Living on the Edge

We are slowly expanding the kittens' territory in our home as they grow more accustomed to their surroundings. They are successfully using the litter box (yeah!) and know where their food and water are. Today we gave them access to the entire upstairs hallway, half of the stairs down to the main level, and the entire playroom (in addition to the laundry room which is their home base). You'd think two playful little kitties would be busy exploring, right? Nope. They spent their time curled up at the gate--right at the end of their boundary. Funny how we seem to do the same thing--instead of enjoying all the blessings we have, we live on our border admiring everything we don't.

That's It?

The upper tooth next to Ryan's left front tooth has been loose for months. I mean m-o-n-t-h-s. The problem has been that he grinds his teeth, and this tooth had been pretty well ground. Finally I made a dentist appointment to have it taken out (at the dentist's suggestion) tomorrow. This evening, Ryan took matters into his own hands and covered a pair of Kevin's pliers with some gauze. It didn't take long for it to finally pop out, much to our relief. Now, as I said, this tooth had been pretty ground down, so I knew there wasn't much left of it, but was a little shocked (and sickened) at how bad it was--the picture really doesn't do it justice. Once he gets a few more permanent teeth we'll be investing in a night guard! But I'm wondering if the tooth fairy has to leave as much when there's so little left?

Our Family has Grown by 8 Feet, er, paws...

To further celebrate the Valentine's holiday we decided to share our family's love with two new little kittens. Introducing Midnight and Bella, a brother and sister we adopted today (for free thanks to Craigslist). They are 7 weeks old (born Christmas night), and are as sweet as can be. The kids are over-the-moon excited about our new additions. I've had to shoo them out of the laundry room several times to allow the babies time to sleep. Tomorrow we'll begin s-l-o-w-l-y expanding their territory to insure they can find their way back to their food and litterbox. It's too early to comment on personalities yet, but so far they seem to be playful and cuddly.

Where's the Romance?

There was a time that Valentine's day was about love and romance with my husband. But that was a while ago. Not that I don't absolutely adore and love my hubby, we make an effort to show it to each other throughout the year. So Valentine's day has become more about the kids. This year was no different. The kids got cards and candy and cute outfits to celebrate the day. We spent the afternoon at a double-header basketball game (Ryan's team won both games!), and then playing at the playground afterwards. We had an enjoyable dinner at McAllister's Deli, and then made it home in time to watch Space Buddies (a Valentine's gift). After the kids went to bed, Kevin, Roger & I spent the evening laughing thanks to several specials on Comedy Central. All in all a great day.

Pappy in Da House

This weekend looks like it will be a busy one with three (3!) basketball games for Ryan, Valentine's Day, and a visit from Pappy. Tonight's game is a make-up game from a few weeks ago, and is a bit of a departure from our normal Friday routine of pizza and a family movie. We still had pizza (at Cici's instead of at home), but our evening entertainment consisted of watching 8 & 9 year old boys playing their hearts out. Pappy got here this afternoon and got to come with us and be videographer. I'm sure it brought back lots of memories of watching Kevin play. Sadly, our team was defeated, but it was a close and exciting game.

Spring is Coming...

One of my earliest memories of spring centers around my parents singing the "Spring is Coming" song. I think it's one that my mom used as a second grade teacher? But as the winter would draw to a close we would begin singing:
Spring is coming
Spring is coming
How do you think I know?
The ______ is getting ________
I know it must be so.
Fill in the blanks in as many ways as you can imagine: The grass is getting greener; the days are getting longer; the weather's getting warmer; the flowers are poking through the ground; the birds are building nests; and on, and on. We would all sing the song and add as many verses as we could think of.
I sing the song with my children now, but we get to begin singing it much earlier in the year. It came to my mind today as I noticed that the pear trees in front of our house are beginning to bud.











Oh, and on an unrelated note, thanks to this project I've been playing with my camera a bit more. While experimenting with the macro mode, I shot these pictures of my rosemary beginning to bloom. I love the way this one came out!











And for those of you looking for some kid pics, here's Ryan as he heads over to Brandon's for a little catch. Also spring-related in that he's wearing shorts and a T-shirt. In February. Love it!









Oh! And I have now made more posts this year than I did the entire year of 2007!

