A Beautician I am NOT

You would think after my sister quietly snuck me into my bedroom and decided to do a little "home hair cut do" on me at a young age, I would've learned my lesson about DIY haircuts. Matt and I even tinkered with home hair cuts when our kids were young, another big mistake. And, now at 33 years old, I STILL haven't learned my lesson: "you are NOT a beautician!"

My lovely sister in law MacKenzie is a local stylist (and NOW miracle worker in my book ) here in Bowling Green at Salon Panache. I went to see her on Friday and had decided to have her cut me some bangs. She politely suggested that we "ease" into it which was a smart idea as HAIR doesn't grow back magically. She cut bangs, but they were the long version falling right around my eye and cheekbone. She tapered them more along my face and they really did look nice. I left there thinking, I can do this--style my hair, that is. After four days of pinning them back, I decided I'd had enough of the long bangs flopping in my face. Cute hair do's simply aren't on the top of my priority list these days. I don't have the time or know-how to style my hair cute and actually leave it alone. I like it pulled back and out of my face especially when I'm coaching or working with the kids at EEP. Like I said, Tuesday, I'd had enough. When I got home from school (after MUCH mental debate), I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got out my shears and gradually cut and cut until AHHHH, my bangs looked horrible. I got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and almost started hyperventilating. I'd just gotten off the phone with MacKenzie so I knew she had her phone on her. I called her immediately and she didn't answer and then texted her "call me ASAP." She did. I told her what happened and she told me she'd fix it. Whew! The really weren't drastically short and could actually be pinned back at that point, but I truly needed the help of a stylist to go out in public (with my pride in tact).

Long (bang) story, short, here's the new do. I haven't had bangs since 7th grade when I vowed to grow them out and NEVER cut them again. 20 years later, I felt differently. I think I've looked at myself about 1,000 times since Tuesday. It's hard getting used to something so different, but I'm adjusting. I haven't had my hair in a ponytail for two days which is weird. I can wear my hair down without it bugging me and falling in my face. It's actually quite cool having bangs. I even scored a stylish wrap at Apricot Lane and cute headband at Forever 21.

I'm not sure whether to keep the bangs or not at this point. I know they will grow out quickly because they are long already. BUT, I have gotten so many nice compliments about them and even been told that I look younger--very cool.

All About Bball

Saturday was basically spent indoors enjoying some basketball. I love basketball season. I couldn't care LESS about NCAA or NBA, but give me some local sports especially high school basketball and I'm there. I guess that's why I love coaching little girls. I love watching them learn the "basics" of the game and reliving the fun memories I had playing basketball in elementary school.

I hope I don't embarass Karson to much as her coach. At this point, she doesn't seem to mind. I really hope she sticks with this sport. She's nice and tall and pretty good. I think she scored 3 or 4 baskets at her first game. She even got to shoot some foul shots. I have to admit that I wasn't prepared for the first game as much as I would've liked. Our referee this year is NO-nonsense on the violations. He's very nice but doesn't let them get away with much. Now, I can appreciate this because that's the kind of officiating I had as a kid. BUT, our officials last year weren't tough at ALL. In fact, I don't think either one even knew the sport of basketball. So, I haven't been as strict with the girls in practice about their need for dribbling with only one hand, starting and stopping dribbling, running a little bit with the ball, etc. We've worked on it but apparently not as effectively as we need to. However, the game was great and almost all of the girls scored. I'd like to give any of you bloggers out there some great advice should you decide to coach little ones, give all of them a chance. Superstar players are going to be superstars, but everyone came to play and should get a chance to. SO, rotate your players around and let them actually learn the game instead of favoring the best. There's a time and league for that--not when they are little and trying to learn. I'd love to give that advice to some of my fellow MEN coaches.

Onto the next round, Isaac is playing for the Celtics. Oh yeah! I should be very happy that Isaac enjoyed his first game and had a blast, BUT anyone that was there, knows that this league (4 & 5) is basically a free frawl. In fact, I doubt I will sign Miles up for this league next year. I was a bit disappointed. There are no referees (which I don't remember being told this) and the coaches have whistles on but rarely blew them. The boys were running around like wild indians. The kids that were good and aggressive got the ball and kept it the whole time, some of them never dribbling once and moving around like a football running back. Our team only practiced once prior to their first game so I don't know why my expectations were high. I guess I just thought there would be more structure to the game than constant running around. But, like I said, Isaac loved every minute of the organized choas =). I think he mainly loves being with his friend Mason. They couldn't keep their hands off each other, and Isaac ended up going home with Mason after the game. They are the best of buds! There are only 6 total games in this league--that's a good thing because I don't think I can sit through more than that.

