Goodbye Fall, Hello Spring

That's right....hello spring...because we really don't have a winter.  We did have a couple of hard freeze days though.  Other than that, back to the usual warm and humid weather.  Boo!

NOVEMBER
This year Uncle Dennis and Aunt Julie hosted at their house. The food was wonderful….especially the honey baked ham (which I waited in line an hour to purchase). Haha! Despite all the yummyness and great company, it was painfully obvious that someone we love dearly was missing. Grandma was on our minds the entire day. Jenna said the prayer before the meal as we were all too emotional to say it. At the end, I added that we wish Grandma could be with us and we miss her and love her very much. I knew that this would be the beginning of many holidays to come in which she would not be with us and it hurt terribly.  I always try my best not to let it show because I want Jenna to enjoy the holidays.  She looked so cute in her shirt I ordered from Etsy and her tutu that my good friend Heather made for her.  She loved it and didn't want to take it off the entire day.  Of course she also just HAD to wear her beloved black boots too.  haha!

We did receive some good news right before Thanksgiving......Shelly is pregnant!  That's right, I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE!!  I'm so excited!  Jenna is SO EXCITED!!!  Since then, we have found out that it is a GIRL.  Her name is going to be Corynn Leigh.  I can't wait to meet her and spoil her and teach her all those naughty things Shelly taught Jenna.  haha!  We really needed this great news.....it's something to be happy about and look forward to in an otherwise sad time for our family.

DECEMBER
In December we had Jenna’s first dance recital. As with cheerleading camp, I didn’t expect much out of her because when I’d ask her what she learned at dance lessons, she would say “I don’t know” and do something silly. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. She did very well and was of course the cutest little dancer on stage! She always surprises me and makes me so proud.

She was on the dance float in the Christmas parade this year and a picture of her made it to the front page of the local newspaper. She was so proud.  The theme was Santa's Workshop and all of the girls from Jenna's dance class were dressed as gifts.

Jason's family always does an early Christmas get together since there are so many of us.  This year was hosted by Larry and Brenda at their beautiful house.  We had chicken noodle soup and lots of yummy dips.  It was so nice to see all of the family and we had a great time.

As was the case in 2006 (Jenna’s 1st Christmas), I got sick with the stomach bug right before Christmas. I spent Christmas Eve in my Mom’s bed and could not eat all of the awesome food. On the menu….Shelly’s awesome lasagna and I was REALLY looking forward to it. I would get up for a while, but would have to go lay down after about 20 minutes because I would get nauseated and dizzy. After spending the majority of the night suffering, Niki made me drink a bit of Sprite and eat a cracker. I’m glad she did because I started to feel a little better. I really think I was getting dehydrated because I wasn’t eating or drinking anything. Most of the stomach bugs I’ve had last 24 hours, but this one lasted a few days. I felt fine for the most part, but still had that nauseated feeling in the middle of my stomach. I hope to never get that ever again. Despite all of that, I did watch Jenna open presents. Watching the kids get so excited about their gifts is always the highlight of the night.

We did our usual tradition of letting Jenna open her gifts from Santa and from us on Christmas morning as soon as she woke up.  Her big gift this year was a tv for her room.  Christmas Day was spent between Jason’s parents and my Grandma Kacal’s house. I spent most of Christmas night with Grandma at the nursing home along with Mom, Shelly, Russell, Popo, and Sharon. We had been told shortly before Christmas that there was nothing more that could be done for her and it would only be a matter of days until she passed. We were all very emotional of course, but it felt good to be there with her….I thought about her the whole day and couldn’t get to her fast enough. We were grateful for one last Christmas with her and reminisced about all the ones that had passed and how much fun they were…thanks to her because she always made it special for us. We have many wonderful memories of her to take with us.

Opening presents Christmas morning at home....

She said she was Lady Gaga.....

