter that all cars should have. The kit included kitty litter! Did you know that you are supposed to have kitty litter on hand so that if you get stuck in snow you can sprinkle it in front of your tires to give you more friction? I am SO learning.

The best part of her meeting was the trip to Springdale Automotive off US 42 near Goshen Elementary. Jeff, the very kind manager, offered to give a safety inspection on my car (which I happened to fail in 2 categories). The girls were enthralled to say the least. I've been with these girls for at least 3 years and this is the most excited that I've seen them.


Jeff was FABULOUS! He taught the kids how to check the oil, tire pressure, radiator fluid, brake fluid, and many other things. I was learning too! After all I did have a headlight out AND my tire pressure was low!


After the safety inspection Lily interviewed Jeff and he answered the questions with such honesty. One of the questions was, "Has their ever been any girl mechanics at your store?" and Jeff replied that yes indeed there had been. She had been in the military working in maintenance so when she got out she came to work at Springdale. She has since relocated out of the city but Jeff said she was a GREAT mechanic. Lily confessed in the car that she really liked fixing things and that she may want to be a mechanic too. I told her.."You go girl...Whatever you want to be just be a good one"....one of my most favorite quotes from Abe Lincoln.

Gave The Kiddos $20 A Piece To Pick Out Their Outfit...Here They Are!

First of all I cannot believe I spent $60 on Halloween costumes!! Just goes to show you how much our children have these days (am I sounding like my grandparents?).

Lily and Ben designed our pumpkin and Michael went to work carving it just like they wanted it. I thought it looked great glowing on our front porch.

So back to the costumes...what do you get for $20? According to Katie twenty bucks does not buy you THE BEST costume. I could tell where this conversation was headed so I decided to make it a challenge for her and her friend, Samantha. Wouldn't they love to make their costume? Since they both love to shop I decided to take them to Goodwill to see if they could find any ideas there.

As soon as we got there they found 2 long sleeved red shirts for $2.50....and the idea emerged...Thing 1 & Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss'. As you can see from the pictures they were "jazzed" it up a bit. I thought it was very original and they stayed within their budget.

Lily won the prize for most money saved. After much thinking she decided to be a Kentucky Lottery Winner. We found her dress for $13.00 and pinned Monopoly money all over it. Then we grabbed a lot of my old costume jewelry and printed out a "fake" KY Lottery Check with her name on it. By the way, she won $50 mil.

Ben had his costume a month before Halloween...a clone trooper named Rex from Star Wars. I had to scrub the grass stains out of it at least two times before October 31st. Alex (his buddy 4 doors down) had the exact costume so there were two Clone Troopers in intense battles in our culdesac for weeks beforehand. Ben did awesome on his budget until...he needed a gun...$5 over after that decision. Where is the gun in this picture you ask? "It's too heavy and I might lose it," Ben said. You owe me $5 buster!

Our ritual for the past 4 years is something the kids look forward to every year. Tim, our neighbor and lawn service owner, hooks up a wagon (that keeps getting bigger every year) full of hay to his tractor. He takes us trick or treating throughout our neighborhood. The kiddos love it and so do the adults. Katie and Samantha did bale on us after the first stop. "The wagon is too slow, Mom. Can we go by ourselves so we can run," Katie pleaded. We didn't care. It was exactly what we wanted to do at that age. So they took off and were home by 8:45...gotta give them some independence! Happy Halloween!

I Should Have Watched More "Little House on the Prairie"

Hurrican Ike caused our family and many others to be without power for 7 long days. And yes that means 7 days of NO school too!! Who would have thought that Louisville, Kentucky would be affected by 70 mph winds from a hurricane...a tornado yes but hurricane no!

I quickly learned several things during the power outage week:



1. I depend on the internet & computer way too much.

2. I should have spent more money on a gas stove when we built the house 3 years ago. Of course that is what I preferred but our budget would not allow it by the time we got to the kitchen.

3. I really enjoy a candle lit meal but rarely has our family done it.

4. I absolutely love Michael for the decision he made 3 years ago...he chose the gas water heater instead of the electric...we had HOT showers!

5. If you depend on candles for your only means of light for the duration of a week then you will need more than 3 large candles. We bought 7 more.

6. I forgot how much fun running around the golf course can be for kids with only flashlights to see their way. Of course we had some injuries but mainly you heard squeals of laughter.

7. "Kick the Can" is still one of my all time favorite outdoor games.

8. I have no idea how long it will be before I can look at an outdoor grill without feeling disgust...enough with the hotdogs & made up "grilled" food...ugh!

9. I really love electricity!!


Day 1-5 was not too bad besides losing all of our food in the frig & freezer. But on Day 6 & 7 our family decided enough was enough! We needed some real food and the closest place we could go was Michael's parent's houses in Lexington, KY. In just 75 minutes we had electricity & delicious home-cooked meals....thank you Mike & Pam!

