Thanksgiving In Kansas

This year we flew to Kansas City for a last minute family reunion.

All the "Johnson Girls" and our families were there.

It was a wonderful trip. We have so much to be thankful for!!

Sarah and Kate saw snow for the first time.

Aunt Tiff and Uncle Mike brought the girls the cutest boots.

Perfect for playing the pre-thanksgiving snow.

They brought many other gifts too, which the girls were very excited to open.

Kate enjoyed some chocolate pie on Thanksgiving day. Yum!

She was tickled by cousin Jake.

. . . and cousin Mike.

Jake drew a portrait of Cody in his football gear and signed it.

Kate was there to get loves from Cody (who just adores her.)

Sarah giggled each time Cody (or the other boys) teased her with the (um, there's no delicate way to put this . . . . ) f@rt machine. As grossed out as Sarah is by boys who "pop" she was tickled by the toy.

The boys thought her laughing was so funny, they teased her all week.

The kids performed for us and Sarah handled crowd control.

Saying "Tootsie Roll, lollipop, you're all talking, now lets stop!!"

Poor Daisy (aka The Duke) was worn out.

With all the cousins around she needed a rest on her furry pillow.

The Cousins

Kate & Joey

Kate & Cody

Sarah & Cody

Here are all the cousins (except Nick) Jake, Mike, Sarah, Cody, Kate & Joey.

What fun we had and what a blessing we could all be together.

Through his courage in his battle with cancer, and his drive to have fun whenever he can, Cody has given our whole family an appreciation for enjoying each day, each moment. As Supermom, I have often rushed through wonderful moments in life as I've looked forward to the next goal or event. Not any more - there really is something to the old saying about stopping to smell the roses.

Costa Vida

After Lollilocks we decided to try Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grille for a quick bite. Everything looked good, the salad was exceptional and the kids quesadillas were perfect.

The only problem, the black beans: The kids black beans came from a small tray of beans on the far side of the cooking area (as opposed to the beans used in adult burritos located on the beginning side of the cooking area.) Sarah took one sniff and said they smelled like sushi - and she pushed them away. Of course being Supermom, seeker of perfection, it never dawned on me to investigate her sushi claim. Even though Sarah likes black beans, I just thought she didn't want to eat them.

Kate, our sweet little Baby Kate, was hungry and she ate her black beans.

Here are the girls on the way out of the restaurant. It seemed like such a perfect night.

On the way home in the car however, Kate got sick, very sick. Throwing up black beans. She threw up all night long and into the next day. I called the restaurant manager the same night to let him know she'd gotten sick - presumably from the sushi beans. After all she was the only one who ate the black beans and she was the only one who got sick. AND Sarah said they smelled like sushi.

The manager promptly informed me that there was NO WAY she could have gotten sick from their beans (whatever) because the temperature is checked regularly. After telling him that I didn't' want anything from him -except to have those "kid beans" thrown out and replaced, he got nice and agreed that they should be replaced as a precaution. Geez!!!

Lollilocks

Have you ever unexpectedly stumbled up on store that fits your every need perfectly? Kate did. Earlier this week we were out doing some shopping an decided to drop into what we thought was a kids salon called Lollilocks. It is a salon, and so, so much more. They have nail polish and jewelry and candy and toys. They have cars and pink elephants you can sit on while having your hair cut and styled. They do manicures and pedicures (which of course Kate had to have) AND best of all, they do Birthday Parties.

After they cut your hair the style it - from a style you choose in a book. THEN, just in case you're not feeling spoiled, they spray special glitter in your hair!

Kate loved it so much she had to bring big sister back the next day. Expect to see birthday party pics from Lollilocks next year.

Another wonderful thing they do at Lollilocks is donations to Locks of Love which makes wigs for kids with cancer. Kate and I have both decided to donate our hair. We're going to let it grow for another six months and then make our donations together.

Bossy Flossy

Every Wednesday Sarah reads to her class. This week, Sarah's teacher was celebrating her birthday the same day. Being supermom, I realized at the last minute that Sarah would be reading on Miss Yeagley's birthday and decided to have Sarah practice a new book the night before. We stayed up a few minutes late to work on Seuss' Happy Birthday to You.

