Bug Update

First up, the Doodlebug:
As you can see by this picture, soccer has started up again. It's pretty amusing to watch him play. He doesn't get in a hurry at all...he kind of just shuffles his feet up and down the field - most of the time talking to himself. Our team isn't very aggressive but I have to keep in mind that they are 4 and 5 year olds. Speaking of which, did you know that the Doodlebug is turning 5 in a couple of weeks??!! Can you believe that? He'll be starting kindergarten in the fall at my school. I can't wait. And if you ask him, he can't wait either. We are planning a Disney trip in November. He talks about it often. And by often I mean constantly.

Next up, the Ladybug:

Here she is with one of her favorite toys...the remote. If it's not the remote, it's the phone. Actually, if it is not technically a toy - she loves it. She loves digging in the garbage and getting things out of the cabinets. She's so much more inquisitive that the Doodlebug was. We could put him in the living room and he would sit there and play with his toys. NOT HER!!! She wants to explore and make a mess....and she is good at making messes. She likes to look at books. She's trying really hard to talk. And she's pretty much running now instead of walking. We're having lots of fun with both of the bugs.

I'll close with a funny Chad story. We went to Ruby Tequila's for lunch today. It was our first time to try it and it was really good. Not cheap - but good. Anyway, we were leaving and the girl at the front said, "how was everything?" Chad replied, "you too!!" As you can imagine, I giggled A LOT!

Sunday fun

Last night was the Golden Globes. John and Sarah & Jason came over and we had a little Golden Globes party. You know...any excuse to drink and make spinach queso and order fajitas. We had a good time. We had lots of laughs...mainly at other people's expense. We got to test the truly absorbent powers of the sham-wow when the cup that Chad was drinking his cape cod out of "fell" over and spilled on the carpet. The ladies on the Golden Globes looked very nice. And the gentlemen who bothered to shave and wash their hair before the show looked good too. We couldn't help but notice, however, that SEVERAL men at the show needed to shave and needed to wash and/or cut their dang hair. It's an award show people!!!! You need to shave. You need to wash your hair. And you need to get a friggin hair cut. If you look like that for a role then I'm going to need a note from the director explaining why you look dirty. Otherwise, dress the part of an award show attendee.

On another note, Disney World trip planning has commenced. We are planning a November trip. I figure that will give me plenty of time to save. Or not......

Tardy

I'm a little tardy with a Christmas and New Year's post. Sorry.

Let's start with Christmas.....

We are terrible parents. We took very few pictures on Christmas day. We've got video....but very few pictures. And that's pretty sad because they were pretty cute in their matching PJs. But if you got our Christmas card then you know what that looks like. Anyway, here is a picture of the bugs with the Dragon World Fortress. I'm lucky to have 2 bugs that play so well together - whether they are playing with a girl toy or a boy toy. I'm sure that won't always be the case but I can always hope right? I'm not going to bore you with a list of everything they got. Just know that they were very spoiled by Santa, grandparents, aunts and uncles. VERY spoiled.

New Year's Eve.....

We resurrected the "Potluck and PJs" party this year. The attendees were: Us, Michelle & Royce, John, Chuck & Melissa, Jason & Kristi, Chris & Elizabeth, Andrew, Jason & Sarah (sort of). Everyone is supposed to bring a snack and a cocktail of their choice. You are also required to wear PJs. Two reasons for this: 1 - you don't have to fret about finding the perfect dressy outfit for a new year's party. 2 - you are ready for bed at any point in the evening - just lay down and pass out; we'll put a blanket over you. Plus, PJs are just plain comfortable. We played blackjack and LCR. We played "Just Dance" on the Wii. We had an awesome time!!!! But once again, no pictures to share. They are either blurry or they would be an embarrassment to at least one person in the picture. It was a long, fun evening. Chad went to bed at 2:30 (bad move on his part). We had a lot of fun at his expense shortly after the went to bed. He vaguely remembers that. The rest of us stayed up until 4. Even Chuck!!! He's usually the first to start jelly-necking. What a trooper... It will be hard to top this year's party but I'm sure we will give it our best effort.

