"it's to do with the hair"

i have much to blog about (thanksgiving, a black friday birthday, and everyday weird stuff), but little time. so naturally, i will blog about hair.

haircut...

hairdo...

and hair-y...

all the other stuff will have to wait.

counting

1...

2...

3...

4...

5...

(i'm just getting started)

happy thanksgiving.

have fun counting your blessings.

cry out to jesus

we had a morning consisting of one tantrum after another. lulu's, not mine. though believe me i felt like throwing one. there was just a whole lotta two going on...

in such moments, i have been teaching lulu to pray "help me, jesus" because this is what i need to pray in such moments. she will repeat after me.

but today she prayed her first prayer like this all on her own.

i was combing out her hair while giving her a bath. it had been a couple of days and when that is the case, it isn't a very fun process.

today she said all on her own "jesus help for me. my hair hurts."

amen, sweetie.

pulling the trigger on birthday fun

it's been several days of non-stop celebration for team kollar. our tradition for bill's birthday is dinner at red robin...

because it's fun to have strangers sing happy birthday to you. and because my man loves his cheeseburger and fries with a "big cup of mayo" for dipping the fries. just like the french. and people with high cholesterol.

we are still getting used to tate's birthday without his birthday buddy, my mom known as gunga. before last year, it was like this...

tate never decided how he would spend his birthday. he just cherished that he shared that special day with her. and got to hear her say yet again, "tatie, you were my best birthday present ever." not only do we feel her absence in our celebration, but it means that tate now decides what the day will be like. last year family came to town to be with him, so there was no deciding. this year, i gave him a list of 6 things that i thought were suitable for a golden birthday celebration. he chose laser tag with his cousins and french silk pie...

we went to a three level laser tag course. i thought it was sweet how excited emmie was that i was playing until i heard her say, "now i won't get the low score." my kids have such little faith in me. but her comments were not undeserved. the whole thing was rather disturbing. there is something disconcerting about coming around a corner and finding your husband like this...

also each time i would get shot, i guess it upset me so much when i didn't know who the perp was that i would be screaming "who shot me? who shot me?!" while failing about. apparently as i was doing this, my nephew (with a military background) was shooting me repeatedly. the hysterical female...always an easy target.

then there was the realization in literally the last minute i was in the arena, that i had been holding the gun backwards the entire time. so, it is really hard to know how many of the times i was shot were other assassins, or the friendly fire of me just shooting myself. i knew i wouldn't do well at such an activity. but it was even worse than i thought. my trigger happy nephew got 8150. tate got 5600. my score?

you probably can't read that, but it reads 0025. in that last minute when i finally learned which way to shoot the gun, i hit a bonus target on the wall thus not ending the game with 0000. brilliant. if you own a gun shop, never never NEVER sell me a gun.

we had to hit the arcade too because you have to get tons and tons of tickets so they can award you worthless prizes, right? lulu had her own way of playing skee ball...

she shoots like her momma.

but she doesn't dance like her momma...

i don't know what version of ddr lulu thought she was doing, but that is definitely not the kind of dancing we want her doing. ever. it's only funny because she had no idea what she was doing.

though tate missed his birthday buddy, my sister carrie sent a text that was so precious...

i still love that tate and gunga share a bday. JOY trumps sorrow!" amen. there was sorrow at not having gunga with us. but mostly, there was joy...

golden

he's 14 on the 14th...

so on this golden birthday, here are 14 things i love about tater:

1) he is thoughtful. (as a preschooler, he was forever presenting me of love gifts consisting of weeds or leaves or pieces of lint.)

2) he is hilarious. (i tend to playfully tease the kid quite a bit. on one such occasion he said, "mom, i'm gonna get you back someday. when you are in the nursing home, you better sleep with one eye open.")

3) his hair is soooo soft. he has better "bieber hair" than justin himself had.

4) he accepts me for who i am and loves me despite my flaws.

5) he is way smarter than i'll ever be (but doesn't flaunt it).

6) those dark eyes and that year-round tan.

7) he is an "old soul".