Something Special

What is it about having breakfast for dinner that tastes so good? Is it because the flavors are unexpected at that time of day? Or maybe because we feel like we're getting away with eating something we shouldn't? Maybe it's because it's so easy to clean up compared to many dinners? Or perhaps if we've thought ahead and tripled (or quadrupled) the batch of pancakes it's nice knowing that there will be a yummy treat on a school morning, a deviation from the normal cereal and yogurt? I have no idea what it is, maybe a combination of all of these. But tonight, while Kevin was traveling, the kids and I feasted on pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and fresh strawberries & kiwi. Delicious at any time of the day.

Whew!

The past week or so has been crazy with all the school-related things going on:
1. Field Trip (3rd grade)
2. Class Pictures
3. Book Report Project (3rd grade)
4. 100th Day of School
5. Dalmation Day (Kindergarten)
6. Teddy Bear Parade (Kindergarten-required making a 'float')
7. Valentine's Day (all 3--buy and write Valentines)
8. Jump for the Heart (need to raise $$ for PE)
9. Yearbook pages need to be completed (I'm in charge of Ryan's)
10. Getting ready for the Bookfair
11. Working on Kindergarten scrapbooks (I'm doing at least 10 of them for different students in the girls' classes)
Definitely busier than usual, because all of this needs to be combined with:
1. Regular, on-going homework assignments
2. Lots of us getting sick
3. Basketball
Fortunately after today things should settle down a bit into just normal activities and assignments(I hope!).

Along those lines, I went to the Teddy Bear Parade this afternoon to take pictures (for those Kindergarten scrapbooks), and left with a mixture of emotions. My idea of decorating a shoebox to make a float is to provide basic assistance and supplies, and let the girls decorate it the way they want. Our floats were cute, but very basic--decorated with paper, stickers and glitter glue. But about half of the kids' floats were a little over the top--wheel assemblies, elaborate papier mache structures, tons of decorations. Simply put, obviously done by the parents, not the kids. So I felt a little guilty that I had done so little and that my girls' floats were so simple by comparison, a little perturbed that parents were doing their children's homework assignments, and a little proud that I allowed my children to do it themselves.

A Little Wilhelm?

Tonight at dinner we were eating steak (yum!). All the kids seemed to be enjoying it. Olivia then commented that she must have forgotten to get herself a napkin, so she got up to get one from the sideboard. No one thought anything more of it.

An hour or so later while cleaning up the kitchen, I noticed a napkin on the floor. Under Olivia's seat. And I picked it up and discovered a bunch of chewed up, spit out steak. Wadded up in the napkin. That she conveniently dropped on the floor...

I burst out laughing as I immediately remembered the stories my mom used to tell about hiding vegetables in the table leg when she was a child (or was that Aunt Donna?). I've got to hand it to the child--she is creative. Sneaky, but creative.

Dalmation Day

In recent years it has become a popular thing to celebrate the 100th Day of School in the elementary schools. The children practice counting each day, and on the 100th day there is a party of sorts. Each student brings in 100 of some small item. They get to make a snack bag counting out 10 of 10 different items (like tiny pretzels, goldfish pieces of cereal, raisins, etc.). They do 10 of 10 different activities (like jumping jacks, hula hoops, steps, etc.). It's all about 100. Our school is no different. HOWEVER, in the Kindergarten classes, they take it one step further. And on the 101st Day of School, they celebrate Dalmation Day--complete with an appearance of Cruella Deville. I forgot about this until Kevin reminded me at 7:30 p.m. last night. Since they're supposed to dress up in honor of the day, I frantically made 2 spotted T-shirts for them to wear (this is the stuff they don't tell you about with twins). Of course I got double the excitement when they saw their shirts this morning.

Not Easily Impressed

I made homemade applesauce today. It was delicious. I peeled, cored and quartered twenty (TWENTY!) apples. Simmered them in a little water and added pie seasoning--no extra sugar. The kids enjoyed the applesauce, but when I showed them that I peeled (almost) all the apples in one long strip, they weren't impressed! I was impressed. So impressed I took a picture to prove it.

The Groundhog Was Wrong

This week weather-forecasting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, and proclaimed another six weeks of winter. Perhaps we need another groundhog to predict things down here, because today is downright balmy. It's 67 degrees--feels warmer outside in the sun than it does in my house. The girls are on their scooters and the boys are playing basketball. The buds on our pear trees are getting plumper in the past two days. I'm still working on cleaning around this joint--didn't want to overdo things yesterday. But I've got at least one window in every room open and the smell of fresh air in this house is like heaven.

Goodbye Germs

Sick of sick around this house. It's in the upper 50s and I'm letting in fresh air. Cleaning everything I can with Clorox. Get these germs out of here before anyone else gets sick!

