All Things More.

More snow...more time to do nothing...more channels on our newly hooked up satellite...more snuggles on the old faded couch...more....more...more.

We're officially Off Track now until the last week of February...when Alex resumes school again. I have a love/hate relationship with this year round/multi-track school schedule. I love that we have some time off during the year...like all of June and October...those are nice, happy, still-can-play-outside months...but then comes February (we tracked off a week earlier this year)...and all of its have-to-stay-inside-its-way-too-cold weather...

I know that ultimately, we will somehow barrel through the month and wonder how fast it all went by...but right now at the very beginning...officially Day 2 of his break...its a little hard to adjust to having Alex home...it's a whole new energy level we're not used to...he keeps sighing and I know he's missing the rhythm of school...

I caught him today walking around the house mumbling, "Is this what you do when I am in school?"...yes, Bubby, I run never-ending errands and I do chores...much like Cinderella...but without the glass slippers...for they would shatter as I scrub the toilets, clean the tile and run back and forth after your littlest sister begging her to sit on the potty.

So here's to more...more time...more contemplation...more slowing down to really enjoy the process...wishing you more...

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All Things Fast Cars and Freedom.

It was Derby Day for Pack 515...our entrants this year were Alex's Surfmobile...pictured on left...and Kata's Beach Bum Watermobile...she got to enter in the Unlimited Category...



Here are the other Den 6 cars...our friends was the Jeff Gordan car...yes, that is an eraser shaped vehicle...the scouts, er, their dads get very creative, as you can see!...there was also a cell phone shaped car...and a bullet shaped one...go figure.


Our friends entered the M&M car alongside Kata's...their daughter is Kata's BF...at least while they are together...love that 4 and 5 year old loyalty.

Awwww....can you feel the excitement?

It's Alex's turn...he's on the far left...

that's not bad...2.425!

And....now on the slow track...far right...2.458...

In the middle....

awesome...2.442!!! Feel like you're there...it took a good 2.5 hours...but the boys' enthusiasm kept bubbling over on all of us...and they served donuts and Starbucks coffee...love our Pack...they know all of the Things That Make Us Happy.


And this is why we do it...see his expression? We did so much better than last year!...Many thanks to our friends, Jeff and Brandi, who helped us out...each year, a little better...Alex was so proud...our axle held this year and didn't crack...for those of you keeping track...Alex was very close to placing third in his Den...his buddy...the Jeff Gordon car...beat him out by 0.005 seconds...file under Things That Will Keep Ken Up At Night.


And then as we were driving to ballet class...I saw all these protestors...with American flags...they were the Patriot Guard...a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who support fallen soldiers...it was the memorial service for one of our own here in Reno...Staff Sgt. Sean Gaul...may he rest in peace....

Here's to fast cars and freedom...baby.

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All Things Derby.

We're prepping for the Pinewood Derby...this year's entry is a surfmoblie!!!...here's to Number 345...woo-hooo!!!

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All Things Tetka.

Tetka is the Serbian word for Aunt...it's our Tetka Duda's birthday tomorrow...Happy Birthday, Tetka from all of us to you....

Make a postcard - it's easy!

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All Things Monday.

Happy Monday. No school today in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. so we're staying at home and hanging out. The day greeted us with snow, snow and more snow. We accumulated about 6-inches...and it finally seems to have slowed down.

Our blessings today include two high school kids who were collecting money for the Basketball Team raffle...oh, and they volunteered to shovel our driveway if we purchased three more raffle tickets...you've got a deal kiddos! And you know what? They actually did a great job!

Our other blessing today?? Well that Papa John's delivers. And their driver loves driving in chains...God bless her...that warm gooey pizza was just what we needed on a cold, blizzardy day.

And lastly, thank goodness for the Snow Plow dudes...here they are in the dark of night...plowing our street...God bless them, too.

Wishing you a warm, gooey, chewey moment on a cold day with snow plow dudes to make your morning commute easier.

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All Things Caucus.

Oh my Josh (as Bella used to say)...can a Poli. Sci. student from Cal be any more excited than on Caucus Day???

Well, it's finally here...the wait is over...the weather is beautiful and wow! there's a line in front of the school hundreds long...we shoulda walked instead of illegally parking in a red zone...my bad...fortunately, in the Wild West police don't ticket illegally parked moms of three attending their caucus...God bless them.

Alex loved the whole process...studied the preference card for a minute before pulling out his Gameboy.

Billy, the Precinct Leader counted all of us first...a firm 104...which matched the sign ups...out of the 104, ten were former Independents/Republicans...Billy welcomed them to the party of equal opportunity!
And then the fun began...in order to have a "viable candidate" you need to have at least 15% of the precinct total attendees...so we moved on to see which candidates everyone was supporting - Hillary, Edwards, Kucinich and Obama.

Then we moved, physically into our four corners...Kucinich and Edwards had 12 people...not enough even if they combined...while the rest of us filled out our Preference Cards, they had to wait...and then we had 20 minutes to convince them to move either to Hillary's or Obama's side...it was so cool. People would get up and approach them and talk...and then...

I looked up saw that Alex was missing and heard a gong sound...my little Bubba was ringing the gong to announce that it was time to regroup into our final formation...out of the 12...one dropped out...and 11 went to Obama.

So Obama won our precinct...Alex and I were so excited...as we exited his school, we heard that he won the school...and then when we got home from our stops at Port-a-Subs, Keva Juice and Starbucks...for lunch...we heard the news...

that Hillary won the state...oh, well...we're moving on...here comes Super Tuesday...please go out and vote...it's so worth the process...take the time out to make your voice heard...you'll feel better.

And just for my Lorraine...below is the shirt I made to wear to the Caucus...my little statement, in bling, for peace...oh and the other version??...it's just something fun.

