Grateful Tuesday: August 30, 2011

 I mowed and edged the lawn this morning. If we are being honest here, I don't really enjoy yard work. It almost makes me wish we had a goat or something. Although, I think I like animals less than I like yard work, so that probably wouldn't help. Anyways, as much as I don't like yard work, I really do like it when it's done.

And I am grateful for:

1. The strength and ability to work
2. Ice water and an insulated mug
3. Sunshine
4. Gloves to protect my hands, cute sunglasses to protect my eyes
5. Allergy medicine and bug spray
6. A shower when I'm done
7. A baby who slept through it all
8. A well earned afternoon nap
9. Guilt free Ritters chocolate ice cream
10. My wonderful husband who is going to help me do the back yard.

Gasp! What is Wrong With Me?

I was looking at the number of posts I have tagged with different topics here on the old blog. The kids each have a bunch, swimming had a pretty high number, my new years resolutions were pretty pathetic (I think I gave up in April). But then, I saw something that made my heart stop for a minute. Literally. Okay, so maybe not literally. But pretty close.

I only have one post tagged "Chocolate". One post. One measly little post. If you are friends with me on Facebook, friends with me in real life, heck, if you've even just met me, you KNOW that there is something wrong with this picture. Seriously wrong.

Expect a lot more posts on this most important of topics. Coming your way soon. Get in on the conversation! Lets fix this problem! 

(In interest of full disclosure, this post brings the chocolate tag count up to 2)

Katelyn is a little Foodie.

How could she be otherwise, with Travis for a dad? He started feeding her sweet potatoes and oatmeal, and she LOVES it!

Travis's Trip to Scotland

Travis went to Aberdeen for work. I asked him to take some pictures for me. For the first few days, this is what he sent me:

Yes, pictures of the apartment he stayed in. And an iron imprint in the carpet (no, he didn't put it there...I don't think).

Finally he sent me some real pictures. Beautiful stone buildings, cobblestone streets, the coast, gorgeous sunsets.

Here's a picture of him while he was out on the rig. Love the color scheme!

He had a great trip. In fact, he had such a great trip, he got his work done early and surprised me by flying home on Friday instead of Saturday. He had a reservation at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant The Savoy Grill in London on Friday night, but he chose to come home instead. Yes, I know how lucky and how loved I am (especially because he brought a bag of fabulous Swiss dark chocolate as well!).

Grateful Tuesday: August 23, 2011

I have so much to be grateful for!

1. School! Schoolschoolschoolschoolschool! School! School started yesterday. And I'm just slightly excited. Just a little.
2. Google Video Chat. I hadn't used this much before, but I LOVE it. It's so nice to be able to SEE Travis when I talk to him. It's so nice for the kids to be able to see him. And it's FREE! 
3. My sweet, handsome husband. Even from across the world, he is taking care of us, doing what he can to make things easier for me.
4. Kind, thoughtful, wonderful friends here in Texas. Having Travis traveling has been so much easier because of you. Thank you all for inviting us to dinner, to activities, for bringing me Ritters, for watching my kids, for just thinking about us. 
5. Kind, thoughtful, wonderful friends and family living far away who have done everything they can to make the school year great. Phone calls, emails, and packages. We love you!
6. Lego Star Wars and computer games and kid shows on TV. I've been a bad mom and let my kids have waaaaay too much screen time, probably triple what they usually get, but it is soooo hot here right now, and I can't seem to keep up with the kids and the house and the baby, so games to the rescue. Good thing school just started!
7. An easy-going baby girl. She really only gets fussy when she's hungry. The rest of the time, she is content to sit back and watch the rest of us be crazy.
8. A bag of Dove dark chocolate in my fridge. :D
9. Sleep
10. Pandora. Nothing makes time go by quicker than good music.
    

First Day of School Haircuts

Before school started, Megan wanted to get her hair cut short so it would be easy to fix in the mornings. I think she looks so grown up!

(Jared got a trim as well, but he's on a no pictures kick, and since he looks like normal, only less shaggy, I didn't feel like fighting the battle to get him to pose.)