We're All Sick

No pictures today. Ryan was up all last night throwing up. My cold is worse. The girls went to school, thank goodness. Just exhausted.

Snow Day?

There are so many things to say about these pictures, not sure where to start. First, I know, more than one picture. Oh well. My blog. My rules! :)
1. North Carolina is even more cautious than Virginia and Maryland when it comes to snow days. We have less than an inch. Possibly less than half an inch. But no school!

2. The kids practically never see snow, so even this tiny amount is thoroughly exciting.

3. They started pestering us about going outside to play in the snow at 7:22 a.m.

4. When you don't get snow where you live, you don't invest in things like snow suits or boots each year. Last time we bought this stuff was in 2006. Looks like Ryan's grown a bit...

5. It does not require much snow for kids to have a great time! Nor does it require expensive snow toys. Barbara's driveway had a thin coating of snow with a nice layer of ice underneath. Made for great "sledding" with cardboard boxes and plastic lids.

















6. If your children go sledding in a Pamper's box, you might be a redneck... :)

Sledding -- NC-Style

Some Things Never Change

When I was a kid and I stayed home from school because I was sick, I would spend the day watching TV: cartoons in the early morning followed by a healthy dose of game shows. The afternoons always stunk until Captain Chesapeake came on around 2 p.m. But while the TV programming has changed for kids now, some parts of staying home are the same. Moms encouraging extra handwashing, extra liquid consumption and extra rest. Children enjoying a day home with mom with some extra attention and special privelages. Like getting to eat meals from a tray in front of the TV. That still may be the best part. Katy sure thinks so. Makes me miss my mom when I'm feeling sick!

My Girl

I know I've commented about this before, but I'm always struck when I see Livvy doing things that are so much like me. Perhaps it's because we are usually saying she's so much like Kevin. As I was editing pictures, I glanced down and saw that she had cleared the magnetic responsibility chart and was organizing all the little magnets. And then she made a chart to show how many we had of each symbol. Right up my alley. That's my girl.

SuperBowl XLIII

I remember a time when our kids would be in bed way before halftime of our SuperBowl parties. Not anymore. We had 6 families over to watch this year: 17 kids. And in preparation I spent a fair amount of time cutting apart 3-D glasses in anticipation of the half-time commercials. Kevin set up an "official" Fiki Football playing field on one of my old scrapbook tables. We all had fun playing - especially dads vs. older boys! So much fun to spend time with good friends eating good food and watching a little football. Just wish the game was on a Saturday night.

Sleepovers

When you're a kid, is there anything better than having a sleepover with your friends? Sydney Huntley is the girls' best friend, despite being 2 years older than them. They had so much fun last night and the giggling didn't last much past 8:30. A good night for all of us. I think their favorite part is the morning since they don't have to wait until 10 a.m. to play together!

Undecided

I'm not sure which picture I'm going to use for today, because both are fairly defining for how different family members spent their time. Since it's my blog, I can decide to adjust the rules to suit my needs, so maybe it'll be a 2-picture day (although I've taken more like 75!).

One of my favorite parts of school was going on field trips, and my kids feel the same. Today I got to accompany Ryan on a trip to Historic Latta Plantation. We learned so much about plantation life from our gracious tour guide (who reminded me a LOT of a blonde Alyson Hannigan in American Pie). I can not imagine what it must have been like to live during those times. Ryan was particularly grossed out by the fact that once a child turned 6, he or she was responsible for emptying and cleaning the family's chamberpots each morning! We got to tour the house, kitchen house, slave quarters, and grounds. Ryan got to make a beeswax candle. But the best part for him was getting to go home with me and get home an hour before his sisters. Gotta love those priorities!











When we got home I discovered that Kevin's work load was on the low side today so inbetween calls he painted the dining room! I had done all the taping yesterday, but was amazed that he got all the walls and ceiling done already. I like how the color stands out against our main downstairs color.

Decisions, Decisions

I maintain that the hardest part of painting is figuring out which color a room should be. Kevin (the painter) does not agree. However, since Kevin is in the mood to do painting, and since this only seems to happen during the end of January/beginning of February, I'm picking out paint colors. And he really does seem to enjoy the project--it's totally his idea, afterall! I find with him I get way more accomplished around here by not nagging. I may have to wait a year or two (or 3) to get pictures hung, but once he's in the mood, he'll hang pictures (or paint, or build shelves, etc.) all day, for several days and he'll do a really good job of it. And I get to learn the virtue of patience. Totally worth the wait.

