God Bless Us.......EVERY ONE!

I love family! THEY are the reason holidays are so great. Those people love you unconditionally and are the most comfortable to be around. Here we are, my mom, sister and our children at a production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in KC before Christmas. Great time! We try to do this every year, make a trip up there to visit my brother David's family and go to the Plaza, maybe ice skate if it's not too freezing cold and windy (which it has been the past two years) and eat at Fritz's.

I am ever so grateful for my family and here's why:

I never assume that I think like most people. In fact, I've found over the years that I'm usually safer to assume the opposite. I'm just a bit of an outcast, everywhere I go. It's okay, I'm totally used to it.

You know, the most popular movies or tv shows....I don't get them. I don't want the same things that other women my age seem to want. Shoes? Unless they're a new pair of muck boots, I don't care. My kitchen doesn't have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, it looks a lot more like your grandma's kitchen. I have knitted chicken pot holders hanging on my wall. By choice. And I flip out over vintage Tupperware.


One Christmas gift I really appreciated.

I don't wear makeup much. My ideal vacations are camping and hiking. I don't care what I drive and I couldn't tell you what my friends drive, I don't pay attention. If someone left me a three bedroom mobile home to live in for free I would totally take them up on it. I can do a lot of traveling if I don't have to worry about making payments!

I took Alina to get her hair done before her Christmas program, because I am useless when it comes to doing hair.

I totally appreciate my husband's creativity in what he does for a living, but I would never be a good client for him because I'm not impressed enough by good quality to pay for it. I am very grateful there are people out there who do pay for it! He gets annoyed when he uses my kitchen because I don't use high quality anything. I would use a stick from the yard if it got the job done.

Some people may think I display a lack of ambition, and that notion is not totally without merit. Some people, however, may equate that with a lack of intelligence, and I do disagree with that!
I simply don't care about things that a lot of people care about. And I admit to being a little too judgmental at times of people that I feel care too much about things that I don't think are important. And I don't care much what people think of me, even when I would benefit from caring a little more. I'm actually working on that one.

I do care about creativity, family togetherness and I do have a passion for teaching the young kiddos that I teach.

I'm just saying.....I have friends (who think I'm weird) but I am never surprised when people don't immediately relate to me.

But my family......they just think "That's Karen and she's fabulous."

That's awesome.

And I also think they are fabulous.

Pics from Christmas:


Loving my new camera! Which was quite expensive, by the way, so I do care a little about quality.


My girls at the Cheesecake Factory picking out dessert after A Christmas Carol.

My eldest and me. I hope one day she truly appreciates the person her mother is. I love her dearly.

Little elf Harrison, running around maniacally on Christmas Eve.


Mom, displaying some new hypo-allergenic Christmas bling.


My creative husband made metal signs for Dyson and Dad.
Twin cousins

Ever smiling and thoughtful Emily.


We like to line the kids up on the couch for a picture.

Brother, sisters and spouses.


And at our house Christmas morning. Would you believe we actually have to get our girls out of bed and then they're grouchy for awhile, they have to warm up.


Troy's brother Tim called multiple times throughout the week to make sure we would have chai at our house for him Christmas morning. I went out and bought some and when he got there he told me it was the wrong kind, he doesn't drink that kind anymore. He drank it anyway, in his self-stirring cup we bought for him.



Alina asked for and got neck pillows for Christmas. And now we have pillow pets with neck pillows!

like it or not, here it comes

Winter sucks. It's not so bad right now, because we are still in the Christmas season, but January, February and March are soooooo loooong! I was feeling kind of blue when I saw everyone beginning to decorate for Christmas because it meant my fabulous fall was coming to an abrupt end! And it was a fabulous fall. We were trolling around in the jeep all the time and it started to get chilly enough to wear a jacket....then we needed gloves and hats......then we were layering coats....then piling on blankets (oh yes, we are die hards!) and now the jeep pretty much just sits in the driveway for the season. So sad.

I don't know when I became such an outdoors person. I'm sure my mom, dad, brother and sister wonder the same thing. I know it was after I met Troy. Our first vacation together was a rafting and camping trip in the Grand Canyon in 1989. We have taken virtually nothing but outdoor vacations ever since, always including hiking somewhere, sometimes camping as well. The first week of October we threw the tent in the back of the jeep and drove down to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which is about a 3 hour drive from home.



