yes virginia,

i really wish there were a santa claus. if the stores are starting to play christmas music and put up festive displays, its is totally legit to start a christmas list right? the target christmas magazine came in the mail last week and rileigh got out her marker and started circling her wish list. she still believes in santa claus and i am oh-so-glad, because i love all the excitement it brings on christmas morning. i know that it is totally inappropriate and non-PC and i should go forth and shout all season long how much better it is to give than to recieve (which, don't get me wrong....i love the giving part of the season too!) BUT i wish the jolly fat man did exist because i have some things on my list this year i would like filled:

1. A deer head (yes, you read that right)

But not the hairy, bloody dear heads that my brother-in-law is so enamored with. A faux-deer head. I absolutely adore this. I want to hang this over my fireplace. I found it on etsy--- the coolest site ever. Etsy is forbidden after 10pm because if I start looking the next time I look up, it will be 1 am. She has many heads to choose from-- check out rubyslounge.

2. an animal rug

I can't decide between the cow and the zebra. The cow says "Yes, I live in western Kansas and I am going to go ahead and embrace it." The zebra says "I am exotic and hip." Not sure which I want to be.

3. curly girl canvas

This is one of my favorites, but i love most of the curly girl canvases. The canvases cost a pretty penny ($300 for a 20x20) so I have been making modified curly girl art by matting and framing the greeting cards....which run for about $3. Its time for the real thing. Check out some of the other curly girl art here. (BTW, I just figured out how to hyperlink...so I have been using the heck out of it.)

4. A fancy living room couch:

I want it to look like this one ^
but be the color of this one.....)but I cant seem to figure out how to make a down arrow....so use your imagination):

I am obsessed with having a purple couch. I just love it. It is a rich and lush color. I think it is a color that just screams elegance. Makes sense that purple is the color of royalty. Add a pop of yellow with some throw pillow like this one and its absolute perfection. Elves make couches, right?

5. Dark Harwoods

Our house is like a carpet nightmare. I think I have expressed my disgust with this in previous posts. I can handle a lot of things, but carpet in a kitchen and bathroom are just beyond me. We had the most gorgeous floors in our old house and I miss them like crazy. Santa, I promise I have been a good, good girl.

Oh, and if you have room in your sleigh, you

might consider these as stocking stuffers:

So santa, I know you will be swinging by out place on your midnight ride. If you could find a way to stuff some "big kid toys" in next to your barbies and legos, you would make me the happiest girl on the planet. Oh, and Santa.....I can still hear that bell!

the misadventures of miss addie

Addison took charge of saying grace at tonights dinner:

"i pledge legions

to the flag

of the unis taste of 'merica

and to the public

for witches stand

one nation

unner God

invisible

with liberdies and just for all.

Okay, now you can eat."

Think Miss Addie and Ol' Aunt Bethany have a few things in common:

"Since its Aunt Bethany's 80th Christmas, I think she should lead us in saying Grace."

"What, dear?"

"Grace"

"Grace? She passed away 30 years ago."

"They want you to say Grace."

"THE BLESSING"

when i grow up

fake careers are so much cooler than real careers. Part of that probably stems from the fact that a fake career exists only in your imagination...which means you imagine yourself as totally successful, knowledgeable and without any stress what-so-ever. My real career....not so much.

My dad likes to frequently remind me about one of my IEP meetings in middle school where the school psychologist asked me about my career plans. I replied that I thought I would like to be a doctor simply because that was a career in which I could make a lot of money. I think my dad's poor hippie heart shattered. I don't remember this occasion, nor do I remember ever wanting to be a doctor. I choose to pretend like this didn't really happen. That’s one thing of the best things I have learned in my current career....no proof.....didn't happen.

But I digress.

Lately, my dad has been living out his "alternative" career. (No, despite how it sounds, that does not mean he is gay.) Earlier in the summer, he went to New York to record a CD. He had some professional editing done....and I think it sounds pretty darn good. (Take a listen here: www.myspace.com/mikedollmusic) This weekend we are having an open house at our office. Really the open house is just an excuse for my dad to play rockstar and put on a concert. What started as a small idea has really snowballed into a big production.....which I am actually thrilled about. I mean really, if you are going to live out a fantasy, why not go all out. He is flying out the professional musicians who helped produce his CD. We are getting kegs so that we can hand out free beer. I hired a professional photographer to capture the occasion. Serious. All out.

In preparation for the event, I convinced my dad to let me practice my pretend career and shoot some photos for his CD and for an article they are writing about him in the paper. I am not certain if he reads my blog, but I hope he doesn't because I think he might kill me for sharing some of these photos. Not that there is anything wrong with the photos....he just said it makes him feel like a "diva." Get over it dad. If you are going to be a rockstar, you have to be a diva. The words are synonymous. Besides that, I know he secretly liked the idea of having a photo shoot because he brought along a change of clothes without me even asking. Here are some of my favorites:

Its a little funny, but I noticed that my favorite shots are the one without a head....

the next design star

sure....why not. i think i could handle a television show....except the whole camera-adds-10-pounds thing. Is it possible to film a show with no cameras?

Well anywho...here at the heeke house we ALWAYS have a project going. When we moved into our new house this summer my husband called dibs on the basement. It is huge and comes complete with a wet bar. Only issue is that it was dark, dingy and full of yucky paneling. Actually that is pretty much the story of our whole house. Luckily, I can see past all of that. Our house has great bones. From day one, I was chomping at the bit to get rid of the things in the house that were bothering me so much they made my skin itch. Things like carpet in the kitchen. Or carpet in the bathroom. However, because I only have fantastic ideas and lack the ability to bring them into fruition, Justin got to start his man cave first. Awww man. I knew I should have paid more attention in shop class.

