Girls are awesome!

Sugar and spice and everything nice….. that is what girls are made of… J

I'm sure boys are great fun but girls are fabulous in pink. They like clothes, shopping, going out to lunch, they notice cute shoes, adore having their nails done, and truly believe you can never ware too much pink. They also love to dig for worms, enjoy dirt, and recognize the awesomeness of power tools (even if they are loud & not pink).

 

The modern girl is awesome.
She likes dirt, tools, and building things.
She likes pink, shopping and dressing up in princess gowns and coveralls for those dirty jobs.
She just digs with pink polka dot shovels, has bows on her coveralls, and keeps her tools in a beaded handbag.  
My girls fascinate me. The idea that tools don't come in pink is ridiculous to them. So is the idea that there are things they can't do because they are girls. They teach me things every day and our adventure together is still just beginning.

made me think

I read a wonderful post today by one Miss Elle.
It was a post that made me smile, a soul deep smile.

She was talking about that moment when you relies that you are no longer "you" but a new "mother" version of yourself.

I loved that moment.
The moments when you miss watching grown up programing but wouldn't give up the snuggles and giggles on the couch watching something animated for anything in the world.

Coffee shops, happy hour, carefree shopping, and many more things suddenly don't have the same siren call they once did.

When we first started talking about more babies, i was scared.
My girls are big enough that i was getting that "me" time back. I didn't know what i was giving up with my girls. I also didn't know what i was getting.

Now I'm eager to finish our remodeling projects and get pregnant again. The snuggles, kisses, hugs, drawings, story time, well everything really even when they drive me crazy; that's my siren call now.

it's been awhile, let me catch you up

Things are moving along at a pretty good clip here. Still can't believe that it's almost August but we have been busy getting things done.

The rehab project for the garage is complete. New roof, fixed siding, new man door, new garage door, and the roof no longer dips. Yeah!

The Playroom is no longer in the formal dining room attached to the living room. Half has been relocated to the old dining room and the other half is in the basement.

The basement is no longer piled floor to hip and I'll admit in some places ceiling with our junk. All of the garage stuff has been relocated to, well the garage. Several boxes have been gone thru majority of contents tossed out and repacked in one box. This has left room to pack up all the miscellaneous baby gear that was taking over the basement. The end result is that i have a wonderful space to sew in. Eric has a cabinet to keep all of his computer stuff in and a work from home desk that holds our home server. The girls now have their own TV area and some toys in their "own space" in the house. I still have more to do down there but the end goal is in sight.
The kitchen: well we have torn up the floor, the hardwood goes thru out the kitchen :) and is in great shape! Eric tore down the pantry wall, redid all the electrical including installing two new outlets and two light switches, and hung the drywall. He is starting on the next wall tomorrow. It's the one with my stove so I'll be BBQing for awhile, but it'll be worth it.

When we haven't been doing that stuff we celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary. The girls did the SHOCK dance camp and performed at halftime. We have been going to SHOCK games. We celebrated several birthdays and a few anniversaries. We enjoyed the 4Th of July festivities. Sundays at the lake. Afternoons at the pool. Kaitlyn lost another tooth. And we of course have been enjoying our Movie Nights in the backyard.

In August we will still be full steam ahead on the kitchen. We have two weddings Scott's and Danica's. One May Boys weekend. And school shopping to do.

Wish us luck!

tooth fairy

My baby lost her first tooth today.

It was a happy, exciting, nagging reminder that she is no longer a baby.
I relish these milestones of hers.

I also hate these milestone.
They are reminders that in a few short months time, i will have to share her with the world. I fully admit i don't like sharing. She's mine, enough said.

She is a sensitive, smart, brilliant, intelligent, funny, charming, methodical, loquacious little girl whom i adore more each day. She can reason her way into or out of anything she puts her mind to. I may say no five times, maybe even ten, what ever the objection she will find a way around it. She has been doing this since before she learned to speak. At five and a half she has gotten frighteningly good at it. "dinner is in the crock pot, the table is set, both parents are home, it is windy but not dark or cold or rainy, sissy & i have our coat and shoes on, May we go fly a kite?"
If in years to come she does not go into a field of work that uses her innate skills at argument I'll be shocked.

