A Spider Has Taken Up Residence In Lorenne's Hair

Today when Lorenne left for school I noticed she had a little problem.  There was a spider in her hair.  Now I'm not talking about a little itty bitty thing.  This thing was BIG, easily the size of a small mouse.  I tried not to freak out.  I didn't want to scare the poor girl.  When I told Lorenne she didn't really believe me.  I had to make her look in the mirror to prove I was telling the truth.  This was her reaction when she looked in the mirror and saw what I was talking about.

Actually it was just Crazy Hair Day at Lorenne's school.  It is Red Ribbon Week and they have had dress up themes all week.

I did a little research last night on ideas for Crazy Hair Day.  I came across a picture of a girl with a barbie in her hair.  I thought that was pretty cool but I felt it would be a little bit too distracting in a 3rd grade class.  So this morning I found Lorenne's Littlest Pet Shop spider in her room.  I figured that was small enough to not be too big of a distraction but big enough to get noticed. 

I didn't tell Lorenne what I was doing.  I just made her look in the mirror when I was done.  She didn't notice the spider at first; she was too busy looking at the ponytail I had twisted with a pipe cleaner.

When I pointed out the spider she went totally nuts!  She was so excited.  That was just what I was going for.  I wanted Lorenne to feel like she had the coolest hair of all.

The Back View

When all was said and done I was really glad that I only had one daughter to get ready for crazy hair day and not three like my sister whose girls go to Lorenne's school. 

One Year

It has been a year since Alex had weight loss surgery.  So much has changed in our lives because of his surgery.  If I had known then what I know now I would have encouraged him to have the surgery a lot sooner.  They say hindsight is 20/20.

Alex has lost upwards of 150 lbs.  150 POUNDS!  That is equal to about 3-Lorennes or 5-Michaels or 1-Katy and a 25 lb bag of flour.  He has dropped 14 sizes in pants and gone from an XXXLT in shirts to an XLT.  The weight loss is great but that is just the cake.  The frosting on the cake is his overall health.

Alex no longer has to take medicine for gout.  It has been several months since he has had a flare up.  He goes to the gym six days a weeks and does a two hour work out session.  For the first time in years he is running again.  My kids know what it is like to have their dad play with them because now he has the energy to do so.  We are hoping that when he sees the sleep specialist in December that they will be able to adjust his cpap for his sleep apnea.

Alex's weight loss journey has benefited our whole family.  As a family we eat so much better now.  I seldom buy white bread, which is my major weakness.  We eat very little red meat.  Salad is a regular on our dinner menu.  A lot of our meals don't include meat.  I had a small garden this year and it was so much fun to pick produce out of the back yard to eat. 

I will be eternally grateful to the one who provided this opportunity for Alex.  I have my husband back and he is in better shape than when we got married.  He even had to exchange his wedding ring because it had gotten so big. One day his ring caught on a door knob at work; it flew off his hand and across the room. That was when he knew he needed to get a new ring.

Alex would never have been able to lose weight with out the surgery.  He was born with an extra large stomach and then had stretched it out.  By the time his body told him he was full he had already way over eaten. 

While weight loss surgery isn't for everyone it is a good option.  But surgery is just a tool to help lose the weight.  It really takes a total life change.  I am so proud of Alex for all his work and determination over the last year.

Before (Sept. 2010)

After (Sept. 28, 2011) 
He looks HOT and he is all mine!

Hot Dog Roast

Our awesome hot dog roast!

Last Saturday we took the time to get away from it all and have a hot dog roast.  I have been taking care of Lorenne's piano teacher's yard occasionally this summer.  One of the perks to that is being able to use her fire pit.

Sister Allen has a beautiful yard.  It is right off a busy street but you would never know it when you are in "The Glen."  There is a beautiful stream that runs through her yard and it is nicely secluded in a bunch of trees.  It felt like we had gone up the canyon to have a camp fire when really we were right in the middle of town.

We had a fabulous time.  We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.  We ate fresh fruit, potato salad, chips, hot dogs and s'mores.  I tried something new with the s'mores.  There are these Nature Valley Granola Thins with chocolate on one side.  For my s'more I used two of the granola thins instead of graham crackers.  It was so YUMMY!

It was so nice to have time with our family and just relax.  It seems like the simple things are the best things in life.

Karen and Mocha

Alex, Katy, Lorenne and Michael

Lorenne and Maya, her best friend

Nate and Nicole

Facebook Status

If any of you happened to catch my Facebook status today you might be wondering why I would say, "I love my kids! They bring so much joy to my life." It isn't anything big just the little things.

Last night Lorenne went to a play with a friend. There was some confusion over how long the play was and she ended up not getting home until almost 10:30 pm on a school night. What could I do at that point but just get her in bed and tell her I would let her sleep in some in the morning? So that is what I did.

Lorenne was really quite good getting up and getting ready for school. Since I let her sleep in I drove her to school. I parked at the house next to the school, got out with her and told her to run in to school so she wouldn't be late. I hollered at her a few times to run. Just when I thought she had made it in a car moved in the parking lot and I saw her standing there watching as the sixth grade kids raised the flag.

I guess I could have gotten upset but it really just brought a smile to my face. No matter how hard I try Lorenne is going to be just who she is. For those of you who know him, I think Lorenne has a lot of my dad in her. She loves talking to people and gets easily distracted by things she finds fascinating, like raising the flag.

