What do you think?

Found this old photo and saw some definite similarities!

The brow is different, but the eye shape, the nose, the cheeks and chin are very similar! I think these were taken at about the same age too. Very cool!

Gma T is 95!

(Isn't she cute!?)

This sweet lady is now 95! She is John's grandma on his mother's side. The only living great grandparent on John's side! We love her very much!

The whole Kelly clan headed to Hastings yesterday to celebrate with her! We partied with hats, blowers, balloons, a crown for the birthday girl, beautiful flowers and yummy cake and

ice cream!

It was a wonderful day... celebrating the life of a wonderful lady!

Things I love right now

I love Christmas! Not the commercialism and extravagant gifts, but the true meaning of Christmas and charity. Giving truly is better than receiving! And spreading peace, joy and love to all those around you.

Here's a few other things I'm loving right now!

• The twins donated 66 new books to their school book drive for needy children! We've been buying books all year- and they were so excited to take them in this week. I'm so proud of them!
• this 'Home for Holidays' candle I have! YUM!
• Finding the perfect gift for your loved one
• and all the built up anticipation as you wait for them to open it!
• Watching a child's eyes light up when they talk about Santa
• Knowing all the chaos leading up to Christmas is totally worth it!

And to top it off my mom will be home for Christmas! Its been a long tough year with a third of it spent in the hospital.

I have a feeling its going to be a truly wonderful Christmas and an even better NEW YEAR!

Christmas decorations!

Our house is beginning to look all Christmas-y and I'm lovin' it!

Here's a sneak peek into our home!

Wreathes are obviously one of my favorites! Wintery, plain and understated- perfect for the whole winter season. In the future I would like my 2nd story window wreathes to be on the outside...but with John's bum foot and my inherent clumsiness....I think I'll live with them on the inside this year!

No Christmas lights...which is fine- we never had them growing up either. But I do like this idea...and maybe instead of wreathes on the second story we do these swaggy things...

Saturday is baking day so not only will the house look festive- but it will smell yummy as well! Gotta love the holidays!

Beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Pucca and the little neighbor boy were playing in our bathroom (they like the big tub and often play 'Santa' in it!). It usually ends with all of Pucca's stuffed animals displayed neatly around the tub and the tub itself filled with every toy imaginable. Not sure how they came up with that idea...but they love to play it!

Somehow wanting to play Santa became wanting to be Santa...

I heard lots of giggling as I walked passed the stairs- so I headed up to investigate. Low and behold - Santa was in my bathroom! Two of them!

Lewandowski Tailgate

My side of the family came down and spent Friday with us- which was so much fun! My older brother lives in Utah and my younger brother lives in Kansas...so getting all together is wonderful!

Here are the three eldest grandchildren... Notice the guilty looks and slingshot!?

Pucca and her 'friend'

These three spent two hours digging for worms in the gardens- thank goodness for the beautiful weather!

My grandparents!

All of the grandkids minus the littlest one...he was done with all the picture taking

Both my brothers and their families, my family, my grandparents and my mom

AND the newest addition to our family....my nephew, Stanley! Isn't he cute!!!!!

Kelly-pa-looza!

We had our Kelly family Thanksgiving/cousin get-together this weekend at Davey. It was really alot of fun!

Here's a quick recap!

Playing Uno with gma Kelly!

The "twins"...Pucca and her second cousin kept family confused...from the back they look identical...same haircut.

Trying to get some family photos...and avoiding deer poo at the same time!

cousins and second cousins chillin in the hay

Oooops! This is an attempt to get the whole Kelly clan on the stairs, but accidentally blocked my flash- thanks Luke for the heads up!

Much better!

It was a great weekend...would have loved a Husker win, but we're looking towards the Colorado game and trying to put that horrid display of playing, coaching and reffing behind us! Sheeesh!

Love you Kelly Clan!

Reflection on recent Mayo Visit

Pucca went back to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to visit the uber talented neurosurgeons that helped her to regain use of her right arm. Pucca was injured during birth- her injuries resulted in a condition known as Erb's Palsey.

She had surgery at 3 months of age. And since then we have been going back to Rochester to check in and make sure her progress and development are on track.

Before this visit I was a bit apprehensive and had several specific questions regarding her present condition and shoulder usage. All the answers we received were great and positive. She's a super star! Some of the best surgical results they've ever seen on Erb's Palsey patients. One doctor even called her a miracle...which is pretty impressive coming from a science-fact based neurologist. She can climb trees, go across the monkey bars and even do pull ups. She was flipping over the trapeeze bar on the swing set when she was two. She crawled at the normal age. If you didn't know she had Erb's Palsey- you would NEVER know there was anything wrong with her.

