The Crafts

I will be away from the blog for a little while. I won't tell you why but the answer is hidden somewhere within this collage. See ya soon!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! And because it's near impossible to get a pic with everyone looking at the same time I've included two photos. And then a third photo with all the Craft girls. Merry Christmas! God bless!

We have two very excited little girls in this house. And yet they were as patient as angels while I prepared cinnamon rolls, Christmas dessert and Kringla this morning. I suggested they play house and this is what they did. My two, sweet Christmas blessings...

We don't have much time together in our home over Christmas so we have created our own little early celebration called Christmas Eve Eve. And today is that day.  Each Christmas Eve Eve Matt picks up little treats to celebrate together. It's always the same treats and it is always awesome. The treats include Ben & Jerry's Phish Food ice cream, mint chocolate coffee (for me) and a big bag of goldfish...not the cracker goldfish but the swimming around in a bowl kind of goldfish. Typically they survive our house a few days, maybe a week but this time...they didn't even live much past dinner and the reason for that is this... Yep, that's a fish in her tiny fist and she is squeezing the life out of the poor thing. And just when I thought she has finally being gentle with them I find CJ scooping out goldfish with her bare hands, hiding them under the towels and pounding her fists atop that towel in glee. Please don't call PETA. ...

I'm not a big fan of fried chicken. It's just not my thing. But I do love boneless wings. They're pretty much the same thing; they're fried, they're chicken but without the bones. Anyway, all these wings restaurants have a sliding scale of hot sauces. The mildest measuring in at a 1 and the so-hot-you-may-wet-yourself kind of sauce measuring in at a 10. I love these places. I dig spicy. Kids can be spicy too. Especially when they're around two years of age. Some, like Kate, measure on the more mild side. I'd say two year old Kate rang in at 2, sometimes 3. Miss CJ, and I think you know where I'm going with this, has herself a whole lotta spice. When she's in the mood for some sauciness she measures up there with the your-face-is-gonna-burn-off kind of spicy which is probably a good solid 9. So, when I spotted saucy CJ sitting quietly on a library chair reading a book with a cute pink bow in her hair while all the other kids played a game...well, ...

Good bye fall. You rocked and we're going to miss you something terrible.  Winter is not my friend but I attempt to make the best of it. Today we celebrated a beautiful fall day...the very last fall day of 2011. No snow. And that's okay by me.

Matt likes politics. And you have to admit, there is a real air of excitement when a Presidential candidate comes to town. Unless of course only ladies in crazy cat sweaters show up to ask questions about something Congress passed in 1910. But anyway, I'm off topic... So Matt has decided to introduce Dina to the world of American politics.  Michele Bachmann is on a 99 county tour of Iowa this month and made a stop near us last night so Matt and Dina took off late afternoon to listen to her speak. Despite the fact that Matt is probably not supporting Michele Bachmann, he was impressed with her. She is intelligent, communicates clearly, argues her opinions well and even avoided making people look a fool when they asked really stupid questions.    Dina was awfully excited to get her picture with Michele. I think it was a really good learning experience for Dina. She was surprised to hear how the American public, including political candidates, can so freely di...

When I came up with today's plan I immediately had flashbacks to one summer day in Des Moines. Straight out of graduate school I was living alone in a rather junky apartment and working at my first ever professional job. With no cable television, my boyfriend, now husband, living 100 miles to the east and only a cat to call a friend, I was hunting for ways to stall boredom. I did not add the Christmas ornament to the cookie baking counter, but I bet you can guess who did. ...enjoying the unbelievable December weather... I was a regular runner, logging 3 miles a day, five days a week but the pattern was becoming tedious. One afternoon while sitting inside my cubicle I decided that evening I was going to run a full hour. I'd never done it before but why the heck should that stop me. I punched out and stepped outside to a 90+ degree day. Heh, that hour long run suddenly didn't sound so awesome but I couldn't back out, I was already committed. Long story short, ...

The past three days passed me by...quickly. I'm not entirely sure where they went. I was off on a Christmas family bender full of gifts, food, cookies and...oh, the cookies.  O ne of these little girls is not like the others... Today was Kate's Christmas church program. Similar to last year she was adorned with a halo. And to be quite honest, that halo is well deserved. Kate is a little angel. That's if angels are sometimes incredibly loud because this girl has herself a set of solid gold, lungs. It's like God gifted her with a set of Bose speakers instead of vocal chords. Her voice carries like Payton Manning with a stiff wind at his back. And for today's program Kate did not leave her lungs at home. She was loud and I was proud. CJ was loud too but she wasn't performing...well, she wasn't suppose to be performing at church. With only seven more days til Christmas, surely I can follow through and keep my blog current. I imagine these ...

When my brother was small we'd often catch him with his head in the refrigerator and his mouth full of butter. I don't get it. Butter is great and all but not alone. Anyway, this morning I heard the familiar scraping of a stool being haphazardly dragged across the kitchen floor and I knew what was up. I also immediately knew the face of the guilty party. I sneaked around the corner to find CJ proudly balancing atop a kitchen stool. I quick grabbed my camera and soon found the other monkey with her nose in the cupboard too.  By this afternoon the treasure these two sought is almost gone despite the fact it was just purchased yesterday. But I guess a box of animal crackers is a whole lot better then stuffing a stick of butter in your mouth.

