If I remember how to add I guess this makes post 100!!!! And, it is really Jan 12, 2010...that shows how long ago I began the original post

So what have we been up to lately?? A little bit of everything. I had such high hopes for this blog when I began, but lately I have really slacked on it. Turns out the busier life gets, the less time you have to blog about it. My main objective was to use this blog as a type of "scrapbook" to someday be able to reflect on the precious youth of my kiddos with a few random thoughts from my own average life added in here and there. You know, not all of us can have our own reality show to highlight our kids cuteness, or to impose our vast amount of knowledge about anything and everything onto the world. Therefore, we have to resort to blogging :)

I know it is 2010, but I would really like to catch up on some highlight moments for me and the fam during 2009. One of my many resolutions is to be better about blogging. I really do cherish all the little things I have been able to record about the girls. Most are things I would have forgotten already if it weren't for random pictures or these blog posts. We tend to remember the big events in life on our own, but those things are few and far between in most normal lives. Everyday things are what matter the most! They are what makes us who we are. So, here are to all the little things in life! I pray that you find as much enjoyment in those things as I do! Welcome 2010! We look forward to the laughter & tears you hold in store!

"Julie & Julia"

I can't wait to see this movie! One of my fav's, Amy Adams, plays food blog/book author Julie Powell, who prepares all 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." She blogs about her journey as she goes.

I decided to do a google search on Julie Powell. Here are her blogs (warning: girl likes to drop the f-bomb quite a bit)...

This one chronicals the Julia Project which began August 2002:

http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/2002/08/25.html

Here is the last blog entry on the project. She posted it the day after Julia Child died at the age of 91.

http://blogs.salon.com/0001399/

This is her more recent blog:

http://juliepowell.blogspot.com/


Could you imagine doing a blog project/book & it turning into a film starring Meryl Streep?

As an additional thought...

Wonder if Julia ever cooked in this ensemble??

She Couldn't Hurt a Fly...

We all know the expression, but did you know it was about me? It is true...I have a fly swatter, but I am too afraid to use it. I instead take them as pets, and allow them to keep me up at 2 am. ARGH! They are nasty, annoying little pests, but I can't bring myself to kill them. What is wrong with me? Ella has a book called Hi Fly Guy! Cute book, but I think it is my biography. Just my randomness for the evening. I get a little delirious about midnight.

What kind of techie monsters are we creating???

Addie was having an absolute meltdown while we were trying to zoom through Kroger tonight on a quick shopping trip. This meltdown was merited by the fact that we had been in church for a total of 5 hrs today, she had no nap, and it was 8:30 at night. I found myself giving her my iPhone to console her. There is an app on there called Moo Box (designed for toddlers...shows pics of animals and you touch it to hear the animal sound) that she loves. Well she got tired of that quick so we moved on to the "Dress Chicka" app.

(Side-note: I am quiet impressed with how well a two-year old can navigate this iPhone. Got to hand it to Apple, they really did make this user-friendly enough that a toddler could use it :)

Well Chicka made her happy for about a minute so then we switch to Caillou on YouTube...until she starts screaming, "No mommy! Tay Swift mommy! I want Taylor Swift!" So in the middle of checkout I find myself having a conversation with my two (going on 10 year-old) that goes something like this, "Okay honey. If you will sit down in the cart I will find you some Taylor Swift on the iPhone. Just sit down & I will look it up on YouTube. YouTube isn't loading right now for some reason. I'm sorry. Mommy will keep trying.........(screams continue.]"

I have to imagine that anyone within earshot was looking at me like I was crazy. She is a toddler for goodness sakes...she shouldn't even know who Taylor Swift is for one, but the fact that she already knows the iPhone is capable of producing Taylor Swift anytime she wants is crazy as well. And, equally as crazy to many folks is the fact that I would actually let a two-year old play with an iPhone/listen to Taylor Swift obsessively in the middle of a grocery store. I have to admit that even I think I am crazy.

