It's the Last Day of October...holy cow

And now we begin that frighteningly, sickeningly fast slide into the holidays. I don't think I'm ready for this. I just found my Halloween decorations!  Think we're all set to go for tonight, though:

1 HALO 3 Master Chief Costume with matching super-cool helmet (CHECK)


1 Masked Banana Costume with an appropriately masked stuffed sidekick (CHECK)


1 Large Bowl of Assorted Candy that is not my favorite kind (CHECK)


Since my kids are preteens, this year may be my last chance to accompany them on their annual fall candy begging spree. I'm squelching my need for action pics this year. Just going to soak it all in. 

And, of course, sneak their candy when they're not looking.

Happy Halloween! May the goblins be few and the Snickers be plenty!

Boys vs Girls

The past 24 hours have been quite the learning experience for me in terms of the Tween Set.

Sleepover Wars: 11-year old Daughter vs. 13-year old Son

1.  The Sexes

Girls: Twister, Silly Bandz swapping, Rock Band on the Wii, and everything smells like flowers and candy. And most have brought either something flowery from Bath and Body Works or candy. To share.

Boys: loud, loud, messy, and LOUD. My house smells like sweaty frogs.  And Axe. I think that other smell was Axe. Or a dead animal.

2.  Snacks

Girls: share Krispy Kreme doughnuts, carefully dividing the ones they all want so everyone gets a bite.  

Boys: arm wrestle to the near-death for any glazed ring of goodness, no matter how many other perfectly edible doughnuts are left in the box. Then they crush their juice cups in victory.

3.  The Sleeping Part

Girls: sleep means dreaming about trips to Build-A-Bear and the new American Girl store.  

Boys: consider sleep unmanly. Who needs sleep when the world runs on sheer adrenaline, Airsoft guns, and LEGO bricks?

4.  Celebrities

Girls: lively debate on the whole Justin Bieber is awesome/lame debacle. 

Boys: everything is "beast", love Megan Fox and all want the new girl at school's phone number even though it's highly unlikely they'd actually have the courage to call. Girls are scary.

5.  Social Media

Girls: giggle about puppies memes and who knows whom on Instagram.  

Boys: post about wanting "hot" girlfriends even though they've never touched a member of the opposite sex.

6.  The Guest List
You can count on at least one child per sleepover who's next sleepover invitation will, unfortunately, get "lost in the mail". 

Girls: the individual may not become apparent until the morning after. The suitability gossip escalates with each departure.

Boys: it will evident the moment you let them in the front door.

I don't recall my brother ever having a sleepover with his pals, while mine were almost a weekly event. My mother was a wise tween mom.

Where Did It Go?

I was up to my eyeballs in closet cleaning recently and came across a box of saved school work from my big girls, K and M. Artwork, spelling tests, and creative writing assignments were mixed in with the report cards and field trip fliers. The little kid handwriting, with its grammatical training wheels and misspelled words, brought little misty tears. 

Forgetting the self-inflicted pile of closet debris around me, I stepped into my personal time machine and took off.

K's "All About Me" poster was eerily foretelling. And M's birthday party pics captured her glee with ease. Time flies is truly the most accurate statement ever uttered. How could my precious little people, my motherhood guinea pigs, be all grown up now and out on their own? With ballet recitals and soccer games, cheerleading and SkillsUSA checked off on their TO DO lists, where did I fit into their world now? My heart ached and my eyes grew a bit more than misty. (I'm not crying, you're crying.) 

I took a moment, then carefully placed the papers and drawings and photos back in the box, checking to make sure no edges were bent or 3D art masterpieces crushed. Then I pushed it back into the closet and headed downstairs. 

My two youngest babies were playing Star Wars Legos in the front room and suddenly needed big hugs. Or was that me?

No one has ever died from a Dust Bunny attack

It's official. Days 1 and 2 of Operation New School Year launch can be crossed off the list. Day 3 has gotten off to a great start, too. I cannot believe my kids are growing up so fast. (I know, everyone says that.)

