2 photos (with many more to come!)

Check this junk out! Our Photographer called this morning asking if she can use Karley for her advertising. I took this as a good sign that the photos from last weekend turned out pretty good. She told me she would have a few up on her blog and I could check them out....I didn't imagine the would be THIS STINKIN GOOD!

This first photo is the one she is wanting to advertise with. She is also entering her into the "cutest kid" contest which has a payout of $5,000. That would be nice! Either way, I am so happy with these 2 photos and can't wait to see what's to come!

I love, love, love this one too. We were laughing in between shots and she snapped the photo. How rare are pictures like this??? This could get expensive!

I will post the link to the rest of the photos when I get them sometime next week.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thankful Tuesdays

I saw this on a friends blog and decided to copy-cat.

I think it will be good for me to do once a week! Join too if you like....

I...

bought myself some new clothes! None for Todd or Karley just for me. WOWZA!

for...

having a husband who is doing the dishes while i watch DWTS

that...

i am getting ready to celebrate being married to for 10 years. (this thrusday!)

when...

i still consider him my very best friend.

because I felt...

lucky (and kind of sick from all the jalapeno poppers i just ate). :)

for the roof over my head because....

it has a beautiful yard AND fence! WOOT WOO!

my family/kids...

who suck the life out of me some weeks but I wouldn't change a Single Thing.

that the rest of this week will be...

c.r.a.z.y busy. But what else is new. :)

It's tougher than it looks. I think the random-ness is the hard part.

Tomorrow TZ is going on Kar's very last field trip. They are hitting up The chocolate factory, the candle place and the zoo. Should be fun (and exhausting) for him. Karley is so excited she can hardly see straight. With todd working in Lawrence (and working all-the-friggin-time) he doesn't make it to many things for her school related. SO, tomorrow he gets to experience Mrs. Bazil's first grade class. HAHAHAHAHA.

Look for pictures to come!

Catching up

So here's a funny for you. How do you keep a dog entertained while you try and get some things done? Karley solved this one for me....she just put his toy on TOP of his cage and he hung from it for a good 15 minutes before he gave up and climbed out. Made me laugh and I just had to share it. SO SO SO CUTE!

2 weekends ago Kar had dance pictures. She dances for Fuzion and although it's not the closest dance studio, I think it is the best. This is her first year here and we love it. She will be doing 2 dances in the upcoming recital and is ready to be on stage! Here I am getting her ready for photos. This costume is her tap outfit to the song FREEZE FRAME.
Look how pretty she looks! So big....(sniff. sniff)She has a jazz dance to firecracker with an outfit that is just as cute but we didn't have any photos taken in it. I will have plenty after the recital!

Last week (due to the stressful previous week at the school) I decided to go in a few days and check out the situation at recess. All is well and I feel very comfortable that our "mean girl" situation is taken care of (for now). Here is Karley with a neighborhood friend, Kayden.

This weekend we had some overdue, much needed family photos taken. There is a local photographer named Shelley Jensen--and although she is no Sunni--I decided to bite the bullet and schedule them. What a fun day! Karley was a little ham....as usual. I will post the link so you all can see them when they become available.

Anyways....Karley and I went beforehand to get our hair styled....sounds a bit crazy but this girl needs all the help she can get....plus, my good friend Richelle was willing to help us out on a Sunday. I LOVE HER.

After some photos at the park we changed clothes and headed downtown. Here is Karley in outfit #2. SUPER CUTE.

The whole thing took about an hour and she really did a good job. I can't wait to see the pictures! On the way home, Max passed out and I just couldn't resist this photo opportunity.

We spent most of the day cleaning the basement and trying to get ready for this garage sale I am hoping to have this next weekend. We have so much junk!

Have a great week!

Mom's b-day and the long awaited fence.

Happy Birthday to my mom! She is the coolest person I know. Love you!

So its up!!!!!! Mr. Fence guy came back today and worked all day finishing up the beautiful, much needed 6ft. privacy fence. Words can not tell you how excited i am about this. Why you ask??? I would love to tell you it is to keep the dog in but he is able to hang out and not run off in the front yard. The main reason we put the fence up--if i am being honest---is to give us some privacy from all the kids that flock to our house. As you can see in this first photo, there are 2 other little ones swinging but we were babysitting them tonight so it doesn't count.