It amazes me how our kids (and when I say our I mean my own) are now programmed to think everything should be available to them at the drop of a hat. They are definitely products of the 21st century. Technology has done this to them, but in all actuality I have done this to them. I have to take full responsibility for letting the technology seep into every ounce of our being. We seem to exist for this stuff, and that is horrible to admit.

A familiar preschool TV jingle pops into my head as I type this, "On Demand. Or on TV. Day or night, and online too. Sprout is always here...for you." Wow, that is a little sad don't you think? Should toddler TV really be available 24/7? I remember growing up if you didn't catch your kiddie TV before eight or nine in the morning you were darn near out of luck. Wow, what ever did we do without 24/7 access? We played outside or used our imagination, of course. Well, either that or we got in a few extra TV minutes by watching Price is Right.

You know, I actually tried to get my kids to watch Price is Right with me the other day in memory of the good-ole days....we got through one pricing game before it was, "Mommy this is boring. I want to watch Dora." Wow, it made me really sad. I could watch it straight through to the showcase showdown and still be begging for more when the hour was up. But, long gone are the days of finding satisfaction in a show like that. Not with the vast choices of today. With the push of your remote, click of the mouse, or touch of the iPhone you are now plugged in to kiddie entertainment mega land.

I'm not saying these technologies are a bad thing. Quite the opposite. But, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And, the overuse that I am seeing in my own family is weighing heavy on my mind as I type this at midnight. I am scared that the, 'I want it, and I want it now!' attitude will shift from technology into a larger more worrisome scale in the future. If my children use that philosophy in every aspect of their lives we will surely have issues...large obnoxious issues...and even larger credit card bills at that. Furthermore, these are issues that will surely corrode their minds, hearts, and souls.

I want to make change, and what better time than now? I want to get TV, computer, and iPhone time down to 1 hr a day max. You think I can do it? Well, I am sure it won't be easy, but I am willing to try for the sake of my kids. I want to replace all that freed up time with more books, imagination, fresh air, and sunshine. I hope I can do it. I want to! Oh and by the way when I say I, I really mean we. No way could I do all this alone. But, since I am typing these thoughts as my hubby snoozes I haven't had time to go over this new revelation with him. So until that point I don't feel right changing the I's to We's :)

BTW...Sorry for the long, long rant. This is how I get things off my mind.

Product Plug

I'm loving these nifty little 3-in-1 laundry sheets. Spring Oasis smells oh so good. Who doesn't like the idea of simplifying the laundry task?? And, I am extremely happy to get rid of all the icky, sticky detergent mess that would ooze down the side of the bottle & cap as I tried to pour it in the washer. Best part...there was a $2 off coupon in the Sunday paper so I got 20 sheets for $3.64. They also have $1 coupons on their website. http://www.purex.com/purex-3-in-1/product

Prayer Request

This sweet precious soul went to be with angels on May 11 . I have followed her blog for awhile now. Please keep her family in your prayers, and be sure to give your own kids an extra hug today. I couldn't imagine the pain of losing a child. It has to be the worst pain ever. I feel so blessed to have two healthy, happy children and pray for those whose children are not.

Kayleigh's story will be featured on The Doctors today (May 13).

http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

Bubble Bath Fun

Nothing like a bubble bath in the jet tub for an hour of fun! It is a money saver too. Just a couple of capfuls combined with the jets for a result of more bubbles than you could have dreamed of.

Here's my little pirate. ARRRGH!


My little Whig.

Bubbles=Happiness

Addie decided to start a bubble fight by knocking Ella's "hat" off.

Pirates do not take that kind of harassment without a fight. And, thus the great 'Bubble War of 2009' began. Pirates vs. Whigs...the war rages on.

Ever seen a McDonalds worker this fancy?

Pretty sure this next photo breaks plenty of health code violations. This McDonalds would be shut down I am afraid. Although, she would be graded 100% for cuteness, I am afraid there would be a big fat 0% in her store window due to live animals on the griddle.