Because Justin is in charge of this project....he was in charge of taking the "before" photos....and he didn't. Fail. That is why I should be in charge of the projects. However, after that initial snafu, the project seems to be moving forward and its smooth sailing. The process started by pulling paneling off the wall and peeling--yes peeling-- paint off the walls. Someone before us thought it was a great idea to paint over wallpaper with latex paint and no primer. Not good folks, not good. After that, we textured the walls and ceilings and added recessed lighting. We slapped on a gorgeous shade of grey and were well on our way.

The hubs and I butted heads when it came to the fireplace in our basement. I had dreams of making it a real focal point in the room. When I saw how much the white shelving and baseboards popped against our gray walls, I had visions of decking our fireplace out with a chunky mantle and gorgeous molding. The hubs said no way. Then after sleeping on it and realizing that he should always trust in my brilliant ideas, he jumped on the fireplace bandwagon. We are only part way through the process, but use your imagination!

Here is the boring before picture. It doesn't even have a mantel. Boo to that:

Phase 1: Covered in plywood....and make sure there is cable and power for Justin's new tv:

OOOOH! The mantel is complete...its nice and chunky and simply delicious:

Final phase of the molding. Crown molding installed and looking mighty fine. My husband insisted that he hung the crown molding upside down the first time so he took it all down and put it all back up. I don't think crown molding has an upside down or right side up, but he lost sleep over it, so whatev:

All that is left on the fireplace is a coat of crisp white paint and the installation of the TV. I am actually really looking forward to that moment....because I can't wait to try out a movie marathon as I veg out on our new couch:

If you can believe it, Justin picked out this couch all on his own. He came home and told me he had found a 1/2 leather, 1/2 fabric couch. I immediately shut him down. I explained that I had more than two teeth and would not be interested in purchasing a whiskey-tango couch. However, he convinced me to go look at it....and I loved it! It is uber comfortable and was the most economical option we had looked at.

Although the basement is technically Justin's "man cave" I am a bit of a control freak. I am a little worried that he would hang boobie posters and such all over the walls if I didn't have some influence over the decor.

First, I hung some shelving. I purchased every form of the letter "H" that Hobby Lobby had to offer. I haven't put all the stuff where it belongs, but I just stuck it all on there for you to see. Yes, those are some sports figures on the shelves. That was my attempt to pay tribute to the manliness that Justin insists the basement must radiate.

After brainstorming about how to fill up a blank wall at my office, my aunt sent me a picture of multiple clocks hanging all together. I loved it so much that I decided I wanted that at our house....sorry office! Here are the clocks. To make it more "sporty" another aunt suggested that I pitch it to Justin by saying we can set each clock to the time zone of his favorite teams. And...that actually worked!

Finally, because I am obsessed with pictures, I have claimed the walls going down the stairs to display my obsession. These are the framed photos I have selected so far:

I will figure out a hanging arrangement and get them on the wall as soon as I repaint the walls they will be hanging on. We picked a blue accent color just for some interest. I decided to paint the walls that surround the staircase. The blue was a bad choice. It looks like a toddler took the blue crayon out of the box and smeared it all over our walls. It is.....blue. And it is bad.

Soooooo we are trucking along. I am so ready for it to be complete. Mostly because it means I get to have a big reveal party. And if there is anything I like better than home decorating.....its party-throwing.

If our life was an episode of "Best Week Ever" today would certainly be a highlight.

This week I have been a real live grown-up...going into work early, staying late...attending meetings...actually working while at work. Well except today. You can't expect me to hold up that charade all week, now can you? Actually I have a mega headache that is kind of making me want to toss my cookies into my desk drawer....well it would probably be more like bagels but you get the point. This morning when my husband called and I told him about it in my best whiny, sickly, give-me-some-sympathy voice, he told me that is what I get for staying up so late watching trashy reality television shows on my computer. Oh yeah husband, well I am going to tell Teresa you called her trashy....she will be all up in your face and there will be no Andy Cohen there to save you. So there. Besides, how can I get a headache from watching reality television. Doesn't he know that nothing actually operates inside my head when I tune into those shows. That's the whole point. Its like a temporary coma. A poofy-haired, leopard-print coma.

OH oh oh! Hold the phone. That reminds me. I have BIG news. I mean BIG. Today. At noon. The Heekes are getting......wait for it.........wait for it.......CABLE! Not only cable, but cable with DVR. That means I can record hours of my favorite coma-inducing shows. Holy crap. Do you have any idea how huge that is? When I was ordering the service, the woman on the phone asked me if I would be interested in DVR. Um, is that even a question. Afterwards I believe I told her that I felt like my quality of life and productivity were going to improve exponentially due to that purpose. I am sure she thought I was nuts. But its totally true. The installation guy might be in for an even bigger surprise. I think when he rings our doorbell this afternoon, my husband might actually shed tears. Frick. Grown man tears are totally uncomfortable. This installer has no idea what he is in for.

another misadventure of miss addie

So nothing to report on the daycare front. She stayed. If she knocked a kid out, they didn't let us know. She was none-to-pleased that we had left her in that place. Apparently it was her understanding that her new school was home to kids and parents alike. We didn't hold up our end of that bargain. When Justin came to pick her up, she wanted to show him around the place but was sure to tell him "Now, don't leave me here this time, okay."

Since today is a dreary day, I thought I could add a bit of sunshine with an old clip of Addison from the beginning of the summer. My daughter is such a lady.

oh, baby.

