And just like that there is a teenager in the house!!

We're baaaack!!  I have got to get better about blogging (I am pretty sure I have heard those words before).

Let's start things off with Kari's birthday!  My baby turned 13...how is that possible???  And apparently 13 is not too old for a Justin Bieber cake because that is just what she ordered.  My sweet neighbor, Rachael, made her this awesome cake (it tasted UH-MAZING!!)

We did a little celebrating with the family and one of Kari's BFFs, Victoria.

So how is life going with a teenager in the house you ask??  My only answer to that question is drama, mood swings, tears, slamming doors....but then there is the fact that she still loves to cuddle with her mama, she is sweet, she is helpful around the house (most of the time), and she adores kids!!!  All the kids at the neighborhood park LOVE her :)  So just when I want to kill her or lock her up until she is 25, she does something sweet....I think it is a good thing that she has a big heart, it has saved her on many occasions!!!

Until next time......

Yep...I said it

So, we have found a church that we love!!  The best part is they have a service on Friday evenings at 7pm because, believe me, I can come up with 1 million different reasons why I can't get up and go to church on Sunday mornings.  Sorry God.  So we go on Friday evenings. 

The downside is that by Friday evening, Kari is usually in her typical 12 (almost 13) year old "I have had a long week and am so tired and crabby" mood.  You know, where EVERYTHING is drama....if you have a girl, you know exactly what I am talking about :).  So we walk in to church and it starts with wanting hot chocolate from the coffee bar, which takes her exactly too many minutes to make and it is already 7pm.  So I tell her to go ahead and then meet us in the church....and I get the look.  Now keep in mind we sit in the same area EVERY week, it's not like she won't know where we are sitting.  She wants me to stand there for 3 hours while she stirs her hot chocolate.  I tell her no and she stomps off to make her hot chocolate with a "fine" muttered under her breath.  Let me stop here and say....if this is 12, I can't wait until 15...omg!!

Anyway, fast forward and she now has hot chocolate and she should be happy, right??  Haha!  So then it is on to something else and something else, etc.  So I lean over and tell her....."do not make me smack you right here in church, the House of the Lord.  Although, I am pretty sure God would be okay with me smacking you about now."  Sorry again, God.  Of course, we don't smack Kari, but sometimes I think I could make a pretty good argument for it.  She just stared at me, but I do have to say, she did straighten up for the rest of the time.  So, we here in the Lance family are not above threats in church....it's just how we roll.

Until next time....

Grief and a broken heart

So, my therapist thought it would be helpful if I found some creative outlets to help me work through the grief (more on that later).  Does blogging count??

I know, I didn't exactly strive in life to be able to say the words "my therapist thought.....", but there you go.  Life throws you curve balls and you do what you have to do to get through.

On December 5th, 2012, my oldest brother passed away unexpectedly in his sleep.  He was 48 years old.  Not only was he my brother, but he was my best friend.  We talked daily and had for many, many years.  He might have been 10 years older than me, but we were extremely close.  I was/am devastated by his loss.  It has brought me to my knees and I am still struggling to stand up.  Some days I think I have it only to be reminded a few days later that I don't. 

Grief is a bitch.  It sneaks up on you when you least expect and breaks your heart.  It makes you wander around the house forgetting what you were doing or why you were in the kitchen/bedroom/bathroom, etc.  It makes you forget things like birthdays, anniversaries, getting bread on the way home, picking up the dry cleaning.  It can make simple every day things like grocery shopping seem like climbing Mount Everest.  It makes you forget the last time you got your hair done and has it really been 3 months???  It can make you forget to eat or at other times you can never seem to get full....trying to fill that hole with anything that might make you feel better, even for a minute.  It makes you have bad dreams that stay with you for the entire next day.  It can make your heart race for no reason.  It can let you laugh one minute only to follow with a wave of sadness so intense that all you can do is lay down and cry.  It makes your 12 year old look at you out of the blue with huge crocodile tears and say "I just miss him" and it rips your heart apart even more than it already is.