Our fancy upper-class posing :)

Our action pose...Can you tell she is saying, "Grrr?"

Baby girl loves dresses, and loves dogs...when they are stuffed...or on a chain. As long as they are at a comfortable distance she loves dogs. Get to close to her....and that is another story.

My little photog!

This post is to satisfy Ella. She is mad at me, because she asked me to put the pictures she took of her animals on my blog. Thanks for understanding! This is going to make a 4 year-old very happy :)

She was hilarious taking these pictures. I was in here listening to her as I typed on the computer. It is funny how you hear yourself in your child's voice at times. She was telling her bears, "Okay now sit like this. Now you turn this way. Okay, stop being goofy. Okay, that looks good! Cheese. Oh that is going to be so cute."

Feeling the Mothers Day love :)

Ella waited a week (with much anticipation) for Mothers Day. They made adorable picture frames at school for all the mommies. They were supposed to make them on Monday, but Ella was out on Monday because I was sick. She worried herself sick because she didn't get to go to school to make my Momma's Day surprise. I convinced her they would let her make it up on Wednesday. I was sick Wednesday as well so Matt took Ella to school. When he picked her up he asked her what they had done at school that day. She quickly responded (rather sneeky), "Nothing!". Matt told her they had to have done something that day. She then said, "Well, we did something, but I can't tell you it is a secret." When they got home Ella informed me that I could not open her backpack, because my mommas day surprise was in there. "No peeking," she said. Everytime I would ask her what my surprise was she always responded with, "It's a surprise. I can't tell you." She was very good at keeping her secret.

From Wednesday on the anticipation built for her. Everyday she would tell me that on Momma's Day she was going to get up really early and sneak into my room with my present and yell, "Happy Momma's Day!" Then she said they were going to take me out to a "menu" restaurant (guess no McDonalds for us) and then we were going to come home and that I was supposed to clean the house and be extra nice to everyone all day LOL! I think she got those last two a little reversed, but I thought it was cute.

Mothers Day didn't turn out quite like Ella had planned, but I still feel blessed just the same. Saturday night I got terribly ill with this darn stomach bug I have been fighting for 2 weeks. So needless to say I was in bed all Sunday and missed our celebrations. But, Ella rushed into my room bright and early yelling, "Daddy, daddy, it's momma's day! Get the presents." Unfortunately, daddy wasn't here at the time, because he was making a run to Krogers at 6:30 am for my Mothers Day breakfast, lunch, and dinner of ginger ale & popsicles. Ella could hardly wait for daddy to get back so they could give me my gifts & cards.

I thought it was sweet that Matt took the girls out Saturday so that they could pick out exactly what they wanted me to have. Very brave for him to take both out to the mall alone! Apparently, Ella wanted to get me some pretty "awesome" mismatched jewelry. Luckily, Matt was able to steer her in the right direction on that. Shopping trips with our girls are just not complete without a little embarrassment. On this occasion Addie decided to shoplift a pair of earrings. At least the store was busy and Matt was able to place them back in their home quietly. Ella then told Matt that she knew exactly what I wanted for Mothers Day. So they drove to Target where she picked out the "perfect" tumblers. Afterall, she told Matt cups are exactly what I said I wanted for Mothers Day. LOL!

They were the best gifts in the world, because they were picked out with love :)

I must have been good this year cause I got not 1, not 2, but 4 of these bad boys. Sweet!!!

My new necklace and bracelet are really pretty. But, I told Matt I will have to go buy a new top to match them hehe :)

I'm Thinkin Arby's...

...new Mandarin Peach Iced FruiTea. Definitely the summer drink of choice :) They have Passion Fruit too so I might have to try that next. They have a couple of diet versions, but you know me diet takes all the fun out of it :)

Making Time for Friends

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Be a Better Mom - Make Time for Your Friends

Posted using ShareThis

Not that this article has anything new, but I thought it was a good one just the same :)

My favorite two tips were trading off with the spouse once a month, and starting a club...I have friends that do book clubs, and that has always sounded like the neatest thing to me. Guess I need to learn to enjoy reading first.

