What a difference a therapist makes!

2010 Christmas sans therapy and lots of stress:

~ No holiday cards made, sent, or thought about
~ No christmas cookies made
~ The kids decorated the christmas tree while I laid on the sofa watching
~ Didn't participate in any holiday events

2011 Christmas with therapy:

~ Photographed, addressed, stuffed, and sent holiday cards the 1st week of December
~ Baked Christmas cookies with neighbor and have too many to count, delivered more to neighbors we love
~ Made Star Wars paper snowflakes for the kids before they woke up. Now we have a Star Wars snowstorm
~ Let the kids decorate the tree alone again this year, (at their request) but had a difficult time NOT helping.
~ Did the Holidazzle with friends

I'm feeling so much lighter this year. Less stress. I had lost it, and have found it again. Thank god. This is going to be a good year. I can tell.

And now photos of events that make me happy!






Did I mention we did a gingerbread house this year?!?! Yeah. We totally did!


Happy Holidays from the Teepants'!

5 years.

Five years ago today we picked our sweet little Claire up from the airport. God I love this girl. I couldn't be any luckier.

AGAIN!

My husband is traveling again tomorrow. SJT...again? Yes again. For the 4th week in a row. I'm not bitter. But seriously. Fuck this shit.

It's sad when THIS is how my kids see their dad.


But I think this will be the last of the traveling for 2 weeks....then he's off to Michigan or Texas or wherever again in January. But I will still have 2 full weeks with him.

*sigh*

We're a hearty stock here in Minnesota. That or we're just crazy.

Tonight we took the kids downtown Minneapolis for the Holidazzle parade. It's so fun. My kids love it. We go with another family every year too. However, last year on the day we planned to go, we had a huge blizzard with below zero temps. So it was cancelled.

This year it was 20 degrees (a heat wave by most standards) and very nice. We parked quite a ways from the actual "hub" of the city. But that's because we had 5 kids under the age of 9. They needed to burn off the energy or they'd be the kids you hear about on the 10 o'clock news who were hit during the parade because they were running back in forth on Nicollet Avenue. And we'd be the parents who looked completely stupid, negligent and most likely have a super thick Minn-e-sot-ah accent. Oh brother.

As we got close to the parade time we posed the kids. Some were happy to oblige. Others? Not so much with that.



Then once we got our places, my girlfriend and I ran to the coffee shop for 5 hot cocoas and 3 coffees. On a side note. As you know if you follow me once in a while, I have been having major "digestive" issues. I can no longer drink coffee. I know. Right? Kill me now. But...I did find something that was quite heavenly at Caribou Coffee. It's called an Apple Blast. It's ridiculous. Hot cider with whipped cream and cinnamon. *smack smack smack* Ugh. But I digress.

After fighting a crowd at the coffee shop, we parlayed our butts to our seats. i.e the curb. And there amongst the many, we found our place. And when I say "the many", I'm not kidding.



Ah Minnesotans. We be crazy. But I have to say. I can't wait until the Winter Carnival.

Adoption can be tough sometimes.

When Miles came to us from Korea, he didn't have any issues with us. He looked right at us like he KNEW we were his family. He came to us willingly and happily. He smiled for Ryan and me. It's as if he already loved us.

The agency told us, "This isn't normal." They wanted to use us as members of a Korean adoption panel for potential adoptive parents, because I'm a first generation Korean adoptee, adopting a baby from Korea. Sounds promising. But after our post placement visits, they said that we wouldn't really be good panel members because we had no "adjustment or grieving from Miles at all." And that it wasn't really terribly fair to get parents hopes up that all kids coming from Korea would be so calm and loving. Eh whatever. Ryan on a panel, having to talk in front of a bunch of strangers? No thanks. So we happily went on our merry way loving Miles and maybe privately gloating that our son had no issues. That maybe because I was Korean too, it eased his adjustment, or we were positively the BEST parents of all time in the world. Nay...the universe.