I miss my brother every second of every day.  Kari misses her Bubby. 

I do believe that everything happens according to God's plan and there is a reason for everything.  So I search for the good in this because I know it is there somewhere....somewhere....

So I am trying to live a better life....I guess it is my work in progress for 2013.  Trying to find joy in the things that matter and don't worry about the things that don't matter.  Trying to find a place to reach out of myself and give back, volunteer, help someone less fortunate than me.  And maybe writing about this on this blog will reach one person going through the same thing and they can think "I am not alone". 

Even with all this sorrow, I am blessed beyond words.  And I was more than blessed to have known this great man, my big brother, for all my 38 years.....

                                                  John David Ensminger

                                                  January 30, 1964 - December 5, 2012

Until next time....

Back Up Plan

So, it was school picture time again this last Friday.  I always like to shoot a few pictures with my own camera before we leave for school.  You know, as a backup plan.  We all know how well school pictures tend to turn out :)

After you spend a million dollars on a package for a picture you will not see before they do the prints, you want to make sure your bases are covered.  Meaning, you don't want to have to put the dorky picture up in the living room 8x10.  Just sayin'

Here are my backup shots which are actually my first choice shots :)

My baby is growing up a little more everyday...how can I stop this???

I think she is turning into a beautiful young lady, but I am her mom so I might be a little biased!!

Here's to school picture day....

Until next time.....

McRomney

Here is the conversation in our car on the way to school yesterday:

Kari:  Is today election day?

Me:  Yes

Kari:  I hope Mick Romney wins.

Me (trying not to bust out laughing):  What is his first name?

Kari (with a blank look on her face):  I don't know.

Me (still trying not to laugh):  What is his last name?

Kari:  McRomney

Me (dying laughing):  No sweetheart, it is Mitt Romney.

Priceless...

Until next time....

My New TV Show Obsession

So, the beauty of Netflix is that you can catch up on several seasons of a show.  I had heard a lot of people talking about one show in particular and decided I would start from Season 1 and give it a try.

I became obsessed with the show Breaking Bad.  Seasons 1-4 were on Netflix (with no commercials I might add).  Some nights I would stay up until 2 in the morning just to watch "one more show".

This is not a family show and sometimes I found myself saying "OMG!"  But it is like a bad car accident....you just can't help it, you have to keep watching.  To hear the summary of the show, you would think "well, that doesn't sound all that great".  But, believe me, it is!!

I quickly made my way to Season 5, which was the current season this summer.  At that point I couldn't find it On Demand or anywhere.  The only place I could find it was on iTunes with a Season 5 Season Pass for $22.99.  Now normally, I wouldn't pay that much for a TV series, but remember at this point I was so far in that I just HAD to see Season 5.  So I paid for it and quickly began watching the new season.  I made it through the 9 episodes rather quickly (the rest of the season won't be released until next summer...UGH)

When I had watched every episode there was, I found myself in Breaking Bad withdrawal.  I even pondered the idea of starting over at Season 1 and watching it all over again....just to get my Breaking Bad fix.  Now I am just waiting patiently for next summer and the rest of Season 5.

So if you haven't seen this show, try it out...you might just like it :)

Until next time.....

A shout out for my neighbors :)

Two of my neighbors have businesses out of their homes.  I thought I would give each of them a shout out here on my blog because they are awesome at what they do!! 

My across the street neighbor who I mentioned in an earlier post (the one with the 2 cute kiddos that have made an appearance on my blog), she has a cake/cupcake/cookie business.  And let me tell you they are all YUMMY!!

My down the street and take a right neighbor does face painting.  She is awesome!!  I saw first hand on Halloween just how good she is!!

So if you are in the market for a cake or hiring someone to do some face painting (either individual or for a party), give these ladies a call.  You won't regret it :)!!

Until next time.....



Happy Halloween!!

 

First, let me start this Halloween tale with a little (okay long) story to catch you up.....