Weird things kids (or maybe just my kids) find amusing.

Why do my children have a sudden obsession with licking each other on the face? Now that is just plain gross! Not to mention the embarrassment factor when they do it in public. They think it is the most hilarious thing ever. Are we dogs and cats all the sudden?

Also, Addie will not give up her obsession with lotion, shampoo, and body wash. I am keeping Johnson & Johnson in business lately. I walked out of the bathroom for two seconds at bathtime, and when I came back in the entire bottle of shampoo had been emptied into the bath water. But, at least this time the soap was only in the tub. Beats walking in the bathroom to find the entire bottle of pink, princess bath bubbles covering the floor. In her defense, I guess she feels the constant need to disinfect herself from the licking. UGH!

Life Lesson #1847

Always check the top of the car before driving away. Otherwise, your yummy Easter dinner casserole may end up splattered all over the lane. Neighborhood potluck anyone? ;)

There is a lasting reminder of this day on the top of my car. Casserole dishes leave a nice, long scratch as they fall off and hit the ground.

Say something besides, 'I want world peace" and be prepared to get slammed.

http://tv.msn.com/miss-california-controversy/?GT1=28103

Apparently, we live in a world of free speech, but only when we say what the other guy wants to hear. Otherwise, be prepared to be called the b-word and ridiculed as narrow-minded. Thanks Perez Hilton! This is a very heated, political question Perez decided to ask. Then when she answers by her own beliefs he has the nerve to say, 'That is not the kind of woman I want to be Miss USA. There is a difference between running for President and being a beauty queen....Miss USA should represent all Americans." Oh really, Perez? Then why did YOU ask her a question straight out of a presidential debate if you did not want a political answer? Is it because you assumed that being Ms. California she would hold the same values as yourself? And, as far as representation goes...there is no possible answer that would represent "All Americans" as you claim. Someone is going to have to be on the other side. Why can't everyone just be entitled to their own opinion?

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

This is pretty fun to do! I only included 5 of my 10 'look-alikes'. The most embarrassing is when James Spader came up LOL! Never knew I looked so much like a dude. Try your own for a good laugh!!

Check one off the Bucket List...

Yes, that is right...I finally got to go to a New Kids on The Block concert!!! Whoohoo!!! It was good to feel like a 10 year-old again. Even though Joey, Jordan, Jon, Donnie, and Danny are 18 years older, they were indeed still hangin tough. They never missed a beat. It felt like we had been swept away back to 1990. It was great to finally realize a childhood dream like this. I used to spend hours dreaming of being Mrs. Joey McIntire or Mrs. Jon Knight. I just couldn't choose which one I wanted more. I also daydreamed that their tour bus would just happen to breakdown in front of my house on 68-80 (yeah, in the middle of a KY country road...as if) and that they would fall madly in love with me and take me away on the tour bus. I remember spending hours on my basement steps with my cousin Jenny rehearsing our best 'Step-by-Step' moves....yeah I know we weren't very creative to use actual stair steps as our main move.

Too bad I didn't take the time to search for my memorabilia before the concert. I had a nightgown, the board game, cassette tapes, Joe doll, pin, the entire NKOTB trading card collection, and several books.

Alicia was nice enough to crimp all of our hair, even when it started giving her a hand cramp. Thanks Alicia! The look just wouldn't have been complete without the crimp :)

Here is the completed look! Love the girls custome NKOTB shirts!! Check out the sign that Ashley made...she is awesome!

Here we are at Olive Garden before the concert. We were dying laughing going into that restaurant dressed like that and with all that makeup and hair. But, unfortunately we were the only ones that got the joke. I think everyone there just thought we were hookers...oh well.

Here we are at the concert finally!!! Whoohoo!!