We camped at the base of the dam at Beaver Lake.



This is the view of the river from the dam.

We have been here before of course, I say this all the time....but it's one of my favorite places! Tent camping is one of my favorite things, I just can't personally think of anything else more peaceful than waking up gazing out of the mesh ceiling of the tent at the trees above us and listening to the birds outside. To wake up outside is pretty cool. And coffee and bacon and eggs cooked over the fire! There is just no better way for me to start a day.





So this trip was all about me. I got to eat at my favorite German restaurant, The Bavarian Inn.



Roast Duck or Wiener Schnitzel anyone?

And also shop in some of my favorite shops for antiques and specialty items on those pretty, winding, hilly streets downtown.



I came home with a green glass rolling pin, a big multi-colored bag from the leather shop, and some colorful plastic fish shaped paper plate holders (to hang on my kitchen wall).

And this time we drove up the hill to see the Christ of the Ozarks up close.



The next weekend was a fall festival in my hometown, the town where I teach, Girard. It's 8 miles from our home. We decided to ride our bikes over Saturday morning. We did this one other time. It was great weather for it again!




There were vendors set up all around the town square. Very nice turn out this year. And a car show. That's my dad's '51 Chevy in the picture.

The following weekend the Smiths invited us to their lake house at Lake of the Ozarks. Another pretty fall weekend. We took the boat out on the lake. Troy and I drove the jeep and our girls went with the Smiths. We got to take our time on the way home, touring HaHa Tonka State Park near Camdenton and stopping at antique stores along the way, again coming home with more goodies (that only Troy and I would appreciate).



I spent another 3 day weekend in DesMoines scrapbooking the next weekend. It had been a year and a half since I'd been able to go. I got a lot accomplished while I was there and had a great time with my friend Nancy's cousins from Minnesota. Going back again in February.

And then it was Halloween:



Adorable Case family kids!!!!

The same weekend Susan's beau, Troy, had a very sweet surprise 40th birthday party for Susan. He put so much work into it and she was genuinely surprised! The pictures say it all.

He had this cake made representing all the decades of her life so far, picking up items from the scrapbook store to represent our family dog, her interests growing up, jobs, children, etc.



Susan's lifelong besties were there waiting for her to show up. Susan thought she was attending a party celebrating my Aunt Betty and Uncle Charlie's 60th wedding anniversary.



Room full of people: family, friends, co-workers, waiting for Susan. Good beer, wine, food. He put together a touching slide show of Susan growing up and today also.



And there she is! Realizing that it's all about her. Very sweet, eh? Nice evening.

And my Troy's brother, Travis had a baby girl this fall. We made the trip out to visit them when they had their first born, Liam, 5 years ago, so we made another trip this fall to see baby Veda. It was very pretty there in North Carolina in early November, here's Troy walking Travis' property. And Kalyn holding baby Veda.



We went to a flea market there, Kalyn didn't have luck finding the sunglasses she wanted, but Alina found some shoes she HAD TO HAVE. She is still wearing them a few weeks later even though they cramp her toes a little.




Kalyn has some of the better pictures from this trip on her camera so I took a few from her. It was about this time I decided I needed to get a better camera of my own. Above here are pictures of Liam, Kalyn, Alina and me, all of us sitting around a fire pit in their driveway, and body stamps the kids really enjoyed while we were there.

We came home from that trip and the leaves had fallen off the trees here and everyone had decorated for Christmas. And I knew my fall was over. Even though it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet.

So.....Troy, Kalyn, Alina and I were sitting at Applebees together Thanksgiving weekend and Troy mentioned seeing a good deal on a Cannon EOS T2i with a nice lens online and I ordered it that night. To cheer myself up about the onset of winter. It arrived today and as I type, Troy is looking it over while he's watching tv. Merry Christmas to us!

God Bless Us, Every One.

Hey, we're going to see A Christmas Carol this weekend in Kansas City! I'll have some nice pictures to post!

so how was your Friday night? (diary of a stressed out mom)

This isn't usually my style, but I'm feeling it. Written in timeline form because I don't feel like typing out paragraphs.

