"Hellooooo Tooth Fairy!"

We had a big moment at the Jordan household Monday night. Syd lost her first tooth! Poor little thing is almost 7 and we were beginning to wonder if those baby teeth were ever gonna decide to fall out! Her Daddy informed her that he heard the Tooth Fairy was giving out gold dollar coins these days for a tooth. She was so excited but decided to wait until the next night because she remembered Grandma D. was making her a special tooth pillow.
The next night Grandma babysat the girls while I went to a meeting. When I got home they were in bed but mom said Syd had put her tooth in her little pillow for the Tooth Fairy. Jamie had told her specifically that the Tooth Fairy was giving out gold dollar coins and I had no idea where those were so I decided I would just remember to tell him when he got home and he could take care of it. Well...I fell asleep and didn't wake up until 5:30am when my alarm went off. All of a sudden it hit me. Oh no! We didn't do our Tooth Fairy duties! I woke Jamie up and he trounced upstairs to make the exchange. I swear I could hear every floor board as he walked up the stairs and into her room. Good grief. I don't know how she didn't wake up! But she didn't.

When Syd woke up I asked her what the tooth fairy brought her and she said, "A quarter." What? A quarter? What the heck? It's suppose to be a gold dollar coin! So Jamie thought he grabbed the wrong coin in his sleepy stupor and began rummaging through his stash trying to figure out what happened. Turns out, Syd was the sleepy one and didn't notice that it was indeed a gold dollar coin. (whew.) She told everyone on the way to school about her visit from the Tooth Fairy... even the cross-walk lady. Now we are just having fun making her say "sassafras."

"Gentry looks like a girl!"

This was the comment my friend Connie made when she saw Gentry with her hair curled and wearing make-up! You have to understand, this child lives in t-shirts and shorts all year round. She doesn't wear nail polish or anything frilly so I was shocked when she agreed to let me curl her ponytail for a dance performance. I had just picked her up from basketball practice and we were hurrying home to get changed. She told me her dance teacher just said they should wear ponytails and her hair was already in a ponytail so she didn't see any reason to re-do it. I told her I wanted her to look like a "dancer" not a "ball player" and she didn't give me any grief.

One night last week after several phone calls from one of her little girlfriends the phone rang so Gen yelled she would get it. She was only on the phone for a couple minutes so I asked her who it was. Her response was she didn't know, then it changed to just one of my friends but she was acting very weird about it. I finally got it out of her that it was a boy from school. Man, she did NOT want to tell mom that! But I played it cool and just said, "Oh, okay" and went on. What she doesn't know is I grabbed the phone and ran into the bathroom to secretly call her Dad to tell him that a boy had called the house! The only thing he could say was, "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no..."

Some of the best evenings this winter have been when dinner is over, the kitchen is clean, coffee is made, and we can finally sit down and unwind. We turn the TV off, build a big, roaring fire and I get to enjoy some quiet time with my girls, and the "boys", Frodo and Cosmo. The girls gave me a hard time a few weeks ago about having study nights but now it's no big deal and I think they like having the personal time even though they will never admit it. I just love to see my girls reading. Syd's first grade teacher gave the class a reading level goal that she wanted them to reach by the end of the year. Syd met that goal in January.
Hey guys? Maybe mom had a good idea, huh?

Frodo loves "study night" too as long as he gets his favorite spot in front of the fireplace.

"Oh yeah, well your mama dresses you funny! "

Only little Blaker could pull this look off... and he did (pull it off) shortly after his mama put it on him. But what a cutie!

"So Blake..., do you think the Wildcats stand a chance against the Jayhawks tomorrow night?"

"I didn't think so. Rock Chalk!"

Study night gone bad

Now that the spring semester has started for me, I decided to make a few changes in our evening routine. I made the big announcement while cleaning up the kitchen the other night. Here's how that played out.

Me: After you guys finish your dinner I was thinking we would have a study night.

Syd: 'waaaah, waaaah....'
Gen: No mama no. No mama no....

