jtkt

First Day of School

2011-09-09T05:54:00.002-05:00

I think sending my daughter off to her first day of middle school was more traumatizing than sending her to kindergarten. Who knows, when she hits high school I might even cry...

Philly

2011-05-04T06:39:00.005-05:00

So on Good Friday (no school, yay!), the girls and I decided to go down to Philly to visit some friends. We visited the new Please Touch Museum (thanks, Kim!) and had a great time.

I know it's not a great picture, but this is Lil'M in the hamster wheel. I am considering getting one for her room. She was all tired out after she got off it:).

BigM riding a cat.

Lil'M, of course, chose a horse.

What you don't see is me on a horse (and me realizing that pretty much any moving ride, even 3 min carousel rides, make me very motion sick...)

Kim, B & E. They were great tour guides around the museum!

Happy Easter!!

2011-04-24T08:40:00.000-05:00

Flashback

2011-04-04T06:41:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I miss the chubby cheeks...

Stress Relief

2011-03-31T07:03:00.004-05:00

So the other bonus to crocheting is that it's a great stress reliever for me. I have something to do with my hands at night and my mind can wander and wind down AND I can make quick projects which gives me a nice sense of accomplishment. Here is my next project (I have lots of nieces, so this one may go on for awhile:).

PS. The buttons are functional, so the girls can switch out the flowers.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-03-25T16:41:00.005-05:00

I know, I know. It's been forever and a day since I posted. Life has this way of being hectic and flying by.

I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions. Most of my goals start in September when the girls head back to school, new school year = new year for me. BUT this year in January I decided to make a few goals.

1. Keep exercising regularly.
2. Keep eating fairly healthy (no refined sugars, minimal processed food, etc)
(As you can see these are really just goals that I started in September and am trying to keep up.)
3. Learn to crotchet.

I taught myself to knit about 6 years ago, but I have terrible follow through (it may be my only flaw:). I have a half knitted blanket somewhere in my house for my (now) 6 yr old nephew, he wasn't even born when I started it. I tend to go big with things that I start (maybe my only other flaw...) and stop halfway through. So this time I am determined to see this goal through.

I decided to crotchet a baby blanket (for my newest nephew soon to arrive), but this time I made a sample to learn the stitches and make mistakes and then moved on to the bigger blanket.

I was able to go visit my sister last week and help her out as she nears the end of her pregnancy. I finished the blanket on the plane ride out (2 weeks is a bit of tight schedule for one's first project, but I made it). I thoroughly enjoyed making it and now have a baby hat in the works and have been teaching the girls how to make to make a simple scarf. I love youtube tutorials and google for how to do stitches and patterns (link to pattern here).

Here it is!

Wish Come True

2010-12-27T17:19:00.004-05:00

Lil'M got her birthday wish. Lots and lots and lots and lots of snow. She was in heaven.

We love her creative genius, her cuddly personality and her fun-loving, adventure-seeking spirit. Happy 9th Birthday to our Bug!!

We are also thankful for...

2010-11-26T20:42:00.004-05:00

Twelve years ago today (which fell on Thanksgiving), I gave birth to this one (the one on the left!:). She has grown into a compassionate, caring and intelligent young woman. She challenges us in different ways each day. We are grateful for her presence in our lives. Happy 12th Birthday, Maddie!

We are thankful for...

2010-11-26T20:31:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday, Camille! (One day late:) PS. I always love finding your self portraits on my camera when I get home.

Flashback Friday

2010-11-26T20:27:00.002-05:00

Yeah, I know...it's been too long.

July 2010 - Grandpa took them on a 7 mile atv ride.

What do your kids do for fun?

2010-09-11T19:23:00.003-05:00

All About Lil'M

2010-09-08T16:01:00.003-05:00

She had to fill out this sheet for her first day of school.

Groups of 3's:
Name three of your favorite authors
1. Rick Riordan
2. SArah PrineAs
3. Dr. Suss

Name three of your favorite foods
1. bread and buter
2.
3. torteea

Name three of your favorite things to do at home
1. read
2. play in my backyard
3. apple

Name three of your favorite things to do at school
1. Math
2. spelling
3. reading

Name three things you don't like
1. subtrack
2. cats
3. Homework

Field Trip #2

2010-08-17T10:14:00.002-05:00

BigM's field trip this year was to Philadelphia. They do it every year in 5th grade. Since M & I were "natives", a few moms decided to tag along. We managed to hit almost all the major sites in old city (we even got to go inside a house in Elfreth's Alley...I've always wanted to see one. The owner was remodeling and let a bunch of us in to see it!) It was a long day, but fun (I fell asleep for a few minutes on the bus ride back...)

Field Trip

2010-08-17T10:01:00.002-05:00

I was able to accompany Lil'M's class to the Liberty Science Center. It was a bit crowded, but there were lots of fun things to do.

Spring Semester Observation - June 2010

2010-08-17T09:53:00.003-05:00

Jazz & Modern (Hip Hop didn't get any pictures since JT was the one who went to that).

H-E-A-V-E-N

2010-07-18T07:01:00.004-05:00

That's where the girls are right now. They are ready to move in. They helped to take the horses to & from the pasture, feed them, clean their stalls (though that was a bit more fleeting) and brush them. There is also a dog named Heidi and 2 cats. They didn't think it could get much better than that.

But then it did...

THANKS AUNTIE MARLENE!

PS. I will be back to posting on Weds when I will have an internet connection again.

Auntie M's

2010-07-18T06:55:00.003-05:00

Do not worry my few, stalwart readers. I am not disappearing again, I merely have had no internet connection for the past few days. The girls & I flew in to MN on Weds for family reunions on my mom's side. My Auntie M picked us up from the airport and she was sweet enough to have us over until my mom flew in on Thurs.

The girls were thrilled to find the following at Aunt M's house...

Uncle M

2010-07-10T17:01:00.009-05:00

In January, Uncle M moved in with us. The girls were, um...thrilled. Yes, thrilled. He's like the big brother they never had. They have learned much from him, but the top three gems are:

1. There are many other boats in the sea.

2. Winning is everything.

3. Never say no.

It's great to have someone else help teach them all the things they really need to know in life. I'm thrilled, yes thrilled.

We will all miss him desperately when he moves next month...19.8 miles away into the city.

Mother's Day Pictures

2010-07-10T16:53:00.004-05:00

Here are the pics!

After reading the poem.

My portrait (please take note of the sweet side ponytail)

Flowers for moi!

Me with mini-me.

Her bestest friends.

Mother's Day

2010-07-10T16:41:00.003-05:00

Every year the 2nd graders have a Mother's Day celebration. There is an acrostic name poem reading (I don't remember anything other than "Always makes me clean my room"), lots of songs & poems, portraits and flowers. I'm posting the videos on this and another post for the pictures (in case you want to skip the 3 min Mother's Day Song because it's not your kid:).

My Arch Nemesis

2010-07-08T20:13:00.002-05:00

Albertine, the squirrel

Randoms

2010-07-08T20:06:00.001-05:00

Random pictures taken by the girls.