They look so big, and so Non-Little-Kiddish lately. It makes me sad and proud at the same time. All too often once the kids are off to school, we head back to the computer, throw in another load of laundry, or start working on something extra for the job.

STOP! I have to tell myself again and again. STOP and enjoy the kids while they're little. They need me now. IF I've done my job, someday soon they will be independent adults. And I'll be dusting an empty nest. Bittersweet.

No one ever died from an attack of dust bunnies. Those chores can wait. Work will be there tomorrow. Social media can survive without you. 

What once seemed like such a long time, now seems like my life has been on fast forward. Eighteen years will be the shortest longest time ever. Carpe diem! Before nostalgia seizes your heartstrings and tugs ever so gently.

(pic: my brother and me on the first day of school, circa 1975)

Tornado Nationals!!

AWESOME weekend! Ron & I took the kids out to the AMA Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka to see some motorcycle racing (yea, I know, shocking!). Really cool to see friends of ours mix it up with the big boys (and girls, in the case of Melissa Paris). John Deuser, Matt Hall & Jamie Hall raced well. They may not have had the big rig set-ups, but they did have some of the biggest cheering sections out there. Ron will be with them on the grid next season. Can't wait!

LOVED that the big name riders were so accessible and friendly. My son got his new hat signed by Jordan Motorsports riders Geoff May and Aaron Yates, and I snagged pics with my faves, Ducati rider Larry Pegram and Danny Eslick, along with Martin Cardenas, Roger Hayden, and Aaron Yates. Pegram even graciously signed T's hat after he won Sunday's Superbike race.

And check this: when we met Pegram on Saturday morning, I mentioned I worked in radio. He asked which station so he could listen while driving to the airport on Monday. When we saw him on Sunday, right after his second big win of the weekend, I said "Wow! Now I've REALLY got something to talk about on Monday." His reply: "On 98.1, right?" With everything he had on his mind, how in the world did he recall that?? Very cool guy. And I LOVE that he calls his wife right after each race. Gotta love it!

Equally cool: we bumped into racing legend Scott "Mr. Daytona" Russell strolling thru the paddock. Ron and our friend Greg Williams (owner of Cafe Racer, Inc) were a bit starstruck. I'm not as familiar with his racing feats as they are, but his commentary on SPEED TV with Ralph Shaheen is great. Quite a coup for us all.

Pretty great weekend all around. How was yours?

Yikes! I must've been busy!

Has it really been nearly a month since I last updated? Yikes! My apologies - guess this is a sign that my world is moving at warp speed but I'm not. WHOOSH! What have I been up to? CHANGE. Fortunately, I'm a mom and it's one of my strong suits, but being ambushed by change can be intimidating.

#1. MY KID FLEW THE COOP. I'm excited, anxious, terrified, thrilled and sad all at once. She's a bright, creative and wonderful young woman who needs to stand on her own two feet, but I'm not ready for this! She'll be fine, and I can't wait to see how she does. I'll admit I'm a tad envious, though. Oh, to be 20 and off on a grand adventure with no strings attached....

#2. MEET THE NEW BOSS. I'll have to say this has been the easiest part of the last month. Not the Losing-The-Old-Boss part; that sucked, to be honest. But the new Big Cheese is off to a good start. Drop by and say "hello" by tuning in to the 98.1 KUDL Morning Show - he'll be sitting right across from me each morning as he's also my new radio partner. Locked in a room with your boss for hours each day - no pressure there - ha! Actually, he's a really good guy, funny, and we're glad to have him on our team.

#3.BIG RELATIONSHIP TEST. Been busy getting ready for a road trip with my guy. Best way to discover the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship? Spend 20 hours in the car together. It's an eye-opener! LOL! I'm really excited about our trek to a private motorcycle event with friends. Yes, it's a week away from my kids (which I dread) but a wonderful time with my guy. And it's three days of nothing but motorcycle riding on the track. WOOT! My goal this year: to stay out of the grass. If I learn how to look cool dragging my knee in the corners, too, BONUS POINTS.

Enough about me - what have you been up to?

