First day of VBS

Today was Keree's first day of Vacation Bible School. We don't attend the one held at our church because it's so expensive ($40 a child). Plus, growing up, I always attended the Baptist Church's VBS because that was the church my Grandparents attended even though they weren't that religion. But back to Keree, she's been looking forward to VBS all year because this year meant she was old enough to sing in the musical!  This morning when we arrived, they started practicing their singing and she was downright giddy. Today they pretended to visit Brazil, Keree said that they painted a picture of the ocean. They also learned about one of the church's many missions they support in South America.

After VBS, we headed over to the Library to have Keree's reading log stamped. For her weekly prize, she decided to choose a foam donut.

2 Years Ago....

today my Dad passed away. Honestly, I think I'm probably the only one who remembered him today. I mean I was around my Bro for the most of yesterday and he didn't say anything. This year has hard, there have been moments when I really needed his advice, there were times when he needed to be the one to fight the battle  with his family and most of all, he really needed to be here to see Keree grow. He would have been so proud of her. I really hate that there physical relationship was 9 months together, for 9 months she got to feel the love of her Grandpa. I have asked my Step-Mom if she would bury my Dad (he was cremated) and get him a headstone. She won't talk to me or return my phone calls. Keree doesn't understand why we can't go visit his grave site. I tell her that I don't remember where it is because honestly I don't want to have the in-depth conversation with her on cremation. And then tell her, that my Dad, her Grandpa is in a box in my Step-Mom's basement. So Dad, I remember you today, on Memorial day and really wish your time here on Earth wasn't so short. I miss you alot!

Otherwise, my Brother was in this weekend picking up more of his stuff. Of course, he had to come in while we are in the middle of a heat wave. Seriously, I really wish he could have waited maybe 3-4 days when we will be back in the low 70's. I still can't believe in a few short weeks he'll be moving to Michigan. Before he left we played with Keree's bow and arrow. We had to be quite the site with Raggedy Ann set up as our target. We all got a little teary-eyed at the end when we realized it would probably be the last time, we all would play together at this house in this yard. I know we are all ready for some new adventures, it's just a little sad when you think this was the house, I brought Keree home too. My Grandparents also came in, so we meet them for dinner tonight. They wanted to treat Keree out to McD's so she could get a Happy Meal. We enjoyed a nice dinner together, even if it was McD's before we headed back to their hotel room. My Grandma's Big Sister, Aunt Bonnie and Hubby, Uncle Bill came to visit them before they head back home tomorrow. We actually had a nice time visiting with all of them and didn't get home till almost 11p.

Lazy Sunday

Keree woke up this morning before 5a. My Mom and I tried our best to convince her to go back to sleep but to no avail, she refused. Actually, to tell the truth she got down right nasty about us sleeping in because according to her she was starving to death. I told her if she really was that hungry to go and get a breakfast bar but instead she stomped around, screaming that she wanted a real breakfast. Needless to say this is far from typical behavior. Honestly, she is usually an angel, so I was torn on if I should punish her or not. Instead, I drug myself out of bed and I'm pretty sure there were some ugly words muttered under my breath. We opted out of going to church and headed to the grocery store because I was out of all decent breakfast or really any food. Keree was a dream basically from the time I got out of bed till she went to bed. After our shopping trip, we headed home, had a nice breakfast and then I went to work scanning. Since we are almost 99.9% for sure we will be in a new place before the school year, I don't want to be dragging along extra paper if all I have to do is make a digital copy. Keree spent her time playing on her DS. I have to say, I loathe her DS system. Most kids in her class don't even have one and I hate that I have to put limits on it. I hate that this is the first thing I threaten to take away if she's misbehaving. Maybe it's because it's was a gift from my Step-Mom? Maybe this stupid DS represents what a rocky relationship we are having with her and what is missing with my Dad being gone. So since I didn't want Keree playing the entire day on her DS, I didn't finish all that I wanted to get done. We spent the afternoon reading, talking and watching her just be goofy. I have to say, her air guitar skills have a long way to go. My Mom and Keree went to bed early. I have to say it's nice sometimes to have a few minutes to myself, to watch mindless tv, surf the web and actually write a post on this blog.