Visitors

2010-07-08T19:49:00.003-05:00

Mark & Debbe came out for a visit. We didn't take lots of pictures, but we did lots of planting and yard beautifying!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-07-08T19:45:00.003-05:00

Our good friends from Philly came up for the day to decorate eggs and then hunt them.

Central Park with Aunt Shenelle

2010-07-08T06:46:00.004-05:00

We had Shenelle out for a visit and had a blast. Way too much fun to take a lot of pictures...

Art

2010-07-08T06:44:00.002-05:00

There is usually so much of it, I can't capture it all. Here's one.

Their Own Photoshoot

2010-07-07T20:13:00.003-05:00

The girls love to have their own photoshoots, so here are just a few of the gems...

Photoshoot

2010-07-07T19:43:00.003-05:00

Shot by our friend Kah, Illustrated by our friend Annie.

SNOWSTORM!

2010-07-07T16:03:00.007-05:00

He shovels

and throws snowballs

it was quite the war...

our snowlady

the action

Parent Observation Week

2010-07-07T15:43:00.003-05:00

Dance Classes

Long Time, No Type

2010-07-07T15:40:00.002-05:00

I know that it has been incredibly long since I have regularly updated this blog, so I am going to try to cover the past six months in a few pictures...let the fun begin.

That's My Girl!

2010-06-06T19:43:00.002-05:00

Mom & Dad Visit

2010-01-18T21:40:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to have my parents come out for a week after Christmas. We had lots of fun playing games (the girls finally learned to play spoons, a favorite pastime of my family), eating and walking to the bakery (my dad's favorite activity, I only made it there walking once...it was really cold). My parents were also able to go to the city to see Lion King on Broadway. They had a great time and we had a great time seeing them!

Christmas 09

2010-01-18T21:24:00.002-05:00

So in an effort to catch up, the picture posts that I put up will probably be all out of order...but here is Christmas.

We had a nice, "quiet" day. The girls spent the morning playing with their gifts and then we headed to a movie (The Princess and the Frog) that afternoon.

Flashback Friday

2010-01-15T08:42:00.003-05:00

I think this is the first time I've blogged on a Friday, so I can properly do a Flashback Friday.

My chunks of baby love circa 2002.

Lost & Found

2010-01-13T22:43:00.003-05:00

I couldn't find my camera for a week. It is now found. Couldn't find my camera cord (turns out I lent it to Matthew). I finally uploaded all the pics from my camera. I found all the holiday pics that I took and about 200 pics that I did not take...

Here are a few I took and a few I did not.

I'm trying

2010-01-09T22:04:00.004-05:00

...so my posts will probably be short until I get back into the swing of things.
Here are the girls with their cousin (actually my cousin). We were excited to have family down to visit (My uncle, aunt & cousin came down for New Year's Day while my parents were here).

Request

2010-01-05T22:31:00.004-05:00

This morning we were rushing (as usual) to get ready and trying to get out the door on time for school. Big M was in a hurry and was desperately trying to get her boots on. She started yelling, "What is wrong with my boots?! Why won't they got on? AAAARG!!"

I took one look at her and burst out laughing. She was trying to shove her (size 5 in women's) feet into her sister's (size 11 in little girls) boots. The funny part is that their boots aren't even the same color. After we had a good (but short, we were trying to be on time after all) laugh. Big M informed me I should blog about it because it was funny. I figure I haven't got much time left to blog about my kids before they refuse to let me write or talk about any of the amusing (to me) things they do, so there you go.

PS. Hopefully I will find a bit more time to blog this year...

Sad Event

2009-09-14T20:15:00.001-05:00

In a devastating turn of events, our toaster oven died. Once a firm mocker of toaster oven users, I was lured to the dark side about 3 years ago. I will miss the gentle way it makes Lil'M's quesadillas and rewarms our pizza slices without making them soggy. Also, the quick preheat that makes our cookie baking a breeze. (Jt was upset he had to turn on the "big" oven to make cookies tonight.) *sigh* We will miss you little guy. A moment of silence, please.

Bowling

2009-09-05T07:44:00.012-05:00

I figured this one deserved a post of it's own. When GmaD & GpaM were visiting, we took them bowling (while Jt was at work). It was awesome. GpaM got beat by not 1, but 2 GIRLS (and his score was below 100, which I've been told has not happened since the first time he ever went bowling)!!! He was horrified and by posting this I have been told I'm never going to make fave daughter-in-law (I figured I could never beat L's fresh strawberry shake, so oh well!) Enjoy the pics and please note the scores. They are in the following order:
Lil'M
BigM
Mommy (me)
GmaD
GpaM

Here are the rest of the pics.

And a couple of videos. lil'M has such a unique way of bowling and BigM gets ticked off when things don't go her way...

Jt's Parents Visit

2009-09-05T07:40:00.003-05:00

In June, Jt's parents came for a visit. We went to Sleepy Hollow (Phillipsburg Manor & Sunnyside-Washington Irving's home), Great Falls, Lambert's Castle and we took them into the city to the MOMA, dinner and a ride from Jt that had us all thinking we might not make it out alive (seriously, he's almost worse than a taxi driver). We had lots of fun and good weather.

Lil'M's Last Soccer Game

2009-09-05T07:22:00.003-05:00

The title is self explanatory.

See, Jt gets involved in sports...

Behinder and Behinder

2009-09-03T11:37:00.005-05:00

I have to go back to the end of last school year to start catching up. This is from BigM's NJ Cake Day. Every year the 4th graders learn all about the state of NJ and then do a presentation on it (songs, speeches, facts, etc) as well as having parents' help make county cakes. They then put together, frost and decorate two large NJ cakes. Loads of fun AND I now know all 21 counties in the state of New Jersey. Give it a look!

I will try to get a video put up, once I figure out how...

My Inner MacGyver

2009-08-14T21:47:00.004-05:00

I was putting Lil'M to bed and decided to take it upon myself to empty her cup out and get her a new drink of water. As I was walking back into the room...
Lil'M: I need my tooth. (She had Jt pull it this morning.)
Me: Where is it?
Lil'M: (looking at the cup I had just refilled.) It was in this cup. I can't see it! Where is it?
Me: You mean in the water that I just dumped down the drain?
Cue tears and wailing.
Lil'M: WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?
Me: Last time I saw your tooth it was in a tic tac container.
Lil'M: I NEED MY TOOTH!!
Me: Ugh! Ok.
I went into the bathroom to see what I could see down my sink drain. Turns out the tooth hadn't made it too far. I could still see it (Yes, I realize this speaks loudly to the disgusting gunk that is apparently partially clogging my sink drain...gross). So I mulled over my options: needlenose pliers? nope too big; tiny spoon from the girls' tea set? nope too small and there's a good chance I would have lost that down the drain as well. So I settled for a shish kebob stick with a half piece of chewed gum stuck to the end. After a couple attempts, I got the tooth. Such a proud moment for me, Kt MacGyver. Though lets be honest if I were really MacGyver, I would have probably difused a bomb with the shish kebob stick and gum...or at least snaked the drain. Oh well, it's good enough for me!
PS. Lil'M's dramatics were quite over by the time I got the tooth and she was rather unimpressed, but somewhat grateful.

