The Crafts

Do you remember the excitement of being a kid at Halloween? I sure do. In fact, I still feel that excitement pulse through me when we cover the kitchen floor in newspapers for pumpkin carving. Or the thrill of dressing in costume as fast as you possibly can because you can't bear the thought of missing out on any of the action. Seeing your friends running through the streets dressed as princesses, witches, cats...it's all so imaginative. And it still gets me excited!! Dina's never experienced that exact excitement...until she got to carve her first ever pumpkin. Kate made sure to show her the ropes... She's never gone trick-or-treating, so the girls were happy to show her...as long as she was able to keep up. Those girls sprinted through the streets in search of porch lights. I decided to wear my silly Halloween wig. Once I put it on I realized my hair looked a little like Dina's So Matt tried it on too, then draped his shoulders with Dina...

Hooray for Friday! I'm ready to say goodbye to this past week for a couple of very good reasons. I'm ready for a fun filled weekend beginning with a dinner party with friends tonight, family birthday parties, trick or treating and the continued countdown to vacation. The girls are begging me to make this... and this... And that makes me laugh because if I tried, well, it wouldn't look a thing like the book. Kate wants them so badly she took photos of the book containing the recipes and asked for me to post it to my blog. Maybe she thought mass blog support would encourage me to make an intricate chocolate, caramel witch cheesecake?  My girls are grumpy at me for my lack of attention the last couple of days. I've been busy with City stuff. This is what I looked like pretty much all day. I'm only sharing the picture because it's actually a photo where I don't look scary.  The blurry-ness probably helps. Kate also ...

We had another first around here. Kate and CJ attend their first high school choir concert and Dina performed  in her first high school choir concert. So many incredibly talented voices. It was fun to watch Dina sing on stage with all of her classmates and friends. Although we only saw bits and pieces as Matt and I took turns walking the halls with CJ. She wanted to watch too but she didn't want to be quiet while she watched. After the first song, and before anyone broke out into applause, CJ proclaimed it a good song with a spirited "yeaaaa!" Her cheers drew some chuckles BUT that kind of thing is only funny once. And after a kid realizes they are funny, they don't stop trying to be funny. Anyway, it was a great show and I was so proud of Dina. She looked like a perfect fit up there. Dina and Carolina after the show. Left photo: From left to right; Kate, Dina, Carolina and my Kate. There aren't all that many Kates out there but Dina happe...

Kate has many dreams.  ...walk to school by herself ...wear all pink sparkles every day of her life ...be a dancer, a gymnest, run a marathon, etc... One of her many, many dreams came true last week. And although the dream was small it lived up to her expectations. Kate rode a school bus. Her preschool class took a trip to a nearby pumpkin farm. She visited with ostrich, goats and pot belly pigs. She also picked her own Indian corn (or if you want to be politically correct...Native American corn), her own pumpkin and posed with some cute pumpkin farm residents. I was fortunate enough to tag along. I soaked up her words when she asked if I'd sit with her on the bus. It won't be long and she'll probably be shy to admit such a thing in front of her friends. We talked about all the gadgets on a bus; how it was so cool you didn't have to wear a seatbelt. She was amazed all the kids from school were on there with her.  She'd proclaim, "...

I've received some really great bad coupons lately but I haven't posted any of them yet. Here is a sneak peek... Nothing better celebrates the birth of Jesus than a strand of Kiss lights and ornaments. My tree will definitely sport some of these this year. :)

Independent play is so important to little kids. CJ is the queen of independent play. Kate does fairly well but needs a little guidance to get started. To encourage creativity and imagination, I've been coming up with new activities. Most of which have involved cardboard in some form or another. We recently acquired a couple of cardboard boxes thanks to an on-line purchase. My initial reaction is to immediately break down the box and toss it into the recycle bin but this time I traded patience for spontaneity and held onto them until I came up with a fun idea. Behold our new cash register... The cash register features a long toilet paper tunnel for dropping your change. Once you drop in the change it lands in the 'drawer' and slides down into the small tissue box coin holder seen on the carpet. The girls have had lots of fun with this today. I really wasn't sure what to do with the second box. I thought about holding onto it for a little longer but then a f...

