Updates

I've been having a blast since I started acting again. I forgot how much I love this. I've been going to the Front Range Studio for an ongoing acting workshop the past few weeks and am really enjoying it. I feel like I'm finding myself again. The "me" that existed before I was a wife/a mom/ a parent who lost a child/a business owner/and a non-profit founder. All these things that I do seem to define me and are easy to get lost in and forget who I am outside of them all. Of course all those things are a part of who I am and I love them all but it's neat to be exploring myself outside of those ties a little bit. Who I am as an artist and a person. Parts of myself I had forgotten.

So, I've got an audition this weekend that I'm kind of excited about. It's an independent film but from what I've seen of the script it looks really interesting and would be fun to work on. I'm working on my audition sides and hopefully the director will think I'm right for the role. We shall see... I'm also working on a few monologues that I'm going to video tape and might post online for you guys to see if I feel brave enough. :) It's funny that I'm so much more nervous about my friends and family seeing me perform than I am in a room full of total stangers.

I missed the American Idol kick off tonight because I was in my acting class so I'm watching it right now (I heart my DVR) I'm SOOOOO happy Kris made it to the finale, I really like him a lot. He seems like a nice, down to earth guy and is so talented. The "whole package". I reallllly hope he wins. My favorites always seem to make it to the finale but don't win (Blake Lewis & David Archuleta the past 2 seasons).

Having my mom here the past couple weeks has been so wonderful. She's going back to SA next week and I seriously don't know what I'm going to do. I've gotten so used to having her here and it's going to be really hard to go back to being alone with the kids during the day. I'm really going to miss her. She's planning on moving up here in the next couple months and I can't wait. I've been living in a different town than my parents for 8 of the 9 years that I've had kids and it sucks. There is something so great about having your parents around, involved with the kids lives and just there for help and support.

The past few days Katie has been writing a book. Yep a real book. It started with a creative writing assignment and totally took a life of it's own. This is what I really love about homeschooling, the freedom to be creative without any restraints. She has been working everyday for hours on her book, it is already several chapters long and really good! We are going to try and get it bound into a real book for her. There are a lot of things I won't miss about homeschooling (like fighting with her to get her math and cursive practice done) but watching her the past couple days throw herself so completely into a project made me realize that there is a lot I will miss and a lot she will miss out on too by being at school all day. In my heart I know that if I had no other distractions (like 2 other kids, a non-profit AND a retail business to run and an acting career to work on) and could devote myself to just homeschooling her, it would be phenominal for both of us. The reality though is that I just don't have enough time to do it right and she needs to be in a full time learning environment so she doesn't start falling behind as the work gets more difficult. I can't believe her 9th birthday is coming up in a couple weeks, my baby girl is growing up! She's going to have a pool party at the country club. Gosh that sounds so uppity, lol. Really though it's a pretty low key club and has an awesome pool. If you are reading this, you are invited! June 6th. Be there. All the cool kids are coming. ;)
She had her first cheer practice last night and loved it. I'm excited to see her progress in this program over the next year. The gym is amazing and really has their act together. I can tell a HUGE difference in just watching one practice between this gym and her old gym. It's obvious why they win so many competitions. I'm really excited for her to be part of such a great program. She has also met a TON of girls her age in our neighborhood. There are seven girls that live right around us that are all her age. They come over everyday after school to see if "Katie can come play" and all go out and ride their bikes, jump on one of the girls trampoline and sometimes hang out over here. It's so neat and makes me really want to stay right around here for as long as we can.

Kobe is going through a dramatic phase right now. Everything is "NEVER, EVER!" with him lately. If someone does something he doesn't like, he's "NEVER EVER going to play with them again!" and in the car when we are driving somewhere, we are "NEVER EVER going to get there!" and whenever he gets in trouble for anything, it's "You're mean mom! Super, duper mean! The meanest in the whole world!" He is so upset and serious when he says this too, usually with tears running down his face. Sometimes it's impossible not to laugh because he is just so over the top with it. Poor guy gets even madder when you laugh at him though. I will be very happy when this phase is outgrown! Other than that he is still my sweetheart and overall my "easiest" one. 99% of the time he is happy, affection, so goodnatured and laid back and easy to be with. It's just those moments when he gets upset about something that the dramatics come out. The funniest thing is just as quickly as it comes on, it also passes. Thankfully he's pretty easy to distract and make happy again.

Kaleb is still demanding as ever. Well maybe that's not true. He is getting a little better about playing and being on his own. He loves to play outside now that it is warm and spends hours out with Kobe playing with rocks, riding the cozy coupe car and ride on toys. It just still seems like he wants to be carried and entertained and nurse a LOT more than I remember my other kids wanting when they were his age. He still seems more a "baby" to me than the others at his age. He's so funny though, he loves to say "Hi" to people and soaks up the attention we get when we are out. He's cute and he knows it. I reallllllllllly want to wean him soon but he's not having ANY of that. He's been asking to nurse more than ever lately and still wakes up several times a night to nurse. So that's a battle that is looming on the horizon. One thing that is amazing is how quickly he has figured out the potty! He LOVES to pee on the potty and does it several times a day. Whenever Kobe says he needs to go potty Kaleb will pull up the front of his shirt and start tugging on his pants as he runs behind Kobe to the bathroom. Yesterday morning he actually pooped on the potty. It's so weird, I've put the least amount of effort into working with him on the potty but he is the most advanced of any of my kids at this age. I guess having 2 big siblings to imitate and a big sister who loves to take him to the potty helps a lot. Hey, maybe I can get out of potty training all together and just let them do it. LOL

The one thing I wish I had more time for is alone time with Kevin. We are so busy with everything we have going on and all the kids, it seems like we hardly ever get to just sit and talk or spend time together without all the distractions. He's been working a lot and also training really hard for a marathon which requires him to run for hours at a time. We need to work on carving out some time for just us. I miss my hubby! What I love though is that our connection to each other and love is always there, even when we are going a million miles an hour, we still catch each other in the hall for a kiss and it's all still there. I love that man so much!

So I guess that's all that's new with us lately. I'll try and write again soon!