Day Two of the New Year

My entire house woke up late this morning...by late, I mean it was 10 minutes till 9am. We had planned on having breakfast and then taking a few family pictures before my Brother head home to Ohio. But since it was so late, we skipped breakfast and captured a few family pictures since we didn't get any during Christmas. We were all surprised at how well they turned out since we had the camera sat on some boxes and the timer set. After pictures were taken, we helped my Brother load a few more boxes into his car and then said our good-byes. Being that he will be moving to Michigan before late spring, we know our visits with him will become less frequent. Well unless Keree has her way, she told me that she's ready for us to move and live with Uncle. Since we were starving, I decided to throw together a crustless quiche. Literally, I started off with a basic recipe and then started adding other stuff that sounded good. So our crustless quiche had spinach, ham, onions,

roasted red peppers and 3 kinds of cheese in it. I honestly didn't know how it was going to taste but it was so pretty coming out of the oven that I had to take a picture. Thankfully, it tasted as good as it looked. As for the rest of our day, Keree spent her time playing on her new ds that my Step-Mom got her for Christmas. My Mom and I worked on adding photos to the shop website. So not a very eventful day two of the New Year.

Memorial Day

I feel like I'm so behind on everything. I want Keree to have this awesome summer, full of fun activites but between the work, shows and general life and family drama....I have no time for the fun stuff. We got to see my Brother for a short time today before he headed home to OH. I hate that everytime he comes home he seems so stressed out that he can't enjoy himself. So, I fixed a huge lunch - bratwursts, spatzel casserole and turnip fries. I've eaten spatzel while I lived in Germany, so I was excited to fix it myself. Needless to say, it's so much better in Germany! Otherwise the turnip fries is a twist on traditional fries made with potatoes. They were ok, I will make them again and try adding some seasoning to them instead of just tossing them in light olive oil and parmesan cheese. Before my Brother left, Keree and him played outside. We found this awesome doorway toss on clearance for $1.49. It's perfect to put on our outside flag holder. They spent a good hour seeing how many point they good get, how far they could throw and tossing them from the front and back. For the rest of our day after my Brother left, I worked on business stuff. I know I've said it more than once but there isn't enough hours in the day. When I woke up this morning, I honestly thought about taking Keree and going up to the Memorial Day observance at the family plot (my Dad's side of the family) at the cemetary. It's a little weird to think that it was the first time in 60+ years that our family wasn't represented. I know my Grandpa is looking down on me, shaking his head that I didn't go but right now, I'm just not ready to go up there. Right now, I can't get pass the pain, heartache and disappointment from that entire family. But since it's Memorial Day (aka Decoration Day) , I remember the service members in my life, who I have lost - my Uncle Tootsie who served in the Korean War, my Uncle L'mont (US Army Infantry) who served and was killed in WWII, Uncle Sherman (US Army), Cousin Wayne (US Army) and my love, Dominic (US Navy).

Today

One Year Ago....Losing my Dad

It's hard to believe it's been one year since my Dad passed on. I'm pretty sure that there's only a handful that will remember it was today. Honestly, I'm not even sure my Step-Mom will remember. I have to say this past year has been hard without him. As much as we weren't apart of each other lives over the years....I have found that in all honestly are lives were really intertwined. Keree misses her Grandpa, we talk about him often. We talk about how he liked to play monster with her. She says how silly he was. We talk about how Grandpa liked to pretend to be a vampire when Mommy was little and now I carry on the tradition and pretend to be a vampire and chase her. I think what surprises me most, is how much I miss him still, how many times I stop and just want to pick up the phone and call him but I know he's not there. I think it's even harder to get over losing him because he spent so many years pushing us away, not wanting us around and then in the last year of his life, he wanted us there, he wanted a relationship with us, he enjoyed being around us.

