My little princesses

You always knew that the Dunbar girls had royal blood flowing in their veins. Now you have proof. Abby and Skylar played dress-up together this afternoon. I laughed so hard I thought I would pee. Especially when we put the wig on Skylar. I can't keep a hat on the girl, but she wore that wig around looking like a mini Dolly Parton for over 1/2 hour!!!

Attention, children's hat makers.......team up with the Halloween wig makers and maybe our kids will keep your hats on their tiny little noggins!

First snow!

Well it happened, the much anticipated first snow came this last Saturday morning. The kiddos were crazy excited for snow. They have been asking for snow since about July so they couldn't wait to get out to play. As I stared out of my grandma's window all I could think was, "Crap, I didn't bring mittens, hats, scaves or any of the other clothing items a better mom would have packed on the off chance it snowed enough to play in." I thought about making them wait to go out until after naps so that maybe it would warm up a little bit. In the end, I decided what the hell, a few minutes with cold noses and fingers won't kill them. So we put on shoes and coats and headed outside. Thank goodness I daringly threw caution to the wind, because within just a couple of hours the sun came out and the snow was no more. It melted faster than Frosty when he got stuck in the greenhouse in the classic TV cartoon. The kids would have been so disappointed! Lesson here......if you are thinking about doing something fun by yourself or with the people you love, just do it. Stop thinking about why you shouldn't do it. The opportunity may not be there long.

Okay stepping off of the soapbox now. The older two had a ball. They slid down the snowy slide, had a mini snowball fight, and basically had a great time. Weston's favorite thing was stomping the snow.

Skylar on the other hand was not a fan of the wintertime bliss. She was okay until I put her down into the cold stuff to take a few pictures. Poor kid, wrinkled up her little nose and proceeded to yell about how cold her butt was. Don't misunderstand, she didn't actually use those words, but believe me I got the meaning!!!

After about 10 minutes the fun turned to frostbite so we headed inside. Of course, we then had to dive into the ying to snow's yang.......big steaming cups of hot chocolate!!! Yummy!!

The only downfall to the snow was that Daddy had to leave that morning on a trip so he missed out on the fun! Hopefully, there will be plenty more snow this winter so he can join in the fun.

To old friends.....

No pictures tonight because we were way to busy having fun to take out the camera. Tonight was the annual Dunbar chili night. Every year around this time we pick one night and have a bunch of old friends over. Well, the friends aren't actually that old but the friendships sure are. It is always so great to get together and catch up.

Tonight as I was sitting there with some of my amazing friends I started thinking about the power of a good friend. I thought about how blessed I am to have these amazing people in my life. Each one of them is a true gift who has helped me to become the kind of person I am today.

I think you are sooo lucky if you have just one friend who you think of as more than a friend. They are your family. These are the friendships that withstand time and distance. You may not see them or even talk to them for months, but as soon as you get back together or pick up the phone it is like you just left them 10 minutes before. You just pick up where you left off. Friends like these are the ones who you can count on to be there no matter what you need. They will drop everything to help you out whenever you call on them. You are a better person because they are a part of your life. (Okay, Tommy sometimes I am actually a much nastier person when you are around but it works for us!)

The reason I am so blessed is because I don't have one friend like this; I have a whole houseful. Tonight as I sat in my home full of friends who have been there with me for so many years now. I couldn't help thinking that this is what makes life good. We didn't drink as much as we used to. We wiped way more bottoms and snotty noses than we ever did before. Our college stories got retold and probably stretched a bit. Chili night now includes corn dogs and tater tots. The yelling to hear each other isn't because we are sitting in a bar, but is because there are noisy kids everywhere.

While all of these things have changed, some very important things have not. These people lift me up, make me laugh, bring out the best in me, and are always there for me. We believe in each other and love each other unconditionaly. They are an amazingly talented, caring, funny, and just a little bit dirty crowd. They are a part of my family.

As I sat tonight watching all of our children playing together I thought about how the circle of life just keeps turning. How cool is it that my kids are developing relationships and growing to love the kids of some of my favorite people in the world? I hope those friendships take off and grow into something very special.

So Alison, Jason, Chis, Jimmy, Ozel, Kristin, Tom, and all of your kiddos, thanks for coming. Thanks for being one of my special friends. Most importantly, thank you for making my life better by being a part of it.

To those of you who couldn't be here tonight, we missed you! We thought of you and can't wait until next year when hopefully you can be here as well.

If only I had a Zima right now life would be perfect!!!

Yikes!!!

Holy cow, I think from here on out we are going to make a rule that Chan does not post new blogs at 1 am! I just read my one from last night again. Dawn, I bet you are laughing your head off at me. Sorry for all of the grammar errors folks!!! Aaagghhh... the power of proofreading! No jokes about what a KU education will get you, please.

I am not going to type much tonight either because my brain is fried. We had to go buy a new TV today and I think I short circuited my noodle trying to hook it up. A huge thank you to my incredibly-gifted-in-all-things-electronic brother. Matt, you are my hero! Okay, you are one of my heroes.

Just wanted to say sorry for the mess of a post I did last night. I hope you all were able to look past the mistakes and catch the sentiment. Now I am off to put my feet up in front of my new TV and watch something that doesn't require my brain.

Have a great night!

The makings of a man....

Nope the Dunbars didn't fall off of the planet. Daddy was home for almost a week and we spent lots of good quality time together so I just didn't get to the computer much. I am back now and have a lot of thoughts to get down. It is almost 1 am though so may poop out and have to write more tomorrow.