Remember when I said that if I could have any profession in the world outside of my real job, I would like to be a baby/kid photographer. Well its true. I would need to learn a lot...you know, lighting, angles....what the hell the letters mean on my camera. Just stuff. But I love it. I adore looking at photo blogs. I could spend hours looking at photos of baby toes. My babys are growing up and refuse to let me take their pictures anymore. So when I was asked to take some new photos of my nephew, I was so excited. And scared. I can take a million photos of my kids, no problem. I know what I am looking for and what I want to capture. I keep going til I get what I want. For someone else, its hard to know what the "it" photo will be for them. I want to make everything so perfect, but my knowledge on how to do so is pretty limited. But I decided to wing it.

Meet Keldan.

He is just over a month old. Keldan holds a very special place in my heart. His momma and dad were both high school seniors when they found out he was going to arrive. I remember the variety of emotions that came with that realization when I was a senior. Even more so, I remember just how hard life was after my daughter arrived...and just how much she needed extra loving. I always did the best I could, but there is only so much an 18-year-old parent can do. Eight years later, I think her dad and I just might have it down.

Anyway, he is adorable. He didn't pee on me. And he cooperated....most of the time.

Shop til you drop.

That was an excellent game show. I always thought I would be especially fantastic at it. No such chance as it now only exists in reruns. I really have nothing to say. However, I noted that my last entry was nearly 2 weeks ago. I hate when people do that. I needed a break from work....and I am hoping that as I type the stories will come to me.

Nope. Not yet.

Okay, lets try this one. This weekend the husband went to relive all his glory in St Louis. The girls and I stayed home. I am not one for staying home. Therefore, it was not surprising when we woke up Saturday morning....thought about a trip to Garden and somehow ended up on a trip to Wichita instead.

The first mistake of the trip was realized when I was about 30 miles outside of town. I was taking a toddler to the mall. Probably the busiest mall in Wichita and right when everyone was going to be back to school shopping. I was taking a toddler who's favorite activity at the mall is "hide under all the clothing racks, especially the racks with extra long dresses and see how long I can stay quiet while mom runs around frantically shouting my name." Yeah, I love that game. Anyway, taking Addie was not the mistake. Forgetting the stroller that strap her into most certainly was.

The trip up was a breeze. Redbox is my saving grace and makes roadtrips for the Heeke family quite delightful.

The second mistake hit when I was driving along Kellogg. I was zoning out, as I tend to do while driving. I was driving on autopilot whilst dreaming of what I would like to do to my home and how doing so would make it magazine worthy. While I am an entirely safe driver while zoning out, I am also a fast driver. Pretty soon I noted the flashing lights in my rear view. Damn. The officer told me that I had been doing 71 in a 50-- construction zone to boot, but since I was from out of state he was only going to get me for a 71 in a 60. Yet another time when my procrastination has served me well. Thank you missouri plates and license. However....the officer did not really do me any favors. As I found out on the way out of town, where I was driving was not, in fact, a construction zone. Jerk.

Third mistake became apparent when it came to clothes buying. Someone tell me when my daughter grew up and starting wanting to do things like pick out her own clothes. So maybe I can get over the picking out of the clothes....I just want to know when she grew up. Now that she is older, she not only wants to shop for her own clothes, but she shops with purpose. She even has a "shopping walk." I got to witness a repeat of this walk at Walmart today. If you want to try it out-- it consists of placing one hand on your hip, and swinging the other wildly back and forth while you sashay your hips. Serious. Business. Recognize.

By the end we were all falling apart. Rileigh was getting sick and Addison insisted on kicking her in the head repeatedly. Its just how she shows her love. And she loves her sister a lot. Redbox saved us again on the way home. The DVD player sucked the brains out of my children and the zombies were content the entire way home while I scanned the stations looking in vain for Delilah.

Imprompteu shopping expedition-- success!

Umm...Geek Squad?

It seems that as punishment for my absence they took away my background. After spending an undisclosed amount of time trying to figure it out, I got a background up.....but I sort of look like a prissy teenage blogger. So if you happened upon my blog with the expectation of reading about my latest crush or which friend I am going to ignore today....move along. I know I lured you in with pinkness and fancy chandeliers and that was wrong of me, but I cant seem to fix it. I feel like an 80-year-old.

UPDATE: since i couldn't figure out how to change the color of the words on my blog, I had to find a blog background that matched the colors I already have. That, people, is called thinking outside the box. Shazam.

Life Happened.

That is how I am going to explain my absence. Life happened. I wish it would just get out of my way.

Although it has only been a couple of months since this whirlwind of graduation/moving out/moving in/starting a business/taking the bar started, it feels like it has consumed about 10 years of my life. If I die at 80 as opposed to the ripe ol' age of 90, I am going to blame this week. It stole those years. On a side note, 90 is my chosen age because my husband thinks he can like to at least 95. I want to go first and I figure I will give him 5 years to live it up and make up for the lack of bachelorism he missed by having children and getting married so young.

Business is a-booming. That is all I will say about that aspect for fear the powers that be will swoop down on my blog and use this as a reason to say I am unethical or deduct points from my bar exam.....we can't have that.

We have completed a total of zero projects on our house. Wait, I take that back. I painted the bedroom. It is a lovely shade of blue, textured using Ralph Lauren suede paint. My husband hates it. Hate might be a mild term for how he feels. My husband, who never has had an opinion on ANYTHING house related, chose to voice an opinion on the only thing I have done to our new home. He said it is depressing. I told him too bad. When he is in the bedroom his eyes should be closed so it doesn't really matter. And he doesn't paint. So our blue bedroom remains the change made to our home. And it looks good.

My children are alive and well and adjusting to the change. My teenage 8-year-old has mastered her back handspring. Or so she told her father who then made her put her money where her mouth was on our basement floor. That didn't end well. Somehow carpet over concrete does quite give the same spring as a gymnastics floor. No broken bones....but we will leave the tumbling for cheer practice.