Alicia and I have dreamed of this moment since we were in 3rd grade together. My first memory of our friendship was when she came to my house for a sleepover in third grade. We had soooo much fun. We played Barbies & raided my big sisters cassette tapes and played New Kids & Debbie Gibson all night. We felt so cool. Sadly, this is the last time we talked or hung out until we rekindled our friendship in 7th grade. We still talk about how we can't believe we didn't talk again for 4 years after how much fun we both had that night in 3rd grade. I was one weird cat as a child so go figure. I was so shy and had zero confidence so I know I just figured she didn't like me when it wasn't true. Oh the things I deprived myself of in life for being so weird and paranoid. But, I have learned from my mistakes, and I am trying to use my own experience to help move my kids in a more positive direction. I want to teach them to love and respect themselves, and never let fear and worry keep them from getting what they want out of life!

Joey belting out 'Please Don't Go Girl."

Half way through the concert they switched to a second stage out in the middle of the crowd. Here they are singing one of my favorites, 'Tonight'.

They saved the best for last...Hangin Tough!

Are we really that bad?

Last night, Matt was getting the girls around for bed when Ella decided to quiz him. "Daddy, when you got married did they make you promise to not be mean to your kids?" she asked. "Well no they didn't, but it is never a good idea to be mean to your kids," he responded. "But, if my being mean you are talking about making you go to bed then that is not being mean." "Well yes it is...that is very MEAN!" Ella said.

It's beginning to look alot like....Spring. Huh??

Snow Day!!! I am sure the weather men were ready to pee their pants they were so excited to get to scroll the Polar Report just one more time. Krogers was equally excited as they sold their weekly quota of bread and milk in just one day! The snow came and quickly went, but it was fun while it lasted!!


Can you guess the theme to this post? If you said snow guess again. How about hunger! Can you tell that we jumped up and ran outside so fast that we forgot about breakfast? I knew the snow was not supposed to last long, so I wanted to make sure we got out to enjoy it first thing. Next time we will stop and scarf the cheerios first, because they ate snow, snow, and more snow.

...then they took their hunger out on Frosty. His carrot mouth & blueberry eyes didn't last too long.

This was my first attempt at a snowman. This snow must have been very, very good snowman snow, because with very little effort we had a nice snowman in no time. Pretty proud of myself considering I am a novice :)

Poor Frosty! He lost his head within his first hour of life. Hopefully, he will come again someday, and when he does I hope he doesn't scare the kids.

Got to Love Kentucky Weather...

One minute it is 70 & sunny. The next it is 30 & snowing. I just wish winter would have made up its mind that it was going to stick around before my tree bloomed out. I really hope we aren't headed for an ugly spring like we had with the big freeze last year. Sorry for the free advertisement for 'Scotts Waste'. Today was trash day afterall.

Nurse Ella

On the way home Ella was asking to watch Jon & Kate Plus 8, because she wanted to watch the episode where Jon gets his hair transplants. This is nothing new at all. Ella is amazed about the surgery Jon underwent & watches intently everytime she sees it. I do not promote letting kids watch surgery on tv for the fear it might create...But, when we tried to hide it from Ella she only got more and more intrigued until we finally broke and let her see it. I don't think she fully understands what is going on so that helps out with the gross factor. But, now she likes to take fake knifes and pretend to poke daddy in the head like she is giving him transplants.

So I asked Ella if she wanted to be a doctor since she loves to play doctor & loves the sight of blood and guts. "A(b)solutely not," she replied. When I asked further questions I learned that the reason she doesn't want to be a doctor is because she wants to be able to give people shots. I told her that doctors give shots, but nurses give more shots than doctors. "Well I am going to be a nurse," she declared. "I want to give lots of shots," she said. I should probably explain to her that nurses give shots cause they have a desire to help people heal not to merely hurt them. Geeze.

Such a simple question can tell you so much!

Last year Diane Sawyer did an interview with a very inspiring man Randy Pausch. Randy is the man made famous by his 'Last Lecture' that took YouTube by storm. If you haven't watched this video I highly suggest you do; Randy's perspective on life was very refreshing. I guarantee you will come away from that 'lecture' with a new appreciation for the life you have.