Lily's Commercial Debut

Here is how Lily became a "star" without trying.

Michael had gone to Norton Commons on a Thursday night with the kiddos while I was out showing property. A scout was out milling about the crowd and stopped him to see if he would like to appear in a Norton Commons commercial with his children. Of course Katie and Lily overheard the conversation and got extemely giddy...so Michael said sure. They took a picture of him and the kids on the spot.

We were notified several days later of the time and date of the shoot. Unfortunately Michael had to be in Lexington that day so I had to fill in for him. And I could actually hear a hint of disappointment from the scout so I was really hesitant showing up. I think they really needed another man in the shoot.

So we showed up and they treated Katie, Lily, and Ben like stars (their perspective of course). They braided Lily's hair (she was smiling the whole time) and brushed Katie & Ben's hair. The look on their faces were priceless!

After a hour of set prep they starting shooting. Katie was playing soccer in the grass, Ben was riding his bike with another kiddo, and Lily was scooting down the sidewalk.

I had been warning them that they might not be in the commercial at all because sometimes the director cuts out shots so I think that helped a bit when the commercial was finally released.

As you can see in the commercial, Lily is the only one featured clearly. She is the girl on the scooter at the very end of the commercial. Katie and Ben can be seen in the background (we only know it is them because we were there) in one shot. But clearly Lily had the primo spot in Katie & Ben's opinion.

Lily is on cloud nine!

Here is the link: http://www.nortoncommons.com/events.asp?status=commercial

Funny Things Our Kiddos Have Said Recently...

Ben: "Mom, my favorite Star Wars movie is #4." Me: "Ooh, I saw that one when I was about your age. I wanted to be Princess Leah." Ben: "So you must have seen it in black and white." Me: "Huh??!"

Lily: "Mom did you know that if you don't have a door handle on your heart then Jesus cannot come in? He has to be invited by us." Me: Dumbfounded and asked her to tell me more!

Ben: "Mom, can you call Mr. Ricky (the bus driver)and tell him that you don't want me to sit with troublemakers?"

Katie: Well I don't have much from her because of her "maturity." She says "OMG" a lot and that stands for "oh my gosh" for those of you that do not have a preteen.

Side Bangs?

I just don't get it. Side bangs? Are they really side bangs or just layers? They look like layers to me but Katie & Lily insist they are side bangs and they really wanted them. I needed a new approach because I just didn't think side bangs were the answer for their image.

So I thought I would show them pictures of me when I wanted a perm at age 12. What a trip down memory lane! Katie and Lily both screamed with fright when they saw my curly hair...did this deter them? Sort of.

The day before school started we went to Norton Commons to get the "side bangs." I think after viewing my perm pics they decided to do the more subtle side bang look.

I have to admit...they look pretty darn cute!

One Last Trip Before School Starts

This was our last weekend before school started so off to see my parents in St. Louis. First let me say that I had not been to my parent's house in a VERY long time (too embarrassed to give the date) so my kids were dying to get to Nana & Papa's house. But the first stop was the new St. Louis Cardinal Stadium. We caught a Thursday afternoon game vs the Dodgers. We lost but we had a blast and the weather was great...low humidity!

The rest of the weekend was spent doing things that the kids LOVE to do with them. Ben went hiking with Michael and Papa. He got his own walking stick & backpack! He also wanted to LEAD the hike at all times which wore out Michael & Papa. They were exhausted trying to keep up with him.

Katie, Lily, Nana, and I went shopping. And for all those who know me KNOW that I do NOT like to shop. But my mother loves it so the girls love having this time with her. The kids must have inherited her genes on this matter! I did get a kick out of watching them though.

We also got to visit with our great friends...the Raiche Family. They used to live on our court and recently relocated to St. Louis. The kids really miss their pals as you can see!

All in all we had a wonderful trip to St. Louis. The kids got to have "special grandparent time" and Michael and I got a break from work.

And the Winners Are.....

For the first time ever GlenOaks was announced as the LSA White Division Champs!

Ben's 150m All Age Freestyle Relay..They came in 1st overall!

Ben is swimming the 150m All Age Freestyle Relay and doing great! They won 1st Place overall at Championships. Since Ben had the fastest freestyle time in his age group he qualified to swim this event. He is in lane 5 which is 2nd to the last lane from where we are sitting.

Ben's 100m Freestyle Relay...his team won 2nd Place!

Ben is the last swimmer to swim on his team. He is the 2nd to the last lane away from the camera. Look at him go!

Katie's Team Winning 1st...She swam the Breaststroke!

Katie swam the Breaststroke in the 100m Medley. Their team won 1st overall...she did awesome!

Lily 1st overall in 25m Butterfly

Lily won 1st overall in her 25m Butterfly...look at her go!

Lily's Medley won 1st overall in LSA Championships. She swam Butterfly.

Here is a video of Lily swimming Butterfly for her team. They were awesome!