Which makes how I'm feeling, conflicted, all the more upsetting. I should be happy she's done so well. That we were blessed with such talented doctors and that she healed so well. But I can't help feeling frustrated that they can't make her perfect. Which is very selfish- I know that. But she wasn't just born this way...someone made her this way. And when she comes home upset because she can't jump rope like her friends or when the swim teacher flunks her because she doesn't do the swim strokes correctly...well I sometimes just want to scream! Its definitely harder on me than on her...she doesn't know she can't do things. She's been this way for as long as she can remember.

Her right shoulder has become distended (her shoulder blade sticks out abnormally far in is rotated up because of weak muscles) and one shoulder is visibly shorter that the other. Both things will become less notable as she grows, matures and puts on a little more weight. The orthopedic dr wasn't concerned with her shoulder and said it look perfect. And when I should have been over the moon thrilled with her prognosis...I was actually upset that they didn't say - oh that's an easy fix...surgery or physical therapy or stretches...or just anything to have us work on to help her.

I'm a horrible person. I should be overjoyed and thanking my lucky stars...and I do! I DO! But I also wish I could do more. And maybe that's it. Maybe in some remote way I feel responsible for Pucca and her condition. If I would have insisted on a c-section, or did more during the delivery to facilitate a less stressful birth, or if I had been born with good baby bearing hips. UGHHHHH....

A boringly serious post...but one I want in writing. I write how I feel...and this is how I feel.

Choir

Kwynnie had her mid-semester choir concert...and somehow amidst all the chaos and craziness that has enveloped our lives...I was able to attend! A freakin miracle, really!

I was so excited that I brought our little flip to immortalize the event!

Battery charged- check!

Empty memory card- check!

BUMMER! I didn't consider that a gi-gantor 7 foot bald man would sit 2 rows in front of me. So after the first song- I moved to the only empty seat left. LOVELY- chronic cougher lady was sitting right behind me...you know that loud-hacking-want to pass them a hanky for all the phlegm they must be spitting up- kind of cougher!? Ya...she was sitting right behind me!

And as if that wasn't bad enough...gi-gantor's son was standing in front of Kwynnie.

See...

Kwynnie is in a yellow shirt right behind the boy in dark jeans, glasses and tshirt in the middle. If you can't find her- uh ya...like I said "gigantor"

It was a great concert! They even sang Green Day...complete with guitar solo and bass!

In the end- I think Kwynnie was glad I couldn't actually get her on tape singing, but still managed to tape the concert. A happy medium!

rantings of a diva

All three girls had their semi-annual teeth cleaning and check-up yesterday.

Pucca comes out of the office into the waiting room with a scowl on her face... the dentist following behind. She raises her left hand and points at me, saying "It's all your fault mom! Who schedules a dentist appointment the day after Halloween!?"

YEP, she has a cavity and its my fault.

Gotta love how little kids rationalize things!

Halloween Party 2010

Today was Pucca's Halloween party! CRAZY CRAZY!

We were moving last year and so I bought a bunch of stuff after Halloween for a sweet bargain. But I packed it away and forgot just how much crap, uhhh....decorations I had actually bought.

Needless to say we were covered!

We bobbed for apples, had face tattoos, wrapped a few mummies, played Zombie Zombie where's my brain and a few relay races. We also made a 'scary' magnet for the parents.

Yummy mummy cupcakes were the treat of choice!

Kids packed up their own goodie bags with their choice of pencils, erasers, silly bands, candy and other halloween goodies.

Check out the costumes!

and yes...that mean looking green witch is me! Why not...after the last few days I've had- I was feeling a little witchy!

ah haa haa ha ha ha ha ha (my witch cackle if you couldn't tell!)

halloween party progress

I have a week to put the finishing touches on Pucca's Halloween party...I'm working on the treats.

I LOVE cupcakes for parties...they may be the trend of yester-year, but I still love them. They are just fun and the perfect size for kids!

Here are a few ideas Pucca and I found:

Image from bhg.com

image from familyfun.com

I've also found this fun treat...but I'm not a big fan of black licorice- Do kids like it? And what do you think they wrapped around the licorice to hold it together?

image from bhg.com

And of course sugar cookies...those are always fun and I love how simple these are!

image from bhg.com

I think I'm leaning towards the mummy cupcakes (the top one) and use pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to bring a little seasonal flare. Pucca's having a blast helping plan the party and is super excited...and that's all that really matters!

Ca - Razy time

Oh where! oh where has my little blog gone? Oh where or where can she be?

hmmmm....ever been so totally overwhelmed (not in a bad way- just the normal CEO of the family duties) that things get pushed off and off and off and then HOLY CRAP! its been a week since I last blogged!?

Well- guess what!? I'm there!

I'm not sure what happened...it all just snuck up on me. Fall break, vacation, Halloween, Halloween party, Pucca's sick (bronchitis- icky!), my mom went awol without telling me, meetings, meetings and more meetings, Husker football (blah!) and about 50 gazillion other little things that add up to 'NOT ENOUGH TIME IN THE DAY!'