Anyway, one of the things that grabbed my attention in his interview with Diane Sawyer was a ritual he had with his kids. As he tucked them in bed at night he would ask them just one question, "What was the favorite part of your day today?" The answer might be silly, original, or typical, or the answer might be one that blows you away. The point is, you will never know until you ask.

After watching that interview I made a point to start asking Ella every night this very question. Although we spend nearly all our time together, I would still have many days where I felt like we never connected throughout the day. This was my 'connecting' time. As with alot of things, I slip in my habits and started forgetting to ask this question.

Last night, Randy and his question popped into my head. We had a very active day yesterday, playing outside in this wonderful weather with Ella's best friend all day long. I asked Ella this question last night thinking I would get the typical, "My favorite part was playing at the park with Taylor all day!" And, of course she did say this. But, then she said her other favorite part was climbing up in that big chair all by herself to eat lunch (big chair=bar stool). She said, "It was pretty scary, but I did it!" She was beaming with pride. She had never sat in one of those chairs before so I guess that really was a very important thing in her own mind.

God gives us such a gift by giving us children! While adults can slip into mundane habits and start to take little things for granted, kids have such a different, refreshing prospective on everything. Each day is a gift in their eyes. Each day is filled with learning, and they are constantly filled with enthusiasm.

While I know the answer Ella gave is not life altering, I did realize there are many times we go through our day thinking we know exactly what the other person is thinking. But, do we really? Maybe we should all start asking each other this simple question everyday. I think it could be a big relationship builder!

Signs of Spring

Nothing says, "spring is here" like bunnies, daffodils, & kites. Yesterday gave us the opportunity to experience all three. We were blessed with temperatures in the mid-70's yesterday, and we decided to take full advantage of it.



Joe & Betty's neighbor has a pet bunny that she brought over for the girls to see yesterday afternoon. Ella was anxious to see 'Crockpot', but Addie was a little more hesitant.

The girls enjoyed the daffodils that Grandma Kunkel has planted. If we would have stayed much longer there wouldn't have been any blooms left, because Addie's favorite thing to do is pick them all off.

Isn't Matt "purty" with the flower Addie gave him? It added a nice flair to his look doing yard work. Yes he will kill me, but I couldn't resist.


Yesterday was a perfect day for kite flying. We bought Ella a Barbie kite & Addie a Sesame Street kite. Grandma & Grandpa went to the park with us to practice flying them. Addie was in total amazement of it, but Ella got mad and thought we were going to break her Barbie kite. She made Matt reel it in and forget it. She said it wasn't for flying, but rather for hanging in her room....sorry Ella not happening. After the girls got bored Grandpa took them up to swing and Matt and I stood there flying our kiddie kites for quite awhile...too bad I don't have a picture of him with his Barbie kite for blackmail :) (Ella didn't like it too much that we went against her wishes, but she got over it.) I quit paying attention of one second and my kite went flying out of my hand. Matt got a good kick out of that yelling, "Run Forrest, Run!" as I made an idiot of myself chasing it up the hill and into a tree. Surprisingly enough that cheap little $3.50 kite survived being pulled down out of two tree limbs. It still flies just perfect.

Addie's Chuck E. Cheese Party 2/28/09

We celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday on 2/28 with our friends & family at CEC's. It was a very chaotic environment to celebrate in. Regardless, I think the kids managed to have a very good time. This is one of Addie's favorite places, so I think it was very fitting to ring in the big 0-2 there. I have added a link to some more pictures of the day. Thanks to everyone that celebrated with us!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016981&id=1328632420&l=e031b

Will you accept this rose?

Daddy brought all his girls home a dozen roses for V-Day, and yes we did accept them graciously. I broke the thorns off and let Addie have a little sensory fun. She loves the feel of the roses, and she would hold them up to her nose and take a huge sniff, then go, "UHM!!!" Funny how they gets such amazement out of the simpliest things in life.