But that is who she is and I love her for it!

Tangled

Today I took the time to go and get pampered. I went to the Aveda Academy to get my eyebrows waxed. While I was there I heard them say that haircuts were free today. I was so excited because I really needed a haircut but I didn't want to spend the money on it just yet. Fortunately the girl who did my eyebrows had an open spot for a haircut. So I called Alex to make sure I had enough time. Things were under control at home so I was free to be pampered.

I love getting my hair cut at Aveda. They start out with a scalp and shoulder massage. Then when you go get your hair washed they have these massaging chairs at the shampoo bowls. It is a great place!

While I was waiting for my haircut my phone rang. I was surprised to see that Alex was calling me right back. But I was even more surprised when I answered and heard this sad little voice say, "I want you to leave your hair long." It was Michael calling. Because it was loud in the salon I had to make sure I heard him right. Sure enough, he said again, "I want you to leave your hair long."

I was thrilled when I married Alex and he wasn't one of those guys that is obsessed with long hair. I always hated it when guys would tell me not to cut my hair. I married a guy who isn't obsessed with long hair only to have a son who is.

I assured Michael that I wasn't cutting my hair short. Apparently Alex had been teasing him that I was going to cut all my hair off so Michael had to call and make sure that I didn't. When I got home I held my hair up so it looked short and went and asked Michael if he liked it. He looked at me with this really skeptical look and then started to walk around to look at my hair from the back. I let my hair fall down long and the biggest grin spread across his face. He came over and gave me the biggest hug.

Maybe when he is older I will have to introduce him to Rapunzel.

Six Months

How much difference can six months make in a person's life? Well, in Alex's life, about 115 lbs worth of difference.
On September 28, 2010, our lives began a drastic change when Alex had weight loss surgery. It took us almost a year to make the decision for him to have surgery but it has been one of the best decisions we have ever made. Alex is like a new man. He has so much more energy and is happier than he has been in a long time. We are so grateful for the circumstances that allowed him to have surgery.
And now for the pictures!

Luck O' the Irish

St. Patrick's day was so much fun at our house. It all started with a leprechaun trap.

I realized this year just how few St. Patrick's day decorations I have. So I searched the web and came across the cutest leprechaun trap. I just knew that I had to have one to add to my decorations. I showed Michael the picture of it and he got so excited by it. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew my sister-in-law was helping my kids build a leprechaun trap about a week before St. Patrick's day. This sparked the fire of interest in my kids about leprechauns.

Fast forward a week to the night before St. Patrick's day and I still hadn't built the leprechaun trap that I wanted to. For that night we forgot all about doing homework and took our time building a leprechaun trap. Lorenne and Michael were so excited about it. They just couldn't wait to find out if they would catch a leprechaun. So we set the trap out and went to bed.

Well, during the night a sneaky little leprechaun came in our house and climbed up the ladder to get the gold on our trap and fell right in. Only problem is that he found a way to get out. He was not very happy about being tricked so he decided to play a few tricks of his own.

When we poured milk on Lorenne's cereal the next morning it was GREEN. She was so excited about the green milk. Then when she went to the bathroom and found green water in the toilet she just couldn't stand it. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world because she got to be the one to use the green toilet water. The rest of the morning came and went with out discovering any more leprechaun tricks. So off Lorenne went to school.

When Lorenne and her classmates came in from morning recess they found that a leprechaun had been there and left them some leprechaun kisses. It seemed that Lorenne's leprechaun had decided to be nice.

Boy did she get a BIG surprise when lunch time rolled around. I had sent her to school with a home lunch of a ham sandwich, an orange, animal crackers and money for milk. But when she opened her lunch she had a ham sandwich on green bread, celery, green grapes, cucumber slices, avocado, and apple juice in a green box. That sneaky little leprechaun had turned her lunch green.

That night at dinner Lorenne said the prayer. In her prayer she gave thanks for the fun St. Patrick's Day that she had had. I couldn't help but smile.

I wonder what our leprechaun will do next year?

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Have you ever heard the song, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas? I always thought it was a funny song. Whoever heard of a kid wanting a hippo for Christmas? Well this year Michael wanted one. Fortunately for me he didn't want a live one like the kid in the song but he wanted a hippo all the same.

A few weeks before Christmas we went to Ikea. In the kids department Michael saw a stuffed hippopotamus. He so wanted to take it home. But like all the other things my kids had been asking for at stores I told them that maybe Santa would bring it to them. I figured that would be the end of it.

But later when I asked Michael what he wanted for Christmas he only told me two things: an ipad and a hippopotamus. Santa obviously wasn't going to bring him his own ipad so I figured I better have a chat with Santa and tell him to bring Michael the hippo.


Oh what joy and what surprise
when I open up my eyes
to see a hippo hero standing there.

Michael Quotes

Some of you may know that I am Michael's primary teacher. I taught his class for about 6 months last year and then moved up with the class this year. The lessons this year will focus on choosing the right. Sometimes I wonder whether Michael and the other kids are listening when I teach; they are only 4 years old but given yesterday's quotes from Michael he must have been listening.

"Mom, you're being grouchy. You're not choosing the right."

"Mom, I lost my ring. I can't choose the right now."

He had lost his CTR ring that he got on Sunday. But don't worry, we found it.