From the backseat

2009-08-13T11:47:00.001-05:00

BigM: What's a smartphone?
Me: It's like ...'s phone.
BigM: Well that's not as good as an iphone.
Lil'M: Nothing's as good as an iphone!

Heard While Shopping with the Girls

2009-06-28T17:49:00.004-05:00

Big M: "No one wears a sweater dress anymore. That's so late 80's."
Oh, riiiiiiiiiiight...

2009-05-23T18:23:00.002-05:00

Heard in the backseat of the volvo:
Lil'M: DAMN!
Me: Lil'M, don't say damn.
Lil'M: But, mommy, I wasn't saying DAMN, I was saying DAM. You know like the beavers build.
Me: Lil'M, that is the oldest trick in the book.
BigM: Mommy, I don't think she knows the meaning of the bad word D-A-M.
Me: That's not how it's spelled. The bad word is spelled D-A-M-N. The thing the beavers build is spelled D-A-M.
BigM: I know that, I just didn't want Lil'M to know how the bad word was spelled.
Lil'M: Hey! Someone give me a pencil, I wanna write this down!
It's little nuggets like these that reassure me I'm doing an awesome job as a parent...

Lil'M field trip

2009-04-28T19:11:00.003-05:00

Today I went along on Lil'M's field trip to the American Natural History Museum in NYC. It was great! The kids had a blast:).

Highlights:

1. Upon entering the chartered bus, the kids' general reaction was, "Oh My Gosh!! The seats are soft! Are your seats soft?! This isn't like a school bus!! A TV!! Look a TV!! There's a TV IN THE BUS!!!"

2. (Screams of excitement on the bus trip) "Look there's a bus next to us!!" "Look, a tree!! Did you see the tree?!" When we showed them the city (there's a great view of the city right before you head into the Lincoln Tunnel), they were awed into silence (I KNOW, AMAZING). (We decided that we probably could have just rented the charter bus and driven around pointing things out and they would have been enthralled with that:).

3. In the Asian Mammal exhibit. One little boy said to me, "I know about Asian mammals because I'm Asian." His mom was laughing behind him as I asked her if that came with the genes. Then he saw the sign for the Asian People exhibit. "There are Asian PEOPLE! I'm Asian! My mom is Asian! Manus (his cousin) is Asian!! All 3 of us are Asian!!" His mom then informed him that he was Asian Indian. He informed her that they were STILL ASIAN.

4. 1st graders love farting noises. They spent the 10 mins we had to wait until the museum opened making farting noises on their arms and then laughing hysterically about it.

5. We went into the butterfly conservatory and the kids were having the best time trying to get the butterflies to land on them. I, however, had a butterfly land on my sunglasses which were perched on the top of my head. It stayed there for about 5 mins. The kids LOVED it! This made Lil'M very determined to get a butterfly to land on her. One finally did land on her hand, but was scared off by the little girl next to her about 2 secs later. She was a bit bummed, but kept trying. We were in there for about 45 mins before I decided it was time to leave (though at 85 degrees and humid, it still beat the 90 degree weather happening outside in NYC:).

6. Thankfully there was no traffic on the way home and we made it home from the city in 35 mins!

(I will try to post some pics to go along with this soon. However Jt had my camera in night mode and I couldn't figure out how to switch it back to normal. I could, however, switch it to aquarium, fireworks or SM3200 modes...)

Technology at it's finest

2009-04-26T12:58:00.003-05:00

Txt I received from Jt on Thurs.
"ur spawn is grouchy x3"
hmmmm....

It's official...

2009-04-19T14:03:00.002-05:00

I'm a suburban soccer mom...here are some pics from Lil'M's first game.

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T15:26:00.002-05:00

PS. At some point I really will put up pictures of our trip to Europe...

...

2009-02-23T21:24:00.004-05:00

Lil'M (from her room): Mommy! MommY! MOMMY!

Me: Yes?

Lil'M: I want the lights off!

Me: Then turn them off.

Lil'M: But then I won't be able to see!

Me:...

Family Adventure

2009-02-05T12:31:00.006-05:00

Last Saturday in an effort to get us out before we got bogged down in trivial things (laundry, cleaning and the like), jt had us out of the house by 10am. We grabbed breakfast at a delicious little cafe and then headed off to see the Great Falls in Paterson. (jt had done some researching of our area and discovered them.) We were going to just go look from afar in the warmth of our car, but when we pulled up, the guy in the car next to us told us the best view was if you walked over the bridge.

So we put bundled up (it may have been 20 degrees, but I'm pretty positive it was colder!) and headed over. The path was completely ice covered and you had to hold onto the fence or railing at all times, but the girls thought the "ice skating" was fun (though Lil'M will rethink wearing leggings instead of proper pants when we go on another family outing). Turns out he was right, it was gorgeous! The top of the falls was frozen with water rushing out underneath.

Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera, so these pics I found online will have to do. (I do not own any of these pics!)

This one was obviously taken in the spring.

It was more like this when we saw it.

And this!

Time...

2009-02-04T11:52:00.005-05:00

(Lil'M had managed to get a tight knot in the ties of her bathrobe).
Me: Lil'M, why did you pull so hard on this. Now it's very tight and hard to untie.
Lil'M: That knot's been in there since January!
Me: January was only 2 days ago....
Lil'M: It's been there for 5 or 6 weeks.
Me: I bought this bathrobe for you 3 weeks ago.
Lil'M: NO! 5 or 6 weeks ago in January!!
Me: That would have been December.
Lil'M: Hmph!

Once Past the Lips, Forever on the Hips

2009-01-18T14:32:00.005-05:00

Me: I have big lips. (disclaimer: this was merely on observation on my part, not a complaint.)

Jt: OK, then. We each need to lose 10 lbs.

Me: Hmm, I don't think that will really make a difference, they have always been like this.

Jt: What? You said hips, right? You have big hips.

Me: No, I said lips. I have big lips.

Jt: Oh...well we each still need to lose 10 lbs.

Hmm...ok...

(this is not my picture, nor are these my lips...i would have swallowed all that bling as i shoved another cookie in my mouth)

Drawrings

2009-01-10T16:21:00.006-05:00

Lil'M loves to create in all ways (recycling takes on a whole new meaning with her...mostly it means "don't throw that out or put it in the recycle bin because I'm going to use it for an art project. It's pretty hard to keep up with all her projects. They are everywhere!) I'm going to try to scan more in so you can get a taste of her brilliance.

This is a picture of her cousin, Baby E.

This is a project she did at school. She was supposed to draw a picture of what she did on her winter vacation and write about it. Here is the picture and accompanying written report (verbatim).

jan. 5, 2009

My Holiday Vacation
by Lil'M

My ont and my ucol cam. We playd a fyow gams. We playd withe baby.

