Merry Christmas From the Kerzman 6

First, the basics:



Brad – same job (ND Department of Transportation)– still hunts and plays basketball.

Jody – same job (KFYR-TV) – still drives kids around to a million activities, and occasionally scrapbooks. Occasionally.

Lexi – 11 years old – sixth grade – loves basketball, volleyball, her iPod, her friends, and her sisters… and once in awhile, she even loves her brother.
Jake – 9 years old – fourth grade - loves football, the Minnesota Vikings, basketball, football, his friends, video games,reading, football, and deep down, we think he even loves his sisters. Did I mention football?
Lizzy - 3 years old - loves dresses, tutus, jewelry, hunting, her baby sister, books, baking and arts and crafts.
Morgan – 1 year old – loves everything. Seriously. Happiest. Kid. Ever.
Bob – 10 years old – loves hunting, sleeping, and cleaning up the kitchen floor after Morgan eats.
Windsor – 4 years old – is now living with Uncle John. He has become a farm dog and has never been happier.

Now, the fun stuff….

Top 10 Things That Happened in 2010 (in no particular order!)

10. Lexi took a babysitting class, and quickly became our favorite babysitter. Having a built in babysitter has certainly made life a little easier. But, she is such a good babysitter, she is in demand. And everyone pays better than Mom.

9. Shea Family Reunion. Who knew there were actually enough Sheas to have a reunion? It’s true. There are. And we had a reunion, although it was about one fifth the size of a Kerzman reunion! It was great to see some of my long-lost cousins, their kids, and some relatives I didn’t even know I had. The kids and I took a few extra days and spent time at the farm and even tented it one night in the Black Hills. We did camp a few more times during the summer, closer to home. There’s just something about cooking over a fire, not showering, and spending time in the North Dakota sunshine that makes us all very happy.

8. Lexi went to California. Can you say road trip? Lexi tagged along with two of Brad’s aunts and one uncle on a road trip from Bismarck to California. They went for a wedding, but made stops in Colorado, Las Vegas, the ocean and the famous Hollywood sign that Lexi has always wanted to see.

7. Jake discovered scotch tape. He spent much of the summer building things out of paper and scotch tape. Jake built many paper guns, which my aunts compared to my dad’s obsession with building tractors out of playing cards and scotch tape when he was Jake’s age. I guess some things really are genetic.

6. Lizzy started speech. Yep, no more “ZaZa” for Lexi, no more “Hizzy huvs you”. She goes once a week, and has made amazing progress, but still has a very long way to go. Lucky for her, her teacher is a saint.

5. Lizzy went deer hunting. Lizzy and Brad bonded. Big time. They spent a few days in Mott and a few days in Bison. Lizzy wore a tutu the entire time, but got her nose right in as the guys gutted their deer.

4 Jake and Brad saw the Vikings win! I know, with the season they’re having, this is pretty amazing, but it is true. They went to the Vikings/Cowboys game. Jake is quite possibly the biggest Vikings fan in the world, and he probably knows more team stats than any other nine year old boy, and some adults too. Jake’s favorite tv channel is ESPN. He played flag football again this year, and now insists he is ready for “real” (tackle) football next fall. I’m a little scared.

3. Lizzy got her own blog. Check it out…. http://www.lizzy-isms.blogspot.com/ The kid says and does so many funny things, it’s the only way I can remember them all. Someday I will write a book. Until then, follow her online. She will make you smile. I promise. You can follow our family too at http://www.thekerzman6.blogspot.com/

2. Basketball. Lexi and Jake are both playing school ball and traveling basketball this year, which means our weekends are filled with games, Brad and I suffer from some major bleacher butt, and the little girls’ favorite meals are ring pops and concession stand hotdogs. But we wouldn’t have it any other way.

1. Morgan learned to walk. This was huge. I have never been anxious for my children to walk, because it means they’re growing up, but this time I was ready. After two months of being on the verge of walking, Morgan took off four days before her first birthday. She hasn’t stopped yet!

We hope your 2010 was as exciting as ours, and that you take a few moments to create your own top ten list for this year. Have a blessed Christmas and make 2011 the best year ever!

The Stockings Are Hung

Morgan's stocking

I think we're finally almost ready for Christmas. Jake and Lizzy are dying to open their gifts. Lexi is excited about a break from school, and homework.

I have a few gifts that still need to be wrapped, but I got one big thing checked off my to-do list tonight: the stockings, all six of them, are finally hung!

I've sewn all our stockings and I had it in my head that Morgan's should be handmade too. I had good intentions to get her stocking done last year. I bought the fabric. But that's as far as I got.  Tonight, I kicked Brad and the kids out for an hour so I could sew. It took less than an hour, and actually turned out pretty cute.

Now, if I could only get her one year pictures taken.... she's 13 months, 11 days old... but who's counting?

I'm a "cool" mom!

It's almost 10:00 on a Saturday night, and I just finished scrubbing my kitchen floor. Why would I spend a Saturday night doing housework? Let me explain...

Lexi and her friends Tess and Taylor spent the day baking cookies. It was my idea and I knew they would make a mess, but I had no idea just how big of a disaster my kitchen would become. They were doing good at cleaning as they went.. until it was time to roll the sugar cookies. When I turned my back, one girl threw a little flour at another, then the third joined in. Before I knew it, it was a full fledged flour fight. Here's a short glimpse:

When it was all over, the girls said they couldn't believe I let them do that. They even told me I was "cool" and "the best mom". And they couldn't believe that instead of yelling at them, I grabbed the camera. I explained that the kitchen was already a mess, they were having fun, and it was just flour. You have to let loose every once in awhile.