Tonight I will place a dollar and some gum into a tooth shaped pillow. I will squeal with delight as she shows me her treasures in the morning. I will hug her and snuggle her and ponder the tooth fairy with her, tomorrow will be a great day.

pictures to come

Almost ready for the road trip to Utah!
In my endeavors to prepare i have emptied the memory card on the camera. I hate to admit it's been way to long since i have done that. I copied some 400 pictures to the home server Yikes!
Anyway, if i have done my prep work well very little to get done tomorrow before we leave. So hopefully a proper blog post on my Chocolate Easter creations and many many uploads to flickr.
Have a happy day everyone.
-me
PS: we are going to Utah for two graduations. So very proud of Stephen & Joshua!! So very happy to share in this moment with them!
PPS: Baby brother Josh finished 5th in the country at Nationals for Hockey!!! Super proud of him too! We didn't get to go but we watched online! thank goodness for streaming video!

Easter Prep

Easter is rapidly approaching and my chocolate endeavors have been going great.
I have all the chocolate candies made for our various family members.
I have one complete solid 3D chocolate bunny made for the girls. One more of those to make along with a handful of other chocolates for the girls. I have to make these last because i can eat them. It's really easy for me to resist things that make me sick. But lots of chocolate that is safe for me to eat, is in danger near me.
I currently have one soy free & dairy free & peanut free bunny hardening in the fridge now. For my soy free sister. Playing with the rice milk based, milk chocolate has been fun. I think if i ever get around to making "holiday themed treats for folks with allergies" to sell, i would use this rice milk chocolate product.
Currently looking at vegan hot cross bun recipes.
They are a classic Easter treat for my family. The things mom has bought at the store the last few years, the dog won't eat. So I have been pondering making some.
I found this one and i think I'll have to try them out. http://jennsrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/02/hot-cross-buns.html
Happy Egg Hunting if i don't see you before Easter.
-Kat

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays

So the past three weekends have been a blur of birthday fun.
Weekend one: March 6th, my older sister's birthday. We had dinner at the casino, we gambled a bit (i blew $5 on the penny slots and had fun), we then ventured to the dueling piano bar. Oh my goodness did we have fun. It was funny, and we (as in the whole bar) sang at the top of our lungs to all the songs, oh and did i mention the 20 something year old totally grinding with my mom. Needless to say a fun night.
Weekend two: March 12th, pre St.Patrick's day festivities and a van full of hawkers come to town to house hunt. With 3-4 more kids than usual I had a blast doing what ever. I think i ate to much McDonald's, ran/chased kids in the park, and played on the slide to name a few. We also had a Birthday Party with said out of town Hawkers for my darling Samantha and little miss Miriam. Cake, pin the tiaras on the princess, pizza, and presents we partied it up good! And as an added Bonus my baby brother won the State Hockey tournament and now will be playing in nationals! Can I get a whoop whoop!
Weekend three: March 20th, Samantha, Mya, and Jack's actual day of birth. The girls and i went shopping while waiting for dad to come home, then we went out to dinner at Rock City (yum), picked up an ice cream cone at Ben & Jerry's (double yum), then headed home for cake and presents. Super fun day for our little family. On Sunday we had a birthday party with the Vance's and family friends at Chuck E Cheese for my darling Samantha and miss Mya. the girls love Chuck E Cheese. Then on Monday we went out to celebrate Michael's 60th Birthday. We went out to the casino again for the buffet. We all wore "over the hill" buttons & I made him an "old fart cup", an "over the hill" sash, a birthday horn, oh and he had a button too. Then we gambled in the Casino. 60 must be a lucky birthday Dani won $203, Jason won $100, Eric won $150, Mom doubled her money, Kristina came out even, and i had a blast!
Well that's what we have been up to. Celebrating the life of our family members.