Remember the pictures of the kids that I posted awhile back playing in the leaves? Yeah well, those were the teasers. Check out the above pictures!!! For those of you who have visited Dunbar Manor you know that we bought a lovely home on a lovely couple of lots full of lovely oak trees. Do ya know what happens to oak trees around October/November in Kansas????? Holy crap, they start dropping their leaves faster than college freshman drop their bikini tops on spring break. I swear to you that we started raking leaves at 11 am on Sunday morning. At around 6 pm we finished. That was just the front and the side yards!!! I had done the back yard the day before. I could stand up in the pile and it went up to my shoulders. Thank goodness Osage City lets you burn leaves so we didn't have to bag them all. Although, I am pretty sure there is a hole in the ozone with our name on it!!!

Anyway, before we burned them we of course played in them. The kids got a kick out of burying me clear under the leaves so that they couldn't see any part of me. I would lay really still and then sit up and scare the crap out of them. We were all dirty and covered in leaves but laughing our crazy heads off.

Abby also finally got brave enough to try Jamy's helmet on. When he first brought it home the kids were scared of it. Not anymore!! Abby had a good time wearing it around the house.

So now that you know what the pictures are about I thought I would write some about Weston today. Hence, the title of the post.

For some reason lately I have been thinking about our little man and how different it is raising a son a lot lately. Now notice I didn't say better or worse just different. There is something about a son that really tugs at a mommy's heart. I suppose Daddy's and daughters have the same sort of thing going on. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I love him any more or less than the girls it is just a different feeling. I guess you mommies that have one of each will understand what I am saying.

Weston is amazing. He is funny, smart, sensitive, and just enough ornery to keep me on my toes. He loves hugs and kisses. He can lay on the floor for an hour by himself just pushing his train and watching the wheels move. He loves silly things. Daddy's airplanes sending him into shrieks of delight. And most of the time, he thinks his sisters are something pretty special.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to raise a little boy. How do you teach them to have the backbone to stand up for what they believe, the manners to always be a gentleman, the integrity to be known as honest, and the sensitivity to make the world a better place?

Every mother has dreams for their children. I have been thinking about what I wish for Weston. I am not into wishing for him to be president (good golly, I wouldn't wish that on a kid I didn't like), a doctor, a lawyer or even the local trash man ( love ya Matt!). I don't really care what he is when he grows up as long as he is an honest, caring man. I want Weston to grow up and be known as a gentleman. I think there are just not enough true gentleman around anymore. I want him to shake hands with a firm grip, look people in the eye when he is talking to them and even open a few doors here and there. All of my feminist friends are now rolling their eyes and cringing. Before you guys think I have lost my edge since moving out of Lawrence hold on. These are the same things I want for my girls as well. It is just that I believe sometimes boys have a bit of a harder time developing that sensitive side.

I see Weston's beautiful spirit now and I want to put it in a bottle and save it. Keep it stored away for those dreaded teenage years when he is struggling to find his place in the world. Just this morning he held open the door for me and put his little hand on my leg to "steady" me as I went down our front steps.

What I do know is that Weston has so much going for him. (This is the part where I brag on my amazing husband so skip down a bit if you don't want to read the mush.) Weston has a role model who admittedly is a great big two year old, but who is also a gentleman. I know there are those of you laughing right now because you have seen Jamy act like a total goon. There is another side to this man though. For example, I have never made a meal that Jamy hasn't eaten and then said, "Thanks honey." Even the turkey meatloaf! Yikes!! He hurries to help me carry stuff in the house when he sees I have my hands full. Lots of time he brings me flowers for no reason. Even when he hasn't done anything bad!! He offers to clean the bathrooms! Score big points there!! Probably most importantly, the man has never hung up the phone, left for work or gotten home from work without saying, "I love you baby!" He says it out of the blue when we are alone or in a crowd. He isn't afraid of who is around to hear him or what the guys might think. He treats me with respect and love at all times. He has this amazing ability to take care of and protect or family without ever making me feel like anything less than his equal.

The point of all of this lovey talk is to show that in a world full of lots of bad influences, Weston has a strong plus on his side. He has a daddy who isn't afraid to show him what it really means to be a man. Jamy shows Weston a thousand times a day in all of the little things he does. As the mom, I sit back and watch. I see Weston watching his daddy and taking note of how Daddy handles himself. Which, yes, means that I am having a heck of a time teaching him to say he has to poop instead of he has to "drop a dog log", but it also means he has learned to open the door for a lady and offer her his hand when she needs it. Even if that lady is just his mommy!

Happy Halloween!!

Another Halloween has come and gone. Can you believe it? We had a blond haired princess (Abby), a mad doctor (Weston) and a teddy bear pumpkin (Skylar) here at our house. Abby was grumpy initially because we woke her up from a nap and she wasn't ready to get up. So the first part of trick-or-treating was not much fun. After about 15 minutes though she perked up and had a good time.

Osage City has a parade of the little kiddos down main street so we lined them up and joined in that fun. All of the merchants come out and give the kids candy. By the time the parade is over they really already have more candy than they need. We hit a few friends houses and then Jamy walked them up and down our block anyway. Now they really have more candy than they need.

Weston was adorable. Whenever someone would open their door he would scoot right past them and head on into their house. I don't think he quite got the concept of trick-or-treating. He just thought it was one big chance to check out all of the neighbor's homes! After Jamy drug him out of a few places I think he began to understand.

So now we await Thanksgiving and Christmas. This time of year is so amazing with the little ones. They get so excited seeing all of the holiday decorations starting to appear. Each day they remind me that the holidays are magical!