So, Dad, our time with you was way to short and I miss you more than I ever thought I would. Love you forever!

3 days till Opening Day

Since this morning, was my Mom's doctor's appointment, I decided to keep Keree home from school. This way I didn't have to pull her out early. Luckily, that meant I was able to sleep in a little longer. I flipped on cartoons, pulled the cover back over my head and got a extra 1/2 hr to sleep which was great with how sluggish and sore I still feel from last weeks sickness. We got to my Mom's doc appointment almost a 1/2 hr early but she still had to wait over an hour and half after her appointment time to get in. Luckily the appointment went as well as can be expected. While my Mom was waiting to be seen, Keree and I hung out in the car. Honestly, I hate to sit in the waiting room there because every time we do, we end up catching something. So we opt for the car. While we were in the car, Keree worked on some spanish lessons with a cd. What is amazing is each of the spanish lessons are broken down into easy to learn sections. We worked on colors and numbers today. I don't remember where I got the books/cds but they were only $1 a piece and Keree has caught on so quickly with them. After we finished them, we then worked on some 1st grade workbooks, I had also picked up. Keree almost finished the reading workbook and only touched a little bit of the math workbook. Of course, since we still had time to wait, we then drug out the Addition flash cards and worked on them. On our way home, I had to stop and pick up some pictures I had printed from the store. I was so mad because they weren't printed right and even though the Manager was working the counter, she told me to come back tomorrow to have them fixed because she didn't know what to do. Seriously, great customer service. Once home, it was past 1p. Keree ate a quick lunch and went down for a nap without fuss, which was great. So I spent my afternoon, trying to catch up on everything I put off from not feeling well. Of course, my day couldn't go completely well. The AT called this afternoon and basically said everything I didn't want to hear. So since today is Monday and it's only 3 more days till my Hometown Baseball team's opening day, I decided on a baseball themed Muffin Tin for dinner. I honestly say this was one of the most fun I have had since Halloween in creating a Muffin tin. So without further ado, I used baseball themed muffin liners turned inside out so you could see the picture. In my first cup, I took 2 piece of cheese and created my own Cards baseball player, which ball player he is, well that's a toss-up. Keree said it was Wainwright. I free-handed the ballplayer cut out with a knife because I don't own a cookie cutter shaped like that. I then drew all the small details on with edible markers. Next up is an ice cream baseball. I used vanilla ice cream for the ball and then cut little pieces of red licorice for the stitching detail. In the final cup of that row was a cherry flavored cupcake, I got at the grocery store with a Cards hat on it. It was just so cute and totally fit the theme. In the second row, the first cup contains a Home plate. All I did for this is cut the bread with a knife into the shape. It looked so plain but honestly a home plate is boring looking. In the next cup is some ballpark peanuts. Keree isn't a fan of nuts, so they are really only there for show. In the final cup is some chopped tomatoes on red toothpicks. I also placed the other cupcake pick I got in with the tomatoes. The final piece that pulls it all together is the hot dog baseball bat. I just simply cut pieces off the hot dog to make it look like a bat, then I used edible markers to write slugger on it. Of course for some reason my u smeared. The rest of our evening was spent working on crafty stuff, we have a huge show in a little over 2 weeks and I feel so far behind in everything.