About 2 weeks ago, we went out for a walk and Kari walked over some uneven/broken sidewalk and rolled her ankle off the sidewalk into a little hole where some sidewalk used to be.  Of course, it swelled up and off to urgent care we go.  They diagnose her with a sprained ankle, put her in a gel splint, add some crutches and she was good to go.  So we thought....

3 days later, she was no better.  So I got her into the foot/ankle ortho.  She has actually fractured her ankle....a minor one, but a fracture none the less.  So they put her in a boot and tell her to use the crutches until she is comfortable walking in the boot....which might be a couple of weeks.

Of course, we had already ordered her Halloween costume to the tune of $49.99.  FYI, when they grow out of the kids sizes and have to order from the teen/youth sizes, they add an extra $20 onto the costume.  Not to mention, you have to add things like leggings and turtlenecks to the teen costumes because they can be slutty inappropriate.

We had made plans to trick or treat with some friends of ours in their neighborhood just like we have for the last few years....it has become one of our favorite Halloween traditions.  However, I had some concerns that Kari would not be able to trick or treat.  She was on crutches for goodness sake....I had visions of making it 10 houses and she would be done and wouldn't be able to make it back to the house.  Not to mention, I was sure I was going to have to carry the candy bag to the doors for her.  So a few times I gently (remember we are dealing with a 12 year old with out of control hormones....you don't want to set off the monster), told her that I didn't think it was a good idea to trick or treat.  It was always met with "MOM, I CAN TRICK OR TREAT FINE ON CRUTCHES!!!"  Okay, whatever....

Fast forward to Halloween morning (finally to the Halloween part of the story)....Kari looks at me and says "Mom, I just don't think I can trick or treat tonight with crutches and my ankle hurting"  Thank you baby Jesus!!

So it was decided she would dress up and we would sit out front of the house and hand out candy. 

So I present to you the injured kitty cat.....

 

I could not have a true Halloween post without showing you pictures of our CUTE neighbors, Claudia and AJ.  Claudia is so photogenic and will sit for forever and let me take tons of pictures....love it!

So, the evening was a success and we had a great time sitting out front with our next door neighbors handing out candy.

The only thing is....we heard very few thank yous from kids after they got their candy.  What???  What is this world coming to?? 

By the way, I know several things about Kari being injured:

1.  Yes, I know she gets injured a lot

2. Yes, I know we need to wrap her in bubble wrap and make her wear a helmet.

3.  Yes, I worry a little that CPS will come knocking on our door :)

4.  No, she does not have the disease that makes her have weak bones.

5.  Yes, we have gotten our money's worth out of our crutches

ETC :)

Until next time....

Halloween Rewind

In celebration of Halloween today, I decided to take a look back at Kari's first official Halloween.  Her real first Halloween she was 4 months old.  This Halloween 2001, she was 16 months old and Ashley had just turned 11.

 Ashley was a witch (obviously) and Kari was her black cat.  Oh how I miss those days...I want them both to be this age again :)

Until next time.....

I'm on a roll :)

So I haven't blogged in forever and now I am on a roll.  Make sure to scroll down to catch up on all the latest Lance Adventures :)

Until next time.....

A little Hawaii for your day!

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at school.  You know, the big say no to drugs campaign.  Each day the kids were to do something different to participate in Red Ribbon Week. 

 One day was Hawaiian day...I can't remember how they worked that in to say no to drugs.  Kari had the perfect skirt and of course we had all the accessories we bought when we were on vacation in Hawaii.  Nothing like a little Hawaii for your day.....

By the way, where did my baby go???

Until next time....

Best Neighbor Award

Our neighbor across the street, Rachel, should win the best neighbor award....hands down.

Not because she is so sweet, which she is.

Not because she will drop whatever she is doing at a moment's notice to run an errand for me when I am sick, which she will.

Not because she has the 2 cutest kids, which she does. Just take a look...