Jenna, Grandma K, and Popo

Grandma passed away December 29th. It was a day I dreaded all of my life. I often said to her “what am I ever going to do without you?”. My relationship with my Grandma was not like most kids have with their grandparents. We were always extremely close. Growing up, it was almost a weekly ritual to have Sunday dinner at Grandma’s house, so we saw each other a lot. In high school, my first job was working with her and Grandpa at the Chevrolet dealership. We had so much fun working together. She was my shopping buddy and even came to stay with me sometimes when I lived by myself in Sugar Land. When I got married and had Jenna, I didn’t have as much time to go visit with her and I always felt guilty about that. She always told me she understood and was glad that I had a family of my own…something she prayed I would have one day. Nevertheless, she was always on my mind and in my heart and always will be. She was such a good woman…honestly the best woman I ever knew. I couldn’t have asked for a better Grandma. I will miss her terribly for the rest of my life. She was so special that I will write a separate post about her eventually…..once I can get through it without crying…..IF I can.

Here's one of my favorite pictures of us together.

New Year’s Eve was spent along with the rest of the family at Grandma and Popo’s house. It was very hard to walk into her house without her there. I could still smell her Wind Song powder and Nina Ricci perfume. Being all together helped us all through. We buried Grandma on January 3rd. That was by far the saddest day of my life. I know we went through all of the formalities, but it is still so hard for me to believe. Part of me thinks she’s still in the nursing home. I suppose it’s just going to take time.

JANUARY
January is always filled with lots of birthday parties.  Allyson's 5th, Ryan's 5th, Dad's 59th, my 37th, and Mom's 56th.  For my birthday we went to eat at Pincher's in El Campo.  The only thing missing from the day was my yearly call from Grandma to sing Happy Birthday.

FEBRUARY
I attended Jenna’s Valentine’s Day party at daycare again this year and it suddenly hit me…”this is my last one..….because Jenna will be in Kindergarten next year”. I’m sure they will have parties at school, but the realization of how fast time has gone by hits me hard. I know everyone says it, but I am truly amazed at how fast the last five years have passed. It sometimes seems like yesterday that I had Jenna and I remember saying to Niki once “before you know it, they’ll be in Kindergarten”. That day is fast approaching and I just can’t believe it. I don’t remember the years flying by so fast when I was single. I guess it’s because I didn’t make the most of every day like I do since having Jenna. Our days are filled with routines, but also good times together in between. I just wish time would slow a bit and let me enjoy them a little longer. Before you know it, she’ll be getting married! I wonder how long it will feel since I’ve said that once it actually does happen.

Ready to go to the party...

Jenna with her Valentine Mail bag......

Jenna giving Ryan his Valentine....

Jenna's class.  Love these kiddos....

 Jenna making Valentines for Me and Daddy....

Jenna and Jason attended the Daddy Daughter Dance again this year. I found a beautiful dress during Christmas at Dillard’s…..black velvet on top with red pin tucked satin below. I scheduled vacation for the day of the dance and took Jenna to get her nails done. I also took her to get her hair done since I really can’t do anything with it except put it up in a ponytail. She really enjoyed the pampering. She looked like a princess and looked so grown up…partially due to the little bit of makeup I put on her. She had a really good time at the dance…she loves to dance…..any time…anywhere.

Before                                                       During

After....Front                                            Back

Can't forget the nails and toes......

MARCH

Ever since Jenna performed at cheerleading camp to Justin Bieber’s song “Baby”, we sing it a lot around the house. It’s catchy ya know?! And any time I saw him on tv, I would point and tell Jenna that’s who sings that song. I was surprised one day when she told me that Justin Bieber is her boyfriend and she is going to marry him. We took her to see his movie Never Say Never and she really liked it. When we told her we were going to see Justin Bieber, she thought we meant to a concert to see him sing, so she was a little disappointed at first. She was so cute again with her big popcorn in her lap and she danced every time they played one of his songs. In one scene, there is a girl that says she loves Justin Bieber and she is going to marry him. Jenna tapped me, pointed to herself with her little thumb and said “no, I am”. It was so cute! She cracks me up all the time. Like I’ve said so many times, I love seeing things through her eyes. It often reminds me of similar things from when I was a little girl. My big crush was for Kirk Cameron and Ricky Schroeder.