Cut to us getting Claire. The kid bawled the moment she laid eyes on Ryan. She wouldn't let him hold her at the airport. She screamed bloody murder when he tried. We have a FABULOUS photo of said experience. She cried so hard after he tried to hold her at the airport, that when I took her back she fell asleep in my very arms. She cried for almost 4 weeks straight if I wasn't in her line of vision and basically needed me to HOLD her all the time. All night long. All the time, forever. Sadly I got sick like the first night she was here. It must have been my nerves. So Ryan had to take care of her. Some of the only times she was ok with him was when she was facing OUT of the Baby Bjorn, and was watching Ryan play Madden football on the Ps3. Ugh. But eventually she settled down. Her "adjustment" period was a tough one. She most certainly mourned her foster family. Poor baby. She was only 4 and half months old. But she was very sad.

After the first year, we were pretty unscathed. In all reality. We were lucky. She mourned, but it didn't ruin her. She was able to bond with all of us. However, I will say, the girl is really attached to me. I know Ryan will tell you the same thing. I swear when I'm hormonal, so is she. And she's just 5. Yikes!

And we thought all was well. Until 2 years ago. Around Miles' arrival date, (March 15th) he started getting nightmares. He'd cry out loud in his sleep and then when we calmed him down and he fell back asleep, he'd start crying and yelling again. Poor kid. Nightmares are the worst. And he couldn't really tell us what they were. After several sleepless nights for us all, I sat him down, and just asked him to think really hard about what his dreams were about. The boy remembered. He knew all along. He just didn't want to tell us. He said, "I keep getting lost and I can't find you or dad or Claire. I look everywhere. I try to call you on the phone, but I don't know where you guys are." Sad right? Then he looks me straight in the eye and says, "When do I have to go to my next family?"

Yeah. I know. Kills. We've always been honest with the kids about their birth PARENTS, their foster PARENTS, and how they came to live with us. And so in Miles' little 5 year old head, we were just a stop on the PARENT track. And that he would be eventually moving on to another set of PARENTS. But he said, "I like this family the best mom." *Tears tears sob sob sniff sniff* Oh my lord in heaven! So I assured him that he was stuck with us FOREVER. That he would never have another family until he got married and had his own family. He slept through the night that night and every one since.

The following year around the same time, (March 15th) he began a very odd tick. His eyes would roll into his head. I didn't know what the fuck was happening. I was scared. We brought him to his clinic and they said bring him to Children's ER. He could be having seizures. They look suspicious. SUSPICIOUS!?! Are you kidding me? And so he underwent lots of tests, and seizure testing. The verdict? He was displaying nervous ticks. Ugh. Another side effect. His adjustment periods were coming out every year around his arrival date. Not when he first arrived, but years later. And as soon as the date came and went, and we assured him he was safe and wouldn't have to leave us, the ticks, the nightmares. Stopped.

This year we are going low key. Getting together with our group of friends we met in Korea. But not making a huge deal out of things. Usually on the kids' arrival dates, we make a big deal. Cause to us. It's a big deal. To Claire, she gets to choose the restaurant we have dinner at, and that makes her day. To Miles it's stressful. And seemingly a reminder that he was with other families before he was with us. Sadly, with his age, also comes a clearer understanding of his adoption story, and his road to our family.

Hopefully Claire isn't going to deal with the same kinds of fears and worries. Her arrival date is next Monday.

Technical Difficulties. Stand by.

I'm just going to say, I'm too crabby to blog right now. But like the past post said, I have lots of good stuff...and even more now. But people are making me angry. And I don't want to complain about it here...so.....be back soon!

Until then...enjoy this hilariously adorable photo of Miles Dose-y-do-ing with his friend at the hoe down. He wasn't messing around.

Yikes!

Well, as I look at my poor pathetic attempt at posting these past few weeks, it hits me. I'm busy as hell. Ugh. I hate being this busy. And what am I doing? I have no flopping idea. I'm a stay at home mom, who's kids go to school. Granted Claire is only part time. Which translates into me having 1 and 1/2 hours to myself in the mid day, but seriously!

