Too Much Candy at School

Tis the season of fabulous fall colors...sometimes even in my little blondies' hair. Monday the Rowdy Raabe girls went to school with orange and green streaked hair.

This year I helped with Reagan's school halloween party. The kids had fun and really isn't that what matters? This control freak that my children call "mom" had a hard time letting someone else organize a school party. Oh I have my opinions but today I didn't give any of them. :) To be totally honest, it was nice for the first time in 6 years to not be knee deep in planning and calling parents asking for help.

Do the kids really need 15 different treats the day before trick or treating? Geepers, I feel like I need to pump my kids' stomachs.

I made a quick appearance at Emma's party. The 5th grade moms go all out. Em and 2 of her crazy friends.

Liv really enjoyed her time at the party too.


Tomorrow we will carve pumpkins...watch some husker football...then walk around a neighborhood and ask for candy. Who knows what the girls will be doing, it'll be lots easier to get candy if they come with us this year.

It's Early Bird Basketball Season

Reagan's first basketball game of the early bird season was today. The first game is just a hoot to watch. If there's a rebound usually they run 3-4 steps before putting the ball to the floor. Who says you can't dribble, pick up the ball and then dribble again? Really, a girl might change her mind. The girls did a great job. Reagan had several steals, travels, shots and even made one or two baskets.

Halloween Came Early

Really? Trick or Treating on the 23rd? Who has ever heard of that? Now what are we going to do on the 31st? The mall had a "Smash Bash" tonight. The main reason I wanted to take the girls out there was for the FREE picture at The Picture People. Woo Hoo! Being the smart mommy that I am, we were there 20 minutes early so even though we didn't have an appointment we got right in and out before the masses ran over us in the name of free candy from strangers.

I should have taken a picture but didn't want to make the parents think I might be a stalker of children. Question: who really takes their infant in a stroller to the mall trick or treating? It would have made more sense for mom and dad to just have a mask and pillow case. I will admit that we did take each of our babies trick or treating however we were going to our FRIENDS' or FAMILIES' houses...NOT THE MALL! It was all about showing off the cutest kids ever to wear a costume. I'm sure the girl at Claires was so happy to see infant X in their costume.


Olivia has been talking about being a princess everyday until she saw the ladybug costume that I pulled from the closet last week. Yesterday she made her final decision to be a princess then at the last minute she put on the ladybug gear. I asked Liv what made her change her mind and this is her response.
"I want to be a ladybug because I am a princess everyday!"
I guess that says it all.


Emma-football player
Reagan-dog
Olivia-Ladybug

Happy Halloween to you...one week early.

Oh, thanks to the many of you for remembering my birthday and making it special.

New Colors of Fall

No, that's not snow you see in the picture below but they are rain drops. I had to get a quick picture before school today. It isn't all that often that I can get my kids all dressed in the same color or style. Since it was "orange" day at school I got it...here are some pictures to prove it.

What I really want to show off is our beautiful red tree behind the girls. I love it! The big tree in the front yard is still totally green, my marigolds are still yellow and orange (or dead) and my mums are in full bloom. Oh how I love the beauty of fall. Who says God doesn't pay attention to the details. He knew I would need something joyful to focus on before the winter winds sweep in.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor 5:17

I know that verse doesn't have anything to do with the summer flowers dying and the new fall flowers blooming but that was my first thought.

Tonight at a pizza party the discussion somehow turned to my terrible behavior as a high school student. I don't know exactly what Jerry and Lisa believe about me but I can tell you they were surprised to know I was a "little crazy" in my younger years. Praise God, I am a new creation. Those old behaviors are gone and I can live free in Christ.

Happy Surprise Party to Me!

What a darling husband I married. In case you are concerned because you haven't sent me a big wonderful gift, no worries...you still have a week to get it here by my actual birthday. The best surprises come when you aren't expecting them and that's just how Chris pulled it off. One week EARLY! This story is too long and detailed to type out but I will say I thought I had gotten the skinny on the surprise (a scrapbook weekend) only to find out that there were a bunch of friends coming over Friday night. It would have been nice to have a clean house. You know, I pray for God to help me get over my pride issue. I guess a bunch of girlfriends coming to your dirty house for a celebration in your honor is a great way to deal with pride. :) God never does things the way I think He will.