They've been talking about that flour fight for hours. I'm sure they'll talk about it for days, maybe even years. It may even make it into a wedding toast. I am happy that something so simple can make my daughter and her friends so happy. I don't have a lot of money to take them shopping and to movies, but now I realize that just hanging out and being goofy is probably more memorable than any of those other things.

And, the best part.... my Christmas baking is done! But it will probably take a few more scrubbings before my kitchen floor is back to normal!

Behaving in Public

I have a rule I like to follow when I'm in public: would I act like this in front of my mother and my kids? If the answer is no, I quickly change my behavior. You never know who's watching, and call me crazy, but I have a certain "image" I like to uphold. I certainly don't want people telling my kids they saw me acting like a drunk crazy lady.

BFF's ~ Lexi, Tess, Taylor



Apparently not everyone has the same rule.

Tonight, I went to the Carrie Underwood concert with Lexi, her two best friends, and their moms. It was supposed to be a fun girls' night out. It was. Until the people showed up to claim their seats in front of us.

It was obvious they had already had too much to drink, yet they each had a beer in each hand. Their behavior got worse as the concert went on, and as they continued drinking.



Tess and Lexi, sporting their new t-shirts



Now, don't get me wrong. I'm totally fine with people having a good time. It's fun to go out and have fun. I get that. I'm not a fun hater. But, at some point I also believe one has to look at the situation, and decide when to tone it down a little.

The ladies in front of us forgot to do that.

Yes, I know it's cool to stand and dance to your favorite songs at a concert. But in the nosebleed seats? Really? Is that necessary? Especially when you've had a few too many drinks. It's actually kind of dangerous.

It started out just two gals in front of me were standing. It was annoying, but I wasn't feeling great and wasn't going to start a fight. I fjust wanted to make sure the girls could see. But when one of the gals in front of me turned around and said "Sorry I'm standing. You probably can't see." I got a little angry. I replied "Yeah, I can't see anything." Her response: "Stand up." She obviously wanted to pick a fight. I wasn't going there. Eventually all five of them were standing purely out of spite, and purely to prove a point. A friend sitting a few rows up started yelling at them to sit down (they were blocking her view too) but that was a mistake. That just made them mad.

Yes, I know people stand at concerts. I've done it. But again, in the nosebleed seats? Silly.

I was ok with it all, until the girls couldn't see. I actually found an usher and asked if it would be ok if we moved. He said sure, but by this time the concert was almost over and the girls decided it wasn't worth it.

When the confetti started falling from the ceiling, Lexi couldn't see it. I told her to stand, but she didn't want to, because then the people behind her wouldn't be able to see. Sad that an 11 year old has more manners than 30-something ladies.

That's Carrie, in the back of the truck, suspended from the ceiling!

Again, I don't mean to be a party pooper. It just got to me tonight. But I think the girls also learned some important lessons. They learned how important it is to be polite. They learned what too much alcohol can do to a person's judgement, behavior and manners. They probably also learned some new swear words (thankfully, they are good kids and wouldn't dream of saying a bad word).  And, most important, they said they had fun. That's what it's really about. I'm glad my daughter and her best friends had the opportunity to see such an amazing concert. Carrie Underwood really is an awesome performer.

But, Lexi and I agree, the best part of the evening was the cheesecake we had before the concert.

Maybe we should have another piece of cheesecake. Cheesecake fixes everything, right?

Morgan says thanks!

If you helped Morgan celebrate her first birthday, you'll be getting one of these in the mail very soon! Thanks to all who made it such a fun day!

Cool Cupcake Orange Birthday

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Life Goes On

I guess the world doesn't stop when I stop.

I spent much of last week in bed and on the couch. I caught a nasty bug… fever, headache, cough. Made for one miserable mama.

What's amazing though, is that life went on, all around me. Without me even noticing.

My kids still had to get to school and basketball practice. I drove them there. I even took the two little girls to doctor's appointments that had been scheduled months ago. I'm not really sure how I did it, but I did it. It's just what moms do. My husband was out of town, so it was up to me. It's amazing how moms always seem to find the strength to take care of others (but not so much ourselves).

I did manage to write my family's Christmas letter, and a friend's Christmas letter too. Then my wireless router died.

And that ended that. No way was I getting out of bed to sit at the computer just to check facebook and email.

We got a new router, and I have spent hours catching up on facebook.. it's amazing how quickly one can fall behind on everyone's status updates. And believe me I will sleep better tonight knowing that a friend from college got a great deal on a pair of shoes.

While I wasn't in any frame of mind to be on the computer while I was sick it would have been a nice distraction. Daytime tv is not my favorite. I tried reading, but the cold medication seemed to interfere with my comprehension. And there are only so many six hour naps a girl can take.

Now I'm back at work, trying to catch up on the news I missed last week. Again, the world went on without me.

There were fires at two Dickinson churches, a man pleaded guilty to killing a Wishek man, a murder for hire trial started in Fargo, a controversial new housing complex opened in downtown Bismarck.

And then there's the good news, people in our community doing good things.... like the MedCenter One doctors who are donating to Carrie's Kids, and the Burleigh County Sheriff's deputies who shaved their heads for charity.

Again, the world went on without me.

But now I'm back, and don't plan on missing any of this week's news.

Yesterday, I sat through six basketball games (my oldest two kids each played three games in a tourney... my daughter's team even won!) It was so good to be out of the house! That was my test.. I figured if I could survive six games, I could survive just about anything.

So I'm back to work, and back to being a mom. All that's missing... is my voice!