Matt and I got to go enjoy some good ol' fashioned high school basketball Saturday night at the South Warren vs. Greenwood game. I'm looking forward to some more local games mainly the BGHS and Central game. BG, what??? I've been converted to the county but my roots are still purple.

Oh COZY Night

I love nights like tonight when the weather is chilly and the fire place is toasty...

When treats are baking and mouths (mainly MINE) are watering...

Where little Isaac is snuggled up in a blanket...

When my sweet daughter used money in her piggy bank to go Christmas shopping for her uncles John, Seth, Andrew and Ben....

Where Miles is dancing and looking cuter than ever...

It's the perfect recipe for a cozy December night.

Three November birthdays for...

three special people in our family. I totally meant to post this last night as it was Matt's birthday and wanted it to fall under my NOVEMBER folder, but oh well. I'm not wonder woman, ya know! Fall, for us, means lots of birthdays to celebrate. We began at the first of the month, celebrating my Mom's on November 13th. My grandparents and uncle came to BG that day.

I cherish my time with all of them (especially Mike) even more these days. I realize how fragile life is and how special we need to treat those we love.

It's always hard to tell who is more excited about the celebration of birthdays in our family--the birthday person or the kids. I don't think an adult in our family has blown out their birthday candles for years =). I love it! I mean REALLY, I kind of stopped celebrating the birthday years after I turned 30. Now, birthdays come about as quickly as Christmas. And, my body tells me daily how old I'm getting and feel and how tired I am all the time. As Sue Maglinger once put it (after being knocked over by a wave at the beach), "the Golden Years SUCK." It's my blog, so I can say SUCK, can't I???

Onto the next special birthday in our family~Nana Debbie Deaton celebrated on the 26th. I was especially excited about Debbie's birthday this year because I made her a movie. Yeah, you heard me, a REAL movie. Look out James Cameron, there's a new Kathryn Bigelow in the hood and NO, I'm not interested in becoming your 6th wife. Colvin had a surprise 35th renewing of the marriage vows for Debbie back in late August. I got it all on video and wanted to try to make her a movie of it. I thought to myself, that would make a nice birthday gift. SO, I trained myself in iMovie and picked Paul's brain about a couple of things and viola, made a movie and burned it to iDVD. My ideal job would be to work on a Hollywood movie set (I imagine MOST people would love to do that, maybe not?). I got a tiny taste of movie making with this project and hope to do more (with kids videos, etc.). Back to the birthday, Karson and I made Debbie some delicious cupcakes but I had decided to purchase her a GiGi's gift card (my baking skills aren't the best). I would've gotten a picture of Debbie blowing out her candles but Miles managed to puff them out right when he walked in so the above and below shots were about ALL I got from Debbie's birthday. We sure do love NANA!!! And, she sure loved her DVD.

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Last but not least, we celebrated Matt's yesterday. Karson and I made a Wal-Mart run after basketball practice on Monday night. Okay, so maybe you readers out there think this is totally lame, but I'm not the greatest at gift giving especially when it comes to Matt. I'm not sure why but he's simply not a stuff-mart kind of guy. He likes books, music, semi-important things. He and I made a Kohl's run the other night to pick up some new digs for his student teaching in the spring. SO, he's set on the clothes front. I had NO idea what to get him. Here's what his gift bag consisted of: a Sports Illustrated magazine, a Kentucky koozie, some Eclipse gum and new underwear. I would've have included vitamins but thought those might be a little to practical--HAH. Everything in that bag was practical. Karson was tickled to pieces with our purchases. We also picked up a chocolate cake. That's just how Matt and I roll. We buy the things we need and want usually when we need or want them. I usually get my bday gifts and he gets his.

He picked Gattiland for his restaurant of choice for his birthday. We met Paul, Shannon, Daniel, Lisa and kids for some fun at pizza-land. The pizza's delicious but the game room, not so fun. It usually turns into a disaster as the kids pump in their tokens and receive very little ticket yield. $5 Tootsie rolls, oh yeah! Matt spent most of his birthday money and evening in the game room with crying kids =). Incidentally, I forgot my camera, but we had a super time. NOW, onto the next round of celebrations in December. Good Bye November, you sure did go by quickly.