For being a scrapbooker you might think I would be sure to get good pictures...apparently not. My friend Courtney is taking the picture and for some reason Liz isn't in here either.

Notice the beautifully decorated cake. Chris had someone from school bake it but Reagan made it into a masterpiece. Thank you sweetie!

Thank you girls for going out of your way to celebrate our friendship and my birthday. I had a great time chatting, laughing, eating and even doing a little bit of scrapping. I have been incredibly blessed by wonderful women.

Chris has this idea that I make too big of a deal about birthdays and I make them drag out too long. Look what he has done...started the celebration a whole week early. Yes, I will capitalize on this. Don't think for one minute that everyday I won't try to make it all about me, it's just one week.

Again to Chris, thank you for loving me so much that you would make up stories, babysit friends' kids and do whatever it takes to pull off a surprise. Love you!!

Love Her

Just look at my 8 year old. How did she grow up so fast?

48 and Outside

What says soccer practice to you more than 48 degrees, cloudy, gloomy and on the verge of rain? Sitting here in the van (see I am a soccer mom) with my winter coat on, wishing I could type while wearing gloves but too cheap to let the van run for a hour. The funny thing will be when Reagan jumps in and rips off her layers of clothing and asks for me to turn off the heater because she's hot. This could be a life lesson if I would let it become one. I hate the cold and dream of the days we lived in Arizona. Who cares that they don't have beautiful fall weather and they all break out winter coats when it's 60 degrees. Can't I just complain for a little while?

School is out and it's mid October. We should be outside racking leaves only to let the kids jump in them and then start all over again. Instead I'm too cold. You know in February when it's -5 degrees I'll remember this post and think I was a complete idiot!

Ok, only 32 minutes left.

So in not conforming to the world but rather renewing my mind...can I still complain about the weather? My verse for today is Romans 12:2.

One random comment: my friends Matt and Tiffany had a baby girl yesterday at 11:32pm after being induced 28.5 hours earlier. YIKES!! Pray for new baby Addison, new mommy recovering and that daddy won't feed the baby chopped up chicken nuggets.

Can I brag?

This is a bragging post on my 2 school aged children. If that kind of stuff makes you nauseous you better not read any further.

Today was parent-teacher conference. My girls are well in school. All 1's...all 100%...all perfect behavior. Both teachers were very pleased and even called them "All-Stars". I am so proud of the girls for trying to do their best. Hard work and good behavior is much more important than a grade but I'll admit that getting all 3 is a great thing for mom. :)

Note to self:
refer back to this post when things aren't so good!

Incentive is EVeRyTHiNG!

It's amazing how 2 different people can say and think the same thing but the result is much different. When I ask Emma if she has cleaned her room she says yes because there is a path through the clutter. In order to vacuum her carpet I piled everything from her floor on to her bed.

She almost looks proud of this pile. :)

Our agreement: Emma could not sleep on her bed until all of it was put away or thrown away. I was sure she'd have at least one night on the floor. Truly she amazed me...it was all cleaned (not even stuck under the bed this time) before dinnertime. Incentives really do work.

Now for the rest of the story...
her room is a mess again.

Roses for Two

What a wild and crazy weekend. Apparently, Dad didn't think we gave Reagan a birthday weekend to remember so he spiced things up a little with a trip to the ER in the ambulance then 5 days in the hospital, a major broken bone and a 3 hours surgery. Now I will get to see mom and dad several times this year as they come to town for checkups.


Not to be outdone my darling father-in-law had to check into the same hospital the day dad was checking out. Not only the same hospital but the room NEXT door. On the positive side, the roses I gave dad were then handed down the hall to room 3201. Two for one deal! :)


Seeing someone you love in the hospital is difficult and can be frightening to children. I asked Olivia if it bothered her seeing Opa and Papa in the hospital. Her response, "No, it doesn't scare me. It freaks me out!"


We know that our loved ones were well protected by good doctors, caring nurses and a God who has a healing hand. Thank you Lord!

Husker Softball

Our favorite Husker Softball Player
Heidi we love you!!!