Kate's First Day of the Other Two in School

For the first time in her life (a whole 3 months!), Kate will have more of my attention during the day since the other two will be gone from 7:45 am to 4:15 pm. She is looking forward to (okay, so really, I am looking forward to) a little more established routine.

Sorry for the funny expressions - she wouldn't stop squealing and babbling to smile.

Jared's First Day of Kindergarten

Wow. The past 5 years have gone so fast. I can't believe my little (okay, so he's never actually been LITTLE!) boy is in kindergarten! He is really nervous, but I know he's going to do great this year. (He didn't want ANY pictures this morning, so I'm just glad I got one good one!)

Megan's First Day of Second Grade

How did my baby girl get so grown up? It seems like just yesterday she was starting preschool! She is so independent and I am so proud of her. I know she'll have a wonderful year.

What we've been up to

Travis is out of town (actually, he's out of the country!). He sent us pictures from his plane before he left. I think I should start traveling Business Class! A seat that fully reclines? And not sharing your row with anyone else? A few hours to read a book or watch TV or take a nap? Someone to bring you drinks and food, and better yet, not expect you to do the dishes? Ummm, yes please!

 Megan went took advantage of the empty school parking lot and went bike riding with a friend. It was hot and muggy, but the girls had a lot of fun.

We had Meet the Teacher night at school. Both kids are really excited for school to start next week. I'm a tiny bit excited too. I meant to get pictures, but things were a little crazy with the three kids.

We hosted the girls play group. What was I thinking trying to make clothespin mermaids with 5 girls? It was fun, but slightly insane at the same time. You can see our finished mermaid creations HERE. All in all, I think they turned out pretty cute, don't you?

Megan lost ANOTHER tooth! She's missing 3 on top. I'm beginning to wonder how she'll chew anything if this continues!

Jared and I played a LOT of Lego Star Wars. He told me, "You don't play as good as daddy. It's not your talent. Maybe you could practice while I go to school." Yup buddy. That's what I'm going to do while you are at school...Finally we had to import some help. We called his 10 year old cousin Josh for some hints, and a friend from church came over to play with him as well.

Megan and I finished up the last little bit of school shopping and got her hair cut. She needed a new pair of shoes. I broke my own rule and let her buy a bright pink and silver pair that light up (gasp!). Usually I pick pretty boring practical and versatile shoes for the kids, but she fell in love with these and I didn't have the energy to go to another store.

We talked on Google Chat to Travis every second that we could. The time difference makes it a little challenging, but it's working out. We miss him, but he'll be home before too long.

We only went swimming once this week. It was fun to hang out poolside with friends, in the sunshine.

Mermaid off the port bow!

Megan is obsessed highly interested in mermaids right now. So when she saw THESE, she decided that we just had to make them. She wanted to make them for play group when we host, but since they have to be painted, allowed to dry, and then glued, I knew we wouldn't have time. So she and I (with help from two of her friends) did all of the painting a week before play group.

We started by painting the top portion of each wooden clothespin skin colored. This will become the head and torso of the mermaid.

After they dried, we wrapped masking tape around the painted portion, just above where the cut out part begins. This will give you a nice, crisp line between the skin paint and the tail paint.

Let the kids paint the bottom half of the clothespin. Choose a paint color that matches the felt that you have (we chose green and turquoise because that's the felt I had on hand).

Once it's dried, peel off the tape, and the painting is done. Incidentally, we discovered that a shoebox is the perfect thing to hold the clothes pins as they dry.

 

When the girls got here for play group, we started by cutting out the mermaid tails and seashells out of felt using templates. They also used colored Sharpies to draw on the faces (I'm not so good with a paint brush, and Sharpies are like duct tape - you can do just about anything with them, right?).

While I glued the tails and shells on, the girls cut yarn for hair. That got glued on as well (I LOVE my hot glue gun! I may not be able to sew, but I am a super gluer, lol). Finally, the girls each chose a flower decoration to go in her mermaid's hair.

Tada! I think they turned out pretty cute! And they kept the girls busy during play group. And Megan still thinks I'm cool (for a little while, at least).

My Alarm Clock

I stayed up waaaaaay too late last night. I was reading and watching TV and surfing the Internet and doing all kinds of important things.