Earth Hour: 8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. This Saturday, March 28

WOW! Has it been a year already? Last year we discovered Earth Hour, an hour set aside to turn off your lights as a "breather" for Mother Earth. It started in Sydney, Australia and has spread around the world! We gathered the kids, killed the lights and spent the next two hours playing charades by candelight. In fact, when it came time to turn the lights back on, the kids were bummed (thus the second hour of twilight charades!). They were so excited they wanted to have an Earth Hour every week - lol.

From the Earth Hour website, here are some different ways to spend Earth Hour and reduce your carbon footprint:

1. Attend a local Earth Hour event or organise your own by throwing an Earth Hour street party with your neighbours
2. Gather family & friends for a night picnic in your local park and look at the stars
3. Enjoy a family dinner by candlelight
4. Organise a treasure hunt in the dark
5. Take the dog for a night walk
6. Have a candle-lit bath
7. Sit in the dark and share stories
8. Organise a family night playing board games
9. Share a romantic night in with your loved one

Earth Hour Executive Director, Andy Ridley, is encouraging people to participate in whatever way they choose and to think beyond the hour.“There are no hard and fast rules surrounding participation in Earth Hour. We only ask that you flick that switch and have fun doing whatever you choose to do during that time.

Make Earth Hour work for you. Families with young children should feel free to turn their lights off earlier than 8:30pm and for those having too much fun in the dark during the hour, don’t feel you have to limit yourself to one hour and switch back on at 9:30pm.” To find out more about Earth Hour, visit the official website www.earthhour.org, sign up and join millions of people in more than 1,400 cities and towns in 80 countries throughout the world by turning off your lights for one hour at 8:30pm on Saturday 28 March."

Walking the Walk

We're so lucky - we live close to our elementary school. Yes, my kids will miss out on the daily routine of bouncing to and from their education on vinyl bus seats, but I'm OK with that. 

Each morning my husband walks our kiddos to school. Each afternoon I walk them home. It's great to get out and see the neighborhood, interact with the other parents, and embrace the elements! Even bad weather (snow, rain, wind) isn't so bad when you're bundled up and walking with people you know.

Walking to school is a great deal, too, in that it eliminates unnecessary vehicle traffic in the neighborhood, cuts down on exhaust fumes in the vicinity of young lungs, and, of course, shrinks gas costs as short car trips are not very fuel-efficient. I wish everyone had the opportunity.

Our local grocery is right down the road so we walk there, too, provided we don't have a huge shopping list. The kids are so used to it, they ask "do we have to take the car?" if we head for the garage instead of the sidewalk. We love it!

Check out out KUDL's new web page, 1Thing. Our wonderful partner, Bridging the Gap, has great ideas for cutting down on emissions and getting healthy. Check out the Walking School Bus info, too. It's a great way to do good for our world, and get in some kid time while you're at it.

Do you walk in your neighborhood? How are you cutting back on your carbon footprint?

Family pictures

It's a time-honored ritual, a societal rite of passage, or an instrument of torture if you are a 10-year old boy. It's The Family Photo Session. Each year my attempts to corral the herd and snap a decent pic are met with sighs, groans, and agony over shirt color and hairstyle. 

Every year we park ourselves on the quaint "gentlemen caller's bench" by the front door and smile. This year we were able to snap a respectable family shot with just a few attempts. I was thrilled.

Not to be outdone, our presence was requested at the queen mother of family photo sessions by the Queen Mother herself, my mom. No self-timer-scramble picture on her watch! She hired a professional to capture our likenesses for posterity. 

Surprisingly the kids were OK with Grandma calling the shots instead of mom (OK, not surprising). Dressed in semi-coordinating fabrics, hair neatly combed and smiles at the ready. Snap! Flash! Rearrange. Repeat. Thirty minutes later, no blood had been shed, no major drama ensued, and no spirits were crushed. 

