Happy 14th Anniversary!

What can I say about my partner of more than 14 years??  How about........ I love him so much!  Thanks for all these great years! 

When I texted Colby earlier those exact words, he texted back, "I think I got the better end of the deal."

OMG do I love this man.

Great Wolf Lodge 2012

It's that time of year again...time for our annual trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City!  This year a few things were different:
1.  We opted for a larger hotel room with a separate bedroom for mom and dad.  It was worth every penny. 
2.  Soren was big enough to ride the BIG slides this year!
3.  Evelyn rode the big slides all by herself!!
4.  Brody actually built up the courage to ride the big slides this year!!!  Although we still can't get him on an elevator.  What can I say?  The kid needs therapy.

Our first pit stop on the drive down was in our old stomping grounds, St. Joseph, MO.  We ate lunch at the only place in St. Joe that brings back a fond memory: Boudreaux's.  The three youngest kids ate gator meat for the very first time.  Soren said it was too spicy, but the others all loved it.  Here are the boys in front of the restaurant:

My very lady-like daughter picking the alligator's nose...

My "good" daughter striking a pose...

Once we got to Great Wolf Lodge, the kids couldn't wait to get to the water park.  So, we all changed and got ready for our first swim!

We spent so many hours at the water park; I lost count.

We also took the opportunity to see an afternoon matinee.  We generally don't go near a movie theatre with a family of six, but the matinee prices were hard to resist.  We decided to see The Avengers...

...and it was awesome! I haven't been to a movie in the theater in probably 8 years. No lie. I don't have the attention span. However, The Avengers was action-packed, and the girls' need for potty breaks gave me the chance to walk around a bit. There was a neat fountain right outside the theater which the kids loved. You'd think all that time in the water park would make water seem boring, but this wasn't the case.

Our last stop before heading home was the T-Rex Cafe. Soren has been waiting all year for this very moment, and she wasn't disappointed. What's not to like about a restaurant filled with animatronic dinosaurs??? The food. It's terrible and overpriced. Oh well. I guess one pays for the atmosphere.

The sign for the ladies' room was awesome. I want one for my house. Women, don't we all have She Rex moments??

Well, that wraps up our Great Wolf Lodge 2012 vacation.  I will add that we came home to an intact house.  Our neighbors behind us, however, lost their house in a fire while we were gone.  Burnt to a crisp.  Thankfully, no one was injured, but they did lose their 10-year-old cat.   

May 2000

In May of 2000 I picked Dade up from daycare.  On this day in May, Dade had fallen and hit his face on the sand box.  He ended up being flown to the children's hospital in Sioux Falls with a broken bone in his face (his eye socket).  This is what my toddler looked liked for about 6 weeks after his accident...

Luckily, no permanent damage was done, and he healed up just fine.  That day 12 years ago was a scary one, but it was one that was much more traumatic for mom than for Dade.  Adults can learn a thing or two from kids, one of which is not to lose the resiliency needed to survive growing up.  Growing up is hard, but being a grown-up is harder.  Find that resiliency inside of you.  It's there.  If a toddler can handle a broken eye socket with nothing more than a little Motrin, I think I can manage life's challenges. 

My Baby Brother Graduates

Once upon a time there was a little baby boy.  He cried incessantly as an infant; he would be crying when I went to school, and he would still be crying when I got home.  He was an asshole.  Seriously.  He drove my poor step mother insane.  Luckily, he was cute as could be.
As he grew older (and chunkier), his asthma would cause him to vomit every time he got worked up running around the house.  It was a pretty neat party trick, but only because I was a teenager and didn't have to clean up the vomit.  Again, he's lucky he was cute...

My little brother is now 18 years old and a high school graduate. It's really like seeing one of my own children grow up and graduate since I was in 9th grade when he was born. I changed his diapers (sometimes). It's hard to believe he's that old...and that I'm that old!

Congrats, Alex, on surviving 18 years as a Siebrandt. Since you are dad's first born son, you'd better not tarnish his name (by becoming a bleeding heart liberal like me). He's lucky most people know me as a Vesely. As you enter adulthood, know that I am always here for you but that I will not bail you out of jail. I've to save all my "bail money fund" for Brody.

For his graduation, I made Alex some special Seward Blue jay-blue cupcakes with Cookie Monster's face. Cooookieeeeee!!
 

Happy Mother's Day!

It takes a village to raise a child, and those of us who are lucky enough to have a village really appreciate the help! My village includes an amazing group of women, other SAHM as well as working moms. I love them like they are my family, and I only hope that I can be as good a friend to them as they are to me.
I have a loving and supportive family that helps me out so very much! I get at least a week off in the summer thanks to the large group of grandmas and grandpas that inhabit my village. My parents and in-laws never fail to spoil my children. Whenever I go to drop the kids off at the grandparents' houses, I am immediately asked BY MY BABIES to leave ASAP. Really?!