Addison has had many adventures in Dodge City. Most of them have occurred whilst naked (her...not me). I forget that a clothed toddler is the norm, but am reminded quickly by the shocked looks of our neighbors as Addie streaks across the front yard in pursuit of our cat. I will save some of the better stories for a later post. They deserve space all of their own.

The hubs is still hard at work as Mr. Mom. He has made the bed all but 4 days since we have lived in Dodge City. I think I only made the bed twice when I stayed home in St. Louis. He wins. He is looking forward to getting out of the house come fall. I had the great idea of not getting cable during the summer months as it tends to turn my children into zombies. I still think it is a great idea, however, my husband who is home 23 hours out of every day does not agree. I think it all came to a head when our computer stopped working so we had no internet access. The entire world outside of Kansas could have blown to bits and he would have never known. The day he called me at work barely able to contain himself due to his excitement over talking with the Direct TV salesman, I think we both knew it was time to let this silly experiment go. Daddy needs his sports......and really, momma needs her trashy reality tv.

I am starving. Better head home to see what the hubby has prepare.....

Getting the Heck into Dodge

Omigod....omigod....I have access to the internet that is bigger than a 3x3 inch screen. I love you my new blackberry, but you just don't cut it in all areas.

It is my first "official" day of work, so naturally the first thing on my agenda is to blog. I am so good at this working thing. Technically our office isn't open, as there are currently two men pulling carpet, running heavy machinary and just making general devestation in our front office. Were I not hiding in the back corner office, I would be certain the building might fall down at any moment due to all the racket.....but since I am in the office and would not like to end my first day by being smashed beneath rubble, I am hoping all is well and I will just get ear plugs.

So a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. I graduated...and celebrated the occassion by wearing a very expensive slipcover with velvet accents and a simply adorable painter/christopher columbus hat. Tell me that doesn't sound adorable. I managed not to trip while walking across the stage, but they simply could not manage to pronounce my last name correctly, despite the phonetic description I provided. Oh well, I suppose it was a fitting ending to the last 3 years wherein I answered to a wide variety of names....none of which were my own.

After graduation, Hades made a stopover at my house. It was time to pack and move. Who knew that in 3 years we could have collected so much JUNK. Serious. While packing I found trash in some of our rubbermaid containers that would have had to move up to St Louis with us. Yes, we moved trash. But oh buddy, not this time. I was a trashing, gifting, get-rid-of-it machine. I think we ended up taking 10 33-gallon trash sacks full of donated items to Goodwill and then had them come by for a pick up of the heavy items. We managed to move back all that we had in 2 6x12 trailors. 3 bedrooms + couches + dining room and more. Sounds impossible right? Not if you have a Debbie. She is a little magic moving fairy that makes you things shrink so they all magically fit into impossible spaces, allowing you to take all of your things with you. She is also my aunt. Seriously, I have no idea how she does what she does.....and I am not going to question the gift, I will just worship it.

Her magic fairy dust must have worn out on the trip home because we ended up pulling the trailer at between 45-50 mph THE. ENTIRE. WAY. FROM. ST. LOUIS. Longest trip of my life. We left our old driveway around 10 in the morning and did not end up back in Dodge until nearly 2am. Omigod. It was awful.....but we made it. Thank goodness for family or we never could have made the move. Oh, and listen to this, its the best part. We started unloading all of our belongings on a Thursday morning. By Friday evening.....every box was unpacked and every room was set up. Yep, my family is that good. I know that you are jealous....but it is mostly my family reading this....so you don't have to be.

Anywho. We are all settled in. I don't have internet access at home yet (being installed today...yahoo!) so I can't share any pictures yet. But, I will just tell you. It is home. And it is us. And it feels soooooo good.

I have lots more to share (like opening an office, running with jessi, becoming a 2 cell phone family) but I have to save some of that to fill the other days I am at work. Kidding. I really do work. And I am good....or at least I will be. So hire me.

Looking back before moving forward

I have been a sentimental schlep for the last week. Although I still have a final and a paper to complete sometime within the next two weeks, law school is pretty much over. It has been a fast and wild ride, but I am leaving with the same nervous excitement that I came in with. While going through my law school documents on my computer (read: procrastinating studying for my final) I came across my admissions essay:

Two lines. I turned my head in an attempt to make them disappear, but when I looked again the lines were undeniably bold and dark pink. I pressed my head against the cool tiles of the bathroom wall, but it brought no relief to my fevered dread. There was no mistaking it. I was 17 and pregnant. Two weeks after my high school graduation, I welcomed my beautiful daughter into the world. As I held her in my arms and looked into her face, a knot within me loosened. With that one look, my fears and uncertainness washed away. I would go on. I would succeed. I would never quit. And I would do it all for us.

I paid for my first two years of college by joining the newspaper staff. On deadline days you could find me in the student publication lab. My daughter was always there with me, napping in a portable playpen or pounding away on an unplugged keyboard. In those first two years of balancing motherhood and college, I was a presidential scholar, Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society member, and editor of a multiple award-winning newspaper. It was never something I thought much about then, simply something I knew I had to do. I chose journalism because it was an area in which I was naturally skilled. While I did enjoy it, as I progressed in my schooling I found that it lacked the passion and purpose I was looking for. I was uncertain of how to change this when the answer came to me from an unlikely source. I started participating in a Teen Moms Program run by a local social service agency. These women were pillars of strength, fighting for survival for themselves and their children, but they were fighting alone. They had been abandoned by their babies' fathers and lacked the financial capabilities to move forward in many aspects. I decided then that I would be that person in their corner. I would join in the fight that they cannot do alone. The first step in that battle was to continue my education, a feat that could not be done where I was located. I had to move away from my comfort zone, the only place I had lived in all of my 20 years. I had no choice but to close my eyes and jump.