(Why "ucol" Drew is the only one who got colored, I don't know...)

PS. Due to tween status, you will be hearing less about BigM. I will try to include things as often as I can, however she feels that most things I say/write about/do/look at or am in any way connected to are incredibly embarrassing. I'll do what I can (I mean she has to have something to talk about in therapy, right?!?!)

Visitors

2009-01-10T16:19:00.005-05:00

Jt's brother Drew, his wife, Lacey & Baby E came to visit for NYE. It was pretty darn relaxed (which was fine with me) and we rang in a quiet new year. The girls loved having their cousin come visit (and their aunt & uncle).

Baby E, Big M, Lil'M

Some sort of weird brother bonding thing that I'll probably never understand...

Jt & Drew...aaawwww, aren't they sweet??

Christmas!

2009-01-08T16:09:00.002-05:00

So in an effort to catch up before I'm behind again, here are the pictures from Christmas.

This year Santa brought the girls real dress forms as well as sewing notions and fabric. They weren't sure what to think for a few minutes, but when jt told them they could create their own dresses, they were in love! They spent the next few days coming up with new creations (they literally did nothing else). BigM got her very first perfume (she was so excited). They both got lots of fun little things in their stockings as well as the obligatory giant Hershey bar for Lil'M. We had a very nice, quiet, relaxing Christmas day!

Uncle D Visits

2009-01-04T21:00:00.002-05:00

My baby bro, D, came to for a super short (but fun) visit. He was in the city for work and took the bus out (no matter that he managed to miss his stop, don't worry we found him in W. Orange...) We had dinner and came back to the house for some playtime. He had the singular pleasure of putting the girls to bed before heading back into the city. We can't wait to see him again soon!

Lil'M's Birthday Party

2009-01-04T20:43:00.003-05:00

Here are the pics of Lil'M's family bday party & her friend bday party. As we were eating cake on her birthday, Lil'M asked when she got to stick her face in the cake (she informed us this is what you do on your birthday, you stick your face in your cake)...so we let her go at it.

Lil'M invited 2 friends and her sister to her party. They made bracelets and necklaces, had cake & presents, then headed up to the "studio" to design some dresses on the girls' dress forms. Lots of fun!

Big M's Birthday Party

2009-01-04T20:34:00.005-05:00

I am now trying to catch up on the blogging. So you'll mostly get some pics, but little writing (it's just not going to happen if I try to write too...)

To start, here are the pics of Big M's friend birthday party. She invited her 3 closest friends and her sister. I took them bowling (they had a blast), back to our house for pizza, cake & presents and then they just played until their parents picked them up (it was awesomely low-key for me too!)

"7"

2008-12-27T11:19:00.002-05:00

Today is Lil'M's 7th birthday. We are so grateful for her. We love her spunky, quirky, fun-loving way. She loves to create in all mediums and doesn't much care what anyone thinks of her. She's loyal, loving and a bit sassy. Happy Birthday, Lil'M!

Way Behind

2008-12-23T10:38:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I am way behind on posting and unfortunately I'm not going to be catching up now, but I will post the girls' holiday picture (they are in front of the tree, though you can't really see it...)

IT'S OFFICIAL!!

2008-11-26T11:11:00.004-05:00

Jt & I have been parents for a decade. Ten years ago on Thanksgiving day, I was chewing on ice chips instead of the delicious turkey dinner I had planned on. After 24 hrs of labor and a few moments of begging someone (anyone!) to hit me over the head with a baseball bat to make it end, BigM made her debut.

She has grown some over the years and we love having her in our family. She is caring, sweet, kind, loving, empathetic, funny and loyal with a dash of sass & attitude. We love you BigM & Happy 10th Birthday!!

It's 10 o'clock, do you know where your kids are?

2008-11-20T16:16:00.004-05:00

I went in to check on the girls one night before bed and this is what I found in Lil'M's room...

It's seem as though she had found a new bed.

A close up of Lil'M's preferred sleeping spot.

THEY DID IT!! PHINALLY!!

2008-10-30T06:16:00.005-05:00

Living in Philadelphia, you cannot escape the sports fans. From small children to the elderly, everyone in Philly is a diehard Phan. Big M even learned the Eagles fight in school (IN SCHOOL!) So in honor of our old stomping grounds, I'd like to give a shout out to the ultimate underdogs in honor of their World Series win last night. YAY, PHILLIES!!! (We're all very excited!)

(Disclaimer: This is not my picture. But if it was, I'd have been sitting real close...or have a nice camera with a killer zoom lens...)

Perspective

2008-10-23T19:37:00.005-05:00

I've always thought that kids have the most interesting perspective on things. Jt took Lil'M on some errands with him a couple of Saturdays ago. He gave her the camera so that she could take pictures as they went. Here's her perspective...

1st Day of School

2008-10-19T17:12:00.006-05:00

I've been meaning to post pics of the girls first day of school (about 1 1/2 months ago) and Marcus inspired me. So here they are!

Ready for school with their new bags

Big Smile from Big M

Lil'M

Ready to go!

What you can't see in the picture is that Lil'M's knee length shorts were once-upon-a-time cropped pants when she got them at age three. She still enjoys wearing them at age six...

Postcards to home

2008-10-09T19:25:00.005-05:00

The girls wrote a few postcards to JT this summer. Enjoy!

July 8, 2008

I miss you daddy already and it's only my first Day Here! I LOVE you!

your excited but kainda sad Daughter,
Big M
---------------
Dear DADDy,

I MiSS you vere mach. I HoPe you like The postr.

Love,
Lil'M
----------------
Dear Daddy,

As you probaly noticed I went to the corn palace. This is what it looked like when I was born! I sure do miss you. I hope I here back from you soon.

love,
Big M
---------------
Dera Dad

I wot to Go and do Ivechrs (adventures)

Love Lil'M
---------------
Dera DaDDy

I Lovey I Hop you Have a Go Day.

Love Lil'M

---------------
Dra Dad

I am so HaPPy Hay WaD Minute Do you now t Hatie I am Haven a Birthday to mow anyway Haw are you Doen Haw are you Lil'M

Love Lil'M

HOT, HOT, HOT!!

2008-10-06T21:23:00.003-05:00

One should always be aware of where the handle actually is when going to pick up a hot pan, I wasn't...OW, OW, OW!

Her Nose

2008-10-05T20:54:00.004-05:00

Now that I have finally gotten caught up from this summer, see below (all for you Bec) and I'm over my blogger's block, I can get back to blogging regularly.

Two nights ago Lil' M came up to me crying hard and holding her nose. I was a bit worried because her nose tends to sensitive since she broke it a year ago.

Me: What's wrong, sweetie?!
LM: Waaaaaaaah! Garble, garble, sob, sob, my nose!
Me: Um, what's wrong?? I can't really understand you when you cry that hard.
LM: My nose! My nose! (sob, sob, sob)
Me: Did you bump your nose and hurt it?!
LM: NO! The banana bread that's baking smells really bad and it HURTS MY NOSE! (sob)
Me: What?? It smells like bananas...
LM: I know Mommy, but it smells really bad and the whole house smells bad! (sob)
Me: Um, ok. But you are just going to have to deal with it because it has to bake.
LM: Gross, GRoss, GROss, GROSs, GROSS!
Me: Hmmm.