Tuesday after school: Kalyn asks to go to the mall to buy tickets for the midnight Harry Potter movie premier. I'm impressed that she thinks ahead of time to go buy the tickets, she missed the last Twilight midnight premier because she waited too long to think about getting tickets. Of course she can go. She's in high school now, she can handle the late night. It's close to Thanksgiving, she'll be off most of next week. I approve.

Thursday after school: Okay, there is nobody that she can ride home with after the movie. Which means I will be picking her up at 2:30 in the morning. On a school night. Okay. I'll make a bed on the couch so I don't bother Troy getting up in the middle of the night and I'll leave my clothes on, keep my phone in my hands so I'm sure to get the text when she's ready.

Thursday 11:00 pm: Can't really sleep. Afraid I'll miss her text.

Friday 1:30 am: text her to let her know she needs to text me about 30 minutes before she needs me because I have to drive all the way down there and I don't want her to be there alone in the parking lot. No response.

Friday 2:30 am: Finally get the text, she's had her phone off. She's alone in the parking lot. Well, not really, some people she knows are letting her wait for me in their van. Nice of them. I'm a moron.

Friday 6:00 am: Barely dragging myself out of bed. I'm too old for this late night stuff. Troy "reminds" me that I need to sew a hole in the crotch of his work jeans. What? I said I would do that? No recollection. I must have not really been listening to him and said I would just to shut him up. Everyone in the family acts like I'm crazy when they discover that I wasn't really listening to them. I don't think anyone realizes that, while I'm usually at home at the same times that they are, I do go off to a full time job every day. That takes planning, and energy, and my full attention sometimes.

Friday 3:00 pm: Cleaning up my classroom. These kids are crazy! You can tell we're close to a vacation break. Haven't thought about supper. Notice Troy has deposited money in the bank, which means he's gotten paid for something. We'll eat chicken tonight. Good. I'm too tired, and yes, stressed, to worry about it.

Friday 3:45 pm: On the phone with Troy, need to stop by the shop and pay a bill. Receive a text from sister-in-law, she has a 7 year old too, we trade off kids on the weekends. It's a good deal, our turn to take Colton tonight. Good, we'll go eat chicken.

Friday 5:30ish pm: Waiting on Colton and Troy to get home. Telling Alina to get dressed for dinner (she's in pajamas) and Kalyn is asleep on the couch. Of course. I understand, I'm tired too.

Friday 6:00ish pm: We're all here. Toilet is clogged again. I go plunge it because I seem to not get as upset about it as everyone else in the house. As I'm plunging the toilet, Troy is complaining to me that he has no clean jeans to wear to go out to eat. I suggest his khakis. Nope, no good. He's such a fashionista. He's getting baloney out of the refrigerator to fry instead of going out. You have got to be kidding me? No? Really?..........Come on kids, we are going to go eat.

Friday 6:30 pm: The kids and I are in the car headed to eat somewhere. Where? They say McDonalds. Ugh. We go to Walmart first because everyone in the family has been complaining that there is no food that's ready to eat in the house. Again, I have a full time job that I go off to every day. This is an every day issue that never seems to resolve itself, even though I do have a list on the refrigerator now that reminds me of the things my family complains we are without, I don't make the runs to the store often enough to please everyone. When did I become the person everyone orders around? Even Alina does it.

Friday 7:30 pm: Back home and Kalyn is having a complete meltdown. LOTS of drama.I was a moron for letting her stay out all night last night. Lesson learned. Everyone is totally stressed.

Friday 8:30 pm: Kids are running around the house making way too much noise. Troy is going to bed. I send kids to bed shortly after. They're pouting. I brew a pot of coffee. I'm going to scrub the floor in the kitchen and maybe clean out the refrigerator.

Friday 10:00 pm: Cool! All those pieces in the refrigerator snap apart for easier cleaning! These pears have been in there for awhile. They smell like alcohol.

Friday 11:30 pm: This is the cleanest refrigerator I have ever seen. I'm so impressed with myself. I feel much better now. So this is how crazy manifests itself in 40 something year old moms. We brew a pot of coffee and clean things. I guess I always knew that. It does look nice, though, doesn't it?