Paperwork

Keree didn't go to school this morning because I had to spend my day running. After making about a hundred copies this morning, right after we woke up. We then loaded into the car for a trip 3 counties over (over a 2hr one-way trip). We made the stop at the million $ courthouse, where they had a hard time locating the paperwork I needed. So what should have been a 1/2 hr stop or so, turned into a couple of hours. While I waited on the paperwork, my Mom and Keree walked around and explored. They also got some reese pieces out of the vending machine. Because there was no place to get copies, we decided to stop by my Uncle E's work. So since we were there, we dropped off his wedding photo discs because he has never picked them up (he got married in June '10). Since he was nice enough to make the copies, it was then onto our next stop. I was dreading this stop because I really didn't want to talk to him. Luckily, he wasn't in and I got to speak with the secretary. So after dropping off a hefty check and paperwork, it was now 445p and we were finally heading home. I was emotionally exhausted, so we decided to treat ourselves to pizza. I talked my Mom and Keree into going inside and waiting for the pizza while I rested outside. Keree thought it was hilarious because I kept snapping pictures of them through the window. What was also nice, was the pizza girl gave Keree a clean pizza box for her play kitchen at home. Once we got home, we enjoyed our pizza, made a few phone calls and then settled in for the night.

Today in the mail, Keree got a St.Patrick's day card from her Great-Great Aunt F. It amazes me how she remember Keree in such small ways, just like she always remembered my Brother and I growing up. Inside the card was a pair of St. Patrick's day socks that looked like little mary jane slippers. Keree just ohh'd and ahh'd over them. Then since it's Monday, I decided to fix Keree a Muffin Tin dinner. We had picked out some yan yan sticks while at the store today, so that was my inspiration. So in the first container we have some chicken wontons. Next some dipping sauce, followed by some shrimp chips. The next row starts out with some ramen noodles, next a veggie egg roll and finished with some more ramen noodles because Keree loves them. Of course, when I asked what her favorite part was, she answered the yan yan sticks.

No Go

Well this morning, we took our time. Keree's squad wasn't cheering today, so it worked out perfect for us to head back up to the Farm. As we were getting ready to head up there, my Aunt called and said that my Uncle didn't want us to head up there today. She said that they weren't heading up there either because it was just too cold and rainy. So since our day was now wide open, we decided to head over to a craft show. We actually were suppose to be doing this show but with how bad my Mom has been feeling, there was no way I could handle setup, the show and tear down completely by myself, while also having Keree along. Which honestly, I'm glad we didn't do the show, the Producer had actually allowed people with flea market type stuff in and I was really disappointed. I did find it interesting because I dressed Keree as plain as I could today because I was comparing prices and such. I was shocked at how many people recognized her. It was also nice because we did run into a few Crafty friends and we had a nice visit with them. It's also a little sad because we won't see most of them until Fall now. As we were driving home, we always pass a grain elevator. Keree loves this elevator because it looks like Rapunzel's tower. So since we didn't have anything planned for the day, we stopped and grabbed a few pictures of her and the tower. What's cool about this grain tower, is unlike most of them in the area, it's still being used for it's intended use. When we got home, we spent the day upstairs. Of course, I worked and Keree played.