Later on I went up to tuck Lil' M into bed. I walked into her room to find that it was about -30 degrees. She had turned her AC on high to "get rid of the bad smell".

Yeah I'm not really sure either, but apparently I will have to do my banana bread baking while she's at school...

UT

2008-10-05T09:11:00.008-05:00

Another brief overview (in no particular order:). This time our 3 wks in UT.

1. We got to be there for the blessing of JT's niece.

2. Camping! After a few years of promising me that he would indeed go camping with us, JT finally made good on his promise. We went camping with his parents up AF canyon. We had a great time (well JT had a tolerable time and the rest of us had a great time). Other than the odd noises we heard (I was convinced we were going to get eaten, though it really sounded more like a moose, but where do you think the girls get their VIVID imaginations...yep, me!) The girls played in the stream running through our campsite. We made S'mores, went on a hike and ate the best breakfast outside. What could be more fun?!

3. We met up with JT's cousin & her family and went mini-golfing. We also ended up going go cart racing and found something that JT loves to do. Apparently he likes to race around in go carts. It was pretty entertaining to watch. While his cousin & her hubby were trying to block each out, his Dad was beating everyone:).

4. We got to head to the Dinosaur Museum with my sister, SB, and her kids. The kids had a BLAST! They loved exploring everything and making dams & rivers. Big & Lil' M and their cousin, LB, worked together with some of the other kids to make a big dam. And after we, of course, had some ice cream!

5. Lil' M had a birthday party. I know, I know, she was born in December. Having a birthday over the holidays stinks! A lot of people are gone or have family visiting, so trying to get a birthday party in is difficult. So I kept promising that we would have a friend b-day party, but never actually got around to it. So we decided that why not have one in Aug with all her cousins. We had a great time! Gpa Mark set up a huge banner thing borrowed from friends and it became a huge slip n slide. We all had loads of fun with that. In the sister slide between, SB, Cam & myself, Cam won, with me coming in second and SB stuck in third (though she was fully clothed and we were in our swimsuits). The kids had a great time, with just one cousin, SL, ending up with a broken finger, she just chipped the bone (not bad all things considered!) Then it was on to cake & presents. She loved it! Big M is considering holding out for a summer birthday next year:).

6. We also got to go to Seven Peaks (water park), play tennis (JT kept beating me and I'm a horribly sore loser!), ride bikes, visit JT's grandparents, have family dinners, do Big Circle Mountain dancing (which Lil' M LOVED) and just spend time with all of our family. It was an amazing summer for us. The girls swear it was the "best summer EVER"!

SD

2008-10-05T08:42:00.004-05:00

A short recap of our trip to SD this summer.

1. My sister, Cam, came out for her 10 yr reunion and brought little AB along. We got to spend some sister time and I tried to get AB to love me. She settled with giving me the stink-eye most of the time, but I made a little headway before they left!

2. Visiting the SDSU dairy farm. The kids got to see the cows, try to feed them (the cows weren't that interested in coming too close, though a couple did) how they were milked and got to see a cow with a porthole in it's side (they study the cow's stomachs that way).

3. Visiting the SDSU Dairy Bar. We got to see how ice cream and cheese were made and wear fancy hairnets. And of course eat the delicious ice cream!

4. The Fort: The girls found a fort in the shelterbelt that my older brothers had built about 20 years ago for my younger brothers. They were soooooooo excited, they convinced Bampa Won to help them revitalize it. He helped them sturdy it up, rebuilt the ladders and gave them paint. I was in charge of supervising the painting. They worked really hard with a couple of their cousins to have it ready for when all their UT cousins showed up. All the kids spent a lot of time in the fort (which was surrounded by the enchanted forest, the centaurs hunting grounds and the dragon's lair) keeping the trolls at bay.

5. They also all spent a lot of time swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampolines, playing in the sandbox, learning to drive the lawn mower, getting "cooling" rides on the ATV (these were generally given by Bampa at about 9:30 at night...how could I say no?!) and spending every waking moment playing with all their cousins.

6. The girls and I went to the Corn Palace with my mom and enjoyed the corn murals and send postcards off to JT.

7. We caravan-ed out to UT with my sisters. On the way out we stopped at Mt. Rushmore. It was the first time I ever saw the NJ flag... We got to see a video on how it was made and see the faces.

8. On our way through WY we stopped to climb Independence Rock (yes it was REALLY windy) to tire the kids out for the remainder of the trip. We had to climb barefoot as most of us were wearing flip flops. The way up was alright, but the way down was a bit slower because they could see where they were going.

We had loads of fun in our 3 1/2 wks in SD and were so grateful we got to see all my family!

Why I Love My Family

2008-09-19T13:04:00.003-05:00

Although I do love my children and husband dearly, this post refers directly to my siblings (and I love my parents too). As a family, we have no shame. We will do and wear ridiculous things and we find great joy in doing it (or laughing our heads off over it).

This is my dear brother, MJ. He is a teacher (I believe it was Homecoming week. In the midwest we have a different theme for each day of the week; toga day, hat day, plaid day, school color day...you get the idea). And these pictures are brilliant.

Nerd Day

Super Hero Day (Super Fes & his wife, Glitter Girl)

And the Pièce de résistance

70's Day

Sigh

2008-09-10T10:06:00.002-05:00

I sent my six year old to school with only one sock on. *Double Sigh*

Climbing the Campanile

2008-09-07T14:58:00.007-05:00

The town I grew up in (or rather just outside of) is the 6th largest in the state and home to SDSU (no NOT San Diego). Hence all the wonderful adventures we went on. We (along with lots of family) climbed the Campanile. What is this, you ask?! I'm pretty sure it is a bell tower on campus (correct me if I'm wrong, Sar). I think there are 160 stairs. After jogging up the first 5 flights, I came to the sad realization that I was out of shape and could no longer continue jogging, so I huffed and puffed the rest of the way up (yes, I know it's SAD).

Gma T with 12 of the grandkids (only missing 7)

One more...look at the joy on their little faces.

After our arduous hike, we headed over to the Dairy Bar on campus and got free ice cream for our reward (and it's REALLY good ice cream).

L

I

J

Time to catch up...

2008-09-07T14:55:00.004-05:00

The girls and I spent 6 1/2 weeks this summer visiting family. We were in SD for 3 1/2 weeks and UT for 3 weeks. It was the girls' BEST summer ever. I'm going to try to post about some of the highlights (yes, I'm stealing some from my sister's blog, because she's more on top of things than I am).

Things to look forward to:
Climbing the Campanile
Visit to the Farm
The Fort
Independence Rock
Camping
Golfing
Dinosaurs
Mt. Rushmore
Lil' M's Bday party
& lots more!

CRASH, BANG, BOOM!