Freezing

Things I'm thankful for in freezing temperatures:

• Garages - I couldn't imagine getting into Eve this morning if she had been sitting outside all night long
• Seat heaters in Eve
• Drive thru's - so I don't have to get out of Eve to get my large, ice cold coke...ha!
• Scarves that Melissa has made for me
• Mittens
• Lunch duty
• The fact that I don't live in Topeka - Carrie and John are much colder than I am.
• A roof over my head with a heater that works
• A husband to snuggle with

Things I'm not thankful for in freezing temperatures:

• Taking kids to buses
• Wind
• Leg shaving
• Having to run into Kroger for 2 items
• Not having garages at work for Eve to sit in

Ladybug Party

In all of the sadness of the last few days, I've neglected to update everyone on the Ladybug turning 1. Can you believe it??!! She's ONE already! We had a....wait for it...a Ladybug themed party. Do you know how difficult it is to find red and black ladybug party supplies? They don't exist. There are party supplies with hot pink ladybugs but last time I checked, ladybugs were red and black, not hot pink. So a lot of our decorations were hand made by the one and only Chad Flora. You thought I was going to say Melissa, didn't you? I'll have to do a whole separate post on the decorations. Anyway, below is a picture of the Ladybug and the Doodlebug on the party day. She's sitting in her new red chair that she got from Granny and Granddaddy.
We got a bouncy house. Here she is with Maddie in the bouncy house - John in the background. Oh yes, even the adults get to jump. The Doodlebug got to invite a couple of friends over so he wouldn't be surrounded by girls and babies. I think he had more fun than anyone

My friend Lynn made the cake and the cupcakes. They were SOOOOOO good and the cake was so cute. Below is a picture of it. (And yes, the poster board it is sitting on was made by Chad). I highly recommend Lynn for all of your cake/cupcakes/cookie needs. She is fantastic! She even made the little ladybug candies that are sitting on top of the cupcakes. So yummy!
I could barely get the cake in front of the Ladybug before she started poking it.
The weather was great for the party. Everyone had a great time - kids and adults. The party lasted into the evening so we could celebrate Chuck's birthday too. He and the Ladybug share the same birthday. Me & Chad, John, Chuck & Melissa and the Nichols' all ordered fajitas and partied into the evening. Royce had to do a blindfolded taste test to prove he could tell the difference between a cupcake and a piece of cake. He's right - he can tell the difference.

We didn't get a separate cake for Chuck so I just took one of the Ladybug's cupcakes and put candles on it. I bought 40 candles and used all but one of them. You do the math.....

Heartbroken

I'm writing this post this morning with a broken heart. Last night while we were at dinner, Maxx got into the leftover goody bags from Carly's party. Those bags were filled with nothing but M&M's. He ingested anywhere from 1.5 to 2 cups of M&M's. I took him to the emergency clinic where they laid out a very detailed plan of what they were going to do to help him. Around step 3 he took a turn for the worse. He developed a severe case of pancreatitis. He's had this before but this case was so severe and came on so rapidly that his chances for survival were very low. He's also diabetic so that wasn't helping his case. Without going into all of the details, that I'm sure I'd get wrong anyway, we made the heartbreaking decision early this morning to let him go. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I've had Maxx since he was 6 weeks old - he was my first born. As hard as the decision was, I know it was the right thing to do. I didn't want him to suffer anymore than he had to. It was a decision Chad and I made together and I'm so incredibly thankful to have a such an awesomely strong husband. Maxx will be missed by so many people, no more than me, but I know he's in a much better place now. And I know his last couple of days here were good ones and I know one of the last things he did was something he really enjoyed - eating people food.

Bernice ma me na

That's right. "Bernice ma me na." Those are the new words to "Feliz Navidad." New words by the Doodlebug. Bernice ma me na. Just thought you might like to know.

Everyone sing!!!!!!