Some of the words are big so Sarah was really working hard. Meanwhile, little sister was rolling around the bed like an itchy puppy - reciting the book.

Big sister's response: "Kate!! Kate!! Sit nicely and be quiet or I won't read to you."

Yeah, Kate. Zip it, lock it, put it in your pocket.

Sarah McBoing-Boing!

Have I mentioned how much trouble I have styling Sarah's curly hair? Her curls are so pretty but can sometimes be a little unruly!

I have come up with some pretty unique styles on those wild curly days . . . I've even had a few moms at school ask me how I did Sarah's hair because their little fashionistas liked it so much. That's right, Supermom makes even the impossible seem easy . . . lol - if they only knew how much I struggle.

Today Sarah-belle wore twisted pig tails. Aren't they cute.

When she came home she said

"oh mom, everyone loved my twisties today!

They kept boinging them all day!!"

Of course now little Kate wants "boingy piggies"

but her hair won't boing - it is too straight.

I guess this supermom needs to stop blogging and

get down to the playroom for some practice on

Barbie bling bling.

Christmas Shopping With the Schultz'

Saturday afternoon, after the big Jelly Donut Event and dance classes we ventured out to the mall for our annual Christmas Shopping Event. It was a double event day . . . we slept well that night.

We always shop before Thanksgiving. Not because I'm Supermom, seeker of perfection. Mostly because Superdad really, really does not like going to the mall if we can't park in the first ten rows. So somewhere around our fifth year of marriage, I realized we could shop together and really have fun, if we did it before the big Christmas rush.

This year we started at The Elephant Bar.

Fueling our bodies before the big Schultz Christmas shop.

It's the perfect setting to prepare for our gift safari.

After bonding with the elephant fountain,

eating some salted noodles,

and downing a whole cup of un-diluted lemonade,

Sarah was ready to tackle the mall.

Kate needed a little extra energy.

Ballet class was a lot of work today.

Then the girls put on their camouflage.

and finished coloring their jungle pictures.

And we headed out into the concrete jungle.

Okay two things:

1. No there aren't any pictures of us shopping. We don't want to give away any surprises.


2. Yes, my kids ate jelly donuts for breakfast and then elephant bar for lunch. Sarah had salted noodles. Kate had a chicken quesadilla. For dinner we poured some Coke in a bowl and let them dig into the left over Halloween candy. And I wonder why my kids do things like this:

Okay, I'm kidding.

I am supermom,

I would never let my kids have Coke.

Halloween candy for dinner . . . I'm not telling.

Jelly Donuts

For the last few weeks Jeff has been telling the girls about jelly donuts, and he's been promising a trip to a donut shop to try them. The girls have been really excited - after all dad makes them sound like a powdered sugar covered wad of heaven.

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So, Saturday before ballet and hip-hop we went to Basha's cafe for the big Jelly Donut event. We started at Starbucks, filling their Christmas mugs with hot chocolate (it was a bone chilling 65 degrees that morning.) Then both girls and dad selected their sugar covered donuts from the case and proudly carried them to the register. Having tried a jelly donut before, I opted for an everything bagel instead. (Just as many calories, a lot less Jelly.)

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We found the perfect table. Took the lids off their hot chocolates so they could cool, spread out some napkins and out of the bag came the donuts. Sarah dug in, powdered sugar covered her face. Kate took a dainty little bite and then a second little nibble. Meanwhile, I spread some cream cheese on my bagel.

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Then, Dad chomped into his donut and showed the girls the jelly inside. Instantly, Kate looked up at me, with her great big green eyes and said "Mom, can I have some bagel?" As I passed a bagel half over to Kate, Sarah had reached her very messy jelly center and began to squeeze the jelly out onto her napkin. "I don't like this part" she said before she chomped back into her now jelly-less sugar covered donut.