2008-08-27T09:52:00.003-05:00

I hear lots of crashing noises from upstairs, like things falling. I don't really want to know. You are only supposed to worry when it's quiet, right?!

PS. Lil' M just called down to me, "Mommy, will you come help us test our new trap??" Ummm....

The Game of LIFE

2008-08-24T18:04:00.006-05:00

In an effort to have more family friendly Sundays, we are trying to play more games with the girls. Today we played the game of Life. In an interesting twist, it gave us some insight into how our kids will turn out some day.

At the beginning, we each had to pick a car. Jt picked orange, Lil' M was white (one of her favorite colors, or absence of color, her other fave is black, this goes along with her non-conformist views), Big M switched colors with me mid-game, because she had really wanted to be green and I ended up with red.

As the game progressed, we found that Big M is a bleeding heart. She was going to pick a middle salary instead of the highest because she didn't want to be greedy (on the flip side she was an accountant, who makes big money when someone lands on the "pay taxes" space). We finally convinced her to take the higher salary. She would also try to give us money back when we had to pay taxes, some sort of discount. She was concerned that we couldn't afford it. She also spent a good portion of the time being oblivious. She missed a few stock market turns (forgetting to ask for her $10,000 each time her number was spun...I finally just started giving it to her). She also spent lots of time making sure her money was grouped together properly & nicely stacked and that her side of the board was neat. We spent about half the game saying, "Big M, it's your turn. It's your turn, Big M. Just spin already!!" About halfway through she went through a mid-Life crisis & became a policeman with a lower salary. She was much more comfortable in the lower salary range as the money didn't interest her. She was a bit sad she only had two kids (1 boy, 1 girl) and kept hoping to land on the "adopt twins" space. She made it through Life just behind JT & retired comfortably to Countryside Acres instead of staying in the game with Millionaire Estates.

Lil' M on the other hand was in it for the money. She started out as a salesperson with the $100,000 salary (the highest you can get). She loved getting those pink bills each payday and would grab them right out of my hand (She also loved to trade in her money so she could have MORE $100,000 bills). She was aware of everything and ready to take her money as soon as anyone landed on her spaces. She was also incredibly lucky racking up random prizes as she went along. She was keen to keep adopting kids also. She ended up with two kids as well (1 boy, 1 girl). While she would have liked more kids, she could see the perk of having fewer kids when it came to paying for summer school or college. Midway through she also had a mid-Life crisis & ended up being a travel agent with $70,000 paycut. She was thoroughly disgruntled with her new $30,000 salary. Gone were the pink bills on payday. After finally making it through Life (she was the last one done as she continually spun 1s & 2s), she retired to Countryside Estates (we all thought Jt had the most money).

In the end, Big M won, Lil' M came in 2nd, I was 3rd and Jt was last. So apparently oblivion and a sensitive nature will get you far in life or at least in LIFE!

Directions in the country

2008-07-26T14:21:00.002-05:00

I went to pick my sister up from my brother's house. They live out on a farm and there aren't street names, so my mom wrote directions out for me. A part of the directions read like this, "go to the big white pipe (with a drawing of the pipe) and take a right. Go about 4-5 miles and take a left at the falling down barn." I called my brother on my way there and told him I enjoyed the directions. He said, "Oh did mom say something about the falling down barn??" I said, "Yes." Turns out the falling down barn had been taken down, but luckily there were 10-20 rusted out minivans & trucks at the same corner. Whew! Saved by the junk cars! Love the country...

Flying the Friendly Skies

2008-07-14T10:53:00.003-05:00

We had a 6am flight on Tues to head out to see my parents. Jt dropped us off at the airport and was home & back in bed before we'd even gotten through security. The first flight was pretty tame. Big M was amazing, loving the puzzle, quiz book I gave her. Lil' M was still half asleep so she managed to keep occupied until the end. As we were landing in Cincinnati, Lil' M looked and me and said matter of factly, "We almost died." Me: "No, we didn't." Lil' M: "Yes, we flew right over a lake and we almost died." Me: "No, we didn't." Lil' M: "Yep, we did." End of conversation.

A couple of minutes later as the wheels touched down on the runway.

Lil' M: "We're gonna crash!" Me: "No, we're not." Lil' M: "We're gonna CRASH!" Me: "(sigh) No, we're not." Luckily she only said it loud enough for the people in front & behind her to hear it.

Our layover was pretty short and gave Lil' M a little time to run & jump around. She was not interested in getting on the second plane, but I informed her that in order to get to Grandpa's we'd have to get on another plane. She grudgingly agreed.

This flight was a little tougher for Lil' M (I bought Big M a book in Cincinnati and didn't hear a peep from her until we landed in SD). She rolled around on both seats (we let her have the row to herself), sit up, lay down, sit up, lay down, and repeat. She couldn't get comfy. She wasn't interested in reading, writing, coloring, or watching. Every 10 mins she asked me if we were almost there. As we started to land she was fascinated by the ground. "LOOK mommy, A BARN!!! LOOK, there's ANOTHER BARN! There are so many barns mommy. Why are there so many barns?? Why aren't there very many houses mommy. Why does it look like squares mommy?? (In SD, the land is divided into square miles, so looking down looks like a big patchwork quilt and Big M observed that the ground looked like our rug from FLOR) More barns mommy!!!" All the people around us found it highly entertaining that my kids were entralled by barns and squares. I have true city kids it appears.

My mom was there to pick us up at the airport. Our luggage was waiting for us when we got down from the gate (the perk of small airports!) and we headed to Sam's Club to pick up a few things (including 4 - 50lb bags of dog food). I mentioned to my mom that I wasn't sure how we were going to fit everything as she had brought her Honda Accord to pick us up. Thanks to a nice man in the parking lot of Sam's we managed to fit all 4 bags of dog food, a huge bag of flour and various other groceries, 3 pieces of luggage, 3 carry-ons, 2 kids & 2 adults into the Honda. Never say never!

Once at the homestead, Lil' M headed over to see the dogs (Rocky, Ben, Abby & Bond) & pet Pepper, the cat. Big M wandered around exclaiming, "I can't believe we're really here!" They are currently in heaven.

Why Animals Eat Their Young

2008-07-07T09:29:00.003-05:00

"Klug said filial cannibalism could be a way to root out offspring that take too long to mature and therefore require a little too much parental care—this strategy would conserve the parents' energy for subsequent, faster-developing batches of young."

I guess it's a good thing we are evolved. Children wouldn't make it in the animal world. Far too much care & nurture required. As I pondered why animals eat their young, I thought perhaps it's just part of nature or perhaps there are other reasons. Maybe their offspring were fighting over who got more pancakes or who got more syrup on their pancakes or who sat in so&so's chair or who got more orange juice or so&so is looking at so&so or "she touched me" or "she looked in mirror and I was standing behind her and she made a face at me in the mirror". Who really knows...but my children have been spared from being eaten ONLY because we leave tomorrow to visit my parents & they will have LOTs of cousins to play with (that will be a post on survival of the fittest).