This morning, when my alarm went off (squealing and gurgling), I blearily stumbled out of bed to give her a pacifier push snooze. A couple of minutes later, it went off again, this time in the form of cold toes pressed up against my leg. I evicted that little monkey pushed snooze again. About five minutes later, my alarm went off a final time, when a little voice asked if he could watch cartoons and if I would get him a drink of chocolate milk when I was done sleeping. At that point, I gave up. My alarm clock is too persistent.

But, it's also awfully cute.

Baby Kate

Since Travis is out of town for a while, I thought I'd post some videos for him. Y'all don't have to watch them (you are more than welcome, but they might be a little boring).

Kate was going crazy tonight, squealing and cooing and kicking. But she wasn't preforming for the camera very well. Every time I'd get it out, she would stop and stare. Here are the best clips.

Grateful Tuesday: August 16, 2011

So, Travis is getting on a plane today and flying across the ocean. He'll be gone for almost two weeks. He's traveled a lot in our marriage (although not so much recently), so you'd think I'd be used to it by now. But every time he leaves, it takes me a few days to find my feet. I rely on him for so many things. Today, as I prepare to take care of them in addition to my normal load, I am reminded again just how much I have to be grateful for.

I'm grateful to be married to someone who (in no particular order):

1. married me in the temple.
2. gets my sense of humor.
3. makes amazing bread. And dinner. And cookies.
4. is a fantastic dad.
5. makes me want to be the best version of myself.
6. supports me in what I want to do, and pushes me to use my talents.
7. tells me how to spell words. Without rolling his eyes.
8. tells me he loves me. Often.
9. ...(you know what? this one is none of your business!)...
10. calls me just to say hi.
11. willingly takes one of the kids and goes grocery shopping.
12. gets up with the baby.
13. always makes sure I'm taken care of.
14. opens my door for me (I forget to let him half the time, but I really do like it!)
15. works incredibly hard to support our family.
16. lets me put my cold feet on him.

I couldn't stop at 10 things today! I really hope the days fly by!

Arrrrrg! Thar be pirates!

Did you know that crafts give me mental hives? But that my kids LOVE them? It's a conundrum that only the start of school will solve. Or if not solve, at least lessen. Until then, I'll keep muddling along, soothing my mental itches with chocolate. And ice cream. Chocolate ice cream. From Ritters.

The kids have both been involved in play groups this summer. Megan's group only has 4 girls. Jared's has 8 boys. Eight. Boys. Between 4 and 7. I'm hosting today and I'm shaking in my boots. At least I would be if I were wearing boots. But it's summer in Houston and only a crazy person would wear boots...you may see me in boots tomorrow. After play group...since I will probably be classified as a crazy person.

Jared really wanted to do something involving pirates when it was our turn to host. He's been talking about it all summer. So, he and I made pirate eye patches out of black felt and some black elastic cording. I already had the felt, and the cording was on sale at Hobby Lobby, so I only payed $0.80. That's a price I can handle. And they turned out cute. The example I saw online had white paint decorating the eye patch, and I thought about doing that during play group for about 3 seconds. Then I remembered. 8. boys. ages 4 to 7. Nope - not painting today. :D

 (Megan and Kate wanted to get in on the Pirate action as well.)

We are going to have a treasure hunt. Last night, when I sat down to write out the clues, I decided that it would be fun to write them in rhyme. Not sure what possessed me, since it took waaaaaay too long, and we are talking about 8 little boys, who aren't going to understand half the words I used. Words like "avast" and "vittles" (and since the meter is off on a couple of them, which really, really bugs me...). I tore apart a large, brown paper bag, sprayed it with water, crumpled it up, spread it out and let it dry, tore it into smaller pieces, and then wrote the clues on them with a Sharpie. In the future, I think it would work better if I got it much wetter because the wetter the paper, the softer, more supple it is when it drys. I was in a hurry and didn't want to wait for it to dry much.