We had a garage sale at our house. I’m glad I take good care of Jenna’s clothes, because that’s what really sells fast. By 10 am Friday morning, I had maybe 10% left of what I had put out. I didn’t have much left to sell on Saturday. I’m glad to see the clothes go to someone that really needs them…….and recouping a fraction of what I spent ain’t bad either. Haha! I plan to use most of the money to redecorate Jenna’s bathroom and bedroom.

Jenna went to her first roller skating party at Silver Wings in El Campo. She amazes me at how fast she can pick things up. She was very wobbly at first and fell quite a bit, but after about an hour of that, she really didn’t need my help anymore. She really enjoyed it and it wore her out. I asked her if she would like some roller skates for her birthday and she said “SURE”! I would like to find her a pair of Strawberry Shortcake roller skates like I had when I was a little girl. One of my fondest memories is of me roller skating down our driveway and sidewalk while listening to my Walk-A-Man…..”hey Mickey, you’re so fine…you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey!”. LOL Ahhhh, to be young again!

As you can see, once again, life has been extremely busy lately. I meant it when I said the time flies and I don’t have a whole lot of time to write about it, but hopefully I’ll get my act together soon and do a better job. Here are some of the things coming up that we are really looking forward to….Easter at Shelly & Russell’s………Jenna’s 5th Birthday party at Sweet and Sassy……Spring dance recital…..Memorial weekend in Matagorda.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

I know I'm a little lot late with this, but as a friend once told me...we basically have two seasons here in Texas....Summer and February, so technically I'm not too late. It's just now starting to feel like Fall around here. Come September 1st, I usually feel like a new person. To me, it's the start of better weather and a kick off to all of the holidays to come....my favorite time of the year.  So here's what's been going on since my last blog.

Jenna took swimming lessons over the summer and enjoyed it so much the first two weeks, we signed her up for two additional weeks. She has always LOVED the water and is a natural swimmer. I feel a little more at ease with her around water now knowing she knows how to hold her breath and how to swim correctly. Ryan also took lessons and here's a picture of them on their first day.

On July 22, my Grandma Bartosh suffered a major stroke that has left her paralyzed on the left side of her body. She spent 3 weeks at St. Luke's and we were told there is nothing more they can do for her. She is now in a nursing home/rehab facility close to home so that we can spend as much time with her as possible. Although I can't imagine our family without her, I hate to see her in the condition she is in. I usually go see her several times a week and I clean her teeth and wash her face and put on her famous Avon moisturizing cream. She's says I'm the best at it...I'm not as rough as everyone else. I know in years to come, the smell of that cream will immediately remind me of her and bring to mind all of the wonderful memories I have of her. She always says to me "We had some great times together, didn't we?". We certainly did and I will cherish those forever.

Here's a picture of Jenna and Ryan one day after visiting Grandma.....two cuties whom she says "melt her heart".

On a lighter note, Jenna also attended cheerleading camp for the first time. I debated about it and thought she might be too young and perhaps I should wait until next year, but decided to give it a shot and see how she did.  It began on a Tuesday and Thursday night was the finale for all of the parents to come see what their children learned during the week. She stole the show...she was quite the performer. I thought she would clam up the minute she saw all of those people in the stands, but I was shocked at how at ease she was infront of the crowd. I was also surprised at how much she learned in those few days. Not only did she learn her group's cheer and dance, she knew the rest of the groups' as well. I need to find out if there is a way to get the video off of my ancient video camera and on to the computer so everyone can see.  It is so cute and funny.  Since then, she cheers all the time and loves going to the pep rallies and football games to watch the cheerleaders and especially to see Buford (or as Jenna would say, "The Brahmas Bull").  The cheerleaders always come up and hug her at every game and tell me how much they love her.  Apparently she kept them very entertained at camp and made an impression.  Several of them even offered to babysit.  I may have to take advantage of that one day.  She definitely has a great personality and a warm heart and I'm glad it shines through to everyone she meets.