Ok. I guess looking at it, I HAVE re arranged almost every closet in my house, however they could really use a good clean out again. And I've been filling my time with doctor after doctor appointments. But really...what DO I do?

My bestie, (I love to say that...I feel like Amy Farrah Fowler from Big Bang Theory) just shared with me that a mutual friend of ours hates to hear SAHM's say they are busy. I hate it too. Cause seriously. WHAT do I do?

Anyway. Our lives will be filled with fun and excitement these next few days. Thanksgiving is around the corner! I love turkey day. It makes me ridiculously happy. With all the food, and family and shopping. Yep that's right Black Friday here I come.

I do intend to post a video of Miles' HOEDOWN. Cause let me tell you. It's just about the sweetest thing you'll ever see. When he dosey doe's I swear to God he's about to burst with gooey sticky sweetness. But....I can't figure out how to do it. So.....it'll have to wait.

At any rate. Have a Rip-roaring-eat-till-you-burst-or-till-your-pants-do Thanksgiving.

I think I've fallen into a slump

It's hilarious if you think about it.

I drive the neighbor girl to school everyday in the morning. My schedule is as follows. 7:45 pick up neighbor kid. 7:47 drop kid and Miles off at school. 7:50 come back home. Proceed with rest of day.

As you can tell it's early. And a very quick trip. No need to "pretty it up" to get the kids to school. So I wear the usual mom uniform. Yoga pants, tennis shoes, sweatshirt, and as of late, a jacket. Oh and the ever popular ponytail. Like, I wear it everyday. Then I come home, eat breakfast, feed Claire, and get her ready for school. THEN I take a shower and get ready for the rest of the day.

Yesterday, neighbor girl gets into the car, (she's in the 1st grade) settles in, looks at me with earnest, and says, "Mrs. Teepants, do you OWN any real clothes?"

*chirp chirp chirp*

Yeah. A 6 year old called me out on my fashion. I told her, "Nope. I only own one pair of pants and one shirt and one jacket. Wasn't it sad?"

Maybe I'll wear my wedding dress to pick her up today.

Look at what I'm dealing with

I swear. My kids are possessed. Claire hates her barbie doll. She said she had to "Hang her for her crimes." I don't know what those crimes are necessarily, but really? Should barbies HAVE crimes against little girls?


And no wonder neither of them can sleep well in their bedrooms. Messed up I tell ya. Messed up.

Miles' room signage:


And Claire's room:


And on such adorable stationary too.

Therapy is the new black

Well I'm just going to put it all out there now. (As if I haven't already) I've started going to therapy again. I went many many years ago after my divorce. I was diagnosed with PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Fucking A right it was. When you're beat daily and verbally abused for 3 years, it tends to mess a girl up. So I went. Did all the exercises, made all my appointments, and after quite sometime, I was able to move on from it. Not that there isn't some residual fall out from what I dealt with, but let me tell you, I'm not in the fetal position for a day because I "had a bad dream".

I'm not a girl who will let something that has happened to me DEFINE who I am. I don't like being held prisoner by my feelings.

So when events of my life, and how I feel about them, have creeped into my physical well being, I decided to FINALLY deal with it.

I went for the first time yesterday. Love the therapist. She's fabulous. In a one hour session, she was able to pinpoint what was happening and why. She was able to ask questions that I didn't even think about. She was able to find other things that may be contributing to my whatever it is. She's also testing me for Anxiety and situational depression. Sad right? I'm usually a pretty happy go lucky kind of person. I have a fabulous marriage, great kids, super friends and a supportive family that is unmatched.

However, there are things that are causing stress in my life, and I'm tired of being upset about it. So here I am. Talking about my feelings again. It's cool though. Half the world is in therapy, and the other half just doesn't know they need it yet.