I had a blast playing with Karley tonight. Just Karley and I. WOWZA! We didn't have to stay in the house with all the lights off and the blinds closed either. (if you think i am kidding about this then you haven't been over here in the past few years)




This is on the side of the house. Originally we weren't going to put this side up and just tie into my neighbors short little picket fence. I am soooooo happy we decided to do this. (for many, many reasons.)

Or trampoline is going to get a new net this year and i bet it is not torn in the first 2 weeks! WOOT WOO!

Okay. SO there is one little. tiny. tiny. problem. Our butt-head neighbors. We offered to take down their side of the fence and let them just tie into ours because whoever did theirs messed up and put it up wrong anyways. Plus, it looks like crap because they have a psycho dog that was chewing through it.

Butt head said no. (shocker) and we had to resort to running that panel on that one side the opposite way it should go because this space is so tight a board couldn't fit down there.

The problem is who's going to maintain that grass and how?? Plus...how in the heck am I going to stain it? HMMMM.....

Like I said. Total Butt Head.

Have a great week!!

drama queens

Have you ever had an experience where something not-so-fun happened to you and you said nothing. Maybe it was because you were so stunned that you didn’t know what to say, or maybe you had to bite your tongue.
Today, I had this experience when Karley got off the bus that has had me wishing I would have said something.
I was brought up to stand up for myself. Not to be sassy or rude, but when someone is treating you rudely or unfairly, to stand up, to speak up for yourself. This is something that I constantly try and teach Karley as well. Problem is, she is a lot more sensitive and shy than I ever was....almost to the point where she will take a whole lotta crap before she even tells me. I will see the effects of things LONG before she tells me whats really going on.

All i am going to say is I am SHOCKED at the mean things that kids can do. I think I am even more appalled that there are so many parents that don't know what-in-the-heck is going on. I am well aware that Karley isn't perfect and can be a little turd sometimes but my BIGGEST most absolute important issue is that she is nice to everyone and never makes fun of anyone.

Treat people the way you expect to be treated.

So, she comes home from school earlier in the week and asks me if she is popular.....

after about 2 minutes of me just sitting there stunned at this question my 6 year old just asked me i said:

"are you nice to people?"

she said: "yes but so-and-so told me that if you want to be popular you have to be rich and snobby to the not-so-cute kids."

WHAT IS GOING ON??????? I take another breather and go on:

"well karley, what do YOU think??"

she said: "i don't know but i don't want to be mean and are we rich?"

DOES EVERYONE REMEMBER SHE IS 6 YEARS OLD AND ASKING ME THIS? I AM GETTING REALLY MAD AT THIS POINT.

I say: "we are happy and have lots of friends we are nice to and are nice to us. If you have some friends at school that are telling you anything different then you need to find some new friends who will treat you AND everyone else nice. "

about 20 minutes go by and she said. Well, so-and-so and so-and-so had a word fight today (over who was the MOST popular) and they are supposed to get into a fight with their fists tomorrow.

HOLY JUNK....Now what do I do...

I will keep you posted.

Oh and FYI to those of you that say "This doesn't happen in MY school district." You have lost your mind. KIDS EVERYWHERE are mean. seriously, don't be that naive.

Monday Quiz

Fun Monday Quiz...Just for the heck of it.

1. Where were you 3 hours ago? work. Blah.

2. Who are you in love with? in love? That's easy. TZ! :)

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? i am sure i did when I was 3 or so. I know I got one stuck in my nose. Why did I just tell you that? :)

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Are you kidding? I have a 6 year old OBSESSED with pink and since she rules this house It's like Pepto exploded in here.

5. When is the last time you went to the mall? UM. Surprisingly about a month ago....maybe longer. Although Karley has been BEGGING me to hit up justice so i am sure this answer will change this week!

6. Are you wearing socks right now? Nope! I hate socks and shoes actually.

7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000? Call me fancy pants but I own 2 different cars and BOTH of them are worth more than $2000.

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? Our whole Taylor Swift groupie weekend 2 weeks ago. We went from Topeka to Belle Plaine. Then from Belle Plaine to Kansas City. Then from KC back to T-town. It was worth it though!!

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? bwhahahahahahahaha

10. Are you hot? super duper sassy hot. (quit laughing!!)

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? diet coke. and the 30 drinks before that were diet cokes also. I did throw a margarita in the mix at Heather's the other night though. :)

12. What are you wearing right now? workout clothes. I SHOULD have my fat arce downstairs on the elliptical right now but am doing this stupid pointless quiz instead. I swear, I am headed there.....right after this.....