The other day one my grandmas asked why the girls are always wearing pajamas in my pictures. I wondered if anyone would notice. It seems I snap most of our pictures in the early morning hours. Either that, or the girls and I are just lazy about getting dressed. Okay, you caught me. We're just lazy. Quite honestly there are days the girls don't leave their pajamas until they absolutely must because either we're heading out for preschool or a playdate or because it's time to make supper and we don't want Dad to find us still in our pajamas. I'm sure the UPS man could share some stories about us. Winter is good for laziness. And that's just the way we like it. (Oh, and it saves on laundry!) Eating breakfast in pajamas... Playing board games in pajamas... Exploring boxes in pajamas... Cleaning house in pajamas... Pajama tea party... Playing Go Fish in pajamas... Pajamas in a bucket surrounded by Barbies... ...

There are days when, despite my best intentions the night before, I awake long after I should. Matt will be showered and almost out the door while CJ and I are still rubbing our eyes and padding down the stairs. These days mean either I skip my shower until late in the day or I sneak away while the girls are distracted. Yesterday was one of those days. So when I decided I couldn't stand not showering I turned on a cartoon, slipped into the shower and was fully dressed before anyone noticed. And then I got a grand idea. Now fully showered and clean, I decided to forgo my usual chores of laundry, cleaning, making beds and instead grabbed the toy microphone and announced a big foot race was to occur in 2 minutes and all runners should report to the starting line.  The three of us ran 22 races, running in circles from living room, dining room, kitchen, foyer, office and back again. We stopped for short breaks between runs to hydrate and then started all over again. Once we tired o...

A little fun fact for you today: Kuwaitis don't have pets. Well, unless you include fish. I almost think a fish would be harder to care for...but they would shed less than cats and dogs. Anyway, my point is that because it is rare for a Kuwaiti family to own a pet, Dina is not at all used to them living in the house. She is terrified of Baxter, our sweet, docile kitty who sleeps all day and purrs all night. So when Dina allowed Baxter to sit on the arm of the couch by her the other day I knew I had to grab my camera.  Dina is even smiling at Baxter. Normally she is gasping, holding back a scream or shoeing Baxter away with her bunny slippers. (Baxter hates bunnies.) Dina even offered to fake pet Baxter. And then in the next picture Matt tried a gentle push to get Dina even closer. It almost worked. A little more love grows between Baxter and Dina every day.  By June next year when Dina has to return home these two will be inseparable. Nah.

I was doing a fairly good job keeping up on my Christmas countdown until today when I realized I hadn't even given the interwebs a single thought. So my blog post today will be short and sweet. Kate and I spent a good deal of quality time together. It was really great, actually. I love hanging out with my girls one on one.  Those sweet girls are now in bed and I need to review some grant applications but Stefon has been stealing me away from my work. Stefon is so darn funny, goofy and a little inappropriate. Don't know who he is? Check him out. Good night!

Remember the other day when I said Christmas was in full swing around here? Well, it was and still is, but something else is in full swing as well. CJ, with all her cute smiles and giggles, has officially peaked (or at least I hope so!) in the "terrible twos." Like a shootout at high noon in the wild, wild west, it has been high drama as we face off lungs a blazin'. Yes, I said lungs because two year old children don't carry guns but they sure pack some heavy heat with their fake cries and real whines. It's all a phase and this too shall past. CJ and I did have a few fun moments with each other yesterday while Kate was in school. We completed several puzzles and played hide and seek. CJ is a confident girl and argued with me on several topics, proclaiming herself right and me to be wrong. For example, while trying to place the "R" puzzle piece in the right spot, CJ insisted that the "R" is actually a "T." And when we painted nails l...

Every parent, especially a stay-at-home parent, needs a little time away from the kids. A good amount of time has passed me by since I've stepped away from my little ones for more than a night's sleep. And it was starting to wear on me. So the other evening after the supper table was clean and everyone seemed distracted, I sneaked upstairs, turned on the heated mattress pad, grabbed some reading material and sunk into bed. I spent five glorious minutes between warm sheets, filling my mind with things that weren't related to Max & Ruby or Dora the Explorer or another game of Go Fish. Five glorious minutes and Kate tiptoed into the room with a shy, "Hi Mom. Want to play a game with me?" Of course, I normally do, but at that moment I would have rather done anything but. So instead Kate grabbed a book and settled in next to me. Five more minutes later CJ peers around the corner with a sly grin. She got the hint, grabbed her favorite edition of "Happy Town...

Christmas is in full swing here. We've been decking the halls and singing fa-la-la-la-la until our cups runneth over...with hot chocolate. The other day I made hot cocoa from scratch.  The kind of homemade stuff with more sugar than milk and more cocoa than chemically designed powder from those Swiss Valley premeasured packets.  To top it off, homemade whipped cream, sprinkles (pink, of course) and candy canes. Our bellies were full and our supper was ruined. So worth it. ******************************************************* Today we stuffed envelopes with Christmas cards and holiday stickers while sipping tea and dining on crumpets.  We were feeling rather royal. Yeah, baby. (Said in my best Austin Powers' accent.) I also wore several layers of clothes as I recited more appropriate Austin Powers lines like, "It's frickin freezing in here, Mr. Bigglesworth." Because it really is freezing in our old, drafty, yet gorgeous house. (I...

This may appear to be sisterly love but if memory serves me right the cute 'cuddle' snapped here soon turned into a fight. But really, who hasn't blindly tackled their sibling into a choke hold.

I recently bought myself a new vacuum and the resulting excitement made me worry for my sanity. But it is an awesome vacuum. And it was pretty cheap; relatively speaking. I'm not the only one in the house who digs the new vacuum. Miss Claudia has been having herself a heck of a time and her tummy, hands and jammies have never been cleaner. Vacuuming yourself is a riot!