Speaking of kids, I have seriously awesome kids. I don't have to worry about showing up to parent-teacher conferences because the teachers always have good things to say. I know that the kids can go to their friends' houses and our family's houses and not wreak havoc. In fact, many times we are even invited back.

Most of all this Mother's Day, I am thankful for my spouse, my best friend, my baby-daddy. My life as a mom is infinitely easier because of him. He goes tp work every day in a high-stress job to provide me with a home, health insurance, and a Target debit card. I knew I loved him 15 years ago, but I didn't know that I would love him even more every day. Every.single.day.

I know Mother's Day is supposed to be about me, but today I am thankful for all the other people that make being a mom so much better: great kids, great friends, great family, and a great partner.

Zoo Crew

Dade is a boy that wears many hats. 

He has a special hat with a neck shade for when he mows the lawn.  He has a camouflage hat with two lights on the front for all those times when one might need a camouflage hat with lights on the front. He has a hat with a brim all the way around for when he goes fishing. Although the following photo is two years old, you get the idea...

His latest hat is one that goes with his uniform for his new summer "job" working at the Lincoln Children's Zoo as part of the Zoo Crew.

The Lincoln Zoo trains teens to work in the petting zoo, pony ride ares, bug exploration center, and other areas. Dade is lucky enough to get the chance to work at the zoo this summer, probably in the petting zoo area. I hope he likes it! My baby's first real job!

Happy 40th Anniversary!

Colby's parents will celebrate 40 years of marrige this month.  In honor of their achievement, we threw them a surprise reception attended by friends and family.  It is so rare to find people that have been married for 40 years, but they made it.  Three kids and six grandkids (so far) later... 

With marriage being such a hot button political issue, it is comforting to know that some people can make it last.   Marriage is about the freedom to be legally bound to the person you choose to be with, to love, and to honor and cherish.  While my family is made up of a husband and a wife, I recognize that not all families are like mine.  For better or for worse, everyone deserves the opportunity to be married to the person he or she loves.  Period.

To all the "old married couples" out there, CHEERS! To those of you who haven't yet been given the opportunity to legally marry your partner, know that your battles are not being fought in vain.  Every good relationship endures battles, some you win and some you lose.  Sticking together through the war and coming out together on the other side...that's rare as hell these days. 

Kindergarten Roundup #4 (aka The End)

It's true.  My last baby is headed to kindergarten in the Fall. Colby and I took her to kindergarten round up last week.  She was so excited to go, and her friend was even in her group.  While Colby and I sat through the same parent meeting we've heard so many times before, our baby sat in a classroom for the first time on her own with other kids her age.   She got to make a Rock Buddy which she named "Daddy."  She got a crown just like the one her older brother and sister got when they went to round up at Arnold School. 

Oh my goodness, those little rosy cheeks! They are the same rosy cheeks that rested against me as I nursed her; the same cheeks that were once covered with mashed carrots and pureed peaches.  The same cheeks that I kiss every morning.

They aren't baby cheeks anymore.  They are now big girl cheeks.  Sigh. 

The Good (And Busy) Life

Sometimes my life as a stay at home mom is so hectic. I mean, how do people have real, full-time jobs and still manage their lives???  I know summer will be hectic and crazy.  I have Matron of Honor duties for my sister-in-law.  I'll have four kids at home all day.  All.freaking.day.  I'll have at least two or three yoga classes a week to teach and two or more to attend.  I still have a Girl Scout troop to lead (I'll have TWO troops in the Fall - one for each girl).  We'll have two new kittens in June.  Good lord, I need to stop right there.

But it's things like this that make my life so extremely rad...

Sitting on the deck, me with my wine and Colby with his cigar, watching Top Gear on Netflix.

Propping my feet up by his and sitting under our canopy of lights...

Cute and Smart

Homeschooling. I have a good friend who does it. I know others who do. Although I can't imagine homeschooling my own rowdy gaggle of mini-mes, I did actually teach my youngest two a preschool curriculum. In essense, I home preschooled them. The cost of sending a child to a "real" preschool was not in our budget, so with a few books from the store and some worksheets from the Internet I worked with the girls. Evelyn started kindergarten when she was 5, right on schedule. She's a smart kid. Soren has an autumn birthday, and with the new law changes she misses the cutoff to attend kindergarten. We have been working at home in our books, and she mastered most of the skills in the "get ready for kindergarten" books. I wondered what I would do next with her, perhaps starting a kindergarten curriculum?? Instead, we decided to have her take the kindergarten eligibility exam. I consulted with two teachers to see what they thought, and they both agreed she should test. So, she took the exam. After nearly three weeks of waiting, her results came in the mail. Soren passed the exam! She's eligible for kindergarten! As such, we went to our neighborhood school yesterday to register. The school even lets us choose a teacher, so I chose the same teacher Evelyn had. Soren knows her already, and the familiarity will make her transition easier. My smart, beautiful, witty, amazing baby is now a kindergartener. The training wheels are off her bike. Now, we wait for loose teeth.