She should win because she has a cake/cupcake/cookie business on the side.  When she tries out new recipes, guess who gets to eat them???  You got it...the Lance clan

Not the actual cupcake

Last night, she tried a new frosting recipe for cupcakes.  She brought us 3 cupcakes...of course, we are always trying to talk each other out of eating their cupcake, so that someone can have 2 :)

I love this about Rachel....you can be having a totally crappy day...which I was because the terrible 2s and 3s have nothing on having a 12 year old girl with hormones raging out of control (this is a whole other very long post).  And there she is on my doorstep with cupcakes in her hand.  Love it!!

I also love the fact that she is all the things I wrote in the beginning of this post...sweet, willing to drop whatever to run an errand, and always has a smile on her face.  I also love sitting down and just chit chatting with her :)

I have to confess, I might have on one occasion when she brought cupcakes over during the day when no one was home but me, eaten all 3 and pretended that it never happened.  Might have....just sayin'.

So Rachel, here's to you....the Best Neighbor
Award goes to you!! :)

Until next time....

Good-bye Gymnastics

Kari quit retired from gymnastics this last June.  There were many reasons why, but the main one was that she had run her course in the sport and was ready for something different/more.  She had been doing gymnastics since she was 5. 

I am not going to lie, I wasn't all that broken up about not having to get her to practice 5 days a week or sitting through hours of gymnastics competitions to watch my daughter for under 2 minutes.  It was nice once school started not to have to make her start her homework in the car on the way home from school.  And to tell her to stop wasting time chewing her food and just inhale :)

So this summer she picked up volleyball and loved it!!  She played in a summer league and then we signed her up for the fall.  In addition, she made the 7th grade girls volleyball team at her middle school.  Not too bad for someone who just started volleyball in the summer.

Does she miss gymnastics??  Sometimes, I think.  I know she really likes all her extra free time now.  She has plenty of time to get her homework done and (gasp!) go outside to the park and play with her friends.  Do I miss it??  Sometimes, I think.

Until next time....

Is it really possible???

Is it really possible that my sweet girl, Ashley, is graduating from college in a little under 2 months??  Really??  We are so proud of her and all her hard work....she has awesome grades, works, and volunteers.  And did I mention, she did it in 3 1/2 years instead of 4? 

But I am starting to feel that tug at my heart, especially when I opened up the box of announcements that I ordered for her upcoming graduation.  It is a little stronger than the one I felt when she graduated high school.  After all, she still would be in the cocoon of college and only 5 hours away by car and 1 hour by plane.  Now, she is headed out into the real world.  Her true passion is Marine Biology and working with Marine animals, especially dolphins.  She is applying for internships all over the United States.  So she could soon be further away than the 5 hours she is now.  Another tug at my heart.

You know it's funny, my mother-in-law reminded me of the time we took Ashley to Moody Gardens in Galveston on vacation when she was about 4 or 5.  Who would have thought all these years later that is where her college graduation will be taking place?  Another tug.

The biggest tug of all are these beautiful graduation pictures that were recently taken.  By the way, I could not decide on just one wallet/pose to include in her announcement, so I might have included 4 wallets/poses.....

There are no words to fully explain how much I love this girl and how proud I am of her.  It is a true blessing that she came into my life when she was 3 years old.  I may not have given birth to her, but in my heart she is mine.  I will be one proud Mom on December 15th at her graduation :)

Until next time.....

Fall Spirit!!

So I fell off the blogging wagon....you haven't heard from me in awhile.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  So instead of the overwhelming task of blogging everything I missed blogging about for the last 8 months, I am just starting fresh.  Here we go....

I love Fall...it is my favorite season.  But not when it is 90 degrees out.  So with the cold front that came through recently, my Fall spirit came out :)  Here are some pictures to tell the story....

 

 

Kari and I painted the pumpkins....with stencils, of course.  I am not that talented :)  Steve and Kari carved the pumpkins (I hate carving pumpkins, so I leave that job to Steve every year).  So fall has arrived at the Lance house.  Now let's just keep our fingers crossed that none of our pumpkins get smashed in the street. 

Until next time......