Although today is only Tuesday I feel very confident when I say that this week is enormously better than the last. For the life of me I cannot differentiate between bad days and good. Our days are not overly busy so  I cannot blame our schedule. Perhaps some days it is our lack of schedule? Playing indoors with the occasional trip to the park doesn't seem to cut it lately. Whomever discovered the phrase 'waking up on the wrong side of the bed' was completely right.There is no rational explanation for good or bad or funky or okay, we just all have these days and they are completely unpredictable. So many caption possibilities... ************* Did you know I have a small table sitting in my dining room? It's broken in two pieces and has been lying upside down in there for a few weeks. Did you also know I grew up in a super clean house? My house is not super clean as evidenced by the broken-in-two, upside down table lying in my dining room. I try to keep a clean h...

This little girl finally has enough hair for pigtails. She instantly went from toddler to big kid. What's a mom to do?!

Like it or not, Kate is growing up. She is approaching the ripe age of 5, which in her opinion is not coming fast enough. To her 5 means awesomeness to the max. (Whoa, I just used some 80's slang. I'm so old.) Fashion has become her passion. But...and it's hard to say this out loud although I'm gonna do it anyway...it's bad fashion. As long as she is appropriately dressed for the weather and the occasion, I usually hold my tongue. Boy oh boy, is that sometimes difficult. Here are a few of her recent favorites. The girl has her own style, that's for sure. But who doesn't love a kid with a little spunk?  Little sister is not much different...

With each leaf I watch fall off the trees, I dread winter a little more. Winter is not my favorite. But this fall sure has been fabulous with temps in the 70s and 80s, gorgeous red, orange and yellow leaves hanging from tree limbs and wild, happy kids lapping up every second of it. Yes, I'm not looking forward to winter but dang it, I will enjoy the pleasant weather while it's here. This past Saturday we enjoyed fabulous weather in my parents' backyard while Matt was stuck in the office.  The girls told Grandpa they wanted to rake leaves for him. But he saw through that plan. They just wanted giant piles of crunchy leaves to jump in. Notice the hand sneaking out from the leaves to get CJ!     Yikes! Now the hands are strangling her! Actually, my dad was just trying to hold CJ still so I could snap a picture of both girls looking at the camera. It worked but they don't look too happy about it.   Dina enjoyed some leaf jumping, too! ...

I take it back. I think fall is my favorite season. But I'm wishy-washy. In the spring I'll proclaim my love for buds on trees and tulips peeking out. In the summer I'll profess to a life of swimming pools and suntan lotion. (I don't think I've every claimed love for winter, though.) ******************* While Kate was away at preschool CJ and I made yet another return trip to Hickory Hills. This girl loves bugs, dirt, sand, rocks, sticks, water... If it lives outdoors she is best friends with it.   ...especially if the outdoor 'thing' is a brown, fuzzy caterpillar... I let this girl go nuts outside yesterday. If she wanted to sit in a pile of dirt and scrape out rocks with her once-clean fingernails, well I said go for it!   Even while playing in the dirt a girl has got to look good. Typically during preschool time CJ sleeps and I sit with my butt planted in a chair reading a book, but since CJ's unexpected depart...

Meal times lately have been, well... Spanish: dolor en el trasero Arabic: ألم في   بعقب French: douleur dans le cul Dutch: pijn in   de kont English: pain in the butt Matt, Dina and I are easy to please, generally. The other two are not.   I took the girls to Hickory Hills yesterday. The trees were beautiful. It was scenic, peaceful and rejuvenating. Matt and I typically lay down the law at meal time. Eat what's on the table or don't eat at all. But lately I've been thinking about becoming a big softy and giving in. Not because I feel sympathy for them but rather because my ears can't take the screaming. Dina and I are convinced these two monkeys were trying to throw themselves into the water. Thankfully they didn't fall in. Do you have any recipes that please your brood? A dish that everyone will eat? Something that is delicious, crowd pleasing and doesn't come from a box of macaroni and cheese? Please share ...

This past Thursday night the girls, Matt and I painted our faces and cheered on the Junior Powder Puff football team. Okay, only part of that statement is true. And our cheering must have helped because the Junior team pulled out a win despite the odds. The game went into overtime, which is the worst possible scenario for little girls because it was already waaay past bedtime. But we hung in there. The Junior team was obviously very excited about the win. Dina was bouncing around like a ping pong ball and of course, Kate and CJ wanted in on the action. Here is CJ photo bombing the victory picture. It's blurry but I LOVE that she sneaked her way in there.   Dina is on the left. She is with some school friends after the game. Notice Kate in the background? This is Carolina and Dina. Carolina is from Brazil and these two girls have become very good friends. Dina scooped up CJ and ran around the field with her...spinning, twirling, running...CJ loves...