Besides, I'm tired of being sick about every stupid little thing. It's getting old fast. So here's to a new and improved me. Yay me!

It was a dark and stormy night

Not really. It was a really pleasant evening. Halloween 2011 has come and gone. But the candy bags remain completely full. Granted it's only been 4 days, but 4 days with unlimited amounts of candy. And my kids have chosen not to eat it. (I have no idea who they're related to)

We began our Trick or Treating extravaganza a week earlier. Our local market has what they call a Boo Bash. Kids can dress up and trick or treat through the grocery store. If you're interested in going next year check out Kowalski's Market.

This year the kids went as Harry Potter and the Vampire Queen.


On the actual day of Halloween, Claire mixed it up. She loves dressing up and wanted to make her costume CREEPY. So she went as a porcelain doll zombie. Really. All her idea.


We also had quite a group this year. My sisters, my sister and brother in law, the neighbors, the OLD neighbors, and miscellaneous nieces and nephews. We covered the entire neighborhood and went to the fire department. It was quite a brood.




Hope you all had a great halloween!

I think it's tin?

Well today is Ryan and my 10 year anniversary. It's a beautiful day too! The sun is shining, the kids have the day off from school, we're going to the brew store.......*tire screech* Yep. You read that right.The kids have off. And we're going to the brew store.

Not exactly how I pictured it for my 10 year anniversary. Back in the day, Ryan and I had talked about going back to our honeymoon destination for our 10 year. We went to Door County Wisconsin. Loved it. You know how I hate the hot. So tropical anything was OUT. But a quiet B&B on a little cherry lovin' peninsula was right up our alley. Sadly, because we were the ONLY people there during the week we have NO photos of us together. Ha ha ha Classic Teepants planning.

Our wedding day with our BESTIES!


The following are proof we were alone in Door County. It's a bit pathetic, but whatever. There were NO lines in the wineries. Win WIN!




And to my sweet Ryan..... Thanks for making me a happy HAPPY lady! You rock!

Happy Days are here again!

Well hello sunshine! (Actually it's raining like crazy, but whatever.) I'm in a great mood today!

It's in the mid 50's temperature wise. The kids are happy. I gutted out a closet that had a leopard print shirt carcass (it was Ryan's no less), and a dear friend of mine actually called me today to "check in" because my last few posts were concerning her. Ha ha ha..seriously. I love my friends.

Claire is giddy as she was able to FINALLY purchase the FUSHIGI. It was on super Target clearance, and she has been saving her money. So she actually ended up with money left over! She and Miles are going to watch the instructional video tonight. *eye roll* I mean they did their dishes, showered, and brushed their teeth, as fast as their little crazy legs could carry them, so they could watch the stupid thing before bed. Ha ha ha...I'll be doing...something.......else......washing my toenails maybe.

Miles is experiencing his first of "cliques". Poor baby. He said he felt that some kids from another class were staring at him, and he didn't now why...but he was embarrassed. Then he hugged me and cried a little. I know this sounds sick, but I love that he'll tell me anything and still needs a hug from me. I know it won't last forever.

Oh well. Today is almost over. The rain is falling. It's nice and cool. Oh and I finally got my bangs trimmed. Seriously! Feeling good!

And thanks KW. You made my day today. Oh and we went apple picking with friends. I'm better now. Thanks!


I know your'e saying...DANG that's a lot of Koreans. And you'd be right.

Wow...

I'm super off today. Or should I say this week. I've been a major rage-o-hol. And it's totally bumming me out.

Certain things that people are doing are really rubbing me the wrong way. And let me tell you...NO ONE is impervious to my rage. It's so weird. Ugh. I need help.

I bet it's because it's been so frick fracking hot! 87 degrees in Minnesota in MID OCTOBER?!?! Seriously. I love fall so much and this is ruining it for me. Stupid heat. I.HATE.HOT.

And my hair is stupid.

I need a vacation.

Oh yeah...and the house remodel is done.