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? if by car wash you mean Todd then yes and yes.

14. Last food that you ate? diet coke.

15. Where were you last week at this time? not sure. Either work or Karley's school.

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? no clothes but some pretty awesome shoes for Karley.

17. When is the last time you ran? I ran from the kids yesterday when we were trying to have a water gun fight....that counts, right??

18. What's the last sporting event you watched? Golf. Well, it was on but I am not so sure I WATCHED it. YAWN!!!!!!!!!!

19. What is your favorite animal? I heart puppies. Puppies that sleep all night and are already potty trained i mean.

20. Your dream vacation? Alaskan Cruise. I would also love to go back to Jamaica with just Todd for our 10 year anniversary which is in 18 days. (dream on kelly!)

21. Last person's house you were in? Heather Osier

22. Worst injury you've ever had? torn ACL....ouch.

23. Have you been in love? are these questions starting over again? yes.

24. Do you miss anyone right now? Yes.

25. Last play you saw? bwhahahahahaha. riiiiight.

26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? not sure. I am a little outta practice on this.

27. What are your plans for tonight? out to dinner with some friends.

28. Who is the last person you sent a facebook message or comment? my friend, Holly.

29. Next trip you are going to take? little trip? we will try to go to the lake this summer and maybe Colorado. Next biggie trip? Caribbean next spring.

30. Ever go to camp? yes. Basketball camp. But I always wanted to go to a camp like Camp Rock. (don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about)

31. Were you an honor roll student in school? sometimes.

32. What do you want to know about the future? it looks pretty bright!

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? Yes. Karley's pink perfume. I love it!

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit? isn't everyone? this quiz is dumb.

35. Where is your best friend? at home

36. How is your best friend? super.

37. Do you have a tan? a little bitty one.

38. What are you listening to right now? Fox News. (again. quit laughing)

39. Do you collect anything? not really.

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? ooh...easy! ME! it's so much fun! I have a great group of friends who will spend plenty of time gossiping with me!

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? a looooooooooong time ago. (Knocking wood)

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? yes, silly.

43. What does your last text message say? see u tonight!

44. Do you like hot sauce? sometimes.

45. Last time you took a shower? this morning.

46. Do you need to do laundry? YES! ALWAYS.

47. What is your heritage? Irish

48. Are you someones best friend? yes.

49. Are you rich? filthy, stinking rich. I have a money tree in my backyard. Seriously, stupid question.

50. What were you doing at 12AM last night? Watching Brothers and Sisters.

Funny and our weekend update

Yesterday, while waiting in line at Texas Roadhouse I picked up the TK Magazine. (that's the Topeka, Kansas business Mag for all of you that don't already know) It's kind of a big deal. HAHA!

I found this article that made me laugh out loud, which, for this magazine, is

R-A-R-E.

Turns out it was written by a gal that Todd works with. Since I don't have anything exciting to share with you this weekend (hence no fence yet!) I thought I would post this funny. Here it is:

Not my Fault

I have figured it out.

I am NOT overweight!

I have been using a shampoo that claims it will provide "more body." Now, when I rinse my hair in the shower, the shampoo flows down all over me, and I am convinced that it is just living up to its advertised promise.

No, really. When I was a young woman, I always washed my hair over the sink and the shampoo never touched anything but my head. And I didn't have anywhere near this much body.

This is not my fault! Blame the shampoo industry!

Here is another one from the same magazine. 2 funnies from one, big huge boring magazine. I know! AMAZING!!

Ticked off

OK, I'm a little ticked off. Ever since I saw that Easy Button on TV, I have been searching everywhere trying to find one.

Who wouldn't want a button that would make life easier with just one push? Think what I could do with that. My office would be organized, my house immaculate and my kids would be perfect angles. But as far as I can tell, it isn't in stock anywhere. And I'm not the only one who's upset about this. Just the other day, I was trying to convince my 4-year old to pick up her thousands of Polly Pockets she had strewn across the living room. In her own diva way, he threw herself down on the floor and wailed, "I can't. It's too hard. I need an Easy Button!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What a beautiful weekend! It's that time again where all the neighbors send their kids down to our house--i mean-- outside to play. This week we are scheduled to get a fence. It will be a 6 foot full privacy fence (only because I couldn't talk the guy into putting up a 12 foot one) and I am hoping for a little, bitty bit of peace. No more neighbors calling us to laugh about the fact that they know what we are watching on TV or kids waiting with their little noses pressed up against their back door WAITING on a light to pop on at our house so they can come over and play. This year we will actually be able to set up that big old water slide we bought and not have 22 kids all playing on it. I can also enjoy the hot tub with out KNOWING that I have a few set of eyes on me.