Get in there...change the world one vote at a time!

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All Things...I Approve This Message.

Alex asked me today...why do they always say "I am so-and-so and I approve this message" in political commercials?...We're getting the full blast of the pre-caucus commercials and visits...here's who stopped by our little city today...

The above pic (great angle) is Barack speaking to the UNR crowd at 8:15 this morning...where was I...trying desperately to rush the kids into clothes and out the door...on our way to school...sigh...by the way, look at that crowd...you know it takes a *lot* to get students anywhere at 8:15 in the morning...but you're speaking to a night owl who purposefully used to schedule her classes after 10 a.m....maybe that's why my bachelor's is in Political Science.

Chelsea with America Ferrera were at some of my favorite places...Java Jungle and the Chocolate Bar...where was I...dropping off Alex no doubt...coulda been sharing a mocha and discussing the Writers Strike just a few blocks from our house with my new BFFs...sorry Lorraine, you know I don't mean it, honey.



And oh yes, just to show that I am an all around equal opportunity kind of person...Mitt Romney...he was at a hotel by the airport early this afternoon...where was I??? Trying to fold the last of that laundry...'tis okay that I skipped that one.

Wishing you a little time so you can get out there and make your choice heard.

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All Things TGIF.

Happy Friday everyone...a picture of what makes us happy today...from Left to Right...starting at the top -

1. A wet dog - fresh from rolling around in the mud, i.e. what's left after the snow melted.
2. A 5lb bag of Mike & Ikes - the potty training bribe...yes, we're in it for the long haul.
3. Quilts, quilts and more quilts - nothing like a nap in a handmade quilt.
4. Winter Crocs - God love the people at Crocs...they made them for snow bunnies like us.
5. Mt. Rose - the view from our back windows...right now.
6. Bella, the Potty Goer - no more need be added.
7. Crochet - I am expoloring crochet once again.
8. Shark Gate - Added to Kata's elephant collection is a San Jose Shark version of a gray elephant. Thanks Maka for the gift that won't leave her side!
9. Clean Towels - I am almost to the Zen Point in Laundryland...where everything is almost clean, folded and dare I say it....put away?

Wishing you a weekend filled with the Things You Love Right Now. And hey, if you're in NV...go to your Caucus!!!

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All Things Working Mommy.

"When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other."

Now why didn't I come across these people (http://www.despair.com/) ) when I worked, outside the home...the latter clause my Stay At Home Mommy friends always add...I should abide by their stripes...but you know me...if stripes are in, I'll be in spots...big, red ones, please.

I remember it all so well...one boss in particular...loving these thematic, motivational posters...his office was dripping with them...and he was a Company Man, you know the type who so didn't pull his own weight (always a fan of delegating i.e. "cascading work")...thought he was loved so much ("My employee survey scores are what down?? We changed surveys this yeaer...we have to coach the team on how to fill these things out so next year my scores are higher.")...and uttered the word "teamwork" like it was a prayer...I wish I had a poster or a mug then...

Instead, I have this now...

Wishing you a day of trivial perspectives...and a smile or two...or three....as things change so they stay the same, sort of.

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All Things Fabulous.

Well, Kata's Glamour Party finally arrived...although the morning was rainy, the skies cleared up just in time for the one o'clock gathering...and all the girls came even in spite of the postponement due to last week's blizzard...how fabulous, indeed!

The first thing the girls did was get their hair done...they had a choice of 5 hairstyles - princess, diva, cheerleader, flower child and movie star...did you have to read this far to know that our darling Kata chose the Princess style???!! I know you *knew*!


Bella was all psyched up just to be included...she's also been sitting diligently on the potty the last few days...so she may get to hold the Riggsby Potty Training Record as the earliest one to be potty trained...keep in mind the average age of a U.S. child to learn potty training is 2.5...we tend to pull that average up...sigh.


Then it was time for dress up....Kata, fresh from the post holiday resumption of her ballet class, chose a ballerina outfit...naturally.

And all she wanted to do was dance with her Big Brother...who bitterly obliged...he does have a sweet side still...

Bella...chose...what else...but Cinderella...here she is showing off her "glass slippers"...please don't tell her they are actually ruby slippers...she hasn't seen "Wizard of Oz" yet...the flying monkeys still scare her mommy...


Every girl got a fabulous hairstyle and then dress up followed...


And then my personal favorite part...the make-up...Alex volunteered to assist Bella...he was really helpful that day...all Bella wanted was to put on "yip-stip" and nail polish...in purple...her favorite color.

Couldn't resist this picture...they all certainly knew their way around make-up...


She's ready for her close-up...note how the eye shadow is on the brows...love it...she didn't remove her glasses...God bless her!


Time for the Red Carpet to be rolled out...the party goers were interviewed and asked the following questions -

1. Your nickname- Kata.
2. Your favorite activity - Painting.
3. Your favorite food - Mac and Cheese.
4. What do you want to be when you grow up?- A Rock Star!!!!

and then there was Bella -

1. Your nickname - Belly.
2. Your favorite activity - Bugging my brother and sister.
3. Your favorite food - Ice cream.
4. What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess.

Oh...and the birthday cake...can you sense the excitement from here???

No, we haven't changed the spelling of her name...for some reason...the "C" version is now popular...Caterina...or of course, the hurricane version...Katrina.

And then exactly one and a half hours later...ta-da...it was over...no clean up...no mess...just one happy father carrying the gifts home...two tired princesses being strapped into their car seats...one exhausted mama mentally counting all the hours she put in since Halloween on what shall be termed Holiday Prep Work...one big brother on his way to a 3-hour basketball clinic...and one quiet evening as everyone turned in early - priceless.

For us, the holidays are now finally over and we can breathe a collective although weary sigh of relief. Wishing you all a moment of quiet peace and a nap.

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