Moving to Manhattan, KS turned out to be a wonderful change for myself, my husband and my daughter. Before long we were very active members of the community. We were regulars at the local farmer's market. I shared brownies and ice cream with residents of the nursing home while my daughter performed for them, singing and turning somersaults. We helped to plan neighborhood block parties. We attended football games, plays and community events. It was in Manhattan that my daughter met the love of her life in the form of a grey, fuzzy mascot named Willie the Wildcat. And it was in Manhattan that I finally found my niche; it was there that I took my first steps toward becoming a social worker.

The social work program at Kansas State University kindled my desire to help the young mothers and their children. It ignited in me a drive to help not only these young mothers, but all of thosewho are unable to help themselves. Through this program I learned many skills that will not only help me as a social worker, but as a lawyer as well. I learned that it was no longer suitable to say just what I thought, but to be able to explain why. I learned that asking good questions is a carefully mastered art form. I learned in order to see change, it takes more than wanting; it takes doing. I learned that I am my greatest tool. In the end I learned that the only limits to what I can accomplish are ones I impose upon myself.

It is no miracle I am where I am today. It is instead because of my miracle, my skinned-knee, dirty-faced, pony-tailed miracle, that I continue to strive for more.

I have been thinking a lot about the person who wrote this and the person who will be stepping out in the world with a J.D. displayed proudly behind her name. While I am going in a new direction, my desires and values, at their core, remain the same. I, in no way, could have imagined the path my life would take when I first toyed with the idea of becoming an attorney. Even more so, I could never have imagined that this would be my life on that afternoon in Hays while I sat on the floor of the girls bathroom at Justin's dorm and I saw those two, pink lines.

Perhaps thats a good thing....because while my imagination is good, it could have never dreamed up something this good!

Oh the joys of home selling...

Today went met some friends downtown for a lovely brunch. The timing worked out perfectly because our realtor advised us we needed to be out of the house from 11-1pm while the place was shown. After stuffing ourselves with delish crepes and doing some leisurely window shopping, we had killed enough time to go back to the house and spend the rest of our Sunday relaxing.

When we got home, a phone call modified our plans a bit. The realtor called and let us know someone would be showing our house sometime between 2 and 4. So that we didn't have to go park somewhere and twiddle our thumbs, the realtor nailed the showing down to between 3 and 4...closer to 3:15. It was only about 1:30 at this time, so it gave me a little bit to make sure the carpets were freshly vacuumed and the house was thoroughly fabreezed. Justin says I have a serious addiction to the stuff. I say he is right, but I don't care.

I told you about Addie and her nakedness right? Well during my spruce up, Addison was in the buff enjoying a Dora episode. While in the kitchen putting away my new BFF, Tropical Fabreeze, I here Justin yell out from the living room, "THEY'RE EARLY"

This had the effect of turning the light on in a room full of cockroaches. The four of us started running around like a bunch of crazies, grabbing shoes, jackets and car keys, while three vehicles worth of people stepped onto our porch. It was 2:15.

In the midst of the chaos, Justin scoops up a still naked Addison, yells for Rileigh to grab Addison some clothes, wraps her in a sweatshirt and runs out the garage. I am fumbling around with my shoes, cursing myself for not picking flip-flops. I made a mad dash out the garage and into the car just as the group opens the front door.

I looked in the backseat at my toddler, stark naked, strapped into her car seat as we hauled out of the driveway. Suddenly it hit me at how completely and utterly ridiculous we were. I am not sure what we were running for...or from, I suppose. Guess we didn't want to shatter the illusion that people actually lived in our house.

Ooops, in that case, better jump out and grab those Dora panties we dropped in the middle of the driveway......

Who's that rapping on my napping?

There are few things in life more delightful than an afternoon nap. I had seriously been looking forward to napping this afternoon for the entire week. We had no showings scheduled for the house and I had no school to interfere. Today, I excitedly laid addison down in her bed, plopped down on the couch, and set HGTV on in low volume. I had about 1 hour and 15 minutes until Rileigh was due off the bus. It was the perfect amount of time for a nice nap, but not too much time that I would spend the rest of the day groggy and out of it.

With Color Splash on in the background, I drifted into a wonderful, blissful sleep. About 30 minutes later, I am awoken by a BAM BAM BAM on the door. I jumped straight in the air, my heart racing. Frick! Was there a showing my realtor forgot to tell me about? With my heart in my throat, I frantically toured the house in my head. The house was clean, but not showable clean. My lunch dishes were still in the sink. This was not good. I peeked out the front curtains to see how many people were outside. No cars. I relaxed a little and opened the door to find our 4-year-old neighbor standing outside. I told him we would not be playing and sent him on his merry way. I laid back down, thrilled that was not a showing and even more thrilled that I still had more napping to get in.

Fifteen minutes later, BAM BAM BAM.

I peeked over the edge of the couch towards the front door. I could see the outline of the neighbor boys head through the frosted glass. Screw him. I was not getting up.

BAM, BAM BAAAM.

Seriously, did I not just tell him we were not playing today? And by "we are not playing today" what I meant was, I am not babysitting you as I have done for the last 2 weeks when you ask to come over an play and suddenly end up at my house for the next 4 hours while your parents are doing who-knows-what and never coming to get you and your 4-year-old self and I finally have to send you home because it is time for my kids to go to bed. No, we are not doing that. He moves from banging on the door to tapping on the glass in the door.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The boy kept at it for, I kid you not, a half hour. I am surprised his knuckles were not bloody from his incessant rapping and tapping. Or maybe they were....and that is why he continued knocking...so I could get him a band-aid.

