Saturday, 3-4-06

this more recent photo is kinda cute, huh? i like it so much that it is my current computer background image! don't let those cute faces fool ya though! these kids are dangerous! they work in tandem and they'll subvert you without you even being aware of what they are really doing to you! charming and cute. what a combination. they are both struggling to find their little 'niches' or to establish pecking order because they fight all the time too! Mei Mei is into "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" and Dallas is into "NO! I'M NOT GONNA!" also. who got what from whom? yikes. this place is quite the battlezone at times! then there are times like right now... peace and quiet reign supreme. the cat's soft feet are heard skulking around the corner and Cotton is woofing at everything outside. oh yes, Dallas is chomping open mouthed on some chips. yuck. anyone want to join? come on over! never a dull moment around here!
Dallas is very excited to go on his mini vacation in a few days! he'll have so much fun! time will go by way too quickly for him, that's fer sure! then he'll head on over to kansas in july for another short jaunt of fun and relaxation. oh yes, he now has his own cell phone. oh boy. useful though! he's been very responsible too which has surprised me! i thought that he'd burn through his allotted minutes in short order! what a good kid he is! did i mention that he is about 6 feet tall already? what the heck are we feeding this little monster? Mei Mei will be all of 5' 4" and big brother will tower over her at about 6' 4"! wow. she adores him! they crack me up. i think that i'll take them out for some snowboarding or skating in a while here... it's so nice outside today! lot's of snow and not much wind! perfect.

I'm back! lessee if i can upload a picture...

Tadaaaah! there we are! (Dallas took the picture!) this was in the Packer's pro shop where Mei Mei and Dallas just looove to go! like kids in a candy store but candy would be much cheaper! hmmm. right now, Kim is at work, Dallas is cleaning upstairs, Mei Mei is napping and I am cleaning downstairs! so much fun! The kids and I took a one hour trip today to see a couple of historic towns by lake Michigan, it was such a beautiful day! Dallas was supposed to have had a short recital with his classmates but we took a wrong turn and arrived too late. sorry gramps! no singing pictures! we went to Algoma and Kewaunee. we had a great time! Dallas brought his skates but we did not find a suitable area to iceskate. the wind was blowing around 20 mph so the windchill was hovering around zero today, we would not have lasted too long out there anyway! we had fun and now we are going to give mom a surprise by cleaning up around this dump! sheesh!
Anyone watching the Olympics? I absolutely love the winter olympics! The U.S. might not be doing so hot but we are still doing very well and having lots of fun too! anyone want to try their hand at 'skeleton'? woohooo! did you see the 52 (62?) y/o 'grandma luge'? what a riot! check out the Japanese skater Arakawa! wow. that Hughs girl? oh yeah. anyway, i stray away. don't miss the closing ceremonies Sunday night! yeah, yeah, I know that it's the survivor finale and that there is yet another Titanic special on the History channel but, hey, the Olympics come only every FOUR years! don't miss it!
I feel better now. i'll go finish my chores too. the barn needs some attention! catch you all later!

Wednesday 2-1-06 and I am tired...

Mei Mei is cranky and Dallas is being hateful... he hates me and he hates kim. we are 'ruining his life' he says. what a way to start the teenage years. kim and i are losing sleep and getting cranky with each other due to all the stress coming from all sides. no one feels like the other is helping with anything. nice, huh? life is not bad. really. just challenging now! i'm sure that kim and myself were not difficult kids, were we? nah. just ask OUR parents! goodness. dallas has a friend that is 'pro school' and into studying so he is helping him bring his grades up! he is also into the outdoors so they are becoming good friends. we approve. Mei Mei has been moody lately but is that a reflection of our overall feelings at home in general? is she feeling the strain? wow. we are all working things out but the stress is def. there. big household. lots of responsibilities. different ages, sexes, backgrounds, etc. normal family life! who said that it would be easy? i'm not as patient as i once was and that is not good/helpful. i'm working on that. we've been through a lot in the past year and it's def. showing! we'll be fine, i promise. we all love each other very much and are all investing in our future together. what a trip! i wouldn't change a thing...

Jan. 4, 2006

well kids, we finally hooked up our computer at home and, well, oh well. we live too far out to get any repectable speeds from the internet. 25k dialup speeds are not conducive to uploading pictures. i can't really post from work and upload pictures and it's extremely slow at home and spotty service so i may not be posting too much now and that disappoints me greatly as i want to share Mei Mei and Dallas with my family! this was the easiest way for me... i'll see what i can do or come up with a creative solution to this dilemna. keep looking from time to time though! you never know when i'll post something new and exciting!

Dallas in Casco

so we all went to our first Christmas concert! dallas was worried because, being the new guy, he didn't know the songs very well... yeah right! he sang his heart out! he loves to sing! he did quite well by us, that's fer sure! it seemed like all of the 7th and 8th graders were in the band, singing or otherwise involved in some music aspect. very nice kids! i love to listen to band! Mei Mei loved it too! she did not fuss one bit! the whole time that we were there, she just sat and danced, clapped and talked up a storm! what a riot! she sat and just stared at times in rapt attention then she would smile a huge beaming smile and sway or jump up and down on our laps. we all had so much fun! dallas was pumped afterwards too! he's such a turkey... you know, i saw two girls flirting with him too! he won't admit it but they would follow him with their eyes. he's so handsome! tall and sweet. get 'em big D! you're the man! he's still rather clueless to it all and that is fine with me! i'm very proud of him.