BEFORE: 90's possibly 80's grandma house (and that's being kind)







AFTER: YAY!!





Ryan did most of the work on this. With the exception of the hardwood floors and the granite. But seriously...not too shabby for a techie nerd.

Psychos need NOT apply

Today a very good friend of mine (We'll call her Martha) told me and some others, that she received quite a disturbing email from someone via Facebook.

Martha has like 1000 friends on Facebook, but seriously, this one friend is ONE too many. She emailed Martha and was all, "Let's be friends. I NEED you in my life. Here's all the ways you can contact me. Please Please PLEASE be my friend. I'm desperate. If you're my friend I promise I won't hunt you down, and wear your skin as a new coat and matching hat."

Ok so that last part was my OWN interpretation...but you get the gist of it. Creepy.

How in the world does someone get out of THAT situation?

If it were me, I'd change my name, get plastic surgery and fake my own death. But I'm all about the drama.

Really people?

Today is my day to send out strongly worded emails to the many people who have been pissing me off, letting me down, treating me like shit, or who haven't done what they're supposed to do. It's what happens when I have PMS.

And by strongly worded I mean BITCHY.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ryan's birthday is today! Wah hoo!!!! And how do I celebrate the love of my life's birthday?

Why, by picking my parents and their friends up from the airport at 6pm. And then...that's it. Maybe a rousing game of Jenga or two. Courtesy of the kids. (It was one of his birthday gifts the kids picked out.) But poor Ryan. No hub bub surrounding his birthday this year. But I've got this....



What more could someone want?

Waiting for the bus

Claire loves school. She loves the bus. Waiting for the bus is her "silly" time. Ryan has been working from home for the past month and will go to the bus stop with us. I love this kid.



She took the photo. We were bored today.

CIND-AH!!!!

Today is my little sister's 30th birthday. She's fabulous! I love her so much. It's ridiculous. No matter what happens she's always there for me. ALWAYS. So there's not much I won't do for her.

When she told me she was a tad bit heart broken that my parents would be in Spain for her 30th birthday. I had to do something. You have to understand, Cindi is the baby. She has always been the baby. And she was very sad my mom wouldn't be here for her birthday. To sing happy birthday to her.

My mom always sings happy birthday to us on our actual birthday. She calls really early in the morning, hoping to catch us off guard. Because if you have ever gotten "the call" from my mom on your birthday, you'll know it's in a weird hushed voice and she sings it super fast so we don't hang up on her, and it's totally off key. But God love the crazy bat....she always sings to us. She says, "I may not be in tune, but I'm enthusiastic!" And she is.

So here you go my dearest sister. Mom and Dad may be in Spain, but they love you...and how could you EVER go without hearing the song?



Happy Birthday to my sweet sister Cindi.
And now I'm done being nice....and thoughtful....and now.....I'm just your big sister who is mean.

Cindi and her friend Sara in HS. They were synchronized swimmers. Isn't she cute? She's the Asian one in the front.

*sigh*

All is well with the liver. I don't have to go back for a very long time. Things haven't changed and I couldn't be happier. The kids will miss those little chocolate mice.

The nerves have gotten to me. Ugh

Well. Monday I head on down to the Mayo Clinic AGAIN for my annual liver check. Since last year was a semi clean bill of health, ie: not removing a large major organ, I am optimistic. However. The doctor who is seeing me on Monday is the one who thinks...TAKE IT OUT!

Ugh. So back I go for poking prodding scanning and all around making me uncomfortable. And then....the waiting. But the one thing I love about the Mayo clinic, you get results ASAP. That same day. So..the waiting is minimal, but when you're waiting to see if you have to have major surgery, it seems to take a bit of time.

Either way, I'm sick to my stomach with stress. It happens with me. I get so worked up with just the thought of it. I love to have Ryan or my mom come with me, but Ryan has to be with the kids to get them to school, and my mom, well that selfish such and such is in Spain with my dad. Lucky bastards.