Can't wait to see the proofs! Bunny ears can be PhotoShopped out, can't they? :)

My Favorite Tradition

We have a Magic Truck. It's a rusty '68 Chevy Camper Special, though nothing special to look at with it's faded calico yellow and rust paint, and dents and dings (compliments of my daughter's ongoing battle with the low stone wall at the end of our driveway), but it is truly magical. It can turn a dull summer night into a party at the drive-in. It has a horn with it's own agenda. It's engine rumble can set off car alarms, even at idle. It garners instant respect from those trying to cut into your lane and it's 2x60 AC system is the envy of the neighborhood. And it never fails to fire up, no matter what the temp.
But the most magical part? It's uncanny ability to select the perfect Christmas tree. For fifteen years, our truck has transported our family to tree lots and farms across the Midwest in search of the perfect Christmas accompaniment. No strapping a tree to the top of the Volvo for us! Each year on the day after Thanksgiving, rain, snow or shine, we tie a bright red Christmas bow on the grill, bundle the crew snugly, crowd into the drafty cab, and off we go. No matter what tree catches our eye on the lot, it is transformed while laying in the bed of the truck, snuggled between the wheel humps and the big spare tire. Big trees, squatty trees, trees with holes that weren't there before, trees with nests (uninhabited, much to our relief), Charlie Brown trees, and even fancy-schmancy Frazier Firs. No matter the tree, it was always perfect by the time we got home. Even this year's "maybe too short" tree looked at least a foot taller by the time we reached our driveway!

Our Magic Truck is very forgiving, too. It cringed the year we splurged on an $85 "designer tree", but never made a peep when the tree dried up and dropped it needles weeks before Christmas. Once it transformed a scrawny little grocery store tree into a full and lush conifer splayed against the truck bed.

Maybe it's the brisk November air, the bumpy ride home, or the giggling little heads that keep turning to take a peek from the cab. Or maybe it's just magic. We love our truck and can't imagine Christmas without it.What makes your Christmas magical?

Santa's coming! Santa's coming!

In fact, he'll be arriving at Oak Park Mall this Saturday morning at 10:00AM and KUDL will be on site to welcome him to Kansas City! (I hope he brings me that new Ducati motorcycle I've been dreaming about, and maybe some boots and a new pair of Converse). We may even need some help leading the parade around the mall.... Come out and say "ho ho ho!" I'd love to meet you. It's always great to put a face with a pair of ears. What's your favorite holiday tradition? How will you make this year special? Give us a call (913) 576-7981 between 5:30-9:00AM.

What a weekend!

Trick or treating, final soccer game of the year, Brownie field trip, Webelos event, hanging out with the Mad Toto Scooter Club at Scooter World in downtown Overland Park, and celebrating a very Happy Birthday with my baby girl, Chloe (newly crowned Queen of the Webkinz)!! WHEW! Made it thru the weekend...now on to the work week!

Great news! KUDL's Adopt-A-Family adoptions are now open online. Get matched with a family who truly needs a little help this holiday season. Get the office crew together, adopt a famiy together, and make a difference. Sign up right now. The warm fuzzies are awesome.

The Election

Before you panic, I'm not pulling out the soapbox. Voting, for me, is a private matter. You won't find yard signs at our house, or bumper stickers on our cars. In fact, I'm one of those registered undecideds that drives pollsters (and campaign managers) bonkers. Give me issues in black and white, I'll sort out the details, and then decide. Analytical, yes. Do I always vote for a winner? No. But, I do vote.

That said, just as I was tucking my 8-year old into bed the other night, she shared the most interesting thought. I'm not sure where she heard it (not around our house, for certain), but it really caught me off guard. "Mommy," she said, wrinkling her brow. "I want Obama to win, but I'm afraid someone will kill him because he's black. You know, like Martin Luther King, Jr." I wasn't quite sure what to say.

Should I start a discussion on presidential security and the secret service? Should I assure her that that wouldn't happen, then cross my fingers that I'm right? Her world is so much more vivid and raw than mine was at that age. As a child, I knew Carter was a peanut farmer, Reagan dyed his hair, and Ford fell down a lot. I was shielded from any real unpleasantness. Despite my best efforts to keep the bad stuff to a minimum, my kids can't escape the vivid pictures of 9-11, the horrors of the war in Iraq, or reports of grisly murders. Bad stuff is instantaneous and ubiquitous.