The stubborn streak in me prevented me from getting up, opening the door and telling him to go away. I had already done that once. I figured if I just ignored it, he would eventually go away. I was so very wrong. Next he tried opening the door. Thank goodness it was locked. However, this did not prevent him from trying to jiggle the handle for several minutes. The handle jiggling was followed by him throwing his entire body against my door. The human battering ram would growl as he slammed against my door with all the might a 4-year-old can muster. Between growls he is literally yelling "OPEN THE DOOR. OPEN THE DOOR."

He.

Was.

Relentless.

Finally, after 30 minutes, silence. Sigh. I did a silent victory dance on the couch. I had outlasted him. I laid back down to get in the rest of my nap. But then I hear the screech of brakes outside my house.....which means the bus was home. My nap was officially over.

As soon as Rileigh was through the door, he was back on my porch. OMG, serious? Again, I told him we were not playing. And again he trudged back over to his house.

Oh, and what is that I hear now? Nope, folks, I am not kidding. He is back. A rap, rap, rapping at the door.....

more misadventures of miss addie

oh, the joys of motherhood. short story for your delight....or dismay. its undecided at this point.

my child loves to be naked. she knows no modesty. but, i figure that is okay. less clothes wearing means less clothes washing. i am all for that.

tonight, after her bath, addison was tornadoing through the house, naked as usual. she was playing on the floor next to me just doing her own thing. suddenly, she looked up with me completely distressed.

"momma, my potty is broken! it has a hole in it!"

hmmm....do they make band-aids for that?

Adieu to the Lou, Part Deux

Today, I am less angry. The weather is gorgeous, the house is ready and Cardinal fever is everywhere. Sorry St Louis. You didn't deserve that. As an apology, Here is my list of things I will actually miss when we head on back to the Ol' Windy City....the real windy city...not you Chicago.

1. Cardinals Games. Prior to moving here, I couldn't stand professional baseball. I think this is because baseball doesn't really translate on TV. Nine(+) innings of a relatively slow paced game played for hours and hours just did not tickle my fancy. Then I went to Busch stadium. It was fun. It was more than fun. I loved it. There is nothing that brings a huge city together like a great sports team. The comradery that accompanies Cards games is a sight to behold. Arch enemies outside the stadium root side by side during the games, singing "one.....two....three strikes you're out at the old....ball....gaaaaaaaame!" in perfect harmony. Well, I don't really have an evidence of this, but I am sure it happens. Or if it doesn't, it should.

2. The Zoo. I adore the zoo. What I really adore about the zoo is that it is free. It is huge and awesome and keeps my family entertained for hours upon hours. Unlike the concrete jungle that is the Dodge City zoo, the animals are housed in actual habitats. Once when I took the girls to the zoo, we joined a crowd outside the orangatang habitat. Addison was pretty young at the time. There was a newborn among the crowd. Her parents held her down by the glass so that they could get a picture with the orangatangs in the background. Ooohs and awwws spread over the crowd as the momma orangatang held out her arms and tried to hold the baby through the glass. I wanted to get the girls pictures too. I held addison close to the glass, expecting the same reaction. Instead the crazy thing pulled back its fist and punched the glass, right behind Addison's head. Awww, the memories.

3. Chipotle.....or Noodle Company.....or Dewey's Pizza.....or Ruby Tuesdays....or just the variety of restaurants in general. There are so many restaurants extremely close our house. And even more within driving distance. Although I have complained about this before when trying to narrow down a place to go eat, I don't really mean it. I love food. I love variety in food. If you do too, this is enough of an explanation. If you don't, you are weird.

4. The variety of culture. Last time my inlaws were in town, we went down to the Soulard farmer's market. On the way home, she commented that she thought it was so neat to be surrounded by so many accents and so many different languages. It was so true. While living here I have met people from Russia, Bosnia, Egypt, Brazil, Iraq, Ethiopia, Kenya......and many, many more. I have been able to expose my children to the food and the celebrations of many of these groups. I feel like it is such an important part of raising well-rounded, open-minded children. And the cultural aspects they have been exposed to are not just limited to ethnicities. Every year since we have lived here, Rileigh and my mom have gone to a musical at the Fox during the Thanksgiving break. She has adored this tradition. I suppose the Depot will have to suffice, but somehow I just don't think it will compare to the Lion King or Cats.

So I left this list for a while to try and think of some more things......and I didn't. Shoot. Is that really it? Sorry St Louis.....

Adieu to the Lou

Yes, I know I have used that line before, but I think its pretty clever and I am going to get as much use out of it as I can before the actual adieu.

Due to various contributing factors, I am not feeling the love for St Louis this week. I have the "we-have-a-plan-so-lets-get-the-f-out" itch, so my non-likes about St Louis have become particularly irritating. I have decided to let go of my frustrations in list form, entitled "Things I will not miss about St Louis." So here goes:

Things I will not miss about St Louis:

1. (and although these are in no particular order, this is truly #1) The traffic. For someone who is habitually late, it is a cruel trick that traffic makes going somewhere less than 15 miles away necessitate leaving an hour in advance. Also, I am a non-morning person. Morning traffic is horrific. I have to get up and leave an extra hour to hour and a half early to get where I need to be. And most of the time I am still late. On top of that, I despise most of the morning radio shows so I spend the hour pushing my radio presets trying to determine which station I despise the least. Audiobooks used to make commuting tolerable, but I can only buy so many audiobooks before the hubs starts noticing the cost. Twilight got me through some of my most horrindous traffic moments.