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Both girls were less than satisfied with the big jelly donut event. Kate even broke down for a minute, afraid that Dad would be disappointed with her for not liking jelly donuts. I assured her it would be okay . . . saying "after all Dad loves me and I don't like jelly donuts either."

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A few minutes later they were back at the register - Sarah holding a chocolate and sprinkle covered long john and Kate with a cinnamon raisin bagel.

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Poor Jeff, he's the only man in the family (heck, even the dog is a girl) and not one of his girls will eat jelly donuts with him. I have to give him credit though - it was a noble try - they were very excited.

The Garage Sale

If you've never had a garage sale I highly recommend it.


In the eleven years Jeff and I have been married we have accumulated a lot of 'stuff.' Normally, we drop our old items at Goodwill or call Salvation Army for a pick up. But last month two neighborhood realtors were organizing a garage sale so we thought we'd give it a try.

Today was the big event and it was quite an experience. The girls learned to let go of old toys and clothes they have outgrown. Jeff and I learned that the baby items we held in our garage for the last few years would be treasured by people with little ones to use them. Most of all, I think we all learned that in this media crazy age we live in - where we're slaves to our cell phones and blackberries - where the media would have you believe that everyone is selfish and out for themselves - the majority of people are really good.

We met a man who's two daughters moved home with their own young children. He is helping raise his granddaughters and was excited to find our baby clothes in excellent condition. There was a woman whose husband had lost his job - and their three girls needed clothes. She took home over fifty items. Another woman also found several items, to send to her sister in Brazil. I felt pangs of sadness letting our girls old outfits go, but I had the pleasure of seeing most of the kids who would wear them - and that is sort of a gift.

A young couple from the next neighborhood over purchased our baby gates and bed rails for their baby that was due any day . . .

A young hispanic man with a baby on the way took our plain white baby crib, complete with mattress, mattress cover and lots of bedding. Jeff and I stood in silence as he pulled away with the crib in the back of his truck - but it felt good to imagine how excited his wife would be when he arrived home.

Our whole family was touched by the wonderful people who found so much value in the things we've outgrown. I'm not sure the girls really understood how amazing all the people who visited us really were, but I know they knew it was a special day.

The Mind of a Five Year Old

A few nights ago, at bedtime, instead of me reading a story to Sarah, our sassy little kindergarten girl read something really special to me. Her journal. She's very proud of what she's created, and I must say for five years old, I'm impressed. She has chapters, titled things like "Yuck" and "Things Sarah Likes" and "Things That are Gross" and she somehow knew to leave blank pages in her spiral bound journal so she could add to each chapter as needed.

I certainly respect my daughters privacy, as much as possible considering they are three and five years old. I'm sharing what you'll see in this post because Sarah gave me permission to "blog it."

Excerpts from Sarah's Journal

Things Sarah Has Always Wanted

Really big hands

(so she can go Ooba Wooba Ooba Boo in a tent)

Wings

Her birthday to be everyday (and not Kate)

The WHOLE Bratz collection

A stage to sing on.

Sarah's Future Band

The guitar player and drummer

The trumpet player (to be drawn later) and Sarah the singer.

Things Sarah Likes

Knock on the Door

Amanda, our babysitter.

Santa Claus

Jack (from school) This is Jack & Sarah playing

Things Sarah Doesn't Like

The Swing Ride as Schnepf Farms

From the Chapter Titled

YUCK DON'T DO THAT

Nail Biting

Thumb sucking

and Picking BOOGERS!

And finally,

just a random picture of the turtle stack in Yertle the Turtle.

Silence shouted Yertle! Burp said Mack.

Sarah received her first journal about a year ago when she learned to write her name properly. This is her second journal, which she now writes in almost every day. I knew she was using it, but had no idea what was inside.

Pretty cool!

Trick or Treat

Grandpa Tony took lots of pictures of our Halloween adventure so we can post some of those when we get them. For now, here is a shot of the girls as they headed out to canvas the neighborhood.

Sarah is Vidia. The fastest flying fairy in Pixie Hollow.

Kate is Stella, a Winx.

Happy Halloween!