Any who....I should be in bed right now, but I'm not, obviously because I'm writing this post. A post about nothing really- yet I feel it needed to be said. I love this little blog and promise to make more time for you...in between PTA meetings, piano lessons, dr appts and carpool!

Kisses you sweet thing! Now off to bed- need that beauty sleep!

Pumpkin Patch 2010

what better way to spend Columbus Day (elementary schools were closed) than going to the pumpkin patch!?

Manners

Kynna's Industrial Tech class has been a bit rowdy and the teacher is darn near fed up. NOT the WHOLE class...but its not safe to even have just a few kids acting up or not paying attention.

Well, her teacher had had enough. So ALL the students were required to write a paper on why its important to have manners in class.

Kynna was quite upset- because she wasn't being rowdy, troublesome or naughty. Why should she have suffer the consequences of someone else's wrong doings? You can bet I heard an earfull on that one!

Needless to say- she wrote the paper and I wanted to share it with you. I love the way the girls write, their perspective and tone. And this one cracked me up.

Mr. Applegate

Period 7

Why is it important to have manners while in the lab...

It is important to have manners because it all ties into being safe in the lab.

If we weren’t respectful we would not care and not follow the rules. We would not be respectful of one another tools or projects. We would not worry about each other’s safety. You need to have manners to show you’re at least a decent person.

At the worst we would fight, let’s say BOB and JOE are fighting in the lab over something. Bob pulls on the piece of wood and Joe lets go of the wood. Bob would hurl back and possibly damage the machine. Bob could bump someone who was working at let’s say the band saw. The working person would be pushed into the “ line of fire” on the band saw, which would potentially put the person’s fingers in harm. Plus where did Bob land? He landed on the floor where he probably hit his head. Now Bob was angry so instead of walking off and letting it go, he went over and hit Joe. A chain reaction to chaos! Not good!

So it is important to have manners and to be safe, If we do that we shouldn’t make stupid mistakes or get hurt. And we all get along happily ever after.

Thursday Night Lights

my good friend and her little man

Its kind of surreal and weird that the whole city is RED on a Thursday! Our beloved Huskers are playing a Thursday night game against K State on ABC tonight!

We'll be tailgating and watching the game at home with friends- nothing like a house full of friends, kids running around, yummy football food and cheering on the HUSKERS!

GO BIG RED!

Fall

Its Oct 1st- oh how I love FALL! I know autumn technically started in September...but it was still too bloody hot to be fall. But now that its October- all will be lovely! Today we awoke to gorgeous crisp morning and this afternoon was beautiful- all the sunshine you could ask for with a slight northern breeze to keep things comfortable! I wish I could press pause and it would stay this way forever!

I thought I would share with you some reasons why I'm excited about this fall:

Pucca is going back to Mayo...we've been worried about some of her muscle development and how its affecting her shoulder blades and movement. I was hesitant about making an appt because it takes FOREVER to get one and I thought our next scheduled one was November 2011 (we go every other year). Low and behold an appointment card came for her today and she has appointments and procedures scheduled for Nov 10- seven weeks from now! Wonderfully coincidental!

Our baby Emma will be turning 5 November 19th! And yes- we'll be having a little party!

Family is coming in to spend Thanksgiving with us! We love time with the cousins!

We're making a trip to Colorado...we missed the trip last year because of the house being sold and hectic schedules. But not this year...Can't wait!!!

Davey...so pretty in the fall! Every warm tone you can imagine, dotting the entire property...so so beautiful!

Happy fall, everyone!

missing her

I think its time for another 'grandma run'! I seem to be missing this crazy (great) lady!

Family Fun

Every year we face the same dilemma...what to get parents for Mother's/Father's Day, bdays and Christmas. We have it especially hard with Jeff...his birthday and Father's Day generally are just a few days apart. He's a hard one to shop for and you can only buy a man so much cheesy popcorn! :)

This year for Jeff- we made a family treasure hunt. I put out clues (using family memories/stories and random trivia) on little flags around the property at Davey. Each flag gave a clue which led you to the next point on the treasure hunt. At the end...there was treasure, of course!!

The summer was extremely busy for all three families and getting everyone together seemed down right impossible. It ended up being the end of August before we could give him our 'gift'. Our gift not necessarily being the treasure hunt- but rather something fun for him and the grandkids to do together! (and just so you don't go thinking we're totally cheap...we took him to a baseball game too!)

My original plan involved GPS coordinates and using the entire 80 acres...but because of time restraints and heat that day...I limited it to about 4 acres. It still worked out great!

John and the little man rolling hay bales...not part of the treasure hunt, but still fun!

It was a fun little adventure...but next time it will be "EXTREME treasure hunting" that requires use of the farm truck, satellite GPS and a map of the whole property! Just not in the blazing heat and stifling humidity of summer!