2. Stepford wives. I adore my daughters school, but I have always feel like a troll. To be involved with the school, you must carry your calendar with you at all times, be able to know your schedule 6 months in advance, master being incredibly perky and yet incredibly icy all at the same time, and always carry a set of jumper cables incase your internal wiring goes on the fritz. Seriously. The latest source of my frustration--during spring conferences, the latest available conference time was at 4:30. Four thirty?!? Of course I would have known to pencil that in in between viola lessons and horseback riding if I would have brought my calendar with me last year like a good little Stepford.

3. My driveway. It is steep. I am not sure this would have made the list had I not just spent the weekend walking up and down it repeatedly while holding heavy objects. But I did. And so I won't miss it.

4. Waiting. I think it is clear by now that I was not graced with patience. I think I have improved in this area....begrudgingly. However there are so many people here that waiting is something I have to do a lot of. Want to go to Olive Garden at 7pm on a weekday...there is a wait. Want to go to the grocery store in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday...there is a wait. Really anything you think that you may want to do immediately, think again. Think while you wait.

5. Lack of freedom for my kiddos. Perhaps that is a severe categorization but let me explain. Last summer Rileigh stayed a week with my sister-in-law in jetmore. She got to walk to the pool, go to the store, get snow-cones, ride bikes....whatever....independently. It gave her such a sense of maturity and responsibility. When she gets back to St Louis, she is really only allowed in the backyard by herself. That means lots of QT with mom, great for a while, but I think she gets tired of me.

Relief in the form of list-making. I feel better already.

Utter and Complete Randomness....try to keep up.

My life is a jumbled mess most days. These last few weeks have been no exception. As a tribute to my mixed up world, here is a slew of unrelated thoughts:

First, a bit of humor brought to you by my 2-year-old. This weekend I braved it alone with the girls while dad took a much deserved vacay to Wichita to hang with his friends and do man things. At the end of night one, I was putting Addison in her jammies so that we could all pile into my bed and watch the movies we had just picked up from the Red Box (1st time doing so....it is an amazing contraption...but I digress). I get her pants on and as she is standing there shirtless, she points to one of her miniature mosquito bites and says "I have one boobie" then points to the other and declares "And I have anudder boobie." She then looks up at my quizzically and asks, "You have boobies momma?" to which I answer in the affirmative. My darling daughter then stares at me for a moment before retorting, "No momma, you have coconuts." Ummm, excuse me? I sat there with my mouth agape momentarily before deciding I could not argue her logic.....but perhaps a grapefruit might be a better descriptor....

Second bit on my mind. Last night I dreamt of saving a goose. Yep, you heard me correctly. I could have dreamt of marrying Brad Pitt (had to edit this. as proof of my current state of craziness, I originally wrote Tom Cruise. I HATE Tom Cruise) or losing 50 lbs and becoming a supermodel or winning the super-duper jackpot. But no, I spent a good portion of the night dreaming about my plan to save a goose that had laid an egg underneath my house. I forgot to mention that in this dream I lived in a house raised up on cinderblocks. C-laas-E. My life really needs to get more interesting. At this point, even my dreams are lame.

Speaking of houses, my time as of late has been consumed in attempting to get our house in market shape. My dad's best friend just happens to be our realtor. His general opinion is that my life is a chaotic mess. Generally he would be correct. However, when he bet my dad $1 that we would not have the house ready for market by next Monday, I was determined to get that dollar in my dad's pocket. Saturday and Sunday I spent the majority of the day cleaning all the unnecessary furniture, clothes, toys and junk out of my children's rooms. From Rileigh's room alone, I took out 2 garbage bags of items to donate, 1 bag of clothes to get rid of, 2 bags of trash and filled 2 Rubbermaids with items to move to the new house. If anyone, I repeat, anyone sends a toy in my child's direction between now and the end of May, you will get it. And be very scared of the yet to be determined "it." Sunday night I had the grand plan to attack all of the cobwebs hanging from the rafters in our basement. There were several things wrong with this. I am allergic to feathers. My plan involved using a feather duster. My assumption that because the duster was on a long stick it wouldn't bother me was totally wrong. Also, the copious amounts of dust flying in my face as I stood straight under the rafters I was attacking served only to exacerbate the situation. Eventually I learned to move to the side (....and only how many years of school did it take me to get this smart....). The biggest problem of them all? I had no idea that cobwebs were actually abandoned spiderwebs. Serious. I thought they were just things that happened in unused spaces when dust collected in a corner. EWWWW. I hate spiders almost as much as I hate sleeping bags. I have a completely irrational fear that makes me run out of rooms shrieking and stomping all around when I see a spider, no matter the size. For the duration of the night, I swear there were tiny spiders crawling all over me that had jumped on my when I went to rid my basement of what I thought were innocent dust collections. Never again. Never, ever again. If someone wants to buy my house, they can buy it cobwebs and all.

In other more exciting news, I have a grand total of 14 days of school left to attend. Don't kid yourself, that spreads over 3 1/2 weeks, but no one actually counts the days they don't have to be at school. Yahoo!

The tale of why any of my future televisions will be LCDs...

Sometimes my husband has brilliant ideas. Most days he doesn't. I am undecided on the latest.

Earlier in the week, Justin came home and told me that someone at his work had a large (and by large, I mean larger than our dink) television that they were no longer using. No longer using because it sat in front of a treadmill, which was the real thing they were no longer using. Anyway, he told Justin that he could have the TV if Justin could come and pick it up. The opportunity for a large(r) television in the midst of March Madness almost made Justin's head spin. That night after work, he set off to pick up the TV under the guise that I would help him unload it from his car and bring it inside.