Super Crime Fighter

Karson participated in WKU's Fall Super Saturdays again. Last year she did an acting class called Molding Magic with Monsters and based on the book "Where the Wild Things Are". This year I encouraged her to take a class that had to do with problem solving. She and I are completely addicted to Big Fish hidden puzzle/mystery games. She also loves Scooby Doo and whodunit types of activities. SO, when a class called Junior Crime Fighters was offered, I thought that would be right up her alley. I have to say that I wasn't as impressed this year as I was last year. Her teacher was nice but didn't seem as engaged (never smiled, wasn't friendly, simply didn't seem happy to be there) as I would've liked. I guess Karson enjoyed her time but getting her to talk about anything academic related is a nightmare.

The classes are four weeks and during the last class, the kids make a presentation. I was excited to see Karson showcase her crime fighting skills. Again, not impressed. The kids were in three different groups and acted like they didn't know what to do. Karson's group was shy and hiding under their jackets when all the parents came.

All the groups had worked on different posters of things they covered. I believe Karson did her entire poster because she was covered in green marker (as evidence suggested). Two girls in her group read quickly and sat down and Karson read the rest of the poster.

When all the groups were done presenting, the teacher said okay you can take your kids now. She never once talked about what was covered or what they had been going over the past four weeks in class. It was quite strange. I understand that not everyone is cut out to be a teacher, but Super Saturdays are pricey and I expected a little bit more. Regardless, Karson had fun and was always excited about going to class. AND, we have played the game Clue A LOT in our house the past few weeks. Who knows, I may have a future detective in my house???

Dance Central

Paul and Shannon recently purchased an Xbox 360 Kinect~very fun! I had to post this video of Karson and Elizabeth "Evacuate the Dancefloor"ing it up.

I especially love watching Elizabeth's head bob and Karson's facial expressions. I also like when Karson says, "We finally did one double diggin' right?" All the dances have different moves, and that was, hands down, a hard move. She's going to have to enroll in some Zumba classes to get hip movements like those! I know you can't see the TV but there is a period of time where you freestyle dance (when the girls start shaking their booties and going crazy) and then you get to watch yourself dancing. THEY LOVE THAT PART but go right back into form when it's time--so funny!

This is what the video should look like. I can't really tell a difference, can you? Maybe if the girls had "slinky" outfits and stiletto heels on, they could move better?

Quirks and Perks

What can I say, I'm FALLING behind on my November blogging. I did want to post a picture of our Halloween pumpkins this year. Isaac wanted an alien look and Karson wanted a traditional one. I wish the weather would have been warm like this week. The day we carved, it was about 50 degrees, windy and chilly. We lasted about 10 minutes outside and carved quickly. Isaac and Karson's pumpkins came from Jackson's Orchard. I made the mistake of buying a pie pumpkin for Miles from Wal-Mart not knowing that they are IMPOSSIBLE to hack in to. We almost broke our carving tools on it and eventually got out a butcher knife which didn't even make a dent. I'm sure a chainsaw would've worked, but we were to cold to try it. Miles didn't seem to mind and didn't even come outside for our carving time.

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I titled this post QUIRKS and PERKS to highlight some of the interesting things my kids do. I'll start with my baby Miles. QUIRKs: I believe he has eaten a PB & J everyday for the past...shoot, I can't even think that far back. He's already had one for breakfast and lunch just today. He loves them.

I met Matt at the park yesterday for lunch. He picked up some burgers for lunch, and Miles fussed because he wanted a PBJ. Really? A PBJ over a burger??? I do believe he'd had one for breakfast that morning too. Miles also LOVES hiding. He must hide in the van every single time he gets in. He hides right behind the passenger seat and peeks out. I have to say "Where's Miles, has anybody seen him?" and he pops out and says "Right here." If we play hide-n-seek in the house, he always hides under his bed covers, EVERY time. I have to pretend to look around the house everywhere. He actually thinks that's how the game is played--you pretend to look around even though you know where the person is hiding. It's so cute.