So, I went with my gut. I hugged her tight, kissed her baby soft cheek, made sure her stuffies were all in place, and assured her that whomever won the election, it would be OK, because we live in a great country and good things happen all of the time. Then, I said a quick prayer that I was going to be right.

Simply the Best...

I'll have to admit birthdays do NOT get easier the older you get. We're at the "halfway" stage at our house: "Hey, Mom, you're halfway to 70!", etc. (DISCLAIMER: any age depicted in this post is fictional. And don't ask) I cringe at the numerical marker, but I love my birthdays because my kids and husband always knock my socks off.

This year they decorated the house with "Happy Birthday" banners, left the cutest birthday note for me, and my husband actually baked me a cake! I got to choose between red velvet and German chocolate! (And yes, that's my son giving the cake bunny ears in the top pic) My oldest daughter Kelcey even smuggled cooking supplies to her boyfriend's house and made me a cake, too (strawberry!!). Double cakes! How cool is that? To put the cherry on the day, they gave me a cool new ice cream maker.

One of the best days ever. I love my crew :)

Grace's Groovy Gang

Grace is one amazing little girl. She'll be walking with her team on Saturday morning in the Walk to Cure Diabetes at the Legends.
From her mom, Laura:
"Grace is in her 4th year with Type 1 Diabetes and decided to make a video to share with you. If you have difficulty, you can go to www.youtube.com and search for "JDRF Grace's Groovy Gang" and the video should pop up. If you would like to support us and donate or join our team, please click here. You can also go to www.jdrf.org. Click on Walk Central and search for Grace's Groovy Gang in Missouri. Thanks so much for your continued support!!"

Holiday gifts made easy

I can't believe I'm thinking of the holidays already, but I am. With four kids and a fairly big extended family, if I don't get a head start it gets crazy! And I've learned the hard way how expensive last-minute impulse shopping can be (ugh). We've reached that "really, truly, we don't NEED anything" stage, and have asked that relatives simply spend time with us. It's better than cheap, it's priceless! Fortunately, no one has said "well, we'd rather do a gift certificate" - ha
For the kids, we suggest memberships to places like the KC Zoo, the pool, or even movie tickets. Last year my BIL (genius!) gave them pool passes and Sonic gift cards and they loved it! Though, I thought they would explode before the pool opened (December to May is a very long time if you are eight). The best part - they can use the gift again and again and there are no pieces to assemble or things to outgrow.

How have you changed your holiday gift-giving routine?

Happy Birthday, Trenton!!

WOW! 10 years ago today I gave birth to my son, the only boy in a nest of chicks. He arrived shortly after a 6-hour road trip to Oklahoma - but for the grace of God he could have been born on the side of I-35 on a Labor Day weekend Friday! He's a super cool awesome kid and we love him very much!!! Here's a pic of his "cake". Happy Birthday, T!

It's Picture Day!

School Picture Day was always one of the most traumatizing, dreaded, stress-inducing events of my school years. My shirt never seemed quite right, my smile always turned out goofy, and it was a major challenge to keep from bumping my feathered and Spritzed bangs before the photo session. And heaven forbid it would rain!

Well, the "new" hasn't yet worn off of the kids' haircuts, and here it is Picture Day again. So, last night I spent an hour coordinating shirts (making sure that each was wearing a favorite, of course). Then I realized that we have 5-6 background colors from which to choose. Do I need this much choice? Gray has always worked well, but who can turn a cold shoulder to the opportunity to have a purple background on their school picture? We just got a new couch, so now I'm thinking the background has to coordinate with the new couch, so purple is out. What about the red? Sassy and vibrant...but it would clash with one of the shirts. Scratch red. Maybe if we put the pictures in the dining room this year instead of the living room, we could do the blue....or maybe the hall since the green would set off the background chair cushion....

We went with gray.