Me: (back turned, still washing dishes) We'll turn off the TV, I will build a big fire, we will all get in our jammies and then camp out in front of the fireplace and read. It will be fun!

Syd: 'waaaah, waaaah...'
Gen: Aghhhh.......! Aghhhh.......!

Me: (back still turned) Ahhh, I'm so glad to hear you guys like the idea! We will have so much fun and we won't have that silly TV bothering us.

It was at that point that Gen excused herself to go upstairs to "get something" while Syd was yelling "Get the net! Get the net!" She returned a few minutes later with a jump rope, a belt, and a fish net! Those little turds were going to throw the fish net over me and tie me up with the jump rope just so they wouldn't have to have study night!! It's just a good thing I'm bigger and can still out run them!

My mother's hope for me is realized.

I can't tell you how many times growing up I heard my exasperated mother say, "I hope someday you have a daughter that acts just like you!" Well guess what mom... I do.

I will admit I was a bit of a pickle growing up. I know that seems hard to believe but it is true. I remember when I was about five I wanted to go swimming, so much so that I cried and screamed to go swimming. The problem was it was December and there was snow on the ground. So in order to shut me up and prove a point my mother let me put on my swim suit and go outside. There is a picture in our family album of a very chilly 5yr old in a swimsuit, standing in the middle of an empty plastic swimming pool surrounded by snow. I have always been a tad stubborn. I want what I want and don't tell me I can't have it! (At this point you may be feeling sympathy for my husband.) Well last night I realized the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

My youngest is one of the funniest, sweetest little girls you will ever encounter. However, she agonizes over things being perfect. This includes her wardrobe and last night we had a knock down drag out over her wearing a pink shirt to school today. It's a new pink turtleneck she received for Christmas from one of the grandparents along with a matching pair of denim blue jeans. The jeans have pink accents and she has worn them several times. The shirt, however still has the tag attached. Last night we were laying out clothes for the morning and I pulled out this outfit and said, "Oh! You haven't even worn this yet. Let's wear it tomorrow." Instantly, the nose wrinkled and she cocked her head to the side and said, "I don't wear pink." I was dumbfounded because this child's entire existence has revolved around this color! Her room is even painted pink per her request! But none of that matters now. She informed me she liked pink when she was four but not anymore. Hello, she's six now and she was not going to wear the shirt!

At this point I was in a quandary. I remember being forced to wear stuff I didn't like and how that made me feel. So do I do the same to her? But I think this child is even more picky that I was especially at her young age. She flat refuses to wear any shirt that has buttons on it! What is that about? I have no idea what buttons ever did to her, but we know not to buy her anything that has them. I even begged the grandparents not to buy her clothes for Christmas because I knew this would happen. To make a short story, long I put my foot down, played the "mom" card and informed her she would be wearing the shirt. Grandma paid good money for it and she was going to wear it! She went to bed crying and I went to bed feeling like a tyrant. It was obvious this morning that she had not changed her mind. Every morning I call upstairs, "good morning monkeys!" This morning I was greeted with a cold, "good morning, mother." Ouch. I was able to smooth the waters a little bit with a compromise. She did wear the shirt, (which was adorable) but I suggested she wear her new baby blue Old Navy vest with it. She loved the idea and my title of tyrant was lifted. More importantly, she went off to school with a smile on her face.

I know this is just a sign of things to come and being my child, I know there will many more instances where we do not agree. Part of me hopes this is a phase and she will grow out of it but who am I kidding?

It's good to dream...

Every January my sister makes fun of me because I obsess about winning the HGTV Dream House Sweepstakes. This year the house is in Key West Florida which would be heaven on earth as far as I am concerned. To be honest, I don't think the decor is as nice as in past years, but I certainly would not turn it down if I won!