8) when he runs, he looks like poetry in motion (with that perfect hair blowing in the wind).

9) he is loyal.

10) he loves happy endings.

11) he has a photographic memory.

12) he thinks deeply about life and god and purpose.

13) he is cautious, but up for an adventure.

14) he is amazing with little kids.

are you thinking what i am thinking as i look over that list? yes, this young man is going to make a fine husband someday. not that i'm rushing into that, mind you. i am fully prepared to beat off girls with a broom. but it's not because i want to remain the woman in his life. i'm not anymore. i was dethroned on july 27, 2009 when he met his baby sister. he recently told me, "mom, i'm never going to be able to get married because i'll never love a girl as much as i love lulu."

and so i sigh for the tenth time while writing this post. he is growing up. they are all growing up. and that is exactly what i want them to do. but it's just so weird. i've seen him through every stage: bob the builder, thomas the tank engine, skateboard skills, a space obsession, making art from trash, star wars, pokemon, the warriors books (aka itty bitty kitty) the office, the deepening voice, the ipod, and now he is on the verge of high school. seriously?

i know i tell you that you're on restriction every time you show signs of growing up, but here's the real truth, tater...i am okay with you growing up. i loved you as a baby and i love you as a teenager. wait, is that a mustache? you're on restriction!

happy birthday, golden boy. you are loved.

"he has showed you, o man, what is good.

and what does the lord require of you?

to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god."

micah 6:8

reason #854

recently we welcomed bill home from a trip by teepeeing the front yard.

tate, a sensible 40 year old trapped in a 14 year old body, questioned this idea saying that it wasn't a very nice welcome home gift if dad had to clean it up.

naturally i responded by singing,

every party has a pooper and that is you. party pooper!

(sadly, it may be that i am a 14 year old trapped in a 41 year old body)

in addition, i promised that i would be the one to pick it up.

so the rest of us carried on with our welcome home "gift".

and i think bill liked it.

or maybe politely tolerated it.

but unfortunately, i didn't didn't keep my word.

i got distracted (go figure) with dinner and kids and the like

and before i knew it he had picked up all the toilet paper.

and meticulously rolled it back up.

so it could be put to good use...

and that, my friends, is reason #854 why i LOVE this man...

this man who is having a birthday today.

i don't need to broadcast his age,

but i'll give you a little hint.

it's half of 90.

but this middle-aged man is hot.

a smokin' hot word nerd he is.

and more importantly, he is humble.

and honest.

and kind.

and genuine.

and a man after god's own heart.

happy birthday, babe. there are more than 854 reasons why i love you.

infinitely more, to be exact.

help me.

this sweet little thing has me bewitched...

bemused...

and bedazzled...

but she also has me befuddled.

we have had such on again/off again regression in potty train that my head is spinning. there is no question that she knows what to do. and that she knows how to do it. she will go for hours and be fine. she will go for a week with no issues. and then: total regression.

she had five accidents yesterday. five. here was our conversation after one of those accidents happened while i was holding her...

me: "lulu, you peed on me."

lulu: "i'm sorry mom. but here's the deal: it's not your problem. it's my problem."

but it becomes my problem when your pee is on my body, girl. so bloggy universe, i am crying out for help. i've tried candy. i've used psychology (two of her regressions were connected to one of her parents being out of town). and i've even cried about it.

i know this is really not a big deal, but it is frustrating and i am wondering

if there is something i could do (or not do) to help the situation.

to borrow lu's words, it's not your problem. it's my problem...but i could use your help.

getting cozi

those who know me even just a little know that i am an organizational nightmare. my dear friend robrenna having both observed (and occasionally being burned) by this fact, told me about the application cozi. where have you been all my life?????? it has my calendar, to do list, and grocery list all in one place on my phone. with a different color for each person in the family. and the option of getting email reminders. now i am not foolish enough to think that it will change my basic nature, but it is helping. and lord knows, this girl needs some help.

while i am on the subject of a new favorite, i will pass on a few of my other favorites these days...