Don't get me wrong.....I do love the neighborhood but I do wish that my good old neighbors would understand that If karley has a "outside friend" over to play she really doesn't need 13 other little brats---er----kids there also. I am a bit concerned still though. When my celebrity neighbor was informed that we are putting up a fence he said, and I quote: "you know we will still be able to see you guys from our deck or upstairs windows, right?"

UMMMMMMM......creepy!

I replied with: "um.....okay. weird. (long pause) but now all the kids have to ACTUALLY ASK to come over and play which will be awesome."

What I should have said was: "oh damn. I was hoping i could now walk around the backyard completely naked but since you will still be watching me i guess i can't do that, huh??"

What a freak-job.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Taylor Swift round 2

We made it to Kansas City around 2:30ish (becuase we had to stop in Emporia at Pyrmid Pizza for some Bones!) and Karley took a nap so she was ready to roll! Round 2 of Taylor Swift! We met at my sisters house and they left for dinner around 5ish. I skipped out on this round to hang out and gossip with some good friends from College. WHAT A BLAST!

Anyways, here is a picture of the gang before they left Jamies.

They were off and I have to admit it was weird being in a house with NO noise! I was waiting on Amanda and Heather to meet me and I caught up on some TV that did not include Hanna Montana reruns or ICarly. :)

Todd picked where they were going to eat (it was his birthday weekend after all!) and he picked Fritz. It's a place in Kansas City that has a train deliver your food to you at your table. What a big huge hit. They had so much fun.

Train Conductor Karley. How cute!

So, then they went to the concert. Opening for Tay-tay was Gloriana and Kellie Pickler. Todd was in love with Kellie Pickler which makes me believe he has never seen her actually talk because i am sure he would change his mind real fast. Lets just say she isn't the smartest crayon in the box but she is super cute and put on a good show. They had some really, really good seats for this concert.

AWWWWW!!! Karley loves her grandma. She even suckered her into buying some popcorn and a big coke but spotted the snow cone guy on her way back to their seats and sweet talked her into one of those too. HA!

Remember earlier when I said they had good seats?? Check out this photo.

There was a point in the concert that taylor came into the audience to sing and then she walked down the isle. Todd said that if they would have had seats on the other end of the isle they were sitting on she would have hugged karley. Karley was starstruck and just stood there with her mouth open. Staring.

Next up??? Justin Bieber with Heather and Mia in July. He is our newest crush but he will never really compare to Taylor. She was so cute!

Happy Easter!!!!

Taylor Swift Round 1

We had a busy weekend! Wednesday night we left for Belle Plaine and Colten and Madison were so excited to see Karley they stayed up all night waiting. Doug and Marilyn let them skip school on Thursday. They all made Todd a Birthday cake since his birthday was on the 1st. Happy Birthday old man!! Love you!!

After our angel food cake breakfast Debbie took the kids to the Zoo in Wichita while Todd and I headed in to Wellington to get new tires put on my car. Blah. We did eat at a Mexican restraunt that was pretty good! We all met back at the in-laws and got ready to go to the Taylor Swift concert. WOO HOO!!! Karley was so stinkin excited! Here are a few highlight photos from the night.

Karley and Grandma Debbie waving their arms to the song.

Karley and I

I took this and that's why you can see right up my nose but I love this picture! Todd is such a great dad! He went to Taylor Swift 2 nights in a row with Karley. How many guys do YOU know would do that? YUP....ONE and he's all mine! :)

I love this photo! Grandma Debbie, Karley and I

Grandma Debbie, Karley and Princess Madison.

After the concert we hit up Wendys and the kids all passed out on the way home. It was a very busy day! The next morning we got up and headed to Kansas City for round 2 of Taylor Swift.

Thank you Grandma Debbie and Papa Dennis for taking us to the concert! It was a blast!

and.......

Happy, happy birthday TZ. You are awesome!