PERK: my handsome son's 3 year old preschool picture. As hard as it is, I try my best not to compare my kids because they truly are different in so many ways. Karson and Miles seem to favor each other more than they favor Isaac. Miles was born in October like Karson and is quite a bit older than his preschool friends. This tends to work to a child's advantage because they are older when they begin school and a bit more "mature". Karson picked up things so quickly. In fact, I believe she knew her entire alphabet during 3 year old preschool. Miles, on the other hand, would rather do flips on the couch or play video games than to sit down and learn something academic related. Karson simply took to it. I don't remember pushing anything on her (and Isaac was the same way--learning came/comes naturally to them). Miles is little more resistant and has LOUD opinions about the way he feels. He's a wee bit dramatic--he may be an actor??? His current loves are the Wii, DSi and iPad. I decided to take away those privileges for small bits of time for him to learn his numbers. I FORCED it on him. I have a feeling he is going to respond better to being FORCED. It wasn't pretty any of those times--lots of yelling, hitting, and pouty lips (not from me, of course). I'm happy to report that after about three weeks of this torture, he knows numbers 1-5.

Yeah, a great victory indeed. I'm not looking forward to beginning 6-10 or the alphabet, sheesh. BUT, I want him to be prepared for kindergarten, and I feel like I neglect him more in that arena because I'm simply worn out. It's much easier to let him do whatever he wants to instead of "forcing" him to learn the academic basics.

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Isaac honestly has to many quirks to count: besides eating a sausage biscuit for breakfast, lunch and dinner almost everyday, he's one the most interesting children I've ever met. There is never a dull moment with Isaac around. He's constantly going, going, going. He's writing books, making movies, setting up elaborate toy schemes in his room, etc. He's got the most vivid imagination of anyone I've ever met. His stuffed animals don't have basic names like most kids give their animals like fluffy or bear, or doggy. His animals have names like Jerry and Clouds. My point, he's simply a quirky child, you never know what he'll say, do or create.

Last night he came home with this big box and said it was a home for his bouncy ball. He's carried this SWEATER box around everywhere with that ball in it.

PERK: Isaac is passionate when it comes to loving me and Matt. He wants affection all the time. I love that about Matt. He's a very passionate and affectionate person, and it's obvious to me that Isaac possesses this trait. He wants to snuggle, cuddle, be near to us especially at night. He kisses me on the lips even on his SCHOOL field trip and has no reservations about sitting in my lap and canoodling. He never wants to go to bed and always asks to sleep with us. It's sweet and makes me happy. I sure hope he continues to be that affectionate as he gets older.

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QUIRKs: Karson has never been one to open up and talk about much especially when it involves school or anything we would like to hear MORE about. If you lay in bed with her at night, she becomes a chatty-cathy and tells you all kinds of random things. I don't know if she doesn't like to talk about important things because she JUST doesn't or wants to leave school work (social stuff) at school, etc. She's taking a Super Saturday class called Junior Crime Fighters but won't tell us ANYTHING about it or the teacher. I've pried out some information but very little at that. She does, however, tell me things on paper. For instance, one day last week she put a Build A Bear coupon by my bedroom door. I think that means, here's a coupon for BABW, maybe we'll go one day soon but I don't want to talk to you about it??? And yesterday, I received this piece of paper by the door

It says, Mom! I wanna ride my bike without training wheels. This is major for her. Karson and I are totally TOXIC in that kind of enviroment so I asked to Matt to work with her on it. SO, she's been practicing this week and wants to again today after school. Isn't it funny though that she told me on paper instead of telling me? Funny. I'm hoping to get one SOON that says Mom! I wanna get my ears pierced--love me some Claire's boutique.

Perk: Karson is a doll. I know her brothers can push her buttons, but in general, she is very tolerant of them and helps them out. She has the most kind heart. This week she made all her uncles Christmas cards and wanted to put money in them. I mean, seriously, how sweet is that. I love how kind and generous she is (and innocent in so many ways). I want to bottle up this year in her life and save it. I can't tell you how many moms tell me the teenage girl years are JUST THE WORST. I hope this isn't true. I pray that my daughter will continue to be mature beyond her age and loving to me and others. She's a sweetheart!

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I'm very blessed with my kids quirks and perks. I wouldn't have enough blog space to post all of my quirks. Matt talked about change in his sermon on Sunday. I've really been meditating on that this week and trying my best to change those areas of my life that need tending to. I don't know if it's simple holiday busyness, the time change, the weather change, hormonal changes, or WHAT, but I seem to get easily discouraged these days. I don't want to feel that way, and I know God doesn't want me to feel that way. SO, change is order...and prayers as always are appreciated.