Apparently, I Rock.

I felt like dinner tonight was one of my cop-out meals. The kind that just gets thrown together without any kind of recipe. After all, it was just taco night. Brown some ground beef, throw in a seasoning packet and some water, warm up some tortillas, cut up some tomato and avocado, shred a little cheese, heat up a can of corn, slice a few apples. Voila! It would seem that my children felt otherwise. About midway through dinner, Katy commented "Mommy, this is the best dinner. You are the best cooker." Huh. Maybe I need to keep it simple more often.

Why We're in NC

Kevin used to spend over 2 1/2 hours every day commuting to and from work when we were in northern Virginia. He would leave around 7 in the morning and get home around 6 in the evening. Our kids go to bed at 7, so that left virtually no time with their father. Now he takes them to the bus stop several mornings a week, and comes down for a little break when they first get home from school. And barring any conference calls, he's "home" by 5:00 every night. Add to this that he now has a large, quiet office in the trees with a treadclimber, TV and full bathroom just steps from his desk (not to mention a comfy bed to take those long phone calls from). Not a bad gig.

Love Notes

Who wouldn't melt if they found this while going through their daughter's "Home Folder" after school:











Translation for those not used to deciphering kindergartenese: "Dear Mom, I miss you. I love you. I really miss you. Dear Olivia"

Morning Routine

The kids have to leave for the bus stop by 6:50 in the mornings, which can make for a bit of a rush. To ease the routine, we pick out clothes the night before and make sure backpacks are packed and ready to go. We like them to sleep as late as possible, so their alarms go off at 6:13 (don't ask, I have no idea how that time was decided!). They get dressed and head straight downstairs for breakfast. Most mornings its cereal, but sometimes we have pancakes left from the weekend, and tomorrow we'll have homemade banana bread--yum! While they work on eating, I pack their lunches. We usually finish at the same time and then I fix hair while they put on shoes and jackets and lip balm. There's not much time built in for extras, but 97% of the time we run like a well-oiled machine.

Getting Organized

A few nights ago Kevin & I were watching a program on HGTV about selling your house. No, we're not planning on moving! Just like watching the shows. Anyway, the staging professional was organizing the pantry, and when she was done I was reminded how much I like having my own pantry nice and neat. Sadly it has gotten sort of sloppy since the last time I cleaned it out. I was inspired--after all, why should your home only look nice and neat and organized when you're trying to sell it? That's how I want it to look while I'm living there! So while Kevin painted our powder room, I worked on cleaning up the pantry. My next big project is rearranging the kitchen cabinets--now that we've lived here over 2 years I have a much better idea of how I work in this kitchen and some things need to get moved around.

Childhood Revisited

Having children has a way of bringing vivid memories of your own childhood crashing back to you. Sometimes, like when they're crying because a friend has been mean to them, it can be heart-wrenching. Other times it's just amusing. Like today, for instance, as Olivia decided that she no longer needs my help getting bandaids down from the cabinet. I can't remember how many times I climbed onto counters when I was a kid (still have to sometimes!). Guess it's time to invest in stock in bandage manufacturers since I won't be able to control access to them as easily now...

Mr. Fixit

After visiting Mom & Dad P over the Christmas holidays and seeing their beautiful new blinds, Kevin was inspired to get wooden blinds to cover our front downstairs windows. We decided on a dark cherry finish with black twill tapes and they arrived this afternoon! I heard Kevin using the drill downstairs, but figured I had plenty of time to get down there and snap a picture--after all he had to hang them in four windows. However less than 30 minutes after he had started when I finally showed up with my camera, he was already done and cleaning up! That is one handy man I'm married to--and he was willing to humor me and pose by one of the finished windows. I'm a lucky girl. Isn't it funny how little things like that can hit you sometimes and just fill your heart with love?

Bubbly Bathing Beauties

While driving home yesterday the girls begged to have a bubble bath that afternoon. They had just been bathed that morning, and with the way they battle dry skin in the winter I didn't want them to have two in one day. I promised them that they could have a long, "play" bubble bath tomorrow which seemed to satisfy them. Almost as soon as they walked through the door from school this afternoon they were reminding me about their bubble bath. Seemed like a great opportunity for today's picture. Love that natural light--it makes them look so beautifully rosy. Not that they need much help. Hopefully they won't be too mortified by this picture in later years--I think it is simply perfect--exactly who they are right now.