Problem #1 arose prior to the television even being brought in from the car. The thing was large. And by large, I mean, baby got back. Its rear stuck out so far, it was too long to fit in our armoire. Justin measured the depth of the tv, then the depth of the armoire, then the depth of the tv, then the depth of the armoire....then, as if it would magically make either the tv shorter or the armoire longer, he measured them both again. We decide to move the armoire in the corner and bring up an old coffee table from the basement to set the TV on. I pouted a bit because I am not a fan of televisions sitting out loud and proud in the middle of a room. But I gave in when it looked as though it would be our only option.

Problem #2 arose in getting the television out of the car. Holy. Moly. Heaviest thing I have ever had to lift in my life. I made it from the back of the car to the door of the garage before I demanded it set it down. This was a major mistake. Setting it down meant I had to pick it back up. Justin grabbed his side and told me to let him know when I was ready to lift my side. Little did he know that I was lifting. In fact, I was lifting so hard that I thought my insides were going to become outsides. It was not coming even an inch off the ground. Eventually, by some miracle, we got the television off the ground, through the garage door and about a foot into the house before I needed a beak again. Justin told me to rest it on my hip. His brilliant advice lead to a 7 x 2 inch dark purple bruise on my leg. That is not an estimate. I measured it.

Problem #3 arose when we finally got the TV to its resting place on top of the coffee table. Um, how do I put this delicately. It looked about as attractive as a couch on a front porch. Whiskey Tango at its finest. Justin then devised a plan to cut a hole in the back of the armoire...which would not be visible because the armoire was now in the corner. This was an example of when my husband has a great idea. (I am serious too, no sarcasm this time). Although this created a solution for the television, we were now faced with a large blank wall were the armoire used to be housed.

Enter Problem #4. This was my favorite problem. Solving this problem meant that I had to shop for solutions:

I am loving my problem-solving skills! We already had the chairs and the "H" but I found the remainder of it yesterday. Rileigh and I were bargain shoppers. We hit the sales at Hobby Lobby and Home Goods, even bringing in coupons. I think this is my new favorite part of the house....and right before we put it on the market....

Home Sweet Home.

Guess who has news? Hmmmm? Give up? That’s right ITS ME! Oops...don’t tell Justin I said me...I meant WE!

In a three-day whirlwind, we bought a house. In Dodge City. We are officially becoming Kansans again. Did I mention I have never actually seen the house? Minor details, right?

A few weeks ago, Addison and I traveled the long hike back to Dodge City to look at potential future houses. We looked at a lot of houses. We looked at a lot of houses I really loved. I would have had to love them a lot, because if we bought one of those houses, the house would be all we had. No furniture, no lights allowed on, no air conditioner, no food. Just the house. So needless to say, we didn’t put in offers on the many we saw...though it took some restraint on my part. That and my dad said "no way" and yes, like a good little girl, I still listen to everything my dad says.
About a week and a half ago, my realtor sent me a listing for a house that had just come on the market that day. It was actually in our price range and it was in a neighborhood in which we would be delighted to live. I arranged for my dad to see it the next afternoon. That was helpful. My dad has absolutely zero opinions on things. And if I could pick a number below zero, that would probably be more accurate. I am on the phone with my dad as he is walking through it. "Well, I am in a kitchen now. And now I am walking into a living room. Oh, and here is the master bedroom" Thanks for the descriptors, Dad. He did say he really liked the neighborhood and any positive descriptor from my dad necessitates action. So, I called my mom and my sister-in-law and sent them to view the house that evening. My sister-in-law is creative genius. She can take a house and make it a home in cheap, creative and beautiful ways. So when she called me after going through the house and said "You had better buy this." I was completely sold (figuratively and literally I suppose). We called the realtor that night and she worked overtime getting our contract together. We submitted our offer on a Saturday, just 2 days after I had gotten the initial email.

Saturday night I was at Rileigh’s variety show. I could hear my phone buzzing in my purse, but we had just gotten a lecture from the principal at the beginning of the show about getting out of our seats during the middle of an act. I have been out of grade school for a while now, but I still fear the wrath of principals, so I was not about to get out of my seat to answer the call. During intermission, I snuck out to check with my realtor, who confirmed that our offer had been accepted. I yelled out in celebration and did a little dance in the hallway. I was then given the stink-eye from the Stepford Wives, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t have to see them next year. Did another little dance just to spite them.
So here is the house, have a look-see:

If you want to see the inside in all its 60's glory, follow the link: http://DODGECITY.fnismls.com/publink/default.aspx?GUID=dd882ae0-02af-43f9-ab61-3669d4de8306&Report=Yes

We will have some renovations to do, but that is okay. Part of making a house a home is making it your own. I think remodeling to fit the needs and taste of our family will do just that. I have spent the last couple of weeks dreaming up inspiration for the house. That has been really fun, especially knowing that my inlaws can make it all happen. Really anything I can dream up, they can make happen. "Babe, I don’t really like that wall there, could we move it over there?" BOOM! It happens. "I could really use an outlet on this wall" Another BOOM, and we have an outlet. Its like magic. I have never met such fantastic, handy people.

Here is the current kitchen/eat in area inspiration photos. I have been DYING for a banquette. It will happen:

Love the colors too....I have been really digging colored cabinetry and how CUTE is that little red table?!?

First we have to figure out what to do with the stove:

yep, that is no joke...that is our stove.

And just because it is so adorable, here is the inspiration for Addison's bedroom. Big steps for Addison when we move, she will have a big girl bed!

I cannot wait to get my hands on the house. Someone asked me yesterday when I might be able to actually see our new house. I suppose that just may be when I bring my boxes through the front door! Oh man.....