So I'll be going it alone this time. I'm hoping for good news. If it's not, the 2 hour drive home is really going to suck ass.

On the upside of things, I'll get to see some dear friends from HS who live in the area. I grew up with both of them and it will be nice to see them for a bit.

AAAANNNDDD...I'll be getting the chocolate mice for the kids. They have the best chocolate shop in the mall there. And they make adorable little chocolate mice. My kids have grown to appreciate them when I'm at Mayo. I always get them. This way, at least someone is happy about me being gone for the day. Wish me luck!

I have MBPD. (Multiple blog personality disorder)

I can't seem to find a design for my blog, that I really like. I'm all over the damn place lately. I'll get it just right. Sooner or later. Until then....sorry.

What the hell is a tween? And do I already have one at 5 years old?

Claire has found a way to get around getting in trouble for sassing and pouting.

When she sasses us, she says, "I'm not MAAAAAD, I'm just joking." Of course the obligatory smirk is in place. But it doesn't always save her. Trust me on that.

The newest thing she does is stomp around the house when she's mad. Since installing the hardwood floors, it's obvious to us, and most of the neighborhood, that she's pissed. But as she's stomping around she'll say to us, "I'M NOT STOMPING!! THESE SHOES ARE JUST SO LOUD!!!" And yes, she's usually yelling.

For sure the tween, pre teen, and teen years will be SUPER. And what the hell is a tween? Another term to explain kids being turds earlier than when we hit our teen turd-dom. It used to be baby, toddler, kid, teen. Now it's, baby, toddler, kid, tween, preteen, teen and so on. Anything to explain why kids are brattier than ever and earlier than usual.

Poor Ryan.

On a side note, I'm convinced she has something against her barbies. That, or she's a bit psychotic.

Change is good

Sometimes I like to change the look of my blog. Because I get bored with the old look. Because I have nothing better to do. And because it's fun to confuse my sister. Who constantly bitches to me about posting.

I get texts all the time that say, "Blog blog blog!!!!" "I"m bored. Would you blog?" I tell Ryan about it, and he says, "Tell HER to blog." Ha ha ha...I should. Oh whoops...I guess I just did.

So. Here you go Cindi....and by the way. Hope you don't get confused and think this isn't MY blog. That would be funny. Although I may end up getting texts that yell at me about, "Where did your blog go?!?!"

*Update:

I received this text at 10:39 this morning:
"Tell Ryan to blog, you guys are much more interesting than I am. The new look is nice and it did throw me off at first. I didn't know whose blog I was going to." ~my sister Cindi.

I love that she's always there for me and painfully predictable.

SCHOOL!!!

I didn't think it would come soon enough! The last week of summer was about ready to kill me. Miles was a major turd to his sister all week. I mean...MAJOR. "But isn't that what brothers are supposed to be like?" Hell no. If so I didn't get THAT memo. Whatever.

Glad school started. That's all I have to say about that. Miles is a much happier kid, and a lot kinder to be around. He missed his friends and I fear he was "over it" with his sister. To be fair. They did spend a lot of time together in the house this summer. Between the heat and the construction...yikes. Maybe it was my fault. But then....I really don't like blaming myself. Heh heh.

Miles started off to 2nd grade without a hitch. He was off and didn't even look back. He came home each day and did his homework, played with his sister (voluntarily too) and just was all around excited about the beginning of the year. Ahhhh.....I know you heard that collective Teepants sigh. Seriously. This is the ONLY photo I was allowed to take of Miles this year. I guess he's still being kind of a butt.


Claire on the other hand, started the big bad Kindergarten. I know it's only half days. But it's EVERY day. And she's my little buddy. And now I'm trapped at home all day. I have 2 hours to do things without kids. I guess Super Target will see a lot of me, and my house will be spotless again after 7 years of being a toy shit hole. Or I'll sit on my ass watching tv and eating bon bons. Hmmm......the decisions!