Living in Florida is a dream that my husband and I share and talk about on a regular basis. The plan has always been to get Syd into college and head south. I'm going to bartend down by the beach where the dress code involves flip-flops and I can spend all day talking to the locals. Jamie wants to either bartend or be the guy who air-brushes bikinis on tourists. (That's a man for ya.) We would eat oysters Rockefeller at Billy's Oyster Bar whenever we want and stroll down the beach at sunset.... Ah, just twelve more years.

The Clay Center Rascals

Yesterday we spent the day in Riley KS for a girls basketball tournament. Gen, #15, plays on the 4th grade team. They got to name themselves and decided they wanted to be called the "Rascals." If you spend much time around this group the name actually fits very well. These girls began competing as a team in 3rd grade and most of them play together on the CC B's softball team in the summer. The girls played hard and are improving with each game. They took a lot of shots yesterday, but not a lot of points. The last game we only scored 6 points but they had 30 steals! They ended up getting 6th overall in the tournament and 2nd in their age group.




Sydney went along with me. She was fine until I got a text saying she was invited to a sleep over as soon as we got back to town. After that, every 10 minutes she was asking how long before we could go. AGH! Why did I even say anything!

Kansas Jayhawks - Orange Bowl Champions!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk...
Go KU!

KU 24 Virginia Tech 21

Orange Bowl Trophy Presentation

Happy Birthday Rhy Rhy!!!

It's not very often that you can pull one over on the "mistress" of surprise but her sweet, thoughtful husband managed to do it for this milestone birthday. Maybe she is slipping with age... that, or her friends are becoming better liars which is probably closer to accuracy.


Of course no shot of Rhy Rhy would be complete without her letting us all know we are "#1." Good thing the sangria margarita's were flowin' or she might have killed us all!

Happy Birthday Rhy Rhy and contrary to what you believe...you "ARE NOT OLD!!!"

Coming to a store near you....

Just in time for Christmas ... while supplies last! Introducing "Viola Hero" the unofficial game preferred by nerds everywhere!

Inside you will find an itsy, bitsy viola designed specifically to match the maturity level of it's player.
Just read what some of our satisfied customers had to say about this amazing product!

"I use to play on the internet all day because you know what the internet is for, right? Viola Hero saved me from going blind! Thank you Viola Hero!"

"Before Viola Hero I use to party with a different girl every night. Now I wear plaid & I am no longer bothered by women. Thanks for the woman repellent Viola Hero!!"

Yes folks, Yahoo Serious himself would be envious. Get yours today!!!

Shouldn't these guys be gone on break?

Our HR students won the 2007 Holiday Door Decorating contest and as much as I hate to admit it, they deserved it. One question, can you eat M&M's once they've been glued to paper? I'm just curious because their door looks really yummy!

Good job guys....but I'm totally going to win NEXT YEAR!!!

Christmas Dance Recital

The Slagle Dance Studio held a Christmas Dance recital for the residents at Apollo Towers Monday night. Gentry is in one of the "extreme" dance classes which consists of a mix between ballet & hip-hop. With all the wintery weather, some of the practices had to be canceled so the girls did not get a chance to learn the whole routine. So, this is the condensed version.

Christmas Dinner

Today we had our Christmas feast at work. We contemplated postponing it since many are still without electricity. The consensus was that as a whole we needed something to lift our spirits and put us back in the holiday cheer.

Our fearless leader....

A quartet from the Apostolic School in Junction City came to entertain us. These gentlemen are high school age and have four of the most beautiful voices you will ever hear. They literally gave me goosebumps.

I think overall everyone had a good time and had some laughs....perhaps some more than others!

HR Christmas at KSU

Each year in the HR department we have a door decorating contest. You can make your door as crazy or as pretty as you like. Then they are voted on by all the employees and the winner receives the prized nutcracker! He is a traveling trophy and so far I have not been able to capture him! Maybe this year....

Clean up efforts begin

Wednesday since there was no school, Syd helped her daddy start cleaning up the yard. This is very unusual for her as she is highly allergic to any kind of manual labor. Luckily, Grandma was driving by and took this picture as evidence that she is capable! She really did work her little hiney off and earned a few bucks to do some Christmas shopping.