"Cleaning" the Farm

After dropping Keree off at school, we ran a few errands before picking her up. Right as I was heading in to pick her up, the phone rang. I let it go to voicemail because you can't talk on the phone while in the school. So after I collected Keree and read the summary, which said that they worked in their journals (yet again), sang the ABC song (seriously...such a basic song) and worked on writing their names (which didn't apply to Keree since she already knows how to write it). I listened to my voicemail after hooking Keree in her carseat and it was from my Uncle T. He wanted me to come up to my Grandparents farm, since he is cleaning it out. Which I hate the whole "cleaning" word because these are my Families memories and traditions that will be donated. He offered for me to come up on either today or Saturday, so I thought, we better go today because he's know for changing his mind. I was heading up there, when I called him back. When we got there, I told Keree she had to be on her very best behavior and not talk. See this is the same Uncle who's ignored Keree completely and literally hasn't spoken to her at all. I'm mean, honestly, he's seen her at my Great-Aunt's birthday party and no acknowledgement and then at my Grandma's visitation and funeral, he didn't say anything then to her either. As we walked in, he was very welcoming and I've got to say it was weird to be there. It looked like the Farm house, just the closest were bare and all the paperwork they always had laid out wasn't there. What shocked me the most, is when he engaged Keree in conversation. He asked her how school was, how old she was, he treated her like she mattered, like she really is a member of our family. It was weird. While my Uncle walked me around, my Mom and Keree waited downstairs. I was surprised at how open my Uncle was, he gave me my Grandma's wedding dress and the Maid of Honor dress she wore for my Great-Aunt's wedding (which I didn't know that existed). Now there were a few things when I was growing up, I really, really wanted and had asked that when they died, if I could have them. My Grandma always told me "No" they were to be passed down to her daughter or her sons. See my Grandma didn't consider me, her granddaughter because I didn't come from her daughter's womb. Yep, my Grandma was nuts. But after my Grandpa died, the family basically blew up and we were basically the only ones who came to visit her, other than my Uncle. So when my Uncle offered up the Engagement present my Grandpa bought for my Grandma, I about burst into tears. I had thought about those lamps, dreamed about the lamps and knew the story behind them. My Grandpa paid $35 for the set, which was amazing because that was a ton of money back in the day. I claimed quite a few pieces of furniture, even though I don't have room for them but some of the pieces date back to the late 1800's and early 1900's and belonged to my Great-Great and Great-Grandparents. I didn't have alot of room in the van, because I was still loaded from our last show but I was able to take a few things. My Uncle let me take my Grandma's mixer, most of her pots, pans, cups and plates. Because he had to leave by a certain time, we cut our visit short. He said I could come back up the next day, so I'm looking forward to being able to go through some more stuff. When we were driving home, I was still amazed that he gave me my Grandma's wedding dress and the Engagement gift. Since it was cold and late, we decided to pick up pizza for dinner. When we got home, we unloaded the car, so we could pack easier tomorrow. We spent the rest of the evening resting because we were all exhausted. I especially was exhausted both mentally and physically.