In August we took a trip to Jellystone in Waller, TX with our awesome friends, The Brown family (the family we met Memorial weekend). We had a wonderful time. Jenna really enjoyed the water park and the giant slide. I have to admit I loved the giant slide as well and went down 3 or 4 times myself. It was a blast. We had quite a large group and has several slide races.  We hung out at the water park and the pool most of the day and at night there were movies for the kids.  They also had karaoke and funnel cakes the next night. We ate a lot of good food and also did a craft project. Jenna chose to paint a dinosaur figurine.  There are a few things we didn't get to do, so we can't wait to go back again one day.

In September, we went to the Kacal Family Reunion. I can't tell you how happy it made my heart to see that side of my family again. Unfortunately I don't get to see them often, but I think of them all the time and pray that they're doing well. I'm definitely looking forward to the next reunion.

In October, Jenna and I took a trip out to Dewberry Farm with Dana, Carissa, Kelly and Aidan. There is so much for kids her age to do. The jumping pillows were a big hit, as well as SNOWCONES! We took a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch and took some pictures. She and I both loved Pumpkin Hollar, which is a building filled with hundreds of carved pumpkins all lit up. They had pumpkins carved with everything you could imagine. She was most excited to see Spongebob, characters from The Little Mermaid, and Winnie The Pooh. She and Aidan went down the slide several times together and also took a pony ride. Jenna loved her pony and even hugged and kissed him as she left. We ended the day watching a pig race. She didn't want to leave, but it was a long day. We look forward to going back.

I also took Jenna to the pumpkin patch in Rosenberg that we go to every year. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me because it was an unplanned trip and we ventured over there while Daddy was getting his hair cut. She picked about 12 pumpkins and we used them in our scarecrow family display in our front yard.

On October 24, we were blessed with a new addition to the family, Tyler Calvin Kubena. He wasn't due until the week of Thanksgiving, but I kept telling Trent that I think he wants to be here for Halloween. Trent and I are the main two in our family that absolutely LOVE Halloween.  I guess I was right and Tyler will join in our love for the holiday too. haha! He is so tiny and SO cute! Holly said he is a wonderful easy going baby. They are great parents...I'm so happy for them both.

Jenna decided to be Tinkerbell this year for Halloween. At first she kept telling me that she wanted to be a witch, but when she saw the Tinkerbell costume at Target, that was it. I attended her Halloween party at daycare again this year. We did the parade through the "big school", then came back to daycare for games and lunch. All of the girls wanted to sit on my lap during story time.  What a great bunch of kiddos....it's so neat to see them all growing up together.

On Halloween night, we went on a hay ride and went trick or treating in town.  Afterwards, we went to the festival at the Baptish church and played games and ate taco soup.  Jenna had so much fun this year going from house to house.  She is still scared of masks though and will not go to houses that appear "scary".  Each year with her just gets better and better.  Her excitement is exhiliarating and I love seeing everything through her eyes.

Finally, Jason and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on November 15th. We decided to eat dinner at Pinchers since I have never been there and Jenna has recently developed a fondness for fried shrimp. We had fun feeding the ducks and chickens they have in a pond outside. On the way home we picked up sundaes from DQ.  Jenna and I always request extra whipped cream and nuts.  We're so much alike.

As you can see, we stay pretty busy. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love doing things with Jenna and seeing how excited she gets about everything. I'm really looking forward to the holidays with her this year.  I save a lot of my vacation for this time of year so that I can spend some extra time with her.  We plan to have a lot of fun coming up.  Stay tuned!

Some random things about Jenna:

Recently discovered she loves fried shrimp.

Had an obsession for a while of watching The Little Mermaid. EVERY. DAY.

Loves board games. We play Candy Land almost every night before bed.

Loves to play "cooking show" anywhere....even in the bath tub.

Loves to play volleyball with me.

Loves to play cheerleader and climb on my shoulders to do cheers.
Likes to get her nails done.

Still loves to cuddle and give me kisses....my favorite part of being her Mommy!