Here are my clues:

1. At the end of this hunt, there be treasure for you. Go find the first clue inside Jared's shoe!
2. So far so good, ye pirates beware, find ye next clue...beneath the computer chair.
3. Ye pirates sure know a lot of fun things. Look for the next clue out by the swings.
4. Pirates do be clean and posh, find the next clue in the place where you wash.
5. Ye pirate vittles, Yer always lovin', Look where they're cooked...Thar in the oven.
6. Ye next treasure clue is not in yer head. It is where Jared sleeps...Right under the bed.
7. All pirates are warned, watch out and beware, ye next clue is...on a pirate's blue chair.
8. To find the treasure ye must see far and vast. Look for the clue out by the spy glass.
9. Ye smart pirates will find it if ye are able. Right on top of...the kitchen table.

After the treasure hunt, they can decorate their own pirate flag, make their own pirate map, or just go play.

Whew - I'm tired just writing all of this. Wish me luck!

What we've been up to

The summer is winding down. Only a little more than a week before Megan and Jared will both be in school full time. I have mixed feelings. Part of me is SO excited for them to go to school. Poor Kate gets dragged all over town. It seems like every time she falls asleep, we wake her up to buckle her into the car seat. I am struggling to get things done - I have a class that I've been trying to get finished all summer. If I could just have a few hours of uninterrupted work, I could finish it. Things like that will be so much easier when they are in school. The routine will be a lot more consistent.

On the other hand, I have really enjoyed this summer. We haven't done anything major, mostly we've just stayed home and spent time together, but the Megan and Jared have become such good friends. They love to play together. And they both adore Kate. It's been fun to help them learn how to take care of her, how to play with her, etc. As much as I have complained, this really has been a fun summer.

This week, we have gone swimming a lot (like always!). We've also gone to the splash pad. Megan and Jared complain that they are too old to have fun at the splash pad, but they always have a blast when we go. And I enjoy it too - it's nice to sit in the shade and talk to the other moms, without worrying about the kids in the pool.

Megan has been learning to cook this summer. She can make a mean salad, without any help. And she's been helping Travis make a lot of other things as well. Sunday afternoon they made a three layer chocolate cake. It was fabulous. (I ate waaaaay too much.)

 

Since it's been so hot, we aren't spending much time outside unless we're at the pool. Instead, we've played a lot of xbox and computer games, and a lot of board games. Including Extreme Jenga. (Jared makes up the rules as he goes along.)

Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in the pool, 3 days old.

Travis is going to do an audit on an oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Before they'll let him on the rig, he had to have some safety training. Yesterday he came home and said that it was pretty boring - lectures, basic first aid, CPR, etc.

Today was a different story.This morning he got to do fire safety training - he got to get in shipping containers filled with fire and smoke and find his way out. He says it was HOT. Ridiculously hot. He got to use fire extinguishers and fire hoses, all so he'll know what to do in case of a fire on a rig.

This afternoon he spent in the pool. He had to learn how to use a re-breather (kind of a bag that you fill up with air, and then you can breath in and out of for about 30 seconds), and then he got to get into the helicopter simulator. The simulator is supposed to teach you what to do in case of a helicopter crash over the ocean, so once everyone is strapped in, they drop the it into the pool. Once it filled with water, he had to  knock the window out (it takes 80 lbs of force!), unbuckle, and swim out. 3 times. Once he mastered that, they dropped him in again, flipping the simulator upside down. 2 more times. Sounds like fun, huh?

He gets to go back for more fun tomorrow. Not sure what he'll be doing, but he has to wear a swim suit and steel toed boots, so I'm sure it will be "fun"...

What we've been up to

We haven't done anything super exciting or outrageous this summer, but sometimes the simple things bring the most joy.

On Friday, we went to lunch at Pappas Burgers with Travis.

We've gone swimming. A Lot. Just cuz, for play group, for swim lessons. We are all getting water logged. We've all got raisin toes. Swimming completely wears Kate out.

We've played with friends at their houses and our house and at the pool and at the park. We love our friends.

I taught my first class at Scrap Girls, after taking most of the summer off. It was great to get back to doing what I love. (and I am LOVING the new class format. It's wonderful!)

Supplies listed HERE

Travis and I had a movie date and watched the Princess Bride. It's been a long time since we snuggled up together to watch an old favorite. Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...

I don't think life gets any better than this.