1) my memory foam bath mats. sometimes i walk into my master bathroom just to stand on them for a minute and sigh. a teeny bit of pampering goes a long way.

2) pf changs frozen dinners for two. i take issue with the "for two" part since i can down one of those all by my lonesome, but they are yummy nonetheless. right, miss kim?

3) my super discounted "snakeskin" dansko's. i love using yellow as a neutral...

4) i am loving the kinky-curly line of hair products for lulu. they don't meet my usual requirement of being available at my walmart, but they are available at whole foods. and some target stores. price wise, i think they fall in the middle of the road. not cheap, but these curls are a worthy investment...

fighting for family time

we are reaching the stage where you have to fight for having dinner as a family. even with each child just in one sport or activity, tate has youth group and a weekly babysitting gig and bill has evening responsibilities with his ministry. for the first time, there have been several nights a week that we have not been eating all together or eating on the fly.

the nightly schedule during the week means that we need to be more diligent about protecting family time together on the weekends, especially now when the kids aren't quite old enough to make their own weekend plans.

so friday night was family game night. we pulled out an oldie but a goodie...encore. oh how i love this game! it's great because it's a team game. and i love it because it's a singing game. i am not a great singer, but i have devoted a fairly sizable amount of my brain cells to song lyrics which is crucial for this game. we played it in my family of origin, so it is fun to have it now being loved and enjoyed in my own little family.

honestly, it doesn't seem that long ago that i was playing that game with my own parents and siblings. it doesn't even seem like that long ago my sisters and i were playing "tickle, run and hide" from my daddy when he came home from work.

weird how time can feel like it is standing still at times and then feel like it is in a full on sprint at others. it makes me want to keep on fighting for those times together as a family when we can let the world rush on by and just enjoy the here and now. enjoy one another. and enjoy conversations such as this...

emma: can you name the seven dwarves?

jack: happy. nappy? grouchy?

tate jumped in to help: grumpy. sneezy. sleepy. dwarfy? kissy? dumbo?

i love these guys. and despite how they fight, i think they love each other too...

costumes and candy and cavities, OH MY!

guess who lulu was for halloween?

naturally, after finding her costume, i was inspired to have wizard of oz themed costumes for our family. except i sort of forgot the minor detail that our family may be past the themed costume stage. i had only one willing to walk down the yellow brick road with his dorothy...

this teenage tin man definitely had a heart! actually, tate wasn't the only one headed to oz.

we had toto too...

while one "eased on down the road", another was doing the roger rabbit...

with her cousin caitie who, thanks to crimped hair, blue eye shadow and a fanny pack, made her look totally rad. fer sure.

caitie also made lulu totally happy as she carried her around the neighborhood...

those ruby red slippers aren't so magical when they are too big.

cousin lane brought another classic to life as frodo...

of course there had to be some trick to our treat, so we had a whoopee cushion in the mix...

complete with sound effects. i have no right to complain since i am the one who bought it for him.

pumpkin carving...

didn't happen this year so i took a picture of our neighbors' impressive display and am pretending in my mind that they were ours. delusional it may be, but it is also devoid of pumpkin guts so it works for me.

our pumpkin came in the form of the biggest treat of the night. my sister's curried pumpkin soup. and because i love it (and you), the here is the recipe...

1 large onion, sliced

3/4 C. sliced scallions, white part only

1/4 C. butter

1 16oz. can pumpkin

4 C. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 t. sugar

1/2 t. curry powder

1/8 t. nutmeg

fresh parsley sprigs

2 C. half&half

salt and pepper to taste

dash red pepper

saute onions and scallions in butter until golden in soup pot. stir in pumpkin, broth, bay leaf, sugar, curry powder and nutmeg. bring to simmer and continue simmering uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. transfer soup to food processor or blender in batches and puree. after all is blended, return to pot. add half&half, salt and pepper and simmer 5-10 minutes.

you're welcome.

actually, i think we had an appropriate theme after all. one that fits our family perfectly.

our theme was QUIRKY...

no matter how quirky it may be, truly there is no place like home.