Claire had orientation the day before school. She was very apprehensive, but thankful it was a parents-must-come-too-and-endure-this-BRAND-new-kindergarten-teacher-who-thinks-kids-are-either-dumb-babies-or-tiny-puppies. Or lord. I'm not kidding. If her voice was any higher all the dogs in the neighborhood would have been howling at the door to see her. Ugh. It was almost insulting. But...it was kind and kept Claire calm. So..thanks new teacher. On a side note, this teacher she has, is only a long term substitute. The REAL teacher is a lot like me. Strict and right to the point. She is very kind, but not sugary sweet like this one. The REAL teacher is on maternity leave until November. Oh those poor kids are in for a rude awakening. Claire on the other hand will be ready. She knows the other teacher and lives that life here at home. The others...will be baby deer in the headlights. Just like their long term substitue. Yikes.
Claire at her desk on orientation day.


Her first day of school was surprisingly smooth. Thanks to a "new friend who can blow bubbles with HER gum too!" Claire was excited to go. Ryan and I walked her to the bus. She hip bumped with Ryan and danced around for a bit.


We waited much past her pick up time and then the bus finally came. It came from another direction from when it picked Miles up 2 years ago. That little difference threw Claire a bit. But she saw the bus, got in and then sat down ASAP. That girl was NOT messing around. And I thought, "Wow! She's ready! And NO tears!!!" Then I snapped a quick photo of her actually ON the bus. Her eyes say it all.

OH.SHIT.


It's a much different photo than the one I took of her BEFORE we left for the bus. She was all pose-y and wanted to "check to see which one was the best." Oh lord.


Thankfully the end of the day came quick. Ryan and I drove up to school to get the kids. See I said...KID-S. Ugh. Anyway...they were so cute walking to the car together. I almost cried. The first thing Claire said to us when she got in the car, "WE HAD CUPCAKES BECAUSE SOMEONE TURNED 6!!!! I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!!!" And that was that. Happy as a clam the rest of the night. Almost delirious. Like all her stress had melted away and she was jubilant. I mean..that's the word. Jubilant.

On a side. I almost lost my shit after the bus pulled away. Ryan was giving me the "poor sweetie" back rub and I was about to bust, but then my nosey old neighbor was all up in our business. She was living the moment with us and I was not down with that. So....I chatted with her and went on with my day. Ah well...another kid in kindergarten and another time when I should have cried, but someone RUINED it for me. Ah....I'm sure I'll cry another time. It's not like my bawling doesn't happen on a regular basis.

And we're off.

Summer has come and gone. *sigh*

Generally speaking I don't care for summer. I hate the hot, the humidity, the trying to fill days with things to do for the kids so they're not "bored". I'm not terribly creative. Parks and museums can only go so far. This summer has been ridiculously hot and humid. Which stuck us in the house quite a bit. Couple that with major renovations, kids who learned how to fight with each other about everything, and it was going to be a long summer.

However. Here I am. The very very end of August. And school just around the corner. And yes...*sob* Claire is going to Kindergarten this year. I look back at our summer and think...."Shit! That was fast!!!" So....here is a photo representation of our summer. After our big trip to the BWCA, we did a lot close to home. With the exception of a trip to Iowa. For Ryan's work. NOT for fun and relaxation.

There were 2 birthdays. A huge ridiculous joint birthday party at a roller rink with 25 kids ages 5-7. Korean Culture Camp. A few playdates with friends who we love. And of course the Minnesota State Fair.

Tomorrow will be back to school for both kids. Did you see that? BOTH kids. WAAaaaahhhh....




This girl with Miles was his "camp girlfriend". She was the teen helper in his class and she always held his hand. He loved her. And cried the last day of camp because he wouldn't see her again. It was sad.









Claire HAS to have her Cotton Candy. It's the only thing she asks for at the fair.





Well happy summer all. Next post...will be one of two things. The finished upstairs, or the sobbing mom of 2 school age kids.

*I made the photos tiny because there are so many. If you want to see the larger version, just click on it.