Cement, the new Playdough

2008-07-07T09:06:00.003-05:00

We were at our friends' the other day. The kids were playing, the mom & I were chatting and her husband was filling in cracks on the sidewalk with cement. Their 7 yr old son was fascinated and wanted to try. So his dad helped him mix the cement and let him patch a little himself. The rest of the kids caught wind of this and all wanted a piece of the action. There were no more cracks to fill, but undeterred the kids decided to make a cement sculpture. So on a flipped over bucket, they created their sculpture masterpiece (it was about 4 inches high and unfortunately I do not have a pic of it). Lil' M, ever the non-conformist, struck out on her own and made her very own cement ball. That's right, here's the little gem. She made sure to bring it home with her and it has a special place in her rock box (where it was banished after I caught the girls throwing it around).

Who knew that cement could bring so much joy (and time consuming fun). No more playdough for us. No more sweeping dried up playdough crumbs, finding multicolored pieces wedged in small spaces (one guess who that was) or the dreaded mixing of the colors. No more indoor messes! It is an outside only activity (yes, I may let my kids play with cement, but what kind of parent do you think I am...definitely outside only). No more spending loads of money on new playdough. A mere $9 will get you a 70lb bag of cement mix. All that's needed it a little water and a bit of imagination. So head on over to your nearest hardware store, pick up a bag and let the fun begin!

President Bush

2008-06-29T20:09:00.004-05:00

Lil' M: Where is President Bush?? I want President Bush! I love President Bush! Give me President Bush, Big M!!

Me: ?!?! Lil' M, what are you talking about?!

Big M: She named her car President Bush.

Lil' M: I need President Bush!

We arrived home and got into the house.

Me: Lil' M where is President Bush?

Big M: He's in the car, she's mad at him.

For a nonconformist, Lil' M seems to have joined the masses...

Meet President Bush

Day at the Shore

2008-06-29T20:03:00.004-05:00

We decided a day at the shore was in order. We had a great time and are only a little sunburned (in patches really, apparently applying sunscreen is an art form)!

Dolphins (REALLY)!

Jt with his usual smiling face

Lil' M in fine form

Big M havin' fun

All ready to head home

Donald

2008-06-29T20:01:00.003-05:00

One day jt brought Donald home from work. The girls loved him (if you push his back he talks, and oy, is it annoying!) and have taken to rearranging his limbs dependent on their moods. So here's DONALD!

Ballet Donald (Lil' M was in Ballet class at this point, which she hated. Here she is sharing the pain.)

Hmmm...

High kicks?

Inspired by So You Think You Can Dance

Despondent Donald (sorry I forgot to turn this)

Does this make me look fat?? Nope, just pregnant.

2008-06-18T07:54:00.003-05:00

It's summertime and a week ago it was in the high 90's with a heat index much higher. I decided to wear my new dress to church. It's a little flow-y number. The question, to belt or not to belt? I opted for the no belt look because it was HOT!!

At church, I got a lot of glances and then someone asked me if there was a baby in there (she was incredibly sweet about it though). I said, "Nope, it's just hot". This isn't the first time this has happened (nor will it be the last). If it's not fitted that must mean I'm pregnant. For Pete's sake people, maybe I'm just bloated...

*Sigh*

Please note that I am not pregnant nor do I have any intention of becoming pregnant.

Child of Many Talents

2008-06-16T16:55:00.002-05:00

Lil' M: Mommy, look I can juggle EGGS!

Me: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO, STOP!! (diving toward Lil' M and grabbing the eggs out of her hands) Whew! I'm sorry, sweetie, we don't juggle eggs, why don't you try apples.

(2 mins later)

Lil' M: Look mommy, I'm juggling ONE egg! (I watch helplessly as the poor egg sails through the air. Miraculously it lands in her other hand. Thank goodness we've been working on catching lately.)

Me: Lil' M, thank you for all your help, why don't you go sit with daddy... (and thus ends another lesson in culinary arts)

Old Age & Diseases

2008-06-08T18:40:00.005-05:00

Oh, the afflictions our family is forced to deal with...

Lil' M has just been formally diagnosed with the tragic ican'tdomychoresihavetogotothebathroom-itis. This has been an issue for a few years now (pretty much since I started giving her chores). The minute I ask Lil' M to do something (ie: take something up to her room, empty the dishwasher, vacuum the rug, clean her room, fold the clothes, etc.), she instantly responds in a piercing shriek, "I HAVE TO GO POTTY! AAAAAAAAH!" before dashing up the stairs to the bathroom. Generally by the time she is done she has conveniently forgotten what I have asked her to do and we start all over again. I'm not sure what it is about chores that triggers her need to go to the bathroom (and I mean instantly), but we are going to persevere and someday we hope she will be able to overcome this crippling disease.

Big M also has her own problems. We (Big M, Lil' M, their friend, O & I) went to the park last week to play. After an hour of running around, Big M came to sit by me at the bench (side note: playgrounds are boring for adults. i'm too big for the equipment, so i can't play with the kids and the other big people just sit around talking...BORING!).

She said, "Whew, I'm tired mommy. I'm getting old. I can't run like the little kids (little kids being Lil' M, age 6 and O, age 8)"

I tried not to laugh and said, "Honey, you are 9, you are still pretty young."

"Mommy, I'm much slower now. I was a much faster runner in first grade. I just can't run like I used to."

At this point I glance to the side and see the guy sharing a bench with us doubled over choking on his laughter.

I said, "Sweetie, get back to me in 30 years and we'll talk" and then sent her over to the swings to rest her weary bones.

I can only hope she will make it through the summer without having to resort to a walker to get around...

Slobbishness, Pig-Sty Syndrome

2008-05-16T15:21:00.004-05:00

Where does it come from?? Certainly not from me or jt. So what is it that makes our youngest go to such great lengths to be a slob. She literally goes out of her way to not walk the two steps to her clothes hamper. She spends far more time finding places to stash her dirty clothes (I stumble on to them sometimes weeks later).

Behold...(these are just a very few)

My 30th Birthday Party

2008-05-16T15:14:00.002-05:00

I had a great birthday party with great friends and good cake! The pictures of everyone eating the cake are for my dad. He LOVES to take pictures while everyone is eating (it's a family tradition now), so here's to you DAD!

I'M 30!!!!

2008-05-04T08:09:00.003-05:00

This last Friday, I turned the big 3-0. I had a great birthday. Jt took me for an hour long couples massage (ah, it was so great) and then out for a late dinner. It was fabutasticesome!

I also got an email from my big sister, Sarah, which I'm posting below. One of my favorite presents!