The Birthday Party

This morning, Keree woke up super excited at 4:30am, yep you read that right, 4:30am because number one, her Uncle was home for the weekend and secondly, it was her Birthday party. We didn't know exactly what to expect because we had won her party over the Summer from a Martial Arts dojo. Basically the only thing we had to provide was the drinks and cake but of course we always go a little overboard. Because of the Dojo's schedule, we couldn't have it on her birthday weekend (her birthday is the 28th) because they had a competition. After loading the cars, our first stop was Cheerleading. I had really hoped Keree would nap for a short time on the way there since she had been up so early. She feel asleep for about 10 min but that was it. When we arrived, Keree was ready to cheer. Her Uncle enjoyed watching her and she really loved that he was there just for her. After the game was over, they passed out their stars. Keree was awarded her effort star today. We stopped for a quick lunch before heading over to the Dojo. We got there early but there was no use in heading home before we were allowed to set up. We started setting up at 230p, the Instructors were super helpful and very accommodating. They only had one table, so I was thankful that we had brought ours. After moving the tables to the nicer wall, we placed the table clothes on the tables. The table clothes were white with little pink and red hearts which we got on 90% valentine clearance. We then set up the Rapunzel tower we made with Keree as Rapunzel. On each side of it was the Cupcake cakes. In front of the cakes were 3 little bowls that housed the decorated kisses and a single bowl of spring colored tootsie rolls. On the left end of the table was some Vietnamese coconut cookies (in the bear jar), they are sort of like meringue. On the right end of the table was the basket of decorated water bottles, there was additional decorated water bottles in a box below the table and as it got depleted in the basket, we added more. In the front of the basket was two cupcake boxes, in the boxes were single servings of crystal light and Hawaiian punch to be mixed into the water. On the second table we set out all the gift bags for the guests and the Thank you candy bars. We were so pleased with ourselves when we finished with time to spare. We had planned on taking pictures of Keree by the table, with us, etc. But that plan was spoiled when guests started to arrive almost 25 minutes early. As guests arrived, the Instructors played games with the kids until we gave them the go ahead to begin the Instruction in Karate and Ju-Jitsu (which was about 15 minutes after the party start time). It was amazing to watch the focus and excitement on all the kids faces. They learned 6 key words (please, thank you, your welcome, yes sir, excuse me and I can't remember the last one). They then taught them the ready stance, which was to stand with their hands in a fist by their sides. They then showed them how to place their feet and hands to do a front punch. Finally, they taught them how to correctly high kick. It was so adorable watching all the kids try and to perform the tasks. A few of the kids that are high strung, we were amazed at their complete focus and concentration. After the instruction, we gathered almost all the kids over for a group photo. We were only missing one because he is super shy and the other little girl who is super shy is actually starting to run off in the picture. Otherwise I don't think it's too bad of a picture, most of the kids are looking and some are actually smiling. After the group picture, they gathered the kids around and sang Happy Birthday to Keree. Then as in tradition of their dojo, the Head Instructor walked into a back room and returned with a Samurai sword. He explained that Keree was going to get to cut her cake with the sword. Keree's eyes got super big because this sword was a good foot taller than her. The Head Instructor helped her hold the sword and they slowly made a cut into the cake. I love the pictures of her cutting because she has such determination and concentration. After cake cutting, luckily I had some extra help (thank you G) as we passed out the cupcakes, drinks and drink flavors. I was a little surprised by the parents lack of helping their children carry their cupcakes or mix up their drinks, so again the Instructors stepped in to help. While the children were finishing up their cupcakes, we let Keree start opening her presents. Usually the kids spend at least a 1/2 hr or more eating but they worked up quite an appetite because I swear they all inhaled their cupcakes in less than 5 minutes. Keree actually opened up her presents quite quickly also. She got a wide range of presents mostly Disney Princess related, I was a little shocked that she got nothing Tangled/Rapunzel related. She also got Monster High dolls, Squinkies and Zoobles. Once the presents were open, it was time to play games. The first game to play was spoon balls, basically you place a ball on a spoon and hope it doesn't fall off. Anytime their ball fell off the spoon, they had to start back at the beginning of the race. Keree did so well and she made it completely around the room at a pretty fast pace never once losing her ball off her spoon. After everyone made it around the room and claimed their prize (a piece of candy). It was time for Simon Says. They played 4 rounds of Simons Says and Keree never made it past the 4th or 5th Simon Says command. The final game they played was Duck, Duck, Goose. Some of the younger players weren't sure how to play so anytime they saw someone start running, they started running too. It was hilarious to say the least. After they were done playing, it was time for Keree to say Thank You and then we passed out the treat bags and candy bars. Keree gave most of her friends good-bye hugs, which are always sweet. After we packed up everything, it was then time to head out to eat with my Step-Mom P and her Mom S. We decided to go to O'Charley's because we knew their menu was reasonable and of course they have good bread. I know my Step-Mom wasn't too thrilled because we had my Mom join us but I really don't care. We ordered our food and then just enjoyed visiting together. Keree spent the majority of her time drawing in the menu activity book but after awhile she got hungry. She looked at us and goes "where's are food?". Usually she gets shrimp because she loves it but she surprised me this time by wanting chicken strips. Then after we were finished with dinner, they brought out a slice of turtle pie for Keree's birthday. We sang Happy Birthday to her and then she took a huge bite. She then passed it around and let everyone take one bite but she wasn't going to share any more than a bite. Once we were finished, we headed to our cars. My Step-Mom P didn't bring in Keree's presents, so we stood out in the windy cold and she opened them in the parking lot. Keree was excited because she got a Rapunzel lantern that lights up and plays music, which is fitting since all Rapunzel wants to do is see the mysterious lights on her birthday. My Step-Mom also gave Keree money to buy tickets to a baseball game. The sad thing, is she thought we could buy 3 or 4 tickets and instead, it will barely cover a child's ticket. We finally headed home and even though Keree was tired she didn't go to bed until almost 930p.