Here it is:

30 Thoughts of KAFW (my initials:)
1) You getting paid not to suck your thumb, and finding you in the closet sucking it anyway.
2) When you took a dive into the back porch in MO and split your head open. I remember going to the doctor and seeing the stiches.
3) Our matching short hair, crazy permed look back in the elementary school days. Remember how exciting it was to have curly hair? Though to see the pictures NOW . . . um, yeah.
4) Having homeroom together (Mrs. Seely) when you were in 6th and I was in 8th.
5) Telling people in said homeroom class that we were double cousins--our mothers were twins and our dads were brothers. Wait a minute. Did I just make that up? Did we just tell people we were twins. Crud, my terrible memory has come to haunt me. I'm still counting it, though, because I know it was one of those. (Note: technically we told people we were cousins and our moms were twins & that's why we looked so much alike. No one ever seemed to catch onto the fact that we had the same last name...we also told people we were twins, though that came later, sometimes we still do.)
6) Your freshman year--you making the cheerleading team and Becca telling Tracy what's-her-bucket off for making you feel bad.
7) Your enviable long hair in high school. I remember oodles of envy over that hair. It was so pretty!
8) Hanging out with the same crowd in high school. Taco John's anyone?
9) Spending time together at Erin Nelson's house, especially my senior year.
10) High school plays together--especially My Fair Lady.
11) Getting blamed for your sneaking out of the house!
12) Candy Nelson thinking me a terribly bad influence on Erin and you were an angel child in her eyes.
13) Being proud of your no fear/hunting girl sort of personality.
14) Your ability of actually looking cute in Wranglers (I didn't think that was possible--still question it, actually, on other people.)
15) Choir together--your soph/my senior year. Mr. Barkus. Still am not sure I understood that man.
16) Your uncanny arm strength from holding that trombone up during marching band.
17) You being the only person I REALLY missed when I left for BYU.
18) Complaining together about the hideous bridesmaid dresses Becca made us wear (but really, were mine any better? C'mon!)
19) Driving out to Becca's wedding in the Larson/Fesler caravan.
20) Your going from heat exhaustion in AZ in May to crazy cold Alaska canneries for the summer.
21) The anticipation of rooming together at BYU your frosh year. I know, I know. That didn't happen.
22) Your crazy fast engagement to JT-- and my gratitude that you were way more mature than the average freshman, cause I knew you could handle it.
23) Being so happy for you at MK's birth, and being so bummed that I missed it b/c I was AZ for Thanksgiving. I could not WAIT to get back and see that little woman.
24) Missing you like crazy when you moved to NYC, but enjoying coming to visit and soooooo grateful that I had someone who knew all the ropes in the city so I didn't feel like such a tourist.
25) Visiting you a few weeks after 9/11, and spending that time with you there.
26) Being so thrilled when you were able to come visit us in AZ right for Kye's blessing and in UT just after Isaac's birth.
27) Seeing your strength as a person--knowing that whatever you put your mind to, will happen when the time is right.
28) Watching you as a mother--I am sooooooo thankful that you and Becca reach all the milestones before me because then I can ask you if it's normal for Lucy to go through these stages.
29) Visiting you and Josh and the girls in January and stacking cups. I still haven't gotten those for my kids, but I will. It was so fun.
30) Staying in touch and knowing that no matter how many weeks it has been since we have talked, we can count on each other for a listening ear and sympathetic heart.

I LOVE YOU! HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY!

Thanks, Sarah! I love you too!

Visit from the Grandparents

2008-05-04T08:06:00.002-05:00

Jt's parents were able to come visit a couple of weeks ago. It was gorgeous (70's and sunny) all week long. We planted flowers, got the garage cleaned (thanks, Mark!) and had a great time. We even made it to the shore for a little sun & sand (and wind:).

My Baby's Growin' Up

2008-04-23T07:26:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late posting this milestone event in lil' M's young life, so you'll get two milestones at once. Last week whilst eating a candy necklace, lil' M lost her first tooth. After a short, fruitless search for it, it was determined that it when down with the candy. I told her this too shall pass. So we had to make do with a drawing of the tooth and a letter to her tooth fairy (Percy) with an explanation. Percy completely understood that these things happen and graciously left lil' M a dollar.

Yesterday lil' M was enjoying her Italian ice when her tooth went straight forward and she realized it was hanging by a thread. So she reached in and pulled it out. Then she ran up smiling big to show me her new hole and I almost threw up when I saw the blood in her mouth. Ew, gross! I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Even writing about it is making me nauseous. Anyhoo, she was thrilled and set up her doll house so that Percy could use it when she came for her visit. She also left a letter (big M helped her write it with some stellar cursive) with her tooth, which Percy was kind enough to answer. So now lil' M has a sweet little gap in her bottom teeth.

Committed

2008-04-23T07:17:00.003-05:00

Oy, always too much going on and not enough time to blog (especially now it's Spring and beautiful out!)

A couple of weeks ago, I decided (after a nudge from my husband, ie. dear your hair is drab, are you going to get it cut?) to get my hair cut. I went to jt's stylist, Johnny, and let him have his way with me. I love the new haircut and have possibly found a hair stylist I can stick with. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am unable to stick with one person when it comes to my hair. Either, I hate how it looks after about 35 secs or they talk too much or keep telling me to dye my hair because I'm too young to have gray hair (it's NOT gray, it's SILVER!), etc. Johnny told me he loved my natural highlights and that I had great eyebrows. Flattery will get you everywhere people. I'm devoted for life!

The earth is shaking...

2008-04-10T18:41:00.013-05:00

...well maybe not, but this will be my first blog here ever...and most likely my last for a while. I never seem to have time to do the blog thing, so I rely on K to keep the world up to date on Williams-goings-ons. M&M went with daddy to work last weekend and were part of J.McLaughlin's first kid shoot. A small "test" affair only, we all had some fun. (Most of the fun was behind the scenes, particularly when little M got a hold of the make-up and did some corrective design on our make-up artist.) Big M was most interested in making sure the fan hit her hair just right, releasing her inner diva. So enjoy a little M&M mugging...which my kids have very little problem doing.

Et voila! Signing off for now. -J

EASTER

2008-03-23T17:16:00.003-05:00

The girls enjoyed a visit from the Easter Bunny (we had to let little M know that the Easter bunny doesn't take requests like Santa does).

This was the best we could get from little M (and only with the threat of not letting her eat her ice cream until we got at least one picture).

Easter baskets

Teeny, tiny littlest pets (one of her other ones is still wedged in one of the jets in our jacuzzi tub...)

Awesome morning pic

She's a true chocoholic

The Day before Easter

2008-03-23T17:08:00.004-05:00

and all through the house...

We had some friends over for egg dyeing and a subsequent egg hunt. The kids all had lots of fun and some delicious hard boiled eggs.

The Start

The Middle

The END

Anything Goes

2008-03-23T17:06:00.001-05:00

Yes I let my kids out of the house in pretty much anything. This is the outfit little M came down in for dance.

The Visit & NYE

2008-02-02T09:24:00.001-05:00

Well I just realized that any pictures of my parents visit after Christmas are on their camera in SD. So Mom & Dad, when you read this, please send some pics to me! We took my parents to Princeton (so Josh could visit a company store) and to see the town. It's a great town to visit. We then headed to Lambertville, home of antique stores & galleries. It was a lot of fun and pretty. We took some pics along the Delaware by the bridge that crosses over to PA. The girls were thoroughly worn out by the time we headed home.